Robin Lopez Expected to Be Out 'Several Weeks' With Sprained Knee

Filed under: ,

Robin LopezPHOENIX -- The Suns will be without Robin Lopez, their starting center, for "several weeks," according to a release issued by the team. An MRI revealed a moderate sprain of both the MCL and PCL in his left knee. Lopez sustained the injury early in his team's win over the Lakers on Sunday, on an awkward-looking play where Jared Dudley fell back into him after attempting a shot in the lane.

The plan for now is to start Channing Frye in Lopez's place, with the possibility of a roster move on the horizon. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweeted that the Suns may add Earl Barron, a seven-footer who averaged over 11 points and 11 rebounds in seven appearances for the Knicks near the end of last season.

Before Monday's game against Denver, Suns head coach Alvin Gentry talked about Frye replacing Lopez in the starting lineup, but made it clear that after that, how the minutes get divided up is anyone's guess.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/11/15/robin-lopez-expected-to-be-out-several-weeks-with-sprained-kne/

Katherine Heigl Katie Cassidy Katie Holmes Katy Perry Keira Knightley Kelly Brook

Michael Jackson's 'Breaking News' Debuts Online

The late King of Pop addresses his conflicts with the media in the first release from his upcoming album, Michael.
By Gil Kaufman


The artwork for Michael Jackson's "Breaking News"
Photo: michaeljackson.com

Throughout his life, Michael Jackson had a rather contentious relationship with the media. The late pop icon's outrageous behavior and appearance never failed to generate the attention and adulation he seemed to crave, but that fascination was always a double-edged sword for the conflicted star, as it also involved tabloid reporters digging into every nook and cranny of his personal life. This subject is one he revisited on "Breaking News," the first single from his upcoming posthumous album, Michael, which is scheduled for a December 14 release.

On Monday morning (November 8), a full stream of the biting, never-before-heard track was posted online.

The first salvo from the singer's 11th CD features a propulsive, robotic beat and layered vocals that have the signature future-funk sound of Jackson's late-period work, with pointed lyrics about the thirst for news about the reclusive icon, who died at age 50 in June 2009 following an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol.

The four-minute track begins with snippets of news reports about Jackson's life and death, which reach a crescendo before being cut off by a crash, followed by a thumping, skittering beat and lively strings.

"Everybody wanting a piece of Michael Jackson/ Reporters stalking the moves of Michael Jackson," the King of Pop sings urgently. One of the more jarring aspects of the song is that it appears to mark the first time in his career that Jackson made a first-person reference to himself when discussing his feelings about being hounded by reporters. "Just when you thought he was done/ He comes to give it again," he continues, adding the ominous first-verse kicker, "They want to write my obituary."

MJ then sings in the pre-chorus, "No matter what, you just wanna read it again/ No matter what, you just wanna feel it again." He then asks why it is so strange that he should want to fall in love, referring to himself as "the boogie man" and lamenting the media's desire to see him fall. "You write the words to destroy, like it's a weapon/ You turn your back on love and you can't get it again."

An odd musical shift occurs halfway through the song, as a jarring edit takes place that brings up a brighter rhythm section accented by triumphant jazzy horns and Jackson crooning, "All the news today, they say we're crazy."

The mix of Jackson's sugary and tart vocals, dripping with contempt for the tabloid press, helps cut some of the bitterness of the song, but clearly the singer had something to get off his chest. Mocking his tormentors, he sings, "This is breaking news/ This is breaking news," before ending with the biting line, "You're breaking the news" — both a slap at the tabloids for thinking that his personal life is headline-worthy copy and a judgment on what their reporting is doing to the free press.

This being MJ, there is, of course, some controversy surrounding the tune, courtesy of tabloid site TMZ, which has raised questions about its legitimacy. Last week, TMZ reported that the superstar's children and mother were not convinced that the vocals on "Breaking News" were those of Jackson, but rather that they were possibly sung by an imitator.

