August 2008 Archives
Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton mentioned gays in their respective electrifying speeches at the Democratic National Convention last week in Denver. But only fleetingly.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, one of the most important figures in the gay marriage movement in California, is a completely different story. He is that rare politician who made equal rights for gays one of his biggest priorities and on Thursday, his address to the California Democratic delegation ended with strong and passionate words against Proposition 8 which seeks to, once again, ban same-sex marriage in the state.
Here is part of what he said:
"I believe in equal rights....Civil unions is not marriage...I believe in real equality, full equality. That's what's at stake with Proposition 8. I plead for your support, for your activism and your passion and most importantly, your action in the next few months."
Also last week, Newsom was asked by Ray Suarez on the PBS program "The Newshour Insider Forum" if his deep involvement with gay rights hold him back as a state-wide candidate?
Replied Newsom: "This [campaigning against Prop 8] is not going to help me politically; I'm not naïve to that. I'm hardly front and center at this convention and I certainly wasn't in the last convention, but it's about my convictions; it's about my ability to sleep at night and reconcile the fact that we're running the 90 yard dash on gay and lesbian rights," Newsom responded. "And if you believe fundamentally that people should have rights that are of the same sex, but you're not willing to extend them equal rights, then what is it about that point of view that distinguishes it from your point of view about civil rights for people based on race or ethnicity? What is inherently more significant about someone and their rights that happens to be of a different race that should not be extended equally to someone who may have a different sexual orientation?"
Ok, I know that it is not practical for our presidential candidate to speak this way, but wouldn't it be wonderful if he did? In reality, it;s hold yiour tongue and get elected first then - maybe - support gay marriage and not just the lesser, and safer, civil unions stance..
Bravo Gavin!
I was walking down the 16th Street Mall Thursday after lunch when I came upon this massive crowd outside Hard Rock Cafe. The rumor was that Oprah Winfrey was inside. It turns out she was not. But other stars were since there was a Creative Coalition event on health care going on. Handsome Josh Lucas came out twice to wave to the crowd and to give autographs, Angela Bassett came out once and gave a shy wave, Alan Cumming popped out to give a few autographs and finally, Spike Lee did some hellos.
As I was on Oprah-watch, I chatted up two hot guys who made the time go far faster...They are a couple and their names areTed and Travis. I'm not sure which one is Ted and which one is Travis now that I'm home. I don't even know my OWN name at this point!
Anderson Cooper may be the "it" guy of TV news but Tom Brokaw still has plenty of star power. I was standing near the makeshift CNN studio when Tom, wearing tennis shoes and carrying a red backpack, tried to casually walk to the NBC studio. No dice. People were hollering to him from the stands and a stream of folks down on the field asked him to stop for a picture. "I've got to keep moving," Tom said at one point, smiling.
Attending Cyndi Lauper's concert at Fillmore Auditorium was just terrific. I loved when she said, "Listen to mama, vote for Obama." I love, love, love Cyndi Lauper.
Thank God for my friend Hope Hamashige who moved to Denver about 3-4 years ago. On Tuesday night, I had to wait more than two hours to interview the Black Eyed Peas because Bill Clinton's convention speech ran late. I called Hope to gab and she said, "I'm downtown too, I'll ride my bike over." We got to hang out and tell some of our war stories with a young reporter from People mag, just out i\of college. Made us feel a liittle old.
I tell ya, it was one hell of a week. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
On my last night in Denver, I got through the tight security of Invesco Field to watch Barack Obama's speech at field level just fine. But getting past the security guard at Woody Paige's house later that night? A nightmare.
With hotel rooms in short supply, I had already been staying at Woody's country club house on a golf course for five nights without incident. For some reason, the woman at the guard house says I'm not on the list, have never been on the list, and she's not letting me through the gate. I had worked 16 hours and it was about 1:15 a.m. I tried to reason with her but she dug her heels in. I wasn't on the list.
Things got ugly. I don't want to get into more details but let's just say, many things happened. I was eventually let in. I'm not sure if that woman still has a job today. If not, I won't lose a wink of sleep over it.
