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WWE SmackDown Results: 7 Things You Missed as Raw invades Ahead of Survivor Series

Survivor Series is just days away, and after weeks of build-up, we will finally see Raw and Smackdown go head to head across a series of matches on Sunday night.

This week's Smackdown built up to the eagerly-anticipated pay-per-view, with one title change on the show, with Raw making their presence felt ahead of the show.

Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Jimmy Uso, Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were all in action on Tuesday night.

Here are seven things you missed overnight from this week's edition of Smackdown...

Shane McMahon attempts to rally his troops

Shane McMahon is assembling his finest for Survivor Series (Image: WWE)

Smackdown's final show before Survivor Series opened with commissioner Shane McMahon opening proceedings, attempting to rally his troops not only ahead of Sunday's pay-per-view, but also due to fears over a Raw invasion.

The likes of Becky Lynch, Baron Corbin, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston all laid down the gauntlet with threats to Raw competitors, whilst McMahon hyped up the addition of John Cena to the Smackdown Men's Survivor Series team, with brand warfare just days away – but Raw weren't put off by McMahon's words...

Daniel Bryan hypes up AJ Styles ahead of Brock Lesnar showdown

AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win the WWE Championship on SmackDown Live in Manchester(Image: © WWE)

Having defeated Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship in Manchester last week, AJ Styles will now face Raw's Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, and he had to watch on as Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman threatened complete destruction on Monday night.

This week, Smackdown General Manager Daniel Bryan offered Styles an advocate of his own, with Bryan emulating Heyman by not only bigging up Styles, but he also went after Lesnar, accusing him of being a quitter, as seen from his time in UFC.

Styles – stating that he isn't a puppet like Lesnar – took the microphone himself, and vowed to somehow, some way, beat The Beast and prove that Smackdown is the true 'A' show.

Baron Corbin defeats Sin Cara, retains United States Championship

Baron Corbin won the US title at Hell in a Cell 2017 (Image: © WWE)

Baron Corbin and Sin Cara have faced off a number of times in recent weeks, and ahead of Survivor Series, the pair went head to head again, this time with Corbin's United States Championship up for grabs.

Sin Cara may have had some confidence having recently beaten Corbin, but The Lone Wolf managed to hit an End of Days for the victory, enabling him to retain the United States Championship.

That means that Corbin will face Intercontinental Champion The Miz at Survivor Series, and their recent arguments over social media will certainly add some intrigue to their match-up.

Charlotte Flair becomes Smackdown Women's Champion – and Ric Flair makes shock appearance

Charlotte Flair makes her entrance at WrestleMania 32 with Ric Flair (Image: © WWE)

Natalya will have seen Jinder Mahal lose his WWE Championship just before Survivor Series, and she won't have wanted anything like that to happen to her and the Smackdown Women's Championship – but she did in fact lose to Charlotte Flair.

After some brutal offense from Natalya on the outside of the ring, Charlotte had to twice valiantly fight out of the Sharpshooter, before forcing Natalya to tap out to the Figure Eight leg lock submission, handing Charlotte the Smackdown Women's Championship in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Flair celebrated after the match by thanking her absent father, but just as she was retreating to the back, Ric Flair did emerge to celebrate with his daughter in an emotional moment.

Jimmy Uso warms up for Survivor Series by beating Chad Gable

WWE Superstars The Usos (Image: © WWE)

Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Usos are set to take on Raw's Tag Team Champions The Bar on Sunday, but Jimmy Uso had a chance to generate some momentum by taking on Chad Gable on Smackdown.

Gable and Shelton Benjamin couldn't prise the Smackdown Tag Team Championships from The Usos last week, and Gable lost here, with Jimmy Uso hitting a Superkick for the victory in a warning to Cesaro and Sheamus.

Bludgeon Brothers to debut next week

Whilst The Usos claim that they have the Smackdown Tag Team Division on lock, they will have some new blood to contend with after Survivor Series, with the Bludgeon Brothers set for action.

Erick Rowan and Luke Harper have been teasing their return in recent weeks, with a number of vignettes showing both men – formerly of the Wyatt Family – gearing up for a comeback, and it was confirmed this week that they will debut as the Bludgeon Brothers on the next episode of Smackdown, with their eyes surely set on the Smackdown Tag Team Championships.

