Nick Cannon has been named host!

I add the "!" because it's kind of impossible to think of NC without a "!"

(Hey, you marry Mariah Carey, and you get a "!" too.)

Here are the quotes from NBC:

"This is just the first of multiple projects we are looking to do with Nick at NBC," said Ben "I Can Party Hardier than Nick" Silverman, co-chair of NBC and Universal Media Studios. "He's a true triple threat, a multi-talented producer, actor and musician. We are excited to welcome him to the NBC family."

"I'm thrilled to be with working with NBC," said Nick "I Can Out-Party Ben Any Day" Cannon. "Ben Silverman understands my vision as not only an entertainer but as a creative show producer. I look forward to working with the network and their executive team on 'America's Got Talent' and other shows to come."

OK, we need a clip. Let's go with MTV's "Wild 'n Out"..." And take it away...!!!!

..."The Today Show."

Or almost.

The morning leader - spurned by the Sully camp three weeks ago for a much bigger fish, "60 Minutes" - barely acknowledged the Hero of the Hudson on this morning's show.

Natalie Morales finally got around to it around 7:19 - a near eternity of morning show dismissal. When she threw to Meredith and Matt, Mere talked about what an incredible hero the guy is. Matt? He just kind of nodded.

Why the "who's Sully?" shrug of the shoulders, on the very morning when he gets the keys to the city, and hours after one of the most amazing interviews in "60 Minutes" history? Because..."Today" is still furious after getting dumped by his camp. It had the chance to interview him this morning, but effectively said - no way.

"GMA," instead, is doing all-Sully at the moment, as is "The Early Show." (Funny, light moment on "GMA" - he went over to some in-studio display and corrects the spelling of "Yosemite.)

Free advice from TVZone to "The Today Show:" Grow up, people! Time to move on.

Now, let's say you somehow missed last night, or wanted to see it in print...You have come to the right place. Go to the jump for the full transcript...

When US Airways flight 1549 crash landed into New York's Hudson river, what seemed destined to be a tragedy became an extraordinary tale of success and survival. By the time all 155 people were pulled from the icy waters by a flotilla of rescue boats, a story began to emerge of a highly trained pro with a cool demeanor who had deftly guided his doomed aircraft to safety. In an instant, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger found himself at the heart of an uplifting news story people all over the world wanted to celebrate. Tonight, for the first time, he gives his account of the harrowing five minutes in the sky over New York city.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

It was the worst sickening pit of your stomach, falling through the floor feeling I've ever felt in my life. I knew immediately it was very bad.

KATIE COURIC:

Did you think, "How are we gonna get ourselves out of this?"

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

No. My initial reaction was one of disbelief. “I can’t believe this is happening. This doesn't happen to me."

KATIE COURIC:

What did you mean by that?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I meant that I had this expectation that my career would be one in which I didn't crash an airplane.

FIRST RESPONDERS IN NEW YORK CITY EXPECTED THE WORST -- AN AIRBUS A320 WITH 155 PEOPLE ON BOARD, DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRIGID HUDSON RIVER. ONLY FIVE MINUTES EARLIER, CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER HAD TAKEN OFF FROM LAGUARDIA AIRPORT ON A ROUTINE FLIGHT BOUND FOR CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

It was a normal-- climb out in every regard. And about 90 seconds after takeoff, I noticed there were birds, filling the entire windscreen, from top to bottom, left to right, large birds too close to avoid.

KATIE COURIC:

When did you realize these birds had hit the plane?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Oh, you could hear them, as soon as they did. Loud thumps. It felt like the airplane being pelted by heavy rain or hail It sounded like the worst thunderstorm I'd ever heard growing up in Texas It was shocking.

KATIE COURIC:

When did you realize that these birds had seriously damaged the aircraft?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

When I felt, heard and smelled the evidence of them going into the engines. I heard the noises. I felt the engine vibrations, of the damage being done to the engines. And I smelled what I described at the time, and I still would as a burned bird smell being brought from the engine area into the conditioning system of the airplane.

KATIE COURIC:

Did you realize right away the engines are failing?"

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Yes-- it was obvious to me from the very moment that we lost the thrust that this was a critical situation. Losing thrust on both engines, at a low speed, at a low altitude, over one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. Yes, I knew it was a very challenging situation.

KATIE COURIC:

What did the aircraft itself do?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

it was almost a complete loss of forward momentum. The airplane stopped climbing and going forward, and began to rapidly slow down. That's when I had-- I knew I had to take control of the airplane.

KATIE COURIC:

How did you do that?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I put my hand on the side stick and I said, the protocol for transfer of control, “my aircraft," and the First Officer Jeff immediately answered, "Your aircraft.”

KATIE COURIC:

So you took control of the plane. The engines have stopped working. How do you fly a plane like that?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

You glide it. You use the forward momentum to provide the air flow over the wings to provide sufficient lift.

KATIE COURIC:

what went through your head?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I knew immediately that this, unlike every other flight I'd had for 42 years, was probably not going to end with the airplane undamaged on a runway.

THE AIRPLANE WAS ABOUT 3,000 FEET OVER NEW YORK CITY AND DESCENDING FAST. 30 SECONDS AFTER THE ENGINES FAILED, CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER BEGAN URGENTLY LOOKING FOR SOMEPLACE TO LAND…AND RADIO’D AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I said, "Mayday, mayday, mayday. Cactus 1549”

(Radio transmission)

SULLENBERGER: …hit birds, we lost thrust in both engines, returning back towards LaGuardia.

