Police Top Tour of 2007

E! Online - David Jenison

In a classic case of role reversal, it was the Police who topped this year's most-wanted list.

The trio's reunion tour, which kicked off May 28 in Vancouver, finished 2007 as North America's number one top grossing tour, per year-end figures released Friday by the concert trade Pollstar. Sting & Co.'s 41-city, 54-show outing grossed $132 million in ticket sales, nearly double the amount of country star Kenny Chesney, who finished second with $71 million.

The Police had the highest average per-concert take, with $3.2 million per gig. The reunited rockers also sold the most tickets, just over 1.15 million, followed closely by Chesney's 1.14 million. But the Police only had the fifth highest average ticket price ($114.32), behind Barry Manilow ($141.72), Celine Dion ($141.26), Genesis ($130.39) and Elton John ($126.76).

The Police were also the top ticket seller internationally, bringing in a grand total of $212 million worldwide. The trio, who finished the tour's Latin American leg earlier this month, restarts the tour Jan. 17 in New Zealand.

The reunited Genesis proved it could still turn it on again. Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford kicked off their North American jaunt Sept. 7 in Toronto and finished the year as the eighth highest grossing tour at $47.6 million. Genesis cracked the top 10 with the fewest number of shows, 25, but the band's high seat prices made up the difference. Genesis also scored the second highest grossing international tour, selling $129 million in tickets worldwide.

Showing that reunion tours were the rage this year, Van Halen finished in the fifth spot. On the heels of their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the L.A. rockers launched their reunion tour last September, selling nearly $57 million in tickets to date.

The fourth highest grossing act wasn't really a tour at all. Celine Dion did 113 performances of A New Day at Caesar's Palace this year, with the Canadian chanteuse finishing her remarkable five-year run just last week. Her Las Vegas residency brought in $65.3 million in its final year.

Since opening her show in early 2003, Dion sold more than $400 million in tickets to nearly 3 million fans. The casino's 4,100-seat Colosseum, built specifically for her performances, limited her tickets-per-show average, but she led the pack in total number of shows.

While many singers would take a break after such a grueling schedule, Dion appears anxious to get on the road. Her yearlong Taking Chances tour kicks off Valentine's Day in South Africa.
Chesney's second-place finish kept Justin Timberlake at third, with about $500,000 separating them. The country star also exacted some revenge by topping Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul2Soul 2007 tour, which finished sixth with $52.3 million. Last year, the Soul2Soul tour grossed $88.6 million, topping Chesney's 2005 Somewhere in the Sun as the highest grossing country tour of all time.

Among the other top-10 finishers, Rod Stewart and current Christmas king Josh Groban finished at seventh ($49 million) and ninth ($43 million), respectively. With $41.5 million in sales, Rascal Flatts finished 10th, giving country music three of the year's top-10 tours.

Just outside the top 10 were a clutch of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, with Billy Joel finishing 12th ($39.1 million), Roger Waters 13th ($38.3 million) and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band coming in 14th ($38.2 million). Elton John finished at 16th with $35.7 million, thanks to his Red Piano show, which he performed in the Colosseum during Celine Dion's breaks.

Tween concertgoers were represented by Miley Cyrus. The Disney Channel star's Best of Both Worlds Tour, one of the year's hardest tickets to come by, finished 15th, with $36 million in gross ticket sales.

Finally, Mexican rockers Maná had the top Spanish-language tour, and the 20th highest grossing overall, moving nearly $34 million in tickets over 46 shows.

Per Pollstar, the top 20 tours grossed $996 million, down nearly 16 percent from 2006. Total North American ticket sales hit $2.6 billion for the year, according to Billboard. That's a drop of 10 percent from last year's record-setting mark, while the actual number of concertgoers—51 million—was also down 19 percent.

Here's a recap of 2007's top 10 highest grossing North American tours, per Pollstar:
1. The Police ($131.9 millon)

2. Kenny Chesney ($71.1 million)

3. Justin Timberlake ($70.6 million)

4. Celine Dion ($65.3 million)

5. Van Halen ($56.7 million)

6. Tim McGraw/Faith Hill ($52.3 million)

7. Rod Stewart ($49 million)

8. Genesis ($47.6 million)

9. Josh Groban ($43 million)

10. Rascal Flatts ($41.5 million)

Yankee Stadium's final game

Yankee Stadium's final game

The House That Ruth Built, which opened in 1923, will host its final game in 2008

The final regular-season game at Yankee Stadium will be Sept. 21 against Baltimore, and New York is raising prices for its best box seats by $100 to $250.

The Yankees released their 2008 schedule and ticket prices on Monday for the last season in The House That Ruth Built, which opened in 1923.

The team plans to move in 2009 into a new ballpark being built across the street in the Bronx.

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Led Zeppelin to return to stage

Led Zeppelin to return to stage

By CHRIS LEHOURITES, Associated Press Writer

LONDON - Led Zeppelin fans from around the world descended Monday on London to see the legendary rock 'n' roll band perform a full set for the first time in nearly three decades. Led by its three surviving members — singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones — Led Zeppelin will be joined by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums for the benefit show Monday at the O2 Arena.

Led Zeppelin has not played a full set since 1980, the year John Bonham died after choking on his own vomit. Robbed of "Bonzo's" pulsing drums, the band decided it couldn't go on and split up on Dec. 4, 1980.

Now, with an estimated 20 million fans vying for tickets pared down to a lucky 18,000 or so — including one who paid more than $168,000 for his pair — most of the rest are hoping for more tour dates.

But Plant — with his screeching, often unintelligible lyrics leading the way during the band's 12 years and eight studio albums — may be toughest of the three to be convinced that it's a good idea to go on tour.

