On Today’s Show
➢ Last week, someone found a monolith in the middle of the desert in Utah, just like the one from the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
Well The monolith VANISHED over the weekend, and the Bureau of Land Management says they didn’t remove it. So the local sheriff’s office is now investigating both where it came from . . . and where it went.
➢ MIKE TYSON’s fight against ROY JONES JR. on Saturday was deemed a DRAW. It was an exhibition . . . there were eight, two-minute rounds, no knock-outs were allowed, and there weren’t any official judges. Instead, there were celebrity judges who declared it a tie.
The color commentary was provided by SNOOP DOGG and at one point he described the fight as, quote, “like two of my uncles fighting at the barbecue.”
Both Tyson and Jones took home a guaranteed $1 million. Tyson could end up making around $10 million for his win, while Jones could net $3 million. Tyson has said he’ll donate all his proceeds to charity.
During the post-fight interview, Mike Tyson admitted to literally smoking marijuana just before the fight.
➢ Desserts have become our go-to stress reliever during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to DessertAdvisor.com, a Canadian search platform that connects those with a sweet tooth with delicious desserts nearby. The platform says that since early March — when the pandemic caused widespread lockdowns, most online dessert search categories saw dramatic increases of between 100% to 250%. Example: Searches for banana bread increased by 170%.
➢ There’s an online petition asking that Vancouver name a street after RYAN REYNOLDS.
He was born in Vancouver . . . and the petition calls him the city’s “favorite son,”. but Ryan isn’t interested. He Tweeted, quote, “Very kind but hard pass. If traffic sucks everyone will say, ‘Ryan Reynolds is a mess,’ or ‘Ryan Reynolds is really backed up.’ My brothers would enjoy this too much.”
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated $500,000 to help support homeless, trafficked youths in Canada. They gave $250,000 to Covenant House Vancouver and $250,000 to Covenant House Toronto.
TODAY IS……………….
- “Cyber Monday”, also known as Blue Monday, is the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. It was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online (and get a great deal on something that yesterday, you didn’t even know you wanted!) [and]
1982 [38] Michael Jackson releases “Thriller”, which becomes the best-selling album worldwide (currently at 47.3 million in certified sales)
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GOOD NEWS
Some people will do anything for an injured animal. Ariel Cordova-Rojas says she recently rode her bike to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens to do some bird watching when she quickly noticed that a swan sitting alone was acting strangely.
Cordova-Rojas spent five years as an animal care manager at the Wild Bird Fund rehabilitation center in Manhattan, and recognized that the swan was in distress. After being unable to reach any wildlife rescuers who would be able to come pick up the swan, she used her jacked to pick up the 17-pound bird, and then walked about a mile back to her bicycle.
From there a couple offered to drive her to the nearest Subway station, and she rode the train with the swan on a seat next to her. An animal care manager from the Wild Bird Fund met the woman and the swan at the Nostrand Avenue station in Brooklyn and drove her and the bird the rest of the way to the Wild Bird Fund’s facility.
The Wild Bird Fund officials say the swan seems to be suffering from lead poisoning, likely from swallowing the weight from a fishing line. The bird is undergoing treatment and will likely be released in a few weeks.
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BIRTHDAYS
[83] Ridley Scott, movie producer-director (“The Martian”, “Gladiator”, “Alien”)
[63], improv comedian
[55] Ben Stiller, actor (“Night at the Museum” films, “Meet the Parents” films)/movie producer-director (“Tropic Thunder”, “Blades of Glory”)
[35] Kaley Cuoco, actress (‘Penny’ on “The Big Bang Theory” 2007-19, “8 Simple Rules” 2002-05)
LAST WEEK IN SCIENCE
- Last Sunday was a big day in engineering history: Gillette received a patent for the first disposable razorbladein 1904. They got popular in World War One, because troops got them in their field kits. So after the war, more guys started shaving at home.
- Two elements on the Periodic Tableturned 75 years old recently: Americium (ammer-ISH-ee-um) . . . and Curium (KYUR-ee-um.). Americium is used in smoke alarms. Curium is used in atomic batteries.
- The computer mouse turned 50 recently. An engineer named Doug Engelbart patented it in 1970 and made the first one out of WOOD. He called it a mouse because he thought the cord looked like a tail.
- Last Wednesday was the 57th anniversary of the first push-button telephonein 1963. It took a few decades, but they eventually killed off the old rotary-style phones.
