NFL Films president Sabol, 69, dies

NFL Films President Steve Sabol, half of the father-son team that revolutionized sports broadcasting and mythologized pro football into the country's favorite sport, died Tuesday from brain cancer. He was 69. In March 2011, Sabol was diagnosed with a tumor on the left side of his brain after being hospitalized for a seizure. His father, Ed, founded NFL Films, and Steve was there working beside him right from the start in 1964. They introduced a series of innovations now taken for granted today, from slow-motion replays to blooper reels to sticking microphones on coaches and players. And they hired the ''Voice of God,'' John Facenda, to read lyrical descriptions in solemn tones. ''Steve Sabol was the creative genius behind the remarkable work of NFL Films,'' NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement from the league confirming Sabol's death. ''Steve's passion for football was matched by his incredible talent and energy. Steve's legacy will be part of the NFL forever. He was a major contributor to the success of the NFL, a man who changed the way we look at football and sports, and a great friend.''  Ed Sabol was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year. The two received the Lifetime Achievement Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2003. ''We see the game as art as much as sport,'' Steve Sabol told The Associated Press before his father's Hall induction. ''That helped us nurture not only the game's traditions but to develop its mythology: America's Team, The Catch, The Frozen Tundra.'' Steve Sabol received 35 Emmys for writing, cinematography, editing, directing and producing. No one else had ever earned that many in as many different categories. ''This is a sad day for football fans everywhere,'' Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said. ''As someone who grew up watching NFL Films creations, I can attest to Steve's vision and contribution to the incredible popularity of this sport. His, along with his father, Ed's, creativity and passion for the game cultivated many, many avid fans.''
 Tori Spelling is celebrating the birth of her fourth child, but instead of settling in at home, the actress has found herself back in the hospital. "Tori underwent emergency surgery over the weekend due to complications from her c-section," her rep said. "She remains in the hospital and is resting comfortably." The delivery of son Finn Davey on Aug. 30 was Spelling's fourth caesarean section – and her second within a year. (Daughter Hattie arrived last October.) The Craft Wars host, 39, and husband Dean McDermott are also parents to daughter Stella, 4, and Liam, 5, as well as Jack, McDermott's 13-year-old son from a prior marriage.

Prince A No-Show For IRS Summons Over French Tax Investigation

The recording artist Prince appears to have thumbed his nose at both the Internal Revenue Service and the French. Acting on behalf of French tax authorities, the IRS summoned Prince -- né Prince Rogers Nelson -- to make an appearance with the tax man in order to determine if he owed taxes to France for performances in that country in 2009 and 2010.  But the recording star was a no-show for the recent summons request. A court has been asked to enforce the matter.  Prince also has had tax troubles in his home state of Minnesota and had to make amends for $1.3 million in delinquent property taxes he owed for 2009 and 2010.

Wyclef Jean Accuses Lauryn Hill of Misleading Him Over Son's Paternity

Wyclef Jean has accused his former The Fugees bandmate and ex-lover Lauryn Hill of misleading him about the paternity of her son with Rohan Marley. The pair was caught up in an affair at the height of their fame in the band despite Jean being married to Marie Claudinette at the time. Jean has previously hinted the romance was the catalyst for the group's split in 1997, but in his new memoir, titled "Purpose," he blames Hill for allegedly lying about the paternity of her child in a bid to convince him it was his and not Marley's.

In an excerpt obtained by the New York Post, Jean writes, "In that moment something died between us. I was married and Lauryn and I were having an affair, but she led me to believe that the baby was mine, and I couldn't forgive that. "She could no longer be my muse. Our love spell was broken."

