Baby on Board Overload

Grant Hill and Tamia
Are Expecting

Carmelo Anthony and Lala Vasquez had their baby boy a couple of weeks ago. Gilbert Arenas and his lady welcomed their son Alijah Amani Arenas (or 'Triple A' as Gil will call him) last weekend. Now Grant Hill and his wife, Tamia , announced that they are expecting. In a bulletin on her MySpace page Tamia said:

"Warning: Listening to my hit single, 'Can't Get Enough,' may result in Pregnancy! Grant and I are expecting & Yes the rumors are true! And you heard it here first. To be continued..." The couple already have Myla Grace, a 5-year-old. Tamia also announced the pregnancy at a concert last week in Washington D.C., and released a statement: "Grant and I are thrilled about the pregnancy," she said. "I've been performing non-stop on my 'Between Friends Session Tour' for the past four months and I wanted to share our exciting news with my supportive fans." ( http://www.myspace.com/therealtamia ).

Tamia's album, 'Between Friends,' dropped in November and has been receiving mixed reviews despite an appearance from Jim Jones and production by Rodney Jerkins. As far as the Orlando Magic well, umm, never mind.

Gary Sheffield Drops Dime in New Book

Former Yankee and current Detroit Tiger Gary is already ruffling some feathers with his new book and it ain't even out yet. The memoir, 'Inside Power,' is due to hit shelves on April 3. In the book, he takes the Yankees organization to task, calling them "The Corporation," and writes about instances with racial overtones that he's experienced in the league, as well as having his name thrown around in the steroid-BALCO-Barry Bonds controversy.

In an interview with ESPN's Sam Alipour to promote his book, Sheffield shared his experiences playing for the Marlins and Brewers, and said he felt that his treatment on the team by management had racial overtones.

"I've been the best player on every team that I played on, so if I can't be the poster child of your team, then what else is it?" Sheffield asked in response to his disappointment over Jeff Conine being made the Marlins' 'poster boy' for the team. "It's got to be a black-white issue. Every white player I know who's the best player on their team is the poster child of that team. But you need to know when to fight your battles. It's a part of society." In the book, Sheffield also wrote that Derek Jeter is well liked because he's biracial, criticized Yankee manager Joe Torre, and talked about his life growing up and playing ball with his uncle Dwight Gooden. He also gives up the goods on Gooden's drug use, which ruined Doc's career. So is all of this considered snitching? Read the entire interview here.

Michael Vick Turns Restaurateur

Last week Michael Vick made his first public appearance since the whole water bottle with a secret compartment incident at Miami International Airport. He was on hand for the opening of his new restaurant, The Tasting Room, in Atlanta. Seems as though no one cared about the restaurant because all the local media wanted to know why he was all James Bond with the water bottle. But he refused to talk about any of that -- only the restaurant.

"Maybe this will offset some of that attention I've been getting, whether positive or negative," Vick told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It's good for people to see that I'm giving back to the community, where people can see me trying to do something that's positive. There are a lot of people speculating about things I do that are not so positive. I'm looking to expand and take it to a different level. This is my seventh year in the league; I'm growing older and I need to take some things in a new direction. I can't play football forever. I'm going to have to become an entrepreneur and make my money grow. This is a step in a different direction. I'm trying to do some things differently."

Emmitt Smith Gets a Gig at ESPN

Emmitt Smith is continuing his TV career by joining up with ESPN for the upcoming NFL season. Smith will serve as an 'NFL Analyst' for the networks 'NFL Countdown' and 'Monday Night Countdown' shows. "I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge and insight of football with the fans of the NFL," Smith said. "I am excited to be joining the ESPN family, particularly the highly respected Countdown crews." Smith will be joining Chris Berman, analysts Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Ron Jaworski, and reporter Chris Mortensen on 'NFL Countdown' and Berman, Jackson, Mortensen and analysts Bill Parcells and Steve Young on the 'Monday Night Countdown' show each week.

Jalen Rose Drops $100K for Mutumbo Hospital

Jalen Rose has always been consistent with his charitable giving so when he dropped $100,000 to help build an operating room at Jalen Rose and Research Center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it wasn't surprising. Dikembe Mutumbo opened the hospital, named after his mother, last year and is currently funding its additional construction and operation. Rose was impressed by Mutumbo's work in the Congo and wanted to contribute.