Andre Agassi & Crystal Meth

“There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I’ve never felt so alive, so hopeful – and I’ve never felt such energy.” Andre Agassi on his first taste of crystal meth.

Yes, tennis legend Andre Agassi admits in his forthcoming book ‘Open: An Autobiography’ that he used crystal meth during his playing career…Excerpts from the book are surfacing quicker than nude photos of Tom Brady would…Agassi, referencing an assistant by the name of Slim, writes:

“Slim is stressed too … He says, You want to get high with me? On what? Gack. What the hell’s gack? Crystal meth. Why do they call it gack? Because that’s the sound you make when you’re high … Make you feel like Superman, dude…As if they’re coming out of someone else’s mouth, I hear these words: You know what? Fuck it. Yeah. Let’s get high…Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table. He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. I ease back on the couch and consider the Rubicon I’ve just crossed…There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I’ve never felt so alive, so hopeful – and I’ve never felt such energy…I’m seized by a desperate desire to clean. I go tearing around my house, cleaning it from top to bottom. I dust the furniture. I scour the tub. I make the beds.”

More from the book when Agassi received a call from a doctor working for the ATP, telling him he had tested positive for drugs:

“There is doom in his voice, as if he’s going to tell me I’m dying…And that’s exactly what he tells me.  He reminds me that tennis has three classes of drug violation…Performance-enhancing drugs would constitute a class 1, he says, which would carry a suspension of two years. However, he adds, crystal meth would seem to be a clear case of class 2. Recreational drugs, that would carry a much lower suspension of three months. Agassi goes on to tell how he continually lied to the ATP: My name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I’ve achieved, whatever I’ve worked for, might soon mean nothing. Days later I sit in a hard-backed chair, a legal pad in my lap, and write a letter to the ATP. It’s filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth…I say Slim, whom I’ve since fired, is a known drug user, and that he often spikes his sodas with meth – which is true. Then I come to the central lie of the letter. I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim’s spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: sincerely. “

The ATP accepted Agassi’s version of events and the rest, as they say, is history…and I, for one, am on the fence about this whole ‘admission’ thing…why now? Is Andre that afraid that his book would sit on the shelf collecting dust without some sort of ‘oh god no’ moment? He certainly doesn’t need the money…was he fearful that a toothless tweeked out Slim would resurface after publication and claim Agassi didn’t fully disclose everything? And why in the world would you admit to biting the ATP hand that fed you all those years? Dear god, is the next excerpt going to be about you doing lines off Brooke Shields bum…come on Andre, what are you DOING? After spending years to establish your Foundation one of the most respected and successful events EVER, I can only hope you grab on to the backlash headed your way and send some hefty donations to various drug-recovery programs across the nation…

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

Diego Maradona Needs To Be Sedated

“They can suck it now, they can suck it now, they can suck it now, they can suck it good!” Diego Maradona, classless coach of Argentina’s Soccer Studs

Nothing inspires, shocks, captivates and enthralls me as much as the World Cup. I love the face-painters, the passion, the non-injury riots, the fires, the last minute goals and the topless victory celebrations…and oh how I love to hate the furriest man to touch the sport, Argentina’s coach Diego Maradona.

On Wednesday, Argentina beat Uruguay; earning them qualification for the World Cup finals next year…after the game and during the post-match news conference, Maradona opened his once-institutionalized mouth and repeatedly told the press to “suck it.”

“Now they can suck it! Thank you, thank you to all Argentines, except for the journalists…They can suck it now, they can suck it now, they can suck it now, they can suck it good…Come on, come on Carlos! I told you I wanted you. They can suck it now! Come on, damn it…These ******* journalists, the bitch who gave birth to them…For the people, for the people…For the people. For those who didn’t believe, for those who never believed, they can suck it. and keep on sucking it. I am white or black, I’ll never be grey in my life.“

No Maradona, what you are is an idiot…a big grey idiot…this vulgar outburst, specifically where he targets my mama, has sunk this furry beast to a depth shared by very few egocentric assholes. His presence with the Argentinean team (in my opinion) mars the reputation of its country and its players.

