Bocce

Bocce players scoring a match
Highest governing body	International Bocce Federation
Nickname(s)	Bocci
First played	Ancient Rome
Characteristics
Contact	non-contact
Team members	individual
Categorization	boules
Equipment	bocce (ball) & pallino (jack)
Olympic	non-Olympic

Bocce play in Cape Coral, Florida in 2007

Bocce (sometimes anglicized as bocci or boccie;^{[1][2][3][4][5]} is a ball sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy, (where it is called Bocce, the plural of the Italian word boccia which means "bowl"),^[6] it is played around Europe and also in overseas areas that have received Italian migrants, including Australia, North America, and South America (where it is known as bochas; bolas criollas in Venezuela, bocha (the sport) in Brazil), initially among the migrants themselves but slowly becoming more popular with their descendants and the wider community. The sport is also very popular on the eastern side of the Adriatic, especially in Slovenia (where it is known as balinanje^[7] or colloquial playing boče or bale from Italian bocce or palle meaning balls),^[8] Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Hercegovina (in Serbo-Croatian known under the name of boćanje or simply playing boće (colloquial also bućanje or playing balote), originating in Italian boccie).^[9][10][11] In Southern France the sport is also popular and known as Boule Lyonnaise.

Rules and play[link]

Bocce is traditionally played on natural soil and asphalt courts 27.5 metres (90 ft) in length and 2.5 to 4 metres (8.2 to 13 ft) wide.^[12] Bocce balls can be made of metal^[13] or various kinds of plastic. Unlike lawn bowls, bocce balls are spherical and have no inbuilt bias. A game can be conducted between two players, or two teams of two, three, or four. A match is started by a randomly chosen side being given the opportunity to throw a smaller ball, the jack (called a boccino or pallino in some areas), from one end of the court into a zone 5 metres (16 ft) in length, ending 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) from the far end of the court. If the first team misses twice, the other team is awarded the opportunity to place the jack anywhere they choose within the prescribed zone.

The side that first attempted to place the jack is given the opportunity to bowl first. Once the first bowl has taken place, the other side has the opportunity to bowl. From then on, the side which does not have the ball closest to the jack has a chance to bowl, up until one side or the other has used their four balls. At that point, the other side bowls its remaining balls. The team with the closest ball to the jack is the only team that can score points in any frame. The scoring team receives one point for each of their balls that is closer to the jack than the closest ball of the other team. The length of a game varies by region but is typically from 7 to 13 points.^[14]

Players are permitted to throw the ball in the air using an underarm action. This is generally used to knock either the jack or another ball away to attain a more favorable position. Tactics can get quite complex when players have sufficient control over the ball to throw or roll it accurately.

Video of the sport of bocce

Player of the 20th Century[link]

A bocce player of note is Umberto Granaglia (May 20, 1931 – December 13, 2008), who was awarded the honor of "Player of the Twentieth Century" by the Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules.^[15] Between 1957 and 1980 Granaglia won a record 13 World Championships, 12 European Championship titles, and 46 Italian National Championships.^[16]

See also[link]

Bocce being played

• Boccia
• Bowls
• Fédération Internationale de Boules
• Pétanque

References[link]

External links[link]

• BocceVolo.com - World Class Bocce
• Confederation Mondiale des Sports de Boules
• International Bocce Federation (FIB)

LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes in October 2009
Background information
Birth name	Margaret LeAnn Rimes
Also known as	LeAnn Rimes LeAnn Rimes Sheremet LeAnn Rimes Cibrian
Born	(1982-08-28) August 28, 1982 (age 29) Jackson, Mississippi
Origin	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Country, pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress, author
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Curb
Associated acts	Eddie Cibrian, Ronan Keating, Brian McFadden, Marc Broussard, Elton John, Bon Jovi, Hal Ketchum, Reba McEntire
Website	www.leannrimesworld.com

Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982), best known as LeAnn Rimes, is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Bill Mack song "Blue" when she was 13 to become the youngest country music star since Tanya Tucker in 1972.^[1]

Rimes made her breakthrough into country music in 1996 with her debut album, Blue, which reached #1 on the Top Country Albums chart and was certified multiplatinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album's eponymous leadoff single, "Blue," was originally intended to be recorded by Patsy Cline in the early 1960s. It became a Top 10 hit and Rimes gained national acclaim for her similarity to Cline's vocal style. When she released her sophomore studio effort in 1997, You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs, she moved towards country pop material, which set the trend for a string of albums released into the next decade.^[1][2]

Rimes has won many awards, including two Grammys, three ACMs, a CMA, 12 Billboard Music Awards, and one American Music award.^[3] She has also released ten studio albums and three compilation albums and two greatest hits albums, one released in the US and the other released internationally, through her record label of 13 years, Asylum-Curb, and placed over 40 singles on American and international charts since 1996. She has sold over 37 million records worldwide, with 20.3 million album sales in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[4] Billboard ranked her 17th artist of the 1990-00 decade.^[5] Rimes has also written four books, two novels and two children's books.

