Maxim celebrates 100th issue with large cover

Las Vegas – For air travelers flying over southern Nevada this week, the view offers more than miles of dusty desert.

A giant Hollywood star perched on the desert sands isn’t a mirage, but a re-creation of a Maxim magazine cover.

The cover is made of a vinyl-mesh screen and reads, “THE ONLY MAGAZINE BIG ENOUGH TO BE SEEN FROM SPACE – AND ONLY IN VEGAS!” A barely dressed Eva Longoria, star of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” graces the 75-by-110-foot display just outside Primm, near the California state line.

The cover is part of several days of events celebrating the magazine’s 100-issue milestone, a Maxim public relations representative said this week.

Erika Yowell, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, told the Las Vegas Sun that her agency is involved with the promotion because the magazine’s readers are a good target audience for the city.

Motley Crue fan fills in for ailing Tommy Lee

Los Angeles – It was a dream come true for a fan of Motley Crue. For one night, he filled in for injured drummer Tommy Lee.

The lucky guy, Harvey Warren, performed with the rock band Wednesday at the Enmax Center in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, Motley Crue’s publicist, Dvora Vener Englefield, said in a statement.

“After playing multiple shows wearing a brace and taking anti-inflammatory injections, Tommy Lee’s doctor instructed him to give his injured right-hand wrist a break after his tendinitis made it difficult for him to perform,” Englefield said.

Warren, a Calgary resident who manages a Starbucks by day, moonlights as a drummer in the Canadian Motley Crue tribute band Broken Toyz.

Lee, 43, hopes to return for a concert Friday in Prince George, Englefield said. There are six dates left on the tour.

Cosby to moderate discussions in Cincinnati

Cincinnati – Hey, hey, hey: Bill Cosby has decided it’s time to return to Cincinnati.

The 68-year-old comedian, who canceled two shows here in 2002 following the city’s race riots, will moderate discussions on parenting, education and social responsibility Thursday at Xavier University.

Cincinnati will be the 19th stop on a nationwide tour, “A Call Out With Cosby.”

Former Mayor Dwight Tillery, president of the Center for Closing the Health Gap in Greater Cincinnati, one of the program’s sponsors, said Cosby is eager to appear.

“He seemed to have quite an insight on the challenges that we face in Cincinnati,” Tillery said.

Rioting broke out in the city in 2001 after an unarmed black man was shot and killed by a white police officer trying to make an arrest.

Activists then called for a boycott of the city and sent letters to entertainers, asking them to stay away until leaders agreed to pay more attention to police, racial and economic issues.

Cosby’s publicist, Joel Brokaw, said Cosby wasn’t supporting the boycott, but “felt it was both inappropriate and insensitive to come into Cincinnati and do comedy when there were so many serious issues.”

Paula Abdul tells police she was assaulted at L.A. party

Los Angeles – “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul says that a man assaulted her at a private party over the weekend, according to a police report.

On Tuesday, Abdul filed the report at the Hollywood station claiming she had been a victim of battery about 1 a.m. Sunday, police Lt. Paul Vernon said Thursday.

“According to Abdul, the man at the party argued with her, grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall,” Vernon said. “She said she had sustained a concussion and spinal injuries.”

Abdul provided police with the name of the man, but Vernon withheld it pending further investigation. The man has not been charged, Vernon said.

Abdul’s publicist, Michelle Bega, declined to comment. The incident was first reported by Us Weekly magazine.

Abdul, who shares judging duties on Fox’s hit talent show with Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, appeared as scheduled on this week’s “American Idol.”

Last week, she signed a deal to remain on the show for another three years.