After Peyton Manning missed all of the 2011 football season with a neck surgery, and as a result, the Colts had one of their worst years in recent history, the team has now decided to release the quarterback in favor of paying him a huge $28 million bonus. Manning stated in a very emotional press conference yesterday, “I haven’t given much thought to where I’m going to go; but I have given a lot of thought as to where I’ve been.” If that’s the case, he’s the only one. A few teams are already eager to get one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in their jersey; but will they hesitate due to the star’s past health history?

The Cardinals and Seahawks are two teams that have been rumored to mutter interest in Manning behind closed doors. But the Cardinals have already committed to Kevin Kolb and still owe him a heap of money; and the Seahawks currently have Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst on their roster. The team to express the most interest so far is reportedly the Miami Dolphins, and the fact that Peyton already has a home there might make it a good fit.

But will anyone actually end up taking him?

Before this year it was hard to imagine a football season without Peyton Manning. But with continuing health problems posing an uncertain future, who can afford to pay big bucks for a quarterback that might never amount to much more than health progress reports and sideline-sitting?

What do you think? Do you think Manning’s uncertain health will keep him out of football; or do you think the right team is going to come and scoop up this superstar?

Say what you will about the 84th Annual Academy Awards, they sure do a great job of publicizing low-budget movies and even a few Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. While there is no stage version of The Artist or Hugo, there were Broadway shows for other nominated films.

Warhorse may have gone home empty-handed on Oscar night, but the play version of the film picked up five Tony Awards in 2011, including Best Play, Best Director, Best Scenic Design, Best Lighting and Best Sound. The production even won a special award for puppetry performance. W.E. was only nominated once, but its writer and director Madonna is no stranger to Oscar parties or live performances for that matter. Long before her movie picked up a Best Costume Design nomination, she was turning heads for her work in the Oscar-winning Evita (based on the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber) as well as the Warren Beatty remake of Dick Tracy. Madonna is still touring the U.S. and was last seen belting out numbers of the Super Bowl halftime show.

Perhaps it was fitting (or planned that way) that Collin Firth presented Meryl Streep’s Best Actress category and watched as Streep won her third Best Actress statue. The two stars previously worked together on the film Mamma Mia, which was based on a stage play written by Catherine Johnson and influenced by the songs of ABBA. Lastly, we had the political drama The Ides of March starring George Clooney, which was originally based on the 2008 play Farragut North.

Of course, the best performance of Oscar night may well have been that of Cirque Du Soleil, who gave a dazzling tribute to the movies with death-defying leaps and bizarre feats of strength. Yes, Cirque Du Soleil has been making waves for decades, and every once in a while Hollywood does a double take on this very creative and energetic entity. Cirque Du Soleil is currently touring across the U.S. and also performing live in Las Vegas. Some of their hottest shows today include Viva Elvis, Zumanity, O, Mystere, Ka and The Beatles: Love. If you loved them at the Oscar show, come give them a standing ovation in person!

This may have been a weak year for Broadway-to-movie adaptations, but at least the theatre stole the show!

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith is a very busy man! Still enjoying the success of this year’s American Idol, he’s now also collaborating with his band Aerosmith for another album, and another tour. And fans who are yearning for the days of “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” will be pleasantly surprised; according to Tyler, this album will be going back to the early days of the band.

Recently sitting down with Rolling Stone, Tyler says that it doesn’t just sound like back in the day, but writing it also feels like back in the day. “We’re gonna’ have a vintage sound,” Tyler says, “Because we’re going to tape and a lot of good things like that. We’re keeping tracks clean, not a lot of overdubs. So you’re gonna’ hear some stuff where you might think Aerosmith’s back.” We didn’t think they had ever left; but maybe that vintage sound comes from the fact that they’ve once again teamed up with producer Jack Douglas, who worked with the band on their earlier albums “Toys in the Attic” and “Draw the Line.”

And, there’s even more Aerosmith news to get excited about. The band is going on tour, although details on that are few at the moment. Tyler needs to finish things up on the “Idol” stage before he can head anywhere else, although he did happen to sneak in an opening date in his Rolling Stone interview. “June 18th it starts,” he said. “So spread the word.”

We’re trying, Steven, we’re trying.

The performance of Berenstain Bears LIVE! has been on the New York scene ever since it opened at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center on June 25, 2011. The show has been a favorite of audiences, playing off the children’s television show, which is based on the series of books written by Jan Berenstain. But while the show has been popular for almost a year, there are two performances coming up that are more timely, and will be more moving, than ever.

