Well this sure is different? When did this happen?  How pissed am I that my layout is gone?  Pretty pissed.  Now I gotta use this boring crap.

I've already gotten a freakin paper assignment.  Not happy about that at all.  Some stupid paper for sociology.  Blah

Sarah Michelle Gellar is freakin hot, man!

Here's Mike, Rick, Brad and Jay chillin' like villains last night.  We had fun.  I think I drank too much.  Sucks cuz I have so much shit to do today.

Drink, Drink, Drink!  Paul, Matt and Craig.

Gonna play some basketball and do some studying.

Why hello there!

Here's my buddy Craig who is awesome.

Now what goes up, must come down (shiiett)
But we ain't coming down, it be them same ole' clowns
Aiming your pound pretending they proud
But when you leave town they go around they running they mouth (maaann)
They something like a hater man
Talking bad about a playa as if I'm not gon see ya later man
You constantly frontin until you confronted on
If you don't like whats going on gwoin to another song
Cause I keep a hater guilty
My cars and my money all alike man, both them filthy (get it?)
From skimpy and empty to fuel on full
See I be high when my car go Bulls
Obey no rules to school you fools
Schoolboy's err'y where, we're Young Dude news (maann)
St. Louis like Louis D. Miles and Larry Hughes
And the Young Dude done paid young dudes' dues dude

[JD:] But yo, what da hook gon' be (Uh oh!)
[ML:] See I don't need no fucking hook on this beat (Shiieet)
All I need, is the track in the background
My headphones loud, keep the blunt goin 'round and I'ma rip

Time for the NBA...I miss it.

Man, this is whack...I'm going to bed.

Cole getting his skate on

Dion Sanders is back in football again!  This guy is so awesome.  He's flashy, and he definitely gets props for that.

There's a certain mistique when I speak
That you notice that it's sorta unique
Cause you know it's me, my poetry's deep
And I'm still matic the way I flow to this beat
You can't sit still
Its like tryin to smoke crack and go to sleep
I'm strap, just knowin any minute I could snap
I'm the equivalent of what would happen if Bush rapped
I bully these rappers so bad lyrically
It ain't even funny, I aint even hungry
It ain't even money, you cant pay me enough
For you to play me
It's cock-amamie, you just aint zanie enough to rock with Shady
my noodle is cock-adoodle, my clocks koo-koo
I got screws loose, yeahhh, the whole kitten-kaboodel
I'm just brutal, its no rumor, i'm numero uno
Assume it
There's no humor in it, no more you know
I'm rollin with a bowlin ball in my bag
You need a fag to come and tear a new hole in my ass
You better love me, bitch

For mid-October, it's pretty damn nice out I think.  Done with classes for the day, which kicks ass big time.  Going over to the field to play some lacrosse with the boys.  Should take a couple hours.

I like to slip into something good
I see a young girl in the neighborhood
The way she move, I must confess
I like to run my hands up and down her legs
The way she dress, she look so fine
I'll make her wet, I'll make her mine

I love the ladies :)

Just saw Lindsay Lohan's "Rumors" video.  The song's got a good beat, but I think the music is covering up a lack of talent.  Her voice isn't that great.  It could be a lot stronger.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd give the video a 5.

Heading over to Tecalitlan with Ryan, Erin and Heather for some dinner.  Then we might hit up the movie theater.

For the longest while we jamming in the party
And you're wining on me
Pushing everything
Right back on top of me
But if you think you're gonna get away from me
You better change your mind
You're going home
You're going home with me tonight

Got a sociology test Monday that's gonna suck the big one.  I sure do hate tests!   Gonna get together with some guys in my place today and Sunday.

I can't believe I'm gonna see New Found Glory in concert tomorrow at UIC!!  Thank you Brian, John and Pat for hooking me up!  We're gonna have a blast!  I know it's gonna be a sweet show...New Found Glory, Green Day and Sugarcult!

Wow, the Utah Jazz have scored at least 100 points four games in a row now.  That's pretty impressive.  I guess I don't have to say that they're undefeated.

Nothing beats a good dunk.  Best part of basketball, hands down.

I think I'm gonna round a couple guys up and shoot some hoops.  Going to the men's basketball game tonight at 6 with Travis, Dan and Tom.  Then we'll probably hang out at Sigma Phi.

Getting drinks:

That is so tight

Really don't feel like going to my gender class, but I guess I must.  Damn. :(

Derek and Ryan mooning out the window of the RV over the summer after they lost in poker.  Hey, that's what happens to losers. :)

Playboy Enterprises' plan to introduce adult entertainment for mobile phones next year may leave some people wondering.

Under an agreement with Seattle-based  Dwango Wireless, Playboy plans to sell adult mobile-phone content in the United States and Canada for the first time early next year.

Going over to the library to work on my sociology paper.  It's due at 4, and I'm only half-way done with it if that.

Look at our car

Thongs are great.  So are girls.

Bears lost 22-3. :(

Carmelo Anthony is getting married?

Oh yeah, I bought em

That basket, along with an earlier field goal, was all Bellows Free Academy-Fairfax needed to beat Milton on Wednesday night. The final score: 5-2.

To the teams' credit, the score was the result of an apparently deliberate stalling strategy.

It could not immediately be determined if the score was a state or national record low, but the contest certainly attracted attention.

"We've been talking about it all morning over here," said Bob Johnson, the director of student activities for the Vermont Principals' Association, which governs high school sports.

"It had to have been one of the most boring games in the world," he said.

The scoring was kept way down on purpose, a strategy made possible by the fact that Vermont high schools don't use a shot clock. No player went to the free-throw line as Milton committed five fouls and BFA had one.

BFA took a 5-0 lead and neither team scored in the second half.

"It was the ultimate deliberate stalemate," Milton coach Jim Smith said. "They didn't come out after us and we didn't go in against them."

Smith said the slowdown was implemented because BFA (7-4) has a strong scoring presence, while Milton (2-8) does not. The Milton players believed their best chance to be competitive was to just hold onto the ball.

The strategy almost worked.

"We had a shot go off the rim that would have tied it," Smith said. "We were one possession away to tie the game. We have not been in that position for quite some time."

Alex Weber's basket gave BFA a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. Shadoe Adams' 3-pointer made it 5-0 at the start of the second quarter. Brian Phelps scored later in the period and Milton trailed 5-2 at halftime.

"I've never had a player hit a game-winner in the second quarter before," BFA-Fairfax coach Glen Button Jr. said.

I was watching the Pacers/Heat game on tv last night.  The Pacers beat the Heat in overtime 106-100.  That really surprised me.  I thought Shaq was gonna kick those Indiana asses.  I sure wanted the Heat to win!  Woulda been better for the Bulls, and Shaq just dominates.

So today's plans include heading over to the gym and playing some b-ball with Travis, Dan, Randy, Mark and Jordan.  Me, Travis and Dan against Randy, Mark and Jordan.  My team is definitely gonna win!  I should be on the basketball team here.  I would definitely be a good addition to the team.

This is friggin hilarious since I've lived in Illinois my entire life!

I scored 57% on the "How Southern are you?" Quizie! What about you?">

Since when has Louisville been the better basketball team than Cincinatti?  Like what the hell?  I couldn't believe when I heard that Louisville beat them.

Cincinnati lost to Charlotte?  That is rediculous!

My car is better than your car...1998 Dodge Durango.  Boo yeah.

Killing time, nothing better to do but Mindsay it. 

School's being a bitch...I'm ready to graduate...I can't last a couple more months.  I've got Senioritis real bad.  I don't want to do any work.

Chilling with Evan later today:

I love this time of the year...March Madness...college basketball playoffs.  There were some great games on tv, and I enjoyed watching every minute of them.

Something completely out of the ordinary happened last night.  I met this gorgeous girl, had a great time with her, didn't sleep with her, and can't wait to see her again.  This is so unlike anything else I've experienced.  Normally I meet a girl, fuck her, and forget about it.  But this girl has been on my mind all night and all of today.  And I didn't even sleep with her.  Damn.

Here she is.  Her name is Amy.

LONDON (Reuters) - A 66-year-old British grandmother with a taste for marijuana casserole was spared jail Friday despite admitting she had shared cannabis-laced cookies with fellow pensioners.

Patricia Tabram from East Lea in the northern tip of England, who said she uses cannabis to alleviate pains in her neck and back, pleaded guilty to possession of the drug with intent to supply.

But Judge David Hodson said he would not make a "martyr" of her when she returned to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing. Instead, she received a six-month suspended prison sentence.

The white-haired, bespectacled granny was unrepentant, and said she would keep cooking with pot.

"I had it this morning in my scrambled eggs and I'll have it again for lunch. I'm not giving it up," she told Channel 4 news.

Tabram has become a symbol for Britain's legalize marijuana campaign. On her Web Site, www.grandma-eats-cannabis.com, she promises soon to provide free recipes, as well as tea towels and mugs for sale.

Last year, Britain downgraded cannabis from the same class as cocaine and ecstasy to a lower class of illegal drug, which means police are not expected to arrest people for possessing small amounts but can jail them for supplying it to others.

Police said they raided Tabram's home after a tip-off in May last year and found 31 cannabis plants along with hydroponic cultivation equipment. In a later raid they found 47 bags of "skunk," a particularly strong form of the drug.

The set-up at Tabram's home "bore all the hallmarks of any sophisticated drug dealer," police said in a statement.

Check this, this picture makes Jimmy look like a badass.

Bulls game tonight!  Game two of the series!  They beat the Wizards 103-94 the other night.  If they win tonight it's their 100th home playoff victory.  Hell yeah.  So you know what I'll be doing tonight...watching the game!

Hinrich was awesome last night, and lead the Bulls with 34 points.  Alright white boy!  Bulls ended up winning by 10, which made me happy.  Now they lead the series 2-0.  Well on our way to the next round.

There are four minutes left in the Bulls/Wizards game.  The Bulls are up, but just barely.  If they don't win, I am going to be so pissed off!  The season would be over, and there would be no more Bulls basketball.

We need this win.

Can't believe the Pacers lost so bad last night.  They got their tales kicked in by Detroit.  Thursday could be Reggie Miller's last game ever.  That's depressing, man.  I hope he changes his mind and decides to come back for another season.  He's still the man.  He's got serious game.

Mike's basketball game

Kent is one badass motha fucka on a surf board.  You gotta see this kid.

Other professional sports don't usually go through similar droughts. The NHL Stanley Cup finals went the distance in 2004, when Tampa Bay defeated Calgary. In 2003, it was the same story, as the Devils drank from the Cup after defeating the Mighty Ducks in seven.

Major League Baseball played a seven-game World Series in 2002, when the Angels defeated the Giants. The year before that Mariano Rivera couldn't protect a ninth-inning lead in Game 7 and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Yankees. Also in 2001, the Avalanche outlasted the Devils in yet another Stanley Cup finals that went the distance. I could go on (like the 1997 World Series), but you get the idea.

Still, there have been 15 NBA Finals that have gone the full seven games. The following comprise the best Game 7s in NBA finals history.

But don't look for any Michael Jordan memories here. Jordan was so good that he won six NBA championships without ever being extended to a seventh game.

1. April 13,1957 — Boston defeated St. Louis 125-123 (Two OTs)

This was probably the greatest seven-game series in NBA history. It was certainly the best NBA Finals. The 1981 Eastern Conference finals between Philadelphia and Boston stake a claim for the greatest playoff series of all time, as does the 2002 Western Conference finals between Los Angeles and Sacramento. The 1957 finals featured two games that went to double-overtime (including Game 7). In the seventh game, there were 38 lead changes and 28 ties. The Hawks' Bob Pettit was a stud, scoring 39 points and pulling down 19 rebounds. Tom Heinsohn scored 37 points for the Celtics. In the second overtime, Boston's Frank Ramsey's hot hand led the Celtics to their first (of many) NBA championships.

2. May 5, 1969 — Boston defeated Los Angeles 108-106

Although the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the NBA Finals in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1968, the 1969 series was destined to go Lakers' way. For the first time, the deciding seventh game would be played in L.A. Jerry West did his part, scoring 42 points (the record for scoring in a Game 7). The Celtics won their 11th championship in 13 seasons, however, in Bill Russell's final game. In a bizarre coaching decision, the Lakers' coach Butch van Breda Kolff kept his superstar center, Wilt Chamberlain, on the bench for the final four minutes of the contest. After the game, van Breda Kolff said, "We were playing well without him."

3. May 8, 1970 — New York defeated Los Angeles 113-99

This was the game in which an injured Willis Reed hit a couple of shots early to inspire his team. When Reed limped out before the game to warm up, the Madison Square Garden crowd erupted in what has become one of the most famous moments in NBA history. Walt Frazier scored 36 points and dished out 19 assists. Chamberlain scored 21 points and pulled down 24 rebounds, but it wasn't nearly enough. The Lakers were never in this game, and lost in the finals for the seventh time in nine years.

