What in the world is going on with Eva Longoria? Goodness. First it was TMZ and E! News, then it was People Magazine, and now her marriage/divorce drama has taken the cover of Us Weekly. Us Weekly’s sources tell them that Eva and Tony’s marriage is in serious trouble after she caught him exchanging “personal texts” with a “mutual female friend” (Erin Barry) for nearly a year. They also claim that Eva is “heartbroken” and that she wants to end the marriage and Tony is the one who wants to stick it out. This goes against TMZ’s story that Tony was the one to file for divorce in Texas. I’d also like to note something peculiar - Eva’s rep went around to every major media outlet yesterday and made them print retractions and denials about an impending divorce, and if the divorce is happening, Eva just lost a lot of media support for pulling what little rank she had over a series of lies.

Eva Longoria Parker and Tony Parker have split after three years of marriage, Us Weekly reveals in its newest issue, on stands Wednesday. Multiple sources tell Us Weekly that Longoria Parker, 35, recently discovered that her husband, 28, has been exchanging personal texts with Erin Barry for nearly a year — hundreds in just one month.

She plans to file for divorce soon, sources tell Us.

“Eva is heartbroken by the betrayal,” says one insider, adding that her husband confessed to the inappropriateness - which took place for nearly a year - after she confronted him.
Adds another friend, “Once the trust was lost, the marriage was over.”

Nonetheless, the decision to end one of Hollywood’s most affectionate and glamorous romances wasn’t easy.

“Eva truly thought she was going to grow old with Tony and have children with him,” adds the pal. “She’s inconsolable.”

Longoria Parker’s rep had no comment; Parker’s rep could not be reached.

For more - including Longoria Parker’s confrontation with the other woman and how he “does not want to end the marriage” - pick up the new Us Weekly, on stands now.

 

Surprisingly, this Us Weekly story sounds like the one sanctified by Eva’s people, and maybe all of the other stuff was Tony not following her script, as Lainey theorized yesterday. I don’t want to punch Eva when she’s down, so I’m not even going to ask what you think the chances are of Eva and Tony pulling through. But I will say this - at the very least, Eva is getting headlines, right? That must make her happy.

The formation of the Miami Heat super team has been the dominant NBA storyline for the past four months as fans weighed the merits of the game's best players joining forces to win a title. Two-time MVP LeBron James took the most criticism as even Dan Gilbert, the owner of his former team, called James selfish among other names in his infamous letter to fans.

James might be guilty of a few things in his move to Miami, but being selfish isn't one of them. James and new teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all left money on the table this summer when they signed with the Heat thanks to the league's salary cap. James and Bosh will make $14.5 million apiece in salary this season, while Dwyane Wade's deal is worth $14 million. None of them are among the 20 top-paid players in the game.

In the perpetually gray world of basketball recruiting, one question in recent years has always doubled as a punch line: Whom does William Wesley work for?

Wesley, a ubiquitous basketball power broker, has strong ties to everyone from N.B.A. owners to LeBron James to Michael Gilchrist, who is among the country’s top-rated high school players. Part aura and part laugh track, the mystery surrounding Wesley, known as Worldwide Wes, was that he never had a formal employer.

That appears to have changed, as Wesley’s ties to Creative Artists Agency, which is making a push to get into college sports, have become more formal. And with that new role, the question about Wesley on the recruiting trail this summer has changed.

Now that he has more formal ties to C.A.A. coaching clients like Kentucky’s John Calipari, Auburn’s Tony Barbee and Rutgers’s Mike Rice, many are wondering if Wesley’s ability to engage with top recruits will become more limited.

During a summer when agent issues have provided the dominant story line in college football, Wesley’s new role has generated some buzz on the summer basketball circuit.

“I really don’t know if there’s an issue yet,” Georgia Coach Mark Fox said of Wesley’s role with C.A.A. “But you can see the potential for one.”

Barbee and Rice, who are entering their first seasons with new programs, said Wesley was not their agent. But both said Wesley was affiliated with C.A.A.; Barbee said he was a “consultant,” and Rice said he was “connected with C.A.A.”

