Miami, Oklahoma taste first defeat of NBA season

Miami and Oklahoma City, the last two undefeated teams in the NBA this season, both lost for the first time yesterday as the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks celebrated triumphs.
The Mavericks defeated the visiting Thunder 100-87, improving to 2-4 and avenging a loss at Oklahoma City last week, while the Heat fell 100-92 to the Hawks at home despite a game-high 28 points from LeBron James.
Miami and Oklahoma City still share the NBA's best record at 5-1 after nine days of a season that was shortened to 66 games per club by a contract dispute between players and team owners.
At Dallas, German star Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and grabbed six rebounds to power the Mavericks while Shawn Marion added 17 points, Jason Terry scored 15 and Vince Carter contributed 14.
Jason Kidd had a game-high nine assists for Dallas and Ian Mahinmi had a game-high nine rebounds for the Mavericks.

Reigning NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 27 points while Russell Westbrook added 18 points and eight rebounds.
At Miami, Joe Johnson scored 21 points and Al Horford added 16 points and nine rebounds to power the Hawks, who improved to 4-1, just behind Miami in the Southeast division.
Tracy McGrady added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Atlanta.
Behind James, the Heat were led by Chris Bosh with 19 points and Dwyane Wade with 12 points and a game-high 10 assists.
Meanwhile, DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings appear to be breaking up as the club told the centre to stay home rather than attend what turned out to be a victory over New Orleans. Cousins, 21, who was selected fifth overall in the 2010 NBA draft, had asked to be traded and was not with the Kings when they defeated the Hornets 96-80 on Sunday, improving to 2-3.
"DeMarcus Cousins has demanded to be traded," Kings coach Paul Westphal said. "In the best interest of our team . . . he has been directed by me, with the support of management, to stay home from the New Orleans game."
Westphal said he hoped the big man would rethink his position and join the Kings, with whom he averaged 13 points and 11.3 rebounds in four games. "That's really all up to him," he said. "This will give him the best chance to do that. It's something I think the team can use to band together."
Cousins was suspended last February for starting a fight on a plane with a team-mate and had been fined over a dispute with a coach and involved in other altercations more recently.

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Katy Perry 'wanted Russell Brand to file for divorce due to parents'

Katy Perry wanted Russell Brand to file the papers for their divorce to avoid upsetting her parents, it has been reported.
The couple realised they had relationship problems a few months ago, but were attempting to work things out.
However, despite their best efforts, both parties felt that "it just wasn't there" and decided to divorce a few weeks ago.
Perry's parents are evangelical Christians, so she didn't want to be the one to officially end the marriage by filing the court documents, instead tasking Brand with the duty.
Both Perry and Brand wanted to be out of town when the papers were filed, which is why she was in Hawaii and he returned to England - spending Christmas 7,000 miles apart.

Brand filed for divorce on Friday, citing "irreconcilable differences" for the split.

"Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends," he said.

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Quad-core Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung’s Galaxy lineup has been one of the most sought after smartphone lines worldwide. The Galaxy S II became the company’s fastest selling smartphone ever, selling 3 million units in just 55 days. Moreover, Samsung sold more than 30 million Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones worldwide as of October. There is no question that consumers are interested in the Galaxy lineup and it is almost certain that we will see a Galaxy S III in 2012. According to Korean website ETNews, the much anticipated device will debut at Mobile World Congress in February and feature a quad-core Exynos chipset. Additionally, the Galaxy S III will sport a Super AMOLED Plus 720p display, LTE connectivity, 2GB of RAM and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with TouchWiz. It has also been rumored that Samsung’s flagship device will feature 3D technology that will integrate the device with 3D television sets. Mobile World Congress is scheduled for February 27 through March 1, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain.

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2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible

Ford unveiled the 2013 Shelby GT500 at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, but only in its coupe form - an odd decision considering Chevrolet had already announced their ZL1 Convertible. However, this doesn’t mean the masses will not be privy to a GT500 Convertible; it just means that it has been delayed just a bit until the 2012 Detroit Auto Show.

Changes in the exterior of the convertible GT500 will follow along the lines of the coupe with a "more modern and edgy" design, as well as new wheels and an overall improved look. Of course, the Convertible model will get a soft top for those cruising days.

As for the power, the GT500 debut promised a top speed of 200 mph for the Coupe model, but we highly doubt that will transfer over to the Convertible.

As the coupe version the GT500 Convertible will be powered by a 5.8L supercharged V8 engine producing a staggering 650 HP with a quieter and more efficient TVS unit.

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Maserati hits the matte with exclusive GranTurismo S Limited Edition

We like us some matte finish here at Autoblog, but we have to admit that the usual smattering of matte black vinyl wraps leave us a bit in the dark. That's why our eyes pop just a little wider when we see a car that cuts the glare but keeps the palette. That's also why the storied brands of the Fiat group are getting top marks in our books these days.

At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, the group's top brand Ferrari showed off a concept 599 with regenerative braking and a delicious matte green finish. The following year at the same venue, Alfa Romeo lifted the veil on the tempting 4C Concept in a beautiful shade of matte red. And at the Bologna Motor Show earlier this month, their sister brand Maserati showcased this special GranTurismo in matte blue.

The car in question is a unique GranTurismo S Limited Edition exclusive to the Italian market, limited to only twelve examples to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification. It also packs carbon spoilers front and rear, as well as carbon side mirrors and door handles, with matte black side skirts and headlamps, and black 20-inch rims with polished aluminum brake calipers. Check it out in the press release after the jump and the high-res images in the gallery for a closer look.

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