Tuesday Briefs: John Barrowman has garage sale; Fantasia update; US Open women’s seedings!

HOW MUCH? One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. At least I’m sure that’s how a lot of shoppers felt while browsing at John Barrowman’s recent garage sale in Wales.

The Torchwood stud said he wanted to “clear out a load of old junk” but that he is not moving from his five-bed home in the seaside village of Sully, in the Vale of Glamorgan even though Torchwood will be filming its next season in Los Angeles.

“I’m not moving, I love Wales too much,” John told WalesOnline.

Flyers advertising the sale offered “great deals” on furniture, collectibles and ornaments. “Everything must go – spread the word,” urged the flyer, decorated with Welsh flags as well as the Stars and Stripes.

Barrowman – wearing rimless specs, red checked trousers and a tight blue T-shirt – said: “I’m having a garage sale like any other citizen of South Wales! I’m just a regular citizen holding a normal garage sale to clear out a load of old junk and raise money for charity.”

Tables were piled high with kitchen equipment from expensive Denby dining sets to silver table-top candelabras. Hordes of locals squeezed round several clothes racks crammed full of the star’s old clothes.

Oh, what I would pay for just one used John Barrowman T-shirt!

TURNING PAIN INTO GAIN: I’m glad Fantasia Barrino didn’t succeed in killing herself a few weeks ago but I have to wonder: what the hell is she doing on television talking about it already?

Oh yeah, I know why: Her new album Back to Me is out today!

Fantasia appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America this morning and tearfully explained that it was much more than claims that she broke up a relationship by having an affair with a married man that drove her to attempt suicide.

“I think everybody feels like I tried to harm myself over a man, but you know I’ve been in a lot of bad relationships,” she said. “I think that had somewhat to do with it because it was so heavy, it was brand new information, I was already going through so much. But I think it was just six years of everything, of me holding all that stuff on the inside and not letting it out…I got very, very tired.”

“I was tired of people doing me wrong, constantly, over and over again, dealing with my family, my father, dealing with men and their [expletive],” she continued. “My head was hurting me. I was over it.”

She took an overdose of aspirin and sleeping aids on August 9. She was found in her closet by agent Brian Dickens. Fantasia told GMA’s Robin Roberts that when she found herself in hospital, she knew she couldn’t keep her problems a secret any more.

She said: ‘When I woke up, I figured out, “Oh God, this is going to be more drama. I know all these nurses they know me, they probably voted for me.”‘

All i can say is this: Get this woman off of the GMA couch and onto the couch of a good shrink!

SERENA’S SHADOWS: Since Serena Williams will not be competing in next week’s US Open, word, number two Caroline Wozniacki (pictured, left) will be the top seed of the women’s field. She has the distinction of being the first number one seed in the history of the tournament to have never won a grand slam tournament.

But there are a trio of former number ones and past US Open champions in the field: Defending champion Kim Clijsters is seeded second (she also won in 2005) while 2000 and 2001 champion Venus Williams is seeded third. Maria Sharapova, the 2006 US Open champion, is coming back from injury and is seeded 14th.

Also in the field is 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova who is seeded 11th and been playing well in recent weeks after a mostly disastrous season.

Seeded fourth is the 2008 runner-up Jelena Jankovic who was briefly-ranked number one a few years back and wilted under the pressure. Rounding out the top five an Australian player Samantha Stosur who was the runner-up at this year’s French Open.

It’s hard to predict a winner. No one has the killer instinct that Serena has in grand slam tournaments so there’s a lot of choking that goes on in the women’s game. I’d love to see Venus step up and win and she certainly has the ability. You just never know when the wheels are going to come off her game.

I’m going to predict Clijsters as the winner with Sharapova my second pick. But, I’m rooting for Venus.