NFL Star Accused Of Choking Tila Tequila

man i guess the only person that will never get in a domestic violence situation is Laila Ali--float like a butterfly and sting like a b!tch!!!

Shawne Merriman of the San Diego Chargers was taken into custody by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department after an alleged altercation with Tila Tequila.

San Diego Sheriff's deputies responded to a call this morning at 3:45 AM. Tila claims she was "choked and physically restrained" by Merriman after she tried to leave his residence.

Merriman is accused of battery and false imprisonment.

Tila was transported to a local hospital while Merriman was taken into custody. His bail was set at $58,000.

UPDATE -- Tila Tequila has been released from the hospital.

UPDATE -- A lawyer for Merriman denied all charges and says Tila was "extremely inebriated" and that Merriman tried to stop her from leaving the home because he didn't feel it was safe for her to do so.

UPDATE -- A.J. Smith, the general manager of the San Diego Chargers, released this statement: "It's disappointing to hear about the issue involving Shawne Merriman. We'll continue to monitor the situation and let the legal process run its course."

McConaughey: Distracted by Beach Bum

While jogging in Malibu yesterday, Matthew McConaughey
took a quick breather to admire the scenery ... the awesomely tan, perfectly toned scenery.

1. man of all the days i had my shirt off i had to put it on today
2. could someone please tell me why did i get married?

Chris Brown Attacks Oprah--Well Verbally!!!

This guy!!--this is Oprah we're talkin about 'CB a.k.a spawn of tyson', if you have forgotten, we don't even call her Oprah anymore--now she's just "O"....

Wow! he should really look to be more respectful, for his own sake. I am pretty sure Oprah could have gotten any performer to do this--take your head out the clouds son, "O" has been doing things for people for years. Now the perfect question for you would be "what have you done lately"--oh yeah beat the hell out of a female pop superstar nice!!!...

Maybe when he said "O" should have helped them both out, he meant that "O" should have left Rihanna's bruised and bloodied face to help tend to his hard knuckles, poor baby!!.

Oprah Winfrey is firing back at the comments Chris Brown made about her in the new People Magazine.

Here's the background: People had asked Brown about the fact that Oprah did "a show on abuse, inspired by Rihanna." Chris replied:

"I commend Oprah on being like, 'This is a problem,' but it was a slap in my face. I did a lot of stuff for her, like going to Africa and performing for her school. She could have been more helpful, like, 'Okay, I'm going to help both of these people out.'"

We called Oprah to see how she felt about Brown's statement, and her rep sent us the following response:

"Oprah is very appreciative that Chris Brown performed at her school but she takes domestic abuse very seriously. She hopes he gets the counseling he needs."

Tat Shop Fined After Rihanna Worked the Needle!!

tat tat tat it up! tat tat tat it up! tat tat tat it up STOP!!! Stick to singing Ri-Ri and leave it to the professionals boo!!!....

I have learned the city of New York officially cracked down on the tattoo parlor where Rihanna illegally inked a few people back in July.

The day after Rihanna made her mark, East Side Ink was issued a citation by the the NYC Department of Health for "operating with an unlicensed tattoo artist on site."

It's unclear how much the tat shop had to pay in fines, but we're told it could run anywhere between $200-$2000.

Power Ranger -- I Wasn't Mighty Drunk

Who's his lawyer zordon?!!!

Come on i did like a hundred episodes of me saving the world from grown men in putty outfits gimme a break

you member!!

Because one Power Ranger story today just isn't enough, here's one more: The Black Ranger just pled not guilty to DUI.

Lawyers for Walter Jones -- the dude who donned black spandex to fight Rita Repulsa as "Zack Taylor" back in the day -- were in an Alabama court yesterday to enter the plea.

Jones was arrested back in July when cops said he was driving while hammered around 4 AM.

A trial has been set for mid-November.

Tyra's Assistant: You Owe Me Bank!!

Owe you what now?-- don't let me kick yo @ss with my super skinny ankles!!!

Tyra Banks' former assistant wants a small piece of her fortune -- actually, he wants a small claims court piece.

TMZ picked up a small claims lawsuit filed in L.A County by Richard Thomas, who claims Miss Banks owes him $5,820.

Thomas is suing for back wages plus a little extra. The complaint says Thomas wants the money for "services rendered as assistant and advisor."

We're not sure how much he wants as an advisor.

And this is funny... the legal documents require Thomas to ask Tyra for the money prior to filing suit.

His response to that: "I have not been able to catch [Tyra] while she is in."

Doesn't sound like a great assistant to us.

No comment from Tyra -- we couldn't get in touch either.

Chris Brown -- Going Into Labor

Chris Brown landed in Virginia last night -- the state where he must complete 6 months hard labor for his assault on Rihanna.

6 months hard labor--yep he's crying under those glasses, MOMMA!!!

While in VA, he'll also be taking a 52-week domestic violence course.

Ex-MTV Star Pleads Not Guilty To Cutting Hubby

Ready.... set.... stab..... -- not your husband!!!

The former MTV reality star who may or may not have stabbed her husband while their three kids watched pled not guilty to two charges stemming from the alleged incident.

Sara Stokes -- who was on "Making the Band 2" -- pled not guilty to inflicting injury on a spouse and assault with a deadly weapon Friday morning in Riverside County Court in California.

It's unclear what exactly happened between Sara and her husband last month, because we've been told two completely different versions of what actually went down.

Sara claims her husband accidentally cut himself in the sink -- while cops believe she went on a stabbing frenzy after the two got into a verbal altercation.

Allegedly Stealing A Song Is 'What We Do'

Kirby Shields must have a sign on his back that says STEAL MY SONGS -- because he's claiming someone else ripped him off clean.

Shields -- whom you may remember from "Diddy stole my song" fame -- has fired off another cease and desist letter, this time over a song of his he claims was jacked for a movie. Shields claims his song "Keep Ur Cool" was used in a movie called "What We Do" at various times, including the end credits.

According to the docs, Shields says he never gave the movie permission to use his song, and is looking to solve the matter amicably (read: $$$$$$) rather than file a formal lawsuit.

Travis Barker: Rest in Peace My Brother

Travis Barker has taken to Twitter to mourn the loss of his close friend DJ AM -- in bursts of 140 characters or less.

Barker wrote: "Don't know how i am gonna play 2night but i am for AM. My brother is gone.i love u and miss u, i'll never forget all the good times we had.

Followed shortly by: "I'll never forget everything we've been thru and every time i play the drums i'll think of you. U were an amazing friend/DJ/human being."

And lastly: "Rest In Peace my brother, this really f**ks me up."