The legend of Leona Lewis and her first hit “Bleeding Love” continues to grow here in America and all around the world. The smash hit has reached #1 in some 30 countries to date. Yesterday, it accomplished a VERY rare feat here on the U.S. Pop airplay charts, spending it’s 10th consecutive week at #1! It’s the first song to have double-digit weeks at the summit since Mariah Carey’s comeback hit “We Belong Together” spent 11 weeks there in 2005. A quick look at the top 4 of the official chart which will be in Tuesday’s edition of USA Today:

lw TW Artist Title TW lw Move Aud
1 1 LEONA LEWIS Bleeding Love 9837 10276 -439 62.359
2 2 RIHANNA Take A Bow 9628 9251 377 59.888
6 3 JESSE MCCARTNEY Leavin’ 7538 6808 730 44.306
3 4 RAY J/YUNG BERG Sexy Can I 7202 7526 -324 46.575

Sadly, it doesn’t look like “Bleeding Love” will have a chance to match Mariah or tie the all-time record of 12 weeks at #1 held by the 1995 Donna Lewis hit “I Love You Always Forever.” It should fall below Rihanna’s “Take A Bow” tomorrow on the charts. Still, for a debut song which got off to a fairly slow start to do this well, not to mention set the all-time weekly records for pop spins ( 10,993 on 5/4/08 ) and largest estimated listening audience ( 74,527,000 on 5/7/08 ) is some pretty big news and something to be VERY proud of!

“Bleeding Love” also spends it’s fifth straight week on top of the Hot AC chart, with an even 4,000 spins. It also remains at #2 behind Sara Bareilles’ “Love Song” on the Adult Contemporary chart.

So what’s next for Leona here in the U.S.??? Well, her second single, “Better In Time” is due to go to pop radio for adds on July 15th. The buzz is already starting to grow on this song, as three weeks prior to the adds date it’s already cracked the top 75 of the pop chart! Congratulations to Leona on her continued success here in America and all around the world!

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OK, we’re almost a quarter of the way into the 2008 baseball season and a few players have become a bit beyond annoying to some of us. Actually, there’s probably one who has caused more ire than anyone else for fantasy leaguers: Andruw Jones of the Dodgers.

What can I say? 19 hits in 112 at bats for a .170 batting average???!!! He has all of ONE home run and FIVE runs batted in on the year so far. Lance Berkman of the Astros recently had almost as many hits in a week ( 18 ) as Jones has for the entire season! Yes, this is the same Andruw Jones who hit 92 home runs and drove in 257 over the 2005 and 2006 seasons for the Braves. Nagging injuries and a pre-season diet where he took off 20 pounds were thought to be the main reasons why he slumped to a .222 batting average, 26 home runs and 94 RBI’s last year. He put the weight back on (plus about 5-10 more pounds) and he has simply fallen into an abyss this year. He looks completely lost at the plate, and is striking out more than once for every three at bats. If Joe Torre is as smart of a manager as he’s supposed to be, he should bench Andruw until further notice and go with an outfield of Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier for the foreseeable future.

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I remember the day almost as if it was yesterday. It was the morning of July 22, 2007 as Sergio Garcia looked poised to get the monkey of his back and win the first major of his career. A four stroke lead early in the final round of the British Open, only to see it evaporate courtesy of a balky putter. A heartbreaking lip-out of a 10 foot putt to win the tournament on the 72nd hole extended the major to a four hole playoff where Sergio lost to Padrig Harrington by two strokes. With the loss, Sergio’s reputation as the “best player in the world to not win a major” grew. Would he ever win “the big one?” How would he bounce back from such a tough loss?

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon in Ponde Vidra, Florida, the site of golf’s so-called “fifth major,” the Players Championship. The leader at the end of the third round was an unheralded journeyman named Paul Goydos at 7-under par, with nine time tour winner, 47 year-old Kenny Perry a stroke back. Sergio sat in third at 4-under par, with another journeyman (Jeff Quinney) and defending Players champion Phil Mickelson lurking five strokes back at 2-under par. Perhaps more important than the position of the leaders was the weather forecast: wind, and lots of it. When I saw that forecast, I made two quick mental notes: Sergio with his vast experience in playing in inclement/windy conditions would likely be a serious contender. Mickelson, with his deft short game and high ball flight would most likely not be a factor.

Sergio got off to a rocky start in round four, bogeying his first hole. Fortunately for him, those ahead were also stumbling. Goydos bogeyed 2 & 3, while Perry bogeyed two of his first four holes. Mickelson double-bogeyed his first hole and was never a factor, ballooning to a 7-over par 78 in the tough conditions. Sergio continued to hang close to the leaders, posting a 37 on the front nine to lie at 3-under, only two strokes back. Perry was at 4-under par through his first nine, but things began to unravel for him soon after that. Bogeys on 10 and 11 dropped him to 2-under par. Then, a disastrous triple bogey 7 after knocking a ball into the water on the par-4 15th hole ended his chances. Perry would finish the day with a 9-over-par 81, and tied for 15th.

