With his best cast ever, topped by Oscar winner Kathy Bates and the great Alfre Woodard, and his most cinematically polished production to date, "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys" shows grand advances in the filmmaking education of playwright-turned-filmmaker Tyler Perry.

"American Idol" is changing its tune.

FLORENCE, South Carolina - Liv Tyler says when she first saw the title of the script for her new film, "The Strangers," she thought it was a comedy. Turns out it was a thriller about a couple trying to survive when three masked strangers invade their home.

MONDAYs

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. On Tyler Mall, outside the Bateman Physical Science Center F-Wing, south of University Drive and west of McAllister Avenue, on the ASU Campus in Tempe.

My sons, Louis and Tyler, enjoy going to Adrian’s Park Place in Gilbert. It is on the southeast corner of Elliott and McQueen roads, tucked in behind the CupZ Coffeehouse.

Thursday's final day of the Major League Baseball first-year draft brought more East Valley high school and a couple Arizona State players one step closer to the pros.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The Ahwatukee Little League team will use today’s day off to get away from baseball. The 12 players and their families have planned a gettogether at Crystal Lake, about 45 minutes outside South Williamsport.

PRESCOTT VALLEY - James Sanchez's smile looked like it could last a lifetime on Thursday, while Matt Sohky had a gash on his left check that trickled blood.

A handful of East Valley boys basketball teams met Tuesday in the first round of play at the McClintock Holiday Shootout at McClintock High School.

Boy, a lot of people jumped the gun. Many of the country’s college football writers and broadcasters unveiled their midseason reports last week, a week early. However, there have been seven Saturdays in the 2006 season thus far. Including today, there are seven more through the final week of play on Dec. 2. This is the true midway point.

An almost perfect day first day by defending champion Marcos de Niza wasn’t enough for the Padres to lead the 5A state wrestling tournament Thursday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Ara Tyler Deysie talked about joining the military when he was just 4 years old, his mother said Sunday.