Who knew that Pittsburgh could party like that? Well, it wasn’t exactly Pittsburgh; it was more of the baseball’s top stars in town for
2006 MLB All-Star Week. The biggest party was hosted by
Derek Jeter on Monday at Club Diesel. The invite-only soiree was attended by Jeter’s close friends, including
Alex Rodriguez who was apparently expected to host another party, but didn't.
Jeter's party wasn't the only "invite-only" party last weekend -- a matter of fact, almost every party was "invite-only." The Major League Baseball and Getty Images Party at Bossa Nova in Downtown Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Pirates Charity Benefit at the Hard Rock Café, the Franco Harris All-Star Celebration, the '33 Club' Presented by MLB at Heinz Field, and of host of others were only-if-you-know-someone parties.
As far as celebs though, there weren't that many around. Apart from your baseball stars, you had ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, comedian Sarah Silverman, Leeann Tweeden of "Best Damn Sports Show Period," ex-Steelers running back Franco Harris, singer Cowboy Troy, director Rob Reiner, actors Dean Cain, James Denton and Danny Masterson, and X-Games stars Dave Mirra and Carey Hart.
Jose Canseco also hosted a party featuring Playboy Playmates and the
Pennsylvania Bikini Team (huh?) at club Matrix. Yeah, big deal. If P. Diddy isn't throwing a party, it isn't a true All Star Weekend.
T.O. Tries for Bestseller ListTerrell Owens finally gets to tell his side of the whole Philadelphia story. His new book, titled 'T.O.', is not really an autobiography; it's mostly an elaborate explanation of what went down in Philly. He does talk about his youth a little, and spends some moments on his time in San Francisco, but what he mostly does is get a bunch of stuff off of his chest.
In the 242-page book, Owens writes that he feels "penalized more harshly than any player in the history of the NFL." He also talks about his relationship with coach Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, whom he says might have been a bit jealous.
"The problem was that I was becoming the new favorite son of Philadelphia," Owens writes. "The Eagles were no longer the
Donovan McNabb show -- he had a co-host. I was happy to share it with him."
The book was co-written by Jason Rosenhaus, the brother of -- you guessed it -- Drew Rosenhaus, Owens' agent. Seems like the Rosenhaus family is milking T.O. to the fullest.
Kobe Makes Wishes Come TrueKobe Bryant gets a bad rap. We here at TPL give him a hard time too, every now then. But you got to give the guy props when he makes a kid's wish come true. Salvador Torres, a 14-year old with leukemia, recently told the
Make-A-Wish Foundation that one of his dreams was to meet Kobe, his favorite basketball player. Kobe agreed, but he did more than just a meet-and-greet. He spent hours playing Madden with the teenager, then they went outside and played HORSE and later that night, they went out to dinner.
ESPN was in the house to record the whole thing for a special summer Sportscenter segment called "My Wish", where 10 kids with life-threatening diseases or medical conditions share their sports-related wishes with the ESPN audience. The series starts on July 16 and the first episode features Charlie Pena, a 12-year old New Yorker with sickle cell anemia, whose wish was to help Andy Reid coach the Philadelphia Eagles.
We here at TPL would probably wish for a spot in the next
Ron Artest video. Maybe go on tour with him. Maybe even do a song with him. That would be a dream come true!
Alonzo Mourning is Groovin’This weekend, the Miami Heat’s
Alonzo Mourning will be hosting his 10th Annual Tyson Foods Zo's Summer Groove. The event will take place over four days at American Airlines Arena in Miami with a concert featuring Gloria Estefan and her Miami Sound Machine.
"I am truly honored to have Gloria perform at our concert," Zo said in a statement. "She is a fixture in this community and I've admired her talent as a singer, but mostly her contributions to South Florida. Her involvement is timely as we celebrate 10 years of Zo’s Summer Groove – Miami style."
Zo's Summer Groove offers a variety of events including basketball clinics, a golf tournament, a concert and comedy show, a gala and block party, an all-star basketball game and numerous after-party functions. The event works to promote community involvement by encouraging event participants to enjoy a weekend of activities that benefit South Florida's underserved children and families. For more information visit www.zsg.com.
The NBA is Hiring, Helping Folks Get JobsYou need a job? Maybe a career change? The NBA has hooked up with CareerBuilder.com to promote diversity recruitment among employers and career development among young adults. As part of the partnership the NBA will be revamping its own employment website and conducting job fairs. The NBA also put together a "Legends in Business" team that consists of
Dave Bing,
Clyde Drexler,
Julius Erving,
Jamal Mashburn, and
Dominique Wilkins to help promote diversity hiring.
"The 'Legends in Business' team is proud to reunite with the NBA on this initiative," Wilkins said in statement. "In our years since playing in the NBA, we have each experienced firsthand the value of diversity hiring within our own organizations and business ventures so we are pleased to join forces with the NBA and
Careerbuilder.com in order to extend and promote this important message to various other employers and potential employees."
You can check out available NBA jobs by going
here and see if you’re qualified for anything. They are hiring referees too if you enjoy being yelled at by tall dudes and then having the power to kick them out of the game.
