Roselyn Sanchez

Víctor Manuelle

The artist likes to sing to love, and as the concert is so close to St. Valentine’s, he hopes to find love; “I’m alone and focused on my career, but I don’t shun love, which will eventually come, because man cannot live by bread alone.” “It’ll be the right person and at the right time,” said the artist. Victor Manuelle dated actress Roselyn Sánchez and then the former Beauty Queen Cynthia Olavarria, though both denied the affair. “Everybody will know when I fall in love next, because I never hide my relationships,” he said. “In the matters of the heart, no one rules, and it is unpredictable; I’ve had many work commitments this year, 2006 was a great year, but I hope love comes soon,” ended the popular Víctor Manuelle.

Sanchez was not in 'Mummy'

Question: Please settle a question for us. My husband says the dark-haired actress on "Without a Trace" is the same girl who played in "The Mummy" and "The Mummy's Return." Answer: Roselyn Sanchez plays agent Elena Delgado on the CBS series "Without a Trace," and she wasn't in either "Mummy" movie.

Q: The star of the new CBS show "3 lbs," Stanley Tucci, looks familiar. Where else would I have seen him?

A: He's been in such movies as "The Devil Wears Prada," "Shall We Dance," "The Terminal," "The Core," "Maid in Manhattan," "Road to Perdition," "America's Sweethearts" and "Big Night," which he co-directed and co-produced. He also recently appeared with his "Big Night" co-star, Tony Shalhoub, on "Monk."

January 29, 2007 - Posted at 12:00 a.m. BY JAIME ARON - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BIG SANDY - Damontray Darty is bouncing on a trampoline outside his trailer home, parked amid the run-down houses in this one-stoplight town.

The 9-year-old is wearing a blue football jersey, clutching a big white teddy bear, and even bigger dreams.

"I want to play football," he said, "then be a coach in the NFL."

Why not? A guy who grew up 100 yards away did exactly that.

Lovie Smith is living proof that a little boy's dream can come true in small-town America.

"Everyone talks about him, looks up to him, wants to be like him," said 17-year-old Vanity Darty, Damontray's sister. "If he can do it, I can, too."

Sunday, Smith will be calling the shots for the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl, across the field at Dolphin Stadium in Miami from Tony Dungy, who will be doing the same for the Indianapolis Colts. Together, they will make history as the first black head coaches on the sidelines of the National Football League's title game.

Lest anyone think the folks in Smith's hometown regard him differently now, perhaps as someone unapproachable, forget it.

"Around here, he's just Lovie," high school classmate Marie Rogers Dotson said.

"About the only thing that's changed in Lovie is his Afro," said Big Sandy elementary school teacher Lynda Childress, who befriended Smith during his year working there.

"What you see with Lovie is what you get," she added. "He's always been that way. He never had a bad word to say about anybody, just a positive attitude that would boost your spirits - always. I cannot think of a better goodwill ambassador for Big Sandy."

To make sure he knows how important he still is back home, Childress faxed him some handwritten letters from her students.

Said one: "I'm so glad you are from Big Sandy. You have shown me that if I set goals, I can be anything I want."

Said another: "Everyone in Big Sandy is excited that you became the first Black American coach in the Super Bowl. It will be even better when you win the Super Bowl."

Heck, there's no telling how folks will respond if that happens. This little town hasn't had this much attention since murder suspect Jerry "Animal" McFadden escaped from the county jail in 1986, prompting the largest manhunt in state history.

Big Sandy is one of the few "wet" spots in East Texas, which explains why five liquor-wine-beer stores occupy the intersection of 80 and Texas 155. Two stores even offer drive-thru service.

Mae and Thurman Smith raised all five of their children in this neighborhood. While Mae was pregnant with Lovie, Thurman's Aunt Lavana vowed the child "won't never want for nothing" if the baby was named after her.

"Then when Lovie came, he was a boy, so I had to change that around. I couldn't name him Lavana, you know," Mae said, laughing. "I just thought, 'Lovie Lee sounds like a boy's name to me.'"

Mae and Thurman stressed religion and education, telling the kids they could be anything they wanted through hard work and by treating people the right way, regardless of skin color - not always an easy thing in East Texas in the '50s and '60s.

Thinking back, she recalls her simple parenting formula: "I tried to raise them all to be nice and get along with everybody. I tried to send them all on the right path."

