Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Chris Tucker owe the IRS!!
The Rush Hour Star is in trouble with the IRS. According to OTRC, Tucker owe the IRS more than 11 million dollars back in taxes. This isn't the first time Chris Tucker have been in trouble with the IRS.
Read More:www.ontheredcarpet.com
Brittany Murphy Mother says Toxic Mold Didn't Kill Her Daughter.
Brittany Murphy's cause of the death was reported to be a combination of pneumonia and anemia. Roughly six months after her passing her husband, Simon Monjack, was found dead in their Hollywood Hills home. According to recent toxicology reports the actress and husband passed away due - in part - to toxic mold growing in their home. There was reportedly fungi found in Murphy's home that could have led to the deadly pneumonia.
Read More at :www.thirdage.com
Missing Memphis basketball star Lorenzen Wright found dead
In the early hours of July 19, a Germantown dispatcher received a 911 call from Lorenzen Wright's cell phone.
The dispatcher heard a garbled male voice utter an expletive, then at least 10 gunshots.
"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" the dispatcher asked.
Then the phone went dead.
The dispatcher called back. No one answered.
Nine days later, Wright's body was found in a wooded area of southeast Memphis, two law enforcement sources confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
The former basketball star went missing on July 19, just hours before he was supposed to ride back to his townhouse in the Atlanta area with a friend and his six children.
Hundreds of Wright's friends and fans, including kids on bicycles and women pushing strollers, rushed to the scene Wednesday where the body was found, in an area across the road from the TPC Southwind golf course near Hacks Cross and Winchester. Cars lined Hacks Cross as far as the eye could see, some with their lights flashing.
Some people cried and watched as a news helicopter circled overhead. Some took photos of police officers and each other with cell phones.
Police cars stopped onlookers from getting too close to the crime scene as they walked up the winding road of a planned office park nearby. One officer said the scene reminded him of the day Elvis died, when fans flocked to the gates of Graceland.
The Wright family issued a statement Wednesday night through a cousin of Wright, Camella Logan.
"Lorenzen's family has come together to mourn his loss and honor his legacy," the statement said. "We appreciate your thoughts, prayers and condolences as they are comforting at this very difficult time. Additionally, we ask that you please respect our privacy as we try to cope with his sudden loss."
Wright's mother, Deborah Marion, arrived at the scene Wednesday night with a handful of family members. She crossed the crime scene tape and tried to talk to police when she was told to move back.
Eventually, two officers let her through. She started running down the road toward the crime scene before being stopped by an officer.
She spoke with police, then walked straight to a van without speaking to anyone.
Marion lived nearby and Wright often used the little-known road through the wooded area -- known as Callis Cutoff -- as a shortcut to her home.
"RIP Memphis Tiger alum Lorenzen Wright," former Tiger Chris Douglas-Roberts, now of the Milwaukee Bucks, posted on his Twitter account.
Wright, 34, described by friends as a dedicated father, leaves behind two daughters and four sons, ages 4 to 15.
He visited his children July 18 at his former wife's home in Collierville. He was supposed to meet them the next day to take them back to his home in an affluent northern suburb of Atlanta so they could spend the rest of the summer with him, said family friend Jeremy Orange.
The children had spent most of the summer with their father, who took them to the movies, amusement parks and the swimming pool and helped them with their basketball skills, Orange said.
Wright had asked Orange to drive the children to their mom's Memphis home July 16 because oldest daughter Loren, 14, was competing in a beauty contest. Orange said Wright, known to friends as "Ren," hugged each child and gave Loren a kiss goodbye as they left the Atlanta area.
Wright, who hadn't been scheduled to come to Memphis, could be spontaneous.
His roommate, Michael Gipson, dropped him off at the Atlanta airport to fly to Memphis on July 18, and Wright planned to catch a ride back with Orange and his children the next day, Gipson said.
Antavio Brigance, Wright's longtime barber, said Wright came into his shop not long before he disappeared.
"He was laughing, cheerful and bubbly," he said.
After his haircut, Wright left with a friend in a silver, older-model Chrysler 300, said Brigance, who declined to describe the other person in the car.
According to the missing-persons report filed by his mother, Wright was last seen leaving his former wife's house on Whisperwood Drive at about 2 a.m. July19.
Four days later, the family reported the disappearance of the 6-foot-11 power forward to Collierville police.
