Mackenzie Phillips

At 10:00 AM, officers responded to Terminal 4, where 48-year-old Phillips was being screened by TSA. During the screening process, some baggies and balloons believed to contain heroin and cocaine were recovered.

The former “One Day at a Time” star has had a long history of drug abuse.

actress mckenzie phillips has been arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance after being stopped at Los Angeles International Airport.

Airport police confirmed that Phillips, 48, was held in custody at LAX after security screeners allegedly discovered “what appeared to be heroin and cocaine” in her possession.

She was booked into jail in Van Nuys on a felony drug possession charge, with bail set at $10,000, according to an airport police spokesman. Phillips’ agent had no comment on the incident.

Phillips, who gained fame on the 1970s sitcom “One Day at a Time,” was reportedly later fired from the show for drug abuse. She has publicly spoken about her battle with drugs and her sobriety.

I know that a great many of you may not even remember mckenzie phillips from her hey day in the early 80’s but I do and know that she has since dealt with major drug issues over the years which, it would seem, she is still struggling with today. Hopefully this arrest will finally help Mackenzie come to grips with her demons. Sad, sad news.

The actress, 48, has been known to have problems with substance abuse. She has spoken publicly about her struggles during her time on the television comedy series,One Day at a Time. She left that production twice, due to drug addiction. Her claim to fame was her famous role inAmerican Graffiti, over 30 years ago. It was at least 10 years ago that her drug problems were public, according to the L.A. Times.

The most recent and famous appearances occurred on the 1990s TV hit, Beverly Hills, 90210, where she played a counselor, but she has worked regularly since then, theL.A. Times said.

Another interesting fact, in case you didn’t know, Phillips is the daughter of the late John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, reported the L.A. Times.

Airport police were called to the scene and arrested Phillips on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance.

“She is being booked at Pacific Division and then transferred to Van Nuys,” adds Holcomb. Bail was set at $10,000.

Phillips, who played sister to Valerie Bertinelli on the long-running CBS show, is well acquainted with the booking process.

During One Day at a Time’s 1979-80 season, she was collared for cocaine possession.

After turning up late for rehearsals on multiple occasions, producers gave her a six-week leave of absence. But her behavior continued to worsen until producers gave up and fired her.

Following a stint in rehab, Phillips rejoined the show, only to quit two years later when her drug problems persisted.

The daughter of Mamas & the Papas founder John Phillips (whom she blames for her drug habit) and socialite Suzy Adams, Phillips is the product of a showbiz family. Her stepmother is singer-actressMichelle Phillips and half-sisters include Bijou Phillips and Chynna Phillips.

Mackenzie Phillips, who performed as part of the revived Mamas & the Papas until her father’s death in 2001, got her start in the industry at the age of 13 in the 1973 TV movie Go Ask Alice, about a 14-year-old girl pulled into a world of sex and drugs. Other credits include roles in American Graffiti, Baretta, ER,NYPD Blue and, most recently, CBS’ Cold Case .

The Sox gave Japan its first taste of what has made them World Series champions twice in the last four seasons with a 6-5, 10-inning win over the Oakland Athletics before 44,628 in the Tokyo Dome. The Sox came from behind twice before Manny Ramirez made all that jet lag, frequent-flyer miles and early wakeup alarms back home worthwhile with a two-run double that snapped a 4-all tie and made a winner of native son Hideki Okajima. Jonathan Papelbon had a shaky outing, giving up a run on three hits and a walk, to earn the save.

Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka pitches to the A’s Bobby Crosby during the first inning in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday. Reuters photo by Kiyoshi Ota.

The Sox were not assured of victory until an egregious base-running mistake by leftfielder Emil Brown, who doubled home a run in the bottom of the 10th against Papelbon but was then erased in a rundown after first baseman Kevin Youkilis cut off Dustin Pedroia’s relay throw to the plate.

Brown’s blunder was magnified when the next hitter, Bobby Crosby, lined a single to center, and third baseman Jack Hannahan, who earlier hit a two-run home run in the sixth off Kyle Snyder, banged another base hit through the left side. That brought pitching coach John Farrell to the mound for a visit, and Papelbon retired catcher Kurt Suzuki on a tapper to first to end the game.

The Sox winning rally began when Julio Lugo beat out an infield hit to third and was bunted to second by Pedroia. Youkilis struck out, but David Ortiz was walked intentionally, bringing up Ramirez, who had doubled home two runs in the sixth to tie the score at 2. Ramirez launched a drive that hit high off the wall in right-center.

On a night of firsts, this was the sweetest of all, Boston’s first extra-inning win ever in 108 seasons of openers.

If the Sox had not come to Japan, rookie Brandon Moss would never have left Florida with the club. He would not have been in the starting lineup if right fielder J.D. Drew had not felt some tightness in his back while running sprints in the outfield just before the game, forcing manager Terry Francona to make him a late scratch.

But without Moss, the Sox would not have taken Oakland to extra innings. Moss singled home the go-ahead run in a three-run Sox rally in the sixth, and with the Sox two outs from defeat in the ninth, the left-handed hitting rookie connected for his first major-league home run to tie the score at 4.

Boston’s Manny Ramirez his a two-run double off the A’s Huston Street in the 10th inning. The Red Sox won 6-5. Associated Press photo by Koji Sasahara

Moss was one of the extra players the Sox were allowed to bring to Japan because they were exempt from having to trim their roster to 25 players because of their early start date. While the other 28 big-league teams are still in spring training, the Sox and Athletics were staging the earliest regular season opener in big-league history.

Moss’s home run allowed the Tokyo Dome crowd to erupt at the entrance of Okajima, the self-styled second banana to Daisuke Matsuzaka in the grand scheme of things but a hometown favorite here, where he pitched for the Yomiuri Giants.

RELATED CONTENT:
OPENING DAY IN JAPAN > RED SOX 6, A’S 5 (10 INNINGS) Red Sox bats wake up just in time
Box score
VIDEO Ramirez | Moss | Papelbon | Ellsbury | Youkilis
BOSTON SPORTS BLOG TV outage at the worst time
Sox activate Sean Casey, put Josh Beckett on DL
J.D. Drew a late scratch with back tightness
Early risers catch game at local bars
PHOTO GALLERIES:
Opening Day in Japan game photos
Fans at the opener in Japan
Early birds catch the game at bars
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS

The cheers grew louder when Okajima struck out Kurt Suzuki to open the ninth, but there were some anxious moments after he issued a four-pitch walk to Mike Sweeney. Right fielder Travis Buck just missed realizing Okajima’s worst fears, his fly ball to deep center expiring in Jacoby Ellsbury’s glove, before second baseman Mark Ellis tapped out to the mound to send the game into extra innings.

