BIG SHOW COULD BE RETIRING

--Big Show’s career as a wrestler could be in jeopardy. Sources close to the ECW World Champion indicate that his back problems have gotten worse and that he will be leaving the company at least temporarily in a few weeks. --Big Show was removed from the European house show tour and replaced with Paul Heyman because of the severity of his back problems. At least one source says that it is nearly guaranteed that Show will lose his title during the Elimination Chamber match and it may be the final match of his career. -- While he’s still contractually obligated to WWE until at least early December, there’s a chance he could work a match or two right after the PPV, but that remains unlikely. It should be noted that Big Show is legitimately 530 pounds.

ECW RESULTS FOR YESTERDAY

Thanks to WrestleMag.com’s Mark Bright for these:

- The ring is set up for an ECW taping, and right now they’re making last minute changes with the lights. The set has changed a little from previous UK tapings, with the TitanTron shaped to look like a Union Jack.

- A video package from WrestleMania 22 played, with John Cena being booed out of the building when he was shown. They announced that ECW was being taped tonight as well, and that also got booed.

- In a dark match prior to ECW being taped, Carlito beat Doug Williams via pinfall. A short match that went about five minutes, with Carlito winning after hitting Williams with the backcracker. r>
- ECW started with Elijah Burke on commentary alongside Joey Styles. No sign of Tazz. r>
- Paul Heyman and Big Show cut a promo to open the show. Heyman reveals that there will be no Rob Van Dam tonight, and also that Hardcore Holly will be in the Extreme Elimination Chamber match at December to Dismember. Backstage, Bobby Lashley attacks Holly then gives Big Show a spear, before heading to the ring and signing a contract that will see him as the sixth man in the Elimination Chamber match next month. Excellent opening segment that the crowd were hot for.
- Backstage, Holly, Big Show and Heyman argue over who to blame for what just happened, with Big Show putting the blame on Heyman. Heyman announces Lashley vs. Hardcore Holly for later tonight.

- CM Punk beat Mike Knox with the Anaconda Vice in a match that went a little longer than Punk’s previous outings.

- Matt Striker cut a promo talking history and hyping up the Elimination Chamber match, which led to a video package to further hype up the match. Our history teacher also incorrectly pronounced Gorbachev.

- Backstage, CM Punk cut a great promo putting over the importance of the Elimination Chamber match.

- Tommy Dreamer beat Daivari via DQ in a short match after The Great Khali interfered and gave Dreamer the low blow into the ringpost. After the match, Khali continued to attack Dreamer.

- In the main event of the ECW taping, Bobby Lashley vs Hardcore Holly ended in a no contest after Big Show, Test, Paul Heyman and Heyman’s security interfered, only to be chased off by Sabu, Rob Van Dam and CM Punk.

JR AND STONE COLD NEWS

Sumie Sakai won her MMA debut last month.

Jim Ross updates his blog - Stone Cold and the Sooners at JesBBQ.com.

During a recent interview, former WWE diva Nidia stated that she is pregnant and living in Italy and likely done with wrestling. Nidia claimed that Linda Miles and her decided to quit WWE at the same time. Of course, Nidia didn't quit, but was in fact released by WWE.

The Smackdown & ECW house show on January 7th, 2007 has been moved from the SIU Arena in Carbondale, Illinois to the John E. Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana.

RAW AND SMACKDOWN NEWS AND BOBBY LASHLEY NEWS

The latest WWE video game SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 for the PS2 was the second best selling game in the UK last week. Expectations are that the game will bring incredible numbers. Bobby Lashley is in the list for auditions for the MMA movie "Never Submit," is because Lashley is represented by MMA management. Sean Sherk, Chuck Liddell, Ken Shamrock, Phil Baroni Trevor Prangley, Josh Thompson, Jon Fitch, Cane Valesquez, Paul Buentello, Bobby Southworth, Forrest Griffin, Josh Koscheck, Cung Le, Mike Swick and Rashad Evans are other names listed as auditioning for roles in the movie. Auditions are on November 19th at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose and December 10th at the Gracie Barra facility in the Chicago area. Beth Phoenix has posted up a new message on her MySpace page (myspace.com/wwebethphoenix) Regarding a possible return to RAW, Beth posted the following: I still am receiving questions about my return to RAW...trust me...I'm just as excited to get back in the mix! I feel better than ever and I'm ready to tackle whatever challenges come my way thanks to all the support and kindness everyone keeps generously dishing out! Love you guys! She also posted this a few days ago: First of all, I do not right now have a date to post for when I will be returning to RAW...but I can tell everyone that I promise to make an impact when I do go back. As anyone who has followed my career can tell you, I am never willing to accept anything less than the best...so that is my goal for returning to WWE....to become the BEST woman wrestler. Down in Ohio Valley Wrestling, its been reported that they have her dressing, looking and even doing some of the same mannerisms of one Trish Stratus. Phoenix recently lost the OVW Women's Championship a few weeks ago to Katie Lea (UK's Nikita). 2006 Diva Search contestants Maryse Ouellet and Milena Roucka are currently training in Ohio Valley Wrestling. They have yet to appear on OVW television, although, the other Diva Search contestant, Amy Zidian, is currently appearing on their shows. Also, Maryse probably won't be making any more inconsequential appearances on SmackDown until they find a full-time role for her.

