Yes, the rumors are true. Flexonline.com reports that Ronnie Coleman was married December 28, 2007.

One chapter closes, another one begins. With his days of dominating the Olympia stage behind him, eight-time Mr. O Ronnie Coleman recently began another stage of his life by marrying Rouaida Christine Achkar. A personal trainer, Ackhakr was born in Lebanon on July 29, 1974 and raised in Paris, France. Coleman met his new bride in Paris –- ah, l’amour — on March 22, 1998, at a Paris Sports exposition. Achkar is currently working towards a degree in sports medicine at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The wedding date was December 28, 2007. According to Coleman, “the big party will be held in Lebanon,” on July 26, 2008.

Please join us in wishing the couple a long and happy life together.

> > Read more and see photos here.

Nasser El Sonbaty has been making some news lately, not so much as anything on the bodybuilding stage, but in what he has been saying. Nasser has been doing quite a number of interviews lately, four of them so far, and telling a great deal of stories that seem to create a lot of controversy. With each interview, the bulletin boards of Getbig seem to come alive with the a multitude of discussions, from if the stories are true, to if the events are true, to his attacks on various people. Now some people may say these interviews are negative, but when asked that question, Nasser simply replied that he is just saying it as it is, and you can take it the way you want. For those of you who think that Nasser is not smart, you are wrong. Nasser speaks five languages, and his English dialect is quite well. But in these interviews, Nasser talks about many things, including Milos Sarcev, Dave Palumbo, Greg Kovacs, competitions, his parents, steroids, Joe Weider and much more.

To read the interviews, courtesy of bodybuilding.com, click below. All four parts (interviews) are there.

Once in a while, I like to profile various magazines that I have seen. One which I just received is the January issue of Southern Muscle Plus Magazine, January 2008 issue.  This magazine caters to the bodybuildng, figure and fitness competition and athletes of the Southern States of the United States, and features various contests, plus los of information.This issue includees the latest NPC rule changles, Girl Talk, features and pictures on the Florida State, Louisiana State, Gulf Coast and other competition, and much more. Shannon Dey, who is the Advertising Coordinator of the magazine and also the NPC Chairperson in Florida for Figure and Fitness.

Here is what the magazine looks like.

The NO-HOLDS-BARRED hit competition series returns to prime-time television, with hosts Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali!  We are looking for weekend warrior types that are BIG, bad, and athletic. If you think you have the heart, skills, and desire to COMPETE then we want to see you at THE GLADIATOR ARENA! NBC has relaunched the classic competition series “American Gladiators” and is currently auditioning CONTENDERS and GLADIATORS for NEXT SEASON!

OPEN CALL: Saturday, January, 26, 2008/Time and Location: TBD
Los Angeles

OPEN CALL: Saturday, February 2, 2008/Time and Location: TBD
Denver, CO
Chicago, IL
Austin, TX

OPEN CALL: Saturday, February 9, 2008/Time and Location: TBD
New York City, NY
Scottsdale, AZ
Orlando, FL

For more information on how to apply to be either a contestant or a gladiator, click below

http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/casting/index.shtml

“IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi was formally charged on January 8th in Los Angeles Superior Court with nine counts of steroid possession and distribution including five counts of “possession or purchase of controlled substance;” one count of “transport of controlled substance into state for sale;” and three counts of “possession of a prescription drug without a prescription.” His next court date will be on January 23, 2007. He will remain incarcerated at North County Correctional Facility until then under U.S. immigration hold on $180,000 bail……….”

Thanks to MuscleTime for the information.

There were rumblings earlier in the month about Denis Sergovskiy competing in the IRONMAN Pro. Many people didn’t know how he had been granted pro status last year. Denis has been training for debut at the IRONMAN  however he has injured his back and will not be competing in the show. Fans will have to wait until later in the year to see how Denis fairs in the IFBB.

News just in from the crew at IRONMAN, Desmond Miller will be competing in the IRONMAN Pro. Desmond qualified for the Olympia last year but chose to sit it out. Will his time off help his chances of claiming the title? We’ll see in 37 days!

Leading bodybuilding community and e-commerce company to enhance Liberty Media web strategy

Updated for the start of 2008, the RAS statistics are the rankings the many use around the internet world to see how is their favorite pro bodybuilding is doing compared to others.

Jay Cutler still leads the list, followed closely by Victor Martinez and Dexter Jackson, with Dennis Wolf right at their heels. For the complete list, click below for your enjoyement.

 http://www.getbig.com/ranking/prorankm.htm

Jeff Willet, winner of the 2003 Team Universe overall title and Light Heavyweight weight class, married Anna Grossman on Saturday. The couple wed at Willet’s Powerhouse Gym in Adrian, Michigan. According to The Daily Telegram, the two met in a chat room:

The newlyweds met through a Web site for AST Sports Science. Willet was working as a spokesman and tech specialist for the Colorado-based company. His bride was a former Canadian gymnast breaking into bodybuilding and fitness-related careers. A native of Waterloo, Ontario, Anna Grossman was participating in an AST contest when she first met Willet in an AST chat room. Their first face-to-face meeting took place in Windsor in 2005.

Congratulations Jeff and Anna.

The Japan Pro show scheduled to take place on October 12-13, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan has been removed from the pro schedule. The official web site of the IFBB (ifbbpro.com) has removed the event from the 2008 schedule. There has been no official word on why it has been removed but we are looking into it.