ROGER FEDERER: MEN’S VOGUE
“When you are younger and playing well, you want to play and play and play until you lose, but I have got to the point where I can leave it for a while and come back confident it is all still there.” Of course you can Roger, of course you can.

The Swiss-Miss has more ego-food, the cover of the May/June issue of Men’s Vogue. His majesty in a 12-page spread that includes a photo shoot in Dubai by Annie Leibovitz and a story that looks at his “life and likes (think cars, international cuisine and video games and attitude) well beyond the tennis court.” Men’s Vogue Editor: “I try to find a range of personalities to put on the cover that don’t simply lock us into Hollywood celebrities.” Well said, but until Camilo Villegas is on the cover, I ain’t buying it.

RAFAEL NADAL 63

Oh yeah! Our sexy little Rafa and his biceps have extended his clay-court winning streak to 63 matches today by spanking Chela outta the Monte Carlo Masters. Our tapa is aiming for his third straight Monte Carlo title and his one-hundredth appearance in my hormones. The last time our beast lost on clay, was at the Valencia Open in April of 2005. Congratulations to our favorite import.

ZIDANE HEAD BUTTING HIS WAY TO US?

Oh how the rumor mill churns…reports out of Europe over the last few days have claimed that retired head-butter and human rights activist Zinedine Zidane may come kick-it with MLS. However, the club yesterday said that “such a move appears very unlikely,” according to Grahame Jones of the L.A. Times. Zidane “has rejected repeated overtures by AEG, which is said to have a standing offer for Zidane to play” with either the Fire or Galaxy. AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke: “We have contacted his entourage about coming to play for us this year. He knows our door will always be open. His contract won’t be a problem.” Galaxy President & GM Alexi Lalas, despite telling London newspapers this past weekend that he was pursuing Zidane, said, “I can’t comment about specifics of any of the negotiations we have. All I can say is we continue to court the best players we possibly can.” BUT, Foxsports.com’s Nick Webster writes, “I also have it on good authority that the deal has already been done.” Ya know, I’m actually starting to enjoy the influx of Europe’s leftover hotties.

SIDNEY CROSBY: GATORADE

Penguin’s sensation Sidney Crosby has become the “first hockey player ever to be endorsed by Gatorade in the U.S.” Sidney and his lips reached a multi-year agreement about a month ago. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and although Crosby already has a deal to hawk Gatorade in Canada, the U.S. deal is separate. Look for Crosby alongside other Gatorade babes (Kevin Garnett, Derek Jeter, & Peyton Manning, and Mia Hamm) on gatorade.com this week.

PELE “FOOTBALL DREAMS”

The Qatari sports academy has launched a program that will provide African students from seven nations with a chance to study and train in one of the world’s most advanced sports Academies. “Football Dreams” is the largest Football talent search project in history and when testing starts at the end of May, six thousand staff will screen more than 500,000 boys born in 1994 in seven different countries across 700 locations around Africa. Brazilian football legend Pele was on hand for the press conference, and I’m wondering how the hell I can become a member of ‘screening staff’…

MOLTO BENE

The hottest men to grace the soccer field, our World Cup champion Italians, have returned to No. 1 in FIFA’s world rankings on Wednesday, ending Argentina’s one-month stay on top.

A GOOD REASON TO BUY PLAYBOY?
“‘No sex on game day’ is definitely not written on my bed. That would be too limiting. Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s not happening because you’re in a routine that day; you’re totally focused. But I don’t make a law of it.”

Phew, thank god! Sexy Suns guard Steve Nash is the subject of an “in-depth interview” in the May issue of Playboy. It’s a great interview, too, one of which lends insight into why Nash really is one of the good guys. Playboy asked him about the 2003 All Star Game, where Nash showed up in a “No War, Shoot For Peace” T-shirt. PLAYBOY: You took a political stand at the 2003 All-Star Game, wearing a T-shirt that read No War — Shoot for Peace. Opposing the invasion of Iraq seems awfully smart now. Do you feel vindicated? NASH: I don’t need to feel vindicated about Iraq. Look, it’s not about “I told you so.” I just don’t believe in aggressive war. Aggression should be a last resort. I didn’t think we had done all we could to find weapons of mass destruction before launching an invasion. That’s all. I wasn’t being anti-American or anti-Bush. And I didn’t say you have to believe what I believe. I just wanted everyone to try to be a little more informed, to dig a little deeper.” (Playboy, 5/ ’07 issue)

MLS DYNAMO

As the country mourns the tragedy that struck Virginia Tech this week, many hotties and teams are showing their support. Moments of silence were held at many arenas and now the MLS Dynamo are doing their share. The team plans to turn their next home game, (April 29) into a fundraiser to support Virginia Tech. The Dynamo, whose colors are orange, white and light blue, will wear maroon jerseys and orange shorts or socks for the game. adidas has already designed the jerseys, and MLS has approved them. The jerseys will be auctioned off afterwards, and proceeds will go to a yet-to-be-named charity at the school. “We’re going to reach out to the school when the time’s appropriate,” Dynamo COO Chris Canetti said. “It’s our little way of trying to help the community heal.” (SBJ 4/19).

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