A benefit is currently being organized for Ryan DeLorenzo, who recently suffered a spinal injury on July 10 after diving into a family friend’s swimming pool and breaking his neck.

DeLorenzo broke his C5, C6, and C7 vertebrae and initially was unable to move his arms and legs. He’s since regained feeling in his limbs.

Since the injury, DeLorenzo, a Schenectady, N.Y. native who currently resides in nearly Rotterdam, has been visited by reportedly hundreds of friends and family in the past two weeks. On Facebook alone, more than 1,100 users joined the “Pray for Ryan DeLorenzo” group since the group was created less than two weeks ago.

With the outpouring of support and medical bills increasing, DeLorenzo’s family and friends have organized a benefit for DeLorenzo at the newly opened Tai Lounge on North Pearl Street in Albany on August 15, 2010. The event, which will run from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., will feature music entertainment from Grand Central Station Band. Tickets for the event will be $30 at the door. All proceeds will go directly to DeLorenzo.

If you are unable to attend the event but would like to make a contribution, send your donation to 128 Mariaville Rd., Schenectady, NY 12306 or e-mail DeLorenzo’s brother, Frank DeLorenzo, at frank_delorenzo@hotmail.com.

The Today Show outside The Beekman Arms, Thursday.

Nestled down along the Hudson River – Rhinebeck is home to a few amenities most people don’t know about… well until about a month ago when it was leaked that Chelsea Clinton would be wed on the Astor Court estate.

Take The Beekman Arms for instance – shut down this weekend for the Clinton’s stay, the oldest Inn in America is on everyone’s radar now, no longer just our claim to fame.

Hell, I used to sport the tavern’s name on my T-ball jersey.

Anybody and everybody has kept this wedding in their tweets and at the dinner table for weeks. Who’s on the guest list? What kind of dress is she wearing? Can I catch a glimpse of the wedding party getting their nails done in town? Basically – who in realm of entertainment and politics was cool enough to get an invite; like Wonka’s golden ticket.

I stopped at CVS to pick up props for a commercial shoot and had to wait for two TV crews to cross the street.

The Today Show was out in front of the Beek shooting interviews and collecting tags and b-roll for (I’m assuming) an edited package to run on tomorrow’s show.

Oh – and did I mention it’s only Thursday?

As long as I’ve called Rhinebeck my hometown, the one pet peeve of most “Rhinebeckians” are the tourists who flock to our town on the weekends. Imagine that ten-fold with a few secret service agents thrown in the mix to ruin our walks in the woods.

As I conjured up a way to get a secret service agent to take me down on camera, it hit me. All the other times I’ve steered clear of town – it was for no real reason; just some swanky city dweller with their chin up and loafers on.

But this weekend – people are putting their homes on craigslist and hightailing it out of town because America’s wedding of the century is coming for a visit.

For America – this is our Princess Diana wedding. And I guess at a time when most of the news only further propels people into depression – I’ll be “ok” with it taking over my town.

CNN, The Today Show and ET among others crowding Rhinebeck.

To those I know involved – the rehearsal dinner chefs, valets – I’m happy. They will get to be a part of something this country will talk about for a long time. You know – until Lindsay Lohan gets out of the slammer.

And as for myself – you guessed it – I’m steering clear of anything with a ‘12572’ zip code ‘til Sunday.

On Sunday evening, the fire finally came for one county-wide race.

Albany Citizen One (ACO), one of the Capital Region’s most depth in terms of coverage of local politics and community affairs, posted on their site, “Surrogate Court Judge: Debunking the Myths,” as a retort to the Times Union’s coverage of the race, which has focused on incumbent Kate Doyle’s connection to now imprisoned former State Supreme Court judge Thomas J. Spargo.

The post sent shockwaves throughout Albany’s political brass and frontlines. Both of Doyle’s opponents – Albany City Court Judge Helena Heath Roland and private attorney Murray Carr – were not only mentioned in the post but fact-checked in terms of campaign platform messages as well as personal interactions (disclosure: Carr’s website is maintained by Sunbear Design & Media, a unit of BASKnickerbocker Inc., who owns BAS News).

