KEEP IT UP

Warming me up on this cold morning is news that my favorite Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, won his second round match against some German dude on day four of the heated Australian Open. And with that muscular boo-tay, James Blake spanked fellow US player Alex Kuznetsov during their second round match, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.

L’EQUIPE MAGAZINE SPOTLIGHTS NEXT WAVE OF ‘NEW BALLS’

New balls? Hello! French sports publication L’Equipe Magazine has highlighted the latest group of hot, young, fresh tennis Athlebrities making “shockwaves” on the ATP circuit in a photo shoot eerily similar to the ATP’s ‘New Balls Please’ promotion campaign six years ago. In July 2000, the ATP promoted the campaign featuring (of course) Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt and Gustavo Kuerten, who were turning heads at the time. Now, L’Equipe is bringing it back. The Magazine held a photo shoot at the BNP Paribas Masters in November, with a group of nine ATP players all aged 21 or younger-making me feel like a child-molester. The article, titled ‘Flambants Neuf,’ focuses on my Rafa, Marcos Baghdatis (huh?) Tomas Berdych, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, Nicolas Almagro, Stanislas Wawrinka and Gael Monfils, all of whom finished in the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings in 2006.

C’MON LLEYTON HEWITT SONG

Lleyton Hewitt has plenty to celebrate. Not only was he victorious at the Open today but he has become the latest racket-swinging babe to have a song written about him, “C’mon Lleyton Hewitt,” by the N.Y. based band, Binge. The band has also written songs about Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal. Hewitt’s song will be included in a tennis-themed album to be released later this year. “We saw Lleyton play in New York last September and were inspired by his intensity and ability to hang tough in difficult situations,” Binge’s singer and songwriter John Macom said. “His competitiveness and on-court tenacity inspired the drive of this song.” (AAP)

ROGER FEDERER AND THE BEAR

“Maybe, the players should have some say as well. If both players think it’s too hot, take a break, maybe come back later like a rain delay” or play with your new Feder-bear? The official UNICEF bear was launched and I could go on for hours about it, but I wont because it’s for charity.

MY MELO WINS

Carmelo Anthony was named as USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year for 2006. Absolutely no argument here.

TAYE DIGGS TO HOST BASH

I was a big fan of Taye’s before he started acting. I much prefer him with his shirt off and his mouth shut, but maybe that’s just me, because VH1, Pepsi and the NFL have joined forces for “The Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash.” Taking place in my favorite city, Miami, the one-hour concert will pay tribute football with performances by Kanye West, Fergie and John Legend among others. Hosted by Taye Diggs, The Bash will also feature appearances by numerous NFL athlebrities. “The Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash” will be taped at the NFL Experience (adjacent to Dolphin Stadium) in Miami on Thursday, February 1st and will air on VH1 on Saturday, February 3, at 10PM. In addition to performances from the on-air show, exclusive performances from all three acts will be available on demand on VSPOT, VH1’s broadband channel, at http://vspot.vh1.com beginning Saturday, February 3. The Saturday broadcast will also be streamed live on www.superbowl.com.

KEVIN FEDERLINE

Another Super Bowl ad you’ll get a chuckle out of comes from Nationwide. Their Super Bowl XLI ad will feature Kevin Federline. (Britney’s hot, yet trashy ex-hubby). The ad is under the company’s “Life Comes at You Fast” tag and opens with Federline in an apparent rap video before the camera pans out and shows him working in a fast-food restaurant. Anyone that can make fun of themselves is okay with me…

THE SECOND COMING

Nike will mark the 25th anniversary of its Air Force 1 shoes by launching what the company “claims is its biggest marketing campaign of the year,” according to the N.Y. POST. The “Second Coming” campaign includes King LeBron James, Princess Kobe, Tony Longoria-Parker and super hottie Steve Nash. (Perhaps it should be titled the third, fourth of fifth coming?) The campaign includes print and TV ads, including a 60-second TV spot that shows them playing “the ultimate pickup game.” The TV ad also serves up some Rasheed Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Paul and Paul Pierce.

HELP DARRENTS KIDS
If you’d like to help Darrent Williams two kids, the NFLPA has created the Darrent Williams Trust Fund in memory of Darrent who was shot and killed on New Year’s Day. The trust fund will “help with education expenses for Williams’ two children.” Donations can be sent c/o NFLPA; 2021 L Street, NW; Washington, DC 20036.

*Publishing Notice…

In four days, the Buick Invitational rolls into town. (Needless to say, I will not be posting daily.) I’m in hog heaven with anticipation of our golf beasts crawling their way through my hood. This will be Tiger Woods’ debut for the year and I expect he will be classy and friendly as usual. With my radar finely tuned, my marks have been made…Woods, Villegas, Scott, Poulter-look out, if you’re there, Delinda will find you. My postings until the 28th will focus mainly on the tourney, as I will be there daily and attempt to update you on each and every nuance of the beasts. If there are any particular questions you have for any of the players, please email them to me. Trust me, I’ll get answers for ya. And before you start typing- do NOT ask me if Camilo Villegas has a girlfriend. Out of respect for our feline, I gotta respect his privacy. At least for now…

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