Kortney Yarbrough is getting married. I discovered this over the holiday weekend when I scrolled through my DVR list and came across a couple of forgotten episodes of TLC’s “Brides of Beverly Hills.”

First, I want to make it clear straight away that I do NOT watch this show. I love costumes and fancy dresses, and I will admit to watching every episode (and numerous repeats) of “Say Yes to the Dress.” But “Brides of Beverly Hills” isn’t my cup of tea. I set up a season pass for it, and I watched the first couple of episodes, but couldn’t take anymore after that. The show’s star, Renee Strauss, owner of Renee Strauss for the Bride in Beverly Hills is both two-faced (for talking smack about her clientele behind their backs) and a moron (for doing it on camera), and her friend Kevin Lee (an obvious alum of the Bobby Trendy School of Trying Way Too Hard) makes me cringe. Literally. Every time he says the word “FAB-uh-luss!” my shoulders go up, my back hunches over, and my face gets all scrunchy. He is SUCH a tool. And if this show lasts past this season, I will be very surprised. (Especially due to Renee Strauss’ recent financial issues, but you ain’t heard about that from me.)

Anywho, I was about to delete the show when the episode synopsis caught my eye. “Episode: 12 – Kourtney/Mariflor. A former professional football cheerleader comes in to Renee’s salon with her mom and friends in search of the perfect wedding dress.” I had no idea who this “former cheerleader” might be, so yeah, I sat down and watched it. I took one for the team.

I immediately recognized Kortney. How could I not? She’s a total knockout without even trying. Kortney, a cool chick, by all accounts, is an alum of the Long Beach Breaker Girls, Chivas USA ChivaGirls, San Diego Charger Girls, and AVP Dancers (in that order). I don’t know her directly, but I’ve got one degree of separation through several different people.

Kortney was a ChivaGirl for 2 seasons

Kortney was a Charger Girl for 1 season

Kortney was an AVP Dancer for 1 season

Depending on when the show was taped, Kortney is either engaged, or already married, to a pro surfer. This guy, whose name I can’t find anywhere:

Let me just say that I don’t blame Kortney for being on this awful show. This is the first season. She couldn’t have known. In any case, she found her way someway, somehow, to Renee Strauss’ bridal salon, mother and best friend in tow, and she tried on a few gowns, including the blue St. Pucchi creation in the clip below.

It’s a unique dress. It’s an expensive dress ($17,000!!) And I really hope Kortney didn’t buy it. I really hope she took her hard earned money and spent it somewhere else, but I’ll never know. (To date, I still haven’t made it all the way through an episode of this show.)

In any case, best of luck-slash-congratulations to Kortney and her fiancee. I’m sure either was, or will be, a beautiful bride, no matter what dress she chose.

By Stacie Kinder
Titans Online
11/15/2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn — Third-year Tennessee Titans Cheerleader Jessi took to the stage last week at the Country Music Association’s Awards show at the Bridgestone Arena. She performed front and center in the opening act with Blake Shelton and Kenny Loggins, and then later, she danced in the “Country Girl Shake it for Me” number with Luke Bryan.

Jessi auditioned with nearly 300 other hopefuls, finally being one of six women and six men chosen to dance in the show. The group spent more than fifty hours over eight days in rehearsals to learn the choreography to perfection. The show was choreographed by famed choreographer, Barry Lather out of Los Angeles who has choreographed for the American Music Awards, the Grammys, and the Academy Awards, working with artists such as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Usher, The Pussycat Dolls, and many others.

Previously, Jessi danced with Christina Aguilera in both the American Music Awards and the Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. In comparing those experiences to the CMAs last week, she said, “I was definitely more nervous with Christina; I feel much more at home in Nashville performing for my friends.” Jessi indicated that while she was dancing on stage during the show, she could see many people she knew in the audience, including award-winning producer, Michael Knox who has worked with Jessi in her musical aspirations with her TTC band, Danger Love Saint. Further, Jessi described both Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan as, “Friendly and personable; they were cool and relaxed and just really fun to work with.”

