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Quarantine Blues: This NBA Vet’s Kids Racked Up A $16K Fortnite Bill

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You’re stuck at home with bored kids who sometimes get lost in Fortnite but hopefully they do not get so deep as NBA plater Kendrick Perkins‘ children who racked up a $16,000 bill on his credit card playing the game.

During a segment of ESPN’s “Hoop Streams”, the former Boston Celtics player confessed, “in my house, it’s nothing but Fortnite, NBA 2K…”It just drives me crazy.”

The father of two explained how the game that is free to download on PC, gaming console or mobile device got his wallet good.

“I get my credit card bill back, right? I go to the store; I go to buy something – credit card declined,” Perkins said. “I’m like, ‘What? I haven’t used this; I just paid it.’ Come to find out I got $16,000 worth of Fortnite bills on my credit card. Ever since then, I was like you know what? I’m cool on Fortnite, I do not indulge in video games.”

Although free, kids can rack up a bill purchasing skins, outfits that the players in the game wear and more.

Perkins said was was able to  dispute the charge but  has sworn off ever being spoken to about the game.

WATCH THE SEGMENT:

Vanessa Bryant Eulogizes her husband Kobe Bryant and Daughter Gigi

Vanessa Bryant



It was a somber bittersweet day in the Staples Center in Los Angeles when 20,000 mourners packed into the indoor stadium that the late NBA Player Kobe Bryant built to bid him and his 13-year old daughter Gianna farewell.

His widow Vanessa Bryant, a celebrity mom covered often on the blog, gave a heart breaking but still beautiful eulogy of her husband and daughter. As USA Today summarized in its coverage:

She mourned the loss of her “baby girl” Gianna, “a sweet and gentle soul” and preternaturally talented athlete who she said was destined for WNBA greatness. She remembered her husband as a soulful romantic with a “tender heart” and a “doting” father for whom family always came first.

“They were funny, happy, silly, and they loved life,” Vanessa said of Kobe and Gianna, adding: “God knew they couldn’t be on this earth without each other. He had to bring them home to heaven together.”

Beyonce Knowles Carter opened the event performing one of her hits, “XO” which she said was one of Kobe’s favorite song with lyrics that go, “In the darkest hour / I’ll search through the crowd / Your face is all I can see / I’ll give you everything.” She later burst into a soulful rendition of her song, “Halo

Alicia Keys moved the crowd by playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” a piece she said was favored by Kobe and Vanessa.

Keys had previously paid tribute to Kobe and Gianna on the night they died, performing “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye” alongside Boyz II Men at the Grammy Awards last month.

At various points throughout the event, the crowd broke out in chants of “Kobe! Kobe!”

Retired NBA stars Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, and Tim Duncan along with entertainer Jennifer Lopez and her fiance retired baseball player Alex Rodriguez and late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel were all in attendance for the ceremony, along with other celebs like friends of the Bryant family Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West.

The date chosen for the memorial — Feb. 24, or 2/24/20 — is a combination of their jersey numbers. Gianna wore No. 2 and her dad wore No. 24 in the latter part of his 20-season career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tickets went for variations of 2 and 4, $24.24 or $224 for two.

Several NBA legends like former teammates  Shaquille O’Neal and Jordon gave rousing speeches by my fave was by University of Oregon player Sabrina Ionesco who gave a wonderful speech and tribute to girls sports too in honor of GiGi .

Proceeds will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation which raises money to provide sports education and training services for young women. The foundation was originally established as the Mamba Sports Academy, but Bryant’s widow announced that the name was changed to honor their daughter.

Kobe Bryant gave himself the moniker “Black Mamba” after a character in the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill.

“Because there is no #24 without #2, we have updated the Mamba Sports Foundation to now be called the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation,” Vanessa Bryant wrote on her Instagram page announcing the name change.

The two were headed to a game during a basketball tournament at a sports arena in Thousand Oaks, California named for Mamba when the helicopter they were riding in crashed killing them along with Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, 56, his wife Keri Altobelli, 46, and their daughter Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Sarah Chester, 45, and her daughter Payton Chester, 13; as well as Mamba Sports Academy coach Christina Mauser, 38; and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50.

Also from a NBCNews report:

Bryant and his daughter were traveling to Gigi’s basketball game in a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, when it crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, Calif., on Jan. 26. All eight passengers and the pilot were killed.

The Bryants were laid to rest in a private ceremony in Southern California on Feb. 7.

