OGILVY DOES PUMA PROUD.

Geoff Ogilvy won the 106th US Open yesterday in a wild final round, which included Phil Mickelson and his man boobs hitting everything from the hospitality tent to a garbage bag.

Ogilvy shot 2-over 72 to finish at 5-over 275. He became the first U.S. Open winner not to break par since Andy North in 1978 at Cherry Hills and only the second Aussie to win the US Open. You may have noticed Ogilvys hot outfit, and sexy belt buckle? Earlier this year, Ogilvy signed a massive endorsement deal with Puma Golf. Meanwhile, Mickelson meant “no disrespect” when he refused to comment immediately following Ogilvy’s win. He was too busy being consoled by his Anna Bensonesq wife. Not a bad move for someone who lost on a double-bogey.

And knowing my readers like I do, I assume you all got a gander at Ian Poulter? He was hard to miss as he leaped from one hole to the next. The hot brit was clad in a flashy pink outfit for the final rounds of the U.S. Open. Poulter finished the Open 9-over par and tied for 12th. The 6’1” hottie turned pro in 1995, and since then has earned about $7.9M. Poulter also played out of a pink golf bag that promoted his Web site, ianpoulter.com. He is selling a limited edition of one of his head covers, which has his caricature, for $300 and “knew a fine performance yesterday could only boost sales.” Poulter: “It can only help. I’m a noticeable character out there anyway, everybody knows that. It’s not just this week’s performance that people are going to notice.”

What we are going to notice, is that Ian Poulter should NEVER wear pink pants when he sweats.

THE HEAT IS ON!

Dwyane Wade was on fire last night! Wade scored 43 points and lead the Heat to a third straight victory in the series with a free throw with 1.9 seconds left in overtime. The 101-100 victory gives the Heat a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals Playoffs. Mark Cuban obviously didn’t take the loss very well, and stormed off the court after a stare-down with Commissioner Stern. Stay tuned…game six, tomorrow at Dallas. Even if you aren’t familiar with basketball, this series is worth watching. The on and off court drama, is nothing short of delicious. Two teams of hot, hungry, big men, fighting it out for a trophy. Some are fired up, others are angry, all are passionate, and they play ball like a mutha-f**ker.

In the crowd…Kevin Federline looks way too hot to be married to scrappy Brittany Spears. And I must give a nod to all the scary Heat fans for coming out from under the rocks and giving me a great laugh.

VIVA LA LANCE-BRING DOWN THE POUND!

Lance Armstrong fired off an eight-page letter to the IOC stating that WADA Chair and IOC member Dick Pound “ought to step down or be forced out” of the IOC after an Int’l Cycling Union report cleared Lance’s of using performance-enhancing drugs at the ’99 Tour de France. Armstrong rightfully claimed that a French lab mishandled his urine samples “at Pound’s ‘direction and insistence’” and asked the IOC to “convene a ‘disciplinary commission.’” WADA, in an unexplained move, has “completely rejected” the UCI report. What part of “cleared” doesn’t WADA get?

ADVERTISING WARS AT THE WORLD CUP

Talk about drama…In Manchester, Harding & Culf noted stadium officials made over 1,000 Netherlands fans wearing orange lederhosen bearing the name of Dutch beer company Bavaria on them to “take their trousers off” before entering. Bavaria Chair Peer Swinkels, whose company is not a FIFA sponsor, said, “FIFA said that the supporters could get them back afterwards. But the container was full of rubbish so most people didn’t bother.” Harding & Culf note there were also allegations that England supporters at the Trinidad & Tobago game “were forced to hand over Nike clothing” because the company is not a FIFA sponsor. But FIFA denied that Nike clothing “had been confiscated.”

THE SAUDI’S GET DOUBLE SPANKED
The Saudi Arabia soccer federation will allow its players to accept the World Cup man of the match award after it “secured a pledge from FIFA not to mention” the award’s sponsor, Anheuser-Busch, and not present the trophy, a mug with the A-B logo on it. The federation would not let its players accept the award because alcohol is banned in the country for religious reasons. Although I applaud their optimism, I don’t think they are going to have to worry about accepting any trophies-the Saudi team got schooled by the Ukraine this morning 4-0!

Saudi Arabia’s Omar Al Ghamdi, right, and Ukraine’s Andriy Voronin, left, leave nothing to the imagination as they “battle for the ball” during the Saudi Arabia v. Ukraine group H match today. This photo begs the question: which ball are they fighting for?

Thanks to Angela for sending me this awesome story about Rudolf and Adolf Dassler, the feuding brothers who attempted to make the world’s first lightweight sports shoe and ended up with Puma and adidas. Now, the little town of Herzogenaurach Germany is split into two over this 60 year-old family fued. It’s a great story that not too many people are aware of.

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

HERE KITTY-KITTY…

Round four of the US Open is underway at the Winged Foot GC …Let’s turn our full attention the West Course, because that’s where Athlebrity favorite, Camilo Villegas is crawling. Villegas enters the round tied for 48th.

Interesting tid-bit on the hot kat, after the first two rounds, Villegas had actually outscored Tiger Woods by six shots to make the cut. “He’s the best player in the world,” Villegas said. “But it can happen.”

Thanks to the recent pin-up nod from People magazine, Villegas is finally getting the attention he deserves. With the attention, come the questions. Of our concern is the pressing issue of whose team Camilo putts for: “It doesn’t matter how good she looks. A woman has to be fun.” I have butterflies…

SHAQ IS HUNGRY

Shaq was out on the town looking for a few Mavericks to eat, when he realized the team had fled Miami and took shelter in Fort Lauderdale. “We are on vacation,” Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said before the hotel switch. “We got a vacation mentality, so I am going to fix that.” Johnson has a lot to fix. The Mavericks came to Miami, two games up in the NBA Finals, before they discovered the nightlife in South Beach and partied their way into a 2-2 deadlock. “We are very disappointed with the way we’ve played,” Johnson said. “We’ve been distracted. We’ve not had the right type of focus or the right type of physicality but that can come back.” Johnson did not go into detail about what the distractions were, because if you’ve ever been to South Beach, you know what they are. Will Shaq and Dwayne Wade eat the Mavericks tonight? Watch and see my friends…