Early life[link]

Margaret LeAnn Rimes was born in Star, Mississippi. She is the only child of Belinda Butler Rimes and Wilbur Rimes. The family relocated to Garland, Texas when she was six years old. She was singing by the age of two, was enrolled in vocal and dance training, and by the age of five was performing at local talent shows.^[6][7] Rimes initially began her career in musical theatre, performing in a Dallas, Texas production of A Christmas Carol, and almost landed the lead part in the Broadway production of Annie. However, after appearing on the network television competition show — and clearly charming host Ed McMahon in addition to the more important fact of being a one-week champion on — Star Search, Rimes decided to pursue a career in country music. Following her national television appearance, Rimes made a number of appearances on Johnnie High's Country Music Revue in Arlington, Texas, which garnered the attention of national talent scouts.^[7]

By the age of nine, Rimes was already an experienced singer. She toured nationally with her father and also regularly performed a cappella renditions of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the opening ceremonies of the Dallas Cowboys football games. In order to bring his daughter more national attention, Wilbur Rimes began recording his daughter under the independent label Nor Va Jak when she turned eleven. She released three albums under the label between 1992 and 1996.^[7]

Rimes was discovered by Dallas disc jockey and record promoter Bill Mack. Mack was impressed by Rimes' vocal ability, and over the following three years, he made various attempts to bring Rimes to a mainstream level. The center of Mack's plan to bring her success was his self-penned composition, "Blue," which he had originally sung and released in 1958 as his own single for Starday Records.^[8][9] His song did not become popular, and Mack claimed he intended "Blue" to be re-recorded and made a hit record by Patsy Cline, but she had been killed in a plane crash before ever recording the composition.^[10] By 1995, Mack was able to gain Rimes a contract with Curb Records, after record executives heard Rimes sing "Blue."

Music career[link]

[edit] 1996: Blue

After signing with Curb, Rimes re-recorded a new version of "Blue" that was to be released on her debut studio album on the label. In 1996, the new version of "Blue" was released as a single, peaking at Number 10 on the Billboard Country Chart.^[11] While Curb was releasing "Blue," a claim was also sent out that Mack had been waiting over 30 years to find the perfect artist to record "Blue." However, the story was later found to be an exaggeration, as it was discovered that "Blue" had already been recorded by at least three different artists. Mack himself in 1958 and Kenny Roberts in the 1960s both released the song on Starday Records. In 1993, Australian country artist Kathryn Pitt released her own version as a single from her album "Look Out" in her native country. The story, though, was continually spread throughout the national press, adding to the idea that Rimes was the successor to Patsy Cline's legacy.^[6] Rimes's album Blue was also released in 1996, and sold 123,000 copies in its first week, which was the highest figure in SoundScan history up to that point. The album peaked at Number 1 on the Top Country Albums and debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, eventually selling a total of four million copies in the United States and 8 million copies worldwide.^[2][6][12] Allmusic considered the album to be "delightful" and that it could "help inspire other young teens."^[13] Rimes followed up the single with several charting country singles from her 1996 album, starting with "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)", which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1996. She also released a duet single with Eddy Arnold from the album, a remake of his 1955 hit "The Cattle Call".^[1][11] The album's other hits included the Top 5 "The Light in Your Eyes" and the minor hit "Hurt Me."

With the album's success, Rimes received many major industry awards. In 1997, she won the Country Music Association's "Horizon Award," becoming the youngest person to ever be nominated and win a Country Music Association award. The following year she was awarded Grammy Awards, one for Best New Artist and another for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Blue". She is the youngest person to win a Grammy, at 14 years old. She was also the first Country music artist to win the Best New Artist.^[6]

1997–2001: Pop crossover and worldwide success[link]

LeAnn Rimes performing a free concert for the airmen at Ramstein Air Base, Germany on September 23, 2004.

