May 19, 2012

Steelers fan kills puppy before start of the game

BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. (AP) – Police say a western Pennsylvania man told them he kicked his girlfriend’s puppy to death because he was upset that the pit bull wouldn’t behave before the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers game.
Twenty-two-year-old William Woodson, of Bridgeville, remained jailed Monday on a charge of animal cruelty.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazettes reports that a witness told police that Woodson was kicking the dog down the street shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday, which is when the football game began. Police say Woodson was supposed to be taking the pit bull for a walk, but the animal resisted. By the time police arrived, the puppy was dead.

Police say Woodson didn’t like the dog and was upset that his live-in girlfriend bought it.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for Woodson.

___

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9C5CVPG1&show_article=1

Current Broadway Show listings and ticket information

B’way Ticket Availability Through Sunday, Nov. 22
Broadway ticket availability through Sunday, Nov. 22

By The Associated
The Associated Press

Broadway ticket availability and capsule reviews of shows as of Nov. 16. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are available at the theaters’ box offices for the shows listed. Details about how to obtain tickets appear at the end.

—”A Steady Rain.” Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman star in Keith Huff’s drama about two Chicago policemen. Gerald Schoenfeld. Limited engagement through Dec. 6. tixx.com. Difficult.

—”After Miss Julie.” Sienna Miller, Jonny Lee Miller and Marin Ireland star in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Patrick Marber’s reworking of Strindberg’s “Miss Julie.” American Airlines. 212-719-1300. Closes Dec. 6.

—”Billy Elliot.” A young man in Britain’s bleak coal country yearns to dance. A musical based on the hit film. Winner of the 2009 Tony Award for best musical. Imperial. tixx.com.

—”Burn the Floor.” An evening of Latin and ballroom dancing — and all points in-between — featuring performers from around the world. Longacre. tixx.com.

—”Bye Bye Birdie.” John Stamos, Gina Gershon and Bill Irwin star in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of the 1960 musical about a rock ‘n’ roll idol’s induction into the Army and the effect on teenagers in a small Ohio town. Henry Miller’s. tixx.com.

—”Chicago.” This Kander and Ebb-Bob Fosse creation is Broadway’s longest running musical revival and deservedly so. Ambassador. tixx.com.

—”Fela!” The life story of Nigerian superstar Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, musician, political activist and self-proclaimed hedonist. A new musical. Now in previews. Opens Nov. 23. Eugene O’Neill. tixx.com.

—”Finian’s Rainbow.” A leprechaun, a stolen pot of gold and a feisty Irish heroine. A revival of the classic 1947 musical featuring a glorious score by E.Y. Harburg and Burton Lane. St. James. tixx.com.

—”God of Carnage.” Jimmy Smits, Annie Potts, Christine Lahti and Ken Stott now star in Yasmina Reza’s hilarious comedy about the volatile meeting of two sets of parents. Winner of the 2009 Tony Award for best play. Bernard B. Jacobs. tixx.com.

—”Hair.” The Public Theater’s Central Park production of the ’60s rock musical comes indoors. Al Hirschfeld. tixx.com.

—”Hamlet.” Jude Law stars as Shakespeare’s melancholy Danish prince in a production from London’s Donmar Warehouse. Broadhurst. tixx.com. Closes Dec. 6.

—”In the Heights.” The lively off-Broadway musical about Latino residents in an area of upper Manhattan called Washington Heights moves to Broadway. Richard Rodgers. tixx.com.

—”In the Next Room or the vibrator play.” Sarah Ruhl’s comedy explores sexual reawakening of women in 19th-century America and the freedom it unleashes. A Lincoln Center Theater production. Lyceum. tixx.com.

—”Jersey Boys.” The musical story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Winner of four 2006 Tonys including best musical. August Wilson. tixx.com. Difficult.

—”Mamma Mia!” The London musical sensation featuring the pop songs of ABBA makes it to Broadway. Die-hard ABBA fans will like it best. Winter Garden. tixx.com.

—”Mary Poppins.” The world’s most famous nanny comes to the stage after her great success as a P.L. Travers book and a Disney movie. New Amsterdam. tixx.com.