Raw invade during The New Day v Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Image: © WWE)

After Kofi Kingston defeated Sami Zayn last week, The New Day took on Zayn and Owens in a tag team match on Smackdown, but their match was cut rather short by an invasion from Raw – kicked off by The Shield, who were gunning for The New Day ahead of their Survivor Series match.

The rest of the Raw roster stormed the building, with the likes of Asuka, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss invading the Smackdown women's locker room, whilst Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Braun Strowman and more sparked chaos in the ring against Smackdown stars.

The Shield eventually grabbed hold of Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon, hitting him with two patented Shield Triple Powerbombs, before Raw General Manager Kurt Angle hit him with an Angle Slam, warning him of the destruction to come on Sunday.

Chelsea look to Hijack Virgil Van Dijk Move

Joe Rimmer and the rest of the team will be with you today from 7am to ensure constant coverage of all things LFC, including news, great photos, nostalgia, live interviews and much more. 

The ECHO will also provide you with the very latest transfer news as it happens throughout the summer, with every rumour and story digested and analysed each day with updates from full-time LFC reporter James Pearce, as well as LFC editor Andy Kelly.

Earlier this year the Reds were linked with a bid for Gremio striker Luan, a player impressing no end in Brazil.

It turned out to be nothing, but that hasn’t stopped his name cropping up from time to time.

And it did this week, when the Mirror wrote that the Reds were competing with Fenerbahce and Sampdoria for the player’s signature.

Reports in Brazil would indicate that that it NOT the case. The Reds aren’t interested. It’s as simple as that.

Cassano quits Verona as saga takes another twist

Antonio Cassano has left Hellas Verona but says he will not retire from football in the latest twist to his remarkable short spell at the club.
The former Real Madrid forward signed for the Serie A side on July 10 but told club officials that he would be retiring just eight days later, only to reverse that decision within a matter of hours.
Cassano dismissed the incident as "a moment of weakness" after saying he had found it difficult to spend pre-season training away from his family.
The 35-year-old promised fans he would commit fully to the club for the 2017-18 season but he has now confirmed that he will leave as he no longer feels "stimulated to continue".

"I'm not going to leave football, I simply don't feel I can continue with Hellas Verona..." Cassano said in a statement that was tweeted by his wife, Carolina Marcialis.
"Physically I'm really good, as I've shown in the last 15 days of training, but mentally I don't feel stimulated to continue at this club!
"I thank president [Maurizio] Setti from my heart... the [director of sport Filippo] Fusco, [head coach Fabio] Pecchia and the squad for accepting me!"

Gary Gardner is a Wanted man!

Gary Gardner is a wanted man!

Gardner has fallen down the pecking order at Aston Villa, with Steve Bruce blessed with midfield options.
But a large section fans of his former load club Nottingham Forest would love to see him back at the City Ground.
A poll published by our sister title, the Nottingham Post, it was found that Nottingham Forest fans would love to have Gary Gardener back at the club.

More than 3,000 people voted in the poll with 68 per cent keen to welcome the 25-year-old to Forest.
Fifty per cent were in favour of a a permanent move, while 18 per cent would prefer him back on loan.
Thirty two percent were of the opinion there are better options out there for boss Mark Warburton.

BEST INVESTMENT EVER - SWISSGOLDEN

The most notable fact about how Swissgolden compensates its affiliates is that the only benefit is being able to buy more gold.
You get your gold purchase subsidized by the incoming purchase orders of customers you bring to Swissgolden to purchase gold.
If you make it into the leadership program, you will also get your processing fees taken care of, or mostly paid for. These amount to 10% of your purchase and go towards maintenance of your gold purchase order (i.e. administration fees).

The plan is simple: bring in enough orders and you get a commission. It’s pretty much borrowed from an old-school retail commission structure…except you have to spend your earnings at the company store!
Fill up your matrices and get a bonus credit.