Jan Berenstain, co-writer of the books with her late husband Stan Berenstain, sadly passed away on February 24, 2012 after suffering a massive stroke. Those working on her life’s art are deeply saddened, as is a world of generations that grew up on the bear family. To honor Berenstain’s work, two tribute performances will show on March 3 and 4 at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre.

The show will be filled with lots of antics from Brother Bear, much curiosity from Sister Bear, bad habits played out by playful Papa Bear, and the calming voice of reason, Mama Bear — everything that audiences have already come to love so much. Not a lot is being said about what the additional tribute to Ms. Berenstain will include, but it’s sure to shine a well-deserved spotlight on this artist’s life work.

The two shows are being directed by Devanand Janki, and the cast includes: Joel Anthony Frank, Lindsie Detota, Melissa Joiner, Drew Torkelson, Haley Greenstein, and Gerry Vega. Tickets for both the tribute performances and the regularly scheduled shows are now on sale.

Fiona Apple is not one to succumb to pressure of any kind. Not having released an album since 2005, it was no wonder that fans became so excited when iconic music producer L.A. Reid announced that the singer was going to be coming out with an album in a few weeks. But not even Mr. Reid can get Fiona to release a record before she’s ready; and it wasn’t long before someone from Epic Records released another statement saying that Reid’s comments were taken out of context, and that the record wouldn’t be out until later this year. And we’re getting no further word than that.

But even if Fiona’s taking her time she’s also not one to disappoint fans, so she’s going to give fans a taste with a small tour this spring. Starting in the middle of March and running for about two weeks, Fiona will stop in seven cities that have been announced so far. It has been five years since Fiona Apple has gone out on the road though, so hopefully she figures out how much she’s missed it and tacks on a couple of more dates for her awaiting fans!

There’s no word yet on whether or not Fiona will be playing some of her new tunes or not, though it’s usually standard form for artists to when they have an album soon to be released. But fans will undoubtedly be able to catch some of her classics like “Criminal” and “Fast as You Can,” which should be enough in itself for any Fiona-starved fan!

Whether you’ve read the book, seen the movie, or had a chance to take in the original play on stage, “War Horse” is a story that everyone can relate to on some level. And now, it’s coming to the Paramount Theatre in Seattle for just over one week in February of 2013.

The story follows a young boy, Albert Narracott, during the time when World War I is just starting to erupt. After watching the birth of a young foal, which becomes the “War Horse” throughout the rest of the story, Albert immediately feels a special connection to the horse and names him “Joey.” The audience gets to watch as Albert trains the horse and the boy and the animal bond in a very special relationship. However, things go awry when Albert’s father can no longer pay rent on the land he uses for his farm, and the horse is sold.

While the play has been showing on Broadway for the past year at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, and the movie was just released last December, “War Horse” the stage adaptation will be going to Seattle in February 2013. Individual tickets won’t be on sale until the fall of 2012, but some War Horse tickets will be available on StubPass.com as early as this March.

To fall in love with this story all over again, or just to see it for the very first time, become a subscriber and get your tickets before anybody else!

Leaving fans disappointed and concert-less in 2011, the Dave Matthews Band has decided to make it up to them by not only going on an extensive tour this summer, but also planning a new album to coordinate along with it. When will the new album be released, and what will it be called? While there’s no record news as of yet, the band has promised that the new album is “coming soon.” And until then, there’s lots of concert news to keep fans going for at least a little while.

The tour will run from May to September, and will include a total of 39 stops. And if that isn’t enough, there are plenty of overnight dates where the band will play two shows and give fans even more opportunity to see one of the greatest live bands in rock. Some of those two-show stops include: the Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, IN; the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ; the Alpine Valley Music Center in East Troy, WI; the First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA; and the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL. All of the stops will be in the United States, except for one night on June 2 when the band will play the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. To get all the tour dates and stops, you can check out the full listing here.

Dave Matthews will also be bringing along lots of great talent to open for him and his band. Acts include the likes of The Head and the Heart, Brandi Carlile, Tower of Power, the Avett Brothers, and Allen Stone.

The Dave Matthews Band is known for putting on one of the greatest rock shows of all time; and this was one reason why fans were so disappointed that DMB had taken an unannounced hiatus from their yearly summer tours last year. But now with a new record to be out soon, there’s no doubt that fans will get a taste of some fresh tunes from the band, and be able to rock out to old tunes such as “Crash Into Me,” and “Ants Marching.” And who knows? Maybe the band will try to beat their record for longest performance of one song with “#41.” On April 20, 2002, the band played that song on stage for a very, very long 32 minutes.

