James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, has prostate cancer, the New York Post reports. Brown, 71, who also suffers from diabetes, will undergo surgery Wednesday. “I have overcome a lot of things in my life. I will overcome this as well,” he told his manager, SuperFrank. Brown just completed a two-week tour of Canada. His new autobiography, “I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul,” is due out next month.

Brown joins a too-long list of well-known prostate-cancer victims, including Colin Powell, John Kerry, Rudy Giuliani, Nelson Mandela and Joe Torre.

Tiny guzzler gets tanked

Red-state diva Britney Spears apparently got so blitzed on sake the other night in Las Vegas the poor girl needed help to walk out of Nobu in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the New York Post says. A Britney spokeswoman, dizzy from the spin job, confirmed that liquid refreshment was consumed.

But then the clever woman added Britney “may have been tipsy because she has recently lost a lot of weight and is tiny and in great shape.”

Now that is public relations at its finest, folks. She was drunk because her hot body’s just too petite for alcohol. It is not because she is a self-indulgent rich girl with a big entourage and a small brain.

NO, SIR

Because we do not get enough respect around the newsroom (or at home, for that matter), we enthusiastically present the following nugget: British actor Ben Kingsley is divorcing his wife of one year because his spouse’s friends will not call him “Sir.” The indispensable New York Post tells us Kingsley, 60, famed for his role in “Gandhi,” was knighted in 2002. He married Alexandra Christman, 30, in 2003. As it happens, Kingsley grew up poor, while Christman comes from aristocracy. The man actually told Christman’s pals, “You should call me Sir Ben.”

Famous poker faces



Who would you most like to see across from you at the poker table? Why, Pamela Anderson, of course. In an online survey conducted by EmpirePoker.com, 42 percent of the Web site’s respondents selected model-actress Anderson as the celebrity they would most like to play against.

“Our players clearly think Pamela Anderson isn’t too bright or maybe they just want to ogle her,” said Ron Burke, EmpirePoker.com’s marketing manager.

Loopy former basketballer Dennis Rodman was a distant second with 24 percent, crazy-eyed actor James Woods got 13 percent, musician Dave Navarro was picked by 10 percent, and skateboarder Tony Hawk and actor Matt Damon each drew 3 percent. Donald Trump was selected by 2 percent, and 1 percent said actor Ben Affleck.

People do not want to play against Affleck because he is perceived to be an ace at the game. Interestingly, when asked which celebrity poker player would be most likely to cheat at poker, 37 percent of those surveyed chose Affleck. No explanation was given.