Oprah to "Welcome Home" U.S. Olympians on Sept. 8
Oprah Winfrey by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com
For its 23rd (!) season premiere,
The Oprah Winfrey Show will be paid a visit by more than 150 U.S. Olympic team members.
The guest list includes gold medalists such as Michael Phelps (who has become about as omnipresent as Eddie Cibrian on ABC), Nastia Liukin, volleyball queens Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, and hoops stars Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Lisa Leslie and Dwayne Wade (who
always cracked me up on
A Different World).
As reported by the
AP, the episode tapes Wednesday at Chicago's Millennium Park (to air Sept. 8) and is fancied as a both a "welcome home celebration" for the athletes as well as a showcase for the Windy City, which is among the candidates to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
By noon Saturday, the line of Oprah and Olympic athlete fans hoping to nab one of the 2,000 free tickets up for grabs stretched several blocks. -
Matt Mitovich