Mickey Mouse 80th Birthday Celebrated Today

latest news about, Mickey Mouse 80th Birthday Celebrated Today, Walt Disney Studios is looked at in many different ways. Disney is a children’s delight, a target for ridicule or satire, a massive annoyance, or all three or more, depending on your outlook. Besides, it is one of the few media giants to owe everything it has to a mouse. Mickey Mouse turns 80 years old today.

The Disney empire would not be where it is today if Mickey Mouse wasn’t born on November 18, 1928. Mickey Mouse debuted on that day, then he and his friends in the Disney universe went on to slowly conquer the entertainment world and the minds of children.

Mickey Mouse famously appeared for the first time in the short Steamboat Willie 80 years ago. Thanks to Mickey paving the way, Disney Studios took off and created its various classic movies, additional animated legends, and theme parks.

Rashard Mendenhall

PITTSBURGH—If Rashard Mendenhall finally gets it, the Steelers’ running game will get a major lift. One week after being benched by coach Mike Tomlin, Mendenhall was a star Sunday night. He ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Steelers race to a 28-0 lead en route to a much-needed 38-28 victory over the Chargers.
It was the most yards gained by a Steelers’ running back since 2006. Perhaps Tomlin should consider punishing Mendenhall every week if he responds to discipline like that.

“I’m not going to take any credit,” Tomlin said. “I didn’t rush for a yard tonight. He did a nice job.”

The Steelers knew Mendenhall had this kind of potential when they drafted him in the first round in 2008 (No. 23 overall). But Mendenhall did not always pay attention to details during practice. Sometimes he missed blocking assignments during games.

So Tomlin sent a message to Mendenhall by benching him in Week 3 against the Bengals. But on Sunday night, with starting running back Willie Parker (turf toe) out of the lineup, Tomlin gave Mendenhall the start. And Mendenhall cashed in. His stats alone were impressive, but it was the way he played that turned heads. He did everything with force. He broke tackles. He delivered several punishing blocks in pass protection.

Obviously, Tomlin’s message was received.

“Coach Tomlin challenged me, and it was a learning experience,” Mendenhall said. “All I wanted was a chance to be out there. You got to take advantage of any opportunities you get.”

At worst, Mendenhall has earned more playing time. But with Parker hobbled and the Steelers in need of a consistent running game, Mendenhall’s fresh young legs could become a key to their season. The passing attack clearly is in good hands, with Ben Roethlisberger (26-for-33, 333 yards, two touchdowns) directing the show. But the more Pittsburgh’s running game becomes a threat, the easier it will be for Roethlisberger to pick defenses apart through the air.

Even when Parker returns, Tomlin must find a way to get Mendenhall more touches. Many teams utilize a two-back system, and Parker has more mileage on him than Mendenhall. The potential is there for a formidable one-two punch. Tomlin made no promises Sunday night but sounded as if Mendenhall had played himself into the mix, at least temporarily.

“I don’t lack confidence in Rashard, even prior to tonight,” Tomlin said. “He’s a very talented young man, a good guy. He went through what some young guys go through. He addressed it and moved forward, and tonight he showed what he’s capable of doing. He needs to build off that as we move forward.”
The Steelers (2-2) took a step forward, ending a two-game losing streak before any more negativity could set in. They still are not sure when star safety Troy Polamalu (knee) or Parker will return, and the Steelers have not hit their stride yet. However, Mendenhall gave them a huge lift Sunday night. And he hoped it was only a beginning.

“I feel like I’m a complete player and complete back,” Mendenhall said. “This is all I’ve been working toward.”
Source: sportingnews.com

Ike Taylor, Ike Taylor

Ike Taylor doesn’t have the best hips for an NFL cornerback and every Steelers fan knows that his hands are among the worst in the league. But he sure can run.
It was his size/speed combination that got him drafted in the fourth round back in 2003, even though he was an extremely raw cornerback. Six years later, he’s apparently just as fast. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Taylor was recently timed at 4.26 in the 40-yard dash electronically.

His sprint coach Tim Shaw says that Taylor’s the fastest football player he’s ever coached. That wouldn’t mean that much if you didn’t know that Shaw has also coached Deion Sanders and Titans’ running back Chris Johnson. (You can see him say it on video after the jump.)
Shaw gives Taylor the nod over Sanders in the speed department.

“Ike is the fastest kid I’ve ever trained,” Shaw said.

Shaw said that would include Tennessee running back Chris Johnson, who ran the fastest time ever at the combine (4.24), and Sanders, who ran a 4.27 for No. 2 on the combine list.

There’s no doubt that Taylor is fast, but it’s hard to believe he’s faster than Sanders, who is generally considered the fastest player of the past couple of decades and maybe the fastest ever. But he is probably the fastest Steeler–faster than “Fast Willie” Parker.But Steelers fans should take notice that Taylor singled out rookie wide receiver Mike Wallace is someone who could challenge his title of “fastest Steeler.”

And he can now say he can run fast enough for a speeding ticket. He was clocked on radar at 26 mph during his training down in Florida.
Source: nfl.fanhouse.com

Lion King Broadway

WASHINGTON– The following was released today by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History WHAT: Disney Theatrical Productions will donate objects from the Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical, “The Lion King” to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 24

11 a.m.

WHERE: National Museum of American History

14th Street and Madison Drive N.W.

Note: Please use the Mall entrance.

WHO: Dwight Blocker Bowers, curator, National Museum of American History

Thomas Schumacher, president and producer, Disney Theatrical Productions

In a special donation ceremony, Thomas Schumacher will present objects from “The Lion King” — Broadway’s landmark musical event — to the National Museum of American History.

Disney’s Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical “The Lion King,” based on the 1994 Disney animated film, reigns as one of the most popular shows on Broadway and around the world. The show recently passed the 50-million mark in worldwide attendance, becoming the first American musical in history to achieve the feat.

These objects will join a rich collection of artifacts with Broadway origins, including costumes from the Broadway productions of “Rent,” “The King and I,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Cats,” “This Is the Army,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Mame” and” Lorelei.” Currently on view at the museum is “Dumbo the Flying Elephant” from Disneyland’s opening year (1955), and the museum holds Walt Disney’s pencil sketches of “Steamboat Willie,” an early iteration of Mickey Mouse.
Source: news.prnewswire.com