HERE KITTY-KITTY-KITTY-KITTY

Someone has crawled their way out of a five-shot deficit to win the Tour Championship…yes, our favorite Columbian lawn-crawling sex pot closed with a 4-under 66 after beating Sergio the ‘Spitter’ Garcia on the first playoff hole with a two-putt par.

How many starts have we patiently waited through-about 84- to see Villegas win…but two in a row? And to top it off, this lands him second in the FedEx Cup (behind Singh) and is slated to take over as No. 6 in the world ranking…and with the Tour victory, Camilo Villegas pockets $1.26M and adds another $3M in bonus money for his second-place finish in the FedEx Cup.

And right about now I’m wondering…Tiger who? Yeah, I know many around the globe adore Tiger, and I’m certainly not comparing the Tiger to the Kitten, but I am saying its high-time Tiger stays home, chills with family and makes room for those who have been suffocated by his presence. And I don’t mean ‘suffocated’ on the greens, I mean suffocated as in ‘playing in his shadows’. Most of you have seen the throngs of fans lined up along the ropes just for a glimpse of Tiger…while some of us followed the lesser known packs of hotties dressed in Lindberg and Burberry.

I remember the first time I saw Camilo on the greens, emerging from the mist with a look of confidence to match his insane swagger. At the time, I didn’t know much about golf, but as I heard other golf aficionado’s mutter ‘who’s this guy coming up on 18’ I was the first to chime in, “Dah, its Camilo Villegas, from Columbia?” Perhaps due to high estrogen levels, my blinders rarely saw passed our kitten. Granted, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott and Aaron Baddeley appeared on my radar, but none are as special as Camilo. The second time I saw the kitten in the flesh, he was enjoying a practice round. How many people were following him that day? One. Me. Anyway, if you’re a regular, you read that entire post…and finally, the last time I was breathing the same air as Camilo, the estrogen brigade had caught on and I was no longer the sole admirer drooling over his every move.

Congratulations Camilo Villegas, my friend. You have worked hard, remained focused and infused a lethal dose of sex appeal into an old sport. Thank you, thank you, thank you for so many wonderful rounds and the many more future wins you have yet to tuck under that mouthwatering belt you got on.

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

MEOW

Our little kitten has finally done it…we’ve waited patiently for the last three years, hoping, praying and believing that hours of yoga and weight training will lend something to his already stellar physique -something extra-something to inch his oh-so-pretty Columbian flavor right into the victory circle.

Yes, we’ve been watching his sexiness crawl across the greens after meticulously selecting his Lindberg garb for the day…and now, our baby has popped his cherry and its time to rejoice and celebrate Camilo Villegas winning his first PGA tour victory. Our beast finished at 15-under 265 and earned a cool $1.26M. “It’s awesome to be here,” said Villegas, who was adorable in his solid white outfit accented by a yellow belt and painter’s cap. “Hopefully, it’s the first of many.” Indeed.

I’m not gonna post a hole-by-hole of the final round of the BMW Championships…because really, it’s about the man, not the game. It’s about the sweet demeanor of a long-overdue champion who brightens any course he plays with his unique crawl, flashy Lindberg cloths, perfectly matching socks and enticing tongue. Yes, the beast even looks hot when he sticks out his tongue…or yawns, or squats, or strokes his putter for that matter.

Camilo Villegas has won the BMW Championship. God…it feels so good to write that. But heads up ladies, a victory can mean much more than meets the eye. Regular readers and myself have been wiping Villegas-inspired drool off our chins for quite sometime, so I expect we are gonna see a Villegas-feeding-frenzy by the media from now on. Gone is the obscurity that allowed us to chit-chat with the kitten during practice rounds…gone are the days of having a secret hot golfer to enjoy…the trophy he kisses signifies his shot at Fame. My money says he’ll remain humble despite being thrown into the limelight, and I’m keep my fingers crossed that he appears in many, many more issues of Men’s Vogue, GQ, People, US, and whatever other publication has finally caught up to speed with us. I even heard a rumor that Tiger Woods is going to name his next child-if its a boy-Camilo….

Congratulations my kitten. We are all so proud of you.