4. June 21, 1988 — Los Angeles defeated Detroit 108-105

James Worthy led the Lakers to a 108-105 victory over Detroit in the seventh game, as Los Angeles became the first team to repeat as champs since Boston in 1969. This game was a bitter pill to swallow for Pistons guard Isiah Thomas, who used the defeat to spur back-to-back championship runs for Detroit the next two seasons. The Pistons led 3-2 after five games, but the Lakers won the final two contests in L.A. Thomas, on a severely sprained ankle, scored 25 points in the third quarter of Game 6. That remains the finals record for points in a quarter.

5. May 12, 1974 — Boston defeated Milwaukee 102-87

I remember reading Kareem Abdul Jabbar's 1983 book Giant Steps. He said in the book that the officiating in the 1974 finals was very poor, because ref Richie Powers allowed the Celtics' Dave Cowens to dive on Kareem's back for rebounds and defensive pressure. The box scores show Richie Powers was the referee in the first, third, fifth, and seventh games. Boston won all four of those games. Milwaukee won the three games when Powers didn't suit up.

Here's what happened. In Game 6, the Bucks evened the series with a 102-101 double-overtime victory where Abdul Jabbar dominated Cowens and won the game with a sky-hook. Celtics coach Tom Heinsohn needed to change his strategy for Game 7. When I interviewed Heinsohn a few years ago about the game, he told me this: "We played Abdul Jabbar man-up the first six games. Our strategy was to cut down his angles. They won Game 6 on a Friday night and the final game was on Sunday. I decided we would double the big fellow. We used Paul Silas. Cornell Warner was the player we doubled off of. And it worked. We got up by 17, and it was never really a game. It really was against my belief to double-team, though." Cowens — with help from Silas — shut down Kareem, holding him without a field goal attempt during one 18-minute stretch.

6. April 18, 1962 — Boston defeated Los Angeles 110-107 (OT)

This seventh game went to overtime. Boston led most of the way, but with 1:14 left, the Lakers cut the lead to four points. Frank Selvy made two hoops to tie the game. Selvy actually missed a potential game (and series) winner with three seconds left in regulation. Elgin Baylor scored 41 points but missed six free throws in the game. Following the bitter defeat, Baylor had to report to his army duties at Fort Lewis, Washington.

7. April 10, 1955 — Syracuse defeated Ft. Wayne 92-91

After a fight in the sixth game between Syracuse's Wally Osterkorn and Fort Wayne's Don Meineke that brought fans onto the court (police had to quell the disturbance), both players were in the starting lineup for Game 7. Dolph Schayes hit a free throw with 1:20 remaining to give Syracuse a 91-90 lead. George Yardley tied the game with a free throw. George King then made a free throw with 12 seconds left and stole the ball to clinch the Syracuse championship.

8. June 22, 1994 — Houston defeated New York 90-84

Everyone remembers John Starks missing all 10 of his 3-point field goal attempts, and missing 16 of his 18 shots. But Knicks superstar Patrick Ewing missed 10 of his 17 shots, and scored just 17 points. Hakeem Olajuwon finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

9. April 21, 1951 Rochester defeated New York 79-75

Bob Davies hit two free throws in the final minute to give the Rochester Royals the NBA title over the Knicks, 79-75. The Knicks fell behind in the series 3-0, but won the next three games to force a deciding seventh game. Rochester took a big lead early, but the Knicks closed the game, led by Connie Simmons. Red Holzman (who would have a large part in Knicks titles two decades later) hit a long set shot before the half for the Royals. Why this game is important: Royals coach Les Harrison influenced Holzman, who influenced Phil Jackson.

10. June 12, 1984 Boston defeated Los Angeles 111-102

The Celtics had never lost to the Lakers, though Pat Riley's team was confident going into the Finals. But Magic Johnson threw away a crucial pass in the final seconds of Game 4 with the game tied. In Game 7, at Boston Garden, Johnson shot poorly (5-14), and turned the ball over seven times. The story following the game was that Magic disappeared into the shower for so long, that people became concerned for him. The Lakers would go on and win three of the next four championships.

Just changed my layout.  Now it's awesome.  Tell me what you think.

Hung out with Amy yesterday and showed her some of my moves on the skateboard.  Did some sweetass moves.  I think she was impressed.

My dad's been on my ass about getting a job.  I finally got one yesterday at the Cactus Bar & Grill.  Now my parents will stop bitching about me being a lazyass and throwing my life away.  I start today.  I'll be working during the day for awhile at least while I "train" but I think it would be way cooler to work at night. :)

The contagious smile, penetrating stare, and determined look on his boyish 16-year-old face resemble the features of his world-famous father, Michael, and offer proof that young Jeffrey is the true heir to the Air Jordan legacy.

If there was any doubt about the lineage, he wears it proudly on the front of his T-shirt: J-O-R-D-A-N.

But Jordan has come to Indianapolis to prove one thing - that he, too, can play basketball.

"I want to show that I belong here," he said. "I guess I'm not the top one or two or three or four players in my state, but I want to show that I can play here and that I'm not just a name."

For Jordan, a student at Loyola Academy College Prep near Chicago, that will be a challenge. His father is considered by many to be the greatest player in NBA history after leading the Chicago Bulls to six titles, and filling the highlight reels with breathtaking dunks. It was also Michael Jordan who turned Nike from a budding shoe company into a worldwide giant.

Following in those footsteps could intimidate most kids. Not Jeffrey.

"To me, he's just my dad," Jordan said.

Jordan realizes he's different. He stands just 6 feet (1.83 meters) - six inches (15 centimeters) shorter than his dad - weighs 170 pounds (76 kilograms), and still remembers the times he attended Bulls practices as a child and watched his father play with an unforgettable fierceness.

Already, Jordan is under scrutiny. As Michael Jordan's son, expectations are higher than normal, reporters are already asking about his vertical jump, and it's virtually impossible to hide even when he's playing with 120 other top junior players.

"That's the greatest basketball player's son," said Jai Lucas, Jordan's roommate this week.

Just two days into the weeklong camp, Jordan has already become the camp's darling.

Everywhere he goes, fans and reporters follow, hoping to get a sneak peek at the younger Jordan and gleam any clue they can about whether he can someday approach his father's greatness.

Being in the spotlight hardly fazes Jordan. Dealing with dozens of reporters, a rare occurrence for someone not ranked among the best of the 2007 class, he answered questions like a pro - laughing, smiling, joking and telling stories while deftly avoiding the temptation to give away any family secrets.

Yet Jordan, who has some leading universities showing interest in him, is intent on carving out his own niche.

His number, 32, is a reversal of his father's more familiar 23. He turned down an invitation to attend last year's Nike camp because he didn't think he was ready and, this year, Jordan hopes to use the camp as his coming out party. He glides smoothly without the ball, looking for a chance to put his father's advice about playing fundamentally sound to work. But he may never avoid the questions.

"The most common question? Well, that would be whether I was in 'Space Jam,"' he said, referring to the animated film starring his father and several Looney Tunes characters. "I wasn't. The next most common question from kids is whether I live in a big house. I tell them, 'Well, yeah,' and they're like 'Oh man, I wish I could be you."'

Jordan has no choice although there certainly are times he would rather just be one of the guys.

This camp at least gives him a chance. Lucas is the son of former NBA player and coach John Lucas. Jonnie West is the son of Hall of Famer Jerry West and sons of other former players, such as Patrick Ewing Jr., have preceded him at the Nike camp.

But wherever Jordan goes, he still has the target on his back.

"Everybody wants to dunk on him because he's his son," said Matthew Bryan-Amaning, a 6-foot-9 (2.06-meter) English player who grew up watching Jordan's father. "But you don't really think that way when you're playing. You just want to play your best basketball."

Jordan even acknowledges there have been times he's felt opponents have wanted to "take him out" so they could brag about it to their friends.

Off the court, though, Jordan tells of a family life that seems about as regular as most father-son relationships.

There are regular debates about the new minimum age limit for the NBA draft - Michael supports it; Jeffrey resents it. And then there are the one-on-one contests, which Jeffrey said have become less frequent as his father ages.

"Sometimes he let me beat him, other times he would just try to block my shots," he said. "I beat him once, but he's getting older now, so maybe I could beat him."

But Jordan insists it was always his decision to play basketball, though his father did shield him from playing on the national level at an early age.

These days, they chat about what works about his game, what doesn't work and what it will take for him to succeed at the next level.

But wherever Jeffrey Jordan ends up, he knows this: He will never escape his father's image.

"I'm as competitive as he is, I'm just quieter about it," he said. "But that's my dad and it's pretty easy talking about him."

By Marlen Garcia, Tribune staff reporter

Toni Kukoc is unlikely to return to the Milwaukee Bucks next season, his agent told the Racine Journal Times this week, leading to speculation Kukoc could rejoin the Bulls.

Kukoc's agent, Herb Rudoy, cited the Bucks' recent salary commitments--they will re-sign guard Michael Redd and have agreed to terms with Bobby Simmons on a five-year, $47 million contract--in anticipating the free agent's departure.

Attempts to reach the Chicago-based Rudoy and Bulls general manager John Paxson for comment were unsuccessful.

Kukoc, who will be 37 in September, continually surfaces in reports as a possibility for the Bulls in a one-year deal. He could give the Bulls a lift off the bench with his scoring and passing. He played in 53 games last season with the Bucks, struggling with a hip injury. He averaged 5.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists while playing 20.7 minutes.

One of the reasons Kukoc enjoyed his three seasons in Milwaukee was the proximity to his Highland Park home. That figures to be a plus for the Bulls if they pursue him.

The Bulls picked him in the second round of the 1990 draft and he played overseas before joining the team for 1993-94, Paxson's final season. He was traded to Philadelphia in 2000.

The Bulls remain committed to re-signing restricted free agents Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Chris Duhon and Jannero Pargo, and that process is promising to be lengthy. If those negotiations drag on, time will not be on their side in snagging Kukoc.

The period for signing free agents was to begin Friday, but it has been delayed because the league and the players have yet to finalize their new collective bargaining agreement.

I love this picture.  It's so cool.  Going out skateboarding now, and going to attempt to do some flips without killing myself too bad.  Then I gotta go to work, so I can't get too banged up.

I am all for hot girls humping each other in the water.

Bought these yesterday, wearing them today.

The Associated Press

DETROIT -- Eminem is undergoing treatment for dependency to sleep medication, his publicist said Thursday, two days after the Grammy-winning rapper canceled his European tour citing exhaustion.

In a brief statement, Dennis Dennehy said Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, "is in the hospital under doctors' care."

Eminem wrapped up his nationwide "Anger Management" tour last week, then on Tuesday canceled 10 European concerts that were to kick off Sept. 1 in Hamburg, Germany.

Interscope Records released a statement at the time saying Eminem was being treated for exhaustion, complicated by other medical issues.

Last month, the 32-year-old denied a report that he was planning to retire. But he did say he might be taking a breather after releasing four multi-platinum albums, including his latest, "Encore."

I love That 70's Show.

Kitty: Red's mother is coming.
Midge: What's that pet name she has for you?
Kitty: Whore.

FIRSTS ...

First Car: 98 Dodge Durango
First best friend: Ryan                                  
First kiss: 8th grade                                                      
First album: I got no idea
First pets: Our dog
First piercing/tattoo: Don't got any
First long trip: Florida's the furthest I've gone
First ticket violation: Speeding
First alcoholic drink: Beer
First job: Mowed lawns for a summer.  It sucked.
First Concert: RHCP
First date: Paula. She was so fuckin hot

CURRENTLY ...

Last (Current) Car: Still my 98 Durango
Last kiss: Last night
Last time u cried: Don't remember                                           
Last temptation: Who knows
Last item bought: Dinner last night
Last annoyance: These questions
Last food you ate: Frosted Flakes
Last alcoholic drink: Beer

Bears lost yesterday to the Redskins.  7-9.  Damn it!

Don't get a job at Wal-Mart.  They're not very nice.  They don't let you eat.

NEW YORK - Talk about keeping it real: Tyra Banks underwent a televised sonogram on her new talk show to prove that her breasts aren’t fake.

“I’m tired of this rumor. It’s something that’s followed me forever,” the supermodel said Tuesday on “The Tyra Banks Show.”

After Banks asked the men in the audience to leave, Dr. Garth Fisher from ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” performed a touch test and then the sonogram. He concluded: “Tyra Banks has natural breasts; there are no implants.”

“By no means am I saying a breast implant is a bad thing, but it’s not a choice that I made,” the 31-year-old model said. “But it’s something that a lot of the public ... think that I have, and that’s so frustrating for me.”

