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Chris Webber’s 2nd Annual Bada Bling Celebrity Weekend at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas was absolutely amazing!  Most basketball fans know him as C-Webb, an all around great guy on and off the court.  Chris has always been one of my favorite interviews when I am covering my favorite sport.  It was great this past season for him to get out of that horrible situation with the Philadelphia 76ers (hard to imagine him setting on the bench to returning to his hometown of Detroit and taking the Piston’s to the playoffs).  Now back to one of the most incredible trips of my life.  Since you all could not be there I have to break the famous Vegas rule, you know it:  “Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”  Well, not this time—I am going to give you a point by point account of C-Webb’s weekend.  The power forward made some serious moves to accommodate his guests in a grand fashion; the V.I.P. treatment started when we approached the baggage claim area of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, where young ladies were holding large Bada Bling Checks saying welcome and ground transportation.  Upon getting my three bags (I always over pack because I got to have the right bow tie for every function) a driver took my belongings and led me to the car.  There was a fleet of white Cadillac Escalades that would serve as our transportation during our stay.  Once in the ride I was offered a chilled bottle of Vitamin Water that was right on time after my long plane ride. 

Already partying like a Rock Star, my driver pulled up to a side V.I.P. entrance of Caesers Palace and escorted me to a special private room to check in.  The fun filled packed weekend of events benefit the Chris Webber Foundation, the Detroit Piston’s nonprofit mission is to provide positive educational and recreational opportunities to youth.  Webber spared no expense and left no stone unturned to make sure all of his guests were treated like royalty.  Erica Bjork, assistant to the basketball star and Tiaka Hurst of Full Bloom Marketing and their team organized this weekend to remember.  Friday morning after having checked in the C-Webb hospitality suite to get our welcome pack consisting of tickets and access to all of the activities, and a number of gifts: a huge C-Webb beach towel, tee shirts, lapel pen, and a whole lot more.  Festivities included a Celebrity Poker Tournament in Caesars Palace Private Poker Room where some of Chris’ famous friends did not do so well.  Losers were quickly invited to exit the table so the big spenders could continue to play.  Following the tournament was the Friday Night Welcome Party with a performance by the world’s greatest entertainer Doug E. Fresh; he is like fine wine and just gets better with time is what I told him when I greeted him in the V.I.P area following his near two hours of rocking the mic.  The Hip Hop Historian was touched and chatted with me about what he has lined up for the future.  Slick Rick, known as The Ruler of Hip Hop, looked just the same with his tons of gold chains and Bling Bling.  Just when it seemed it could not have gotten better with the night of Hip Hop nostalgia Biz Markie closed out on the wheels of steel.  Doug E. Fresh was so good that I was up on a leather sofa dancing half the night or at least until a member of Tayshaun Prince’s entourage asked me if I could get down so Prince, who looked more drunk than tired could sit down.  After a wonderful party and while walking back to his room Chris, who is the eldest of six children, always the Big Brother and does not mind getting friends, family, or former teammates in check when they get out of line.  Jimmy King, of the famous Michigan University Fab Five knows first hand about feeling the effects of C-Webb’s wrath.  Yours truly was walking with Chris and his lady friend along with Jimmy, his wife Natalie and Yamma Brown, when Jimmy had a little too much of a good time.  Chris was encouraging him to go back to his room and get ready to play golf later the same morning, but Jimmy insisted on hanging out until Chris slammed him into the elevator with him making Jimmy go to his room and retire.  No fight just C-Webb being a big brother.

Chris’ Golf Challenge seemed to have started only minutes after the party ended.  With an 8:00 am tee off that myself and a number of guests missed due to our not leaving the party until after 4:00 in the morning.  Needless to say the golf tournament started without us and we had to do our best to make all 18 holes at the Cascata Golf Club prior to the formal Bada Bling Soiree that brought Hollywood notables, recording artists, and athletes.  Among the celebrities who attended C-Webb’s weekend were Nas, Regina King, Gabrielle Union, Omarosa, Doug and Jackie Christie, Laz Alonso, Rochelle Aytes, Spindarella of Salt-N-Pepa, Finesse Mitchell, Mari Morrow, April Woodard, Carl Anthony Payne, Talib Kweli, Nikki Shaw, not just a wife of a former NBA Star, but Nikki did her thing on Food Network’s reality show. 