But that was the only glitch in what was a wonderful stay. Woody is a well-known Denver Post columnist and ESPN personality who has been in the business long enough to talk about covering the Martin Luther King assassination in 1968 and still ambitious enough that he wrote a column from the Democratic National Convention every day I was there in addition to his regular sports column.
Here are links to my favorites from the week:
-- Been there, done that, do it again
-- Gripe time but wrong causes
-- Stadium has risen along with candidate's star
-- A special boy called Barry
We were a busy household for the week. Along with Woody's charming and lovely girlfriend Geri who was there some days, LA Daily News photographer Mike Baker stayed there and so did a bright young reporter from Boston, Matt Murphy (pictured with me Thursday night at Invesco),
Someone in The Denver Post newsroom, where we were headquarted all week, remarked that it sounded like something out of "The Real World" or "The Surreal Life." Well, notsomuch. We all put in long hours and worked our tails off so no time for any drama!
But almost every morning, we all managed to have breakfast on Woody's patio, reading the papers and sharing adventures from the night before. This morning (Friday), we had a little extra time with the convention over with and Woody had us in stitches as he talked about the days of hot type and stories being typed in triplicate. Once, the "e" on his typewriter stopped working, the equipment guy blew off fixing it so Woody wrote a column entirely without a single "e" and explained to readers why. This ticked off the equipment guy who then refused to fix the broken key. So Woody walked over to a window (I think it was a paper in Memphis), dropped the typewriter out the window and simply requested a new one.
I can't imagine that a hotel could have topped this set-up and boy, the company was terrific.
It was an awesome experience, awesome. It's right up there with the really big events in my career and in my life. On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, I unexpectedly got a floor pass for Barack Obama's speech. I jammed over to Invesco Field at Mile High where the excitement was off-the-charts. .Having a floor pass means you get to wander all around the place, including near the stage, near all the action and near the CNN booth and Anderson Cooper!
Here is Anderson and me. I handed my camera to a guy Anderson was talking to and he gladly snapped the photo then Anderson says to me: "You just asked the president of CBS News to take our picture!" Then the guy - I didn;t get his name - said, "I'm not the president." Anderson said, "You will be."
Here is Sheryl Crow just after leaving the stage. At this point, I was trapped in an area that suddenly went into lock-down because some VIP was coming in. Thinking it was Obama, I stuck around awhile but no dice. Got tired of waiting and found another way out but not before snapping a photo (below) of NBC's Luke Russert (Tim's son) interviewing Martin Luther King III who was one of the night's speakers on the 40th anniversary of his fahter's "I Have a Dream" speech.
Four years ago, John Kerry was the Democratic nominee. I snapped him getting interviewed by a Polish TV network.
I gotta jam over to Invesco Field. Just unexpectedly got a fricken floor pass for the Obama speech! What a day. Will write about it all later. This morning I met San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom who is not only movie star handsome, but whose politics I really like. Will post some of his pro gay-marriage speech tomorrow or later today.
I'm sad to report that Del Martin, a woman who was part of the first legal gay marriage in California when she married her partner of 55 years in June, died Wednesday.
It's a beautiful thing though that she was able to get married to Phyllis Lyon before she passed on at age of 87 and got to be a part of history. Del helped found the pioneering lesbian-rights group the Daughters of Bilitis.
Ms. Lyon, 83, said in a statement, "I am devastated, but I take some solace in knowing we were able to enjoy the ultimate rite of love and commitment before she passed."
Her death came on the day that a new poll showed that a majority of California voters oppose a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage, though they are evenly split on the practice itself.
The discrepancy between voters' general attitudes against gay marriage and their position on banning it could be explained by a hesitancy to remove a constitutional right, said Mark Baldassare, president and chief executive of the Public Policy Institute of California, which conducted the poll.
On Thursday morning in Denver, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom paid tribute to Del during an address to California delegate in town for the Democratic National Convention calling her "one of the great civil rights leaders of our time."
It was Newsom who married the couple earlier this summer - just as he had back in 2004 when when the San Francisco mayor challenged California's marriage laws by announcing that the city would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who requested them.
