Urijah Faber Full Blast - Dillashaw vs. Cruz 6/3/2016 12:45 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
EXCLUSIVE
Urijah Faber says he won"t be doing any horizontal wrestling withPaige VanZant outside the Octagon ... "cause the almighty BRO CODE would stop him from ever, ever, dating his super cute UFC teammate.
We got Faber out in L.A. doing a little press for UFC 199 .... and asked about the smokin" hot ... and apparently single ... Miss VanZant.
Basically, we wanted to know if there was any chance he"d make a run for the "DWTS" runner-up ... and become the first couple of the UFC.
Urijah makes it clear ... it"s NOT HAPPENING ... saying the fact Paige dated his (and her) teammate,makes any extracurricular grappling a clear violation of the almighty bro code.
Bonus awesomeness? Faber also talks to us about his signature b**t chin ... and tells us who he thinks has the most iconic booty face in the history of Hollywood.
San Jose Sharks vs Pittsburgh Penguins. 2016 NHL Playoffs. SCF. Game 1. 05.30.2016. (HD)
PITTSBURGH It was a few weeks after being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins when Justin Schultz lost one of his front teeth.
The 25-year-old defenceman had been carrying the puck up the ice and just as he chipped it into the offensive zone an opposing players stick accidentally chipped loose a Chiclet. The resulting effect is that the gap-toothed Schultz, who also has the unkempt greasy black beard from an extended playoff run, looks more like a castaway these days than a hockey player.
In some ways, its a fitting look for a player who was cast out of Edmonton at the trade deadline but has since found refuge in Pittsburgh.
Its just basically a second chance for me. A fresh start, you know, Schultz said prior to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final against the San Jose Sharks. Im not looking to the past anymore.
It is a past that is full of missed opportunities, miscast roles and unrealistic projections. After leaving college as one of the most highly sought-after free agents in the last 10 years the Penguins, ironically, were one of only four teams that didnt pursue him Schultz chose to sign with the Oilers where he joined a young core that included Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
In his first season, the former second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks scored an impressive 27 points in 47 games and was named to the All-Rookie Team, showing what one-time Oilers GM Craig MacTavish later said was Norris Trophy potential. But four years later, Schultz had accrued a minus-78 rating and was labelled as a defensive liability.
With three goals and 10 points in 45 games this season, he wasnt even putting up points anymore.
Things just werent going well at the end, Schultz said of the Oilers. Then you get traded here and you think Oh man, maybe (winning a Cup) could happen. We got hot at the right time and now were here. You never know what can happen. I definitely didnt think this was possible for a couple more years.
Its not just Schultz who has found an unlikely home in Pittsburgh. From Phil Kessel getting run out of Toronto to Carl Hagelin, who has scored more goals and points in 20 playoff games than he did all year in Anaheim, the Penguins have been a halfway home for castaways and rejects.
I was in a very similar situation in St. Louis, said Schultzs defence partner, Ian Cole. It was tough to get some confidence there. They had an established D-corps and it was tough to get that opportunity. Anytime you get traded, you get a fresh start to prove yourself.
During Schultzs first practice with the Penguins, some of his teammates grabbed his clothes and hung them from the arenas rafters It was a good feeling, said Schultz. Made me feel like I belonged but its how hes been treated on the ice that has made an even bigger difference.
In Edmonton, Schultz had four coaches in four years. He averaged more than 21 minutes as a rookie and 23-plus minutes in his second season in the league. It was too much, too soon for a player who had obvious holes in his game.
What we tried to do since we got him was try to look at his strengths and try to put him in positions where he can play to his strengths were trying to use him situationally so he can play to those strengths, said Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.
In Pittsburgh, Schultz has learned that less is more. He is seventh among defencemen with less than 14 minutes per game though he played almost 19 minutes in Game 1. But most of that time is spent in the offensive zone or on the power play. He rarely sees an opposing teams top two lines or is on the ice for a defensive zone face-off or penalty kill.
I havent been playing as much as I did in Edmonton, which I think has helped me, said Schultz, who has been leaned on more since Trevor Daley broke his ankle in the conference final. Just focus on being solid in the defensive end and Ill get my chances.
In Game 1 against the Sharks, Schultz made the most of his opportunity when he jumped into the rush and fired a shot that ricocheted off a Sharks defenceman and landed on the waiting stick of Bryan Rust. It was the kind of play that he had made in Edmonton, except that he also finished the game with a plus-1 rating.
You see that hes a special player, said Cole. He makes a nice D-to-D pass to me and I go up to the wing and then hes gone. And thats the way he should play.
Hes just playing good hockey, said defenceman Brian Dumoulin. Our style of play has fit him, where we just really want to move the puck. It allows him to jump into the rush and be offensive.
