I watched the Super Bowl halftime show mostly to see what Madonna was going to do to shock her way back into the public consciousness via the biggest game of the year. The answer: Not much to shock, other than still look so frigging awesome in her 50s. The thing that I noticed the most was that when Madge was on stage, even in her obvious nervousness, that I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, no matter which of her special co-stars – from Nicki Minaj to M.I.A. to even high priest of funky crazy Cee Lo Green – showed up.

So it wasn’t until after the Super Bowl was over and I was fighting with my DVR over what it did with my recording of ”The Voice” (curses!)  that I found out that rapper M.I.A. had flipped the bird, presumably to corporate America, traditional ideals, traditional American, corporate ideals and your sweet grandmother. And while NBC and the NFL point fingers trying to blame the foul-up on each other, I say that she who bore the finger bears the blame.

And to her I say: Oh, stop. Really. You’re embarrassing yourself.

I know that it helps one’s cred to be the person that tells the Man what they can do with their corporate acceptance and what not, and that appearing on one of the most American of Americana events hasn’t changed you. I mean, Clint Eastwood did a commercial during it about the American spirit. That’s some traditional stuff right there. And I can see that if you were an artist who built their reputation on being raw, rude and outspoken, then you might want to stand up in front of the largest audience you’re probably ever gonna have and say “I bow to no one, suckers! I am my own voice, and I will use your big corporate American dealie-do to spread that to the masses!”
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Larry King performs at the Kravis Center on Tuesday. (Thomas Cordy / Palm Beach Post)

I admit to not knowing exactly what to expect from Larry King’s live comedy gig, “Larry King Standing Up” (love a play on words!), where he would be not only doing stand-up comedy, but standing rather than sitting behind his CNN microphone. I mean, no greater an authority on his act than the bespectacled one himself explained it to me, but that’s not the same as knowing whether he would be actually funny … without, you know, prompting or a guest.

I should not have been worried.

“Larry King Standing Up” is a warm, down-to-earth hour of storytelling from a master storyteller, dishing about his upbringing in Brooklyn and his meetings with the famous. He is, in parts, a little schticky – my favorite  invisible rim shot moment was when he addressed the huge age difference between he and his wife Shawn, and the chance that the age difference might one day cause issues since their life spans might not match.

“If she dies,” he says, “she dies.”

It’s a quick, corny bit, but the timing is not only self-aware but deliciously arch. Game on.

Photos: Larry King at the Kravis

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And they all rhyme!

I kicked off my end-of-2011 weekend with a quick stop over at Mar-A-Lago, or as my husband calls it, “Trump’s place,” for an exciting party hosted by Lamborghini Palm Beach for the launch of the new Aventador. It’s stunning – displayed under a tent with its own lighting like a steel supermodel. It fit in perfectly with the lush pool area of one of the world’s most gorgeous home, and with the smiling, dimpled guy standing near it – Indy winner, “Dancing With The Stars” champ and South Florida resident Helio Castroneves.

“I used to own one!” said the incredibly friendly Castroneves, who obviously knows from fast cars. “I love them – I love the horsepower. The redesign is great.”

Helio, who used to live in Miami but now hangs his hat, dancing shoes and driving gloves in Fort Lauderdale, says he traded in the faster cars for safer wheels with the arrival of daughter Mikaella two years ago. But seeing the gorgeous lines of the Aventador, “I want to get one!”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — BEYONCE’S SURPRISE DATE: Beyonce made a big announcement that practically upstaged the MTV Video Music Awards — and she did it without saying a word.

The 29-year-old superstar announced her pregnancy on the red carpet by cupping her stomach in an “I’m expecting” sort of way. Wearing a blond ponytail and flowing red gown, she used her hands to show the tiniest beginnings of a baby bump.

A publicist for the pop star confirmed the pregnancy to The Associated Press Sunday.

Beyonce and Jay-Z were married in 2008. This will be their first child together.

Jay-Z offered a (much smaller) surprise of his own Sunday: He performed alongside Kanye West on the VMA stage.