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• To fill a “Main Table” matrix slot, you must sell a gold order worth at least 7,000 EUR.
• To fill a “VIP Table” matrix slot, you must sell a gold order worth at least 27,500 EUR.
• There are 4 tables:
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  • Preliminary Table (7000 EUR to fill a slot, 15 cells or slots)
  • VIP Table (27500 EUR to fill a slow, 7 slots in all)
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Once you’ve filled all your tables with orders, you have completed a cycle. The idea of SwissGolden’s Marketing Program is that you can purchase gold without having to shell out cash for the full purchase price.
You get subsequent sales orders to “pay” for your original gold order. Keep it rolling, and you can place more gold orders for yourself. If you place an order for gold but can’t find more buyers to fill your slots, then you’ll have to purchase them for cash.
There is a 3-day cancellation period for preliminary orders and a 14 day cancellation for main orders.

REGISTER HERE 

Morata ‘Shocked ‘by Man United’; Now Wants Chelsea

Alvaro Morata has been left ‘shocked’ after Manchester United dropped their interest in him to sign Romelu Lukaku.

United courted Real Madrid striker Morata for most of the summer, but performed a dramatic U-turn on Thursday when they turned their attentions to Lukaku.
The Belgian striker could move to Old Trafford as early as Sunday, and is reportedly undergoing a medical in Los Angeles ahead of a £75million move.
United have ended their interest in Morata as a result, which The Independent claim has ‘shocked’ the Spaniard.
He has been left ‘surprised and stranded’ by the course of events, and ‘is now hoping that Chelsea will come back in for him’.
The Blues had been planning to spend upwards of £70m on Lukaku, and considering Real were demanding a similar figure from United for Morata, it is wholly possible that Antonio Conte could save the funds for Morata.
The pair never worked together at Juventus, but Conte ‘has been a long-term admirer’ of the striker, who ‘has always wanted to play for’ the Italian.
Chelsea had targeted Morata at one stage this summer before turning their attentions to Lukaku. The Independent add that Morata ‘is left hoping’ they will renew their interest.

Huddersfield Complete Signing of Copenhagen Defender Mathias Jorgensen

The 27-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the newly-promoted Premier League side and becomes their eighth signing in seven days.
And Terriers boss David Wagner said: "Mathias is another very good signing for our club.

"He is a very complete defender with great experience of being successful in every league he has played in, which served us well with the signings we made last season too.

"His athleticism and football intelligence will be big assets in the Premier League, for sure, and he is a super professional character, which will fit in with our current group of players very well.
"This deal makes total sense for us because Jon Stankovic is out of action until Christmas."
Jorgensen was captain of the Danish Superliga club Copenhagen and has seven caps for his country.
He began his career at Copenhagen and made nearly 100 appearances before moving to PSV in 2012.

Diego Costa Transfer - CHELSEA Are Dismayed with Antonio Conte Vver His Handling

CHELSEA are dismayed with Antonio Conte over his handling of Diego Costa but will not punish the manager, according to reports in Italy.

 

Chelsea look set to sell star striker Costa this summer after manager Conte told the player he isn’t part of next season’s plans.
Costa received the information via text message and has confirmed he will seek a new club this summer.
The Spain international had preferred to re-join Atletico Madrid but their transfer ban until 2018 rules out a move.
And Italian broadcaster Premium Sport claim Conte’s handling of the affair has irked Chelsea, although he has escaped punishment.
Their biggest problem the board has is that the situation has become public.

 

Ohanaeze Youth wing Tells Igbo in North : Defend Yourselves

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, on Wednesday, told Igbo living in the North to prepare to defend themselves against possible attack by northerners.
Addressing journalists after a meeting in Enugu, National President of the OYC, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said the ultimatum issued to Igbo by the northern groups was a call to arms, and should be treated as such by security agencies.
“Igbo resident in the North should get ready to defend themselves in the event of any provocation and attack from the Arewa youths,” Isiguzoro said.
He noted that the development could lead to another civil war in the country.

The Ohanaeze youth leader said, “They are at it again and this is a sad reminder of the civil war. This is how it started as a joke and before we knew it, a coordinated and simultaneous attack was launched against the Igbo in the North.
“This is a sad development considering the efforts being made to unite this country. This is a sad commentary considering the sacrifices Igbos have made in this country.