"The whole idea of being on a cavalcade of merciless repetition is not what it's all about," the 59-year-old Page told The Sunday Times.

That certainly won't be music to the ears of millions of fans who are hoping hear "Stairway to Heaven," "Whole Lotta Love" and "Kashmir" in concert again.

Plant, who recently released a successful album with bluegrass star Alison Krauss, did give an indication that this may not be the last of Led Zeppelin, however.

"It wouldn't be such a bad idea to play together from time to time," Plant added.

Monday's concert won't be the first Led Zeppelin reunion, but it will be the biggest. The band played together in 1985 at Live Aid, and joined forces again three years later — with Jason Bonham on drums — to play at the 40th anniversary concert for Atlantic Records.

At their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1995, they teamed up with other musicians for another short set.

Priced at $250, tickets have been selling on the Internet for upwards of $2,000.
Kenneth Donnell, 25, said he paid $168,500 for his tickets from British Broadcasting Corp. radio's "Things That Money Can't Buy" charity auction last month.

"I was gutted that I was not born in the 1960s and able to see Led Zeppelin in the 1970s like my dad," Donnell told The Sunday Times.

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Steelers vs. Patriots: Tomlin says this isn't Appalachian State vs. Michigan

By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports WriterDecember 4, 2007

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- This game has been on the Pittsburgh Steelers' minds for weeks and, finally, they can talk about it.

The Steelers (9-3) are convinced they can ruin New England's perfect season, and they were secretly rooting for the Patriots (12-0) to stay unbeaten so they would have the chance to do exactly that Sunday in Foxborough.
They know something about stopping New England streaks, too, having halted a record Patriots run only three years ago and, with it, the possibility of an undefeated season.

Pittsburgh almost didn't get this chance to keep New England out of the record book, as the Patriots were forced to stage a desperation rally to beat Baltimore 27-24 on Monday night. The week before, the Patriots trailed in the fourth quarter of a 31-28 win over Philadelphia.

Now, the Steelers could be the best team standing in the way of the Patriots and the NFL's first 16-0 regular season. After Pittsburgh, the Patriots play the Jets (3-9), the Dolphins (0-12) and the New York Giants (8-4).

"Obviously you think about it, because everybody talks about them because they are undefeated," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "Everything that has to do with news and sports is the New England Patriots, and deservedly so. They're a great football team offensively and defensively."

The Patriots could be at a disadvantage because they will have a short week of preparation for the Steelers, who own the AFC's third-best record and are in contention for a wild-card playoff bye. Still, that same scenario didn't hurt the Steelers last week as they beat Miami 3-0 on Monday and the Bengals 24-10 on Sunday.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin willingly heaped plenty of praise on the Patriots during his weekly news conference Tuesday but, by the end, seemed to be wearying of all the how-great-are-the-Patriots questions.

"This isn't Appalachian State against Michigan," he said.

Even if some of the Patriots' scores -- 52-7, 56-10, 38-14 -- resemble an early season college mismatch. The Patriots have, by far, the league's top offense, leading in scoring average (39.1), yards per game (425.3) and passing yardage (304).

The Steelers counter with the league's best overall defense (230.8 yards), No. 1 passing defense (154 yards) and the No. 2 rushing defense (76.8).

"We'd better get ready -- we know how explosive they are," linebacker Larry Foote said. "But we're confident with our own swagger. If we play our game, we can beat anybody."

Offensive tackle Max Starks said "some teams might be star-struck by them," but the Steelers won't be.

"Some defenses might be, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going against Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth. Tom Brady is the quarterback.' Some people might get enamored with that," Starks said. "But I definitely don't see that in our defense."

The Steelers have this going for them, too: Only three seasons ago, they stopped a couple of long Patriots streaks, as well as New England's chance for an undefeated season.

Pittsburgh's 34-20 win at Heinz Field on Oct. 31, 2004, ended New England's record 18-game season winning streak and a 21-game overall winning streak. It also was the Patriots' first loss that season after a 6-0 start; the Patriots would finish 14-2 during the season and win the Super Bowl.

Turnovers led to that Halloween loss in Pittsburgh, with Brady throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble and Roethlisberger, still unbeaten as an NFL starter at the time, converting four Patriots mistakes into scores.

Still, Tomlin said nothing in the past means anything in this game and that Pittsburgh will prepare for New England like it does for any other opponent.

"We're going to play our game," he said. "We don't let people dictate how we play defense. but we got to play our game and play it well."

Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban set to tour together

Sunday, November 11, 2007 – Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban will launch a co-headlining tour together in 2008, hitting 24 cities around the U.S.

The name of the tour is the "Love, Pain & the whole crazy Carnival Ride Tour," a name that combines the titles of each artist's most recent album.

Urban's disc, "Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing," was released a year ago, while Underwood's "Carnival Ride," debuted last month.

Tickets are set to go on sale as of Dec. 1.

"I'm looking forward to hitting the road with Carrie, and to bringing our audiences together for what I think will be a magical night of sights, sounds, songs and solos," said Urban. "I can't think of a better person to begin 2008 with than Keith," said Underwood. "He is an amazing entertainer and a well-respected musician, singer and songwriter."

While no specific dates were listed, cities on the tour itinerary include: Uncasville, Conn. Rochester, NY New York City Hershey, PA Atlantic City, NJ Roanoke, VA Tallahassee, FL Charleston, WV Biloxi, Miss. Bossier City, LA Kansas City, MO Wichita, KS Omaha, NE Denver San Jose Anaheim, CA Baltimore Charlottesville, VA State College, PA North Charleston, SC Charlotte Raleigh, NC Gwinnett, GA Lexington, KY

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