Bode Miller tweets that he's engaged

Olympic and world champion skier Bode Miller has announced that he’s engaged to professional volleyball player Morgan Beck.  The five-time Olympic Alpine skiing medalist tweeted their engagement Monday night. A post to Miller’s certified Twitter account with a picture of a ring said that ‘‘I have found the one!!! And convinced her to marry me. It was a process (at) MorganEBeck is hard to convince. I'm super excited!’’ The 34-year-old New Hampshire native is known for a go-for-broke style on the slopes that has resulted in 33 World Cup wins, two overall World Cup titles and five Olympic medals, including a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Jasmine Guy’s Ex Owes 40K in Child Support

Guy filed legal documents in Los Angeles Superior Court, which says her ex husband, Terrence Mitchell Duckett, owes $39,663 in back child support. The Different World star divorced Duckett in 2008, and he was instructed to pay $1,469 a month for the couple’s daughter. But in court documents Guy claims he hasn’t paid any money to her since May 2010.  The 50-year-old actress now wants a judge to hold her ex in contempt of court so that she will be able to collect the past due funds via a garnishing of his wages, his assets or, if all else fails, have him thrown in jail. A spokesman for Guy said, “Jasmine has always met and will continue to meet her responsibility. She however, unfortunately, finds herself in the same position as are many single mothers in this country — she must enforce her child’s right to benefit from the financial assets of both parents.” A hearing was scheduled in August for the former couple to hash things out but it was canceled because Guy was unable to serve her ex hubby with the papers. Sources say she is still attempting to serve Duckett so there can be a rescheduled hearing date set in the near future.
 One year after Kat Von D, 30 finally pulled the plug on her fickle romance with fidelity-challenged fiancé Jesse James, she has rebounded with DJ (and fellow tattoo enthusiast) Deadmau5. "Yeah, im [in] love... inb4 I find a [bleep] to give over the  Internet implodes over it ;) at least I'm happy!," tweeted Deadmau5 (otherwise known as Joel Zimmerman when he's out of his oversized mouse helmet) on Sunday. The following day, the Canadian spinner took to Facebook and posted 43 photos of Von D, who can be seen cuddling with her new squeeze's beloved kitty, Professor Meowingtons.

Holyfield held in contempt
The financial blows keep coming for boxing legend Evander Holyfield. The former heavyweight champion has been held in contempt of court in Georgia for failing to pay $563,900.91 in back child support. The latest charge stems from an initial payment of more than $372,000 that Holyfield owed in support of his 18-year-old daughter, Emani.  that amount increased to $563,900.91, and Holyfield was held in contempt and ordered by a judge to pay $2,950 per month to clear the debt. Holyfield made an initial $17,700 payment, but the judge also ordered that a percentage of Holyfield’s income be earmarked to pay down the debt.  According to a biography on Holyfield’s website, the former boxing star made more than $230 million in the ring. But he’s faced numerous financial difficulties since. Holyfield recently foreclosed on his Fayette County mansion and has been sued for thousands of dollars in child-support cases in Georgia, Texas and California. Holyfield has fought these cases, claiming that his income has fallen off since his career ended.
 Major League Baseball is checking reports that Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar played Saturday's game against Boston wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish. Pictures posted online show Escobar with the message written in his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun. The slur did not appear to be directed at any person in particular. MLB spokesman Pat Courtney confirmed the commissioner's office is looking into the reports. ''The club takes this situation seriously and is investigating the matter,'' the Blue Jays said in a statement Monday night, adding they ''do not support discrimination of any kind nor condone the message displayed by Yunel Escobar during Saturday's game.'' The team said Escobar will be available to the media Tuesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium along with general manager Alex Anthopoulos, manager John Farrell and coach Luis Rivera. Yunel Escobar was suspended for three games Tuesday by the Toronto Blue Jays for wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish during last Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox.

Candace Bushnell settles 'Sex and the City' lawsuit

Author Candace Bushnell has settled a long-running legal battle with her former manager over her popular "Sex and the City" franchise. Bushnell, who wrote the original newspaper column that was turned into the book behind the hit TV and film series, was sued by Clifford Streit over allegations she owed him commission for making introductions which led to the creation of the franchise. They settled the original legal battle in 2006, but Streit sued again this year, claiming Bushnell had failed to adhere to the terms of the agreement.  The writer, who reportedly paid him around $230,000 between 2006 and 2009, has now agreed a new settlement covering the "Sex and the City" movies and future DVD sales.