Before the public ceremony got underway, the Los Angeles Times reported Vanessa Bryant has filed a lawsuit against Island Express Helicopters, the company that operated the chopper. NPR later confirmed the lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board said in its investigative update this month that the chopper’s rotors were both powered and turning at the time of impact, which it said indicates “the engines showed no evidences of uncontained or catastrophic internal failure.”

Photos taken shortly after the crash show conditions were foggy in the hills above Calabasas, but as NPR’s Russell Lewis has reported, the final investigative findings are not expected for at least a year.

photos: Getty

Work Ethic is Hard to Teach So Let’s Try Kobe Bryant’s ‘Mamba Mentality’

I am a novice basketball fan and know the game well and vaguely follow the NBA and college basketball (moreso during March Madness) but like a lot of people, I am deeply moved and saddened over the recent passing of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash with his 13-year old daughter Gianna and 7 others.

Today, there are moving tributes in social and traditional media.

TNT‘s NBA on TNT has an excellent one airing that my husband watched last night and urged me to do the same.

I am struggling with it because each video, image and tweet devastate me even more. The extreme visceral reaction from a lot of us who never knew him personally says something about a person, you know, that even casual observers can be so affected by their loss.

While Bryant is probably best known for his records and uber competitive spirit, the one thing that I, personally, admired Bryant for was his very strong work ethic which is the basis for his success and ability to be on top.

When you can, head over to Business Insider and read a recent article about 24 examples of Bryant’s impeccable work ethic HERE!

As a parent and parenting blogger and expert, I am always working on, reading about and discussing the challenge teaching  work ethic to children.

It is my opinion that either you have that drive to succeed and complete any task presented to you (be in in school, on the field, in work or wherever)  or you do not.

Some kids will assess a goal and put in the work to get it done, with varying level of tenacity and some will not, unless pushed, bribed, cajoled or directed to with painstaking detail and instructions. Those in the latter group do not necessarily have strong work ethic.

I’ve long believed that  those in the category that some parents may call “lazy” have to be drilled and drilled until the method of accomplishing a task becomes a habit.

At that point, they will finally be able handle the task automatically.

Examples include the process of undertaking the precise steps to craft a well-researched term paper, or execute an Algebraic equation or increase execution of a skill or athletic drill.

With habit and repeated action, the task eventually will become second nature.

The problem with this method is that there is a risk that the child will not necessarily know how to readjust and create similar formula for another task on their own, or in college or at work, when there is not a parent, coach or other adult figure in their lives to show and guide them.

Like I said, it’s one of my most difficult challenges as a parent.

We just have to keep experimenting and trying like this morning, motivated by the stories he heard from Bryant’s coaches, mentors, fellow players and friends my husband called our two boys to the dining room to explain that although Kobe Bryant was already excellent and one of the greatest NBA players around, he still worked harder and trained more than his co-horts at the top.

We are working on getting our boys especially to try harder at the things they are not good at, using Kobe Bryant’s work ethic as an example.

I hope it sinks in, but even if it doesn’t I hope they still can still have the Bryant benchmark in mind as they move forward in school, work and life.

 

Kobe Bryant and Rising Basketball Star Daughter, Gigi, Perish in Helicopter Crash

Gianna and Kobe Bryant Collage Bellyitchblog.com
Gianna and Kobe Bryant Collage Bellyitchblog.com

Photos: Vanessa Bryant’s Instagram, Getty

Sad news about the family of Vanessa Bryant covered plenty in this blog over the past 10 years: her husband, legendary NBA player Kobe Bryant and their 13 year old daughter Gianna “Gigi” Marie-Onore died along with the pilot of a helicopter they were traveling in this morning and reportedly, another parent Orange  and young player, on their way to a tournament in Thousand Oaks, California.

Our thoughts are with Vanessa and their other three surviving daughters 17-year old Natalia, 3-year old Bianka and 7-month old Capri, and the friends and family of all who perished.

While Kobe was known for being a 20-year vet, the third highest scoring player in NBA history, a 5-time NBA champ, MVP Award winner and 18-times All-Star player, Gigi was coming into her own in the sport.

At just 13-years old, she stood pretty tall at 5 feet 10 inches and playe for an AAU team, the  Los Angeles Lady Mamba girls basketball team, which Kobe coached.

Before her untimely death, Gigi  dreamed of one day playing for legendary coach Geno Auriemma at Connecticut and to eventually join the WNBA.

According to a recent Los Angeles Times report, Kobe recently took her to see Los Angeles Sparks ,Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces games.

