"Take Me Out To The Ball Game..." ~ ~ ~ The "Days of Our Lives" vs. "Sunset Beach" charity softball benefit will take place on Saturday, July 31st.

All of your favorite soap stars, both ladies and gentleman, will be playing to win for charity! The event will take place at Valley Park in Burbank, CA.

The "Passions" cast will be challenging to be held in September. Victor Webster (Nicholas from "Days of Our Lives") and Michael Strickland (Brad from "Sunset Beach") are here tonight. And in a few moments, they will be joined by James Hyde (Sam from "Passions").

James: This is James, I'd like to say hello to everyone who's tuning in, and I hope to see everyone on Saturday.

grenya_18: Victor, hello how are you? I've been watching Days for the past couple of years now I was wondering what it's like working on Days and if you like playing Nicholas and working opposite Louise Sorel?

Victor: I'm doing great, wonderful.
I feel like it's an honor to be working with Louise Sorel, and she's an incredible actress with a lot of life and a lot of energy to go along with her ability. Everyone I've worked with so far has been a pleasure to work with. I've learned a little bit of something from everybody, I can't wait to get the chance to work with everyone that I haven't worked with yet.

applesa: Who is going to win on Sat. at the game and why?

Michael: Who's going to win? I think it's actually going to be pretty close. Both sides have a lot of brawn on it. The people who are going to win are the Children of the Night. We are going to have fun, but the people who most need it will be benefiting.

Victor: The winners will be the children, but the actual winner of the game it will remain to be seen. I think it depends if they drink the punch that we spiked, if they can still run after that.

James: Passions are going to play the winner, about five of us are going to come out on Saturday, Dalton James, Galen Gering, myself, Travis Schuldt, and Jessica Metcalf. We're going to come out and officially challenge the winner. We're really looking forward to that it's going to be fun. The Passions women are our secret weapon and we will bring them out!

Pops: James, are you going to have Tabitha cast a spell on the other teams? LOL!!

James: Yes, I had a word with her today and we were trying to come up with something, a spell or something to put on the other team We haven't quite figured that out yet. We'll find out the day that we play if it worked at all. You have to come out the day of the game to see if it works!

Tami: Are the girls going to play too?


Victor: It's co-ed. What fun would it be to exclude any member of the family?

James: I don't think we'd play if they didn't play.

Michael: What fun would that be?

Linda: My friends and I want to know if you will be playing shirts and skins!!!!!

Victor: We have the regular old softball uniforms.
It's not going to be a big sexy shirtless sweaty event. Although....you never know what might happen, and if you're not there you're just going to hear about it, it won't be fun.

fopaux: Will there be other things besides baseball?

James: The guys from Passions are going to come out and work the concession stands, doing all the concession work.

Victor: There's going to be a raffle, and autographed pictures.

babybounce: Is the game going to be aired on TV?

Michael: No, but there will be pictures at nbc.com/passions where you will also find a transcript of this chat.

Marc: Who would you like to have scenes with that you haven't worked with yet?

Victor: I would love the opportunity to work with everybody.
There are so many talented actors and actresses on our show, that it doesn't matter. I am just looking forward to learning. James: We've just started the show basically, and my storyline has been built around working with my wife who plays Grace and I had some great scenes today with Tabitha, which was a lot of fun (Juliet Mills). I think I'm really looking forward to working with everybody, and we have a young cast and a young cast, and an older cast, And I think I can learn something and it will be fun working with everybody.

DorothySB1303: Michael: Have any fans ever done anything crazy while you were taping on the beach?

Michael: Well, a lot of times we play practical jokes, because we have long, long days. And there's been times where Randy will have to eat something I'll put hot sauce on his food. Or if someone is drinking something, someone will put some salt in their drink. Anything to break up a 15 hour day. Christie Carlson and I go surfing, we're starting to do so a lot, we get there about an hour early and try to catch a wave or two before we have to go on to makeup.

sangomia: For Victor Webster: What's in store for your character?

Victor: To be honest, I really don't know.
We find out maybe three days before we shoot the show. I know that I'm going to have a lot of scenes with my aunt of course, and Kate. I'm actually really interested because they say I have some very fun and interesting things coming up. So you'll have to keep watching and you'll find out at about the same time I do!

Foxi_Girl: James, do you predict that your show will do well compared to other daytime soaps?

James: You know, just being on the show for a month and seeing what the commitment is from NBC I totally believe that very soon we'll be competing in the ratings. Very highly, maybe in the top 5 or 6 or 7. I truly believe that this show has a different edge from the other shows. And we're seeing it every day, in the special effects, in the story lines etc. You're going to see us compete very, very soon. I would like to say we're proud to be on the NBC line up with Days of Our Lives and Sunset Beach. We're very glad to be there, they're great shows and we're happy we have something unique to offer. Michael: And we're very glad to have you here.