In 1997, Rimes released a compilation of previously recorded material under the Nor Va Jak label, Unchained Melody: The Early Years. The album mainly consisted of cover versions, ranging from Country to pop covers, including songs originally recorded by The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Bill Monroe, and Dolly Parton.^[14] Rimes' version of the title track became a major country hit in early 1997 and helped increase sales for the album.^[11] In September 1997, Rimes released her follow-up studio album to Blue titled You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs. The album covered classic inspirational songs, such as "Clinging to Saving a Hand" and "Amazing Grace". It also featured pop music remakes of songs such as Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" and Bette Midler's "The Rose". The album was a departure from Rimes' previous releases as it contained more Adult Contemporary-styled music than Country.^[15] The album sold over four million copies in the United States, certifying 4× Multi-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[16] The album contained the single "How Do I Live", which became a major pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching Number 2.^[11] "How Do I Live" set a new record for becoming the longest-running single in Billboard Hot 100 history, spending 69 weeks on the chart.^[12] The song was originally recorded for the film Con Air, along with a version also recorded by Trisha Yearwood. Yearwood's manager at the time had told the press that Rimes' version sounded "too pop". Therefore Rimes' version received little country airplay (only reaching Number 43) and was rejected for the film. Yearwood's rendition was released to country radio shortly afterwards, peaking at Number 2 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1997, becoming the country hit instead of Rimes' version.^[11][17] On October 13, 1997 she published her first novel entitled Holiday in Your Heart along with Tim Carter.^[18]

Rimes released her third album for Curb in May 1998, Sittin' on Top of the World. The album leaned more progressively towards Adult Contemporary and mid-tempo pop music. It included pop material written by Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster.^[2] It also included a remake of Prince's "Purple Rain" and was produced by her father. The album was given mixed reviews. Allmusic gave the album two out of five stars.^[19] Rolling Stone said Rimes vocal style "holds her own in the more popular style of Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, wherein a spectacular voice upstages a song, grins and goes on about her business."^[20] Upon its release, Sittin' on Top of the World debuted at Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart, and Number 3 on the Billboard 200,^[21] and sold over a million copies in the United States, certifying "Platinum" in sales by the RIAA.^[16] The album spawned the Number 4 Country hit "Commitment", the Top 20 Pop hit "Looking Through Your Eyes", and the Number 10 country hit "Nothin' New Under the Moon".^[11]

Rimes released her fourth studio album for Curb, LeAnn Rimes, in October 1999, a collection of country standards.^[22] The album covered songs mainly by Patsy Cline – which included "Crazy", "I Fall to Pieces", and "She's Got You" – that were primarily taken from her 12 Greatest Hits album. The album also covered Marty Robbins's "Don't Worry" and Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee". The album included one new song, "Big Deal". The song gained many positive reviews. Allmusic called the song, "a return to her roots" and "a salute to one of her idols, Patsy Cline." The album in general received much praise. Allmusic called the album one of her "better" efforts, since they had disliked her previous releases.^[23] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a positive review and said that Rimes's voice, "dares listeners to take note of what is missing in her interpretations -- the gutsiness and gut-wrenching urgency of performers who felt what they sang."^[24] The album was a major success like her previous releases, debuting at Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, topping the country albums chart for two weeks. In addition, it also peaked at Number 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.^[25][26] The album also sold over one million copies in the United States, and was certified "Platinum" in sales by the RIAA.^[16] The album's new song, "Big Deal", was the lead single off the album, and became a Top 10 country hit that year, peaking at Number 6.^[11] Also in 1999, Rimes recorded a duet with Elton John for the stage musical Aida, titled "Written in the Stars".^[7] The song became a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The album would spawn a second single, a cover of Cline's "Crazy" that was released outside of the United States.

In 2000, Rimes would make her full crossover into pop music. On March 8, 2000, Rimes contributed to the soundtrack from the 1999 TV movie Jesus,^[11] called Jesus: Music From & Inspired by the Epic Mini Series.^[27] The song, "I Need You", would be released as a single from the soundtrack on July 18, 2000.^[28] "I Need You" was characterized by Allmusic as having similarities to that of Adult Contemporary and Pop music.^[29] The song became a Top 10 country hit and also a major pop hit, reaching Number 11 on the Hot 100. Rimes would make her first theatrical acting debut in the 2000 film Coyote Ugly. She would also contribute four songs for the film's soundtrack on August 1, 2000.^[30] Two singles were released from the Coyote Ugly soundtrack. "Can't Fight the Moonlight" was released as a single for the soundtrack on August 22, 2000 with the second single from the soundtrack, "But I Do Love You", as the B-side track.^[31] By February 2002 "Can't fight the Moonlight" became a crossover Pop hit, reaching Number 11 in United States and becoming the highest selling single of 2001 in Australia. "Can't Fight the Moonlight" won Rimes a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Song from a Movie."^[26]