One factor that could have put him in jeopardy: He was known to carry a wad of cash, according to the missing-persons report.
"He had been toting some money at the barbershop," Brigance said.
Orange estimated Wright was carrying between $2,000 and $3,000 in big bills. Police have not said if robbery is a possible motive in the slaying.
His friends have said they don't know why anyone would harm Wright.
"He's a relaxed person. I've never seen him mad or upset," Orange said. "I've known people from the NBA who are real stuck-up and cocky. That man is not like that."
Gipson agreed.
"I don't think he had any enemies," he said.
Wright recently had endured some tough times, with a fractured thumb that had halted his NBA career, financial woes and a divorce finalized in January.
But his roommate said he remained positive, that he had begun dating again and he had two NBA teams inviting him to tryouts. Wright was scheduled to fly to Israel last weekend to try out for a team there, prompting his agent to make several calls searching for him, Gipson said.
The University of Memphis player joined the NBA in 1996 as the Los Angeles Clippers' No. 7 draft pick. He joined the Grizzlies in 2001 and spent five seasons in Memphis, where he had dreamed of retiring.
Attorney Gail Mathes, who represented the athlete's ex-wife, Sherra Robinson Wright, 39, during the couple's divorce, said he remained kind during the process and continued to put the children's interests first.
"Man, he loves those kids and they love him," Orange said."He has that father instinct.
"When I'm driving them, he calls to tell me: 'Take care of my babies.'"
—Kristina Goetz: 529-2380
—Beth Warren: 529-2383
Staff reporters Clay Bailey, Zack McMillin, Mike Mueller and Geoff Calkins contributed. The Associated Press also contributed.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Amber Rose pretty in pink!
Amber Rose was spotted out in Bridgehampton, New York over the weekend at the opening day of the Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge held at Blue Jets Field.
Is Team USA ready for what lies ahead?
Is Team USA ready for what lies ahead?
Fast-paced blue-white scrimmage exciting but no indication of what awaits at worlds
ESPNEWS Highlight Of The Night
LAS VEGAS -- That was one heck of a frantic, frenzied track meet of a scrimmage Saturday night for Team USA, the blue and white squads each trying to outrun the other in a 114-96 victory for the Kevin Durant-led white team.
Hope you saw it and had a chance to appreciate it, because chances are you won't see much like it in the weeks ahead. This speed might be on display against France in Team USA's first exhibition game, and again against Iran and Tunisia in its final two first-round games of the world championship in Turkey. But in between, there will be a question of whether the Americans can impose their will and their style of play -- and how they'll respond if and when they are unable to do so.
"We're unconventional," team director Jerry Colangelo said afterward, repeating a phrase that coach Mike Krzyzewski has uttered dozens of times.
Problem is, unconventional eventually will meet conventional, and how this team performs when it cannot dictate the style of play ultimately will determine whether it returns home a winner or loser.
For a night, though, speed and talent meshed brilliantly. The squads combined to score 210 points, made 24 of 51 3-pointers, watched a breakout performance from Derrick Rose (15 points, 8 assists, 5 steals, no turnovers) that should make him the leading contender to start at point guard and got 28 points in 29 minutes from Durant.
What Team USA didn't get, however, was any kind of taste of what is ahead. The crowd booed only once, when it was announced that a fan had won a basketball autographed by LeBron James. The referees (two of whom, Zach Zarba and John Goble, work in the NBA) let the players get away with moving screens and blatant travels. Even TV timeouts lasted more than twice as long as they will when the real competition starts.
The Americans also need to realize that as much as they try to run, their opponents will try to slow the pace. Plenty of veteran-laden teams will be able to do just that. (The Greeks are masters at it, even though they sped things up and beat the Americans at their own game in the semifinals of the 2006 worlds.)
Team USA probably will not see as much zone as it has during the past several years. But if Saturday night is any indication, it won't have much of a low-post game to turn to if its outside shots aren't falling the way they did at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Take a look at how the big men, already thinned out by the losses of David Lee, Amare Stoudemire and Robin Lopez, performed:
• Brook Lopez was 1-for-2 for two points and had no rebounds in 13 minutes.
• Tyson Chandler was 6-for-6 from the field but 1-for-4 from the line for 13 points, and nobody out there was looking to wrap him up or hammer him across the arms as will be the case in the weeks ahead.