CONTROLLER: Okay you need to return to LaGuardia turn left heading about two-two-zero

PILOT: Two-two-zero

CONTROLLER: Tower stop your departures we got an emergency returning.

KATIE COURIC:

But you didn't return to LaGuardia.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

No I quickly determined that due to our distance from LaGuardia and the distance and altitude required to make the turn back to LaGuardia, it would be problematic reaching the runway and trying to make a runway I couldn't quite make could well be catastrophic to everyone on board, and persons on the ground

and my next thought was to consider Teterboro.

(Radio Transmission)

PILOT: What’s over to our right, anything in New Jersey maybe Teterboro?

CONTROLLER: Okay off to your right is Teterboro Airport. Do you want to try to go to Teterboro?

PILOT: Yes.

BUT IT SOON BECAME CLEAR HE COULDN’T MAKE IT TO TETERBORO EITHER.

(Radio Transmission)

CONTROLLER: …turn right two-eight-zero, you can land runway one at Teterboro

PILOT: We can’t do it

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

The only viable alternative, the only level smooth place sufficiently large to land an airliner was the river.

KATIE COURIC:

Was it in-- in your sight?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

It was right to my left.

KATIE COURIC:

You contacted air traffic control again, didn't you?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Yes. I said, "We're going in the Hudson."

THAT DECISION TO GO IN THE HUDSON WAS MADE TWO AND A HALF MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT – AND JUST ONE MINUTE AFTER THE BIRDS HAD HIT. SULLENBERGER AND HIS CO-PILOT JEFF SKILES STARTED PREPARING TO LAND ON THE WATER.

KATIE COURIC:

What kinds of things did you have to think about or worry about in the process of that?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

As soon as I assumed control of the aircraft, I turned the engine ignition on. So if there was any chance of a relight, we would have gotten it automatically. The next thing I did was I started the auxiliary power unit, another small jet engine that we used to provide electrical power for the airplane.

KATIE COURIC:

What happened when you all tried to do those things?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

No luck. I mean, I got the AP running, I turned the ignition on, but still, no usable thrust. We were descending rapidly toward the water.

KATIE COURIC:

So you were going fast toward the earth.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Yes. The water was coming up at us fast.

KATIE COURIC:

Do you think about the passengers at that moment?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Not specifically. I mean, um, more abstractly, perhaps I mean, knew I had to solve this problem. I knew I had to find a way out of this box I found myself in.

KATIE COURIC:

Did you, at any point, pray?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I would imagine somebody in back was taking care of that for me while I was flying the airplane.

KATIE COURIC:

About 155 people?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I think -- my focus at that point was so intensely on the landing.

KATIE COURIC:

You couldn’t think of anything else.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I thought of nothing else.

THERE WERE JUST THREE AND A HALF MINUTES FOR CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT ONLY A FEW COMMERCIAL AIRLINE PILOTS HAD EVER DONE, AND HE WAS DETERMINED TO AVOID THE FATE OF THIS ETHIOPIAN AIRLINER, WHICH LANDED IN THE INDIAN OCEAN IN 1996 AND BROKE INTO PIECES, KILLING MOST OF THE PASSENGERS ON BOARD.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

That's what I was trying to avoid.

KATIE COURIC:

What were some of the things you had to do to make this landing successful?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I needed to touch down with the wings exactly level. I needed to touch down with the nose slightly up. I needed to touch down at a-- at a descent rate that was survivable. And I needed to touch down just above our minimum flying speed but not below it. And I needed to make all these things happen simultaneously.

KATIE COURIC:

And yet you had to keep your cool.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Right. The physiological reaction I had to this was strong, and I had to force myself to use my training and-- and force calm on the situation.

KATIE COURIC:

Was that a hard thing to do?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

No. It just took some concentration.

KATIE COURIC:

Did it feel like three and a half minutes?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Yes, it did.

KATIE COURIC:

Really?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Really.

KATIE COURIC:

It wasn't in slow motion or--

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I wish it had been. I might've thought about more things on the way down.

KATIE COURIC:

Tell me what you saw from the cockpit.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I saw the river ahead of me. Long, wide with boats at the south end. We were trained to land in the water near other boats to facilitate rescue. That was where the airplane was headed and that was a good place to go.

90 SECONDS BEFORE HITTING THE WATER, CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER MADE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PASSENGERS AND CREW. THREE SIMPLE WORDS: BRACE FOR IMPACT.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I made the brace for impact announcement in the cabin and immediately, through the hardened cockpit door, I heard the flight attendants begin shouting their commands in response to my command to brace. "Heads down. Stay down." I could hear them clearly. They were-- they were chanting it in unison over and over again to the passengers, to warn them and instruct them. And I felt very comforted by that. I knew immediately that they were on the same page. That if-- if I could land the airplane, that they could get them out safely.

KATIE COURIC:

But there was still a big if.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I was sure I could do it.

KATIE COURIC:

You were?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Yes.

THERE COULDN’T HAVE BEEN A BETTER MAN FOR THE JOB -- A FORMER AIR FORCE FIGHTER PILOT WHO HAD SPENT NEARLY 30 YEARS FLYING COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT, SPECIALIZED IN ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS, AND INSTRUCTED FLIGHT CREWS ON HOW TO RESPOND TO CRISES IN THE AIR.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I think, in many ways, as it turned out, my entire life up to that moment had been a preparation to handle that particular moment.

