Las Vegas police have questioned former football star O.J. Simpson and named him a suspect in an armed robbery at a casino hotel room. Simpson said he went to the room to recover sports memorabilia that belonged to him but denied breaking in, according to The Associated Press. The armed robbery was reported Thursday night at the Palace Station Casino, Las Vegas Metro Police Capt. James Dillon said at a press conference Friday afternoon. He said that the robbery victim said that Simpson was involved but emphasized that no weapons had been recovered and that the investigation was in its infancy. Dillon said Simpson, who was questioned and released, had been cooperating with the investigation.

David Cook, a lawyer for the family of Ron Goldman, who was murdered with Nicole Brown Simpson, told ABC News that a sports memorabilia dealer contacted him Friday to say that he had been robbed by Simpson and several other people. Alfred Beardsley, the memorabilia dealer, said that guns were drawn during the incident at the Palace Station hotel room and said Simpson took his property, possibly including the suit Simpson wore when he was acquitted of killing ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, according to Cook. Beardsley didn't return a phone message seeking comment. He gave a similar description of the incident to the Web site TMZ.com.

Simpson, who is not in police custody, told The Associated Press he went to the hotel room to try to recover his property but denied breaking into the room. Las Vegas police spokesman Jose Montoya told ABC News that Simpson told detectives that he believed some of the sports paraphernalia in the hotel room belonged to him Simpson told The Associated Press that he was conducting a "sting operation" to collect his belongings at the Palace Station casino. An auction house owner called Simpson several weeks ago to say some collectors "have a lot of your stuff and they don't want anyone to know they are selling it," according to The Associated Press account. The owner set up a meeting with collectors, saying he had a private buyer interested in purchasing Simpson's items. "It's stolen stuff that's mine. Nobody was roughed up," Simpson told the AP.

Simpson told The Associated Press he was accompanied by several men he met at a wedding cocktail party, and they took the collectibles, including his Hall of Fame certificate and a picture of the running back with J. Edgar Hoover. Simpson said he wasn't sure where the items were taken. A spokeswoman for the Las Vegas district attorney said the office had not yet reviewed the police reports or made a decision on whether Simpson would be arrested or charged.

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Chris Crocker Begs Media to Leave Britney Alone

Here is Chris Crocker's impassioned defense of Britney's VMA performance. This is the hottest video on YouTube now -- it's gotten over 2 million views. Chris was interviewed by every major media outlet about his video in which he cries and passionately begs us to "Leave Britney Alone!"

And if you must know more about Leave Britney Alone Guy, here's his interview with Salon, in which he discusses his love for Britney, the threats he's getting from homophobes and his feud with Perez Hilton over Perez's unkind coverage of Britney's troubles.



Posted on September 12, 2007
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The Reasons For Britney's VMA Disaster

Page Six has more scoop on all the reasons why Britney's VMA performance went so poorly.

On Saturday, the day before the VMAs, Spears was scheduled to arrive at rehearsal at around 1 p.m. Our spy said, "She didn't even get to Las Vegas until 4:30 p.m. It was ridiculous . . . The production people at MTV were freaking out . . . Nobody can tell Britney what to do anymore. No one can control her. She is a mess."

To make matters worse, when she arrived in Vegas, Spears didn't go straight to rehearsals. "She went to her hotel room and ordered a bunch of food and some frozen margaritas," the spy said. "She came down, like, an hour later with a frozen margarita in her hand." When Spears preformed on Sunday, she stumbled a couple times and couldn't remember the words she was lip-syncing. She covered her mouth at one point but by the end of the song had simply given up any pretense of singing.

"The dance number was spectacular - without her," said our spy at rehearsal. "When the stand-in was rehearsing with the dancers, in the hours they were all waiting for her, it was amazing. Then Britney showed up and refused to do anything. The dancers were supposed to lift and twirl her in the air a few times, and that just wasn't going to happen. The more complicated dance moves had to be erased because she couldn't do them." Meanwhile, Spears was agitated because she didn't like the outfit MTV had selected for her. "MTV wanted her to wear a corset outfit. It would have looked great and covered a lot of things up, but she hated it and didn't think it was sexy enough."

