Steak and Ale Closing, Files for Bankrupcy with Bennigan's Restaurant chains Bennigan's and Steak & Ale have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and will shut their doors, less than two months after their parent company said it was not preparing to do so. The companies filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in the Eastern District of Texas. Their parent company - privately held Metromedia Restaurant Group - is based in Plano, Texas. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, a company seeks to liquidate its assets and shut down. 'Closed for business' Employees at a Bennigan's in Plano were greeted by a sign Tuesday on the front door reading "WE ARE CLOSED. THANK YOU." Next door, a Steak & Ale sat empty in a deserted parking lot but there was no sign posted. A waiter named Steve, who wouldn't give his last name, said the staff got a phone call Tuesday morning telling them the restaurant was closing. Neither Bennigan's nor the Metromedia Restaurant Group returned calls for comment. A lawyer listed in the filing, J. Michael Sutherland of Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal LLP, did not return a call. According to a recorded message on the law firm's answering system, not all stores using the Bennigan's and Steak & Ale trade names have filed for bankruptcy and some franchise locations were not included in the filing.

Christie Brinkley divorce drama begins

Alona Bondarenko

The "Keep It Pure" Mystery Last week, we introduced you to Alona Bondarenko and her K-Swiss ad. Satisfied that people have now seen that (no we're not that's why we're showing it again), we contacted the WTA and asked for some time with Ms. Bondarenko. We spoke on phone after her second round victory at the Bausch & Lomb Championships on Thursday night. Darren: Alona, you've become quite the sensation here. Fans of the Sports Biz blog here really thought highly of your K-Swiss ad. Alona: It's a nice picture. Darren: I agree. Have you heard it from the players on tour? Alona: (Chuckle) Yeah. Tennis Magazine is in the players lounge so I've had a lot of players come up to me and tell me it's beautiful...

Cheney sunglasses: Odd reflections

link People are having so much fun with Dick Cheney's sunglasses -- judging from comments already logged at the chicago tribune and queries on the Internet -- that we thought we'd reprise some of the suggestions for what's actually reflected in Dick Cheney's sunglasses, flyfishing on the Snake River in Idaho: "It's a pack of Camels,'' C. Morris wrote. "The flashback from the WMDs he's using to blow up fish with,'' writes John E. "Of course she's a naked lady,'' writes Dawn Miller. "Looks like someone next to a Ski-doo,'' writes Liz. Well, it's not a naked lady, the vice president's office assures all. And in fact an enlargement of the photo bears out the official explanation: It's a hand on the fly fishing rod.

Barbourula Kalimantanensis

Katie Couric will probably leave CBS early (maybe, possibly, maybe not)

link This is approximately the 57th "Katie Couric is doing badly in the ratings and will probably will fired or quit her job at CBS" story that has surfaced in the past year, but since it's The Wall Street Journal, perhaps he has a little more gravitas to it? Possibly. The newspaper is reporting that "CBS executives" and "people close to Katie Couric" say that she will probably leave her job as anchor of The CBS Evening News well before her contract is up in 2011. She might even leave in early 2009, right after the current Presidential election is over.

Speedo LZR

The swimsuit that is causing major controversy - Speedo winning hands down science of sport ...Speedo's LZR has done more than just damage old world records - it's also dominated the swimsuit war raging between Speedo, Arena, TYR and Adidas, and created a real dilemma for swimmers who are not in the LZR Racer. Now admittedly, it's too early to make a call, but reports earlier this week that Arena's CEO was pushing to have the LZR Racer banned on the grounds that it was illegal were suggestive that other companies are very concerned. For the record, FINA are saying that the LZR Racer is perfectly legal, and that Speedo met every criteria they laid down in the manufacturing and development phase. FINA will still be meeting the manufacturers on Saturday to discuss matters further, so nothing is official yet, but they are in a very tightly painted corner, it seems. Not only are the manufacturers concerned, but newer reports suggest that coaches of swimmers who are NOT wearing the Speedo LZR are also worried. This article reports the US head coach Schubert suggesting that swimmers would be faced with a "black and white" decision over which swimsuit to wear, or face losing Olympic medals as a result... ...Whether or not the differences it makes are genuinely that large, one thing that is for sure, is that if I was a Speedo LZR swimmer, I'd have a whole lot more confidence knowing I was wearing what is rapidly becoming the "Ferrari of swimsuits"!