Divvys Blog

Famed comedian Bill Cosby is currently mourning the death of his daughter Ensa Cosby who passed away suddenly at the age of 44. TMZ reported on Monday that Ensa died in Massachusetts following her battle with renal disease. The full nature of his illness was not made public but the site reported that she had a kidney transplant lined up.

Ensa Cosby was a rock for her father amidst his numerous sexual assault allegations. She was a staunch supporter of his even when the pressure was mounting and dozens of females came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

“My father has been publicly lynched in the media and my family, my young daughter, my young niece and nephew have had to stand helplessly by and watch the double standard or pretending to protect the rights of some but ignoring the rights of others,” Ensa said. “I strongly believe my father is innocent of the crimes alleged against him and I believe that racism has played a big role in all aspects of this scandal.”

Bill Cosby’s retrial for his rape case in Pennsylvania is set for next month. Ensa is also his second child to have died following the death of his son Ennis Cosby in 1997. He was killed in a robbery incident.

Here is a clip of a younger Ensa on The Cosby Show. She is survived by father Bill Cosby and mother Camille Cosby.

A lot of Nicki Minaj fans will agree with Birdman’s statement, but a lot of other hip hop fans will disagree. Whether or not you agree that she is the best or greatest female rapper of all-time, one must agree that she has achieved a lot for herself in hip hop over the last decade. At one point she was arguably the only female rapper in the mainstream, but like all great MCs, she has her critics.

Birdman is batting for the home team on this one but here is what he has to say during an interview with Rap-Up. “There’s levels to this sh*t,” he said. “Very much levels to this sh*t. She’s an elite. Sometimes, you can put Nicki in a room with males on a rap, but if you put her on females, it’s nothing. She’s a monster in her own race. She’s just a special talent. I’m blessed to have her a part of my team.”

Nicki Minaj is currently on a social media hiatus and Birdman is giving some insights as to the reason why she has been missing from the Gram. Last month, Urban Islandz reported that Nicki has been quietly working on her fourth album which is the main reason why she has been absent from social media. The Cash Money honcho pretty much backed up that reporting.

“She’s been working and she’s focused,” he added. “I always say she’s the best ever, best female ever in hip-hop, hands down, facts.”

We’re told that Nicki Minaj has been working on the album for over a year now and she recently scrapped what she worked on last year and started the project from scratch. Hence why she is laying low and focusing on finishing it for release sometime this year.

Vincent Kompany has seen many great Manchester City sides in his 10 years at the club and says the current team still have a lot to achieve if they are to be considered the best of them.

The defender picked up his sixth winners' medal as City captain after his man-of-the-match performance in the Carabao Cup final victory over Arsenal.

City have been beaten just three times all season and are being lauded as one of the great Premier League teams under Pep Guardiola, but Kompany says they can only be judged by the trophies they won.

"We'll have to see when the trophies are coming. If we win more and consistently, if we can the Premier League then go again and again, then this team will be better than the previous one," he told reporters.

"We have scored hundreds of goals as well with [previous manager Manuel] Pellegrini. It's been a feature of this club for many years now.

"I kind of want to keep that hunger in the team, so I don't want to put people on a pedestal when we haven't achieved all of our targets yet. So, for now, well done, keep going."

However, Kompany couldn't deny his personal joy at City's success at Wembley. The Belgium international has played in just 13 of City's 43 matches this season but made a big impact in the win over Arsenal and celebrated wildly when he steered in the second goal of a 3-0 win.

"It means the world to me," he said. "I don't plan the celebrations, as you can see. It's just pure emotion. What you can see is what I feel.

"It's not just about how I see it for myself. It's about what I want to achieve for the club, with my team-mates. It's a journey we've all been on and this is one trophy. I want us to go another journey and get another trophy. And that's all it is really."

It is the first silverware of Guardiola's reign at the club and City have an opportunity to add two more trophies before the end of the season.

They are overwhelming favourites for the Premier League title with a 13-point lead over Manchester United and are all-but certain of a place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League after a 4-0 first leg victory away to FC Basel.

But Kompany says they must also prove they are among the best teams in Europe, who are regulars in the later stages of the Champions League.

"There is belief but we are not favourites above the big ones -- Real Madrid, Barcelona. We're just trying to fight our way in there and maybe shake things up a little bit," he added.

"But one thing at a time. We have to play Basel first. It's too early to call it. You've seen PSG is a great team but they've gone to Madrid and you know what happened there. So we have to be careful, saying too much."

If he can stay fit, Kompany believes that Guardiola now has four top central defenders to choose between for the rest of the season following the club-record signing of £57 million defender Aymeric Laporte.

"Otamendi has been unbelievable, he's been an outstanding performer all season, on the same level as all the lads going forward," he said.

"Stones had an incredible time before his injury. Laporte is coming in and looks like he's going to help us a lot and I'm doing my bit. It's more like a team of centre-backs rather than one or two that will play every game. It's great to know that you can rely on anyone who turns up on the weekend.

"I'm fortunate to be at a club where I get incredible support from the medical staff. But a lot of it is just my own doing. Just absolute stubbornness. I kind of almost get enjoyment out of adversity in life. However bad it can be, I've always been like this. Kind of the wrong guy to bet against."

source-espn.com

Goodison Park hero Kevin Campbell has turned up the heat on manager Sam Allardyce by declaring: “Everton need to get a manager who will set the club up for years to come.”

Speaking on Twitter, the former striker, who netted 51 goals in 164 appearances between 1999-2005, said that the Blues boss must be: “Young enough, brave enough and ruthless enough to progressively steer the club forward.”

Given that current manager Allardyce, 63, by far the oldest manager Everton have had in their entire history – some eight-and-a-half years the senior of his predecessor Ronald Koeman, 54, who himself was previously the Blues elder statesman in the dugout – Campbell's comments do not reflect well on the former England coach.

Allardyce, who told the ECHO last month, “My length of stay at Everton is purely based on two things – results and entertainment – and we’ve got to put both things together, we’ve got to be entertaining and we’ve got to win football matches” has come in for heavy criticism following the Blues 1-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday evening.

Broadcasters BT Sport repeatedly apologised to viewers for the poor quality of play served up at Vicarage Road, and speaking in his ECHO column earlier on Monday, Campbell's ex-Everton team-mate Michael Ball said: “I know Sam came into the club to do a job but do we want to see this kind of football next season? I know I don’t.

“Will he change his ways next season to take us to that next level? I’m very doubtful that Sam will do so.

“Unless there is a big mentality change upstairs and in the dugout then it’s not something I want to keep watching next season.”

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