In January 2001, Curb Records released another compilation of previously recorded material, I Need You. The album topped the Top Country Albums chart for one week, and also peaked at Number 10 on the Billboard 200.^[26] I Need You did not garner praise from many critics and was mainly given negative reviews. Rolling Stone gave the album two and a half out of five stars and called the album, "synthetic-feeling."^[32] Despite very little praise from critics, the album was sold well, certifying "Gold" in sales by the RIAA.^[16] Rimes would later go on to publicly disown the album, which she stated was compiled together from studio outtakes her father had produced and that it was released without her knowledge or input.^[33] At the time, during the litigation with her label, Rimes was asking "that Curb give Rimes the rights to all past recordings and videos, give up all publishing interests in her compositions and destroy all currently available recordings."^[34]

In mid-October 2001, Curb released a compilation of patriotic and inspirational songs, titled God Bless America, in order to benefit the disaster recovery for the September 11 attacks. It included the title track, which she released as a single, as well as inspirational songs such as "The Lord's Prayer" and "The Sands of Time".^[35]

[edit] 2002–04: I Need You, Twisted Angel, Greatest Hits

LeAnn Rimes performing a free concert for the airmen at Ramstein Air Base, Germany on September 23, 2004.

In February 2002 Rimes reissued the I Need You album with nine of the songs originally released on the album, an extended version of the song You Are, the song "Light the Fire Within", which she sang at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and 4 bonus remixes. Rimes would later that year release her seventh album (sixth studio album) titled Twisted Angel, which contained more adult material.^[11] After battling managerial control over her career the previous year, Twisted Angel became the first album released by Rimes that was not produced by her father.^[36] Instead, Rimes executive produced the album. A month following the album's release, Twisted Angel was certified "Gold" by the RIAA, her second Gold-certified album.^[16] The album received mainly negative reviews by most music critics and magazines. Allmusic stated that the album could possibly "alieniate her from her original fans" and "the songwriting is a little uneven."^[36] Rolling Stone gave the album two out of five stars, stating that the album sounded too "country-pop crossover."^[37] The album peaked at Number 3 on the Top Country Albums chart and Number 12 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.^[38] Three singles were spawned from the album between 2002 and 2003, however none of the singles were Top 40 hits on the country or pop charts. The lead single, "Life Goes On", reached the Top 40 only on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, peaking at Number 19. The second single, "Suddenly", only peaked at 43 on the US Country charts, 47 on the UK charts and 53 on the Australian charts.

The following year when Rimes turned 21, she released her first children's book entitled Jag in July^[39] and she also released a Greatest Hits compilation in November.^[26] The album recapped Rimes' major hits under Curb records from "Blue" in 1996, to "Life Goes on" in 2002. The album peaked at Number 3 on the Top Country Albums chart and Number 24 on the Billboard 200 in November.^[40][41] Featured on the album was the song, "We Can", which was originally released as a single for the Legally Blonde 2 soundtrack in July 2003. The album would eventually be certified "Platinum" in 2007.

In 2004, Rimes released a sequel to Jag entitled Jag's New Friend in September^[42] and in October she also issued her first holiday-themed album titled, What a Wonderful World.^[26]

[edit] 2005–06: Return to country; This Woman

In January 2005, Rimes released her seventh studio album, This Woman, her first album of contemporary country music in many years.^[6] Although the album received mixed reviews from magazines and critics, it was Rimes' best-selling album in over five years,^[43] reaching Number 3 on the Billboard 200 and Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart in 2005,^[44] selling more than 100,000 copies within its first week. Rimes explained to the Chicago Sun-Times that the album helped mature her as a person, "I have 10 years of experience, so it's tough to get anything past me in this business. I've become a very strong woman because of all I've gone through, good and bad."^[12] This Woman would eventually be certified "Gold" later in 2005, after selling more than 500,000 units nationwide.^[26] The album's singles were Rimes's first Top 10 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart in five years. The three singles released from the album — "Nothin' 'Bout Love Makes Sense", "Probably Wouldn't Be This Way", and "Something's Gotta Give" — all peaked within the Top 5 on the country charts between 2005 and 2006.^[11] From the album, Rimes was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Something's Gotta Give". In addition, she was also nominated for an American Music Award for "Favorite Female Country Artist." In 2006, Rimes recorded a cover version of Barbara Mandrell's "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)", for a tribute album to Mandrell's career titled, She Was a Country When Country Wasn't Cool: A Tribute to Barbara Mandrell.^[26] Rimes also would record a track for Disneyland's fiftieth anniversary celebration album titled, "Remember When."^[7]