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

ATHLEBRITIES AIR

Imagine if you will, enjoying a flight from London’s Gatwick to Malaga Spain. You’ve nestled into your seat, stowed your carry-on bags, and are anxiously awaiting that massive pack of peanuts they’re about to give you…the steward picks up that little-handheld radio to inform passengers that the in-flight service is about to begin…”This eez your steward speaking, no? I like to make possible some snacks for you to pleasure, no? If you like, I also make possible something to drink, yes, while enjoy your flight with us.”

You can hear the flight attendants whispering behind the curtain, bottles clanking as they line ‘em up on the cart, the smell of fresh coffee wafting your way…and then, from behind the curtain comes your flight attendant, pushing the cart with one hand and adjusting his capri’s with the other…”You like something for drink, no?” he asks before someone from the rear of the plane yells ‘Fore’ and a bag of peanuts go whizzing by your head. You turn around and noticed the bag of ‘nuts were delivered via the swing of a nine-iron attached to Camilo Villegas. “Heads up my friend,” he says to your flight attendant, Rafael Nadal….Oh, it doesn’t hurt to dream, does it? The answer is no, because thanks to CelebAir things are about to get interesting in the air, as celebrities battle it out to become CelebAir’s star employee and win money for their chosen charity.

CelebAir is a real airline, flying to real destinations, with real passengers – but with a very special celebrity service. ITV2 and Monarch Airlines have joined forces to bring you the opportunity to take part in the reality TV event of the year – CelebAir. An exclusive group of passengers will be able to travel while celebrities work as airline staff on this unique showbiz airline. CelebAir will have its own check-in desk at London Gatwick airport, its own planes, its own tickets, and its own dedicated staff of celebrities trained to the highest standards of air travel. With CelebAir you’ll have all the safety and comfort of a trip with Monarch, plus an experienced Monarch aircrew will be on hand to make sure that everything runs smoothly. We’ll be traveling to some of Europe’s most popular destinations, so there’s no excuse not to take this chance to get a little celebrity service to kick off the holiday of a lifetime.

Granted, the ‘celebrities’ taking part in this wonderful mile-high opportunity haven’t been revealed. But as mentioned, I’d have my Spanish treat Rafael Nadal leading the flight crew. Camilo Villegas would be in charge of ”lost & found” –assuming the position as he crawls under seats to collect rouge items that have fallen out of reach. (Yes, I would drop my pen repeatedly). I’d also be remiss not to have Posh aka Victoria Beckham as the lead-flight attendant. She wouldn’t have to do anything except make sure the crew was behaving. (On a side note- anyone catch the acid-trip-like ESPY’s? Victoria’s face was priceless as she sat there enduring the embarrassing show-she was the only one in the audience that wasn’t giving a fake laugh and I love her for it.)

My flight crew would also include Snoop Dogg in efforts to get a Soul Plane atmosphere going…ideally, Bono would be onboard as well, educating the passengers on all things ‘love’ related…oh, my Drogba would come through the cabin with warm towels while I enjoyed foot-massage from the hands of Ian Poulter…pillows and blankets would be handed to me by Kanye West before I pressed the call button to summon Steve Nash to refill my drink, tuck me in, and instruct me on how to best use the seat-bottom cushion…like I said, it doesn’t hurt to dream, does it?

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

CAMILO VILLEGAS TO PLAY CHARITY EVENT
All you Camilo Villegas hungry fans, mark your calendars, because our kitten is gonna be crawling across the greens for charity…August 26, at Turning Stone Resort’s Atunyote Golf Club for the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge.

The Aug. 26 event will feature Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Stewart Cink, Camilo Villegas, and Notah Begay III, in a skins format exhibition game. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Notah Begay III Foundation, which supports Native American youth sports programs. Tickets are $35. I repeat-tickets are $35.00 If you’ve been paying attention to what I’ve been trying to shove down your throats for the last few years-this is it. For $35 bucks, you can go to this event and get up close and personal with Camilo or Singh or Cink or Begay. The reason athletes participate in these type of events are two fold: One, they’re using their ‘fame’ to sell tickets to benefit charity. Second: They appear at these events to meet the fans- so why would you wanna fight the crowds at the US Open or any other major event, in hopes of catching a glimpse of someone and maybe-if you’re-lucky-nab an autograph or two? Seriously, I wouldn’t send you in the wrong direction. There isnt one athlete on the face of the earth that I’ve met at a charity event who wasn’t eager to meet the fans who came out to support the cause. Its pretty much a no-brainer, so hit me up after taking my advice and let me know how it goes…otherwise, you can sit in front of your computer all day and repeatedly watch this double-de-licious video of Camilo Villegas balancing on one leg atop of a ball while pumping up his biceps…

POULTERIZED

“I’ve known that I can perform well and play good,” he said. “I guess I am just trying to let that come out in me. There is plenty more in me and I know I can go better. It is all about winning so I won’t feel like this is my best result. I’m not going to hold a second place as high as some of my wins. You don’t strive to finish second, you strive to win, and that is what will make me practice harder and harder.”

