Pop Culture Hot List

SI Staff | Aug 4, 2009

Pop Culture Hot List

David Beckham and Shaquille O'Neal

Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images, AP

It seems like everyone is trying to start a fight with Becks. First, Goldenballs gets into it with Galaxy fans in his first game back in L.A., and now the Big Diesel wants a piece of him. O'Neal has been calling Beckham out over Twitter to be a part of his new reality show, <i>Shaq Vs.</i>, in which he competes against other pro athletes in their sports. Shaq wants to face Becks in a penalty shootout, but the soccer star turned down the request, adding, "I don't see him calling Kobe out. ... I think Kobe could score against him." Ouch.

LenDale White

AP

White shed more than 30 pounds in just six months after staying away from tequila. The Titans' running back is now in the best shape of his career. I'm guessing White isn't going to be the face of any fitness programs with his, um, new diet, but to each his own.

Tiger Woods

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Woods won the Buick Open by three strokes, but the only thing anyone wanted to talk about after the tournament was who broke wind while he waited to play a shot from the 18th fairway. Things got so out of hand that CBS went ahead and told some outlets that it wasn't Woods who let one rip in a viral clip that was an overnight hit on YouTube. We'll refrain from making a "whoever smelt it, dealt it" joke and move on from the topic of flatulence.

Jeremy Piven and Dr. Ken

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

The WWE's weekly parade of celebrity guest hosts for <i>Raw</i> continued this week as Piven stepped into the squared circle. But he was completely overshadowed by his co-host, Dr. Ken (<i>The Hangover</i>, <i>Knocked Up</i>) who channeled his inner Andy Kaufman and turned against John Cena at the end of the show. Dr. Ken is doing just fine in Hollywood, but if he ever decided to quit his day job, he would easily be the best manager in pro wrestling since Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

Funny People

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The bottom line on <i>Funny People</i> is that you either love or hate the movie. Count us among the latter. The movie is way too long (no Judd Apatow film should ever be two-and-a-half hours) and was more people than funny. It should have been as short and sweet as the story Jonah Hill told while promoting the film. Hill says Phil Jackson nearly kicked him out of his courtside seats next to the Lakers' bench for playing musical chairs during the game.

Junior Seau

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The 40-year-old Seau may not be suiting up for an NFL team in training camp this week, but he will be in uniform -- at Dodger Stadium as an official Dodgers bat boy. Seau will be doing various sports jobs for a yet-to-be-named Versus series debuting in November. He will be in Philadelphia on Saturday for UFC 101, hopefully doing something other than getting into the Octagon.

Lamar Odom

Kevin Reece/ICON SMI

Odom finally decided to re-sign with the Lakers, which was smart considering they were one of only two teams pursuing him and have been offering him more money than anyone else. So what finally put the Lakers' deal over the top for the Candy Man? "We threw in some M&Ms," Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said. "And a bag of Twizzlers."

Queen Latifah, Common and Rod Thorn

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

File this under, ''Cameo appearances you never thought you'd see on the big screen.'' Queen Latifah and Common are filming a romantic comedy about basketball called <i>Just Wright</i>, which will feature a cameo by Nets president Thorn. They will be at the IZOD Center next week filming scenes along with a few Nets players. Thorn has as much chance of parlaying this into a Hollywood career as the Nets do of contending for a title next season.

Ronaldo

AP, Cristina Quicler/AFP/Getty Images

Ronaldo may be the most popular name in soccer right now, but it doesn't have a real masculine feel to it. First, Brazilian legend Ronaldo, who has struggled with his weight in recent years, had liposuction. And then Cristiano Ronaldo -- following in Stacy Keibler's footsteps -- had his legs insured by Real Madrid for roughly $150 million.

Fedor Emelianenko

Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the MMA once again spurned the sport's top promotion, the UFC, to sign a three-fight deal with California-based Strikeforce. Not surprisingly, UFC president Dana White criticized the 32-year-old heavyweight's decision. ''He turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies,'' White said.