Laila Ali delivered baby last month. Boxer and TV commentator Laila Ali has finally announced the birth of her first child. Curtis Muhammad, whose middle name honors his grandfather, Muhammad Ali, was born Aug. 26. But Ali posted the news on her Web site Thursday. Ali wed Curtis Conway last year in California. A statement on the Web site read:  “Although mom and baby are both healthy and happy, there were some surprises during labor that altered Laila’s birth plan. Mama and baby are resting.”

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Ken Griffey Jr. is enjoying career in Chi. Following a trade that moved the future Hall of Famer from Cincinnati to Chicago, Ken Griffey Jr. is having a ball with his new teammates. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had on a team,” Griffey said recently. “I’ve never laughed this much at the ballpark in my life.” Fellow Sox agree that levity has its place in the locker room and among the squad members. Griffey has been well-received in Chicago since the trade.

Nation of Islam leader’s son led champ

A former manager of boxing legend Muhammad Ali has died at age 79, following recent open-heart surgery in Chicago. Jabir Herbert Muhammad, son of former Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, led a controversial career in the Nation and overseeing Ali’s boxing accomplishments from 1966 to 1981. Herbert Muhammad was among those who broke ranks with former Nation of Islam spokesman Malcolm X, who heavily recruited Ali to join the Nation and, at one point, offered to deliver the boxer, then known as Cassius Clay, into the Nation. Herbert Muhammad and much of the nation took little interest in Ali until after he’d defeated Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title, which Malcolm X had predicted. Herbert Muhammad soon took over Ali’s direction, but the relationship soured when they entered legal battles years later. Herbert Muhammad claimed the two eventually resolved their differences.