Coldplay debuted their new song, “Charlie Brown,” Wednesday night on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”.

Musician Chris Martin of Coldplay performs onstage at the UCLA Tennis Center on August 3, 2011. (WireImage)

Kimmel announced he was loading the entire audience onto a bus to see Coldplay at UCLA’s Tennis Center in Los Angeles.

The band was Kimmel’s first musical guest when the show started in January 26, 2003. When asked what they have been up to in the last eight-and-a-half years since being on his show, singer Chris Martin answered, “Will [Champion] works for FedEx and the rest of us run a pet shop.”

Proceeds from the concert helped raise money for the Grammy Foundation’s Grammy in the Schools music education program for high school students.

Coldplay paid tribute to Amy Winehouse by playing a slow rendition of her hit “Rehab” before leading into “Fix You,” a song Martin wrote for his wife Gwyneth Paltrow after the death of her father.

The 90-minute sold-out performance included their biggest hits “Yellow,” “Clocks,” and “Viva La Vida” along with new songs “Major Minus,” and “Moving to Mars.”

Coldplay will headline Lollapalooza at Chicago’s Grant Park on August 5.

At first glance, Juliette Frette looks like a typical Playboy Playmate: clear skin, long blond hair, and gigantic breasts. Frette began working with Playboy four years ago doing occasional spreads, which eventually evolved into her participation as a full-on Playmate. Last year she was named Miss June, and she currently travels around the country doing promotions and showing off her phenomenal body.

“Playboy has provided me with a lot of opportunities,” she said, boasting that she often gets to travel overseas as well. What most people probably don’t know about Frette, though, is her reasoning behind working with Playboy.

“When I did my first project with Playboy it was to write about (it) for my senior thesis project,” said Frette, 25. A women’s studies major at the University of California, Los Angeles, Frette wanted to write about her experience with playboy to examine the way women are portrayed in the media and how it affects their empowerment.

Frette considers herself a feminist, an artist, and a writer.

Her most recent endeavor will combine two of these aspects as she begins her position as the national women’s issues columnist at Examiner.com.

“I’ll be addressing pretty much anything that relates to women’s well being. That could range from health to political issues,” Frette said about the column, and added that her main purpose is to provide “better awareness about women’s issues and hopefully clarity on those issues.”

“I’d like to make people think about issues that haven’t been brought to light enough.”

The seemingly contradictory nature of Frette’s position doesn’t bother her. She recognizes that it’s unusual but called it the whole package. “That’s just who I am,” Frette said. She even sees her connection with Playboy as possibly being a positive thing for the column.

“Playboy might facilitate extra traffic to the page. Anything that can get people to read about important issues is a good thing. It’s kind of an interesting perspective I guess to present to a large audience. There are a lot of playmates that share my views but don’t really have the chance to present themselves as feminists so I’m glad I have the opportunity to do this,” Frette said.

Frette found a position at the Examiner while freelancing for other magazines. At first she took a different position, but after some discussions with the editors, decided that writing for the women’s issues column would be a better fit for her. Frette is excited to spread awareness and hopefully pose some new questions regarding women’s issues. She also welcomes feedback from readers about topics and opinions. “If it seems like an interesting suggestion, I’ll write a column about it,” she added.

Another hidden side of Frette is her artistic nature. She loves to paint particularly but said she loves to “create” anything. Frette’s website showcases some of her creations. “That has actually taken a backseat to my writing recently,” Frette said. “I feel that concentrating on more than one kind of art at once is very draining.”

In addition to her column, Frette also plans on publishing a book based on her senior thesis project at UCLA, which was called “Posing for Playboy from a Feminist Perspective: How Media Images Impact Women’s Empowerment.” It focuses on her feminist interpretation of her experiences as a playmate.

Her personal experiences and studies, Frette believes, will greatly assist her in giving advice and analyzing issues. Her first piece of advice for women? “Don’t worry about how practical a job or a college major is. If you chose something that might be profitable it’s just going to lead you down a road that you won’t enjoy. Create your own path.”

