Do Something Award Nominees Adam Lambert and Randy Jackson

Congratulations to Idol's Adam Lambert and Randy Jackson! They've both been nominated for 2011 Do Something Awards. Adam in the category Do Something Music Artist and Randy in the category Do Something TV Star. Good going guys!

The official voting period for the 2011 Do Something Awards is open at DoSomething.VH1.com and extends through August 14, 2011 9 AM EST. Fans now have the opportunity to vote for their favorite celebrities who do great work and who inspire young people to do great work too.

In addition to announcing the celebrity winners, one young "do-er" (age 25 and under) will be receiving a grand prize of $100,000 for their cause. This is the largest and most prestigious prize in the world for young people and social change. "This is not your grandma's award show," says Nancy Lublin, the CEO and Chief Old Person of DoSomething.org. "There will be no violins and no ballgowns."

The 2011 Do Something Awards will be hosted by Jane Lynch (Glee) at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and will air on Thursday, August 18th 2011 where the winners will be announced. Check local listings for time and channel.

Don't forget to vote for our Idol guys!

Watch an interview with Adam when he appeared on Idol in Season 10.

Source: "American Idol 10 Live Feed" via Glen in Google Reader

Lockout will help Packers, favorites stay ahead - The State

A DAY AFTER the Green Bay Packers won the Lombardi Trophy in February, I felt they had a strong chance to repeat as NFL champions in 2011.

The 2010 Packers were one of the youngest, deepest teams in the NFL, and they figure to become deeper with the return of six starters off injured reserve. Green Bay also returns a franchise quarterback and a top-five defense.

Five months later, I feel the Pack’s chances for back-to-back titles are even stronger.

Since the NFL went to the eight-division format in 2002, life has not been good for incumbents. An average of 4.9 of the eight division champions each season have failed to repeat. Three of the past eight Super Bowl winners failed to qualify for the playoffs the following season.

But I love the incumbents in 2011. I like the Packers to play for another championship next February in Indianapolis. I like the Patriots and Steelers in their divisions. I like the Saints to extend their season into January. Status quo looms as a major plus this season.

That’s because there wasn’t an offseason. The NFL lockout shut down all 32 buildings, slowing down the rebuilding and reloading process for the 31 non-winners.

The offseason is an important time in the NFL. Teams are allowed up to 14 organized team activity sessions, plus two minicamps, one for rookies and another for veterans. Teams with new coaching staffs are allowed an extra minicamp.

Add it all up, and that is 24 to 29 practice sessions a team is allowed to conduct during the offseason. But those practice sessions did not take place this offseason because of the labor stalemate.

So, there are six new coaches in 2011 who have not handed out their playbooks. Those coaches must start from scratch in training camp, indoctrinating unfamiliar players to unfamiliar coaches with unfamiliar schemes.

Thirteen other teams have new defensive coordinators, and 11 have new offensive coordinators. They don’t know the players, and the players don’t know them or their coaching styles.

If teams report to training camp by Aug. 1, that leaves six weeks to prepare for the season opener. When you factor in the four preseason games each team plays, practice time will be at a premium. There will not be enough hours in training camp to achieve all that a team needs to achieve next month. So expect some ragged play in September.

This brings us back to Green Bay and its fellow incumbents.

Five of the eight division champions — Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, New England and Pittsburgh — return with the coach and coordinators intact. In addition to the Packers, two of the other three wild-card teams from a year ago — the Jets and Saints — also return with the same coaching brain trust.

So those teams will not spend camp teaching something new. They will spend it refining and polishing an already proven, successful product. That will give them a huge edge heading into the 2011 season.

I’ve always been a sucker for the underdogs. But this is one year to bet the favorites.

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Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader

Drew Brees Partners with Fantapper to Launch #ifiwereaQB Social Media Contest - PR Newswire (press release)

IRVINE, Calif., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Football star Drew Brees, MVP of Super Bowl XLIV and quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, has launched a new social media campaign that lets fans imagine themselves as QBs while earning a shot at a signed jersey and an iPad 2.  Brees has invited fans to submit photos to drew@fantapper.com for a special enhancement which they can share with their friends online through his free, interactive Fantapper service. Two winners will be determined based on the number of views that each photo receives.

The #ifiwereaQB social media campaign is one of many ways Drew is connecting with his fans through Fantapper.  Drew has already been posting exclusive content including videos and pictures to his Fantapper service, providing his fans with a closer connection to the Super Bowl MVP.  Check out Drew's Fantapper page at www.fantapper.com/celebs/drew_brees.

"Fantapper allows me and other celebrities and athletes to engage with fans in a meaningful way by giving them access to exclusive content, media, and applications they can't find anywhere else," said Brees. "I hope the contest will encourage people to check it out, and I can't wait to share pics of the 'QB squad' that we assemble."

Fantapper combines all the latest news, content, and social media posts about fans' favorite celebrities and athletes into a single online offering.  Also available as a free desktop plug-in, Fantapper provides fans with a 24/7 connection to their favorite celebrities and athletes, dynamically enhancing photos and text wherever they surf the web.  

The #ifiwereaQB campaign is currently live and will run through Sunday, July 24; details are available at: www.ifiwereaQB.net.

About Brand Affinity Technologies, Inc.  (BAT)

Founded in 2007, BAT (http://brandaffinity.net) unlocks the marketing power of celebrity through research, endorsements, and interactive experiences. Advertisers such as AT&T, Comcast, IHG, Intuit, Ford, Samsung and Sony use BAT's Endorsement Platform, which provides daily analysis of more than 45,000 celebrities and athletes, along with the ability to identify, license, and activate talent for cross-media advertising campaigns.  BAT has exclusive representation agreements with more than 4,000 athletes and celebrities. BAT also leverages its research and technology engine to engage consumers directly through Fantapper (www.fantapper.com), which brings interactive apps to celebrity content across the web. Connect with BAT on Twitter:@BAT and Facebook: www.facebook.com/BrandAffinityTech.

About Fantapper by Brand Affinity Technologies

Fantapper (www.fantapper.com) helps actors, musicians, athletes and other personalities influence, control and monetize their social media content and the skyrocketing amount of online content in which they are featured. When a consumer clicks on a photo or text reference of any celebrity, Fantapper automatically populates an expanded media window with dynamic apps, including original pictures and videos, games, popularity metrics, YouTube videos, Twitter and Facebook feeds – all specific to the featured celebrity.  Fantapper is available as a free desktop plug-in, runs on select news, entertainment and sports sites, and can also be accessed via popular mobile devices. Celebrities and athletes with custom Fantapper apps include Drew Brees, Nick Cannon, Peter Facinelli, Ashlee Simpson and Pete Yorn. Connect with Fantapper on Twitter: @Fantapper and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Fantapper.

SOURCE Brand Affinity Technologies, Inc.

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This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader