The U.S. Open and Australian Open have done it for years. Even the French Open jumped aboard last year, and now, finally, Wimbledon will pay equal money to the men and women who compete at the June 25-July 8 grass-court championships. “I knew it was just a matter of time,” defending Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo said. “They resisted the longest they could. They have made the right decision and they really had no choice.” R-Fed, the 2006 champ earned $1.17M and Mauresmo earned $1.117M. So, it came as a huge surprise, that the negative comments regarding the prize money didn’t come from R-Fed, but from Tommy Haas.

”What is there to say?” Haas said. ”Personally, I don’t think it’s really fair. I think the depth of men’s tennis is much tougher than the women’s, plus we play the best-of-five sets. ‘On (a) grass (surface), you might think it’s not as brutal, but you have to be in unbelievable shape on grass as well. Even though the points are shorter, the ball stays lower. The top (women) obviously train very hard and are very good tennis players, but in general, I don’t agree with it.” When asked if the prize money should have remained as it was, Haas replied: “Yeah…It’s not really a big deal at the end of day,” he said. ”Like I said, I think my statement says it all. I think the men do a little bit more out there than the women, especially in the Grand Slams. I don’t really agree with it.” LOSER! While Haas may have the oomph in the looks department, he has lost serious hot points for his “statement”. Obviously, this right-handed German beast is driven greed. Haas is currently earning his paycheck at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis. The purse for the men’s first place finish is $128,000, compared to the women’s prize of $28,000.

Other the other hand, we’ve got sexy Brit Andy Murray, who dominates Hass in the intelligence category. “I think it’s obviously great for women’s tennis,” Murray said. “It’s probably the only sport in the world where women are making the same money as men. That can really only be a good thing. Guys are obviously going to be annoyed if you go and play a five-hour match and then the women play a 45-minute match and they are getting the same money. But that’s not really the point. Bar some of the top females, a lot of the guys get very good sponsorships. In the smaller tournaments, there’s more money on the men’s side, so apart from the grand slams, I think there are more tournaments on the men’s tour as well.” Most recently, Murray spanked the mojo outta Andy Roddick at the SAP Open in San Jose.

TRADE OR NO TRADE

While NHL fans keep an eye on Tuesday’s trade deadline, every national sports television and radio network in Canada will devote hours to the trades, real or imagined. According to the Sports Business Daily, Sportsnet has spiced it up to fill the long, dull periods when no players are actually being traded. Sportsnet is dressing up the women from the Canadian version of “Deal Or No Deal” but instead of suitcases the panel of hockey experts will be shown hockey sticks with players’ names on the blade and they will debate, “Trade or no trade.”

A RAY OF LIGHT FOR LANDIS

It’s just a matter of time before people begin to make up their own minds and not be clouded by the bitter French lab that has been accusing our hot cyclists of cheating. Now, documents show the French lab that produced positive doping results against ‘06 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis “may have allowed improper access to [his] urine samples,” and this is just one of a number of errors that could jeopardize the alleged case against Landis. The lab committed a similar error in ’05, which resulted in doping charges being dismissed against Spanish treat Inigo Landaluze. Two Mensa reject technicians from the lab “were involved in both the original urine analysis and a second, validating test” according to a report in the LA Times. Int’l standards prohibit technicians from doing both tests, but it certainly doesn’t surprise me that they bent the rules in their favor.

NBA CARES

NBA Cares has posted a plethora of hottie related, autographed items up for bids. An Allen Iverson autographed jersey has a current bid of $575.00, in comparison to Kobe’s signed jersey for $1083.24, but if you’re on a budget, you might still be able to win the Jason Kidd jersey which is only at $300.00. (maybe if 5-0 signed it the bids would go up?) Those of you with deep pockets can also bid on an All Star signed basketball currently clocked in at $1,525.00. My favorite item is the Timberwolves Team Autographed Authentic Locker Room Player Chair; current bid $275.00 (too bad you can cuddle up with it). And for all you Raptors fans, how about the carpet from the locker room? Due to the renovations last summer, the carpet is a piece of history with the signatures of the entire 2006-07 Toronto Raptors. The auction runs through February 26th and benefits Community Partners.

WHAT AND WHY?

Following the footsteps of Athlebrity-dating queen Alyssa Milano, actress Scarlett Johansson has launched her own line of clothing, courtesy of Reebok. Creatively titled Scarlett [heart] Rbk, the line will launch next Thursday and features “brightly colored sneakers, short-sleeved hoodies and tees with heart-shaped cutouts.” I’m not sure how or why this is happening, but Scarlett best keep herself on the big screen. We’ve got enough wanna-be crossovers in the sports world already.

SPORTS BABES BOMB
Anyone else out there catch wind of this Internet show called Sportsbabes? The online video program debuted February 14 and the hosts are five “sports-obsessed” women who sit around and “talk sports” via a 3-minute, rehearsed, not funny and bo-bo-boring roundtable discussion. The show features MTV’s Lauren Bergfeld, former Speed Channel reporter Vicki Johnson, model and actress Keriann Kada, and MarieSam Sanchez and Marisol Salguero of the L.A. Times sports desk. Considering the resumes of these women, I expected much more. I’ve even had better conversations with a bathroom stall than these women have with each other. Sorry ladies, you gotta beef it up a bit, because I don’t imagine your looks alone can sell this idea. Predicted shelf life? 6 months tops.

IAN POULTER

Like I said before, I just can’t get enough of Ian Poulter and his flashy, sexy silhouette attempting to tap it in the hole.

BARRY ZITO A GIANT

I may redact my previous ‘Barry Zito is too fem for me’ comments after checking out he and his lips during Giants Spring Training….

STEVE NASH GQ PARTY IN VEGAS
I just found this great video of the Suns in Vegas and a double de-licious interview with Steve Nash as he arrived for the GQ Party. (Click on video dated Feb 17th, Nash Party.)

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