Karen Sypher goes into greater detail about her restaurant rendezvous with Slick Rick, and continues to accuse Pitino of not just paying for her abortion, but threatening her if she didn't go through with it.

"I'll never forget. I wanted to have the baby, but Rick said my children would all be in concrete. I lived in fear for five years," she said.

"I prayed to God, 'Please, I don't want this.' When they called my name [at the clinic], I stood up."

The only problem with that theory is that an alleged voicemail from Pitino, that she provided to the media, seems to contradict that. He specifically says that the decision is up to her, although he does seem to be encouraging her to "put it behind her."

She also has a theory for one of the other unanswered questions: Why would Tim Sypher woo and marry a woman that his boss knocked up less than year earlier? Her conclusion—he was paid by Pitino, which I guess makes as much sense as anything. I don't have a better answer for that.

Sypher's story has not changed at all from the story she told police during their investigation of the extortion claims. Whether any of this is true or not (and a quite a bit of it is), she seems to believe it. She believes she's been wronged by Rick Pitino and it can't be helping her sanity to see that he will probably not face any consequences for any of this, while guys like Pat Forde go on TV to remind everyone that she's the criminal. Sure, he's embarrassed, but he'll move on and Louisville basketball will continue to run this town.

'I WANTED THE BABY BUT RICK SAID NO ... I LIVED IN FEAR' [New York Post]
Forde speaks [Kentucky Sports Radio]
And Now the Juicy Parts of Sypher/Pitino [Page One Kentucky]

If only someone had given a similar warning to Ali Kay, then Alex von Furstenburg might still be married to an heiress. (Fortunately, he still has his own family money to fall back on.) Alas, he's now engaged to Kay, the 25-year-old beauty who caught the eye of the formers Pacers legend. And that's probably why Miller's lawyer is suggesting that Reggie is not the one to blame for this flirtation.

Fiancée Ali Kay sent two provocative photos of herself to the NBA announcer during a three-month phone flirtation, the former hoop star's lawyer Marty Singer insisted.

"There was one of her in bed and one with a bathing suit on," he said.

Noting that Kay is not married, Singer blasted: "This is a ridiculous and absurd story about a single girl who exchanged text messages with Reggie Miller."

Did you get all that? So basically everyone is being unfaithful all the time, but von Furstenburg is the only one "shocked" enough to hire airplanes announcing to the world that he is danger of being cuckolded. I don't know about you, but I think these kids just might make it.

ALEX VON FURSTENBERG PAID FOR BANNER SAYING 'REGGIE MILLER STOP PURSUING MARRIED WOMEN' [New York Post]
Alex von Furstenburg Would Like You to Know a Larger Man Seduced His Fiancée [Gawker]

UPDATE: TMZ has the texts. Lovely.

The original New York Post story implied that Jefferson dumped his fiance as she waited in a church with her dress on and then skipped town without even telling his guests. Then in a follow up story—that Jefferson even gave an interview for—they said that he dumped her via email as she flew to New York for the wedding. So now he has to go on Howard Stern's and Dan Patrick's radio shows to try and desperately clear up that mess.

Here are Jefferson's talking points: They broke up a week before the wedding, not two hours before. All the friends and family found out on Monday or Tuesday. The email was merely an attempt to clarify his feelings, and not a heartless final kiss off. The boys didn't get the black AMEX card, the wedding cost way less than $2 million, and there was no "six-figure" payoff to make her go away. (Although he will give her some "move on with your life" money.) The couple was fighting all the time, so they agreed to end it. That's all.

But why were they fighting? Who gave the email to the Post? And why would people decide, suddenly at just this moment, to accuse Richard of being gay?

Jefferson thinks it's just the New York Media being the New York Media, but it's not like that part of the story is brand new. Speculation about a gay New Jersey Net has fluttered quietly around Jefferson for a few years. The Post finally elevated it from salacious rumor to "legitimate" line of inquiry, but Jefferson strongly denied the rumor to the paper. You can fight the internet! (But you're probably going to lose.)

So there you go. The dude didn't want to get married. I'm sure that's never happened before.

Richard Jefferson clears up rumors about cancelled wedding [Dan Patrick]
FORMER NET RICHARD JEFFERSON DUMPS FIANCEE KESHA NI'COLE NICHOLS BY EMAIL [New York Post]
Richard Jefferson Goes On Howard Stern to Clear the Air on Dumping His Cheerleader Fiancee By Email and Giving Her a ‘Settlement' [Big Lead]

Michael Phelps still has about a month left on his career-crippling (yeah, right) three-month ban from competition that he received for being completely normal for one night—and he's going to make the most of it. The New York gossip pages are filled with his "boy millionaire on the town" exploits this week, where he hit the club scene with his posse, his cocktail waitress girlfriend (it's love!) and a whole lot of premium vodka.