For Schultz, its finally coming together. He might not ever win a Norris Trophy or earn a salary of US$3.9-million again. But hes finally enjoying the kind of team success that he was supposed to have in Edmonton.
I love playing here, he said. Its a great group of guys. Its been fun.
Best Fielding in Cricket History - Top Cricket Fieldings - Cricket Highlights 2016
UPDATE: Cricket Wireless tweeted that service had been fully restored, but users may need to turn their devices off and back on again.
#CricketNation, service has been fully restored. Technicians worked around the clock to resolve the issue. We sincerely apologize.
Cricket Wireless (@Cricketnation) June 4, 2016
We apologize again for any loss of service. You may need to power your phones offand then back on to restore service.
Cricket Wireless (@Cricketnation) June 4, 2016
Previous story continues below:Some customers of one wireless company are hearing nothing but crickets Friday evening.
Cricket Wireless users across the nation took to social media to report issues with voice and data service.
The company tweeted that they are working on the problem, but says there is no timeframe for a fix.
We are aware of a service issue affecting some customers & are working quickly to resolve it. We apologize for this inconvenience.
Cricket Wireless (@Cricketnation) June 3, 2016
The website Down Detector, which tracks outages and downed websites, showed the affected areas as of 7 p.m. PT. The website also reported a large spike in recent outage reports from consumers.
Cricket Wireless outage map courtesy of Down Detector. (Google Maps)
The cities most affected include Houston, Phoenix, Chicago, San Antonio, Denver, Mountain View, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Portland, according to Down Detector.
On its website Cricket Wireless says it covers 317 million people with its no-contract service.
Cricket operates using AT&T cell towers, but AT&T customers have not been reporting the same level of outages.
Many Cricket Wireless customers took to Twitter Friday evening to complain:
Cricket Wireless is REALLY living up to their name today. All crickets with this outage. My bill better be just as quiet too. @Cricketnation
#EpicFestVI (@CainMcCoy) June 4, 2016
@Cricketnation @att Your websites have*zero* info regarding widespread outage. I"d call u but THE NETWORK IS DOWN.
Mark Challen (@mcair01) June 3, 2016
#CricketWireless is not working on North Texas. For the past 3 hours no service, no e-mail, no data, no calls in or out. Anyone else?
John Wannamaker (@johnkwann) June 3, 2016
.@Cricketnation And you will be issuing credit for this inconvenience, presumably? This is ridiculous.
Winchester Fire burns 205 acres near Temecula on April 28 2009 MULTI-FAMILY YARD SALE
Funds will go toward Caitlin Buzbee"s World Race Fund.
When: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 2
Where: 32315 Via Cordoba in Temecula"s Redhawk neighborhood
Information: caitlinbuzbee.theworldrace.org
Caitlin Buzbee is taking a huge leap of faith.
The 24-year-old Temecula resident is planning to participate in the World Race, an 11-month traveling and missionary trip for young adults ages 21 to 35.
Departing in August from Atlanta, Buzbee and about 50 other people shes never met each of whom must raise funds themselves to cover the costs for training, lodging, food and insurance will spend one month at a time in 11 different countries in Africa, Asia and Central America.
(World Race organizers) already have contacts and partnerships with ministries in those countries, Buzbee explained.
The group will break into teams of six to eight people and live and serve together 24 hours a day, carrying their possessions in backpacks and sometimes sleeping in a tent.
Each group will have an alumni leader who previously completed their own 11-month mission trip.
The groups daily activities will vary.
They tell us each day will be different, Buzbee said. Some days we will be working on construction projects or playing with kids in an orphanage, and the next day we might be teaching Bible school classes or praying for the sick. The local ministries have different needs that we will help with.
Buzbees group is scheduled to visit Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic all places shes never been. The World Race organization selects the routes for each trip and applicants can request to go on certain routes.
When asked why she would leave her two great jobs for such a trip with so many unknowns, Buzbee, a certified athletic trainer, said in an interview, The reason why Im going is my life has been completely transformed by the love I receive from Christ and I want to be able to go and share that with people. When I heard about this opportunity it seemed like a beautiful way to do that.
A 2010 graduate of Great Oak High School and a 2014 graduate of Chapman University in Orange County, Buzbee previously traveled on youth group mission trips to Mexico as a teenager.
To prepare for the trip, Buzbee is leaving her two jobs in Aliso Viejo, where she works as the head athletic trainer for Aliso Niguel High School and also as an exercise specialist for Aliso Viejo Physical Therapy.
Ive been trying to keep up with my own fitness regimen. They recommend hiking with your pack, she said.