I don't even know my name right now. After a late night, I'm here at a California Democratic Party breakfast at the Sheraton in downtown Denver where Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villariagosa and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom are two of the featured speakers. I'll hear what they have to say, try and get a word with them too. Right now the Denver mayor is up there and I don't know much about him except that I watched him on Chalrie Rose last week. He just gave a shout out for gay marriage so dig him.
Anyway, last night was kinda cool. I went to the Creative Coaltion's gala at the Fillmore Auditorium and got to chat up Black Eyed Peas bandmates Fergie and Will i. am.
It was a natural that they would be performing a high-profile gig during the convention since it was Will's "Yes We Can" song and Internet sensation video gave Barack Obama one of the coolest celebrity endorsements ever.
"Will.i.am inspired me," Fergie said. "When Will made that song, I think it was touching to every person in America because it really said something."
The video features an eclectic mix of celebs: John Legend, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Walsh, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who sing a Bob Marley-style melody alongside footage of an Obama speech during the New Hampshire primaries.
"I did it because I was inspired by Barack Obama's speech in New Hampshire and that wasn't even his victory speech, that was a speech where he lost," Will said. "If he could inspire me when he lost, just think what he's gonna do when he wins. I don't know know how I'm going to contain myself. I'm just gonna keep writing and writing and writing. And not for fee, for free. For freedom."
Here is the video:
No time to watch the US Open while in Denver but I always have a few minutes to post a picture or two of hot male tennis players as you know. Andy Roddick is so ecstatic here that it looks like he won the whole doggone tournament. Relax Andy, it;s only a routine first-round victory over France's Fabrice Santoro and it wasn't even a close one. Andy just fired his brother as his coach (and had given Jimmy Connors the boot earlier this year). Only six more wins to go before he can add to his 2003 title. I'd give top-ranked Rafael (Muscles) Nadal a far better chance of winning everything. He looked equally ecstatic after his first-round win the other day and has more confidence and momentum than Andy.
Did Hillary Clinton give an awesome speech the other night or what? I thought she was wonderful. It was a very healing speech, I think, and made me feel better about my Obama vote in November. What a woman.
And here is Bill Clinton's speech from last night. I haven't even watched it yet, I confess, so have no comment on it. But here it is!
What a bit of fab news that dropped into my email box just a few minutes ago. We've all missed the heck out of "Noah's Arc" and can't for the life of us understand how LOGO cancelled its best show. But when the plug was pulled, we were promised a feature film and finally, it is here. Sexy Darryl Stephens and Jensen Atwood (pictured) are back for "Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom." Other original cast members Rodney Chester, Doug Spearman and Christian Vincent also headline.
Here's the synopsis: When Noah (Stephens), a young screenwriter from Los Angeles, agrees to marry his partner Wade (Atwood) in a small ceremony on Martha's Vineyard, he invites his three closest friends, Alex (Chester), Ricky (Vincent) and Chance (Spearman) to travel cross-country with them for a weekend of revelry. What he gets instead is a weekend of revelations where secrets and lies are exposed, hearts are challenged and friendships are turned upside down."
I'm awfully excited to see that Tony winner Tonya Pinkins - a major talent - is in the cast and that there is a special appearance by legendary singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow who I have always loved, loved, loved!
Also in the film: Gregory Kieth (Mista Nice Guy), Jonathan Julian ("In Justice"), Jason Steed ("The Bill"), Gary LeRoi Gray (Bring It On: All or Nothing).
Sounds terrific!!!
I ask you, is there any sound more beautiful than Rufus Wainwright singing "Hallelujah"? Darn few that's for sure. He ended his set at last night's HRC concert with the song that I was embarassed to admit I became familar with because it was sung by dreadlocked "American Idol" finalist Jason Castro last spring. Rufus is much, much better!
At the blink-and-you-missed-it press event before the show, Rufus talked a bit about the importance of voting and achieving equal rights: "In America, things are OK and we have to keep fighting for those rights constantly but outside of America, there's the rest of the world where it's still a life and death situation. How things go here, there are much graver consequences throughout the globe. We're the spearhead."