Just when I thought Beanie Babies had become a thing of the past, they come back with a vengeance. Ty is proud to introduce ShaqBear, the Beanie Baby inspired by Shaq. (www.ty.com/Shaq.) For a mere six bucks, you too can have your own ShaqBear- a 10″ medium brown Beanie Baby bear, wearing a white jersey and shorts, with red and yellow trim. The jersey front is embroidered with “SHAQ” and the Dunkman logo; the jersey back reads “O’NEAL” and has the number 32, all in red lettering. ShaqBear also wears Dunkman athletic shoes with the name “SHAQ” on the tongue. It also has 3 different hang tags; each tag variation has its own poem, Shaq Fact, and an inspirational message for children from Shaquille O’Neal. “I am honored to be the first athlete for whom Ty created a Beanie Baby,” said Shaquille O’Neal. “Beanie Babies have been providing companionship and strong values to children around the world for a long time. Those things are important to me, and partnering with Ty to continue to spread those messages really means a lot.” *I’m not sure what Shaq is thinking, but I think there are quite a few “athlete” Beanie Babies floating around- not that I have any- but I’ve seen them…

Speaking of Shaq, his ex-boyfriend Kobe brought his daughter Natalia to the Los Angeles Sparks’ WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun on Saturday. Bryant’s daddy, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, is the coach of the Sparks.

DIEGO MARADONA

I love this guy, but I love his entourage even more. First of all, I am still waiting for confirmation on who the hell that hottie is that Maradona totes with him (L)- I belive it’s his son and I am in love with him. I’ve also become somewhat obsessed with his bodyguard- hello!

DAVID BECKHAM

David Beckham (L) is so hot it doesn’t matter how he bends it. The sexy beast only needs to breathe. Period. On Tuesday, England will attempt to end their 38-year winless streak against those sexy Swedes. Speaking of sexy Swedes…FREDRIK LJUNGBERG (R) Aka the Calvin Klein pin-up hottie extraordinaire, rests and watches his teammates during a training session.

BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS…
Big love to team USA for holding their own against the Czechs yesterday. Our boys were able to secure a wild 1-1 tie Saturday night that gave them their first-ever World Cup point in Europe. The tie also gives the US a slim, but possible chance to advance to the tournament’s second round. “This team is alive, and that’s where we wanted to be,” kick-ass goalkeeper Kasey Keller said. “It was a total team effort and those guys bled today for our country and our team.” Indeed it was a bloody game. Brian McBride had blood pouring down his face after a vicious elbow from a hot Italian. Three stitches later, McBride was ready to play again. This guy is tough as nails- he has twice had plastic surgery to repair soccer injuries, and said he’s fine to play. “Brian has, I think, a few titanium plates in his face already,” Keller said, “so you know he’s going to stick his head in places where most people would really prefer not to.”

Landon Donovan played his heart out and needed to receive an I.V. to revitalize him. And Jimmy Conrad, after a vicious elbow, stuffed cotton up his nose and played part of the game with vision so blurry he had to ask a teammate whether he was bleeding. All eyes will be watching the next match on Thursday when the US takes on the bad boys of Ghana. Saturday’s match was a milestone in U.S. soccer history. The Americans were 0-8 in World Cup games played in Europe, and they had never gotten even a single point in Europe in any match against the “big five nations” of Italy, England, Germany, Spain and France. No one can take that point, and historical moment away.

EVER WONDER WHAT IS UNDER THOSE JERSEYS?

ENGLAND VS BRAZIL
Thanks to one of my fabulous and astute readers for sending me this great England v Brazil joke…

It is just before the England v Brazil match. Ronaldinho goes into the Brazilian changing room to find all his teammates looking a bit glum. “What’s up?” he asks. “Well, we’re having trouble getting motivated for this game. We know it’s important but it’s only England. They’re sh*te and we can’t be bothered.” Ronaldinho looks at them and says, “Well, I reckon I can beat them by myself-you lads go down the pub.” So Ronaldinho goes out to play England by himself and the rest of the Brazilian team go off for a few jars. After a few pints they wonder how the game is going, so they get the landlord to put the teletext on. A big cheer goes up as the screen reads “Brazil 1 - England 0 (Ronaldinho 10 minutes)”. He is beating England all by himself! A few pints later and the game is forgotten until someone remembers, “It must be full time now, let’s see how he got on.” They put the teletext on. “Result from the Stadium ‘Brazil 1 (Ronaldinho 10 minutes) – England 1(Lampard 89 minutes).” They can’t believe it; he has single-handily got a draw against England!! They rush back to the Stadium to congratulate Ronaldinho. They find him in the dressing room, still in his gear, sitting with his head in his hands. He refuses to look at them. “I’ve let you down, I’ve let you down.” “Don’t be daft, you got a draw against England, all by yourself. And they only scored at the very, very end!” “No, no, I have, I’ve let you down…I got sent off after 12 minutes.”

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

IT’S ABOUT TIME!
Let’s give it up to People Magazine for recognizing our kitty-kat Camilo Villegas as one of the Sexiest Beasts Alive.

YELLOW!

Villegas was in full crawl yesterday at the US Open and completed the first round tied for 39th at 4-under. Congratulations to Camilo for this long overdue nod from People. With this achievement tucked perfectly under his hot yellow belt, we can expect more media coverage as the public wakes up to his crawl and his incredible talent. Give this kid another two years and he’ll have entourage the size of Tigers.

Through the second round at the US Open, Villegas finished tied for 21st and is +6.

The bigger story is that Tiger Woods missed the cut at 12 over par, marking his first cut in a major tournement for the first time in 10 years as a professional. “It’s not something you want to have happen,” Woods said. “Unfortunately, I missed this one…when you don’t execute, you’re not going to be happy either way…I don’t care if you had what transpired in my life of recent or not. Poor execution is never going to feel very good.”

ERIC WYNALDA & ALEXI LALAS
In L.A., Tom Hoffarth rips on ESPN soccer studio analysts Alexi Lalas and Eric Wynalda, both former U.S. men’s national team hotties. Hoffarth “actually called attention to the fact they couldn’t stop using the word ‘we’ in their post-match diatribe [following the U.S.’ loss to the Czech Republic], despite what their network bosses told them.”
As far as I’m concerned, Wynalda and Lalas are the only two analysts who know what the hell they are talking about. When David Beckham scored the first goal for England, the Mensa reject calling that game actually called him “Michael” Beckham before correcting himself. Wynalda: “I’ve been getting a lot of (garbage) for it, but it’s impossible to disassociate myself. … It’s the only tournament where the victor gets to share it with an entire country.” Lalas: “All American players understand how we’re judged every four years. We accept that the majority of the media is uneducated about soccer. If this team bombs, they’ll write the obligatory story — using the failure of this team as an indictment of all U.S. soccer.”