• Lamar Odom, the starting center (not a misprint) for the white squad, shot 1-for-4 and scored two points.
• JaVale McGee had a dominant 90-second stretch when he first checked in, making three straight buckets and blocking a shot, but did relatively nothing the rest of the night, finishing with seven points.
The most active bigs were two players who might be fighting for one roster spot: Jeff Green (11 points, eight rebounds) and Kevin Love (eight points, seven rebounds).
And two of the best 3-point shooters, Eric Gordon (16 points, 4-for-7 shooting from 3) and O.J. Mayo (18 points, 3-for-6), could be caught in the numbers crunch when the team hierarchy whittles the roster by four players early this week.
"We're going to go with 15 for sure," Colangelo said. "We'll talk [Saturday night], and it will continue tomorrow, but by Monday we should have it done. It would have been even more complicated if some of our bigs who went down or couldn't play were here."
Players who helped their chances Saturday included Gordon, Mayo and Andre Iguodala (5-for-6 from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, for 17 points). Meanwhile, players whose stock appeared to drop included Gerald Wallace, who shot 2-for-6 overall and 0-for-4 on 3s in just 12 minutes (the second-lowest total court time behind McGee, who played nine minutes), and Danny Granger (five points and five fouls in 21 minutes).
Durant and Rudy Gay combined for 14 of the game's 35 turnovers, but their offensive production (51 points combined) more than made up for it. Rajon Rondo was sort of ordinary, and Chauncey Billups missed his first seven shot attempts before making his next two.
"This team will be everything we've said it will be once we saw what we had. They're athletic, they're going to be able to shoot the ball -- a lot better than people think they can -- especially if they play with rhythm," Colangelo said. "You could build a case for saying there's not enough space for all the terrific guards we have. That's a dilemma, and it's certainly true, and somebody is going to be disappointed when it's all said and done."
But that disappointment will pale in comparison to what the whole squad will feel if it cannot figure out how to play more than one way.
Unconventional is not necessarily bad, but there has to be some ability to play conventionally when circumstances call for it.
In the weeks ahead, we'll get to see whether this U.S. team is capable of doing so.
If it isn't, it could be a bumpy road ahead that'll have the Americans longing for the night in Vegas back in late July when their first public appearance looked more like an NBA All-Star Game than a FIBA competition.
Hornets GM confident Paul Staying Put
NEW ORLEANS -- Chris Paul is staying put with the New Orleans Hornets -- at least for now.
The Hornets' star guard did not request a trade Monday in his meeting with new coach Monty Williams and top team officials, general manager Dell Demps said.
Demps, essentially in his first day on the job since his hiring last week, added that he was confident Paul would still be with New Orleans when the coming season opens.
The meeting took place at an undisclosed downtown location before Demps made his way back to the Hornets' corporate offices to meet with reporters.
“” -- Chris Paul, on Monday's meeting
I expressed my desire to win and I like what they said about the direction that they want to take the team. I have been a Hornet my entire career and I hope to represent the city of New Orleans and state of Louisiana for many years to come.
with Hornets brass
Although Paul did not speak with the media, the team released a statement from him that indicated the three-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist was encouraged by the Hornets' recent coaching and front-office overhaul.
"The meeting went well. It was great to get an opportunity to sit down with coach Williams, [team] president [Hugh] Weber and our new general manager, Dell Demps," Paul's statement said. "I expressed my desire to win and I like what they said about the direction that they want to take the team. I have been a Hornet my entire career and I hope to represent the city of New Orleans and state of Louisiana for many years to come."
Paul has two years remaining before he can opt out of his current contract with the Hornets. However, he said at his charity golf outing earlier this month that he would welcome a trade if the Hornets did not demonstrate a willingness to give him a supporting cast that would make the club good enough to compete with any team in the NBA.
Only days after making that statement, Paul fired his agent and hired Leon Rose, who also represents LeBron James. Paul also agreed to work with James' LRMR marketing agency.
Paul's representatives then told the Hornets that Paul was interested in being traded, but the Hornets countered by scheduling a meeting in New Orleans that included Demps, Williams, Weber, Rose and Paul's brother, C.J. Paul.
"It was a very productive meeting. I was encouraged," Demps said. "It was the first time I met Chris. It was a good opportunity for us to open the lines of communication. Chris had some very good points. ... He was energetic. He was open. He was honest. He showed that he wants to win, and that's what we want to do as well."