THAT MOMENT WAS CAPTURED BY SECURITY CAMERAS AT 3:30 PM ON JANUARY 15TH. FLIGHT 1549 APPROACHED THE WATER LINE AND THEN LANDED IN THE RIVER.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Hitting the water is-- is hard. It was a hard landing. And then we-- we-- scooted along the surface for some point. And then at some point the nose finally did come down as the speed decreased And then we turned slightly to the left and stopped.

KATIE COURIC:

When you landed, you and the first officer looked at each other.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

And we said, "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought. And then we quickly began doing our duties. He was running the evacuation check list while I opened the door and commanded evacuate.

KATIE COURIC:

Did you give yourself even a few seconds though to acknowledge that you had averted disaster?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

No, because I hadn't quite yet. And I had business to attend to. I had a job to do.

Couric narration: WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR THE REST OF THE PEOPLE INSIDE THAT PLANE? THE ENTIRE CREW OF FLIGHT 1549 WILL TELL THAT PART OF THE STORY WHEN WE COME BACK.

60MINUTES Sunday Feb. 8, 2009

SAVING FLIGHT 1549 - PART TWO

Couric Radutzky Simon Beecher Richman

FINAL

Run time: 10:09

THE JOB OF EVACUATING 150 PASSENGERS FELL TO FIVE OF THE MOST EXPERIENCED PILOTS AND FLIGHT ATTENDANTS IN THE BUSINESS. TONIGHT, THE CREW OF FLIGHT 1549 DESCRIBES THE TENSE FINAL MINUTES, FROM THE TIME THE ENGINES WENT OUT UNTIL EVERY PASSENGER WAS BACK ON LAND.WE MET THE CREW THIS PAST WEEK INSIDE A US AIRWAYS HANGAR IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA. AMONG them they have well over 100 years of experience in the air. THEY ARE, ALONG WITH CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER, FIRST OFFICER JEFF SKILES, AND FLIGHT ATTENDANTS DONNA DENT, SHEILA DAIL, AND DOREEN WELSH, WHO WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED.

Couric:

This is the first time you all have worn your uniforms since January 15th. Doreen? You don't have yours on.

Doreen Welsh:

I just can’t put it on yet. My uniform was in shreds, soaking wet. I had a different story in the back of that airplane, and mine was more violent and more-- the uniform just went to pieces. I can't explain. I'm just not ready to put it on yet.

IT’S BEEN THREE AND A HALF WEEKS SINCE WELSH LAST WORE HER UNIFORM. SHE AND THE REST OF THE CREW WERE ON THE FINAL LEG OF A FOUR-DAY TRIP WHEN THE PLANE LOST POWER. CO-PILOT JEFF SKILES WAS THE ONE WHO FIRST SPOTTED THE BIRDS.

Couric:

When you felt them hit the aircraft, did you know right away what they had done to the engines?

Skiles: Both engines went right back to, kind of, a hushed state. And that's probably just about as bad as it gets when you're an airline pilot, to hear that.

Couric:

Which brings me to you all. Did you know what was going on?

Sheila Dail:

It was so quiet. And-- Donna and I were seated beside each other. She was-- she was there. And I was here. And it so quiet. And I said, "What was that?" And-- we were-- you know, I whispered. And you did say, "Maybe a bird strike.”

Dent: Bird strike.

Couric:

What was the sensation inside the cabin after the birds hit the engines?

Welsh: I had some panic in the back. And I got out of my seat and I calmed everyone down. I said, "It's okay." I said, "It's-- we might have lost one engine. We'll circle around." And so I thought well everything is okay, and then I heard the old, "Brace for impact."

Couric:

What was your reaction to hearing those words?

Doreen Welsh:

Well, terror. Sheer terror.

Dail: --I thought, "Okay, we're going to crash on the-- on the runway.

Donna Dent:

We be-- began yelling, "Brace, brace, heads down, stay down. Brace, brace, heads down, stay down."

Couric :

What did the passengers do when you started giving these commands?

Sheila Dail:

They were not-- getting in the brace position. They were looking out the window. You know, I-- people were just looking to see what was happening.

Couric:

Were they screaming, crying, praying? Was it quiet?

Doreen Welsh:

People were making cell phone calls in the back. But the most of the people that I could see were in their brace position. And-- it was so fast.

Couric:

Let's talk about the moment of impact. Doreen, you were sitting in the back of the plane. What was the impact like there?

Doreen Welsh:

The back of the plane hit first, correct? It was violent. Horrible. Things flew out.

Couric:

Meanwhile, at the front of the plane, what was it like there?

Sheila Dail:

We were thinking that wasn't so bad. I mean it was a hard impact and I – I thought, well, the gear must not have been down because there was no bounce to it. It was just a slam.

Couric:

Did you know that you were landing in water?

Donna Dent:

No, we didn't. Not until we looked out the window and saw the water. That’s when we, that’s when we found out and of course I was still thinking well maybe there is water next to the runway that we just landed on.

Doreen Welsh:

When I got out of my seat and saw that water, it was the most shocked I’ve ever been in my life. Wasn’t expecting that.

Couric:

But as soon as you hit, people were getting up, trying to get out?

Donna Dent:

They did not try to get out until Sully said, “Evacuate.”

