Welp … it all goes down tonight in Miami, FL, y’all! The #1 Sooners from the University of Oklahoma (*ahem* my alma mater) take on the #2 Gators from the University of Florida in the BCS Championship game to battle for college football supremacy. One shall stand and one shall fall … and we’re only hours away from kick-off … are you ready?

The top two teams in the country will meet in the third-annual BCS National Championship game, as the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners square off at Dolphin Stadium in Miami on Thursday for the national title. Urban Meyer’s Gators are no stranger to the national championship game, as they won the inaugural BCS title game two years ago with a 41-14 victory over Ohio State. Behind last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, the Gators have also rolled over most of their 2008 opponents. Despite a setback at home to Ole Miss in late September (31-30), the Gators have defeated the rest of their foes, including lopsided wins against Tennessee (30-6), Georgia (49-10) and Florida State (45-15) outside of Gainesville and an equally impressive performance against LSU (51-21) at home. The result was yet another SEC East crown, setting up a showdown with the Alabama Crimson Tide for the SEC Title in early December. When the smoke cleared, Florida earned a 31-20 victory and a spot in the national title game. Thursday’s contest marks Florida’s 18th straight bowl game and 36th bowl appearance overall (16-19). It is also the fifth BCS bowl game for the Gators, who have gone 3-1 in the four prior outings. Bob Stoops’ Sooners earned the right to play in the title game by winning the Big 12 crown in impressive fashion. Like the Gators, Oklahoma had one little bump in the road, a 45-35 setback to Texas on Oct. 11. The Sooners rebounded from the loss and then ran off seven straight wins en route to ending the year with five consecutive 60-plus point performances, including a 62-21 rout of Missouri in the Big 12 title game. But Stoops knows what his team is facing in Thursday’s contest. “We are excited about the opportunity to play a great Florida team. Urban Meyer and his staff have done a great job there and they are a very talented team when you look at them with their speed and skill. Really in all parts, you look at them offensively they like to spread it around to all the positions and they can run it with big time players. And of course their quarterback Tim Tebow is one of the best in the country. “Defensively, it’s the same thing. They have a lot of skill and speed on defense. Up front, in the front seven you really see it. They are solid in everything that they do scheme wise and in special teams they a very detailed and well thought out in their schemes in all that they do. It is a big challenge and an exciting one at that and looking forward to the challenge.” The Sooners have won seven national titles since 1950 with the latest coming in 2000, and boast a 24-16-1 all-time bowl record. The team is making its 10th straight bowl appearance.

Obvs my love and allegiance goes to the OU Sooners but I sincerely hope the best team will win as I know tonight’s game is going to be an awesome to watch. I’ll be proudly wearing my OU Sooners jersey (with my name on it, thank you very much) to root the Sooners on to victory! Fingers and toes, here’s hoping I’ll be in a very celebratory mood to post tomorrow ;) Boomer Sooner!!

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For the 35th year, the People’s Choice Awards were handed out to honor various entertainment outlets and actors as chosen by the people themselves. Last night’s award show was held at the Shrine Auditorium here in LA and brought out a cavalcade of celebs to collect their awards. The big winner of the night was The Dark Knight, which took home 5 People’s Choice Awards … but it turned out to be a big night for a few other folks as well. Here are some photos from the show and the press room and a run-down on who won what at last night’s affair:

Batman movie “The Dark Knight” soared away with five People’s Choice Awards on Wednesday including favorite movie and on-screen pairing for stars Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger to kick off Hollywood’s annual awards season. Country singer Carrie Underwood, who rose to fame on television talent show “American Idol,” was another big winner, hauling in three People’s Choice Awards for favorite female singer, country song “Last Name,” and star under 35 years-old. “Fans and people voting for me are what gave me a career in the first place,” Underwood said, acknowledging the voting by music lovers. “This is an amazing night.” The People’s Choice Awards, in its 35th edition this year, are a widely watched measure of popular appeal for Hollywood stars and they mark a starting point for the industry’s annual awards season which runs through the Oscars, the world’s top film awards, that take place in February. Adam Sandler was named funniest male star, Reese Witherspoon favorite female movie star, and Kate Hudson top leading lady among winners in more than 40 categories covering film, television, music and even online entertainment.