Thankfully, FIFA’s disciplinary committee is opening a case against the Grey Idiot. “The reports we have received so far leave us no other alternative but to ask the disciplinary committee of FIFA to open a case against the coach Diego Armando Maradona,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Friday from the Under-20 World Cup. “As the president of FIFA it is my duty and my obligation to (refer) it to the disciplinary committee.”

In a perfect world, the disciplinary committee, in this case, would be comprised of Team Uruguay and a few female journalists.

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

Roger Federer Doesn’t Care Anymore

Roger Federer’s tantrum at the Sony Ericsson Open has left me aghast. In case you missed it, the Swiss Mister smashed his racquet while losing to Novak Djokovic during the men’s semifinal of the Sony Ericsson Open on April 3, 2009.

Granted, had Federer simply lost instead of acting like a child, I’d be well over it, but I gotta get this off my chest…. On March 25, the ATP announced the recipients of their “awards” prior to the start of the Open. For the fifth consecutive year, Roger Federer won the ATP World Tour’s Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award.

Other-more appropriate awards included our Spanish delicacy, top-ranked Rafael Nadal chosen as player of the year, while James Blake nabbed the Arthur Ashe humanitarian of the year award for his charitable efforts. (More on that in another post.)

Interesting, no? Ten days after receiving his fifth “sportsmanship” award, Federer decides to throw a tantrum because he was outplayed? This would be like James Blake going out and kicking a homeless person after winning his humanitarian award. Come on ATP, can we please stop kissing R-Fed’s Nike laced ass.

“It is great to receive two more awards,” Federer said. “It is always important for me to be a good sportsman on the court and give the right example for others to follow and hopefully inspire the next generation. It also means the world to me to be the fans’ favorite player for the sixth year in a row.”

What is it, arrogance? A cultural difference? A sense of entitlement? I’m confused. Sure, I’ve met R-Fed before, and yes, he was sweet as a button- there’s an undeniable charm to R-Fed. He is a ‘nice guy. But a sportsman award? I think not.

How did he win this? Why did he win this? Because he wears blazers, he’s automatically a ‘gentleman’? Classy sportsmen don’t smash their rackets like a two-year-old having a tantrum because the “wind” carried his ball out-a-bounds. And let’s please remember his loss to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open earlier this year. Instead of graciously stepping aside and allowing Rafa to enjoy his spoils, Federer broke down in tears and hijacked Rafa’s moment. Sportsman-like conduct? Not in my book.

And I bet anyone it’s just a matter of time before the ‘baby’ is blamed for his lackluster performances. Federer excitedly announced his news last month: “It’s not going to really disturb my mindset on tennis a whole lot.” Really? You can’t even play in the wind Roger, what kind of distraction is a courtside Mirka and mini-me going to cause?

The hypocrisy that is Roger Federer even comes via his words: “Thank God the hardcourt season is over,” he said. “It’s the end of the hardcourt season. I don’t care anymore. I’m moving over to clay, a new chapter.” Um, new chapter? You mean playing on your least favorite surface-red dirt? The one on which you have been the least successful? Good luck Roger, we’ll be seeing ya in ‘He Lost It Hall of Fame.’

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

MLB Takes Another Hit With Roberto Alomar HIV/AIDS RUMOR

Just when I thought I was out, it pulls me back in again…I speak of the smut we call MLB…. For those who missed the landslide news, Ilya Dall, ex-girlfriend of baseball great Roberto Alomar, is suing the slugger for $15M because he continued to have unprotected sex with her after learning he was HIV positive. According to the LAWSUIT, her relationship with Alomar began in 2002…Alomar retired in the spring of 2005 while with Tampa Bay…Around that time Alomar told his girlfriend he “was raped by two Mexican men after playing a ball game in New Mexico or a southwestern state, when he was 17 years of age.” The court papers say the couple started having unprotected sex shortly after meeting in 2002. In 2005, she claims he was diagnosed with a blood disorder sometimes linked to HIV.

