The University of Arizona is the No. 5 party school in the country, according to Playboy magazine’s latest issue.

Arizona State University, a perennial on party lists, is ranked No. 15.

“ASU is nice for a weekend but four years are better spent at the U of A in Tucson,” the magazine writes.

Topping the list was University of Miami, followed by University of Texas-Austin, San Diego State University and University of Florida.

Playboy rated each school in five categories: bikini (a combination of weather, guy-to-girl ratio and cheerleader ranking), sex, campus life, sports and brains.

Scheduling conflict resolved

Nationally syndicated talk-show host Ed Schultz will appear at the Leo Rich Theater on Saturday as planned.

Shultz’s staff had learned this week that the venue he booked at the Tucson Convention Center would not be available.

Schultz is on a national tour, the “Ed Schultz Tour for Change.” His show is broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday on 1330 AM.

His staff booked the Leo Rich Theater in mid-January and signed a contract with the convention center.

On Tuesday, TCC notified the Schultz staff that the theater was not available because of a scheduling conflict with the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music.

Thomas Obermaier, TCC’s acting director, said Wednesday he “made an honest mistake.”

He had told the chamber music group it could use the Leo Rich Theater Saturday.

The AFCM will begin its Winter Chamber Music Festival at 3 p.m. on Sunday and it intended to use the theater Saturday for rehearsal.

And although that date wasn’t included in its contract with TCC, Obermaier said the chamber musicians were told they could use the theater.

Schultz’s staff was asked to move to the TCC Music Hall. Schultz’s program manager, Vern Thompson, said Wednesday the North Dakota-based radio host would not budge.

He said the Schultz appearance will be recorded for broadcast on Schultz’s radio show Monday. Schultz’s staff was set to hire local sound personnel to wire the theater for the show.

Obermaier said the chamber group thought it had booked Saturday for rehearsal and they didn’t notice the oversight when they reviewed their contract.

The issue was resolved when the musicians agreed to complete their rehearsal before the Schultz show technicians needed to begin their set-up tasks.

The Schultz taping is at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25.

During the 1980s, I was living in the mountain community of Idaho Springs, Colo. As president of the local historical society, I was distressed to see that one of our most scenic landmarks – a large water wheel – was in serious need of repair.

The wheel, which had been used in gold mining operations during the 1890s, was rotting away to such an extent that unless immediate action was taken, this fragile piece of Western history would soon be lost forever.

Dozens of volunteers stepped forward to restore the wheel. But the problem wasn’t people; it was money for materials.

Because bake sales and raffles could raise only a fraction of the $75,000 we needed, I began contacting celebrities. Letters asking for help were mailed to important people throughout the country, explaining our dire need and asking for help.

One of the first persons who responded was actor Paul Newman. To our surprise, he not only sent a generous check, he called us personally to ask if there was anything else he could do.

Throughout that summer, Newman called to check on our progress and encourage everyone involved in the project.

When the wheel was finally restored, Newman sent a second check in case we needed extra cash for maintenance.

A historic water wheel and a grateful group of people in a small town in Colorado are only a small part of his rich generosity and legacy.

When his death was announced last week, I was truly saddened. He will be missed because, in so many ways, he was one of us.

God bless you, Paul Newman.

Larry Cox reviews books and writes a weekly collectibles column for the Tucson Citizen.

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Related story

Legacy: Model movie star Newman exuded smooth cool

Trade group calls switchover ‘a catastrophe’

When large television stations across the nation quit broadcasting analog signals in February, thousands of smaller stations – including several that serve Tucson – will not.

If you rely on an antenna for TV, that could mean plugging your set into a converter box to see some stations and unplugging to see others.

And it depends on where you live because Tucson’s mountains force a patchwork of signals from various transmitters, meaning some viewers will have digital signals after Feb. 17 and some won’t.

“This is just a catastrophe for your area. It’s like Y2K for television,” said Ron Bruno, president of the Community Broadcasters Association, a trade group that represents small stations.