Jan1859: Michael, I recently met you at a NY event, you mentioned that you had requested that they don't feed you so much on the show... have they obliged?-Patricia, PA

Michael: Actually YEAH!
For the first year every scene I had, I had a donut in my mouth, or a bagel, or a sandwich. And yeah, they've started to get away from that a little bit.

Victor & James: ROFL!!

Michael: Yeah, I was getting fat, so they had to start bringing me slim-fast or something.
Patricia, thanks for coming to the event, it was a lot of fun!

Y2Kbaby16: Victor: Were you a fan of Days before you joined the cast?

Victor: Oh yeah! I was there too, it was a lot of fun! You know, I didn't get the opportunity to watch it much before I joined. But Santa Barbara was my favorite show for a long time and then Days of Our Lives took it over.

Moe: James, do you think it would have been easier to take over another character or start a new soap?

James: Easier, wow......I'll explain it to you this way. I think it's better for me now as a person to do a new show. On Another World I was a write in, brand new, and on As The World Turns too. I think sometimes it would be difficult to take over a role, because so many fans like how someone else was doing the character, and then they have to adjust to how I'm doing it. I think it might be a little harder to come in as a character than to start a new show.

Victor: I wouldn't know, I just know that I kind of took over a role in a way, but I went through soap opera puberty, which is aging extremely quickly
so I had the opportunity to take over a role, but it was many years ago. Michael is getting off the freeway now, so he isn't commenting because he doesn't want to crash.

albatross: Michael, did you have to be certified to learn to play a lifeguard on TV?

Michael: No, I didn't actually, and it's a good thing because I didn't have to save anybody yet! But they did make sure that I knew how to swim, that was the one thing.

Moe: Victor, what is it like to start the show.. I know you just came on. Was it hard to take over that part?

Victor: I don't think it was that difficult to take over that part, it was a difficult job coming into the show in any part. All of us work a lot of time, many hours and many days, lots of time both on and off the set. Working with the people that we do, it's not a job that we dislike. It's a job that we have a lot of fun with, because of everybody who is acting on the show, and everybody who helps put the show together. I'm very thankful to have been given this opportunity, and I'm going to give it 100 percent, to the fans and to the show and to myself, to make it a very interesting character.

dsmith05897: james when will you have some shirtless scenes

James: I really don't know. I had almost a shirtless event a few episodes ago, but I really don't know. They have me written as the dad with a couple of kids, I don't know how they are going to take that. They are going to savor that moment.

Justin7512: Michael- Who do you think will be the best players on your team?

Victor: You know it's hard to say. I haven't seen any of the people on our show play, but I think everybody is going to take a whack at it, and I know we have a lot of athletic players on our show. I don't know who will be the best, but that's one of the reasons that I'm going to be out there, to see who's going to hit the home runs.

James: For our team, when we play whoever wins, we're going to have a great team. We have a lot of solid players, guys and girls. And we love to do this, it's going to be a lot of fun.

Sara: Victor-I meant do you play softball often?

Victor: No, I don't. Softball is not my forte, but I'm going to give it my best shot, and I'm an athletic person. I play many other sports, I can throw, I can catch and I can hit. We'll see if I can weave all those talents together in the game of softball, and see what I can do.

James: Hopefully, you'll do better than in volleyball, Victor. They played in a volleyball tournament together this weekend) How did I look from the sidelines James?

James: I guess we looked at each other!

kchamp: James what do you think about he witch and the good vs evil plot on passions?

James: Well, I think this was a well thought-out storyline. And for me, I love it. I think our story has a different edge than any other show right now, and I think that storyline adds a lot right now. As long as Tabitha doesn't do anything to Sam Bennet, we'll be OK.

qtap2t: Michael, is Sean really funny in real life, is he nice? I can already tell you are!

Michael: Randy is probably one of the coolest people I've ever met. If there's anybody I feel I would physically protect, it's probably Randy. He's been nothing but a great friend to me since my first day on the show. ®I am referring to Randy Spelling).

kchamp: says: Victor has it been an easy transition from modeling to acting?

Victor: No, it's been a much wanted and anticipated transition, but it's a completely different ball game. It's something that requires a lot more work, a lot more preparation, a lot more talent all of which I'm continuing to improve on every single day. But it hasn't been very difficult in the respect that I've been accepted by all of the very wonderful people on the show.

James: I saw Victor doing some work this past week, and he's doing a GREAT job.

Victor: See? It is like a family.

Michael: We have the closed circuit televisions throughout NBC, and we can watch each other working. And it's a cool insight into what each of us are doing.

Moe: James, what is it like to work along with such a large amount of young actors/actresses?

