In their latest effort to keep LeBron James in the fold, the Cavaliers have landed Shaquille O'Neal from the Suns in the revival of a deal they tried to make back in February.
According to various reports, O'Neal is going to Cleveland in exchange for the same package proposed at last season's trading deadline. The Cavs are sending Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic and a second-round pick in tonight's draft to the Suns. The deal was reached in principle late last night and is expected to be finalized today.
By acquiring Shaq, the Cavs hope the 37-year-old O'Neal, who is entering the final season of his contract, has something left and can get James a title. But Shaq alone would not necessarily be enough to help the Cavs to even overtake the Magic in the East. While Shaq enjoyed a bit of a revival last season, the Suns missed the playoffs, and O'Neal is not the same player he was when he was winning three titles with the Lakers from 2000-02.
"They didn't give up anything for him in terms of main rotation players," said one Eastern Conference president. "So that's good. But Shaq doesn't give them size in their backcourt to match up with the Magic. And as for being someone who can guard Dwight Howard, Shaq can't do that. The Magic are still better, depending on what happens in free agency."
Still, it's a gamble the Cavs felt they had to take. The clock is running as James could be entering free agency in 2010. The Knicks, of course, would like nothing more than to see the Cavs again falter in their quest for a title, since it could give James a reason to leave Cleveland.
James can extend his contract this summer. But he is expected to wait to see what the Cavs do to increase his chances of winning a title. Since joining Cleveland in 2003, he has made it to one Finals, in 2007, losing to the Spurs in four games. The Suns, meanwhile, are in a cost-cutting mode and decided that O'Neal's $21million salary was worth dumping. At last season's trading deadline, they decided to pull out of the deal and tried to make a run at the playoffs.
Besides Cleveland, Dallas and New Orleans had limited interest in obtaining O'Neal, who has helped Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade win titles. The Knicks had limited interest in Shaq, only because of the money that could come off their books, but never made a serious offer.
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Former Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam artist Tru Life turned himself in to authorities last night (June 23) to face a charge of 1st degree murder, according to reports.
The charge is possibly tied to a brutal stabbing incident last week that left one man seriously injured, and an 18-year old teen dead.
As reported by AllHipHop.com, police were initially investigating Tru Life’s brother for a retaliation attack in the non-fatal shooting of Michael Slater.
The individual, whom police suspect is a drug dealer, was shot in the stomach outside of club Pacha.
Several hours after the crime, police claim five gang members ambushed 30 year old Jason Black and the teen at a Manhattan apartment complex.
Both men were stabbed repeatedly in the chest and face. Black survived the assault, while the unidentified teen succumbed to his wounds.
At the time, police theorized that the back and forth violence was the result of a feud between Jason Black and Tru Life’s brother.
1st degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison under New York law.
If an official or witness is not the victim, the distinction can also be decreed for murders involving multiple parties or tortuous killings.
Tru Life’s last music effort, “Wet ‘em Up,” was heard as a selection on the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto IV.
At press time, Tru Life could not be reached for comment.
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Ludacris has added another jewel to his business portfolio, courtesy of the founding of his very own Cognac line.
The announcement came at the wine and spirits trade show Vinexpo, being held this week in Bordeaux, France.
The custom line, entitled Conjure, will be a joint venture with Kim Hartmann, owner of the Birkedal Hartmann Cognac brand.
Conjure will be aimed at securing the urban market, something Ludacris plans to expand through behind the scenes planning, and not just surface celebrity endorsement.
“It’s not just me attaching my name to it,” the Atlanta star told the Agence France-Presse. “Whenever I involve myself in a business, I submerge myself in it.”
In January, Ludacris spent a week strategizing with Birkedal Hartmann master blender Philippe Braastad Tiffon.
They tested over 40 different potential brandies for the line.
In the end, a taste was selected that the company deemed favorable to Hip-Hop audiences.
“I wanted to learn as much as possible. It was great. It gave me a new appreciation for Cognac,” Luda stated.
According to the company’s website, African-Americans make up an estimated 60-80% of the 51.7 million bottles sold since 2007 in the American Cognac market.
Cognac’s popularity in Hip-Hop circles extends back to the 90s, and the drink has been referenced in numerous Hip-Hop songs from icons such as Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, Diddy, Dr. Dre, Nas, and Busta Rhymes.
The first orders will ship to Norway by July 1.
American consumers are expected to receive the product in the Fall.
At press time, Conjure is hopeful to ship 1 million bottles to America by their September target month.
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Five French tourists were taken on a hair-raising, seven-mile "ride from hell" yesterday when an illegal van picked up the unsuspecting passengers at JFK Airport and raced through two boroughs to try to shake cops, authorities said.
"We screamed and prayed the whole time we were in the van. God heard us. It was a miracle that we survived," Esther-Ethy Mamane, 26, of Paris, said in French.
"I am shocked. The whole thing was quite bizarre. We were very frightened," the still-shaken woman added. "It was like something from a film."
Gwen Dulugat, 27, also from Paris, said the van -- unauthorized to pick up passengers at the airport -- took off with a "vroom" when Port Authority cops tried to prevent it from leaving.
"It went very, very fast. We're going zoom, zoom, zoom," she said, zigzagging her hand through the air.
One officer described the horrifying tour of Queens and Brooklyn as "the ride from hell."
