Obama welcomes 'little up-and-coming team': Champion Heat visit White House

The First Fan is accustomed to taking heat, but when President Barack Obama welcomed the NBA champion Miami Heat to the White House on Monday, it was, well, pretty cool.
“I’d like to welcome a little up-and-coming basketball team to the White House,” Obama said, with the team behind him and coach Erik Spoelstra standing alongside him.

The Miami Heat visited President Barack Obama at the White House to commemorate their 2012 NBA Championships. (AP Photo)

Mixing jokes and good-natured ribbing with messages about teamwork and commitment to fatherhood, Obama talked with and about the 2012 NBA champions, even at one point jokingly taking some credit for the team’s NBA Finals victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Some of you recall a little pickup game we had here a few years ago,” Obama said, turning toward Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, “and it’s clear that going up against me prepared them for going up against Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.”
The president, a longtime Chicago Bulls fan, admitted that he was disappointed that his favorite team hadn’t won the title but acknowledged the Heat’s standout individual efforts in a larger team context.
The Heat came to the White House after a visit to Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, an experience that Spoelstra described as “truly, truly humbling.”
Before giving way to Heat players, Obama added that he appreciated that Miami’s “Big Three” of Wade, James and Chris Bosh “take the role of being fathers very seriously.” Heat family members were among those assembled in the White House.
James presented Obama with a basketball autographed by the team, but seemed in awe despite his long career in the limelight: “Thank you for letting us be in the White House,” James said. “Man, we’re in the White House! … It’s like, ‘Mom, I made it!’”
Wade then gave the nation’s 44th president a Heat jersey with the No. 44.
“We’ve got a 10-day contract left,” Wade said, turning to members of the Heat front office behind him. “Why don’t we hook my man up?”

Andrew Bogut injury update: Warriors big man aims to return from ankle injury Monday at Toronto

Golden State Warriors 7-footer Andrew Bogut, limited to only four games this season because of a nagging left ankle, is aiming to be in the lineup Monday (7 p.m. ET) against the Toronto Raptors, barring any pregame setbacks, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
The newspaper reported that Bogut was wearing his reversible practice jersey with the blue side out—reserved for the team’s starters—during the morning’s shootaround at Air Canada Centre.

Andrew Bogut, sidelined by a nagging left ankle injury, has played in only four games for the Golden State Warriors this season. (AP Photo)

Multiple unidentified sources cited by the Mercury News said Bogut is planning to give it ago.
However, Warriors coach Mark Jackson maintained his stance that Bogut would come back when he is ready.
Bogut and the team haven’t discussed his recovery since the news in late November that April surgery on his left ankle included a microfracture procedure.
Acquired in March in the blockbuster trade that sent Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks, Bogut has played only 73 minutes this season, totaling 24 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.
He hasn’t played since Nov. 8, missing 38 games in the process.
According to the Mercury News, the 7-1 Bogut's return would be timely. Golden State has given up 57 second-chance points in its past two games as teams with big frontcourts have exploited the Warriors' smallish lineup.
Jackson is expected to be conservative with Bogut’s minutes when he returns.

SAG Awards 2013 Red Carpet Photos: See The Fashion & Glittering Gowns!

The Golden Globes are over and the Oscars are still a few weeks away, which can mean just one thing...
SAG Awards!
OK, fine. Maybe the Screen Actors Guild Awards aren't the sexiest, most exciting of the awards shows. But the A-list actors still dutifully don their designer gowns, spikey heels and million-dollar jewels and walk the red carpet, providing us all with a pre-Oscars fashion parade. And for that we are eternally grateful.
Below, check out our continuously-updated slideshow of all the best red carpet looks from the 2013 SAG Awards! Who had your favorite dress?

Kristen Bell Sues Hollywood Restaurant For Alleged Breach Of Contract

Kristen Bell is suing Hollywood restaurant and bar L'Scorpion for breach of contract.
The 32-year-old mom-to-be and a few others are reportedly taking legal action amid claims that the owners failed to pay them their portion of its profits. According to court documents obtained by E! News, Bell and the four other plaintiffs in the case filed the lawsuit against Meridian Restaurant group on Jan. 25.
They each invested $20,000 in the tequila bar in July 2005 and were supposed to receive five percent of its profits in return. But according to the lawsuit, the bar generated monthly earnings up to $30,000 since its opening in 2006 and the "House of Lies" star and the other investors didn't receive their fair share of those profits.
Bell is allegedly claiming breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
She is currently expecting her first child --rumored to be a baby boy -- with fiance Dax Shepard this spring.

Katie Holmes, Suri Cruise Brave The Cold In New York

Oh, it's just Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise, braving the bitter cold Sunday in New York as they stepped out for a walk and a cool refreshment. While 34-year-old mom Katie kept warm in a leather jacket and scarf, Suri opted for something more incognito (and adorable): a giant black-and-white fur hat in the form of a panda.
The pair have become regular New York fixtures since moving to the city last year, whether attending gymnastics classes, picking up cupcakes or walking to Suri's new school, Avenues.

Kristen Stewart Cheating Scandal Update: Liberty Ross and Rupert Sanders to Divorce - REPORT

Model/actress Liberty Ross has filed for divorce from her director husband Rupert Sanders, TMZ reports.

Hollywood.com had not heard back from the couple's reps at press time.

The pair's marital issues came to light after Sanders was photographed having an affair with his Snow White and the Hunstman star Kristen Stewart, so it was only a matter of time until Ross officially severed ties with her husband. Though Ross and Sanders stated they were trying to work through the scandal, it clearly didn't take.

Ross filed her paperwork in L.A. County Superior Court, TMZ reports. She asked for joint custody of the couple's two kids, spousal support, and attorney’s fees. Sanders reportedly filed his response to the divorce petition, also requesting joint custody.

Stewart and her boyfriend Robert Pattinson seem to have gotten past her indiscretion, however, and are still together.

Whitney Houston's Mother, Cissy Houston, On Singer's Drug Use, Lesbian Rumors

Whitney Houston died nearly one year ago and her mother, Cissy, continues to ask herself: "Could I have saved her somehow?"
In a her new tell-all memoir, "Remembering Whitney," Cissy reveals intimate details about her daughter's highs and lows.
"I'm angry she died alone, in those conditions," writes Cissy, according to an excerpt obtained by People magazine. Whitney drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11, 2011, at 48 years old. Drugs were found in her system, a habit Cissy knew about. "She started partying and she didn't really know how to stop. I used to wonder what she was doing at night, where she was."
Cissy also delves into Whitney's relationships and rumors that she had a lesbian romance with her former assistant and creative director, Robyn Crawford.
Rumors had circulated since the 1980s that the two, who met when they were teenagers in New Jersey, were more than just friends. When Whitney died, Crawford penned a touching tribute to the "I Will Always Love You" singer for Esquire.
Cissy's feelings on Crawford, however, seem strained. She writes: "I just didn’t want her with my daughter. I know nothing about a romantic relationship. That's what everybody said but they didn't know either."
Since her daughter's death, the 79-year-old, whose book hits shelves on Jan. 29, has had to deal with keeping her granddaughter, Bobbi Kristina, grounded.
Some thought Bobbi could be headed down the same path as Whitney after dealing with the death. Cissy attempted to keep a $20 million inheritance from the teenager, because she thought it was "too much, too soon," according to TMZ. The two reportedly settled and are ready to move forward.
Cissy will sit down with Oprah Winfrey on Jan. 28 for her first in-depth interview since Whitney's death for "Oprah's Next Chapter."