The 97th Grey Cup was played to decide the champion for the 2009 CFL season on November 29, 2009 in McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta.[1] The Montreal Alouettes came from behind to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 28-27. The game MVP was awarded to Avon Cobourne. The most valuable Canadian award was awarded to Ben Cahoon.

History

This was the fourth Grey Cup to be held in Calgary; the others were the 63rd Grey Cup (1975), 81st Grey Cup (1993), and 88th Grey Cup (2000). The game featured the Western Conference Champion Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Eastern Conference Champion Montreal Alouettes. It was the first time ever that these two teams played each other for the Grey Cup.

Tickets

The prices for tickets ranged from $195 to $370 for the general public. Stampeders season ticket holders were eligible for a reduced charge with prices between $119 and $295.The game sold out in August 2009.

Events

On September 21, 2009, the Calgary Grey Cup committee announced the 97th Grey Cup would feature the return of an official Grey Cup parade and named Elisha Cuthbert as the grand marshal of the parade on November 13.On October 12 it was announced Blue Rodeo will be the halftime show. The week festivities will also include the ENMAX Street Festival and Stage on Stephen Avenue, the Calgary Herald Olympic Plaza Family Fan Fest, the Molson Canadian Quick Six Saloon at the Telus Convention Centre, the Scotiabank Grey Cup Gala Dinner and Contest at the Pengrowth Saddledome featuring the Great Big Sea, and the McMahon Stadium Pre-Game Party with live entertainment featuring Econoline Crush.

Game Summary

Montreal Alouettes (28) - TDs, Jamel Richardson, Avon Cobourne, Ben Cahoon; FGs Damon Duval (2); 2-point cons., Kerry Carter; cons., Duval (1); singles, Duval (1).

Saskatchewan Roughriders (27) - TDs, Andy Fantuz, Darian Durant; FGs Luca Congi (4); cons., Congi (1); singles, Louie Sakoda (1).

First Quarter
SSK - FG Congi 40-yard field goal (8:03)
SSK - TD Fantuz 8-yard pass from Durant (13:43) (Congi convert)
Second Quarter
MTL - FG Duval 28-yard field goal (2:23)
SSK - FG Congi 44-yard field goal (13:28)
SSK - Single Sakoda 85-yard kickoff, Taylor conceded in endzone (13:34)
SSK - FG Congi 9-yard field goal (15:00)
Third Quarter
MTL - TD Richardson 8-yard pass from Calvillo (7:13) (Duval convert)
SSK - FG Congi 23-yard field goal (14:09)
Fourth Quarter
MTL - Single Duval 52-yard punt went through the end zone (1:42)
SSK - TD Durant 16-yard run (4:28) (Congi convert)
MTL - TD Cobourne 3-yard run (8:14) (2-point convert, Carter 5-yard pass from Calvillo)
MTL - TD Cahoon 11-yard pass from Calvillo (13:15)
MTL - FG Duval 33-yard field goal (15:00)

2009 CFL playoffs
Division Semi-finals
East Semi-Final

Date and time: Sunday, November 15, 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
Venue: Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton, Ontario
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT Total
BC Lions 3 13 7 4 7 34
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 3 3 10 11 0 27

The BC Lions became the second West Division team to win in the East Semi-Finals by defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 34-27 in overtime to play against the Montreal Alouettes in the East Final.

Former Tiger-Cat quarterback, Casey Printers threw for 360 yards, rushed for a touchdown, and threw the winning eight-yard TD toss to Ian Smart in overtime that sealed the win in his return to Hamilton.

Hamilton came into the game as one of the CFL’s hottest teams having won three straight whereas the Lions finished the regular season losing three straight and got the crossover playoff berth only after the Tiger-Cats defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 39-17 to clinch second in the East and eliminate Winnipeg from post-season contention.

Printers was masterful in leading the Lions on two long scoring marches from inside their 10-yard line that not only resulted in 10 points for the Lions, but prevented the Tiger-Cats from getting the ball in good field position and kept Hamilton’s defence on the turf for long stretches. Printers was also very effective throwing the ball away whenever he came under pressure from the Tiger-Cat defence, despite being sacked four times.

The biggest question in this game was the Tiger-Cats decision to not exploit the biggest weakness in the Lions’ defence. B.C. came into the game having the CFL’s worst run defence, averaging 138 yards per game. However, the Tiger-Cats just ran the ball seven times for 35 yards. Hamilton running back, DeAndra’ Cobb, who ran for 267 yards in the two regular-season games the teams played (Hamilton won both) had just six carries for 33 yards in regulation.

Still, Hamilton eventually tied the game at 16-16 after trailing 16-6 at halftime on quarterback, Kevin Glenn’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Dave Stala, who made an amazing diving catch at 9:05 of the third quarter. It came after Hamilton had to settle for a Nick Setta field goal at 4:24 after a Chris Thompson fumble recovery and return to the Lions’ 20-yard line.

But the BC Lions would counter with Rolly Lambala’s one-yard touchdown run at 12:14, which was set up by a 34-yard pass interference call on Hamilton’s Jykine Bradley. Then Printers took the Lions on an 11-play, 71-yard drive that culminated in a 33-yard Paul McCallum field goal that put the visitors ahead 26-16 at 3:05 of the fourth quarter.

Although B.C. led 27-16 with five minutes left, Hamilton booted a field goal with 2:13 remaining that got them within reach and on their next possession Dave Stala pulled in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Hamilton quarterback, Kevin Glenn for his second touchdown reception. After the touchdown, the Tiger-Cats scored on their two-point conversion to tie the game when Kevin Glenn again threw a pass to wide-open receiver, Marquay McDaniel in the end zone to send it to overtime.

After pulling off a last minute miracle to tie the game, Hamilton fans became overjoyed as it seems that momentum has switched to their home team after coming back from an 11-point deficit with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter, however, it was not to be.

Before overtime, Hamilton won the coin toss and elected for the BC Lions to have first possession of the football, which turned out to be a costly decision. On their first possession, Casey Printers and the Lions offence on two plays scored the winning touchdown when Printers tossed the ball to Ian Smart to go ahead 34-27.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats had the chance to tie the game in overtime, but they were shut down by the BC Lion defence who proved to be the difference in the extra minutes of play following the B.C. touchdown.

Emmanuel Arceneaux was the top Lion receiver on the day, pulling in six receptions for total of 120 yards, while Paul McCallum was good on all four of his field goal attempts, the longest a 43-yarder. B.C. generated 445 yards in total offence to Hamilton’s 440, while the Tiger-Cats picked up 437 aerial yards and Nick Setta was also good on all his four field goal attempts.

The Lions now head to Montreal to play against the Alouettes at the Big “O” for a chance to advance to the Grey Cup.

West Semi-Final

Date and time: Sunday, November 15, 2:30 PM Mountain Standard Time
Venue: McMahon Stadium, Calgary, Alberta
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Edmonton Eskimos 0 7 7 7 21
Calgary Stampeders 0 9 7 8 24

The defending Grey Cup champions, the Calgary Stampeders outlasted the Edmonton Eskimos, 24-21 Sunday and will play the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Division Final who defeated the Stampeders 30-14 in week 18 to earn the post-season bye.

The Stampeders opened the post-season the way it ended the regular season in Regina where they had three second-half drives and where within 20 yards of the end zone, but were only able produce just two field goals. In the opening half, the Stampeders again squandered three chances to score touchdowns from inside the red zone and settled for three Sandro DeAngelis field goals. Three of those Stampeders drives in the second quarter ended with Calgary quarterback, Henry Burris either shedding the ball under pressure or throwing an incompletion, which brought DeAngelis out onto the field.

On the other side, the Edmonton Eskimos were also unable to score a touchdown in the red zone as Stampeder cornerback, Brandon Browner stopped Edmonton’s running back Arkee Whitlock twice from within five yards early in the second quarter to prevent a touchdown. The Eskimos would depend on their kicker, Noel Prefontaine to kick for two field goals and a last minute single point for all of Edmonton’s first half points.

With both team’s inability to score a touchdown during the first two quarters of play, Calgary only had a slim 9-7 lead into halftime.

However, in the third quarter, Henry Burris was able to throw a nine-yard touchdown pass to receiver Arjei Franklin to take a 16-7 lead at 5:25 of the third quarter, capping an eight-play, 57-yard drive. However, Edmonton’s Skyler Green would counter Calgary’s touchdown score with a 93-yard touchdown return on the ensuing Calgary kickoff.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Stampeders only led by two points leading only 16-14, before Calgary punter Burke Dales kicked a 67-yard single 19 seconds in to give Calgary a three-point lead. Then at 2:52 of the fourth quarter, Henry Burris threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Romby Bryant to increase their lead to 24-14.

Although the Edmonton Eskimos seemed to be out of it, the Stampeders gave them a chance after they were penalized for 35 yards, including two roughing the passer calls on Calgary’s Charleston Hughes, which contributed to the Eskimos second touchdown at 7:44 of the fourth quarter when quarterback, Ricky Ray rushed in for the 1-yard score and trailed 24-21.

However, Edmonton’s chances to get within field goal range to tie the game with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter would be stopped, after taking two costly holding penalties that would keep them in their end of the field and were forced to punt the ball away, after Calgary’s defensive tackle, DeVone Claybrooks sacked Ricky Ray for a 10-yard loss, which forced Edmonton to rely on their defence to get the ball back. However, the Edmonton defence were unable to stop the Calgary offence who simply played out the clock to eventually win the Battle of Alberta match-up.

With the win, the Calgary Stampeders ended a three-game losing streak against the Edmonton Eskimos in divisional semi-final games dating back to 2005 and went 4-1 against the Eskimos this season. They will now play the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium for a chance to advance to the Grey Cup and play in front of their home fans in Calgary.

Henry Burris would rush for 63 yards and completed 19 passes on 32 attempts for 264 yards and threw for two touchdown passes, while his counterpart, Ricky Ray was 18-for-30 and 162 yards, but no TDs. While Stampeders running back, Joffrey Reynolds, the West Division nominee for the league’s most outstanding player, rushed for 127 yards, which is the fourth-highest in a Stampeder playoff game.

Division Finals

East Final

Date and time: Sunday, November 22, 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
BC Lions 3 8 7 0 18
Montreal Alouettes 17 14 14 11 56

The Montreal Alouettes had a dominant 15-3 season while the BC Lions was only 8-10, but the East final was widely seen as a toss-up due to the strong form of BC quarterback, Casey Printers after joining the Lions in September and because of the Alouettes previous struggles against their rival from Vancouver. However, the Alouettes set a franchise playoff record by scoring 56 points and dominated the BC Lions throughout the game.