Banks, who models for Victoria’s Secret, also displayed how her push-up bra exaggerated her body. However, Banks said she’s not totally real.

“I got fake hair, y’all. I got fake eyelashes.”

The hour-long show was, as Banks declared, “all about breasts!” It also featured lessons on proper fitting and an appearance from a slimmed-down Anna Nicole Smith.

Aside from her syndicated daytime talk show (check local listings), Banks also hosts “America’s Next Model.” The fifth season of the UPN reality series was to premiere Wednesday (8 p.m. ET).

Saturdays kick ass with college football.

R&B crooner D'Angelo, who won over America with his '90s soul ballads only to fade after bouts with the law and drugs, was critically injured in a car wreck outside his hometown of Richmond.

D'Angelo, 31, born Michael Eugene Archer, was in a 2003 Hummer sport utility vehicle on Sept. 19 when it crossed the roadway and struck a fence, ejecting the singer, State Police Sgt. Kevin Barrick said Monday. Archer wasn't wearing a seat restraint, Barrick said.

Barrick said Archer was initially listed in critical condition, but that no further information is available.

Officials at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, where the Grammy-winning artist was flown after the wreck, said the family had asked that his condition not be released.

Another person, Lynne Sellers, also was injured in the wreck. Police couldn't say which of the two had been driving.

The accident occurred in Powhatan County, a bedroom community west of the city. Archer lives in Midlothian, just outside Richmond.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, Barrick said.

Known for hits such as "Brown Sugar" and a cover of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'," Archer rode a wave of popularity that culminated with a Grammy in 2001 for best male R&B vocal performance for "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" from the album "Voodoo," which won a Grammy for best R&B album.

In April, the singer was fined $250 and given a 90-day suspended jail term on a driving under the influence of alcohol conviction. His driver's license was suspended for one year.

On a marijuana charge, Archer was fined $50 and given a 10-day suspended jail term. His driver's license was suspended for an additional six months.

Earlier this month, he received a suspended prison sentence after being convicted of cocaine possession. Archer had faced three years in prison.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Collier experienced chest pains and his wife performed CPR and called 911.

Atlanta players were notified of Collier's death at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning before a scheduled workout was cancelled.

The 7-foot, 260-pound Collier, a five-year NBA player, spent his first three seasons with Houston before joining Atlanta in 2003.

Collier played for Georgia Tech and was drafted by Milwaukee in the first round, with the 15th pick overall, in the 2000 NBA draft.

Etheridge: I Used Medicinal Marijuana

The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Melissa Etheridge says she smoked medicinal marijuana to help with the side effects of chemotherapy during her treatment for breast cancer.

The 44-year-old singer, who was diagnosed over a year ago, is now cancer-free.

"Instead of taking five or six of the prescriptions, I decided to go a natural route and smoke marijuana," Etheridge says in an interview to air Sunday on "Dateline NBC" (7 p.m. EDT).

When asked how her doctors reacted, Etheridge says, "Every single one was, `Oh, yeah. That's the best help for the effects of chemotherapy.'"

The singer said she smoked marijuana every day for her pain and symptoms and "the minute I didn't feel it, I stopped."

The use of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation is legal in California and nine other states, but is against federal law. Asked if she was concerned about federal prosecution, Etheridge replied, "No, I didn't worry. But it was worth it."

She recently released a new greatest hits album, "The Road Less Traveled," including the new song "I Run for Life," which is dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.

Partying Chicago style

Allen was in custody Friday morning and was to appear for a bond hearing on the felony charge in the afternoon, said Officer Laura Kubiak.

Allen's attorney, Michael Zaslavsky, said Allen has been in jail since Wednesday, when he voluntarily went to a Chicago police station to meet with investigators.

He said Allen is not considered a suspect in the shooting.

One man was wounded Aug. 29 when gunfire erupted during a fight at the White Palace Grill about 3:30 a.m., police said. Marktwain Johnson, 29, was shot in the left arm and left side.

Allen, a Chicago native and former Big 12 player of the year, was a standout at Oklahoma State. He was drafted by the Celtics (25th overall) in 2004 and started 34 games as a rookie last season, averaging 6.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Allen, who had a small piece of cartilage removed from his right knee in September, has not played with the team this year, Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said.

OJ sIMpSOn
//YeAh...You DId It...JuSs LOok At YOU...

Take the quiz: "WHIch STUPID CelEberItY mUgSHot aRe YOu((PICTURES/BOYS ONLY)))"

It asked Serbia-Montenegro's foreign ministry "to determine Divac's citizenship and his home address" to be able to carry out the legal proceedings and hand him the draft notice.

Divac, who lives in Los Angeles, could face a one-year prison sentence in his native country if he does not join the army soon, legal experts said.

Divac ended his 16-year NBA playing career last month, taking a job with the Los Angeles Lakers as a liaison and scout in Europe.

Divac was one of the first Europeans to have a major impact in the NBA. He was first drafted by the Lakers in 1989, and later played for the Charlotte Hornets and the Sacramento Kings.

He joined centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in NBA history to get 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots.

Divac is hugely popular in Serbia for helping Yugoslavia to silver medals at the 1988 and 1996 Olympics, and leading the country now known as Serbia-Montenegro to a gold medal at the 2002 world championships.

At one point, there were widespread public calls for Divac to join a presidential race after former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was ousted in 2000.

So I looked on ESPN just now to see that the Heat is losing to the 76ers.  WTF????

Wait, wait, wait.  You mean to tell me that the Chicago Bears actually beat the Carolina Panthers!?!?!?!?!

Get out of town.

I know, I couldn't believe it myself, but they really did.

The Los Angeles Clippers are 8-2 and are off to the best start ever in the franchise's 36-year history.  Wow!

Got me a roommate.  It's my friend, so it's all good.  Not like I'm living with some psycho stranger.  No way in hell I'd be doing that shit.

So this is Corey, and he's living with me now.  Cuts rent down to half of what I used to pay, so now I can buy cool shit.  This is the best fuckin idea I've ever had.

Chris Duhon scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, Chicago's zone defense shut down San Antonio in the final minutes, and the Bulls broke a long winless streak against the Spurs with a 106-99 victory Friday night.

The Bulls had lost nine straight to the Spurs, including an overtime game in Chicago earlier this month, and had not won in San Antonio since 1998.

So take that, San Antonio!

The world's most eligible cosmetics-sporting, shock-rocking bachelor is off the market. Marilyn Manson wed longtime girlfriend, burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, Saturday (December 3) at Castle Gurteen in Ireland, a spokesperson for Manson confirmed.

The multi-day event — held at the Kilsheelan, County Tipperary, Ireland, home of the couple's friend, controversial Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein — included a non-denominational ceremony performed by Chilean underground film director (and Manson friend) Alejandro Jodorowsky, and the bride and groom exchanged personal vows. Manson and Jodorowsky, who directed "Santa Sangre," had been working together on a movie called "Abelcain," a project that has been suspended for the time being.

Manson, who's completing his sixth, as-yet-untitled studio LP, told MTV News back in late October that the wedding would be small, and that just a few invites went out to celebrity friends, "because it isn't about that. I wasn't looking to just have some sort of exploit out of it — I wanted it to be meaningful and something to remember," Manson said. "But the remembering part's going to be hard, because you're supposed to get drunk."

The days following the affair, he said, would include skeet shooting, archery and falconry.

Manson enlisted designer John Galliano to fashion his wedding day garb, a black silk taffeta tuxedo. The rocker topped off the ensemble with a Stephen Jones hat. Von Teese sported a royal purple silk taffeta gown designed by Vivienne Westwood.

"It will be a drama within a drama," he said. "Rather than just have a best man, I have a worst man too — I had two friends, and I had hard time deciding." He said that his friends were planning to hire "the great grandchildren of [Adolf Hitler's architect] Albert Speers to light the castle" and that there would be "children in makeup, dressed in these wonderful 19th century outfits, serving absinthe frappe."

The couple started dating nearly five years ago, and Manson proposed more than a year ago. The wedding is the first for both. But Manson did gripe about one aspect when it came to his imminent nuptials exchange.

"I got f---ed out of a bachelor party, because — quite honestly, I have to agree with her — Dita said, 'Why should you have a bachelor party? That's you're whole life,' " he explained. "'What are you going to do, get drunk and look at naked women?' And I guess that's what I do every day."

— Chris Harris

Heidi Fleiss wants to create a "Stud Farm."  The country's first legal brothel serving female customers. This pleasure palace will be shaped like a castle, with a marble-floored great room, a spa, a sex-toy shop and secluded bungalows where 20 Casanovas will spend quality time with the clientele (at $250 an hour).

Holy crap.

Volusia County School Board members agreed Tuesday to accept the sculpture, a donation from Carter's mother. It will be placed in front of a new gym at Mainland High School being built with a $2.5 million contribution from Carter.

Board member Judy Conte said accepting the statue sends the wrong message to students.

"There have been many students graduated from that school who have made wonderful contributions to their fellow man — in science, health, theater. Where are their statues?" Conte asked. "I think we're saying we value you if you can make a lot of money, and that troubles me."

Carter led the school to a state championship and was named Florida's Mr. Basketball in 1995. He now plays with the New Jersey Nets.

The sculpture will feature his image holding a basketball and two children at opposite ends of a granite footbridge. It will be inscribed with inspirational words about the importance of education in building a successful future.

Superintendent Margaret Smith said her predecessor, Bill Hall, and Michelle Carter-Scott agreed on the sculpture three years ago when the Mainland gym contribution was being discussed.

Carter will use the new gym beginning next summer for youth basketball camps he sponsors annually.

Going to the Sean Paul concert on Tuesday with Amy, Corey, and his girl Vanessa.  It's gonna be so sweet.

Jus gimme the ligh
And pass the dro
Bust another bottle of moe
Gal dem in a me sight
And I gots know
Which one is gonna catch my flow
Causle i'm in a the vibes
And I got my dough
Bust another botte of moe
Gurl dem lookin hype
And I gots to know

Wow, Carmello Anthony scored 42 points last night against the Charlotte Bobcats.  Impressive.

Oh yeah, last night's Sean Paul concert was pretty awesome.

Gonna see Bone Thugs N  Harmony on Sunday night.  Oh yeah.

It looks like the Colts' undefeated season is coming to an end.  The Chargers are winning 19-17 with under 2:30 minutes to play.

*Edit*  The Chargers scored again.  Unless Indianapolis can pull off a miracle in the next two minutes, their undefeated season is over.

OTTAWA - Group sex among consenting adults is neither prostitution nor a threat to society, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Wednesday as it lifted a ban on so-called “swingers” clubs.

In a ruling that radically changes the way courts determine what poses a threat to the population, the top court threw out the conviction of a Montreal man who ran a club where members could have group sex in a private room behind locked doors.

“Consensual conduct behind code-locked doors can hardly be supposed to jeopardize a society as vigorous and tolerant as Canadian society,” said the opinion of the seven-to-two majority, written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

The decision does not affect laws against prostitution because no money changed hands among the adults having sex.

‘Bawdy house’ proprietor's appeal
The court was reviewing an appeal by Jean-Paul Labaye, who ran the L’Orage (Thunderstorm) club. He had been convicted in 1999 of running a “bawdy house” — defined as a place where prostitution or acts of public indecency took place.

Labaye — who is still running L’Orage despite his earlier conviction — said he was relieved, and would now go ahead with a new venture with backing from a group of Florida investors.

“We hope clients will be more calm. This will probably lead the way to a good future,” he told reporters, saying he was looking at adding a Jacuzzi and a swimming pool.

Labaye said he had about 2,000 regular clients who paid around $20 ($17 U.S.) a year for a membership card.

Lawyers for Labaye and the owner of another swingers’ club in Montreal argued that consensual sex among groups of adults behind closed doors was neither indecent or a risk to society.

The Supreme Court judges agreed.

“Criminal indecency or obscenity must rest on actual harm or a significant risk of harm to individuals or society. The Crown failed to establish this essential element of the offense. (Its) case must therefore fail,” McLachlin wrote.

In indecency cases, Canadian courts have traditionally probed whether the acts in question “breached the rules of conduct necessary for the proper functioning of society”. The Supreme Court ruled that from now on, judges should pay more attention to whether society would be actively harmed.

Deviant, maybe, but not dangerous
This seemed to ensure there could be no repeat of Labaye’s original conviction for causing “social harm” by allowing degrading and dehumanizing group sex to take place.

The judges said that just because most Canadians might disapprove of swingers’ clubs, this did not necessarily mean the establishments were socially dangerous.

“The causal link between images of sexuality and anti-social behavior cannot be assumed. Attitudes in themselves are not crimes, however deviant they may be or disgusting they may appear,” the judges said, noting that no one had been pressured to have sex or had paid for sex in the cases the court considered.