ELTON JOHN THINKS WE SHOULDN'T HAVE RELIGION

Forget dissing Madonna and the media. Elton John is now turning his enmity on organized religion.

In an interview with The Observer's special gay edition of Music Monthly Magazine that hit U.K. newsstands on Saturday, the Rocket Man sounded off on a variety of hot-button topics, ranging from British Prime Minister Tony Blair's views on the Iraq War to gay rights.

But John reserved his most critical comments for organized religion, which he said should be outlawed for fomenting discrimination against gays.

"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people," the 59-year-old "Sad Songs" singer told the newspaper. "Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. But there are so many people I know who are gay and love their religion."

John continued: "From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings, and it's not really compassionate."

The music icon took religious leaders to task for failing to step up and use their influence to help bring an end to a variety of dangerous conflicts in the world, such as the war in Iraq.

"Why aren't they having a conclave? Why aren't they coming together? I said this after 9-11, and people thought I was nuts. Instead of more violence, why isn't there a meeting of religious leaders?" John asked.

The outspoken rocker also reprimanded his fellow artists for failing to imagine their own role in trying to make the world a better place.

"It's like the peace movement in the '60s. Musicians got through to people by getting out there and doing peace concerts, but we don't seem to do them anymore," John added. "If John Lennon were alive today, he'd be leading it with a vengeance."

(We'll just assume he forgot about last year's historic Live 8 concerts.)

Regarding Blair, John said the fact that a majority of British citizens disagreed with the prime minister's support for the Bush administration on the Iraq War had "come back to bite him in the ass."

The crooner, who swapped vows in a civil union last December with his longtime beau, Canadian filmmaker David Furnish, also pledged to continue stumping for gay rights.

"I just can't sit back; it's not in my nature anymore," he noted. "I'm nearly 60 years old, after all. I can't sit back and blindly ignore it, and I won't."

John has a long history of speaking his mind...and a related history of foot-in-mouth disease.

In 2001, he memorably stood up for rapper Eminem, after the latter was criticized for the violent themes in his rhymes, joining him in a surprise duet at the Grammy Awards. (Eminem, who embraced John following the performance, later said he was unaware that the singer was gay.)

John made headlines for a less tolerant display in September 2004, when he lashed out at paparazzi who greeted him after he landed at Taiwan's Taipei airports, calling them "vile pigs." Around the same time, he also took aim at fellow singer George Michael, saying he was acting "miserable" and wasting his talent, prompting a sharp rebuke from Michael in an open letter.

Also in September 2004, he slammed Madonna, saying it was wrong of her to lip-sync her songs in concert when she was charging fans sky-high ticket prices. He later apologized to the Queen of Pop for the remarks in a sit-down with Entertainment Weekly, saying he made them after a "drunken lunch."

Last May, John disparaged a group of pesky shutterbugs who were annoying him at the Cannes Film Festival, calling them a "nightmare" and saying they "should all be shot."

In any case, Sir Elton's outspokenness doesn't seem to be affecting his popularity. John was in New York City on Thursday to accept the Legend of Live honor at the 2006 Billboard Touring Awards.

Later this month, the legendary performer heads Down Under for a series of concert dates in Australia, before resuming his off-and-on stint filling in for Celine Dion at Las Vegas' Caesar's Palace in January and February.

DAVE CHAPPELLE DOESN'T SHOW UP AT VEGAS COMEDY SHOW

Whatever happens in Vegas won't include Dave Chappelle, apparently.