The N.C.A.A. would not comment specifically on Wesley, but the enforcement director LuAnn Humphrey said that someone in a role like his would be limited.

“N.C.A.A. rules specifically limit the people who are allowed to recruit on behalf of our institutions,” Humphrey said. “Therefore, the use of agents in the recruiting process would violate our rules.”

Wesley declined to comment for this article. His ties to high-profile recruits like Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and Dajuan Wagner, who all played for Calipari at Memphis, have been well documented.

Calipari said he did not know if anything would change with Wesley’s more formal role.

“He doesn’t recruit for anyone,” Calipari said. “Who he knows and the relationships he has, they’ll be the same way they’ve been for 20 years.”

When Wesley’s position was more ambiguous, it allowed him access to more levels. Although ties to C.A.A. and Nike were always suspected, the N.C.A.A. struggled to get a handle on Wesley in part because it could not define his role. But his new role with C.A.A. could limit his effect on grass-roots basketball.

The N.C.A.A. has strict rules on how often college coaches can speak with prospects, and people affiliated with programs are not allowed to talk with recruits on behalf of those programs. Even season-ticket holders who pay a donation to the university are not permitted to talk with a potential recruit.

Although Wesley was absent this year from Nike’s annual July camp for the country’s top prospects, the LeBron James Skills Academy, he typically has a credential that gives him access to the college and high school players there.

Illustrating the reach of his influence, Wesley encouraged James, a C.A.A. client, to have lunch with Gilchrist a few years ago, when Gilchrist was in the eighth grade.

More recently, Wesley sat with Gilchrist’s family at a recruiting event in Los Angeles during Memorial Day weekend. Gilchrist considers Wesley his uncle; he has been a family friend for years.

“I really don’t know the specifics,” Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl said. “But the more anyone either becomes an agent or becomes officially tied into an agent, it really limits that access as an individual who can be associated with a prospect.”

In the college basketball world, Wesley went from a behind-the-scenes power broker to a household name when he became a presence in the lives of Rose and Evans. (Neither Rose nor Evans signed with C.A.A. after their lone seasons at Memphis.)

Wesley’s name became even more familiar as the drama surrounding James’s free agency unfolded this summer. Barbee strongly denied that he had become a C.A.A. client because of Wesley’s reach in the recruiting world. He said he had gone with C.A.A. because he had known Leon Rose, an agent with C.A.A., since Rose recruited him as a college player at the University of Massachusetts.

“Because he’s a consultant for C.A.A., I guess there’s a relationship tied to him,” Barbee said of Wesley. “But that’s not the way that I work with C.A.A.”

About Wesley’s power in the grass-roots world, Barbee added: “I’ve never seen him in that capacity. There are probably some misconceptions out there about the guy, that he’s involved with prospects and funnels players to different schools.”

Rice, who struggled to keep from laughing during an interview about Wesley, said he switched to C.A.A. before getting the Rutgers job after missing out on opportunities at St. John’s, Seton Hall and Fordham. He said he thought C.A.A. could market him better.

He said his agent with C.A.A. was Terry Prince, who worked on his Rutgers contract. At the same time, he acknowledged Wesley’s expertise as part of the C.A.A. package.

“I BBM him every once in a while,” Rice said of communicating with Wesley via BlackBerry Messenger. “We talk and certainly have a relationship and a communication line of how things are going. Basically, that’s what we do.”

He dismissed the notion that he went to C.A.A. because Wesley could jump-start his recruiting.

“Again, I know he works and does things in some capacity for C.A.A.,” Rice said. “My assistant coaches and I are pretty much in charge of our recruiting.”

Cleveland fans gathered around televisions and yelled in anguish Thursday night as LeBron James announced he will leave the Cavaliers and sign with the Miami Heat.

At a shopping area in suburban Westlake, a loud "No" was heard the moment after James said on ESPN that he was going to South Beach. Hundreds of people who had clamored to see the announcement turned their backs and headed home in droves.

"I'm really stunned, I never thought he'd leave," said Tom Sheehan, 15, of Westlake, who wore a James Cavaliers jersey as he watched the announcement. "It's like we just lost a championship on the final shot at the buzzer. It's so disappointing."