“The autonomy and liberty of members of the public was not affected by unwanted confrontation with the sexual activity in question ... only those already disposed to this sort of sexual activity were allowed to participate and watch,” they said.

They also dismissed the idea — raised during Labaye’s original trial — that group sex was dangerous because it could result in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

“Sex that is not indecent can transmit disease while indecent sex might not,” they ruled.

By Darren Rovell, ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is finally getting his own Nike signature shoe, exactly halfway into a five-year, $45 million deal with the shoe and apparel giant.

A shoe called the Zoom Kobe I will appear in stores in mid-February, but Bryant will give a sneak preview of the shoe to those watching his Lakers take on the Miami Heat on Dec. 25. The shoe will also immediately appear on an extremely limited basis in select stores in the Los Angeles area the following day.

Nike will also launch Bryant's signature apparel line, which features a Bryant-inspired logo, in February, around the NBA All-Star break.

"Nike celebrates the athletic achievements of our elite competitors," said Nike spokesman Rodney Knox, in a statement. "Kobe's inclusion in marketing and promotional material is an acknowledgement of his elevated level of sports performance."

Bryant was accused of sexual assault in early July 2003 only a few weeks after the ink had dried on the contract. Charges were dropped in the criminal case and the civil suit was eventually settled. But, over a period of two years, Bryant's endorsers, including McDonald's, Nutella, Spalding and Coca-Cola, distanced themselves from him and allowed their deals to expire without renewal.

The Nike plan to bring back Kobe has been both quiet and, apparently, very calculated.

In July, they featured him in their advertising for the first time and released a sneaker with a specially created logo. The shoe wasn't Bryant's signature shoe per se, but fans could learn about the association on the shoe company's Web site.

It was a step further than what Nike had done the previous two years with the Air Huarache 2K4 and 2K5. Sneakerheads knew that this was the shoe that Bryant was wearing, though Nike officials made no public reference to that fact.

After the sexual assault allegations surfaced, some marketers said they believed that Bryant's potential as a pitchman was forever doomed. "You will never see Kobe do another TV commercial," advertising guru Donnie Deutsch said at the time.

Deutsch told NBC's Today Show in November that he still thinks Nike is making the wrong decision by using Bryant.

But the data isn't all negative on Bryant. In fact, he could be the most polarizing force in all of sports marketing. An ESPN Poll released in June revealed that fans thought he was the eighth best athlete in all of sports to endorse a product. That same poll reflected that he was the worst athlete to endorse a product, ahead of the likes of Mike Tyson and O.J. Simpson.

But there's reason to believe that Bryant is still resonating with more people than statistical gurus give him credit for. He recently shot a national public service announcement for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and one source told ESPN.com that his representation is in talks with a video game company and a fast food chain.

"One of the key ingredients to Kobe's marketability is the unparalleled manner in which he competes," said his agent Rob Pelinka, who would not publicly comment on talks of any future deals. "His drive and passion are emotions that really resonate with most consumers."

Last month, the Sports Business Daily ranked Bryant as the NBA's fifth most marketable player behind LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Yao Ming and Kevin Garnett. The latest numbers from the NBA, which include jersey sales from NBA.com and the NBA Store in Manhattan, show that Bryant is the fifth most popular jersey in the league. Throughout his ordeal, he never dropped out of the league's top 10 best selling jerseys, according to stats compiled by the NBA.

Bryant had two signature shoes in the past in his previous contract with adidas. Sales of his second shoe, the KOBETWO, were disappointing. Industry insiders speculated that this was either because of Bryant's lack of "street cred" or had to do with the funky design of the shoe.

Meanwhile, Bryant's Lakers are looking like playoff contenders after missing the playoffs last year for only the fifth time in team history. He is averaging 32.5 points per game, which ranks second in the league behind Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson. Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Las Vegas police are hunting for a husband and wife bodybuilding team suspected in the murder of their live-in personal assistant. The twisted story, which involves a love triangle gone bad, a former USC cheerleader, a former model, allegations of embezzlement and a torched Jaguar abandoned in the Nevada desert with a dead body in the trunk, has much of the Sin City buzzing.

Authorities found 28-year-old Melissa James, bound and gagged, in the trunk of the car left on Route 160,  southwest of Las Vegas on Dec. 14. After inspecting her charred remains, authorities determined James had been strangled.

Craig Titus, 40, and Kelly Ryan, 33, are suspects in the murder, according to local authorities.   Both had once graced the cover of bodybuilding magazines, and Ryan was a cheerleader at USC. Now they have both been charged with murder and third-degree arson and are fugitives.

Earlier this month, they were released by police after an initial questioning. he two may have fled the country, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Friday.

During that initial interview, Titus admitted he had an affair with James, the newspaper said.  But the couple alleged that their assistant had stolen money from their personal accounts, and she had been fired the day before the murder. They also said James had taken the Jaguar — which belonged to Ryan — without the couple's permission.

No police reports were filed after the alleged crimes.

James was a former model and dance instructor. She was reported missing by her mother, who was waiting for her to fly home for the Christmas holidays  at Newark Airport the day of the murder, the Review-Journal reported.  She had lived with the bodybuilders in California several years ago, and had only recently moved to Las Vegas to join them there, it said.

James' mother, Maura James, told the newspaper that her daughter and Ryan were not getting along; so Titus paid for a plane ticket home and for a hotel room from Dec. 12-14. When her daughter failed to appear at the airport, she began calling hospitals looking for her.

Authorities are asking anyone with information on the couple's whereabouts to contact Las Vegas police. 

An officer on a bicycle saw the stopped car holding up traffic early Saturday and rapped the hood with his hand, according to a police report. Parker, behind the wheel, questioned why the officer touched the car, and the couple "began screaming in a verbally abusive and demeaning manner," police said. Longoria called the police report "highly inaccurate."

Police say Parker began to drive away, almost hitting a man standing nearby. After being told to stop and get out, Parker showed a French driver's license, police said. The star guard for the defending NBA champions was was born in Belgium and raised in France.

The officer who wrote the citations said Parker complained: "This is all the cops do, just mess with people," and that Longoria shouted from the car: "He's just a Mexican bike cop. He only wants your autograph."

Longoria denied making the comment.

"It's a shame that one officer conducted himself in such an inappropriate and disorderly manner," Longoria said through her publicist. "I never made any sort of racial slurs, let alone made any comments about the officer being Mexican, as a Mexican myself."

Meet the Barkers' latest addition.

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his actress-model wife, Shanna Moakler, welcomed their second child on Christmas Eve.

Daughter Alabama Louella Barker was born at 12:22 p.m. and tipped the scales at 7 pounds, 1 ounce.

The Meet the Barkers stars already have a two-year-old son together, Landon, while Moakler also has a six-year-old daughter, Atiana, with her ex-fiancé, boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya.

In announcing the pregnancy to People last May, Barker made an eerily prescient wish.

"Hopefully it will be Christmas Eve," Barker said. "I'm hoping for a girl."

The camera-ready couple became engaged in 2003 while visiting Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. They tied the knot on Oct. 30, 2005 in Santa Barbara in a gothic ceremony inspired by their favorite film, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Fellow Blinksters Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge were his groomsmen.

Aside from getting the nursery up and running, Barker has had an eventful 2005.

In February, Blink-182 announced plans for an "indefinite hiatus," stopping short of an official disbanding. The trio stayed mum on the reason, leaving their label, Geffen Records, to release a statement saying the rockers wanted to spend time "enjoying the fruits of their labor with loved ones."

"For over a decade, Blink-182 has toured, recorded and promoted non-stop all while trying to balance relationships with family and friends," the label said at the time.

But the Blink hiatus didn't mean the band members were slowing down.

DeLonge has announced he's working on an "anthemic" album with his new band, Angels & Airwaves, which the guitarist humbly describes as "the greatest rock and roll revolution for this generation."

Barker and Rancid singer-guitarist Tim Armstrong released teamed for side project called the Transplants,which released an album in October. And Barker and Hoppus formed the band Plus-44.

Barker and Moakler have also been working on a second season of their MTV reality show, Meet the Barkers, which debuted last spring. The new episodes kick off Jan. 3.

"I think last season was awesome, but this one is even crazier," Barker tells MTV. "You have no idea."

-- Gina Serpe

Ian O'Connor / Special to FOXSports.com

But on the afternoon of June 25, 1996, something beyond the forces of reason drove me to warn the Philadelphia 76ers that they would rue the night they took Allen Iverson in the draft.

The Sixers had the first pick that year, you might remember, and they wanted Iverson then as much as everyone in the NFL wants Reggie Bush now. Only, I offered up an unsolicited alternative in print, and it read something like this:

Stephon Marbury "is the closest thing to a championship player in the draft. (That's) exactly why the 76ers will be making a mistake in the Meadowlands when they fit a baseball cap for the head of Iverson."

And this: Marbury "is not simply the better playmaker, the better quarterback of an offense. Marbury is the better player. ... Iverson will throw more dunks and sell more tickets. Stephon Marbury, a selfless player in selfish times, will win more games."

Nearly 10 years later, this prophecy isn't worth a soiled do-rag at the bottom of Iverson's stall.

Never mind that Iverson has appeared in 62 playoff games to Marbury's 18, or that Iverson has led his team to the NBA Finals — while Marbury has never gotten out of the first round — or that Iverson's one league MVP award represents one more than those claimed by Marbury.

The comparison isn't even valid in the eyes of Marbury's current coach and Iverson's former one, Larry Brown, who didn't bother making a token stab at diplomacy after Marbury publicly lobbied Brown to let him freelance in New York like Iverson freelanced in Philly.

"They're both unbelievably gifted," Brown said, "but there's nobody like Allen."

In fact, Iverson is now on a straight and narrow path that's taking him to the title of "Best Little Man Ever To Play the Game."

Isiah Thomas currently sits in that throne, but at age 30, Iverson has plenty of time to supplant him. Listed generously at six feet and 165 pounds, Iverson is playing better and more unselfishly now than he did four years ago — when he was named MVP.

Iverson averaged 31.1 points and 4.6 assists in 2001, and now leads the league in scoring at 34.3 ppg — along with standing seventh in assists at 7.4 per game. He is averaging three more assists per game than his closest scoring-race foe, Kobe Bryant, and almost two more assists per game than the only other star clearing 30 points a night, LeBron James.

Iverson doesn't exactly have closers like Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson on his wings, and yet his assist numbers are nearly identical to those of "Mr. Assist," Jason Kidd, who only scores 20 fewer points a game than Iverson. A three-time league leader in steals, Iverson ranks fourth in that category with an average of 2.29 — another testament to the notion that he plays hard every possession, every night.

"I think Allen is remarkable to watch," Bob Cousy, holder of the Best Little Man Ever To Play the Game title in a different time and place, said recently by phone. "I can't get over how he keeps throwing his body into bigger guys, crashing to the floor and just getting right back up."

Right back up to make the kind of game-winning jumper he nailed in Denver the other night.

"Pound for pound," Pat Riley calls Iverson. Pound for pound the best player in the world.

The baddest and boldest, too. Iverson is as thin as a runway model, and he doesn't own a piece of skin or bone that hasn't been bruised or fractured.

So image isn't everything after all. If it were, Iverson wouldn't be appreciated for his work ethic and his throwback threshold for pain. He would still be seen as a reckless gunner who doesn't make teammates better and as a clueless rebel lost at the intersection of his tattoos and cornrows.

Iverson said before the season that he'd grown up and learned from his many mistakes, and his actions give meaning to his words. He was one of the few "Dream-on Teamers" to handle the Olympic experience in Athens with honor and grace, and, though he's on record as having a big problem with David Stern's dress code, Iverson hasn't been fined for violating it.

Chances are he won't ever win a ring with the Sixers, and that cold truth might prevent some from elevating Iverson above the likes of Thomas, Cousy and Nate Archibald. But nearly a decade after believing that Stephon Marbury, of all people, was the better choice for Philly, I can't hold 10 bare fingers against one great guard.

The question of who was the best little man ever to play the game has met its Answer.

Roc-A-Fella wasn't the only label to pass on Kanye (pronounced Kahn-yay; it means "the Only One" in Swahili) West. Executives at record companies large and small failed to reconcile West's appearance and demeanor with their expectations of what a rapper should be. They had no idea how to market him. "It was a strike against me that I didn't wear baggy jeans and jerseys and that I never hustled, never sold drugs," says West, 28, who grew up in suburban Chicago and often dresses as if he's anticipating an acceptance letter from Exeter. "But for me to have the opportunity to stand in front of a bunch of executives and present myself, I had to hustle in my own way. I can't tell you how frustrating it was that they didn't get that. No joke--I'd leave meetings crying all the time."