Before the start of the LGBT delegate lunch yesterday at the Sheraton (the one Michelle Obama made an unannounced visit to), I chatted up Barney Frank, one of only two openly-gay membes of congress.
I wanted to get Barney's thought on gay marriage in California since he is from Massachusetts where same-sex coupes can also marry and on Proposition 8 on the November ballot which seeks to re-ban gay marriage.
"I think that it;s very important that we win that," he said. "If this referendum were a year later, I'd be totally confident because once you have the reality of something like this, the opposition goes away because all of the negative arguements are proven incorrect. If it had happened last year, it would have lost. If it happened next year, it would have won big. This year I don't know. But one thing we know: the more people see what the reality is, the more the opposition ,melts away."
The HRC concert last night was so tightly-controlled and press access to the stars limited to a ridiculous five minutes or so. I was annoyed basically every minute I was there until the concert actually began.
We were led into the VIP tent pre-concert and some little blonde woman with a headset and a pinched face says, "Here is your tip sheet. If you don't follow it, you will be asked to leave the concert." Then some dude says, "You are sharing the tent with VIPs so if you could just stay in this area near the platform (a not so big area for a kinda big press corps). Gee, we wouldn't actually want to force the VIPS to breathe the same air as us!
Then the photographer from the Denver Post made the huge mistake of standing about an 2-3 inches past the big X on the ground made with tape. The HRC press dude leaps over and demands that he take what amounted to about a three inch step back.
These people were obnoxious and not treating the press like the grown-ups that most of us are. HRC Pres. Joe Solmonese was a gentleman though and I am sure this was no fault of his. He even gave me a hug hello inside the concert (we had coffee together a few years back). But those headset people, give 'em a little power and they run with it not even thinking that people like me are going to write about their every obnoxious, controlling and over-the-top move.
\Okay, this post was supposed to be about Melissa Etheridge and here I am on an absolute tangent. But y'know, i do feel much better now. In the VIP tent, during the five minutes and five seconds we had with the talent, I asked Miss Etheridge about her comment when she was one of the questioners during the HRC Democratic Candidates debate. She told Hillary Clinton that some of the LGBT community felt "thrown uder the bus" by her husband's adminsitration. Here's what she said in response:
"Ah no! I was gonna bring a little bus tonight (laughter). I think it is a dangerous thing that the media has been focusing on the divided Democratic party - Hillary and Obama. I think that is not true. I've been out there talking to everyone and we, for once, had the most awesome choice in the Democratic party. We had an awesome woman, and an awesome man to pick from. And we looked at them both and you know what? We came up with Barack Obama and we are all united behind him. It's a fallacy, its a lie to put out that we are not."
Okay, nice quote but she didn't really answer my question. I would have followed up but the controlling HRC folks yanked them off the stage practically before Melissa could finish her sentence.
Overall score: The HRC concert: a 10! The HRC press "event" : a minus 10.
That;'s all, thankyouverymuch.
Last night I went to the Human Rights Campaign's "Rock to Win" concert headlined by Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge, Rufus Wainwright, Margaret Cho and Thelma Houston.
The concert was stopped when Hillary Clinton made her fantastic speech at the convention and I'm so damned glad because watching it with thousands of people like that was almost as good as being inside the Pepsi Center itself. I had supported Hillary and felt lukewarm about Barack Obama but her speech really did rally the troops behind the nominee. It was such a triumphant night for this amazing woman and for the Democrats.
But, I digress.
The HRC concert was at Denver's Fillmore Auditorium and after I filed my story to The Denver Post, I settled in and danced around during Cyndi's awesome set. Had not seen her in concert since she toured with Cher eight years ago or so. She is a treasure, a wonderful soul and a brilliant talent.
She opened with her newest hit, then did a haunting "What's Going On," as well as that great song "I Drove All Night." Her voice was soaring and after a few songs, she kicked off her boots and danced around that stage like there was no tomorrow. The highlight, as I knew it would be, was when she got out the dulcimer and sang "True Colors," the most meaningful of songs about being who you really authentically are. Cyndi ended things on a fun note with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and brought out her son Declan (he must be around 11?) and he danced onstage with the same free spirit as his mama and it was a joy to watch.