Juliette Frette has done just that.

The field of 65 is now down to the final two after last night’s national semifinal games. And, after last night I don’t think anyone can doubt that the final game includes the two best teams in the country. Memphis easily handled a very popular UCLA team in the first game 78-63 and Kansas took a huge lead early and held off a North Carolina comeback to win 84-66, setting the stage for a Memphis/Kansas final on Monday evening.

The Memphis Tigers were led again by their two All-American guards, freshman Derek Rose and junior Chris Douglas-Roberts who combined for 53 of the 78 Memphis points. These two players, who are destined for NBA stardom, are that much better than any other guard tandem in college basketball and are a serious match up problem for any team they play. Of their 53 combined points, 20 of them came from the charity stripe on 23 attempts. Rose went 11-for-12 and Douglas-Roberts went 9-for-11. Interestingly, the two players were the only Tigers to get to the line. Maybe this was Coach Calipari’s strategy for fixing their free-throw woes (61% for the year), only allowing his two best-free throw shooters to get there (Rose and Douglas-Roberts, 71%). Senior Joey Dorsey did not score any points, but made his contribution by bringing down 15 rebounds, six of them on the offensive side. Forward Shawn Taggart came off the bench for 22 minutes and scored seven points and grabbed seven boards.

UCLA led 12-11 four and half minutes into the game, but Derek Rose’s lay up put Memphis in the lead for good. UCLA kept it close during the first twenty minutes of the game going into halftime 38-35, but a 10-2 run to start the second half put Memphis up by 11 and UCLA couldn’t fight their way back. UCLA was led by sophomore guard Russell Westbrook who scored 22 points on 10 for 19 shooting. Freshman Kevin Love, who most likely played his last game for UCLA, finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. This was UCLA’s third straight final four appearance and the third straight time they finished empty handed.

The nightcap featured another future NBA star Brandon Rush and his Kansas Jayhawks. On 11-for-17 shooting, Rush dropped in 25 points including 12 in a 40-to-12 run to start the game. The lead looked too big for any team to come back from, especially with the way Kansas was out-everthinging (made up word?) UNC. But, with five minutes left in the first half, Tarheel junior Danny Green sparked a 15-to-4 run with eight points on his own to close the half at 44-27.

The comeback didn’t stop there. With UNC not slowing down any, they came out firing, cutting the lead to 54-50. However, coming back from a deficit that big spends a lot of energy and the Tarheels couldn’t get any closer. Kansas finally regrouped and again took control of the game getting the lead back to 10 points, 71-61, with four and a half minutes left to play. Kansas guard Sherron Collins came off the bench with 11 points, four assists and four rebounds. AP Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Wayne Ellington led all UNC players with 18.

Monday night’s game will feature two of the best guards in the country squaring off against each other with Kansas’ Brandon Rush and Memphis’ Chris Douglas-Roberts. Both are 6-6 and can play inside and outside. The winner of this battle could ultimately help lead their team to a national title.

For the first time in NCAA Tournament history, all four number one seeds advanced to the final four. While most are commending the selection committee for their brilliant seeding this year, I view the glass as half empty. This is the only time since 1985 (first year with 64 teams) that the selection committee got it right. The brackets are supposed to protect the best teams in the country and allow them the easiest route to the Final Four. Shouldn’t all number one seeds represent the Final Four more often? After three sentences, I now view the glass as half full. This is the beauty of the single-elimination NCAA Tournament. Any team can catch a hot hand and send the loser packing. In a five-game or seven-game series, the better team almost always prevails.

