NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Gary Allan looks at his gold and platinum records hanging in his manager’s office. There’s no burst of pride, but instead a quiet restraint. “They make me very uncomfortable,” he says. “I don’t like to talk about how great things are.” Allan has been a steady presence in [...]

Wow, 2008 was born at midnight, probably screaming and crying. And if we run with that “baby 2008″ metaphor, you have to wonder how many times it’s going to soil its diapers before it even learns to walk.
But enough about the Miami Dolphins.
And Monday night, we all were supposed to gulp down a glass of [...]

Because of the New Year’s holiday, there are very few DVD and CD releases today. Here are the highlights.
On DVD
*The Tudors: The Complete First Season. Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars in the TV soap opera set in the time of England’s King Henry VIII.

SAN FRANCISCO - Officials preparing to reopen the San Francisco Zoo after a deadly tiger escape are worried visitors won’t feel secure, though if past zoo attacks are any indication, curiosity might actually draw people in. With the criminal investigation into the fatal mauling of a 17-year-old boy on Christmas all but over, [...]

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow knows what legend says should come next. He is due for a flop in today’s Capital One Bowl against Michigan, set up for the most un-Tebow-like performance of his young college football career.
They call it “Heisman hangover,” the tradition that the most outstanding players in college football look terrible in [...]

An airboat tourist and his attempted rescue party were stranded in the Everglades overnight and found Monday morning, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Michael Ballard, a resident of Avon Park in Central Florida in his 50s, separated from a group airboat tour sometime before 8:30 p.m.
Lt. Fred North, from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, and Wesley [...]

TALLAHASSEE - Anyone who paid any attention to the news in 2007 should already be familiar with some of the state’s stranger 2007 stories.
There was the battle over Anna Nicole Smith’s body; the Largo city manager who was fired after he became a she; the University of Florida student who shouted “Don’t tase me, [...]

Occupational licenses by county, compiled by Market Force PA of New Smyrna Beach Orange Delvin Everett, flooring, 1528 S. Highland Ave., Apopka, 32703.

Six months ago, if you had asked Florida’s Tim Tebow what he would have thought about spending the first of the year in Orlando, he probably would have figured it would be to visit Walt Disney World after winning MVP of the BCS Championship Game. But before you can wish upon a star, [...]

*Todd P. Ladd, the 1994 valedictorian of South Lake High School in Groveland, has been promoted from captain to major in the Air Force. Ladd is serving as the military personnel flight commander in the 62nd Mission Support Squadron at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Wash. He is responsible for the human-resources [...]