Missy Elliott, Timbaland Have Concerns About Aaliyah Album
Missy Elliott and Timbaland dropped by New York's Hot 97 radio station for a chat with host Angie Martinez last night and the iconic duo addressed controversial reports of a posthumous Aaliyah album that is set to be executive produced by Drake. Both parties, who were extremely close to Aaliyah and instrumental in her career, said they hadn't spoken with Drake about the project. "No call has been made to me," Missy said. The "Work It" rapper went on to say that even if she had been approached about the project, she would never proceed without the blessing of Aaliyah's family. "I have to respect her family. Until they come and say they're ready to do an Aaliyah album, I don't wanna get into that," she said. Timbaland, for his part, said the very idea of doing another Aaliyah album would be difficult for him to handle emotionally. "For me, I have a hard time just listening to her music. So to sit there and do some music?" he said. Missy added that the project has another potential downside in that the recorded material that would potentially go into the album may have been intentionally left on the cutting room floor. "We're not talking about records that were put out, we're talking about songs that are unfinished," she said. "We don't know her reasoning for not putting her records out. She might have felt that that wasn't her best work." When Martinez brought up the contention that some people have made that Drake may have an unusual fixation on Aaliyah, both Missy and Timbaland reserved judgment. "A lot of people may have never met Michael Jackson, but they still may feel some kind of connection to him," Missy said.


TV NEWS
Regis Philbin is headed back to daytime TV with a monthly gig on Rachael Ray, the Food Network star’s eponymous syndicated series.
 NBC’s Revolution drama, now viewable online but officially premiering Sept. 17, has recruited Grey’s Anatomy alum Kim Raver for a juicy recurring role.  Set 15 years in the future, Revolution — exec-produced by J.J. Abrams and penned by Eric Kripke (Supernatural) — depicts the aftermath of a global blackout, in which all power goes out. Billy Burke and Tracy Spiradakos lead one band of survivors, while Breaking Bad Emmy nominee Giancarlo Esposito plays Capt. Neville, the officious leader of a militia serving the makeshift Monroe Republic. Details on Raver’s character are being kept under lock and key, but sources confirm that the part is a pivotal one.


Syfy has renewed Haunted Collector for a 12-episode third season.


FX renews late night comedy show Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell for a second cycle with an order for seven more half-hour episodes. The first cycle concludes Thursday Sept 20 at 11p, and the second begins shortly after on Thursday October 11 at 11:30p, following BrandX with Russell Brand as the 11p lead-in.

Stephen Colbert is one of many stars who’ll fill in for Good Morning America host Robin Roberts while she’s on medical leave. Other subs will include Modern Family cast members (a different one every day for a week) and Parks and Recreation‘s Rob Lowe, while Oprah Winfrey and newswomen Katie Couric, Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer also expected to sit in.


The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart and The O’Reilly Factor‘s Bill O’Reilly will go head-to-head in a live, pay-per-view event to be streamed online. “The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium” will take place Oct. 6 at George Washington University; half of the event’s net profits will go to charity.
 Jeff Winger should have a Thanksgiving to remember this year on Community, because it also will double as a sort of Father’s Day. That’s right, Jeff (Joel McHale) will finally come face-to-face with his estranged dad, William Winger, and William will be played by… James Brolin. Emmy winner (Marcus Welby, M.D., Hotel), spouse of Streisand, and father of Josh, will guest-star in the NBC comedy’s Thanksgiving-themed episode, titled “Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations.” In the episode, which airs in November, Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) hosts an awkward gathering at her place with the study group, while Jeff  winds up at the house of his father, whom he hasn’t seen since he was a kid, and a different kind of discomfort ensues.


Sean “Diddy” Combs has booked a top-secret guest spot in Season 8 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.


Sean Kanan, who began his soaps career playing the definitive A.J. Quartermaine — though Meg Masters and I apparently will agree to disagree on that — is en route back to General Hospital. Michael Logan, who first reported the news of Kanan’s quite unexpected Port Charles homecoming, says the actor’s long-term arc will kick off on Oct. 29, though no details are being revealed about his character. After all, Quartermaine clan black sheep A.J., played by Billy Warlock at the time, was murdered in April 2005.


The Smithsonian Channel has set a Sunday, Sept. 30 premiere for The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife, a one-hour special based on the new discovery of a fourth-century codex, written in the ancient Egyptian Coptic language, that refers to the wife of Jesus.

Smash has added another belter to its ranks. Hairspray starlet Nikki Blonsky will recur in Season 2 of the NBC musical, which bows in at midseason.