For marathon, Ali plans to be at head of the line

For marathon, Ali plansto be at head of the line
LAS VEGAS -- Muhammad Ali is expected to be at the starting line Sunday when officials begin the New Las Vegas Marathon.
"He wants to be a part of this race," said race chairman Bernie Yuman, a longtime friend and agent for Ali. Yuman said the 63-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion was retooling his schedule to join local dignitaries for starting ceremonies on the Las Vegas Strip.
About 11,000 runners are signed up to start the race beneath neon, fireworks and the sound of Elvis Presley's recording of "Viva Las Vegas," race president Bill Burke said.
It's the first time in 39 races that the route includes the Las Vegas Strip.
Ali, who has Parkinson's disease, recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House and attended the opening of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky.
Pavarotti stays optimisticabout a Tenors reunion
HONG KONG -- Luciano Pavarotti says he hopes to perform with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras in a reunion of The Three Tenors before he retires.
"I think we are going to make another concert or two," he said Wednesday at a press conference promoting the Hong Kong stop of his farewell tour.
Pavarotti, wearing black and a big yellow, blue and pink-striped scarf, appeared sluggish, needing help to walk onto the stage where he sat for the press conference.
The 70-year-old tenor, who intends to tour for several more years, said he wants his final performance to take place in a venue where he appeared during the early days of his career.
"I should end where I began my big career, in Milan and London, or Vienna, and more than everything, at the Met in New York. I don't know. I have to see," he said.
World Cup opening galato feature list of artists
BERLIN -- Peter Gabriel, Jessye Norman and the Black Eyed Peas will perform at the World Cup's opening gala next year.
The two-hour show on June 7 at Berlin's Olympiastadion will kick off soccer's monthlong showcase.
FIFA hopes the new gala will become a tradition at future World Cups. It will be staged as a separate event from the first match, when the opening celebration has traditionally been held.
The opening match will take place June 9 in Munich. It will have its own show.
"This is a legacy that should be transferred to all World Cups," FIFA General Secretary Ours Lines said.
'SVU' actress is pregnant
LOS ANGELES -- Mariska Hargitay, star of TV's "Law & amp; Order: SVU" is pregnant, her agent said Wednesday.
This will be the first child for Hargitay and her husband, actor Peter Hermann, who often guest-stars on "Law & amp; Order: SVU," agent Erwin More said.
Hargitay and Hermann were married in August 2004.
Notable deaths
Joe Jones, who sang the 1961 R & amp;B hit "You Talk Too Much" and went on to become an independent music publisher and advocate for black artists' rights, has died, his son said. He was 79. The New Orleans native had battled colon and prostate cancer in recent years. He died Sunday of complications from quadruple bypass surgery in a Los Angeles hospital, said his son, Dwayne Jones.
Macon "Sonny" McCalman, a versatile character actor who appeared on the television shows "Cheers" and "Three's Company" and the films "Deliverance" and "The Client," died Tuesday. He was 72.
Today's birthdays
Character actor Bill Erwin is 91. Former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig is 81. Actress Julie Harris is 80. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is 66. Actress Cathy Lee Crosby is 61. Country singer John Wesley Ryles is 55. Actor Keith Szarabajka is 53. NBC news broadcaster Stone Phillips is 51. Actor Steven Bauer is 49. Country singer Joe Henry is 45. Rock musician Rick Savage (Def Leppard) is 45. Tennis Hall-of-Famer Tracy Austin is 43. Rock musician Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) is 37. Actress Rena Sofer is 37. Rock singer Jimi HaHa (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 37. Actress Lucy Liu is 37. Rapper Treach (Naughty By Nature) is 35. Tennis player Monica Seles is 32. Singer Nelly Furtado is 27. Singer Britney Spears is 24. Actresses Daniella and Deanna Canterman ("Maybe It's Me") are 13.