NO PEDOPHILES FOR THE NFL

The NFL held a recent meeting where they asked teams not to play “Rock and Roll Pt. 2” by Gary Glitter during games. Glitter, who isnt creepy looking at all, was recently convicted of “committing obscene acts with underage girls” and was sentenced to three years in a Vietnamese prison. Ouch! NFL Dir of Corporate Communications Brian McCarthy said, “It’s at the (individual) team’s discretion. We’re not looking to play the role of Simon Cowell, but we do advise teams on a series of game-day practices.” Several NHL teams already banned the song in ’99 after Glitter was convicted of child pornography charges.

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE
Talalay & Sortal report Miami’s WAXY-AM distributed 5,000 David Hasselhoff pictures on a stick outside American Airlines Arena before Mavericks-Heat Game Four. But the Heat “ordered its security guards to confiscate all of the station’s photos” because the team “had planned a similar gag.” Heat Exec VP & CMO Michael McCullough said that he asked the station “not to distribute its photos.”

Mavericks F Dirk Nowitzki has a bad crush on Hasselhoff and enjoys humming a song by Hasselhoff when he shoots free throws. The Heat were asking fans “to recite Hasselhoff’s name whenever Nowitzki went to the foul line.”

RAFAEL NADAL GETS HURT

I’d like to say it pains me that Rafael Nadal had to retire from the French Open quarterfinals with a sore left shoulder…but if he didn’t get hurt, we wouldn’t have gotten some delicious photos of Nadal getting a topless rub-down!

Our little Spanish treat won the first set 6-3 against hottie Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt won the second by the same score and during the changeovers; Rafael needed some TLC on his serving shoulder. He retired after that set. “I feel a lot of pain here,” Nadal said, pressing the top of his absolutely perfect arm. “The pain began in the final games of the first set. It was stupid to continue playing because I can’t serve. If I lift my arm I feel pain.” Nadal will travel to Spain to consult his personal physician- how do I get that job? The sexy beast also said he planned to be back for Wimbledon, which begins June 26. “I was playing my best match here today,” Nadal said. “It was a very good experience, very good tournament for me. It’s very difficult to come here after Roland Garros, but I won two matches.” And you are still the hottest thing on the court.

And for those of you who read my entire blog, here’s some extra Camilo Villegas treats for you to think about over the weekend!

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

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda

The hotties are teeing off at the 2006 US Open Championships. And you know what that means…the sexiest beast to grace the course, Camilo Villegas is getting ready to crawl.

Along with Villegas (L), we must pay homage to our second favorite hot golfer, Burberry pin-up boy, Adam Scott.

Ben Roethlisberger was “secretly” released, a little before midnight, from the hospital after being treated for nasty injuries suffered from his bloody motorcycle accident two days ago. The hospital released a statement saying that it “respected the wishes and privacy of Mr. Roethlisberger and his family” by not confirming his discharge until about nine hours later. Luckily, Dr. Daniel Pituch, chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Pittsburgh’s Mercy Hospital, was on hand to demonstrate the method used to repair the facial fractures of Big Ben during seven hours of surgery. Ben didn’t look too good at the demonstration, hopefullythey replaced his skin before releasing him

“We take a titanium plate, bend it and adapt it to the contours of the facial bones and then secure it in place with screws,” surgeon Daniel Pituch said. “This kind of state-of-the-art technology allowed us to successfully treat Mr. Roethlisberger’s facial fractures.” The Steelers have not given a timetable for his return, but they are optimistic he will be ready for their Sept. 7 opener against Miami.

An annual Harris Poll was conducted online among a random sample of 2085 US adults, asking whom their favorite athletes are. Tiger Woods came in at number one, knocking Michael Jordan out of first place for the first time since 93. The full list of hotties is (1) Tiger Woods, (2) Michael Jordan, (3) Brett Favre, (4) Derek Jeter, (5) Dale Earnhardt Jr, (6) Shaq, (7) Kobe, (8) LeBron, (9) Jeff Gordon, and surprise, coming in at number (10) Barry Bonds. Take that skeptics- Bonds still gets his love!

In my book, the sexiest beast in tennis is still Rafael Nadal. Nadal spanked Fernando Verdasco outta the match during Day 4 of the Stella Artois Championships at Queen’s Club in London.

IT’S MUCH MORE THAN A BEAUTIFUL GAME

World Cup fashions…it’s not just the hot golfers grabbing the attention of designers, it’s now the hot World Cup players. World cup hotties are influencing styles around the world, setting cool trends, endorsing designer brands and popping up in advertising campaigns. All this action has caused designers and athletic clothing brands to scramble to get the hottest athletes on board with their brands. Giorgio Armani is outfitting the English team for off-field World Cup appearances, and has nabbed Brazilian Kaka and Ukrainain Andriy Schevchenko in ads for the Emporio Armani and Armani Collezioni collections.

Meanwhile, I expect all of you to send thank you notes to Dolce & Gabbana. They designed the uniforms for AC Milan’s regular-season matches, and in a gift from the Athlebrity Gods, D&G have now cast five of the hottest Italian soccer players in an underwear ad campaign. I now ask you all again, who will you be cheering for when the US takes on these guys Saturday?

NO SPOILERS HERE
In case you had to tape the England- Trinidad game today, I wont spoil the match and tell you what happened. I will however, give a massive shout out to my girl Angela, aka “John Terry Freak” for turning me on to one of the greatest athletes in England.

In what I think has been the best play to date in the World Cup, John Terry cleared the ball from the goal in one of the most spectacular moves I have ever seen.

Romeo and Brooklyn Beckham watched their hot daddy, David Beckham, during the match between England and Trinidad/Tobago today.

Who has the biggest, hottest, strongest legs in the World Cup? I’m not sure, but this photo of Brazil’s Ronaldo stretching, certainly makes me wonder what else he can do with those thighs.

ROBOCOP

What is happening to this world? Hundreds of robots from 36 countries in 440 teams are taking part in the robot World Cup “Robocop”. The event is expected to draw about 20,000 fans through June 18th when this nightmare will be over. As the robots go through their paces, they may attempt the Peter Crouch “robot” dance. God help us all if this “dance” craze doesn’t stop soon- I can’t take anymore of the stork-dork and his moves. The scary red robots will compete on four legs and others on two in the “humanoid” version.

SCARY FANS

ESPN’s Dave O’Brien, who does suck hard at his uninformed and misleading coverage of the World Cup, did say something extremely poignant: “I’m a baseball guy. And that’s a dirty word among soccer enthusiasts. … There’s kind of a petulant little clique of soccer fans. There’s not many of them, but they’re mean-spirited.”

