Love, 'Player's Life' Style

Only in a player's life.

Word has it that Stephen Jackson was set to be married last Saturday, but cancelled the wedding after his fianceé Imani Showalter refused to sign a prenuptial agreement.

"She was ready to walk the aisle and everything and he stopped it," our TPL spy said. "To make it worse, his family (including mom, aunt and cousins) cheered when the wedding director came out and said there was not going to be a wedding. He spent a nice penny on that too... not to get married."

Stephon Marbury, Mike Bibby, Malik Rose and Steve Smith were all there to witness the non-nuptials.

For those who prefer their love stories more "Oprah and Stedman" and less "Dennis and Carmen," former L.A. Laker and current Washington Wizard Caron Butler married the "girl of his dreams" at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Dwyane Wade, Eddie Jones and Brian Grant were all in the house as ESPN Hollywood filmed the entire ceremony including the minister calling Caron "Cameron."

Nothing says long and successful marriage like a celebrity wedding in Vegas.

Indiana Pacer Jermaine O'Neal also got married last week to his longtime love, Mesha Roper. The ceremony was at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, amid Hurricane Katrina warnings. Despite the weather, O'Neal and his lady stuck around the area for their honeymoon.

Slapshot to Hip-Hop

Yes, Virginia, there are black people who play hockey. And yes, some of them do love hip-hop. Anson Carter, who just signed a lucrative deal with the Vancouver Canucks, is one of the few black hockey players in the NHL and he isn't hiding his love for hip-hop. During last year's NHL lockout, Carter launched his own record label, Big Up Entertainment.

"The concept for Big Up Entertainment started years ago when I first played in Boston," Carter told TPL. "It was the first in two of my protracted holdout situations, where negotiations weren't going the way I wanted them to. Then I started thinking about stuff I wanted to do after my hockey career was over."

A couple of summers ago, Carter discovered his first hip-hop group, Main and Merc, out of Virginia. He signed them, and last year released their first single, 'Passion n' Pain'. When asked why he didn't sign an artist from his hometown in Toronto, he said cats in the "T-Dot" aren't ready.

"I originally wanted to bring rappers from Toronto to the U.S.," he explained. "But honestly, you see rappers down South getting appreciated and respected from cats in New York and out west and of course they get a lot of love from their own hometown. But in Canada it's different. Toronto emcees don't really get respected in Toronto, you have to blow up and become big somewhere else first, before they respect what you do in Canada. It's kind of backwards but that's the way it is. Keeping that in mind, I figured I'd start Big Up Entertainment stateside."

His company is also producing films. The first, 'Bald,' a comedy in the same vein as 'American Pie' is about a college student who's going bald and trying to keep his hair from falling out.

With the NHL season approaching, Carter is focusing on the season and repping on the ice for black folks everywhere.

"Now we have black players playing all types of different roles and key positions on teams that it's really no big deal now to have a black player on an NHL team," Carter said. "We have gained acceptance throughout the hockey community."

Look Like Serena

Last week Serena Williams signed on with Flirt! Cosmetics, to help promote and design some of the company's products. Flirt!'s makeup line has over 250 different colors and often enlists celebrities as guest creators to suggest a new color, product, accessory, or collection.

"I'm a complete beauty junkie and being in the fashion business, I stay ahead of the trends," Williams said in a statement. "Now I am able to create makeup that works with what is in style. Creating cosmetics allows me to be glamorous and adventurous plus show off my flirtatious side, a fun contrast to my life on the court."

Look for Serena's ideas to hit Kohl department stores in February 2006… $40,000 diamond earrings, dog Jackie and entourage sold separately.

Kendall Gill Keeps Raining… Blows

Former NBA sharpshooter Kendall Gill won his second boxing match last week, but it was a bit tougher. While his first fight against Trevor Biley ended in a first round knockout, Gill's opponent this time stayed with him the entire four rounds. Gill won a unanimous decision over Jason Medina.

"This guy was a lot tougher than my first fight," Gill said told the Chicago Tribune, admitting that Medina "stunned me with a right hand in the first round. I think I made adjustments better than in my first fight."

Right now, Gill is also fighting to get back on the court.

"I'll see who wants a hungry, very capable, very motivated, very in-shape 37-year-old,” Gill said. "The Lakers are my first choice. I love the triangle offense. I love [coach] Phil Jackson."

Next up, trying to break Ron Artest's league record for punches thrown.

Mike Vick Goes Old School for New Commercial

In a few weeks Nike will drop Mike Vick's new shoe, "Zoom Vick II" and they are taking it to back in the day with the new ads. The theme, "Back to the roots," will focus on Vick's high school career in and effort to capture the high school athlete audience.

The cross training shoe will retail for $120 and will be available Sept. 10. In addition, a football cleat and a boot called "The Invincible," along with a limited edition "Zoom Vick III" for $140, will drop Sept. 29. The commercials, which were taped last week, will feature Vick's high school coach Tommy Reamon, former high school teammate Andre Harrison and footage of Vick talking about his high school football career at an awards banquet a few years ago. Look for the commercials to start airing the first week of the NFL season.

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 site to talk sports, entertainment and everything in between.