Ali's Family Knocks Out Rumors

Last month, rumors of lesbianism and an affair with Queen Latifah flooded the airwaves as the reason behind Laila Ali's divorce from her husband Johnny "Yahya" McClain. Ali denied the rumors, saying she didn't even know Latifah.

Last week, Laila's big sister, Maryum "May May" Ali, came to her younger sister's aid. "My sister is not gay," May May told the EUR. "She got a divorce from her husband. The rumors could have started from his camp, who knows? It just started coming out that she's dating Queen Latifah. Let me tell you something about Laila, ever since I have known her - and I've known her since she was a baby but I got really close with her when she was about 12 - she's always had a boyfriend. And Laila has the kind of personality that if she were a lesbian, she would be completely out in the open with it. She wouldn't hide it."

And if you had anything to say about it, she'd probably beat you down too.

May May is currently promoting her new show, "Earth Angels", a cross between Candid Camera and Three Wishes. The show premiered this week on Lifetime Television.

Shaq and Shaunie Want to Open School

Shaquille O'Neal and his wife Shaunie O'Neal have big plans for their Real Model Foundation, which has become know for helping homeless women and children, serving Shaqsgiving dinner to the less fortunate and handing out toys to underprivileged children as part of its annual Shaq-A-Claus event. Now, the O'Neals say they hope to use the foundation to open a charter school in the near future. Shaunie said it's the foundation's ultimate goal.

"And I would love to do it here in Miami," she told the Indianapolis Star News. "So one day that's going to happen, the sooner the better."

Their model is the The Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, which he opened in Vegas in 2001. Well, you know the basketball and tennis teams at those schools will probably be the best ever!

Alonzo Mourning to Buy House for Homeless Family

Shaq isn't the only Heat player with a big heart. Alonzo Mourning, known for his Zo's Summer Groove and Overtown Youth Center charitable events, also likes to help people off the radar. According to the Miami Herald, after reading about a grandmother raising seven grandchildren whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Wilma, Zo moved to help. He is now hooking up the family with a four-bedroom, two-bathroom crib in Fort Lauderdale.

''He does a lot of things -- a lot of things -- that nobody knows about. And that's the way he wants it,'' Lisa Joseph, who runs Overtown Youth Center, told the Miami Herald. The family has bounced around from Red Cross Shelter to dingy hotel to Red Cross Shelter until Mourning had a limo pick them up last Saturday and take them to a hotel. Zo is also arranging transportation for the children to get to and from school.

Ahmad Rashad Gives You NBA Access

Ahmad Rashad has been hosting NBA Inside Stuff for 16 years and it appears that he wants to go a little deeper into the life of an NBA player. On Sat. Jan. 28, Rashad will launch a new show, 'NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad.'

"NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad will offer viewers a peek behind the curtain at the compelling lives of the NBA's most engaging personalities," Rashad said in a statement. "It is part 'ER' and part 'Real World' as we will follow the characters throughout the season and allow fans to become invested in their stories."

The show has already been going behind the scenes of the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons' season and will also do features on Kings owners the Maloof Brothers, and Suns coach Mike D'Antoni.

"Having launched NBA Inside Stuff and having worked on the groundbreaking show for 16 memorable seasons, we introduced the genre and set the standard for a sports magazine show geared toward teens," Rashad said. "It has been an incredible experience and a show that I am very proud of."

So That's Why Holyfield Wanted to Dance!

For you boxing fans who were wondering why former champ Evander Holyfield would subject himself to a reality show like 'Dancing with the Stars', here's an answer: Apparently, the brother can't get a fight. What was once worth $5 million a bout -- Holyfield's contract with Don King -- is now only worth $500,000, and King is saying he can't even get that for Evander. That's due, we suspect, to the small fact that Holyfield has won only two of his last nine fights.

"Don's been trying to low-ball me," Holyfield told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We signed a contract for basically what I thought was minimal and now Don says he can't even reach that. So I'm thinking about maybe taking this show on the road."

He's planning to ask King if he can fight outside of their contract. Well, hopefully those dancing lessons will help in the ring, he definitely needs all the help he can get.

Taylor-Hopkins Draws Boxers, Some Celebs

Watching the Jermain Taylor and Benard Hopkins fight last weekend, you got a sense that this was a boxer's boxing match due to all the fighters sitting ringside. Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Antonio Tarver, "Sugar" Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Hasim Rahman and pretty much the whole cast of the boxing reality show, 'The Contender' were in the house to catch the fight. R. Kelly received some scattered boos after a weird dance version of the Star Spangled Banner, but it didn't seem to bother Sylvester Stallone and Burt Young, who were filming a scene with Tarver for the upcoming 'Rocky Balboa' flick. Magic Johnson, Ed Lover, and comedian George Wallace were also scattered throughout the crowd.

After the fight, Taylor celebrated his win at club OPM with his boxing brethren and ex-NFL players, Natrone "Bomb" Means, James Hasty and rapper Yukmouth. Apparently Rap-A-Lot Records CEO, J. Prince tried to get into the party with his crew but were turned away because he and his people didn't abide by the dress code. According to Las Vegas Review Journa's Norm Clarke, Prince yelled at the staff and said that he would come back "buy OPM and fire you all!" Ahh, another rap industry idle threat!

About the Author:

Quibian Salazar-Moreno is a freelance writer living in Denver and a regular contributor to AOL Black Voices. You can e-mail him or visit his Web site to talk sports, entertainment and everything in between.