PLANTING THE SEEDS

The seeds have been planted for the Australian Open and as expected Rafa has been planted second behind Him, Roger Federer, the fabulous, unstoppable, defending champion, who is seeded first. The first Grand Slam gets under way on Monday in Melbourne and all our favorite racket-swinging beasts are vying for the title. Federer and his arrogance, Nadal and his biceps, James Blake and his booty, Andy Roddick and his mojo, Tommy Robredo and his happy trail, Lleyton Hewitt and his blond mop, and Marat Safin and his oh-so-sexy-facial hair. The stage is set for our Rafa to face K-Fed in the final, so pray that the Athlebrity Gods are smiling upon our tapa.

LANCE ARMSTRONG’S PLEA

In a special report to CNN, Lance Armstrong gave, in part, the following statement regarding the need for cancer funding and his frustration with lack of government aid. “I’m not known for my patience. Patience is a polite quality and often appropriate, but it rarely gets things done. Impatience, however, is the hunger for results and intolerance for excuses and delays. Impatience got me over countless mountain passes, across the finish line in New York City and through four rounds of ruthless chemotherapy 10 years ago.” Please read his full statement here. Bravo Lance, bravo.

GAG ME WITH A BECKHAM

The deal that was heard around the world…various headlines…The NY Times: A Soccer Star Heads To US, Heeding Lore of Hollywood…Huston: Spend It Like Beckham… LA Times: A Pair Of Stars, An LA Sky, A Happy Galaxy…Miami Herald: Beckhams World Expands to Galaxy…San Jose Mercury News: Beckhams Move Spices Up L.A.’s Celebrity Glitz…The London Times: Becks Goes To Hollywood…Athlebrities.com: You’ll Be Sick of Him In A Month.

Becks spoke to “Good Morning America” today about his upcoming invasion to the United States: “This move for me is not about the money, it’s about hopefully making a difference in the U.S. with the soccer and that’s what I’m going there for. I’m going for the life of course. For my kids to enjoy it and my wife to enjoy it, but the main thing for me is to improve the soccer and to improve the standard and to be part of history.”

THE DAVIE BROWN INDEX
Most of you probably haven’t heard of the Davie Brown Index (DBI) so I’m gonna share it with you. The DBI determines a celebrity’s, (or athlebrity’s) ability to influence consumer behavior. It provides brand marketers with a systematic approach for quantifying and qualifying the use of our hotties in marketing campaigns by evaluating a celebrity’s awareness, appeal and relevance to a brand’s image and their influence on consumer buying behavior. Give us a topless Nadal or a crawling Villegas and it’s easy to predict our behavior. Among the 350 athlebrities in the DBI, Beckham ranks at No. 99, ahead of Allen Iverson, Michael Vick, Alex Rodriguez, and Freddy Adu (who ranks at No. 284-ouch). Beckham is the best-known active soccer player in the DBI, and this I can only assume, is due to the absence of Shevchenko, Ronaldo, Rooney, Drogba, Cannavaro, etc…”When has an international sports-celebrity been so highly anticipated in the U.S.?” said Jeff Chown, president of the Davie Brown Talent Agency that created the DBI. “Casual fans, consumers with little or no interest in soccer, will be drawn to ‘Brand Beckham,” said Chown. “His celebrity takes him out of the sports page and onto the front page. That exposure alone is worth millions to sponsors.” Let’s just hope Advil is one of those sponsors because I already have a Beckham headache. (Beckham’s endorsement portfolio, which includes deals with Pepsi, Gillette, Motorola and adidas, is worth $20M a year, and is expected to rise to about $25M annually when he moves to the U.S.)

STEPHON MARBURY TALK SHOW

The NY Post reports that Knicks Athlebrity Stephon Marbury has reached an agreement with FSN to air 13 episodes of a half-hour show called “Stars on Stars,” which he will host and produce. An FSN source said that it is possible the shows will begin airing in March (Fridays at 4:30pm) and that Lakers Princess Kobe Bryant will be Marbury’s first guest. Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban and Knicks President of Basketball Operations & coach Isiah Thomas are named as future guests. Marbury: “I just felt it would allow people to see my personality beyond the perception that’s written about basketball. People say I’m selfish. It’s not a sports show as much as a lifestyle show. … It’s a conversation between two people who happen to be stars.” Bring it on Marbury, we need more hotties hosting their own shows.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda
delinda@athlebrities.com