Winners and Losers for the week

Winner of the week: Lakewood Baptist Church members in Ohio
This is from WKYC.com in Cleveland.
LAKEWOOD -- Some kids in Lakewood went to bed on an empty stomach Friday night, knowing that they wouldn't eat again for another 18 hours. Three children, members of the Lakewood Baptist Church, are participating in an international 30-hour fast to raise money and awareness about children living in poverty around the world.

Church members lit 600 candles to symbolize the estimated number of children who die of hunger every 30 minutes. Eleven-year-old Sarah McKissock is one of the children going without food for 30 hours.

"It's unthinkable that so many children are dying," McKissock said.

During the fast, the kids will put together care packages for the needy at a food pantry and make blankets for children who are seriously ill.

What a great thing to do for people they don't know.

Yesterday, I volunteered at my church with the Fish Fry. I have always wanted to do volunteer work and this was a good chance to do something, to get involved.

Loser of the week: Kanye West
This has been reported in several media outlets. Here is US Magazine's version.

Kanye West's controversial comments during a Feb. 13 taping of VH1's Storytellers will be cut before the show airs this Sunday, Reuters reports. The rapper defended Chris Brown, downplayed Michael Phelps' controversial pot pics and slammed Radiohead during the show's three-hour taping on Feb. 13 in L.A.

In the style of Storytellers episodes, VH1 filmed West -- known for his outspoken personality -- as he played his songs in an intimate setting and shared tidbits with the audience about how they were written. His controversial comments ended up on the cutting room floor, but not for political reasons, executive producer Bill Flanagan told Reuters.

"Can't we give Chris a break?" West said to the crowd regarding Brown's arrest for allegedly beating his girlfriend, Rihanna "I know I make mistakes in life."

On a similar note, he earned applause for his support of other stars who have seen their share of scandal. "Michael Jackson, amazing," the hip-hop star said. "Michael Phelps, amazing. He's a real f---in' person. He makes mistakes."

Ok, ok, I know we are all not perfect BUT that doesn't mean that smoking pot, beating up women, and allegedly having sex with kids is acceptable because "we make mistakes."

Winners and Losers for the week

Winner of the Week: Eric Mansfield
Eric is a former colleague of mine from the TV world. He is an anchor/reporter for WKYC channel 3 in Clevleand. Eric used the release of the Rihanna photo as a news-story to see how this will affect attitudes towards domestic violence. Eric did the story without showing the photo. I appreciate Eric's sensitivity towards the issue.

Loser of the Week: TMZ.com
Congratulations to the tabloid website TMZ.com for putting the photo of Rihanna out there for the world to see. Doing this serves no newsworthy purpose. None. Her injuries have been described in the media. I have heard the "oh, we now have a face for domestic violence." What? Wasn't Nicole Brown Simpson good enough? The photos of her post-O-J beatings have been out there.

What kind of this standard is this setting for journalism? Where is the line drawn for not showing photos of victims?

Let it go!

Will somebody please tell the mainstream media that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston stopped dating YEARS ago? Here's the latest to make the news courtesy of TVGuide.com.


Jennifer Aniston believes in hanging on to relationship mementos, even when the guy's just not into her anymore.

The former Friends star tells Marie Claire magazine that she can't bring herself to erase some of ex-husband Brad Pitt's voicemails. In fact, she has trouble erasing many of her past flames from her life. "I still have the cassette tapes of messages from my first boyfriend, my second boyfriend, my husband," she said.

Though it may seems strange, Aniston insists that saving the recordings is similar to keeping other lovey-dovey memorabilia. "It's like saving love letters," she said.

Thank you, program directors.

I saw on the news that several radio stations around the country have stopped playing music by Chris Brown as the charges of domestic violence loom above him. While he has not been found guilty in a court of law yet, Brown himself has pretty much accepted responsibility.

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B star Chris Brown , who was arrested last weekend on suspicion of attacking a woman widely believed to be the pop star Rihanna , said on Sunday he was "sorry and saddened" about the incident, and was seeking counseling."

Chris Brown and Robbie Alomar

Being this close to Valentine's Day, it's sad to see the news that has come out regarding the relationships of Chris Brown and Rihanna as well as the relationship of Robbie Alomar and his ex-girlfriend.

Chris Brown...If you haven't heard by now...Chris Brown allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, Rihanna.

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Earlier today, the Los Angeles District Attorney asked police detectives to dig up more evidence for their case against Chris Brown. The police are getting cooperation from Rihanna, and what she has told them so far is chilling. A source close to the investigation tells E! News exclusively that Rihanna has alleged to police that Brown choked her while threatening to kill her and, subsequently, she lost consciousness. They began squabbling after leaving Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party late Saturday. Shortly after midnight, things blew up. Brown pulled his silver Lambourghini to the side of a street in L.A.'s Hancock Park neighborhood. That's when, per the source, Rihanna grabbed the car keys and tossed them out the window, sending Brown into a rage. He tried in vain to find the keys, then came back to the car, put his hands around her neck and, according to the insider, said, "I'm going to kill you!"

The 20-year-old "Disturbia" singer told police that she lost consciousness, the source says, and when she awoke, Brown had fled.

According to the source, her right eye was blackened and badly swollen and she had hand prints on her arms. The responding officers were so concerned about her, they drove Rihanna to the hospital in their squad car instead of waiting for an ambulance.

Robbie Alomar did WHAT? I couldn't believe this when I read about this on Chris Hyser's (former WKYC in Cleveland producer) Facebook page.

NEW YORK – An ex-girlfriend of Roberto Alomar filed an explosive lawsuit alleging the former baseball star insisted on unprotected sex for four years despite having AIDS. The lawsuit, filed Jan. 30 and transferred to U.S. District Court on Wednesday, contains accusations that could not be corroborated but portray Alomar as someone who demanded sex without a condom despite showing obvious signs of HIV. Ilya Dall is seeking at least $15 million in punitive damages from the 41-year-old former infielder. Alomar spent 17 years in the majors and was one of the game's great second basemen.

Calls seeking comment from lawyers for Alomar and Dall were not immediately returned. Alomar lawyer Charles Bach told the New York Daily News the allegations are "frivolous and baseless."

Dall said the two began dating in spring 2002 and had unprotected sex for the next four years. She said that on several occasions during that time, Alomar refused to get tested for HIV, despite severe fatigue, sores on his mouth and throat, a constant cough and an infection of the esophagus that is associated with AIDS.

She said Alomar finally relented and tested positive for HIV in February 2006.

Absolutely sick

Sometimes, I hear/see things on the news that make me wonder how cruel people can be. I can relate to this story from WKYC in Cleveland in a couple of ways. First, when I was living in Cleveland, my ex's house was broken into and ransacked. Some small items were taken. Nothing big. Having your home broken into makes you feel "violated." But I was more worried about our dogs at the time. Thankfully, the dogs were alright. Secondly, I am a dog lover. I love my little Scottie, Bonnie. Pets add so much to life. I feel so much sorrow for the woman in the video.

Early winners and loses for the week

Winner of the Week: Neil Diamond

Neil was named the MusiCares Person of the Year at their annual charity fundraiser, which benefits musicians who have fallen on hard times. Diamond's career goes back to the 1960s is still going strong and is putting together a tour. How is this guy not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.?

Loser of the Week: Alex Rodriguez
A-roid admitted on Monday that he used "performance-enhancing drugs" in 2001 and 2003 with the Texas Rangers. Among the many excuses that A-roid has used, he has included: "I was pressured to perform" and the old teenager standby "everybody else was doing it." Nice role model.