Posted 8-27-08

NewsRoom Entertainment Shorts

NewsRoom
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Major League Baseball Allows In-Game Review

For the first time beginning Thursday, Major League Baseball will permit instant replay, reversing an earlier prohibition to give umpires the opportunity to review home run calls.

The start date comes about 10 months after general managers voted 25-5 to allow instant replay, and following league agreements with the unions for umpires and for players.

"I believe that the extraordinary technology that we now have merits the use of instant replay on a very limited basis," commissioner Bud Selig said. "The system we have in place will ensure that the proper call is made on home run balls and will not cause a significant delay to the game."

For now, replays will only be used on so-called "boundary calls," such as determining when or if fly balls went over the fence, whether possible home runs landed fair or foul, and whether fan interference occurred on possible home runs.

Coen's Latest To Open Venice Film Festival

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are expected on the red carpet when the Venice Film Festival kicks off tomorrow as their new film takes centre stage on the opening day.

Burn After Reading, fraternal directing duo Joel and Ethan Coen's follow-up to the Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men, casts Pitt as a gym employee who tries to sell a computer disc containing the memoirs of a sacked CIA analyst.

Other highlights of the world's oldest film festival, now in its 65th year, include the screen comeback of Kim Basinger, who plays Charlize Theron's mother in The Burning Plain.

Mickey Rourke stars in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler and Debra Winger teams up with Anne Hathaway in Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married.

Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce star in the Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker.

Wim Wenders heads the jury which will decide the winner of the Golden Lion award for best film.

Bonham's Son In Studio With Led Zep Musicians

The son of Led Zeppelin's legendary wild man drummer John Bonham has been in the studio with his father's former band mates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones.

Jason Bonham told a Detroit radio station that the new material they have been working on could be destined for a new Led Zeppelin album.

The drummer told 94.7 WCSX that writing new material has been "on the cards" since the band's one-off reunion show in London last December, during which he played in the stead of his late father.

However, he did say that lead singer Robert Plant has not been involved in any of the sessions.

Led Zeppelin played their first concert in 19 years, in front of nearly 20,000 fans who went into a ballot to get their much-sought after tickets, at London's 02 arena in December.

Strahan Will Stay Retired

After briefly considering a request by his Super Bowl champion New York Giants to return for one more season in the NFL, defensive end Michael Strahan said Tuesday he would not pull a Brett Favre.

He decided to stay retired after he was asked to return by the Giants, who lost star defensive end Osi Umenyiora for the entire season during last week's preseason game against the neighboring New York Jets.

Reports said that though he was, at one point, close to returning, Strahan himself told FoxSports.com, "This has been one of the toughest nights of my life. But after long deliberation and throwing around a million scenarios in my head for the past day, I think it's just best if I stay retired."

Umenyiora went out with a serious knee injury.