The Philadelphia 76ers would have won the NBA Championship in 2001 if the Finals were only one game, but they played a seven-game series and the Lakers won the next four. The Lakers were clearly the better team. In that same year, Jamaal Tinsley’s number two seed Iowa State Cyclones (25-6) lost to the number 15 seed Hampton Pirates in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. And that was it. Iowa State went home and Hampton advanced. That is the beauty of this tournament. One and done. Would Iowa State have won in a five or seven-game series? Most likely, but college teams need to out-play, out-hustle, out-gut, and play their best in every single game or they’re going home. This is what makes the 2008 NCAA Tournament so special. The four best teams in the country all season long did out-play, out-hustle, and out-gut every opponent and they are the lone teams left standing. Each team is playing at their best with only three more games left to play. Furthermore, there is no clear-cut favorite which makes this one of the most anticipated Final Fours in tournament history.

Let’s take a look at who is left.

East regional winner: North Carolina Tar Heels
They are the overall number one seed in the tournament and it’s no surprise to see them in the final four. Their lineup is stacked and their bench could’ve probably formed another team to play in the tournament. They are led by All-American and ESPN.com Player Of The Year Tyler Hansbrough. He is the heart and soul of this team with an endless motor. In their victory over Louisville it was Hansbrough who scored seven straight points when Louisville tied the game at 59. And it was Hansbrough who made consecutive two-point jumpers that helped his team withstand the Cardinals comeback when they had cut the lead to five with three minuets left to play. Hansbrough is leading his team with 21 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. With Hansbrough and teammates Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington (both averaging 15 points per game in the tournament) all possibly leaving next year for the NBA, this could be their last shot at a National Championship.

Midwest regional winner: Kansas Jayhawks
They ended Stephen Curry and Davidson’s Cinderella run. It wasn’t easy, but in a balanced effort led by center Sasha Kaun’s (off the bench) perfect effort from the field going 6-6 for 13 points and six rebounds the Jayhawks advanced to the final four for the first time under coach Bill Self. Kansas is one of the best defensive teams in the country. Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson have combined for 18 steals in the tournament and the Kansas team has held their opponents to 57 points per game. Chalmers also leads his team in scoring averaging 15 points per game and junior Brandon Rush is averaging 14.5 a game. The Jayhawks are going to play against their former coach, Roy Williams, next weekend in San Antonio. Williams started coaching Kansas in 1988 until he left for UNC in 2003. This only adds to the drama of a matchup that already has a storied history.

West regional winner: UCLA Bruins
The Bruins advanced to their third straight final four with their convincing victory over Xavier on Saturday 76-57. The Bruins are led by freshman Kevin Love who probably is the best player in the country. The 6-10 center understands the importance of having an inside prescence and plays effectively with his back to the basket. He can score, pass, and rebound with the best of them. Love is averaging 21.8 points (61% shooting) and 11 rebounds per game. Guards Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison have combined for 94 points to help support their big man’s dominance. Similar to UNC, UCLA’s window for the National Championship could be getting shut after with Love, Westbrook, and Collison all considered possibilities for the NBA draft next season.

South regional winner: Memphis Tigers
Despite one game where they had trouble on the free throw line (Mississippi State) the Tigers have completely dominated their opponents in the tournament. Their most impressive win was their 85-67 victory over Texas yesterday in front of almost 30,000 Longhorn fans. They jumped out early and never looked back behind their star-studded backcourt featuring Chris Douglas-Roberts (25 points) and freshman Derek Rose (21 points). Rose could be one of the top three picks in this years NBA draft. This Memphis team will give any one of the other teams left serious matchup problems. Douglas-Roberts (6-7), Rose (6-3) and Antonio Anderson (6-6) are three big guards. And forwards Robert Dozier (6-9), Joey Dorsey (6-9), and Shawn Tagger (6-10, off the bench) are huge bodies that take up space in the paint. This is the reason that Memphis has only lost one game this season and this is the reason that Kevin Love and UCLA face their biggest task in San Antonio next weekend.

