During the first Sunday, Acura stage headliner John Meyer decided to cancel out his entire tour due to a recurring throat ailment so it was no problem because it gives more time for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band to show the crowd what they’ve got. Their representative even contacted the New Orleans Jazz Fest 2012 producer/director Quint Davis asking him if they can still squeeze in the Boss onto the bill.

To film the remake of “Steel Magnolias,” Jill Scott backed out but it was still no worries since the festival swapped in Cee Lo Green, “The Voice” behind the universal “Forget You.” Cee Lo is a way better and more outrageous dresser compared to Scott anyway so that added flair to the festival.

Springsteen, Buffett and Green join The Eagles, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the Foo Fighters, the reunited Beach Boys, Al Green, Florence + the Machine, Bon Iver, Frankie Beverly & Maze, the Zac Brown Band, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle, Herbie Hancock, Paulina Rubio, Janelle Monae, Ne-Yo and hundreds more at the Fair Grounds during the seven days of feasting.

The single day adult tickets being sold at the gate was at $65 – still cheaper than most tickets in stand alone concerts by the headliners. Although the ticket may give an impression of lesser musical enjoyment, the New Orleans Jazz Fest 2012 actually ranks among the better deals in the larger world of popular music.

The musicians who participated in the festival varied from veteran acts that have already established a name in the music industry to new stars groping for a spot and may not have been born yet when the Jazz Fest was born way back in 1970.

Great and big names usually provide the attraction and are the ones generating the headlines but for the Jazz Festival, they are just part of the DNA. The festival is really being dominated still be regional music, food and local crafts.

“Visiting” or “guest” artists generally headline the five largest stages. The 2012 Jazz Fest may be at maximum capacity in terms of such “guest” artists. “It’s reached its zenith, structurally,”Davissaid. “We’re not going to start filling up stages with guests. One a day on each stage is pretty much it.”

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In February, the CVC presented a plan that called for spending $124 million on upgrades, including better club seats, a new 100-feet long scoreboard, a 50,000-square-foot attachment with a “Geek Suite” area wired for the use of electronics and windows along the sides offering more natural light. But that plan had the Rams paying 52 percent of the cost or about $64.5 million. Taxpayers in St. Louis city and county would have to approve paying for the remainder, or roughly $60 million.

The Rams rejected the CVC proposal and in a statement released Monday said “the Rams disagree that the implementation of the CVC 2012 plans would result in the improvement of the facilities and each of the specified components to first tier status.” In its counterproposal, the team would like to make the Edward Jones Dome a more attractive destination for a Super Bowl, calling for more and reconfigured seats and improvements including a roof panel that could be opened slightly to allow more natural light. The team’s proposal also calls for reconfiguring and adding some 6,000 seats; upgrading club areas and amenities for patrons of club seats; improved facilities for the Rams and visiting teams; and other improvements such as better restrooms and concessions. The plan would also require demolition of the east side of the dome and re-routing a nearby street. A glass wall would replace the brick facade on the east side of the structure. The Rams’ counterproposal does not cite a cost estimate but said the CVC, which owns the lease, can now develop a financing plan by June 1. The CVC said it will begin the review process for the counter-offer, but spokeswoman Donna Andrews declined further comment.

In a statement, Rams Executive Vice President of Football Operations Kevin Demoff said the negotiation process is “confidential under the parties’ agreements. The Rams will continue to respect those confidentiality obligations and will not comment on the Rams’ plans or the process we are following.”

If the team’s counterproposal is accepted, the team’s lease extends through 2025. If it is rejected, an arbitrator will work out a compromise plan starting June 15, and if the city accepts that one by December, it would extend the lease to 2025. If the city turns the compromise plan down, an out could be enacted in the Rams’ lease in January 2015, pending some litigation.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke has been non-committal about the team’s future in St. Louis if the dome is not upgraded, creating concern that St. Louis could lose an NFL team for the second time in a quarter of a century. Many in St. Louis are apprehensive that Kroenke could move the team back to Los Angeles. Kroenke, a real estate mogul whose wife is a Wal-Mart heir, is a Missouri native but has ties to California, too. He owns an estate in Malibu, and recently made an unsuccessful bid to purchase baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers. For now, the ball is in St. Louis’ court to get the dome into the lease-prescribed top 25 percent of venues in the league.

US Marine surprised by son

6-year old Michael suffers from cerebral palsy, and was thought to never be able to learn to walk. Yet by the time that his dad gets home from his tour of duty, Michael walks up to him for the first time ever.

Sexy cover

Check out this bluesy and refreshing take on LMFAO’s hit dance track.

Lamborghini crash

A Lamborghini accident gets captured on camera.

Slated for release on July 3, The Amazing Spider-Man stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, who ends up getting his spider powers as he retraces his parents’ history. The movie also features Emma Stone as first girlfriend Gwen Stacy, Denis Leary as her cop father, and Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors, who turns into the movie’s villain, the Lizard.

Check out the super preview here:

We’re about to see whether this reboot can follow in the massive success that Marvel is currently having with their blockbuster hit The Avengers, or if the fans have had enough of this franchise. But if there’s anything that Nolan’s reboot of the Batman is any indication, there’s always a chance to get movie goers rediscover a well-known character.