—”Memphis.” An interracial romance set in the 1950s when rhythm and blues crosses into the pop mainstream. A new musical. Shubert. tixx.com.

—”Next to Normal.” A family grapples with a mother’s emotional problems. A new musical, originally seen off-Broadway last season. Booth. tixx.com.

—”Oleanna.” Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles star in a revival of David Mamet’s play about a college professor and a female student. Golden. tixx.com.

—”Race.” James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas star in a new play written and directed by David Mamet. Now in previews. Opens Dec. 6. Ethel Barrymore. tixx.com.

—”Ragtime.” A revival of the musical based on E.L. Doctorow’s epic novel of early 20th-century America. Neil Simon. tixx.com.

—”Rock of Ages.” A jukebox musical that celebrates the pop songs of the 1980s. Brooks Atkinson. tixx.com.

—”Shrek the Musical.” DreamWorks’ cinematic green ogre makes it to the stage in this show based on the movie and the William Steig book. Broadway. tixx.com. Closes Jan. 3.

—”South Pacific.” A luxurious, musically splendid revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on one of the short stories in James A. Michener’s “Tales of the South Pacific.” Vivian Beaumont. tixx.com.

—”Superior Donuts.” Michael McKean stars as the owner of a rundown Chicago doughnut shop in a new play by Tracy Letts, author of “August: Osage County.” Music Box. tixx.com.

—”The 39 Steps.” A stage adaptation by Patrick Barlow of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 movie thriller about a man on the run. Four actors portray more than 150 roles. Helen Hayes. tixx.com. Closes Jan. 10.

—”The Lion King.” Director Julie Taymor is a modern-day Merlin, creating a stage version of the Disney animated hit that makes you truly believe in the magic of theater. Minskoff. Difficult on weekends.

—”The Phantom of the Opera.” The one with the chandelier. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a deformed composer who haunts the Paris Opera House is the prime, Grade A example of big Brit musical excess. But all the lavishness does have a purpose in Harold Prince’s intelligent production, now the longest-running show in Broadway history. Majestic. tixx.com.

—”The Royal Family.” Rosemary Harris heads the cast in the Manhattan Theatre Club revival of the George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber comedy about a legendary acting dynasty. Samuel J. Friedman. tixx.com. Closes Dec. 13.

—”West Side Story.” The Sharks and Jets return to New York in a revival of the classic musical loosely based on “Romeo and Juliet.” Palace. tixx.com.

—”White Christmas.” A return holiday engagement of the stage version of Irving Berlin’s popular 1950s movie musical. Marquis. tixx.com. Closes Jan. 3.

—”Wicked.” An ambitious, wildly popular musical about the witches in “The Wizard of Oz” as young women. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Gershwin. tixx.com. Difficult.

—”Wishful Drinking.” Carrie Fisher wrote and stars in this autobiographical solo show detailing the ups and downs of her life in Hollywood. A Roundabout Theatre Company production. Studio 54. 212-719-1300. Closes Jan. 17.

———

The tixx.com number is 212-239-6200 unless otherwise indicated. There is a $7 service charge per ticket, plus a handling fee per order that varies from $2.50 to $4 depending on method of delivery.

tixx.com is 212-307-4100. There is a $7.25 “convenience” charge per ticket, plus a handling fee per order that varies depending on method of delivery.

All theaters owned by Jujamcyn — the St. James, Martin Beck, Virginia, Eugene O’Neill and the Walter Kerr — have a $2 surcharge per ticket for theater restoration. Shows in Shubert theaters have a “facilities” surcharge of $1.50 per ticket.

Both tixx.com and tixx.com will provide information on specific seat locations. They also have toll-free numbers for theater ticket calls outside New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. For tixx.com call 800-432-7250; for tixx.com call 800-755-4000.

The League of American Theaters and Producers has a special telephone line called the Broadway Line for information on most Broadway shows and how to purchase tickets. Calls must be made on a touch-tone phone. The number is 1-888-BROADWAY. The line also will provide information on Broadway touring productions.