The outspoken comedian has scrapped a performance at Las Vegas' Comedy Festival scheduled for Thursday at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, according to a message on Ticketmaster's Website.

Instead, late-night comic Bill Maher will fill in for Chappelle at the second annual shindig, which is being sponsored by HBO and AEG Live and runs Nov. 14 through Nov. 18. The scathing political satirist was set to follow the funnyman, but will now perform an extended version of his stand-up bit.

No reason was given for the cancellation, and reps for HBO and Chappelle could not be reached for comment. Refunds are available at points of purchase.

The comic did turn up for last year's inaugural Comedy Fest, which saw a who's who of jokesters take the stage, among them Sarah Silverman, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, George Lopez, Wanda Sikes, Kathy Griffin, Dane Cook and Lewis Black.

Aside from performances, tributes and sketch comedy routines, a highlight at this year's event will be Comic Relief 2006, which is back after an eight-year absence. The comedy world's most famous benefit will take place Saturday, Nov. 18, and will again be cohosted by Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg and air live on both HBO and TBS. Money raised will assist families recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

By this point, Chappelle's loyal fans are used to their idol killing them softly.

The Washington D.C.-born comic, famed for his hilarious, racy bits on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show, surprised everyone when he walked away from his namesake series and a $50 million deal with the cable network at the height of his fame in May 2005, just when some of his characters' favorite catchphrases, such as "I'm Rick James, bitch," had worked their way into the cultural lexicon.

After his mysterious disappearance, he surfaced in Africa on what he claimed was a spiritual retreat—not rehab or a psych facility, as some early media reports speculated. Chappelle later turned up on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in the pages of Esquire and explained himself, saying he felt he needed to maintain his creative integrity and expressing discomfort regarding the way his racially charged jokes were going over with white members of his audience.

"The bottom line was: White people own everything," Chappelle told Esquire at the time. "And where can a black person go and be himself or say something that's familiar to him and not have to explain or apologize?"

After lying low, Chappelle eased back into the spotlight, performing sporadic stand-up gigs around the country. Last spring, he released Dave Chappelle's Block Party, the Michel Gondry-directed documentary that chronicled his celeb-studded neighborhood shindig in Brooklyn with such party guests as Kanye West, Mos Def, Erykah Badu and a reunited Fugees.

SPIDER-MAN LEAD STAR TO BE A FATHER

The Spider-Baby has hatched.

Tobey Maguire and his fiancée, jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer, welcomed their first child in Los Angeles Friday, the actor's rep confirmed to E! Online, saying that the camera-ready couple are the "proud and happy parents of a beautiful baby girl."

Neither the baby's name nor vital statistics have been released, though Us Weekly reported that the stork delivery took place at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

The lack of press-release fanfare is nothing new for the low-key couple, who have done their best to keep out of the spotlight since their relationship kicked off in 2003. The 31-year-old papa and his 29-year-old betrothed have officially announced neither their engagement nor the pregnancy.

Though the expanding belly was a bit of a tip-off.

It took more than three months for Meyer, who launched her own eponymous line of baubles last year, to confirm that Maguire had indeed popped the question back in April.

"Let's just say this is truly the best time of my life," she told USA Today in July. "I'm walking on air. I'm getting married, starting a family and have an amazing company."

The parental pair first began dating three years ago, though they were friends prior to their coupling. Reports have alternately pegged the twosome as having met through Meyer's father, Universal Studios honcho Ron Meyer, or through The Office's Rashida Jones, a friend of Meyer's and former girlfriend of Maguire.

While the couple has yet to announce a wedding date, it's unlikely to be a spring vow-swap.

Maguire will be hitting the promotional circuit in a major way in anticipation of his third time donning the Spidey suit. The highly anticipated installment of the comic franchise is darker in tone than the previous two efforts and adds villains Thomas Haden Church and Topher Grace to the mix, as well as introduces Bryce Dallas Howard as love interest Gwen Stacy.

The flick hits screens May 4, 2007.

ARTICLE FROM E! ONLINE.

DAN RATHER BACK IN THE TELEVISON

Since his unceremonious departure from the CBS Evening News more than a year ago, Dan Rather has been in the business of making news. Now, however, he's back to reading it.

The veteran newsman returns to the airwaves tonight in his inaugural installment of Dan Rather Reports, a weekly news program on HDNet.