Participants have to carry a 40-pound supplies pack that includes a two-person tent and a sleeping bag, plus a smaller daypack.
Shelly Harris, of Murrieta, a family friend and a friend of Buzbees mom, is among Buzbees supporters. Harris called the trip a great opportunity.
Im jealous. I wish I was 24 and had an opportunity to do something like this. Shes incredibly brave to quit two jobs and do this. Everybody is jumping into this with blind faith.
The World Race organization sends hundreds of volunteers each year to dozens of countries.
Participants must raise funds to cover the costs of the trip. World Race encourages each participant to raise about $17,000; Buzbee has raised about $4,700 so far and has specific fundraising deadlines along the way. She needs to have raised $5,000 by May 13. If she doesnt raise the full amount by deadline, she can delay her trip or leave early, she said.
Singer Demi Lovato is leading the charge to kick off MusicCares Foundation"s social media campaign MusiCares Challenge to raise money for its programs, which help support members of the music community in times of need.
For the initiative, artists and fans are urged to post a photo or video with their favorite album using the hashtag #MusiCaresChallenge, make a donation to MusiCares, and tag five friends to participate.
Some of the other celebrities to join Demi in the month-long challenge include the Backstreet Boys, Troye Sivan, Andra Day, and the Lumineers.
ANDERSON, Ind., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Amber Portwood and fianc Matt Baier are moving past their recent relationship drama.
The 25-year-old Teen Mom OG reality star defended the 44-year-old radio DJ in a statement to MTV News amid continued rumors about Baier"s alleged seven secret children.
"There have been many stories and allegations surrounding Matt"s past," Portwood said. "Just as my own journey has proven, people make mistakes and should be given a second chance without being judged solely on those choices. We are happy and focused on building our future together."
Portwood"s ex-fianc, Gary Shirley, brought the claims to light on Monday"s episode by presenting her with paperwork about the alleged kids. The reality star was unaware Baier had any children, and set the record straight in a subsequent interview.
"When Gary approached me with all the cameras there, I think that was really tasteless," she said. "I think what his main goal was to humiliate us and to try to make our family look like it"s not stable because this was when we were in the big custody battle."
"It"s not accurate. [Matt] does only have five kids," she clarified. "I can say that today we"re in a great place. That was a few months ago. Matt still says he has five kids. The thing I always go for me to is if he has five, why the h**l wouldn"t he tell me if he has seven?"
Portwood and Baier started dating in fall 2014, and announced their engagement in March. The reality star, who shares 7-year-old daughter Leah with Shirley, responded to negative comments about her fianc Thursday on Twitter.
"This reaction just absolutely disgusts me. How can you guys forgive me for my past but bash Matt for his! Why are you even following me? Not only did he have a job but his x boss works on our houses we"re flipping," she wrote. "I"m just shocked at these reactions honestly."
Serena Williams vs Kristina Mladenovic French Open 2016 Highlights
Indeed it would be the ideal way -- if you"re a fan of Williams and Novak Djokovic -- to conclude a tournament where rain, roofs, injured players and schedules have taken up much of the discussion at the expense of forehands, backhands and the like.
Williams is a win away from matching Steffi Graf"s 22 grand slam titles in the Open Era and Djokovic needs one victory to become the eighth man to tally all four majors.
They"ve both been in that position before, Williams at the Australian Open in January and Djokovic on three occasions in Paris.
Williams defeated unseeded Kiki Bertens 7-6 (9-7) 6-4, while Djokovic got the better of another debut grand slam semifinalist, Dominic Thiem, 6-2 6-1 6-4, as the cool, gray weather persisted in the French capital.
Both world No. 1s go in as favorites against Garbine Muguruza and Andy Murray, who will try to play spoiler. They, too, though, would notch vital victories: Muguruza, who fell to Williams in the Wimbledon final last year, is bidding to win a first major in her blossoming career. The 22-year-old bettered 2010 French Open finalist Samantha Stosur 6-2 6-4.
How special it would be for second-seed Murray to win the French Open, on the red clay he struggled on several short years ago. Murray became the 10th man in the Open Era to make all four grand slam finals when he beat defending champion Stan Wawrinka 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2 and is the first British man since 1937 to make a French Open final.
No, it wasn"t Fred Perry back then but Bunny Austin.
If Williams is to triumph Saturday, the American will have to overcome an adductor injury, which affects the hip and thigh.
When Williams showed up two hours late for her press conference after laboring in the quarterfinals against Yulia Putintseva, one suspected something was amiss. She denied it Thursday but admitted it Friday after television analysts broke the news.
"Yeah, I have had some issues, but you know, it is what it is," she told reporters.