Mom was also a fan, naturally, of her budding basketball star daughter and her personal Instagram feed featured lots of photos and videos of Gigi at play.

vanessa bryant inst of gigi

credit: Vanessa Bryant

A video posted by Baller TV via ESPN showed Gianna knocking down a stepback jumper during an AAU game with her club team which drew comparison to her dad, also her trainer and coach, obviously.

 

Kobe admitted that since retiring in 2016, he only re-started watching basketball because of Gigi’s love of the sport.

“Before Gigi got into basketball I hardly watched it, but now that’s she’s into basketball, we watch every night,” Kobe told former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the Showtime Basketball podcast All the Smoke.

Since his Jersey was retired in 2017, he had not been seen courtside at a Lakers game until recently with his daughter.

“We just had so much fun because it was the first time I was seeing the game through her eyes,” the five-time NBA champion said of sharing the experience with his daughter.

“It wasn’t me sitting there, you know, as an athlete or a player or something like that, and you know it’s like about me, and I don’t like that,” he added. “It was her, she was having such a good time.”

RIP to both. What a tragic loss for the sports world and the family.

LeBron James’ Great Dad Moments On Instagram and Off

LeBron James is a great contender for the World’s Greatest Dad – and his Instagram Shows It

James is the GOAT on the court (we say that with apologies to MJ, Kobe, et al.)

And if you follow King James on social media, you already know he’s probably the GOAT at being a family man and a dad.

LeBron is clearly proud of his brood, and he takes every opportunity to show off his beautiful wife and three kids. We happily watch the show from the social sideline because we love seeing a role model as huge as ‘Bron being a genuinely awesome guy. 

Let’s take a look at what makes LeBron and his family so charmingly special. 

King of Social Media

We’re not sure how LeBron finds the time to be a social media maven considering his other obligations. Being the face of the NBA takes a lot of work. And King James enters the upcoming 2019-20 season with more pressure than ever. 

Following a 2018-19 season that failed to meet the expectations of many fans, early prognostications show James and the Lakers hitting a stride when the NBA season opens in October.

The Lakers and the Clippers, co-residents at the Staples Center, sit atop the 2020 NBA Championship odds list.

Still, the Lakers star brings it on Instagram (@kingjames), Twitter (@kingjames), and Facebook (https://facebook.com/lebron). Instagram, where LeBron boasts an audience of 50.9 million followers, is the best to place to peek posts of the fam.

Much of this content is tagged with #JamesGang.

Meet the #JamesGang

Just who are the players on LeBron’s home team? 

First up is Savannah, number 23’s wife since 2013. The couple met and became high school sweethearts in their hometown of Akron, Ohio, although they attended rival schools. Their first date was to Outback Steakhouse. 

LeBron and Savannah have three children together – two sons, LeBron Jr. and Bryce, and a daughter, Zhuri. 

Big brother LeBron Jr., better known as “Bronny” is following in his dad’s footsteps. The 14-year-old basketball prodigy already has offers to play for NCAA Division I schools.

 At 12, Bryce is also a standout basketball player who some say possesses the sweetest shot in the family. 

Little sister Zhuri is a vivacious young girl, and judging by ‘Bron’s Instagram, very much the apple of her dad’s eye.  

Sharing the Love

So what family deets does LeBron share on Instagram? In a nutshell, plenty of feels.

His kids get shout-out posts for their birthdays. Take Bronny’s 14th b-day for example, Dad posted a selfie of the pair cheesing for the camera along with a heartfelt message to his son: “I love the young man you’ve grown into and this is just the beginning!” the post read in part. 

‘Bron frequently posts photos of his wife, complete with love messages to his Queen,@mrs_savannahrj. He might be a b-ball superstar and household name, but Savannah is obviously the rock of the James family. She sets the rules for the kids while juggling her own career as a businesswoman and philanthropist.

Then there are the posts of the boys’ playing basketball. It seems Lebron is always hanging around to capture the special moments in practice or games. A recent video clip showed Bronny coming very close to smashing a breakaway slam dunk. Dad is clearly getting excited for the day when Junior is throwing down dunks on the regular – expect an epic post proclaiming the official arrival of the heir to the family business.

 Dad even fills in on occasion as the coach of Bronny’s teams. Imagine being on the opposing side and confidently entering the gym only to find King James commanding the competition!

So does LeBron drink his morning coffee from an uber-cheesy World’s Greatest Dad mug? We don’t know. But the four-time NBA MVP has earned the right to if he so chooses. 