"The police were fantastic," she added. "They were behind us all the time. And we were very lucky not to crash into any cars."
The nightmare began about 11 a.m. when Esther and her mother, Claudie, 60, also a Parisian, and Gwen and her parents, Michele, 60 and Jean-Jacques, 62, who live near Bordeaux, got off an Air France flight.
A Port Authority source said Ian McFarland, 57 -- who was at JFK steering tourists to illegal vans -- sent the two families to a vehicle driven by Khaalis Preacher, 27, at the Air France terminal.
PA cops recognized McFarland as a longtime "steerer" and Officer Michael Bestany reached inside the van to try to grab the keys, the source said.
The driver floored it, knocking Bestany to the ground.
With cops right behind, the driver roared west along the Belt Parkway and onto Linden Boulevard, forcing other cars to get out of the way.
It then snaked through residential streets, went in circles and crashed through the mechanical gate arm of a US Postal Service facility on Forbell Street in East New York.
Preacher and McFarland jumped out with the van still moving. It slammed into a postal truck.
Cops with guns drawn quickly arrested the two men.
Claudie Mamane injured her arm while trying to jump out while the van was still moving. She was treated at Jamaica Hospital. The four other tourists weren't hurt.
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ONE of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" might have a real sex tape problem on her hands.
After being dated and dumped on-air by 46-year-old Danielle Staub -- the "prostitution whore," as cast member Theresa Giudice called her in Tuesday night's finale -- Steve Zalewski, 27, is coming out of the woodworks to say that he's got videos of the two of them engaging in various sex acts.
"Not only does she want to have sex all the time, but she loves the thrill of doing it in public places, where she might get caught," he told Star magazine.
"She wanted to make love in restaurant bathrooms basically every time we went out -- she'd get all excited and say, 'The people can hear you doing it outside!'"
According to Zalewski, other amorous hot spots included the patio of Staub's house in Wayne, NJ, and in cars at a police firing range and a crowded park.
It should come as no surprise that Zalewski is thinking of selling the tapes to the highest bidder.
"I'm definitely weighing my options as far as selling them and getting them out there," Zalewski told Star magazine. "She cost me so much money, why shouldn't I make a few dollars?"
He says that Staub borrowed a lot of money from him to keep up appearances with the other "Housewives."
"She tries to look affluent," he said. "But sometimes she couldn't pay the household bills or buy food. Even then, she'd want to borrow 20 grand from me to buy jewelry!"
Staub became the center of controversy when her fellow housewives got their hands on a book - "Cop Without a Badge" - that detailed her 1986 arrest on charges of extortion, kidnapping and drug possession.
Jersey wrapped its six-episode season Tuesday with an explosive finale, but Bravo still has four more episodes on the way. In addition to tonight's episode, "The Last Supper," and next Tuesday's reunion episode, Bravo has added a second reunion special (airing next Thursday) and a "Lost Footage" episode airing July 9, which is the best of the rest -- unseen moments from the series and the reunion shows.
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An album of unreleased music from Tupac Shakur will be among a series of new releases coming from WIDEawake Entertainment Group, the owner of Death Row Records.
The Canada-based development company will allow music publisher EverGreen to serve as the worldwide administration company of Death Row via a recently signed deal.
Under the long-term agreement, EverGreen will administer and handle licensing for all Death Row music catalog compositions and master recordings.
In addition, the company will process all mechanical and performance royalties in the catalog. EverGreen’s rights to market, promote and collect royalties on all copyrights and master recordings in the Death Row catalog will be extended from the joint venture.
Among the material affected will be more than 10,000 released and unreleased songs by Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger and Nate Dogg as well as never-before released albums by Crooked I, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, RBX, The Lady of Rage, Warren G, K-Solo, Danny Boy and DJ Quik, among others.
The WIDEawake/Evergreen alliance comes after WIDEawake's $18 million purchase of Death Row in January.
In the coming months, the resuscitated label will release new music, including Shakur’s unreleased work.
The release of the late rap icon’s material will commemorate Shakur’s birthday in 2010.
Unreleased material from Shakur will not be the only music to surface from Death Row’s return.
The label is gearing up to re-release Dr. Dre’s classic album The Chronic.
The Chronic re-release, titled The Chronic Re-Lit, will include four unreleased bonus tracks as well as a DVD of never before seen video footage of Dr. Dre and other artists.
The Chronic Re-Lit is slated to hit stores on September 1, while the Death Row box sets will arrive in time for the holidays.
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Producer Scott Storch has signed on to star in a new reality show that will chronicle his return to the music business.
The producer, who has earned an estimated $70 million through his production, fell on hard times earlier this year, when he missed payments on his $10 million Miami mansion, cars and child support payments.
In addition to owing the IRS almost $1 million dollars in back taxes, Storch became a wanted man, when he missed back child support payments to the tune of $46,000.
According to reports, Storch blew over $25 million during a three-year period, during which he was allegedly addicted to cocaine.
Storch’s untitled show will be produced by Bunim/Murray Productions.
Bunim Murray has produced hit series like MTV’s The Real World, Road Rules, Project Runway, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and others.
“This is a monumental moment to see a producer of his caliber let the cameras into his world and see how hit records are made,” Weintraub said. “A lot of people have tried to get Scott to open up the curtain to this process but have never been successful."
Storch’s show will take place in Miami, Florida, according to Weintraub.
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