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

CAMILO VILLEGAS IS IN DA HOUSE!

Our patience during the Camilo Villegas drought has finally paid off. The 106th U.S. Open begins at the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck tomorrow!

Our sexy lawn-kat Camilo Villegas is in full swing. Decked out in his usual Lindeberg garb, Villegas sent my libido out of control during the practice rounds yesterday, and today. The 5-day weather forecast predicts rain tomorrow! I ask all of you to pray to the Athlebrity gods not to rain on our parade. We need our fix, we need our Camilo crawl.

On Monday at Winged Foot, most of the 156 golfers were checking out the course layout designed by AW Tillinghast. This is the fifth time the classic AW Tillinghast design has hosted a U.S. Open. They’ve added a tremendous amount of yardage to almost every hole, which mean a more challenging course, and extra room for Camilo to crawl.

GARY PAYTON- A LIAR?
Raining on my Heat win last night is Gary Payton. The Heat Guard has officially entered the Mensa reject category. In 2002, Payton promised to donate $3M to his alma mater of Oregon State University to help fund a basketball practice facility. Problem is, Payton never made the donation. At the time, the donation was called the “largest one-time donation by any professional athlete to a college.” Payton, when confronted with his promise, said, “I don’t know. What do you want me to say?!? Call my agent. I don’t know what happened.” Payton’s agent Aaron Goodwin said, “There never was a promise. He did say he would look into making a donation. Then, the athletic director left and Gary [was traded by the Sonics].” Goodwin said that the $3M figure “did not come from Payton, but from OSU, which needed that amount to complete the project.” Whatever!

Dwyane Wade was on fire last night and tied a career playoff-high with 42 points. Miami escaped with a 98-96 win over the Mav’s last night. “I said, ‘I ain’t going out like this,”‘ Wade told his teammates.

During the telecast of the Finals Game the league debuted a global PSA for UNICEF’s “Unite For Children, Unite Against AIDS” campaign. The spot, which was filmed in English, Mandarin, Spanish, Russian and German, features Elton Brand, Paul Gasol, Lebron James, Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and other NBA hotties. Its a fantastic spot and I get goose-bumps every time I watch it.

Flaunting his team, and his money, was Mark Cuban. Miami City Manager Joe Arriola heard yesterday that Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban “was parading around South Florida waterways with a Mavericks banner on his boat” prior to NBA Finals Game Three and had Cuban “busted by code enforcement.” OH! Arriola even went on the radio Tuesday afternoon to brag about his bust. “He’s not going to have ‘Go Mavs’ in this city. If he puts it up again I’m going to take his boat out of the city.” What is Cuban saying about this scandalous event? “I don’t have a boat,” Cuban said before the game. Cuban claims that the boat’s owner is a friend of his who was docking his yacht outside the arena. “I wish I did,” he said, laughing. “I would have my lawyers there.” I would have liked to see Cuban pick up some Mav’s fans and drag them behind the boat.

I’ve been looking for an excuse to sleep with my cell phone, and now I have it. Motorola today announced that it has signed church of Athlebritolgy God David Beckham to a three-year deal to serve as a global brand ambassador. The deal will kick off in Asia with ads and retail promotions at Motorola stores and distributors. As part of the deal, delicious and much needed Beckham content, such as screen savers and video clips, will be embedded in Motorola handsets.

Great advertising also coming from FIFA partner Gillette. Using the World Cup to launch its M3 Power Nitro razor, spots includes TV and print ads “that can be digitally customized to appeal to the 16 different markets where they will be placed.” The company also sponsors two field boards at World Cup matches and the favorite athlete balloting you see going on during the matches.

Athlebrity favorite English midfielder Steven Gerrard has my imagination going haywire as he stretches while David Beckham and Wayne Rooney walk by his fine-ass during a training session this morning. England will face Trinidad & Tobago tomorrow for their second game in group B. Wayne Rooney certainly looks fit to take the field tomorrow. I for one, have felt the loss of Rooney. If you are not familiar with his style of play, you’re gonna be blown away when you see this little bulldog in action.

SCARY FAN NOMINEE

A scary fan has his face painted with the Tunisian national colors.

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

NFL HOTTIES ARE IN ACTION.

Teasing us from the Seattle Seahawks workout headquarters is tight end Jerramy Stevens. Stevens underwent knee surgery in April and seems to be recovering pretty well.

The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation’s annual golf tournament at the Belmont Country Club in Belmont Massachusetts went down yesterday. (L) Head coach Bill Belichick, left, and free agent Eric Warfield were very serious about winning the tourney, while edible punter Josh Miller, left, and running back Kevin Faulk laughed as Tom Brady competed in the longest drive competition.

While competing, Tom Brady looked like he was swinging a bat instead of a golf club. Brady had a miserable tee shot that sent his driver flying threw the air.

And the Arizona Cardinals are looking super hot. Kurt Warner, (L) is in a position I’ve been trying to get into for years and Matt Leinart actually showed up without his girl-toy, Paris.

The Stella Artois Championships are underway in London England. The grass court will be blessed by the sexy feet of Rafael Nadal and his evenly lined up water bottles. (OCD anyone?) Nadal was all smiles as he practiced yesterday, as I would be- also competing are Andy where’s-my-mojo-Roddick, yummy, James Blake, stud from down under Lleyton Hewitt, and eye-candy extraordinaire, Mark Phillippoussis. For event info and schedules go to http://www.stellaartoistennis.com.

Ben Roethlisberger remains in serious but stable condition after his nasty collision with a car yesterday. The big guy has a long road to recovery ahead of him and no one is more concerned than his agent Leigh Steinberg: “The irony is he was supposed to film a Campbell’s Chunky Soup ad (today) with his mother. That might be the only thing he’ll be able to eat for the time being” –The Soup commercial is scheduled to begin filming it’s $2M TV spot today with Big Ben, Mama Roethlisberger, and six teammates. Chunky plans to go ahead with some scenes around some of those teammates. The company, which signed Roethlisberger to a deal in April, hopes to film him and his mother at a future date.

Someone’s gotta tell this fifteen-minute chaser, that a tailgate party across the street from Pittsburgh’s Mercy Hospital is a little bit inappropriate right now.