Cardiff expecting £45m payday From Real Madrid and Juventus final

That is how much economists reckon tonight’s final between Real Madrid and Juventus will bring to the Welsh capital.

Up to 170,000 supporters are expected to flock to the city to watch the game live at the National Stadium or on TV in bars nearby.

It’s the largest sporting event ever staged in Wales and the single biggest anywhere in the world this year.

It is expected to attract a global TV audience of 200million across 200 countries – twice that of the US gridiron Super Bowl.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real hope to become the first team. to retain the trophy after winning it last year in a penalty shootout against local rivals Atletico Madrid.

ANDER HERRERA Insists He is 'Happy' at Old Trafford Amid Barcelona Interest

Ander Herrera has insisted he is “happy” at Manchester United and simply wants to ‘give back’ to the fans amid reported interest from Barcelona.

The Spaniard excelled for United across the past term, helping guide the club to League Cup and Europa League titles, and was named the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year at the club’s end-of-season awards ceremony.

Herrera has subsequently been linked with a move to Barcelona. Head coach Ernesto Valverde worked with the midfielder for one season at Athletic Bilbao, prior to his purchase by United, and has asked sporting director Robert Fernandez to make a move for the 27-year-old.
As reported by The Independent, United have no desire to sell the midfielder, though, while Herrera himself has reiterated his commitment to the Manchester club.

Herrera, whose contract runs out next year, said: "I'm very thankful with Man United because they came to Spain to sign me three years ago.
“So the only thing I have in my mind every time I am on the pitch is I want to give all of the affection back and I think that's the right way.

“I just try to go to the pitch and finish the game and I cannot complain to myself, I can say I have given everything.

"I don't want to stop, I am very optimistic and a hard-working player and I want to keep playing, to keep working hard, to keep improving, not just personally but with the club, but with the team.

"I want to keep winning things, I am happy with my development, I am happy with my time at the club so far but I am not going to stop here, I want to keep playing, keep improving and making our fans proud."

Herrera joined United for £29m from Athletic Bilbao in 2014 after a move the previous summer collapsed on transfer deadline day.

He has since made 121 appearances for the club, winning the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League during his time in Manchester.

United have the option to extend his current contract by a further year and it’s expected the player will be offered an improved deal in a bid to ward off interest from abroad.

Lagos LG Polls: PDP won’t Ain Any Council Tinubu vows

 The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday, said that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would not record any win in the forthcoming council polls in Lagos State. Tinubu, a former governor of the state, said this while addressing hundreds of party faithful at the Lagos State APC stakeholders’ meeting at the party secretariat at Acme Road, Ikeja. The stakeholders’ forum was held in preparation for the July 22 council polls. Tinubu regretted the loss of some national and state legislative seats to the PDP in the 2015 general elections. “2015 election was the greatest battle of our time. In the last election, we lost more than three LGAs to our opponents, which is very unusual. “We have asked our leaders in those local governments to examine what went wrong and work together to chart a new course to ensure the APC wins back those councils.

NNPC - Ex Boss Andrew Yakubu lost bid to retrieve forfeited $9.8m

A Federal High Court in Kano has dismissed the application filed by a former Managing Director of the state oil firm, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, seeking to quash an interim order of forfeiture secured by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Ruling on the application filed by the counsel to Mr. Yakubu, Ahmad Raji, Justice Zainab Abubakar said the court has jurisdiction to hear the case, contrary to the argument of Mr. Raji.

The judge also ruled that the application seeking to set aside the case lacks basic legal framework and that the EFCC is competent according to Section 29 of its Act to seek for the order of interim forfeiture. The EFCC had on February 13, 2017 secured the Federal High Court order on the forfeiture of the over $9.8 million retrieved from Mr. Yakubu’s house in Kaduna. Mr. Yakubu is already being prosecuted by the EFCC for the money found in his house on February 2. On Tuesday, a witness told a Federal High Court in Abuja, where the ex-oil chief is being prosecuted, how the money was found.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/ex-nnpc-boss-andrew-yakubu-loses-bid-retrieve-forfeited-9-8m/