A number of Chris Webber’s colleagues participated, such notable athletes included Richard Hamilton, Track Legend Jackie Joyner Kersee, Baron Davis, Moses Malone, Leon Powe, boxer Zab Juda, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shavlik Randolph, Shaun Livingston, Marcellus Wiley, Charles Oakley, Bobby Jackson, Matt Barnes, Chauncey Billups, boxer Sugar Shane Mosely, Joakim Noah, Dale Davis, Ricky Davis, Steven Jackson (St. Louis Rams), Ruthie Bolton, Michael Redd, Mateen Cleaves, Damon Stoudamire, Brian Shaw, Henry Turner, Yamma Brown (daughter of the late James Brown), and the celebrity journalist Jawn Murray, faces were all in the place

The formal Bada Bling Soiree was on the Emperor’s Level in the Augustus Ballroom.  Preceded by a cocktail reception room just before you entered the ballroom was lined with white curtains and lights reflecting the name of our host.  Feasting on chilled lobster tails, shrimp, oysters on the half shell, and crawfish was just a prelude to the main event, as if the night could get any better.  At the appointed time the team of hostesses led us into the ballroom for the soiree, which included a celebrity auction, hosted by Mark Curry, who is doing well since he was burned over 80 percent of his body at his home in Oakland, California.  Still a great comedian, Curry made everyone laugh and was a great auctioneer.  Charlie Murphy was the host for the evening and featured performances by Smooth R&B and Gospel Vocalist Howard Hewett, Multiple Grammy Award Winning Raphael Saadiq, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member The Isley Brothers, with Biz Markie rocking the after party.  In a room that was designed amazingly with a combination of round and square tables and elevated seating with about twenty white leather booths on each side of the ballroom.  The masculine colors of brown, gold, cream, and blue was the perfect touch for the evening.  Feasting on a meal that will forever tickle my palate, started with Vine Ripened Tomato, Baby Greens and Roasted Portabella Mushroom with Truffle Scented Fig and Balsamic Dressing Salad, followed by our entrée of Pan Seared Filet Mignon and Grilled Lemon Thyme Chicken with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Fresh Seasonal Vegetables, closing our meal with a most excellent Financier Almond Cake with Brandied Cherries Garnished with White Chocolate was just heavenly.  

Howard Hewett was good with his blast from the past and his famous Gospel number that always gets the crowd no matter how much hair he looses or weight he gains.  Born Charlie Ray Wiggins, who grew up in Oakland, California and graduated from Castlemont High School, where he sang in the Castleleers Performing Choir, Raphael was the highlight of the night with his performance featuring a medley of songs he had written for Bilal (“Soul Sista”), Angie Stone (“Brotha”), Total (“Kissing You”), and D’Angelo (“Lady” and “How Does It Feel”), was the best and not just because he is from my hometown.  The former lead singer of Tony! Toni! Tone!, closed his show with “Hey Lil’ Walter.”  Ron Isley might not look or act like he had a stroke, but you can tell it has damaged his voice.  At times he could not seem to belt out the high hitting notes he was once known.  Although, he seemed to be in good spirits and even bought out his two year-old son during his encore performance he is going to have to turn himself in to the federal marshals at the end of the month to been serving a little over years for income tax evasion.  In spite of it all they managed to still rock the house.  

Just because your last name is Murphy does not mean you are funny.  Charlie Murphy, whom I am told was a regular on the “Dave Chappelle Show,” was HORRIBLE as a host!  Clearly he is not a standup comedian like his brother Eddie.  He attempted to deliver a joke about something that I cannot even recall and when he realized his piss poor joke did not go over he blamed it on something that happened backstage.  He was so bad we did not see Charlie again that night.  There were some technical difficulties with changing the set for The Isley Brothers’ performance and C-Webb filled the time by calling some of his celebrity friends to sing.  Tichina Arnold sang “God Bless The Child,” Lil’ Mo, who was my tablemate for the evening, said that when we get the mic we have to go in.  Using a popular phrase from church and Mo did just what she said “I am going to take y’all to church real quick,” and offered a rendition of Martha Munizzi’s song “Because of Who You Are.” 