Williams and Weber stood nearby but did not comment as Demps discussed the meeting with Paul, which Demps said lasted about 90 minutes.
The Hornets prepared for their sitdown with Paul by turning away the latest round of trade calls from other teams, NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
Sources told ESPN.com that teams inquiring about Paul's availability in recent days were greeted with the same resistance to Paul offers that the Hornets have maintained for months. Persistent media reports had suggested Paul would formally request to be traded at Monday's meeting.
"They say they aren't moving him," one rival team executive said of the Hornets.
While Paul cannot force a trade, the Hornets opted to trade disgruntled guard Baron Davis during the 2004-05 season. New Orleans then began a rebuilding process that picked up speed with the drafting of Paul out of Wake Forest in the summer of 2005. Paul went on to become rookie of the year and quickly became the face of the franchise. A poster-size photo of Paul's smiling visage is the first thing that greets those who walk into the Hornets' corporate offices on the 19th floor of a downtown high-rise near the New Orleans Arena.
Demps said he hoped Paul would not become disruptive as long as he remains in New Orleans.
"I don't anticipate that," Demps said.
If Paul were traded, it would be only the latest change, but perhaps the highest-profile one, for a franchise in flux.
Nearly three months ago, the Hornets' founding owner, George Shinn, reached a verbal agreement to sell his majority share of the club to partner and Louisiana businessman Gary Chouest. A final sale is still pending, however, and both Shinn and Chouest have declined to discuss the holdup.
In the meantime, former general manager Jeff Bower, who also served as head coach after Byron Scott was fired last season, has stepped down. When the Hornets hired the 38-year-old Williams in June, he became a first-time coach and the youngest one in the NBA. Then Demps, 40, replaced Bower in the front office. Demps, a former San Antonio Spurs executive, is a first-time general manager.
So far, the only two new players on the Hornets' roster are the rookies they drafted last month: Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter. Their only free-agent move has been the re-signing of reserve center Aaron Gray, meaning Demps could have a lot of work to do to keep Paul happy.
Demps did not go into detail about the Hornets' presentation to Paul. He said for competitive reasons he needed to keep much of what they discussed private.
The Hornets' payroll is close to the NBA's luxury tax threshold, and team officials have said they do not want to pay the tax or take on new debt while the sale of the club is pending.
Still, Demps asserted, "There's always ways to be creative.
"I'm an optimist. I think that we'll sit down and evaluate the roster and look at all our pieces and move forward and do what's in the best interests of the organization."
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com's Marc Stein was used in this report.
Search Continues for Lorenzen Wright
Search Continues for Lorenzen Wright
Updated: Monday, 26 Jul 2010, 8:57 PM CDT
Published : Monday, 26 Jul 2010, 8:28 PM CDT
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. - Collierville police are trying to find any information that can help them find former Memphis Tiger and Grizzlies player, Lorenzen Wright.
Monday marked more than a week since he was last seen by family at his ex-wife's house. So far there's been no luck with leads.
"There have been some calls from the public, they've followed everyone of them, and none have really led to anything that can substantiate or add anything significant to a trail of finding him," said Public Information Officer for Collierville, Mark Heuberger.
Detectives working the case have been in touch with police in Atlanta where Wright lives and played 3 plus seasons for the Hawks. Wright visited his mother in Collierville Saturday the 17th then his ex-wife and 6 kids, who also live in Collierville, on Sunday. There was a report he got his haircut in Memphis the next day but nothing more.
"I think there is a very high level of concern and intensity in terms of trying to locate him, to find someone that's seen him. Anything of that nature," Heuberger said.
Wright's ex-wife Sherra tells FOX13 a week makes her worry. She said his going a couple of days without talking to their children has happened before but never a whole week.
She said after going and coming back a few times, Wright finally left her house sometime late Sunday night while she was asleep.
Wright's mother was the one who filed the missing person's report with police last Thursday. At that point it had been 4 days of no contact between Wright and his family. Now it's double that.
If you have any information call Collierville Police at (901) 853-3207.
Now that's a whole alot of FOXY!
Foxy Brown was spotted at Times Square on Sunday night. Last week she was arrested for violating a protection order after she literally showed her ass to her neighbor.
