Soon, the Dream Team may be nothing more than a dream, says the LA Times this morning. Apparently, NBA commissioner David Stern has hinted strongly that the London Olympics will be the last to include veteran NBA players. He wants to make Olympic basketball a 23-and-under event, featuring NBA players with only a few years of pro experience.

It’s more like shades of green, rather than gray. And it’s more like 20 million, rather than just 50, says the Wall Street Journal. The erotic thriller “Fifty Shades of Gray” will hit the 20-million-books-sold mark this weekend, after debuting in March. In comparison, it took Steig Larson’s “Dragon Tattoo” books three years to reach that same mark in the US.

Cell phone companies say 1.3 million requests were made last year to turn over data—texts, phone conversations, caller locations—to law enforcement. The numbers are the first of their kind to be compiled and are part of a report given to Congress. The New York Times says they demonstrate “an explosion in cellphone surveillance in the last five years.” AT&T alone handles about 700 requests a day.

A tragic story in the Detroit Free-Press this morning. A 25-year-old woman is dead, after she hugged an off-duty police officer at a party and his gun went off, killing her instantly. An investigation has been launched into the accident, but onlookers say the woman hugged the officer and somehow set off the Smith & Wesson in his waistband.

Ernest Borgnine’s impressive seven-decade career came to an end yesterday, when he died of kidney failure at the age of 95.  The LA Times says the veteran actor, who received an Oscar in 1955 for his role ” as the fat ugly man”  in “Marty,” appeared in more than 115 movies. He was perhaps most famous for his role in the 1960s sitcom, “McHale’s Navy.”

Sometimes, a 1,500-pound cow refuses to take its medicine. And trying to coax into compliance can be quite a challenge. Which is why, says the Seattle Times, veterinary schools say they’re having a tough time finding applicants to work in rural areas. People who want to work with cats and dogs are a dime a dozen. But pulling a 80-pound calf out of its 1,300 mother? Not so glamorous.

The premise of “Opening Act” is this: an unknown singer gets tapped to be the opening act at a huge concert.  The first episode features a 21-year-old woman from Texas opening up for Rod Stewart in Vegas. The New York Times says the reality show is trying to answer the question of whether someone who sounds good on YouTube can “match the stage presence and magnetism of a seasoned big-house performer?” After the first episode, the answer is no.

If you can’t get to Mars anytime soon, this picture is a pretty good substitute says the New York Daily News. NASA just released the panoramic shot, taken by the rover Opportunity. In the photo you can see freshly-made rover tracks, next to a crater made billions of years ago.

Ronn Matt knows how to spit a pit. The Chicago man, who is the world’s best peach pit spitter, pulled off an upset yesterday at the International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championships. The Chicago Tribune says it was the first time in 20 years that a member of the Krause or the Lessard families—the reigning pit-spitting dynasties—has not taken first place.