The A’s Mark Ellis hits a solo home run against Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka during the first inning in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday. Reuters photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon

This was only the fifth time the Sox have gone into extra innings in an opener, all since 1966. They lost the previous four, most recently in 1989, when the Steamer, Bob Stanley, took the loss in a 5-4 defeat to the Orioles in 11 innings in Baltimore.

While Ellsbury was the only Sox position player not in the 2007 Opening Day lineup — at least until Drew injured himself running sprints in the outfield just before the game — the Athletics have undergone an extreme makeover. Only three position players in manager Bob Geren’s lineup today — shortstop Bobby Crosby, Buck, and Ellis — played in the 2007 opener.

Gone are Jason Kendall, Shannon Stewart, Milton Bradley, Mike Piazza, Nick Swisher, and Opening Day starting pitcher Dan Haren. Eric Chavez, the Gold Glove third baseman, is back on the disabled list (lower back), after missing the final two months last season.

First baseman Daric Barton, who was hitting in the three-hole last night, and Suzuki, who is from Hawaii, were in Triple-A Sacramento when last season began. Jack Cust, the DH and cleanup hitter, was in Triple-A with San Diego. Brown was with the Royals. Hannahan was with Detroit’s Triple-A team in Toledo. Ryan Sweeney, the center-fielder who came from the White Sox in the Swisher deal, was in Triple-A Charlotte for Chicago after being ranked the team’s No. 1 prospect.

Red Sox fans watch their team practice before the season opener against the A’s in Tokyo on Tuesday. Associated Press photo by Shizuo Kambayashi

Oakland’s streak of eight straight winning seasons came to an end last season, when they finished last in the AL West. They used the disabled list 22 times and lost 1,259 games on the DL, a club record. With the way GM Billy Beane jettisoned established players in the off-season, the A’s look hard-pressed to compete in the American League West.

But the Oakland Four-A’s proved a handful for Matsuzaka, who warmed up while the awa-odori dancers and hip-hoppers went through their elaborate paces during pregame ceremonies but was out of synch from the time 45,000-plus flashbulbs commemorated his first pitch back on his side of the Big Pond. (For the record, Buck, first-pitch swinging, rolled out to second).

They also did a number on Snyder, who needed just two batters to give back the 3-2 lead he inherited from Matsuzaka in the sixth, Crosby bouncing a single up the middle and Hannahan following with a blast into the right-field seats to put the Athletics ahead, 4-3.

Matsuzaka, in a poster-sized message to his fans for the Japanese sports daily, Sankei Sports, wrote in English — World Series repeat. Cy Young Award. Boston Red Sox — then signed his name, number and the date.

Then he proceeded to pitch like a typical late-March game in spring training. Ellis, Oakland’s second batter of the game, golfed a drive into the left-field seats to give Oakland a 1-0 lead. He went walk, hit batsman, wild pitch, walk on the next three batters, showing virtually no feel for his off-speed pitches. He averted a potentially bigger inning by pouncing on Crosby’s chopper to the left of the mound, bare handing the ball and recording the out as Barton scored Oakland’s second run, and struck out Hannahan on a full count.

“Awaodori,” a traditional dance, is performed before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo on Tuesday. Associated Press photo by Shizuo Kambayashi

By the time he got back to the dugout, Matsuzaka had thrown 30 pitches. By the end of two innings, that number had doubled, as Matsuzaka gave up a leadoff single to Suzuki and walked two more batters to load the bases with two out. Once again, a strikeout bailed out Matsuzaka, who caught Cust looking at a down-and-in slider that generously was called a strike.

Matsuzaka regained his equilibrium over the next three innings, even though he issued his fifth walk to Hannahan with two out in the third. The Athletics hit just one ball out of the infield before Matsuzaka was through, Sweeney flying to left to start the fourth. Matsuzaka whiffed Buck on three pitches and broke Ellis’s bat on a groundout to third to end the fourth, then had consecutive whiffs of Barton and Cust before Brown grounded to third to end the fifth.

Matsuzaka was gone after throwing 95 pitches. He allowed just two hits, including the home run by Ellis, and struck out six, but the five walks are sure to renew concerns that he will repeat last season’s pattern of running up his pitch counts early.

But Matsuzaka, who joined Hideo Nomo as the only Japanese pitchers to throw a big-league opener, was spared the embarrassment of defeat on his home turf when the Sox rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the sixth against Oakland starter Joe Blanton.

Dustin Pedroia doubled to the wall in right and Youkilis drew a four-pitch walk. Ortiz fouled out to third — the foul territory in the Tokyo Dome rivals that of Oakland’s McAfee Coliseum in acreage — but Ramirez lined a double past third into the left-field corner, driving home Pedroia and Youkilis with the tying runs. Mike Lowell went down swinging, bringing up Moss, who joins shortstop Craig Grebeck (2001) and Rudy Pemberton (1997) as the most improbable Sox Opening Day starters in recent memory.

Moss, playing because Drew informed manager Terry Francona that his back tightened up while running sprints just before game time, ripped a ground single through the right side, Ramirez scoring to give the Sox their first lead of 2008.

But Snyder couldn’t hold the advantage, and two former stalwarts of the Sox pen, Alan Embree and Keith Foulke, took the game to the ninth, where closer Huston Street was waiting.

Ellsbury gave the Sox their first highlight-reel moment of the season when he made a leaping catch at the wall in dead-center to take away extra bases from Brown in the eighth.

The Barbie Bandits’ brief time in the limelight nears its end this week with the sentencing of Heather Lyn Johnston, 20, and Ashley Nicole Miller, 19, scheduled for Monday in Cobb Superior Court.

Here’s a rundown of the joy and frenzy they caused after they walked into a Bank of America branch at an Acworth Kroger on Feb. 27, 2007.

(ENLARGE)

Allen

(ENLARGE)

Chastang

(ENLARGE)

Heather Lyn Johnston and Ashley Nicole Miller at Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans. The photo is from video surveillance provided by the salon.