Tiger Woods pays tribute to his late father, Earl, in a new 30-second Nike ad set to debut this week in conjunction with the U.S. Open and Father’s Day. The ad, uses family photos and home movies to show the relationship between father and son as the two grew older and as Tiger developed from a toddler playing golf to a professional. The spot will be posted on Nikegolf.com today and will run Thursday-Monday during U.S. Open coverage on NBC and ESPN, as well as on The Golf Channel and MTV.

Real Madrid’s crest will appear on the car of F1 driver Fernando Alonso if Juan Palacios is elected club president on July 2. Palacios, who runs a watch business, “is reported to be a long-time friend of Alonso,” a fan of the team. But Juan Miguel Villar Mir, who is also running for the post, said, “We aren’t a brand of watches. This is all the wrong way round. Real should be receiving money from sponsors not paying it out”

You should know by now that Italy spanked Ghana yesterday 2-0. The best part of any sporting event is when the hottest athletes take off their shirts and celebrate. (L) Italian treat Francesco Totti(L) and midfielder Mauro Camoranesi show us why it is indeed a ‘beautiful game’. The hotties on the right, Vincenzo Iaquinta (L) and Daniele De Rossi seem pretty happy about Rossi’s second goal.

Wayne Rooney had to be told a million times “use your feet, not your hands” as he prepares to throw a ball during a World Cup training session, he then had to get down and “give them 20” before continuing with practice.

Rooney laughed at the scolding and continued his stretching with Athlebritology God David Beckham.

A portrait of Brazilian Athlebrity Ronaldo was carved into the sand this morning in Calcutta, India. Brazil will play their first soccer World Cup match today.

And scary giant models of the South Korean soccer players decorate the streets of central Seoul. More than a million South Korean soccer fans are set to take to the streets of Seoul and other cities to cheer on the national squad in its World Cup opener in Germany. Lore in Seoul claims that if Korea wins the World Cup, the status will come alive.

AND REMEMBER, WHAT GOES ON IN GERMANY…

…STAYS IN GERMANY.

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

Big bad Ben Roethlisberger remains in serious but stable condition after his motorcycle collided with a car this morning.

As of this printing, Roethlisberger was undergoing surgery and has suffered a broken jaw. Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital said “He was talking to me before he left for the operating room…he’s coherent. He’s making sense. He knows what happened. He knows where he is. From that standpoint, he’s very stable.” The 24-year-old hottie is well known for riding without a helmet, a habit that once prompted a severe spanking from Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher.

The accident happened at an intersection at about 11:30 a.m. and a pool of blood remains visible. A silver Chrysler New Yorker with damage to the front passenger fender was removed and Roethlisberger’s black bike was loaded onto a flatbed truck. No details were given on whether anyone else was hurt. We are all hoping for Ben’s recovery.

During the NBA Finals Game One, Nets investor Jay-Z appeared in a new ad from HP, which features Jay-Z from the neck down (brilliant!) talking about his HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook. The ad’s begins with him saying, “I got my whole life in this thing. Check out this new song that I’m mixing. It’s still rough, all artists say that. Got the new Rocawear campaign, shot it in Aspen. I think it’s kinda cool.” He continues, “I love playing chess online. Hold on, this game is over; I wonder if he knows.” The ad then shows digital architectural plans for the Nets’ new arena, as Jay-Z says, “New Frank Gehry plans for my team in Brooklyn, see that? Cool.” He goes on to show a map of the world, saying, “Just started organizing my world tour, trying to be a rock star and a role model.” Showing digital stock quotes, he adds, “Got to track all my investments because I’m retired, right?” Jay-Z ends the commercial by saying, “My passport says Shaun, but you may know me by another name. Holla.” The text “Jay-Z: CEO of Hip-Hop” then appears on the screen while he flashes his trademark diamond hand gesture.

Can’t get enough of Rafael Nadal? Spain’s most precious export poses with the trophy at the place de la Concorde after sexy Rafa sent Federer packing at the French Open. And if you can take your eyes off of Rafael for a second, you’ll notice the Arc de Thriomphe in the background. How hot is Rafa? Nadal’s blog on ATPtennis.com has attracted more than 380,000 hits since his first post on May 28. During the first week of the French Open, Nadal’s blog was the Web site’s most popular page, excluding the home page, drawing 286,293 page impressions.

And what happened to Roger Federer after he lost at the French Open? He inked an incredible endorsement deal with Rolex. The endorsement is worth up to $15M over the next ten years, which is said to be the most lucrative watch deal ever for an athlete. Rolex was hush-hush about the deal, but it has started featuring Federer on its Web site.

Speaking of Rolex. My new fixation with Argentinean football star Diego Maradona continues. Maradona, seen here wearing two watches, is escorted by his bodyguard after a trip to the adidas store in Herzogenaurach, southern Germany, today. He then hung out with a group of ‘unidentified’ friends. Maradona wins the award for the hottest entourage I’ve ever seen-including his hot, hot, hot bodyguard!

D’Backs General Partner said that he “plans to file termination papers today” with MLB on released P Jason Grimsley. Kendrick believes that Grimsley “should forfeit the remaining $527,490 owed to him because he violated the terms of a contract. Kendrick: The Mensa reject plans to fight the [team’s] decision to withhold the remainder of his $825,000 salary. So let me get this straight. Grimsley sings like a canary to the Fed’s, names other athletes who are allegedly ‘juicing’, stops talking to the Feds, they raid his house, he gets suspended, reopens the steroids-scab, and reminds us that baseball is going to shit. And he wants to get paid? Why not just find the rock you crawled out from under and stay there until we can look at you without vomiting?

Madison Square Garden was hopping Saturday night. Notre Dame S Tom Zbikowski, in his first professional fight, scored a fantastically delicious first-round TKO against Robert Bell. Zbikowski entered the arena through a “human tunnel” of ‘hot’ Irish teammates including yummy Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija. Zbikowski is probably the first active college football player to turn pro in boxing. Under NCAA rules, he can keep his $25,000 prize.

Barry Bonds’ attorney said that the big guy will not talk with MLB steroid investigator George Mitchell until he “can be assured the information won’t be used by federal prosecutors” investigating possible perjury charges relating to Bonds’ testimony in the BALCO case. “He’d like to cooperate. … But here’s the problem: Anything that happens there can become fodder for the federal government.” Mensa reject Martin Garbus, the attorney for Bonds’ former girlfriend Kimberly ‘gold digger’ Bell, said that Mitchell “is trying to strike a deal with U.S. authorities that would allow [her] to cooperate with baseball investigators.” John Clarke Jr., an aide to Mitchell, said, “As part of the investigation, we have requested interviews of on-field coaches and front office executives from all 30 of the major-league clubs.” I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, Kimberly Bell is a liar. I’ve read ‘her side’ of the story, usually chuckling at her absurd statements. I was there too, and Bonds wasn’t sporting any acne, temper tantrums, or, um, ‘other’ side effects as she claims. Bell also claims that she regularly came to ‘away’ games with Bonds, in particular San Diego. Funny thing is, I never met or saw her in San Diego.