The problem is that most of the set-top boxes that will let old TVs get digital signals will block analog signals – the ones from small stations like Jewelry Television, TeleFutura and TBN. If you get a converter box without a “pass through” feature, you will have to unplug the box to get analog stations.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration lists 54 converters available at retailers. Twenty-one of those allow analog signals, according to the NTIA Web site.

The Community Broadcasters Association tried to block the sale of boxes that do not allow analog signals, but the case was rejected by a judge in May, Bruno said.

Cable and satellite viewers won’t be affected at all by the digital transition – their signals will not change in February.

A test Sept. 8 in North Carolina highlights some of the problems that are likely to hit Tucson when the nation’s major television stations go digital.

Hundreds of callers in Wilmington – where full-power stations switched off analog signals at noon Sept. 8 – couldn’t get signals, and some didn’t know the switch was coming, according to The Associated Press.

While public education efforts have focused on making sure viewers are aware of the transition, very little has been publicized about the potential need for antennas.

“Many reception issues are generally easy to resolve, but in some cases in some areas, folks may need a better antenna,” said Andy Combs, general manager of WWAY-TV, one of the stations that turned off its signal. “It’s best to figure all of that out ahead of time.”

The digital switch will affect antenna viewers of Tucson’s 10 low-power transmitters in various ways.

Telefutura, TBN, Azteca America, the Home Shopping Network and Jewelry Television viewers will be affected all over the metro area because those stations send analog signals to the entire metro area.

Univision and KVOA have translators that serve the Northwest Side, though both have transmitters for the rest of the city that are already digital.

Univision, which carried all of the top 10 shows among Hispanics for Sept. 8, has two transmitters covering the entire city – one digital and one analog. Univision’s full-power analog signal in Tucson was switched off Thursday, the company said in a news release.

If your Univision signal went blank Thursday, you might be trying to watch the analog signal through a digital converter box that does not allow digital signals. Call the station at 622-0984 for information.

Venture Technologies, the Los Angeles-based owner of Tucson’s Jewelry Television transmitter, plans to take its signal digital, but not in February, said Vice President Brian Holton.

“Probably it will be after – probably a few months after,” Holton said.

TeleFutura’s Tucson signal is a low-power relay from the main station in Douglas. Univision, which owns TeleFutura, did not respond to several inquiries about when TeleFutura’s analog signals here would go digital.

Azteca America, which offers a broad range of entertainment, news and other programming in Spanish, has a low-power transmitter on Mount Bigelow that will not go digital in February, said Azteca engineer Fred Streeter, who works in Phoenix.

“Our basic plan right now is to wait until the FCC mandates it,” Streeter said.

The federal government is offering coupons worth $40 off the purchase of a digital converter box, which allows older analog televisions to get digital signals. The converters, which sell for $59.99 at Best Buy, are widely available.

The coupons are free, though supplies are limited. Two coupons are allowed per household. See this story at www.tucsoncitizen.com for information on how to get coupons.

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Glossary

Analog television – A signal that uses radio waves to send and display pictures. These signals limit the amount of information that can be sent in a given bandwidth, or frequency range.

Digital television – Television signals that use radio waves to send computer code to your TV, which must decode the signal. Digital signals allow more information to be sent in a given bandwidth and let stations broadcast Dolby Surround Sound.

High-Definition Television – Commonly known as HDTV, this is the highest quality signal available. Analog signals are limited to a resolution of 480 lines per vertical inch on your screen; HD signals can be up to 1,080 lines. Current broadcast HD TV signals are 720 lines per inch.

Multicasting -Allows broadcasters to split their allotted bandwidth into multiple, lower-resolution signals. Even multicast digital signals are higher quality than analog.

Downconverting – A process cable companies use to convert digital signals to analog before pushing the signals to viewers. This will allow cable viewers to keep getting TV without making changes, even after broadcasters are required to send digital signals in February.

