DIKEMBE BENEFITS
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander knows Dikembe Mutombo’s value on and off the court. That’s why on Wednesday he handed Mutombo a $500,000 donation for his foundation and used their annual Tux & Tennies Charity Gala to benefit the foundation and the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital that Dikembe Mutombo built in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “When Dikembe asked me to use this as an event for his cause, he showed me a video of people in Africa going to a hospital,” Alexander said Thursday. “They bring their own mattress. They walk in. There’s nobody there. There’s no drugs. There’s no medicine. There’s no facilities. There’s nothing. When you’re sick, you know how sad you are. I could just imagine in America walking into that same thing, how horrible they would feel. It shakes your bones. It (Wednesday’s donation) meant a great deal. It meant he could buy many goods and medicines for the people of the Congo. He is part of the Rocket family. To help him was really special.” So special, in fact, that former President George H.W. Bush spoke at the event. “There’s not many times people can get an occasion to have a former president to be the guest speaker for a function,” Mutombo said. “I think I was lucky enough to have that relationship and to have Les Alexander host this dinner and to make the gift to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation…I just want to thank God for all His blessings,” he said. “I was very emotional seeing all my family members, my friends, my fans and the owner…you don’t get too many special nights like this. I’m just so happy, and I’m very lucky.” He said he hoped fans would think of him as someone who did his best both on the court and off. “As someone who made a difference,” he said. Done, done and done…to me, Dikembe is the Bono of the NBA, with T-Mac playing Edge…(Houston.chron)
WELCOME BACK NENE
Big beautiful sexy Denver Nugget Nene may have only played in the final 77 seconds of the Nuggets/Mavs game last night, but it was the fact that he played which was cause for celebration. The Brazilian beast returned to the court just 2 1/2 months after he underwent surgery to remove a malignant testicular tumor. “Everybody was excited to see Nene back out there, just to see him back in his uniform, seeing him smile again after the stuff he’s been through,” said Sweet Melon…In the locker room afterward, Nene was all smiles. “I survived, I’m still here,” he said. “I’m a new man, stronger than ever, I just say, ‘Thank you, everybody.”’
TONY ROMO AND TIMBERLAKE TO TEE OFF
Tony Romo, Just Timberlake, and NBC’s Matt Lauer, will play in the Golf Digest Open Challenge, a cool little promo that gives an average golfer the chance to play Torrey Pines the weekend before the U.S. Open. Golf Digest received close to 56,000 entries and have narrowed the field down to five finalists who have best demonstrated their desire, passion, and determination to play Torrey Pines South Course under U.S. Open conditions while NBC cameras track the delicious Romo-Timberlake-Lauer foursome. You can cast your vote on gdopencontest.com to determine which of the five amateur finalists gets the spot. Romo tried to qualify for the U.S. Open in 2005 and ‘07 but didn’t make the cut. “People probably don’t realize that this will be just as exciting for Justin, Matt and I as it is for the average guy who plays with us,” says Romo. “I love competition and challenges like this. This is what I live for when it comes to fun.” Romo, who played golf with Timberlake last year said, “Justin’s a solid player who consistently hits the ball pretty straight. The difficult part for this test will be length. One thing Justin has going for him is he has a good short game, so he’ll be able to get up and down even when he misses a few shots.”
KING KONG CONTROVERSY
I gotta admit, I didn’t even think of King Kong when I saw the cover. In fact, I thought it was a pretty lame photo. One might hope that the first black athlete to grace the cover of Vogue Magazine would be wearing a suit, no? So maybe, just maybe, the outrage from the African American community isnt so unfounded? Before you dismiss this as hypersensitive bullshit, just take a few minutes to really think about it, and understand why it’s offensive to a large portion of the community. And take a look at the dress Gisele is wearing? Coincidence? I think not. In a column at ESPN.com, Jemele Hill called the cover “memorable for all the wrong reasons.” But she said in an interview that the image is not unusual, white athletes are generally portrayed smiling or laughing, while black sports figures are given a “beastly sort of vibe.” And yeah, this girl loves that beastly sorta vibe, but not when it offends, and not when its dismissed or belittled by the asshole portraying ‘King Kong.’ Yes, Im calling Lebron James an asshole (yet again)- his selfishness is beyond ugly. James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was just showing a little emotion. “Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or bad way,” James told the paper: “Who cares what anyone says?” Who cares? Maybe all those little kids who look up to you? Maybe all those parents and fans who are buying your custom kicks for $5k a pair? Maybe the fans who shell out cash for your jersey? This latest stint by LeLame only reaffirms my opinion that he is completely worthless off-the-court. (And no, his age doesn’t factor into this argument for me) It also doesn’t matter whether or not you or I find the cover offensive…Lebron should have taken this opportunity to represent his race instead of posing like, well, King Kong.
As always, thanks for reading.
delinda@athlebrities.