(ENLARGE)

Johnston

(ENLARGE)

Miller

MARIETTA, Ga. - The “Barbie bandits” who went on a shopping spree after they were videotaped wearing sunglasses and laughing during an $11,000 bank heist were sentenced Monday, one to prison and another to probation.

Ashley Miller, 19, will have to serve only two years of a 10-year prison sentence and must complete the rest on probation. She pleaded guilty to theft and drug charges.

Heather Johnston, also 19, was sentenced to 10 years’ probation for her role in the February 2007 heist in Acworth, northwest of Atlanta.

The two were caught on tape as they appeared to rob a Bank of America branch in a supermarket. They admitted to plotting with a teller to take the money and later going on a shopping binge that included a stop in a fashionable hair salon.

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley urged Miller to learn from her crimes.

“I want you to correct yourself,” Staley told Miller, a former exotic dancer. “There’s no reason you can’t become a productive citizen when you get out of jail.”

Miller’s mother and sister hugged and kissed her before deputies led her out of the courtroom.

Benny Allen — who worked at the bank as a teller — was sentenced to 10 years, to serve five. The judge imposed an additional penalty on Allen because she said he did not testify truthfully in the trial of Michael Chastang, a co-defendant convicted of his role in plotting the heist. Chastang is to be sentenced Tuesday.

Johnston was the first of the group to plead guilty, speeding up the prosecution of her co-defendants.

During her sentencing hearing, Johnston took the witness stand and between sobs apologized for hurting and embarrassing her family and friends.

“A lot of people look down on me,” Johnston said. “I feel terrible. I want to set a good example for my little sister. She’s a great kid. I don’t want her to end up like me.”

THE CHARGES AND POSSIBLE SENTENCES

Heather Lyn Johnston pleaded guilty to theft by taking and misdemeanor marijuana possession. Johnston faces a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Ashley Nicole Miller pleaded guilty to theft by taking and possession of Ecstasy with intent to distribute. Miller faces a maximum of 41 years.

Benny Herman Allen III, 23, pleaded guilty to theft by taking. Allen faces a maximum of 16 years.

Michael Darrell Chastang was convicted of theft by taking. His sentencing has been delayed.

THE DEMAND NOTE

Johnston and Miller called Allen several times for directions to the bank and instructions for what to write on the demand note. Allen dictated the demand note to them. They wrote as they drove to the bank. Johnston wrote a draft. But Miller ended up writing the one they gave to Allen. She covered her fingers in plastic as she wrote.

The note demanded “all loose bills. No strapped cash. Remember I will not hesitate to kill you. Keep hands where I can see them. Do not pull switch.”

SHOPPING

Although Chastang, 28, told Johnston and Miller to lie low after the bank job, the girls went shopping.

They stopped at Lenox Square mall and Phipps Plaza, where they picked up shorts, boots, a two-piece swimsuit, purses and makeup from Steve Madden, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Bloomingdale’s, Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand Jeans.

They got their hair done at Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans.

It wasn’t not all upscale — the girls stopped at a local Wal-Mart to pick up a 32-inch, flat-screen Sanyo television for about $1,000.

Police also found seven DVDs, a DVD player, an AM/FM radio/CD player and a Valentine’s Day card at their Atlanta apartment.

QUOTES

“Well, actually, we’re pretty dumb to tell you the truth,” — Heather Lyn Johnston to Cobb County police detectives Brad McEntyre and R.B. Smith during a one-hour interrogation after her arrest.

Taking money from a bank was “a bad idea. … [It was the] worst decision I ever made,” —Ashley Nicole Miller, testifying during the trial of co-defendant Michael Darrell Chastang.

The women “were down to get paid,” that is, they “would do whatever for money.” — Benny Herman Allen III, during his guilty plea on Feb. 1, 2008, on bank theft charges.

“I’m proud of you, baby.” — Michael Darrell Chastang, in a text message to Miller after the bank job.

A judge Monday sentenced two women dubbed the “Barbie Bandits” and a teller who helped them rob the bank where he worked.

  

This photo of the so-called “Barbie Bandits” made the pair a hot topic of water cooler conversation last year.

Ashley Miller, convicted of theft and drug distribution, was sentenced to the maximum of 10 years. She has to serve two years behind bars, with the remainder on probation.

She also has to pay at least $2,500 in restitution.

Her co-defendant, Heather Lyn Johnston, who pleaded guilty to robbery and drug use charges in August, was sentenced to 10 years probation with community service, a minimum $2,000 fine and $2,500 in restitution.

Benny Herman Allen III, who at the time of the February 27, 2007, robbery was a teller at the Bank of America in Acworth, Georgia, also was sentenced to the 10-year maximum. He’s required to served five years behind bars and pay $2,500 in restitution.

Miller and Johnston earned the “Barbie Bandits” nickname after police released bank video they said showed them laughing and joking behind fashionable sunglasses before handing a holdup note to the teller.

Investigators said Johnston and Miller, who worked as dancers at an Atlanta-area strip club, planned to split the $10,000 they stole with Allen, the teller who accepted their demand and handed over the money, and another defendant.

Herman met the young women through convicted felon Michael Darrell Chastang, who faces sentencing Tuesday for his role in the heist.

On March 2, 2007, Chastang, Miller and Johnston led police on a short car chase not far from the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park outside Atlanta and were apprehended. According to arrest warrants, police found marijuana in the car and ecstasy pills on Miller.

Singer Billy Joel and his super-hot, very young wife, Katie Joel, stopped by the March 24 Oprah in this video clip. In this clip, they discuss, among other things, Katie Joel’s relationship with Billy Joel’s (and ex-wife Christie Brinkley) daughter, Alexa Ray Joel.

While Billy Joel entertained the audience with his musical performance, Katie Lee promoted her new book, The Comfort Table, which will be released this spring. The cookbook will include great recipes for family favorites such as Meatloaf and Peach Cobbler.

View photo’s of the couple, and to get the special recipe for Katie Joel’s Meatloaf.

In decades of performing, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member Billy Joel has done just about every big venue out there.

Today, he chalks up a new one, and you bet he’ll score some points with the his sweetie for this one.

He gets to have an “a-ha” moment with his better half and the queen of TV, as he and his wife Katie Lee Joel make an appearance together on “Oprah.”

“Oprah” airs at 4 p.m. on WSAZ and at 7 p.m. on MyZ.