Source: Federal Communications Commission

Local channel changes for full-power stations

Station Now 2009

KHRR 40 40

KUVE 46 46

KGUN 9 9

KWBA 58 44

MY NETWORK TV 18 19

KVOA 4 23

KMSB 11 25

KUAS 27 28

KUAT 6 30

KOLD 13 32

Source: Federal Communications Commission

Tucson stations with analog signals for all or part of the metro area:

Home Shopping Network

Azteca America

Telefutura

Jewelry Television

TBN

KVOA (Northwest Side only)

Univision (Northwest Side only)

Source: Federal Communications Commission

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What to do

On Feb. 17, all full-power television stations – most major networks and major local stations – will stop transmitting analog signals. Your old antenna will be able to pick up digital signals – only the tuner in your television must be digital. All flat panel TVs are digital. Check your owner’s manual to see if your television’s tuner is digital.

Cable or satellite

Your signals will not change after February. You do not have to do anything to keep getting your normal signal. Cable and satellite signals are degraded before they are sent to homes, so to get the full benefit of HD broadcasting you will have to pay for HD programming or use an antenna for local broadcasts.

TV with analog tuner

You will need a set-top converter to get digital signals. The converter must have a “pass-through” feature to get analog signals from low-power stations.

TV with digital tuner

You will be able to get over-the-air analog and digital signals, but to get the full benefit of HD programming you will have to pay for HD programming from a cable or satellite provider or use an antenna for local broadcasts.

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On the Web

Community Broadcasters Association: www.dtvnow.org

Federal Communications Commission digital transition page: www.dtv.gov

List of converters and whether they allow analog signal pass-through: www.ntiadtv.gov/cecb_list.cfm

To get coupon worth $40 toward the purchase of a set-top digital converter box: www.dtv2009.gov

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By the numbers

• 98.2 percent of U.S. homes have televisions

• 2.6 televisions per home on average

• 73.2 percent of homes have cable

• $364.79 – average paid annually for cable or satellite service

• 71,800 households in southern Arizona rely on antennas

• 23,680 southern Arizona households had applied for converter box coupons by Aug. 1

• 10 million people have applied for free coupons for $40 off the cost of a set-top digital converter

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau; National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Creamer

Authorities have been searching since 1997 for a local man suspected of marketing child pornography through his Tucson-based company.

Now “America’s Most Wanted” fugitive-hunting television program will air a segment Saturday, according to a news statement released by the show.

David B. Creamer was charged in a 38-page indictment by a federal grand jury in June 1997. The counts include child pornography, distribution of obscene material and tax evasion, according to Tucson Citizen archives.

Archives also show:

• During the Creamer investigation, federal authorities seized more that $118,000, a Cessna airplane, a 19-foot boat and 10,500 from his business, The Profit Group.

• The business produced more than 100,000 CDs between 1992 and 1995.

• The company allegedly made master CDs containing graphics and test files of child pornography and obscene materials, that people could order copies of worldwide through computer magazines and bulletin boards.

• The indictment accuses Creamer of producing the first series of CDs by “personally choosing sexually explicit computer image files from material he obtained from a source in California.”

• Also quoted from the indictment: Besides depicting minors engaged in sexual conduct, the pictures showed sadomasochistic conduct and bestiality.

• It said Creamer arranged for companies in the United States and Denmark to replicate CDs from master copies.

• The Profit Group advertised in computer-oriented magazines, on its own computer bulletin board and through mailed fliers, according to the indictment.

When the charges against Creamer came out, “he hit the road,” said the “America’s Most Wanted” statement.

“Now the accused pervert has earned a place on both the United States Marshals’ Top 15 list and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Top 10 List” of fugitives, spokespeople at “America’s Most Wanted” said.

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IF YOU WATCH

What: “America’s Most Wanted,” featuring Tucson fugitive David B. Creamer.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday on Fox for most providers.