Before the show, we had a little bit of time in the VIP tent with the performers and I asked Cyndi if she has seen any changes among LGBT voters since she began her True Colors Tour with the HRC last summer. Here's what she said:
"When I first put the ("True Colors") tour together, I saw a lot of apathy in the community and I know that apathy comes from feeling hopeless and hopelessness comes out of helplessness. We put this tour together to give information to the people because information is power and I strongly believe that this nation was built on the power of the people. ... I saw more hopeful people because there was information there for them to help themselves. Voting is one of the ways to help yourself. If you don't vote, you continue not to help yourself, you continue that feeling of hopelessness against a world that may be aggressively diminishing your civil liberties."
Cyndi had a pretty funny answer when someone asked her what she thought of people who were so disappointed that Barack Obama edged Hillary Clinton for the nomination that they were considering voting for John McCain: "I would say, don't vote insane."
"I would say, if you want to vote for your pocket, think of if it's been picked already and how much your dollar is worth today after this adminsitration."
.
What can I say? I'm having an absolute blast this week in Denver. So invigorating, so much going on, so many people. My first priority is doing interviews but I'm trying to get some pictures too when I remember to. When I made my way to the convention hall yesterday, I made sure to get some snaps!
After I filed a piece from inside our press tent which is just outside Pepsi Center, I spotted ABC News "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran. I'm a big fan of the show which I think a lot of people figured would bomb out after the departure of Ted Koppel. But thanks in part to Terry, who is one of the three hosts, the show has thrived. It would be a shame if ABC yanked "Nightline" to make room for Jay Leno next year but it seems to be a real possibility.
Anyway, Terry had just finished listening to Ted Kennedy's electric speech and was on his way back to his press area when we met and had this picture taken. While it's not as good as bumping into Anderson Cooper would be (EVERYONE seems to be spotting Anderson except for me), Terry is pretty darmed hot.
This is the parade/demonstration that kept me stuck on Colfax Ave. about a block away from The Denver Post building for a good 15 minutes. I decided not to be pissed and just watch the damned thing.
Here is one of my best pals Ted Johnson who is covering the convention for Variety (he was filing a story from the CNN Grill and I snuck this picture of him before calling him over). It's been great having him in Denver because we've been able to see each other here and there and are always calling each other on the cell: "Are you going to this event?" "I haven't eaten all day either!" "Which shuttle stop is the Pepsi Center on?" "Does (deleted) keep calling and pitching stupid stories to you too?" "How mucn sleep did you get last night?"
I'm sitting here on a platform in the back of the ballroom at the Sheraton staring at some woman's dessert at the LGBT caucus luncheon. I haven't eaten lunch and watching these folks chow down is enough to make a hungry grown man cry. Barney Frank is up front speaking right now (not the easiest man to understand with that accent). The rumor is that Michelle Obama might show up so I'm gonna stick it out rather than run out of here and to the nearest hot dog stand.
I chatted up Barney when I got here as well as the tall, handsome and smart Chip Arndt. Will share those when I get a chance. Barney just said that a vote for John McCain is a disaster because "he has never voted for anything that would advance our equality...electing Barack Obama is essential."
More in a bit...
Rep. Tammy Baldwiin, another openly gay member of congress just said: "Elections have consequences. ... I truly view this election as the opportunity to transform hope into action...we come here filled with hope....The stakes have never been higher for our community."
Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese is now speaking. He said the first political campaign he ever worked on was Barney Frank's and he is honored to be sharing the stage with him. I'm bored now. Let's hope it gets better.
Okay, is Michelle Obama gonna show up or not? I'm gonna snag a dinner roll or something off a table in a minute. These are desperate times.
Joe, still talking. I'm nearly comatose.
OK, Barney just said Michelle Obama is gonna be here and no matter what they are doing, when she arrives, they are gonna put her right up there on stage. I'm gonna listen to her remarks then bolt straight to Subway for a footlong.
Some other dude is up there yammering. I didn't get his name. So, as I wait, I'm gonna post video of Michelle Obama's speech at the convention last night to get us in the mood.