Roberto Alomar Official Statement February 11, 2009: This is a very private, personal matter and I greatly appreciate all the support I have received in the past few days from my family, friends and colleagues in baseball. I am in very good health and I ask that you respect my privacy during this time. As for the lawsuit, it is filled with lies and I am deeply saddened that someone I cared for would make such terrible accusations and try to hurt me in this way.

One thing I’m having a problem with is that DALL continued to have sex with Alomar after seeing signs that he was unhealthy. In the complaint, she alleges how sick he was and how sick he appeared-yet she still had unprotected sex with him even after urging him over and over and over again to get tested? Come on. How about taking responsibility for your own actions Dall?

Now, we don’t know if any of this tale is true. I suspect that yes, Alomar is ill. I suspect-based on his statement- that he was victimized (raped) when he was 17 and this is in fact a very private matter. In the complaint, Dall speaks of the fear she had for her children who were exposed to Alomar-who “kissed them”-and gasp-was near their toothbrushes! Give me a Fucking break. Instead of taking this opportunity to educate people on the dangers of the disease-Dall is freaking out because Alomar was in the same room as her kids’ toothbrush? (I’m not making this up).

If Alomar does suffer from this disease, its sad and scary and this situation should be used as Magic-educate the public. Anyone suffering from AIDS deserves compassion, respect and love. Anyone who was raped deserves the same. But anyone foolish enough to have unprotected sex with someone they are pretty sure is infected with AIDS- deserves nothing short of pity. Sorry Dall- my compassion goes with Alomar.

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

Michael Phelps Smokes Weed

Michael Phelps is heating up the newswire with some wonderful news…he smokes weed. Yeah, stop the press right? Our Olympic poster-child got caught smoking out of a oh-god-NO- bong! (I pegged him for a joint kinda guy) Someone at the party snapped a photo, Phelps admitted it was him and then apologized: “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

His favorite artist is Lil Wayne and your surprised he enjoys the herb? Regardless of what side of the bong you smoke from, smoking weed is a victimless crime…more people are killed by drunk drivers every year than by stoned drivers. But you don’t need a lecture. The only person losing out here is Phelps. He’ll lose some sponsors and some fans, but come on people, he’s as close to godly in the water as one can get, he’s physically close to perfection, he’s a nice guy, STILL has 8 Olympic gold’s and he’s still the same babe you LOVED yesterday when he was making you money. The only bad judgment by Phelps was smoking around people with cameras…

Who knows, maybe he’ll pick up a new sponsor? I mean, Michael Phelps just could be the answer NORML has been looking for.

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

MATT BARNES IGNITES MELEE?
Never saw this one coming… sweet Suns forward Matt Barnes and his fabulous tattoos got the boys fired up during the Suns-Rocket game. Barnes ignited the flurry after taking a ‘cheap shot’ at Rockets guard Rafer Alston…never thought in a million years I’d see Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash, Yao Ming and Shaq-daddy contributing to such an entertaining mess.

No punches were thrown and no players left the benches. Matt Barnes explains…”I tried to get through a screen, and I guess I was too rough for him, so he tried to retaliate,” Barnes said. “It was just a bunch of pushing, I didn’t think anyone should have gotten thrown out because there were no punches thrown. But the refs did what they thought was necessary.”

AOL Fan House asked Barnes if he thought that maybe Alston overreacted to the initial play; he wasn’t sure. “I don’t really know what he was thinking, he thinks he’s tough so … I don’t know really. He ran up on me, and, it was really just a bunch of pushes. No one threw any punches, no one did anything serious. But the refs had to get control of the game so they figured throwing us out would do that…I thought you had to throw a punch to get kicked out of a game, really. All I did was push him, and he pushed me, I mean, T-Mac pushed Steve all the way to the ground and didn’t get thrown out of the game, so …”

So…let’s hear from the other real-fake-brawling babe, Alston: “He (Barnes) just took a cheap shot at me. If you look at the replay, the ref is standing there watching it. It was a dirty play, he raised his arm. Good thing he didn’t connect and knock my teeth out. I was just setting a screen, we were trying to get two for one … I don’t know if he was frustrated by his game or their game or or whatever was going on, but there was no call for that. There was no call for my reaction really but sometimes, when someone goes at you like that, you just react.”

