**Publishing Notice**
I’m taking the rest of the year off!!! See ya in January kids…

STEVE NASH: PATTERSON AWARD

Steve Nash earned some serious love for his philanthropy…but not really sure if anyone noticed? Apparently, Nashty was given the award during a pre-game ceremony at the Sun-Lakers game…maybe the photogs didn’t notice or care but I can’t find any photos…regardless, the Sports Philanthropy Project (SPP) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) presented the 2008 Steve Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy to Nash’s foundation…

“It is an honor to receive this type of recognition for the work that I care about so deeply,” said Nash. “The Steve Nash Foundation is dedicated to assisting underserved children in their health, personal development, education and enjoyment of life. Steve Patterson is the kind of person that always sought out to improve the lives and well being of others and to be awarded in his name is truly an honor. I am humbled by your acknowledgement of our work in the global community. This is just the beginning and we look forward to continuing these efforts and building on the foundation we have established.” The award was created in memory of Steve Patterson, former UCLA basketball star, NBA player and Arizona State University college coach, who died of cancer in 2004 and believed in and practiced the power of sports philanthropy. Carlette Patterson, President of Patterson Sports Ventures. “My husband spent his life building partnerships on and off the court, and we hope his life and legacy will inspire more and more sports teams and athletes who have the power to create substantial change in their own backyards. The fact that Steve Nash will receive his award for work here in the same community in which my husband Steve and our family lived and worked and cherished makes it that much more meaningful.”

I LOVE MADAME TUSSAUDS

The latest hormone tickler from Madame Tussauds is Washington Wizard babe Gilbert Arenas…his ‘figure’ was unveiled yesterday at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Washington D.C., and Arenas took along 50 kids from his Zer0 to Her0 Foundation….”It is an honor to join the ranks of sports icons such as Muhammad Ali and Tiger Woods by being immortalized in wax at Madame Tussauds Washington D.C.,” Arenas said. “Like the Wizards, Madame Tussauds has become a fixture in the nation’s capital and one that I’m proud to be a part of.” Now, I don’t know how or if I qualify for the job, but I’d like to take a stab as one of the artists who create these treats…Gil sat for over two hours while the ‘artists’ took hundreds of (a-hem) measurements and photos, as well as selected eye, hair and skin tone matches for his figure…artists even insert each strand of hair individually…the creation of Arenas’ figure’s head took nearly five weeks to complete.

CARMELO ANTHONY PARTIES IN LA WITHOUT ME

Last night, celebrities, artists and professional athletes hit up Siren Studios in Hollywood to celebrate Carmelo Anthony and Jordan Brand’s launch of the Jordan Melo M5 basketball shoe…luckily, I wasn’t not able to attend, if I had, I suspect I wouldn’t have made it passed the “unique images of Carmelo’s daily life off the court, including candid imagery of Carmelo taking breaks between games, interacting with his fans and just enjoying life.”…The black-carpet event replicated a modern art gallery opening…adding to the modern art feel was Kenyon Martin, Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith. “Tonight’s event means a lot to me because the M5 is my fifth shoe and any time you can be associated with a brand like Jordan it’s special. The shoe fits me and my game so well and it’s my favorite shoe of them all since I’ve been a part of the process since day one.” For more info visit Nike.com and trust me when I say the splash page is a must see for all Sweet Melon lovers.

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Delinda Lombardo

Tattoos, Obama, Land Mines, Dry Ice, A Very Sad Swiss Mister and a Naked Tapa?