1:55 p.m.: Still waiting for Michelle Obama to arrive at the Sheraton. I'm feeling more patient because some cute guy at a table near my platform took pity on me and gave me a roll from his bread basket. It. Is. Delicious.
***********************************
2 p.m. Michelle Obama is here! Barney Frank introduced her to a raucous reception, a prolonged standing ovation. Just wild.
"I am honored and thrilled. what a welcome. I should stay here all afternoon."
A man interrupts when he yells out: "Great speech!" (last night). People started applauding all over again.
NOTE: This is not a complete transcript of her remarks. It's bits and pieces...
"I'm pleased to be here today with another public servant i admire Tammy Baldwin." She also thanked: Joe Solmonese and Chuck Wolfe from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund."
"Thanks you for your vision, thank you for your leadership..it means so much to me and to Barack."
We'e here celebrating this wonderful party , Our country and the better future we can build together....and to restore a sense of fairness and opportunity for every single American."
"Although we have a lot of work to do, this week we are going to celebrate how far we've come. Hasn't this just been an amazing year or 19 months or however long it's been? Thiis campaign 2008 has just been amazing. We have seen people who have never talked about politics before -ever. ...They're writing checks and knocking on doors."
She then paid tribute to the woman who had been her husband's rival for the Democratic nomination: "Hillary Clinton's historic candidacy banished forever the notion that a woman could not be president (huge applause). "I got those two lijttle girls, you saw them, they're cute. Because of the work this year that Sen. Clinton has done....little girls like mine and other little girls around the country can dream a little bigger."
"In just two days, we are going to make history again by nominating this guy that I'm married to. In the words of my husband, we are fired up and ready to go. I know that Barack is going to be an extraordinary president. I know that with every fiber of my body."
"Most of all, I'm here as a mother, no matter how many titles or caractures that they make, iI'm a mom first. It's the first thing I think about every day....these arent politicial issues for me, these are all personal."
More on Barack: "I've lived with this man for 20 years and i've said this many times, he has not let me down once.... Wherever he has the chance, he's used his God given talents to move that bar."
She called for the repeal of Don't Ask, Dont tell: and said the real money quote: "Discrimination has no place for a nation founded on the promise of equality."
Mrs. Obama also called for protection against hate crimes and workplace discrimination. I didn't hear anything about gay marriage.
"We all know our country's journey toward equality is not finished yet," she said. "We've got work to do."
I was walking out of the revolving door of The Samba Room in downtown Denver last night really pissed that I stood in a crowded Planned Parenthood party for an hour waiting for Ashley Judd to show up and she had not. I woulda had a hissy if it were not for the delish coconut shrimp and the cute guy I was talking to.
Deadline was 20 minutes away and I still had no star interview from this damned sioree. But as I exited the revolving door, just about to enter it was Cyndi Lauper! I was so shocked I just blurted out: "Cyndi Lauper!" She smiled and I said, "Greg Hernandez, Denver Post. Two quick questions?" She nodded, I put the recorder near her gorgeous mouth (she is a beautiful woman) and was able to get an item for today's paper. Here it is:
Cyndi Lauper performs tonight at a Hujman Rights Campaign concert but made time Tuesday night to drop by the jam-packed Planned Parenthood party at The Samba Room.
"They helped me when I was a young girl," the singer said of Planned Parenthood as she made her way into the bash. "It's a wondderful organization, teaches women about their bodies and supports us in our choices and our right to choose."
Lauper said she is looking forward to the HRC concert at the Fillmore Auditorium where she'll be joined by Melissa Etheridge, among others.
"Come on down," she said. "We're celebrating humanity. End discrimination. We're gonna have some fun."
I'll be there and post about it tomorrow! Can't wait!
"Mad Men" star Jon Hamm, who has to be considered the front-runner for the Emmy next month, is one of those guys who is so good looking that you kinda wanna slap him. But he's so swell that you don't. Anyway, he's not only on the cover of the new issue of "Best Life" magazine, there's an interview inside and a buncha sexy black and white photos of him too.