In summer 2006, Rimes released the studio album Whatever We Wanna, which was released exclusively outside of the United States and Canada. It was originally planned on being released in North America, however due to the success of This Woman, it was never released. The album spawned three singles, "And It Feels Like", a duet with Brian McFadden titled, "Everybody's Someone" and "Strong". The album leaned more towards Pop Rock and R&B music instead of country.^[45]

Rimes would release one final single in the US from her album This Woman in August 2006 called "Some People" which would peak at 34 on the US country charts.

[edit] 2007–09: Family

Rimes took a two year break, and then released her next studio album in October 2007, Family. The album was a mix of country, pop, and rock music, and included a duet with Bon Jovi, "Til We Ain't Strangers Anymore".^[12] Family was the first album released by Rimes in which every track was co-written by Rimes herself.^[43] Rolling Stone said the songs on the album are "uneven" and rated it three and half out of five stars.^[46] Allmusic gave Family four out of five stars and said that the album, "illustrates her range as a singer along with some true strength as a writer."^[47] The album helped nominate Rimes for the Academy of Country Music's "Top Female Vocalist" award in 2008.^[12] The album's lead single, "Nothin' Better to Do" was released in mid 2007, and peaked at Number 14 on the Billboard Country Chart before the end of the year. The album has released two singles to date; "Good Friend and a Glass of Wine" and "What I Cannot Change."^[6]

In 2008, Rimes toured with Kenny Chesney where she opened every show on his 2008 Poets and Pirates Tour, along with other artists on select dates such as Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, Gary Allan, Big & Rich, and Luke Bryan.^[48] In late 2008, Rimes was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "What I Cannot Change", the third single from the album.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, she recorded For Good with Delta Goodrem for the Wicked 5th Anniversary album.^[49] LeAnn teamed up with Joss Stone for a CMT Crossroads special aired in fall 2007.^[50]

In 2009, Rimes published What I Cannot Change along with song co-writer, Darrell Brown. It was released on April 14, 2009 and contains a bonus CD with an exclusive live performance of the song and both Brown and Rimes reading excerpts from the book.^[51]

[edit] 2010—: Lady & Gentlemen and Spitfire

Despite singing new material at several live shows earlier in the year, it was announced, on May 24, 2010 by Rimes via her Twitter account, that her new studio album would be a cover album of country songs, titled Lady & Gentlemen.^[52][53] The first single from the album was a cover of John Anderson's 1983 single, "Swingin'. Rimes first debuted the song at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. The single was released on June 8, 2010. On November 8, 2010, Rimes released her second single titled "Crazy Women" to radio. "Crazy Women," A re-recording of "Blue" and "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" were announced, in the same post, as the three extra tracks that Rimes went back in the studio to add to the album. A third single, "Give", debuted at #60 in July 2011. Rimes announced via her Twitter account on July 17, 2011 that the new release date for her Lady & Gentlemen album would be September 27, 2011. She also stated that her next studio album is already done and will be released next year.^[54] Rimes went back into the studio in March to record fifteen more songs for her new album, Spitfire,^[55] which will be released in fall 2012.^[56] It is to be the last contractually-obligated album under Rimes' contract with Curb Records.^[57][58] On April 4, 2012, Rimes was featured on the song, "The Choice", which was released by Soles4Souls as a charity single to help the foundation put 500,000 pairs of shoes on children who live without.^[59][60]

Musicianship[link]

Vocal ability and musical stylings[link]

Since her debut in 1996, Rimes' voice and vocal style have often been compared to and identified with Patsy Cline. Cline showed distinctive emotional expression in most of her material. Rimes has also used distinctive emotional expression in many of her songs, most notably her first single, "Blue", which was sung in the style of Cline. Rimes' vocal similarities to Cline had brought wide interest to the idea that Rimes was the successor to Cline's legacy, and brought her novelty appeal. Many music critics have argued that Rimes' vocals were only a reproduction of Cline's original sound, while others have disagreed.^[7] Allmusic has called Rimes' vocals "rich and powerful."^[6] Her vocal ability has also brought Rimes to comparisons to past teenage country stars, including 50s country star Brenda Lee and 70s country star Tanya Tucker. Rimes was also known for choosing mature material that was beyond her age range. In her first album, Rimes recorded such material as Deborah Allen's "My Baby", whose lyrics provocatively say, "my baby is a full-time lover, my baby is a full-grown man."^[2] Other material such as Diane Warren's "How Do I Live" had also been considered too mature for Rimes' age and was the main reason why her version of the song was not chosen to be used in the soundtrack for the film Con Air.^[17]

