Speaking of Ballers: NBA Player Lamar Odom and Khoe Kardashian Buy Home

Trulia just reported that NBA baller Lamar Odom and his new bride Khloe Kardashian just bought a mediterranean style home in Tarzana, California.  It was listed for $3,995,000.  Guess he didn't need to sell his other house first to come up with the down payment.

Anyway, this 7BR/8.5BA home has more than 8,300 square feet and comes with a gated entrance, gym, and movie room.  So if this is indeed a fake marriage as rumored, at least they have plenty of room to stake out separate areas of the house.  We grabbed a couple of shots of the house before the listing disappears.  Here's the kitchen:

Looks like the master bedroom (below) has nice views:

Ditto for the master bath, which reminds us a bit of the one in Dorothy Dandridge's former home (though we liked hers much better):

This is a nice house, but they need to get someone in there quick to paint those interiors.  To see what we mean, go check out the virtual tour here.  Don't forget to come back and tell us what you think!

Former NFL Player Michael Strahan's NYC Loft Condo for Sale

In light of the Tiger Woods scandal, CNN just posted an article about how difficult it is to be a baller's wife, noting the common concerns about infidelity.  Not believing this to be true of all ballers, we went in search of nice-guy baller digs.  We ran across this Tribeca loft (above) that's currently up for sale.  It belongs to Michael Strahan, former defensive end for the New York Giants and current football analyst for FOX.

Michael is known for his philanthropic efforts.  Interestingly, the only controversy we know of associated with Michael is the reverse of what's happening with Tiger.  Michael is engaged to Eddie Murphy's ex-wife Nicole Murphy, who was rumored to have cheated on Michael.  Michael allegedly implanted a hidden GPS on her car to track her whereabouts. 

As for the loft, we like it!  It was recently reported in the Wall Street Journal that he was asking $1.875 million, but now the price is down to $1.85 million.

It's a large space at 1911 square feet, with two bedrooms and two baths.  It's located in a pre-war building with a gym and roof deck.  The unit has sand-blasted walls exposing the brick (top photo), a sizable kitchen (above), and hardwood floors.  Everything is painted white, so you're working with a blank slate.  Here's the master bedroom:

Even though we understand he rarely uses this place, it was obviously staged for resale.  How do we know?  The furniture is too delicate (Can he even fit in that Barcelona chair in the living area?).  More importantly, there's no giant flat screen TV to watch football!

Former NBA Star Latrell Sprewell Heading for Foreclosure

We first learned that ex-NBA player Latrell Sprewell was possibly facing foreclosure yesterday on Bossip. Looks like it's true.  Luxist reports that his home in Purchase, New York, is scheduled for a sheriff's sale in January 2010.  Nearly a decade ago, Latrell bought the 7BR home(the same one where he was accused of attacking his girlfriend a few years ago) for $2.3M.  It sits on 3.3 acres and comes with a gym, pool, spa, basketball court, and a recording studio.  The home is currently listed for $3.8M.

Visit Luxist to see photos of the inside.  We'll stay behind and bite our tongues about the interior decor!

Lamar Odom's House -- Now with Furniture!

TMZ recently reported that Lamar Odom is so anxious to sell his Manhattan Beach, California home that he just paid to have it staged.  We don't think this information is particularly newsworthy--except to note that the house doesn't look any better than it did before.

Go see for yourself:  Lamar Odom's House -- Now with Furniture!

Tiger Woods: Car Trouble in Paradise?

By now you've heard that golf phenom Tiger Woods was involved in a single-vehicle car accident at 2:25am on Friday right in front of his house.  He was knocked unconscious for a couple of minutes.  The neighbor called 911.  And Tiger's wife, Erin (shown with him above), used a golf club to break the car window. 

Rumors started flying everywhere!  After all, where was Tiger going at that late hour?  Why hasn't he talked to the police?  Did he and Erin have a fight?  Did she use the golf club because she was angry?  Is Tiger having an affair?  Why did he issue a statement saying that "the situation" was all his fault and promise that it won't happen again?  How can anyone promise a car accident won't happen again--unless he's not really talking about the car accident? 

And, finally, what's the scoop on his house?  There are lots of photos out there purported to show his home.  But which one is really his?