While at our table before she sang we had a frightening experience during Raphael’s performance.  We all were up dancing and enjoying the concert when glasses began to crash at our table.  At first it seemed that someone had thrown something at us, but actually a bulb fell from the ceiling onto my water glass and broke.  Glass went everywhere, Mo pretended to faint and I was laughing hysterically after I found out that no one was trying to attack us.  Caesars Palace management came to our table almost immediately to make sure we were alright and to clean up the broken glass.  There were far too many highlights of the evening for me to mention them all, but really moving moments stand out in my mind.  The first was the wonderful Invocation offered by Jackie Joyner Kersee, whom I had an opportunity to chat with the night prior at the Poker Tournament.  “I reached out to him when he was going through that challenging time in Philadelphia,” Kersee shared about meeting Chris Webber.  “I did not know him personally, but I knew he was a great athlete and I wanted him to know that he was loved and cared about so I sent him a letter and some flowers,” Since Kersee went on to say it was a start of a wonderful friendship and that she was so honored he invited her to be in Vegas with him.  The second highlight was Chris Webber honoring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with an award.  His remarks of how much he admired, respected, and looked up to Kareem were extremely moving and showed that Chris Webber is nothing, but a class act.  Throughout my life and career I have attended more events than I care to remember, but the only person that I think has out done Chris Webber is Oprah with her “Legend’s Ball,” it is all about Bada Bling!  

I Do or I Don’t..Well, finally Usher made it an I do.  Congratulations to Tameka Foster Glover Raymond!  It is great to see that Usher did not leave this beautiful sister hanging.  To have been stood up on your wedding day is no easy cross to bear.  If it was mutual or not to be left at the alter is nothing to take lightly.  But in this case Tameka took him hook, line, and sinker on dry land.  You got it!  Usher married in a private wedding that took place six days after he called off the original wedding ceremony in New York.  “I exchanged vows with Tameka Foster in Atlanta on Friday and we are happily married,” The singer stated.  Reports that Usher’s mother and ex-manger, Jonetta Patton, had not attended the ceremony due to her great disdain for Tameka, who is four months pregnant with the couple’s first child are not true.  Although, it was reported that Usher relieved his mother of her duties on or around Mother’s Day this year due to his relationship with his former stylist, Tameka.  Well, it is not uncommon for a mother to not want her son to marry a woman with a ready made family.  So Usher’s first child or his first child with Tameka will not be a bastard, Thank God.  It is great to see him do the responsible thing no matter how difficult it may be for him or his mother.  For those of you that might need to be brought up to speed read what happened in detail as to why the wedding did not happen on the first try last week. 

My phone started ringing today at about 1:00 p.m. this afternoon and has not stopped.  Everyone is talking about the wedding that did not happen.  The wedding, scheduled for today between Usher and his pregnant fiancée Tameka Foster, has been canceled according to a statement released by Usher's publicist Patti Webster. The statement read:

"It was announced today that the wedding ceremony for Usher Raymond, IV and Tameka Foster was canceled. No additional information will be given regarding the circumstances of the cancellation, but we hope the privacy of this matter will be respected."

The cancellation comes on the heels of a sensational National Enquirer article featuring an interview with Tameka Foster's sister Valencia Foster. In the article, Valencia dishes the dirt on her sister by revealing intimate details of Tameka's prior arrests for "boosting" from department stores.  Now this counts back to her days back in California.  Tameka is a native of Berkeley, California.  It was in California where she met and married her ex-husband, Ryan Glover.  Glover, who is also from the Bay Area was left by Tameka on Christmas of last year.   It is alleged within the industry that the celebrity stylist has drawn the ire of fashion houses and high end boutiques by failing to return high priced items loaned to her for her celebrity clients. The items are said to have often turned up for sale at Tameka's quarterly word-of-mouth "sample sales" in Atlanta.

Word is the IRS has taken an interest in Tameka's sample sales which were never advertised to the public. One such sample sale included enough high end merchandise to fill an entire 1200 sq. foot store front on Peachtree street for which Tameka took out a short-term lease in 2004.  Tameka was the brainchild behind RyanKenny the successful men's clothing line started by her ex-husband Ryan.  Since the two have divorced RyanKenny has gone out of business.  Business partner Kenny Burns and Ryan have returned their efforts to the music business. 

Usher and the older Tameka (he's 28, she's 37) are expecting a baby this fall (she is five months pregnant). No word on whether the couple is still engaged or even together. It would have been nice to see Tameka do the Demi Moore thing. 

For some reason Tameka has become an easy target and is not liked by the media.  She is actually a very nice person that was hurt due to the countless times her ex-husband cheated on her.  Ryan Glover received a call from Usher today while he was in the barber shop getting a hair cut and his conversation was over heard.  Ryan and I happen to frequent the same barber shop.  Ryan told Usher that everything was cool and a learning experience for all parties involved.  He went on to say that his ex-wife is a strong woman and will be able to make it through this difficult time.  Ryan was alone at the barber shop and not with his two sons by his ex-wife Tameka, who must have been in the Hampton's for their mother's wedding.  The former happily married couple have joint custody of the two boys.  Tameka is the mother of three.  Her eldest is the result of a relationship prior to her ex-husband. 

