TVSquad

For the most part, TV Squad doesn't cover professional wrestling, despite pro-wrestling and television being synonymous since the 1950's. It could be because wrestling is a world unto itself and there are certainly enough blogs out there that cover the subject. In this instance, an exception has been made since wrestling and TV icon Captain Lou Albano has passed away. He was 76.

He was known mostly for his work with the WWF (now the WWE) in the '8's and his participation in the first WrestleMania as well as several thereafter. Hell, he was instrumental in creating that event by participating in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" music video which led to "The War to Settle the Score" on MTV which led to ... well, you know.

Did you like Just Shoot Me? It was one of those shows I didn't really watch when it was on NBC but later caught in syndicated reruns, and it was really an underrated sitcom. It was actually quite funny and had a great cast. When people talk about the great NBC sitcoms over the years they always talk about Seinfeld, NewsRadio, and Friends, and while Just Shoot Me wasn't up to the greatness of those shows, it was good and funny. Now one of the stars is joining HBO's Entourage.

George Segal will play a veteran manager/agent who Kevin Connolly's character looks up to and seeks for advice. It doesn't look like a permanent gig (The Hollywood Reporter describes his stint as a "multi-episode arc"), but I think he'll be a great addition. It might even make me get back to the show. I loved the first few seasons but it kinda lost me a couple of seasons ago.

But isn't that great casting? You can just picture Segal getting all loud and chomping on a cigar.

When I heard that Steve Irwin died from a stingray barb he got while filming a show on the Great Barrier Reef, I was wondering if the producers of the special actually caught the accident on tape. According to Irwin's manager, John Stainton, that's exactly what happened, and the experience of watching it was obviously not pleasant.

"It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest), and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone," he told reporters in Carins, where Irwin was being autopsied. The ray may have been trapped between Irwin and the cameraman, say environmental experts, and that it shot out its tail in self-defense; there is no evidence that the Crocodile Hunter provoked the ray into attacking him. I would imagine that the footage will never make it to the air, but you never know these days. Hopefully, the producers will lock up the footage for good.

(UPDATE: This article says that, per Irwin's previously-stated wishes, the family will allow the video to be shown on TV. You know, I think I'll skip that one...)

So, this is where Ruben Studdard has been! He's fighting for his money in court. Poor fella. He had to sue his former manager, Ronald W. Edwards and Sez Inc. for taking his money. Studdard, who won the second season of American Idol, claimed that Edwards improperly used $246,000 of his money. And when I say 'improperly', I mean Edwards used Ruben's money to pay off a personal $10,000 bank loan. Not cool, man.

An Alabama judge agreed that Ruben had been screwed over by his former manager and ordered the guy to pay $2 million-- $500,000 for actual losses and $1.5 million for punitive damages. The mis-use of his income hit his credit hard, making it impossible for Ruben to even buy a house! Unfortunately, it looks like Ruben might not get the money back because Edwards filed for bankruptcy last year.

Fame. She's a bitch.