The tixx.com booth in Times Square at Broadway and 47th Street sells same-day discount tickets to Broadway, off-Broadway, music and dance productions. There is a $4 service charge per ticket. Cash, credit cards and travelers checks accepted. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday evening performances, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. EDT; matinees Wednesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. EDT; Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. EDT.

The downtown tixx.com booth is in the South Street Seaport at the corner of Front and John Streets. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. EDT; Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT. Credit cards are accepted at South Street.

Matinee tickets must be purchased at South Street Seaport the day before, meaning Wednesday matinee tickets are available Tuesday, Saturday matinee tickets are available Friday and Sunday matinee tickets are available Saturday.

A tixx.com booth in downtown Brooklyn, located at 1 MetroTech Center (the corner of Jay Street and Myrtle Avenue), operates Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. EDT for same-day evening performances and next-day matinee performances. Cash, credit cards and travelers checks accepted.

Full-price tickets and information on Broadway and off-Broadway shows are available at the Broadway Concierge & Ticket Center, located in the Times Square Information Center on the east side of Broadway between 46th Street and 47th Street. There is a $6.50 service charge per ticket. Information on restaurants, hotels and parking also is available.

Hockey Winter Classic at Fenway Park Boston

Checking in: NHL’s Don Renzulli discusses the Winter Classic
Checking in: NHL’s Don Renzulli discusses the Winter Classic
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
With two months to go before the NHL goes to Fenway Park for its third Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, USA TODAY hockey reporter Kevin Allen talked to Don Renzulli, the NHL’s executive vice president of events, about the preparations for the outdoor game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. Renzulli, who previously worked for the NFL, headed up the two previous games in Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium and Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Question: Now that you are heading to your third outdoor game, what have you learned about staging these events?
Renzulli: The first thing is you have to differentiate between a baseball and football stadium. We have done one and one, and they both have their own idiosyncrasies.
How are they different?
Renzulli: The first year was a scramble to put it on, but it was in a football stadium and I was accustomed to football stadiums. It was on field turf. The issues there were the weather and the crown on the field. We have to get it all level. Last year we went into a baseball stadium that was 97 years old and didn’t have much infrastructure. It was a grass field and that is an issue. Any stadium you go into wants to you to maintain their field. They don’t want to do anything afterward.
Isn’t it impossible to put a rink in without tearing up some grass?
Renzulli: That was a big thing last year to get the Cubs to understand that we will do every-thing in our power to limit the wear and tear on the field, but when Mother Nature plays a part it’s out of our control. That’s exactly what happened. When we started setting up, the temperature was in the 50s to three consecutive days of below zero and snow for seven or eight days. Then we broke for Christmas, planned on shoveling out the stadium on the 26th. We did that and then the following day it was 65 degrees. Whatever snow was left was gone, eight inches on the field was gone. We lost the baseball field at that point because the grass turned to mud and all of our heavy equipment going back and forth kind of destroyed the field. But right from day one, we had told them to be prepared and put a field on hold. We didn’t want to put in a new field, and we had time before spring. There were no issues.
Did you explain that scenario to Fenway officials?
Renzulli: Flash forward to this year and we went into Fenway and said the exact same thing. We had conversations with them a year earlier and they were concerned about their field. And we told them if you want the game this is one of things you have to deal with. We got past that now.
Are there any issues to making an outdoor rink that are particular to the Fenway facility?
Renzulli: The Fenway field drops off from pitcher’s mound to first base and to second base a couple of inches, but the other side to the third it’s more like five inches. So our big concern is getting a level surface to start with. It’s like building a house, you have to start level.
Do stadium officials allow the NHL to what it wants to do in terms of decorating the stadium?
Renzulli: Last year, the big thing was we wanted to use the ivy (on the outfield wall) and they said, ‘no’ you can’t touch it. So we had to protect it, and in order to do that we built a dummy wall and they recreated the ivy. But that gave us a storage area we were lacking. But it gave us the same look.
In terms of ambience, is the baseball stadium preferable to a football stadium because of the intimacy?
Renzulli: It depends upon whom you ask. In a baseball stadium, we can get you closer to the action, especially in the corners. But we have to maintain a passage on those corners of about 20 feet. We have to have that space because of things that have to move in an emergency. We take the rink to as close as we can to the fans in a baseball stadium. In a football stadium, it’s a little bit different. When you want to use all of the seats, you have to center it on the field.
