Gay Basketball League -- We Want Kobe!!!

Kobe Bryant's presence has been requested at a gay and lesbian basketball league in L.A. -- where league officials want the Lakers star to PROVE his support for the LGBT community by showing up for a game. 


TMZ spoke with a rep for the Lambda League -- who tells TMZ, "We have seen Kobe's apology and hope that it's sincere.  If he really wants to show us he means it he'll come to our next league game."

And get this -- Lambda reps tell us if Kobe takes them up on the offer ... they'll comp his tickets. 

NBA: Pistons Charlie Villanueva suspended 5 games for Cavs incident

Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva was suspended for five games without pay by the NBA on Wednesday for initiating an on-court altercation with Cleveland’s Ryan Hollins, trying to get at the Cavaliers’ bench and twice attempting to enter their locker room. With 5:47 left in the Pistons’ 110-101 home loss to the Cavaliers on Monday night, Villanueva and Hollins got tangled in a screen and grabbed each other in the neck area.

Villanueva attempted to get at Cleveland’s bench and had to be restrained by teammates and security personnel. He left the floor, then twice attempted to enter the Cavs’ locker room.

Villanueva served the first game of the suspension Wednesday night in Detroit’s season finale in Philadelphia. The remaining four games will be served next season.

Cleveland coach Byron Scott was asked if he felt the suspension was appropriate.

“How much does he make?” Scott said Wednesday night before the Cavs played Washington in their season finale. “It might be a pretty good little chunk. I didn’t know it was going to be that many games. But the fact that you’re running toward the locker room and going into the locker room of the opposing team, obviously they are gong to hit you pretty hard. I still don’t understand what he was doing. Only Charlie knows.”

-AP

NBA: Bulls clinch No. 1 seed & home-court

The Chicago Bulls had just wrapped up their best regular season sinceMichael Jordan and Scottie Pippen collected their final championship, and Derrick Rose was in no mood to celebrate.

He’ll save it for later.

Kyle Korver came up big down the stretch to finish with 19 points, Rose scored 15 and the Bulls won their ninth straight, beating the New Jersey Nets 97-92 in the final playoff tuneup on Wednesday.

“I’m happy, I’m definitely happy,” Rose said. “I wouldn’t like to be on a losing team, but what’s the point of celebrating now when you can get knocked out in the playoffs?”

The Bulls earned home-court advantage throughout the playoffs later Wednesday with San Antonio’s 106-103 loss to Phoenix. Had the Bulls and Spurs tied for the best record, a random drawing would have decided the overall No. 1 seed because all the tiebreakers were even.

The Bulls led by as much as 13 in the second quarter and were up seven at the half, but found themselves trailing 68-58 after the Nets scored 15 straight midway through the third. They responded by running off 10 in a row to close the period and pulled this one out in the end, with Korver scoring seven in the final four minutes.

Rasual Butler scored 10, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute, and the Bulls got 50 points from their bench on a night when the starters spent much of the fourth quarter on the bench.

Rose was just 5-of-13 from the field. Luol Deng scored 11. Joakim Noah finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulls finished 62-20, equaling their best showing since the 1997-98 championship season. That also put Tom Thibodeau in a tie with Paul Westphal of the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns for the most wins by a first-year coach.

“I’m happy for our team,” he said. “I think they made a serious commitment. They played hard, and they played for each other.”

WRITTEN BY STATS LLC and The Associated Press & FULL STORY HERE

NBA: Lakers win in OT over Kings & Earn No. 2 Seed

Sacramento Kings fans made it feel like old times.  Then, so did Kobe Bryant.

Bryant’s tying 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds left in regulation forced overtime, and the Los Angeles Lakers regrouped to hand the Kings a 116-108 loss Wednesday night in what might have been the last game ever in California’s capital city.

“I told Phil it’s fitting it’s going to end this way,” Bryant said after sharing a laugh with Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

When the final buzzer sounded, thousands of fans refused to leave their seats, doing everything they could to protest the franchise’s possible move to Anaheim. Some cried, others took pictures. But all cheered in one, booming voice: “Here we stay! Here we stay!”

Feeling the vibrations from their locker room, Kings players Tyreke Evans, Francisco Garcia, Marcus Thornton and Donte Greenereturned to the floor.

“No matter what happens,” Garcia said, grabbing the microphone, “this is always going to be our home.”

For one, perhaps final night, it was.