Thank you Ian Poulter for giving this girl a sporntastic British Open and hitting your way to a magnificent second-place finish. My sexy flashkat teased us for nearly an hour with a possible victory, and eventually carded a (oh!) 69 to finish seven-over. “I don’t need to ride the storm of comments that get made and get taken out of context,” he said. “I’m just pleased I went out today and put a good show on. It wasn’t quite good enough because Padraig put in a hell of a performance and really did his stuff on the back nine.”

KAKA CHELSEA RUMORS?
As Elvis Costello’s ‘I Don’t Wanna Go To Chelsea’ runs through my brain I have to pray that it’s not becoming the theme song of the team. The rumor mill is churning out some fantastic dish on team Chelsea…Chief executive Peter Kenyon shot-down reports of a $238M bid for Kaka (the Brazilian World Player of the Year) and said negotiations with the Italian club had come to a head. “There was no offer made. I have read the same articles. They have made it clear that he is not for sale and we will make it clear we have not made an offer,” Kenyon said after arriving in southern China. “There is no reason to negotiate over something they don’t want to do and we have not made an offer.” AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliano also laughed at the rumor, “There has been no offer of 150 million euros for Kaka from anyone, even less so Chelsea,” he said. “These are urban legends that nourish themselves. Tomorrow someone will write 200 million and hopefully by September we’ll reach 300 million. I met with (Chelsea owner Roman) Abramovich, we asked about Sheva (Andrei Shevchenko) and he asked about Kaka but we talked about numbers and it ended 0-0. Real Madrid have also called about Kaka but he is staying with us.”

So, with Kaka firmly planted with AC Milan, the Chelsea babes have kicked off their pre-season Asian tour with the focus on raising money for the victims of the May 12 earthquake. Notably absent from the roster is Didier Drogba, who is nursing an injury that I wish he would have called me to help him heal. “Didier is injured. The doctor and our medical staff made a plan to have him training and playing in maybe three or four weeks,” new coach Felipe Scolari said. “But at this moment it’s impossible for Didier to come with us.” Thankfully, not everyone has bailed on Chelsea- we still got Frank Lampard doing his part as he dodges offers from AC Milan and of course, captain fantastic John Terry is doing his best to hold his squad together. “The players all want him to stay, but it’s down to Frank and the club to sort it out. We are here to focus on the football, but hopefully while he’s here the club can sort it out,” Terry said.

TOMKAT

Not really sure why this made me chuckle today…I don’t mind Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes or Baby Suri. And I could care less about what ‘religion’ they follow, to me, they’re not hurting anyone and they seem like a regular couple (aside from the millions of dollars, paparazzi magnetism or creepy rumors about Baby Suri being the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard)… but I do like seeing them pop-up on the sports circuit once in a while (as long as its not R-Fed related)…the happy couple are apparently in love with Australian MotoGP rider Casey Stoner, his sexy Ducati, and his questionable jumpsuit. The Tomkats met with Stoner before the Red Bull US Grand Prix in Laguna Seca. Valentino Rossi won the race, Casey Stoner took the second place and Chris Vermeulen placed third.

CHRIS WEBBER

Chris Webber took in the Detroit Shock/ Sacramento Monarchs game over the weekend at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan…and remember if you need something fun to do this upcoming weekend, get yourself to Vegas for C-Webbs Third Annual Bada Bling. More info check out my celebrity athlete charity events page or at www.cwebbsbadabling.com.