Influences[link]

Rimes has given credit to artists from various music genres, mainly country and pop. She has stated that Barbra Streisand, Wynonna Judd and Reba McEntire were primary influences on her career.^[61] Rimes has said the main influence on her career was Patsy Cline. She has covered many of Cline's hit songs since the beginning of her career. Her 1999 self-titled album is primarily a tribute to Cline, as Rimes recorded five out of ten songs for the album that were hits for Cline years before.^[23] Rimes has also stated that Judy Garland was an influence as well.^[62]

Film and television[link]

After beginning to date actor Andrew Keegan in 1998, Rimes said to the press that she had some ideas about possibly getting involved in an acting career. Rimes later moved to Los Angeles, California later in the year with her mother to pursue an acting career.^[12] That year Rimes played a role in the Made for television movie, Holiday in Your Heart, which is based on a book she had helped write. For participating in the film, Rimes was awarded the "Rising Star" award from the Lone Star Film & Television Awards.^[22] She made her official film debut in 2001 for Coyote Ugly, providing the singing voice for Piper Perabo's character Violet Sanford^[63] and making a cameo appearance towards the end of the film. In addition, she also recorded four songs for the film's soundtrack, including the Top 20 Pop hit, "Can't Fight the Moonlight."^[7] In 2005 Rimes hosted the country music television competition, Nashville Star on the USA television network. However she only held the position for one season after deciding to depart from the show's cast.^[43]

In early June 2007, she was chosen at the last minute to record the leading song for the soundtrack of Evan Almighty called "Ready For A Miracle" (previously recorded by Patti LaBelle). The song can be heard in the movie, during the end credits, and in the trailers of Evan Almighty.^[64] Rimes played in the movie Good Intentions with her friend Elaine Hendricks which is filming near Atlanta, Georgia.^[65] Rimes plays Meg Galligan in the made for TV movie, Northern Lights, based on the Nora Roberts novel of the same name. The film aired on the Lifetime network on March 12, 2009.^[66]

In 2007 Rimes began hosting The Colgate Country Showdown, a nation wide televised country music talent competition, similar to that of American Idol or Nashville Star. In 2011 Rimes hosted the show for her 5th consecutive year, when the show switched sponsorship, to Texaco.^{[67][unreliable source?][unreliable source?]}

Personal life[link]

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush listen to LeAnn Rimes perform in the East Room of the White House in a performance honoring the Dance Theatre of Harlem on February 6, 2006

Lawsuits[link]

On May 21, 2000, Rimes filed a lawsuit against her father, Wilbur Rimes, and her former manager, Lyle Walker in Dallas, Texas. Rimes claimed that her father and former manager took over seven million dollars from her in the preceding five years. Rimes also alleged that both men made unreasonable fees and took advantage of Rimes' label, Asylum-Curb, in order to acquire financial gain. Rimes sought unspecified damages because her attorney was not sure of how much money had been lost in the preceding five years. According to Rimes' lawyer, her mother hired two accountants to investigate how much was taken from Rimes's fortune, and it was estimated that the men acquired around eight million dollars in royalties.^[7] In 2002, Rimes's lawsuit with her father was "settled on undisclosed terms."^[12] Rimes reconciled with her father for her wedding.^[68]

In November 2000, Rimes filed a second lawsuit against her label, Asylum-Curb. Rimes wanted permission to be released from the contract that was signed by her parents on Rimes' behalf when she originally signed with the label in 1995. She also wanted her label to turn over the rights of her music, video work, and publishing interests, and destroy all of her recordings that were currently available to the label at the time of the lawsuit.^[34] Part of Rimes's legal battles ended in December 2001, when Asylum-Curb started a new contract with Rimes.^[7]

Marriages[link]

Amid the legal battles, Rimes fell in love with backup dancer Dean Sheremet. The two had met when he was chosen to dance during Rimes's hosting of the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards. After her first date with Sheremet, Rimes told InStyle Magazine: "This is the guy I want to marry."^[12] The couple married the next year, in 2002. In July 2009, the couple separated and in September 2009, Rimes announced their plans to divorce.^[69][70] The divorce was finalized on June 19, 2010, exactly six months after Sheremet filed divorce documents for dissolution of marriage.^[71]

