the buzz log

A movie star explains why she almost quit the most profitable flick in box office history. A teen golf phenom attempts to describe how she was disqualified from an LPGA tournament—for reasons that have nothing to do with her swing. And a Chicago suburb tightens the belt, and ups the fines, for droopy pants. Welcome to the Weekend in Buzz…

Maggie Gyllenhaal's close call
"The Dark Knight" shattered records in its opening weekend, but co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal almost didn't take a role in the blockbuster film. Here's why: In 2006, just five days after giving birth, the actress was doing her best to keep her new baby out of the public eye. And the paparazzi didn't like it. To foil the publicity-shy mother, cameramen placed a call about a fake fire on the star's block. The hoax drove mama and infant outside—and into the flash of the waiting cameras.

Gyllenhaal was so disgusted by the trick and so wary of new paparazzi-prone projects, she almost dropped out of the Batman sequel. News of the near-miss rose to the top of the weekend's Buzz, where it beat out all other entertainment stories for the past two days.

Michelle Wie, please sign on the dotted line
Teenage golf star Michelle Wie was "one good round away" from triumph at the State Farm Classic on the LPGA tour when she left the scoring area without signing her scorecard. No big deal, right? Wrong. Each player must autograph her scorecard—or face disqualification. And that's exactly what ensued for the 18-year-old athlete.

"I don't know why or how it happened," the crushed golfer said to reporters later. Now that the story has blazed to the top of the weekend's sports news, we're sure there will be no shortage of fans reminding Wie to put her John Hancock on all scorecards from here on out.

How low can you go?
If you prefer to wear your pants very, very low, you'll want to steer clear of Lynwood, Ill. The Chicago suburb has decided to fine "anyone showing three inches or more of their underwear in public." Why, council members! The mayor rightly calls this "a hot topic." Buzz about the boxer rebellion boosted the story to the top of the weekend's most voted-on articles.

Also riding high in Buzz over the past 48 hours...

• Heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko took on Tim Sylvia in the first World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts competition this weekend and came out victorious. In a wildly popular article about the bout, Dave Meltzer declared, "This may prove to be one of the pivotal moments in North American MMA history."

• Barack Obama may not have won his fighting match yet, but he's certainly doing a good job landing headlines in Buzz. His much-discussed overseas trip included a stop in Afghanistan and drove a Yahoo! News article about the visit to the top of the weekend's U.S. and world news.