When West finally got a deal (in the end, Roc-A-Fella overcame its institutional bias against Polo shirts), he shattered the myth that he was too soft, too weird and too bourgeois to fit the mold of a platinum-selling rapper. His 2004 debut album, The College Dropout, went nearly triple platinum, topped all the major critics' polls, earned 10 Grammy nominations and made rap accessible to audiences that hadn't paid attention in years. "That record restored my faith in hip-hop," says Jamie Foxx, who lent comic vocals to West's No. 1 hit Slow Jamz.

West is hardly the first person to bring a Buppie sensibility to rap. In the '80s, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, A Tribe Called Quest and LL Cool J successfully wove suburban perspectives into rebellious music, but when gangsta rap arrived, nuance was smothered by a blanket of extreme poses. Tupac Shakur, once a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts, died with THUG LIFE tattooed across his torso. On The College Dropout, West found a way to bridge the divide without self-destruction. His follow-up, Late Registration, arrives Aug. 30 and continues to mix race and class with beats and melodies. It is widely expected to be the biggest-selling record of the year--1.6 million copies will be shipped to stores for its first week of release.

The College Dropout was 76 minutes of someone cramming every thought he'd ever had about himself into rhyme. It was immaculately produced, but what made it compelling was the contradictions. The song Jesus Walks mixed spirituality with skepticism and rap with gospel. All Falls Down slammed the "single black female addicted to retail" but concluded with West admitting, "I wanna act ballerific, like it's all terrific/ I got a couple past due bills, I won't get specific/ I got a problem with spending before I get it/ We all self-conscious, I'm just the first to admit it." Throughout, West careered between the Protestant ethic and street fantasies, revealing himself to be wise and stupid, arrogant and insecure, often in the same breath. But by baring his flaws and being self-critical--and daring listeners to do the same--he created a fresh portrait of African-American middle-class angst, and you could dance to it.

It didn't take long for The College Dropout to develop coattails. Fashion-wise, you may have been blinded recently by the swarm of pink Polo shirts, while on the charts, West's friends John Legend, an R&B singer with a University of Pennsylvania degree, and Common, a whip-smart and austere Chicago rapper, both had sales spikes. West's Late Registration should push things further. "I didn't want to play it boring and safe," says West while sitting in the balcony of a 14th century church in Prague, one of the locations he hand-picked for the video of Diamonds from Sierra Leone, the Shirley Bassey-- based first single from Late Registration. "I also didn't want to innovate too much. Second albums, man, they're even scarier than first ones."

Musically, West took the extraordinary risk of fiddling with his sound by asking Jon Brion, known mostly for his collaborations with the talented but flaky Fiona Apple, to co-produce. Lyrically, he continues to stomp taboos and create a witty catalog of his schizophrenia. If that makes him sound like Eminem, it's worth noting that West is usually incorrigible like a puppy, not a pit bull. "His music is about being human," says West's obviously biased mother Donda, who recently retired from her post as chair of the English department at Chicago State University. "It's like Walt Whitman. 'Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.'" West's old boss, Damon Dash, puts it a little differently: "He combines the superficialness that the urban demographic needs with conscious rhymes for the kids with backpacks. It's brilliant business."

That the "urban demographic" needs "superficialness" could be read as two euphemisms away from racism. But Dash, an African American who thinks exclusively in shades of green, is merely letting the world in on what's accepted as social fact by much of the record industry. Hip-hop was born in the '70s as party music and evolved in the '80s into that rarest of pleasures--socially relevant party music. But in the mid-'90s, the genre came to be dominated by people like Snoop Dogg (sample track: Murder Was the Case), the Notorious B.I.G. (Ten Crack Commandments) and Jay-Z (Rap Game/ Crack Game)--excellent rappers with a shrewd eye for journalistic detail but, to put it bluntly, ex--drug dealers. "Rap changed a lot in the last few years," notes comedian and hip-hop fan Chris Rock, who says he listens to The College Dropout while he writes jokes. "In the early days, the best rappers weren't necessarily from the hood. Run-D.M.C. was from Hollis [Queens, N.Y.]. Eric B and Rakim were from Long Island. They lived next to the hood."

When the hard stuff sold well (hard stuff, in any medium, always does), the record labels, never bastions of original thought, asked for more. Soon rappers who had never got a speeding ticket were referring to themselves as pimps and hustlas, and what had started as ghetto reporting with a touch of caricature metastasized into caricature with no tether to reality. The result was a torrent of albums about the joys of acquisitiveness (bling, if you must), consequence-free violence and compliant women.

All that was complicated by--and you had to know it was coming--race. Statistics consistently show that 70% of hip-hop is consumed by young white audiences, but a century of anecdotal evidence is similarly irrefutable: white kids think it's cool to be black, which means the other 30% sets the trends and runs the show. With the market mired in thuggery, African-American consumers' could choose to: a) propagate a nasty stereotype of themselves for white kids to pin their libidinous fantasies on; b) not care; c) start patronizing the danger-free, supernice, superboring rappers at the liberal humanist fringe; or d) give up.

"I stopped listening to hip-hop 10 years ago," says Darryl McDaniels, the D.M.C. in Run-D.M.C. McDaniels points out that Run-D.M.C. rhymed about everything from materialism (My Adidas) and higher education ("I'm D.M.C. in the place to be/ I go to St. John's University") to Santa Claus (Christmas in Hollis). "We weren't choirboys, but we had multiple points of view. This past decade it seems like hip-hop has mostly been about parties and guns and women. That's fine if you're in a club, but from 9 a.m. till I went to bed at night, the music had nothing to say to me. So I listened to classic rock." What brought McDaniels back from his diet of John Mellencamp and Bob Seger was Jesus Walks. "When I heard it, I just stopped in my tracks," says McDaniels. "I thought, 'This song is about everything! This feels alive!'"

Jesus Walks is one of those miraculous songs that you hear for the first time and immediately look forward to hearing on a semiregular basis for the next 30 or 40 years. It's built on a booming gospel sample from the Arc Choir and one of West's typical contradictions, his admission that he's not particularly religious and his anger that songs with Jesus in the title don't get played on the radio. Che Smith, a friend of West's from Chicago who raps as Rhymefest, gave West the sample, wrote some of the first verse and receives half the song's royalties. "But Jesus Walks is all Kanye," says Smith. "When he wrote, 'To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers/ Even the strippers/ Jesus Walks for them!', I said, 'Wait, it doesn't matter what you do at all? You can keep doing bad things, and in the end it's all good? Don't we need to take a stand?' And he said, 'It's about imperfection. Everybody can relate to that.' Damn if he wasn't right."

West is sometimes credited with revolutionizing hip-hop, but this doesn't quite fit. Revolutions require moral certainty, and West's default position is doubt. What he's up to is more like a reformation. "I'm pretty calculating," he says, standing before the baroque altar of Prague's Church of St. Simon and Juda. "I take stuff that I know appeals to people's bad sides and match it up with stuff that appeals to their good sides." As an example, he cites a snippet of Diamonds from Sierra Leone about his rise to fame: "'Life movin' too fast, I need to slow down/ Girl ain't give me no ass, she need to go down.' All right, that's really crass, right? Really bogus. So what comes next? 'My father been said I need Jesus/ So he took me to church, let the water wash over my Caesar' [haircut]. I go back and forth all the time."

In music, West's juxtapositions make your head nod. In life, they can sometimes make it spin. "I came to Prague for this church," West says in the near whisper he uses when not standing in front of a microphone. "I scouted it, researched it. Ever since my accident"--in 2002 he crashed his car and cracked his jaw in three places--"I've had a thing about angels, and you can't get statues of angels or architecture like this in the States." One minute later, he stands in front of a video camera, sets his legs as if he's about to throw a punch, and barks, "'Sup, MTV. We in Pray-Goo for the Diamonds video!" Then West marches over to video director Hype Williams: "Those girls we saw at the club last night, we need them. The ones with the double Fs." Asked afterward which performance was more real, he looks hurt. "Both," he says.

Which brings us to race's kissing cousin: class. Communities that have been discriminated against are hardly free from prejudice. "Black people can be the most conservative, the most discriminating," says West. "Especially among ourselves. It wasn't white people who said all black men have to wear baggy jeans." Bougie is a common African-American term for middle class; it is not used kindly. West--who has a habit of beginning sentences with the preamble, "Rappers say this all the time," as if he were not one of the world's most popular rappers but a kid deconstructing one--is quite bougie.

Raised in the Chicago neighborhood of South Shore by his mother (his parents divorced when he was 3, and he spent summers with his father Ray, a former Black Panther who is now a Christian marriage counselor), West went to good schools, received art and music lessons and, when he was 10, spent a year in Nanjing, China, where his mother was a visiting professor. Like many suburban kids, he developed a passion for hip-hop that was only enhanced by his awareness that the genre often romanticized bad behavior. His mother did not exactly approve; when West went to concerts, even in his late teens, she often followed. "He maybe doesn't know this," says Donda West, "but I was at a lot of those shows, watching him."

Early on, West knew he wanted to be a rapper; at 13 he made an amateur recording about green eggs and ham. But his parents had other ideas. "My plan was that he would get at least one degree, if not several," says his mom, the Ph.D. After Kanye graduated from high school in 1995, he enrolled in art school and took an English class for a year at Chicago State before finally confronting his parents. After months of lengthy conversations, West persuaded them to let him try rapping and producing for a year. Recalls Donda: "He said, 'Mom, I can do this, and I don't need to go to college because I've had a professor in the house with me my whole life.' I'm thinking, This boy is at it again. He always could twirl a word."

During the day, West worked as a telemarketer to pay the $200 a month his mother demanded in rent. At night he honed his delivery and made beats for other rappers. Within a few months he had his first major sale--$8,000 from a Chicago rapper named Gravity. "That's when I knew the one-year plan was out the window," says West. Soon he was making beats for Bad Boy Records' rapper Mase, and in 2001 West produced several tracks for Jay-Z's groundbreaking album The Blueprint, using samples of old songs (the Doors' Five to One, the Jackson 5's I Want You Back) sped up until they sounded like Chipmunks cover versions. (West admits he took the idea from the Wu-Tang Clan's The RZA; he insists on giving credit where it's due.) Still, he couldn't persuade Jay-Z, Damon Dash or anyone else to take him seriously as a rapper.

In October 2002, West, exhausted from hours spent in a recording studio, fell asleep behind the wheel of his Lexus and nearly died. "He called me from his hospital bed with his jaw wired shut and asked for a drum machine," says Dash. "That impressed me." Three weeks after the accident, with his jaw still shut, West went to a studio and mumbled Through the Wire, a song about the crash built on the accelerated chorus of Chaka Khan's Through the Fire. It was dramatic and funny ("I drink a Boost for breakfast, a Ensure for dizzert/ Somebody ordered pancakes, I just sip the sizzurp"), and it finally persuaded Roc-A-Fella to move ahead with a Kanye West album. "Death," says West, "is the best thing that can ever happen to a rapper. Almost dying isn't bad either."

In its first week of release, The College Dropout sold 441,000 copies--an extraordinary number for a debut--and entered Billboard's album chart at No. 2, behind velvet colossus Norah Jones. Immediately West started grumbling about disrespect. He complained about ambivalent words in glowing reviews, whined to his label about a lack of promotion, suggested that magazines pay to put him on their cover (in case you're wondering: uh, no) and, most famously, walked out of the American Music Awards when he lost Best New Artist to country singer Gretchen Wilson ("I was the best new artist this year, so get that other bull____ out of here"), a gesture made even more obnoxious by the fact that Wilson was as much a rebel in her field as West was in his (see page 66). In all, he acted with the maturity and grace traditionally associated with rap stars.

Like most people who've ever stared into a camera lens or picked up a microphone, West is better at integrating his flaws into his art than into his personality. As he says on the new song Touch the Sky, "I'm trying to right my wrongs/ But it's funny the same wrongs help me write this song." Still, his behavior during awards season was reminiscent of the video-set collision between church architecture and large breasts. It seemed a little forced. "He's trying to change this genre, and in order to do that he's got to get people to listen to his music," says a fervent McDaniels. "They've gotten so used to hardness, to stupidity, that if he has to engage in a little of that to be relevant, so be it."

West won't cop to exaggerating his petulance. "I was just trying to create some entertainment," he says, adding that his act will probably tone down in the future because "people mature" and "I have a lot more to lose." In another context he admits to a contradiction truly worthy of him: in his attempt to shatter the rapper stereotype, he's sometimes willing to behave stereotypically. "Take the word nigga," West says. "I don't like the word, and I made an attempt to change it on this new song Crack Music"--an indictment of drug abuse. "I tried saying, 'This is crack music, homey,' but it just didn't have the same impact. My mom's a teacher, and I'm kind of a teacher too. But the hood, the suburbs, MTV and BET are my classrooms, and I know how to talk to my class." The word nigga appears multiple times on the album.

