His guests at his parties have included Joey King and Bella Thorne while they were teenagers, but also older celebrities such as Seth Green and his wife Clare Grant. On Wednesday comedian Cook, 50, announced his engagement to Kelsi Taylor, 23, whom he’s officially been in a relationship with for 5 years. The pair met at one of his game nights prior to their relationship, which led to speculation as to exactly when, and how old Taylor was, when they first met....

Saddam Hussein’s propaganda mill blustered on last week, but his threats betrayed a struggle to stay in power. “Traitors and mercenaries” were at work, conceded the government daily Al Thawra, adding: “All of them shall regret it. They will pay.” Iraqi soldiers fought running battles with rebels around the southern city of Basra, springboard for a revolt by Shiite Muslims. They neatly piled corpses in the city’s streets following a tank attack....

The PSG right-back was withdrawn from his side’s 2-0 Coupe de France final victory over 2-0 Les Herbiers on Tuesday with ligament damage, causing panic for coach Selecao Tite and his staff. However, on Wednesday a spokeman for the player confirmed he is not at risk of missing the World Cup, with an expected recovery period set at around 21 days. “Following Daniel Alves’ right knee injury, which occurred yesterday during the French Cup final, the tests performed today showed a high detachment of the anterior cruciate ligament with posterolateral sprain,” the statement informed ESPN Brasil....

Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray wrecked their cars after hitting fluids spewed from Patrick’s car. Their cars’ impact was less spectacular than the flames that erupted from her car before Patrick got out. MORE: Dover starting lineup | 10 drivers to watch Patrick’s buns might have been a little toasted, but the worrisome injuries in the accidents belonged to Stewart and McMurray. Injuries from their cars hitting an unprotected concrete wall....

On one hand, it sort of makes sense that Alfredsson doesn't have any non-Sens jerseys, and it's not impossible to imagine him doing it as some sort of half-baked homage to fans. On the other: Olympic-quality trolling. Some suggestions for Alfredsson's Tuesday workout gear: -- Replace the Senators logo with Eugene Melnyk's face. -- Put "HEATLEY 15" on the back. -- Put "YASHIN 19" on the back. -- Dress as Matt Cooke....

“First of all, I know you’re hearing my accent and thinking, oh no, he’s not Black…he’s British,” he said. “Let me reassure you that I am Black. I’m Black and I’m British.” The 32-year-old then added that “basically I’m what the royal family was worried the baby would look like,” referencing the bombshell revelation by Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in her interview with Oprah that a member of the family had “concerns” about the color of her unborn baby’s skin....

You know the story: Murphy, the New York Mets' second baseman, took paternity leave to be with his wife Tori for the birth of their first child. Young Noah is fine, by the way, as is Mrs. Murphy. As a result, Murphy missed the season's first two games. New York radio personalities Mike Francesa and Boomer Esiason seized on this personal decision to lambaste Murphy. How dare he miss the first two games of a 162-game season?...

Teammates Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez finished ahead of Elliott Sadler, in fourth through sixth, in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. But two races into the competition’s Round of 8, none of the Xfinity Chase drivers has won his way to the championship race. MORE: Sprint Cup starting lineup | Eight to watch | Chase pressure building One race remains, next week at Phoenix, before the final four title competitors is decided....

The “Tosh.0” host and obvious Dolphins fan shared his brutal version of events that led to Saban leaving Miami for the sanctuary that is Alabama. The children loved it. Clearly there are still some hard feelings here. MORE: Preseason No. 1s that won championships | Projecting college football win totals This is some real nonfiction for you kids. Source: Comedy Central

In 2016, 2017 and 2018, it was silent because the Cardinals missed the playoffs. In the ninth inning Sunday, it went silent because Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson came up with the biggest hit of his professional career, a smoked first-pitch double off Cardinals closer Carlos Martinez with two outs in the ninth inning that tied the game 1-1. MORE: Cards’ Carlos Martinez may have pitch way out of closer role...