The game turned only seven minutes in the first quarter, after each team exchanged field goals, BC running back, Martell Mallett fumbled the ball on the Lions’ 22 that was eventually recovered by Montreal’s Shea Emry. On the next play, Montreal quarterback, Anthony Calvillo found wide receiver, Jamel Richardson all alone in the end zone and threw his first touchdown pass of the game to give the Alouettes a 10-3 lead. On their next offensive possession, the BC Lions would turn the ball over again, when Casey Printers threw an interception to Montreal’s Billy Parker, who would return the ball for 45 yards, which eventually set up a four yard touchdown pass by Calvillo to Kerry Watkins for a 17-3, Alouettes lead to end the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, BC defensive end, Lavar Glover missed his opportunity to tackle Kerry Watkins, which led to a 91 yard return that would set up a seven-yard TD toss by Calvillo to Richardson for a 24-3, Alouettes lead. The Lions would score their first touchdown of the game when Casey Printers threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver, Paris Jackson that was started when Montreal’s Larry Taylor uncharacteristically dropped a punt return, which was recovered by Lions’ safety Tad Crawford deep into the Alouettes side of the field. However, the Alouettes offence came right back when Anthony Calvillo threw his fourth touchdown of the game to wide receiver, Brian Bratton to give the Alouettes a comfortable 31-10 lead. Before the end of the second half, BC kicker Paul McCallum punted the ball into the endzone to give BC an extra point, although the Lions’ were trailing by 20 points into halftime.

At 4:54 into the third quarter, Lions’ wide receiver and kick returner, Ryan Grice-Mullen returned a 106-yard punt return to score a BC touchdown to cut the Montreal lead to 13, and broke the previous playoff record of 103-yards by Eskimos’ legend Henry “Gizmo” Williams, which was set back in 1992. Momentum could have switched for the Lions at that point, however, Grice-Mullen’s touchdown return would eventually be the last time that BC could muster any further offence and scoring in the game.

West Final

Date and time: Sunday, November 22, 3:30 PM Central Standard Time
Venue: Mosaic Stadium, Regina, Saskatchewan

Roman Raymond Polanski (Polish: Roman Rajmund PolaÅ„ski; born 18 August 1933) is a French-born and resident Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Polanski began his career in Poland, and later became a critically acclaimed director of both art house and commercial films.[1] Polanski’s first feature-length film, Knife in the Water (1962), made in Poland, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He has since received five more Oscar nominations, and in 2002 received the Academy Award for Best Director for his film, The Pianist. He has also been the recipient of two Baftas, four Césars, a Golden Globe and the Palme d’Or. He left the People’s Republic of Poland in 1961 to live in France for several years, then moved to Britain, where he collaborated with Gérard Brach on three films, beginning with Repulsion (1965). In 1968 he moved to the United States, immediately cementing his burgeoning directing status with the 1968 groundbreaking Academy Award winning horror film Rosemary’s Baby.

In 1969 his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family.[2] He returned to Europe and spent much of his time in Paris and Gstaad, but didn’t make another film until he shot Macbeth (1971) in England. The following year he went to Italy to make What? (1973) and subsequently spent the next five years living near Rome. However, he traveled to Hollywood to direct Chinatown (1974) for Paramount Pictures, with Robert Evans serving as producer. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, and was a critical and box-office success; the script by Robert Towne won for Best Original Screenplay.[3] Polanski’s next film, The Tenant (1976), was shot in France, and completed the “Apartment Trilogy”, following Repulsion and Rosemary’s Baby.

In 1977, Polanski visited Los Angeles again to shoot photographs for Vogue magazine and was arrested for the sexual assault of a thirteen-year-old in Los Angeles, and later pled guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.To avoid sentencing, Polanski returned to his home in London, but quickly moved on to France the following day, and has had a U.S. arrest warrant outstanding since then,and an international arrest warrant since 2005.Polanski avoided visits to countries that were likely to extradite him to the United States. Although he owns a house in Switzerland which he visited frequently, in September 2009 Polanski was arrested by Swiss police, at the request of U.S. authorities, when he traveled there to receive a lifetime achievement “Golden Icon Award” from the Zurich Film Festival.The United States formally requested his extradition on October 23, 2009.

Polanski continued to make films such as The Pianist (2002), a World War II-set adaptation of Jewish-Polish musician WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Szpilman’s autobiography of the same name, which echoed some of Polanski’s earlier life experiences. Like Szpilman, Polanski escaped the ghetto and the concentration camps while family members were killed. The film won three Academy Awards including Best Director, the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, and seven French César Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Harrison Ford accepted the awards on his behalf.

Polanski attended the National Film School in Łódź, the third-largest city in Poland.[12] In the 1950s Polanski took up acting, appearing in Andrzej Wajda’s Pokolenie (A Generation) (1954) and in the same year in Silik Sternfeld’s Zaczarowany rower (Enchanted Bicycle or Magical Bicycle). Polanski’s directorial debut was also in 1955 with a short film Rower (Bicycle). Rower is a semi-autobiographical feature film, believed to be lost, which also starred Polanski. It refers to his real-life violent altercation with a notorious Kraków felon, Janusz Dziuba, who arranged to sell Polanski a bike, but instead beat him badly and stole his money. In real life the offender was arrested while fleeing after fracturing Polanski’s skull, and executed for three murders, out of eight prior such assaults, which he had committed.[13] Several other short films made during his study at Łódź gained him considerable recognition, particularly Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958) and When Angels Fall (1959). He graduated in 1959.

Polanski’s first feature-length film, Knife in the Water (1962), was also the first significant Polish film after WWII that did not have a war theme. Scripted by Jerzy Skolimowski, Jakub Goldberg and Polanski, Knife in the Water is about a wealthy, unhappily married couple who decide to take a mysterious hitchhiker with them on a weekend boating excursion. A dark and unsettling work, Polanski’s debut feature subtly evinces a profound pessimism about human relationships with regard to the psychological dynamics and moral consequences of status envy and sexual jealousy. Although not well-received by the People’s Republic of Poland communist regime, Knife in the Water was nevertheless a major commercial success in the West and gave Polanski an international reputation. The film also earned its director his first Academy Award nomination (Best Foreign Language Film, 1963).

Despite his reputation as a major Polish filmmaker, Polanski left then-communist Poland and moved to France, where he had already made two notable short films in 1961: The Fat and the Lean and Mammals. While in France, Polanski contributed one segment (”La rivière de diamants”) to the French-produced omnibus film, Les plus belles escroqueries du monde (English title: The Beautiful Swindlers) in 1964. However, Polanski found that in the early 1960s the French film industry was generally unwilling to support a rising filmmaker whom they viewed as a cultural Pole and not a Frenchman. So he soon left France to find new opportunities and financial backing in England.[citation needed]
Gérard Brach collaborations

Polanski made three feature films in England, based on original scripts written by himself and Gérard Brach, a frequent collaborator. Repulsion (1965) is a psychological horror film focusing on a young Belgian woman named Carol (Catherine Deneuve), who is living in London with her older sister (Yvonne Furneaux). While working as a beautician’s assistant at a salon, Carol is often disturbed by the physical decrepitude of her elderly clients, and throughout the course of the film, she becomes increasingly distressed by sexual advances from the men around her. Her sister departs for a holiday in Italy with a boyfriend, and Carol is left alone in their shared apartment flat. Carol’s disordered mind finally breaks from reality as actual threats of domestic and sexual invasion blend into grotesque paranoid hallucinations, causing her to respond with desperate, deadly acts of violence. The film’s themes, situations, visual motifs, and effects clearly reflect the influence of early surrealist cinema as well as horror movies of the 1950s - particularly Luis Buñuel’s Un chien Andalou, Jean Cocteau’s The Blood of a Poet, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Diabolique and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

Cul-de-Sac (1966) is a bleak nihilist tragicomedy filmed on location in Northumberland. The general tone and the basic premise of the film owes a great deal to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, along with aspects of Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party. Indeed, the original title for the film was When Katelbach Comes (named after the actor André Katelbach, who played the role of the master in Polanski’s very Beckettian 1961 short film The Fat and the Lean), and among the cast was Jack MacGowran, a veteran of Beckett’s stage and television work. The film’s setup concerns two gangsters, Dickie and Albie (Lionel Stander and MacGowran), who are on the run after a heist went wrong. The film opens with Dickie pushing their broken-down car along the tidal causeway of Lindisfarne island. It is implied that the shootout which occurred during the heist had left Albie bleeding and paralyzed, and Dickie, who is also wounded but still mobile, now seeks to contact their underworld boss, Katelbach. (Like Beckett’s Godot, Katelbach is frequently alluded to throughout the course of the film, but never actually appears.) As he searches the island, Dickie discovers that the famous medieval castle is inhabited by an eccentric, effeminate and neurotically excitable middle-aged Englishman named George (Donald Pleasence), and his adulterous, nymphomaniacal young French wife, Teresa (Françoise Dorléac, Catherine Deneuve’s older sister). A series of absurd mishaps, both farcical and tragic, ensues when Dickie decides to take the couple hostage in their castle as he waits (in vain) for further instructions from the mysterious Katelbach.

The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) is a parody of vampire films (particularly those made by Hammer Studios) which was filmed using elaborate sets built on sound stages in London with additional location photography in the Alps (particularly Urtijëi, an Italian ski resort in the Dolomites). The plot concerns a buffoonish professor named Abronsius (Jack MacGowran) and his clumsy assistant, Alfred (played by Polanski himself), who are traveling through Transylvania in search of vampires. The two of them arrive in a small village near a vampire-infested castle, which they plan to examine. While taking lodgings at the village tavern, Alfred falls in love with Sarah, the local innkeeper’s daughter (played by Polanski’s future wife, Sharon Tate). Shortly after, Sarah is abducted by the vampires and taken to the castle. The rest of the film concerns Abronsius and Alfred’s madcap efforts to penetrate the castle walls and rescue the girl. The ironic and macabre ending is classic Polanski. The Fearless Vampire Killers was Polanski’s first feature to be photographed in color with the use of Panavision lenses (the aspect ratio is 2.35:1). The film’s striking visual style, with its snow-covered, fairy-tale landscapes, recalls the work of Soviet fantasy filmmakers Aleksandr Ptushko and Alexander Row. Similarly, the richly textured, moonlit-winter-blue color schemes of the village and the snowy valleys evoke the magical, kaleidoscopic paintings of the great Russian-Jewish artist Marc Chagall, who provides the namesake for the innkeeper in the film. The film is also notable in that it features Polanski’s love of winter sports, particularly skiing. In this respect The Fearless Vampire Killers recalls Polanski’s 1961 short film Mammals.
Move to United States

In Rosemary’s Baby: A Retrospective, a featurette on the DVD release of the film, Polanski, Paramount Pictures executive Robert Evans, and production designer Richard Sylbert reminisce at length about the production. Evans recalled William Castle brought him the galley proofs of the novel Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin and asked him to purchase the film rights even before Random House released the publication. The studio head recognized the commercial potential of the project and agreed with the stipulation that Castle, who had a reputation for low-budget horror films, could produce but not direct the film adaptation. Evans admired Polanski’s European films and hoped he could convince him to make his American debut with Rosemary’s Baby (1968). He knew Polanski was a ski buff who was anxious to make a film with the sport as its basis, so he sent him the script for Downhill Racer with the galleys for Rosemary. Polanski read the book non-stop through the night and called Evans the following morning to tell him he thought it was the more interesting project, and would like the opportunity to write as well as direct it. His first Hollywood film established his reputation as a major commercial filmmaker and both the novel and movie became commercial successes. A horror-thriller set in the trendy Manhattan apartment building “The Dakota”, the story is about Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an innocent young housewife, originally from Omaha, who is impregnated by the devil after her narcissistic and ambitious actor husband, Guy (John Cassavetes), who offers her womb to a coven of local satanists, in exchange for stardom. Much of the film concerns Rosemary’s suspicions and her increasingly successful attempts to uncover the truth of what is going on. Polanski’s screenplay adaptation earned him a second Academy Award nomination. In April 1969, Polanski’s friend and collaborator, the composer Krzysztof Komeda, died from head injuries sustained from a skiing accident, though other accounts of the cause of his death exist. After the short Two Men and a Wardrobe, he scored all of Polanski’s feature films (with the exception of Repulsion), and is probably best known in the US for his final collaboration with the director: the haunting soundtrack to Rosemary’s Baby.