My libido is clashing with my goal to write about charity stuff…so I defer to my hormones…yes, I am still crushing hard on Obama…and I’m loving the support our sexy new Prez is getting from some of our balling babes…Wizards beast Gilbert Arenas got some cool ink on his digits…talk about creating a ‘let-your-fingers-do-the-walking’ fantasy (post-manicure pa-leeze!)…but perhaps my favorite tribute (to date) comes from Sweet Melon who’s got my marshMelo’s standing at full attention. Not sure what he said because he keeps licking his lips and distracting me…

Poor Roger Federer

Despite the dry ice and on court massage, Roger Federer could not get by Andy Murray. Day six of the ATP Masters Cup in Shanghai…Murray won the match 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 to eliminate Federer from the tournament…seriously; I am starting to feel kinda bad for the Swiss Mister…

Baltic Soccer Stadium

I, for one, would think twice about attending the Baltic Arena soccer stadium in Poland…the stadium is being built for the Euro 2012 Cup but prior to any building being done, they sent out a gaggle of “sappers’ from an explosives company to test the ground for any remaining World War II explosives…And to everyone in Poland who didn’t think this was funny, I meant no disrespect.  Trust me, even if they did NOT send in the “sappers” I would still attend a Euro Cup match in the stadium!

Enjoy the weekend…maybe go for a sail? While I’m not one to run photos of our hotties naked, I cant help but post this one of Rafael Nadal ala natural…vamos indeed.

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Delinda Lombardo

MELO’S HAIRCUT ON VIDEO
Seriously…before the coffee even made it passed my lips I was transferred back to dreamland thanks to this video of Carmelo Anthony getting his haircut. THE haircut. Geez-U this kid is gonna kill me…all messy hair, licking his lips, laughing…playing NBA Live…and then…he is shorn. Delinda has a bounty out on Melo’s hair if anyone’s gotta tress to toss my way…the video is almost perfection in terms of Melo eye candy. Ok, it is perfection…I guess it stung when LaLa entered the scene and jolted me back to reality.

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Delinda Lombardo

CARMELO ANTHONY: WHY HE CUT HIS HAIR
I’m speculating here, but you can ask him yourself…my precious Melo is opening a “Posh New Barbershop in Denver’s Hip LoDo District” called ‘STUDIO 15.’

The beast will make an appearance during its grand opening, THURSDAY, November 6 from 3-4 PM. The shop will feature Lewis Griffin (from Baltimore) as the lead barber and manager of STUDIO 15, an additional barber along with a cosmetologist to service customers looking for a simple manicure/pedicure and a crazy redheaded blogger hiding in the stockroom.

The shop will be open seven days a week - 8am-7pm (Monday through Saturday) and 10am-4pm (Sunday) and will cater to a variety of customers…

WHERE: STUDIO 15, 1740 Blake Street, Denver, CO 80202.

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Delinda Lombardo

Carmelo Anthony Cuts the Cornrows

Last week, Carmelo Anthony had three wisdom teeth yanked while serving his two-game suspension to start Denver’s season…rumor has it that the dentist asked him repeatedly “Is it safe” prior to the surgery…not sure what his answer was, but I would say it is very safe for Melo to do whatever he likes and still be able to produce grand mal seizures in my libido.

Yes, my favorite caramelized-treat has cut off his cornrows after almost nine years. Mama Melo likes her baby’s new look: “I like it,” Mary Anthony said. “It makes him look younger, and he looks like my baby again.” After the two-game suspension and wisdom teeth session, Melo showed up Saturday looking just as fine as he did before…”Time for a change,” purred the sexiest man in a NBA uniform.

Also, not sure how many of you are watching Carmelo’s Way, which I believe aired on BET last week. All I can say after watching the trailer is…nothing. Dear god…Melo traipsing around his room at the Wynn, half nekked with a posse of fine –ass brutha’s cracking jokes about ‘Shoe-Bacca.’ Seriously, kill me now.
 

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Delinda Lombardo

SWEET BABY MELON
“At the end of the day, you don’t forget where you came from. I took Baltimore to Beijing with me, and now, I’m bringing Beijing back to Baltimore.” Carmelo Anthony

There are many ways to measure the character of a man. In my world, and for my purposes, oftentimes I must look not only to the man himself, but those he surrounds himself with. Do his friends treat others with respect? Do they lie? Cheat? Steal? (a-hem boom) Assault woman? Start fights? Cheat on their ladies? All these things should be taken into consideration before any of our hotties get placed on a pedestal. Another very important aspect of an ‘athletes’ character is who they select to represent their personal foundations. As a writer, I depend on many PR firms to feed me info on what kind of charity events or foundation activities are happening. A good PR firm will let the entire world know what their client is doing…there are of course numerous PR firms that couldn’t care less about informing the public about the good deeds of their clients. This is a major stone in my shoe and a major gripe among many writers who don’t understand why anyone would hire a PR firm who doesn’t work well with the media. I’m not going to list those I think are indifferent to spreading good news, but I am going to give massive props to Carmelo Anthony for working with Matt Saler and Maroon PR who are doing a phenomenal job in terms of releasing information about Carmelo Anthony’s Foundation. And it ain’t called Carmelo Cares for nothing.