Sandler, Witherspoon and Hudson all echoed a familiar theme of the night by saying People’s Choice honors were special because they were voted on by fans, as opposed to critics or members of industry groups. The ceremony also has a more casual atmosphere compared to TV’s Emmy’s or the film industry’s Oscars, where black ties and ball gowns are mandatory. Noting that difference, Katherine Heigl, who accepted the trophy for best comedy movie for her “27 Dresses,” told reporters backstage that she wore a pants suit because “it was after the holidays, so I didn’t want to wear anything strapless or anything I had to suck in my stomach for.” Among film honors, “Dark Knight,” which was 2008’s top film at box offices with global ticket sales of nearly $1 billion, also proved to be the No. 1 movie of the night. Along with best film and on-screen match-up, it hauled in awards for favorite action movie, superhero for Bale as Batman, and for its cast. “The Secret Life of Bees” was the winner of best film drama and favorite independent film, and animated “Wall-E” was the No. 1 family film for People’s Choice voters. In the TV arena, medical show “House” was named favorite TV drama, and “Two and a Half Men” was best TV comedy. “The Mentalist” was top new TV drama while “Gary Unmarried” was the No. 1 new TV comedy. “House” star Hugh Laurie took home the trophy for favorite male TV star, and Christina Applegate took the honor of top female TV star for “Samantha Who?” Applegate, who revealed earlier this year that she underwent surgery for breast cancer, said the award meant a lot to her after a difficult year.” “I feel great. I really do,” she told reporters backstage. “Each week gets easier and each week gets better.” Ellen DeGeneres was named best TV talk show host and “Dancing With the Stars” was the people’s pick for No. 1 competition or reality TV show. Along with Underwood, top winners in music included Kid Rock for favorite rock song “All Summer Long,” Rascal Flatts for favorite group, Chris Brown best male singer and Katy Perry with best pop tune “I Kissed a Girl.”

I love the People’s Choice Awards primarily because the winners are determined by the people … which is unlike any other major award show. I had tickets to attend last night’s show but couldn’t make it because of a last minute meeting I had to attend late yesterday afternoon. As much as it bums me out that I couldn’t attend, I’m very happy with the way other things are going in my personal life right now … but I’m digressing. Much congrats to the winners of the PCAs this year. Let’s see if The Dark Knight is able to secure any other nominations and awards as the Awards Season carries on. Click HERE to see a full list of this year’s People’s Choice Award winners.

[Photo credit: Wireimage, Splash News; Source]

Fiancées Fergie Ferg and Josh Duhamel hosted a co-bachelorette/bachelor party in Santa Monica, CA last night with a few of their closest friends to get the party started ahead of their upcoming nuptials which are slated to take place this weekend. Here are a couple pics of the happy couple as they made their way out of the Dakota Lounge where they played host to 75 of their intimate friends last night:

Forget keeping the boys and girls apart. Three days before her wedding, Fergie took a break from her intense bride-to-be workouts for a co-ed bachelor-bachelorette party with fiancé Josh Duhamel. The couple, who will wed in the L.A. area on Saturday, and 75 of their friends and family celebrated on Wednesday night at the newly opened Dakota Lounge in Santa Monica. The singer, a.k.a. Stacy Ferguson, 33, and Duhamel, 36, were greeted with cheers from their guests – including Fergie’s Black Eyed Peas bandmate, will.i.am – when they arrived at their candlelit party just after 9 p.m. Partygoers dined on Kobe beef sliders, tuna tartare and shrimp skewers, sipped champagne and danced to a deejayed mix of ’80s songs and newer hits. “Josh and Fergie usually spend so much time away from each other, so they wanted to make this week special and spend as much time together as possible,” says a source. “So they decided to have a joint bachelor and bachelorette party and have their friends mingle and get to know each other before the big day.” Fergie, who wore a short, sequined black dress, “is having a blast,” the source told PEOPLE during the party, which lasted past 1:30 a.m.

Aww, sounds like fun … tho, I’m not surprised. These two really do pretty much everything they can together. I was thinking about getting them THIS as a wedding gift ;) Tho the couple will wed somewhere in SoCal this weekend, it’s unclear exactly where the nuptials will take place (I understand not even the big celeb invitees [including Justin Timberlake, Shia LaBeouf and Kate Hudson] know the locale just yet). I just hope they’re able to have a fun wedding, free from drama. As much as I hate to see Joshie married off, I think Fergie will make a good wife. She can even wear her wedding ring on her eyebrow so that she never forgets to wear it :)

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Lindsay Lohan is featured in the upcoming February issue of Interview magazine wherein she is interviewed by the iconic actress Lauren Hutton. Both the interview and a few of the photos snapped for the piece have been posted online for your viewing pleasure … check ‘em out:

What do you really know about her? Does that lilting name conjure up a stunning face? Or a lot of vaguely nasty notions fed by rumor and sold by tabloid sleazemongers? What if she were, in fact, a sort of saint sold as sinner, an inner beauty with a face to match, a true talent tortured by naïve misadventure malignly cast? Want the truth about Miss Lohan? Lauren Hutton gets it.