In Wrigley, you worked the ivy into the ambience. Will you be working the Green Monster left field wall into the ambience for the Fenway game?
A: Absolutely. It’s bigger than life. Whether we tried or not, it’s there. As we go into a stadium, we remember we are there for a reason: There is a lot of history in the ballparks that we went into last year and we are going into this year. And even going back to Ralph Wilson Stadium … as we go into cities we try to pull together a look that gives fans a feel for the ballpark or city.
Have the league’s ice-making capabilities improved since the Buffalo game on Jan. 1, 2008?
Renzulli: It’s similar, but the difference is it’s new and it’s ours. For the first game, we had a mat system. Once you got the field leveled with sand, you rolled out this big PVC mat out with piping in it. You would fill that top edge with sand and then you would start spraying water on it to create ice. We now have a state-of-the-art plate system. We have 84 panels that are 30 feet by 33 inches wide that create the rink. They are solid aluminum panels with piping through it. Once we get it level, we drop those down and start to make ice. Our (control) trailer was custom made for us and it’s the most state-of-the-art system we have in this country. It has all the bells and whistles and tools so (ice guru) Dan Craig can monitor the ice temperature at different spots on the rink on his BlackBerry. Even if he is in his hotel and something happens late at night, he can look at his BlackBerry and know exactly what’s going on.
When will the NHL start making the Fenway rink?
Renzulli: We go into Fenway Dec. 10.
Are there any special challenges to the NHL playing in Fenway?
Renzulli: It’s harder dealing with a stadium that is dropped into a residential/retail component of the city. There is no extra space around Fenway. At least around Wrigley, we had a couple of parking lots that we controlled. We don’t have that in Fenway. We have a small broadcast compound, and we are trying to squeeze all of the little components of the game in and around different facilities. That’s the only thing that makes it more a difficult area. It’s an urban area, and that has pluses and minuses. We have people who can walk over and we have the Red Sox store that attracts people and there are a lot of restaurants and bars. The area is different. At Ralph Wilson, we were out in the middle of nowhere and we were surrounded by parking lots.
Two months out, how would compare the buzz in Boston for this game compared to the buzz last year in Chicago?
Renzulli: I would say it’s greater. From what we are hearing, especially from the Bruins and Red Sox, the phone is ringing off the hook. Everyone is playing an angle trying to get tickets. We had more than 307,000 people sign up for our lottery for tickets. (That’s up more than 70,000 from last year.) There is a lot of buzz up there. We were there last week and we met with the city, fire and police officials and they are saying this is the biggest thing that has come to Boston outside of Game 7 of the World Series.
If it were a bigger venue, how many tickets could you sell to an outdoor NHL game in Boston?
Renzulli: It’s an interesting question. I don’t know what the number is. It would all come down to the cost of the ticket. If we could bring it down, you could probably get 100,000-plus in the right environment. It’s something that we joke about all the time: When are we going to do a game with 100,000-plus?
Checking in: NHL’s Don Renzulli discusses the Winter Classic
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
With two months to go before the NHL goes to Fenway Park for its third Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, USA TODAY hockey reporter Kevin Allen talked to Don Renzulli, the NHL’s executive vice president of events, about the preparations for the outdoor game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. Renzulli, who previously worked for the NFL, headed up the two previous games in Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium and Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Question: Now that you are heading to your third outdoor game, what have you learned about staging these events?
Renzulli: The first thing is you have to differentiate between a baseball and football stadium. We have done one and one, and they both have their own idiosyncrasies.
How are they different?
Renzulli: The first year was a scramble to put it on, but it was in a football stadium and I was accustomed to football stadiums. It was on field turf. The issues there were the weather and the crown on the field. We have to get it all level. Last year we went into a baseball stadium that was 97 years old and didn’t have much infrastructure. It was a grass field and that is an issue. Any stadium you go into wants to you to maintain their field. They don’t want to do anything afterward.
Isn’t it impossible to put a rink in without tearing up some grass?
