SWISS MISS

Roger Federer was given a cake and a traditional Arabian khaniar this morning in celebration of his accomplishments, making me wonder if we should just rename February 26th as R-Fed Day? Today’s official ATP rankings have confirmed that the Swiss Miss has reigned supreme for 161 weeks, one upping Connors record from 1977. The painfully humble Federer, who shuns the limelight like a Gremlin on acid said: “I have been counting the days…this record is something special to me. Even if I lost it tomorrow it would still take somebody more than three years to beat it…I’ve never come close to losing it apart from when I played Andy Roddick in the 2004 Wimbledon final. It’s quite an amazing streak I am on,” he said. Tonight, the tennis master begins a quest to win one of the few trophies he failed to capture last year, ya know the one-its sitting in Rafa’s house right now- the Dubai Duty Free Open. Look for the next R-fed holiday when he breaks the all-time record of 286 weeks on top of the world, held by Pete Sampras.

GIANT IDOL

Prior to their spring training workout this morning, the SF Giants held their second annual ‘Giants Idol’ competition. Modeled after our favorite guilty pleasure, American Idol, Giants’ outfielder Randy Winn played Randy Jackson, first baseman Rich Aurilia was Simon Cowell, and this year’s Paula Abdul role went to Barry Zito. (Last years Paula was Barry Bonds). The event stretched on for two days and featured hot rookies performing in front of the whole team.

Hotties who vied for the Idol title included pitchers Tim Lincecum, as Frank Sinatra, Osiris Matos, Oscar Montero, Ivan Ochoa…

Second baseman Kevin Frandsen rocked it as Will Ferrell, and outstanding performance came from outfielder Eddy Martinez-Esteve, who shook his inflated ass while busting out a questionable version of “Baby Got Back.” For more info, and to see who won, check out the Giants website.

CHELSEA BITES BACK

They came, they saw, they conquered, and they fought. Our fabulous Chelsea beasts in blue beat Arsenal 2-1 in the final at the Millennium Stadium yesterday, in a match which produced possible disciplinary action from the English Football Association after a massive brawl broke out.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho pulled some testosterone outta his exceptionally fine ass and took the field in an attempt to stop the fight. During the second half, the match was stopped twice…John Terry was kicked in the head and knocked unconscious. (Terry is fine and was able to rejoin the team for their victory celebration) and then the fight, which produced three red cards.

Beast of my heart, striker Didier Drogba scored twice, and Frank Lampard was on-point with his praise of my baby: “He’s special, he’s the best in the world at the moment. He does it week in, week out and on the big occasions.” This big occasion also elicited some fantastically ripping remarks by heartthrob Mourinho: “We showed character, I don’t think we played a great game. Arsenal played well, they have a great team and a great coach but football is about winning and the cup belongs to us.” For a minute-by-minute blow of the match, read more here.

NBA BAD BOYS

In 2003, Gary Payton (L), Sam Cassell (M) and Jason Caffey (R) were charged with assaulting a male stripper outside of a downtown Toronto strip club. Last week, Justice William Bassel ruled that Payton likely sparked a dispute with foul language and taunts, but that his “offensive conduct” was not on trial. The judge said that the testimony of the dancer and his stripper fiancé was riddled with exaggerations and inconsistencies and cleared the three playas of any wrongdoing. In January 2005, Caffey was caught up in a nasty lawsuit involving a former San Francisco prosecutor who had been accused by State Bar officials of bilking the retired baller out of more than $2 million and cheating him in the sale of his Oakland hills. Now, the 6-foot-8 forward, who played pro basketball from 1995 to 2003, is in trouble again. This time, a press release was issued and it looks like we have a Mensa reject in da house: ‘Former NBA veteran and two-time NBA Champion Jason Caffey was ordered arrested and incarcerated today in Fulton County Superior Court for his failure to pay over $77,000.00 in child support and attorney’s fees. The Order goes on to say that he shall remain in jail until he pays the full amount and proves that he has medical, dental and life insurance for his child. Randy Kessler, lawyer for the child’s mother notes that, “Mr. Caffey just isn’t taking this seriously. He doesn’t support or communicate with his child. Hopefully, now that he must face real consequences, he will realize the severity of the situation, and will live up to his obligations.” Jason Caffey won two NBA Championships while playing with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in 1996 & 1997.’

I NEED A WAX
David Wright’s stellar physique has been immortalized in wax. The sexy Met posed for his wax likeness, which will be displayed at Madame Tussauds around Opening Day…note to self, time to loot Madame Tussauds.

I’M SKY-HIGH

I love me some Kanye West and I love me some Nike…now, I can have the best of both worlds. Nike announced that it has commissioned a song from some prominent hip-hop hotties including Kanye West, Nas and KRS-One, to mark the 25th anniversary of its Air Force 1 sneakers. Nike “paid the artists for their work, will own the copyright to the recordings and even supplied the song’s theme, perseverance.” The company will “donate all sales proceeds to youth programs in Baltimore.” Nike will promote the song to radio stations and I will promote the song to my hormones. (N.Y. Times, 2/26).

DAVID BECKHAM AND HIS CONTRACT
Love this report regarding David Beckham and his alleged $250M contract. According to reports, Beckham’s playing contract with the MLS Galaxy is worth “about $27.5[M] in base salary over five seasons, a fraction of the $250[M] income figure floated for [Beckham] when he agreed to the deal last month.” Beckham’s spokesperson, Simon Oliveira, “would not confirm the figure but didn’t dispute it.” Oliveira: “That is only one element to his salary and package, which had to be disclosed in accordance with MLS guidelines.” Sources said that Beckham’s contract is a “complex and probably unique arrangement” that gives him a “percentage of club sponsorship, merchandising and uniform sales contracts” and also includes promotional arrangements. Which means, if you do the math, that Beckham is estimated to earn $25M a year in off-field endorsements etc, and yes, this is believable, at least for now.

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