Couric:

Once the plane landed what was the scene like inside that cabin?

Sheila Dail:

I could see that I could open my door because the water – I could see it was lower than the – than the door. So I opened my door and my chute automatically came out. It automatically inflated. It sounds wonderful to hear your chute opening up. And then they started coming and-- and Donna was working her door. But there was no pushing and shoving.

Couric: Was it a little chaotic?

Sheila Dail:

No, there was-- there was nothing said. And there was no eye contact. They were just going.

BUT IN THE BACK OF THE PLANE, IT WAS A VERY DIFFERENT STORY.

Doreen Welsh:

A passenger had come back and pushed back me and opened the door, just enough that the water came flooding in. And I went back twice and tried to re-close it. It would only go so far. It wouldn't stop, and the water was just rising. You know, garbage cans were float-- coffee pots were floating like at this level. And things were flying. It was crazy back there.

THE IMPACT WAS SO POWERFUL, THAT IT TORE A HOLE UNDER THE AIRPLANE’S TAIL. DOREEN WELSH FEARED SHE AND SOME OF THE PASSENGERS WOULD NOT GET OUT ALIVE AS WATER WAS POURING INTO THE CABIN.

Donna Welsh:

By the time I left there, it was here. There was no doubt in my mind it was over. And I just went crazy and started yelling people and pushing people and getting people to go over the seats. And as I was getting up I thought I might actually live. 'Cause a second ago, I thought I was gone. So my emotions had gone through, within seconds, accepting death and seeing life. It was unbelievable.

Couric:

Some people told me the passengers jumped in the water. Many of them were afraid that the plane was going to explode or sink and that they wanted to get away from the aircraft.

Donna Dent:

I remember seeing—a gentleman swim-- swimming. And I don’t know if he had been on the wing or how he got there. But he swam over to the life raft. And people pulled him in. I heard that several people slid off the wing. And others would pull them back on.

YET AMAZINGLY, ONLY TWO PEOPLE ON BOARD WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED. DOREEN WELSH WAS ONE OF THEM AND HAD TO BE CARRIED ONTO A LIFE RAFT, UNAWARE OF A DEEP CUT SHE HAD IN HER LEG.

Welsh: It was quite a gash. And it was all the way through the muscle and I thought I was going to pass out at that point from it.

THE CREW QUICKLY CLEARED OUT ALL THE PASSENGERS. PARENTS WITH children, AN ELDERLY WOMAN, AND DOZENS OF PEOPLE TRAVELING ON BUSINESS -- BEFORE CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER HIMSELF WALKED UP AND DOWN THE CABIN—TWICE--TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE WAS OUT. THEN HE TOOK A FINAL LOOK AT HIS SINKING PLANE, GRABBED the maintenance LOGBOOK, AND JUMPED INTO THE LAST LIFE RAFT NOW FILLED WITH PASSENGERS.

Couric:

Did they talk to you?

Captain Sullenberger Sot:

One man did. He said, "You saved my life, thank you."

Couric:

And what did you say?

Captain Sullenberger:

I said, "You're welcome."

Couric:

That's it?

Captain Sullenberger:

Yeah.

Couric: (LAUGHS)

Captain Sullenberger:

And at that point also I was telling the people on the deck of the boats to rescue the people on the wings first because we in the rafts were relatively safe.

Couric:

Did you see those people standing on that wing?

Captain Sullenberger:

Yes. It’s an amazing sight. I'll never forget it.

SULLENBERGER HAD LANDED THE PLANE RIGHT BETWEEN TWO FERRY TERMINALS. WITHIN MINUTES, THE FIRST RESCUE BOAT PULLED UP ALONGSIDE IT, WITH OTHERS CLOSE BEHIND.

Captain Sullenberger:

It was amazing. It was—it was crucial. It was lifesaving, literally.

Couric:

What would you like to say to those folks?

Captain Sullenberger:

Thank you seems totally inadequate. I have a debt of gratitude I fear I may never be able to repay.

Couric:

To those rescue workers.

Captain Sullenberger:

Yes, to the first responders. To all of them.

Couric:

According to someone in the pilots’ union, you were still in total professional mode once you got off that airplane.

Captain Sullenberger:

Well, I may have looked like it, but I was in shock.

Couric:

You were?

Captain Sullenberger Sot:

Yeah.

Couric:

Finally.

Captain Sullenberger:

I just crashed an airplane.

ONE OF THE FIRST CALLS CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER MADE WAS TO HIS WIFE LORRIE.

Couric:

What did he say to you?

Lorrie Sullenberger:

Well, I'll tell on myself and say that, when he did call our house, I was actually on the other line. And I ignored (CHUCKLE) the phone call twice. And when he called the third time, I said to the person, "I think I should take the call." And so I hung up and took the call from Sully. And he was very calm and said, "I just wanted you to know I'm okay." But I thought that meant that he was on the flight coming home, that he had made the connection and was coming home. And I just said, "Okay, that's good." And he said, "No, there's been an incident. I had to ditch an airplane in the Hudson River." And I laid down on the bed for a moment. I wasn't crying, but I was just in shock, really shaking hard. I called an old best friend and said, "Sully has just crashed an airplane and I don't know what to do." And she said, "Go get your girls." And so I hung up and-- and I went and got the girls and brought them home.

CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER SAYS EVEN THOUGH HE BELIEVED THAT EVERYONE WHO HAD BEEN ON BOARD WAS SAFE, HE STILL WANTED CONFIRMATION.

Captain Sullenberger:

After bugging people for hours, I finally got the word that it was official. That the count was 155.

Couric:

All survived.

Captain Sullenberger:

Yes. 155.

Couric:

What did you say when you heard that?

Captain Sullenberger:

I don't remember saying anything. But I remember feeling the most intense feeling of relief that I ever felt in my life. I felt like the weight of the universe had been lifted off my heart.

Couric narration:

THIS PAST WEEK, THE CREW AND SOME OF THE PASSENGERS OF FLIGHT 1549 CAME FACE TO FACE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE ACCIDENT. THAT PART OF THE STORY WHEN WE COME BACK

60MINUTES Sunday Feb. 8, 2009

SAVING FLIGHT 1549 – PART THREE

COURIC SIMON BEECHER METZ ZIMET

FINAL

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 6:11

STUDIO OPEN:

There are 150 people who might not be alive today if it weren't for Captain Sullenberger and his crew. We invited some of the passengers to reunite with them in Charlotte, North Carolina…the city that was supposed to be the final destination for flight 1549.

NAT SOT with the crew entering the hotel ballroom applause

NAT SOTS OF REUNION:

AMY:Amy, Sully.

SULLY SULLENBERGER:

Hi Amy. How are you?

AMY:

Thank you for saving my life.

MALE VOICE:

You just did an incredible job.

SULLY SULLENBERGER:

Thank you.

MALE VOICE:

Really. Really. Really proud.

FEMALE VOICE:

Thank you so much for bringing my husband home to me.

SULLENBERGER:

What’s your name?

FEMALE:

Sherry Leonard.

SULLY SULLENBERGER:

Hi Judy.

FEMALE VOICE:

Thank you so much you kept our family together

GROUP PHOTO:

You’re our hero. You and the whole crew.

MALE VOICE:

You’re a celebrity and personal hero. Could you-- ask you to sign my shirt?

SULLY SULLENBERGER:

Where-- right there? You got it. Let me make it big and bold.

SULLY SULLENBERGER:

Where were you sitting?

MALE VOICE:

I was in 16B. We-- but we helped with the raft--

SULLY SULLENBERGER:

I saw you, yes.

MALE VOICE:

you guys gave us all the courage.

Sullenberger: (from group interview)

More than one woman came up to me and said, "Thank you for not making me a widow. Thank you for-- allowing my three-year-old son to have a father."

LITTLE KID:

Thank you for bringing my daddy home.

SULLENBERGER:

You’re very welcome.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER: (from group interview)

Unbelievable.

SHEILA DAIL: (from group interview)

One man-- had told me that-- you know, I was looking at him. He was in first class, and he seemed to be very anxious. And I just told him, just, you know, "Be calm, and you know, just try to breathe."

(Sheila & passenger John Helm hugging talking at reunion)

JOHN HELM:

I can’t tell you how frightened I was when we were coming down and I was just thinking this person is looking at me and she’s telling me everything is going to be fine thank you again

SHEILA DAIL: (from group interview)

He showed me a picture of-- himself with his niece, and the niece-- was a child of his-- brother, who was killed in 9 11.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

and he told me, he didn't think that his family could take losing a second son.

(John Helms and Sully talking at reunion)

JOHN HELMS:

My brother was a firefighter killed at the Trade Center. And the whole way down I'm thinking my family's not going to survive this. I've gotta get off this airplane. I can't believe that everyone walked off that airplane. It's a miracle. And I really thank you.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER: (from interview)

you know, 155 is a number, but when you can faces to it and not just 155 faces but the other faces, the wives, the daughters, the sons, the fathers, the mothers, the brothers.

SULLY SULLENBERGER: (addressing passengers at reunion)

I simply wanted to thank all of you for coming. I think today was as much and as good for me and my crew as it was for you. We will be joined forever because of the events of January 15th, in our hearts and in our minds. Goodbye.

COURIC NARRATION: it was an emotional experience for all of theM – following weeks that Captain Sullenberger described as surreal:

There was the superbowl…

SUPER BOWL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Please welcome the crew of US Airways Flight 1549.

…the inauguration and A chance to meet the president…and a celebration in his hometown of danville, california.

NAT SOT from town SPEECH Mayor Danville Calif.: Captain Chesley Sullenberger is a true American hero.

COURIC NARRATION: but LIKE MANY OF THE PASSENGERS, the crew members are also having difficulty processing what happened, Including captain sullenberger.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

One of the hardest things for me to do in this whole-- experience was to-- forgive myself for not having done something else. Something better. Something more complete. I don't know.

KATIE COURIC:

But it had such a good ending.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Yes, it did.

KATIE COURIC:

And it could have had such a terrible ending.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I know.

KATIE COURIC:

But you play this over in your head

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

The-- the first few nights were the worst. When the "what ifs" started. The second guessings would come. Made sleep hard.

KATIE COURIC:

Like what?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Just-- replaying it. You know, flashbacks. Did we-- did-- were we aware of everything we could have been aware of. Did we make the best choices. All those kinds of thoughts.

KATIE COURIC:

And when you think that way, do you regret anything that you did?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

No. Not now.

