After a week of rave reviews, it’s official: Victoria Beckham has been crowned queen of New York Fashion Week. After previewing her Autumn / Winter 2012 collection to a packed house at the New York Library on Sunday morning 12th February, and with her husband David Beckham OBE, editor in Chief of American Vogue Anna Wintour OBE, and her long time business partner Simon Fuller [http://www.xixentertainment.com], all looking on from the front row, the critics were unanimous in voting this the finest moment of her career as a fashion designer.

“Her strongest show yet” The Guardian

“In her insistence on developing slowly, and gradually earning respect, Mrs. Beckham has scarcely put a platformed-foot wrong” VOGUE.com

“Queen Victoria: How Mrs Beckham conquered fashion” The Guardian

“Her style is, season after season, more and more desirable and confident” Vogue Italy

“She has staked her claim and she owns this space” FT

With her ready to wear collection now stocked in over 300 retail outlets around the world, the Victoria Beckham business is now worth in excess of GBP30 million at retail, and with a launch of a new line, named ‘Victoria by Victoria Beckham’ going on sale this week, that value is only set to rise. It is a good news story for British creative industries, as her ready to wear collection is designed and is hand made by British businesses.

Simon Fuller, Victoria Beckham’s long term business partner, comments: “Victoria and I are both proud Brits and it feels good to be building a creative British business that is flourishing on a global stage.”

On February 15, 2012, Victoria posed alongside Anna Wintour OBE and other British Fashion icons to launch the British Government’s GREAT campaign. Sir Peter Westmacott, the UK’s Ambassador to the United States, comments:

“As one of Britain’s major fashion icons Victoria Beckham’s involvement with the GREAT Campaign will bring even more attention to Britain’s world renowned fashion designers, the magnificent range of shopping on offer and our distinctive British style.”

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/victoriabeckhamcollection

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BabyCenter, a pregnancy and parenting mobile and Web destination, announced its list of the most and least favorite celebrity baby names of 2011. BabyCenter surveyed its audience to see which celebrity baby names made the A-list and which fell short. Based on responses from nearly 3,000 moms, Victoria and David Beckham did the best job in naming their little girl, Harper Seven.

The name Harper has already jumped an impressive 34 spots and is clearly parents’ favorite celebrity name of the year. Also topping the list are Willow Sage, the daughter of new parents Pink and Carey Hart, and Aiden, son of Rod and Penny Lancaster Stewart.

“Celebrities are creative, and their baby name choices are no exception,” says Linda Murray, BabyCenter Global Editor-in-Chief. “Love them, or hate them, celebrity baby names are always a hot topic, so it’s no surprise that nearly 50 percent of expecting moms trying to decide on a name find inspiration from celebrities.”

Top 5 Favorite Celebrity Baby Names

Harper Seven (David & Victoria Beckham)
Aiden (Rod & Penny Lancaster Stewart)
Liam James (Craig & Megan Ferguson)
Willow Sage (Pink & Carey Hart)
Arabella Rose (Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner)

Unfortunately, not everyone can be a winner. According to BabyCenter moms, topping the list of least favorite celebrity baby names is Bear Blu, son of Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Jarecki. Also high on the list is the name of Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon’s son, Moroccan Scott, as well as Mike Myers and Kelly Tisdale’s son, Spike.

Top 5 Least Favorite Celebrity Baby Names

Bear Blu (Alicia Silverstone & Christopher Jarecki)
Moroccan Scott (Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon)
Agnes Lark (Jennifer Connelly & Paul Bettany)
Spike (Mike Myers & Kelly Tisdale)
Declan George (Danny & Gia McBride)

With all the unusual baby names out there, BabyCenter celebrity contributors, The MOMS (Denise Albert and Melissa Gerstein, formerly of Moms and the City), caught up with some of our favorite superstars to find out if they suffer from baby name regret and if they’ve ever considered changing their own name.

For answers from Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, and other stars, check out the video at http://blogs.babycenter.com/celebrities/would-you-change-your-name-matt-damon-would/.

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Now it’s no secret at all that the US dominates 4 of the major sports. When it comes to football, basketball, and baseball we are the cream of the crop. We have the best leagues and the best talent of any other country where these sports are played.

In hockey I would give the edge slightly to Canada, but the US is a very close second. Then you get to the sport of soccer. Not only are we not number 1 or number 2, we aren’t in the top 10 or the top 25 for that matter.

The most recent FIFA world rankings have the USA ranked 30th and this past MLS all-star game made this ranking even more painfully apparent. What we saw was a team comprised of the best the MLS has to offer, and even with the help of once successful European players Thierry Henry and David Beckham we saw a squad that was out played and out matched.

Aside from a few early chances by the All-Stars, the Red Devils had no problem pouring it on the clearly weaker MLS squad. Rooney and Berbatov were able to set up a trailing Anderson for the first goal of the match 20 minutes in.

