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"It is never too late to be what you might have been." - - George Eliot

Tiger’s Caddy Denies Return Rumors

*Tiger Woods’ longtime caddy Steve Williams is slamming reports that the golfer is returning to the sport any time soon.

“The stories stating Tiger will return at the matchplay have no truth to them,” Williams told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Reports surfaced last week that Tiger would play in the upcoming WGC-Accenture World Match Play Championship on Feb. 17 in Marana, Arizona. Another report had Tiger returning for the Tavistock Cup at Isleworth, Florida, on March 22.

Woods last week reportedly left a sex rehab facility in Mississippi, where he sought treatment after it was revealed he’d been cheating on his wife Elin Nordegen with more than a dozen women.

Fantasia’s ‘Purple’ Reign: Singer returns as Celie in ‘The Color Purple’

*Grammy-nominated singer and Broadway star Fantasia Barrino, most often known simply as Fantasia, rose to fame as the 2004 “American Idol” winner.

Later that year, she released her debut disc “Free Yourself,” which was certified platinum.

Several tours, performances, and television guest appearances later, Fantasia released her second disc in 2006 and on the heels of that release, scored the role of Celie in the Broadway musical “The Color Purple” based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker.

The Great White Way rookie was scheduled for a six-month engagement that was extended thanks to a huge box-office response to her casting. However, the “AI” alum started missing performances that caused the show’s producers to refund tens of thousands of dollars.

But Fantasia is back. And she’s answering questions about her Broadway burnout and talking about the new “The Color Purple” tour, which stops off in LA this Wednesday, February 10 at the Pantages Theater (in Hollywood) until Feb 26.

“My first go ’round with ‘The Color Purple’ for that first year was an experience of a lifetime,” she reflected. “There were a lot of things that I learned; discipline, commitment and a whole lot of sacrifice. You’re on the stage every day, eight shows a week. Every day is like a brand new show. You can’t just say, ‘Tuesday I’m going to give my all, but Wednesday I’m just going to go out there and give what I got.’ You’ve have to get out there every day and give a full performance to a brand new crowd.”

“The Color Purple” was Fantasia’s very first Broadway show. Period. She’d never seen one and was suddenly cast in one. She told EUR’s Lee Bailey that she had no warning on how tough Broadway really is.

“It was tough. It was something very new to me. No one prepared me or warned me or let me know how grueling it was going to be,” she said. “They just saw something in me and put me in rehearsals for two weeks and threw me out there on that stage and said, ‘When the lights come on and the curtain goes up, you know what to do.’”

Fantasia recalled that her first five months on the show seemed to go quite smoothly, but it was month 6 – her original gig end – that she began to wear down and found herself exhausted by the traumatic story of her character’s life coupled with ordeals in her own.

“At the sixth month I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ Miss Celie’s life wasn’t all peaches n’ cream; she goes through a lot of things. In order to play the part, I had to step into her shoes, and what began to happen is that I didn’t know how to release the character and it was strange to me.”

“I felt like it was a heavy load dealing with me and Celie,” she continued. “She became a friend of mine. She became someone very special to me.”

So Fantasia left the show to get her life together, but came back because she felt she owed it to people who came to the show and missed her, but there was another reason for her sabbatical from the production. No one, including Fantasia herself, knew that at the end of her initial stint on ‘The Color Purple,’ she had two tumors on her vocal chords.

Upon leaving the production, Fantasia did a performance at Clive Davis’ Grammy party of the song “I’m Here,” a favorite of “The Color Purple” musical.

“After that I wanted to go to the doctor,” she said. “I don’t like the doctor. I’m scared of the doctor. So if you hear me say I want to go to the doctor, I don’t feel well.

Fantasia and her doctor discovered that she had two tumors, and that the tumors probably played a role in her fatigue doing the show. She, nor her management, really made a statement about her illness, meanwhile, reports were flying that the young star was irresponsible or too immature to handle a Broadway role.

“If I would have had a publicist or the right management or just someone to say, ‘She’s not feeling well,’ or ‘She’s in the hospital,’ Fantasia said of the situation would have been handled a little better. “The doctor basically explained to me that the tumors were making me tired.”

Even on her recent appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” she was asked quite directly about her first departure. Fantasia’s doctor came on the show, too to talk about how she had tumors that could have been cancerous or even taken away her voice.

“So I needed to go back and finish what I started,” she said of her return to the show. “And now that Fantasia’s life is better I can get out on that stage and carry Celie’s burdens, her emotional stuff without feeling like when I’m done with her, now I have to go deal with my stuff. Things have gotten so much better for me.”

As we stated, Fantasia Barrino is currently reprising the role of Celie in Los Angeles as “The Color Purple” tour is scheduled there from February 10-26. For ticket info, go here.

Look for more on Fantasia in Part 2 when she discusses her spoiled brother, her family and her VH1 TV show.

Video: How Oprah, Dave and Jay Pulled Off Super Bowl Ad

*No, that wasn’t special effects or CGI trickery that brought Oprah Winfrey together with late night rivals Jay Leno and David Letterman in a Super Bowl promo for Letterman’s “Late Show.”

“According to the talk show’s executive producer Rob Burnett, the spot was put together quickly. And on the down low.

The wheels were set in motion soon after CBS offered “Late Show” a promo slot during the Super Bowl.

“Dave had this idea, ‘What about getting Jay and Oprah together with me?’ and he wrote it,” Burnett explained to the Associated Press. “We said, ‘This is too funny to pass up.’ First we called Oprah.” Then Leno was approached, and he, too, signed on. That was two weeks ago.

Arrangements had to be made to get the Los Angeles-based Leno and the Chicago-based Winfrey to New York for filming — and do it without word getting out.

“Security was a big priority for us,” Burnett said. “We really wanted to keep this under wraps. There were a lot of internal logistical conversations about how to even get Jay and Oprah into our building secretly.”

The spot was filmed last Tuesday at the Ed Sullivan Theatre, home of “Late Show.” According to Burnett, Leno arrived in disguise: hooded sweatshirt, dark glasses and fake mustache. Filming took less than a half-hour, Burnett said.

“It was quick, it was easy,” he said. “The attitude was professional and cordial. Dave and Jay were fine with each other.”

For now. It may be a different story after the Winter Olympics, when Jay Leno returns as host of the “Tonight Show” and his ratings battle with Letterman resumes.

Beyonce’ Caught Up In RICO Sting?

Illinois Hit with Yet Another Political Scandal

Ex-candidate for Illionois Lt. Governor, Scott Lee Cohen

Illinois can’t seem to produce a solid politician to save their lives.  Ever since their governor Rod Blagojevich tried to sell Barack Obama’s seat to the highest bidder things just have not been the same.  Now the democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, Scott Lee Cohen, is on the hot seat.  He was running and crying all the way to the exit when his past showed up to greet his public before him. (more…)