A standing-room only crowd packed things beyond the 17,317-seat capacity, clanking cow bells and roaring louder than they had in years. They brought handmade signs, painted their faces and cheered their loudest to will their beloved team back.

And they nearly did.

Instead, the Lakers pulled away in overtime to earn the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, setting up a first-round series against New Orleans.

“I really feel for these fans,” Jackson said. “I’m sure it’s a sad, sad day for many.”

Thornton had 33 points and Evans added 19 to help the Kings outscore the Lakers 29-11 in the fourth quarter to rally from 20 points down. They went ahead by three until the final seconds, when Bryant delivered a shot to crush Sacramento’s hopes yet again.

WRITTEN BY  STATS LLC and The Associated Press & FULL STORY HERE

NEW MUSIC: Diddy-Dirty Money – No Ordinary Love (Coming Home Tour Edition)

Check out this exclusive Diddy just recently released via Twitter in honor of his Coming Home Tour.

Shiest Bubz – 52 Diamonds (Music Video)

Shiest Bubz “52 diamonds” video directed by Squirrel Gang Films is the 1st joint he is dropping of his new Project “Purple IYYYEEEEE”. Shiest is a day one Smokers Club member & also the Host of The Smokers Club Tour this fall. Be on the Look out for “The Smokers Club” album he is executive producing with me as well GoodTalk – Shipes

Want To Open Up For N.E.R.D.?

Eve Shows Off Her Tattoos And A Little More!!

Eve shows off her tatts and some more…

Kobe Bryant appears on 710 ESPN to address anti-gay slur

Wednesday became a day of statements and more statements, followed by the NBA's fine and Bryant's radio interview on "Mason & Ireland" on 710 ESPN.

Bryant said he planned on talking to the gay-rights groups and also wanted to "own up" to his comments. However, he also said he would appeal the fine, one of the heaviest levied by the NBA this season. Bryant makes $302,515 per regular-season game.

NBA Commissioner David Stern called Bryant's outburst "offensive and inexcusable."

"While I'm fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated," Stern said in a statement. "Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society."

GLAAD applauds NBA's decision to fine Kobe Bryant $100,000 for anti-gay slur

The Human Rights Campaign, a national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, called it a "disgrace" for Bryant to "use such horribly offensive and distasteful language, especially when millions of people are watching."

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, added an equally critical statement.

"Professional sports players need to set a better example for young people who use words like this on the playground and in our schools, creating a climate of intolerance and hostility," GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said.

NBA: Kobe Bryant fined $100k for homophobic slur towards Ref!!!

After receiving a technical foul during Tuesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant stormed to the bench, hit his seat before sitting down, threw a towel and then yelled, “Bennie!” toward referee Bernie Adams. Bryant then leaned back and muttered a gay slur.

The episode was caught on camera on TNT’s national telecast, prompting announcer Steve Kerr to say: “You might wanna take the cameras off of him right now, for the children watching from home.”

Bryant issued a statement Wednesday afternoon.

“What I said last night should not be taken literally,” he said. “My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone.”

Stern strongly condemned Bryant’s words in a statement.

“While I’m fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated,” he said. “Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society.”

The Lakers had no immediate comment on the fine but earlier Wednesday issued a statement saying: “We haven’t seen the video, so it would be inappropriate for us to comment on it.”

The Lakers are battling the Mavericks for the second seed in the West. They beat the Spurs 102-93 on Tuesday.

On Monday, the league rescinded Bryant’s 15th technical of the season. If it had stood, he would have received his 16th on Tuesday and would have been suspended for the Lakers’ season finale. If he receives another T on Wednesday, he would be suspended for the first game next season. Technical counts start over in the playoffs.

Before the NBA levied its fine, advocacy groups had condemned Bryant’s comments on Wednesday.

The Human Rights Campaign — a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization — said in a statement: “Hopefully Mr. Bryant will recognize that as a person with such fame and influence, the use of such language not only offends millions of LGBT people around the world, but also perpetuates a culture of discrimination and hate that all of us, most notably Mr. Bryant, should be working to eradicate.”

The president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, also put out a statement.

“Discriminatory slurs have no place on or off the court,” Jarrett Barrios said. “Professional sports players need to set a better example for young people who use words like this on the playground and in our schools, creating a climate of intolerance and hostility. The LA Lakers have a responsibility to educate their fans about why this word is unacceptable.”

-ESPN