QUICK TAKES

'Light' dims

"Guiding Light" -- TV's longest-running soap opera -- has shot its final scenes. The serial, which has a 72-year run that predates television, will air its final episode on Sept. 18. After shooting the finale, the cast and crew gathered at Peapack Reformed Church in Peapack-Gladstone, N.J., for a service to remember the show. The church has served as a site for weddings and funerals in the show's fictional town of Springfield.

Diamond shines

Neil Diamond is getting some exposure with a concert DVD, "Hot August Night/NYC," to be distributed in Wal-Mart stores and an hourlong TV special airing on CBS. The DVD and show are due on Friday. "Basically I feel like an expectant father and I'm just nervously sitting around the waiting room hoping that the baby is healthy and happy," the 68-year-old entertainer said in an interview. Diamond says he's wanted to make a concert film for years. His DVD was filmed during a performance at Madison Square Garden last year and features songs such as "Sweet Caroline" and "Love on the Rocks."

Performers announced

The NFL season kicks off Sept. 10 with the Pittsburgh Steelers at home taking on the Tennessee Titans. Tim McGraw and the Black Eyed Peas will be performing before the long-awaited game. The free concert is open to the public at Point State Park. EA Sports sponsors the event.

Young honored

MusiCares has named its 2010 person of the year, and the winner is Neil Young. Neil Portnow, president of the MusiCares Foundation and The Recording Academy, said Young was honored for his "standard of artistic integrity and iconoclastic creativity for more than four decades." The event, which will consist of a dinner and concert in Los Angeles on Jan. 29, marks the charity's 20th person of the year tribute. Other winners have included Aretha Franklin and Neil Diamond.

Compiled from wire reports by Melissa Sullivan.