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

CAMILO VILLEGAS: “LET’S GRIND”

Did you kids really think Delinda wasn’t on top of the Camilo Villegas situation? Between his precious knit cap, his stellar second round, and his taunt crawling along the greens, I’m about to lose it. Seems that finally the rest of the world is taking notice of our kitten-maybe he just needed ‘this’ much more than a sexy stance and flashy clothes to land on the ‘are-you-kidding-me’ map. A win would have been great, but we’ll take a historic second round score of 5-under 65 at Royal Birkdale if that’s what it takes to make people take notice.

Between Greg Norman and Camilo Villegas both rewriting the history books, I’ve hardly notice the wind, rain or absence of Tiger Woods at The British Open. In fact, his absence has been a blessing, giving some of our other talented golf-babies the chance to shine. Sure, Villegas has dramatically dropped down the leaderboard, but there’s still pa-lenty of talent to watch. The 53-year old Norman is stealing the show much like Rocco Mediate did during the US Open. Norman shot a round of 72 and grabbed a two-stroke lead going into Sunday’s final round.

We also have my flash-kat Ian Poulter stirring things up as he sits T9 next to Rocco, and Adam Scott has choked himself down to T27 after losing a battle with the wind-still, lots of coverage of the Burberry babe makes it worthy of watching.

For those of you needing an extra dose of Camilo Villegas, and when I say extra dose, I mean an extra dose complete with sexy wisps of hair, a Columbian accent and how he went into the round by saying (gulp) “Let’s Grind” check out this yummy video interview on FootJoy.com.

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

BOWLING FOR DREAMS

Last Saturday in Las Vegas, celebrity athletes meshed with celebrities for the 8th annual Sports Dream Bowl at the Red Rock Resort. The babes lined up to bowl for a benefit for the Sports Dream Foundation’s Urban Youth Scholarship Fund. NFL legend, Warren Moon hosted the event, which delivered some great eye-candy to guests who were able to watch the ‘red-caret’ arrivals…Tony Parker-Longoria was there with his arm-charm, Carson and Jordon Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals, NFL legend Jerry Rice, Junior Seau, Brandon Jacobs, Tony Gonzalez, Robert Horry of the San Longoria Spurs, Brian Brohm of the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Ross and Brandon Jacobs of the NY Giants…”Everyone involved loves the fun of the event, but also cares tremendously about the cause. As athletes and celebrities, we have all benefited from the support of others, and we are honored to pass along the positive impact by contributing to these outstanding students,” said Moon. “Many of our recipients will be the first in their family to attend college. Their personal stories and achievements are incredibly inspiring.” Moons been kicking in cash for college grants since 1989, and six of the scholarship winners joined the festivities…

DUSTED OFF AND READY FOR AUCTION

I love that John McEnroe is doing this…but I’m pretty sure the value lies in the fact that it was painted by Andy Warhol…Flashback 1986…John McEnroe and Tatum O’Neal were happily married when they attended a charity auction and bid about $30k to have Warhol paint the couple’s portrait based on a Polaroid of the two. Flash forward 2008…McEnroe is selling the portrait via a Sotheby’s auction in London next week…the piece is expected to fetch about $687,000…which I sincerely hope they get, because all proceeds are earmarked for Habitat for Humanity.

CAMILO VILLEGAS: DOUBLE WHAMMY

On Tuesday, June 17, our Columbian kitten, Camilo Villegas crawled his way to victory at the Telus World Skins golf tournament in British Columbia…he’s now got an additional $230,000 to add to his list of prize money…but, just when we’re getting used to the idea of Villegas winning one…he’s gone and done it again- just one week later. “I was a little nervous,” he said. “It’s good to feel the nerves, a little shaky. It’s good for myself.” Villegas made two birdie putts in a three-hole playoff and along with his partner Bubba Watson to win the rain-delayed CVS Caremark Charity Classic on Tuesday. “It’s all about charity,” said Bubba Watson, who donated $10,000 of his winning check back to the tournament. “I know it helps Rhode Island a lot.” No word on whether or not Villegas is gonna send some cash to his Foundation…because although I know he’s established one in Columbia-there is nary a peep of info available about it-so Camilo, wake-up and email Delinda information about your Foundation already-how long you gonna make this girl wait?