The program, which will repeat three times on the cable net during the week, was the brainchild of Rather and Mark Cuban, the billionaire media mogul who created the hi-def channel.

Last July, just three weeks after severing all ties with CBS, the 75-year-old newsman signed a three-year contract with the cable purveyor in which the anchor will get full creative and editorial control over the hourlong newscast, featuring field reports, investigative stories and one-on-one interviews with political heavyweights.

But while Rather will continue, hopefully with his trademark non-sequiturs and down-home verve, to report the big stories, this time around, he'll be doing it for a much smaller audience.

The downside to the otherwise ideal gig is that just three to four million Americans have access to the cable channel. Not that the newsman seems too bothered.

"I have no illusions about this," Rather told Reuters. "I consider this going into the wilderness; it's a pioneering network.

"The broadcast will be seen by far fewer people than I was talking to when I was anchor and managing editor at CBS. In the beginning here, it would not surprise me if I was speaking to a couple of hundred thousand people."

Rather told the wire service that he was looking forward to his debut, which he embraces as a step away from the "Hollywoodization of the news," something he hints may have befallen his former newscast.

Speaking with the St. Petersburg Times, Rather said he has watched his CBS Evening News successor Katie Couric helm the broadcast a handful of times since her debut in September and that "they're still in the early stages of deciding...what sort of news personality they want her to be. I've seen it some nights when I think they're trying to do the Today show in the evening."

As for his own program's inspiration, Rather said he has used Edward R. Murrow's '50s-era newscast, See It Now, as his benchmark for success, tackling the topic of Washington lobbyists in one of his first shows.

Rather's return comes more than 18 months after stepping down as anchor of CBS' nightly newscast and five months after cutting ties with the network completely, due to the fact that the news department brass reportedly stopped giving him assignments.

The news vet's reputation suffered a swift but lasting tarnishing in 2004, when an un-backed report on President George W. Bush's military record, deemed "Memogate," made it onto air.

However, Rather is already in the throes of a comeback. In addition to his eponymous newscast, the anchor also dropped by the Daily Show last week to provide live commentary during the show's Midterm Midtacular. And, like his fellow back-from-retirement newscasters Tom Brokaw and Mike Wallace, he shows no signs of slowing "We love the news," he told the Times. "We have a passion for the news that's in our marrow...hell, I want to wear out, not rust out."

BRITNEY SPEARS AND KFED BREAKUP

Britney Spears has apparently decided that Kevin Federline's 15 minutes of fame are up.

The pop star filed for divorce Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court from her husband of two years, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, according to her court documents.

Spears, 24, requested physical and legal custody of the couple's two sons, one-year old Sean Preston and two-month-old Jayden James, with visitation rights for Federline, 28.

She waived her right to spousal support (a no-brainer) and requested that each party pay their own legal fees.

Spears listed the date of the couple's separation as Monday, the very same day she made a surprise appearance on Late Night with David Letterman to show off her newly slim figure.

Interestingly enough, Spears listed the date of her marriage as Oct. 6, 2004, meaning that the Sept. 18, 2004, wedding featured in a People magazine spread and the subject of much controversy at the time was in fact not the real deal.

A representative for Spears had no comment on the split.

Both Spears and Federline have been in New York in recent days, but Spears tellingly avoided all promotional events for the release of her now-estranged husband's CD.

Just last week, Federline told the Associated Press that he and Spears had a "love-at-first-sight-type deal" that had yet to fade.

"I've been in relationships since I was 13 years old, so I know what I want," he said. "Her personality and her attitude and all that stuff, it really works. I don't know how sometimes, but it really works."

During an emotional interview with Dateline in June, Spears was similarly complimentary of Federline, calling her marriage "awesome" and stating that he was an "amazing" husband.

But somewhere between the birth of the couple's second son on Sept. 12 and the release of Federline's debut album on Oct. 31, the relationship apparently went downhill, at least as far as Spears was concerned.

In addition to any upcoming court commitments, the soon-to-be single mother-of-two will be keeping busy on the professional front. Spears is readying a musical comeback, with her fifth studio album, Fear Within, due out next year.

With marriage number two coming to an end, hopefully Spears will give it some time before walking down the aisle again. Her first ill-advised marriage, to childhood friend Jason Alexander, fell apart after only 55 hours. She wed Federline eight months later.

ARTICLE FROM E! ONLINE