Balloon Boy Punks Nation, But Was It Intentional? Oct 16, 200912:32 PDT

Friday, October 16, 2009.

Falcon Heele was supposedly trapped in a balloon hundreds of feet in the air and miles form home, but a nation’s concern turned to anger when it was revealed the boy had been hiding in the family’s garage the entire time. Jon Gosselin is now being sued by TLC, makers of the Jon & Kate PLus 8 reality show, and the League Championship Series will play out this weekend to determine which two teams will meet in this year’s World Series. This is your Daily Surf Report, using the best videos on the web to keep you abreast of the day’s top stories.

“Balloon Boy” Hoax Punks Nation

For most of yesterday afternoon, millions of people across the country were glued to their favorite news outlets, as well as social communities like Twitter and Facebook, watching with concern and trepidation for any updates on the fate of 6 year old Falcon Heene, nicknamed “balloon boy”, who was reportedly flying hundreds of feet in the air in the basket of his parent’s home-made weather balloon.

Authorities, news cameras, and volunteers tracked the balloons flight for over two hours after Heene’s brothers reported that Falcon had been in a makeshift basket attached to the balloon when it took off. The Air Force was in the process of organizing an in flight helicopter rescue when the balloon finally landed some 50 miles away from where it had started. The balloon was immediately searched for signs of the boy, and the story took a grim turn when nether the boy or the basket were found. Eyewitness reports of something falling off the balloon in flight led to an extensive search of the ground along the balloon’s flight path.

Concern turned quickly to outrage, however, when it was discovered that Falcon Heene had never been on the balloon, and instead had been hiding in a box in his family’s barn the entire time.

The family has discounted accusations that the event was a deliberate publicity stunt as “extremely pathetic” and described the search for Falcon and his eventual discovery as a “rollercoaster of emotions”.

The local sheriff has promised to investigate, saying that the department would prosecute the family if it was determined that the event was a deliberate hoax.

Twitter has been ablaze with discussions of the incident and its aftermath. Even celebrities were weighing in. Singer John Meyer joked ”This unfortunate media display involving balloon boy undermines the hundreds of boys and girls actually lost to balloon flight every year.” Rainn Wilson of The Office retweeted this quip “For Halloween I’m wrapping myself in aluminum foil and going as a giant balloon with no kid inside”, and a concerned Marlee Matlin offered “Absolutely APPALLED that TV has sunk to show kid throwing up. Balloon Boy? Wasn’t even IN the balloon!! Stop the madness! Where’s the NEWS?”

TLC Suing Jon Gosselin For Breach of Contract

TLC network, the producers of Gosselin reality series “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ is suing co-star Jon Gosselin for breach of contract, stating that Gosselin sold photos and interviews to rival networks despite an exclusivity clause and that he failed to live up to his duties promoting the show for the network. This follows after Gosselin ordered the show to cease production and barred the cameras from his eight children in the wake of TLC announcement last month that the show would be renamed “Kate Plus 8″ to reflect a diminished role for Jon Gosselin in light of the couple’s impending divorce. Got all that?

It doesn’t end there. Additionally, a judge ordered Gosselin to repay $180,000 withdrawn from a joint account shared by himself and soon to be ex-wife Kate Gosselin.

CNN’s Headline News has all the latest developments on the couple’s financial battles in the divorce:

American, National League Playoffs Kick Off

With a trip to the World Series at stake, the League Championship games will be this weekend’s focus for baseball fans everywhere.

In the American League, the New York Yankees begin their series against the Los Angeles Angels tonight in a match up of powerhouse offenses and big arms at the front of both rotations.

In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies took a 1 game to none advantage last night when young Los Angeles Dodgers pitching phenom Clayton Kershaw unravelled in the 5th inning to blow a strong start and force the Dodgers to have to play catch up tonight in the second game of the best-of-seven series.

It’s an exciting end game for baseball fans who value talent over luck, as (unlike some previous years this decade) all four teams in the LCS are among the best in baseball, meaning this year’s World Series promises to be one of the best in recent memory no matter which teams advance.

In this video, ESPN reviews this year’s 10 best plays from the final four teams:

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