The Joels will give Oprah’s audience a behind-the-scenes look at their New York City home.

Billy will play a song for the audience, and Cabell County native and culinary expert, Katie Lee, will share some recipes from her new book, “The Comfort Table.”

Set to hit bookstores in May, “The Comfort Table” is already getting a good splash of press with mentions on the Food Network that tabs Katie Lee as “one skinny girl who can cook her butt off.”

The Miami University grad who brought her culinary talents to Bravo’s “Top Chef,” a column in Hampton’s Magazine, a special correspondent position for Extra and a seat on the judges’ panel of “Iron Chef America,” doesn’t stray far from the foods of home in “The Comfort Table.”

It’s filled with more than 125 recipes many from her family, as well as updates on those children classics she loved growing up in West Virginia.

The book includes such Southern staples like fried green tomatoes, chicken and dumplings, peach cobbler, meatloaf and the quintessential pulled pork BBQ, which stand alongside contemporary classics like roasted carrot and ginger soup, citrus-tarragon mahi-mahi and dijon and pistachio-crusted rack of lamb.

Katie Lee Joel was last in the area for a public appearance in September 2006 when she put on a cooking clinic as part of the Marshall Artists Series’ “Kindred Spirits: A Celebration of Food and Drink.”

She will have a book signing of her new book, which features photos by Miki Duiserhof and a foreword by Paula H. Deen, at Borders Books Music and Cafe at the Huntington Mall on May 10.

MEAT LOAF RECIPE:

“I like to call meat loaf ‘man loaf’ because it’s every man’s favorite dish,” Katie says. “My husband loves when I make meat loaf, and it makes the best leftovers. We love it the next day on white bread with mayonnaise.”

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 medium red pepper, finely diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray lightly with oil.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions, garlic and bay leaf until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook until the red pepper is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and let the onion mixture cool. Discard the bay leaf.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, eggs, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of ketchup, the Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and the cooled vegetables. Use your hands to mix everything together.

Transfer the mixture to the center of the baking sheet and form into a loaf. Coat the meat loaf with the remaining 1/2 cup ketchup.

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (depending on the shape of your loaf), until the meat loaf is firm. Let set for about 5 minutes before slicing.

For more information about the show, go online at www.oprah.com

Here’s what’s coming up this week on The Oprah Winfrey Show:

• Monday, March 24: “Music Legend Billy Joel and Katie Joel - First TV Interview”
• Tuesday, March 25: “Inside the Lives of Hoarders, Part 1″ (Original Air Date - 11/15/07)
• Wednesday, March 26: “The Cleanup Reveal: Inside the Lives of Hoarders, Part 2″ (Original Air Date - 11/16/07)
• Thursday, March 27: “Superstar Couples” (Original Air Date - 10/25/07)
• Friday, March 28: “Oprah’s Great American Haircut” (Original Air Date - 11/02/07)

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has just announced that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty will be charged with 15 counts of perjury and must turn themselves in by 7am on Tuesday. Worthy has said if the Mayor and Ms. Beatty do not turn themselves in by this time, arrest warrants will be issued for them.

In a startling decision, totally unexpected by some, Kym Worthy has proven that her office is serious about the text message scandal that the City Council feels has tarnished the city’s image.

 This Christine Beatty relationship map is interactive. Click around to explore relations in the map.

“This case was about as far from being a private matter as one can get. Honesty and integrity in the justice system is everything. That is what this case is about,” Worthy said at a news conference.

“Just when did honesty and integrity, truth and honor become traits to be mocked, downplayed, ignored, laughed at or excuses made for them? When did telling the truth become a supporting player to everything else?”

A perjury conviction could bring up to 15 years’ imprisonment and force Kilpatrick to relinquish the mayor’s office.

Former Police Chief Jerry Oliver said he was surprised by Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown’s ouster.

Days before she recommended that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick get rid of Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown in 2003, chief of staff Christine Beatty got some advice from the police department.

But it didn’t come from Chief Jerry Oliver.

Instead, Cmdr. Shereece Fleming-Freeman, Oliver’s chief of staff, offered this unvarnished recommendation in a text message: “It is obvious that he needs to be gone, he just needs to be gone.”

Christine Beatty

Kilpatrick dismissed Brown two days later, on May 9, 2003. Oliver said he never saw it coming. The ouster set off a chain of controversies that dog the mayor to this day.

Text messages show that while Fleming-Freeman secretly lobbied for Brown’s removal, then-Assistant Chief Ella Bully-Cummings helped the mayor’s office obtain the first of two city-funded Navigators for first lady Carlita Kilpatrick.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Oliver said recently that Bully-Cummings did so without his knowledge, which Bully-Cummings denies.

Fleming-Freeman, now a deputy chief, declined comment. Mayer Morganroth, Beatty’s lawyer, also declined to answer questions.

In Fleming-Freeman’s case, the text exchanges also raise questions about whether she told the truth when she later testified at a deposition in Brown’s whistle-blower suit against the city.

Text message records show several exchanges two days before Brown’s ouster.

“Can he just be fired?” Beatty wrote. “Doesn’t he revert back to the lowest unappointed rank?

“No,” Fleming-Freeman responded, “at the D.C. Level and higher they serve at the pleasure of the chief and mayor.”

But in January 2004, eight months after urging Beatty to fire Brown, Fleming-Freeman said in her deposition that she was surprised by Brown’s firing.

She was asked whether she ever conversed with Beatty about Brown’s fate before his ouster.

“No, sir,” she answered under oath.

The apparent contradictions in Fleming-Freeman’s testimony are the latest in a series of inconsistencies in the sworn statements of city officials in connection with Brown’s departure.

The Free Press, which obtained about 14,000 messages from Beatty’s city-issued pager in portions of 2002 and 2003, first revealed the text messages in January. They show the mayor and Beatty lied at the trial on Brown’s lawsuit last summer when they denied a sexual affair and gave misleading testimony about whether they fired Brown.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is to announce today whether the mayor, Beatty and perhaps others face perjury or other criminal charges.

Oliver speaks on ouster

Oliver, interviewed earlier this month in Phoenix where he now works, said Brown’s firing surprised him and that he had no idea that anyone on his staff had been consulted by the mayor’s office for advice.

As it turned out, Beatty got bad advice from Fleming-Freeman about whether Brown could be fired.

After Brown’s removal, Beatty learned the deputy chief could only be demoted to lieutenant, not fired.

