NAMED: Miss Florida Ericka Dunlap beat out 50 rivals Saturday to be crowned Miss America in Atlantic City, N.J. Miss Hawaii Kanoelani Gibson was first runner-up and Miss Wisconsin Tina Sauerhammer was second runner-up. Miss Maryland Marina Harrison and Miss California Nicole Lamarche rounded out the final five. Dunlap won a rhinestone tiara, a runway walk, $50,000 in scholarship aid and a yearlong national speaking tour.
QUOTED: "If I knew you were going to talk to me, I wouldn't have showed up." -- "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Larry David, 56, to comedian Wanda Sykes (who's appeared on his show), at Sunday night's Emmy Awards as she needled him in the audience
DENIED: British soccer star David Beckham and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, both 28, have issued a joint statement denying reports their marriage is in trouble since his move to the Real Madrid team in Spain. The couple insist that they are "extremely happy together," and "contrary to newspaper reports, our marriage is not in crisis." The comment, released through their management team, went on to say: "We are extremely happy together as a family. Our only difficulty has been finding a house in Madrid that meets our needs."
SPUN: The Palms hotel-casino in Las Vegas has introduced five "Saturday Night Live"-themed slot machines, reports AP. They are "Church Lady," "Coneheads," "The Blues Brothers," "Pumping up With Hans and Franz" and "Saturday Night Frenzy." (Similar machines made their debut at Atlantic City's new Borgata hotel-casino on July 30.) "I think it's amazing," said "SNL" alum Kevin Nealon, 49, who appears on the "Hans and Franz" machine. "I think NBC's doing the right thing. We need more gamblers watching 'Saturday Night Live.'"