Seconds before halftime Park was able to beat Sean Franklin in the box and place a shot past goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón. Not even substitutions could help the MLS squad turn there luck around in the second half. Seven minutes in Berbatov off of a nice feed from Rooney was able to knock home his own attempt which struck the crossbar to put Man U. up 3-0. Second-half sub Welback sealed the deal when a shot from just outside the box was deflected by a defender on its way into the net.

Now I understand that the MLS doesn’t have just US players and that many of USA’s better players play elsewhere, but that right there points to the problem. Our best players go to play where the better game and talent is, Europe.

The players from overseas that come here do so in the twilight of their careers and are still some of the best players in our league. Take Beckham out of this game and we probably don’t have half as many decent scoring opportunities as we did. If we as US soccer fans are to take anything from this match it’s that we are still vastly far behind the upper echelon of the soccer world. Still don’t believe me when I say that we are out of our league then think about this.

The best of the best of our entire league couldn’t even scratch a goal against a club team from theirs. We are still many years away from reaching the top tier and every year we are reminded just how far away we are when our MLS All-Stars suit up against some of the best in the world and every year they get manhandled.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/60278244@N00/5988841058/

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It seems to be a growing trend across all of the major sporting leagues in the United States that aging veterans seem to spend the final years of their career doing anything they can to put one more championship ring on their finger.

Players who were once dominant, but that father time may have finally caught up with, often claim in their last years that they are ready to take a diminished role in order to help a team win. This humble attitude rings true when the contract is signed, but often hits a snag once the games begin.

One of the most recent examples of this has been seen with recently retired center Shaquille O’ Neal. In his last four seasons in the NBA he saw stints with Phoenix, Cleveland, and Boston all end in disappointing fashion.

In Shaq’s case, injuries got the best of him, which is both understandable and commonplace for athletes that are in their upper 30′s or even 40′s. Unfortunately some of these chases end in an even uglier fashion.

Let’s take Ricky Henderson for example. He was so sure that he could still play the game and run the bases like he used to, that he spend the last years of his career playing for the Newark Bears in the Independent Atlantic League while desperately trying to prove that he could still contribute to a Major League club. A failed attempt.

There are countless other examples that I could run through. Brett Favre with the Vikings, Karl Malone with the Lakers, and even David Beckham with the L.A. Galaxy are just some off the top of my head that didn’t quite live up to what they once were. This is not to say they weren’t contributing, but it is surely to say that they weren’t doing exactly what they thought they could do for the team.

I admire the fact that these athletes still believe that they can go out and perform to their prime potential even in their later years. To be honest, in the same position I could see myself making a similar decision.

I also respect the fact that these people are used to living a lavish lifestyle, and a multi-million dollar contract is nearly impossible to walk away from no matter how old you may be.

What is tough for me and many other sports fans to see is when these players do one of two things. Sometimes, as sad as it is, they find a way to embarrass themselves, and somewhat tarnish their greatest moments.

As mentioned before, Brett Favre is the most obvious example of this phenomenon. His ridiculous faux retirements and countless comebacks put a terrible taste in most fans mouths. Many Packers fans turned on him, and many Jets and Vikings fans were disappointed when they saw his limited production on the field.

I actually am a big Brett Favre fan when I take in the entire arc of his career. That being said, I, and many other fans I’m sure, wish he would have just hung up the cleats after his days in Green Bay. Having the itch to play is one thing, but his antics were something else altogether.

The second thing I hate to see is when an aging vet still can’t accept a reserve role to help the team. All too often they still believe that they could be the dynamic starters they once were, even when that is clearly no longer the case. The ego gets in the way.

Last season in Germany, 32 year old Miroslav Klose demanded a starting spot on Bayern Munich. He insisted he was in top shape. The sad truth however was that Mario Gomez is a rising star for the team, and at 25 years old, he is the clear choice for the future. As tough as it may be for some former stars to accept that their prime has passed them by, any humble qualities go out the window with an act like this.

It is incredibly difficult to say what should be done in such a situation. As a fan however it is equally difficult to see some athletes make the choices they do and fail in the latter years of their career.

Another key example is about to happen before our eyes in the upcoming NBA season.

Last week the news was broken that former Philadelphia 76′ers guard Allen Iverson wanted to make a return to the NBA to finish his career “the right way.”

I refuse to bash him just yet, because I fully understand why he would want to end his fantastic career in the NBA rather than in the Turkish league, but I am surely not expecting a complete success here.

The sad truth is that so many things can go wrong with this kind of move. Maybe Iverson will be one of the few exceptions to the rule given just how dynamic he once was. Maybe he can accept a diminished role compared to his 40 minute days of years past. Maybe he can finally get that championship he has always been yearning for.

Unfortunately many athletes that make these moves are merely left with what could have been, rather than what actually did. But maybe.
MIMMO FERRARO / Shutterstock.com

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