CBS Renews How I Met Your Mother for Two More Seasons

By Krystal Clark
From http://screencrave.com/

The CBS network has experienced a huge blow to their comedy line up with the unexpected termination of “Two and a Half Men” (Charlie and Chuck, can’t we all just get along?). Therefore, they’re trying to solidify their other winning comedies by locking them into contracts and extending their deals. “How I Met Your Mother” has officially been renewed for another two seasons.


“We are so proud of this show and all of its creative and ratings achievements,” said CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler.  “HIMYM’s brilliant producing team continues to find inventive ways to tell funny stories that stir pop culture conversation; it has become a go-to destination for top guest stars and its amazing ensemble cast brings to life characters that audiences want to hang out with every Monday night.”

The show is currently in its sixth season, and has continued to be a ratings success for the network. In terms of critical achievements, co-star Neil Patrick Harris has been nominated for four consecutive Primetime Emmys for his role as Barney, the womanizer on the show.

This is great news for the series, the cast, and the fans, but how long are people expected to wait before they find out who this kid’s mother is? It’s moments like these, that make us happy that we never got fully invested in the show.

CBS Sports Will Telecast Men's Basketball Final Four Games in 3D

By Chris Littmann

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer
SportsBusiness Journal

CBS Sports will show the semifinals and championship game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 3D, marking the network's first foray into 3D TV and the latest high-profile sports event to be shown in the enhanced format. The network has struck a deal with Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. to show the Final Four games in 100 movie theaters nationwide, with pricing yet to be established. CBS additionally selected Pace, whose 3D involvement includes work with the NBA and the record-setting Hollywood epic "Avatar," to aid with the production, with the choice based significantly on the firm's prior background with shooting basketball in 3D. "This is another experiment. We're looking to learn as much as we can," said CBS Sports Senior VP/Operations & Production Ken Aagaard. Aagaard added the 3D production is a likely forerunner for future such efforts by the network in football.

CBS, meanwhile, has signed Capital One as the third presenting sponsor of March Madness on Demand, adding to AT&T and Coca-Cola. Capital One also recently signed with the NCAA as the newest corporate champion sponsor, joining AT&T and Coca-Cola. The network continues to project that MMOD advertising sales will finish well north of last year's $30M, though executives declined to disclose specifics.

Posted In: College Basketball

Katie Couric's Forbidden Dance of Gin

By John Cook

When CBS News anchor Katie Couric isn't asking Sarah Palin gotcha questions, she's doin' Da Butt, or the Lambada, or whatever white ladies do when the Black Eyed Peas are on the sound system. More unbelievable images after the jump.

UPDATE: We've learned that these are from the after-party celebrating Couric's debut as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Oh, lord.

A tipster sent us these photos after finding them in a Facebook photo album called "Four Martini Mimimum" and says they were shot in 2006. We've asked CBS News for information about where, when, and why they were taken—we think it's a toss-up between wedding and bar mitzvah. Or maybe a birthday party? Whatever the event: Katie Couric, you now have a standing invitation to any Gawker Media party.

Opinion: Medical Marijuana Benefits

Mitch Earleywine Argues For The Use Of Medical Marijuana

Has medical marijuana gotten a bad rap? Dr. Jon LaPook talks with Dr. Herbert Kleber and Dr. Mitch Earleywine on the pros and cons of using medical marijuana for your health. |

(CBS) Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D. is an associate professor of psychology at SUNY Albany who believes marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes.

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Therapeutic use of marijuana has a history spanning over 4,500 years.
The most humane and just approach to helping the sick requires that we continue the availability of medical marijuana. Evidence supporting medical marijuana for appetite loss, glaucoma, nausea, vomiting, spasticity, pain, and weight loss is quite impressive. Evidence for its use for arthritis, dystonia, insomnia, seizures, and Tourette’s syndrome is also very promising.

Opponents of medical marijuana mention that other drugs are available for each of these disorders. Nevertheless, people differ. We have multiple treatments for almost every human problem. Some patients do not respond well to other medications and need medical marijuana to alleviate their symptoms. Many pharmaceutical drugs create aversive side effects that these patients cannot endure. In addition, medical marijuana is often markedly cheaper than these other medications.

Opponents of medical marijuana often point to dronabinol, the synthetic version of one of marijuana’s active ingredients that is available in pill form. The use of only one active ingredient makes dronabinol less effective than medical marijuana. Many ailments respond better to a combination of marijuana’s active ingredients rather than just one. In addition, because dronabinol is a pill, it is difficult for people with nausea and vomiting to swallow. Finally, like any medication that’s swallowed, dronabinol takes a long time to digest and have its effects. Inhaled marijuana vapors can work markedly faster.

Concern over marijuana’s impact on respiratory health is easily remedied. There are no links between marijuana use and lung cancer or emphysema. The associations between smoked marijuana and symptoms like coughing and wheezing can be remedied with the vaporizer. The vaporizer heats the plant so that active ingredients boil off into a fine mist but the plant itself never ignites. The mist contains no tars or noxious gases, making respiratory complications a thing of the past.

To read Dr. Kleber's opinion piece on medical marijuana click here.