PACK YOUR POLE AND BOOK YOUR TICKET

Breaking news: Today, our little Rafael Nadal was driving alone in his hometown on the island of Manacor, when his car skidded down a step hill and hit a pylon. The sexy beast was NOT hurt and apparently grabbed his pole and went fishing afterwards. Rafi’s mama said by telephone “He was not hurt at all.” I for one am packing my bags and going on a “fishing trip” of my own to Manacor. Hold on Rafi, I’m coming.

CHRIS WEBBER GOES BADA BLING!

Mark your calendars. Chris Webber is doing Vegas right. Friday July 28th through July 30th, Webber is hosting the “swanky-stylish” Bada Bling event with proceeds to benefit his foundation. Delicious Athlebrity guests include Charles Barkley, Mike Bibby, Sam Cassell, Vlade Divac, Kyle Korver, Stephan Marbury, Jalen Rose, Gary Payton and many others. Golf, celebrity poker, live music and fine dining are all offered at this fantastic event. “This is an opportune for us to give back and have fun doing it” Webber said in a press release, “Personally, I feel honored by the great response from my celebrity friends, NBA players and fans alike who belive in my efforts to reach out to the community, especially youth.” Webber’s foundation provides positive educational and recreational opportunities to disadvantaged kids. So get your tickets while you can and don’t miss this delicious hottie-filled event in Vegas.

TERRIFYING TEAM BABY ANNOUNCEMENT

Be afraid; be very afraid…A few weeks ago I reported that former Walt Disney chief Michael Eisner acquired Team Baby Entertainment. A frightening company that makes videos aimed towards children ages 6 months to 5 years. The videos look homemade, with a bizarre voice-over narrating as the camera pans from “team” to “cheeeeer-leader” to “faaaan”. This morning, it was reported that the nightmare is going to continue further into the Twilight Zone. Eisner has reached deals with several pro sports leagues that will expand the company’s offerings of “kid-focused sports DVDs.” The company is expected to announce today partnerships with Nascar, MLB and the NBA. Team Baby Founder & CEO Greg Scheinman said that the NASCAR videos will “focus on the primary colors of the cars, the shapes of the wheels to teach the concept of a circle and on the pit crews to demonstrate team work.” Scheinman: “The cars do crash; we can’t sugar coat that. And we won’t have beer ads. … There is an M&M car, but we are not selling the candy.” He added that the company “plans to roll out its first videos for the three professional sports” by November 1. God help us all. If you haven’t seen these clips, give it a try. I guarantee a good laugh and a terrifying insight into the mind of Eisner. www.teambaby.com

WORLD CUP DRAMA CONTINUES

What exactly did Marco Materazzi say to reject Zidane to earn that vicious head butt? Materazzi admits that he insulted him, but did not call him a terrorist. “I did insult him, it’s true,” Materazzi said in Tuesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport. “But I categorically did not call him a terrorist. I’m not cultured and I don’t even know what an Islamic terrorist is…I held his shirt for a few seconds only, then he turned round and spoke to me, sneering. He looked me up and down, arrogantly and said: ‘If you really want my shirt, I’ll give it to you afterwards.”‘ The hottie did not elaborate on what the “insult” was, but said, “It was one of those insults you’re told tens of times and that always fly around the pitch.” Too bad ZZ didn’t get to give Materazzi his shirt, as promised. What he is going to possibly get, is a little spanking. FIFA said this morning it would open a disciplinary investigation into the circumstances surrounding ZZ’s head-butt. “FIFA will open a disciplinary investigation into Zidane’s conduct to enable it to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident as exactly as possible,” world soccer’s governing body said in a statement. Get him FIFA!

VIVA ITALIA

Sexy team captain, Fabio Cannavaro (above), among others, visited Gianluca Pessotto in the hospital today. In a sweet gesture, Cannavaro brought the World Cup trophy to Pessotto. Pessotto has been hospitalized since an apparent suicide attempt (aka: falling out of a three-story building). The sign reads “Pessotto, we are with you”.

Pessotto, the newly appointed manager of the scandalous Juventus, was found after ‘falling’ from a window at team headquarters clutching a rosary. Pessotto remains in serious condition and is under assisted ventilation.

Is there something wrong with me? At the end of the World Cup, U2’s ‘farewell’ rendition of “One” sent me over the edge. (pun intended). The highlights made me cry. And as I watched thousands of fans from around the world, gather in the streets, I couldn’t help but wonder, why weren’t we in the streets? (Shutting down Little Italy for one day doesn’t count) Rushing from the ‘pubs’ after the games, people scurried to their cars so they could get back to work. The only people dancing in our streets were from Brazil, Italy, and France; I even saw some crazy fans from the Ukraine running around. Unfortunately, most of us have given up on a soccer craze here in the states. This makes me think that perhaps MLS should find a more enticing marketing approach? Say like, the hot-hot-hot US soccer players? I can’t tell you how many of my friends watched the Cup simply because of the Italian Team D&G ad. (see blog June 15th).

Case in point: I just finished reading a brilliant article in Out Magazine called “How Sports Became The New Gay Porno.” Indeed. They call it “sporno”. Sporno and Athlebrities go together like Luca Toni and I. Years ago, I started my sporno collection. My “first” was William Van Landingham. Number 50, starting pitcher for the S.F. Giants, delicious. Those blue eyes and biceps had me instantly hooked on sporno. (And it didn’t hurt that he had a wicked split-finger.) I eventually graduated from MLB and discovered Ben Wallace and the NBA. From there, the NFL and Michael Vick spellbound me, while tennis and futbol tickled my libodo something fierce. The rest, as they say, is history.

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