On Late Registration, the syllabus returns to Whitman's Song of Myself. There are skits ridiculing the impoverished members of a made-up black fraternity (Broke Phi Broke), while the song Gold Digger pleads with women to stand by working-class men because "He got that ambition baby look at his eyes/ This week he mopping floors next week it's the fries."

Contradictions abound on the CD, but what you notice most is the music. West is a master of samples and drum loops, and co-producer Brion can play anything with strings. Together they make one of the better-sounding rap records in history. Diamonds from Sierra Leone features the Bassey sample, keyboards stolen from a Vegas lounge act and a horn section fit for a coronation. Gone opens with an Otis Redding sample (from It's Too Late) and a two-note piano melody. Then there's a thwack of percussion and what seems like eight different string sections playing disciplined countermelodies that change with each verse to modify the vocals. In the middle it slows to a crawl for a few seconds, just because. At the end, West is justified in boasting, "Maybe you can be my intern and intern/ I show you how to cook up summer/ In the winter."

One night while making the record, Brion says, he and West got in a state of giddy exhaustion unique to people who spend hours a day for months on end in a windowless recording studio. "We had just been talking about something, and there was one of those weird, intense lulls," says Brion. "Kanye looks at me, and he goes, 'You know that saying You can't be all things to all people? Well, seriously, why not? I want to be all things to all people.'" Brion waited for a moment, then burst into laughter. "I knew he wasn't kidding, and he's smart enough to know that wanting to be loved by everybody is probably really bad for your mental health, but at the same time his point was, you know, why not try?" You never know. He just might succeed.

--  Josh Tyrangiel, Time Magazine, 8/29/05

Colangelo met with Iverson on Wednesday before the Philadelphia 76ers played the Phoenix Suns.

"He wants to win a gold medal," said Colangelo, the chairman and CEO of the Suns. "He said that very clearly. He said if asked, he would be honored."

Colangelo, solely in charge of developing the pool of players invited to the team's training camp, plans to meet later this week with Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and Tim Duncan. The Suns host the Miami Heat on Friday night and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

Colangelo said he had never spoken at length with Iverson and wondered how the talk would go.

"He looked me right in the eye and said it would be an honor for him," Colangelo said. "It was a very positive experience."

Iverson was co-captain and the leading scorer on the U.S. team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

"I want to play," Iverson said after Wednesday's game. "Obviously we didn't get it done the first time I was a part of that team. If God blesses me with another opportunity to try it, it would be an honor. I would have a second shot at fulfilling one of my goals."

Colangelo, named head of USA Basketball after the team's poor performances at the 2002 worlds and 2004 Olympics, has made it clear that the U.S. team would not be a collection of superstars hastily put together.

Instead, he wants a group, including role players, that would make a three-year commitment to participate in the camps and form a cohesive team for the worlds this year in Japan and the Olympics in Beijing.

Colangelo said he planned to announce the first batch of players for the camp by the NBA's All-Star break in mid-February.

Colangelo indicated that the Suns could have two players invited -- Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire.

Colangelo called Marion "the most underrated player in the league." He also said that Stoudemire, out for at least four months following knee surgery, agreed to make the three-year commitment "about 30 seconds" into their conversation.

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski will be the team's head coach. His assistants are Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan and Syracuse University coach Jim Boeheim.

Hoping the Bulls can beat the Milwaukee Bucks tonight, or else they'll have a nine game losing streak. :(

Pink married motocross racer Carey Hart on a beach in Costa Rica on Saturday in front of 100 guests. According to People magazine, the couple were married at sunset by a local officiant in a non-denominational ceremony at the Four Seasons hotel.

"We just love the beach, so we knew we wanted it to be at the beach," Pink, 26, told People. Hart, 30, who recently appeared on VH1's "The Surreal Life," said, "We wanted it very fun and non-traditional. We're spiritual, but we're not religious. It was about being with our closest friends and family and having a very fun and loose party." Among the reported guests was singer Lisa Marie Presley.

Us Weekly described the setting as an isolated beach cove near the hotel on the country's scenic Papagayo peninsula. It reported that during the exchange of vows, a weepy Pink told Hart, "I love you because I let you hold my heart, and you haven't broken it."

Pink, who told MTV in December that she was "going to be a girl, and I'm going to wear a dress" for her wedding, wore a cream gown and pink highlights in her blond hair, which was topped with a black ribbon, according to Us. She walked barefoot down the aisle to Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman."

The singer (born Alecia Moore), met Hart at the 2001 X Games in Las Vegas, and, in keeping with her outspoken nature, proposed to him last summer during one of his races in Mammoth Lakes, California, by holding up a sign that read "Will you marry me?," followed by one that said, "I'm serious!" Hart bailed on the race to say yes. It is the first marriage for both.

"I knew within the first few weeks after meeting her that I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life," Hart said to People. The couple plan to go snowboarding on their honeymoon with their four dogs. Wedding planner Kara Keaney told People, "They're so in love, and they're best friends. They're perfect for each other."

The singer, who stars in the upcoming horror movie "Catacombs," is slated to release the first single from her upcoming album, I'm Not Dead (due in March or April), this month. She said the record is the most personal one she's ever written, but that it also delves into politics on songs such as one she described as an open letter to George Bush entitled, "Dear Mr. President."

— Gil Kaufman

A construction worker died Wednesday evening after falling from a structure at Chicago State University. It happened near 99th Street and King Drive.

The victim's identity was not released and police did not release any information on how the accident happened.

If I had money, I'd get a Bentley.  Then I could ride in style.  Screw my Durango.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers have agreed to trade Ron Artest to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Peja Stojakovic, ESPN's Jim Gray has confirmed Tuesday.

By late Tuesday afternoon, Stojakovic was awaiting confirmation of the deal.

He told ESPN.com's Marc Stein, "I don't think it's official yet, but it will be."

The deal closes a chapter in the Pacers' latest drama involving the volatile star forward.

Kings owners Gavin and Joe Maloof on ESPNEWS would not comment directly on ESPN's report that the Kings, pending league approval, will trade Peja Stojakovic to the Pacers for Ron Artest. "We're awaiting final word," said David Bauman, Stojakovic's agent. Stojakovic was told to stay behind as the Kings were departing their team hotel for a game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Artest was a key component to a team that was expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. He led the league in steals and was the Pacers' second-leading scorer at 19.4 points a game before being deactivated after publicly requesting a trade in early December.

In five years with the Pacers, Artest was an All-Star once and was the NBA's defensive player of the year in 2003-04.

Pacers GM Larry Bird said the Pacers had been interested in Corey Maggette of the Los Angeles Clippers, but there was "no question" that Maggette's sprained left foot affected the process. Maggette averaged 21.7 points in 13 games before getting injured in early December.

The Pacers have lost four of their last five games, including Monday to the Atlanta Hawks, who have the NBA's worst record.

Jermaine O'Neal is expected to miss at least eight weeks with a left groin tear, leaving the Indiana Pacers without their leading scorer and rebounder.

Not good news for the Pacers.

The former Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons star signed a one-game contract with the Brighton Bears of the British Basketball League. He'll play on Saturday against the Guildford Heat.

Rodman, a five-time NBA champion, signed the deal shortly after being evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother television reality show in Britain.

"He's probably the best defensive player the world's seen over the past 20 years," Bears coach Nick Nurse said.

Rodman, who led the NBA in rebounding seven times, last played in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks in 2000.

"This will be seen as a publicity stunt and, yes, we want to attract people who might not ordinarily be basketball fans," Nurse said. "But the main reason for doing this is to give basketball fans the chance to see one of the all-time great players playing here in the BBL."

Kobe Bryant feels a bit sheepish about his 81-point performance and says he is not caught up in a chase of Wilt Chamberlain's record of 100.

"I think it's exciting for the game and the organization because of all the buzz, but personally it's a little embarrassing."

Kobe, Kobe, Kobe.  Own up to this!  You kicked ass!  And you're one of the only guys on the team with any talent!  That's nothing to be embarrassed about.

After the drama and disappointment that consumed Ron Artest's life over the past two seasons, he was thrilled just to have the chance to jump into the stands again.

The Sacramento Kings' ever-loving fans were equally excited - and they responded to one of their new forward's many hustle plays with one of many ovations.

Artest scored 19 points in his home debut, Kevin Martin added a career-high 25 and the Kings held on for their 19th straight home victory over the Denver Nuggets, 98-91 Tuesday night.

Check these out

Pleased with his play on the court, Nike is ready to test Kobe Bryant's ability as a salesman.

Bryant's first televised ad with the shoe company will debut during NBA programming Thursday night, more than 2½ years after he signed an endorsement deal with the sneaker company in the summer of 2003. Soon after he struck the deal with Nike, Bryant was charged with sexual assault in Colorado.

The ad coincides with the release of the Zoom Kobe I sneaker Saturday and seeks to capitalize on Bryant's renewed popularity. Interest in the Los Angeles Lakers star has been the on rise this season, especially after his 81-point game last month, the second-highest total in NBA history.

"Kobe's inclusion in marketing and promotional material is an acknowledgment of his elevated level of sports performance," Nike said in a statement.

The commercial shows Bryant shooting free throws, then doing other drills. His voice narrates, 'Love me or hate me, it's one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger.

Hate that I'm a veteran. A champion. Hate that. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I'm loved, for the exact same reasons."

The theme of the ad seems to play off the fact that Bryant, though long one of the NBA's best players, has never enjoyed total acceptance from fans.

"I expect the same reaction I normally get -- some people will like it and some people won't," Bryant said. "It's truthful. I think it's important to do ads that are not as we know ads are usually done. This one is one that is true to form. It is real, it is honest. We're not selling an image. It's not like we're trying to polish my image or clean it up."

The Kings are definitely a different and better team with Ron Artest.  They killed the Bulls yesterday.  Absolutely killed us by 18 points.  Mike Bibby dropped 20 on us.

Rap star Busta Rhymes was a no-show at the funeral for his slain bodyguard on Friday and is still wanted by the police for questioning regarding the incident.

Israel Ramirez, 29, was shot and killed last Sunday at a Brooklyn, New York studio, where the rapper was filming a music video for Touch It (Remix).

Father John Duffell told mourners during the funeral service in New York: "He died in a very violent and horrible way.

"It speaks of the violence that is present in our society, and the need to control the availability of guns."

Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith, attended a wake for Ramirez on Thursday night, and has offered financial support for the bodyguard's three young children.

Approximately 100 mourners attended the funeral and had mixed-feelings about the rapper's noticeable absence.

A friend of the family, Martha Garcia said: "I think (Rhymes) should have given more respect."

Police believe Ramirez was accidentally killed when two members of rapper 50 Cent's entourage opened fire on Rhymes' producer, Swizz Beatz.

The state Board of Higher Education on Thursday gave approval for UND to award Jackson an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

Jackson played basketball for the Sioux from 1964 through 1967, before moving on to an NBA career starting with the New York Knicks. He graduated from UND in 1967 with a bachelor of arts degree in religion, psychology and philosophy.

In the nomination letter, UND administrators called Jackson one of UND's most successful graduates and a role model for students. The nomination also cited three books he has authored.

The school has tried to get Jackson to come back for a visit. His last public appearance in Grand Forks was in 1989, when he returned to speak at a fundraiser for longtime state auditor Robert Peterson, his coach at Williston High School in the early 1960s.

UND has tried to get Jackson back for such things as its 100-year celebration of basketball in 2004, and the induction of Jackson's 1964-65 Sioux team into the UND Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003, but the dates did not work out.

Lindsey Jacobellis tried to show off and she got what she deserved: She fell on her tail.

Jacobellis had a 50-yard lead in the first women's Olympic snowboardcross final Friday in a dandy of a race. She had looked over her shoulder several times in the bottom section of the run to see where her opponents were on the course. Obviously, she could already feel the weight of that gold medal around her neck. She was excited. She was confident of her victory. And she tried to show off a bit, throwing a back-side method over the second-to-last jump. But she held the grab too long, lost her edge and tumbled to the snow.

While she was scrambling to get up, Tanja Frieden of Switzerland came around the final turn and blew by Jacobellis to steal what would have been Team USA's fourth gold medal in snowboarding at these Olympics. But then again, Frieden didn't really steal anything; Jacobellis gave it to her.

It joined an elusive list of some of the big blunders in sports history.

Nice one.

NBA basketball is a big man's game. Don't tell that to 5-foot-9 Nate Robinson. The New York Knicks' rookie won the NBA All-Star slam dunk competition Saturday night, beating out 6-foot-6 Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia, 6-9 Hakim Warrick of Memphis and 6-9 defending champ Josh Smith of Atlanta.