USA Today reports that Magic Johnson will announce a joint venture with food-service company Sodexho “to open cafeterias branded with his name and image.” The cafeterias would be located in colleges, sports arenas, schools and health facilities. Johnson owns 51% of the joint venture, called SodexhoMagic.

My team is the Heat, so I really don’t wanna talk how the NBA Finals are going. But I do love me some Mark Cuban. Cuban is contemplating offering the 1,400 NBA Finals Game Seven tickets available to the general public free of charge to avoid price gouging. Cuban’s plan would call for “a lottery system that requires winners to present their ID at the arena to receive their tickets,” with the team’s corporate partners potentially covering part of the cost. Starting Sunday, June 11, at the American Airlines Center and continuing throughout the rest of the championship series, American will put out a call for fans to try to locate “The American Road Warrior.” If you’ve ever seen “Where is Waldo?” then you’ll get the idea. Check it out at www.aa.com/hoops.

WORLD CUP

A scary Japanese fan cheers for his team against Australia with a cut out picture of Brazilian coach Zico of the Japanese team. Japan got eaten in the second half of the game by the Aussie’s, who out scored them 3-1.

And a disappointing match this morning between the US hotties and the fluid Czech team. Our boys lost 3-0. Yeah it was somewhat painful, particularly for those fans I saw this morning in the pub. The early birds were full of hope at the kick-off, and as the game progressed, hope faded and the cheers were gone. Let’s hope Landon Donavan can get his groove on, and the rest of the team can find their mojo. The USA faces Italy and Ghana next. Italy is on fire and has just beaten Ghana 2-0.

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

ARMS VS ARROGANCE: WHICH WINS?

Federer once said: “The more success you have, the easier it is to deal with defeat.” I hope he lives by that motto, because today Federer had to deal with defeat. Da-feet of Athlebrities favorite Rafael Nadal.

Nadal successfully defended his men’s title, beating the worlds most arrogant player Roger Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 after three steamy hours on clay. Nadal shutdown Federer’s fourth consecutive chance for a Grand Slam and sent him home with a silver tray ideal for a serving of humble-your-arrogant-self-soup. After the victory, Nadal rolled around the clay court, covering himself in the red dust. “This is my best final against the best player in history.” This is Rafael’s second successive Roland Garros title and extends his record clay-court winning streak to 60 matches. “I tried,” Federer said. “I can’t do more than try, having this real unique opportunity that we haven’t seen in such a long time in tennis. Obviously it’s a pity, but it goes on, right…that second set was a big turning point,” Federer said. “If just there I can keep up with him and then put him really under big pressure, then obviously it’s very different.” Unfortunately for Federer, it’s not very different. Federer is 0-4 against Nadal this year and 44-0 against everyone else. Sexy Nadal has now become the youngest hottie to win consecutive championships at Roland Garros since Bjorn Borg did it in 1974-75. The payday for being so hot? Nadal won $1.2 million and Federer walked with $600,000.

Sitting courtside at this delicious feast, were Jennifer Aniston and sexy-hot Vince Vaughan, who both looked bored to death.

WORLD CUP

Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, from India, works on his sculpture titled World Peace that features the soccer World Cup trophy in Berlin. Pattnaik and 35 other artists from all over the world are participating in Berlin’s International Sand Sculpture Festival that opened today.

Athlebritolgy God David Beckham (R) and English goalkeeper Paul Robinson give us a drool worthy moment before the start against Paraguay yesterday. England won the match 1-0, while Wayne Rooney watched from the bench.

David Beckham wasn’t disturbed by the fact that Victoria (L), his “wife”, showed up at the game with her new boyfriend (R).

I didn’t know there were any hot athletes in Tunsia. Proving me very wrong is Tunisian forward Chawki Ben Saada. Saada has replaced striker Issam Jomaa on the players list. Tunisia will play their first match June 14th.

German midfielder Torsten Frings (L) rests today in the garden of the team’s hotel in Berlin. Other German national hotties (R) Lukas Podolski, right, and Bastian Schweinsteiger also tease me while relaxing in the garden of the Schlosshotel Grunewald in Berlin. There is plenty of room for me to squeeze in right between the two.

Argentina has some smoking hot players, and my libido was out of control yesterday as Argentina played the Ivory Coast. Argentinean Hernan Crespo (L) and Ivorian forward Didier Drogba (R) on the field at the same time? Priceless. Argentina won 2 to 1.

Someone please tell me who the hell this hottie is sitting next to Maradona? His son? I love him.

And no I haven’t forgotten about the US hotties. In fact, the sexy beasts warmed-up today during a team training session at Gelsenkirchen Stadium. Take the day off tomorrow if you have to. The USA vs. Czech-Republic starts at 8:00 AM PST. Although the odds of the US winning the World Cup are 80-0, I still think our boys will pull a few hats tricks out of thier arse’s and surprise the skeptics. After all, the team includes 12 hotties who have previous World Cup experience.

Who says athletes eat healthy? I’m suddenly craving McDonald’s after seeing Costa Rican hotties Walter Centeno (C), midfielder Cristian Bolanos (L) and defender Jervis Drummond (R) chow down on some food during their visit to a commercial center in Viernheim, Germany.

SCARY FANS
Everything has a balance- you know, Ying and Yang. Well, unfortunately in sports there is also a balance. On one hand we have some of the most beautiful athletes on earth, and on the other hand, we find the dark side, called “Scary Fans”.

ATHLEBRITY NOMINEES FOR SCARIEST FANS ARE…

The Dutch.

Mexico’s fans enjoy scaring the shit out of us prior to the kickoff between Mexico and Iran. Mexico spanked Iran 3-1 this morning.

The Portuguese (L) and Serbia and Montenegro (R).

Argentinean supporters. Scary, scarier, and scariest.

So how does one become a scary fan? Well, you gotta start them young. The younger the better. In this photo, a Swedish fan gets a head start with her little raptor. Her baby is officially on the road to becoming a scary fan.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO STOP THE FEAR?

Riot police are cracking down on scary fans. There has been an alarming increase in the number of reported ‘nightmares’ among visitors in Germany. The riot police were called in to calm the nerves of those fans who thought they had accidentally ingested LSD.