Text messages previously disclosed by the Free Press show the mayor and Beatty discussed the botched effort to remove Brown.

“I’m sorry that we are going through this mess because of a decision that we made to fire Gary Brown,” Beatty wrote six days after Brown’s ouster. “I will make sure the next decision is much more thought out. Not regretting what was done at all, but thinking about how we can do things smarter.”

Kilpatrick responded: “True! It had to happen though. I’m all the way with that!”

Brown declined comment.

Accommodation is a theme

The willingness of high-ranking cops to accommodate the mayor’s office shows up repeatedly in the text messages.

Oliver told the Free Press he was unaware his subordinates at times communicated directly with Beatty, the mayor’s point person for the police department, on subjects such as Brown’s ouster and Oliver’s choices for key positions in the department.

When Oliver resigned in October 2003, after his gun was found in checked airport luggage, Kilpatrick appointed Bully-Cummings to replace him.

Oliver said the secret texts show that politics interfered with police business.

“You can’t trust anyone within the Detroit Police Department because everyone is a sieve for the mayor and his people,” he said. “I think it just creates a lot of paranoia. That’s what happens in an environment where everyone feels like: ‘I have to snitch out the chief to look good in the mayor’s eyes or Christine’s eyes.’ “

Shown the messages, Oliver shook his head and said, “Wow … Shereece.”

The whistle-blower case

Brown and former Officer Harold Nelthrope won a $6.5-million verdict against Kilpatrick and the city last summer.

After pledging to appeal, Kilpatrick abruptly settled the case, and a case involving a third cop, for $8.4 million in October.

The Free Press later revealed that the mayor settled within hours of learning the cops’ lawyer had copies of text messages showing Kilpatrick and Beatty had lied under oath.

One of Oliver’s priorities as chief was reforming the department, which found itself under federal monitoring after years of questionable practices.

Detroit officers were cited for killing residents at a rate higher than any other big-city police force, clearing officers in questionable civilian shootings, making illegal dragnet arrests and having an inordinate number of prisoner deaths. Many of the problems were detailed in Free Press reports.

Oliver chose then-Deputy Chief Cara Best to oversee the department’s compliance with the U.S. Department of Justice.

On May 7, 2003, Fleming-Freeman sent Beatty a text message on Oliver’s decision. Beatty apparently was not pleased, though it is unclear why they objected to Best working with the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The chief did not wait on a response from you, he just announced to the execu’s that cara will be moved to become the liaison with DOJ,” Fleming-Freeman wrote.

Beatty responded: “It will be changing though. I just talked to the Mayor about it.”

Fleming-Freeman: “Thanks.”

Beatty: “Did you try and warn him?” she asked of Oliver.

Fleming-Freeman: “No, he thinks this is his call.”

Later that day, Bully-Cummings sent her own text message to Beatty to convey Oliver’s displeasure at being second-guessed by the mayor’s office.

Bully-Cummings: “He is livid! Will call you later this evening. He asked Shoulders and I if we had any discussion with you and whether we were involved.” Bully-Cummings was referring to Assistant Chief Walter Shoulders.

Beatty: “What did you all say?”

Bully-Cummings: “We said no.”

Bully-Cummings declined to talk to the Free Press about her text exchanges with Beatty, including those on Best. But in a statement, Bully-Cummings said she was puzzled by Oliver’s contention that appointments were made without his consent.

Oliver put Best in the liaison position in August 2003. Bully-Cummings moved her out that December, shortly after Oliver left the department.

Best could not be reached for comment.

“Now, having read some of the text messages, it’s clear that some of the most trusted people within the police department turned out to be people who were undermining my efforts,” Oliver said. “Clearly, this is evidence that Christine Beatty was more in charge of the police department than I was.”

Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy hit Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty with a combined 12 count indictment on perjury, obstruction of justice, and misconduct charges regarding the firing of Internal Affairs Deputy Chief Gary Brown and officer Harold Nelthrop for investigating the fabled Mannoogian Mansion stripper party where the mayor’s wife is rumored to have attacked stripper, Tamara Green. Green later turned up dead. After this morning’s press conference reporters asked Worthy if she found any information that proving the stripper party occured or anything connecting the mayor to the murder of Tamara Green and Worthy replied that the investigation was ongoing, implying other charges may be filed.

Judy Kay Zagorski of Michigan died in a freak accident on Thursday when a 75 pound stingray leaped out of the water and struck her in the face. The 57-year-old woman was a passenger in a boat her father was driving when the accident happened.

It was the impact, not the barbs that likely caused death, said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida.

“He had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously,” Pino said. An autopsy will be done tomorrow.

Spotted stingrays can reach a massive 500 pounds with a wingspan of 10 feet and have been known to occasionally jump out of the water to escape a predator give birth or shake off parasites. But human deaths from rays are rare - they aren’t aggressive.

 
In 2006, Steve Irwin died when a stingray barb pierced his heart as swam, near Port Douglas, Australia. And a month later at Lighthouse Point, an eagle ray jumped from the water and lodged a 2 ½” ray into a man’s chest, severely injuring him.

Monroe County Sheriff Deputy Becky Herrin said today’s accident was beyond bizarre. “The ray just jumped in the boat,” she said.

This definitely gets filed under WTF. There are some accidents that make you shake your head in wonder…

Spotted eagle ray that killed tourist
Photo shows the spotted eagle ray that jumped into a boat and killed a woman tourist on Thursday on the Atlantic Ocean-side of Marathon in the Florida Keys. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating. (Photo courtesy of Monroe County Sheriff’s Homicide Detective Mark Coleman / March 20, 2008)

A tourist was killed by a large sting ray off the Florida Keys Thursday morning when the barb-tailed animal jumped out of the water into the woman’s boat, officials said.

Judy Kay Zagorski, of Pigeon, Mich., was sitting in a boat going 25 mph when a spotted eagle ray that weighed about 75 pounds and had a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet flew out of the water, said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The 57-year-old woman’s father was driving the boat on the Atlantic Ocean side of Vaca Key, where the city of Marathon is located, Pino said.

“He had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously,” Pino said.

 The impact likely killed the woman, but it was not immediately clear if she had any puncture wounds from the ray’s barb, Pino said.

An autopsy will determine an official cause of death, Pino said.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office identified the animal as a spotted eagle ray, he said.

Rays are common in South Florida waters, but rarely swim near humans.