James: Wow, I think it's really refreshing. A lot of great energy that they bring to the show. They are like a sponge, they are just there and they want to learn. And it's a pleasure for me to work with these kids. I learn from them and hopefully they learn from me, so it's a good tradeoff.

Dauby333215: Michael, have you done any other work for Aaron Spelling?

Michael: Actually, I haven't. Most of my other work I did in sitcoms, I did some nighttime serials, but I've never been on a Spelling show before. But I'm pretty psyched to be on this one. What Mr. Spelling says goes, he's the boss! He's a cool guy, really gentle.

Y2Kbaby16: for Victor Webster: Who is one of the people of Days that you most enjoy working with?

Victor: There's nobody on the show that I haven't enjoyed working with. I haven't had an opportunity to really work with a lot of the characters yet, and that's one of the exciting things that I look forward to doing in the future is working with all of the cast in one way or another. But so far everybody that I've worked with has a very unique character and style to them. And I think that the three main people that I've worked with, Stefano, Vivian, and Kate, are all very fun, professional, talented, and especially most of all, have a great sense of humor, all of them.

LiaDeli: James, I think the Timmy character is so adorable. Do you guys have fun with him on the set?

James: Josh Bevins is such a great experience to be around him. He's a very intelligent young man and a very good actor. You might have seen him on Ally McBeal ®he played the young lawyer on Ally McBeal and he's Josh Evans) He's young and he's really going to go places, he's only 17 years old.

SDbear: Michael, What do you do like to do when you are not working?

Michael: I play a lot of volleyball. I am a pretty avid acting class, I really believe in it, and go every week, and practice three times or so a week with other peers in my class and that takes up a lot of my time. With a guy called Stuart Rogers, who has taught me a lot. And, I bought an old house and have been fixing it up for the last three years, so between all that, my schedule is pretty beat up.

kchamp: Victor I like your website, I know your very busy but do you ever have time to surf the web?

Victor: Occasionally, I'm not as computer savvy as I would like to be, but I'm getting better, there's a wealth of information out there.

Michael: Do you guys ever get to go into chat rooms and talk to fans anonymously? James: I went in the first week, and spoke to a few people,

Michael: Did you tell them it was you?

James: No, I didn't say much, I was seeing what they were saying.

Victor: I want to do that, absolutely. It would be interesting to find out the real feelings of people, because if you ask them anonymously, they will tell you the truth. My website is http://www.victorwebster.com

James: http://www.jameshydeonline.com will be up soon.

Michael: I have somebody working on it, but it will be up soon.

Well guys! This has been fabulous! Too bad our time is almost up! Any final comments to the audience before we close?

James: I just want to say, we're coming out there, we want to see some good softball We're not taking this likely, and we're gonna beat you all, whoever it is. Victor, I hear you laughing, I'll see you guys on Saturday, we're going to challenge you guys, and may the best show win.

Victor: I think Michael and I are shaking in our boots right now, James.

James: You better be.

Victor: With that challenge issued, I'm stretching, I'm doing my pushups, I'm doing my stretches, you're going to see Rocky Balboa back there
If I can't hit it I'll kick it!

Michael: The gloves are off!
No more time to mess around!
I'll meet you at the park on Saturday!

James: I just want to say that I hope we get a great turnout, it's for a great cause, please come out and participate!

Victor: This weekend is going to be an exceptional opportunity for everyone who is an NBC Daytime fan for the simple reason that there are going to be more soap actors and actresses than you can shake a stick at. Running around, talking to people, having a great time. Not to mention Children of the Night really need everyone's help. It's not a situation for them to take lightly, we are doing all we can to help them out. And we are asking you to come out and join us and help them, we'll see you all on Saturday. Bring your cameras and your pens and papers for your autographs.

Michael: I just want to say I really, really, hope to see as many people out there on Saturday as possible. These are a lot of really good natured people out there having a good time. There might be a little sass talk out there! There are a lot of soap actors and actresses I want a picture of. And autographs too! We all thank you for being with us tonight, and now the folks from Talk City are going to tell you where our softball game is this Saturday in Burbank California. See you there!

Thank you so much for joining us tonight! Remember: the "Days of Our Lives" vs. will take place on Saturday, July 31st, 12:00 noon at 1625 Valley Park in Burbank, CA. on a private field. A raffle will also be held and you can take polaroid pictures with your favorite stars from the NBC Daytime Dramas "Days of Our Lives," "Sunset Beach," and "Passions!" See you there !! A very special thanks to all who participated today. If you want to access a transcript for this event, it will be online soon at http://www.nbc.com/live/transcripts/.
Do you have comments or questions about this
chat or anything you've seen on the NBC television network or www.nbc.com? e-mail us: NBClive@nbc.com

For more information check out http://nbc.talkcity.com

All of us at NBC.com and Talk City wish you a fantastic evening, and we look forward to seeing you soon!

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