Joe Calzaghe and Al Pacino at the World Premiere of '88 Minutes' in Las Vegas. (photo: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com)

Hoop Dreams

Barack Obama got up early on the morning after delivering his speech on race and unity to talk — and shoot — hoops with Bryant Gumbel for HBO's 'Real Sports.' The presidential candidate played for his championship-winning high school team, and reportedly still has some game (for his age).

"I do think you can tell something about people from how they play basketball,'' Obama says. "For example, people who keep on shooting even though they have no jump shot...you can tell that there is a certain self-delusional aspect to their game that says something about who they are.'' No comment on his own jump shot, or Senator Clinton's. (photo: Kent Smith/Getty Images/HBO )

[Chicago Tribune]

Secret Struggle

'Sex and the City' star Cynthia Nixon had a perfectly reasonable rationale for keeping news of her battle with breast cancer private: "I didn't really want to make it public while I was going through it," she said on 'Good Morning America' this week. "I didn't want paparazzi at the hospital, that kind of thing." Her mother had also beaten the illness when Nixon was 12 years old, and the actress says she took the revelation about her own health even-handedly. "I always sort of thought, 'I'm probably going to get breast cancer. There's a really good chance,'" she said. But now that surgery and radiation have driven the cancer into remission, Nixon has come out with the details of her fight and been named the new spokesperson for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. (photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Image)

[E! Online]

Emmy Rossum and Melissa George attend City Harvest's 14th Annual Practical Magic Ball in New York City. (photo: Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

His Money's Green

Going green may be au courant in Hollywood these days, but Ed Begley Jr. (HBO Films' 'Recount') learned his lessons in conservation from his father. "He never used the word 'environmentalist,' but he was one," said Begley at a recent Earth Day Awards lunch in Illinois. "He lived through the Depression. He always shut off the lights or the water when he wasn't using them." And even though it can seem like you need to be rich to be eco-sensitive these days (what with the price of fluorescent bulbs and solar panels), Begley sees being green as a way of saving green.

"Everything I've done for the environment was good for my own bottom line," said Begley. "I started recycling, composting, planting vegetables and was shocked to learn I was saving money." (photo: Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

[rrstar.com]

Home Turf

Cheryl Hines hosting a golf tournament to benefit pancreatic research sounds like a 'Curb' setup for Larry David to add pancreatitis victims to his list of natural enemies. But this time it's real. The actress headed back to her home state of Florida with the goal of raising $50,000 for the cause, inspired by the father of her friend, fellow actor Jarrad Paul. "When he told me the story of what happened and how their family had to battle pancreatitis, I wanted to get involved and come down here and show my support," said Hines. "Just driving around, I was having flashbacks of when I lived here." (photo: Alison Buck/WireImage)

[Local10.com]

Dania Ramirez attends the Women At Risk 10th Annual Benefit Concert in Los Angeles. (photo: Michael Bezjian/WireImage.com)

Broken Home on the Range

Chloë Sevigny is heading to 'Divorce Ranch' for a quickie separation, but 'Big Love' fans needn't worry — it's a new movie, not a case of being fed up as wife no. 2 on the compound. The film, co-starring Zooey Deschanel, is set in post-World War II Nevada, and Sevigny plays an actress who visits this anti-Dude ranch with her young son in order to marry a rich man. (photo: Jason Kempin/WireImage.com)

[Variety]

Requiem for a Team

'Sopranos' star Dominic Chianese knows a thing or two about controversial endings. So maybe the actor had a tad of empathy for the embattled New York Knicks when he showed up to sing the national anthem at their last home game. Chianese took in the action with fellow 'Sopranos' alum Vincent Pastore, watching the Knicks lose the game to the Boston Celtics and plunge their abysmal record to 23-58 with just one road game left to go. Has anyone told coach Isiah Thomas that Uncle Junior usually sings at funerals? (photo: NBAE/Getty Images)

[Star-Ledger]

Susan Sarandon and Jonah Hill arrive for the 'Night of Too Many Stars' at the Beacon Theatre in New York. (photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage.com)

Adoring Fans

They say women value a sense of humor above all else, which would make 'Extras' star Ricky Gervais a total chick magnet. Need proof? When asked about her ideal man, Kate Hudson singled the comedian out: "I need somebody who is funny on the spot. That witty thing makes me crazy. It's the most attractive thing. Ricky comes out at the Baftas and he starts making jokes. There is nothing more attractive to me than that. That guy was out there making that whole place laugh, and he's so self-deprecating and so funny. It's amazing to watch." (photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com)

[ABC 15]

Man of the World

Idris Elba's career has exposed him to a world of diverse cultures, from playing Baltimore drug lord Stringer Bell on 'The Wire,' to taking a trip to Africa for 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.' But no bullet-strewn corners or Botswanan witchcraft could prepare him for his latest adventure: A high school dance. "I'm not too familiar with the prom world," says the actor, who plays a detective in 'Prom Night,' a new teen slasher flick. "Coming from England, we don't have prom." (photo: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com)

[BlackVoices.com]

Adrian Grenier attends the premiere of 'Standard Operating Procedure' in Beverly Hills. (photo: Amy Graves/WireImage.com)

Catch the Next Flight

For 'Flight of the Conchords' fans looking for their fix during a Kiwi-free 2008, the duo has announced a U.S. tour spanning 11 cities. Starting in Philadelphia on May 5 and wrapping up in Los Angeles on May 30, Bret and Jemaine are expected to perform plenty of songs made famous on the show. (photo: Amy Tierney/
WireImage.com)

[New York Post]

A Killer Show

Michael Imperioli has already realized Soprano family capo Christopher Moltisanti's dream of a film career, but his own rock-star ambitions are just getting off the ground. Imperioli's band, La Dolce Vita — described by the Patriot Ledger as "a little bit Pixies, a lot Patti Smith, and a respectable dash of The Clash" — made its New York debut two years ago. But Imperioli's set list has been a long time in the making. "Some of it is between 15 and 20 years old," he says, "stuff I'd written and never recorded, and then there's a bunch of songs we've written together, too. ... At the shows we don't do covers, except for the John and Yoko song 'Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him.' We probably do between 40- and 50-minute sets." (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/
WireImage.com)

[Patriot Ledger]