Urban Academy Laboratory High School, New York City: This public school of 120 students has made debate a teaching tool in every classroom. “What’s your evidence?” could be the school motto; one of the most popular courses is officially titled “Are You Looking for an Argument?” Despite drawing a typically urban mix of students, with many minorities and children of low-income parents, the school has a 3 percent dropout rate, while 95 percent of graduates go to college....

That doesn’t seem like an exaggeration. Social eruptions have prompted a wide-ranging and contentious reappraisal of the economic orthodoxy–the neoliberal model–that has shaped policy in Latin America for the past 15 years. Market-oriented structural reforms have succeeded in a few crucial ways: they ended the ruinous era of hyperinflation, and inculcated a sense of fiscal responsibility among profligate governments. As Richard Feinberg, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, puts it: “Latin America now knows that you can’t just print a lot of money; you have to balance your books… From the 1950s to the 1970s, there were people in Latin America who didn’t believe that....

Waltrip suggested making the move during an appearance this week, according to The Tennessean. It’s not a new idea, that of moving the annual event, but it would be interesting to see drivers take on the idea of running it at the half-mile oval. MORE: 10 things to watch at Martinsville | NASCAR driver busted in tobacco smuggling ring “I feel like, and I can get away with this because Bruton [Smith] owns both racetracks, I feel like that the all-star race should be at Bristol,” said Waltrip, a three-time Cup champion, according to the report....

According to the Los Angeles Times, a plea deal with L.A. prosecutors calls for him to serve half his sentence, minus time already served — though a recently passed California law may increase his chances for parole and also decrease the time he serves, based on whether his were considered violent crimes, a deputy district attorney said. MORE: Most heinous crimes connected to athletes Shackled and in an orange jumpsuit Tuesday, Sharper, 41, chose not to speak....

Yeah, that was a long three weeks ago. Morey traded Paul and two future first-round draft picks to the Thunder on Thursday in exchange for Russell Westbrook. The move was a stunning reversal of what Morey told the media in June after it was reported that Paul had asked to be dealt. It isn’t clear whether Paul forced this move, but even if he did, Morey couldn’t pass up reuniting Westbrook and James Harden....

Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was identified by his family as the person fatally shot by police in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis, on Sunday afternoon. His mother, Katie Wright, told reporters that her son had been pulled over because of air fresheners that were hanging from his rearview mirror. In a news release, Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon said officers shot the man after pulling his car over for a traffic violation, and learning that he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest....

Las Vegas made the decision to bench Carr for the last two games of 2022 with Las Vegas sitting at 6-9 and out of the playoff race. With rumors swirling about Carr’s future with the Raiders, the move could lend credence to the possibility that the team could part ways with the 31-year-old during the offseason. ESPN reported Wednesday night that Carr has stepped away from the Raiders to “not be a distraction” for the remainder of the season...

Portnoy sold a majority of stock in his company to Penn National Gaming, an online sports gambling enterprise. The deal made Portnoy worth approximately $450 million. He put $3 million of that money into an E-Trade account and started Davey Day Trader Global (DDTG). However, Portnoy has complained about E-Trade’s consistent outages which Portnoy claims have caused him to lose “$50K a day,” later saying on his DDTG live stream “This is the most f*cked up thing I’ve ever been a part of....

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sat for the 4:40 p.m. interview slot. Astros skipper A.J. Hinch replaced his good friend and fellow manager in the same chair, just to the left of the main stage in the Grand Hall at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, for his 5 p.m. session. Both men were asked multiple questions about the allegations the Astros stole signs electronically at home games in Houston during the 2017 season....

It’s doubtful any tampering charges will result, but still, that’s a no-no. Maybe Stewart figures he’s OK on Navarro because Navarro wants out of Toronto after the Blue Jays signed Russell Martin to catch. The Jays are saying they can still give Navarro at-bats as DH, mostly to maintain some bit of trade value. (Side note: Navarro was a Diamondback for about 10 seconds back in 2005. The Yankees traded him to Arizona as part of the Randy Johnson deal, and the D-backs flipped him and three minor leaguers to the Dodgers for Shawn Green....