JANUARY 11, 2019

This weekend, Sarah Thomas will become the first woman to officiate an NFL playoff game. She’s on the crew that’s working Sunday’s divisional game between the L.A. Chargers and the New England Patriots. The NFL hired her back in 2015.  She was the league’s first full-time female official . . . and before that she was the first woman to officiate a major college football game. She’s the ‘Down Judge,’ which is just under the Head Referee and Umpire, managing the chains, setting the line of scrimmage, marking the spot where the play ends, and making line-of-scrimmage calls. She previously served as a ‘Line Judge.’

 

Amazon founder JEFF BEZOS and his wife MACKENZIE did NOT have a prenup, which means it’s likely they’ll split their $136 BILLION fortune down the middle. And she’s entitled.  They got married in 1993, several years before Jeff became even a millionaire. Sources are saying that Jeff and his girlfriend LAUREN SANCHEZ didn’t hook up until their respective marriages were over.

 

Lifetime holiday movies are supposed to uplift us and fill us with joy. But one that aired back in November was not for one couple. Setiam and Katherine Allah, had their Christmas ruined . . .they took a photo with their kid to send out as a Christmas card, and somehow, someone at Lifetime got a hold of it, and used it in the movie “Christmas Harmony”. In the scene, a woman wants to put that card and another one up on the fridge, because she thinks they’re “festive.”  But her guy tells her not to because, “They’re ugly.” The Allahs say they were embarrassed when friends and family started calling to tell them they were in the movie.  They obviously didn’t give Lifetime permission to use the photo, and have no idea how they even got it. They’re suing for all the movie’s profits.

 

A sing-along version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” is hitting 750 theaters today. The song lyrics will be displayed on the screen, and the audience will be encouraged to belt them out.

 

I hate to break this to you, “Criminal Minds” fans, but the ride is almost over. The show is ending after 15 seasons. Yesterday, the show Tweeted, “Hey, Criminal Minds fans, we’ve got big news.  First, mark your calendar for the Season 14 finale, February 6th . . . Next, get ready for a momentous ride:  Season 15 will be our epic final season.” The 15th season will be 10 episodes, and it’ll air in the 2019 / 2020 season.

 

The Kevin Hart movie “The Upside” is out this weekend. That’s the one with Bryan Cranston as a quadriplegic billionaire.  It’s up against “A Dog’s Way Home”, and the Keanu Reeves sci-fi movie “Replicas”.  And “Star Trek 4” isn’t happening.

 

DIERKS BENTLEY released a video called “The Burning Man Tour On Ice.” It’s a tour promo and a spoof of an Olympic-type figure skating program. Mostly, it’s him clowning around.  His tour openers JON PARDI and TENILLE TOWNES are also in it.  He even managed to get Olympic skater and “Dancing with the Stars” champ ADAM RIPPON to Tweet out a few good words about it.

 

Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, and Rascal Flatts were some of the performers at Wednesday’s charity concert to benefit the Troy Gentry Foundation. Troy’s widow Angie helped plan it, and they raised over $300,000. Angie told “People” that she donated Troy’s body to the Gift of Life Donor Program. This was back in 2017 after the tragic helicopter accident that took his life.  She tried to donate his organs but they weren’t viable because of his injuries.  However, his bones, tissue, and corneas were all worthy candidates. Everyone’s talking about Blake’s tribute on the show.  He talked about Troy being underrated as a musician and a performer.  He remembered the first time he played “Over You” for him.  “I played him a song that I wrote with MIRANDA [LAMBERT] . . . and she had a great record on this.  [It] was about my brother, and Troy didn’t know it was about my brother, and at the time he had lost his brother. “I remember after I played the song I looked at him and I could tell that it hit had him really hard.  He wasn’t crying or anything, he was just beside himself a little bit. “And I remember thinking, ‘Wow, he went through the same thing that I went through, losing my brother.  And I feel like tonight it’s only appropriate that we do this song for Troy this time.”

 

TRAVIS SCOTT and KYLIE JENNER’s daughter Stormi has her own $25,000 chair.

 

DAN + SHAY finally agreed to record an acoustic version of “Speechless”. As you may know, it’s become a wedding song and fans have been asking them to do an acoustic version to play for the first dance.

 

RANDY HOUSER’s new album “Magnolia” is out today.

 

 

Naomi Judd is 73.

Blogs

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2024

A study in the National Library of Medicine just revealed that city residents are 20% more likely to develop an anxiety disorder than those who live in rural areas . . . and 40% more likely to develop a mood disorder. Eric Church just announced that he will headline a brand-new music festival called the…

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2024

It’s “Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day” . . It’s a day we can finally celebrate great titles like, “Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog” by Johnny Cash . . . or “Sic’ Em on a Chicken” by Zac Brown Band. Here are some other quirky titles 1.  “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd”…