“Laurie’s Weekly Dish” — it’s new AND good for you! In just a few quick minutes, you’ll be updated on highlights that’ll help you look like a pop culture know-it-all!
 http://www.1065thewolf.com/pages/5104296…

I believe there are some great places to live throughout our metro area! But, statistically, which local neighborhood/town is the safest?

This is from NBC Action News…

“…every urban area, even the cities with the highest crime rates have relatively safe neighborhoods. One website, neighborhoodscout.com, has collected data from the FBI and 17,000 local police agencies and found very safe areas in every major American city. Recently, a list of the safest neighborhoods in the fifty biggest cities in the U.S. was released. The safest place to live in the Kansas City area is Parkville, Mo.” The NBC Action News website mentions low crime and good schools, among other factors.

Congrats to Parkville, and wherever you live, THANK YOU for sharing your time with the Wolf. Be safe and happy!

Am I the only one who loves to lose an argument? I love that “holy crap!” moment when I suddenly see things from another point of view. It’s like a drug kicks in and my whole world gets shaken. Learning a better way of seeing things is one of my favorite things in the world.

Evidently they’ve had problems with the killer whales in the past. David Letterman explains how Sea World deals with these incidents…

NBC has confirmed the first set of guests for Jay Leno’s return to The Tonight Show. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be watching, especially because…

Check this out: Jay’s March 1st premiere will feature Jamie Foxx, Olympic gold medal skier Lindsay Vonn and musical guest… drumroll, please… BRAD PAISLEY!

Among the other guests in the first couple weeks of Jay’s return: gold medal snowboarder Shaun White. The Jersey Shore cast (who will be part of Leno’s “Jay-Walk All-Stars” segment — that should be interesting!), Chelsea Handler , speed skater extraordinaire Apolo Ohno, Matthew McConaughey , Morgan Freeman , Simon Cowell , and Kristen Stewart.

WOW! The people have spoken, and it looks like that Facebook campaign to get Betty White a gig hosting Saturday Night Live MAY have worked!

As of this writing, the “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!” fanpage/ campaign had 426,589 fans. I’m not gonna lie — I’m one of ‘em! Here’s the latest…

Entertainment Weekly reports that the Golden Girls star is VERY close to signing on for the show, although she wouldn’t be hosting alone. According to the magazine’s website, SNL is trying to put together a “Women of Comedy” episode which would also include funny gals like Molly Shannon, and possibly Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Sounds like FUN!

Kenny Chesney

will take the stage with rocker Steve Miller for an upcoming edition of C-M-T’s Crossroads. The two first played together in San Francisco at one Kenny’s stadium shows. He tells us, “I didn’t think I’d ever meet guys like Steve Miller, much less be friends with him and share a stage with him.”

I saw that show in San Francisco and Steve Miller joined Kenny on stage for a couple of songs toward the end of his set, it was one of those cool moments that I’ll never forget. Let me tell you this crossroads is one not to miss. We’ll keep you posted when we get more info!

When Steve called Kenny to invite him to be part of Crossroads, he quickly said yes. “He’s so down to earth, so easy-going, you’d never think about what a big star he is… It is truly an honor to get to do this with him.”

No air date has been set for the show.

And it’s usually my friend Rod. Ladies, he’s single!

Rascal Flatts, is Friday night at the Sprint Center and for those of you who have your tickets it’s going to be a great show. For those who don’t there are still tickets available… Click Here to Get Them.

Awards season for me is just as fun as watching sports — it’s exciting to predict the winners and root for your favorites! Here’s something Academy Award (a.k.a. Oscar) producers are not rooting for, however: boring celebrity acceptance speeches!

Oscar producers have often tried to come up with a solution to those long and boring speeches, and now they think they have one. At the Academy Awards luncheon on Monday, producer Adam Shankman asked nominees to have two speeches ready, in case they win. That’s right: TWO.

For the first speech, Shankman told the nominees, “Share [with the audience] your passion on what the Oscar means to you.” And he wants them to save their lists of “thank you’s” for the second speech, which they’ll be able to give backstage on a “Thank You Cam” — that video will be posted online.

By the way, in other Oscar news, they’ve decided that Best Song nominees will not be performed during the broadcast this year.

It’ll be interesting to see how this all works out! Get your popcorn and predictions ready — the Oscars will be held March 7th.