Boys will indeed be boys…

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Delinda Lombardo

BARON DAVIS: PART TWO

A little explanation about my previous post regarding Baron Davis.

First of all, I ‘buried’ the post on my own accord. I was not asked to remove it by anyone. And yes, all of it was true. I’m not afraid to say it, print it or confirm it.

I posted it simply to prove a point, to see if my hits would go through the roof. And they did. You all responded beautifully and as expected. (This excludes my regular readers of course).

When I write about the good stuff, charity events, hotties holding kids, giving back to the community etc, it’s not quite as interesting as an article about sex, drugs and ballers is it?

That piece on Boom is the tip of the iceberg compared to the stuff I see going on everyday. No surprise there. Without the sugar coating there’s a demon hidden among most of us.

The problem is that you-the ‘gossip rats’-(not my regulars)- lap-up valueless scandal over things I feel are much more important- I can almost feel Elvis Costello cringe as he sings the immoral words of Nick Lowe: ‘What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding?’ A motto engrained in my soul since he first uttered those words.

Granted, my blog wasn’t the forum for that post, but I assure you it wasn’t a rash decision to publish it. It wasn’t done out of spite, hatred, anger, or ‘oh I wanna be famous’, it was posted to prove a point. You’ve been mere pawns in the larger issue of what sells more books: Scandal or Charity work. Often times, in order to gauge the public interest, a publisher will ask a writer to run an article…so in this regard, I thank all of you gossip rats for inadvertently promoting me and my material. And before you say you won’t buy my book, you’ve already proven you will.

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

STIRRING THINGS UP
James Blake, Ara Abrahamian, the Spanish National Basketball teams, the under aged Chinese gymnasts…what the hell is going on? Yes, where there are games there is controversy. Surprisingly, most controversy lately isnt about freeing Tibet or the Chinese government supplying weapons to rebels who are slaughtering people and displacing them from their homes in the Darfur region of the Sudan, its all about the fairness and spirit of the games. While athletes are being yanked and spanked for doping, it’s the unruly and perhaps racist athletes that are making the headlines.

The good peeps at the Telegraph have discovered the latest photo in a series of embarrassing images to emerge from Spain. The latest “slant eyed” pose comes from members of the Spanish Tennis Federations female players and support staff. Allegedly shot back in February, the original photo caption reads: “Estamos preparados para China”, which translates as “We are prepared for China.” Why should we care? Because its all part of the larger picture. Aside from the fact that if any of our athletes here posed ala ‘slant-eyed’ they would have been fined and most likely kicked off the team. These ‘Chinese slant eyed’ photos are not funny. Sorry.

Watch this video from Spain…its disturbing on so many levels…the actions of the guy and the fact that no one came to the aid of this Ecudorian girl make me sick to my stomach.

And no, racism is not limited to Spain. Racism is rampant in Europe. There’s a fantastic expose from ESPN on the subject that I urge you to watch. The video is from 2006, but as we’ve seen lately, racism is timeless.

Now, all this Spainsh racism is throwing quite a kink in my adoration of one certain Spainsh treat. Yes, Im talking about Rafael Nadal. While I believe there is inherenat racism in Spain and most European countries, (as well as here) I have no reason to suspect Nadal is in any way, shape or form a racist. I am not labeling all people from Spain racist, I’m simply stating that the country as a whole needs to check itself…

But Rafa need not check himself…precious has clinched (at a minimum) his first Olympic medal-a silver-after spanking Novak Djovic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the semifinals. On Sunday, Nadal will face Fernando ‘the cheater’ Gonzalez who won his match against James Blake…and caused a bit of an uproar for the ungentlemanly manner in which he won. I gotta give James ‘Booty’ Blake props for his reaction to the 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 loss to Gonzalez during the real-fake-live coverage of the match.