“Rays jump to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites,” said Lynn Gear, supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada in the Florida Keys. “They do not attack people.”

Deaths from rays are rare.

In 2006, James Bertakis was severely injured in the Intracoastal Waterway in Lighthouse Point when an eagle ray jumped out of the water and lodged its 2-1/2-inch barb in his chest.

A month earlier, the popular TV “Crocodile Hunter,” Steve Irwin was killed when a stingray barb pierced his heart as he swam near Port Douglas, Australia.

Spotted eagle rays can grow up to 17 feet in length, weigh up to 500 pounds and have a wingspan of up to 10 feet. They are known to occasionally jump out of the water but are not aggressive and use the venomous barb at the end of their tail as a defense mechanism.

Michigan State defeats Temple, 72-61, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday in Denver, Colorado.

Raymar Morgan led the fifth-seeded Spartans with 15 points, making seven of nine shots. Freshman guard Chris Allen came off of the bench to add 12 points.

Temple star Dionte Christmas was held to two points on just 1-10 from the field. Mary Tyndale scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Michigan State will face the winner of the Pittsburgh/Oral Roberts game on Saturday as they advance to the second round of the South region.

Follow this link for more NCAA Basketball tourney news

Final scores from the early games.

73-61
72-61
85-61

Good action so far.

Stick to this page will keep updates…

20 March Updates

From the article accompanying the cover photo:

This week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, features 12 pages of new photos of the pop star with husband Marc Anthony and their 1-month-old bundles of joy inside their Long Island home and nursery. 
The happy new parents spoke candidly to PEOPLE about the pregnancy, addressing everything from Jennifer’s weight gain to rumors of infertility. For all the details, pick up the new issue, on newsstands Friday.

Also of note, the picture of rekindled couple Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson holding hands on the top of the cover reportedly got $100,000.

It’s a super cute picture of mommy and the babies!

(Thankfully, Marc Anthony’s face is not on the cover).

Rumor mills says the couple reportedly got $6M for the spread, the highest in history for a babyspread passing the Shiloh cover for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, with the reported condition the mag would stop referring to her as JLo.

Says People: “This week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, features 12 pages of new photos of the pop star with husband Marc Anthony and their 1-month-old bundles of joy inside their Long Island home and nursery. … For all the details, pick up the new issue, on newsstands Friday.”

To see the cover picture, click here. To see the rest, buy it tomorrow on newsstands.

Currently at this hour (9 AM PST), March Madness and even the First Day of Spring is being more search online than the baby pictures that doesn’t even rank in the top 10, according to Hot Trends.

NCAA March Madness on Demand begins its annual NCAA Tournament coverage today, Thursday. The first game of the tournament will be at 12:20pm as No. 3 Xavier takes on No. 14 Georgia in Washington, DC.

NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) is the online video player that allows users to view all 63 games of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

MMOD airs every game from the first round of the tournament through the Men’s Final Four in San Antonio, including the Championship game on April 7.

NCAA March Madness on Demand is produced in partnership with CBS Sports, CBS College Sports Network and the NCAA.

2008 NCAA Tournament TV listings

The National NCAA tourney TV listings were just published (March 17) at CBS Sports. The tourney games will be on CBS, CBS-HD, and CSTV (now CBS College Sports).

The play-in (cough cough opening round game) tips off on Tuesday night on ESPN and ESPN-HD, and squares off Mount Saint Mary’s with Coppin State, the team with the 20 losses.

The CBS studio hosts will be the same as before (Seth Davis, Bryan Gumbel and Clark Kellogg), and the eight announcer teams are the usual faces, but with one addition. Youngster Carter Blackburn of CSTV will be “trained” by Dick Enberg (old enough to be his great grandpa) and Jay Bilas (tall enough to be his grandpa).

Action begins on Thursday at 9am pacific (noon eastern), and CBS decided to start things off with an intriguing game, Xavier facing off the Georgia Bulldogs, aka the Georgia Miracles!

The 2008 NIT TV listings

The TV listings are embedded in the brackets at the NIT website (embedded PDF file). Direct link to the PDF file right here (PDF file). Every single NIT game (31 total) will be carried by the ESPN family of networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN Classic.
The inaugural CBI TV listings
The games are available online and at Fox College Sports. Details here. Action tips off on Tuesday March 18, 2008 with two games, and continues on Wednesday with two more games. We are not sure which games will be available on local channels or regional FSNs.

Detailed daily TV listings (ALL TIMES PACIFIC)

Thur March 20, 2008
*** check local CBS station for listings in your area ***
*** all times pacific ***
7am to 9am: SportsCenterU, ESPN
9am to 2pm: NCAA Tournament begins!, CBS, National schedule
9am to 145pm: March Madness Central on CSTV (CBS CS)
11am to 1pm: Tourney Gameday, ESPN2
145pm, 1am: NCAA tourney from Anaheim: Cornell vs Stanford, CSTV (CBS College Sports)
4pm to 10pm: NCAA Tournament afternoon session, CBS
4pm to 10pm: March Madness Central on CSTV (CBS CS)
All night: March Madness Highlights (one hour long), CSTV (CBS CS)
9pm: NIT Second round: Southern Illinois at Arizona State, ESPN2 (first one to 39 wins!)
Fri March 21, 2008
*** check local CBS station for listings in your area ***
7am to 9am: SportsCenterU, ESPN
9am to 2pm: NCAA Tournament Round 1 Day 2!, CBS, National schedule
9am: NCAA Tourney, CSTV (CBS College Sports)
11am to 230pm: College Gameday, ESPN
2pm, 1am: NCAA tourney from Anaheim, CSTV (CBS College Sports)
4pm to 10pm: NCAA Tournament afternoon session, CBS
1am: NCAA tourney repeat, CSTV

NCAA Tournament Schedule:

No. 4 Washington State (24-8) vs. No. 13 Winthrop (22-11) in Denver, 7:20 p.m.: The Winthrop Eagles’ three-man senior class has won 101 games, including one in the NCAA Tournament last season, so they shouldn’t be bothered by the Cougars’ defense that holds opponents to 57 points per game.

No. 5 Notre Dame (24-7) vs. No. 12 George Mason (23-10) in Raleigh, N.C., 9:40 p.m.:The Fighting Irish’s inside-outside combination of Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney should be too much for the Patriots, who will be trying to be this year’s Cinderella story.