After making his next two films in Europe, Polanski returned to Hollywood in 1973 to make Chinatown for Paramount Pictures, with Robert Evans serving as producer. The film was nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards; stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway both received Oscar nominations for their roles, and the script by Robert Towne won for Best Original Screenplay.A private detective, Jake Gittes (Nicholson), is hired to investigate a case of suspected adultery, but instead winds up uncovering a nefarious cabal of corrupt public officials and crooked businessmen who are secretly defrauding city hall and local taxpayers by undermining the publicly owned water supply as a means to facilitate a vast land grab in the San Fernando Valley. As the detective finds out, the ringleader of the conspiracy is responsible for the libel and murder of the city’s water commissioner as well as an incestuous rape. Polanski appears in a cameo role as a hoodlum who slices Nicholson’s nose with a knife in a failed attempt to scare him off the case. A major critical and box-office success from the time of its premiere in the summer of 1974, Chinatown has been considered by some to be Polanski’s greatest achievement as a filmmaker.
Return to Europe

Polanski’s first feature following Sharon Tate’s murder was a bleak and violent film version of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971). Jon Finch and Francesca Annis appeared in the lead roles. He adapted Shakespeare’s original text into a screenplay with the British theater critic Kenneth Tynan, and gained financing for the project through his friendship with Victor Lownes, who was an executive for Playboy magazine in London at the time. Polanski wanted to make the film in the play’s actual historical setting of Scotland, but while scouting for locations there he could find no suitable sites that were still unmarked by telephone poles and other such modern installations. He eventually chose to shoot in an area of Britain which would provide him with a much more convincing medieval landscape complete with picturesque Norman castles: the rugged environs of Snowdonia National Park, North Wales. The production took six months to complete and exceeded its initial budget by at least $500,000 mostly because of weather problems (it rained frequently during the location filming in Wales) as well as Polanski’s insistence on shooting multiple takes of several technically challenging scenes in these adverse conditions. When the film finally premiered in December 1971, a number of critics were disturbed by its rampant violence as well as the overwhelming nightmarish atmosphere and unredeemed nihilism of Polanski’s very modernist interpretation of Shakespeare (influenced by the writings of Polish drama critic and theoretician, Jan Kott). Film critic Pauline Kael commented that the slaughter of Lady Macduff and her household appeared to have been staged in an especially lurid manner that was clearly intended to evoke the Manson killings.

Written by Polanski and previous collaborator Gérard Brach, What? (1973) is a mordant absurdist comedy made in the spirit of Roger Vadim and Terry Southern and loosely based on the themes of Alice in Wonderland and Henry James. The film is a rambling shaggy dog story about the sexual indignities that befall Nancy (Sydne Rome), a winsome young American hippie hitchhiking through Europe. After escaping a farcical rape attempt in the back of a truck, she soon finds herself stranded in the hothouse atmosphere of a remote Italian villa inhabited by a band of decadent, lecherous grotesques - the main trio are played by Marcello Mastrioanni, Hugh Griffith and Polanski himself. What? is also significant in that it is Polanski’s only film to date in which a character breaks the fourth wall. The film was a failure with audiences and critics, although in the years since its release What? has attracted a minor cult following and a modicum of critical notice.

After filming Chinatown (1974) in Los Angeles, Polanski returned to Paris for his next film, The Tenant (1976), which was based on a 1964 novel by Roland Topor, a French writer of Polish-Jewish origin. In addition to directing the film, Polanski also played the lead role of Trelkovsky, a timid Polish immigrant living in Paris who seems to be possessed by the personality of a young woman who committed suicide by jumping out of the window from her apartment - the very apartment that Trelkovsky now occupies. Many have noted the similarities with Repulsion and Rosemary’s Baby, and together with these two earlier works, The Tenant can be seen as the third installment in a loose trilogy of films called the “Apartment Trilogy” that explore the themes of social alienation and psychic and emotional breakdown. For The Tenant, Ingmar Bergman’s regular cinematographer, Sven Nykvist, served as cameraman, and actors such as Isabelle Adjani, Shelley Winters, Melvyn Douglas and Jo Van Fleet appeared in supporting roles. French composer Philippe Sarde scored The Tenant and two future Polanski films, Tess and Pirates. In his autobiography, Polanski wrote: “I had a great admiration for American institutions and regarded the United States as the only truly democratic country in the world.”

Unwilling to work in the United States after 1978 for fear of jail, Polanski continued to work in Europe. He dedicated his next film, Tess (1979), to the memory of his late wife, Sharon Tate. According to the director, after spending time with him in London in the summer of 1969, Tate left a copy of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles on Polanski’s nightstand, along with a note suggesting that it would make a good film. Tess was Polanski’s first film since his 1977 arrest in Los Angeles, and because of the American-British extradition treaty, Tess was shot in the north of France instead of Hardy’s Dorset and Wiltshire; a replica of Stonehenge was constructed at Morienval for the final scene. Nastassja Kinski (with whom Polanski had been romantically involved) appeared in the title role opposite Peter Firth and Leigh Lawson. The film became the most expensive made in France up to that time, causing producer Claude Berri considerable anxiety when there was difficulty finding a North American distributor for the picture, which was nearly three hours long. Matters were also complicated when cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth died in the middle of production and had to be replaced by Ghislain Cloquet. Tess was eventually released in North America by Columbia Pictures, which had also distributed Polanski’s earlier Macbeth. Ultimately, Tess proved a financial success and was well-received by both critics and the public. For Tess, Polanski won French César Awards for Best Picture and Best Director and received his fourth Academy Award nomination (and his second nomination for Best Director). The film received three Oscars: best cinematography, best art direction and best costume design. In addition, Tess was nominated for best picture (Polanski’s second film to be nominated) and best original score.

Nearly seven years passed before Polanski completed his next film, Pirates (1986), a lavish period piece starring Walter Matthau, which the director intended as an homage to the beloved Errol Flynn swashbucklers of his childhood. Pirates was followed by Frantic (1988), starring Harrison Ford and the actress/model Emmanuelle Seigner. She would go on to star in two more of his films, Bitter Moon (1992) and The Ninth Gate (1999).

Later work and honours
Polanski at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival

In 1997, Polanski directed a stage version of his 1967 film The Fearless Vampire Killers, a musical, which debuted on October 4, 1997 in Vienna as Tanz der Vampire (Dance of the Vampires), the German title of the film version. After closing in Vienna, the show had successful runs in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Berlin, and Budapest. On 11 March 1998, Polanski was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

In 2002 Polanski released The Pianist, a World War II-set adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Szpilman, whose experiences have similarities with Polanski’s own (Polanski, like Szpilman, escaped the ghetto and the concentration camps, while family members did not). In May 2002, the film won the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) award at the Cannes Film Festival,as well as Césars for Best Film and Best Director, and later the 2002 Academy Award for Directing. Polanski did not attend the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood because he would have been arrested once he set foot in the United States. After the announcement of the “Best Director Award”, Polanski received a standing ovation from most of those present in the theater. In 2004, he received the Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

During late 2004, Polanski shot a new film adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, based on Ronald Harwood’s screenplay. The shooting took place at the Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic and starred Barney Clark (as Oliver Twist), Harry Eden (as the Artful Dodger), Ben Kingsley (as Fagin) and Edward Hardwicke (as Mr. Brownlow). The director also gathered some collaborators from The Pianist: Ronald Harwood (screenplay), as noted, Allan Starski (production designer) and Pawel Edelman (director of photography). Polanski is known for making cameo appearances in his movies and others, the latest was a cameo in Rush Hour 3 (2007) as a French police official. An attempt to adapt Robert Harris’ Pompeii was abandoned in 2009.

In September 2009 Polanski was awarded a lifetime achievement “Golden Icon Award” by the Zurich Film Festival,which he was travelling to receive when he was arrested on 26 September.

Prior to his September 2009 arrest in Switzerland, Polanski was directing an adaptation of Harris’ The Ghost, a novel about a writer who stumbles upon a secret while ghosting the autobiography of a former British prime minister. It will star Ewan McGregor as the writer and Pierce Brosnan as the prime minister. Filming takes place in Germany. The Ghost is being co-produced as of February 2009 by the Babelsberg Studios.

Personal life

Early life

Polanski was born as Rajmund Roman Thierry PolaÅ„ski in Paris, France, the son of Bula[20](née Katz-Przedborska) and Ryszard PolaÅ„ski(né Liebling), a painter and plastics manufacturer.His mother had a daughter, Annette, by her previous husband. Annette managed to survive Auschwitz, where her mother died, and left Poland forever for France.His father was nominally Jewish and his Russian-born mother had been raised in the faith of her own Polish Roman Catholic mother. His mother’s father was Jewish, but not observant.[23][24] Ryszard Liebling had changed his surname to PolaÅ„ski in early 1932. The PolaÅ„ski family moved back to the Polish city of Kraków in 1936,and were living there when the World War II began with the invasion of Poland. Neither of Roman Polanski’s parents was religious. Kraków was soon occupied by the German forces. Nazi racial and religious purity laws made the PolaÅ„skis targets of persecution and forced them into the Kraków Ghetto, along with thousands of the city’s Jews.

His father survived the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Austria, but his mother perished at Auschwitz. PolaÅ„ski himself escaped the Kraków Ghetto in 1943 and survived the war using the name Romek Wilk with the help of some Polish Roman Catholic families.As a Jewish child in hiding, he behaved outwardly as a Roman Catholic, although he was never baptized as such.After the war he was reunited with his father and moved back to Kraków, now part of the Communist People’s Republic of Poland. Roman Polanski’s father married Wanda ZajÄ…czkowska, but Roman disliked his stepmother, which further estranged father and son, who had never been able to establish an intimate relationship. Ryszard PolaÅ„ski died of cancer in 1984.
Relationships

Polanski’s first wife, Barbara Lass (née Kwiatkowska), was a Polish actress who also starred in Polanski’s 1959 When Angels Fall.The couple were married in 1959 and divorced in 1961.
Martin Ransohoff introduced Polanski and rising actress Sharon Tate shortly before filming The Fearless Vampire Killers, and during the production the two of them began dating.On 20 January 1968, Polanski married Sharon Tate in London.In his autobiography, Polanski described his brief time with Tate as the best years of his life. This marriage ended with the death of Tate in the Manson murders, leaving Polanski devastated.

In 1976, Polanski started a romantic relationship with Nastassja Kinski, when she was 15 years old and he was 43 years old. In 1979, their relationship ended at the completion of filming Polanski’s Oscar nominated “Tess”, in which Kinski had played the lead role.

In 1989 Polanski and Emmanuelle Seigner married. They have two children, daughter Morgane and son Elvis.

