This July, Elton Brand signed a 79.8 million dollar contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Coming off a serious Achilles injury that kept him on the bench until the last month of the 2007-08 NBA season, Brand said he felt reborn.. “This is like a second chance. I’ll be 30-something in a year or two, so it’s very important to go out there and win something I’ve been on the youngest team in the league, the lowest-paid team in the league. And we made the best of it, but it’s definitely time to win. All of a sudden you’re relevant and ready to play some ball.”

With two months to go before the NBA season begins, Elton Brand is making sure that ankle is in perfect shape and well rested. He’s spending this Labor day weekend in Puerto Rico. Yesterday he was at Brother Jimmy’s BBQ pool party with the likes of..

Lance Bass.. and friend.

Former Soprano girl, Jamie-Lynn Sigler.

And Carlton.

Hah! That’s the only reason I posted this.. an Alfonso Ribeiro sighting.
——-

Images: (McCarthy/Wireimage)

This past Friday singer/songwriter Marion Winans celebrated his birthday at Guest House in NYC. Not sure what he’s been up to lately, but a track called “What Can I Do” leaked a couple of days ago. Doesn’t sound much like him nor is it particularly distinctive.

But we’re partying, right? Let’s go.

ANTM’s Nik Pace stepped out for the occasion.

Momma Combs made the scene.

Don’t know her name, but I should.

Birthday gift?

These girls are funky and stylish. How could you not like someone rocking the Teddy Ruxpin? And uh.. I’m not a fan of the male manicure, but something needs to be done about that paw on the lower left..

Bammm!

What’s that 6’4.. 6’5.. Chick needs a ball in her hand → a basketball.

A splash of color.

Peace.

Look who gave up the fight; Halle Berry was out in public with her daughter Nahla Aubry and as you can see, held her up for the world to see. She is very cute. The type of kid you’d expect coming from the Berry genes..

Give me those baby feet!

Halle even gave the camera a pleasant look. This is all she had to do to keep the paparazzi out of the trees in her backyard. But she could have given Nahla a headstart on her college fund if she sold them as a People exclusive.

Where is this kid’s father? Since Halle Berry had the baby you rarely if ever see them together. Splitsville?

Much sooner than predicted Hurricane Gustav swirled into a category 3 storm this morning. The winds are at 125 mph. Having killed 78 people in the Caribbean and on target to impact Cuba today, Gustav’s next victim could be any place from New Orleans to Texas. By that time, with the warm Gulf of Mexico waters, it could be a category 4 or 5.

There are reports of early evacuations going on in New Orleans, but I remember this same scenario when Katrina was off the coast. It was a Sunday afternoon and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was talking about people needing to evacuate, but little in the way of real concern. Somewhat understandable, no one could have imagined the entire city being underwater. But this time there is no excuse..

If you’re in New Orleans, you should be reading this from a laptop in Kansas.

Get the f-k out of town!

Take it from my man.

It’s Evacuation Time!

While everyone is taking sides and talking about where they stand on Sarah Palin and John McCain’s brain (or lack thereof) Chris Brown was spotted Wednesday morning jogging on the streets of Beverly Hills with his candidate of choice on full display.

That’s if you caught him before he dropped the shirt.

So this is why Chris has looked a little leaner than when his album dropped. Call it part Rihanna inspiration, part gotta keep the high school girls in a frenzy.

While Chris Brown was staying in shape, Rihanna was busy with her second love..

smiling for the cameras while shopping (on Melrose Ave.). I guess Rihanna is getting her money situation straightened out because that ‘news’ hasn’t kept her out of the stores or dulled her shine - she always looks stylish (no pun intened).

Who’s the kid with the blonde Mohawk?

John McCain selected Alaska’s governor Sarah Palin as his running mate today. A truly dumbfounding choice when you consider the Vice President is the person who in case something happens to John McCain, will be the President of the United States. Faced with that decision John McCain pushed aside Mitt Romney, who could have also helped him win Michigan; or Tom Ridge, and he chooses..  Sarah Palin.

She may be going toe to toe with the likes of Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev or Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with no foreign policy experience. Experience that John McCain stated is important for a VP, and is another reason why Barack Obama selected Joe Biden.

This pick makes no sense unless he’s fishing for those disgruntled Hillary Clinton voters. So he wins the election and.. then what?

Sarah Palin Accepts John McCain’s VP Slot

John McCain has been questioned about his decision making and this is his first ‘maverick’ choice of the campaign.

Good luck with that.

What else is there to say about Barack Obama’s speech last night?
If you didn’t see it you missed out on history being made. Barack Obama became the first African-American presidential nominee of the United States of America. The expectations were set high with Michelle Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton giving rousing speeches over the last few days.

Barack Obama made it tougher by moving the party to Mile High stadium. He had 85,000 people waiting for the ‘big guy’ and he had to come through with something to match the excitement and energy of the moment.

He did it in true rock star mode: smashing John McCain in ways he hasn’t in the past; making clear he loves this country; and most importantly brought back the grassroots feeling of the campaign. The line to remember in the entire speech..

“This campaign has never been about me. It’s about you!”

If you need to catch up or relive the moment..

This morning a John McCain supporter called C-Span’s Washington Journal. This guy said he is dissappointed with the Republicans this year and after watching the DNC convention and Barack Obama’s speech last night, he thinks the Republicans are going to lose.. Then he started crying!

It’s not that serious, my man.

Just vote for Barack Obama and join the happy people.

On Monday the UK’s 1Xtra held Carnival 08’: a party that began at 1 in the afternoon, heated up with festivities broadcast live from various outdoor spots in the UK, and climaxed with a midnight after party at a ‘secret location’ in London. On stage to perform were Ray-J, Lloyd, and Jazmine Sullivan.

There’s Jazmine..

singing “Need U Bad’‘.. no doubt.

Lloyd slipped in..

and got right to it.

“Who’s f—king with that?”

Umm, Ray J. Who never misses a chance to flip his tongue around lizard style.

Ever since the tape chicks marvel the bulge.

No problem..

Give em a hands on experience.

Common is gearing up for his new album Invincible Summer (considering it’s August 28th, he may have to rename it to Unbeatable Falls). The first single “Announcement” finds Common and Pharrell doubling up on a “Blues and Pants” inspired guitar riff.

Common and Pharrell “Announcement”

The spare bones look of the video sparkles and Common is flowing like he’s just having fun. It’s the freedom those ‘co-starring with Angelina Jolie’ checks give to a rapper: you can make the music you want to make and not worry about it being overlooked on the shelves. Straight hip-hop. No extraneous shakin’.

Yesterday there was a story circulating about Diddy grounding his personal jet, possibly selling it, because of high gas prices. A round trip flight to Los Angeles, Diddy said, would cost him $200,000 or more. Here’s the video to go with that.. as he boards the plane.

Diddy - Can You Believe I’m Flying Commercial?

Who is he fooling with that coach ticket? We know that’s for the personal assistant.

Question: if gas prices were at $1.59, slash the 200k down to 89k. Would the private jet still be worth it over a $1,500 first class commercial seat? Yeah, there’s the convenience to come and go as you please, stretch out and party like Soul Plane, but that’s a lot of money to be burning for the privilege.

Then again, once you get a whiff of that luxury private air, going back to bumping elbows on American Airlines, sitting next to the bathroom, would have anyone making YouTube videos.. “What has my life come to?!”