Last weekend, my sweet Melo was in Baltimore where he made a b-line for his Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center to share his gold medal with over 200 kids. The center in East Baltimore isnt just for an ego boost either, as Melo contributes about $300,000 of the annual $500,000 budget. Indeed a mighty-mighty fine man. The children in attendance were from the Inner Harbor East Academy and the Crossroads School. “There was no way we were missing a celebration like this,” said Inner Harbor East principal Beverly Manigo. “You know, when I told my teachers about this yesterday, I think they were as excited as the kids…How many people you know do this?” she said, “Most of these guys become famous and maybe they donate something, but for him to create this kind of place for kids who might not have any other place to go, it’s different.”

Yes it is different. That’s because Carmelo Anthony is different. He cares about kids, he cares about his roots, his hometown, his legacy. “I just want to say I was so glad to go 15-hours away to Beijing and represent Baltimore City,” Melo said before placing replica gold medals around the necks of teachers and coaches from the schools…makes this girl wonder how I can get a replica placed around my neck…call me crazy, but I would indeed sleep with it. (Not sure my man would be down with that, but he’d understand).

Sweet Melon also has an enormous soft spot for the Ravens and Orioles. Looking phenomenal is his own personal (how do I get that) Ravens jersey, he served as an honorary captain at the Baltimore Ravens game on Sunday, where he did the coin toss. “It means a great deal to be at the Ravens’ first game, their home opener,” said Carmelo. I never thought I would be doing the coin toss out here. It’s just an honor for me.” Melo was also set to throw out the first pitch for the Orioles game but mother-nature cancelled those plans.

He did find time today to do a little Q&A on ESPN chat, where he said the coolest thing he saw in China was “Usain Bolt”…revealed that it takes about an hour to get his hair done after I’ve messed it up…predicts the Ravens will go 10-6 this year…named Carlos Boozer as the funniest TEAM USA teammate…said he “didn’t want to take” off his gold medal…naps before games…predicts Greg Oden as the rookie of the year and would be “making movies” if he wasn’t shooting hoops. For the entire chat session check out Espn.Go.com.

In a perfect world, I could sit here all day, everyday, (except on Formula One race days) and blog about each and every good deed done by Melo. I would dissect each tattoo and explain the beauty of his ink, I would give painstaking details of each smile on the faces of kids as Melo enters the room, and do I daresay that I would insist on a video of Sweet Melon sleeping ala David Beckham years ago? Until then…I’ll just have to settle for the good peeps at Maroon PR to keep this girl in the Melo-loop.

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Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com

MEN TAKE THE GOLD IN BEIJING

Prior to the game, Dwayne Wade said: “It could be emotional. We’ve thought about. But at the same time we have to win this game… But I think everybody has thought about that moment where you lean down and put the gold medal around your neck and you hear your country’s song being played. That’s when your emotions really come out because you really reflect on the journey…”

“We talked about on the bus ride over (for Saturday’s practice at Beijing Normal University). We are not going to shy away from our sensitivity” said Wade,” We know Melo is going to cry. We’re not shying away from it. We know it’s going to be a great moment, but we know we still have a job to do to get that moment.”

And now the three-year effort to redeem themselves has culminated in a 118-107 victory for the Men’s USA Basketball team as they delivered a lil dose of karma to Spain to bring home the Gold…with, of course, David Beckham and his golden balls watching from the sidelines.

Prince(ess) Kobe Bryant finally got a gold around his neck, and he did it a day after turning 30-not a bad gift for the patient and wicked black mamba. After nibbling on his first taste of gold: “It is more important and more special than any championship that any of us will ever win,” Bryant said.