Jerseys were burned by fans outside a bar in suburban Lakewood, according to WEWS-TV of Cleveland. Footage on the station's website shows a fan taking off a T-shirt reading "Please stay LBJ" and laying it atop a pile of burning No. 23 Cavaliers jerseys.

In downtown Cleveland, police had additional patrols to deal with crowds, but Patrol Officer Nancy Dominik said no problems were reported.

At the Harry Buffalo bar across the street from the Cavs' Quicken Loans Arena, fans fell silent as the announcement was made, with some covering their faces and looking as if they were crying. Some yelled "Turn it off" and others shouted profanities aimed at James.

Within five minutes, the packed bar was nearly empty.

At The Purple Shamrock bar's two locations, owner Frank Borally had promised to pick up patrons' food tabs if James had chosen to stay with the Cavs.

"I would have paid it threefold ... if he would have stayed," Borally said. "It's bad, it's not good. We'll deal with it. It's Cleveland, it's typical Cleveland."

Bar-goers had started making reservations for tables of eight and 10 by mid-afternoon.

"We were packed, and then everybody left," he said.

He said James' presence kept his business going when Cavs' fans went to the games, especially during cold-weather months.

"I hope Mr. Gilbert has a good plan set up, but we need a miracle," he said, referring to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.

In Berea, at a bar about a half mile from the Cleveland Browns' training camp, fans in Browns jerseys were asked if what James did is worse than Art Modell, who took his Browns franchise to Baltimore in 1995, where the team stayed until fans in Cleveland fought to get it back.

"No way. LeBron did us a favor," said Fred Sczerpak of Berea. "He's a loser. He turned his back on us and good riddance.

"The difference is, Modell took a team everybody loved. That's why we hate him even more."

In Westlake in the minutes before James revealed his decision, Bill Lincoln of Bay Village described it as "like Christmas morning, only somebody is taking away your presents."

Fans across the northeast Ohio region had sung, danced and cheered in a campaign to keep James. On Thursday, "LeBron Watch" parties throughout the region featured dunk tanks, beer specials and poster giveaways.

The Harry Buffalo bar had painted "STAY LBJ" in white on the building. On the sidewalk were cardboard cutouts of James dunking, and several posters for the "More Than a Player" campaign were hung about.

Many fans had written messages to him on the sidewalk in chalk. One said: "We will always love LBJ, but we'll love you more if you stay."

Also making an appearance was the pleasedontleave23.com campaign's "Witness Mobile," a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme covered with signatures of fans who wanted James to stay in Cleveland.

The Positively Cleveland convention and visitors bureau estimates that Cavs' home games each net about $3.7 million in ticket sales, souvenirs, food and hotel bookings.

James has been with Cleveland since he was drafted in 2003. The team had an average home attendance of about 11,500 the season before he joined, and sold out every game in its 20,000-seat arena last season.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade played together during the All-Star game -- now, will they play together during the regular season?

Investors on Wall Street may have been betting this afternoon that LeBron James will head to the New York Knicks.

Shares of the Knicks' owner, Madison Square Garden, rose 6.41 percent, or $1.30, to $21.57 Wednesday on Nasdaq. Much of the rise happened late in the session before the trading day ended at 4 p.m. ET.

David Joyce, a media analyst with Miller Tabak & Co., told Reuters that the rise is probably because of speculation that James may announce Thursday that he'll sign with the Knicks.

The Reuters report didn't give details about the speculation. But one thing that may have fueled the hopes of Knicks fans was a Twitter post by Phoenix Suns player Jared Dudley.

At about 2 p.m. ET, Dudley tweeted the following: "Breaking News!!! My sources tell me Lebron will announce that he will be goin to the NY KNICKS tomorrow on ESPN.. This is serious.. WOW!!!!"

Later Wednesday, he tweeted this: "That's what I'm hearing.. I don't care where he goes lol.. I personally thought he would stay in Cleveland.."

The first post was retweeted widely among Twitter users, including ESPN's Trey Wingo and Dudley teammate and former NBA MVP Steve Nash.