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

Adam Scott fired a six-under-par 65 to seize a one-shot first-round lead in the 5.75 million-dollar Barclays Classic. With the absence of Camilo Villegas in the tourney, we’ll have to focus our estrogen towards the hot Burberry pin-up boy.

Rumor has it that Andy Roddick in talks with Jimmy Connors. In a desperate attempt to regain his mojo, Roddick has approached Jimmy to be his “mentor”.

The NY Post’s Page Six reports that Paris Hilton is indeed a Mensa reject. Apparently, Paris has been parking in a space reserved for handicapped drivers. Residents of a posh Los Angeles apartment complex that’s home to her boy toy, Matt Leinart, say every time she visits, the celebutard thoughtlessly pulls into the handicapped spot. “I find the reports surprising,” said Paris’ spokesman Elliot Mintz, as he wrote the checks to pay her parking fines. *Note to Paris, handicapped parking is reserved for the physically, not mentally disabled.

The best part of game one of the NBA Finals was Terrell Owens sitting courtside.

GET READY FOR A HOT SUNDAY AT THE FRENCH OPEN

ARMS! Sexy Spanish nugget, Rafael Nadal (L) reacts beautifully after defeating Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic in their semifinal match today at the French Open. Now we have the hottest showdown on clay to look forward to. Our hot little Spanish treat will face the oh-so-arrogant Roger Federer (R). Federer advanced when David Nalbandian retired with an injured abdominal muscle. “David played a great first set and a half,” Federer said. “But then I started to hit some fabulous shots, and it gave me confidence.” If Federer wins the title, he would become only the third man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time, and we will never hear the end of it. He would also become the sixth man to achieve a career Slam by winning all four majors. “It would be something quite incredible,” Federer said. “It hasn’t happened for such a long time. To have created this opportunity, it’s unbelievable.”

Ever wonder how much our hot US soccer players are getting paid? Wonder no more. U.S. players receive $37,500 for making the roster and $3,750 for each World Cup match. The team gets $150,000 for each point in the first-round standings and a $2.7M bonus for advancing to the knockout stage. The total prize for the winning World Cup team is $18.75M, which is divided among the 23 players that make up a national squad.

Argentinean soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona is seen here on the field of the Giugliano Stadium, near Naples. Notice the Rolex (?) on his wrist, and the “broken finger”, hmmm, guess the Italian po-po had a tough time getting Maradona to part with both watches. (see yesterdays post for more info about the infamous watches.)

WORLD CUP

I thought I had seen it all, but the blessing of the ball? Two Cardinals and three Bishop’s stand behind a “soccer globe” as they attend an ecumenical service in Munich today. The “worship” was celebrated on occasion of the Soccer World Cup that just kicked off.

David Beckham and Wayne Rooney attended a squad training today on the eve of the match England vs Paraguay. Also of note: David Beckham’s doing a book on soccer. ‘Secrets of the game. How to have fun with the game.’ No release date, but Becks, we already know how to have fun with the game. Don’t write, just play.

Sexy Swiss midfielder Valon Behrami’s tattoos are wonderfully delicious as he answers questions to reporters, mainly, what the hell do the tattoos mean?

Yummy imported cocoa ambassadors from the Ivory Coast: (right image) (L) Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba, coach Henri Michel, Aruna Dindane and Emmanuel Eboue gave a press conference today. Drogba (R) is the team captain, and the captain of my dreams. Hotties take the field tomorrow against those sexy Argentinean players.

WORLD CUP FANS

German boys cheers for Japan’s national team while waiting for the ‘beer beotch’ to deliver their brews.

If you can’t bring the player to the game with you, why not just bring a cardboard cut out? German fans hold a cut-out of current national team coach and former player Jurgen Klinsmann ahead of the opening 2006 World Cup match between host Germany and Costa Rica.

The global reach of the World Cup continues to astonish me. Satellite dishes cover roofs of shacks in the Sidi Moumen slum of Casablanca. Morocco obtained free broadcasting rights from the Saudi TV channel ART for four World Cup matches, which will be aired on the RTM and 2M public TV channels, including opening and final games. ART bought exclusive World Cup broadcasting rights for North Africa and the Middle East from the FIFA and wanted Morocco to pay 10 million euros for rights. The two public Moroccan channels were unable to pay this amount, depriving Moroccan supporters from the event and forcing them to watch on pay satellite channels. I’ll never complain about my cable bill again.

I love the children in Calcutta. Capturing the hope and beauty of this Beautiful game, their innocent faces are painted with colors of the World Cup. *However, the little boy with the green painted face (lower right) goes into the ’scary’ category.

Mexican, left, German and English soccer fans watch a kick-ass street performer in a Brazilian soccer team shirt in a square in the center of Frankfurt.

The award for scariest fan goes to this Costa Rican fan gone cray-zee! Today is a national holiday in Costa Rica, with everyone given the day off the watch the match. Hope scary-fan is doing okay in light of the fact that Costa Rica lost to Germany this morning 4-2.

Finally, Happy Birthday to soccer Athlebrity Eric Wynalda. Wynalda made a total of eight appearances in the 1990, 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, and was capped 106 times for the Men’s National Team from 1990 through 2000. Eric also holds the team scoring record with 34 goals. In 2004 Eric was hired by ABC/ESPN as a knowledgeable commentator for Major League Soccer. He is now recognized as soccer’s ‘Bad Boy’ for his outspoken and unvarnished opinions on the games. Wynalda is indeed a bad boy and has been that way since childhood. Growing up in Westlake Village, Eric and Cobi Jones were teammates on the Westlake Wolves (along with my brother). No one ever doubted Eric’s natural abilities as a soccer player, and his wicked ways on the field. If it could have been possible, little Eric would have gotten a red-card at each game.

And we are underway at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and I gotta go.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda

Between the NBA Finals starting tonight, and the World Cup seconds from kicking off, I am losing my mind. This flurry of activity has my imagination overloaded with hotties from around the globe.

In celebration of the NBA Finals, the league today unveiled a $175 limited edition black and gold NBA Finals Shoe available exclusively on NBAStore.com and at the NBA Store in N.Y. There are only 12 pairs available online and 48 available in the Store. Each shoe will be individually spray painted by an artist and will feature the NBA Championship Trophy on the under sole. These shoes are the hottest kicks I’ve seen in a long time. If you want snag a pair, act fast. Forget trying to find them on-line, just call the NBA store directly at (212) 515-6221. The shoes are only available in men’s sizes, starting at size 7, which, I believe, is comparable to a women’s’ size 8-9. And yes, I already got mine.