Renzulli: That was a big thing last year to get the Cubs to understand that we will do every-thing in our power to limit the wear and tear on the field, but when Mother Nature plays a part it’s out of our control. That’s exactly what happened. When we started setting up, the temperature was in the 50s to three consecutive days of below zero and snow for seven or eight days. Then we broke for Christmas, planned on shoveling out the stadium on the 26th. We did that and then the following day it was 65 degrees. Whatever snow was left was gone, eight inches on the field was gone. We lost the baseball field at that point because the grass turned to mud and all of our heavy equipment going back and forth kind of destroyed the field. But right from day one, we had told them to be prepared and put a field on hold. We didn’t want to put in a new field, and we had time before spring. There were no issues.
Did you explain that scenario to Fenway officials?
Renzulli: Flash forward to this year and we went into Fenway and said the exact same thing. We had conversations with them a year earlier and they were concerned about their field. And we told them if you want the game this is one of things you have to deal with. We got past that now.
Are there any issues to making an outdoor rink that are particular to the Fenway facility?
Renzulli: The Fenway field drops off from pitcher’s mound to first base and to second base a couple of inches, but the other side to the third it’s more like five inches. So our big concern is getting a level surface to start with. It’s like building a house, you have to start level.
Do stadium officials allow the NHL to what it wants to do in terms of decorating the stadium?
Renzulli: Last year, the big thing was we wanted to use the ivy (on the outfield wall) and they said, ‘no’ you can’t touch it. So we had to protect it, and in order to do that we built a dummy wall and they recreated the ivy. But that gave us a storage area we were lacking. But it gave us the same look.
In terms of ambience, is the baseball stadium preferable to a football stadium because of the intimacy?
Renzulli: It depends upon whom you ask. In a baseball stadium, we can get you closer to the action, especially in the corners. But we have to maintain a passage on those corners of about 20 feet. We have to have that space because of things that have to move in an emergency. We take the rink to as close as we can to the fans in a baseball stadium. In a football stadium, it’s a little bit different. When you want to use all of the seats, you have to center it on the field.
In Wrigley, you worked the ivy into the ambience. Will you be working the Green Monster left field wall into the ambience for the Fenway game?
A: Absolutely. It’s bigger than life. Whether we tried or not, it’s there. As we go into a stadium, we remember we are there for a reason: There is a lot of history in the ballparks that we went into last year and we are going into this year. And even going back to Ralph Wilson Stadium … as we go into cities we try to pull together a look that gives fans a feel for the ballpark or city.
Have the league’s ice-making capabilities improved since the Buffalo game on Jan. 1, 2008?
Renzulli: It’s similar, but the difference is it’s new and it’s ours. For the first game, we had a mat system. Once you got the field leveled with sand, you rolled out this big PVC mat out with piping in it. You would fill that top edge with sand and then you would start spraying water on it to create ice. We now have a state-of-the-art plate system. We have 84 panels that are 30 feet by 33 inches wide that create the rink. They are solid aluminum panels with piping through it. Once we get it level, we drop those down and start to make ice. Our (control) trailer was custom made for us and it’s the most state-of-the-art system we have in this country. It has all the bells and whistles and tools so (ice guru) Dan Craig can monitor the ice temperature at different spots on the rink on his BlackBerry. Even if he is in his hotel and something happens late at night, he can look at his BlackBerry and know exactly what’s going on.
When will the NHL start making the Fenway rink?
Renzulli: We go into Fenway Dec. 10.
Are there any special challenges to the NHL playing in Fenway?
Renzulli: It’s harder dealing with a stadium that is dropped into a residential/retail component of the city. There is no extra space around Fenway. At least around Wrigley, we had a couple of parking lots that we controlled. We don’t have that in Fenway. We have a small broadcast compound, and we are trying to squeeze all of the little components of the game in and around different facilities. That’s the only thing that makes it more a difficult area. It’s an urban area, and that has pluses and minuses. We have people who can walk over and we have the Red Sox store that attracts people and there are a lot of restaurants and bars. The area is different. At Ralph Wilson, we were out in the middle of nowhere and we were surrounded by parking lots.
Two months out, how would compare the buzz in Boston for this game compared to the buzz last year in Chicago?
Renzulli: I would say it’s greater. From what we are hearing, especially from the Bruins and Red Sox, the phone is ringing off the hook. Everyone is playing an angle trying to get tickets. We had more than 307,000 people sign up for our lottery for tickets. (That’s up more than 70,000 from last year.) There is a lot of buzz up there. We were there last week and we met with the city, fire and police officials and they are saying this is the biggest thing that has come to Boston outside of Game 7 of the World Series.
If it were a bigger venue, how many tickets could you sell to an outdoor NHL game in Boston?
Renzulli: It’s an interesting question. I don’t know what the number is. It would all come down to the cost of the ticket. If we could bring it down, you could probably get 100,000-plus in the right environment. It’s something that we joke about all the time: When are we going to do a game with 100,000-plus?