According to a Reuters report, a lawyer for Michael's father, Joseph Jackson, also said that the music on the album consists of unfinished tracks that notorious perfectionist MJ would never have wanted released. On Friday, Sony Music reacted to the controversy and said that it had "complete confidence in the results of our extensive research as well as the accounts of those who were in the studio with Michael that the vocals on the new album are his own."

The label has said that "Breaking News" was recorded by Jackson at a friend's house in New Jersey in 2007 and described it as having recently been "brought to completion." Sony has not revealed how much work was done on the tracks for Michael or which producers were involved.

What do you think of the new Michael Jackson song? Tell us in the comments.

Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1651748/20101108/jackson_michael.jhtml

Lauren German LeAnn Rimes Leeann Tweeden Leelee Sobieski Leighton Meester Leila Arcieri

Usher Remembers Being A 'Pizza Face' On 'When I Was 17'

'I had really, really bad acne ' he admits in Saturday's episode.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Usher on "When I Was 17"
Photo: MTV News

He's known as one of the smoothest R&B sensations to grace the stage, but when Usher was 17, he grappled with a far less flattering image.

"I went through this phase where I had really, really bad acne," the singer admits on the latest episode of "When I Was 17," premiering Saturday at 11 a.m. Usher, who was 17 in 1995, reveals with a grin that his nickname was "Pizza Face."

"His acne was so horrible," recalled one of Usher's more blunt friends, Keith. "His face was so jacked up."

Music mogul and producer Jermaine Dupri remembered how the entertainer's spotty complexion led him to shy away from the spotlight.

"He didn't want to go out. He wanted to stay in," Dupri says. "He was a little ashamed of what was going on with his face."

The singer went to extreme, and ultimately unsuccessful, lengths to disguise his breakouts.

"As a dude, you're not gonna put makeup on your face, right?" Usher said. "I tried that, it didn't even work."

He may have experimented with cosmetics and spent a few more nights at home but the multiplatinum star didn't let his acne hold him back from wooing the ladies. "I was 17, so I would still try to talk to girls [and] get past it," Usher reasoned.

He even had some smooth lines to drop when he wanted to draw attention away from his skin. " 'Don't look at that, look at my eyes, baby. I'm trying to say something real serious to you right here,' " Usher recalled, reenacting his complexion-deflecting dating moves. "I know I have pizza face, I don't care."

In the end, his skin cleared up and the singer said it was just a matter of riding out a rite passage that many teens are forced to endure.

"This is something that all 17-year-olds have to deal with," Usher said. "You can't run away from it."

— this week featuring B.o.B, Usher and Ne-Yo — premieres Saturday at 11 a.m. on MTV

Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1647586/20100911/usher.jhtml

Kristen Bell Kristin Cavallari Kristin Kreuk Kristy Swanson Kylie Bax Lacey Chabert

Clint Hurdle Good Hire for Pirates

Filed under: , ,

The 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates won 96 games and made it to the NLCS. Since then they have played 18 losing seasons under five different managers. Enter Clint Hurdle, fresh off of a World Series appearance as a member of the Rangers coaching staff, and reportedly ready to take the reins in the Steel City. FanHouse TV's Steve Phillips thinks he's the right guy and explains why.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/11/14/clint-hurdle-good-hire-for-pirates/

Lake Bell Larissa Meek Laura Harring Laura Prepon Lauren Bush Lauren Conrad

'Skyline' Star Eric Balfour Reveals Movie's 'Star Wars' Homage

Actor recalls doing his own stunts and Lando Calrissian impressions on small-budget set.
By Eric Ditzian


Eric Balfour in "Skyline"
Photo: Rogue

Give credit to the folks behind "Skyline." They've managed to keep their story under wraps; no easy feat in an age of 24-hour, Web-enabled fanboy fixation. Yes, we know aliens invade Los Angeles. Yes, we know they wreak some serious CG-destruction on the city and its denizens. But what exactly are those tentacled baddies doing on Earth?

Don't expect to find out before the flick hits theaters this Friday, as it hasn't been screened for the media, and stars have been impressively tight-lipped about plot details. But know this: Things do not end well for the citizens of L.A.