Country artist Chris Cagle will stand trial in City Court on a misdemeanor assault charge after his tour ends this fall.

City Court Judge Margarita Bernal set a Sept. 23 trial Monday for Cagle, who is accused of striking Tucsonan Mark Barry on Dec. 13 after a benefit concert at the Cactus Moon, 5470 E. Broadway.

Bernal will decide Cagle’s fate after the one-day trial.

Police said Cagle punched Barry in the face after Barry’s girlfriend became “verbally abusive” toward Cagle.

Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Robinson previously said the woman was angry because Cagle declined to sign an autograph for her after signing several others for her.

Cagle, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., was cited and released.

Neither Cagle nor Barry attended Monday’s hearing.

Cagle’s attorney, Bradley J. Armstrong of Tucson, cited self-defense and the defense of others as Cagle’s defenses in a pretrial statement.

Barry has sued Cagle and his sound man, Kenneth Hoyt of Bradenton, Fla., in Pima County Superior Court.

Hoyt, who broke a wrist in the incident, is listed as a defense witness at Cagle’s trial.

Cagle is touring to support his new album, “My Life’s Been a Country Song,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard when it was released in February.

Heather Mills, center, talks to members of the media, as she leaves central London's Royal Courts of Justice, following the announcement of the judgment of her divorce with Paul McCartney, Monday March 17, 2008. A judge has awarded Mills, a total of 24.3 million pounds (US$48.7 million; euro 30.88 million) in the financial settlement of her divorce from the former Beatle. A document released by the Family Court says the judge awarded Mills a lump sum of 16.5 million pounds plus assets she currently holds worth 7.8 million pounds. Mills told reporters outside court that she was "very happy" with the settlement.

Paul McCartney was ordered Monday to pay Heather Mills $48.6 million to settle their divorce.

A document released by the Family Court said the judge awarded Mills a lump sum of $33 million plus the assets she currently holds worth $15.6 million.

“I’m so, so happy with this,” Mills told reporters following the closed hearing.

The court also ruled that the couple’s 4-year-old daughter Beatrice should receive a “periodical payments order” of $70,000 per annum. On top of that, McCartney will pay for the child’s nanny and school fees.

“I’m so glad it’s over,” Mills said at her impromptu news conference.

“It was an incredible result in the end to secure mine and my daughter’s future and that of all the charities that I obviously plan on helping and making a difference with — because you know it has been my life for 20 years,” she said.

McCartney left the court without making any statement.

While pleased with the financial settlement, Mills intends to appeal to prevent publication of the details of the settlement for the couple’s daughter.

McCartney, 65, and Mills, 40, went to court last month to decide on Mills’ share of his fortune, which had been estimated at as much as $1.6 billion.

Judge Hugh Bennett, however, found that the total value of all of McCartney’s assets, including his business assets, was about $800 million.

Mills said the settlement vindicated her decision to fire her lawyers. The legal fees, she said, instead “could easily go to charity.”

“Obviously the court do not want a litigant in person to do well, it’s against everything that they ever wish, so when they write the judgment up they’re never going to make it look in favor,” she said.

“But all of you that have researched know that it was always going to be a figure between 20 and 30 million (pounds), Paul was offering a lot less than that, which you’ll see in the judgment, and very much last minute to put me and Beatrice sadly through this … incredibly sad.”

Mills had sought almost $250 million, while McCartney had said she should receive $31.6 million, including her own assets, which the court assessed at $15.6 million.

She had harsh words for McCartney’s lawyer, Fiona Shackleton, who was well known for representing Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess Diana.

“She has called me many, many names before even meeting me when I was in a wheelchair,” said Mills.

The settlement has been a long time coming for the couple, who separated two years ago, after four years of marriage. At the time they said the parting was “amicable” and insisted “both of us still care about each other very much.”

But the split has grown fractious since McCartney filed for divorce alleging his wife’s “unreasonable behavior.”