Sharon Tate’s murder

Sharon Tate, Polanski’s second wife, in Eye of the Devil (1967)
Main article: Sharon Tate#Death and aftermath

In 1969, Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant, was murdered (along with four others) at the Polanski/Tate residence in Los Angeles by followers of Charles Manson. Polanski had been at his house in London at the time of the murders and immediately traveled to Los Angeles, where he was questioned by police. As there were no suspects in the case, police checked on the past history of Polanski and Tate to try to determine a motive. After a period of months, Manson and his “family” were arrested on unrelated charges, which revealed evidence of what came to be known as the Tate-LaBianca murders. Polanski returned to Europe shortly after the killers were arrested.

Polanski later stated that he gave away all his possessions, as everything reminded him of Tate and was too painful for him. Polanski has declared his absence on the night of the murders from his home in Beverly Hills to be his greatest regret.[39] In his autobiography, Polanski wrote, “Sharon’s death is the only watershed in my life that really matters”, and commented that her murder changed his personality from a “boundless, untroubled sea of expectations and optimism” to one of “ingrained pessimism … eternal dissatisfaction with life”.

Sexual assault case

In March 1977, while on assignment for Vogue Hommes International to take pictures of adolescent girls, Polanski was arrested for the sexual assault of Samantha Geimer, a thirteen-year-old girl hired for the photographic shoot.She testified that Polanski gave her a combination of champagne and quaaludes, a sedative drug and muscle relaxant, and despite repeated protests and being asked to stop, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy upon her.In Roman, his 1984 autobiography, he insists the underage sex in the 1977 case was consensual although The Observer notes, “the victim’s description has always suggested otherwise”.A grand jury charged him with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under fourteen, and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor.At his arraignment Polanski pleaded not guilty to all charges.In an effort to preserve her anonymity, Geimer’s attorney arranged a plea bargain which Polanski accepted, and, under the terms, five of the initial charges were to be dismissed. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse, a charge which is synonymous under Californian law with statutory rape.The judge received a probation report and psychiatric evaluation, both indicating that Polanski should not serve jail time,and in response the film maker was ordered to ninety days in prison in order to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He was released after forty-two days.Despite expectations and recommendations that he would receive only probation at sentencing, the judge “suggested to Polanski’s attorneys” that more jail time and possible deportation were in order.Upon learning of the judge’s plans Polanski fled to France in February 1978 hours before he was to be formally sentenced.As a French citizen, he has been protected from extradition and has mostly lived in France, avoiding countries likely to extradite him.Because he fled prior to sentencing, all six of the original charges remain pending.

Geimer sued Polanski in 1988, alleging sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and seduction. In 1993 Polanski agreed to pay her at least $500,000 as part of a civil settlement. Geimer and her lawyers confirmed the settlement was complete.[57][58] In September 2009 Polanski was arrested by Swiss police because of his outstanding U.S. warrant when he entered the country to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Zurich Film Festival.[59][60] His initial request for bail was refused noting the “high risk of flight” and his subsequent appeal was rejected by Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court.[61][62] On November 25, 2009 a Swiss court accepted Roman Polanski’s plea to be freed on $US 4.5 M bail. The court said Polanski could stay at his chalet in the Swiss Alps and that he would be monitored by an electronic tag.
Vanity Fair libel case

In 2004, Polanski sued Vanity Fair magazine in London for libel. A 2002 article in the magazine written by A. E. Hotchner recounted a claim by Lewis H. Lapham, editor of Harper’s, that Polanski had made sexual advances towards a young model as he was traveling to Sharon Tate’s funeral, claiming that he could make her “the next Sharon Tate”. The court permitted Polanski to testify via a video link, after he expressed fears that he might be extradited were he to enter the United Kingdom.The trial started in July 2005 and Polanski made English legal history as the first claimant to give evidence by video link. During the trial, which included the testimony of Mia Farrow and others, it was claimed that the alleged scene at the famous New York City restaurant Elaine’s could not have taken place on the date given, because Polanski only dined at this restaurant three weeks later.Also, the Norwegian model disputed accounts that he had claimed he could make her “the next Sharon Tate,” saying Polanski had never spoken to her at all. In the course of the trial, Polanski did admit to having been unfaithful to Tate during their marriage. Polanski was awarded £50,000 damages by the High Court in London. Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair, responded, “I find it amazing that a man who lives in France can sue a magazine that is published in America in a British courtroom”.

National Football League Cheerleading, or simply NFL Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in the United States. For many NFL teams, their franchise also includes a cheerleading squad. Cheerleaders are a popular attraction that can give a team more coverage/airtime, popular local support and increased media image. For the NFL, The Baltimore Colts were the first team in the NFL to have cheerleaders in 1954. They were also a part of the Baltimore Colts Marching Band.

According to most NFL cheerleading sites, cheerleading is classified as a part-time job. However, this “part-time” job is a substantial commitment of time for practice, camp, games, appearances, photo shoots, and charity events.

Most often, cheerleaders have completed or are attending a university, and continue on to other careers after cheering for an average of 1-4 seasons.

Apart from their main duties of cheering during the football games, the cheerleaders have many other responsibilities. Nearly every team member is available for appearances at schools, events, conferences, etc., for a set fee. An anticipated annual event is the release of each squad’s calendar, featuring members for each month in swimsuits, lingerie, or uniforms. As well as being a mainstay of American football culture, the cheerleaders are one of the biggest entertainment groups to regularly perform for the U.S. Military overseas. All performances and tours are enlisted by the USO. Teams send their variety show, an elite group of their best members, to perform combination shows of dance, music, baton twirling, acrobatics, gymnastics, and more. In February 2007, the Buffalo Bills even sent a squad of 8 along with their choreographer into the war zone of Iraq.

As of 2006, a competition strictly for NFL cheerleaders was introduced on The NFL Network, called NFL Cheerleader Playoffs. Two girls from each cheerleading team compete against other mini-teams in various athletic events. This includes kayaking, 100 yd. dash, obstacle courses, and more.

Teams

Listed by name, with corresponding NFL football team.
Name Established NFL Team
Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders 1977 Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders 1976 Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders* 1998 Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Jills 1967 They existed as the Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders from 1960-1965 Buffalo Bills
Carolina Topcats 1996 Carolina Panthers
Chicago Honey Bears 1976-1985 Virginia McCaskey (Daughter of George Halas) fired the Honey Bears. Their contract was not renewed for the 1985 season becoming the “Curse of the Honey Bears” Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Ben-Gals[1] 1976 Cincinnati Bengals
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders 1960[2] Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos Cheerleaders 1977 Denver Broncos
Green Bay Packers cheerleaders
Green Bay Packerettes
Golden Girls
Sideliners Packerettes 1950s
Golden Girls 1961-1972
Packerettes 1973-1977

Sideliners 1977-1986

Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans Cheerleaders 2002 Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders 1984 (1954-1983 Baltimore Colts Cheerleaders) Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville ROAR 1995 Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleaders 1960s[6] Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins Starbrights 1966[7] Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders 1984 professional / official Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots Cheerleaders 1977 New England Patriots
New Orleans Saintsations 1977 New Orleans Saints
Jets Flight Crew Jets Flag Crew 2006
Jets Flight Crew 2007 - Present New York Jets
Oakland Raiderettes 1961[8] Oakland Raiders
Pittsburgh Steelerettes 1960-1969[9] Pittsburgh Steelers
Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders 1948 Philadelphia Eagles
St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders (f.k.a. Embraceable Ewes) 1974 Established in Los Angeles St. Louis Rams
San Diego Charger Girls 1990[10] San Diego Chargers
San Francisco Gold Rush 1979 (as a coed squad before becoming an all-girl squad in 1983[11] San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Sea Gals 1976[12] Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders
(formerly the SwashBucklers from 1976-1999) 1976[13] Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders

(formerly The Derrick Dolls from 1975-1999)
1975 Tennessee Titans
Washington Redskins Cheerleaders (f.k.a. Redskinettes) 1962[14] Washington Redskins

* Ravens Cheerleading Squad is technically a Co-ed Stunt and All-Female Dance squad.

The following NFL teams have never had cheerleaders during their respective histories:

* Cleveland Browns
* Detroit Lions
* New York Giants

Notable cheerleaders
Arizona Cardinals

* Danielle Demski, Miss Arizona USA, 2004
* Phyllis Smith, actress on The Office (during the team’s St. Louis days)

Atlanta Falcons

* Nicole Duncan, Georgia State University Cheerleading Coach[15]

* Whitney Frink, Hollywood TV Producer

* Tiffany Fallon, Playboy Playmate of the Year 2005

Baltimore Ravens

* Stacy Keibler, former professional WWE wrestler
* Molly Shattuck, oldest NFL cheerleader

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders onboard the USS Harry S. Truman on December 16, 2000

* Lezlie Deane, actress, founder of techno group Fem2fem
* Tina Gayle, actress, CHiPs TV Series (1982-1983)
* Bonnie-Jill Laflin, actress/model
* Michelle Parma, actress, MTV’s Road Rules: Europe. She died in a car accident in Texas on October 19, 2002
* Sarah Shahi, (1999-2000),[16] actress, plays Carmen on The L Word, second season. Most recently on NBC’s “Life”
* Jill Marie Jones, actress, plays Toni On Girlfriends
* Kristin Holt, television personality, entertainment news correspondent
* Starr Spangler, winner, The Amazing Race 13
* Melissa Rycroft, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars contestant and Winner then runner-up on The Bachelor Season 13

Denver Broncos

* Katee Doland, Miss Colorado USA 2001
* Tatiana Anderson, Host of ESPN’S TV show Kiana’s Flex Appeal.

Kansas City Chiefs

* Krazy George Henderson (1975-1979)

Miami Dolphins

* Shannon Ford, Miss Florida USA 2002[18]
* Suzy Tavarez, On-Air Personality, LA radio station KIIS-FM
* Brittany Freeman, Miss New Hampshire Teen USA 2004.[19]
* Fabiola Romero, Original member of the FSU Cowgirls[20]
* Nadia Turner Season 4 American Idol contestant
* Mireya Mayor, National Geographic Wildlife Correspondent and History Channel’s “Expedition:Africa” Wildlife Expert and Explorer.
* Jaime & Cara, contestants from The Amazing Race in 2009.

New England Patriots

* Kristin Gauvin, Miss Massachusetts 2005.
* Alysha Castonguay, Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2002, Miss Rhode Island USA 2009

Oakland/Los Angeles Raiderettes

* Danielle Gamba, Playboy Cyber Girl of the Month, October 2004.
* Jennifer (Jenn) Grijalva, actress, MTV’s The Real World (season 18).
* Anjelah Johnson, standup comedian.
* Kiana Tom, TV fitness instructor, model & actress.
* Erica Arana, model, television host, and philanthropist

Los Angeles Rams (before move to St. Louis)

* Lisa Guerrero, (1980s) American sports broadcaster, actress, model
* Jenilee Harrison, (1978-1980), actress, Three’s Company

San Diego Chargers

* Charisma Carpenter, actress, played Cordelia Chase on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and had the same role in the long lived spin-off Angel

San Francisco Gold Rush

* Angela King-Twitero, author of The Business of Professional Cheerleading,and dance costume designer (eight NFL Cheerleading teams wear her designs)[24]Angela transitioned from cheerleader to director of the Gold Rush Cheerleaders, and lead the team from 1992-1997. She also was the founding co-director of the NFL Pro Bowl Cheerleaders from 1992-1997.
* Teri Hatcher, actress

Tennessee Titans

* Dr. Monica Williams, Vanderbilt University cancer research fellow

Washington Redskins Cheerleaders
Washington Redskins Cheerleaders perform for U.S. servicemen onboard Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain

* Debbie Barrigan (1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001), Blast! dance troupe member
* Michaé Holloman, (2002-07 ), Miss Maryland USA 2007
* Kristianna Nichols, Mrs. America 1992

2006 Pro Bowl cheerleaders
Pro Bowl

Each year, one squad member from every NFL team is chosen to participate in the collective Pro Bowl cheerleading squad. Traditionally, this is the highest honor of talent and popularity an NFL cheerleader can receive.

