THE VELVET BEAST

Michael Phelps. Nothing can stop this wet beast from winning gold. Perhaps establishing himself as one of the best athletes ever, Phelps set his third world record in three days. Not bad for a guy who now has 14 world championships under his Speedo. “I went out there and went after it,” he said. “Why stop something that works?” Indeed. And let’s hope he doesn’t stop soon. Phelps is 4-for-4 so far in his pursuit of eight gold medals. He still has the 100 butterfly, 400 individual medley and likely spots on the 400 medley and 800 free relays. “I’m on that track, yes, but I’m only halfway done,” he said.

DAVID BECKHAM

I was laughing my ass off at this little blurb I came across. Becks recently launched his latest line of sportswear for adidas. Fine and dandy…until I read that he wore a “beanie hat pulled low on his head, long baggy shorts and a sleeveless basket ball top.” Now get this, Becks considers himself a gangsta. He said: “It’s hip hop inspired- loose, baggy and comfortable. These are the styles that I wear day in, day out. I hope people like the range as much as I do.” Hip-hop inspired? Not sure I’ve ever seen a hip-hop inspired daisy-duke outfit before, but maybe the sneakers added the extra hip-hop flair in this old photo-shoot of Beckham? Beckham is also trying to create a “healthier generation” by teaming up with Findus. The company’s new MEGAO3 Omega-3 supplement is joining forces with The David Beckham Academy to help improve the nation’s nutritional knowledge. You can get the goods on-line at http://www.megaO3.com.

DRESSING THE TIGER
In 1997, Tiger Woods won his first Masters. To celebrate the anniversary, Nike Golf is introducing Tiger Woods Limited Edition kicks. The line includes four different styles, one for each of the four majors this season. A special “TW 10” logo is etched on the heel, and a Tiger Woods Foundation logo appears inside the spike. Woods will wear the first pair (white/dark army) at The Masters beginning next Thursday. (The shoe hits retail this Sunday.) He will sport a carmel/bronze-colored spike at the U.S. Open (retail June 1), black/varsity crimson at the British Open (retail July 1) and white/black-dusty red at the PGA Championship (retail August 1). As part of the promotion, Nike Golf is offering an online giveaway of four pairs of Woods-autographed shoes, one pair for each major. https://www.nike.com/nikegolf/index.htm

Our yearly ‘what will Tiger be wearing at the Masters’ list has been revealed. The Nike shirts he’ll wear at The Masters are available at retail for $70-80. And belive it or not, the shirts he’s going to wear at the US Open have also been selected.

EDS BYRON NELSON GETS A CHOPPER
Let’s all give a round of applause for the studs at Orange County Choppers. The beasts of bikes have announced that EDS will award a custom built chopper to the winner of the 2007 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, and will also auction off a second chopper for charity. The first place prize chopper, a PGA TOUR first, will be awarded in addition to the $1.134 million winner’s share of the tournament’s purse. The 2007 EDS Byron Nelson Championship is set for April 26-29 at the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas.

“This breaks new ground in terms of enhancing what already is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the PGA TOUR,” said Ron Rittenmeyer, president and chief operating officer of EDS. “The prize motorcycle will be sought after by the players, and the proceeds from the online auction of the second chopper will help the EDS Byron Nelson Championship reach its $100 million milestone in charitable giving, more than any other event on the PGA TOUR. By auctioning this chopper for charity, we are helping Byron’s work for the kids continue.”
The motorcycle design includes me sitting on the back, chrome wheel spokes that individually commemorate each of Byron Nelson’s 11 consecutive tournament victories, and elements of wood and steel to reflect the irons and persimmon woods of the Nelson golf era. *Note- Orange County Choppers has also built a NHL themed chopper.

MARBURY 10, LEBRON JAMES 0
“No, I don’t think so. Me being with Nike, we hold our standards high” – Cavaliers F LeBron James, on whether he could endorse a discount sneaker like Knicks G Stephon Marbury’s Starbury line.
“I’d rather own than be owned” – Marbury, in response to James’ comments.

King James earned Mensa reject status a while ago. Add Baby James sitting courtside, his remarks about Marbury or gay NBA players, coupled with a lack of action or intelligence, and James lands among the top five rejects. Before the Cav’s –Pacers game Tuesday night , the idiot made it clear that he won’t respond to several letters he’s received from political activist Ralph Nader, who urged James to take a public stance in support of workers’ rights at overseas plants that produce the shoes he endorses. “No, I haven’t responded to it,” James said. “But I think Nike’s a great company and they would respond if need be.” Um, didn’t you just say that ‘we hold our standards high’? Yet you can’t even respond to a simple letter asking for help? Hey James- ever heard of something called Independent Thought? Ya might wanna try it sometime.

BEAST O BURDEN

Didier Drogba visited Bouake to show his 2006 African Golden Ball to his supporters in the north of the country. Bouake is the second largest city in the Ivory Coast, and if Drogba is a fair representation of the city, I’m booking the first flight outta here. Unless, of course, the beast hauls his Golden Ball straight to mama.

MARADONA BLUES

So it seems that our little spitfire, Diego Maradona has been partying it up a bit too much. The furry firecracker was taken by ambulance, against his will, to a health clinic yesterday because of problems caused by excessive eating, drinking and cigar smoking. Maradona’s doctor said that the former soccer player “wasn’t in any danger,” but was about 8.8 pounds over his usual weight. “It wasn’t an imbalance in his blood circulation or with his heart, but was a product of an incoherent regimen of excessive eating, drinking and smoking.” At least Maradona has a doctor tipping the ‘scales’ in his favor. 8.8 pounds overweight?

HAMM AND NOMAR

Retired soccer player Mia Hamm gave birth to twin daughters late Tuesday. Daddy is Dodgers cutie Nomar Garciaparra. Congratulations and thank you for populating the earth with beautiful athlebrity off spring.

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