Well, we can at least help clear up the last matter!  Tiger lives with his wife and two kids in a luxury lake home in Isleworth, a private gated community in the Orlando suburb of Windermere, Florida.

After the accident, there were lots of stories showing this house as belonging to him:

The problem is, this house is not on a lake.  It's actually on a beach!  In Hawaii!  And it's not Tiger's house!

Here's another one that is more commonly shown in connection with Tiger's accident story:

Well at least it's close -- very close in fact -- but it's not Tiger's house either!  It's actually right next door!

HERE is Tiger's house:

We'll let you know if we dig up photos of the interior!

Washington Redskin Fred Smoot Quietly Marries & Puts House Up for Sale

The Washington Redskins may have lost to Detroit yesterday, but cornerback Fred Smoot has reason to feel like a winner:  he got married on the QT the week before last.  Incidentally, he also recently placed his 8,429 sq. ft. home in Great Falls, Virginia, on the market for $1.695 million.

For those of you who don't recall, Smoot was the alleged ringleader in the 2005 Minnesota Vikings "Love Boat" cruise scandal.  While he was still playing for the Vikings, Smoot along with several teammates rented a boat and hired a bunch of prostitutes for an all-out sex party.  YUCK!!!

Smoot later pled guilty to disorderly conduct and public nuisance charges, and the NFL subsequently fined him for about $82,000.

In 2007, he launched his own energy bar called SMACK.  We certainly hope that's not in reference to his cruise antics!

Anyway, we dug up the video tour of his house (below).  Watch it and you'll see that this is the typically hideous generic oversized home with oversized furniture and ugly decorative elements.  Oh, and let's not forget the requisite fancy kitchen with granite countertops. 

From here on out, we're going to just start referring to houses like this as "baller chic" to keep from repeating ourselves so much.

Unfortunately, there's simply not much to recommend the house or its interior design.  Though we do think the virtual tour provided in the realtor's listing shows the house in a much better light.

So who's the new wifey?  Summer Joy Hughes (above), a Georgia lawyer, who probably wants a classier looking crib.  Smoot apparently likes to keep his hookers close and his lawyers closer!  (Just kidding.)

Congrats to the lovely couple!  We'll  assume they didn't take a cruise for their honeymoon. 

For more details on the house, including the realtor's virtual tour, check out the listing here.

For more details on the wedding, check out the story by The Washington Post's Reliable Source. 

NFL's Chris McAlister Selling His Home, Headed for Oakland?

The Baltimore Sun recently reported that former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister (whose contract was terminated earlier this year) might be picked up by the Oakland Raiders. In what is perhaps not a concidence, the Pasadena-born baller is also selling his home in Beverly Hills.

He's asking $7.9 million for this 1990 French-normandy 5BR/7BA mansion, which clocks in at a whopping 9,375 sq. ft. Last week, the L.A. Times reported that he's selling and plans to move to Maryland. Guess they thought the Ravens were bringing him back. Looks like he's headed for the Bay instead.

Anyway, the realtor's site is still under construction, but the Times published a few photos along with its story.

Unfortunately, despite the home's description, the front has that typical generic mega-mansion look (above).

But, even though we don't really care for mega-mansions, we do like the views from the bathroom and the rear terrace:

So, if you happen to have $7.9 million lying around, maybe this house is worth a look. For a couple of additional photos and more details about the house, check out the Times' story.

House Photos: Shaun Dixon.

Former NFL-er Keyshawn Johnson Now an Interior Designer

What kind of bizarro world is this?!!!

We told you last week what we thought of clothing designers like Georgio Armani venturing into interior design. Don't!

Now we've got ballers like former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson branching into the interior design world! Turns out that we're the only people who didn't know that A&E TV recently gave him a show, Keyshawn Johnson: Tackling Design.

We scouted around for photos of his digs so we could judge for ourselves. On the Real Estalker blog, we found his former California condo:

Click anywhere on photos for a larger view courtesy of Real Estalker.

Johnson is said to designed several of his homes. Don't know if this condo is his handywork, but it's got a sleek minimalist look that we've grown a little tired of.

He is reportedly a fan of the "boutique hotel look" and Armani's Casa home collection (which Armani used in John Mayer's condo). Same thing, in our opinion.