Garry Shandling (born November 29, 1949) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show.

Shandling began his career writing for sitcoms such as Sanford and Son, and Welcome Back, Kotter. He made a successful stand-up performance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and became a frequent guest-host on the show. Shandling was for a time considered to be the leading contender to be Carson’s eventual replacement (other hopefuls were Joan Rivers, David Letterman and David Brenner). In 1986 he created the show It’s Garry Shandling’s Show for the pay cable channel Showtime, which was nominated for four Emmy Awards (including one for Shandling); it lasted until 1990. His second show, “The Larry Sanders Show,” began airing on HBO on 1992, and was a bigger success than his first show. Shandling was nominated for 18 Emmy Awards on the show and won one in 1998 for writing the series finale, along with Peter Tolan.

Through his three decade career, he has been nominated for 19 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, two Golden Globe Award nominations, 11 CableACE Awards, a BAFTA Award, three American Comedy Awards, two Writers’ Guild of America Award nominations, and two Satellite Award nominations.

Early life and career

Shandling was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Muriel, a pet store proprietor, and Irving Shandling, a print shop owner.[1][2] He grew up in Tucson, Arizona and had an older brother, Barry, who died from cystic fibrosis when Garry was 10. Shandling attended Palo Verde High School. After graduation, he attended the University of Arizona, at first majoring in electrical engineering, but eventually completing a degree in marketing and pursuing a year of post-graduate studies in creative writing.

In 1973, Shandling moved to Los Angeles, California, and made contact with comedian George Carlin after catching one of his shows. He worked at an advertising agency for a time, and then sold a script for the popular NBC sitcom Sanford and Son. Shandling’s script became the November 21, 1975 episode titled “Sanford and the Rising Son,” in which Ah Chew (played by Pat Morita) turned junk-yard owner Fred Sanford’s house into a Japanese restaurant. In addition to “Sanford and Son,” Shandling wrote scripts, for the sitcoms Welcome Back, Kotter and Three’s Company.

In 1977, Shandling was involved in an auto accident in Beverly Hills that left him in critical condition for weeks. He later turned the accident into part of his stand-up comedy act.

Although born into a Jewish family, Shandling has been a practicing Buddhist since the 80’s in association with Thich Nhat Hanh.

Stand-up comedy

In an interview, he said that he became a stand-up comedian because he was frustrated by situation comedy’s formulaic writing. In 1978, Shandling performed his first stand-up routine at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. His persona was that of an anxiety-ridden, grimacing, guarded, confused man who seemed always on the verge of losing control. After a couple of years on the road, a talent scout from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson caught his act and booked him to appear as a guest host on March 18, 1981. Shandling began substituting for Carson on a regular basis along with Joan Rivers until 1985.

In 1984, he made his first stand-up special, Garry Shandling: Alone in Vegas, for Showtime, followed up by a second televised in 1986, The Garry Shandling Show: 25th Anniversary Special for the same network.[4] A third in 1991, ”Garry Shandling: Stand-Up, was part of the HBO Comedy Hour.

Early career

Shandling began as a television writer in shows such as Sanford and Son, in which he wrote three episodes, one episode of the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, and one episode of The Harvey Korman Show.

It’s Garry Shandling’s Show

Shandling and co-writer Alan Zweibel went on to create the surreal comedy series It’s Garry Shandling’s Show in 1985, which ran 72 episodes on the Showtime cable television network through 1990, with edited reruns playing on the Fox network beginning in 1988.

The series, a popular critical hit, became known for its Brechtian use of what is known in theater as “breaking the fourth wall”, a concept in which characters turn away from the action and comment directly on the proceedings or make asides to the audience. While Groucho Marx was a pioneer of the technique in the 1930s movie Animal Crackers, and television had occasionally broken the fourth wall since at least the 1950s TV series starring Ernie Kovacs and the team of George Burns and Gracie Allen, and sporadically afterward, Shandling’s series employed the idea as a central concept, and influenced such future wall-breaking series as Malcolm In The Middle, The Bernie Mac Show and the UK’s Sean’s Show.

Shandling wrote 15 episodes on the show. The show was nominated for four Emmy awards, one time for Shandling. He won the American Comedy Awards for Funniest Male Performance in a Series, and won four Cable ACE awards, two for Best Comedy Series, and another two for Shandling. It also won a Outstanding Achievement in Comedy in the Television Critics Association Awards.

On October 20, 2009, Shout! Factory released It’s Garry Shandling’s Show: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 16-disc set features extensive bonus features including featurettes, commentaries & outtakes.

The Larry Sanders Show

In 1992, Shandling had another critical and commercial success creating the mock behind-the-scenes talk show sitcom The Larry Sanders Show, which ran 89 episodes through 1998 on the cable network HBO, garnering 56 Emmy Award nominations and three wins. In an interview, he stated that he based the show on his experiences guest hosting the The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

In 1993, NBC offered Shandling $5 million[citation needed] to take over the late-night comedic talk show Late Night when host David Letterman announced his highly publicized move to CBS, but Shandling declined. The Larry Sanders Show later spoofed the network’s efforts to find a Letterman successor, making it appear to be Tom Snyder.

Shandling wrote 38 episodes of the show and directed three in the show’s final season and has been nominated for 18 Emmy Awards for the show; five for acting, seven for writing and six for being co-executive producer with Brad Grey. He only won one Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for the series finale Flip. He has also been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) in 1994 and 1995. He won two American Comedy Awards for Funniest Male Performance in a Comedy Series, Eight CableACE awards and a BAFTA Award.

It is the most successful show Shandling has created. The show also influenced other shows to use the same concept of The Larry Sanders Show, in which guest stars play (often spoofing) themselves in episodes of the series. These include Entourage, Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

In 2002, TV Guide named The Larry Sanders Show as 38th Greatest Show of All Time. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly ranked the show the 28th Best Show of the past 25 years. It was also included on Time Magazine’s 100 Greatest Shows of All Time.

The first season was released in 2007 along with a Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show which are Shandling’s pick of the best 23 episodes.

Awards and nominations

Shandling has been nominated for nineteen Primetime Emmy Awards through 1988 and 1998 by his two sitcoms, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show and has won one time: Outstanding Writing in Comedy Series for the series finale of The Larry Sanders Show. He has received five for acting in The Larry Sanders Show, six for producing The Larry Sanders Show and seven for writing on The Larry Sanders Show and one for writing for It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. Additionally, he has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for acting on The Larry Sanders Show. He has also won two British Comedy Awards.

He has also been nominated for seven American Comedy Awards, two for It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and four for The Larry Sanders Show and one for hosting the Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one for It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and three for The Lary Sanders Show, overall of four wins. He has also won eleven CableACE Awards, seven for The Larry Sanders Show and four for It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. He has also won a BAFTA Award for The Larry Sanders Show. Also, he was nominated for two Writers’ Guild of America Award for The Larry Sanders Show.
Lawsuit

In 1998, Shandling became caught up in the sort of real-life Hollywood battle of egos and lawsuits that his show often skewered when he sued his former longtime friend and manager Brad Grey for conflict of interest. Shandling did a similar thing by firing his agent on his show.

Other work

Shandling has appeared occasionally in movies, beginning with a cameo as dental patient Mr. Vertisey in The Night We Never Met. He played supporting roles in the 1994 films Love Affair and Mixed Nuts (a.k.a. Lifesavers), Dr. Dolittle (1998) as the voice of a live-action pigeon, the David Rabe play adaptation Hurlyburly (1998), and Trust the Man. He wrote and starred in director Mike Nichols’ What Planet Are You From? (2000), and co-starred with Warren Beatty and others in Town & Country. Again voicing an animal, Shandling co-starred as Verne the turtle in the computer animated comic strip adaptation Over the Hedge (2006)

Shandling hosted the Grammy Awards from 1990 to 1995, and the Emmy Awards in 2000 and 2004. At the first Emmy hosting job, Shandling cracked up the audience by saying “I auditioned to play the Vice President on The West Wing, but they said ‘No–too Jewish’”, a reference to real-life Vice Presidential candidate Senator Joe Lieberman during the 2000 Presidential campaign.

In 2006, comedian Ricky Gervais interviewed Shandling for a British documentary citing him as a comic influence.The reviews of British TV critics were mixed - one Guardian reviewer described it as “the uneasiest interview ever”,another as Gervais’ most interesting but the general consensus was that it felt “awkward”,a hallmark of both the artists’ comedic styles.

Shandling starred as himself representing Fox Mulder alongside Téa Leoni as Dana Scully in The X-Files season 7 spoof episode “Hollywood A.D.”.

Shandling, along with co-author David Rensin, wrote the book Confessions of a Late Night Talk Show Host: The Autobiography of Larry Sanders written in the voice of his alter ego, Larry Sanders.

In 2008, there were rumors that Shandling will be appearing in the next Iron Man movie, as Senator Stern. The rumors appear to be true and he will be appearing in the film. The trailer officially aired at the 2009 Comic-Con, and the movie will be released in May 2010.

In 2009, Shandling will return to the stand-up circuit.

Shandling (although not participating in the movie itself) went to the premiere of old Larry Sanders Show writer and friend Judd Apatow’s new movie, Funny People.
Personal life

Shandling is unmarried and shares very little about his personal life. He shared an apartment with girlfriend, Playboy model, Linda Doucett from 1987 through 1994. When they broke up, she filed a lawsuit for sexual harrasment. To promote Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show, he appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, where he explained that he plays a lot of basketball and has just started boxing. He is also one of a few people to attend Farrah Fawcett’s funeral. He has also mentioned on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson that he has a pet snake.
In popular culture

In the Butthole Surfers song “Revolution Part 2,” Gibby Haynes sings a long chorus of Shandling’s name interspersed with those of other famous actors.Haynes said that Shandling was “just one of those people who haunt me.”

Ingredients * turkey carcass
* 6 quarts water
* 1 cup celery, and leaves chopped
* 3 large onions, chopped
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1 cup carrot, chopped fine
* 4 cups medium egg noodles
* 3 cups frozen peas

Directions

1. In large covered kettle place turkey cage, bones, S& P,carrots, celery plus half the onions in water.

2. Simmer 1 hour.

3. Remove the turkey parts and let cool.

4. Pick the turkey meat and discard bones.

5. Add turkey, remaining onions and cook ten minutes.

6. Add noodles to soup.

7. Simmer until noodles are tender.

8. Add frozen peas to hot soup and serve.

Katey Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer-songwriter, best known for portraying Peggy Bundy on Married… with Children, Cate Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules, Turanga Leela on Futurama and Gemma Teller Morrow on Sons of Anarchy.

