O.J. to parole board: 'I've been the best prisoner they've ever had'

O.J. Simpson met with his parole board Thursday and pleaded to reduce his prison sentence after serving almost five years, telling them he deeply regretted robbing two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room.

"I just wish I never went to that room," he said. "I wish I just said keep it."

The 66-year-old was handed down a maximim 33-year sentence for kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges in relation to the 2008 incident.

He made an emotional plea to two Nevada parole board members via CCTV yesterday, saying he believes he has been a model inmate.

"I missed my two younger kids who worked hard getting through high school, I missed their college graduations. I missed my sister's funeral. I missed all the birthdays.

"I promised prison officials I would be the best prisoner they have ever had here, (and) I think, for the most part, I've kept my word on that."

The former NFL star and movie actor will learn in two weeks whether or not he will have his sentence reduced. If a majority of the seven-person parole board vote in his favor, he could be given a lesser sentence but will not be freed immediately from prison.

"My intent was not to rob from anybody. I knew both of these guys who had my stuff. I was a little upset with them, and I think I wasn't as civil as I should have been."

A final decision is expected next week.

The best chance for The Juice get cut loose early lies with a pending decision by a Las Vegas judge on whether to grant him a new trial based on claims that his trial lawyer botched his defense and had a conflict of interest in the case.

O.J. Simpson comes to the defense of Paula Deen

None other than O.J. Simpson has come to the defense of disgraced chef and cooking show star Paula Deen in the wake of her racism scandal, saying, "Leave Paula alone!" and "Everyone deserves a second chance."

It's not surprising considering Simpson serving a 33-year prison sentence for armed robbery and recently had a failed hearing to get that sentence reduced.  Simpson — who met Deen when she cooked him a Southern feast in 2002 at her Georgia restaurant even though it was closed— felt compelled to stick up for Deen from his jail cell.

"O.J. was deeply touched by Paula's friendliness," his manager Norman Pardo told the National Enquirer.  "That's why he's so disturbed about what's happening to her now."

Simpson — who looks like he's put on a few pounds since his incarceration — was found not guilty of killing his ex-wife and her friend in 1994 before his armed robbery arrest in 2007, said that he felt "everybody should have a second chance."

"I'd like one myself," the 66-year-old Simpson added, according to Pardo.

Deen found herself in stew-pot of controversy after it emerged she used the N-word and spoke of her desire to throw a Southern wedding with waiting staff emulating slaves.

The Southern chef was dumped by her television network and numerous companies and sponsors have severed ties with Deen's brand name since the story broke.

Deen met Simpson in 2002 when he visited her restaurant in Savannah, Georgia before making an appearance at a nearby nightclub, the Enquirer reported. At the time, she was not the celebrity she is today.

He arrived with four friends an hour before the restaurant opened but Deen told them to sit down — and ignore the sounds of the vacuum cleaner.

She ended up serving the party a feast of southern fried chicken, string beans, peas, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn bread, biscuits, potato casserole and fried okra, the Enquirer reported.

A source added that Paula told Simpson she didn't think he was guilty of killing his ex-wife.

"When she saw that, O.J.'s face lit up," the source said. "He knew he was on friendly ground, so he relaxed and enjoyed the food."

Maybe she'll bring Juice a file pie the next time she's out in Las Vegas. You know ... for his support.

O.J. Simpson is a bloated shell of his former self after years in prison

The years behind bars have not been kind to one-time NFL star O.J. Simpson. The 65-year-old former Buffalo Bills running back and part-time movie actor looked like a shell of his former self  — a bloated shell — when he walked into court in Las Vegas Monday to reverse a conviction that put him behind bars.

Simpson added weight and gray hair to his once-world-class physique when he was escorted into Clark County court by guards before nodding at some spectators he recognized in the gallery. The shackled Simpson wore simple, blue jailhouse clothing.

The Juice is tossing a Hail Mary courtroom bid to get his armed robbery and kidnapping convictions from 2008 set aside.

The Heisman Trophy winner is claiming that ineffective work by former defense lawyer Yale Galanter got him convicted on Oct. 3, 2008 and sentenced to nine to 33 years behind bars.

Simpson was sent away for engineering an armed confrontation — on Sept. 3, 2007 at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino — against sports memorabilia collectors who had O.J. momentos.

The Juice had claimed the goods were stolen and he was just taking back what was rightfully his.

Simpson will claim that he told Galanter of his plans to get his stuff back, and the lawyer gave him the OK.

The Juice is also expected to testify that Galanter did not tell him about a plea-bargain offer on the table from Clark County prosecutors.

Bank Foreclosing On O.J. Simpson's Florida Home

O.J. Simpson is joining the ranks of tens of thousands of Florida homeowners who have lost their homes due to foreclosure.  The AP reports that court records in that state show that in September JP Morgan Chase filed for foreclosure on the disgraced football star's home near downtown Miami.

Unlike many of those people who have been displaced, the "Juice" still has the Big House to reside in.

Simpson, 64, is serving a 9-to-33-year prison sentence in Nevada for his armed confrontation and robbery of sports memorabilia dealers in 2007 in a Las Vegas hotel.  He bought the 4,200-square-foot Florida house in 2000 for $575,000.

The four bedroom, four-bathroom structure is currently assessed at $478,401.

The former NFL running back and actor was acquitted in 1995 in Los Angeles for the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.  Simpson has been struggling financially ever since a civil jury ordered him to pay $33.5 million for the wrongful slaying of Goldman.

The Goldman's family is still trying to collect on that judgement.  They get residual payments from his movie performances in films like "The Naked Gun" series.  Chances they will ever get all of the money are slimmer than Simpson's acting skills outside of the courtroom.

The Goldman family attorney David J. Cook told AP the foreclosure is "no surprise at all."

"It was just a matter of time before he would lose the house," said Cook.

Besides the film residuals, Cook claims that Simpson made $750,000 for a ghostwritten book.

"If I Did It" reportedly sold about 150,000 copies he said.

AP says an attorney has filed to have the foreclosure procedure dismissed, but there hasn't been any action since November.

This is one foreclosure story that won't break too many hearts.

O.J. Beaten Unconscious in Prison Attack?

Disgraced football great O.J. Simpson was pummeled senseless in a prison yard attack according to a story in The National Enquirer.  On Tuesday, the Enquirer said the 63 year-old Simpson was beaten and kicked to pulp by a young skinhead.  Are your eyes welling up yet?

USA Today said the prison is denying that anything occurred.

The Enquirer recap said Simpson was punched and kicked so thoroughly and severely, the NFL Hall-of-Famer spent nearly three weeks in the prison infirmary after the surprise attack.

The alleged beatdown--which was cheered on by other inmates--sent Simpson into such a deep depression, 'The Juice' is afraid to leave his cell, according to the Enquirer.

The article said the celebrity jailbird's mugging became such an embarrassment to prison officials, they did their best to keep the incident a secret.  Nobody has given the exact date of the fight.

Simpson, the former college and NFL star is serving 33 years in Nevada's Lovelock Correctional Center for his participation in an armed confrontation with a sports memorabilia dealer in Las Vegas in Sept. 2007.  He is eligible for parole in 7 years.

According to The Enquirer, Simpson was a "marked man" and was secretly targeted by white supremacists for boasting about his sexual escapades with 'beautiful white women.'

Simpson's former business partner Bruce Fromong said, "Unfortunately for O.J., a group of young skinhead punks were within earshot--and they were enraged."

A spokesperson from the Nevada Department of Corrections denies the Enquirer story is true and simply said it is "totally bogus."

Poor O.J..  Imagine being pounced on in a sneak attack?  Remember, if the glove fits...