Jessi called the CMAs one of the top 5 experiences of her performance career, a dance and performance career that includes the Fox hit show, “So You Think You Can Dance,” MTV’s “World of Jenks,” and numerous music videos and commercials.

“It was great to have the other women on the team so excited for me and cheering me on,” Jessi said, “The CMA Awards performance was definitely an experience I’ll treasure.”

To see more about Jessi and check out her behind the scenes photos, “Like” her on Facebook

AndersonCooper.com
November 09, 2011

Imagine discovering one day, out of nowhere, someone is posting photos and spreading lies about you on the Internet — lies that trash your character and impact your career. That’s exactly what happened to Sarah Jones.

Sarah Jones was living what she says was a normal life — a high school English teacher in a relationship with a man she is now married to, and as a hobby, member of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad. In October 2009 she received a call that changed her life. The phone call came from one the Bengals players who told her they saw a posting on TheDirty.com which claimed she had been spotted around town with a Cincinnati Bengals player and had sex with the entire Bengals football team.

“That’s what it said,” says Jones. “That I had been seen out around Cincinnati with several football players… the picture is taken out of context because it’s taken at a charity event we did for Toys for Tots.” After seeing the October postings on the website, where people are encouraged to “submit dirt,” she contacted the site and begged them to take it down.

Jones says that she kind of let it go after the October posting, but when she saw another posting in December, claiming she had STDs and had sex in her classroom, she says she broke down, threw up and had a panic attack.

Because local news got wind of the story, Jones contacted school officials. “One day I was this credible teacher that they looked up to and listened to,” says Jones. “The next day I was a slut to them. I had a student come in and say I cannot come into my classroom and learn because you had sex in here and you’re a slut.”

Jones says she had to have a conversation with the 15-year-old students in her class to clear her name — telling them she did not have an STD and does not sleep around.

“I don’t teach elementary school. I teach high school,” says Jones. “These kids Google me. They see things. If it’s on the Internet, it’s real to them. They believe it.” Regardless of trying to clear her name, parents told Jones that they did not want their children in her class.

For the first time, Jones and the man responsible for TheDirty.com, Nik Richie, come face to face on “Anderson.”

“Nik, why did you create a site that allows people to spread lies and hurts people?” asks Anderson.

“Here’s the thing, Anderson. It’s more than just lies. TheDirty.com is the first ever reality Internet site. Reality TV is so big, I thought of an idea like no one’s doing reality Internet. Let me start the site.”

Richie continues, “It’s not lies. What we do is we get posts from all over the world. In Sarah’s case, she was a cheerleader. People were submitting pictures of her half naked as a cheerleader, and she was a teacher. And since then, I apologized to this girl. She just is constantly going on.”

Jones says this is the first time she had had any contact with him. “This is not a battle between me and him,” says Jones. “He didn’t post me on there. But it’s his website. The fact that someone can sleep at night and have a website that ruins people’s lives, I didn’t ask for this. I’m not a celebrity… I’m 26 years old… and the fact that he can do this to people, it’s completely delusional to me.”

Nik continues by comparing his website to that of a modern day library. “I’m just a librarian. You can’t go after the person just because you don’t like them.”

“First of all, Nik, my cousin’s a librarian in Mississippi, and she will freak out that you are comparing yourself to a librarian,” says Anderson. “You’re not a librarian, because librarians don’t stack the shelves with porn and smut. And if they did, they would be fired.”

By Jennafer Segel
Jacksonville.com
November 4, 2011

Many children grow up dreaming of becoming an astronaut, a race car driver, a veterinarian. In most cases, these dreams fade with time, but not for Mackenzie Weeks.

Ever since she was a little girl, Weeks dreamed of being a professional cheerleader — and not just any cheerleader, but a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

Weeks, who was born in Jacksonville and attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts followed her dream all the way to this year’s tryouts. Weeks’ journey against 500 other girls can be seen on CMT’s “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team 6.” New episodes air on Fridays at 10 p.m.

