David Beckham attended a news conference in Rutherford, NJ yesterday ahead of and to promote the LA Galaxy game against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium (which is set to take place this afternoon) where he talked at some length about the state of soccer in this country and how people have a misconception about the quality of play in Major League Soccer. Here are a few pics of Becks at yesterday’s press conference:

While the quality of play in the MLS is better than people think, David Beckham said Friday that he believes the it will take time for the U.S.-based league to catch up to some of the world’s better leagues. Beckham said that he is enjoying his first full season with the Los Angeles Galaxy, noting that he had a tough time adjusting last year after arriving in the middle of the season and having to battle an assortment of injuries. The 33-year-old has been healthy this season. His seven assists are tied for second best in the league and his five goals are tied for 10th. “I have enjoyed it,” Beckham said at a news conference to promote Saturday’s game at Giants Stadium against the New York Red Bulls. “Soccer is definitely changing in this country, and it is getting bigger and growing,” Beckham said. “But it is going to take time, and I said that at the start. It’s not just going to happen in a year or two. It’s a long-term plan to raise the profile for this game in this country. I think it has gone well so far.” Beckham has done his job attracting fans. The Galaxy have averaged about 26,000 for home games at the 27,000-seat Home Depot Center. They are doing even better on the road, averaging more than 27,000. The advance sale for Beckham’s second game in the New York metropolitan area was 45,000 on Thursday, which would be the largest single-game crowd for an MLS game this season. His appearance here last year drew about 67,000 … “It’s one of the reasons I moved here, to be a part of growing the game,” said Beckham, who signed with the Galaxy in January 2007 after a standout career with Manchester United and Real Madrid. “Hopefully, people are seeing the changes which we are putting in. The attendance is up 20 percent and shirt sales up 780 percent. So it is going well. That’s what we need in this country.” Beckham laughed when asked whether fans were coming to see him because of his ability as a soccer player or his celebrity status. “I don’t really care as long as they are here and watching the game,” the midfielder said.

Hee hee, you know … that is the perfect attitude. The man is very savvy about knowing what people want and giving it to them. I think it’s absolutely on target to say that many people attend his soccer games just watch him and because of his celebrity status and he is very wise to not only accept that fact but to embrace it. He’s right … as long as people keep coming (for whatever reason) there is a likely chance that the culture of soccer will improve in this country. Becks‘s value to American soccer isn’t his ability to play amazing soccer, it’s his ability to fill seats and expose more people to the game over all. He is deffo worth his weight in gold.

After the jump, check out a few photos of Becksie doing a bit of training at Giants Stadium in NJ (PSST! there’s a shirtless pic in the bunch) …

Can you guess which newly married couple, just returned to SoCal after an extended post-honeymoon vacay, stepped out on the town last night requesting that folks “Stop Hating”?

After the jump, find out who the suavely dressed gentleman and his lovely wife are …

Earlier this week, US Weekly reported that an ex co-star of Jennifer Garner revealed that she is 5 months pregnant with her next child but, thus far, there has been no official confirmation from Jennifer Garner or her husband Ben Affleck … so of course, the focus shifts to her to see if she might be offering any clues to confirm the report. Here are a couple pics of Jen out and about this week — one pic shows her curiously holding a shopping bag in front of her belly and the other gives a small peek at her bare (possible) bump:

Meh … these pics reveal nothing but I suppose one could speculate that Jen may be hiding her stomach to hide her bump — tho, if she were trying to hide it, why run so that her stomach peeks out? I think it would be great if Bennifer v. 2.0 added another member to their family. Violet is getting so big, she needs a baby sibling to maim and torture ;)

[Photo credit: Splash News, X17]

BFFs (cuz I’m not exactly sure what else to call them just yet) Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson were snapped exchanging poignant goodbyes on the set of Lindsay‘s new movie Labor Pains this past Tuesday afternoon which led me to believe that the ladies might be spending a bit of time apart … it turns out that they weren’t really separated for all that long cuz they flew together to NYC yesterday and hit the town running:

