Christopher Polk/E! EntertainmentBlake Shelton honored two of the most important aspects of his life when accepting the 2020 People’s Choice Award for Top Country Artist: his fans and his fiancée .
Blake appeared at the non-audience virtual awards show in Los Angeles Sunday night to accept the honor. “I love my fans and I love country music fans,” the hitmaker professed, speaking to an empty room at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica with hundreds of screens behind him broadcasting fans’ faces. “And I love the People’s Choice Awards.”
The country star also made sure to recognize his fiancée and fellow The Voice coach Gwen Stefani, with his trademark sense of humor mixed in.
“Thank you to my new fiancée Gwen Stefani,” he said, earning rousing applause from the virtual attendees, before jokingly instructing viewers on how to spell her name. “If you need to Google it, figure out who she is,” he quipped, ending the speech with the genuine acknowledgement, “thanks for my inspiration and I love you guys.”
Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown were also nominated for the award.
(NEW YORK) — The Miami Marlins made a historic change to the lineup in their front office.
Kim Ng joined ABC News’ Good Morning America Monday after being named general manager of the Marlins on Friday, becoming the first female and first Asian American general manager in the sport’s history.
“It really was just so unbelievable. It actually took a couple seconds for it to soak in,” Ng recalled of the moment she got the job. “Generally, I play things fairly close to the vest and Derek Jeter, who told me, basically said, ‘You’re not even going to smile?’ So it was quite a moment. And — honestly it was a relief and it felt like a 10,000[-pound] weight had been lifted off my shoulder.”
Ng said she had a socially distanced gathering with her mom and four sisters the day after she got the exciting news.
“I said to them, ‘Well, I’m moving to Miami.’ And they looked at me just completely befuddled and said, ‘Why? What’s going on?’ And I said, ‘Well, there’s a former shortstop I used to know who’s hired me to be the next general manager.’ And they started screaming, of course,” Ng said of the big moment.
“It was hard because my mom, I couldn’t hug her at this time but she, of course, got very emotional and all of us did. It was great,” she added.
Ng has a winning record with the Marlins CEO and former Yankees great who played for the team when she was with the New York organization.
“On behalf of principal owner Bruce Sherman and our entire ownership group, we look forward to Kim bringing a wealth of knowledge and championship-level experience to the Miami Marlins,” Jeter said in a statement. “Her leadership of our baseball operations team will play a major role on our path toward sustained success. Additionally, her extensive work in expanding youth baseball and softball initiatives will enhance our efforts to grow the game among our local youth as we continue to make a positive impact on the South Florida community.”
In their time together with the New York Yankees, Ng and Jeter notched three World Series wins, in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
With more than 30 years of experience in the sport, Ng has previously been with the Chicago White Sox, Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and most recently spent the last nine years in the MLB commissioner’s office. Ng was long rumored to be a prime candidate to become the first female GM in the sport.
“I’ve interviewed numerous times for this position. I think after, you know, maybe a handful, you start thinking, well, maybe this isn’t going to happen,” she said. “That belief persisted for quite some time until, you know, obviously a week ago or several days ago when this happened.”
“It was a difficult time. You know, you question your ability. You question everything you’ve worked hard for. But in the end, you know, you got a great ending,” Ng said. “It’s about hard work and perseverance and still remaining confident in yourself.”
She continued, “one of the biggest things [is] that you can’t just quit on yourself.”
Ng also said that it’s up to leaders of organizations to promote these big changes, offering Jeter as an example “in terms of what he did and his groundbreaking move and they should try to be fearless.”
When the news was first announced Friday, the longtime baseball executive said in a statement, “I entered Major League Baseball as an intern and, after decades of determination, it is the honor of my career to lead the Miami Marlins as their next General Manager.”
“We are building for the long term in South Florida, developing a forward-thinking, collaborative, creative baseball operation made up of incredibly talented and dedicated staff who have, over the last few years, laid a great foundation for success,” she continued. “This challenge is one I don’t take lightly. When I got into this business, it seemed unlikely a woman would lead a Major League team, but I am dogged in the pursuit of my goals.”
She is also believed to be the first woman hired to the general manager position by any of the professional men’s sports teams in the North American Major Leagues, the organization said in a press release.
“My goal is now to bring championship baseball to Miami. I am both humbled and eager to continue building the winning culture our fans respect and deserve,” Ng said.
Walter McBride/WireImage(NEW YORK) — A suspect was arrested in connection with last month’s random attack on Honey I Shrunk the Kids star Rick Moranis, New York City Police announced on Saturday.
Marquis Ventura, 35, who is listed as homeless, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly punching the 67-year-old actor and knocking him onto the ground while he was walking down a NYC sidewalk, according to The Gothamist.
Ventura was arrested for assault in the second degree, police tell the website.
The unprovoked attack, which took place on October 2, was caught on camera, showing a Black man wearing a “I [heart] New York” hoodie balling his fist and striking Moranis in the head.
NYPD Transit Chief Kathleen O’Reilly tells the Gothamist that the alleged attacker had faced a half-dozen other assault charges this year.
The suspect calmly walked away as Moranis, whose other credits include the 1984 film Ghostbusters, fell to the ground and remained motionless.
The actor was taken to an area hospital for evaluation, complaining of head and hip pain, and has since been released.
Marvel Studios(LOS ANGELES) — Chris Pratt will reprise his Star-Lord Role from Guardians of the Galaxy in Marvel’s upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder, according to Variety.
Pratt joins Chris Hemsworth, who returns as Thor, and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Thor’s love interest in the first two films, who returns to the franchise as a new female Thor.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the casting makes sense since Thor was last seen aboard Star-Lord’s spaceship in the closing scenes of Avengers: Endgame.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to begin production in Australia in January, with Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi returning as director. The Oscar-winning filmmaker will also voice the Kronan warrior Korg for the latest installment.
The film, delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently set to open in 2022.
Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
Christopher Polk/E! EntertainmentBlake Shelton honored two of the most important aspects of his life when accepting the 2020 People’s Choice Award for Top Country Artist: his fans and his fiancée . 