Fresh off a performance that got her a standing “O” at the Grammy’s on Sunday, Taylor Swift wasted no time debuting her new video on MTV the following evening. The video is for her song “Safe and Sound,” from the “Hunger Games” soundtrack and while no footage from the movie makes it into the video, lots of little reminders do — and bringing the accompaniment, country duo The Civil Wars is in too!

The video shows Taylor walking through a forest (which is actually a cemetery in real life,) seemingly lost and searching for something. Something, Swift says, that is “no longer there.” And even if there’s no actual footage, there are a few reminders from the book that fans will love. One of those is the mockingjay pin that was given to the main character, Katniss Everdeen, to remind her of District 12, her home that she was taken away from. And those burning trees you see in the video? Yep, they’re in the book too and are sometimes the only refuge the people have against the Capitol.

In the video, Swift is wearing only a nightgown and has slightly disheveled (albeit still beautiful) hair. And as she continues to walk and search, those who have not read the books are given a glimpse into the sadness the story truly entails — especially when Swift stops to reflect and sing while sitting on a gravestone.

To check out Taylor’s new video, you can find it on YouTube below. And, this might not even be the last “Hunger Games” video we get from Swift; she wrote another song for the soundtrack titled “Eyes Wide Open.” Taylor is also joined on the soundtrack by other well-known artists such as Miranda Lambert, The Civil Wars, Arcade Fire, and Kid Cudi.

Lady Gaga was “Born This Way” and she wants everyone in the world to know it! While it was almost a year ago that Gaga released her second album titled “Born This Way,” the pop star has been planning the “Born This Way Ball” ever since the record hit the shelves — and probably even before. She’s been tweeting about it for some time now and has most recently tweeted the first 11 dates that are just the beginning for this 110-stop tour.

According to the latest tweet by Gaga, the tour will begin in Seoul, South Korea on April 27 and will take her throughout Southeast Asia and Australia, wrapping up in Perth, Australia on July 7. It’s expected that after this run Gaga will head off to Europe and Latin America, most likely landing her back in North America sometime in the beginning of next year. Those who got a chance to see Lady Gaga on her “Monster Ball” tour in 2010/2011 can expect the same kind of mind-blowing show with this tour, as it will be the same team directing the show. But with the lengths the singer’s going to and with special additions to this tour, it seems like Gaga will do anything to prove that the tour has been worth the wait.

One of those additions to the concert is “The Monster Pit.” It’s this special, locked area that the most eager and enthusiastic Gaga fans will be taken to when they arrive. This area is only open to chosen General Admission audience members and from the Pit, Gaga herself will hand-select the best “little monsters” to come backstage and meet her.

There’s no word yet on when tickets will go on sale but keep posted to Lady Gaga’s Twitter account; that will probably be one of the next announcements made through the social networking site.

We haven’t heard from Bobby Lashley lately, but the Bleach Report is stating that he may be interested in a WWE return.  This former Wrestlemania superstar was last seen in 2007 wrestling against Mr. Kennedy.  In 2008, he was released and then began a less-than-amazing MMA career.

However, there is legitimate talk of Lashley returning to settle some “unfinished business” in the WWE.  (Oh, don’t they all say that?)  We do know that according to WWE Diva Kristal Marshall, she at least is interested in her off-screen spouse returning to action.  Of course, Lashley’s enthusiasm in returning may not be enough to heal the bad blood still lingering.  What’s the story here?

Apparently when Lashley left the promotion, he burned some bridges with the McMahons and more importantly with head writer and booker Michael Hayes.  Lashley never really said what the issue was but stated that people hated him and personally tried to destroy him!  “Evil has prevailed” he said, just after he left the promotion.  Since then however, Michael Hayes has been in hot water with management anyway.  So is it possible there could be a reconciliation in the future?

Another issue to consider: will Lashley’s poor reception in MMA hinder a WWE return?  Lesnar, while not exactly the UFC champion, at least has some momentum in his favor.  Lashley’s career in the MMA, in contrast, hasn’t impressed anyone.  He actually lost to a relatively unknown fighter by the name of Chad Griggs.

The question at this point is, who does the WWE hate more?  Lesnar or Lashley–both of which are high maintenance guys, and yet both of whom could easily build new interest if they rejoined the WWE roster?  Last but not least, what about personality?  Let’s face it, neither Lesnar nor Lashley are on the same level as The Rock or even John Cena when it comes to interviews and charisma.  Perhaps the final decision is all about price.  How much these tough guys think they’re worth and how much WWE management is willing to pay big-name heels to feud against its fan-favorite faces.

What do you think?  Would you rather see Lesnar or Lashley back in a WWE ring?