Houston, We Have a Party

The sports world continues to party this weekend with the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston and some of us will be headed down there for the festivities. So what did we find out about parties going down in H-Town this weekend? Keep reading…

For Friday night, this is what we have on our list. We reported this awhile back: Allen Iverson was the first to announce the parties he will be throwing each night at the Houston Grand Plaza Hotel. Friday, he will host the Southern Invasion Party with Trina. Tickets start at $75 and unfortunately we have no hookups for this soiree so maybe we’ll head somewhere else. How about the Catwalk Kickoff at the Rice Loft’s Crystal Ballroom? It’s like a fashion show/party hosted by Tyson Beckford, Eva Pigford, Buffie The Body, and Nikko Monroe, with performances by Keyshia Cole and Avant. Sounds good and it’s only $40! But hold up, Nelly is kicking off his 3-day weekend that night at Hush which he’s renamed Club Derrty. Nelly, The St. Lunatics and Usher will be hosting that one. Maybe you can get hooked up at ClubDerrty.com. Actually, maybe we’ll head to LeBron's Jumpoff Party at Club Meridian? No scratch that, on Friday night we will be at Gabrielle Union's Hollywood 2 Houston Party with Tyrese, Leela James and DJ Madlinx at the University Club in the Galleria. Holler at me Gabrielle, you remember us from last year's All-Star Weekend don’t you?

Now for Saturday… hmmm let's see. We have AI’s Jeans & Stilettos Party with video chick Buffie the Body, Nik from America’s Top Model and Nicole Alexander, aka Hoops, at the Houston Grand Plaza Hotel or Nelly’s Three the Hardway Party with Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James , with DJ Clue on the tables at Club Hush. How about the Hip-Hop Fiesta at Club Opus hosted by Meagan Goode and Free with a performance by Shawnna? Or maybe the Funkmaster Flex, Jadakiss joint with Paul Wall and others at the Grand Room? Nah, I think we’ll chill with the queen of hip-hop soul, Mary J. Blige at the All Star Royal Player’s Ball at the Hilton Houston Post Oak.

Finally on Sunday, we have a few choices. Of course AI will have his MVP party with Buffie the Body and Nik at the Houston Grand Plaza Hotel and Nelly will have his Grillz, Wheelz and Kicks party with Jermaine Dupri, Gipp and Ali at Club Hush. But Vivica Fox and George Daniels along with the folks at Power 92.3 will host the Grand Finale Party at Club Opus. Not much else going on there. There’s a Club ATL party at Kim Sons with Terrell Owens, Gary Payton, Akon and actor Terrence Howard or we can head to Meridian Night Club and chill with Melyssa Ford at the All-Star Poppin’ Bottle Party. We don’t know yet, but we’ll keep our eye on NBAParty.com for the latest.

Piston Turned Filmmaker for 'Playas Ball’

Not really into the party scene for NBA All-Star Weekend? How about a movie? Detroit Piston forward Dale Davis will premiere a film he produced called ‘Playas Ball’, a story about a pro basketball player who just signed a lucrative endorsement contract with a shoe company and is then hit with a paternity suit by a woman he barely knows. Dale Davis said he wanted to showcase something that the public often doesn’t see.

"It happens to athletes in general, entertainers in general," Davis told the L.A. Times. "Sometimes these are the things you have to go through if you have money, and the extent some people will go through to try and get it. Being in the NBA, you see a little bit of everything. You hear the stories, and you're in that lifestyle. From an entertainment aspect, it made sense to me to try to put that in movie form and see if we could get an audience." Apparently the film was finished right when the Kobe Bryant case hit the nationwide media but Davis decided to shelve it until now. The film was written and directed by Jennifer Harper and stars Allen Payne as the lead character Cedric. The film was produced under Davis’s W.A.R. Entertainment Company which also acts as a label with artists like Deepside, Mellikon, Razor Ra, matter of fact, check it out here. Warning: some of it is kind of... cheesy.

LeBron’s Nike Commercial Gets Toy Action

Apparently LeBron James’ Nike campaign 'The LeBrons' is pretty popular because plans are in the works to make action figures out of each Lebron character. Upper Deck announced that will be releasing a 12-inch designer action figure of 'Athlete LeBron.' In celebration of All-Star Weekend, Upper Deck will release 750 figures.

Then in April, Upper Deck will drop figures of all the Lebron characters (Athletes, Business, Kid, and Wise Lebron) at $45 a piece.

“We are excited to work with Nike and introduce a new style of sports figure to the marketplace. The edginess of the commercials and the various personalities that LeBron portrays in the spots, lend themselves well to the artistic nature of urban vinyl figures," said Dave Sanders, brand manager for Upper Deck Authenticated, in a statement. Look for pictures of the action figures at Upperdeck.com.

Shaq Still Hawking Payless Shoes

As we reported previously, Shaquille O'Neal signed a deal with Payless ShoeSource for his Dunkman Gane Shoe (Yeah, we know, Payless??). Now fans will get their first look at the Dunkman shoes as Shaq will play in them for the All-Star game on February 19. How come he won’t play in them during the season?

"I can't disclose any details at this point except to say it's going to be powerful," O’Neal said about his plans to unveil the shoe. "People will have to tune in and see." Well, for those interested, the Dunkman shoes became available at your nearest Payless ShoeSource this week and range in price from $24.99 to $39.99. Well, at least we can afford one superstar’s shoes.