cover: TIGER WOODS FOR VANITY FAIR

On the heels of scandal, Tiger Woods covers the February 2010 cover of VANITY FAIR magazine wearing a skull cap and no shirt. Check out an excerpt from the article titled “Tiger In The Rough”after the jump.

When Tiger Woods finally fell from his pedestal—the car crash, the angry wife, the tales of kinky extramarital sex, the link to a controversial sports doctor—it was one of the greatest recorded drops in popularity of any nonpolitical figure. Given Woods’s impenetrable mask of perfection, and the hints of trouble from one strange glimpse behind it, the revelations were inevitable and very, very costly. Annie Leibovitz catches the icon, pre-scandal, in prophetic isolation, while the author finds the clues in the wreckage.

scene: USHER AND CHRIS BROWN SIT COURTSIDE

Usher and Chris Brown are homies now?

The two were spotted sitting courtside together last night (Dec 29) in Atlanta at the Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game at the Philips Arena. Other celebrities in the building included Akon, Young Jeezy, Polow Da Don and Chris Tucker. Atlanta Mayor-elect Kasim Reed was also spotted at the game. Forget all that though, check out that LV satin varsity jacket Chris is rocking.. Dope.

spread: KOBE SUITS UP FOR GQ MAGAZINE

(Detail: Wool suit, $3,600; shirt, $895; and tie, $180: all by Giorgio Armani. Watch by Nubeo.)

 2009 has been HUGE for Kobe Bryant. He overcame all the doubters and lead the LA Lakers to their first NBA Championship win since Shaq’s departure. Besides covering many sports magazine issues this year, Kobe has been slowly gravitating towards the fashion world. He covered the October issue of L’uomo Vogue and now Mr. Bryant is featured in the December issue of GQ Magazine.

(Detail: Wool-cashmere suit, $498; shirt, $88; and tie, $50: all by Tommy Hilfiger. Tie bar by Paul Stuart. Pocket square by J.Press. Sunglasses by Dior Homme.)


(Detail: Wool suit, $2,150; shirt, $325; and tie, $135: all by Ralph Lauren Black Label. Shoes, $595, by Gucci. Socks by Polo Ralph Lauren Hosiery. Pocket square by J.Press. Watch by Nubeo. Ring by Rafinity. Fedora by Borsalino at JJ Hat center)


(Detail: Wool three-piece suit, $2,495; shirt, $250; and cap: all by Dolce & Gabbana. Shoes, $550, by Yves Saint Laurent. Socks by Punto for British Apparel. Pocket square by Paul Stuart. Watch by Nubeo. Ring by Rafinity.)

THE LAKERS WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP | SHAQ TASTES KOBE'S A**

Congratulations to the best player in the NBA Kobe Bryant for leading his Los Angeles Lakers to a 99 - 86 victory putting the Orlando Magic out of thier misery 4 games to 1. We believe this is Kobe’s 4th NBA championship, but his first without Big Shaq…who had a very interesting Twitter post for Kobe after the game.

JENNIFER HUDSON RIPS IT AT SUPERBOWL XLIII

In her first public appearance since the tragic murders of her mother, brother and nephew last October, Jennifer Hudson returned to spotlight and wowed the Super Bowl crowd and viewers with her performance of the national anthem performance.

JENNIFER HUDSON COMEBACK CONFIRMED

Jennifer Hudson announced that she plans to return at this years' Superbowl, where she will be singing the National Anthem:

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to the Associated Press on Wednesday that the Oscar winner, is set to deliver “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Tampa, Florida., event on Feb. 1.

KING JAMES DOES GQ

NBA Megastar Lebron James landed the February cover of GQ Magazine. On newsstands now.

COAT SWAG

Atlanta’s Philips Arena was filled with some of the city’s biggest celebrities, including Ciara, Polow Da Don, Young Jeezy, and Kevin Liles, who all watched court side as the Atlanta Hawks took on the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night. While Polow & Jeezy have been just slightly overdressed for the occassion, we couldn't deny the Coat Swag that was in the building.

WENDELL LISSIMORE PAYS HOMAGE TO MUHAMMAD ALI

The great ones are always called upon to do great things. In this case, superstar/supremodel, Wendell Lissimore was perfectly cast to play the part of the great Muhammad Ali. Modeling on this scale is much like acting........you must become the character you're portraying. Wendell's previous experience as a trained boxer, paired with his constant desire to be authentic and ultimately the best at what ever he does......makes for a terrific performance.

Photos: Marcqui Akins
Stylist: Tyson Perez

THE OLYMPICS, GUCCI STYLE!!!