Mae went to work every morning making chairs at a furniture company. Thurman mostly went drinking.

Alcoholism forced him into hospitals when Lovie was just a youngster. Because older brother Will already had moved away, Lovie became the man of the house to his mother and three sisters.

"Everything just kind of fell on him," Mae said. "That made him grow up."

Smith, a member of the National Honor Society, was voted "Most Likely To Succeed" by the other 33 members of his graduating class at Big Sandy High.

But he stood out most on the football field.

Smith was a linebacker and tight end on Wildcats teams that were unbeaten from 1973-75, winning three straight Class B state titles. The '75 team scored 824 points, a national record that lasted 19 years. Their opponents only managed 15 points the entire season.

David Overstreet, later a running back for the Miami Dolphins, was the offensive star, and Smith anchored the defense.

Joe Fitzgerald, whose mother worked with Mae, helped Smith get a scholarship to Tulsa. A solid college player, he got a look from the Atlanta Falcons but didn't make the NFL as a player. So he returned to Big Sandy in 1980 and went to school superintendent Charles Penney looking for a job.

"I said we didn't have anything but a junior high coaching job," Penney recalled. "He said, 'I'll take it.'"

Smith taught history and helped with the varsity. His squad of seventh- and eighth-graders won every game.

"Lovie was so gentle. He was not going to crack a whip on you like some coaches," said Mark McDonald, a seventh-grade linebacker on that squad. "He would always look through your eyes. He respected us. He knew when enough was enough. We always loved to go to practice. He made it fun."

A year later, Smith moved on to a high school in Tulsa, beginning a climb up the coaching ladder that would include six college jobs and two in the NFL before taking over the Bears in 2004.

Folks say many of the qualities that make Smith a successful coach can be traced right back to Big Sandy.

His loyalty is best exhibited in the way he stuck by Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, no matter how badly he played at times, resisting the temptation, and cries from fans, to turn to veteran backup Brian Griese.

Then there's his faith.

The Smiths were Wednesday and Sunday regulars at Brown's Chapel, a little, nondescript Methodist church near where his mom's seven siblings and their offspring lived.

Brown's Chapel moved a few years ago into a red-brick building with white trim that's the envy of all the other churches in the area. It was paid for, in large part, by the checks Smith has sent every month of his adult life.

"As he grew higher, the amount grew higher," his sister, Martha, said.

For a while last week, only one sign along the highway noted the local hero, but by the weekend, things picked up. Messages like "Lovie - You Rock!" and "Next Superbowl Champs, the Bears" were painted on the windows at city hall. Then Mayor Parsons climbed into the basket of a cherry picker and personally changed the letters on the official marquee to "Big Sandy Loves Lovie Smith Go Bears."

About 20 of Smith's relatives are planning to travel to Miami for the Super Bowl. His four siblings will meet at their mom's house in Tyler, then caravan over Friday morning. Mae doesn't fly, so they always drive to games.

Win or lose, Smith always will be a big deal here.

Some key figures already are thinking about ways to harness the momentum.

Parsons, the mayor, hopes to build a youth center, something the town has never had.

Childress, the elementary school teacher and a former mayor, wants to put Smith's picture on a sign, with "plenty of room for his future accomplishments - because there will be more."

And Hubbard, the pep-rally organizer and a chamber of commerce member, is aiming for a permanent reminder on the city-limits sign, proclaiming this the hometown of Super Bowl coach Lovie Smith.

"Hopefully," she said, "Super Bowl CHAMPION coach."

International Pop Sensation RBD Joins AOL Latino to Launch New ...

NEW YORK, NY. (Top40 Charts/ AOL Latino) - Expanding on traditional music countdown shows, AOL Latino will launch the 'Top 11 AOL Latino Countdown,' an innovative, interactive music video countdown program available at www.aollatino.com on January 16. The new weekly show, which will feature international pop sensation RBD as the host of the debut episode, will showcase the Top 11 music videos of the week based on fan feedback from AOL Latino's music area. The show is exclusively sponsored by Verizon Wireless. Viewers of the "Top 11 AOL Latino Countdown" are able to completely customize their experience – watching the countdown straight through or picking videos in any order they want, while communicating with friends, the host or other fans through instant messages. Additionally, users can customize the background, participate in polls and vote on the best video of the show – all of which generate instant results. Other features include 'shout out' messages from fans and pop-up videos that surprise viewers with commentaries, fun facts, downloads and information about featured artists presented by the show's hosts.

