Sergio Garcia pulled off one of the great golf highlights this weekend. After hitting his ball into a tree on the 10th hole of Florida’s Bay Hill Country Club Sunday, he climbed up, found it, and successfully hit it back into play! Watch the Spaniard’s amazing one-handed shot below: Sergio Garcia Hits Ball Out of Tree Perhaps even more amazingly, Garcia double-bogeyed the hole after the fact, and withdrew from the field. So this was the highlight of his day for sure.
It may have taken awhile, and it may have included one canceled wedding, but Huge Hefner is now happily married to Crystal Harris . And the Playboy founder tells the new issue of Esquire that, contrary to popular opinion, his union could not be more ideal. “All our friends think it’s made in heaven,” Hefner says . “It’s only people who don’t know us who simply use us as stereotypes in terms of age and beauty. I just feel very, very fortunate to have found her at this stage in my life. I saved the best till last.” And just how many women came before Harris? “Over a thousand, I’m sure,” Hefner said of his magic number, though he’s quick to tell the magazine: “There were chunks of my life when I was married, and when I was married I never cheated. But I made up for it when I wasn’t married. You have to keep your hand in.” Well, sure. But the better question would be: How does this 86-year old keep a certain other body part up ?
A new pro-Israel ad has sparked controversy, not for its subject matter but for the fact that Bar Rafaeli, the nation’s hottest export, takes part in it. The Israeli supermodel’s latest public relations campaign sponsored her native country’s Foreign Ministry did not sit well with the Israel Defense Forces. The reason? Refaeli’s evasion of the compulsory military draft, which has become a standard coming-of-age experience for 18-year-old Israelis. Israel’s Channel 2 News first reported the contents of a letter sent by spokesman Big. Gen. Yoav Mordechai to the Foreign Ministry Director. The IDF called out “the choice of a representative who did not serve in the military as an official presenter on behalf of Israel” and for forgiving Bar. Mordechai writes that the IDF has worked for years to “strengthen the value of IDF service, and to fight the phenomenon of enlistment evasion.” According to Israeli law, men are required to serve three years while women are required to serve two. Refaeli, however, found a construction loophole. By marrying a family friend in 2007, she could continue her already-successful modeling career, which needless to say became even more successful indeed. This hasn’t sat so well with many Israelis. Nor is it the first time that Bar Rafaeli ‘s military service has become a point of contention in her homeland. When the blonde bombshell landed a lucrative campaign with Fox in 2008, a boycott was threatened, demanding that Refaeli complete her military service. Critics were assuaged when the fashion company promised that the model would visit hospitalized IDF soldiers and encourage enlistment. Then in 2010, Maj. Gen. Avi Zamir spoke out against the model during a speech at IDC when asked about Refaeli’s lack of prominence in the country’s PR activities. Of course, rather than boost Israel’s profile, the 27-year-old’s appearance in the new campaign has only revisited the controversy over her “draft-dodging.” Refaeli acknowledged the controversy on Instagram, stating: “You can use the clip for the Foreign Ministry or drop it, but my Instagram feed has more readers than Israel’s most popular newspaper [Yedioth Ahronoth]!” Guess someone isn’t feeling too guilty.
A new cover story in New York magazine seeks to expose the mess that has led The Today Show to its lowest ratings in year. And while author Joe Hagan reports that Matt Lauer nearly left for ABC last year, the most explosive passages document that anchor contentious relationship with Ann Curry. “Everybody at NBC, everybody at the Today show, everybody understood that Ann was kicked out of her position because Matt didn’t want her there,” an important NBC staffer told Hagan for the story. “That’s why it was so personal between Ann and Matt.” In an especially sloppy handling, Curry was let go from the program last year – and this isn’t the first time Lauer has been blamed for the firing. Don Nash, a current Today producer, doesn’t try to pretend that there was chemistry behind the former colleagues. “You can’t fake it for very long that early in the morning,” Nash told Hagan. “I think viewers have a sixth sense about all that. If your two anchors don’t like each other off the air, they’re not going to be fooled if they love each other on the air.” Hagan adds that Curry and Lauer “barely spoke” when the cameras weren’t rolling and that Lauer grew more and more “disgruntled” as time went on. “He made it clear to friends that he was miserable with Curry and uncomfortable with his corporate masters at Comcast.” The situation was finally resolved with Curry’s ousting in June 2012, a transition Lauer now admits was not handled well. Pick up the latest issue of New York for a lot more insight into the ugly situation at NBC.
With talk continuing to fly that Matt Lauer may be fired as lead anchor of The Today Show , a new report suggests that the reporter is being wooed for another high-profile job: Host of Jeopardy . Alex Trebek is expected to step down from the iconic game show when his contract is up in 2016, and The New York Post claims Lauer is a leading contender to replace him. Sony Pictures Television is also considering Anderson Cooper, according to the newspaper Can you picture Lauer trying to stump contestants with trivia question? Would he made a good Jeopardy host? Yes, he’s perfect! No way! View Poll »
Teri James, a former employee of San Diego Christian College, has hired Gloria Allred to sue the school for allegedly firing her for engaging in premarital sex. James told The Today Show that she did sign a contract stipulating she would not take part in “sexually immoral behavior including premarital sex.” But “I needed a job in this economy and so I never thought that anything would happen,” the 29-year old said. James said she was subsequently embarrassed called into her supervisor’s office last year and asked if she was pregnant. Upon giving confirmation, she was fired. Oddly enough, James assert the college later offered a position to her now-husband, even though officials were aware he had sex before getting married, as well. During a news conference this week, James said she felt she was treated unfairly: “I was unmarried, pregnant and they took away my livelihood.”
In an interview with The Today Show yesterday, Cissy Houston said she does not blame anyone for her daughter’s death. But Michael Houston taped an interview with Oprah Winfrey this week and admits that he got Whitney started on crack cocaine many, many years ago. Michael Houston Oprah Interview “You gotta understand at the time, Michael says. “[It was] the 80s… it was acceptable.” Houston does not absolve himself of playing a role in his sister’s demise, though. It’s clear the guilt is strong, as he explains: “It’s painful… I feel responsible for what I let go so far.” Whitney, of course, passed away in Beverly Hills last February after a drug overdose that included cocaine, Xanax and marijuana. This episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter runs Sunday night on OWN at 9/8c. Check your local listings.
Here at Skin Central every day is a party where we celebrate famous women getting naked, so we have to hand it to Lena Dunham who so frequently directs herself to get nude. Now her contentious creation Girls , is about to debut its second season, and Lena dropped by the Today Show to assure everyone that going au naturel is only natural: “It’s not that brave to get naked if you’re not stressed about being naked” This in the wake of the New York Post calling Dunham a “pathological exhibitionist” likes that’s a bad thing. We’d never encourage any actress to cover up, and any gal who wants to show off her ingenue num-nums is ok by us. So congratulations, Lena, and keep pushing that nude envelope!
Katherine Webb, the AJ McCarron girlfriend who has dominated the Internet over the past 48 hours, was a guest this morning on The Today Show . Asked about the praise bestowed upon her by ESPN announcer Brent Musberger, Webb reiterated that she was flattered and said the network never needed to issue an apology. Katherine Webb on The Today Show “I think the media has been really unfair to [Musburger],” Webb told Matt Lauer ,” adding of Musberger gushing over her and McCarron’s mother: “If he would’ve said something along the line that we were hot or sexy or made any derogatory statements like that, I think that would’ve been a little bit different, but the fact that he said that we were beautiful and gorgeous, I don’t see why any woman wouldn’t be flattered by that.” Webb has seen her popularity sky-rocket as a result of her face time on ESPN. Donald Trump wants her to judge the Miss USA Pageant, while a source says Webb hopes to be an actress . Makes sense to us. She’s already starring in the fantasies of men around the nation.
Taylor Swift took her record-breaking act to Australia this week. The wildly popular singer, who may or may not be dating Harry Styles , appeared Monday on that nation’s version of The Today Show , promoting her new album via a couple of live performances. First, of the title track off “Red.” Taylor Swift – “Red” (Live in Australia) And then of the track many believe was penned with John Mayer in mind. Watch her entertain the crowd below with ” I Knew You Were Trouble .” Taylor Swift – “I Knew You Were Trouble” (Live in Australia)
