Puffy tells all about his failed romance with J. Lo

PUFFY GETS FRANK In an interview in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, Sean ”P. Diddy” Combs says he and Jennifer Lopez used to compare their relationship to such similarly tempestuous, doomed celebrity couplings as Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner‘s and Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio‘s. As he puts it, ”Sometimes, when two people get together, you feel a certain type of spark that’s like, ‘Yo!”’ The couple split on Valentine’s Day, despite such gestures from Puffy as having Luther Vandross serenade J. Lo and sending her 100 white doves. He says, however, that they remain good friends, and that he would still rush into a burning building to save her.

EARLY ADMISSIONS Most parents have a hard time getting their kid into a private school, but all Madonna had to do was dial a wrong number. She had meant to call the Cheltenham Ladies College, west of London, to discuss enrolling 4 year old daughter Lourdes there. Instead, she reached Cheltenham College, whose administrators said it could be a suitable school for 8 month old son Rocco. Although Rocco won’t be old enough to attend for about 10 years, school spokesmen said Madonna would be ”coming for a look around.”

CELEBRITY DOCKET U.S. District Judge David Carter tentatively ruled in favor of Anna Nicole Smith in her ongoing fight to keep the $475 million she claims from the estate of nonagenarian billionaire husband J. Howard Marshall. Last year, a U.S. bankruptcy judge awarded Smith, 33, the money from her husband, who died in 1995 after a year of marriage. Stepson Pierce Marshall appealed that ruling before Carter, arguing that the federal court had no jurisdiction over a case belonging in Texas probate court, which had ruled in Marshall’s favor in March. Carter warned that yesterday’s ruling is not final, and that he will consider both sides before deciding next week.

Halle Berry has settled out of court a lawsuit filed by the woman whose car she struck last year. Berry had pleaded no contest to charges of leaving the scene of the Hollywood crash and had to pay $1,350 in fines and perform 200 hours of community service. But the other driver, Hetal Raythatha, had sued Berry for causing injuries (a broken wrist and neck and back injuries) and emotional distress. She had alleged that Berry was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which Berry denied. Berry claimed she left the scene to rush to the hospital, where it took 22 stitches to repair a gash in her forehead. Berry is embroiled in another lawsuit against the Star tabloid for claiming her marriage to Eric Benet is ”on the rocks.”

K-Ci has pleaded no contest to four charges of indecent exposure during a K-Ci and Jo-Jo performance last December at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. K-Ci (born Cedric Hailey) had allegedly pulled a Jim Morrison during a radio station Christmas show before an audience that included hundreds of children as young as 5 years old. While he expects his June 5 sentencing to require a fine and community service, he still faces a lawsuit filed by Robin and Robert Garcia and their daughter Rachel, who attended the show and are claiming emotional distress.

Rapper Juvenile has pleaded not guilty to charges arising from a March 28 incident in which he allegedly knocked out a man with a champagne bottle at a Florida mall and grabbed and cursed at the police sergeant who arrested him. Juvenile (real name Terius Gray), 26, allegedly argued with and struck Jackson Saint Ange, 28, who was treated at a hospital and released. Juvenile’s next date in Miami-Dade County Court is June 8.

CONCERT CANCELLATIONS Citing technical problems, Madonna has scrapped what would have been the opening dates of her first world tour in eight years. The Drowned World Tour was scheduled to begin in Cologne, Germany, on June 5 and 6, and the 17,000 tickets for those shows, which had sold out in minutes, will be refunded. The tour will now start in Barcelona, Spain, on June 9, taking Madonna across Europe before coming to the U.S. in July.

Proof that the ’70s are finally over: Officials canceled a three day rock festival near Phoenix featuring REO Speedwagon, Kansas, and Steppenwolf when only 400 tickets to the event, which had been scheduled for next weekend, had been sold.

A lung infection has forced Jill Scott to delay the kickoff of her tour supporting Sting. She was hospitalized in Philadelphia on Saturday and had to miss the tour’s opening night in Washington. She is expected to make a full recovery.

Turns out Marilyn Manson isn’t canceling his Denver appearance as part of the Ozzfest lineup, but a church group still wants him to. Manson had initially said scheduling conflicts would force his band to miss the June 21 date, but now he’s back on the bill. Nonetheless, the Denver based Citizens for Peace and Respect is calling upon Manson to reconsider. ”We believe he promotes hate, violence, death, suicide, drug use, and the attitudes and actions of the Columbine killers,” said local pastor and CPR founder Jason Janz. Although early rumors that the Columbine gunmen were Manson fans were later proved false, Manson canceled a Denver area concert shortly after the 1999 killings and hasn’t returned since. He has denied that his recent goths vs. jocks video for ”The Fight Song” means to exploit the Columbine tragedy.