We look forward to many more years of #JamesGang success and many more feels coming our way on the ‘Gram. 

Parents: 2019 Espy Red Carpet Arrivals

The 2019 Espy Awards celebrating sports phenoms went down last night at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California

Among those attended were several of the moms and parents featured in Bellyitch in the past including, singer/model Ciara and her husband Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Ciara donned her signature slick dark colored gown with cut outs with Giuseppe Zanotti heels.

Also in attendance was boxer, author and entrepreneur Laila Ali.

Brand new parents actress and America’s Got Talent newest judge Gabrielle Union and her husband NBA player Dwayne Wade. Union wore a short lace dress by Raisa Vanessa and Jimmy Choo heels.

New mom Allyson Felix didn’t showed up and out in a neon yellow crop top with matching pants.

Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade Welcome Daughter via Surrogate

Congratulations to actress Gabrielle Union and her husband Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade who welcomed a daughter via a surrogate last night.

The Being Mary Jane star announced the news with a poem starting with the lyrics of Bill Withers‘ song “Lovely Day” on her Instagram and Twitter accounts this afternoon, captioning three photos of her and the NBA player giving “skin-to-skin” contact with their newborn:

When I wake up in the mornin’ love

And the sunlight hurts my eyes

And there’s something without warning, love

Bears heavy on my mind

Then I look at you

And the world’s alright with me

Just one look at you

And I know its gonna be

A lovely day

A lovely day ?

A LOVELY DAY ?????? We are sleepless and delirious but so excited to share that our miracle baby arrived last night via surrogate and 11/7 will forever be etched in our hearts as the most loveliest of all the lovely days. Welcome to the party sweet girl! #onelastdance #skintoskin@dwyanewade ❤??

Wade shared an identical photo and share on his Twitter and Instagram accounts as well. In the series of photos, Union lays in a hospital bed and bonds with the baby using a method that is important for newborn’s emotional development and growth after birth called Kangaroo care, named for the Australian marsupials that carry their newborn in their pouches shortly after birth.

The actress, who got her biggest break from her role in the cult classic pop culture film  Bring It On star had opened up about suffering through 9 miscarriages in a recent best-selling autobiography she released last year, “We’re Going to Need More Wine.

The Breaking In star writes in the book, which is a collection of essays, “for three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant—I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle.”

Sooo happy for them right now!! Congrats!!!! The celebrity baby girl boom continues! No news yet on the sweet girl’s name. Stay tuned!

Tristan Thompson’s Other Child, Son Prince Featured For First Time In Mom Jordan Craig’s Lifestyle Blog

NBA star Tristan Thompson’s other child Prince Thompson is now actively starring in his mom Jordan Craig‘s Instagram and fashion and lifestyle brand after a year of being obscured by mom.

In a recent post, the Fashion Instagram and Lifestyle blogger shared a photo of herself and her son in equestrian gear as she helped the 1 1/2 year old mount a riding horse. Mom plugged a “mommy and meblog post she wrote on her All Eyes on Jordy C blog. It was a tender letter to her son.

“Dear Little P, There aren’t many things that excite me these days, the way that watching you grow does,” she wrote. “Watching you grow and do things for the first time is such an addicting, fulfilling feeling! Whether it’s traveling the world with mommy or equestrian riding for the first time at just 1 year old…your expressions and excitement are always priceless. On this day you rode your first horse (3 to be exact) at Le Chateau in North Carolina. At first, you were very skeptical about these big creatures but of course in no time you warmed up to them and couldn’t get enough!!”

The post continued: “I can’t wait until you are old enough to see all of your photos and watch all of the footage Mommy is constantly documenting of your every move. LOL! You are such a smart and well rounded little gentleman! I can’t wait for you to experience your next adventure!!!”

The post included other photos and marked only the second time she had shown her child’s face, a practice common among high profile individuals who aim to shield their children from the public eye. He had been featured before on her sites but not his face.

TMZ has previously reported insiders who said that Craig was upset when Thompson and his then girlfriend Khloe Kardashian started sharing photos of Prince that included his face on social media despite what she said she thought was an agreement to not do so. The first photo was an unveiling of an amazing playhouse fit for the son of a rich NBA star! ha! Very nice!