“I knew I would regret it if I didn’t [try out],” Weeks said. “I just worked up the courage.”

The cameras were not Weeks’ favorite part when filming began on the series, but they eventually grew on her.

“It took me a little while to be myself in front of the cameras,” Weeks said. “I did get use to it though and I actually love everyone who works on the show.”

Weeks had to make it through two dance auditions, a personal interview, a written test, a talent presentation and choreographed dance and kickline before she could even make it into the cheerleader training camp. In the end Weeks was one of 17 rookies to make it on the 34-member squad. She cheers under the name Mackenzie Lee.

Weeks said there was a lot of competition during the tryouts and training camp, but she felt the judges made it more about improving yourself than about how you compared to the others.

“You don’t really feel like you are competing against the other girls,” Weeks said. “It is more like competing against yourself.”

As a member of the squad Weeks spends at least 15 hours a week rehearsing with her team. She must also attend all of the Dallas Cowboys’ home games and be readily available for personal appearances, photo shoots, charity work and media interviews on top of working as an insurance agent.

Weeks said she’s always been more of a dancer than a cheerleader. She was a member of the dance teams at Douglas Anderson and Florida State University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and hospitality management.

The transition to her new life as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader has been what Weeks likes to call a “definite adjustment.” But says she is handling it well with support from family and friends. Her childhood dream is what continues to keep her motivated.

“This has been a dream for so long,” Weeks said.

“The Making of the Luvabulls” to premiere Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m.; CSNChicago.com to provide additional “web-exclusive” content, including extended video clips

Chicago Bulls
October 26, 2011

[Video preview]

Chicago, IL (October 26, 2011) – Beginning Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m., Comcast SportsNet will debut a landmark, four-part, behind-the scenes documentary entitled The Making of the Luvabulls, chronicling the personal dreams, joy and heartbreak taken by over 200 Chicago area women vying for just 25 spots on one of the NBA’s most prestigious dance teams.

With over 30 hours of exclusive footage shot over the course of four weeks, The Making of the Luvabulls (narrated by Comcast SportsNet’s Pat Boyle and produced by Sarah Lauch & Ryan McGuffey) will take viewers through the entire, never-before-seen process on exactly what it takes to make this team. From the initial mid-August tryouts featuring 200+ hopefuls (which was immediately cut down to 47 in one day) — to the grueling minicamp process that followed — to the moment the official 25-girl roster was announced, Comcast SportsNet showcases the amazing athletic skills, along with the raw emotions of these determined women every step of the way.

Additional highlights from the four-part series include extensive interviews/bio features with numerous women on the 2011-12 Luvabulls dance team including former Miss Illinois Ashley Bond, Luvabulls Director Cathy Core, choreographer Kim Tyler, along with many other women who participated in the process — including those who made the final cut — and those who didn’t. Viewers can also look forward to several “Day in the Life” segments, which follow the girls around for a day featuring candid interviews with their co-workers, roommates, friends and husbands/boyfriends. Plus — Comcast SportsNet will also showcase an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the chaotic, yet ultimately sexy Luvabulls poster photo shoot.

“We wanted to provide our viewers with an honest look at what it truly takes to become a member of the Luvabulls, not just from a physical standpoint, but also from a mental one as well,” said Charlie Schumacher, Senior News Director for Comcast SportsNet Chicago. “We captured so many euphoric moments, but also numerous moments of heartbreak. Most importantly, ‘The Making of the Luvabulls’ showcases so many hard-working, determined women trying their best to make their dream come true.”

Viewers are also urged to visit a special “Making of the Luvabulls” page set up on Comcast SportsNet’s newly-enhanced website, CSNChicago.com: CSNChicago.com/luvabulls, which currently showcases the teaser trailer for the series, along with behind-the-scenes commentary from producers Lauch & McGuffey. This page will also include a Luvabulls photo slide show and web-exclusive video excerpts from the series that will not be shown on Comcast SportsNet. Fans can also visit the official Luvabulls page at Bulls.com/luvabulls.