Mills — a former model whose left leg was amputated below the knee after a motorcycle accident in 1993 — claimed McCartney had failed to protect her and their daughter from slander, death threats and other abuse, and accused the media of persecuting her. In November, Mills said she had been “treated worse than a murderer or a pedophile,” despite years of work for land mine victims and animal welfare charities.

McCartney met Mills in 1999, the year after the death from breast cancer of his first wife, Linda. That marriage was one of rock’s most enduring unions, and produced three children, including fashion designer Stella McCartney.

Mills and McCartney married at an Irish castle in June 2002, amid rumors the former Beatle’s children disapproved of their new stepmother. The couple’s daughter was born the following year*.

Sir Paul McCartney, right, leaves the central London's Royal Courts of Justice with divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, following the announcement of the judgment of his divorce with Heather Mills.

Country music artist Chris Cagle, shown in this Oct. 17, 2000, file photo in Nashville, Tenn. Cagle was cited for misdemeanor assault after allegedly punching a concertgoer's boyfriend in Tucson. Cagle is accused of hitting the man after the man's girlfriend got upset when the 39-year-old country singer declined to sign an autograph after a charity benefit show early Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007, police spokesman Sgt. Mark Robinson said.

A Tucson man is suing country music artist Chris Cagle in connection with an altercation late last year at a local nightclub.

Mark Barry’s lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Pima County Superior Court, accuses Cagle and his sound man, Kenneth Hoyt, of assault and battery.

The lawsuit doesn’t specify the amount of damages requested, but Cagle’s attorney in a related criminal case said Barry may be seeking up to $250,000.

Cagle was charged with misdemeanor assault at the Cactus Moon, 5470 E. Broadway, in December after performing at a benefit.

According to police, Cagle punched Barry in the face after Barry’s girlfriend became “verbally abusive” toward Cagle.

Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Robinson said the woman was angry after Cagle refused to sign an autograph for her after previously signing several other autographs for her.

Cagle was cited and released.

Cagle wasn’t in Tucson Municipal Court on Thursday morning for a scheduled hearing.

Cagle’s attorney, Bradley J. Armstrong of Tucson, requested a delay because Cagle was being served with the civil lawsuit Thursday.

Judge Margarita Bernal reset the hearing for April 21.

Armstrong said Cagle was acting in self-defense and Hoyt as his bodyguard when the altercation took place.

Hoyt broke his wrist, Armstrong said.

Cagle is touring to support his new album, “My Life’s Been a Country Song,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard when it was released last month. Cagle’s hits include “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out,” “Laredo,” “Miss Me Baby,” “Country by the Grace of God,” “What a Beautiful Day” and “Chicks Dig It.”

Armstrong said Cagle will discuss the Cactus Moon incident at 10 a.m. Saturday on country music cable network CMT’s “Country Insider” program.

Farrell

Mike Farrell realizes how lucky he is to be able to use his celebrity status to speak about social causes he cares about.

“I sympathize with a great many people today who have so much on their plate, so many issues being thrust at them, by the electronic media particularly,” Farrell said, calling from his California office Thursday.

“Economically, these are difficult times,” the 69-year-old actor and activist said. “People are worrying about having a roof over their heads and paying for their children’s schooling.

“They don’t have the time to take to analyze a situation, so they sort of respond to it emotionally, off the top of their head, based on the way that things have always been,” said Farrell, best known from the TV shows “M*A*S*H” and “Providence.”

“It seems to me that times like these requires leadership, whether it’s from politics or religion or the community. Leaders who are looked up to in society,” Farrell said. “So then people can begin to discuss things rationally, on a more informed basis.”

Farrell speaks across the country about issues that are important to him. He will visit Tucson on Friday as the keynote speaker for the Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish the Death Penalty’s banquet, “Writing Down Death.”

Farrell details decades spent pursuing social causes as well as acting in his memoir, “Just Call Me Mike,” which was published last year.