[Posted at 11:43 a.m.] LeBron James plans to tell us all where he plans to play next season live in an hour-long special his team is calling "The Decision" on ESPN tomorrow night.  Here’s what we know already:

He’s going to likely get a contract worth between 96 million and 125 million dollars.  He gets the higher amount if he re-signs with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, takes less if he changes teams.  Those are the leagues’ salary cap rules.

The two most coveted free agents after LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh said today they are going to play together for the Miami Heat. They want LeBron to join them there.

LeBron started a twitter account yesterday. His bio says “King of Akron.” He's also got a website.

We don’t know why LeBron has decided to reveal his decision on a nationally televised hour-long special, (proceeds from the commercials are going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America), more importantly we don’t yet know where it’s going to take place. The location could be a key indicator of what he’s decided.

He wouldn’t be expected to go on TV from his hometown Cleveland/Akron to tell the world he was going to Miami, Chicago, New York etc. And he probably wouldn’t do the show in one of those cities if he was going to stay in Cleveland.  Of course he could do it from a “neutral” site to build up the mystery.

And we don’t know if the news will hold until tomorrow night at 9 when the big show is planned.  Lots of respected NBA reporters have been following the story closely.  Here are some who might get the scoop if you want to follow along.

Brian Wyndhorst, Cleveland Plain Dealer,  @Dcavsinsider
Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo Sports, @WojYahooNBA
Chris Broussard, ESPN, @Chris_Broussard
Stephen A. Smith @stephenasmith
Chris Mannix, SI.com, @ChrisMannixSI

As LeBron’s Nike poster said “We are all witnesses”

Video: FSR: Smith talks free agency

In the initial 24 hours of the free agency frenzy, various players have either been offered or have accepted contracts worth a total of $518 million. Within the next few days, that sum will surely be doubled and will exceed a billion.

What’s going on here?

Several teams have been diligently clearing cap space in preparation for this summer’s extravaganza — with the signing of LeBron, of course, being every franchise’s fondest desire. Many of these teams were hugely disappointed when the King named only a handful of supplicants whose offerings he would deign to consider.

The snubbed franchises then undertook to offer/sign second, third, fourth and even fifth tier players to hugely inappropriate contracts.

Let’s take a gander at some of these situations:

Toronto paying Amir Johnson $34 million for five years is the most ludicrous deal. Yes, Chris Bosh is determined to go elsewhere, but do the Raptors really believe that Johnson can in any way take Bosh’s place? All throughout his previous five seasons in the NBA, Johnson’s high-end potential has been universally celebrated but, although he’s still only 23, there have been very few signs that Johnson will ever produce the returns that the Raptors' investment demands.

This is a move that smacks of sheer desperation.

Nobody, however, is more desperate than the Hawks, whose six-year, $119M offer to Joe Johnson is patently absurd. With his 29th birthday in sight, JJ’s game is already showing alarming indications that his best years are behind him, something that was increasingly evident during his embarrassing performance in the playoffs. By the time he’s 35, he won’t be able to navigate his way into the paint. Meanwhile, the maximization of Atlanta’s salary cap will prohibit them from signing any meaningful free agents until Johnson wanders off into the sunset.

Memphis exhibited the same kind of panic when they re-upped Rudy Gay for five-years and $82 million. In truth, both Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo are better players than Gay, and within a year or two Marc Gasol will also surpass him.

And what does Gay bring to the Grizzlies' mix? Scoring. He can’t defend or pass, and his game has been static for the last two years. In a more rational basketball universe, Gay’s true value is about half of what he’ll be paid.

The Knicks' expected inking of Amar’e Stoudemire for five years and $100 million is another act that reeks of desperation. With all of their available cap space, and with LeBron indicating that he’d rather play in Chicago, Miami, Cleveland, or anywhere else but the Big Apple, the Knicks simply had to make a dramatic move just to show to their fans that they are indeed doing something.

