Serena Williams can add one more achievement to her Hall of Fame resume: Olympic champion. The 14-time Grand Slam winner won a major tournament on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon for the second time this summer, destroying top-ranked Maria Sharapova in the Gold Medal match by a score of 6-0, 6-1. It was the most lopsided women’s final in Olympic history. Williams lost only 17 games across six matches and let out a scream and even did a little dance upon taking the decisive point. “I don’t think I’ve ever danced like that,” she said afterward. “I don’t even know where the dance came from.” Serena now moves on to the doubles semifinals alongside sister Venus. It’s been quite a year for the legendary star. “I was so focused here,” she said. “I remember I was serving and I was thinking: ‘Serena, this is your best chance to win a gold medal. You’re at Wimbledon, you’re on grass, you play great on grass, pull it together, just win this.’ And that’s what I thought about.”
Jersey Shore Season 6 will kick off Thursday, October 4, with a second season of popular spinoff Snooki and JWoww also reportedly picked up by MTV. It’s hard to believe this will be the sixth season of debauchery from the ensemble that first graced our TV screens in early 2010. Brings a tear to your eye. So much has changed since the early days, most notably Jionni LaValle getting Snooki pregnant and The Situation getting sober following a trip to rehab. What can we expect in Jersey Shore Season 6? Snooki, as we know, is expecting her first child and reportedly living in her own pad next door to the familiar cesspool, while Mike no longer drinks . Right there, they’ve reduced the number of peeps boozing by a quarter and the overall drama in the house by even more. Will it still be awesome TV? With most of the cast in relationships, there may also be less hooking up. On the flip side, JWoww and Roger may start fights if they don’t get smush room dibs. One crazy episode we will get to see is Deena Cortese getting arrested in the middle of the day for her drunken disorderliness. Good times. Pauly and Vinny will no doubt take their burgeoning platonic man-love to new heights, new catchphrases will be created, and the Shore Store will be staffed by rich slackers. What do you think? Will you watch Jersey Shore Season 6?
John Travolta is finally firing back at Fabian Zanzi, the one-time cruise ship worker who accused the Hollywood legend of sexually assaulting him in 2009. Travolta filed legal documents yesterday claiming the employee is lying. Fabian Zanzi claims Travolta exposed himself during a neck massage aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise, then offered to pay him $12,000 to keep it quiet. Zanzi detailed his salacious allegations in a lawsuit back in June. Travolta’s attorney, Marty Singer, responded to the claim, admitting John was on the cruise but denying all the allegations of misconduct against him. Singer notes that Zanzi filed a report with Royal Caribbean over the alleged incident when it happened, but failed to mention any of the sexual details. Travolta, who was also accused of similar actions by two male masseurs this spring, wants the lawsuit dismissed and for Zanzi to pay his legal fees. Separately, Doug Gotterba and Robert Randolph have both alleged sexual relationships with Travolta; he has denied or not responded to all claims. [Photo: WENN.com]
George Zimmerman has been accused of a new heinous crime. In just-released audio tapes related to the Trayvon Martin shooting , a family friend – who simply goes by the moniker “Witness9” – tells authorities that Zimmerman sexually molested her many times between the ages of 6 and 16. “He would reach under the blankets and try to do things,” the woman says, adding that the incidents mostly took place at Zimmerman’s parents’ house. “I would try to push him off, but he was bigger, stronger and older.” The unidentified female was contacted by prosecutors about a month after the Martin shooting, with these tapes recorded on March 20. She told investigators she finally came forward with the allegations because it marked the first time in her life she was “not afraid” of Zimmerman. The woman said she has no knowledge of the shooting in question, but verified that Zimmerman made disparaging remarks about African-Americans when the two were young. Zimmerman was eight years old and the woman six when the alleged molestations began. She added that she was not his only victim. “He was very charming and personable with everybody in the family. But he was different behind closed doors with me… He was very intimidating.” The final incident took place when the woman was 16, she said, explaining that Zimmerman massaged her neck and kissed her until she ran out of the room. He was supposedly confronted about the actions by the woman and her parents in 2005, quickly apologized and walked away. Zimmerman remains in jail at the moment as a judge decides whether to reinstate his bail.