The besties, let’s call them RoLo, managed to evade attention on their flight to NYC by being on the same plane with David Beckham who, according to E!‘s Marc Malkin, got all the attention from the paps and the common folk (which I’m sure RoLo didn’t mind). The gals did show up, hand-in-hand, at the Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Sephora Celebrates Ten Years Of Gorgeous event in NY last night … lookin’ as happy as can be together. Again, I have to say that I’ve never seen Lindsay look so happy, like ever, as she is when she’s with Samantha. I am very hesitant to make assumptions about their relationship. There are many signs pointing to the belief that the two are very close but I’m not quite comfortable making assumptions about any supposed romantic involvement — there are enough folks doing that already, I don’t need to add to the mix. It’s clear that, at the very least, Lindsay and Sam are really good, really close friends and they seem very, very happy together. Whatever it is that they’ve got going on, I’m thrilled for them both :)

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin, Splash News]

Zac Efron, the lucky bastard who got to get up close and personal with David Beckham at this week’s ESPY Awards here in LA, has already made his way across the country to NYC. Zac surfaced at JFK airport with hoodie in place and skateboard in hand:

You know, I’d like to believe that Zac Efron so loves the sport of skateboarding that he cannot stand to be parted from his beloved wheels for even a moment but I can’t help but think that his whole image is so carefully orchestrated. Something about this lad and his trusty skateboard just screams High School Musical 3, Coming Soon. I dunno … maybe I’m off base but the carefree teen boy lookin’ as casual as can be feels a bit disingenuous. I’m surprised he doesn’t have a slingshot sticking out of his back pocket. I think he should go back to just showing off his new muscley arms instead of playing up this boyish charm thing. At least that way, we’d all get something out of it.

[Photo credit: Splash News]

From The Dark Knight to The Mark-Knight … here are a few really adorable pics of T.R. Knight and his boyfriend Mark Cornelsen enjoying a lovely sunny afternoon together, with their dog, at Toast here in LA. I believe this is the first time we’ve seen this cute couple actually smoochin’ in public, which is just too precious for words, behold:

I’m not usually a fan of PDA but these two are SOOO CUTE! The boys enjoyed a lovely lunch together at Toast before doing a bit of pet shopping for their pooch nearby. It just warms the cockles of my heart to see these two so in lurve. They make a such a great couple, don’t you think?

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin]

Mariah Carey and her new young hubby Nick Cannon really know how to have a good time … first the couple celebrate their nuptials by having their official wedding reception at the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park and then they spend some of their vacation time at the Disney World in Florida. HMMM … who wants to guess it was the much younger Nick who picked out these vacation destinations. Here are a couple pics of the newlyweds posing with Mikey and Minnie Mouse at the Magic Kingdom:

How did newlyweds Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon cap off two romantic weeks together in the Bahamas? They went to Disney World, of course! The famous lovebirds spent Tuesday enjoying the Florida theme parks’ wild rides, including the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, the famous indoor coaster Space Mountain (Nick’s favorite ride), and the stomach-plunging Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Mariah’s favorite.) They also met up with the another power couple — the biggest in all of Disney World — Mickey and Miney Mouse! The dynamic duos mugged for photos at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, and Mariah really got into the spirit of things by wearing “Tinker Bell” earrings and a designer t-shirt depicting Mickey and Miney sharing a smooch. She and Nick planned to top off their fun by taking in the “Wishes” fireworks show set to the backdrop of the Magic Kingdom’s iconic Cinderella Caste.

I understand the couple now like to dine at Chuck E. Cheese’s, shop at Toys ‘R Us and work out at My Gym. Who knew that Mariah Carey could make such a cool nanny?

