NBA PLAYOFFS

Thank you Dallas Mavericks. Finally, the NBA playoff coverage wont be dominated by Eva Longoria. Eva and her Spurs went jingle-jangle right out of the playoffs, as the Mavericks spanked the Spurs 119-111 in overtime. Mark Cuban went Brokeback on a bewildered Josh Howard (center) after the win.

The sun went down on the Clippers last night as the Phoenix Suns eliminated the Clippers from the semifinals. Elton Brand (above right) of the Clippers talks with the media after the loss. He didn’t, however, mention his production company. Gibraltar Entertainment, the production company that Elton Brand owns 50% of, has been named in four lawsuits since the beginning of this year! None allege any wrongdoing by Brand, but they do illustrate how important it is for athletes to know what the hell they are doing before investing in a company. One attorney said that Brand “settled a $250,000 claim out of his own funds to end a lawsuit.”

NBA X-MEN
With the release of “X-Men: The Last Stand” scheduled for Friday, 20th Century Fox followed up a cross-promotion it did on FX’ coverage of the Nextel All-Star Challenge.

Last night, during the Mavericks-Spurs game, a 15-second promo aired with movie footage interspersed with NBA game action, with the copy “The Last Stand 5-26-06” and “The NBA Playoffs Continue” across the bottom of the screen. The spot featured hot Nets forward Vince Carter with wings on his back similar to the “X-Men” character “Angel,” Shaq imitating the way “Juggernaut” runs through people and walls, and Steve (I’m bored with you) Nash’s passes with lightning bolts emanating from him, a reference to the character “Storm.”

FROM JORDAN TO GORDON

Last week sexy Bull Ben Gordon launched his new White Tea based Energy Drink “BG7.” The yummy tea is being produced and marketed by HTRE. Now, Gordon and Harlem Hip Hop hottie Juelz Santana have agreed to be principal partners in HTRE’s flagship HipHopSodaShop store on 125th Street in Harlem. “It’s time for every one of us to start giving back,” said Gordon, “HTRE is all about investing in our own culture and in our own communities…the store on 125th alone will create about one hundred new jobs…we’re setting up scholarship programs and computer giveaways to make equal educational opportunity our top priority. I’ve also obtained the exclusive SodaShop rights to Chicago from H3 and look forward to working with my teammates on the Bulls to bring good health, great entertainment, and economic empowerment to all the communities across the Windy City.” More details will be announced at a press conference Thursday in Manhattan and I’m hoping it’s led by H3’s Director of Corporate Communications, Adrian Walton, who may wanna lay off the Tony Robbins tapes for awhile: “We’re in the process of putting partnerships like this together all over the USA! Hooking up the biggest stars in the NBA with the baddest rappers around to get our SodaShops popping everywhere! It’s time to get the party started so just keep watching America! You’re about to find out what H3Teamwork is all about.”

Juelz inked his deal with HTRE in February and performed at the HipHopSodaShop booth during the NBA All Star Weekend. Juelz is making the rounds, as he recently appeared on BET’s 106th and Park to talk about- guess what? His new HipHopSodaShop! He’s hot and nasty and I love this Hip Hop Soda Shop stuff. Check out Juelz website (*Parental advisory!*) at www.santanastown.com, or to view the video visit hiphopsodashop.com.

JEROME BETTIS GETS BREWED

Pittsburgh Brewing Co. is producing more than 50,000 cases of limited-edition beer cans and bottles with the image of former hot Steeler Jerome Bettis on them. In case you were wondering, Bettis isnt profiting from this frothy deal. The brewery paid an undisclosed amount to Bettis’ The Bus Stops Here Foundation for the rights to his image.

ROGER FEDERER REIGNS ARROGANT
Roger Federer is one hottie who no longer gets the benefit of the doubt. After his whoa-is-me loss to Spain’s hottest export, Raphael Nadal, Federer still hasn’t learned how to be humble.

In fact, Federer speaks like a boxer. “I’ve never beaten him on clay but every time I’ve played him I’ve got closer and closer and I should have won in Rome… I really hope we do play (in Paris),” the 24-year-old Swiss told reporters at the Laureus World Sports awards on Monday. When asked what he could do to beat Nadal, Federer said: “Nothing more. I should have won. I was one shot away.” If Federer can win in Paris, we will never hear the end of it-as he would become the first man to hold all four grand slams at the same time. The only thing standing between Federer and the title is Raphael Nadal. The two will compete in at the French Open in Paris May 28th-June 11th. Both hotties were recognized at the Laureus Sports Award show. Nadal won the Newcomer of the Year Award, and Federer won the World Sportsman of the Year Award for the second straight year, joining Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winner of the top award. How or why Federer deserves this is beyond me, as it certainly doesn’t put him anywhere near the same class as Tiger.

Speaking of the sexy beast, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els have created the Friendship Cup in which junior golfers from their foundations will meet every year to play a three-day match and learn about the others’ background and cultures. The first match will be held July 2-8 at Edgewood Valley Country Club in La Grange, Illinois.

LENNOX LEWIS PLAYS CHESS

Today, former boxer Lennox Lewis will compete in speed chess matches at online gaming site www.king.com. Opponents can win $1,000 by beating the worlds hottest retired boxer. “For me, playing chess takes the stress away, which is why I enjoyed playing when I was training,” Lennox, who retired from boxing in February 2004, said in a statement. “The sports are similar in that it’s one-on-one, and in boxing, it helped me prepare a strategy to beat my opponent.

According to the Sun Online, Evander Holyfield is coming out of retirement in order to become “The Real Deal” again. Guess those grills didn’t sell very well? The Sun reports that Holyfield has sent a shout-out to Lennox Lewis to also come out of retirement and fight for the world title once again. (yawn) Speaking to Neil Custis of the Sun, Holyfield said: “I would love to fight Lennox again. Not just in any old fight but for a world title…the first time we fought he could have won — the second time I thought I should have got the decision. It would be great to have a third fight. But I don’t know if I can draw him out of retirement.” How about we stick to the next generation of young, hot boxers and rid boxing of its corruption. And by the way Evander, everyone who watched the first fight knows you really lost. Greased palms anyone?

WORLD CUP

One of England’s hottest men alive, David Beckham, signs autographs on the helmets of workers in Wembley stadium, which is currently under construction. England will play against Paraguay, Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago in Group B.

Spain’s national soccer coach Luis Aragones, points to a crazy redheaded female fan going nuts on the sidelines as Raul Gonzalez sits during a training session just outside of Madrid yesterday. Gonzalez was discouraged from “sitting in such a provocative way.”

That’s it for today. As always, thanks for reading. Delinda