NBA players reject league's labor offer

NBA players delivered a resounding but risky response to one more ultimatum from NBA Commissioner David Stern: See you in court. The players' association rejected the league's latest proposal for a new labor deal Monday and began disbanding, paving the way for a lawsuit that throws the season in jeopardy. Negotiating went nowhere, so now the union is going away. And Stern said ''nuclear winter'' is coming. ''We're prepared to file this antitrust action against the NBA,'' union executive director Billy Hunter said. ''That's the best situation where players can get their due process.'' And that's a tragedy as far as Stern is concerned. ''It looks like the 2011-12 season is really in jeopardy,'' Stern said in an interview aired on ESPN. ''It's just a big charade. To do it now, the union is ratcheting up I guess to see if they can scare the NBA owners or something. That's not happening.'' The sides still can negotiate during the legal process, so players didn't want to write off the season just yet. Over the weekend, Stern said he would not cancel the season this week.

Jerry Sandusky: 'I Horsed Around with Kids'

Jerry Sandusky, the former football coach at the center of the Penn State child molestation scandal, acknowledges that he touched children but denies he committed any crimes. "I have horsed around with kids," Sandusky, 67, said in an interview that aired Monday on Rock Center with Brian Williams. "I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact." Asked by Bob Costas if he is guilty of the charges contained in a 40-count indictment, Sandusky says, "I am innocent of those charges." "Are you a pedophile?" Costas asked. "No," replied Sandusky, who went on to state: "I could say that I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them." He also said, "I enjoy being around children. I enjoy their enthusiasm. I just have a good time with them." Of the 2002 incident that was reputedly witnessed by assistant coach Mike McQueary, involving Sandusky and a young man in the locker room, Sandusky told Costas: "We were showering and horsing around and he [the boy] actually turned all the showers on and was actually sliding across the floor and we were, as I recall, possibly like snapping a towel." Now reports that as many as 10 more alleged victims of Sandusky are stepping forward, according to police close to the investigation.


Terrell Owens Pays Back Child Support
Terrell Owens is no longer a wanted man ... because he's anted up on his back child support payment. a California judge issued an arrest warrant last week after T.O. was a no-show at a child support hearing.  T.O. -- who was behind child support -- had been trying to reduce his payments, claiming he just doesn't make the big bucks anymore. The lawyer for Monique Reynolds, the baby's mother, says, "Terrell Owens has today paid his child support obligation to Monique Reynolds, and Ms. Reynolds has requested that the Court dismiss her contempt motion and recall the associated warrant that was issued."
 Supermodel Miranda Kerr and 10-month old son Flynn; dad is actor Orlando Bloom.
 

Big Ten takes Paterno's name off trophy

The Big Ten has taken Joe Paterno's name off the Big Ten's football championship trophy. League commissioner Jim Delany said Monday that it is ''inappropriate'' to keep Paterno's name on the trophy that will be awarded Dec. 3 after the first Big Ten title game. Penn State fired Paterno, its longtime head coach, last week and investigations are under way into allegations of child sex-abuse involving a former assistant for the Nittany Lions. The trophy had been named the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy. Amos Alonzo Stagg won 319 games in 57 years, most at the University of Chicago. Paterno's 409 wins are the most by a major college coach. The trophy will now be called the Stagg Championship Trophy. Penn State (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten ) and Michigan State (8-2, 5-1) lead their respective divisions and will advance to the title game in Indianapolis if they win the rest of their games. Robert Stagg of Grand Rapids, Mich., a great grandson of Amos Alonzo Stagg, said last week his family was honored to have the Stagg name on the trophy whatever happened with Paterno's name.

Chelsea Clinton's New Job: Special Correspondent for NBC

She's made headlines before as the daughter of a former U.S. president – and as a glowing newlywed. But now Chelsea Clinton will sit on the other side of the news desk. The daughter of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton will begin working as a fulltime special correspondent for NBC News. Clinton, 31, will work on features segments for the "Making a Difference" series, which showcases people helping out their communities through volunteer work. "I hope telling stories though 'Making a Difference' – as in my academic work and nonprofit work – with help me to live my grandmother's adage of 'Life is not about what happens to you, but about what you do with what happens to you,' " Clinton said in a statement.
 Natalie Portman and fiancé Benjamin Millepied with 4-month-old son Aleph.

New York Giants All-Time Leading Rusher Tiki Barber Tackled Just Shy Of Altar

A timeout has been called on Tiki Barber's plans to marry next spring. The former NFL star has a little issue he must take care of first: Barber still hasn't officially divorced his estranged wife, Ginny. Traci Lynn Johnson, the former NBC intern, and Barber got engaged in August, with wedding bells expected in the well-heeled Hamptons in May of 2012. Much like Tiki's NFL comeback, though, the wedding has run into an obstacle. His divorce is far from complete (the two sides can't seem to reach a settlement), which has put the wedding on hold. It's just another way that it's been a tough year for the former Giant to get what he wants. A member of the 10,000 rushing yards club, Barber had planned to come back to football after four years away from the game. He filed papers with the NFL to come out of retirement in March after his unsuccessful television career. After working out hard for several months, not a single NFL team was interested enough in Barber to offer him a contract. Johnson, 24, was already making wedding arrangements with the 36-year-old former athlete. Now it seems she'll be making them a bit longer than expected. The couple live together in Manhattan. Barber was publicly roasted in the tabloids back in 2010 after he dumped his then-pregnant wife after 11 years of marriage to be with the Peacock Network intern and lost his job as a correspondent for the Today Show.

