On Today’s Show

➢Here’s a toddler asking his sad friend if he’s okay . . . and then giving him a nice, big hug.

➢Doggy doors can apparently let other critters in. Police in British Columbia recently responded to a home after a deer managed to squeeze in through a dog door and then was unable to find its way out. The RCMP in Kamloops say officers responded to the home where the deer was reported going on a rampage inside. They say the deer damaged a TV and other items before police were able to use a blanket to cover its head and slide it out of the home on a rug. They added the deer did not appear injured and it was released at the scene.

➢ Even Levi’s is recognizing that after the pandemic, the future is sweatpants.  They launched their first-ever line of sweatpants last year, and they now say the pants sold SO WELL they’re planning an even bigger collection of them this year.

➢ “Florida Man” became a thing because of stories like this.  A 22-year-old guy named Matthew Leatham from Port Richey, Florida was arrested over the weekend after he called 911 to try to find a ride home.  The cops found weed on him, so he was charged with marijuana possession and misuse of 911.

That’s a funny-ish crime, but considering what other Florida Men have done, it kinda pales in comparison.  So why is he becoming the new poster child for “Florida Man”?

Because in his mugshot, Matthew literally has a map of the state of Florida tattooed between his eyes.

➢ Hal Holbrook, the Tony and multiple Emmy winner best known for his portrayal of Mark Twain, has died at age 95. He also played Watergate informant ‘Deep Throat’ in 1976’s “All the President’s Men” opposite Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. Holbrook, a World War II veteran who discovered his love of the stage via Army performances during his service while stationed in Newfoundland, would eventually be nominated for an Oscar at 82 for his haunting performance in Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild.”

TODAY IS……………….

• “Rosa Parks Day”, an observance to honor civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who is known for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. It is a legal observance in California today, and in Ohio on December 1.

• “Thank a Letter Carrier Day”, your chance to say thanks to the person who delivers your junk mail.

2004 [17] Facebook is launched from the Harvard dormitory room of Mark Zuckerberg

_________________________________________________________________________

COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

Pam Tillis earned her first Number One single with “Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)” in 1995.

_________________________________________________________________________

NEWS OF THE WEIRD:
Despite Italy’s lockdown, a couple from Venice recently set out to prove Earth’s flatness once and for all by sailing to the edge of the world, which they believed to be somewhere near Sicily.

After selling their car to buy a boat, they set off for the point where the rim meets the vacuum of space. Using a compass (which, of course, relies on the principle that the Earth is round) the couple attempted to navigate their way through the Pelagie Islands to reach Lampedusa, where they believed they’d find the edge of the earth.

They soon found themselves lost, tired, and washed up on the island of Ustica instead. They were quickly placed in quarantine by health officials, but escaped and sailed away once more, possibly reasoning that police’s authority ends at the end of the world. They were caught three hours later.

After escaping again a few days later, they ended up in the home of a man who claimed to be positive for COVID-19, but fortunately for them, he was not. Dejected, they returned to their part of the globe via ferry

Clint Black is 59 today. Clint made his debut with his Killin’ Time album, which produced four #1 singles on the Singles charts. He has amassed more than 30 singles on the charts (of which 13 have reached #1). Black has also ventured into acting, having made a cameo appearance in the 1994 film Maverick, as well as a starring role in 1998’s Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack.

FOUR RANDOM FACTS

1. Sneezes can leave your mouth at more than 200 miles per hour.

2. The “Mission: Impossible”TV series invented the term “self-destruct” with their famous mission instructions that would, quote, “self-destruct in five seconds.”

3. There’s a tiny epoxy shield inside of a pop can . . . otherwise, the pop would make the can corrode in three days.

4. The longest winning streak in any professional sport in history is held by a squash player from Pakistan named Jahangir Khan.  He won 555 consecutive matches from 1981 to 1986.

GOOD NEWS

The Boston Bruins have donated a minimum of $100,000 to support A.J. Quetta, a high school hockey player who sustained a spinal cord injury during a recent game.

Quetta, a senior at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, Massachusetts, sustained the injury when he crashed headfirst into the boards during the game against Pope Francis High School in Springfield.

He had surgery Wednesday, but the 18-year-old unfortunately may never walk or skate again. The Bruins also plan to use proceeds from an auction of used game sticks from Boston and Pittsburgh Penguins players to benefit the Quetta family.

_________________________________________________________________________

BIRTHDAYS

[59] Clint Black, country singer

[48] Óscar de la Hoya, former pro boxer (multiple world titles in six different weight classes, gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona)/current MMA and boxing promoter/Grammy nominated singer(!!)

Snowy owl visits New York’s Central Park for first time since 1890

Bird watching experts said a snowy owl that drew crowds of onlookers to New York’s Central Park is the first member of its species to be spotted in the area since 1890. The snowy owl, a species typically found much further north in Arctic regions, drew crowds of onlookers to Central Park when photos of the avian started appearing on social media. They said the owls sometimes venture south in search of prey and are occasionally seen in the Long Island area. The NYC Audubon conservation group celebrated the bird’s arrival in the park and urged onlookers to make sure not to disturb the owl.

Chimpanzee escapes from zoo enclosure, but returns on its own

A chimpanzee at an Australian zoo escaped from its enclosure, but it returned to the exhibit without any intervention, officials said. The Taronga Zoo in Sydney said a contractor doing work at the facility spotted the male chimpanzee sitting calmly outside of its enclosure at 5:47 a.m. and alerted officials. The zoo’s emergency response unit was activated, but ended up not being needed, as the chimp returned to its enclosure on its own a few minutes after it was seen by the contractor. Officials said the chimpanzee troop will remain off public display until conclusion of an investigation into how the primate managed to escape.