Beyonce took the stage herself later in the show, telling viewers, “I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside of me.”

At the end of her performance, she unbuttoned the sequined blazer she was wearing and rubbed her tummy on stage. The camera cut away to Jay-Z, who beamed a broad smile.

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RECORD ADVERTISEMENT: Lil Wayne is taking advantage of his Video Music Awards performance by dropping his anticipated new album the very same night.

The tattooed rapper closed the Video Music Awards with tunes from his new album as an ad blinked on the bottom of the screen reading: “Be the first to download ‘Tha Carter IV’ on iTunes.”

The album was to be released digitally at midnight on Aug. 29 and in stores later that day.

“There’s only one man brilliant enough to piece this plan together,” rapper Drake said as he introduced Lil Wayne.
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Pedro, FC Barcelona's young star winger, kisses up to one of the dolphins at Miami Seaquarium. (Veda Jo Jenkins / sflimages.com)

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdez can't stop this shot by one of the Seaquarium's dolphins. (Veda Jo Jenkins / sflimages.com)

Some of the star players for FC Barcelona, getting ready to defend its Champions League soccer title in 2011-12, headed over to the Miami Seaquarium to take on some new opponents — the venue’s trained dolphins.

David Villa, Xavi, Pedro, Sergio Busquets and Victor Valdez put on special wetsuits with the team’s crest and headed out to play with some of the Seaquarium’s dolphins, finding out that these sea creatures are pretty athletic themselves.

FC Barcelona will play Chivas de Guadalajara of Mexico on Wednesday night at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium at 8 p.m. in the 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge. Earlier in the competition, Barcelona lost to Manchester United 2-1 in Landover, Md.

Click here to see more photos. | Click here to find out more about Wednesday’s game in Miami

Justin Bieber makes his way around Mizner Park Amphitheatre with his bodyguards and pal Sean Kingston (in blue t-shirt) during Thursday's Selena Gomez concert. (Storms Media Group)

Selena Gomez opens her We Own The Night Tour in Boca Raton. (Storms Media Group)

Justin Bieber may have been a little less than honest with his fans Thursday night.

Bieber, the superstar 17-year-old singer, tweeted that he was happy to be back home:

But as you can see in the above photo, Bieber was actually in attendance at Selena Gomez’s show last night at the Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton. He was surrounded by bodyguards and joined by friend Sean Kingston.

And the crowd definitely noticed.

Teenage girls overran barricades and surrounded Bieber’s SUV after the show, trying to get at the young star.

Bieber and Gomez have been romantically linked for a while now. Gomez’ performance in Boca kicked off her We Own The Night Tour.

See more photos from Selena Gomez’s show on Thursday.

Cameron Diaz emerges from the front door of a Miami Beach restaurant. (Storms Media Group)

Cameron Diaz is smiling as she emerges from a Miami Beach restaurant, but where’s her boyfriend?

Turns out Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was there too, just not as interested in having his picture taken. Apparently he squeezed out the back door to avoid paparazzi.

Rodriguez and the Yankees are currently playing the Tampa Bay Rays, just a quick flight away. Maybe he didn’t want manager Joe Girardi to know he was out late?

Diaz is having a decent summer, having a modest hit on her hands with Bad Teacher. Next up for her is a remake of the 1966 film Gambit, also starring Colin Firth, Alan Rickman and Stanley Tucci.

Tom Cruise leaves the 'Rock of Ages' wrap party, held at a bowling alley in South Miami. (Storms Media Group)

Tom Cruise leaves the wrap party for Rock of Ages, the film adaptation of the successful Broadway rock musical. The party was held at a South Miami bowling alley — most of the filming was done just south of us in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Cruise stars as aging rocker Stacee Jaxx in the film, which also features Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin, Diego Boneta, Brian Cranston, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Mary J. Blige and Malin Akerman.

Film crews, led by director Adam Shankman, have been working throughout the area, turning some of our familiar sites into iconic 1980s L.A. rock scene settings. The film is slated for a June 1, 2012 release.

Click here for more coverage of the filming