Growing up in the Catholic faith, Farrell opposed capital punishment based on the church’s teachings. As a young man, Farrell learned more about the American criminal justice commission as he participated in groups that went into prisons.

“It helped me broaden my understanding and also confirmed my notions of capital punishment,” Farrell said.

Farrell has been speaking out against the death penalty since the late 1960s and early 1970s, when it was far from chic to publicly oppose such a cause. He agrees that the tide has turned, with many states overturning capital murder statutes.

“I think it will be eliminated legally at some point,” Farrell said.

The growing number of innocent people who were sentenced to death and later exonerated – 126 since 1973, according to the Death Penalty Information Center – has helped change many people’s stance on the death penalty, he noted.

Most states, including Arizona, have temporarily halted executions while the U.S. Supreme Court decides a pivotal case on whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment.

Farrell said his efforts to reach people on topics close to his heart can overwhelm him, but he’s inspired by many of the people he’s met, from exonerated former death-row inmates to survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

“It makes me feel like a child in terms of understanding human nature,” Farrell said. “It makes me deeply aware of the kind of debt I owe to anybody I’ve touched in that world who do what they do to see this doesn’t happen again.”

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IF YOU GO

What: “Writing Down Death,” a book event and banquet presented by the Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish the Death Penalty featuring actor/activist Mike Farrell as keynote speaker and local authors Leslie Marmon Silko, Nancy Mairs, Rudy Gerber, John Johnson and Katherine Norgard

When: From 6-8 p.m. Friday, reception at 5:30 p.m.

Where: First Christian Church, 740 E. Speedway Blvd.

How much: $50 per person, $360 for table of eight by reservation; $30 per ticket is tax-deductible

Information: Call 602-400-4025 or send an e-mail to cequist@huno.com or president@azabolitionist.org

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ON THE WEB

Mike Farrell’s Web site:

www.mikefarrell.org

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HIGHLIGHTS OF MIKE FARRELL’S ACTING CAREER

• “The Graduate” (bit part)

• “Days of Our Lives”

• “The Interns” (with Broderick Crawford)

• “The Man and the City” (with Anthony Quinn)

• “M*A*S*H” (as BJ Hunnicutt)

• “Sex and the Single Parent” (with Terri Garr)

• “Prime Suspect”

• “Memorial Day” (co-starring his wife, Shelley Fabares)

• “Choices of the Heart”

• “Private Sessions” (with Maureen Stapleton and Kelly McGillis)

• “A Deadly Silence”

• “The Price of the Bride”

• “Silent Movie” (with Ed Asner and Patricia Wettig)

• “Sins of the Mind” (with Jill Clayburgh)

• “On a Collision Course With Earth” (documentary)

• “Providence” (TV series as veterinarian Jim Hansen)

• “The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron” (as Kenneth Lay)

For their wedding, University of Arizona grads Bethany Crum and Troy Mihalik weren’t wishing for toasters or Home Depot gift certificates. They were dreaming much bigger – say, like maybe $1 million in quick, cold cash.

The Phoenix pair was among the engaged couples who competed for the big bucks on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” in October. The episodes featuring the former Wildcats will air at 4:30 p.m. Friday and Monday on ABC.

Social worker Crum, 22, graduated from UA last year. Mihalik received his degree in 2006 and works as an analyst.

The two, who tied the knot Oct. 20 – two days after the “Millionaire” taping – said they would use any winnings to pay wedding and honeymoon expenses and buy new furniture.

A country music singer was cited on suspicion of misdemeanor assault after performing a benefit show at a midtown nightclub Thursday, a Tucson police spokesman said.

Chris Cagle, 39, punched a Tucson man in the face after the man’s girlfriend was “verbally abusive” toward Cagle, Sgt. Mark Robinson said.

The incident was sparked by the woman’s after-show request for an autograph that she intended to give a friend, Robinson said. Cagle declined, saying he had already signed several for her, he said.

A witness said the 38-year-old Tucson woman then became belligerent, Robinson said.