Early life

Sagal was born Catherine Louise Sagal in Hollywood, California, to a show business family; she is the daughter of director Boris Sagal, best known for his work on 1960s television dramas, including The Twilight Zone. Her mother, Sara Zwilling, was a producer. Sagal is the older sister of twin actresses Jean and Liz Sagal, best remembered as the Doublemint Twins of the early 1980s, and for their own short-lived sitcom of that era, Double Trouble. Sagal and her siblings grew up in the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood, Los Angeles. She studied at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.
Career

Sagal began her career working the Hollywood circuit. She appeared in several made for TV movies between 1971 and 1975, including a small role as a receptionist in the Columbo film Candidate for Crime (directed by her father) and in 1973 working as a backing vocalist for various singers, including Bob Dylan and Tanya Tucker.

In 1978, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons asked her to sing background vocals on his self-titled solo album. During this time she was also a member of the rock group The Group With No Name. She also sang backup for Bette Midler, who hired her for her 1979 tour as one of The Harlettes.

Sagal returned to television in 1985 in the television series Mary starring Mary Tyler Moore. This led to her being cast as Peggy Bundy on the sitcom Married… with Children (1987-1997). She portrayed the lower-class, sex-starved wife of shoe salesman Al Bundy. During her audition for the role, Sagal brought her own red bouffant wig and with the producers’ approval, the look transitioned into the show. As Peg, she wore the wig, capris-length leggings with a large belt, and high slip-on heels, which were all fashion styles from the 1960s. Sagal’s career focused almost entirely on this series for its 11-year run. Sagal briefly revisited her role of Peg Bundy in Married… with Children, when the sitcom was parodied in the Futurama episode “A Bicyclops Built for Two”.
Sagal on a panel for Futurama at the 2008 Comic Con in San Diego, California.

After the end of Married… with Children, several more television films followed for Sagal, and she was also a featured voice on the children’s cartoon Recess as the voice of Spinelli’s mother. In 1999, Matt Groening cast her as Turanga Leela in his science fiction cartoon comedy Futurama. The show developed a cult following, but was canceled after five seasons. However, airings in syndication on Cartoon Network[2] and Comedy Central.[3] increased the show’s popularity and led Comedy Central to commission a series of Futurama direct-to-DVD films, which the network later rebroadcast as 16 episodes. Sagal reprised her role as Leela in these films, and it has been confirmed that she will voice Leela again in the upcoming 26 episode season due to air in 2010.

Sagal also guest starred as Edna Hyde, Steven Hyde’s mother, in three episodes of That ’70s Show: “Punk Chick” (1999), “Prom Night” (1999), and “The Career Day” (1999). She starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Tucker in 2000. Sagal was also cast in the Disney Channel movie Smart House, playing a computerized maid that suddenly gets a mind of its own. She wore the same wig for the role as she did for Married… with Children.

Sagal was cast as the wife of John Ritter in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2002. Following Ritter’s death, Sagal carried most of the show (with help from new cast members David Spade and James Garner). Ritter completed only three episodes of the second season of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, with Sagal introducing each episode. The show was canceled in 2005 after its third season.

In 2005, she made two guest appearances on Lost, one guest appearance on CBS’s Ghost Whisperer and another guest appearance on The Shield. She hosted The Search for the Funniest Mom In America 2 and she had a recurring role as a guest star on Boston Legal.

In 2007, she had a role in the season finale of The Winner as Glen Abbot’s former, and Josh’s current, teacher, with whom Glen has his first sexual experience. She also reprised her role in The Shield for one episode.

In 2008, she appeared in four episodes of Eli Stone as Marci Klein, one of the founding partners of the show’s law firm. She has a starring role as Gemma Teller Morrow on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, created by her husband Kurt Sutter.

In January 2009, Sagal reunited with her TV son David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for an episode of Faustino’s show Star-ving.[6]
Musical career

Sagal is also a songwriter. In 1976, while a member of The Group With No Name, she contributed to the album Moon over Brooklyn. She also performed backing vocals on the self-titled solo album by Gene Simmons as well as background vocals on Olivia Newton-John’s 1985 single “Soul Kiss”. On April 19, 1994, she released her first solo album, Well…. Ten years later, on June 1, 2004, she released her second album, Room.
Personal life

Sagal was married to Freddie Beckmeier (1978-1981) and Jack White (November 26, 1993 - July 24, 2000). In 1991, Sagal discovered she was pregnant. This was unexpected by the directors of Married… with Children, so the pregnancy was written into the storyline of the show. However, in October 1991, she had to have an emergency caesarean section in her seventh month of pregnancy, ending in the stillbirth of a daughter, whom Sagal named Ruby Jean.[7] The pregnancy on the show was then regarded as a “dream”, because it would have been too painful for Sagal to see an infant on set at the time. She had one other early miscarriage around this time as well. She and White eventually had a daughter (Sarah Grace) and a son (Jackson James).

Sagal married Kurt Sutter (a writer, producer, and actor for The Shield) in a private ceremony on October 2, 2004, at their home in Los Feliz, California. They had their first child together, daughter Esme Louise, on January 10, 2007. Esme was carried by a surrogate mother because Sagal was far too old at this point to conceive naturally.

Elisha Ann Cuthbert (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress. Cuthbert is known as the former co-host of the Canadian children’s television series Popular Mechanics for Kids. She had her first lead role in the 2003 feature film Old School and starred the following year in The Girl Next Door. She has also had starring roles in the 2005 House of Wax film and the 2007 horror film Captivity. Her most prominent role is as Kim Bauer in the American action-thriller television series 24.

Early life

Cuthbert was born in Calgary, Canada, the daughter of Patricia, a homemaker, and Kevin, an automotive design engineer.[1] She has two younger siblings, Jonathan and Lee-Ann, and she grew up in Greenfield Park, near Montreal, Quebec. In 2000, she graduated from Centennial Regional High School and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career.

Early career

When she was nine, Cuthbert started modeling for various lines of children’s clothing and also became a foot model.She made her first televised appearance as an extra in the horror-themed series for children Are You Afraid of the Dark?; she later became a series regular. Cuthbert also co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids, which was filmed in Montreal. Her reporting captured the attention of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, who invited her to visit the White House.

Cuthbert landed her first role in a feature film in the family drama Dancing on the Moon (1997). She appeared in several other Canadian family-themed movies and an airplane thriller, Airspeed. Cuthbert starred in the Canadian television movie Lucky Girl in 2001 and was awarded a Gemini Award for her performance.

Soon after her move to Los Angeles, Cuthbert was cast in the role of Kim Bauer, daughter of federal agent Jack Bauer in the television series 24. She appeared in the show’s first three seasons, but not in its fourth; she guest-starred in only two episodes in the fifth season. She also reprised her role as Kim Bauer in 24: The Game and again guest-starred in five episodes of the seventh season.
2003-2005: Commercial success

Cuthbert auditioned for the role of Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man film, but the role went to Kirsten Dunst.[citation needed]

She began her Hollywood film career with small roles in Old School and Love Actually in 2003.

Cuthbert’s next film, The Girl Next Door, cast her in her first lead role as an ex-porn star, Danielle, opposite Emile Hirsch. Cuthbert had initial reservations about taking the part, but was persuaded by director Luke Greenfield into accepting. She researched the role, speaking to actual adult actresses from Wicked Pictures and Vivid Entertainment.Upon its release, the film received comparisons to Risky Business,- although Cuthbert claims her character was not directly based on Rebecca De Mornay’s character. Critics were divided; some praised the film for its boldness, while others, notably Roger Ebert, decried it as gimmicky and exploitative.Ebert wrote that he saw Cuthbert’s character Danielle as “quite the most unpleasant character I have seen in some time.”

In her next big-screen outing, Cuthbert starred with Paris Hilton and Chad Michael Murray in the 2005 remake of the classic horror film House of Wax. Cuthbert, along with the rest of the cast, was made up to look haggard. In one scene, her character was to attempt to open her mouth while her lips were sealed with glue. For the sake of realism, Cuthbert opted for real superglue over prosthetics.Despite her efforts, House of Wax was largely panned, with critics citing a range of flaws. It was called “notable for having some of the most moronic protagonists ever to populate a horror film,” though out of those characters, critics tended to think Cuthbert “fares the best.” Though receiving negative reviews the film was a box office success.Others noted Cuthbert as an “exception,” playing her role “earnestly” and “fine.”

2006-2007: Career transition

At the 24 season finale in 2009.

Cuthbert’s next film project was the indie film The Quiet, which she not only co-starred in but also co-produced and helped finance. She played Nina, a temperamental 17-year-old cheerleader who suffers from sexual abuse. Cuthbert looked to her younger cousin for inspiration as to how to play a teenager.[15] The Quiet, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and received a limited release in Los Angeles and New York City on August 25, 2006, before expanding regionally on September 1.

Cuthbert appeared in the music video for Weezer’s “Perfect Situation” in early 2006, where she played the group’s fictional original singer who threw a tantrum that led to Rivers Cuomo, the unlikely roadie, becoming the frontman of the band.[16] Cuthbert also had a small role in Paris Hilton’s music video for the song “Nothing In This World”.

In 2007, Cuthbert appeared in the film, Captivity, a thriller centered around a fashion model taunted by a psychopath who has imprisoned her in a cellar,a role for which she was nominated for a Razzie award as “worst actress.”

In He Was a Quiet Man, Cuthbert played Vanessa, a quadriplegic, starring opposite Christian Slater. The film was in limited release in 2007, and it was released on DVD in early 2008.
2008-present: Current and future projects

In 2008, Cuthbert appeared in My Sassy Girl, a remake of a Korean film, starring alongside Jesse Bradford. Her next film is the family comedy The Six Wives of Henry Lefay with actor Tim Allen, in which she plays his daughter. She is one of the stars in the Canadian mini-series Guns, due to premiere sometime in 2009 and has appeared as a guest judge in season two, episode two of Project Runway Canada, where designers were challenged to create a “party dress” for Cuthbert.

Cuthbert reprised her character Kim Bauer in the seventh season of 24.She also was scheduled to star in the CBS drama pilot Ny-Lon, playing a New York literacy teacher/record-store clerk who embarks on a transatlantic romance with a London stockbroker. The project, which was based on a British series starring Rashida Jones and Stephen Moyer, has since been canceled.

Cuthbert is slated to voice Cleo, “the feline daughter of a wealthy kitty litter baron,” in Cat Tale, an animated film set in a civilized world of cats and dogs.

Personal life

Cuthbert, who enjoys painting,is an ice hockey fan and Los Angeles Kings season-ticket holder. In 2005, she maintained a blog on the NHL website, though she did not post for most of the season.She was once involved romantically with then-Los Angeles Kings player Sean Avery,and she is now dating Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames.Her relationship with the latter two hockey players turned into a minor scandal when her ex-boyfriend, Avery, told a Canadian reporter in December 2008, “I’m really happy to be back in Calgary. I love Canada and I just wanted to comment on how it’s become a common thing for guys in the NHL to fall in love with my sloppy seconds, I don’t know what that’s about.” Avery was suspended six games for the remarks,and was not invited to rejoin his team, the Dallas Stars, following his suspension.