Love it … click HERE to read a portion the full Interview interview betwixt Lauren Hutton and Lindsay Lohan wherein the ladies talk about fame, Heath Ledger, how LL just can’t go anywhere in the world without being recognized and more! As for the photos, well, I think it’s safe to say that LL looks stunning! I love the striking contrast of the black and white. This shoot, photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, is deffo one of her better ones … she looks amazing. After the jump, check out a short video that was shot during this amazing Interview photoshoot …

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ZOMG … just when you thought you’ve seen the cutest thing ever, new photos of Harlow Winter Madden come out which prove even cuter. Over the weekend, we saw a few photos of Honor Marie (firstborn child of Jessica Alba) taking a few first steps (with help from her moms) and today we get to see Harlow doing the same with her mama Nicole Richie. Daddy Joel Madden was on hand to snap photos of Harlow’s feats … behold:

This impromptu photoshoot took place here in SoCal yesterday just days before Harlow’s first birthday. It’s hard to believe that this little doll is about to turn 1 year old … it seems like just yesterday we learned that Nic/Joel were the proud parents of a bouncing baby girl … and now here she is, almost walking already. Time flies. After the jump, check out a couple pics of just Harlow and her daddy Joel enjoying a slide together …

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Earlier this week we saw a few photos of Soccer phenom Cristiano Ronaldo lounging by the pool with friends in his hometown of Funchal, Portugal … in much happier times. Earlier today Ronaldo was involved in a car accident that left his £200,000 Ferrari in shambles but, very fortunately, he was able to walk away from the incident unharmed. Just hours after his sports car was hauled away to the scrap heap, Cristiano was beaming his smile and giving fans the thumbs up as he the Carrington training ground afterward … clearly, he’s not sweating the loss:

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United star, has written off his Ferrari sports car following a crash in a tunnel. The 23-year-old footballer emerged from the tangle of wreckage unscathed. It is understood that at the time of the crash Ronaldo’s red 599 GTB, on Portuguese registration plates, was just ahead of the Bentley Continental being driven by his team mate, Edwin van der Saar. Both are thought to have been en route to United’s Carrington training ground. Police reached the scene a short time later and spoke to Ronaldo about the accident. He was breathalysed after the accident, which happened at around 10.20am on Thursday. Police said the test proved negative. The winger was well enough to continue his journey and join team mates at a routine training session. The crash, which left the £200,000 Ferrari a virtual write-off, happened on a stretch of the A538 that takes traffic under the runways of Manchester Airport between Wilmslow, Cheshire, and nearby Hale. An eye-witness said: “The front of Ronaldo’s car was completely mangled. There was metal all over the road, and debris. We had to dodge our way through it. “Ronaldo was just standing at the side of the road looking forlorn and bewildered. My daughter said to me, ‘Oh my God – that’s Cristiano Ronaldo!’ It’s amazing he was okay because his car looked so bad.” Ronaldo’s Ferrari is among a fleet of cars he owns that are worth around £2 million. His other cars include a Bentley Continental GT Speed and a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. He also has two Porsche Cayennes and a BMW M6.

Altho Cristiano may not be worried about the loss of his car, he might want to be concerned about the police investigation that is forthcoming … especially if there was speeding/racing involved in this incident:

Police will investigate whether Ronaldo had been speeding and are expected to question his teammate Edwin Van Der Sar, 38, who was apparently travelling behind in his ??200,000 Bentley, about his driving speed … Police apparently suspect that as he went into the tunnel, which has a speed limit of 60mph, the footballer may have lost control of the car before spinning into the side of the tunnel. The impact then caused the car to lose a front wheel and it then ricocheted off the wall until it finally came to a stop further down the tunnel. Ronaldo was able to clamber out of the wreckage and remained at the scene until police arrived. The striker was taking the 205mph supercar, which he had imported from Portugal two days ago, apparently for its first spin when he lost control of it on the A538 Wilmslow Road, near Manchester Airport.

Damn. He is so lucky he wasn’t injured … or worse. I suppose we’ll know in due time what the cause of the accident was but I suspect that some form of speeding was involved. A 23-year old guy taking his new sportscar out for its first spin? Yeah … I think we know what went down. In the end, again, he’s lucky to be alive.

[Photo credit: Splash News, Source; Source]

Yesterday I posted a newslink from Entertainment Weekly magazine that reported that all signs were pointing toward Taylor Lautner retaining the role of Jacob Black (which he originated in the Twilight movie that opened last November) for the upcoming Twilight movie sequel New Moon. As you may recall, there was some chatter that Lautner might be replaced for the role by Michael Copon in order to beef up the character in the next film (which is an integral component of the New Moon story). Some fans thought Lautner should be replaced and others lobbied for him to keep the role … Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga books, announced on her official website that the decision has been made and Taylor Lautner WILL keep the role of Jacob Black:

January 7, 2009

- Steph

IMHO, this is great news. Altho I always felt that, if handled properly, bringing in a new actor to play the “much changed” Jacob could work in the next film, I really wanted Taylor to keep the part. First, I hate when major characters get replaced with new actors in between films. Second, I thought that Taylor did a great job of bringing Jacob to life in the first film. In the end, none of this is rocket science and I’m sure they would’ve made any scenario work but I’m happy that Lautner will be able to keep playing the role he originated and won’t be cast aside as the next film is being made. I’m sure he is very happy with this news … Michael Copon, notsomuch.

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