Instead, Spears changed into a spangly bra-and-underwear outfit she'd brought with her that emphasized her weight gain over the last year. MTV execs weren't the only ones worried about Spears' impending debacle. Another spy said, "The dancers were texting pals, asking them to pray for them. They were worried."

Her dancers were asking friends to pray for them that Britney wouldn't ruin their big break??? What a Showgirls moment! But it gets better...or worse, really. After the performance, Britney was seen crying hysterically, and was then photographed getting out of a car sans underpants. What is her problem with undergarments? She was in the car with her brother. All we can say is, ewwwwwwwww.

Posted on September 11, 2007
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Britney Disappoints At VMAs

The VMAs were absolutely painful to watch from beginning to end. We really hated the ADHD Format -- cutting from the insanely-laid out main stage room to the various hotel room parties. The show zigged and zagged and generally nearly gave us vertigo. The clang of the slot machines that pinged and zinged continually like a bad Greek chorus behind some of the commentators were annoying. The whole thing gave us a headache.

Britney's opening was lackluster. It wasn't an absolute bomb, despite what some people are saying. A total bomb is if she had fallen off the stage, passed out or run off the stage in tears. None of that happened. She looked better than she's looked in quite awhile, although perhaps a black diamante bra and panties wasn't the best choice. Her face looked pretty, although that first shot -- a close-up of her hair extensions in the back -- was not flattering. Not nice, MTV crew.

Britney looked really nervous and nearly fell twice at the beginning of the routine and we think those stupid stiletto boots were to blame. A close up shot of her right heel seems to show it's nearly broken off, so perhaps she was just trying to get through the routine without falling. The old Britney would have stripped off those boots seductively and continued the number in bare feet. But this wasn't the old Britney, not by a long shot. She wasn't energetic at all and didn't seem to know all the steps to the routine. Her lip synching was off. We hear rumors that this was the not-much-rehearsed B number -- the Criss Angel illusion routine got cut by either MTV or The Palms. Her backup dancers were amazing, by the way. They really gave it their all. The song was good, the choreography was good and the set design worked. But Britney needed another week of 6 hour a day rehearsals to really nail it.

US Weekly says Britney knew the performance was a pale imitation of her past ones and that she was "crying badly [backstage]. She's devastated. She was really nervous and knows she screwed up." What was so heartbreaking about the performance is that there were flashes of the old Britney who could really dance and ignite a crowd with her enthusiasm. Dancers are athletes, and Britney isn't in fighting form. Reportedly, she hadn't eaten in three days but went out every night drinking. If so, that's a huge problem. Maybe this will be the wake-up call she needs to get some help and get her career back on track. Because second chances like getting to open the VMAs don't come very often.

Oh, yeah. Sarah Silverman is not funny at all: it's time to drop her from awards shows completely. She was a total disaster. Where were the actual jokes? Calling a performer's two little boys "adorable mistakes"? Announcing that Britney at 25 has already accomplished everything she's ever will for the rest of her life? Those aren't jokes, they're just vicious comments. And as for that last number -- where a blond Nelly Furtado did that awful medley with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland -- now that was painful to watch.

You can see Britney's performance here.

Posted on September 10, 2007
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Britney to Launch Comback at MTV Video Awards

Yes, it's true. Britney Spears really will open the MTV Video Music Awards tomorrow night. Criss Angel is supposed to help provide some dramatic illusions and the song she'll be performing is "Gimme More." Here's the official release from MTV:

After weeks of mind-blowing media speculation, MTV confirms today that Britney Spears will be opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Celebrating her long awaited comeback to her fans, Spears will be performing LIVE her new song "Gimme More" from her highly anticipated new album due on November 13th. The star studded awards show will air live Sunday, September 9th at 9PM Live ET/Tape delayed PT.

Immediately following Spears' performance, fans who want more of the superstar can download two ringtones available exclusively through MTV Mobile for two days prior to any other service. The tones -- one for "Gimme More" and the other featuring the much discussed "It's Britney, B****" catch phrase from "Gimme More's" intro -- are available for fans who text "Gimme" or "Brit" to 33633. MTV Mobile also will carry a live simulcast of the show, a first ever for an awards show.