As his playing partner Perry fell out of contention, Goydos almost gained command of the tournament. Birdies on 10 and 12 got him to 7-under par, right where he began the final round. Sergio had birdied 11 and 12 himself moments earlier to get to 5-under par. A bogey on 13 pushed him back to 4-under par, but he righted the ship with a long birdie putt at 14 to get to 5-under par. Under the radar, Quinney made some waves on the closing nine. Birdies at 11,13 and 16 got him to 5-under par as well. It had become a three horse race. Goydos though then had some struggles of his own, bogeying both 14 and 15 to fall to 5-under par. He did right the ship though, with a birdie on 16 to get back to 6-under par.

As the players approached the 18th hole, they all basically knew what they needed to do. Sergio and Quinney both found the rough with their tee shots. Sergio’s ball found some VERY deep rough and it took all of his strength to punch the ball out into the fairway to give himself at least an opportunity to get up and down for par. Quinney’s approach found the bunker at the back of the green. With a horrible lie, it was pretty much a guaranteed bogey for him. Sergio then pulled off two of the best shots he’s ever hit. His approach shot stoppped about seven feet behind the pin and he made a confident stroke with his putter and found the bottom of the cup. Quinney’s 4-under total put him in third place. Sergio was in the clubhouse with a 1-under par 71 and a 5-under par total.

Goydos simply needed to par the 18th hole to win, but his tee shot found the rough as well. He hacked out to about 50 yards from the green, and then chunked his approach shot to 15 feet under the hole. His par putt never had a chance, and with the bogey, he finished at 5-under par as well and fell into a sudden death playoff with Sergio.

For only the second time in tournament history, the Players Championship was going to a playoff. And there could not be a more appropriate place to begin a playoff than the famous island green of the 17th hole. It’s 128 yards of sheer terror. With the winds gusting, a little luck was a necessity if you wanted to escape with a score of par. Both Goydos and Sergio escaped it the first time on Sunday with pars, Sergio’s shot barely staying dry as he two-putted from the fringe 45 feet away.

In the playoff, Goydos won the draw and hit first. As the ball came off his club, it looked good, but as has happened so many times over the years, a gust of wind ballooned his shot and caused it to drift right and short. Goydos had found the water. All Sergio would need to do is find the land to secure the tournament. Much easier said than done as I’m sure you know. Well, Sergio hit what can arguably be called the shot of his life, landing his ball just to the right of the center of the green 20 feet away and then having it trickle with the aid of the wind to within 4 1/2 feet of the hole. Finally, the demons could be exercised. Two putts later, Sergio claimed his first “major” title and the $1,710,000 paycheck that went with it.

Even though he’s only 28 years old, Sergio Garcia has been through a lot in his career. Will he be the next to challenge Tiger Woods? Well, I’m not sure if he’s there yet. As he accepted the 2008 winner’s trophy from Mickelson he said “thank you Tiger for not playing this week.” Everyone in the gallery got a kick out of that comment… One thing though was very evident though throughout the day… The joy that the 19 year-old kid displayed in almost winning the 1999 PGA Championship (won by Woods over him by a single stroke) was back! On Sunday, he made the important putts - six of them being eight feet or longer. He pumped his fist confidently each and every time he made a putt. For those of us who have seen him go through so much, it was so nice to see him FINALLY triumph. Congratulations to Sergio on a great tournament and win!

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I just wanted to give a quick note of congratulations to country music star Carrie Underwood on her induction into the Grand Ole Opry! Fellow Oklahomian Garth Brooks presented Carrie with a 14-inch bronze and oak wood replica of the Opry’s vintage microphone stand as she became the latest member of this exclusive fraternity. The presentation and Carrie’s performance of three of her songs was shown live on GAC TV from 8-9 pm ET/5-6 pm PT on Saturday night.

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There was a reason the Utah Jazz made the playoffs this year - their 37-4 record on their home court also known as the Salt Palace. That mark was the best home record of any NBA team this year. One of those four defeats came at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lake Show was hoping to add another loss to the Jazz home ledger, and for a few minutes tonight, that looked like it might happen. The Lakers jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead over the first 2:53 of the game. The Jazz stormed back though, going on a 15-3 run over the next six minutes to take a four point lead. The Lakers managed to forage ahead one last time at 23-21 on a Ronny Turiaf dunk with 1:24 to play in the opening period.

From there, the Jazz took control of the game. A 28-15 run put them up by 13 with 2:32 to play in the first half. The Jazz took a 52-43 halftime lead. The Lakers tried to rally in the third quarter, but could never trim the margin below six points. After three quarters, the Jazz led by seven at 79-72. The Jazz extended the lead to 12 points at 86-74 with 9:02 to play in the final period. The Lakers though would rally, going on an 18-9 run to cut the Jazz lead to 95-92 with 3:21 to play. The Jazz and Carlos Boozer would put the game away though as he made three consecutive shots over the next minute and a half, while a turnover and two Laker misses on three-pointers pushed the lead back to nine with 1:57 to play. The Lakers simply ran out of time and ended up losing 104-99.