It’s just affirmative action for Scandanavians Three former managers at Wet Seal, a nationwide apparel retailer for young women, filed a federal race discrimination lawsuit on Thursday, asserting that the company had a high-level policy of firing and denying pay increases and promotions to African-American employees because they did not fit its “brand image.” The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., includes a copy of a March 2009 e-mail sent by the company’s then senior vice president for store operations to lower-level managers after she had inspected several stores. The email said, “African American dominate — huge issue.” One plaintiff, Nicole Cogdell, the African-American former manager of a Wet Seal store in King of Prussia, Pa., said the company terminated her the day after that e-mail was sent. She said that she had heard the senior vice president, Barbara Bachman, tell a district manager that she wanted someone with “blond hair and blue eyes.” The lawsuit seeks back pay, and general and punitive damages. It also seeks class-action status on behalf of more than 250 current and former black managers at Wet Seal, which has more than 550 Wet Seal and Arden B stores across the nation and is based in Foothill Ranch, Calif. Another plaintiff, Kai Hawkins, the African-American former manager of a store in Cherry Hill, N.J., said her district manager had told her to hire more white employees or face termination. In the lawsuit, Ms. Hawkins said that she had been offended by Ms. Bachman’s e-mail and that she saw many black employees being “terminated despite doing a good job and without any explanation.” In a statement issued Thursday, Wet Seal said: “Wet Seal is an equal opportunity employer with a very diverse work force and customer base. We deny any and all allegations of race discrimination and will vigorously defend this matter.” There is nothing wrong with wanting your company to increase in diversity whether you have a certain minority group or white people making up a dominant portion of your company’s staff. However, if the allegations are true, that does mean you go and fire people who are doing their job well so you can hire someone else with a different skin color. Do you think Wet Seal and companies like it, discriminate to fit a certain type of image? Source
It’s just affirmative action for Scandanavians Three former managers at Wet Seal, a nationwide apparel retailer for young women, filed a federal race discrimination lawsuit on Thursday, asserting that the company had a high-level policy of firing and denying pay increases and promotions to African-American employees because they did not fit its “brand image.” The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., includes a copy of a March 2009 e-mail sent by the company’s then senior vice president for store operations to lower-level managers after she had inspected several stores. The email said, “African American dominate — huge issue.” One plaintiff, Nicole Cogdell, the African-American former manager of a Wet Seal store in King of Prussia, Pa., said the company terminated her the day after that e-mail was sent. She said that she had heard the senior vice president, Barbara Bachman, tell a district manager that she wanted someone with “blond hair and blue eyes.” The lawsuit seeks back pay, and general and punitive damages. It also seeks class-action status on behalf of more than 250 current and former black managers at Wet Seal, which has more than 550 Wet Seal and Arden B stores across the nation and is based in Foothill Ranch, Calif. Another plaintiff, Kai Hawkins, the African-American former manager of a store in Cherry Hill, N.J., said her district manager had told her to hire more white employees or face termination. In the lawsuit, Ms. Hawkins said that she had been offended by Ms. Bachman’s e-mail and that she saw many black employees being “terminated despite doing a good job and without any explanation.” In a statement issued Thursday, Wet Seal said: “Wet Seal is an equal opportunity employer with a very diverse work force and customer base. We deny any and all allegations of race discrimination and will vigorously defend this matter.” There is nothing wrong with wanting your company to increase in diversity whether you have a certain minority group or white people making up a dominant portion of your company’s staff. However, if the allegations are true, that does mean you go and fire people who are doing their job well so you can hire someone else with a different skin color. Do you think Wet Seal and companies like it, discriminate to fit a certain type of image? Source
Jennifer Lopez is a really big fan of boyfriend Casper Smart. She believes he’s a good egg . But that doesn’t mean the singer/ American Idol judge is ready to walk down the aisle for a fourth time, regardless of any bling that may be on her finger. After all, remember the refrain from a certain 2002 J. Lo single? “Rumors!!!” Lopez wrote on her website Friday of chatter that she and Smart were engaged. “Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got.” Lopez and Smart got together last fall, and their relationship has only heated up since, both personally and professionally. Smart, in fact, will anchor an upcoming reality show that follows around Lopez and her backup dancers during their world tour.
Jennifer Lopez is a really big fan of boyfriend Casper Smart. She believes he’s a good egg . But that doesn’t mean the singer/ American Idol judge is ready to walk down the aisle for a fourth time, regardless of any bling that may be on her finger. After all, remember the refrain from a certain 2002 J. Lo single? “Rumors!!!” Lopez wrote on her website Friday of chatter that she and Smart were engaged. “Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got.” Lopez and Smart got together last fall, and their relationship has only heated up since, both personally and professionally. Smart, in fact, will anchor an upcoming reality show that follows around Lopez and her backup dancers during their world tour.
In the most anticipated boxing match of the year, Timothy Bradley defeated Manny Pacquiao by split decision last night – and almost everyone who watched it believes the fight was fixed. Pacquiao landed 253 punches to 159 for Bradley, with Compubox statistics proving the former also connected on more punches in 10 of the 12 rounds. The Associated Press had Pacquiao winning 117-111, but that service doesn’t get a vote. Instead, Bradley was named the winner – by a score of 115-113 – on the scorecards of judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross. “I’ve never been as ashamed of the sport of boxing as I am tonight,” said Bob Arum, who promoted both fighters, soon after the outcome was announced. I went over to Bradley before the decision and he said, `I tried hard but I couldn’t beat the guy.'” Adding fuel to the allegations of foul play? Bradley had printed out a poster for a November 10 rematch prior to this bout, something that would only occur if he defeated Pacquiao. A consensus is building that the judges/Powers That Be in boxing arranged a Bradley victory solely to ensure another big pay-per-view buy in five months. “I’ll make a lot of money off the rematch, but this was outrageous,” Arum said.
In the most anticipated boxing match of the year, Timothy Bradley defeated Manny Pacquiao by split decision last night – and almost everyone who watched it believes the fight was fixed. Pacquiao landed 253 punches to 159 for Bradley, with Compubox statistics proving the former also connected on more punches in 10 of the 12 rounds. The Associated Press had Pacquiao winning 117-111, but that service doesn’t get a vote. Instead, Bradley was named the winner – by a score of 115-113 – on the scorecards of judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross. “I’ve never been as ashamed of the sport of boxing as I am tonight,” said Bob Arum, who promoted both fighters, soon after the outcome was announced. I went over to Bradley before the decision and he said, `I tried hard but I couldn’t beat the guy.'” Adding fuel to the allegations of foul play? Bradley had printed out a poster for a November 10 rematch prior to this bout, something that would only occur if he defeated Pacquiao. A consensus is building that the judges/Powers That Be in boxing arranged a Bradley victory solely to ensure another big pay-per-view buy in five months. “I’ll make a lot of money off the rematch, but this was outrageous,” Arum said.