Four teams advanced to the Elite 8 (Great 8?) last night in the NCAA Tournament. The first two games of the evening featured Xavier vs. West Virginia and North Carolina vs. Washington State. Let’s take a look at what went down:

(7) West Virginia vs. (3) Xavier:
Xavier jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and with a barrage of three pointers that lead stretched to 18 points with around nine minutes left in the first half. It was not looking good for WVU. Xavier was hitting everything and had complete control of the game. However, Mountaineer forward Wellington Smith went on a run of his own scoring eight unanswered points to pull within ten. WVU was able to cut the lead to seven at the half.

The Mountaineers continued their comeback in the second half and were able to pull within one point 41-40 with around 15 minutes left in the game. The game stayed tight the rest of the way. With 14 seconds left in the game, WVU forward Joe Alexander kissed a shot off the glass while getting fouled. The basket tied the game up and with one free throw left he had a chance to put his team up by one. His free throw went long hitting the back of the rim and when Xavier guard Drew Lavender’s shot missed the other way, the two teams headed into overtime.

In the extra session, WVU jumped out to a 71-65 lead within the first minute and a half, but a resilient Xavier team went on a 10-3 run led by B.J. Raymond’s back-to-back three pointers. With Alexander on the bench with five fouls, West Virginia was not able to recover and the Musketeers prevailed 79-75. Senior forward Josh Duncan led Xavier with 26 points and teammate C.J. Anderson added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Alexander finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers. OTR is hoping that Alexander returns for another season at WVU, because we have enjoyed watching him develop into one of the best college players in the country. If you get a chance, ESPN’s Dana O’Neil wrote a great piece on Alexander that is worth reading.

(4) Washington State vs. (1) North Carolina
Washington State plays great defense and they were able to hold UNC to 68 points on 43% shooting, but it was not enough. They forgot to score points. 47 points and only making 31% of your shots is not going to win you basketball games this deep in the tournament. Did anyone really think the Cougars had any shot at winning this game anyway? UNC hasn’t been tested yet and they weren’t last night in their 68-47 victory. All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough didn’t have his best shooting night, but his 18 points and 9 rebounds led his team in both categories. Junior Danny Green contributed 15 points off the bench. Junior center Aron Baynes played well for the Cougars, but foul trouble plagued him all game. He finished with 14 points on 6-8 shooting. That’s about it for this game. It really wasn’t an exciting game. All fifteen players played again for UNC for the third straight game.

The later games featured Tennessee vs. Louisville and UCLA vs. Western Kentucky. Let’s take a look:

(2) Tennessee vs. (3) Louisville
Tennessee went up 7-6 early in the game when forward Duke Crews made a two-point basket, but that was the last lead they held the whole game. The next time down the court Louisville’s Juan Palacios nailed a three pointer and the Cardinals never looked back. The Volunteers were able to pull within one point 37-36 during a 6-0 run to begin the second half; however, Louisville was able to take control and outscored Tennessee 42-24 the rest of the way. Louisville shot 52% from the field and were led by sophomore Earl Clark (off the bench) who dropped in 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Four other players contributed with ten or more points in a very balanced effort for the Cardinals. Senior guard Chris Lofton, who may have been ailing from an injury, had a horrible shooting night (3-15), but went 7-7 from the stripe to lead all Volunteers with 15 points. Louisville advances to play North Carolina in the East regional finals. The Big East is 2-0 against the ACC in this year’s tournament, but UNC will have something to say about that on Saturday.

(1) UCLA vs. (12) Western Kentucky
How good is UCLA freshman Kevin Love? Good to quite good is the answer. Love scored 29 points on 10-14 shooting and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead his UCLA Bruins to an 88-78 victory. Western Kentucky never held a lead in this game, but did pull within four points 61-57 with seven minutes left in the game. Western Kentucky senior guard Tyrone Brazelton played a great game in their defeat. He led all scorers with 31 points and added five assists. UCLA’s James Keefe also had a solid game off the bench with 18 points and 12 rebounds. UCLA will now play Xavier in the West regional finals.