Braun, the left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers and reigning National League Most Valuable Player, had a 50-game suspension for alleged use of a performance-enhancing drug which he appealed. The appeal was heard by a three-man panel that included Das, Michael Weiner who is the players union’s executive director and Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive vice president of labor relations and human resources. Following a grievance hearing, Das decided in February to overturn the 50-game suspension of Braun for a positive drug test. Lawyers for the Milwaukee outfielder argued that the collection procedures specified in baseball’s drug agreement for the urine sample were not followed with Braun’s sample last October 1 because it was not immediately left at a Federal Express office. The collector testified that because the sample was taken on a Saturday and could not have been shipped that day to the testing laboratory outside Montreal, he concluded the sample would be more secure at his home. He then took it to a FedEx office on the following Monday. The league’s’s drug agreement states that “absent unusual circumstances, the specimens should be sent by FedEx to the laboratory on the same day they are collected.”

Das, who cast the decisive vote, ruled that there were inconsistencies in the collection and delivery process of one of Braun’s urine samples that tainted the case. He said that barring unforeseen and unusual circumstances, the sample should have been dropped off at a FedEx office on the same day it was collected. Because it was a Saturday and FedEx couldn’t guarantee next-day delivery until Monday, the collector, Dino Laurenzi Jr., kept the sample in his refrigerator. Executive vice president Manfred was particularly upset by Das’ decision at the time. MLB Management loudly and publicly disagreed with his decision.

In an interview with Associated Press, union head Warner said, “Shyam is the longest-tenured panel chair in our bargaining relationship. For 13 years, from the beginning to the end of his tenure, he served the parties with professionalism and distinction.”

MLB executive vice president Manfred on the other hand declined to make a comment according to league spokesman Pat Courtney.

Das, a graduate of Harvard and Yale University Law School, said in his email to the Associated Press, “I had the distinct privilege to serve as chair of the MLB-MLBPA arbitration panel for almost 13 years. I have the greatest respect for the representatives of both parties I worked with during that period, and I wish the parties well in their ongoing relationship.” Das also has been an arbitrator for the National Football League since 2004 and is scheduled to hear a grievance in the New Orleans Saints bounty case on Wednesday.

The MLB Management and the MLB Players Association will now try to select a successor to Das. If they cannot agree, the Basic Agreement allows them to seek help from the American Arbitration Association for a list of “prominent, professional arbitrators.” The sides would then alternate striking names from the list until one remains.

Das took over as MLB’s permanent arbitrator from Cornell professor Dana Eischen, who was hired in December 1997 but quit after ruling the following May against J.D. Drew’s grievance seeking free agency. Many of the league’s grievance arbitrators have had brief tenures, with the list including Lewis Gill (1970-72), Gabriel Alexander (1972-74), Peter Seitz (1974-75), Alexander Porter (1977-79), Raymond Goetz (1979-83), Richard Bloch (1983-85), Thomas Roberts (1985-86), George Nicolau (1986-95), Nicholas Zumas (1995-97) and Eischen (1997-98).

That’s the premise of this new TV series coming to NBC, titled Revolution. The actual story in the series picks up 15 years after the blackout, when the country is now ruled by territorial warlords as the government has broken down.

When a man who has knowledge of how the event happened dies at the hands of a warlord’s militia, and his son taken, it’s up to the daughter to enlist the help of her uncle to save his brother, and maybe discover the mystery her father secretly knew.

Anticipation for this new sci-fi series as this preview has become a viral video already, with over 5 million views in just 3 days.

Williams served 14 aces on her way to avenging her only loss in six previous meetings with Azarenka who beat her in the 2009 final in Miami. Williams broke in Azarenka’s first service game when the Belarusian could only stab her stinging returns into the stands. William’s strong start left Azarenka shaken, and she committed three double-faults to cede her serve again and trail 3-0. The flustered Azarenka netted a forehand after Williams had fallen on the slick surface and left the entire court open. She then produced another double-fault to conclude a dreadful first set. Williams kept the momentum going, hitting her fifth and sixth aces to hold for love at the start of the second set. Williams battered Azarenka around the court with her big serve and vicious return to take the first four games and never looked back. She sealed her victory in 64 minutes with her final ace.

Azarenka who was clearly off her game that day at one point took her frustration out on her racket slamming it hard to the court. Of her loss to Williams, she said, “She was so much better than me today. I have to give her credit, she’s been showing great tennis the whole week. It wasn’t going my way today, but things happen. From here I can take the positive things from what I’ve been doing all week, and then see the clear picture of what I need to improve. Being in the final of such a tournament is a good achievement. It’s disappointing to lose today but what can you do, it’s done. Tomorrow another tournament starts and I have to think about the positive things and take the best out of this week. I’ve been playing some great tennis. Today wasn’t an example of it, but there’s always tomorrow.” 

Williams, during the post-game interview, said when asked if she had found her best form following her return from a lengthy absence due to illness in 2011,  “I can still do better. This is really good. I have been working hard. I had some tough battles and really unfortunate circumstances so I really love this. I think Victoria is the player to beat. She has won I don’t know how many tournaments this year alone. That’s an amazing amount. So if you look at the stats, you just have to put her up there as the player to beat. My whole thing is to play consistently. That’s what I’ve done the last couple weeks – and doing what I do best, which at the end of the day is playing tennis. I belong on a tennis court. That’s where I feel amazing.” 

Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and others have complained about the blue clay used at the Madrid Open and have threatened to boycott the Madrid event next year unless the traditional red dirt is reinstated. Asked to comment about the men’s complaints, Williams said, “Women are way tougher than men. That’s why we have the babies, you guys could never handle kids. We ladies don’t complain we just do our best. On the WTA (tour) we are real performers, we are not about going out there and being weenies.”

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