David Carradine Dead At 72!

Actor David Carradine was found dead yeasterday hanging in a hotel room closet in Bangkok. Carradine starred in the television show "Kung Fu" in the 70's. Rest in Peace Mr. Carradine.

Whitney Houston Returns Sept. 1!

Billboard.com is reporting that Whitney Houston's next studio album will be released on September 1st. The as yet untitled set will feature production by will.i.am, Akon and Sean Garrett. Here's wishing for a successful comeback for Whitney, who arguably has the best voice of any female singer of her generation.

Kobe "Bean" Fighting Father Time!

I found this great article from the Los Angeles Times regarding Kobe Bryant, who begins his quest for a 4th championship tonight against the Orlando Magic. Kobe is in his 13th NBA season and has played 1,118 games, or 340 games more than Michael Jordan had played at the same age. The 340 games is the equivalent of 3 NBA seasons, and considering that Jordan was still playing at a high level at 36, Kobe probably has at best 3 peak seasons left in his body assuming he doesn't have any devastating injuries. With the "young boys" like Melo, LeBron, Dwight and Dwyane knocking at the door, in reality this may be his best chance to secure that elusive 4th championship.

President Obama Speaking To Muslims!

President Barack Obama is spreading the word of peace as he speaks in Cairo this morning. I haven't really written a lot about our president recently, but after watching the last 2 nights of the NBC special profiling the White House and how he's handling his business, I just have to conclude that he's "the real deal."

Taking The Law Into Their Own Hands!

Jose Carrasquillo, 26, was a suspect in the rape of an 11 year-old girl in Philadelphia on Monday morning. A few hours after police released his name and photograph as a potential suspect he was spotted by residents where proceeded to take the law into their own hands:

Carrasquillo was seen by residents walking west on Clearfield toward Front about 3:15 p.m. A block before Front, at Lee Street, several males, including at least two teens, confronted the suspect.

"Hey, yo! You raped this girl," one of the teens told the suspect, according to Kris Torres, 16, who was part of the group of three or four. The suspect denied it.

"No. I have a daughter myself," said Carrasquillo, according to Torres.

But the neighborhood was convinced he was the suspect because detectives came to the area in the morning showing a photograph to residents. Torres said the teens, including himself, started hitting the suspect.

"We just pounded on him because we wanted him arrested," Torres said.

The suspect, however, continued to deny he was the attacker, said Louis Rodriguez, 16, who said he also was involved in the beat-down. "Stop! It wasn't me," the man yelled, according to Rodriguez.

The suspect tried to walk away but was knocked down along the side of a corner store at Front and Clearfield Streets.

A large crowd then gathered and urged the teens to pummel the suspect. The beating was captured on videotape by an outside security camera just down the street.

Physical evidence has been found at the scene linking the suspect to the crime. Police describe the incident as sadistic, and the young girl is in stable condition with a long road to recovery ahead. Thanks to the Philadelphia Inquirer for the article.

50 Cent's Costly Purchase!

Rapper 50 Cent purchased Mike Tyson's former home in 2003 under the assumption that it would take $500,000 to repair the home according to BVH Integrated Services, the engineering firm he hired to inspect the home. It wound up costing $6 million, and 50 wants $3 million as he testified in court yesterday according to the New York Daily News. He put the home up for sale in 2007, but had no takers for it.

The GM Rescue!

The above graph was supplied by the Detroit Free Press. General Motors filed for bankruptcy yesterday, and the government is on the hook for about $50 billion that we may never see again. GM has lost $82 billion in the last 4 years. Is there really hope that the company can be turned around?

Sugar Ray Leonard Speaks To His High School Alma Mater!

Sugar Ray Leonard spoke at his alma mater Parkdale High School's graduation yesterday telling the students:

"You have so many doors and opportunities that are available to you that not succeeding is not acceptable." "You must be a fighter in life."

Leonard, now 53, graduated 36 years ago from the high school and went on to have a legendary boxing career. The school that he graduated from was a mixture of blacks and whites back then, and though the demographics of the school have changed, the goals of the students should still be the same to live productive lives while striving for excellence. Good to see that Sugar Ray hasn't forgotten where he came from, and is still uplifting the younger generation. Thanks to the Washington Post for the article.

Joe Frazier's Step-Grandson Killed In Philly!

The Philadelphia Daily News reports the sad news that legendary boxer Joe Frazier's step-grandson Peter Lyde Jr. was shot and killed while working as a security guard at a Philadelphia bar.

Mike Brown Has To Go, LeBron!

Admittedly I had coronated LeBron James as the second greatest player of all time, and assumed that he was going to win the NBA Championship this year. Along the way, Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy had different plans and threw a major wrench in the coronation plans.

6 years into his career, LeBron James is at a crossroads. 3 seasons ago, LeBron's Cavs were swept in the finals by the San Antonio Spurs. The 2 subsequent seasons have ended with losses in the conference finals. LeBron needs to be in owner Dan Gilbert's office this morning requesting a new head coach. While Mike Brown may be a very nice guy, Stan Van Gundy coached circles around him, which is unacceptable. LeBron has to realize that Dwight Howard's full potential is about to be unleashed, and it's going to be even more difficult to win a championship in the future. Unfortunately the next Scottie Pippen is not walking through the door, and Brown simply has to go.

Eminem:Was It Intentional Or A Prank?

Last night at the MTV Movie Awards, Sasha Cohen "teabagged" Eminem as his alter ego "Bruno". Eminem proceeded to leave the festivities in a huff. Entertainers will do just about anything for publicity, so either this was an intentional stunt or Eminem's lyrics finally caught up with him.