Larry King, romantic
"And what can I say? He lunged." So Katie Couric describes fellow newshound Larry King's attempt to court her during a disastrous first date.
Couric tells Jimmy Kimmel she was a 30-year-old Washington journo at the time. King, 23 years her senior, took her to an Italian restaurant, then back to his place. There was awkward lunging.
"I started laughing a little because the whole situation was like out of a bad Lifetime movie," the now 56-year-old Couric says. "So I said 'Larry, you're such an interesting, nice man, but I would like to meet someone a little closer to my age.' "
Wing Bowl 21 stunner
In a shocker, an out-of-towner (he's from Granby, Conn.) nicknamed "The Bear" on Friday won Wing Bowl 21, and $20,000, by consuming 287 wings in just a half-hour. James "The Bear" McDonald's total was second most in Wing Bowl history, surpassed only by last year's pro winner, Takeru Kobayashi, who did not defend his title.
Falling five wings short was three-time champ Jonathan "Super" Squibb of South Jersey, the lone local representative in the top-tier matchup of top eaters from six cities.
In the all-local portion, Dave "U.S. Male" Goldstein of Voorhees won a new Nissan Pathfinder for eating 266 wings. Earlier, he won 12 trips to a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, for putting on a great pregame show with his "Bynumland" float, which spoofed sidelined 76ers center Andrew Bynum.
- Peter Mucha
Tidbits 'n' pieces
More photos of Canadian teen star Justin Bieber, shown inhaling from what we surmise is a blunt (a marijuana-filled cigar), have been put on sale to the highest bidder, says TMZ. . . . Speaking of the Weed, Nickelodeon darling Amanda Bynes, 26, is moving out of her New York pad after management received multiple complaints of pot smoke coming from her apartment, says TMZ. . . . ABC has denied a New York Daily News report that beloved veteran journalist Diane Sawyer plans to retire from ABC World News to care for her ill mother.
NBC News prez quits
Bucks County boy-done-good Steve Capus, 49, an alumnus of William Tennent High School in Warminster, has stepped down as president of NBC News, he told his news staff Friday in an internal memo excerpted by Politico.com.
"It has been a privilege to have spent two decades here, but it is now time to head in a new direction," said Capus, who worked alongside Brian Williams at WCAU in Philadelphia in 1986 and became an exec producer at KYW-TV in 1990. Capus famously decorated his office at 30 Rockefeller Center with Philly sports memorabilia. He has yet to announce his next move.
This article includes information from Inquirer wire services. Contact "SideShow" at sideshow@phillynews.com.