What. A. Babe. That's the Russian star Marat Safin on Monday night at the US Open. The sexy Safin, who won the tournament back in 2000 over Pete Sampras, was among the former champions who gathered at the Billie Jean King United States Tennis Assn. Tennis Center to celebrate the 40th anniversary of what is known as the "open era." It was in 1968 that professional tennis players could play in the sports four major tournaments and win prize money. Before that, youy had to be an "amateur" and couldn't make a living off your tennis.
Always a class act, the elegant and classy Roger Federer is one of the greatest male champs on the last 40 years. He's won the US Open in each of the last four years.
Three other prominent former American champs, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors - who won 12 singles titles between them - did not show up for the ceremony.
Very uncool.
But four-time champ John McEnroe, three-time champ Ivan Lendl, 1989 men's winner Boris Becker and 1988 men's champ Mats Wilander did.
Also there was cutie pie 2003 champion Andy Roddick who is still young enough to bag another title. Maybe this year? Not likely but it would be so nice to see.
If I weren't at the Democratic National Convention, I would have wanted to be at the US Open on Monday night for the amazing parade of past champions there to celebrate the 40th anniversary of open era tennis. It was in 1968 that tennis players could be professionals and earn big bucks at the US Open and other prestigious tournaments.
No female champion has had more success at the tournament in the last four decades than Chris Evert (above) who was the winneri in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1982 and runner-up in 1979, 1983 and 1984. Chrissie was, hands-down, my favorite player and really is the biggest star tennis ever had. She had the glamour, the endorsements, the poise and most of all, the grit. She'd come on court in a nice little tennis dress, long, blonde hair in a pony tail and ribbons, and she'd just mow down opponent after opponent.
What a portrait! Look at the history in this picture. That's a lot of great names including the great Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, each four-time winner,Monica Seles, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova,Rod Laver, Tracy Austin, Stan Smith, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Roger Federer, Mats Wilander, Marat Safin, Gabriela Sabatini,Lyndsay Davenport and on and on.
I had a gap between assignments this afternoon so I headed out to the Pepsi Center in Denver to roam around the Democratic National Convention to see what I could see. I'm not a political reporter so I used one of the Denver Post's hall passes during an off-peak time.
Went into the convention hall and watched some of the speeches and soaked up the atmosphere. Then went into the corridor and watched some correspondents from "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" do their thing. Then bumped into Gayle King, far prettier and youthful looking in person than she sometimes looks on television.
It had been a big day for Gayle because earlier Monday, she had interviewed Michelle Obama for her radio show. It was one of one of only two interviews the Democratic candidate's wife gave before her speech on the convention floor.
"I'd been up since 4 a.m. worried about Michelle's speech and she walks in cool as a cucumber. She said, 'Gayle, just relax, just breathe, it'll be okay."
King, a longtime media personality who is most famous for being Oprah Winfrey's best friend, dished a little about their chat.
"What gave me chills was when she was talking aoout marriage and relationships, that in all the years she's been married to Barack, he's never done anything to disappoint her. That he's a man of character, he's a man of dignity, and he's a man of great intelligence. That gave me chills. As somebody who is divorced, who has been disappointed, it was just good to hear somebody who believe that and speaks about it so passionately."
So how did King get the Michelle Obama interview anyway?
"I'm not above groveling," she admitted.
This is no big surprise: cutie pie Lance Bass will be on the new season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" this fall. The big mystery was whether the openly gay Lance would be paired with another man or with a woman, as is tradition. While I think it would have been kinda HOT to see the two guys together - especially if it was the delicious Marksim Chmerkovskiy (sigh...), it will be more of a level playing field for Lance if he is with a woman.
The rest of the line-up is a bizarre and very fun mix. Soap queen Susan Lucci, who is such a lovely lady, is a great choice and should be very popular with viewers. Here's the real hoot: 82-year-old Cloris Leachman! She's always been incredibly fit but it will be interesting to see how she handles the physical part of it all. Cloris is as colorful personality as there is out there - and she is out there - but she's also a brilliant actress who not only has an Academy Award, but has won nine Emmys!
