Singers line up for NBA

Singers line up for NBA
Starting Thursday, you can have a side of hoops tunes with your hoop dreams throughout the NBA Finals with live performances by headliners Stevie Wonder, Kelly Clarkson, Will Smith and Alanis Morissette. Guess even though NBA players define their style through hip-hop, broadcasters won't deign to mix in any real hip-hop rhymes.
Capus is now No. 2 at NBC
NEW YORK -- Steve Capus, who has produced the top-rated NBC "Nightly News" for the last four years, was promoted to the No. 2 executive slot behind NBC News President Neal Shapiro on Monday. As senior vice president of NBC News, Capus replaces veteran newsman Bill Wheatley, who announced his retirement in April. Capus takes his new job amid uncertainty about his boss' future. NBC has not commented about published reports that Shapiro was looking to leave. Capus will oversee "Nightly News" and breaking news stories, and will be the news division's arbiter on ethics and style. He's a Temple University graduate who joined NBC News in 1993 to oversee the overnight news program. He will be replaced at "Nightly News" by John Reiss, formerly his top deputy.
Ringwald's new role: mom
LOS ANGELES -- Could it be time to put more candles on the cake? Molly Ringwald said she's in discussions to make a sequel to "Sixteen Candles," the 1984 movie about the obstacles and embarrassments a teen girl faces on her birthday. The film, directed by John Hughes, shot Ringwald to teen stardom, but she hasn't appeared in a major role in many years. She said she's been appearing in theater, small TV and film parts and raising a daughter, now 18 months old. Ringwald, 37, said she had been approached repeatedly about doing a sequel, but recently read a script that she liked and wanted to star in the movie. "I've turned it down for years. I couldn't see how it would work," she said. "Now, it seems right." Ringwald was reunited at the MTV Movie Awards on Saturday with Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and Paul Gleason, three of her co-stars in 1985's "The Breakfast Club," directed by John Hughes. Judd Nelson and Emilio Estevez didn't show. "They're in Africa with Dave Chappelle," Hall joked.
Rapper ordered to stand trial on assault charge
LOS ANGELES -- A rapper accused of stabbing a man during a melee at last year's Vibe Awards must stand trial on an assault charge, a judge ruled Monday. Young Buck, whose given name is David Darnell Brown, allegedly stabbed Jimmy James Johnson after Johnson punched Brown's mentor, Dr. Dre, during the Nov. 15 taping of the show. Superior Court Judge James Dabney found sufficient evidence to try the 24-year-old Brown, who was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. "We're confident when all the truth comes out, he'll be exonerated," said defense attorney Leonard Levine. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to an assault charge during the confrontation, which set off a chair-throwing brawl that spread through the crowd. Young Buck is signed to Dre's record label as part of the G-Unit clique, and his first solo album, "Straight Outta Ca$hville," debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts in August.
Tucker wants moreJackie Chan mishaps
LOS ANGELES -- If Chris Tucker has his way, the next "Rush Hour" movie will be filled with more Jackie Chan mishaps than ever. Tucker said the next film in the Brett Ratner-directed action-comedy franchise is in the works. "Everybody loved the outtakes. We're going to make the movie one big outtake," he said. Wearing large black sunglasses while arriving Saturday at the MTV Movie Awards, Tucker also said he expected that Michael Jackson was "going to be cool" after the verdict was rendered in Jackson's child molestation trial. Tucker, 32, testified on behalf of the defense, telling jurors that he found the accuser to be unusually sophisticated and cunning for a 12-year-old. He met the boy at a benefit while the child was battling cancer in 2001. He said he was happy with his appearance in court. "It was cool because I didn't want them to bring up all the stuff I did," Tucker joked.
Today's birthdays
Former President Suharto of Indonesia is 84. Former First Lady Barbara Bush is 80. Actor-comedian Jerry Stiller is 78. Comedian Joan Rivers is 72. Actress Millicent Martin is 71. Actor James Darren is 69. Actor Bernie Casey is 66. Singer Nancy Sinatra is 65. Singer Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night) is 63. Musician Boz Scaggs is 61. Actor Don Grady is 61. Rock musician Mick Box (Uriah Heep) is 58. Author Sara Paretsky is 58. Actress Sonia Braga is 55. Actress Kathy Baker is 55. Country musician Tony Rice is 54. Singer Bonnie Tyler is 52. Actor Griffin Dunne is 50. "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams is 48. Actor-director Keenen Ivory Wayans is 47. Singer Mick Hucknall (Simply Red) is 45. Musician Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Doris Pearson (Five Star) is 39. Actress Julianna Margulies is 38. Actor Dan Futterman is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nicci Gilbert is 35. Actress Kelli Williams is 35. Actor Mark Feuerstein is 34. Rapper Kanye West is 27. Folk-bluegrass singer-musician Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek) is 24.