Virtually every product manager and designer at every brand started making plans for Olympic inspired product, whether official or unsanctioned, years ago. And that list includes brands you would never expect, like Gucci and Prada. While its unlikely that any Olympic athletes will be going for the gold while wearing Gucci, the iconic fashion house is just one of many luxury labels and mass-market brands that have created a wide range of special products to celebrate the 2008 Beijing games.

EVENT CHIC: 2008 ESPY AWARDS

It was all all eyes on David and Victoria Beckham yesterday as the uber-photogenic couple attended the 2008 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.

While Posh beat the heat in a buttery yellow Roland Mouret dress, oversized sunglasses and a gorgeous up’ do, Becks was to die for in a three-piece suit.

Hosted by Justin Timberlake and airing on July 20, the 16th annual ESPY Awards honors the dopest star athletes and most memorable moments from the past year. Major nods this year include those up for Best Male Athlete: Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady and Alex Rodriguez. Nominees for Best Female Athlete include Danica Patrick, Lorena Ochoa, Candace Parker and Lindsey Vonn.

A-list attendees at the star-studded show included Sophia Bush, the newly engaged, Adriana Lima, Tocarra Jones, Forrest Whitaker and Nicole Murphy.

Shouts to Strahan, Pierce and Garnett... These boys really did the damn thing this year.

VENUS WILLIAMS WINS HER FIFTH WIMBLEDON TITLE

Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles title after her intense match against her younger sister Serena Williams on Saturday. The Wimbledon champ wore a white tank top, skirt and sneakers from her clothing line, Eleven by Venus Williams. The sisters also won the women’s doubles finals later on that same day!

Shaq Disses Kobe... HARD!

Shaquille O’Neal took the stage Sunday night at the Underground NYC, unleashing an all out verbal assault via freestyle against his arch-rival Kobe Bryant — blaming his former teammate for ruining his marriage and instructing him to 'tell him how his a** tastes.'

After several verses of ripping Kobe apart for losing in the NBA Finals, Shaq drops the line, “I’m a horse, Kobe ratted me out, that’s why I’m getting divorced.” Referencing a comment Kobe made during his infamous 2003 rape case, where he told Colorado police that he “should have done what Shaq does … Shaq would pay his women not to say anything.” The two became famously bitter after this incident.

Lakers 102, Celtics 108

Celtics go up 2-0. Whoop-ti-doo!!! It's NOT unexpected that the Celtics would win both of their first two home games in this series; that has been their M.O. throughout the playoffs. Way more interesting though was how the Lakers finished out the game: Down 24 with less than 8 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Lakers got to within 2 with 22 seconds to go. They made up 22 points in less than 8 minutes in the back half of the fourth quarter on the road.

Boston squeezed by with the win, it’s all good though. LA will take it back in game three as they head back to Staples Center. Kudos to Powe. He had the game of his career last night. Only right it was done during the night they aired the special on his life during halftime. See ya’ll Tuesday.

Lakers K.O. Spurs to reach the NBA Finals

They did it, 100-92. No one, not the die hards, not the haters, no one thought the Lakers would do it. But they did. The LA Lakers defeated the defending champion San Antonio Spurs last night, advancing to the NBA finals for the first time in four years.

Kobe Bryant scored 39 points for the Lakers who wrapped up the best-of-seven series in five games. Now its just time to see comes out of the east. I'm counting on in being the Celtics who currently leads, 3-2 with game six in Detroit tonight. The Lakers and Celtics have not met in the finals since 1987.

2-1 in the Western Conference Finals

Ok, so we knew that the San Antonio cockroaches wouldn't die easily, and that it was going to take alot or Raid coupled with killer instinct to get three straight wins. Well the Lakers didnt bring it tonight, and Manu was a beast. Putting down 3 after 3. Duncan also had a big night, achieving his 10th 20/20 game of his playoff career. The Spurs just looked rejuvenated and made the Lakers pay for every mistake. It was a must win game for them and they did just that. Game 4 tonight.

Spurs 85, Lakers 89

I gotta admit I was little nervous at first. But you already know,the MVP came through and put it down. Kobe scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half. Erasing a 20-point third-quarter deficit to lift the Lakers to an 89-85 victory over the Spurs in the opener of the NBA Western Conference Finals. Game 1 is in the bag. Game 2, Friday in L.A.

Celtics 97-92 Win Over Cavs

What a game! The Celtics continued to bust it like Plies, and were able to make it work yet again in the 97-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. Lebron dropped 45 and Paulie Pierce dropped 41 in a game 7 for the ages. “It is a great feeling,” said Pierce. “We knew this was going to be a tough, tough series.”

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals starts Tuesday in Boston. Hopefully things go the way I have them mapped out in my mind. Im looking forward to seeing these boys duke it out with Kobe and the Lakers.