The Olympian, who has been laying relatively low since his bong-smoking scandal in January, was out in full force Tuesday night at NYC hot spot Marquee.

"Michael was definitely having a good time," an eyewitness tells us. "He was drinking straight from a bottle of Grey Goose, and when the deejay started playing M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes,' he got up, started dancing like a loon and kept on yelling, 'Shots!'"

Phelps definitely had enough alcohol on hand for several rounds - he'd ordered four bottles of vodka.

In addition, the athlete skeeved out onlookers when he persisted in PDA-ing with his girlfriend, cocktail waitress Caroline (Caz) Pal.

"They wouldn't stop making out! They were literally sucking face, and not caring that anyone was watching," says our snitch, who added that Phelps danced up such a storm that he briefly went shirtless, changing out of his T-shirt in the club and putting on a zip-up hoodie with nothing underneath.

Later, he got snubbed by Hasheem Thabeet—when did he suddenly become the Fonz?—which has to be the most humiliating moment of his life. But he obviously drowned his sorrows in some sticky sweet herbal medicine if another completely anonymous spy can be believed. (And I think they can.)

Olympic champion Michael Phelps is back in the swim of the party scene, arriving at Club Tenjune in New York at 2 a.m. Wednesday. There was Kettle One vodka on his table but we're still not sure what type of drink was in his hand. But we DEFINITELY know what that smell was in the air — the same thing that got him busted in Bong Gate! Looks like the swim king learned his lesson because he wasn't smoking anything, choosing instead to dance on a couch

Oh, he's learned his lesson all right. If only he could get banned from competition every month.

Michael Phelps dives into New York City club scene [NY Daily News, via Gawker]
Exclusive: Michael Phelps Back on Party Scene; What's That Smell? [Radar Online]
Phelps is riding out the turbulent waters [San Diego Union Tribune]

According to the Post, Strahan suspected the Murphy lady was stepping out on him so he went and installed one of those fancy tracking devices in her Range Rover to constantly monitor where she was going. The device was discovered by an auto mechanic during a routine check-up, and this apparently precipitated an ugly end to the relationship. And to think they looked so chummy last New Year's.

The Post also says this isn't the first time Strahan used this type of tactic to keep up on his women — his ex-wife alleged in their divorce suit that Strahan tapped her phone. But she's a little nutty, so who knows if that's true or not.

To make matters worse for Strahan, it appears the Murphy Lady was actually seeing someone else. Some hot-shot A & R executive with Universal named Demetrius Spencer. Don't be surprised if Spencer gets an unexpected visit from the Glaze-Dog in the next couple weeks.

(And, yes, there are a lot of boobs on the site today. I assure you this is purely coincidental.)

Michael Strahan Planted Spy Gizmo On Nicole Murphy [NY POST]

WHICH Olympic champion smoked pot for the first time recently at a Michigan hotel? The stoned athlete broke the TVs in his room, but later bought exact replicas so he could replace them before anybody at the hotel was the wiser

Hmm ... a rich Olympic champion that would be famous enough to mention in a New York tabloid, would have reason to be in Michigan, and is clearly in an experimental phase, since he's spent six hours a day, seven days a week for his entire post-pubescent life in a pool ... I mean, gym.

I dunno ... Mary Decker Slaney?

Just Asking [NY Post]

"Which professional athlete talks dirty in the third person? Many of his A-list conquests have had to endure "Yeah, [blank] likes it like that!"

Oh, man. The great thing about this blind item is that there are so many possibilities. Honestly, is there any pro athlete that you wouldn't put it past?

• "Get on top of C.C."

• "Visanthe likes what he sees."

• "Ichiro wants you to touch him there."

• "A-Rod likes your muscles."

But wait there's more! From today's Gatecrasher:

Which daughter of a sports legend made a sex tape with two dudes when she was just 16? Lets hope this doesn’t hurt her (non-existent) showbiz career.

This one probably has much fewer options, but I'm really bad at blind item guessing. Suggestions?

Oh, and there was also an item about Plaxico Burress showing up to a charity coat drive ... without a coat. Man, this guy just can't stop misfiring.

Wicked Whispers [NYDN, last item]
Which athlete likes his dirty talk in the third person? [Sports Crackle Pop]