And what are they getting in Stoudemire? A talented player with an extremely low basketball IQ, no defensive awareness, and a selfish desire to have every offensive play run through him. Plus his chronic injuries have made his contract uninsurable. Even worse for the Knick Nation, most of Stoudemire’s point-making resulted from the genius of Steve Nash. Somehow, playing with Chris Duhon (or whoever winds up pointing Mike D’Antoni’s offense) won’t come close to duplicating the numerical successes that Stoudemire enjoyed in Phoenix.

In fact, the only rationalization for bringing Stoudemire on board is if his presence can induce either LBJ or D-Wade to join forces with him. Given Stoudemire’s many shortcomings, this is a doubtful outcome.

Is Channing Frye supposed to replace Stoudemire in Phoenix? At “only” $30 million for five years, Frye certainly comes cheaper than Stoudemire, but he’s strictly a one-dimensional player. No defense, no rebounding, no passing. Given last year’s stats and equal distribution of his money, the Suns will pay Frye $34,883.72 for each successful 3-point shot.

Milwaukee’s agreements with John Salmons (five years, $40 million) and Drew Gooden (five years, $32 million) make only marginal sense. Since the Bucks will be ninth team that has employed Gooden in what will be his ninth NBA season, Gooden’s contract is way out of line for someone who’s the epitome of a journeyman player.

Also, with Corey Maggette and Michael Redd already on the roster, what’s the need for Salmons? Especially since Maggette was such a recent acquisition and Redd’s most recent injury and humongous contract make him virtually untradable.

So far, the only player who’s worthy of his new contract is Paul Pierce — four years, $61 million (the max Boston could pay him). Too bad PP will be 33 soon and is already slowing down. Signing Pierce also indicates that the Celtics believe their current roster (with only a few tweaks, most notably obtaining big men to replace Rasheed Wallace and to fill in while Kendrick Perkins recuperates) can make another serious run for the gold.

Too many of these teams will eventually come to rue their rash and desperate moves when their costly investments inevitably prove inadequate, and their stuffed salary caps prohibit any more serious free agent deals.

Instead of “Where Caring Happens,” the NBA’s new motto should be caveat emptor. Buyer beware.

What do you get when you combine one the NBA’s most colorful and eccentric players, a microphone and a championship victory for the Los Angeles Lakers? One hell of a post-game interview and press conference, that’s what.

Last night, Lakers forward Ron Artest couldn’t contain his excitement as his team secured the NBA championship over the Boston Celtics in a thrilling game seven. The result was a legendary post-game interview where Artest thanked “everybody in my hood,” his psychiatrist, and countless others, then exploded in joy over winning his first NBA championship.

That wasn’t the end of it though; the Artest show continued with a ridiculous press conference. You knew it wasn’t going to be a normal press conference when Artest grabbed a box of Wheaties and screamed at the random journalists “behind the laptops” to acknowledge him.

The resulting videos have gone viral on YouTube  , Twitter, and Google. They are top trends on almost every social media website. Just watch the videos and you’ll see why.

Enjoy:

Ron Artest Post-Game Interview

Ron Artest Post-Game Press Conference

Suspended Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas was ordered Friday to spend 30 days in a halfway house for his conviction on gun charges stemming from a locker-room confrontation with a teammate.

District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin also sentenced Arenas to 400 hours of community service, which cannot be conducted at basketball clinics, and a $5,000 fine.

Arenas apologized in court for his actions, saying, "Every day, I wake up wishing it did not happen."

Arenas pleaded guilty to violating the city's gun laws in a Dec. 21 incident at Verizon Center. After an argument over an unpaid gambling debt, Arenas brought several guns to the team locker room and set them in front of Javaris Crittenton's locker with a sign telling him to "PICK 1."

"The evidence is that both of you felt disrespected," Morin told Arenas of the dispute over a few hundred dollars' debt from a poker game. "Rather than acting like mature adults, you escalated the incident" by bringing guns to practice.

In court papers, prosecutors said Crittenton had a legitimate reason to believe Arenas' threat was genuine.

Prosecutors wanted Arenas to go to jail for at least three months. They said he lied repeatedly about why the guns were in the locker room and even tried to cover up what had happened. They also said he knew bringing guns into D.C. was illegal and has a prior gun conviction.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh wrote in court papers that "if any other individual — without the fame, power, and the wealth of this defendant — brought four firearms into Washington, D.C., for the purpose of a similar confrontation," they would surely go to jail.