CAPTAIN SULLENBERGER SAYS HE PLANS TO FLY AGAIN BUT HE’S NOT SURE WHEN. FOR NOW, HE AND HIS FAMILY ARE FINDING COMFORT GOING THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN OF MAIL HE’S RECEIVED FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

LORRIE SULLENBERGER reading letters:

Mr. Sullenberger, great job, I’d like to buy you a beer. Albeit a cheap domestic one. Five dollars enclosed. God bless.

DAUGHTER reading letter:

Dear Captain Sullenberger, in a world that seems to be full of bad news, it was such a wonderful day on January 15th.”

DAUGHTER: Think about not only the 155 passengers but all the families who belong to these people.

LORRIE SULLENBERGER reading letter:

Dearest Captain Sullenberger. Big Apple hero yesterday I received a voicemail from my 84 year old father who lives on the 30th floor of a building with river views here in Manhattan. Had you not been so skilled, my father or others like him in their sky-high buildings could have perished along with your passengers had not you landed in the river as you had. As a Holocaust survivor my father taught me that to save a life is to save a world as you never know what the person you’ve saved nor his or her prodigy will go on to contribute to the peace and healing of the world. Bless you dear Captain Sullenberger. New York loves you. That is my favorite one.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Yeah, mine too.

KATIE COURIC:

You've been called a hero by a lot of people. How do you feel about that?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

I don't feel comfortable embracing it, but I don't want to deny it. I don't want to diminish their thankful feeling toward me by telling them that they're wrong. I'm beginning to understand why they might feel that way.

KATIE COURIC:

And why is that?

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:

Something about this episode has captured people's imagination. I think they want good news. I think they want to feel hopeful again. And if I can help in that way, I will.

####

Yes dance fans, here's the list.

And - no - dance fans. Stevie Wonder isn't on it.

Yeah, bummer. The biggest - by farrrrrrr - name in "DWTS" history woulda been him. But not to be.

Here's my story, as appearing in Monday's Newsday...And away we go!!

Number 56 is in.

Lawrence Taylor, probably the greatest outside linebacker in Giants history, will be on the eighth season of "Dancing with the Stars."

Don't snicker (and certainly don't snicker in from of LT). Other famed grid stars have probably made it safe for big men to waltz - or jive, or samba, or Mambo, Rumba, Jitterbug or (umm) cha-cha-cha. Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith was 2006 champion, while veteran defensive tackle Warren Sapp came perilously close to winning last season. Now, the charter member of the Big Blue Wrecking Crew's turn.

And in a "DWTS" first, a famous husband/wife team will compete: Jewel, and Ty Murray, a rodeo champion.

Taylor - a partner of Fla.-based Exfuse, a health beverage company - was not the most unusual name dropped last night, in ABC's "Name Drop Night" for "DWTS."

Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder, is on board.

So is Steve O, stunt man on shows like "Jackass" and "Wildboyz," O has been arrested numerous times for narcotics possession, and probably his best-known stunt is something called "the Butterfly" - which will almost certainly NOT be described to viewers of the ABC program.

Other names announced early in the evening:

- David Alan Grier, affectionately known as "DAG" to fans of "In Living Color," currently host of Comedy Central's "Chocolate News."

- Shawn Johnson, the 2008 Olympic women's balance beam gold medalist with the big sunny smile who got almost (but not quite) as much attention as Michael Phelps in the recent Olympics.

- Country music singer Chuck Wicks

- Belinda Carlisle, of '80s new-wave group, the Go-Gos.

- Gilles Marini, or Dante, who lived next door to Samantha (Kim Cattrall) in "Sex and the City" movie.

- Denise Richards, actress, model and Charlie Sheen ex.

- Lil' Kim, top rapper ("The Naked Truth," remember?)

- Nancy O'Dell, co-host (with Billy Bush) of "Access Hollywood.")

Show starts March 9.

Not Stevie, but at least catchy outfit...

(Above, Lil' Kim from Wallpaperbase.com.)

(And...Jewel pix, courtesy of the Valory Music Co.)

As we get ready for tonight's unusual "Dancing with the Stars'" cast reveals, here's the one name out of any and all that would be a jaw-dropper.

Stevie Wonder.

That's right.

Stevie Wonder.

Cast announcements will take place tonight during a series of "interstitials" - short programs - on ABC's primetime, as a gimmick to keep viewers from wandering over to the Grammys (where they might stay.)

And the one name, the biggest name, that just might keep people glued is this one: Wonder. After all, he has won something like two dozen Grammys, so maybe this is what's behind ABC's gimmick. They've got Stevie on board.

Other rumored contestants: Jewel, Lawrence Taylor, Denise Richards, Heidi Klum...

Wonder rumors first surfaced last December, and they were more than rumors - they were essentially confirmed by Wonder himself. He didn't actually say that he was joining this season's cast, but that he had been approached, and that the idea appealed to him.

"It'd be fun, it'd be fun," Wonder told Steve Valentine, host of LA radio show, "Valentine in the Morning." "I've watched it before - no really - I've checked it out before. But I've heard some talk of us possibly doing that, so we might."

We might. Wow.

Wonder would arguably be the biggest star in "DWTS's" history - perhaps unknown to a younger generation more familiar with T.I. - but a household name, and a treasured one, to many millions of others.

Blindness? It'd certainly be a challenge, but any pro he's matched with could function as a pair of "eyes." He'd do very well - a finalist even perhaps.