Chesney, McGraw team up for super tour of stadiums

Chesney and McGraw got to know each other living in the same apartment complex 20 years ago, cemented their friendship opening for George Strait, and joined forces in 2001 when McGraw invited Chesney on the road at a pivotal moment in his career. They're teaming again from the pinnacle of country music. "It's two artists who've known each other for 20 years, who've been friends for 20 years ... at the top of our game to be able to go out and do this together," McGraw said. "To get two artists to agree on anything is pretty spectacular. But to agree to go out together, do a tour together and just have a great time together and play music together is a pretty unique and remarkable thing. And I think that can only happen with guys who are as good of friends as we are." The tour, dubbed the Brothers of the Sun Tour, will kick off June 2 in Tampa, Fla., and wrap Aug. 25 in Foxboro, Mass. Along the way, there will be stops in many of the nation's largest cities, including East Rutherford, N.J., where Chesney set a record this summer for paid attendance to a live country show in the New York City area. There's also a stop in Nashville, Tenn., a place neither artist has played regularly. "It seemed time," Chesney said. "There was no other reason than that. It just seemed like it was time for us to play at home again. It's a really ironic place for us to play because we played in the shadows of that place for so long, right downtown in all these bars ... for tips. Now all we have to do is go across the river."

Bachelor Pad's Vienna Girardi, Kasey Kahl Split
It's another Bachelor break-up: Vienna Girardi and Kasey Kahl have called it quits. "Yes vienna and I have split. It's been 5 weeks now. I can't fake it anymore. I will always love, be there for her, and wish her the best," Kahl, 27. "@KaseyRKahl will always be my best friend, but yes we have split. No idea what the future holds for us but we will always remain friends," Girardi, 25, posted to her account. Girardi won Jake Pavelka's season of The Bachelor but the engagement didn't last long and the couple split in an ugly and highly publicized break-up. Kahl wooed Ali Fedotowsky on The Bachelorette with song, and his catch phrase, "guard and protect your heart," ended up tattooed on his wrist. Fedotowsky was unimpressed.



TV NEWS
NBC is making some significant midseason scheduling changes in an effort to jump-start what has been a lackluster season so far. That’s good news for Up All Night, but bad news for Community. For starters, the Peacock is moving Up All Night to Thursdays at 9:30/8:30c following The Office beginning Jan. 12. The deteriorating Whitney will take over Night‘s former Wednesday lead-off spot on Jan. 11, where it will be paired with new sitcom Are You There, Chelsea? Critical fave Community is being benched to make way for the return of 30 Rock on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 8/7c. An NBC source insists the show is just taking a breather and has not been canceled.


CBS is replacing one Saturday Night Light alum with another. The David Spade-starrer Rules of Engagement is being temporarily benched to make way for Rob Schneider’s new sitcom, ¡Rob! The half-hour comedy, starring Schneider as a bachelor who marries into a tight-knit Mexican-American family, debuts in Rules‘ time slot — Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c — on Jan. 12. Rules will return to its Thursday home later in the season, but with a reduced episode order


Fresh off her stint on the short-lived Playboy Club, Laura Benanti will appear on NBC’s Law & Order: SVU as the estranged wife of the department’s new detective, Nick Amaro (Danny Pino).


Other midseason changes on NBC Harry’s Law is relocating to Sundays at 8/7c beginning March 4. New drama The Firm will replace DOA rookie drama Prime Suspect on Thursdays at 10/9. Parenthood‘s season finale airs Feb. 28.



Also on NBC, beginning Friday, Feb. 3, Who Do You Think You Are? takes over for Chuck, which will conclude its five-season run with a two-hour finale on January 27 at 8/7c.


Anna Kournikova is leaving The Biggest Loser after just one season as a trainer. The tennis star joined the NBC weight loss series for its 12th cycle (which is currently airing on Tuesdays at 8/7c) as a replacement for Jillian Michaels.


Megan Mullally has landed a guest spot on NBC’s Up All Night. The ubiquitous funny lady will play a rival of Maya Rudolph’s Ava.

 30 Rock‘s Best Friends Gang is back in action! Kelsey Grammer, playing Kelsey Grammer, will reunite with his cake-scamming buddies Kenneth and Jenna in a Season 6 episode of the NBC comedy. The Boss star first appeared in an Oct. 2010 installment.


Castle has elected a new mayor. Damages‘ Derek Webster is taking over the role of Robert Weldon, the show’s (fictional) New York City Mayor. He replaces General Hospital grad Joseph C. Phillips, who previously played the Big Apple’s top politico in two Season 1 episodes.


Tanya Williams, the estranged wife of incarcerated former NBA star Jayson Williams, will not be back for season 2 of "Basketball Wives: LA" ... in fact, she wasn't even invited to the reunion show. Williams says producers informed her manager they did not want to "move forward" with the relationship. She says the split is amicable, telling us, "I wish everyone involved continued success with the show."