Midday Roundup: Grammys tone it down a tiny bit

Ode to self. Critics are saying the Grammy Awards on Sunday night were uncharacteristically staid—but mellow for the Grammys is still pretty wild. After singer Beck won album of the year, rapper Kanye West stormed the stage in protest, just like he did at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when Taylor Swift won. Though he laughed and sat back down, West said afterward he did it because he thought Beck didn’t deserve to win. The Beck win was a surprise, but the night’s two other major awards were not. Both record of the year and song of the year went to Aaron Neville sound-alike Sam Smith for “Stay With Me,” a slow jam of angst and self-loathing over a one-night stand. Beyoncé ended the night by donning an angelic white outfit and singing, in tribute to the movie Selma, “Precious Lord Take My Hand,” a hymn loved by Martin Luther King Jr. Considering that in last year’s Grammy performance she wore a black leotard and bondage-style vest and sang “Drunk in Love,” perhaps the critics were right about this year being toned-down.

Empty seat. Rep. Alan Nunnelee, R-Miss., died Friday of brain cancer. He was 56. Nunnelee was a Christian, pro-life Republican whose election in 2010 helped the GOP take control of the House of Representatives. Before his election to Congress, he served 16 years in the Mississippi Senate, where he worked to regulate abortion and usher in tort reform. “He cared very much about the process, about making sure everyone was treated with respect and dignity,” Mississippi Democratic state Sen. Hob Bryan told The Clarion-Ledger. Nunnelee is survived by his wife and three children. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant must call a special election within 60 days of Nunnelee’s death to to fill his seat in Congress.

Coaching what matters. Some of basketball’s greatest players remembered one of its best coaches over the weekend. Dean Smith, who coached the University of North Carolina Tar Heels for 36 years, died Saturday at age 83. Perhaps his most famous alum, Michael Jordan, paid tribute to Smith this weekend: “He was more than a coach—he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father. Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him, and I loved him for it. In teaching me the game of basketball, he taught me about life.” President Barack Obama also eulogized Smith, noting his reputation for teamwork and integrity: “He graduated more than 96 percent of his players and taught his teams to point to the teammate who passed them the ball after a basket.”

Under suspicion. After admitting he embellished facts about his time as a journalist in Iraq, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams faces more accusations of falsehood. NBC is investigating reports Williams told about things he witnessed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The stories include gangs overrunning the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a body floating by on a street that was probably dry, and Williams witnessing a suicide at the Superdome.