Andrew Bynum and Rihanna Together?

Let the rumor mills and gossiping start, Andrew Bynum and singer Rihanna were recently spotted out on the town together in California. Bynum and Rihanna were reportedly seen sharing an intimate dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills on this past Friday. According to what a source told X17 online: "The twosome was "very couple-y, sitting real close to each other in the car" after leaving the venue".

This is the same Rihanna who several weeks ago had forgiven her boyfriend of 4 months, Chris Brown, who beat her up in his car right before the Grammy's on February 8th. 19-year old Brown recently plead not guilt to the charges of felony assault and making criminal threats. The couple had chosen to take some time off away from each other to reflect on the relationship. Apparently Brown and Rihanna are seeing other people now. The couple had reconciled weeks ago, but there's also been recent reports that Chris Brown was seen visiting a tattoo parlour with Girlicious singer Natalie Mejia. Mejia hasn't said they're an official couple but has said things are going well lately between them.

This is also the same Andrew Bynum who plays center for the Los Angeles Lakers, who had been rehabbing a knee injury for months and was also seen at Playboy Mansion party carrying a playmate around on his shoulders. Life is good for the young Lakers star, who really isn't a star on the basketball court like he seems to be out in Hollywood.

(Story source: AceShowbiz.com)

Andrew Bynum's Playboy Mansion Fun

Los Angeles Lakers Center Andrew Bynum, who's still supposedly rehabbing from knee surgery to help his team was caught in a recent photo from a Playboy Mansion party. In the snapshot here, Bynum is seen with a Playboy bunny seated on his shoulders. The photo and sheer idea of this has outraged many LA faithful already. A blogger over at SI's fannation.com section says it seems Bynum (who was said to be several weeks away from return) is "well on the road to recovery". Bynum's been out of action since February with a tear in a ligament in his right knee.

The Playboy model he was carrying is 34 year old Nicole Narain who was Playboy Playmate of the month back in January 2002. She's been a hip hop honey video vixen for superstar videos from LL Cool J and Fabolous. According to her Wikipedia entry, she weighs just 110 pounds, which isn't a tremendous load for Bynum to shoulder. However the outrage may be more over the fact he was partying it up with alcohol and bunnies rather than resting or rehabbing the injury properly. While it's no Kobe in Colorado type scandal just yet, it definitely isn't the best publicity for the young Center who's part of the Lakers championship hopes in 2009.

Arash Markazi of CNNSI's Fannation.com wrote:

If Bynum isn't healthy enough to play, should he be able to live out his Playboy fantasy in the meantime? Maybe, but while he's rehabbing his injury and the Lakers play shorthanded without him, perhaps it'd be wise for him to keep a low profile and sit out a couple of pajama parties. The grotto and Playmates will still be there. The Lakers can only hope the same can be said for Bynum come playoff time.

On a sidenote, this isn't the first bit of controversy involving Nicole Narain either. Back in 2005, she and Colin Farrel were the stars of a sex tape which became grounds for a lawsuit to prevent anyone from selling or distributing the tape any further. Now Nicole is involved in this much more minor scandal, and it's only with Andrew Bynum. Perhaps this makes it on an episode of Girls Next Door, and if nothing else it's given the former centerfold a bit of a publicity boost right about now. Heff, take note- a Playboy models with NBA stars issue could be a hot seller.

Lakers Perfection Continues

The Lakers are sitting pretty at 7-0 as the last undefeated team in the NBA. Last night they held off the ultra-talented Chris Paul-lead New Orleans Hornets to remain unbeaten. With Andrew Bynum back after last season's devastating knee injury, it adds even more talent to the squad and fuel to the Lakers' fire. A Seattle Post-Intelligence article details how Andrew Bynum is a major contributing factor in the Lakers' early season success. They definitely have the hunger thanks to losing to the Celtics in last year's Finals, but with Bynum they can compete even closer to the level of the C's. At 22 years old and imposing, Bynum gives an inside presence along with bigs like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to help rebound and intimidate those attempting to score in the paint. Those Big 3 plus Kobe make for one deadly quartet, and will possibly be the NBA champs in 09'.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligence article, the Lakers biggest threat may come from the Phoenix Suns. I'd argue that the Mavs, Hornets and Spurs all have the potential to get hot at any point in the season and offer true threats to the Lakers. Add Houston and Utah. and there's 7 of this year's playoff teams. The Portland Trailblazers have what it takes to make the #8 spot, should Oden remain healthy for the remainder of this season. Should LA finish 1 and Portland 8, that definitely makes for an interesting playoff debut for Mr. Oden, and quite a challenging test for the young Andrew Bynum.