ABC, which is in the first year of its valued NBA contract, is so disappointed in the lousy numbers that it's hoping for a forced Game 7 in order to dump off its advertising commitments as painlessly as possible...

As an NHL fan, I feel better about my sport in light of this. Let's see, the NHL ratings have been sucking for the entire five-year run of that league's broadcasting agreement. Then, the first year the NBA gets on board the Mouse networks, their ratings slide. So it wasn't the NHL's fault for those cruddy ratings, it was Disney's!

Mediamark Research Inc. and Interactive Market Systems Inc. recently released a report prepared by NAA Business Analysis & Research Department that reveals 99.9 million adults (18+) in the U.S. read an average issue of a daily newspaper. And, on Sunday, 116 million readers nationwide read an average issue.

Income has always played an important role in segmenting newspaper audiences. Readership increases steadily with higher earnings. Among adults with household incomes of $75,000+, readership stands at 57% on weekdays and 66% on Sundays vs the national average of 48% and 56% respectfully.

Slightly more than half of all men (51%) read an average issue of a daily newspaper, followed by 46% of women who read a daily newspaper. Higher percentages of both genders read a Sunday newspaper, with men at 56% and women at 57%.

60% of adults who graduated college or more read a weekday paper and 67% do so on Sundays. Five daily issues reach 78% of adults who graduated college or more. In general, people in occupations with more job responsibility also show stronger readership of newspapers. 56% of Executives, Managers, or Administrators read a daily newspaper, and 66% do so on Sundays.

Forty-nine percent of whites read a daily newspaper, compared to 43% of African-Americans, 37% of Asians, and 29% of adults of Spanish/Hispanic origin. On Sunday, the reach among racial/ethnic newspaper readers is 57%, 58%, 42%, and 39% respectively.

A board game resembling the Riff's favorite game growing up, "Clue." In the series, homeowners are given advice by real estate experts and interior designers on how simple, inexpensive changes can boost their home's economic value. The game is no different. Complete with game pieces and cards, the players either choose to be the host or the designer featured in the TV show. The object is to reach the end of the game first, along with making minimal repairs along the way. "Replace that '70's wallpaper with a fresh, neutral color coat of paint."

"You don't need special talents," Cuban said. "I'm not looking to find out who is the grossest, funniest, prettiest, smartest or able to go without food or water the longest.

"The right person is going to get on my good side at the right time, and whoever that is is going to walk away with a check from me for $1 million," he said.

"Why has he agreed to give away such a large sum of money? Simply because he can and because he can't wait to devise the means through which applicants must prove to him that they deserve the money," ABC said in a news release to be issued Tuesday.

"After conducting an internal investigation, we concluded that Bubba's show will no longer be carried on any Clear Channel Radio station," [Clear Channel President John] Hogan said in his statement. "This type of content is inappropriate and not reflective of the way we run our local stations or Clear Channel Radio."

Carlson says he was inspired to go into advertising and marketing by the 1960s TV sitcom "Bewitched". The male lead, Darrin Stevens [sic], "was in advertising. I thought that was kind of cool. It influenced me," he said. "It thought it was great people could have a job in a field that was creative."

Step 1: Open your MP3 player.
Step 2: Put all of your music on random.
Step 3: Write down the first 20 songs it plays, no matter how embarrassing.

"We're looking to reclaim a part of America that's been missing," ["Survivor" creator Mark] Burnett tells Variety. "Where are the 'Thrilla in Manilas?' The Sugar Ray Leonards? We all agree no one can tell who owns what belt.

"We're all businessmen, and there's a serious business around boxing," he says. "It's the highest paying sport, yet no one believes in it anymore. What happens when we make it transparent and clean? Once clean, the upside is astronomical."

"I suspect very few people will read it all the way through," he said. "You will need a degree in Ancient Greek to get a great deal out of it."

But Wilson hopes students studying the ancient language will enjoy reading extracts of the book as a "relaxation."

Quidditch becomes Ikarosfairike or "Ikarus ball" -- in a reference to the mythological boy who few too high -- while Hogwarts is Huogoetou, deriving from words meaning "hog" and "wizard."
Harry Potter is Hareios Poter. Hareios means "belonging to Ares," the war god, or "warrior" and Poter, a "cup" or "goblet."

Lord Voldemort, Potter's nemesis, becomes Folidomortos, which literally means "scaly death."

"Ancient Greek has a massive vocabulary," said Wilson. "Now it's got a slightly bigger one."

Saying someone has manners (beoreut itda) or does not have manners (beoreut eopda) relates to the traditional East Asian concept of propriety (ye, li), which stipulates strict hierarchal classifications and was created to support the feudalist government. Of course Confucius also presented us with a concept of reconciliation and unity through music (ak, yue), but all that gets applied today is "strict" propriety.

This kind of propriety is the strictest with people lower on the hierarchy, and behavior that does not meet with those regulations is said to have "no manners." The problem with discussion about manners is that it hinders normal communication between different levels in the hierarchy, and functions to keep people from speaking out. Organizations operate with subordinates maintaining their silence, while their superiors issue orders from above.

This same social structure ended up being applied to the media as well, media that should speak out. Power came to be regarded as identical to one's seniors, and "media that says it like it is" became outlets that lacked manners. In the history of the Korean news media, only sources willing to risk being silenced spoke up to power and authority, and that's why the media started minding its manners.

Ever mindful of its manners, the media unwillingly came to stand on the side of power and authority and speak on its behalf. Speaking for power and authority for so long meant that the media also became part of the powers that be, and now it fabricates its own argument for maintaining that power. Forget about speaking out – the media was no longer even able to say what it had to...

I hope OhmyNews remains a medium that has no manners. It needs to be more than a news outlet that just says what it says and then forgets about it. It has to be a source that actively speaks up, all the time, about everything.

The robotic dogs' "brains" are upgraded and their "noses" programmed to pick up the scent of common volatile organic compounds -- such as paint thinners or dry cleaning fluids -- or more dangerous toxins. They also are built to navigate a variety of terrains.

In addition, cameras are placed in the dogs' hindquarters to let researchers observe their interaction with handlers.

Wow, how often do you get a chance to become a patron to the arts, for the low-low price of $20 American? I'll pony up, artdude. Go nuts on the thing. My only demand: That I get an emailed advance heads-up for your next public wine tasting, whether it's at the busstop or whereever.

Also, of course, I absolve myself of any knowledge of your shenanigans in the event the fuzz nails you.

How long Franke continues as ThunderBug "depends on the possibility of a lockout next year [the NHL's collective bargaining agreement expires after this season]. If that happens, I may be hanging it up."

Wuerffel's focus is on Desire Street Ministries, a New Orleans organization in one of the nation's poorest neighborhoods.

The survey found that 82 per cent of Canadians feel all children living in Canada should have the chance to play hockey but that 66 per cent feel the sport is becoming elitist due to the high costs associated with playing the game.

The survey suggest it can cost around $1,000 for a child to play minor hockey for a year, depending on such variables as equipment and number of tournaments played in.