After lives were changed during the 2005 NBA Draft last week, groups of the newly anointed NBA rookies headed out for a night on the town in the Big Apple. Atlanta Hawks No. 2 pick Marvin Williams hosted a crew of 18 at Morton’s in Manhattan. The Knicks’ first pick, Channing Frye, rolled to McCormick’s & Schmick’s with about 25 folks for dinner. Other players taken in the first round, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Ian Mahinmi and Michael Gelabale, all headed to Club 40/40 to party with Jay-Z and LeBron James.

Carmelo Anthony (whose lady, La La Vasquez, announced that their wedding would be next summer) and Lamar Odom hosted a "Welcome to the NBA" party at Glo for Raymond Felton and Carmelo’s Syracuse teammate Hakim Warrick. LeBron James made an appearance at the soiree as did Dwyane Wade and 50 Cent.

NFL Players Celebrate New Madden Video Game

Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) and Byron Leftwich (Jacksonville Jaguars) talked trash and battled each other on the latest version of Madden NFL football last week at the Madden’s Gone Gold party in New York. McNabb won the game but that wasn’t the only talk of the night: Michael Strahan (New York Giants) analyzed the ratings of each player in the new game.

"You can judge your own performance by how they rate you in 'Madden,'" Strahan told IGN.com. "You can tell if you had a good year or a bad year when the new 'Madden' comes out and you check your ratings. If you're rated bad, your year was probably horrible. I'm afraid to even look at my ratings in '06. I'm just hoping they go by past performance."

And what about that 'Madden' curse? Donovan McNabb is on the cover of 'Madden NFL 06' and his teammate, Michael Lewis, is rebuking any talk of a curse.

"No more curse," Lewis said. "You know, I talked to Donovan about the 'Madden' curse, but we don't think it's real. We hope not. I pray to God it's not real."

"No curse. Not this year," McNabb chimed in.

Tony Gonzalez (Kansas City Chiefs), Trent Green (Kansas City Chiefs), Roy Williams (Detroit Lions), and Marcus Trufant (Seattle Seahawks) were also at the party. Look for 'Madden NFL 06' to hits shelves in August.

Jalen Rose Doles Out Cash for College Students

Jalen Rose of the Toronto Raptors returned to his hometown of Detroit last week to give out five $10,000 scholarships through his Jalen Rose Foundation. Shantell C. Cleveland, Alexandra Johnson-Joshua, Samira Montlouis, Shakira Tiara Smiler and Tristan R. Stringer are the five high school seniors who were awarded the scholarships out of the 200 applicants.

"I left the University of Michigan after my junior year to enter the NBA Draft but never lost sight of the value of a college degree," Rose said in a statement. "I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to further their education, and through this program, more Detroit students will join me in achieving that goal. There is no question in my mind that education is the key to a successful future. I want to help the Detroit community make college a priority for its kids because this great city will only get better as more and more kids grow up and impact the community in positive ways."

Last month, Rose finished up his Bachelor of Science degree in management studies at the University of Maryland.

Tiger Woods: Richest Golfer Ever?

Although Tiger Woods came in second behind Jim Furyk at the Western Open last weekend, his winnings made him the first professional golfer to ever earn $50 million in career earnings (these earnings don’t include endorsements). Apparently, Woods didn’t realize at first that he’s made that much in his nine-year career.

"I did?" Woods said after collecting $540,000 for placing second in the Western Open tournament. "That's not too bad. I'm not retired yet. I had a good start to my 20s and hopefully I can have an even better 30s."

At only 29, Woods has won 43 tournaments, including nine majors, something that no other golfer may even come close to. Next up, Woods will compete in the British Open on July 14.

Michael Jordan’s Vegas Project Shut Down

Diversified Real Estate Concepts, a developer out of Chicago, had big plans for its Aqua Blue project in Las Vegas. The 46-story high rise "condotel" was going to be located right off the strip behind Bally’s casino. The firm got Michael Jordan to back the $600 million project with a proposed 65,000-square-foot Michael Jordan Athletic Center and plans to later add a Michael Jordan Steak House and Michael Jordan’s 23 sports cafe.

Unfortunately, due to an increase in construction costs, the entire project was cancelled. The project was already 50 percent sold-out and refunds will go back to buyers.

"Las Vegas is running out of developable land and is therefore being pushed skyward," said Las Vegas high-rise Realtor Beverly Lacey of VerticalVegas.com in a statement. "The skyline will be reinvented in the next 10 years and Las Vegas will be a completely different city.”

About the Author:

Quibian Salazar-Moreno is a freelance journalist residing in Denver. Click here to e-mail him about the latest in sports and entertainment and check out his home page at Qsviews.com.