[Source]

Golden Girl and TV legend Rue McClanahan was joined by her castmates Caroline Rhea, Olivia Newton-John and Leslie Jordan at the NYC premiere of their new 12-episode series Sordid Lives which took place at New World Stages earlier this week. Sordid Lives is a new series based on a 1996 play and 2000 movie of the same name that is set to debut on LOGO on July 23 at 10PM. Here are a few pics from the premiere’s red carpet arrivals:

On “Sordid Lives: The Series,” the colorful folk in a certain Texas town are back in action after having won an avid following with the 1996 play and 2000 movie of the same name. For the 12-episode comedy, creator-writer-director Del Shores has reunited stars from his film including Bonnie Bedelia, Olivia Newton-John, Beth Grant and Leslie Jordan, who are joined by recruits Rue McClanahan and Caroline Rhea. What results is a riotous saga, larger than life but not far from the truth as it depicts small-town life imbued with the Spirit, cigarette smoke and self-administered Valium; pecan pie, whiskey shots at the local bar and undying love of country music superstar Tammy Wynette. And various sides of the sexual equation. For instance, Jordan plays Earl “Brother Boy” Ingram, a drag queen fixated on Wynette and locked in a mental ward, where he’s subjected to therapy to “de-homosexualize” him. He’s not the only member of the family with issues. His handsome young nephew, Ty (Jason Dottley), has set off for West Hollywood, where he struggles as an actor while trying to accept his homosexuality after being raised, he says, “rigid Southern Baptist.” “Sordid Lives” premieres Wednesday (July 23) at 10 p.m. EDT on cable’s Logo network, which targets lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender viewers. But this comedy just might bring in the broader audience it deserves. “It was the funniest script I’d read since `Golden Girls,’” says McClanahan, 73, who plays pious, slightly addled Peggy Ingram, Brother Boy’s elderly mother. “The same way I knew in ‘Golden Girls’ I wanted to play Blanche, I knew I wanted to play Peggy. They’re 180 degrees different, of course, except for one thing: They’re both looking for love. “Peggy finds it,” she adds with a twinkle in her eye … Spoiler alert: Late in the series, Peggy has sex with an unlikely boyfriend. “And I’m on top!” McClanahan crows. “And still wearing her hat,” notes Shores. “I’ve just come from church. The flowers from the hat are falling in my face. I’m hanging on to his undershirt like it’s the reins of a horse. ‘Ride ‘em, cowboy!’” All discreetly edited for basic cable. “And then the bed broke!” “It truly broke,” says Shores. “We didn’t plan it.” “And I’ve got this bad knee,” says McClanahan, who continues to recover from surgery last summer. “This was in January, when it was still really bad. And I thought: We CAN’T fall off this bed! So I reached out and grabbed on to the windowsill for the rest of the scene.”

I admit that I am not very familiar with either the play or the movie but I am really interested in watching the series … hello, it’s got Rue McClananhan, you best believe I’m gonna watch every ep. In fact, I’m impressed with the whole cast — this sounds really, really funny. I hope that the audience is able to find this series … LOGO isn’t really watched by many folks (including me) but I’m hoping people seek out this show and check it out. It sounds really great … and it’s got RUE! What more could you ask for?

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Can you guess which member of an all female pop group showed up at a friend’s birthday party at a private residence in NYC last night looking so totally unrecognizable that I can post pictures of her actual face and you’d prolly still not be able to guess who it is?

I am not even kidding. At first, I thought the photo captions were totally wrong because I simply couldn’t believe my eyes. After the jump, find out who it is …

Power couple Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were spotted making the rounds in LA yesterday ahead of a couple of public appearances last night and showed up at a Coffee Bean shop in Beverly Hills, CA with a curious collection of products in hand:

Doesn’t it seem odd that they were photographed carrying matching Nintendo Gameboy DS handheld video games (retail value $129.99) along with Coffee Bean Frappuccino drinks and the new Apple iPhone 3G? HMMM. I don’t get it … but I do suddenly feel the intense desire to run out to Starbucks to play with my PSP while talking on my BlackBerry :)

PS: I was not paid for this post.

[Photo credit: Splash News]