The judge also ruled that the application seeking to set aside the case lacks basic legal framework and that the EFCC is competent according to Section 29 of its Act to seek for the order of interim forfeiture. The EFCC had on February 13, 2017 secured the Federal High Court order on the forfeiture of the over $9.8 million retrieved from Mr. Yakubu’s house in Kaduna. Mr. Yakubu is already being prosecuted by the EFCC for the money found in his house on February 2. On Tuesday, a witness told a Federal High Court in Abuja, where the ex-oil chief is being prosecuted, how the money was found.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/ex-nnpc-boss-andrew-yakubu-loses-bid-retrieve-forfeited-9-8m/

The judge also ruled that the application seeking to set aside the case lacks basic legal framework and that the EFCC is competent according to Section 29 of its Act to seek for the order of interim forfeiture. The EFCC had on February 13, 2017 secured the Federal High Court order on the forfeiture of the over $9.8 million retrieved from Mr. Yakubu’s house in Kaduna. Mr. Yakubu is already being prosecuted by the EFCC for the money found in his house on February 2. On Tuesday, a witness told a Federal High Court in Abuja, where the ex-oil chief is being prosecuted, how the money was found.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/ex-nnpc-boss-andrew-yakubu-loses-bid-retrieve-forfeited-9-8m/

Protest As Another in dies lago in police Cells Iphone

Angry residents of Lagos Island, yesterday, stormed Area ‘Á’ Command, Lion Building, to protest the death of two of their own, who were detained at police divisions under the command. Identities of the victims were given as Atansuyi Ifedolapo and Tope. The protesters explained that policemen from the station raided a bar on Edumare Street last Friday and arrested over 100 fun seekers.

The residents accused police of torturing one of the victims, identified simply as Tope, to death at Lion Building Division, while the second victim, Atansuyi Ifedolapo, reportedly died at Jankara Police Post, at the weekend. Trouble, as gathered, started for late Ifedolapo, 20, an upcoming gospel artist, after an iPhone that was put in his care got missing. It was gathered that the owner of the phone, who had accused him of selling it, allegedly hired some thugs, who beat up Ifedolapo before he was taken to the station last Friday.

The father’s story Late Ifedolapo’s distraught father, Mr. Gabriel Atansuyi, told journalists, yesterday, that “my son said the phone got lost, but the owner insisted he sold it. “When I visited him in the cell Saturday morning, he showed me the injuries inflicted on him by miscreants, before he was handed over to police at Jankara Police Post. “He told me that the phone actually got lost, but that the torture made him to state otherwise. I agreed to pay the owner N200,000, which he claimed was the cost of the phone. “Around 3p.m. on Saturday, while I was trying to get him food, I received a call to go and see the Divisional Police Officer, Adeniji Adele Division for a settlement. “On arrival, I was told to wait for the complainant. While waiting, the DPO took me to the Area Commander’s office at Lion Building, where I was told that my son, Ifedolapo, was dead. “Police claimed he committed suicide. But he was murdered because he had no reason to commit suicide. As a gospel musician, he had put some lyrics together, which he intended to produce by Easter. Now, they have truncated his vision.”

‘Tope had ulcer’ Explaining how the second victim met his end, one of the protesters, who gave his name as Sijuade Omowarere, said: “We were at the bar enjoying ourselves when policemen stormed the venue at 2a.m., ordering everyone to go on their knees. Some people started running and got themselves injured in the process. “At the end, about 197 persons were arrested and taken to Lion Building. No reason was given for the raid, as there was no violence while the party lasted. “On Saturday, Tope’s father went to Lion Building and told policemen that he was an ulcer patient. He was taken to the Lagos Island General Hospital on Sunday, but we were told that he did not respond to treatment. “He was returned to the station, only for us to hear that he died this morning (yesterday). No policeman has been able to explain the reason for the raid to us since Saturday. Rather, they chased us away with tear gas canisters.” Effort to reach the Lagos State police spokesman, Famous Cole, failed as his phone was switched off. But policemen at the police post, where Ifedolapo died, claimed he committed suicide in the cell.