*****

The star-packed event will also feature one night only performances by Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Chris Brown, Foo Fighters, Rihanna, Common, Nelly Furtado, Gym Class Heroes, Akon and Soulja Boy, T-Pain, Cee-Lo, Daniel Merriweather, Lil' Wayne, Alicia Keys, T.I., Adam Levine, Mastadon, and Serj from System of A Down. Diddy, Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Kid Rock, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Pamela Anderson, the cast of Entourage, Shia Labeouf, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, Megan Fox, Jennifer Hudson, Rosario Dawson and Eve are set to present at the "2007 MTV Video Music Awards." In addition, Justin Timberlake with Timbaland are set to host a Fantasy Suite party, while critically acclaimed producer, artist and DJ Mark Ronson will rock the party in The Pearl with help from his turntables, horn section and surprise guests. This year, Timbaland will also find himself working overtime as the official Maestro of the VMAs, responsible for creating several show-stopping and unexpected artist collaborations.

So MTV is counting on Britney actually showing up and performing. We wish her well and will be tuned in to see what happens. But we're a wee bit nervous that the whole thing will be a disaster.

Posted on September 8, 2007
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Chinese Couple Wants to Name Their Kid @

A Chinese couple wants to name their new baby "@".

A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@," claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, an official trying to whip the national language into line said on Thursday. The unusual name stands out especially in Chinese, which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke characters to represent words. "The whole world uses it to write e-mail, and translated into Chinese it means 'love him'," the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the State Language Commission Li Yuming.

While the "@" symbol is familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word "at" to sound it out -- which with a drawn out "T" sounds something like "ai ta," or "love him," to Mandarin speakers. Li told a news conference on the state of the language that the name was an extreme example of people's increasingly adventurous approach to Chinese, as commercialisation and the Internet break down conventions.

The Chinese government has to approve all baby names. Can you imagine if the U.S. government had to approve all baby names? The Minister of Baby Names -- what a great position. All day long, you'd just tell people why they aren't allowed to name their kids things that will result in them getting the crap beat out of them in elementary school.

Posted on September 6, 2007
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Eat a Big Mac, Fight Global Warming

The government of Japan offered a half price coupon for a McDonald's Big Mac for consumers who print out the tips to combat global warming and show them to their local McDonald's. The consumers can also show the site's tips on their cellphones and get the half-price burger. The offer has been so popular that the government's website crashed.

The Japanese unit of the US burger giant Tuesday offered a Big Mac for 150 yen (1.3 dollars), about half the normal price, to anyone demonstrating a commitment to preventing climate change. People were asked to check up to 39 boxes on a form they could download from the environment ministry's website, each listing a way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming.

"We started seeing a rise in access yesterday and it surged this morning. We are now trying to restore the system," said Kenji Someno, who heads the ministry's Lifestyle Policy Office. It was the ministry's first system crash following a corporate offer related to environmental efforts. "McDonald's is such a familiar name with people and they eat there often. The Big Mac discount gives them the strong impression that it's a bargain," Someno said.

McDonald's is one of more than 80 companies offering goods or other prizes to help the government's drive to reduce greenhouse gases. Despite being the home of the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is far behind in its requirement under the landmark treaty for cutting emissions by six percent by 2012 from 1990 levels amid a steady economic recovery. The 39 measures range from cutting air conditioning use to reducing shower time by one minute to simply wiping water off the bottom of a kettle to save energy when heating it on a stove.

Customers can print the forms or show them on their cell phones. The McDonald's campaign lasts for three weeks starting Friday. The ministry official said most hits on the website were just after 9:00am, indicating many people were thinking about Big Macs as they started work.

If the U.S. government offered people half price burgers in exchange for pledging to fight global warming, the food police would go into hysterics, claiming that we're all too fat and are not allowed to eat at McDonald's. We like the Japanese promotion -- more power to them.

Posted on September 5, 2007
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