The Orlando Magic traded Steve Francis to the New York Knicks.  The Knicks sent Penny Hardaway and Trevor Ariza to Orlando.  Let's see if Francis can actually make the Knicks any better.

Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers were evacuated from a movie theater Wednesday night after of a bomb threat interrupted a private screening of a new DVD of last month's Super Bowl victory.

Authorities evacuated the Loews Cineplex at The Waterfront in Homestead after the threat was received from an anonymous caller to 911, Homestead Police Chief Chris Deasy said.

"It said there was a bomb that was going to go off at a Loews theater," Deasy said.

The caller had a male voice and made no reference to the Steelers, Deasy added.

Minutes after the call at 8:03 p.m, police escorted the players out of the theater and spent about an hour-and-a-half searching the premises using at least one bomb-sniffing dog. They found no evidence of a bomb.

An estimated 1,000 moviegoers were also told to leave the cineplex.

Excerpt of article from Josh Grossberg:

After conquering the music scene with a pair of mega-selling albums and a half-dozen Grammys in just two years, the hip-hopster is looking to dig some gold at the box office.

West is joining forces with New Line Cinema to executive produce and appear in an untitled feature film, the rapper's publicist, Gabriel Tesoriero, and a spokesman for the studio confirmed Wednesday.

The film will consist of a series of vignettes, all of which will be linked by a central theme and feature old and new music from West.

To translate the unusual concept to celluloid, West will collaborate with six writers on the stories and up to a dozen different directors will helm the segments, which producers stress will not be music videos, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"This project will synthesize Kanye's vision with a fantastic group of filmmakers and create what will be a one-of-a-kind film experience," Richard Brown, who's coproducing with Steve Golin, told the trade paper.

No word what type of role(s) the hip-hopster will essay.

It was never about the perks or the fame for Daron Rahlves.

Instead, the American raced on the World Cup circuit for 13 years to earn respect from his peers. He got plenty of that as he became the most accomplished speed skier in U.S. history, despite never managing to come close to winning an Olympic medal.

"Money never mattered," he said Sunday after the last World Cup race of his career. "It's more for pride, for being the guy throughout the whole season who's fastest on downhill skis. That for me was the ultimate thing."

Rahlves was fastest a lot during a career that officially will end at the U.S. national championships later this month in Maine. The 32-year-old Californian earned 12 World Cup victories, a super-G world championship gold medal in 2001 and two medals at the 2005 worlds.

"You want to be getting in the gate and everybody to think: We've got to watch," Rahlves said. "I love putting down exciting runs that get people going 'Whoa.' That shock factor, blow people out of their minds with the stuff you pull off. You want to be pushing the limits, taking risks and tapping into your total limit."

At 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds, he was one of the smallest men on a World Cup tour where size matters. In the speed disciplines, heavier skiers can better carry their momentum through the flatter gliding sections. Rahlves always preferred courses that are icy, steep and tough.

He consistently stunned the field with his courage and tenacity, and became one of the most feared downhillers on the circuit.

Some of his victories came on the world's most dangerous courses - Kitzbuehel, Austria; Bormio, Italy; Wengen, Switzerland, and Beaver Creek, Colo. He's been clocked at up to 93 mph in a downhill.

In 2003, he caused what Austrians still call "Black Saturday," becoming the first American to win a World Cup downhill on the Hahnenkamm course in Kitzbuehel. According to tradition, his name was painted on one of the gondolas that glide up the majestic mountain, along with skiers such as Franz Klammer, Karl Schranz, Hermann Maier and Jean-Claude Killy.

Rahlves described it as the biggest win of his career because it makes you "forever a legend." A year later, he became the first non-Austrian to win a super-G on the mountain.

"He's motivated me for being smaller. I'm sort of in the same position," said Olympic giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso, who is 5-foot-6 and weighs 139. "He's a lot smaller than the other guys. It's cool to see anything's possible. He's always had a lot of perseverance."

Though most U.S. skiers receive little attention at home, Rahlves was beloved in Europe. His courage, courtesy and ferocious work ethic made him popular with fans and media. His peers called him a humble winner and gracious loser. The European media teased him for his favorite expression: "I'm ready to rock and roll."

"My life has been ski racing since I was 15," Rahlves said. "It's a great life, but it's not what life is all about. I want a chance to do other things. It's a little scary to walk away from something you totally love, but I don't want to just keep dragging on."

He has bloomed in the last four years, winning three World Cup downhills this season for a U.S. men's record of nine victories, six more than Bill Johnson. Picabo Street also had nine. But Rahlves will leave the sport having never finished higher than seventh at the Olympics, and without any World Cup discipline titles or giant slalom wins.

He's looking forward to starting a family with wife Michelle in Truckee, Calif., riding dirt bikes, surfing, and appearing in ski films.

"Daron will surely be, as I reflect back on my career, one of, if not the top athlete that I look at and say he's been really special to be around," U.S. men's head coach Phil McNichol said. "He's one of the best athletes in the sport, the most professional, most courteous pro."

More than a week after the Louisiana Supreme Court overturned his second-degree murder conviction, rapper C-Murder is out of prison and back in his Louisiana home under house arrest.

Murder, whose real name is Corey Miller and who now goes by C Miller, was released on $500,000 bond Monday night, according to his lawyer, Ron Rakosky. "He's out and he's under house arrest and he will be until the court changes those conditions or decides to drop the charges," said Rakosky. The district attorney's office will decide on March 31 whether to retry Miller.

Miller has been facing life in prison without parole since being convicted of the January 2002 slaying of 16-year-old Steve Thomas outside the now-shuttered Platinum Club in Harvey, Louisiana.

Last night, the Indiana Pacers retired Reggie Miller's number.  A big deal, for sure, since he had played with the Pacers for such a long time and been so good.  I liked watching him play.  He had such a sweet shot.

The trouble continues for Larry Brown and the New York Knicks.  Not only are they losing, but now Brown claims that some of his players are tuning him out.  Not a good situation for a hall of fame coach.

Note: The Knicks have an NBA-worst 20-54 record despite owning the league's largest payroll. :(

The Bulls, missing two injured starters, overcame an ugly first half to beat Atlanta 96-90 Wednesday night and maintain their eighth-place tie in the playoff standings.

Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 19 points despite battling a sprained left ankle. Chicago's other starting guard, Kirk Hinrich, had to have a dislocated finger popped into place during the game.

The Bulls were without guard Chris Duhon (lower back pain) for the second straight game and forward Luol Deng (concussion) for the third straight.

The Philadelphia 76ers will fine Allen Iverson and Chris Webber for not being at the arena 90 minutes before Tuesday night's game against the New Jersey Nets.

	Webber

	Iverson

The Sixers said Iverson and Webber did show up and were in the locker room when the game tipped off.

Team president Billy King said he knew at Tuesday morning's shootaround that Iverson and Webber would be given the team's final home game off because of injuries. But King did expect the two to be at the game.

King said the two would be fined but declined to get into specifics.

Iverson was to miss the game with an ankle injury, and Webber had a sore back.

The Sixers were eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff race Sunday. They are scheduled to close out the season in Charlotte on Wednesday.

Former NBA star Jayson Williams can be retried on a reckless manslaughter charge stemming from the shooting death of a hired driver at the player's estate, an appeals court ruled Friday.

Williams had sought to avoid a second trial, contending that it would be double jeopardy. A jury already acquitted him of three other charges stemming from the same shotgun blast, including aggravated manslaughter.

Williams, 38, has remained free on bail since his April 30, 2004 conviction on four charges stemming from a failed attempt to cover up the 2002 fatal shooting at the mansion he owned.

Williams spokeswoman Judy Williams said they plan to appeal the ruling.

First Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember, who tried the case, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

1. Its important to have a woman who helps at home, cooks, cleans & has a job.

2. Its important to have a woman who can make you laugh.

3. Its important to have a woman who you can trust & doesn't lie.

4. Its important to have a woman who is good in bed & likes being with you.

5. Its very, very important that these four bitches don't know each other.

A man who swindled 41 people out of a combined $250,000 in a Super Bowl ticket online scam was found guilty of wire and mail fraud on Tuesday.

The federal jury deliberated about three hours before finding Michael Deppe of Hudson, Mass., guilty of three counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud.

Steven J. Rappaport, Deppe's lawyer, said the ticket scam was the brainchild of a business partner and that he would file an appeal based on incorrect instructions from the judge to the jury before deliberations.

Deppe, 21, had been barred from using the Internet at the time of the Super Bowl because of a guilty plea in another online merchandise scam.

Deppe set up the scam after meeting William Englehart through online auctions. The pair set up a company to sell sports memorabilia over the Internet.

Englehart testified during the trial that Deppe came up with the idea of selling tickets to the 2005 Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. He had two tickets and $11,000 in his car at the time of his arrest.

Rappaport said Englehart knew of Deppe's checkered past, used him, and took the cash.

Deppe is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 8 in the Super Bowl ticket case and a previous case in which he pleaded guilty to eight federal charges of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud in connection with the first merchandise scam.

He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, restitution and three years of supervised release on each count.

Just chilling at home, watching Parental Control on MTV.  Some of these people have major problems.  And the parents are definitely acting; most parents aren't that dumb.

I have a hard time believing that someone would be like "oh, thanks mom and dad for finding this new girl for me to date.  You were right, my girlfriend was stupid, so I'm gonna dump her right now for this girl."

But I still watch the show.

That mop-haired Canadian did it again, running away with his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award.

Steve Nash -- the maestro of the fast, frenetic Phoenix Suns -- beat runner-up LeBron James of Cleveland by a comfortable margin in results announced Sunday.

He is the ninth player to win consecutive MVP trophies and joins Magic Johnson as the only point guards to win the award more than once.

Congrats to the  University of Virginia men's lacrosse team for becoming national champions.

The seniors on the team also won the national championship as freshmen, then had a disappointing sophomore season followed by a crushing loss to John Hopkins in last year's semifinal round.

Vindication is sweet.

Nothing has changed in the volatile relationship between Stephon Marbury and coach Larry Brown, but the vocal guard continues to profess his determination to stay with the New York Knicks.

Despite the contentious relationship that played out in the press this year and a miserable record, Marbury told the New York Post that he wants to "die a Knick."

Not one to shy away from grand statements, Marbury bordered on hyperbole in his love for his hometown team.

"If I ever was to be cremated, I'd want my ashes sprinkled on top of the Garden," Marbury told the paper.

"Playing here has always been my dream. I want to be in New York more than any place."

Despite the team's dismal 23-59 performance, Marbury thinks the players on the roster can improve.

"I hope that every player on this team comes back next season," Marbury told the Post.

"I honestly mean that. Every player. I think we have a great team. I think it will be so much different next year."

Reports surfaced this month that owner James Dolan may buy out Brown's contract, but the coach helped work out draft prospects last week. The Knicks own two late first-round picks in the June draft.

What an awesome basketball game last night!  It was looking pretty bad for the Heat, but they came back from 13-down to win it!!  Dwayne Wade played incredibly at the end of the game.  And what about Gary Payton's clutch shot at the end?  So sweet!

The Mavericks may have tried, but they couldn't stop Shaq last night! :)

This game was a blowout!  98-74.

Woot woot!  Miami won!

Not sure where this was (I'm guessing England?) but it's pretty funny!

You can click the picture to make it larger.

Eminem is continuing to pay tribute to his friend, late D12 member and Detroit rap ambassador Proof.

Em and the rest of the Shady Records family have set up BigProof4Ever.com, where T-shirts and a poster bearing Proof's likeness and the words "Big Proof Forever 1973-2006" are being sold. The shirts and poster are designed by graphic artist Shepard Fairey, who started his anti-authority Obey Giant campaign in the 1980s. All proceeds from the Web site go to the Big Proof Forever Foundation, an organization that will benefit Proof's five children.

The site also features some of the words Eminem spoke at his friend's funeral.

"Right now, there's a lot of people focusing on the way he died," Eminem says in one clip from the April service. "I want to remember the way he lived. Proof was funny, he was smart, he was charming. He inspired everyone around him. He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always will be, my best friend."

Proof was shot and killed on April 11 at a Detroit after-hours club by Mario Etheridge after an argument between Proof and Etheridge's cousin, Keith Bender, turned violent. Police say Proof killed Bender during the incident. In May, a Detroit prosecutor said Etheridge, who was a bouncer at the CCC nightclub where Proof was shot, acted in his cousin's defense.

Denver Nuggets guard Julius Hodge was expected to resume workouts in a week after undergoing minor surgery Friday to remove a bullet fragment from his left thigh.

