We've been looking for a breakout night. We've been shooting in the mid-40s (percentage). We made our shots tonight, and we played real good defense. We're real happy with the win.

[Those flamboyant stars, though, could end up being just a blip in a busy night. The three-hour show, Mr. Benson said, is going to be heavy on performances (23) and light on awards (9), with an emphasis on showing country music's influence on other genres and on New York artists. Mr. Benson said he was particularly looking forward to a pairing of Willie Nelson and Paul Simon; before they present the song-of-the-year award, Mr. Simon will sing Mr. Nelson's] Crazy, ... Still Crazy After All These Years.

As it started to get a little bit cooler in the night, a little bit further in the game, [Bond] went down. The defense had to play a little bit.

It's a morning paper, they don't come out this late at night.

I couldn't sleep at night knowing what might happen to it,

That night she was so happy; even in the trap, she was purring, ... And I was so happy. We were up all night, just hugging each other.