“I know that we had a tough road ahead of us. We knew that these guys (Spain) weren’t going to roll over and give up that easily,” U.S. forward Chris Bosh said. “So we had to be men, and that’s what it takes to win.” Damn straight! Men they are…teamwork, commitment, heart, soul, sweat and determination are what these men are made of. And for me, Bosh was impressive as hell. Talk about a friggen warrior. Bosh tears that court up with more soul than I’ve seen most ballers do in a lifetime. I could watch him play and never get bored of that hunger on his face.

Speaking of hunger…Carmelo Anthony. Oh my Melo, Melo, Melo. Damn. I mean, what can I say? His scored 13 luscious points? He proudly marched around with an American Flag wrapped around his waist as I tried to stay focused on his neck where that beautiful gold was hanging…that he lit Kobe’s cigar…that he drove me crazy…that I need to bite his medal, hard? I suspect if any ‘game worn’ Melo items turn up on the ‘Right to Play’ eBay auctions, my savings account will be drained.

Mad love to Jason Kidd for becoming the 13th U.S. player to win multiple gold medals-his first was in 2000. Mad love to the mighty-mighty-fine men of USA Basketball: Jason Kidd, Carlos Boozer, Tayshaun Prince, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Michael Redd, and Deron Williams.

Go on with your bad selves and bite your medals, smoke those cigars, cuddle on the bus and party till next season. You did us all proud. Undefeated, uncompromised, united and unbelievable.

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Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com

TRENDY TUESDAY

As we sit around watching real-fake-live coverage of the Olympian-hotness, I feel it’s important to give some props to former Detroit Piston John Long and head coach Michael Curry…the two mighty-fine men spent Monday hanging out with Spencer and his buddies. Spencer was the recipient of the ‘Afternoon with the Pistons, A Wish Come True’ event…and with that off my chest, I can feel good about a bit o gratuitous Delinda style coverage of some Olympic babes….

After the Men’s US Swim Babes stunned France in the 4×100 freestyle on Monday night, Michael Phelps went on to etch his name alongside Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis as one of the “winningest Olympians ever” with his third gold medal and third world record in as many days. In winning the 200-meter freestyle Tuesday, Phelps ran his career Olympic total to nine golds…

Speaking of Phelps, seems like he and Carmelo Anthony are chill. Sweet Melon is writing an Olympic diary for the NY Times. In part, he spoke about his new buddy Michael Phelps…”I’m amazed at what he can do in that water. He’s like a shark. I’ve never seen anyone swim like that before. Swimming never caught my eyes before I saw him.” Last week, Melo licked his lips and wrote about hanging with Phelps: “I got a chance to talk with him last night at the Olympic Village. I met him before just growing up, but I hadn’t met him since he won those six gold medals in 2004. So his whole life has changed. He’s not from the same neighborhood as me, but we’ll claim him…This is my first time to really get a chance to mingle and interact with him. We talked about spots back home, but we were talking about getting out to each other’s events. He’s going to bring some golds back to Baltimore and I’m going to bring a gold back. They can have our parade together in Baltimore.”

Granted, I can’t sit still long enough to watch each and every real-fake-live-broadcast event…but I’m trying to keep an eye on several noteworthy morsels…one of which, as we all know, is a particular Tapa. Our Rafael Nadal has burned through Italian beast Potito Starace and Lleyton Hewitt as he inches his way towards gold…

Meanwhile, let’s take our eyes of Beijing for a minute and give some props to actor Luke Wilson. He, along with Swedish golf-babe Johan Edfors, have teamed up to co-design the new ‘Chrome’ line for Puma. “Johan wears the splashy stuff,” Wilson says…the two collaborated on a line to suit both the ‘extroverts’ and ‘introverts’ on the greens..sexy bold colors for Edfors and muted cardigans for Wilson. “I like the real meticulous look of guys like Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. They had their own tailors making their clothes back then,” Wilson says. For more info and some great photos of the new line, check out the LA Times.

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