Romeo's Got Hoop Dreams

Rapper Master P has been trying to play professional basketball for years. He’s played in the NBA summer leagues NBA summer leagues; he’s played in the ABA, but it looks like his son, Lil Romeo (now just Romeo), is the one gearing up to make his hoop dreams come true.

Romeo hasn’t been actively promoting his upcoming album, God’s Gift . He’s chilled on the movie roles, and is possibly ending his Nickelodeon show “Romeo!”, because he’s setting his sights on basketball. The 17 year-old rapper/actor recently joined the Beverly Hills High School varsity team and is ballin’ out of control -- averaging 17 points and five assists a game.

"I've been playing basketball since the age of 2," Romeo told the L.A. Times. "I'm real committed to it. It's a serious game for me. I put everything on hold. I've got people mad at me. I've put the whole Hollywood thing behind me right now. This only comes once in a lifetime.”

Although Master P never made the cut, he’s pretty much behind his son and his NBA dreams. "Whatever he wanted to do, I'd support him as a parent," P told the L.A. Times. “I think it's a great thing. It's hard work."

If you want to see Romeo’s skills, you can check out the Varsity Boys game schedule at http://bhhs.beverlyhills.k12.ca.us/.

The regular season ends in February. If this decision saves us from more Lil Romeo albums, we’re all for it!

Jalen Rose, Cobi Jones, Others rejoin Snoop’s League

Last year Snoop Dogg’s Hip-Hop Gaming League (HHGL) was a successful venture that pit celebrities and athletes against each other in various video game tournaments.

Season one of the HHGL saw Eric V of the Baka Boyz beating out Method Man on Xbox 360’s NBA 2K6 to take home the HHGL Championship at Hollywood’s Club Element last May.

Now the likes of Brandon Marshall (Denver Broncos) , Darnell Bing (Oakland Raiders) , Trevor Ariza (Orlando Magic), Michael Robinson (San Francisco 49ers) will take a shot at the crown for season two along with the return of Jalen Rose and Cobi Jones and other celebrities.

"Yo, the HHGL is slammin' this season, with some of the baddest gamers in hip-hop and pro sports," said Snoop Dogg. "This time around, the fans are gonna get into the game, going up against superstars like my main man Eric V, B-Real, B-Real, Lupe Fiasco, Lil Wayne, Warren G, , Cobi Jones and so many other brothas I can't even give 'em all shout-outs. Just play the game, ya dig?"

Fans will also get a chance to play against their favorite stars by going to www.hhgl.com and signing up. This year’s theme game will be NCAA Football 07 but tournaments with THQ's Saint's Row, EA Sports' Madden NFL 07, and NBA 2K7 will also go down. The best gaming fans have a chance to go to the HHGL Finals on February 16 in Las Vegas.

Who said video games are just for kids?

Muhammad Ali is Snacking

Last year, Muhammad Ali sold the rights of his name and image to a corporation for $50 million and now the deal is beginning to bear its first fruit.

Ali’s name and image will be on the packaging of a new healthy snack food aimed at college-age students. The food is produced in conjunction with Mars Inc. and will consist of fruit crumbles, crunchy mixes and flavored crisps.

The snacks will have silly names like 'Rumble,' 'Shuffle' and 'Jabs' with the flavors called "Fruit Fight," "Thrill-A-Dill-A" and "Slammin' Salsa." Even more silly, is the snacks are shaped like boxing gloves, medicine balls, ropes, speed bags and body shields.

The food will start out on college campuses and make their way to retail grocers if it proves successful. According to the Associated Press, marketing experts say the product is a form of "persona branding," using Ali's image, name and reputation to induce customers into buying a product. Folks like Rosa Parks, Elvis Presley and Evel Knievel have done similar deals.

I don’t remember seeing some Rosa Parks Freedom Chips though.

Laila Ali Dancing?

Sticking with the Ali clan. Apparently Laila Ali will be doing more than dancing in the ring this year. According to TMZ.com, Laila is slated to participate in the new season of “Dancing with Stars”, along with country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, former “90210” star, Ian Ziering, and former N’Sync vocalist, Joey Fatone. The new season is set to premiere on March 19 on ABC. But before Laila can knockout the celebrity has-beens, she’s heading to South Africa to box with Gwendon O’Neil on February 3.

This is the second time that Ali has tried to fight O’Neil, the first time she went out there, the promoter didn’t have the cash to pony up for the event. Laila is currently the women’s world super-middleweight champion. The dancing and the boxing… it’s in her blood.