A patrol officer went to the Cactus Moon, 5470 E. Broadway, where the show was held, about 1 a.m., Robinson said. He stopped there because he saw what seemed to be an argument in the club’s parking lot. It was unclear Thursday night who was arguing. Only Cagle was cited.

Robinson would not say what prompted Cagle to reportedly strike the man. Cagle was cited and released, Robinson said.

The proceeds from the show, hosted by Tucson radio station Kiim-FM, were donated to the Arizona’s Children Association as part of the station’s annual charity drive, according to its Web site.

Cagle could not be reached for comment. Cagle has produced two gold albums and his 2002 single “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country music chart.

Ex-Wildcat Jennie Finch throws a pitch in a World Cup of Softball game in July in Oklahoma City. She is going to face tough competition on "Celebrity Apprentice."

NEW YORK – Former Wildcat pitcher Jennie Finch will be part of the cast for “Celebrity Apprentice.”

The group was introduced to members of the press last month, but everyone was sworn to secrecy.

Now the secret can be told, says NBC, which made public Monday the names of the cast members.

Not that they needed any introduction. Not all of them, anyway.

Not Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, remembered for making everybody mad as a contestant on the first “Apprentice” season in 2004.

Vincent Pastore (aka “Big Pussy” from “The Sopranos”) was also instantly recognizable.

So was Stephen Baldwin, who explained his participation by noting he already had “done a bunch of reality . . . I thought it would be fun to play the game.”

Likewise Gene Simmons of Kiss, star of his own reality series and unabashed self-marketer.

“I’m in the Gene Simmons business,” he said, so doing “The Apprentice” can only help promote his many other ventures. “Everything helps everything.”

The 14 celebrities won’t be vying for a job with Donald Trump, as in the previous six “Apprentice” seasons, but instead will compete in business-oriented tasks around New York City to raise money for their favorite charities. The official “Celebrity Apprentice” will win a $250,000 bonus to donate.

Taping began in mid-October and the show debuts Jan. 3.

Cast members for this rejiggered “Apprentice” – which in the past relied on scrappy, ambitious star-wannabes – were selected from a field of some 125 celebrity applicants, Trump told reporters.

One deciding factor: Each of the chosen has had experience in business, Trump said. “These people have all done something very dramatic with money.” Other cast members include Nely Galan, former entertainment president of the Telemundo network; Marilu Henner, best-known from the sitcom “Taxi” a quarter-century ago; Carol Alt, actress and model; Trace Adkins, country singer; Nadia Comaneci, gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast; Tiffany Fallon, Playboy playmate of the year; Lennox Lewis, heavyweight boxing champion; Piers Morgan, “America’s Got Talent” judge, and Tito Ortiz, Ultimate Fighting champion.

Mrs. Tennessee Christina Ryan points to the area where she was bitten by a rattlesnake on Sunday while at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort for the Mrs. America pageant.

A contestant in the Mrs. America pageant plans to continue despite suffering a venomous rattlesnake bite.

Christina Ryan, who is representing Tennessee in the event being held at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, was heading down a staircase to a rehearsal Sunday about 9 a.m. when she saw a spider in her path.

Having been bitten by a venomous brown recluse spider as a child, she knew to avoid the creature.

While avoiding the spider, she unknowingly stepped near a rattlesnake that bit her on the foot, she said.

“I startled it doing my little spider dance, and he bit me,” she said. “As soon as it bit me I knew it was a rattlesnake.”

The snake, 8 to 10 inches long, left a fang stuck in her foot above her toe.

She was taken to Tucson Medical Center where she received 10 vials of antivenin – produced in Tennessee, she noted – and spent the night in the intensive care unit.

“The pain was the worst pain I have ever had, worse than childbirth. It was horrifically bad,” she said. “It was like someone stabbed a knife in my foot, and kept stabbing it in over and over again.”

The poison progressed to her ankle before the antivenin took effect, she said.

