From Usenet:
So, I just read that William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League, has asked ABC to cancel Penn & Teller's segment on this weekend's Superbowl.Apparently, he has taken offense to their "graphic" performance at the Vegas Riviera last Thursday. Anyone know what the deal really is with this?
My general impression of Donohue from past such public complaints is that he's a media-hound douchebag, so I'm not surprised he's discovering a potential beef which will get cameras on him during Superbowl week. Also, he has a real bee in his bonnet for making life difficult on Disney, so the fact that the game is on ABC clearly puts this right up his alley. However, he generally reserves his criticism for cases of perceived anti-Catholic bias (he was the biggest voice hollering about Kevin Smith's "Dogma" before it was even released), but I'm having trouble figuring out what "graphic" Catholic insult P&T worked into their show.
I'm a big fan of P&T, but not a regular in this group. I'll try to keep an eye out for posted responses, but if anyone has the real skinny and could e-mail it to me at XXXXXXXX, it would be much appreciated. Hopefully, whatever the real beef here is, it won't prevent P&T from entertaining the country this Sunday. (For the record, an ABC spokesman said he had no knowledge of the complaint and so would not comment on it).
Daily Racing Form: Super airtime for Las Vegas?
While the NFL nixed Las Vegas's attempt to buy an ad during its Super Bowl broadcast, the city still will get its share of national exposure during the weekend, even if it's in an indirect way.
Comedians Penn and Teller are scheduled to be part of ABC's pre- and postgame coverage Sunday. However, the Rio Resort-Casino headliners are in hot water for a skit they performed last weekend at a roast of fellow shock comedian Amazing Johnathan. Penn, dressed as a Roman soldier, unveiled a shroud to reveal a near-naked Teller on a cross, while a midget dressed as an angel simulated certain unmentionable acts. The Catholic League, a 350,000-member organization based in New York that fights anti-Catholicism, has called for ABC to ban Penn and Teller from its broadcast.
The skit sounds like something Jimmy Kimmel, a Las Vegas native, might try. Kimmel - best known for his stints on the "Ben Stein Show," "The Man Show," and his prognosticating segments on "The NFL Today" - debuts his live late-night talk show on ABC after Sunday's game. Kimmel is proud of his roots. Keep an eye out for Las Vegas references and guests.
One show that is conspicuous by its absence from this year's Super Bowl festivities is "The Howard Stern Show." In each of the past two years, Stern had broadcast from the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel in the week following the Super Bowl, bringing his crazy cast of characters with him.
On his show this week, Stern said they won't be coming out this month and are looking into perhaps visiting this spring. Las Vegas gossip columnists have been speculating that the Palms, which is in direct competition for the hip demographic, may be able to lure Stern away from the Hard Rock now that Don Marrandino, former Hard Rock president, has left the property to work for Steve Wynn.
Arte Lange, a Stern sidekick, will be performing his stand-up act this Friday and Saturday at the Suncoast Showroom.
Well, just a case of a slime company putting on a slime show. Slimes stick together. I avoid them.