Sports Illustrated this week features hot Heat treat Dwyane Wade on the cover with the headline “Wade’s World … Can the Heat’s Lovable Assassin Take Down the Mavericks?” That question can be answered unequivocally with a yes- but he’s got to get over the “flu” first.

“We might change it up a little bit, but yeah, you will see something” – Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban, on plans for poking fun at Shaquille O’Neal on the American Airlines Center scoreboard during the NBA Finals. Shaq reacted appropriately.

Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks taped a segment for “NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad” for NBA TV prior to Game 1 of the Finals. And when I took a gander at the Mavericks fans, it was an easy decision to hope for a Heat victory.

One of my favorite covers this week is ESPN The Magazine. The cover features PGA Tour antichrist and Athlebrity favorite John Daly with the header, “Am I Ever Going To Stop Partying?” For the love of all that is entertaining, DON’T ever stop partying, pa-leeze!

CHUNKY SOUP AND BIG BEN ROETHLISBERGER

Steelers hottie Ben Roethlisberger and his mama, Brenda, will shoot a national TV ad for Campbell’s Chunky Soup at Heinz Field next week. Also included will be teammates Alan Faneca, Kendall Simmons, Jeff Hartings, Max Starks, James Farrior and Casey Hampton. N.Y. based Go Films will shoot three separate commercials during the $2M, weeklong shoot. Donovan and Mama McNabb, as well as Matt and Mama Hasselbeck will also film spots. All three spots will debut the week of September 7, when the NFL regular season begins. Roethlisberger said he and agent Leigh Steinberg this year “figure to have only two or three national commercials, this one and one with Nike. That’s probably it. That’s the two we know we’re going to have.”

FIRED?
The D’Backs released pitcher Jason Grimsley, a day after federal agents searched his home as part of an investigation into steroid use by athletes. GM Josh Byrnes said that Grimsley “asked for his unconditional release in meetings with team officials.” This is the first smart thing Grimsley has said. Keep in mind that Grimsley sang to the Fed’s and gave up a list of “alleged” athletes using steroids. I guess some athletes will do anything for their fifteen minutes. Who wants to bet that the Mensa reject will have a book deal signed within a month?

WHAT TIME IS IT?

Don’t ask Diego Maradona what time it is. Italian police “have stripped two Rolex watches from” Maradona “to pay off some of his [$39M] in back taxes.” Maradona ran up the debt while playing for Naples from ’84-90 but feels that the club “should have paid the taxes.” Well, they didn’t. A Naples tax police officer said that the watches are worth about $12,800 combined, “but he hoped they could fetch far more on auction because of Maradona’s enduring fame.” So, $12, 800 deducted from $39M still leaves a debt of $39M. My money says those watches will have to be pried off the wrists of the Naples police before they get anywhere near an auction house.

U2 AND THE WORLD CUP: IT’S MORE THAN A BEAUTIFUL THING

In addition to U2 songs being featured in those hot TV spots for the World Cup, fans watching the games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will see most highlights accompanied by U2 music, whether recorded in a studio or at a stage. According to the “deal” ESPN has the rights to 11 U2 songs. U2 manager Paul McGuinness said the band’s payment from ESPN was “nothing extraordinary, but we did get paid.” ESPN Marketing Senior Dir Seth Ader: “If it was just a music deal, it would have been like any other campaign to pay for their music. We wanted them to be a part of it…in part because all four of its members are soccer fans from Ireland, and the global scope of the World Cup appeals to their well-known charitable endeavors, especially in Africa.”

WORLD CUP HOTTIES
FIFA for the first time is requiring players, referees and coaches to “sign pledges that neither they nor their immediate families will bet on” the World Cup. FIFA officials are “concerned about the proliferation of Internet gambling and the influence of Asian betting syndicates as well as recent scandals in Brazil, Italy and Germany.” If suspicious betting patterns are detected, FIFA officials could “take pre-emptive action, such as switching a referee before a match.” Oooh, let the games begin.

English forward Wayne Rooney laughs at all the media attention surrounding his injury. The smiling bulldog resumed training at England’s base camp in southern Germany and gave us a glimpse of his tattoo bearing the name of his girlfriend Coleen.

When asked if he felt the United States has a chance to survive the Death Group ‘E” during the World Cup, Landon Donovan (L) leaned back and laughed. Polish hotties look delicious in red. Defender Michal Zewlakow (L) and goalkeeper Artur Boruc throw a few back in a hotel bar in Essen.

WORLD CUP HAPPENINGS

I don’t know why this poster is up, but we don’t want to hear about David Beckhams wife while we are fantasizing about him. Stay home Victoria, stay home.

I don’t usually, or ever, post photos of women on my site unless it’s for a very good reason. Sister here is a Czech photographer and lets it all hang-out while taking photos the Czech hotties. Without her, we may not have any drool worthy shots of Pavel Nedved.

Pavel Nedved is practicing and recovering from his injury. I can’t say that his knee looks okay to play in the World Cup, but he certainly looks ready.

Fans write on the England flag (L) put on display in a square in the center of Frankfurt, while a scary “carnival brass band” from Switzerland (R) parades through the streets as Swiss national soccer team arrived.

Lother Buss, chef and owner of Chocolate Room in Mulheim, Germany, works on a soccer themed chocolate cake in Calcutta, India.

Pakistani girls show their painted hands and faces in support of the Iranian soccer team.

What’s with all the dummies?

“Eleven Friends” is a soccer players sculpture composition going on in Germany (L), and a worker dressed up dummies with soccer team uniforms outside the Adidas Arena in Berlin (R). The Adidas Arena is a temporary stadium in downtown Berlin where some 10,000 soccer fans will be able to watch the World Cup matches on video screens. The dummies will be hosting the bar and serving drinks to fans.

Continuing with one of the most bizarre and spine chilling events, a visitor plays “Masked Ball” (L) by Kendell Geers from South Africa. The exhibition Ballkuenstler (ball artists) is at the Leipzig museum of fine arts, in eastern Germany. Another visitor looks at The Solar System (R) by US artist Greg Coloson at the exhibit. Works of 24 contemporary international artists are showing their view on soccer for the exhibit.

The giant video screen in the river Main in Frankfurt is alive with action. The screen is used for live broadcasts of the World Cup games. For me, this just might be the coolest way to watch the games. Mad love to Germany for erecting this giant flotilla.

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