Williams can"t help but bring drama to the French Open. This year it"s happening late.
Twelve months ago -- struck by illness -- Williams looked close to making an exit in nearly all of her six matches prior to the final. Five of her seven encounters -- including the final against Lucie Safarova -- went the maximum three sets.
The first set against Bertens, in particular, proved to be great theater. A shame that Philippe Chatrier court was about one-fifth full -- if not less -- when the tussle started at 1 p.m. local time (1100 GMT). Suzanne Lenglen court, where Muguruza played Stosur, was also initially sparse despite tickets going for a bargain 20 ($22).
The incessant rain in Paris forced the women"s semifinals to be contested Friday instead of the usual Thursday. And rather than both men"s semfinals taking place on center court, Djokovic and Thiem were given a date on Lenglen following the women.
The unseeded Bertens, who missed out on becoming the first Dutch woman to reach a grand slam final since Betty Stove at Wimbledon in 1977, had her own health issues to contend with.
She needed a medical timeout for a left calf injury Thursday before downing 2015 semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky. Pre-match chatter hinted that a withdrawal on the biggest day of her career was a possibility.
But the 58th-ranked player in the world has withstood more threatening health scares in the past. In 2014, Bertens thought she had cancer after being diagnosed with a lump on her thyroid gland. Although she eventually tested negative, the 24-year-old endured sleepless nights for a year due to the anxiety and couldn"t train properly.
When Bertens faced Williams at the U.S. Open last August, she failed to take her chances in the opening set, leading to a predictable straight-set loss. It was a similar story that unfolded Friday.
With a lethargic Williams trailing 3-1, Bertens missed chances to earn a double-break advantage. A fleeting set point was squandered on the Williams serve at 5-3, with Bertens snatching at a forehand that crashed into the net.
Bertens -- who was up 4-0 in their tiebreak at last year"s U.S. Open, only to blow her lead -- might have thought it was time to repay the favor. From 5-2 down in the first-set tiebreak, Bertens rallied to 5-5.
Williams sent two poor volleys into the net to hand Bertens a 7-6 advantage, but again the forehand misfired. Williams closed out the tiebreak, and despite Bertens" early 2-0 lead in the second set, one sensed this one was over.
On the other side of the draw, Muguruza became the first Spanish woman to make the final in Paris since her Fed Cup captain, Conchita Martinez, in 2000.
Another Spaniard has, of course, done fairly well in the men"s competition at Roland Garros over the past decade: Rafael Nadal. It remains to be seen whether some of the nine-time French Open winner"s magic will rub off on his compatriot Saturday.
Muguruza does know what it feels like to beat Williams in Paris, winning their duel at the French Open in 2014. And Williams has shown vulnerability in her last two majors, falling to Roberta Vinci and Angelique Kerber at the U.S. Open and Australian Open, respectively.
"I think that all of us want to win a grand slam irrespective of who the other player is," Muguruza told reporters. "Of course if this player is a champion it"s even more enjoyable."
Djokovic in great form
Thiem, the third man from Austria to play in a grand slam semifinal, owns the most wins on clay this year. His powerful, heavy shots pack a punch.
Djokovic, however, set the tone early. The best returner in tennis stretched his young rival to 32 points in Thiem"s first three service games. By that time, Thiem was behind a break.
Feeling he made an abundance of errors and lacked punch on his serve, Thiem nonetheless praised Djokovic.
"He doesn"t give you any presents," Thiem, like Djokovic playing for a fourth straight day, said.
Saluting the crowd with the aid of a ball kid this fortnight, this time Djokovic enlisted the help of six of them.
Murray and Wawrinka promised to be a blockbuster but only delighted -- for the neutral -- in spurts. Murray saved three break points, all with attacking tennis, at 5-4 in the first to grab a crucial advantage.
He maintained the momentum until the third, when Wawrinka broke to end the set.
Wawrinka, a French speaker from Switzerland, implored the crowd to get further behind him and they obliged. Yet the extra emotion from the 31-year-old might have caused him more damage than good: He was broken to start the fourth and didn"t recover.
It was Murray"s first win over a top-four player at a grand slam since ousting Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final. A significant hurdle was thus overcome.
The true test comes Sunday, though.
Djokovic leads 4-0 head-to-head in grand slams since 2013 and is 12-2 in their past 14 meetings overall. Murray did win their last match in Rome in May although even he acknowledged the normally resilient Djokovic was fatigued after draining victories against Nadal and Kei Nishikori.
"It"s another grand slam title up for grabs for both Andy and myself," said Djokovic. "One thing that I know that I can expect when I get on the court with him is, it"s going to be a very physical battle. That"s why the day off will definitely serve me well."