Hodge was shot three times in his left leg April 8 while driving on a Denver freeway after he left a nightclub. Investigators said the shots were fired from a car that drove next to Hodge's. No one has been charged.

Former Fresno State basketball player Terry Pettis was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Tuesday for the murder of a teenage woman in a botched drug robbery, The Fresno Bee reported.

Pettis, 21, was convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery in the death of Rene Shannon Abbott, a Fresno City College student who was behind the wheel of a car while her boyfriend sold marijuana in the seat next to her.

Pettis shoved a handgun through the open driver's window and demanded the drugs, witnesses said. The gun fired when Abbott, 18, tried to drive away.

The April 2004 killing capped a series of run-ins Pettis had with the law that ended his basketball career at California State University, Fresno.

Pettis, who led Minneapolis Henry to three straight state championships, was one of the top Western Athletic Conference players his freshman year at Fresno.

But his exploits off the court soon started drawing more attention.

In 2003, Pettis was sentenced to three years of probation for vandalism and battery, and he spent a month in a substance abuse program.

He emerged to lead the Bulldogs on a seven-game winning spree. But in February 2004 he was suspended from the team and put behind bars for violating probation by not completing a batterer's treatment program.

Six days after Pettis got out of jail, Abbott drove her boyfriend, Kent Wolf, to the parking lot of an apartment complex near Fresno State.

While Wolf sold an ounce of marijuana, a gunman appeared at the driver's side window demanding the drugs, witnesses testified.

"Go, go, go," Wolf shouted. The car jumped into reverse and the gun fired, Michael Tunnell, the drug buyer, testified.

Tunnell and Wolf pointed to Pettis as the gunman. A police technician identified his finger and palm prints on Abbott's car window. And jurors heard a tape of his then-girlfriend, Melissa Cenci, tell police how a hysterical Pettis came to her house that night, saying he thought he "shot something" during a drug robbery.

Kobe Bryant had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Friday and won't play for Team USA this summer.

Bryant will need eight to 12 weeks to recover. He is still expected to attend the team's training camp and pre-World Championship tour, USA Basketball announced, and he will compete for the Olympic team.

The sugery was a "minor treatment" of cartilage and to remove scar tissue. The Lakers begin training camp Oct. 2.

"We trust that Kobe will have a total and speedy recover, and we are pleased that he expressed a willingness to remain as involved with our team as possible through this process," Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball Senior National Team managing director, said in a statement issued by USA Basketball. "Kobe being with the team will add to our team chemistry, and his presence will help provide valuable off-court leadership."

Amazon.com is going to produce a movie.    It has optioned screen rights to Keith Donohue's bestselling novel "The Stolen Child." Amazon will move to secure a filmmaker and then a studio partner to turn the fantasy into a live-action feature.

First they start selling groceries, now they're producing a movie.  Who are they trying to be?

''Simply put in a sample of your urine and the computer will diagnose your problem and tell you what you can do about it. It only costs $10." Bill figured he had nothing to lose, so he filled a jar with a urine sample and went to the drug store. Finding the computer, he poured in the sample and deposited the $10. The computer started making some noise and various lights started flashing. After a brief pause out popped a small slip of paper on which was printed: "You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water. Avoid heavy lifting. It will be better in two weeks."

Later that evening while thinking how amazing this new technology was and how it would change medical science forever, he began to wonder if this machine could be fooled. He mixed together some tap water, a stool sample from his dog and urine samples from his wife and daughter. To top it off, he masturbated into the concoction. He went back to the drug store, located the machine, poured in the sample and deposited the $10. The computer again made the usual noise and printed out the following message:

"Your tap water is too hard. Get a water softener. Your dog has worms. Get him vitamins. Your daughter is using cocaine. Put her in a rehabilitation clinic. Your wife is pregnant with twin girls. They aren't yours. Get a lawyer. And if you don't stop jerking off, your tennis elbow will never get better."

Stephon Marbury now is endorsing a sneaker that costs just $14.98, a pittance when compared with the often daunting prices that companies such as Nike and Reebok charge for their footwear.

The "Starbury One," a sneaker designed by Steve & Barry's University Sportswear, will go on sale Thursday.

The New York Knicks guard hooked up with the low-priced apparel company after Marbury's marketing representatives spoke with Steve & Barry's about other marketing opportunities. When Marbury heard about the company's sneakers, he quickly agreed to endorse them.

He is expected to wear the sneakers during games next season.

Former NBA player Lonny Baxter was sentenced Wednesday to two months in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of carrying a gun a few blocks from the White House.

Baxter, who played with the Charlotte Bobcats last season, has been in jail since his arrest Aug. 16, when uniformed Secret Service officers responded to reports of shots being fired from a white sport utility vehicle.

Officers found a gun and spent shell casings in the SUV that Baxter was driving. The 27-year-old player and his passenger, Francis I. Martin, 35, were charged with carrying a handgun without a license and other firearms charges. Prosecutors dropped the case against Martin on Wednesday.

Baxter appeared Wednesday before District of Columbia Superior Court judge Craig Iscoe and apologized for the "careless, selfish, stupid act that I committed."

Iscoe sentenced the former Maryland star to nine months in jail, then suspended all but 60 days. Baxter also was fined $2,000, plus court costs, and put on probation for 18 months. Sentencing for a felony charge was deferred until August 2007 under a plea agreement with prosecutors. To avoid further jail time then, Baxter must not own or possess any guns and avoid any arrests.

Kevin Federline is going to make his acting debut in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation set to air in October. According to PEOPLE magazine Federline "will play a menacing, arrogant teen who harasses investigators Nick Stokes (George Eads) and Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) on a job."

Filming of the episode kicked off Thursday night after Federline got word during the Teen Choice Awards about guesting on the show. He told PEOPLE, "This is pretty much my first time acting. It's the first time I've actually had a speaking role." "I was doing stuff for the Teen Choice Awards," he says, "and got the call while we were rehearsing and I pissed in my pants! I was excited right off the bat. It's the only show that I really, really watch."

50 Cent was pulled over by police while driving his silver Lamborghini today.

The situation soon became a spectacle as 50 calmly sat in his vehicle — even smiling — while police handled their investigation and a few dozen pedestrians looked on. The G-Unit leader was eventually led away in handcuffs, causing some onlookers to yell out, "Don't arrest him!" The chants were to no avail. He was hauled off in a police car, and his vehicle was towed away as well.

At the station, 50 was not booked but was given four summonses: one for driving with an expired permit, one for driving an unregistered vehicle, one for driving without insurance and one for an unsafe lane change. He was released and is due to appear in court at a unspecified later date.

Fans of hip hop music are likely to have had more sexual partners in the last five years while many of those who prefer classical strains will have tried cannabis, according to a study released on Thursday.

Psychologist Adrian North from the University of Leicester surveyed 2,500 Britons to find out how their musical tastes related to their lifestyles and interests.

He said the results showed said it was possible to discover clues about what people were like simply from the music they liked.

Almost 38 percent of hip hop devotees and 29 percent of dance music fans were more likely to have had more than one sexual partner in the last five years compared to just 1.5 percent of country music fans.

However they were also more likely to have broken the law, with more than 50 percent of both hip hop and dance music lovers admitting committing a criminal act.

A quarter of classical music fans have tried cannabis while 12 percent of those who liked opera had experimented with magic mushrooms.

"Surprisingly there have been very few studies on how people's age, sex, socioeconomic status and personality relate to the music they enjoy listening to," North said.

He now wants to recruit 10,000 people for a wider study on his Web site www.musicaltastetest.com.

Maybe the Broncos are the real deal.

Snoop Dogg turned himself in to Orange County, California, authorities on Monday (November 6), four days after he was charged with felony possession of a deadly weapon.

The rapper arrived at Orange County Jail in the morning and promptly posted $150,000 bail, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

The charge stems from a September 27 arrest in which security at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana found a collapsible baton in his carry-on luggage that the rapper said was a prop for a video.

If convicted, Snoop could be sentenced to three years in prison. However, his attorney, Donald Etra, is confident his client will be found innocent.

Playing on four days' rest, Kobe Bryant had 31 points and 11 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to beat the last-place Toronto Raptors 107-100 Friday night, when he went over the 17,000-point mark.

Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 17,000 points, going over the mark in the second quarter with a 16-foot jumper from the right baseline off a pass from rookie Jordan Farmar.

At 28 years and 86 days, Bryant got there faster than Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and former teammate Shaquille O'Neal.

How can Snoop keep getting arrested on weapons charges?

Corey and I put our tree up yesterday and got it all decorated.  Amy and Connie (Corey's latest) helped out.  It was pretty nice, holiday spirit and all that.

Damn, gotta go to work in an hour.

Former Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett has been transferred to a prison where he could spend the remainder of his sentence.

Clarett will be in a single cell at the Toledo Correctional Institution, but he will not be isolated from other inmates, said Andrea Dean, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

The close-security prison only has single cells, and Clarett will be able to exercise and eat with other inmates, she said Thursday.

A judge sentenced Clarett in September to at least 3½ years in prison on charges of aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.

Authorities said he flashed a gun and robbed two people early Jan. 1 outside a Columbus bar. The concealed weapon charge was from his Aug. 9 arrest after a highway chase with police who found four loaded guns in his sport utility vehicle.

As a freshman tailback, Clarett led Ohio State to the national championship in 2002.

He then dropped out of Ohio State and lost a U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the NFL's requirement that players wait three years after high school before turning pro. The Denver Broncos made Clarett a surprise third-round pick in the NFL's 2005 draft, but cut him during the preseason.

Folks in Chicago will be able to buy alcohol on Christmas and New Year's Eve mornings.

Get ya party on, folks!

Larry Brown has rejoined the Philadelphia 76ers.  Except this time, he's the new executive vice president.  Let's see how long this lasts.

Amare Stoudemire is incredible.  He's got so much talent, and I love watching him on tv.  I never realized he's only a year older than me.

Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson has been indicted on charges of drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs.  He could face up to 7 years in prison.

I used to like Tyson...at least as a boxer.  But what has he done lately?  Nothing.  And now he might be going to prison.  What a waste of talent.

The Indiana Pacers traded Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday for forwards Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy as part of an eight-player deal designed to shake up two struggling teams.

The Pacers also sent guard Sarunas Jasikevicius and forward Josh Powell to the Warriors, who gave up forward Ike Diogu> and guard Keith McLeod.

"We feel we made a pretty significant trade for the franchise that will be good for both teams," Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement. "We feel the players we got will make a significant difference in the franchise."

Acting on a tip, state police stopped Leticia Villareal Garcia near Bisbee in southeast Arizona in February 2005 and found 214 pounds of marijuana stuffed into the trunk of her car.  Way to go, granny!

Garcia has maintained her innocence, telling the judge at her sentencing Friday that she was unaware of the grass as she headed for a bingo game.

According to an upcoming paper by a University of Pennsylvania professor and a Cornell graduate student, white referees called fouls against black players at a higher rate than they did against white players.

Their study also found that black officials called fouls on white players more frequently than they did against blacks, but the disparity wasn't as great.

"We obviously discuss officiating and our feelings toward it," said Utah Jazz guard Derek Fisher, president of the NBA players' association. "But I don't ever recall it being a racially motivated type of conversation where we felt like there were certain guys that had it out for me or him or whoever just because of the color of our skin.

"I don't know that I've ever really felt that there was a racial component to officiating."

"Most of the players in the league use marijuana and I have and do partake in smoking weed in the offseason sometimes," Howard told "The Michael Irvin Show" on the local ESPN affiliate. "I mean, that's my personal choice and my personal opinion, but I don't think that's stopping me from doing my job."

The 61-year-old former football star could spend the rest of his life in prison. Sentencing was set for Dec. 5.

Capping off a year in which he was arrested for nearly $1 million in gambling debts, Antoine Walker is now being pursued by the city for managing housing that violates public safety requirements, says the Tribune.

Walker Ventures LLC and AW Realty LLC, two real estate companies that list Walker as the principal, are the target of more than a dozen lawsuits alleging poor property management, unpaid debts and damages caused by shoddy repair work.

Walker, who has played for the Celtics, Mavericks and Heat, but who has not signed to another team this year, spoke to the Tribune on Friday and apologized for neglecting his companies and tenants.

"I would like to humbly apologize to everyone who has been affected by the failings of my company," Walker said. "It was never intended to present [tenants with] unacceptable living conditions," he said to the Tribune.

Over the past few years, Walker's problem properties have included:

• A 13-unit building on Cornell Avenue with a mold infestation and toxic fumes, which the city declared a "hulking public nuisance."
• A Minerva Avenue building with poor electrical work, insect infestations, and several code violations.
• A Country Club Hills building in which raw sewage leaks from pipes.

Read the full story at chicagotribune.com.