_________________________________________________________________________

Guy Is Arrested for Doing 213 Miles-an-Hour in His Lamborghini . . .

There’s a 33-year-old guy named Gabriel Sleiman in Indianapolis, and back in November, he posted an Instagram video that showed him driving his Lamborghini Huracan on the Interstate . . . and doing 213 MILES-PER-HOUR.

The speed limit was 55, so he was basically quadrupling it.

Well, someone sent the video to the Indiana State Police.  And they reviewed it . . . plus plenty of others on his Instagram account that showed him driving at crazy speeds.

So he was arrested for reckless driving.

He’s claiming the video was, quote, “deceptively edited” to make it look like he was going that fast when he really wasn’t.

According to court records, Gabriel has 15 speeding tickets dating back to 2006.

_________________________________________________________________________

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4^TH

1. TBL 5 – DET 1 BOS 4 – PHI 3 OT

Milwaukee 115 – Toronto 108

2. Dolly Parton reimagined her song “9 to 5” for a Squarespace Super Bowl commercial.  This one’s titled “5 to 9” and it’s about people giving their “side hustles” a boost by building their own websites.  Here’s the spot.

3. Remember in school when kids passed notes to each other in class?  Yeah, well, they don’t do that anymore . . . because they just text each other now.  Here’s a teacher describingthe moment he came to that realization.

4. Here’s comedian Joe Machi on the inconvenience of having to change your bank passwords.

EXPENSIVE WEEKND:
News surfaced recently that The Weeknd is putting up $7 million of his own cash toward production costs to make sure that his halftime performance at Sunday’s Super Bowl is one that we won’t soon forget. But his investment actually isn’t even enough to cover the usual cost of one of the most-anticipated annual musical performances of the year.

Reportedly, Shakira and JLO’s 2020 appearance cost the NFL (or its half-time sponsor, Pepsi) an astonishing $13 million for a 13-minute show. How does this happen?

The NFL foots the bill for props, stagehands, band dues, and production costs. Which means that the 300 drones that Lady Gaga used, or the giant puppet tiger and dancing beach balls that Katy Perry needed were covered by the NFL credit card.

And The Weeknd won’t even receive a paycheck from the NFL when his work on Sunday is done. But he will cash in in other ways. After Justin Timberlake’s 2018 half time show, his music sales rose 543%. And Lady Gaga’s 2017 appearance increased her digital sales by over 1,000%.

Morgan Wallen Is Paying a Huge Price for Getting Caught Using the N-Word

It’s going to take a long time, if ever, for MORGAN WALLEN to repair the damage after he got caught using the N-word Sunday night.

As you may have already heard, his music is being banned almost everywhere.  That includes streaming services like Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music.  CMT announced that they’re “removing his appearances from all platforms.”

Even his record label and distributor are distancing themselves and his contract has been suspended indefinitely.

Don’t expect to see him at this year’s ACMs either.  They posted a statement saying they will “halt his potential involvement and eligibility for this year’s Awards cycle.”

A few country artists have weighed-in with some pretty strong statements.  Mickey Guyton said it “wasn’t his first time using that slur.”  Maren Morris had a similar take.  And Cassadee Pope is “disgusted” by his words.

Tyler Hubbard, Old Dominion, and Jason Isbell have also spoken up.

This is the third time in less than a year that Morgan has done something stupid.  There was the arrest outside of Kid Rock’s bar last May . . . and the infamous partying without a mask that got him booted, and then re-invited to “SNL”.

All three of these events seem to be alcohol-related, so it would be shocking if he doesn’t seek some kind of help.  Whether it’s rehab, or religion, or whatever . . . something inside this man has to change or we’ll be doing this again.

T.J. Osborne Has Come Out as Gay

T.J. OSBORNE of Brothers Osborne has come out as gay.  He opened up about it in an interview with “Time“ that was released yesterday.

T.J. is 36, and he’s known since he was young . . . but didn’t tell his brother JOHN until he was in his mid-twenties.  His close friends and family have known for several years.

Ironically, it took the pandemic and long periods of self-reflection to make him realize that the perfect moment to tell the world would never arrive, so he created that moment on his own.

Quote, “People will ask, ‘Why does this even need to be talked about?’ and personally, I agree with that.  But for me to show up at an awards show with a man would be jaw-dropping to people.  It would NOT be like, ‘Oh, cool.’

“I want to get to the height of my career being completely who I am.  I mean, I am who I am, but I’ve kept a part of me muted, and it’s been stifling.”  He also shared his feelings in a video yesterday on Instagram.

Naturally, T.J. has his brother’s full support.  Here’s what John told “Time”.  Quote, “If I had to have all my money and success erased for my brother to be truly fulfilled in life, I wouldn’t even think about it.  Not for a second.”

DOLLY PARTON AND HER HIT SONG FEATURED IN NEW SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL

Dolly Parton has reworked her classic hit “9 To 5” and changed it to “5 To 9” for a Super Bowl commercial for the website company Squarespace. She appears at the end of it on a magazine cover where she gives a cute wink.

She premiered the clip Tuesday where she said, “We did something real special working with Squarespace, which as you know, is this new way to get things out there — building your own websites, promoting your own products. This was a wonderful way to bring back that song and add new words and talk about what these new people are doing so I’m excited about it.”

In other Dolly news, despite donating one million dollars to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help fund the COVID-19 vaccine, she says she’s going to wait to get one herself. She says, “I’m not going to get mine until some more people get theirs. I don’t want it to look like I’m jumping the line just because I donated money. I’m very funny about that. I’m going to get mine though, but I’m going to wait.”

Of course, Dolly is eligible for the vaccine due to her age. She turned 75 last month.

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer