Tuesday, May 23
Countdown to Grisham mania begins
Covering last weekend’s BookExpo America, USA Today reports that best-selling novelist John Grisham will publish his first work of nonfiction on October 10. The subject is Ronald Keith Williamson, a onetime Major League ballplayer who was wrongly convicted of rape and murder in the 1980s. Five days from death, he was exonerated by DNA evidence. Grisham, an Albemarle resident and baseball fan who headlined a fundraiser for the local Legal Aid’s “Life After Exoneration” project last fall, talked to C-VILLE several months ago about the Williamson book. “It was not something I had planned to do… I had seen these exoneration stories, thought they were intriguing but had not been tempted to pursue them. I read his obituary in The New York Times. It was so compelling that I said to myself: Not on my best day could I create something this good. And I picked up the phone and called New York and said this is it.”
Wednesday, May 24
Hello, Yellow Brick Road
England’s other reigning queen, Elton John, is lending some support to the UVA Children’s Hospital, according to a report on WCAV today. A replica of a piano he played in—where else?—Las Vegas is on display through June 10 at Music Gallery, a store in the Rio Hill Shopping Center. Visitors can pay $5 to play it, and proceeds benefit the hospital. Is this what he meant when he sang, “Don’t let the sun go down on me?”
Thursday, May 25
Slowhand to warm The John
The first guy to be inducted three times into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Eric Clapton will join the roster of MOR artists slated to kick off the inaugural season of UVA’s 16,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena. UVA today announced that Clapton will perform at The John on October 12, with tickets going on sale August 26. Other previously announced music acts include Dave Matthews Band and James Taylor.
Friday, May 26
Zim gives Nats the edge—again
Yes, we love him and not just because he helps us round out an all-celebrity edition of the news in review this week. Ryan Zimmerman, former UVA baseball standout and now the rookie third baseman for the Washington Nationals, turned in another thrilling performance on the field and at the plate. This morning, Thomas Boswell, a sports columnist for The Washington Post, was rapturous about Zim’s three RBIs against the Houston Astros and two “astonishing defensive plays.” The Nats have been in the crapper with recent play but Thursday’s win over the ‘stros restores hope. “It’s a lot more fun to play when people are playing together. It’s contagious when everyone gives things up for other people,” the humble 21-year-old told the Post.