Arms Scam: Obanikoro’s wife Appeals as she loses Abuja mansion to FG

A Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting in Jabi, Abuja, has ordered that Alhaja Moroophat Obanikoro, the wife of a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, should forfeit her property pending the outcome of investigations into her husband and children.

The court also rejected a prayer asking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to pay her the sum of N200m for violating her fundamental human rights.

Obanikoro’s wife has, however, headed for the Appeal Court to challenge the court judgment.

As part of investigations into the $2.1bn arms scam, involving the Office of the National Security Adviser, the EFCC had traced the transfer of about N4.7bn to the Diamond Bank account of Sylvan McNamara, a company allegedly owned by Obanikoro’s two sons – Gbolahan and Babajide.

Unpaid salaries: Two workers die in Ondo

Two members of the Ondo State civil service have lost their lives as a result of the inability of the state government to pay their salaries for five months, the Joint Negotiating Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress said on Wednesday.

The Chairman of the JNC, Mr. Sunday Adeleye, disclosed this to journalists in Akure, while monitoring the compliance of workers to the strike called by the NLC and TUC as a result of the delayed salaries.

He added that another worker was caught stealing garri in Okitipupa town, Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state last week.

Some workers at the offices of the state’s Board of Internal Revenue and the Local Government Service Commission at Alagbaka, Akure, who opted not to participate in the industrial action, which commenced on Wednesday, were flogged and chased out by the monitoring team.

PDP Caretaker Committee illegal: Court Declares

Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos has declared as invalid the caretaker committee constituted over the weekend to take over the  affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party from its acting National Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff.

The judge, in a ruling on Monday, directed the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, to enforce his order, barring the members of the constituted caretaker committee from taking over the affairs of the party.

Fuel Price Hike: FG Meets Labour Today As Reps Summon Kachikwu

The Federal Government has invited the leadership of organised labour to a meeting in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Monday to discuss the increase of fuel pump price from N86 and N86.50k to N145.

Representatives of organised labour and the civil society had, after a meeting in Abuja on Saturday, given the Federal Government till midnight on Tuesday to reverse the increase or face an indefinite national strike.

The group gave the strike notice in a joint communiqué issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress after the meeting.

The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Sunday that organised labour had received invitations via text messages from the Ministry of Labour on Sunday to attend the meeting with the government at the office of the SGF.

OMG!!! Kim Says No To Kanye

Kanye West wants to have more children, but Kim Kardashian would rather not. The reality TV star had previously described her pregnancy with Saint West as "the worst experience".  Nonetheless, West is broody.

After being asked by sister Khloe Kardashian if she wanted more kids, Kim gave a resolute no.

"I said no way. I was so set on my two kids and how happy I was with my life the way that it is, but Kanye has been mentioning it every single day lately for the past 10 days," Kim said on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

"You've been counting the days?" asks Khloe.

"Yeah," replies Kim. "I'm like why is he doing this to me?!"

The couple already have two children, North West and Saint West.

Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale's Divorce Is Finalized

A Los Angeles judge finalized the couple's divorce on April 8 after reviewing a detailed judgment that splits their property and business interests. Stefani will retain her interest in her band, No Doubt, while Rossdale will keep his interests in his group, Bush.

Stefani filed for divorce in August after nearly 13 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. She is now dating country star Blake Shelton. All three musicians have worked on NBC's music competition show "The Voice."

Stefani and Rossdale will share joint custody of their three sons, who range in ages from 2 to 9.

From scripted to spectacular Lakers' win transforms Kobe Bryant's send-off .

From the way Kobe Bryant shot and shot and shot to the way the night was basically turned into a long Nike commercial, what unfolded Wednesday at Staples Center felt incredibly contrived.

It was also spectacular.

"I can't believe this has actually happened," Bryant said.

Most of the night was scripted. And if the Lakers, Nike and Kobe Inc. could also have scripted the end of the game, they would have.

But they couldn't.

Something organic had to emerge from this artificial environment. On most nights this season, the results were dreadful. On Wednesday night, they were magical.

Bryant finished with 60 points. He scored 15 of his team's final 17 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 31.6 seconds remaining.

Everyone knew Bryant would come out gunning, but no one could have expected this.

Even the most cynical of us had to smile