Ryan, an event planner from Franklin, Tenn., was released from the hospital Monday.

“I had an amazing recovery,” she said. “Most people with bites are in the hospital several days.”

Mrs. America event interviews are slated for Saturday, with preliminary competition Sunday and the finals Sept. 5.

Ryan has remained upbeat, resting her foot and preparing for the pageant. She is eager to represent Tennessee in the contest.

“I’m trying to get ready to walk in heels on Sunday without limping,” she said. “I can now add fear of snakes to fear of spiders.”

Mrs. Tennessee, Christina Ryan, points to where she was bitten by a rattlesnake.

The bite on Ryan's foot is barely visible in this photo. Treatment apparently went well.

The poison progressed to her ankle before the antivenom had time to take affect, Ryan said.

Calendar Plus is your one-stop resource for movies, music, books and more.

Matt Lozano is the only Tucsonan among the 30 Arizona finalists in American Idol’s “Arizona Idol” competition, held in Phoenix this week.

Next up for the 30 finalists is an audition Tuesday at Dodge Theater in Phoenix.

Only 10 will be chosen from that group. They will audition the week of Aug. 13 in pairs on a FOX TV morning show in Phoenix.

The winner of that competition, announced Aug. 24, will go on to Philadelphia to audition for “American Idol” producers on Aug. 27 at the Wachovia Center.

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UA softball pitcher Tayrne Mowatt, right, receives the ESPY for female athlete of the year from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and actress Katie Walsh.

LOS ANGELES – Arizona softball star Taryne Mowatt won female athlete of the year and female college athlete honors at the ESPNY Awards on Wednesday night.

She pitched every inning, including eight complete games and threw more than 1,000 pitches in six days, to lead the Wildcats to their second straight NCAA championship.

Mowatt defeated Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie, ex-UA golfer Lorena Ochoa and Tennessee basketball star Candace Parker for athlete of the year.

“I definitely was a little surprised to win,” Mowatt said backstage. “Being up against them, it’s just surreal.”

LaDainian Tomlinson won four trophies, including male athlete of the year for his record-setting season with the San Diego Chargers.

Tomlinson defeated LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and Tiger Woods for athlete of the year.

James and comedian Jimmy Kimmel co-hosted the 15th annual show honoring the year’s best sports moments and athletes at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. It airs Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT on ESPN.

Tomlinson also won best NFL player, record-breaking performance, and the Like Nothing Else award. The NFL MVP scored 31 touchdowns and 186 points, both league records, and rushed for 1,875 yards.

James won best NBA player; Federer earned his third straight male tennis player trophy; Manning won championship performance for his Super Bowl triumph; and Woods was chosen best golfer for the third year in a row, his record 18th ESPY.

James did a song-and-dance routine in glasses and a wig to Bobby Brown’s song “My Prerogative” with rewritten lyrics.

“Bobby Brown just checked back into rehab as a result of that performance,” Kimmel joked.

The Colts were named best team, while Tony Dungy, the first black coach to win a Super Bowl, captured the best coach-manager category.

Boise State’s football team won awards for best game and best play. The Broncos upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on a two-point conversion using the Statue of Liberty play.

The best moment award went to the New Orleans Saints, who returned to the Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Katrina and defeated the Atlanta Falcons on “Monday Night Football.”

The best finish category was added this year. The Los Angeles Dodgers won for a victory over the San Diego Padres in which they hit four consecutive homers to force extra innings and then won on a two-run homer by Nomar Garciaparra.

North Carolina State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow won the inaugural Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance. She was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer while coaching the Wolfpack during this year’s NCAA tournament.

The Arthur Ashe Courage award went to Trevor Ringland and Dave Cullen from Northern Ireland. They founded PeacePlayers to bring Protestant and Catholic children together to play basketball.

Winners in all but the Jimmy V and Arthur Ashe categories were determined by online fan voting. ESPN said a record 12.5 million votes were cast.