Cuthbert regularly secures a place in FHM and Maxim’s annual “hottest women” lists. Her highest ranking was #4 in the 2008 UK Edition of FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World list. She was ranked #14 in 2003, #10 in 2004, #5 in 2005, #22 in 2006, and #10 in 2007. The U.S. Edition ranked her #53 in 2003, #63 in 2004, and #54 in 2006. She was not listed in the U.S. 2005 list. Cuthbert was ranked #10 by AskMen.com readers in the list “Top 99 Women of 2007.” Maxim named her #92 in its 2006 Hot 100 list, #6 in 2008, and #43 in 2009, and the magazine features her in its Girls of Maxim Gallery.[31][32] As of 2006, Cuthbert has stated that she would refuse to be photographed nude in film roles or magazines and uses body doubles whenever necessary, specifying that she would “like to keep some things to herself.

The 2009 World Series is the 105th edition of Major League Baseball’s championship series. The best-of-seven playoff is contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League (NL), and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League (AL). The Phillies are seeking to become the first team to repeat as World Series champions since the Yankees did so from 1998-2000, while the Yankees are seeking to extend their major-league record with a 27th World Series championship. The two franchises previously met in the 1950 World Series in which the Yankees swept the Phillies four games to none.

This is the fifth Series played between teams from New York and Philadelphia. The Giants and Athletics faced each other in 1905, 1911 and 1913 in addition to the Yankees-Phillies matchup in 1950. The series is also the fourth consecutive time that the Phillies face a team from the AL East in the World Series. They faced the Baltimore Orioles in 1983, the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. The Yankees faced an NL East opponent in three of their last four World Series appearances: the Florida Marlins in 2003, the New York Mets in 2000, and the Atlanta Braves in 1999. This World Series has been nicknamed the “Turnpike Series”, for the New Jersey Turnpike, which connects New York to Philadelphia through the state of New Jersey. This name is also used for the Mets-Phillies rivalry. There are many Yankees and Phillies fans in New Jersey, with North Jersey being Yankees territory, and South Jersey preferring the Phillies.It has also been nicknamed the “Liberty Series” by Major League Baseball,based on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and the Statue of Liberty in New York.

Due to 2009 World Baseball Classic, the Series was started on October 28, 2009, which was the latest start in World Series history. For the first time ever, the World Series is regularly scheduled to end in November. Game 4 was played on Sunday, November 1 and, if necessary and assuming no weather delays, Game 7 will take place on November 5. Home field advantage for the Series went to the American League for the eighth straight year as a result of their 4-3 win in the All-Star Game. The Series will be only the third one ever to end in a month other than October. The first was in 1918, which was played entirely in September after the regular season was cut short due to World War I. The other was in 2001, when the September 11 attacks on the United States caused a delay in the season that eventually forced the end of the Series into November.

Teams

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies won the previous season’s World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. This was the team’s second championship, their first since 1980.

During the off-season the Phillies named Rubén Amaro, Jr. general manager, replacing Pat Gillick who retired at the end of a three-year contract.[3] Notably, Raúl Ibáñez agreed to play left field for the Phillies in a three-year, $31.5 millon deal taking Pat Burrell’s position, whom the Phillies did not re-sign.Other off-season acquisitions included Mike Koplove and Chan Ho Park.Park was originally signed as an insurance policy for the bullpen, as reliever J. C. Romero was assigned a fifty-game suspension after violating the Major League Baseball drug policy, but won the fifth starter’s job in Spring Training.
” How great would that be? A World Series here, us against the Yankees? We’ve proved we can put on a pretty good show. ”
- Jimmy Rollins, discussing the potential of a Yankees-Phillies World Series on May 24, 2009.

En route to the LCS, the Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies in the Division Series, 3-1.

By beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, the Phillies became the first team to repeat as National League champions since the 1995-96 Atlanta Braves. They are also the first World Series champion trying to defend their title in the World Series since the 2000-01 New York Yankees. They are also trying to become the first NL team to defend their title in the World Series since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds, as well as trying to repeat as World Series champions for the first time in franchise history. Locally, they’re trying to become the first Philadelphia team to defend a major professional sports championship since the Flyers won the 1975 Stanley Cup, defending their 1974 championship.

New York Yankees

Several men in pinstriped pants and red baseball caps, some wearing pinstriped baseball jerseys and some dark blue hooded sweatshirts, stand in a group.
The Yankees celebrate Derek Jeter breaking their franchise career hits record.
Main article: 2009 New York Yankees season

The Yankees offseason began in November 2008 with control over the organization shifting from long-time owner George Steinbrenner to his son Hal Steinbrenner.Mike Mussina left the Yankees and baseball when he announced his retirement on November 20, 2008.In addition 2008 Yankees starters Bobby Abreu,jason Giambi,and Carl Pavano all left the team through free agency.

The New York Yankees won the American League East with an eight-game lead over their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, compiling a record of 103-59.Starting pitcher CC Sabathia had a strong season winning 19 games, while position players Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira both had 30 or more home runs and 100 or more runs batted in (RBI).[16] Closing pitcher Mariano Rivera earned his first career RBI and his 500th save-a plateau that previously had only been reached by Trevor Hoffman. Shortstop Derek Jeter passed Lou Gehrig with his 2,722nd career hit to become the Yankees all-time leader in career hits on September 19, 2009.

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in three games in the ALDS and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in six games in the ALCS to win their first American League Pennant since 2003. CC Sabathia was named MVP of the 2009 ALCS with two wins in the series. This is their 40th World Series appearance in franchise history. The New Yankee Stadium will be hosting its first World Series, as the New York Yankees look to earn their 27th World Series Championship, but first since 2000.
World Series schedule

Commissioner Bud Selig explored options to include a game during daylight instead of the evening, which had been rumored to be October 31 due to the Halloween holiday, but eventually opted to move the start times of the games before 8 p.m. ET for the first time in 30 years, and also rejected suggestions to play the games at neutral sites.[19][20] The sole exception to the earlier starts will be on November 1, when the scheduled first pitch is approximately 8:20 p.m., due to an NFL doubleheader that day.

Game 4 was played at Citizens Bank Park on the same day as another Philadelphia-New York matchup at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The game between the Eagles and Giants across the street at Lincoln Financial Field was scheduled for a 4:15 p.m. kickoff. However, to prevent the football game from finishing too close to the first pitch, the National Football League moved it to 1 p.m.

Similarly, Game 5 was played at Citizens Bank Park on the same day as the Flyers hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Wachovia Center. The opening faceoff of the latter game was scheduled for 7:00 p.m., but to avoid any conflicts, the National Hockey League moved it ahead to 5:00 p.m.Both Citizens Bank Park and the Wachovia Center are in the same South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

Matchups

Game 1

A man in white pants, a red baseball jersey with “Phillies” on the chest, and a red batting helmet with “P” on it runs around the bases of a baseball diamond
Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, pictured during the 2007 spring training, hit two solo home runs in Game 1 that provided the spark for the Phillies.

HRs: PHI - Chase Utley 2 (2)

The Phillies’ Ryan Howard got the first hit of the 2009 World Series by doubling in the first inning. Howard was stranded in the first and the game was scoreless after two innings. The Phillies scored first with a two-out solo home-run by Chase Utley in the top of the third inning. Through the first five innings, Philadelphia starting pitcher Cliff Lee allowed no runs and only three hits, striking out seven Yankees’ batters. In the top of the sixth, Chase Utley homered again with one out and nobody on to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead and in doing so became the first left-handed hitter to hit two homeruns off a left-handed pitcher in the World Series since Babe Ruth. The stellar pitching by Lee and Yankees starter CC Sabathia continued until the top of the eighth when Sabathia was replaced by Phil Hughes. Hughes walked the first two batters and was quickly replaced by Dámaso Marté. Marté got two quick outs and was relieved by David Robertson who walked Jayson Werth and gave up a two-run single to Raúl Ibáñez. The Phillies added two more runs in the ninth with an RBI single by Shane Victorino and an RBI double by Ryan Howard. The star of the game was Phillies starter Cliff Lee who, after giving up an unearned run in the ninth, finished with a complete game only allowing just the one run on six hits and striking out ten batters, not walking any of the hitters he faced, and making some notable fielding plays.

Lee’s pitching performance made history in several ways:

* This was the fourth postseason start of Lee’s career. In all four starts, he went at least seven innings and gave up no more than one earned run. The only other starting pitcher ever to begin his postseason career with four such starts was Christy Mathewson from 1905 to 1911.
* He was also the first left-handed starter to beat the Yankees in The Bronx to open a World Series since Sandy Koufax in 1963.
* He was the first starting pitcher to throw a complete game without giving up an earned run against the Yankees in Game 1 of any postseason series.
* Finally, Lee was the first pitcher ever to strike out at least ten, walk no one, and give up no earned runs in a World Series start.

Game 2

WP: A. J. Burnett (1-0) LP: Pedro Martínez (0-1) SV: Mariano Rivera (1)
HRs: NYY - Mark Teixeira (1), Hideki Matsui (1)
A man in a gray baseball uniform and navy blue cap stands on a dirt mound throwing a pitch with his right hand. He is wearing a black belt, black shoes, and a black baseball glove, and his uniform reads “New York” in navy blue letters across the chest. His face is contorted in concentration.
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, pictured during the 2007 regular season, pitched two scoreless innings for the save.

Prior to the game Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed the song “Empire State of Mind” for the Yankee Stadium crowd.This game marked the first post-season appearance of Pedro Martínez against the Yankees since the 2004 ALCS when he was with the Boston Red Sox and a part of the two teams’ long standing rivalry.The Phillies scored first for the second game in a row, with Raúl Ibáñez hitting a ground rule double followed by a Matt Stairs RBI single off A. J. Burnett in the second inning, but that would be the only run the Yankees allowed.

Mark Teixeira tied the game with a solo home run in the fourth inning, and Hideki Matsui broke the tie in the sixth with another solo homer, giving the Yankees their first lead of the World Series. Martínez departed the game after giving up consecutive hits to Jerry Hairston Jr. and Melky Cabrera to start the seventh inning, and reliever Chan Ho Park gave up an RBI single to Jorge Posada.With Melky Cabrera at second base and Posada at first Johnny Damon hit a low line drive at Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. Howard grabbed the ball and threw to second where Posada was tagged and called out while standing on the base. First base umpire Brian Gorman ruled that Howard had caught the ball in the air and thus the result was an inning-ending double play. This was the first of two controversial calls by Gorman in this game which were later disputed by video replays.

Burnett left after seven innings, replaced by Mariano Rivera in the eighth. The Phillies put two runners on with a walk to Jimmy Rollins and a single by Shane Victorino with one out in the eighth. However, Chase Utley grounded into an inning-ending double play ending on a close play at first base, the second close call made by the first base umpire. Gorman himself later admitted he missed this call, saying “on a freeze frame, it looks like there’s a little bit of a ball outside his glove when he hits the bag.”Ultimately Rivera threw 39 pitches and got six outs for his 38th postseason save, his tenth in World Series play.

Game 3

Portrait of a young man wearing a dark blue shirt
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, pictured during the 2008 regular season, got his first World Series hit in Game 3 with the first home run reviewed in postseason play.

Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 7:57 PM (1:20 rain delay) (ET) at Citizens Bank Park in

WP: Andy Pettitte (1-0) LP: Cole Hamels (0-1)
HRs: NYY - Alex Rodriguez (1), Nick Swisher (1), Hideki Matsui (2) PHI - Jayson Werth 2 (2), Carlos Ruiz (1)

Following a rain delay of almost 80 minutes, the Phillies struck first in the bottom of the second inning, with Jayson Werth’s lead-off solo homer followed by a bases-loaded walk and a sac fly to make it 3-0. Following Mark Teixeira’s walk in the top of the fourth inning, Alex Rodriguez hit a deep ball down the right field line. It was originally ruled a double and Mark Teixeira held at third base. The play was reviewed using MLB instant replay and the ball was ruled a two-run home run,[36] giving Rodriguez his first World Series hit. This was the first home run reviewed by instant replay in postseason play.Specifically, the ball hit a camera owned by FOX and MLB which extended slightly over the right field wall.[36] The camera was moved back for Game 4 such that its lens was in line with the wall.[36] Coincidentally, Alex Rodriguez also had the first regular season home run reviewed by replay.

Nick Swisher opened the top of the fifth inning with a double and scored on a single to center field by Andy Pettitte.This was Pettitte’s first career postseason RBI and the first RBI by a Yankees pitcher in a World Series since Jim Bouton in 1964.Derek Jeter followed Pettitte with another single, and both runners scored on a two-run double by Johnny Damon.Cole Hamels then walked Mark Teixeira and was relieved by J. A. Happ. Happ escaped the fifth without allowing further scoring, but Nick Swisher added to the Yankees lead with a solo home run off of Happ in the sixth.Werth hit his second solo home run of the game leading off the bottom of the sixth to close the Yankees lead to 6-4,the second Phillies player to hit multiple home runs in this World Series.

Chad Durbin relieved Happ in the top of the seventh. He walked Johnny Damon who then stole second base. Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and Damon scored on a single by Jorge Posada.Joba Chamberlain relieved Pettitte in the bottom of the seventh and retired the side in order. Brett Myers retired the first two batters in the top of the eighth, but Hideki Matsui then hit a solo home run pinch hitting for Chamberlain. This was the 28th pinch-hit home run in World Series history.Phil Hughes pitched a third of an inning in the bottom of the ninth and allowed a solo home run to Carlos Ruiz before being relieved by Mariano Rivera.Rivera closed out the game, throwing just five pitches to record the final two outs.This game was Pettitte’s 17th career postseason win, extending his MLB record.
Game 4

Sunday, November 1, 2009 - 8:20 PM (ET) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A man in grey pants, a blue baseball jersey, and a red baseball cap with “P” on it jogs in the field
Phillies closer Brad Lidge, pictured here during the 2008 regular season, allowed three runs in the ninth inning of a tied Game 4 and took the loss.

WP: Joba Chamberlain (1-0) LP: Brad Lidge (0-1) SV: Mariano Rivera (2)
HRs: PHI - Chase Utley (3), Pedro Feliz (1)

Derek Jeter led the game off with a single and advanced to third base on a double by Johnny Damon. Jeter scored via a Mark Teixeira ground out and Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch. Rodriguez was hit twice the night before and the umpires issued warnings to both benches.Jorge Posada then added to the Yankees lead that inning with a sacrifice fly. The Phillies answered quickly, scoring a run on successive doubles by Shane Victorino and Chase Utley in the bottom of the first. Sabathia would intentionally walk Jayson Werth, but escaped the inning without further scoring. The Phillies tied the game in the bottom of the fourth as Ryan Howard singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Pedro Feliz. However, instant replay of the Howard’s slide showed that he did not touch home plate.

Nick Swisher walked to lead off the fifth inning and advanced to second on a Melky Cabrera single. Swisher regained the Yankee lead, scoring on a single by Derek Jeter, and Cabrera added to it scoring a run off of a Johnny Damon single. Brett Gardner replaced Melky Cabrera in center field as a defensive substitution in the bottom of the sixth inning after Cabrera left the game due to a hamstring injury.Chan Ho Park relieved Blanton in the seventh and held the Yankees scoreless in that inning. Chase Utley hit his third solo home run of the series in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, bringing the game to 4-3 and chasing Sabathia from the game. Dámaso Marté relieved Sabathia and got the final out of the seventh without further scoring.

Ryan Madson relieved Park in the eighth and allowed a walk and a single but held the Yankees scoreless. Joba Chamberlain replaced Marte in the bottom of the inning. He struck out the first two batters he faced but allowed a game-tying home run to Pedro Feliz before closing the inning. Brad Lidge came into the game in the ninth and gave up a two-out single to Damon. Then, with Mark Teixeira batting, Damon stole second and advanced to third as the base was uncovered due to a defensive shift against Teixeira.[45] Some believed that Damon’s play made Lidge avoid throwing his best pitch-a slider that broke down into the dirt-as that pitch risked a wild pitch.

Teixeira was then hit by a pitch and Alex Rodriguez put the Yankees ahead with a double to left field, scoring Damon. Posada added to that lead with a single which scored Teixeira and Rodriguez. Mariano Rivera entered in the bottom of the ninth and saved the game for the Yankees on eight pitches for his second save of the series.

Game 5

A man in a grey baseball uniform with red sleeves and cap throws a baseball.
Phillies starting pitcher Cliff Lee, pictured in the 2009 regular season, won his second game of the series in Game 5.

WP: Cliff Lee (2-0) LP: A. J. Burnett (1-1) SV: Ryan Madson (1)
HRs: PHI - Chase Utley 2 (5), Raul Ibanez (1)

The Yankees replaced Melky Cabrera on their postseason roster with Ramiro Pena due to his injury in Game 4, while Brett Gardner took Cabrera’s place in center field.The Yankees scored first in the first inning, with a Johnny Damon reaching base with a single and then scoring on a two-out double by Alex Rodriguez. The Phillies responded in the bottom of the inning with a single by Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino reaching after being hit by a pitch, and finally a three-run home run by Chase Utley to take the lead. The Phillies added to their lead in the third inning with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard drawing walks followed by RBI singles by Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez. A. J. Burnett was relieved by David Robertson with no outs in the inning who allowed another run to score on a Carlos Ruiz ground out before the inning was over.

Robertson held the Phillies scoreless for a second inning in the fourth. Jorge Posada entered as a pinch hitter the fifth inning for Jose Molina and ground out. Eric Hinske then pinch hit for Robertson and walked, advanced to third on a Derek Jeter single, and scored on a ground out by Johnny Damon. Alfredo Aceves entered as the new Yankee pitcher in the bottom of the fifth. The first batter he faced, Jayson Werth, hit a deep drive to center field but it was caught for an out by Brett Gardner who collided into the outfield wall to complete the play. Aceves completed the inning without a run scoring, inducing ground outs from Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz. Phil Coke relieved Aceves in the seventh inning and helped two Phillies players tie World Series records. First, Chase Utley tied Reggie Jackson’s record for most home runs in a World Series with a solo home run, his fifth of the series. Coke then struck out Ryan Howard, Howard’s 12th strikeout for the series, tying Willie Wilson’s record for most strikeouts in a World Series. Finally, Coke was driven from the game after allowing another solo home run, this time to Raul Ibanez, and was relieved by Phil Hughes.

Shane Victorino was replaced defensively in the eighth inning by Ben Francisco. Phillies starter Cliff Lee was driven from the game after allowing a single to Johnny Damon followed by a double for Mark Teixeira and a double by Alex Rodriguez that scored both runners. Chan Ho Park relieved Lee and induced a ground out from Nick Swisher which advanced Rodriguez to third base who scored on a sacrifice fly by Robinson Canó. Ryan Madson entered in the ninth to close the game, allowing a double to Jorge Posada and a single to Hideki Matsui without recording an out. Batting with men on first and third base Derek Jeter grounded into a double play, allowing Posada to score but emptying the bases. Johnny Damon would single to bring Mark Teixeira to bat as the potential tying run, but Madson struck Teixeira out to record his first World Series save.

Game 6

Starting pitchers: PHI - Pedro Martínez (0-1) NYY - Andy Pettitte (1-0)

Game 7

Starting pitchers: PHI - Cole Hamels (0-1) NYY - CC Sabathia (0-1)

Composite box

Broadcasting

For the tenth consecutive year in the United States, Fox Sports is televising the Series with Joe Buck calling play-by-play and Tim McCarver providing analysis. The Series is also being broadcast on ESPN Radio, with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan calling the action. Game 1 was watched by 19.5 million viewers, second only to the opening of the 2004 World Series in viewership for a series opener since 2000.The viewership for the opening game resulted in a ratings percentage of 11.9% of households in the United States.Game 4 produced the highest ratings of the series with 22.8 million viewers, the highest for any World Series game since 2004 and the highest for a “non-decisive Game 4″ since 2003. Suzyn Waldman became the first woman to announce a game on radio.

Umpires

Longtime crew chiefs Joe West, Dana DeMuth and Gerry Davis, along with Brian Gorman, Jeff Nelson and Mike Everitt, will handle the games. In 24 of the past 25 Fall Classics, one new umpire has been put into position to replenish the umpiring crews.

Series quotes

Of course we’re gonna win. If we’re nice, we’ll let it go six. But I’m thinking five, close it out at home.
- Jimmy Rollins “predicted” the outcome of the Series, on the Jay Leno show, October 26, 2009.

Back inside… Game over! Series tied at a game apiece! A 39-pitch performance… and a six-out save for Mariano Rivera… Four saves this postseason for Mariano Rivera, and a win for A. J. Burnett, his first career postseason victory, and he deserved it.
-Joe Buck, Fox Sports, on the last out in Game 2.

Well, [smiling] Phillies in six.
-Jimmy Rollins “updated” his prediction after Game 3 loss.

The football player and TV personality were eliminated Tuesday from “Dancing with the Stars.” Irvin failed to capture enough viewer votes to keep him in the competition, while Dacascos lost his spot during a last-ditch dance-off.

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Irwin finished his run on the hit ABC show with his highest score of the season: He earned 23 points out of 30 for his fox-trot with professional partner Anna Demidova on Monday’s episode.

Judges’ scores are combined with viewer votes to determine which contestants are eliminated each week.

“Last night was a great night, and to see the audience here standing up, it’s their way of saying they appreciate the hard work,” Irwin said after learning his fate.

Dacascos collected a paltry 19 points for his misguided samba on Monday with a substitute partner after his usual pro, Lacey Schwimmer, fell to the flu. She was back for Tuesday’s episode, when the couple danced-off against Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff.

The “Iron Chef America” host’s trick-filled cha-cha earned praise from the judges, but Carter’s jive was more impressive.

Dacascos said being on the show was “one of the greatest experiences of my life.”

“It’s certainly much harder than it looks on television,” he said. “The bond you create with the pro dancers, my dancer, the other celebrities, it’s really special.”

Tuesday’s results show also featured performances by Rod Stewart, country singer Colbie Caillat and Ballas Hough, the rock band created by pro dancers Mark Ballas and Derek Hough. Ballas and his partner, actress Melissa Joan Hart, were eliminated from the competition last week.

Hough is still in the running for the mirrorball trophy with his partner, model Joanna Krupa.

Besides Carter and Krupa, remaining contestants include reality TV star Kelly Osbourne, singer Mya and entertainer Donny Osmond. Each will perform two dances on Monday’s episode.