MIDWEST REGIONAL

No. 1 Kansas (31-3) vs. No. 16 Portland State (23-9) in Omaha, Neb., 12:25 p.m.: The Jayhawks should make the Vikings’ first NCAA Tournament appearance a quick one.

No. 8 UNLV (26-7) vs. No. 9 Kent State (28-6) in Omaha, Neb., 2:45 p.m.: The Golden Flashes are seeded with the team from the big conferences for a reason: They are tough with a well-balanced offense.

No. 6 USC (21-11) vs. No. 11 Kansas State (20-11) in Omaha, Neb., 7:10 p.m.: If this were a freshman vs. freshman matchup, Michael Beasley and the Wildcats would prevail over O.J. Mayo and the Trojans. It’s five-on-five, though, and Mayo’s supporting cast is better on paper.

No. 3 Wisconsin (29-4) vs. No. 14 Cal State Fullerton (24-8) in Omaha, Neb., 9:40 p.m.:The Badgers swept the Big Ten titles - regular season and conference tournament. The Titans are in the tournament for the first time in 30 years. Bo Ryan teams aren’t known to have letdowns.



SOUTH REGIONAL



No. 5 Michigan State (25-8) vs. No. 12 Temple (21-12) in Denver, 12:30 p.m.: If John Chaney were still coaching the Owls, the Spartans would be obsessed with preparing for the matchup zone. The difference should be the Spartans’ bulky front line.

No. 4 Pittsburgh (26-9) vs. No. 13 Oral Roberts (24-8) in Denver, 2:50 p.m.: The Panthers are one of the hottest teams in the country coming off the Big East Tournament run. The Titans are in their third consecutive NCAA Tournament, but they went 1-3 against teams from the power conferences this season.

No. 6 Marquette (24-9) vs. No. 11 Kentucky (18-12) in Anaheim, Calif., 2:30 p.m.: The Golden Eagles have one of the best defensive backcourts in Jerel McNeal and Dominic James, and the Wildcats averaged over 16 turnovers per game.

No. 3 Stanford (26-7) vs. No. 14 Cornell (22-5) in Anaheim, Calif., 5 p.m.: The halftime matchup of the debate teams would be close, the basketball game shouldn’t be because of the Cardinal’s ability to dominate up front.

If you want to scout any potential Bulls Draft Picks, here is the link for: MARCH MADNESS ON DEMAND

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers Head Coach Fred Hill has been invited by CBS to participate in NCAA Tournament analysis as a part of its groundbreaking March Madness on Demand (MMOD) live Internet presentation of the 2008 men’s basketball championship. Hill will serve as an in-studio analyst on Thursday evening, March 27.

CBSSports.com, in partnership with CBS Sports, CSTV and the NCAA, announced in February that this season, for the first time, its MMOD service would give users the ability to view 63 games of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, from the first round of the tournament through the Final Four and championship in San Antonio.

NCAA March Madness on Demand is the Emmy award-winning video player that provides live streaming video of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Since its inception in 2003, MMOD has traditionally provided live video of the first 56 games of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as they are broadcast by CBS Sports, with local broadcasts being subject to blackouts.

“In its sixth year, March Madness on Demand continues to maximize the network’s NCAA bundled rights across all platforms of the CBS Corporation with the wide distribution of CBS Sports’ game coverage, promoted by CSTV and available via CBSSports.com and NCAA.com,” said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports. “The expansion, to include all 63 games, will enhance the total March Madness experience of college basketball fans everywhere.”

“Getting more people involved - in more ways - in March Madness is a central goal for the NCAA and March Madness on Demand continues to deliver,” said Greg Shaheen, Senior Vice President for Basketball and Business Strategies at the NCAA. “Whether through broadcast coverage of the tournament on CBS Sports and CSTV, streaming live video from the Emmy award-winning March Madness on Demand on NCAA.com, mobile coverage and highlights on CBS Sports Mobile or the tournament brackets application on Facebook, more fans now have more ways to view, follow, debate and enjoy March Madness than ever before.”

“It’s a tribute to the leadership at CBS Sports and the NCAA that CBSSports.com can be the first media company to provide a live Internet broadcast of a major sporting event in its entirety to fans around the world with no restrictions and free of charge,” said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBSSports.com. “We expect a record number of hoops fans to be engaged in the tournament this year while at work, at home or on the go via CBS Sports Mobile.”

As has been the case since it was first offered for free in 2006, NCAA March Madness on Demand will once again be the centerpiece of the CBSSports.com coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Additional aspects of the multi-platform coverage of the championship across CBSSports.com and CBS Sports Mobile include up-to-the-second scores and statistics for every game of the tournament through live scoreboards and GameCenters, expert analysis, commentary, game matchups, predictions and more from the CBSSports.com team of writers, highlighted by NCAA basketball expert Gary Parrish and bracket games on CBSSports.com and the recently launched “CBSSports.com Tournament Brackets” application on Facebook.(www.facebook.com/brackets)

Launching in early March, NCAA March Madness on Demand will be available at NCAA.com (mmod.ncaa.com) as well as via MMOD links on CBSSports.com and CSTV.com.

To have the best opportunity to view live streaming video from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, fans are urged to register for MMOD to obtain VIP status. Fans who don’t have VIP status will be placed in the General Admission area where they will experience longer wait times to get into the MMOD player if it is full on game day(s).

The 2008 MMOD video player will showcase a wider screen (640 x 360 pixels) along with additional features such as live scoreboards and the infamous “Boss Button.” CBSSports.com will again produce a live halftime show. “At The Half” will start when the first game goes to halftime and continue all the way until the last game in that window returns to second-half action.

In 2006, MMOD was presented free of charge for the first time since its debut in 2003, producing tremendous traffic results resulting in one of the largest live Internet events ever and one many experts called a watershed moment in media history. In total, 265,973 fans registered for VIP status for MMOD in 2006, a number that eventually led to 1,277,266 unique users who watched a total of 2,130,369 hours (127,822,140 minutes) of live streaming video.

Free access to 2008 NCAA March Madness on Demand is made possible by presenting sponsors and NCAA Corporate Champions Coca-Cola, Pontiac and AT&T.

The USD men’s basketball team was taking the floor just as Connecticut was coming off.

And Toreros senior guard Matt Delzell was struck by the number of fans, perhaps 3,000 to 4,000, who were in the stands at the Spokane Arena.