Other celeb participants: Grammy Award-winning singer Toni Braxton, 18-year-old Cody Linley, a cast member on the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana," two-time Olympic gold medal-winning beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor (hooray!!!);,Maurice Greene, the men's 100 meter winner at the 2000 Summer Olympics; television personality Brooke Burke; celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito; Kim Kardashian, the star of the E! Entertainment unscripted series, "Keeping up with the Kardashians," comedian Jeffrey Ross and former NFL player Warren Sapp.
As far as beefcake, I'm stoked to see the still handsome after all these yearsTed McGinley included on the roster. This handsome devil has been on more successful TV series than almost anyone - even though his specialty has been joining the shows several seasons into a long run. He went from "Happy Days" to "The Love Boat" to "Dynasty" to "Married With Children." But he started with "Faith and Hope" which I thought was really funny. It only lasted three seasons but he and Faith Ford were a riot together.
The "Dancing with the Stars" season premiere is set for Sept. 22, with all 13 couples competing during the two-hour episode. One couple will be eliminated on Sept. 23 before the remaining 12 couples dance again.
This is a column I wrote before leaving for the convention that ran in today's LA Daily News. I wanted to share it with you:
The days of keeping a low profile at industry events are all but over for Zachary Levi, star of the NBC action-comedy "Chuck." But, like just about everything else, the 27-year-old actor has a good sense of humor about it.
"When I was on `Less Than Perfect,' I had the luxury of being able to sort of skim through the red carpet, take a couple of pics, do a few interviews then I'd be on the dance floor all night long," he said recently. "But now I've got 10 red lights in my face which, by the way, I'm all about."
That's because on "Perfect," which ran for four years on ABC, he was part of an ensemble cast that also included Sara Rue, Sherri Shepherd and Andy Dick. On "Chuck," he's the title character and there's nowhere to hide.
It's safe to say there is no other show on television like "Chuck," which returns for its second season Sept. 29, Zach's birthday. He plays Chuck Bartowski, a computer whiz whose life suddenly gets far more interesting - and complicated - when a college friend who is now a rogue CIA agent sends him an encoded e-mail with all of the world's big spy secrets. It's the only remaining copy and it gets imbedded into Chuck's brain!
While he keeps his cover job at a computer store, Chuck is now a spy and the actor said we should expect to see him getting a little better at a role he was never trained for.
"He evolves a little bit," he said. "I think he starts to find a little more confidence and a little more footing in this new world of being a spy. But he can't get there too quick, otherwise there's no way to go."
And the job at the store (he's part of the Nerd Herd at his local Buy More store - a parody of Best Buy's Geek Squad) is as important to the character as using his newfound knowledge to help the government thwart assassins and international terrorists.
"It really is the perfect cover job," Zach said. "It really allows for so much of the comedy on the show, the other odd employees and the boss. Last season they were all sort of episode-to-episode and it's nice when you get to have these guys who you spend so much time with, to be shown a little love. They're in the opening credits now.
"It's a really beautiful thing."
But it's not just Nerd Herd members who will be getting some screen time in the new season.
"There's lots of great guest stars: Michael Clarke Duncan, John Larroquette, Ben Savage, Nicole Richie. Tony Hale is doing a multi-episode arc, Jordana Brewster's coming on for an arc. It's very cool," Zach said. "As an actor, it means the world to me that other actors that I respect look at the show and go, `Yeah, that'd be fun to do.' I guess we're doing something right."
Zach is hoping for a nice, long run on the show and wouldn't mind squeezing in a movie during the summer hiatus.
"One of the things that I love about this show is the action and I hope that if I do it long enough, film producers will think, `Hey! Maybe he can do an action movie?"' he said.
"I want to do everything. I want to do action movies, I want to do comedies, I want to do romantic comedies, I want to do drama. I just think the world that I get to work in is such an amazing place. I hope I get to do it for the rest of my life."
Good morning from Denver. I covered an early event and stopped at a Starbucks to check email and blog a bit. I think I'm going to the convention hall later troday - I think. Anyway, here is a video of Olympic Gold Medalist Matthew Mitcham being interviewed by a gaggle of reporters. Just watching him, I can't help but think about what a special and unique position he has in the world now: an out and proud 20 year old sports superstar. And he';s so cute!