Red Sox increase prices for some tickets

The Red Sox raised ticket prices for eight sections of Fenway Park including the popular infield grandstand seats and loge boxes by an average of $3.50.
Discuss
COMMENTS (37)
After freezing ticket prices a year ago in recognition of the national recession, the Sox raised the rates on nearly 50 percent of the park. Infield grandstand seats were increased from $50 to $52. Loge boxes went up $5 to $95. The Green Monster seats now will be $165 with standing room in that section $35, a hike of $5 in both cases.
The lower bleachers, right field roof, and right field box seats also were increased by $2. Other nonpremium sections remained the same. No prices were lowered.
According to Team Marketing Report, which tracks industry trends, the average Red Sox ticket cost $50.24 last season. Only the Yankees, at $72.97, had a higher average. The Major League average was at $26.64.
The Red Sox open the 2010 season at home against the Yankees April 5. The first opportunity to purchase tickets will be Dec. 12, during the annual “Christmas At Fenway’’ event. Exact on-sale information is not yet available.
“After careful review and deliberation, we decided to implement a modest average increase, 3.8 percent that represents the second-lowest average percentage price increase over the past 15 seasons with the exception of last season,’’ team president and chief executive Larry Lucchino said in a statement released by the team.
The Red Sox have sold out 550 consecutive games at Fenway dating to May 15, 2003, a major league record.

The Red Sox raised ticket prices for eight sections of Fenway Park including the popular infield grandstand seats and loge boxes by an average of $3.50.
Discuss
COMMENTS (37)
After freezing ticket prices a year ago in recognition of the national recession, the Sox raised the rates on nearly 50 percent of the park. Infield grandstand seats were increased from $50 to $52. Loge boxes went up $5 to $95. The Green Monster seats now will be $165 with standing room in that section $35, a hike of $5 in both cases.
The lower bleachers, right field roof, and right field box seats also were increased by $2. Other nonpremium sections remained the same. No prices were lowered.
According to Team Marketing Report, which tracks industry trends, the average Red Sox ticket cost $50.24 last season. Only the Yankees, at $72.97, had a higher average. The Major League average was at $26.64.
The Red Sox open the 2010 season at home against the Yankees April 5. The first opportunity to purchase tickets will be Dec. 12, during the annual “Christmas At Fenway’’ event. Exact on-sale information is not yet available.
“After careful review and deliberation, we decided to implement a modest average increase, 3.8 percent that represents the second-lowest average percentage price increase over the past 15 seasons with the exception of last season,’’ team president and chief executive Larry Lucchino said in a statement released by the team.
The Red Sox have sold out 550 consecutive games at Fenway dating to May 15, 2003, a major league record.

Broadway Shows

Broadway Show tickets can be purchased online at Tixx.com

Tixx.com has the largest selection of tickets for Broadway Shows in NYC.Since 1979 people have purchased their Broadway Show tickets from NYC  best source Tixx.com