Cheap Seats
Who wants a million bucks?
Regis Philbin, host of television’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire!,” will be in Charlotte, N.C., in May to ask that question - or a version of it.
Philbin will emcee a game on Food Lion Speed Street, a temporary uptown entertainment zone, on May 26, the Friday before the Coca-Coca 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway.
The ultimate prize: $1 million.
The Food Lion RaceFan Challenge format will be similar to the TV show, only with a NASCAR theme. Legal issues will force other differences.
Instead of Philbin asking, “Who wants to be a millionaire?” it’ll be, “Who wants to win $1 million?”
Instead of Philbin asking, “Is that your final answer?” he might ask, “Is that your final lap?” (That’s still being worked on.)
Instead of “lifelines” to help answer tough questions, they’ll use a “pit crew” of yet-to-be named NASCAR drivers.
See you at training camp
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times has already buried the Sacramento Kings, who trail the Los Angeles Lakers 0-2 in the best-of-5 playoff series.
“Jason Williams can fire up the Nintendo, spend the next 3 months pretending he’s Kobe Bryant.
“Chris Webber can begin working on a new rap album for his Humility Records label, change his name to Whine DMC.
“Scot Pollard can make plans to do something, anything, with that hair.”
Gag me
During the Toronto Blue Jays’ 16-10 loss to the Anaheim Angels last week at SkyDome, club personnel were firing hot dogs at the fans with a cannon called the Hot Dog Blaster. But the cannon packed too much power, showering fans with fragments of franks and bits of bun.
Most of the fans thought it was funny. Not Sarah Higginson, a vegetarian seated just above the visitor’s dugout. “If I get sprayed with meat, I’m suing SkyDome,” she told the National Post. “I don’t think they considered the whole vegetarian thing.
“What if I had my mouth open and a piece of hot dog landed in my mouth? I can’t even walk by a hot dog stand without gagging. Imagine being sprayed by wiener shrapnel. I would have died.”
The last word …
“His players feel about him the way they shoot basketballs. Most will miss him badly.”
- Comedy writer Alan Ray in the San Francisco Chronicle on Lenny Wilkens quitting as coach of the Atlanta Hawks.