Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died this morning at the age of 80. Love him or hate him, George brought a business like atmosphere to the Yankees organization with his no nonsense attitude, and he made the players act like professionals. With the 2010 All-Star game tonight at Anaheim Stadium I think it will be a somber moment with all the players, but especially the Yankee players that are apart of tonight’s game. Steinbrenner’s death comes within days of famed Yankees announcer Bob Sheppard who passed away earlier this week. Steinbrenner died of a heart attack at his home in Tampa, Florida, this morning and I know he’ll be missed dearly from family and multiple Yankees fans out there.

Statement from Steinbrenner family:

“It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing. He passed away this morning in Tampa, Fla., at age 80. “He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family – his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer, Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren. “He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again.”Mr. Steinbrenner recently celebrated his 80th birthday on July 4. Funeral arrangements will be private. There will be an additional public service with details to be announced at a later date.

High atop Universal Studios Hollywood…

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Last week while watching “The Jay Leno Show” I noticed something a little strange in the opening credits to the show. If you look to the right, you can see the old Tonight Show with Jay Leno logo embedded blatantly for all to see. Did Jay know he was always heading back to the 11:30pm time slot? Did NBC realize the BIG mistake they made 5 years ago? Was Jay destined to take the helm regardless of Conan’s low ratings? By the looks of this, I think so!! My only question is, who’s going to play Leno and Conan in Late Night Shift 2? Will Comcast own the rights? It may be the only way to save NBC?

Here what Independent voters had to say after watching “The State of the Union”

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After waiting in the rain from 4am-10am, I received standby ticket #51.

It was cold out there- but not nearly as frigid as a conf. call between Jeff Zucker and Comcast.

Zucker being the mad genius that accidentally put late night television back into the public interest.

Too bad he can’t bring the public interest to NBC airwaves.

Oh well, NBC.com and Hulu will have to suffice. (Shame their revenue structure won’t.)

I’m digressing…

Let me admit I cut the line by about 50 people somewhere around 7am.  Shame on me, but hey none of this mattered in the long run.

You see, years ago I was an NBC page for Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show”- I had major intelligence on the process. I knew there was a way I could get a ticket and guarantee myself entrance into this bittersweet television moment. My 6 hours in line was a mere insurance policy, one I might add, that would have paid off.

Well over 60 people from the standby line gained access.

It was however my encounter with a sweet couple from Valencia that yielded me the golden ticket. (Literally a gold ticket.)

I traversed the line of actual ticket holders around Noon, seeking one of the many couples whom requested the maximum 4 tickets from NBC in the mail. Chances are there was at least one couple that ordered 4 and only had a need for 2 or 3.

Enter the nice couple from Valencia.

So within hours, yes hours, I was inside the studio, it was awesome!

But here’s the deal, the show ran long as amazing as it was. One bit among the many cut stood out in my mind.

At one point during the top of the show, Andy and Conan had a very real moment.

Andy asked Conan if he had heard from Jay in the last few weeks. Conan said they had not spoken since September. Now, recently Jay eluded to the fact that he spoke with Conan. I should say, Jay tried to sell that notion to the public but a discerning ear could hear the truth.

Other little bits were cut, such as a rambling story by Tom Hanks and an accompanying musical bit.

This “Jay” exchange between Andy and Conan lasted just a quick moment but it was never seen on NBC.

Was this cut for time? Was this the network’s attempt to protect Jay’s image? After-all, Leno didn’t air a show Friday night, a first in his four month run.

Perhaps Jay didn’t want to reference Conan’s exit. Instead a “Dateline” aired.

Now doesn’t that feel just a little Zucked up?

People lined up in the rain over 15 hours in advance to try and get a standby ticket to coco’s last show!  Stay tuned for more info!

Charles is now in charge of spreading hate!

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Tonight is the last “Tonight Show” with Conan O’Brien. We just spent 6 hours in line for a standby ticket. We’ll let you know if we make it inside for the finale!

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Its been a while, but I’ve come out of retirement (forced really) to say, More to Love is quite possible the greatest show on televsion.

Mock me if you will, but not since the swan has a group of low self esteemed people come together to cry about the most mundane things.

To add insult to injury, they post their weights next to their names. Heather, 22 190lbs fitness trainer. Wow, just wow,