'As part of our ongoing strategy to provide the most relevant and entertaining original Spanish video content on the Web, we are thrilled to launch this new music show and partner with Verizon Wireless,' said Ralph Rivera, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Latino. "The show already has a successful track record through AOL Music's English language version, which is why we are confident it will resonate with our audience as well." Verizon Wireless will be integrated throughout the show expanding the company's visibility within the Latino market. Components will include 15-second pre-rolls, special video shout-outs, custom skins, rich media advertising units and sponsorship logos. 'AOL Latino's launching of a Spanish video countdown show is a unique and exciting endeavor and this relationship underscores Verizon Wireless' commitment to providing customers with products reflective of the Latino culture," says John Harrobin, Vice President of Digital Media & Marketing, Verizon Wireless. 'This is an important segment and Verizon Wireless will continue to seek new and innovative ways to appeal to Hispanic customers who increasingly are using mobile phones.' Additionally, Latin music fans will have access to all the robust programming already available on AOLLatino.com including Sesiones en AOL, an intimate in-studio performance which has featured some of today's hottest entertainers including Ricky Martin, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, Ednita Nazario, and more. Acceso Total, AOL Latino's original entertainment show, takes an intimate look at the daily lives of some of the most renowned Hispanic celebrities including Marc Anthony, Sofia Vergara and Roselyn Sanchez, among others.

NAACP Polishes Dreamgirls' Image

Entertainment industry honchos and NAACP leaders went to sleep last night with visions of Dreamgirls dancing in their heads. The critically acclaimed musical is sitting pretty heading into the 38th NAACP Image Awards, with its eight nominations tying television's Everybody Hates Chris for most mentions this year. Accolades bestowed on Dreamgirls include a nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture, acting nods for Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx and Danny Glover, and a notice for its soulful soundtrack. Beyoncé also picked up the most nominations for an individual performer, scoring nods for Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Song and Music Video for "Irreplaceable" and Outstanding Album for B'Day to give the 2006 multitasker a grand total of five. Dreamgirls will square off in the Outstanding Motion Picture category against Blood Diamond, Catch a Fire, Akeelah and the Bee and The Pursuit of Happyness, the last two of which received five nominations apiece, making them the second most honored films. The Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture category pits Foxx against Inside Man's Denzel Washington, Akeelah and the Bee's Laurence Fishburne, The Pursuit of Happyness' Will Smith and Oscar favorite Forest Whitaker, who has been collecting honors right and left for his turn as despot Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Those vying against Beyoncé for Actress in a Motion Picture include Akeelah and the Bee newcomer Keke Palmer, Volver's Penélope Cruz, Last Holiday's Queen Latifah and Something New's Sanaa Lathan. Dreamgirls' Danny Glover, Blood Diamond's Djimon Hounsou, Dreamgirls' Murphy, Bobby's Harry Belafonte and The Pursuit of Happyness newbie Jaden Christopher Syre Smith proved themselves to be valuable right-hand men and will face off for Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. The actress' who left their supporting mark include Dreamgirls' Noni Rose and scene-stealer Hudson, Akeelah and the Bee's Angela Bassett, The Last King of Scotland's Kerry Washington and The Pursuit of Happyness' Thandie Newton. Lionsgate Films was the most nominated studio, with eight nominations, followed by Sony and Dreamworks/Paramount, with seven apiece. With regard to the smaller screen, Everybody Hates Chris' eight nominations and Girlfriends' six helped give newbie network the CW 17 mentions, although CBS leads the field with 19. Defending champ Chris is joined by All of Us, The Bernie Mac Show, Girlfriends and freshman hit Ugly Betty in the Outstanding Comedy lineup. Meanwhile, last year's favorite, Grey's Anatomy, finds itself up for Outstanding Drama once again, this time against 24, Heroes, The Unit and The Wire. The Unit's Dennis Haysbert, CSI: New York's Hill Harper, Grey's Isaiah Washington, Law & Order's Jesse L. Martin and The Wire's Michael K. Williams are all up for Actor in a Drama Series.

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