In spite of that, we'll be sure to watch the show and report back on whether he has a bright future as a designer of other folks' homes! And let's hope he still has his own home after that builder gets done suing him.

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Home Builder Has Beef Against Beefy ex-NFL Player Keyshawn Johnson

TMZ reported yesterday that construction company Gordon S. Gibson, Inc., recently filed a lien against former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Gibson claims Johnson owes more than $1 million for the supervision and construction of Johnson's Calabasas, California, home.

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Body found on Atlanta Braves Player Chipper Jones' Ranch

This is really sad news: Body found on Chipper Jones' ranch ajc.com

Our sympathies go out to the families.

If you're interested in knowing more about the ranch, go here: http://www.doubledimeranch.com/ranch.html

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Former NBA-er Antonio Davis' Atlanta Digs for sale at $4.2M

Former NBA player Antonio "Don't mess with my wifey" Davis and his wife Kendra are selling their 16,000sf Atlanta mansion. Technically it's in Roswell, Georgia, a very nice suburb of Atlanta.

Some of you may recall that Davis, while playing for New York Knicks in a game against the Chicago Bulls, was ejected and later suspended after running into the stands to confront an allegedly drunk Bulls fan who was allegedly harassing Davis' wife.

Naturally, the fan threatened to sue. And the fan happens to be Michael Axelrod, son of President Obama's campaign manager, David Alexrod. After a summit of sorts (So that's where Obama got the idea!), they settled the matter out of court.

Back to the house. Well, it has the usual nondescript baller digs look: nice kitchen . . .

. . . and generic oversized showroom furniture.

Kendra, who is reportedly an interior designer with her own firm, claims responsibility for the design. Is THAT the reason why all baller digs look alike? Seriously, are they ALL hiring her?!!

Nevertheless, we like that she tried to mix it up a bit with the cool Good Times murals on the walls of the gameroom and kids' bedrooms:

And the basketball court out back is a nice (albeit expected) touch:

Photos: Elite Real Estate Properties

The Beckhams Consider a Home in Chelsea

In news from across the pond: The London Evening Standard is reporting that David and Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham might purchase digs (shown below) in Chelsea in west London.

The home consists of two combined low-rise artist studios, with five bedrooms and a private terrace. The asking price is 10 million pounds (about $17 million U.S.).

Folks, this is the same house previously rented by record producer Damon Dash. We recall seeing an MTV Cribs episode featuring this place. Still trying to locate it to post it here. Anyway, wonder what ever happened to Damon . . . .

Merci Luxuo!

Thug Monday: Michael Vick Released From Home Confinement

Pro Footballer Michael Vick is being released from home confinement today. After serving 19 months in a federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, for an illegal dogfighting operation, Vick has remained under confinement at his McMansion in Hampton, Virginia, for the last 60 days.

Photo: Hamptonroads.com

Earlier this year, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback's 8-bedroom, 11-bath Mega-mansion outside Atlanta (shown below) went up for auction. Alas, no takers.

Photos: Funari Realty

Late Steve McNair's Estate in Limbo?

As we all know by now, married superstar football player Steve McNair was shot and killed on July 4th in a murder-suicide by his 20-year-old girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi. Now The Tennessean reports that McNair died without a will and that the probate court gave his wife Mechelle McNair control of his estate, on behalf of herself and their two sons.

Problem: Steve has two other children from previous relationships with two other women. At least one baby mama is planning to file a claim against the estate today.

Looks like McNair -- who earned more than $75 million in the NFL -- did no estate planning. Apparently, his personal affairs were as messy as his other personal affairs.

Maybe his baby mamas and children should just move into that $3 million, 9-bedroom, 14,000s.f., monstrosity (shown above) that he left behind in Green Hills, Tennessee.

Let's Dish the Dirt on Celebrity Homes!

ALL celebrities, some rich and some not-so-much, HAVE to live somewhere . . . .

Some celebrities live in beautiful homes . . . .

And some . . . well . . . not-so-much!

Here at CELEBRITY DIGS HQ you'll get the latest scoop on celebrity homes found in shelter mags and pulled from other news sources.

Naturally, we'll tell you which celebrity homes we really DIG! And we'll even take a few "digs" at celebrity homes we really hate!

Can't wait to dish with you!

--Celebrity Digger (C.D.)