Five Things To Know About Brad Penny - People Magazine

Karina Smirnoff and Brad Penny

Gustavo Caballero/Getty

Dancing with the Stars pro Karina Smirnoff broke the happy news to PEOPLE on Saturday that she and baseball player Brad Penny are engaged.

So, who is this guy?

Dancing fans were quite familiar with Smirnoff's ex fiancé, fellow pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, (the pair called off their engagement last year), but much less is known about Penny, who proposed in October. Want to get to know him a bit better?

1. He's an Oklahoma boy
The strapping pitcher (he's 6'4", 230 lbs.) was born in Blackwell, Okla., and attended Broken Arrow Senior High School. Another well-known alum from the school? Kristin Chenoweth.

2. It's no wonder he could buy her that rock
The 32-year-old presented Smirnoff, also 32, with a 4.5 carat Asscher Cut diamond, but it probably didn't break the bank: As a starting pitcher (with 10 years of experience) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Penny's salary is a reported $7.5 million.

3. He's well-traveled
Before joining the Cardinals, Penny played for the Florida Marlins, the L.A. Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants.

4. He's got a modest fan base
Currently, Penny's got 1,912 "likes" on his Facebook page, a number that will surely go up now that he’s got a high-profile bride to be.

5. He's got a good sense of humor – and a good heart
In 2005, Sports Illustrated bet 19-year-old Marlins bat boy Nick Cirillo $500 that he couldn't drink a gallon of milk in an hour without throwing up. Cirillo lost the bet and was suspended by his team for six games, but Penny promised to cover his wages and quipped, "It's kind of ridiculous that you get a 10-game suspension for steroids and a six-game suspension for milk."

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Eminem: 10 Things '60 Minutes' Forgot To Ask - MTV.com

By Chris Yuscavage

Eminem has finally made it!

Okay, so technically, Marshall Mathers actually "made it" about a decade ago. But after six solo albums, more than a dozen No. 1 singles and a gang of controversy surrounding both his personal and private life, CBS finally came a knockin' about a month ago when they decided to profile him for their award-winning news series, "60 Minutes." Just prior to performing at his Home and Home concert tour alongside Jay-Z at Comerica Park in Detroit, Em sat down with Anderson Cooper of "60 Minutes" for an exclusive interview that aired last night (October 10).

The two discussed a bunch of interesting topics, including Em's Detroit upbringing, his life as a bullied child, the use of profanity in his home, his struggles with drug addiction, and the fact that he once tried to read the entire dictionary in order to give himself enough ammo to use during rap battles.

However, we can't help but think that there are a few other things Cooper should have asked Eminem during their time together. If Em had granted RapFix the same type of access, there are a few burning questions we'd certainly ask him. To prove it, here's a list of questions that we would have asked one of the front-runners in MTV's Hottest MCs of 2010 series, which kicks off on October 18, while he was hangin' with Mr. Cooper.

QUESTION 1: Do you think you're the "Best Rapper Alive"?
Last year, a VIBE poll showed you were the No. 1 rapper in the world. Do you think you are? And how come you get all humble and start bigging up other rappers when people ask you this? Aren't rappers supposed to want to be considered the best? Give us a straight answer, Marshall!

QUESTION 2: What really happened between you and Mariah Carey?
Let's get this out on the table once and for all: Did you smash, homie? She might be past her prime (career-wise! Get your minds outta the gutter), but once upon a time, Mariah was the flyest chick in the game. That would have made for one pretty incredible double-date with Jay and Bey, no?

QUESTION 3: What's the dumbest thing you ever did under the influence of drugs or alcohol?
Know the guy at the end of the bar that always tells crazy stories? Like that one about the time he had one too many and ended up naked ... in the middle of a farm ... with two cows, three sheep and a pig. Um, yeah, those types of stories. If Em's personal life was half as crazy as the stuff he used to rap about, we just know he has a couple stories that would make an AA meeting look like a Bible study—and, of course, help keep some kid out there away from whatever the hell Em was on. Let's hear them!

QUESTION 4: If you could take back one thing you've done during the course of your career, what would it be?
No, really: what would it be? The time you agreed to appear in some flick called Da Hip Hop Witch? The time you jumped a dude with an unloaded gun? The time you decided recording songs like "Rain Man," "Big Weenie," and "Ass Like That" would be a good idea? This answer should be good.

QUESTION 5:Be honest, ten years after you recorded it, do you still text message Jay-Z like, "I GOT YOU!" every time you hear "Renegade"?
Ha! Put it this way: If we were you, we would. And we'd also have the song set as our ringtone for every time Jay called us. Hell, anytime anyone called us. Just sayin'.

QUESTION 6: Is it weird to you that you turned out to be a waaaay better parent than Britney Spears?
Like, really?! We're not saying Brit's not a good mother (though, for the record, we're also not saying she's a good mother) but if we saw you wearing a "#1 DAD" shirt today, we'd automatically think, 'Eminem's such a good father.' If we saw Brit wearing a "#1 MOM" shirt, we'd assume she spilled a cran and vodka on whatever she was wearing before it. Ten years ago, that whole line of thinking would have been completely reversed. Who'd have thunk?

QUESTION 7: What's with the cross you wear around your neck these days?
No offense, but we never took you for the religious type. What's the deal, dude? Is Jesus your homeboy, too?

QUESTION 8: How great did it feel to punch Vince Chase?
We love Vince on "Entourage." But that last scene last season was awesome. Like, Mike Tyson knocking out Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover awesome. Nice job.

QUESTION 9: How bad do you want to do the same thing to Nick Cannon?
Not to dwell on the Mariah Carey connection, but you do realize that Nick Cannon, the actor/producer/rapper/"America's Got Talent" host is still taking shots at you, right? Any chance you'll Vince Chase him, too? No? Please? PRETTY PLEASE?!

QUESTION 10: Is Dr. Dre really almost done Detox?
Well ... is he? If Mr. Cooper really wanted to get the Internets going nuts, he would have found out for us.

Can you think of any other questions Anderson Cooper should have asked Eminem on "60 Minutes"? Tweet us at @MTVRapFix or tell us in a comment below!

Tags 60 minutes, detox, Dr. Dre, Eminem, mariah carey, Nick Cannon

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Visits from the Suck Fairy: Ruining the things you used to love

Have you been visited by the Suck Fairy recently? It’s the evil force that goes back to books (or movies, shows, songs) and makes the things that were once awesome now terrible. Fantasy writer Jo Walton recently described the phenomenon on Tor thusly:

Image Credit: Troy Aossey/Stone/Getty ImagesIf you read a book for the first time and it sucks, it’s nothing to do with her. It just sucks. Some books do. The Suck Fairy comes in when you come back to a book that you liked when you read it before, and on re-reading — well, it sucks. You can say that you have changed, you can hit your forehead dramatically and ask yourself how you could possibly have missed the suckiness the first time — or you can say that the Suck Fairy has been through while the book was sitting on the shelf and inserted the suck.

The Suck Fairy recently visited my DVD collection and ate right through that complete Ally McBeal set. I’ve been taking an informal poll, and it looks like she’s been busy: She recently ruined Voltron (“that show is crap!”) for one friend and Spaceballs for another.

Bring it, PopWatchers. Has the Suck Fairy paid you a visit recently? What once-beloved show, song, movie, book, you name it, have you gone back to recently, only to discover that it now sucks?

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