Note the following episode-by-episode details and quotes for The Making of the Luvabulls, premiering Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m. only on Comcast SportsNet (schedule subject to change):

Episode 1: Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m.
(Additional replays: Fri, Nov. 4 at 12:30 p.m. & Sun, Nov. 6 at 9:30 p.m.)

Summary: The first episode takes a look back at the history of the Luvabulls, along with profiles of Director Cathy Core and choreographer Kim Tyler. Highlights include the initial tryouts featuring over 200 girls, with only 47 of them being asked to come back to the intense next phase of “minicamp.”

Episode 2: Wednesday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m.
(Additional replays: Fri, Nov. 11 at 12:30 p.m. & Sun, Nov. 13 at 9:30 p.m.)

Summary: Minicamp begins. Viewers will witness the physical/mental stress of a grueling choreography session that not only has to be learned quickly, but accurately. Additional highlights also take a break from camp with “Day in the Life” features with Ashley, Kafi and Jackie.

Episode 3: Tuesday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m.
(Additional replays: Fri, Nov. 18 at 3:00 p.m., Sun, Nov. 20 at 2:00 p.m. & Thu, Nov. 24 at 8:00 p.m.)

Summary: As minicamp concludes following countless hours of intense choreography routines, the final 2011-12 Luvabulls team is selected. The emotional highs and lows from this episode are not to be missed.

Episode 4: Tuesday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m.
(Additional replays: Thu, Nov. 24 at 8:30 p.m. & Mon, Nov. 28 at 7:00 p.m.)

Summary: We go behind-the-scenes for the orchestrated chaos that is the always-popular Luvabulls poster shoot, plus – now that the team is set, viewers will be treated to some additional practice footage that clearly indicates the pressure is now on for this year’s team to succeed.

Quotes from “The Making of the Luvabulls”

“This is show business… they should come in knowing what they are getting in to. You see those veterans when they come in for their audition… I mean, you can’t touch them.”
- Luvabulls Director Cathy Core on girls showing up to auditions

“It is a very difficult process and anybody that kind of makes it through that training process, kudos to you because I felt like it is one of the hardest things mentally, physically, that you will ever go through in life being challenged on both ends and have that balance to make it through to the other side.”
- Luvabulls choreographer Kim Tyler on auditions/minicamp

“We look for a lot more than just a pretty face and a good dancer. We look for the whole package. Somebody who can speak in front of crowds and interact with CEOs and the community and really be a great representation for us and for the Bulls.”
- Bulls Sr. Director of Game Operations Jeff Wohlschlaeger on what the team looks for in a Luvabull

“There are no guarantees. Every girl needs to try their hardest. You are just like a rookie. You have to learn the choreography, you have to stay on top of everything, you have to look like a Luvabull. As a leader, you have to be a leader.”
- Erika, nine-year Luvabulls veteran

“I love this city. I love sports. I love the Bulls. It all ties together. It is just truly amazing and I feel blessed that I got chosen that first year.”
- Ashley, five-year Luvabulls veteran

[Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team on CMT.com]

That’s former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleader Brooke Newton in an episode of Happy Endings tomorrow night on ABC. Brooke is playing the role of Christine, Dave Rose’s new girlfriend.

Watch for Brooke in The League next week on FX and in an upcoming pilot called Perception on TNT.

For the big screen Brooke recently worked with Rob Lowe and Jamie Chung on the political drama Knife Fight which is a political drama and “Trophy” which she both starred and produced.

[Brooke on Twitter]

[Brooke at imdb.com]

The search is on for fun outgoing brides in Miami or the Florida Area who have not purchased their wedding dresses for a NEW TLC Bridal Show.

The producers are looking to film brides shopping for a dress the week of October 24th. Brides must be available for a whole day of filming and a half a day for a bridal portrait shoot.

Interested parties should email Brandy@northsouth.tv for more information and to set up an interview.