Rimes is currently married to Northern Lights co-star Eddie Cibrian, with whom she had a well-publicized extramarital affair prior to the split from Sheremet.^[72][73] Cibrian left his wife Brandi Glanville, the mother of his two children, for Rimes. He filed for divorce in August 2009 after eight years of marriage.^[74] In June 2010, Rimes spoke for the first time about the end of her first marriage, stating, "I take responsibility for everything I've done. I hate that people got hurt...But I don't regret the outcome." ^[75] On December 27, 2010, it was announced via Billboard that Rimes and Cibrian were engaged.^[76] The couple wed on April 22, 2011 at a private home in California.^[77]

Philanthropy[link]

In 2008, she opened up about her lifelong struggle with the autoimmune disease psoriasis. She participated in a PSA to raise awareness about the disease.^[78]

Rimes lent her voice to the 2008 song "Just Stand Up." The proceeds benefited Stand Up to Cancer. As a result of SU2C fundraising endeavors, the SU2C scientific advisory committee, overseen by the American Association for Cancer Research, was able to award $73.6 million towards cancer research.^[79]

On December 19, 2010, she performed "The Rose," joined by The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles^[80] in remembrance of the many gay teenagers who committed suicide in 2010. On her weblog she wrote on June 18, 2011: "I believe in equality for everyone. I believe everyone should have the right to love and commit to whomever they want. [...] All I know is that in God's eyes we are all the same. I just wish we could see through the eyes of God more often."^[81]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1996: Blue
• 1997: You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs
• 1998: Sittin' on Top of the World
• 1999: LeAnn Rimes
• 2002: Twisted Angel
• 2004: What a Wonderful World
• 2005: This Woman
• 2006: Whatever We Wanna
• 2007: Family
• 2011: Lady & Gentlemen
• 2012: Spitfire

Compilation albums[link]

• 1997: Unchained Melody: The Early Years
• 2001: God Bless America
• 2002: I Need You
• 2003: Greatest Hits
• 2004: The Best of LeAnn Rimes

Filmography[link]

Publications[link]

• Holiday in Your Heart (1997) with Tom Carter^[18]
• Jag (2003)^[39]
• Jag's New Friend (2004)^[42]
• What I Cannot Change (2009) with Darrell Brown^[51]

Awards[link]

Country Music Association awards[link]

Academy of Country Music awards[link]

Grammy awards[link]

American music awards[link]

CMT music awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: LeAnn Rimes

• Official International Website
• Official Northern Lights movie site starring LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian (Defunct site prior to 5/12)
• LeAnn Rimes at the Internet Movie Database

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

Father Guido Sarducci is a fictional character made famous by American comedian Don Novello. Sarducci, a chain-smoking priest with tinted eyeglasses, works in the United States as gossip columnist and rock critic for the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano (sometimes mentioned as The Vatican Enquirer, a take-off of the tabloid The National Enquirer).

Background[link]

Novello created the character in 1973, after he purchased the outfit (consisting of big floppy black hat, white clerical collar, and a long, red-trimmed black coat with cape) for $7.50 at a St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. The character was featured in 1970s cartoons by underground cartoonists Dave Sheridan and Fred Schrier, appearing in person in the early 1970s on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and later in the 1975 Smothers Brothers TV show. His most prominent appearance was on Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s, during which time Novello was also a writer for the show. In the late 1970s, Father Guido Sarducci was featured on radio commercials for High Times magazine where he offered to perform blessings for a fee.

