the buzz log

The past weekend was full of inspiration and controversy. A famous actress shared her feelings on her battle with cancer, while President Obama gave a commencement address to a less-than-adoring crowd. Also buzzing: horse racing's newest superstar and Michael Phelps' losing (gasp!) effort. Check out all those stories and more with the Buzz Weekend Recap.

Farrah shares her story
For years, Farrah Fawcett was one of the world's biggest stars. Now, she's fighting for her life. The one-time star of "Charlie's Angels" was the subject of a hugely popular television special on Friday night. Titled "Farrah's Story," the documentary was seen by nearly 9 million viewers. According to USA Today, "the film was NBC's most-watched program in its Friday night time slot in more than a year, excluding the Olympics." Of course, when the subject is as dire as terminal cancer, it seems silly to focus on ratings. Not surprisingly, searchers didn't. Instead, we saw huge upticks in "cancer symptoms" and "anal cancer diagnosis." Predictably, bloggers weighed in with their thoughts — was the special inspiring or exploitive? Was it even legal?

Obama's visit to Notre Dame
Barack Obama may be the first rock-star president, but not everybody agrees with all his policies and beliefs. This weekend, after cheering his daughters on in two intense soccer matches, the president gave a highly anticipated commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame. Why the controversy? Many in the Notre Dame community felt it inappropriate for a president who supports abortion rights to make a speech at a Catholic institution. Protesters made their displeasure known, with rallies and "anti-abortion" speeches throughout the weekend. Of all the protesters, Norma McCorvey seemed to generate the most buzz. McCorvey was plaintiff "Jane Roe" in the famous Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision. Searches on "obama notre dame speech" and "obama speech transcript" both soared, as did interest in stem cell research.

Runs like a girl
At the annual Preakness Stakes horse race, all eyes were on wünder-filly Rachel Alexandra. The 3-year-old star was the odds-on favorite to take home the title, and she did not disappoint her supporters. Though no female horse had won the Preakness in more than 80 years, and no horse (period) had ever won from the outside position, Rachel didn't pay any attention to the doubters. She blasted out of the gate and held on down the stretch to beat Kentucky Derby champ Mine That Bird. Over the weekend, lookups for Ms. Alexandra galloped into the winner's circle, with queries for "rachel alexandra pictures" and "rachel alexandra jockey" also finishing several lengths ahead of the pack.

Also buzzing this weekend...
• A newly goateed Michael Phelps lost his first race following his suspension. He then lost again on Sunday.
• Michelle Obama gave a commencement speech of her own at the University of California, Merced.
• The L.A. Lakers defused the Houston Rockets and the Celtics fell to the Orlando Magic in the NBA playoffs.