ATHLEBRITY NBA DRAFT PICK: JERRYD BAYLESS
While some of our off-season ballers are busy playing in charity soccer games with Steve Nash or performing their ‘NBA Cares’ duties, a plethora of fresh-blood is waiting for their entry in the NBA via that-oh-so-long-and-boring NBA Draft process. In efforts to help you weed out the good from the bad (pun intended), I think I may have found a future-charity-diamond-in-the-rough. Jerryd Bayless, formerly of the Arizona Wildcats, has created quite a buzz- with predictions calling for him to be selected either fourth or fifth in the Draft. We have yet to see how this sexy youngster will adjust to life with the big boys- whether he’ll let the fame and fortune take him down faster than a drunk baller in a Vegas club, or if he’ll take a similar path as Chris Paul and give love to the community- my intuition says he’s headed for the mighty-mighty-sexy-good-guys category.

In a 2005 GOAZCATS.com article, the writer’s first impression of Bayless: “To my pleasant surprise, he turned out to be the polar opposite of what I expected. He was — and remains to this day — humble, polite, dignified, respectful, caring, selfless, charming and witty. Basically, Jerryd Bayless is the exact kind of person people want to call their friend, the kind of guy parents hope their kids hang around with because of his positive nature and the good upbringing by his own parents.” And wouldn’t ya know it-Bayless gave credit to his parents, “I am a reflection of my mom in ways and my dad in ways,” he said. “And, yes, they have made it easier for me to succeed.” No argument coming from his former AAU coach either, “Jerryd is a class act. It comes from being around quality people and having good parents.” Sweetness is already off to a great start-on June 19, Bayless teamed up with Feed the Children to provide 400 Phoenix families with boxes of food, love and personal care items. “Arizona and I have a special connection and commitment to bettering the lives of Arizonans, “ he said, “I am privileged to be able to help out the community before I start this next phase of my life in the NBA and in a new city…it will always be a priority for me to assist young people and their families to ensure that opportunities are available. This is just the beginning of what I intend to be a long-term commitment to helping those less fortunate in the Arizona area.” Let’s cross our fingers and hope this future NBA star continues to makes us all proud and we don’t find him among the posts in Deadspin…

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

MANNING THE MEN

Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning held a Fathers Day reunion at the NERF Father’s Day Football Throwdown to help city residents celebrate their fathers. During the promotional event at Chelsea Piers in NY, Archie revealed the secret to manufacturing kids that have grown up to nab the last two Super Bowl MVP awards: Daddy Peyton used to play a game with them called ‘Amazing Catches.’ He’d throw the ball just out of their reach to force them into a diving grab…”This has been special, “said Peyton, “With Eli here in New York, and my dad and older brother Cooper in New Orleans and I’m in Indianapolis, we’re not together as a group very often. So this has been a special time, and throwing the football is something that we used to do a lot growing up as kids and it’s been a fun day today being here with all these kids and parents.” In connection with the event, toy company Hasbro made a donation to the Manning’s PeyBack Foundation, which provides disadvantaged youth with growth opportunities and a leadership program.

SAINT KEVIN KAESVIHARN

Aside from an article hidden somewhere in the Bangkok newspaper, I couldn’t dig up much more info on this…cutie Kevin Kaesviharn of the New Orleans Saints gave a traditional Thai greeting known as a “wai” before a football clinic for kids at the Chaopraya Wittayakorn School in Bangkok. Seems we’re celebrating 175 years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and the United States…who knew?

AS YOU WISH
If you’ve ever been to India then you’re extremely familiar with the term “as you wish” coming from the mouth of a wobbly-headed local. This is by no-means an insult- I’ve traveled throughout India and love the people, culture, history, poverty, crowds, food and dusty roads that lead you to the Ganges…so I had to chuckle to myself at the thought of our ballers getting their malaria pills and Hep-A-shots before hitting up the karmic center of the universe…since Basketball without Borders launched in 2001, our ballers have gone around the globe and back-from China, South America, France and South Africa…and now, these guys are in for a rude awakening when the NBA stages its first-ever event in New Delhi July 3–6.

OUCH

Gotta thank the Lakers and Celtics for giving us one hell of a play-off series. It’s a struggle for me…I wanna see Garnett-Pierce-Allen flashing some hefty bling on their fingers-but Kobe & Co are putting up an incredible defense and some wicked shots to the delight of their star-studded fans. Coach Jack Nicholson was going nuts as the Lakers beat the Celtics 103-98 in Game Five.