The three-way race for the Democratic primary has already become a money game – as of today, Carr leads the pack with $68,397.26 on hand, after bringing in nearly $80,000 of contributions. Doyle comes in second with $45,310.23 on hand, bringing in close to $57,000 in contributions. Heath Roland, with nearly two months to go, has a paltry $6,274.93, after bringing in close to $37,000. However, Heath Roland’s campaign has been aggressive in terms of marketing their candidate – frequent flyering and meet and greets at city events (namely Alive at Five, Tulipfest, and the Albany County Democratic Picnic) as well as the somewhat controversial speaking engagement at Albany High School’s 2010 graduation keeps her in play.

With nine weeks to go before Primary Day, it’s still anyone’s to grab.

Crowd shuffles out after show.

No analysis, no over-thought, no need to look into things that aren’t there. “Salt” is nothing more and nothing less than an entertaining spy thriller.

It’s easy – all you have to do is show up and enjoy the ride. Throw in a few twists and a couple chase scenes and you’ve got yourself one of the better spy movies since the “MI” days.

Tom Cruise was an original thought, but according to OkMagazine.com – Angelina did some better convincing and took it from him. And if you can take anything from comparing “Salt” to “Mission Impossible” – Sony made the right choice.

Beautiful, sexy, cunning and tough as nails. Evelyn Salt is the new “Bourne,” or for gender purposes – the new “La Femme Nikita.”

But what made this movie more than just 100 minutes of over-the-top stunts, unlikely twists and Bond-like escapes from peril, was its setting.

To the greater Capital Region – this movie was more. I stood there, an hour and a half prior to the screening up a block and around the corner from The Palace — in line. People were desperate for seats. Asking anyone and everyone if they had extra tickets.

You could sense the excitement in the silent masses as the movie began. How long would it take?

Luckily – we didn’t have to wait long. It was like a kid hearing the ice cream truck off in the distance. That grungy, blue tanker started rolling along the highway underneath her. Surrounded by authorities – backpack and hat on, we all knew what was next. And as quickly as she hit the top of the big rig – the crowds cheered. A seemingly normal high-action chase scene had The Palace Theater entranced. For five minutes cars crashed and characters launched themselves off overpasses with Albany as the backdrop.

It was more than just a movie to us. And yes, perhaps the excitement led people to give a skewed; over exaggerated review of the film and how good it actually was — but what do you expect?

Once everything settles and you take “Salt” for what it is, it’s simply an exciting story that I assure you – won’t leave you bored.

Combine that with a good supporting cast with the likes of Liev Schreiber (Defiance) and a story that – though unfathomable, is certainly entertaining, and you’ve got yourself  what the biz deems a summer blockbuster hit.

Nothing more; nothing less.

Sought-after premiere ticket.

**My review of the premiere also appeared on the CBS6 website here.**

As reported by the Knickerbocker Ledger, the Muddy Cup Coffee House adjacent to the Madison Theater in Albany has recently undergone an ownership change.

With the ownership change came a requirement to change from the “Muddy Cup” name, which has adorned its marquee since the Fall of 2005. The new name is (drum roll, if you so require)…

The Drama Cup.

According to an undisclosed insider, the painting on the new name will commence this Friday, July 23rd.

According to WABC-7 in New York and the Associated Press, longtime owner of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner, 80, has just passed away after suffering a massive heart attack.

Steinbrenner was brought to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla., where he was pronounced dead. Steinbrenner had been owner of the 27-time World Series champions since 1973.

According to the New York Times, the Steinbrenner family has confirmed his passing. Steinbrenner’s death was just preceded two days ago by the passing of 99 year old longtime PA announcer Bob Sheppard on Sunday.

No statement has been issued by the New York Yankees as of 10:13am.

There are few events in sports that can change the fans’ outlook of an entire player, team, franchise, or league for that matter. Baseball has had many eras, most notably its remarkable comeback after the 1998 Summer Chase between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa for one of the sports most storied records…and then fell to the steroid controversy. The hockey world was turned upside down when the entire season was locked out in 2004-2005. Finally, the image of the NBA was turned around November 19th, 2004 when Ron Artest jumped into a crowd to fight fans which is known as the “Mele in the Palace”.

