No. 1 fan Spike Lee sticks with the Knicks

Updated: August 5, 2012 - 8:55 PM

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NEW YORK - He's New York's most prominent Knicks fan. But he's also a proud son of Brooklyn.

So would Spike Lee ever consider switching NBA teams and rooting for the Brooklyn Nets? No, no and no. "I wish I had a dollar for every time people ask me that -- I could finance another film," he said.

That's what Lee told the New York Times in an interview discussing his split loyalties between the Knicks and the beloved hometown borough that has been the setting for many of his films.

Suburban nomads, the Nets will open in downtown Brooklyn in the fall after a 46-year off-Broadway run on Long Island and in New Jersey. It's far from the first time Lee has vowed to go to his grave a Knicks fan.

Last year, he tried to hammer home the point on Twitter, saying that anyone who thinks he's switching to the Nets "is on crack, meth and malt liquor."

Legendary Mexican singer dies

Chavela Vargas, who defied gender stereotypes to become one of the most legendary singers in Mexico, died Sunday at 93. Vargas rose to fame flouting the Catholic country's preconceptions of what it meant to be a female singer: singing lusty "ranchera" songs while wearing men's clothes, carrying a pistol, drinking heavily and smoking cigars. Even though she refused to change the pronouns in love songs about women as some audiences expected, many of her versions of passionate Mexican folk songs are considered definitive. Born in Costa Rica, Vargas immigrated to Mexico at age 14. She sang in the streets as a teenager, then ventured into a professional singing career well into her 30s.

LOLLAPALOOZA LULL: A powerful storm rumbled into downtown Chicago on Saturday, forcing organizers to suspend Lollapalooza for more than two hours while the tens of thousands of concertgoers took shelter in parking garages. The estimated 100,000 fans took the evacuation order in stride, for the most part, and calmly left Grant Park for underground garages that were designated evacuation centers for the sold-out three-day event that ended Sunday. Crowds were allowed back after the worst of the storm had passed. Organizers posted a reshuffled Saturday lineup that added a half-hour to the night's events, culminating with the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the main stage.

PRAGUE PRISON: The frontman of the U.S. heavy metal band Lamb of God has been released from a Czech prison on $400,000 bail as police investigate him for allegedly pushing a fan off a stage who later died. A Prague court last week dismissed a prosecution request that Randy Blythe be forbidden from leaving the country. The singer left for the United States on Friday.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

Actor Peter Bonerz, 74

Actress Catherine Hicks, 61

M. Night Shyamalan, 42

Singer Geri Halliwell, 40

Actor Jason O'Mara, 40

Actress Soleil Moon Frye, 36