- And the yo-yojust turned 154 years old today. The modern version anyway. Ancient Greeks had similar toys.
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MONDAY NOVEMBER 30TH
- Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patriciaand general manager Bob Quinn had a very bad no good Thanksgiving. Both were fired two days after the Lions lost to the Houston Texas 41-25 on Thanksgiving. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will take over as interim coach.
The New Orleans Saints have been fined $500,000 by the NFL and lost a 7th-round draft pick as punishment for an unmasked locker room celebration of the team’s win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9. ESPN says the Saints are appealing the penalties.
The Denver Broncos played without any of their Quarterbacks yesterday after they were deemed close contacts to another player who tested positive. They used a practice roster WR who had played some QB in College.
Here’s another economic loss of the pandemic in 2020. Did you know that the people who own homes around Green Bay’s Lambeau Field would charge people to park on their street? Obviously it brought in some great money. Here’s Kathryn Tappen talking about it last night on “Sunday Night Football”. (From “Sunday Night Football” on Sunday, November 29, 2020.)
Tonight’s Monday Night Football game on ESPN:
Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles, on ESPN 8:15 PM EST
- • “The Disney Holiday Singalong” (ABC): A musical event featuring star-studded performances and animated on-screen lyrics; hosted by Ryan Seacrest.
- “CMA Country Christmas” (ABC): Legendary acts and current stars perform Christmas classics and festive collaborations; Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins host.
- A woman in Melbourne, Australia, was ticketed for illegally using her cell phone while driving. She saysshe was simply eating an ice cream bar.
- Here’s comedian Robyn Schall readinga list of her 2020 goals. She wrote it in December of 2019 so looking back at them now just makes her laugh.
No winning ticket was sold for the $55 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw.
The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw TOMORROW will be approximately $60 million, and there will be eight Maxmillions prizes to play for.
No winning ticket was sold for the $8.9 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw.
However, the guaranteed $1 million prize went to a ticket holder in the Prairies.
The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw WEDNESDAY will be approximately $11 million.
GABBY BARRETT CHOOSES ‘ALL-TIME FAVORITE’ SONG TONIGHT
Gabby Barrett will be making her first appearance on the CMA Country Christmas airing tonight (Monday, Nov. 30th) on ABC. She has chosen to sing “The First Noel,” a song she recently released, which she tells us is a personal holiday favorite. [“‘The First Noel’ is a song that’s very special to me and very familiar as well. It’s one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs, and so I thought it would be really fun to make my own kind of version of the song. I’m really excited to be performing it on the CMA Country Christmas this year. I’ve watched that the past couple of years so to now be the person flip-flopped, gonna be performing it on the television is really exciting.”]
CMA Country Christmas also features performances by Dan + Shay, Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, and the show’s co-host, Thomas Rhett. CMA Country Christmas airs at 9 p.m. ET.
DARIUS RUCKER & LINDSEY STIRLING RELEASE ‘WHAT CHILD IS THIS’ DUET
Darius Rucker has teamed up with electronic artist and violinist Lindsey Stirling for a special performance of the classic Christmas carol “What Child Is This” for tonight’s (Monday, Nov. 30th) CMA Country Christmas television special, airing at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. The duet has also just been released as a digital-only single.
Darius tells us the performance was the idea of the show’s executive producer, Robert Deaton: [“To be getting to sing ‘What Child Is This’ and to be getting to do it with Lindsay is amazing, and when (producer) Robert called me and asked me if I wanted to do it I was so honored. She’s such an amazing musician and to get up here and get to do that song with her on the CMA Country Christmas I think is pretty awesome.”]
FAST FACTS
Darius released his solo Christmas album, Home For The Holidays, in 2014.
“SNL” Is Giving Morgan Wallen Another Chance This Saturday
Two months after “SNL” canceled MORGAN WALLEN for partying without a mask and breaking their COVID-19 safety protocols, he’s been re-invited. He’ll perform this Saturday. JASON BATEMAN is the host.
Morgan Tweeted the news last week, writing, “Let’s try this again.” He included a photo of a corkboard with three Post-It notes pinned to it. The first is Saturday’s date, and then Jason’s name, and then his name.
Props to “SNL” boss Lorne Michaels for coming through on this. Back when it happened he promised they’d find time to make it up. He didn’t drag his feet.
Also, in case you didn’t hear: “More Than My Hometown” is Morgan’s fourth consecutive Number One single on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart. The other three are “Up Down”, “Whiskey Glasses”, and “Chasin’ You”.