On his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, a skit called "How to Pay for Your Sins" on a 1978 episode hosted by Richard Dreyfuss, he was on crutches from an injury suffered during a dress rehearsal sketch about hockey players. Most of his appearances on SNL have been on Weekend Update, including one where he reported that "The take at the shrines in Italy has gone down" which he suggested correcting by creating "Shrinemobiles" and thus taking the shrines to where the people were, and another where he is sent to London to try to wake up Paul McCartney at 4:00 in the morning (12:00 in New York) by throwing coins, obnoxiously singing The Beatles and Wings songs, and finally, throwing a rock at the window (he says it works every time). One of Sarducci's most memorable SNL pieces occurred on February 16, 1980, when he actually managed to corner Richard Nixon at 1 a.m. outside of the former President's New York City home for an interview. A stunned looking Mr. Nixon did not respond to the one question that Sarducci managed to get out before the end of airtime: "Mr. President, Mr. President, if you coulda be any animal in the world, whata would it be?" Sarducci has appeared in four cold openings in the 1979–1980 season (on episodes hosted by Steve Martin, Teri Garr, Elliott Gould, and Rodney Dangerfield), two commercial parodies ("MX-5 Tampons" on the 1981–1982 Christmas episode hosted by Bill Murray and "Bocce Ball My Way" on the last episode of the 1985–1986 season hosted by Anjelica Huston and Billy Martin), and two monologues on the 1985–1986 season (the first hosted by Madonna in a pretaped sketch showing Madonna's wedding to Sean Penn (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) and the second on the Christmas episode of the 1985–1986 season hosted by Garr as Sarducci's alter ego, Pope Maurice). Sarducci also hosted two SNL episodes during the 1983-1984 (when Dick Ebersol was executive producer) and cameoed during two 1990s episodes, most notably on a Weekend Update segment where he reports on Pope John Paul II's missing wallet. Father Guido Sarducci has 31 appearances on SNL, the most of any of the recurring characters.

In 1981 Novello made newspaper headlines when he visited Vatican City wearing the Father Guido Sarducci costume to do a photo shoot for Time magazine. After taking pictures in an area where photography was prohibited, he and his photographer, Paul Solomon, were arrested by the Swiss Guards and Novello was charged with "impersonating a priest". Although the guards attempted to confiscate the film from the shoot, Solomon managed to hand them the wrong film. The charges were later dropped. In the early 1980s, Novello was featured in ads promoting candidates for the priesthood. He listed one advantage of being a priest as getting first pick at the annual parish garage sale.

During the 1980s and 1990s Sarducci appeared on other television shows, including Fridays, Married... with Children, Unhappily Ever After, Blossom, It's Garry Shandling's Show, and Square Pegs. In 1981, Sarducci appeared in Gilda Live!, a film and an album recording based on Gilda Radner's successful one-woman show which had been playing on Broadway. In 1984, he appeared in a music video for the Jefferson Starship song "No Way Out." In 1995, he appeared as a priest trying to perform an exorcism in the movie Casper. The same movie featured a cameo by fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd as Ghostbuster Ray Stantz.

At the Reno Hilton, Sarducci appeared with an old man sleeping in a wheelchair, as the 106 year old, Dario Cardinal Fungii.

He appeared on the 2002 album "A Classic Rock Christmas" performing the song "Santa's Lament" featuring Joe Walsh and Joe Vitale.

The character also appeared on the Handsome Boy Modeling School albums So... How's Your Girl? and White People, telling biographical stories of the life of a professional male model in the latter. Novello also released two comedy albums as Sarducci: Breakfast in Heaven and Live at St. Douglas Convent. He also appeared on the MSNBC show Countdown with Keith Olbermann on March 19, 2005 discussing The Da Vinci Code and his DaVinci Code Decoder Ring.

In Disney Studios' animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire released in 2001, Don Novello uses the voice and speech style of Father Sarducci to portray the character of demolitions expert Vinny Santorini.

Sarducci was present at the First Annual "Geno Roast" at the Aqua Turf in Southington, Connecticut. He gave the prayer of invocation and roasted the UConn Huskies women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma. He also made a guest appearance on the April 30, 2005 broadcast of NPR and Chicago Public Radio's Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! news quiz show, commenting on the ascension of Pope Benedict XVI.

He appeared on The Colbert Report on June 23, 2010, claiming to have conducted an interview with Glenn Beck while visiting the Vatican.^[1]

He delivered the benediction at the Stewart/Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear from the Mall in D.C. on October 30, 2010. He was wearing his classic white clerical collar, a long red-trimmed black coat with cape, zebra vest/jacket and black beret.^[2]

Cultural references[link]

• Father Guido Sarducci is also referenced in the DangerDoom single, "Space Hoe's."
• In the Homestar Runner Halloween 2006 toon, enititled "Happy Hallow-Day!", Strong Bad is dressed as Father Guido Sarducci. As another reference to SNL, Homsar is dressed as Ed Grimley.
• In the Home Movies episode "Identifying a Body", Jason is dressed as Father Guido Sarducci while giving Brendon his last rites in a film.

See also[link]

• Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches
• Saturday Night Live characters appearing on Weekend Update
• Don Novello

References[link]

External links[link]

• FatherSarducci.com