“Most of them were there to see UConn, not us,” Delzell recalled. “We rarely had that many people for our games – I was amazed. This was for a practice that was really just a shootaround.

“Watching our practices at home, we usually had the equipment manager and maybe a janitor.”

It was March 19, 2003. The last time USD participated in the NCAA Tournament, as the Toreros will again tomorrow when they take on Connecticut in an opening-round game at Tampa, Fla.

The half hour-apiece practice and media interview sessions for the eight teams assembled in Spokane, Wash., that day five years ago were done according to a schedule set by the NCAA – the same sort of routine/schedule that USD, UConn and fellow Tampa assignees Drake, Western Kentucky, Clemson, Villanova, Vanderbilt and Siena will be going through this morning at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The 2003 USD team was preparing for a game the following day against Stanford. Like its present-day counterpart, USD had qualified for the Big Dance by winning the West Coast Conference Tournament on its own Jenny Craig Pavilion floor. Tournament MVP Jason Keep sparked a victory over Gonzaga in the final that would be the Toreros’ last over the Zags until MVP Brandon Johnson led the way at the same site and under similar circumstances a week ago Monday.

The game against Stanford was played against the backdrop of America poised for war in Iraq. Not long after the Toreros dropped a hard-fought 77-69 decision, TV screens in the media room changed from showing college kids playing hoops to green, night-vision camera images of bombs exploding in Baghdad.

The war still goes on, and life has gone on for the USD players. And still-vivid memories of five years ago have been stirred by the current team’s tournament quest, which they hope will result in USD’s first NCAA Tournament win (USD is 0-3).

“There’s certainly no better feeling for a college basketball player than being in the NCAA Tournament,” said Delzell, who works for a marketing firm in Dallas.

“I personally don’t think it can be duplicated on the collegiate level in any sport. Knowing that this year’s team is going to get to feel what we did in 2003, and to be able to kind of relive it through them, is very special.”

The 6-foot-10, 280-pound Keep and 6-7, 230-pound Jason Blair were a formidable front-line 1-2 punch, averaging 18.2 and 16.8 points, respectively, and combining to average more than 16 rebounds. Delzell and fellow senior Roy Morris were a solid backcourt combination. Sophomore Corey Belser, a demon defender, completed the starting lineup.

Nick Lewis, a 6-10 redshirt freshman, was a force as the sixth man/first front-line replacement.

USD wasn’t thrilled with an NCAA assignment in Spokane, a lovely city but one they went to every year to play Gonzaga. USD didn’t bring a pep band, so school officials contracted with a Spokane high school for a group to provide musical support.

The rendition of the fight song was recognizable only to the staunchest of alumni supporters.

USD overcame a shaky start and held a slim lead entering the final three minutes against Stanford before Josh Childress, now with the Atlanta Hawks, timed a jump perfectly to block a Keep slam attempt and turn the tide to Stanford.

Keep, currently playing in the Philippines for a team called the Welcoat Dragons, responded to an e-mail request for his ‘03 memories by writing:

“The most vivid memory would obviously be the final seconds of the WCC Tournament, but the NCAA Tournament will always hold a special place in my heart.

“I miss having those guys around me. I give them credit for making me the man I am today.”

Blair, playing professionally in Plasencia, Spain, near Madrid, wrote:

“My greatest memory from the WCC Tournament was the crowd rushing the floor after the win. From the NCAA Tournament, it was being in the game at the end, having a chance to knock off Stanford and the whole crowd cheering for USD.”

Rumors hit the Net on Monday that a sex tape featuring Sex and the City actress Kristin Davis on its way after supposedly ‘leaked’ photos from the video began appearing on Hollywood gossip sites.

The photos, one of which is linked to onCrazyDaysandNights.com, feature a dark-haired woman performing a sex act on an unidentified man. The woman in the picture does appear to look quite a bit like Davis. However, similar photos featuring other stars in the past have been found to be look-alikes or Photoshop-created fakes.

According to several gossip reports, the picture is one of several being used to market a sex tape featuring Davis. HollywoodGrind.com reports at least one pay porn site is rumored to have posted multiple photos from the video. The web site in question, according toScottFayner.com, is ClubTaylorRain.com and more still clips from the sex tape are supposedly posted in the site’s “members section.”

However, HollywoodTuna.com reports that subscribers say they have not found any more “Davis” pictures on the site or any further information about a possible sex tape.

Marketing ploy to get people to pay out to sign up for a porn site or impending scandal for the formerly squeaky clean Davis? Information is still sketchy, but it should be noted that Taylor Rain, the porn star featured on ClubTaylorRain.com, is an attractive brunette who might just look a bit like Kristen Davis with the right lighting.

SEX and the City star Kristin Davis is the latest celebrity to be ensnared in a sex tape scandal, weeks after a similar scandal hit Gene Simmons of KISS.

The claims about Davis have surfaced on celebrity website What Would Tyler Durden Do.

Davis and Simmons join a long line of sex tape celebs, also including Paris Hilton, Rob Lowe, and Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson.

Porn star Ron Jeremy has claimed some stars deliberately release intimate tapes of themselves to revive their flagging careers.

“I love the excuse they use: ‘Oh, I don’t know how they got a hold of it!’ It’s such a big joke now. Any celebrity that’s not doing so good, they jump by having a good sex scandal.”

Is there a Kristin Davis Sex tape?  The adorable little starlet that once ruled Melrose Place and is now busy working on and promoting the feature film for Sex and the City (as Charlotte York of course) and she is reportedly shown in some sort of a tape where she is involved with a man and of course it is being shopped around and there are photos of the tape that are allegedly being  leaked online.

Does Kristin Davis have a Tape floating Around? (Image: Wenn)

Is it for real?  The Daily Telegraph, Australia has the report calling it a scandal.  There are still photos that have been leaked online and the reports are churning through the Hollywood blogs at a high rate of speed.  Color me skeptical, the photos look a bit like her but I’m not convinced.

The Telegraph notes the obvious and reports if its true, Davis will join an infamous list of stars who’ve had tapes released into the public arena Crazy Days and Nights also has this report and a link to one of the still photos that is allegedly of Kristin.  The first link is safe but if you keep clicking it eventually won’t be.

May will claim that this is timed to promote the film while others will claim it is a cruel hoax aimed at Kristen.   Are denials on the way from the Davis camp?