Lakers courtside heat included: Cobi Jones, Chris Tucker, Terrell Owens, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Penny Marshall, Tom Arnold, Sylvester Stallone, Robert Downey Jr., Jeffrey Katzenberg and just about anyone else that wasn’t in San Diego watching Rocco take on Tiger Woods.

ROCCO’D MY WORLD

As Tiger and Rocco go head-to-head today in the US Open Playoff, I’m not too concerned over who is gonna win. The final round itself was enough to make me lose my voice and I’m pretty sure I could hear the crowd at Torrey Pines from my house a few miles down the coast. In any event, and as much as I don’t like Tiger off-the-greens, I was dumbstruck at the shots his was landing. I was also relishing in the fresh-attitude brought to the greens by Rocco Mediate. I think he best personifies the joy of the sport and the thrill of competition without getting caught up in the magnitude of the situation. His all encompassing joy was about infectious as any I’ve seen coming from the sports world and I would love nothing better than to see him kissing the trophy when I eventually check the final round score.

Lost in the crowd, but not in my heart were of course, Camilo Villegas (who I will never call a “pink flamingo”), Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Adam Scott. My spies hanging at the Lodge told me that Adam Scott fell off the leaderboard after enjoying a few drinks with his pals, before one of them accidentally slammed Adams hand in the car door as he was closing it…

GRASS, CLAY, BOTH GOOD, YES?

“This week was amazing for me,” Rafael Nadal said after claiming his first career grass-court title Sunday. Our sexy tapa defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the Queen’s Club final to become the first and sexiest Spaniard to win on grass in 36 years. Nadal is also the first player to win at Roland Garros and Queen’s Club in the same year since Ilie Nastase in 1973. “Wimbledon is very, very important tournament, and the motivation is 100 percent,” Nadal said. “Doesn’t matter if I am tired mentally. Physically is a little bit more important, but I think physically I’m fine.” Indeed you are Rafa, indeed you are.

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

KOBE JUMPS BLACK MAMBA’S
I am NOT a Jackass fan, but this is a phenomenal continuation of the Kobe’s public image repair campaign….

WHILE I WAS SLEEPING

Earlier this month, NBA hotties and soccer babes held my libido hostage and forced me to ignore the hotness prowling around at the AT&T Classic in Georgia. My kitten got down and dirty, finished in third place (wahoo!) and finally, Matt Sullivan from Getty Images snapped an are-you-kidding-me photo-from behind of Camilo Villegas. ‘Nough said.

THE NOAH’S APPLE TREE

Today, President of the French Tennis Federation Christian Bimes and Former French tennis champion Yannick Noah unveiled the ‘Allee of Yannick Noah’ (walking path) at the French Tennis Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris. Noah is celebrating his victory 25 years ago, which was the last singles victory for a Frenchman at Roland Garros…ironically, this comes a few days after his precious offspring, Joakim Noah gets busted for drinking in public and having a stash o’herbage in his pocket…“I don’t understand all that fuss for just drinking a beer on the street,” Yannick Noah said Tuesday at the French Open. “I talk to him every day on the phone, he’ll soon come over to France to see me.” After Daddy won the French Open in 1983, he created a bit of a scandal when he told a magazine writer he smoked weed. I guess the French ain’t so bad after all.

YAO MING’S AFTERSHOCK

Sunday, Yao Ming was at Lowe’s Motor Speedway shooting hoops with NASCAR drivers and learning how to change tires from Kyle Petty’s pit crew as part of a promotion with Coca-Cola.

But the big sensitive guy remains focused on the devastating after effects of the earthquake that hit China. “We have a long way to go to create a new place for the people who don’t have a place to stay right now,” Yao said. “Every day the number is going up. This morning it was over 62,000 people killed. We are very sad for the people we have lost in the earthquake.” Yao, who has already kicked in $290,000 and filmed several PSA’s for the Red Cross, led the crowd in a moment of silence for China’s victims before the Coca-Cola 600. “The best thing you can do for the government is to send money there and people there to help them,” Yao said as he sat in a motor home parked in the track’s infield. “But we also need to warm them. They’re hurt mentally by the earthquake. I heard some kids cannot sleep in the middle of the night because they’re scared. Any kind of help—it’s more than just the money. Number one right now is to save people’s lives. On May 12 people forgot about the Olympics. People forgot about the torch. Let’s focus the government and the people on saving as many lives as we can.”

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