"This is not a Disney movie," star Eric Balfour told us when he stopped by the MTV Newsroom. "There is no happy ending."

That's in contrast to the actual experience the cast and crew had filming the small-budget flick. Balfour and his pals shot the entire production in the apartment complex where directors Greg and Colin Strause live. There were no trailers. The actors would take naps on beds in the brothers' rooms, and yet they all had a blast during what Balfour termed a renegade shoot filled with improvisation between himself and co-star Donald Faison.

"We're not stick-by-the-script guys," Balfour said. "It's not easy for Donald to be serious. He's a funny dude. He'd vacillate between channeling Will Smith and ['Star Wars' badass] Lando Calrissian. At one point, he was doing Lando in a scene, but not very well, and I had to take him aside and do an impersonation of Lando for him. Mine was better."

While the film certainly seems to have a big-budget scope, the production was a fraction of the size of something out of the "Star Wars" franchise. And there were moments Balfour felt more than a little unsafe.

"There were points where we're being hung on these wires 50 feet above the roof of this building, being thrown over the edge of this building. I kept thinking one of those wires was gonna snap," Balfour said. "There was definitely stuff that we did that you wouldn't have gotten away with in a studio movie. They wouldn't have let you. It made it fun. You got to live this crazy dream of running and jumping and fighting aliens. How cool is that?"

Quite cool, if the reaction at Comic-Con this summer is any gauge. Footage had fanboys buzzing. Most of them, at least.

"You have a really open-minded side of that sci-fi fanboy crowd that is just excited and stoked because they've been given glimpses into how unique this movie is," Balfour said. "Then you have this very hard-to-please side of the fanboy crowd that's going, 'Is this "Independence Day 2" or "War of the Worlds 3"?' I understand some of their concerns. ... I'm pretty excited to have those guys see the movie more than anyone else. The fact is, it's not 'Independence Day' at all."

Check out everything we've got on "Skyline."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1652089/20101111/story.jhtml

Lauren Conrad Lauren German LeAnn Rimes Leeann Tweeden Leelee Sobieski Leighton Meester

J.J. Redick Searching for Missing Shot

Filed under: ,

J.J. RedickORLANDO, Fla. -- Magic guard J.J. Redick started this season with a nice new contract, a nice new wife, a secure spot with an Eastern Conference contender and a belief that life could not get much sweeter.

Then his signature shot disappeared. And life hasn't been much fun.

Redick carved his basketball niche as one of the best pure shooters in the game -- his how-to-shoot-video is actually pretty good -- but he has opened this season in a horrible shooting slump that hangs like a dark cloud over his head.

And it's raining hard.

Redick was put on the inactive list with back spasms before Monday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies, leaving him to ponder for another day his awful 3-point shooting (3 of 25, 12 percent) this season.

"I don't want to overanalyze things, but I've taken shots that I normally make, that I normally make in practice, and that I normally make when I'm working out,'' he said after a morning workout. "These are shots I've taken and made in the past. It's not like I'm shooting fadeaways in the post. ''

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/11/15/j-j-redick-searching-for-missing-shot/

Kim Smith Kim Yoon jin Kirsten Dunst Krista Allen Kristanna Loken Kristen Bell

Francesco Molinari Wins in Shanghai and Logic Goes Missing

Filed under:

Francesco Molinari

To the very end, golf's 2010 season keeps throwing curve balls.

The four top ranked players in the world -- England's newly anointed No. 1 Lee Westwood and closest challengers Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson -- all came to the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, only to see Italy's Francesco Molinari steal the show.

Leading wire-to- wire, Molinari finished with a 5-under 67 at Sheshan International for his first win this season, and only the second of his career. He became the first Italian to claim a World Golf Championships title, posting 19 under and one shot in front of Westwood.

"It wasn't easy," Molinari, who turns 28 on Monday, said. "I'm just really proud of the way I played and the way I handled myself. Lee is No. 1 in the world, and he was playing some fantastic golf. It was a great finish at the end."

