Muhammad Ali Visits Ireland, Meets Distant Relatives [WTF]

WTF!? Really? I'm too perplexed to even make a "fighting Irish" pun...

DUBLIN — Muhammad Ali made a sentimental journey Tuesday to discover his Irish roots, and met distant relatives during celebrations at the local town hall and a nearby castle.

Thousands lined the streets of Ennis, western Ireland, to cheer his motorcade as the three-time heavyweight champion visited the home of his great-grandfather Abe Grady.

Fans adorned streets with red, white and blue bunting and flags, while shop windows competed to display the most impressive posters honoring Ali – including one tongue-in-cheek portrait of him appearing ready to knock out an unpopular Irish politician.

Ali, who is 67 and battling Parkinson's disease, fought only once in Ireland, knocking out Alvin Lewis at Dublin's Croke Park on July 19, 1972.

Ali offered a few playful jabs to cameras but made no public comments and steered clear of throngs of autograph-seekers Tuesday, among them hundreds of kids whose schools closed early for the event. Police blocked off roads and kept crowds in line with railings.

Grady settled in Kentucky in the 1860s and married a freed slave. One of their grandchildren, Odessa Lee Grady Clay, gave birth to Ali – then Cassius Clay – in 1942.

Genealogists pinpointed Ali's Irish links in 2002, but Ali had never visited Ennis.

His visit to Ennis Town Hall was broadcast live on big-screen televisions outside, where locals also took in a live concert by traditional musicians, including best-selling accordionist Sharon Shannon.

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Marilyn Manson x Ne-Yo?

WTF, right?

Can you picture it: Ne-Yo jammin' onstage with Marilyn Manson?

Well, it just may become a reality. The R&B crooner says he and the wackadoo rock star are totally serious about collaborating.

"It's going to be interesting," Ne-Yo said the other night at the L.A. premiere of The Secret Life of Bees. "I have no idea what we're going to do, what it's going to sound like. Just Ne-Yo and Marilyn Manson in the same room—we're going to figure something out."

Ne-Yo said he was approached by Manson's people after he boasted in a media interview that he's so flexible, he could even write a song for the rocker.

Meanwhile, Bees star Dakota Fanning said she's looking forward to Candace Bushnell's upcoming young-adult book series chronicling Carrie Bradshaw's high school years.

"Sex and the City is more for older women, but they're so much fun," says 14-year-old Fanning. "I'm sure they'll be great books."

Fanning would even welcome the idea of appearing in a likely movie adaptation. "That would probably be up to them," she says. "They'd have to choose who I'm most like."

She's certainly getting some on-the-job training. Fanning said she goes to school just like any other teen. She beamed, "I'm a cheerleader."

Also at the premiere were Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Sanaa Latham, Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds and Eva Pigford.

Via YAHOO