View this post on Instagram

?Click the Link in my Bio for more Castle Reveal Photographs?Oh My Little P! Today is “Mother’s Day” to the world…but my day couldn’t begin without making sure I put a smile on your face first? I’ve been meticulously designing your Castle Playroom since I found out you were going to be a baby boy, while you were still living in mommy’s tummy! I am ecstatic that you love it and that it is up to par, meeting your standards being the little prince that you are! ? There’s absolutely no feeling in the world greater than bringing a smile to your face! Forever in love with being your Mummy? -A VERY Special Thank You to @C.Hubb_Studio for your creative carpentry and bringing my vision to life! -Little P’s Toddler “Prince Robe” from: @WrapMeBebe

A post shared by ?ℐℴ ℛđƴ.ℭ? (@alleyesonjordyc) on

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson Welcome Their Daughter (UPDATED)

Congratulations to Khloe Kardashian on the birth of her first child, daughter, in a hospital outside Cleveland, Ohio this morning, TMZ reports.

The Good American Apparel co-founder announced her pregnancy with NBA‘s Cleveland Cavaliers star, Tristan Thompson, just last December after much speculation.

Since then, the Revenge Body on E! host has been sharing a lot about her pregnancy experience through her personal app and website, from what’s inside her hospital bag to her pregnancy fitness and post-baby exercise routine.

The delivery comes on the heels of very public videos, suggesting that her beau since September 2016 was cheating on her with a woman in NY and a couple of other women at a hookah lounge outside DC last October. Neither Khloe, her family or Thompson have publicly addressed the reports.

Today, it was reported that the family is rallying around the youngest adult female Kardashian. (Her brother Rob Kardashian‘s daughter Dream Kardashian technically is the youngest Kardashian)

According to an insider to E! News:

the 33-year-old Keeping Up With the Kardashians star went into labor on Wednesday. After her water broke, the reality star went into labor for “several hours,” per another source. She then delivered the baby at a Cleveland hospital Thursday morning. Thankfully, her mother, Kris Jenner, her sisters, Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian, and her BFF, Malika Haqq, were all there for support.

“She labored with Kris all day on Wednesday,” the first insider said.

The first insider also said the baby’s father, Tristan Thompson, was there for the birth. The Cleveland Cavaliers player had a game against the New York Knicks in Ohio on Wednesday.

“He wants to spend as much time with the baby as he can,” the first insider added.

The birth came days after videos of Thompson kissing and being intimate with other women surfaced online. The second source told E! News Khloe is “distraught” over the allegations but is focusing on the baby. While the aforementioned source said Khloe wants the baby to have a relationship with the father, the insider also said she and Thompson are not on good terms. Khloe also reportedly plans to head back to Los Angeles as soon as possible and raise the child there.

The new baby will have plenty of cousins: in addition to Dream, whose mom is Blac Chyna (real name Angela Renee White), North, Saint and Chicago West (daughters and son of Kim Kardashian-West and husband Kanye West); Stormi Webster (daughter of her half-sister Kylie Jenner and her hip hop star boyfriend Travis Scott, real name Jacques Webster); and Penelope, Mason and Reign Disick (daughter and sons of Kourtney Kardashian and her ex Scott Disick)

The baby’s arrival was showered at a lavish pink baby shower earlier this year.

Congrats to Khloe and we are thinking and praying for a healthy recovery and that she overcomes this very stressful situation.

The baby also has a half-brother, Thompson’s 1-year-old son Prince from a previous relationship with Jordan Craig, who is first cousin to our other Bumpwatch alum, Eniko  Parrish Hart.

Bump Watch: Eva Longoria, Chrissy, Khloe and Duchesss Cate

What’s up with your fave expecting celebrity?

We stalk follow them so you don’t have to.

Khloe Kardashian was spotted out and about with her mom Kris Jenner recently. Kardashian and her beau NBA Cleveland Cavaliers star Tristan Thompson are expecting their first child together.

Another first-time mom-to-be Eva Longoria was spotted at the Costume Designers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills with our Bellyitch Bumpwatch alum Kerry Washington and Jane the Virgin actress and Golden Globes winner Gina Rodriguez.

Longoria and her husband José Antonio “Pepe” Bastón are expecting a baby boy later this year.

Catherine The Duchess of Cambridge was seeing double as the former Kate Middleton walked past a mirrored door while attending The Commonwealth Fashion Exchange Reception at Buckingham Palace in London, England. She and Prince William ate parents to 4-year old Prince George and 4-year old Princess Charlotte.  

R

Chrissy Teigen was spotted out and about being healthy snacking on an apple in New York City. Teigen and husband John Legend are expecting a son after welcoming  daughter Luna in April 2016.

photos: Getty Images

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