Celine’s son meets his favorite player
The kid in the Miami Heat jersey couldn't miss at Wednesday's USA Basketball practice.
The youngest player on the court by a lot, his hot shooting didn't go unnoticed by Mike Krzyzewski's coaching staff.
He's still a work in progress, but it was clear the young hoopster wearing LeBron James' No. 6 has been working on his game.
It was Rene-Charles Angelil, the 11-year-old son of Celine Dion and Rene Angelil. R.C., as he is known, was practicing by himself - even making a 3-pointer, his father said - on one of the two courts at UNLV's Mendenhall Center while the U.S. stars had a shoot-around on the other.
After the U.S. practice session ended, R.C. had photos taken with James, MVP of the NBA Finals, and Kevin Durant, who just won his third consecutive scoring title.
R.C. was so overwhelmed after talking with the superstars, "he couldn't speak," said his father. And he couldn't stop smiling.
"LeBron's his favorite player," said Angelil.
Wearing James' jersey, R.C. was back watching his heroes again on Thursday, this time with his famous mother joining father and son for Team USA's game against the Dominican Republic, a 113-59 romp at Thomas & Mack Center.
POPULAR PIZZA
Albert Scalleat, co-owner of Dom DeMarco's Pizzeria & Bar, 9785 W. Charleston Blvd., got another one of those mystery calls for a big delivery.
The caller ordered 20 square pizzas Tuesday night.
In January, Scalleat had a similar request and informed a caller that the restaurant doesn't deliver. But Scalleat changed his mind when the caller persisted, saying "it would behoove you" to meet the request.
Scalleat changed his mind and drove to Westin's Element Hotel, where he turned over the pizzas to President Barack Obama's personal chef and the Secret Service.
Tuesday's caller wanted the delivery made to a private home in The Ridges. Scalleat figured it was important so he again delivered the pizzas himself.
When he pulled up to the address, he saw almost a dozen 40-foot tractor-trailer rigs and about 100 people working on a Nike TV commercial.
Inside were NBA stars Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and Russell Westbrook and James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Anthony is reportedly a big fan of the legendary Brooklyn pizzeria.
MAN ON A MISSION
I don't recommend The Robby LeBlanc Diet.
The Las Vegas musician lost 14 pounds during his eight-day trek up and down Mount Kilimanjaro.
His ordeal ended July 4 .
When he returned a week ago, he celebrated with pizza at Buca di Beppo on East Flamingo.
"I'm finally starting to feel normal," he said. He mainly subsisted on a diet of power bars when the mountain meals didn't agree with him.
What makes his accomplishment even more remarkable, on top of his diabetic history and battle with obesity, was that he might be the heaviest climber to tackle the 19,000-foot peak. He was 289 pounds when he started the climb, having lost 82 pounds in the past year.
He brought up the subject to his guide, a mountaineering veteran of 10 years. The guide had seen another man of LeBlanc's heft attempt it but it didn't go well.
"What you did was miraculous," LeBlanc was told.
Most inspiring story I've heard in a long time.
THE PUNCH LINE
"There's talk that if Jennifer Lopez leaves 'American Idol' they're going to bring back Paula Abdul. Insiders say Paula was chosen over Chief Justice John Roberts, who producers felt was too unpredictable." - Jay Leno
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
