Brian Williams

On Wednesday December 24, 2003, PAULINE MELSON WHITLOCK of Seaford, DE., formerly of Denton, MD. She was a homemaker who attended Mt. Olivet and St. John's United Methodist Churches in Seaford, DE., and was a member of the Seaford Senior Center. Wife of the late William Wilson Whitlock who died in 1991, the daughter of the late Mathias Stewart and May Campbell Melson and grandmother of the late Matthew McNamara. She is survived by her son William W. Jr., and his wife Donnie of West Point, CA., daughters Joyce Bennett of Seaford, DE., Claudia M. and her husband Dennis W. Williams Sr. of Seaford, DE., grandchildren Pam Schierholt and husband Ron of Sacramento, CA., Jennifer Gallo of Paso Robles, CA., Dale Whitlock of West Point, CA., Shannon Banks and her husband Mark of Seaford, DE., Dennis W. Williams Jr., of Seaford, DE., Christopher Williams, Kevin Williams and his wife Lindsay of Seaford, DE., Brian Williams of Seaford, DE., several great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

No anchorman in the history of American television has ever been as groomed and prepped as Brian Williams was to take over NBC Nightly News from Tom Brokaw last night. The transition was announced 2 1/2 years ago, and for the past 10 years Williams has been sitting in at the Rockefeller Center anchor desk in New York any time Brokaw needed to be away from it. "One of the things we're very proud of is that we've planned for a long time to make this a very smooth, seamless transition," Neal Shapiro, president of NBC News, said this week.

Ralph Williams, 80, World War II submariner Ralph Lander Williams, who served aboard submarines in the Pacific during World War II and later worked at a Baltimore printing company, died Friday of an aneurysm at Northwest Hospital Center. The Randallstown resident was 80. Known to friends as "Buck," Mr. Williams grew up in York, Pa., and volunteered to go to Pearl Harbor as a civil defense worker three months after the Japanese attack on the Navy base there in 1941. Twenty-one months later, he enlisted in the Navy and joined the submarine fleet as a diesel engine mechanic.

Onscreen, the transition at NBC News from Tom Brokaw to Brian Williams has been a great success, with favorable reviews and strong ratings. But just one week into his new job as anchorman and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, Williams is under fire for a statement he made that groups that represent minority journalists say minimizes the need for newsroom diversity. The National Association of Black Journalists, saying it is "dismayed" by Williams' remarks, is scheduled to meet today in New York with NBC News President Neal Shapiro and other network officials to discuss the matter, according to leaders of the organization.

After meeting with NBC News President Neal Shapiro to discuss concerns about anchorman Brian Williams and the newsroom's attitude toward diversity, the National Association of Black Journalists yesterday issued a statement expressing confidence in the network. "We are confident that from Neal Shapiro to Brian Williams on down, that having a diverse newsroom is a priority at NBC," Herbert Lowe, president of the NABJ, said in a statement. "With Neal's commitment to future participation in our NABJ Media Institute and a continued dialogue about hiring and retaining black journalists, I look forward to working with him."

Walter Cronkite was there cracking lame jokes and telling us how President Kennedy would have felt. Dan Rather was in full "Texas Dan" mode, calling people "hoss" and analyzing how much "giddyup" there was in those rocket boosters. Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams were giving new meaning to the word "gush."It was a big day on Planet Spectacle in the galaxy of television news yesterday as John Glenn, the 77-year-old Democratic senator from Ohio, joined six astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

As much as we talk and write about the power of the Internet, it is easy to forget that nothing focuses the nation's attention on a topic or event like TV - particularly the combined gaze of cameras from the major networks of ABC, NBC and CBS. That's the case tonight when the networks and a huge group of Hollywood A-listers present Stand Up to Cancer. All three network news anchors - Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams - will be reporting stories on medical advances and efforts.

NEW YORK -- Brian Williams left Maryland after one year and Arizona after two, but it all worked out for the best. "I'm going to Disney World," Williams said last night after the Orlando Magic made him the 10th pick of the NBA draft.Williams, 22, said he made the right decisions, both in transferring from Maryland and skipping his final season at Arizona. Questions persist about his game -- consistency, intensity, rebounding -- but who's to argue now?At Maryland the 6-foot-11, 242-pound Williams believed he wasn't developing properly under former coach Bob Wade.

Baseball Athletics: Released P Marc Wilkins. Cubs: Agreed to one-year contracts with P Todd Van Poppel ($850,000) and P Jeremi Gonzalez ($265,000). Devil Rays: Agreed to minor-league contract with P Tony Fiore. Expos: Signed former Orioles P Bobby Munoz, P Terry Burroughs and C Jimmy Gonzalez to minor-league contracts. Mets: Agreed to $475,000 one-year contract with IF Desi Relaford. Padres: Signed OF-1B Kevin Witt, 2B Adam Riggs and P Jeremy Powell to minor-league contracts. Phillies: Agreed to one-year contract with P Amaury Telemaco.

FROM THE WEST* TOUGH TO PLEASE: Listen to Nevada-Las Vegas and you'd never believe it is 33-0 and riding a 17-point win into tomorrow's West Regional final. "We just haven't had great chemistry on defense," guard Greg Anthony said. "We're just a very average team now." Average?* TALL TALE: Arizona had Brian Williams (6-10), center Sean Rooks (6-11) and off the bench, center Ed Stokes (7-0). Seton Hall responded with 6-10 Anthony Avent and, uh . . . Anthony Avent.Guess what? The Pirates matched Arizona in rebounds, Avent neutralized the Wildcats' front line and it is Seton Hall who today stands tall heading into the West final.