LeBron will team up with Wade and Bosh in Miami for an All-Star trio (Photo Credits: ESPN.com)

For the NBA, it happened again. On Thursday night, July the 8th, 2010, the most sought after free agent ever, in any sport, picked his team and altered the NBA for the rest of time. After days of rumors, meetings, more rumors, vetting and even  a meeting with the Clippers, LeBron “The King” James will presumably be dawning number 6 in Miami for the Heat  .

After speculation of a summit in Miami with fellow free agents Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh fell through at first, and talks of a sign and trade with Toronto shipping Bosh to Cleveland (although Bosh didn’t want to relocate to Ohio), LeBron has a new home.

Free agency in basketball is unlike any other. Unlike baseball where free agents can do what they wish, and football where players of this caliber would be “franchised tagged” making it impossible to hit the market, the collective bargaining agreement in the NBA leaves odd numbers and tactics. Teams can offer and retain their players for a maximum deal of 6 years that would pay the player roughly $30 million dollars per year. If the player is traded to another team, they can sign for 5 years, and leave about $30 million on the table, making only roughly $25 million per season. In the end, it’s the difference between a roughly $99 million dollar contract to a roughly $128 million dollar contract….roughly.

Much speculation was made when teams such as the Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Heat and others cleared cap space to make room for this class. Notably, Miami was a huge draw as no income tax is a huge incentive, where newly acquired Knick Amar’e Stoudemire would pay an estimated $12 million dollars per fiscal year. The Heat were able to clear further cap space by trading the contract of Michael Beasly for draft considerations.

It is unclear what will happen as far as money, but pay cuts have been predicted. The biggest note has been the feeling of the fans. If you’re a LeBron fan, an NBA fan, or anything besides a Heat fan, you’re obviously disappointed. To me, LeBron has proven nothing to us besides that he is a sellout. He went from the hero of my adult basketball life to villain. To me, any title he wins will be a watered down version of a cheap victory. He will always be one title short of Wade, and looking down the highway of Kobe.  As a fan, I lost much respect for Kobe for many of his off the court actions, but I couldn’t help but think LeBron’s are worse. Turning your back on the city that you called home for over 20 years, cities that would of turned you into an idol, and the chance to be a leader for an All-Star mini version of Team USA. LeBron had made light of each player having their moments and time to shine.  I hope yours come the least.

When I think of a max contract player, I want a leader, a player that will lead my team to a title, not just being a role player. I will never wear the LeBron jersey I purchased his rookie year in the league with any pride for as long as he plays.  Call me what you want, think I am just an angry Knick fan. This was more than just the Knicks/Cavs/Bulls. This was for the NBA. This was for a legacy that will never take shape. This is for all those kids who never saw Michael Jordon,the greatest player to ever live, play, and will never; They will NEVER know what it is like to have a real hero bear the number 23.

I hope your happy with your max contract and lucrative deals Mr. James. Because outside of South Beach, it means nothing to any of us.

The Law Office of Alice K. Berke will be shutting its doors at the end of July 2010.

The office, located on Madison Avenue across the street from the College of St. Rose, occupies some of the largest undivided commercial space located on Madison Avenue in Pine Hills.

Berke, a 1986 St. John’s University School of Law graduate,  founded the eponymously named law firm in 1989. In addition to the law office, the suite at 930 Madison Avenue also served as the headquarters for BASKnickerbocker Inc. (the parent company of the Knickerbocker Ledger through BAS News) and Dudley Pictures.

The tradition of free musical theatre in Albany’s Washington Park continues tonight with the opening of “Annie Get Your Gun.” Now in it’s 22nd season, Park Playhouse opens its newest show amid a myriad of new changes in its direction in which new artistic director Owen Smith believes will turn the annual summer tradition around.

Smith, a 28 year old Delmar resident, took over the reins in January after the departure of longtime artistic director Ven Borromeo after 24 years. According to the Times Union, Smith is looking at expanding to two shows, “Annie” and “Chicago” next year.

“Annie Get Your Gun,” directed by Michael LoPorto, opens tonight at 8 p.m., running Tuesday through Sunday until August 15. More information can be found at www.parkplayhouse.com