Pix: Getty

Among the casualties: The Bear which pleasures itself; the gator with gaydar; the cat in a maze; and the Hasid robot.

You can go to the clip below to watch the entire "state of the show" address.

So ... I have some questions. Does this mean the following will be showing up on the West Coast this June...? Please go to the jump to see clips of these (ummmm) splendors ... But I warn you - if you are under 18, TVzone will automatically refuse to let you proceed. (Don't ask me how we know how old you are. We just do.)

- Vomiting Kermit ... the Kermit with regurgitation issues.

- Horny Manatee ... Conan bought the Web site Hornymanatee.com, after mentioning it on the air a couple years ago. Ownership is good for 10 years.

- If they Mated ... a collage of mated pairs.

Triumph ... Needs no introduction.

Bit by bit, or perhaps word by word, CBS is leaking out Hudson hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger's interview with Katie Couric. Airs Sunday with outtakes tomorrow night on "Evening News," then Sunday on the big "60."

Here's the latest, directly from the network: On Jan. 15, less than two minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport en route to Charlotte, N.C., the Airbus A320 struck a flock of large birds and lost power in both engines. An eerie silence and a disturbing smell followed. It was a moment like no other for the aircraft’s captain. “It was the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling I’ve ever felt in my life,” Sullenberger tells Couric. “I knew immediately it was very bad.”

“Did you think, ‘How are we going to get ourselves out of this?’” Couric asks. Sullenberger replies, “No. My initial reaction was one of disbelief.”

And more...

Sullenberger then took control of the aircraft from First Officer Jeff Skiles and began to make the decisions and maneuvers that resulted in an emergency landing the world is still talking about. The moment the birds entered his screen, the noises they made on impact, the thoughts running through his head, the distance to reach an airport, the river below – he recalls all of them for Couric in an interview that relives one of the major events in aviation history.

Crewmembers Skiles, flight attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh all relay their experiences in their first group interview. Skiles conveys his perspective while doing his duties in the cockpit and the attendants provide a breathtaking account of what they heard, saw and felt in the aircraft’s cabin with 150 passengers who were told to “brace for impact” as the jetliner angled down toward the Hudson River, relying only on gravity and Sullenberger’s skills to prevent their deaths.

Finally, and memorably, this: Sully tells Couric what he thinks of the people who came to their rescue:

"Thank you seems totally inadequate. I have a debt of gratitude that I fear I may never be able to repay.”

"Today" has actually done a pretty good job covering this story, and so has Michael Okwu for "Nightly" so I'm not surprised this went to Curry; in addition, Ann's carved quite a rep for herself in multiple birth stories - did the Chandler quints, for example, just last spring, and the McCaughey septuplets story ten years ago.

Suleman has emerged as an unlikely lightning rod for those who think fertility treatments have run amok...

Please head to the jump for those quotes from the interview...which, you can bet the car, will be on "Today" tomorrow...

******

ANN CURRY:
Describe what you felt you lacked within.

NADYA SULEMAN:
Feeling of self and identity. I didn't feel as though, when I was a child, I
had much control of my environment. I felt powerless. And that gave me a sense
of predictability. I-- reflecting back on my childhood, I know it wasn't
functional. It was pretty-- pretty dysfunctional, and whose isn't?

******

ANN CURRY:
So, the first time when you tried to become pregnant, you actually had tried how
many times before you were successful?

NADYA SULEMAN:
Oh, boy. Well, I went through about seven years of trying. And-- through
artificial insemination. And through medication. And all of which was
unsuccessful. And then the first-- IVF procedure from that-- from that
facility-- it was successful. And then I just kept going in.

Here's how the press works, sometimes.

A famous person is spotted having an intense conversation with another famous person at a famous restaurant, and the next thing you know, this meeting is in a million papers and on a million websites. And because the press has no idea what these famous people were talking about, the story has no legs, or a "nut" graph. So, they make something up.

That's what happened recently with Caroline Kennedy and Lorne Michaels. On Jan. 29, they were spotted at Morandi's on Waverley Place. One of the few facts: That they were in "intense conversation" to the exclusion of the other guests at the table.

The resulting nut graph in countless stories - that they were plotting an appearance on "SNL" to rehabilitate her image.

That nut graph was a complete fabrication. No one really knows if she's going to go on the show, or why she would use this venue to "rehabilitate" her image. Or whether her very famous image even needed "rehabilitating." Honestly, it doesn't.

So, two can play at this game. And here's MY nut graph: What if they were meeting that night to plot revenge? To go after a governor who had betrayed her, humiliated her - publicly.

What if this meeting was about...payback?

Do I have your attention? Good, then head on to the jump, if you want to read more of MY theory… Meanwhile, I've gotta run to watch "Oprah." Love ya..!

Welcome to the jump, dear reader, and let me warn you right now: You may have just entered the realm of pure fiction. It is - I promise you - the realm of pure speculation. I like to call it "informed speculation."

Let us consider some basic truths:

1.) Lorne and Caroline Kennedy are old friends. They move - as the saying goes - in the same social circles. She is royalty and he is royalty. He is the most famous television executive in the world. He may be the only famous television executive in the world. Only one may have recently come close to his level of fabulousness, and barely at that - Roone Arledge, who died some years ago and was another Kennedy clan consigliore. Lorne and Kennedy have been pals for years; go to Patrick McMullan's website to see some priceless shots from a few years ago.