It has been rumored that she was seen crying and not in communication with a number of people that have been calling.  The wedding was to take place at L.A. Reid's house in the Hamptons.

Everything is going down, but the Word of God...Those of you that keep up with the happenings in the world of church know that it is big business and some of our very popular television evangelists are in many ways celebrities in their own right, and some seem to have a great deal in common with the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  One in particular is Jamal Harrison Bryant, a dear friend and Morehouse Brother.  The popular minister seemed to rise to fame quickly three years ago after preaching for the youth during Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Megafest, which since has been indefinitely cancelled due to a failed attempt two years ago, which lacked attendance and a revenue loss close to a half a million dollars.  Jamal has been the subject of a vicious attack on his ministry and most of all his character for the past three months.  Although, when I saw him recently he simply stated that he did not wish to discuss the matter, but his lawyer had everything under control.  Refusing to take no for an answer sources very close to the mega church pastor informed me that Jamal fired the widow of his best friend, Tina Devoe, who was married to David Devoe.  Seems that Jamal’s relocating her from Florida and employing her as his personal secretary was not enough for Tina.  My source, who is a member of the church and very close to Jamal, stated that he discovered Tina had embezzled over $30,000 of tape sells from his online ministry and had deposited the money into her personal account. 

Rev. Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant confronted his now former secretary about her stealing and it became a heated debate very quickly.  Feeling betrayed and that he could no longer trust Tina he gave her $10,000 and dismissed her of all her duties.  However, Tina allegedly made it her vow to destroy Jamal by divulging some of his past and making it his present.  Apparently, Jamal Harrison Bryant, while the National Youth President of the NAACP met and had intercourse with Miss Black Maryland, who is from Trinidad Tabago, causing her to have to relinquish her crown.  The one night stand resulted in a child that Jamal agreed to never have visitation rights or to anyway be a part of the child’s life prior to his becoming a pastor.  According to the extremely reliable source Jamal’s mother, Rev. Cecelia Williams Bryant and his father, Bishop Bryant hired a private investigator to locate the whereabouts of his first child and encouraged him to become a part of the child’s life.  To Jamal’s surprise Tina Devoe’s children and Jamal’s nine year old child attend the same school according to the private investigators report.  Tina was informed and assistance was solicited to arrange a meeting with Jamal and the former Miss Black Maryland.  The very bitter mother of Jamal’s child is now a principle and wanted a 100 % child support increase that Jamal declined, due to her not allowing him joint custody and visitation rights.  The source also shared that Tina Devoe has a sister that worked at the courthouse in Baltimore and filed a fraudulent lawsuit to make the allegations against her former boss appear true.  Since then Tina’s sister has been fired and Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant has filed charges against both of the women. 

Some individuals close to Jamal feel that he is guilty based upon his being somewhat of a lady’s man prior to his becoming a minister and pastor.  One such person is Yamma Brown, daughter of the late James Brown.  Bishop Bryant actually introduced the Godfather of Soul to Yamma’s mother and their families have been extremely close for years.  According to my source Jamal has been extremely troubled and people are now confronting him about his alleged sexual indiscretion publicly.  One incident happened at Disney World in Orlando, Florida and another while going through airport security.  Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant has not responded for comment other than “The matter is in the hands of my attorney”.  However, Obnoxious will not stop until we get an interview with the Empowering Pastor. 

According to my “Street Committee”…Some things just get out of hand; Tisha Campbell-Martin and her husband Duane Martin are not calling it quits.  The couple is still very much together, but seems they did not attend a popular event together recently and rumors began to fly.  Tyrese Gibson is trying to get out of his contract with Clive Davis.  The word is the two of them have bumped heads about Tyrese wanting to do a rap album and the compromise was a double album one disc rap and the other his traditional crooning.  Well, Clive is not to be played with, only time will tell if Clive takes Tyrese to school and teach him a lesson or not. 

While I am on the subject of rap, 50 Cent has gone too far this time.  50 Cent has challenged Kanye West to a live televised presidential-style debate to determine whose album will be the hottest.  West moved the release date of his new album up from September 18 to September 11, which is the same date secured by 50 Cent.  Clearly, 50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson is way out of his league on this one.  He is not even up to compete on the same intellectual capacity as Kayne West.  Someone please remind 50 Cent that while Kayne’s mother was a professor and English Department Chair at a university his momma was turning tricks and doing crack.  By the way did you all see Diana Ross fold her arms at the BET Awards when 50 Cent tried to shake her hand after his performance?