Phelps to Kick Off SNL Opener

1972 Olympic champ stays gracious after record falls to Phelps

(NEWSER) - Outspoken and prickly in the best of times, Mark Spitz is slowly adjusting to being the second-greatest Olympian of all time, the Wall Street Journal reports. Mustering a little grace for the occasion, Spitz says he's relieved at the downgrade. "He's got the burden of inspiring the youth as they go forward," Spitz says. "That is a relief." More»

Sponsor Omega won't release images of race No. 7 finish

(NEWSER) - Michael Phelps' razor-thin victory in his seventh race is raising sticky ethical questions because the Olympics' official timekeeper is also one of Phelps' sponsors, the New York Times reports. Making matters worse, the timekeeper, Omega, and swimming's governing body won't break with protocol and release underwater images of the finish. They insist there's "absolutely no doubt" Phelps won and note that Serbia dropped its protest after seeing the images. More»

Wayne's World writer Joe Bodolai found dead in Hollywood hotel room

(NEWSER) - Joe Bodolai's long career in show business came to a sad end in a Hollywood hotel room. The 63-year-old comedy writer and TV producer was found dead the day after Christmas, having apparently committed suicide by drinking a mixture of antifreeze and Gatorade. Bodolai, who wrote for Saturday Night Live and co-wrote Wayne's World, left a final blog post in which he said one of his biggest regrets was his inability to conquer his alcoholism. More»

Critics split on Jennifer Lopez as host, agree on singer as musical guest

(NEWSER) - The Jennifer Lopez image-rehab train pulled into Saturday Night Live station last night, to mixed reviews.

• "Her appearance on the show—bizarro Hallmark lyric songs included—was a very obvious attempt at rebranding herself as a down-to-earth, un-diva-like sweetheart, but it just came across as weird and overly acted," Hortense writes for Jezebel . Although there were some high points, "overall, it was a pretty craptacular show."

'Saturday Night Live' guest host can't live up to debut but fits in well

(NEWSER) - Jon Hamm's Saturday Night Live debut was an instant classic, which meant hopes were high—perhaps unrealistically so—for last night's second effort. The Mad Men star has no trouble taking off his shirt and "obviously enjoys doing comedy, and so was game for a few silly bits," writes Claire Zulkey of the Onion A.V. Club . The episode didn't hang together well, but in a disappointing season, "it was much stronger than most of the stuff we've seen." More»