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://golf.fanhouse.com/2010/11/07/francesco-molinari-wins-in-shanghai-and-logic-goes-missing/

Lucy Liu Luján Fernández Magdalena Wróbe Katharine Towne Katherine Heigl Katie Cassidy

Jessica Simpson: From 'Newlyweds' To Newly Engaged

We revisit Jessica's high-profile relationships with ex-husband Nick Lachey, John Mayer and Tony Romo.
By Jocelyn Vena


Jessica Simpson
Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Jessica Simpson is no doubt celebrating her engagement to former NFL player Eric Johnson, which was announced over the weekend (and prompted her dad, Joe, to tweet his congrats to his superstar daughter). But the singer has had her share of love-life ups and downs, and her story certainly doesn't start with Johnson.

Jessica married fellow pop star Nick Lachey in October 2002. The pair documented their marriage on their hit MTV series, "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica." But their sweet kisses turned sour when Simpson and Lachey split in 2005; in 2006, their divorce was finalized.

The same year his marriage formally ended, Lachey began dating Vanessa Minnillo. He proposed to the former MTV "TRL" host less than two weeks ago. For her part, Simpson became romantically linked in 2006 to yet another pop star: John Mayer.

The blond star famously dyed her locks brown when she began dating the "Your Body Is a Wonderland" singer. The pair had an on-again, off-again relationship that lasted nearly a year. The exes later made headlines when, as Simpson was promoting her VH1 show, "The Price of Beauty," Mayer called her "sexual napalm" in an interview. (Jess laughed it all off.)

Before she met ex-footballer Johnson, Simpson dated Dallas Cowboys star Tony Romo. The pair hooked up in late 2007 and carried on a very public romance until their split in July 2009. She discussed a potential breakup with Romo in an issue of Glamour that hit newsstands the month after they split.

"If this article comes out and we're not together, I'd still love him, and he'd still be a huge part of who I am today," Simpson said, adding that breakups feel like "a death in the family."

Simpson turned heads in spring 2010 when she was spotted with the Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, who worked on a song with her. Simpson never confirmed the two were dating, but their public appearances together left fans wondering if there was something romantic going on.

"To be able to sit with Billy [is a learning experience], and I always feel comfortable with him 'cause he is a close friend of mine," she told MTV News. "And I know he had my best interest at heart and it was great to be able to collaborate with him and to have him there in the studio."

After Corgan, Simpson began going public with Johnson, traveling the globe with the ex-football player and celebrating her birthday with him abroad. In that same Glamour article, Simpson commented on whether she'd marry again, saying, "It was hard to imagine I would ever walk down the aisle again [after I divorced Nick]."

Well, it seems that she could imagine it with Johnson.

Share your well-wishes for Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson in the comments!

Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1652269/20101115/simpson_jessica.jhtml

Kristin Cavallari Kristin Kreuk Kristy Swanson Kylie Bax Lacey Chabert Laetitia Casta

Report: Dan Uggla Put on Trading Block by Marlins After Negotiations Stall

Filed under: , ,

Dan UgglaUnable to come to an agreement with Dan Uggla in acrimonious contract negotiations, the Florida Marlins will look to trade the All-Star second baseman this winter, according to FOXSports.com.

Uggla, who made $7.8 million this season, is a year away from free agency and is due a significant raise in arbitration, one the Marlins would prefer not to pay unless it is part of a long-term extension.

The second baseman, who has 154 career homers over five seasons in the majors (all with Florida), admitted on Thursday that negotiations had stalled, but pinned the breakdown on the Marlins.

Word leaked out Monday that Uggla had reportedly turned down a four-year, $48 million extension offer.

That may have prompted a shift in focus for the spendthrift Marlins, who have already begun reshaping their roster this week by trading center fielder Cameron Maybin and left-handed pitcher Andrew Miller.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/11/14/report-dan-uggla-put-on-trading-block-by-marlins/

Katy Perry Keira Knightley Kelly Brook Kelly Carlson Kelly Clarkson Kelly Hu