Arenas' lawyers sought probation and community service, arguing that the athlete was playing a misguided prank with no intention to harm anybody. They point out that the guns were unloaded, that Arenas' lighthearted comments about the incident were misinterpreted, and that he's a good role model who excelled at community service.

"This sad saga has sent a strong message to any and all who might consider bringing guns into the district," defense attorneys wrote.

Arenas' sentence could determine whether the Wizards will attempt to void the remainder of his six-year, $111 million contract, although the players' union has vowed to fight such a move.

Regardless, Arenas' misdeed has helped contribute to the precipitous decline of a franchise that is headed for its second consecutive last-place finish after several years of regularly reaching the playoffs.

Arenas disputed claims by prosecutors that he did not take the incident seriously. He specifically referred to his gunslinging pantomime during a pre-game warmup in Philadelphia while the crime was under investigation.

"For everybody else, I'm taking it lightly," he said, referring to a widely circulated photo of him goofing around during the warmup. "I'm looking at picture where 14 or 15 guys are laughing together for the last time," he said, his voice breaking.

The maximum term for Arenas' crime is five years. The sentencing guidelines for someone with his record call for six months to two years, although those guidelines also allow for probation.

There has been little dispute about the facts of the case.

Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton got into an argument over a card game and exchanged threats while the team was flying home Dec. 19 from a road game. Two days later, Arenas brought his guns to the locker room and put them in a chair by Crittenton's locker with a sign saying, "Pick 1." Crittenton then retrieved his own gun and showed it to Arenas.

Crittenton pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor gun charge and received a year of unsupervised probation.

Arenas entered his guilty plea Jan. 15.

Morin said he took several factors into account in determining the sentence, including the fact that Crittenton only received probation and that he believed Arenas was remorseful.

After successfully stamping his world-renowned brand on shoes, sports drinks and men's underwear, Michael Jordan is confident of applying the same multimillion-dollar touch to the Charlotte Bobcats' money-losing franchise he now owns.

"My life has been like a big marketing scheme," Jordan, 47, said Thursday at Time Warner Cable Arena. "I've done commercials; I've been connected with Corporate America and have been asked to speak to charities. All the things that (the team) is going to ask in the next six months to be involved in, I have no problems getting myself involved in that."

Jordan stressed two major points at a news conference that seemed as much a business pitch as an introduction.

The first: that he would be intimately involved, from personnel — "I'd like to think my investment has entitled me to make a lot of decisions," he said with a laugh — to marketing. "The biggest challenge is evaluating the team and connecting with the public to provide an entertainment value they can feel good about," he said.

The second: that his family would have roles in the organization — although the longtime North Carolinian sidestepped questions about relocating permanently from Chicago. He did say he would have a home in Charlotte and planned to spend more time in the city.

"Now that I've invested, I assume the responsibility of putting my face on this organization and trying to move it to next level," he said. "I wouldn't say I'm a show pony. I'll be an integral part of this community. I'm making a long-term commitment."

Still, Jordan faces a challenge in trying to win over a region where Atlantic Coast Conference basketball, NASCAR and the NFL's Carolina Panthers are of more interest than an NBA team pushing toward the first playoff berth in its six-year history.

Coach Larry Brown, like the new owner a North Carolina alum, said recently that it would take more than Jordan's presence to build crowds. The Bobcats haven't ranked higher than 22nd in attendance this season.

"If we play a good style of ball and they respect what we're doing, they'll come," Brown said. "That's on us. It's not about Michael. ... I don't care how (good) your marketing is, who your owner is, who your general manager is. Everywhere I've been, if you play good, people will make every effort to come out and watch you."

Jordan said he didn't know everything.

"I've got to live vicariously through the players I put on the basketball court. I don't expect Gerald Wallace (or) Stephen Jackson to be Michael Jordan," he said. "I want to have fun. I want to provide entertainment (to) Charlotte. Hopefully, that'll translate into winning."