2.) The skit that pilloried Gov. David Paterson aired just two nights after the Morandi dinner, on Jan. 31. How vicious was it? Again (same as the skit last month), it made gentle fun of his blindness, and had Fred Armisen/Paterson respond to Seth Meyers' question about the search process to replace Hillary. "Haven’t you heard?" he says in a nasal whine. Not well.

3.) By Monday of this week, there was a flurry of stories - notably a big one in the NYT - detailing how Paterson's staff had leaked embarrassing details about her, either as a way of forcing her out of the selection process, or by covering his own mistakes during the process. (Kirsten Gillibrand was selected to replace Hill.)

So, let us recap: Old friends get together to exact revenge on a bumbling governor who embarrassed her.

What's the problem with this theory? You're right! The first Armisen/Paterson skits aired Dec. 13.

Two days later, on a Tuesday, she formally announced she was in the hunt for the Senate seat.

Why would Lorne want to embarrass the gov with these skits - which infuriated the gov, by the way - when his friend needed all the help she could get from said gov?

You won't be surprised to learn that I have another theory! The governor never had any intention of appointing her, and she knew it. She tried to force HIS hand by entering the sweepstakes, which caused him all sorts of problems (notably one with AG Andrew Cuomo, who was also sideswiped.)

You don't believe me, do you? OK, here's a key paragraph from the Dec. 13 Times piece by Nicholas Confessore, which reported on her entry into the race:

"The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid antagonizing the governor, said that Mr. Paterson also had come to see Ms. Kennedy as a strong potential candidate whose appointment would keep a woman in the seat and whose personal connections would allow her to raise the roughly $70 million required to hold on to the seat in the coming years."

OK: Now here's the sensational Times piece on Tuesday, Feb. 3. by Danny Hakim and Confessore. How sensational? It talked about how Paterson leaked stuff to the media about Caroline (taxes, nanny problems, etc.) to embarrass her. Newsday's James Madore has also reported widely and well on the same allegations last week. But the Times story had some intriguing details...

And I quote:

"According to advisers to the governor who were involved in the process, the leaks against Ms. Kennedy were coordinated by Judith A. Smith, a consultant who has been acting as the governor’s top communications strategist.

[Judy Smith?! Yup, the same Judy who used to be the TOP PR person for NBC. That's the network where Lorne works, by the way. A small world indeed.]

The piece continues:

"On Jan. 22, the morning after Ms. Kennedy withdrew, Ms. Smith spoke to Mr. Paterson, then went to the governor’s Midtown Manhattan offices, the advisers said. There, she told at least two people to call major media outlets around the state. She instructed them to tell reporters that the governor had been dismayed by Ms. Kennedy’s public auditioning for the job, that he never intended to select her as senator, and that the tax and nanny issues had led her to pull out of consideration..."

Let me repeat those words: "...that he never intended to select her as Senator..."

OK, those are my theories, and - caveat emptor. They may entirely bogus.

But I DID get you to read this far, right?

And ask yourself, finally, this question: Why would "Saturday Night Live" pillory a little-known governor with a disability to a national audience in the midst of such enormous political intrigue in Albany?

If you have a better theory, I’m all ears…

Nice interview with Joe Torre last night on "Letterman" - somewhat different in tone than the Blago one on Tuesday - though Joe does look like he's sticking to his story: There was nothing wrong or disrespectful or disreputable with writing a book on the Yankees (although he didn't write it, he tells Dave.)

The clip:

You know who I'm 'talkin 'bout: "Bikini Girl".

AKA Katrina Darrell.

She's this season's It Person.

She's this season's Sanjaya.

That's the observation of someone who should know - Justin Guarini.

Justin: Runner-up to Kelly Clarkson, who launched a career of his own after the first season, though ultimately became a man of many talents, notably as an on-air commentator for the TV Guide Channel, and "Idol" blogger extraordinaire for Fancast.com. (Check it out - his post is at the bottom of the Fancast page.)

In a pleasant chat, just concluded, he says: "She's to season 8 what Sanjaya was to season 7; she might be a nice person - Sanjaya's a nice person - but everyone and his mother, except his mother, didn't expect him to win and the same with her. What's she on the show for? She doesn't have the voice to get her into the top twelve, but she's there to create buzz. She gets under Kara's skin and she gets under Paula's skin, and Randy and Simon are having a ball with it. The producers know you and I are talking about it and know everyone else is too. They need some gimmick, some trick to help [ratings.]"

And for the moment: that's Bikini Girl!

Honestly, I don't think she's got a bad voice at all. But then, I didn't think Sanjaya did either.

Do want to laugh harder than you've laughed all day? Maybe since...last night's Blago/Dave interview?

Do you want to laugh till tears pour down your cheeks, and your co-workers come over to see what the matter with you is?

Do you want to laugh so hard that your boss will come over and ask you to leave the premises?

Then, I direct you to Gawker. Right now. Go here. To this link. Don't take my word for it. Just do it. There are other versions floating around on the web, but this one is perfect.

Now, I'd post this myself, and bypass Gawker altogether (but of course give them credit for finding this gem.) But there's a word used here...umm, you know the word - it's the one that Gordo Ramsey uses in front of every noun, and the one we all yell at the TV set whenever A-Fraud strikes out in the ninth inning with three men on base.

I just checked the Newsday profanity manual, and it says I can't post this - but DAMN, you gotta see it anyway.

Thanks, Gawker.