Game four of the series will be on your local ABC station starting at 3:30 ET/12:30 PT on Sunday.

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More to come on this issue… We have Rihanna’s record label attempting to buy another Hot 100 number one hit with her current single, “Take A Bow.” It’s quite distressing that a respected publication such as Billboard would make itself so subject to this sort of manipulation. For all intents and purposes, there are some weeks (Leona Lewis’ current and legitimate #1 hit “Bleeding Love” not withstanding) where the song purported to be the #1 hit on the chart is in fact not even close to that.

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With Kobe Bryant finally winning his first MVP award, many thought that he and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates might have a letdown against the Utah Jazz tonight in game two of their best-of-seven round two playoff series tonight at Staples Center. The Lakers did have a letdown, but fortunately it only lasted about 4 1/2 minutes into the game.

The Jazz kept it close early, actually leading 13-12 with 7 1/2 minutes to play in the first quarter. The Lakers then went on a 21-5 run to close the quarter to take a 33-18 lead. From there, the Lakers were never seriously challenged until late in the fourth quarter when the Jazz cut the lead to 99-94 with 5:58 to play. But, just like in game one on Sunday afternoon, the Lakers then put the Jazz away just as quickly as they had inched close. Sasha Vujacic hit a 20 foot jumper and Derek Fisher connected on his fourth three-pointer of the night to stretch the margin back to 10 points. The Jazz desperately tried to get back into the game in the closing 1:01, fouling the Lakers six times! It didn’t work though as the Lakers made 11 of their 12 free throws, and finished with a 120-110 victory to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

The usual suspects did their thing for the Lakers tonight. The newest league MVP had 34 points (11-for-18 from the field, 11-for-12 from the line), eight rebounds and six assists. “Mr. Double Double,” aka: Lamar Odom had 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Pau Gasol had a “quad 5″… scoring 20 points while grabbing five rebounds, dishing out five assists, and blocking five shots. “D-Fish” scored 22 points including the aforementioned four three-pointers. “The Machine,” as Vujacic is called by his teammates, scored 12 points off the bench.

Game three of the Series will be on Friday night in Utah at 9:00 ET/6:00 PT and can be seen on ESPN. GO LAKERS!

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Whether it was in Sacramento, Denver, Boston, or most especially the Staples Center the chant throughout the 2007-2008 NBA season when Kobe Bryant came off the court or did something special was the same: “MVP, MVP, MVP!!!” For whatever reason, up until today, Kobe had failed to ever win the award. Today, it FINALLY happened as he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player for the first time receiving 82 first place votes and 1,100 total points. New Orleans’ Chris Paul with 28 first place votes and 894 points was second, with Kevin Garnett third (15, 670) and Lebron James fourth (1, 438).

Kobe’s scoring was down this year - he only averaged 28.3 points per game (down from 31.6 and 35.4 the previous two years). His rebounding was up though as he secured a career second-best 6.3 per game. He also had his second best season in steals, averaging 1.84 per game. Although his 5.4 assists per game were only average in terms of his career numbers, people around the league will tell you he definitely made his teammates all-around better players. The Lakers posting their best season in the post-Shaq era by far with a 57-25 record is testament to the impact he had.

Congratulations to Kobe on finally being named the NBA’s MVP… an award that is VERY well deserved!

Yes, I do have some Spanish in me… so I do want to wish everyone a very happy Cinco De Mayo! Also, I want to wish a very Happy 90th birthday to my Grandma!

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For one quarter this afternoon, the Utah Jazz were able to hang with the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. The problem for the Jazz though is the NBA game is four quarters. The Lakers only led 25-24 after one period, but Kobe Bryant and company gradually built their lead until it reached 13 points at halftime. The Lakers lead continued to grow until it reached 19 points at 68-49 with 7:33 to play. The Jazz though were persistent and slowly pecked away at the Lakers advanatage, trimming the Lakers lead to 79-72 by the end of the third quarter. The Jazz would stay close, getting to within four points at 91-87 on a layup with 4:44 left to play. They would get no closer though, although even three minutes later they were still down by only six points at 96-90. The Lakers then finally closed things out, scoring five points over the next minute to give them an insurmountable 101-90 lead. FINAL SCORE: Lakers 109, Jazz 98.

Who were the heroes for the Lakers? The usual suspects continued to dominate. Kobe went off for 38 points, making 21 of his 23 free throws and grabbing six rebounds, while dishing out seven assists. Pau Gasol contributed 18 points and 10 boards, while Lamar Odom almost matched him with 16 points and nine rebounds. Sasha Vujacic scored 15 points off the bench in just 17 minutes of action, and Ronny Turiaf added four blocks in his 18 minutes.

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