On the first point of the 18th game of the final set, with Gonzalez serving at 8-9, Blake tried to pass a charging Gonzalez by hitting it right at him. Gonzalez swerved, the ball landed long and Blake quickly realized the point had been put up for Gonzalez. He walked to the umpire’s chair and a long discussion ensued. Soon, it became obvious that Blake thought the ball had nicked Gonzalez’s racket on its way out, and if so, should have been his point. Unable to get any satisfaction from the chair umpire, who claimed not to have seen the ball touch Gonzalez’s racket, and by the rules, could not call for a replay on this, Blake eventually turned and looked at Gonzalez, back on his baseline, then walked slowly back to receive the next serve. (LA Times)

Blake waited until the news conference before calling out Gonzalez. He said his shot hit Gonzalez’s racket. “In what’s supposed to be a gentleman’s sport, that’s a time when you call it on yourself. Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn’t call it. I’ve spoken all week about how much I’ve enjoyed my Olympic experience, how much I love the other athletes,” he said. “These guys go out and compete their hardest. Win fair and square. Lose fair and square. So this is a disappointing way to exit the tournament, when you not only lose the match, but lose a little faith in your fellow competitor.”

“I’ll still have fond memories of the Olympic experience,” Blake said. “I still have a chance to get a bronze medal. But . . . it is a little disappointing. It disappoints me a little more in my competition, than the whole Olympic spirit, because I haven’t seen anything like that in these Olympics…We know when [the ball] touches us. And he knew that. You call it yourself because it is the right thing to do. Should I expect him to do that? Maybe not. Maybe I shouldn’t expect people to hold themselves to high standards of sportsmanship. But yes, I did expect a little more in the Olympics. We are competing under the banner of this event, to promote sportsmanship, to promote goodwill amongst countries.” I back ya up James, as do most people who were watching…sucks that Gonzalez advances to the gold-medal match Sunday and Blake will play for the bronze…but props to Blake for speaking up. I hope Gonzalez chokes on the gold…come on Karma, we need you this Sunday.

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Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com

SPAIN BASKETBALL TEAM ADS: MEN’S and WOMEN’S
“We’re surprised by the remarks of racism,” said Juan Antonio Villanueva, the communications director for the city’s 2016 Olympic bid. “Spain is not a racist country — quite the opposite.”

Players on Spain’s Olympic basketball team are stepping up to defend the ad showing them using their fingers to apparently make their eyes look more Chinese. “It was something like supposed to be funny or something but never offensive in any way,” said Spain center Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers). “I’m sorry if anybody thought or took it the wrong way and thought that it was offensive.” Point guard Jose Manuel Calderon (Toronto Raptors) said the team was responding to a request from the photographer. “We felt it was something appropriate, and that it would be interpreted as an affectionate gesture,” Calderon said, “Without a doubt, some … press didn’t see it that way.”

SPAINS WOMENS BASKETBALL TEAM PHOTO: ON YES THEY DID

And now, we’ll have to wait and see how the world responds to the newly surfaced “ad” of Spain’s Women’s Basketball Team in the same pose.

Spain, as we know, has a bit of a racist reputation…Lewis Hamilton bore the brunt of it in Barcelona last February, as did Thierry Henry, and England’s ‘black’ players during a friendly in 2004 against Spain when Spanish fans taunted the players with “monkey sounds”.

Now, I’d like to think that something is lost in translation here. Advertising in Europe is a bit edgier than here in the States. Ever heard of ‘P*ssy’ Water? Pretty sure there would be a bit of controversy if it were released in the States. Most Euro advertising falls well outside our comfort zone. Most adverts outside of Spain are not so much ‘racist’ as they are ‘shocking’ to some. However, regardless of what Spain’s’ ‘intentions’ were with their basketball ads, I think with their history of offending some of the world’s top athletes, as well as most people living outside of their ‘culture’, that its entirely fair to label them as “racist’…

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Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com

OH NO THEY DIDN’T

Spain continues to maintain its racist image via a photo of their Olympic Basketball team slating their eyes…the ad, which was shot prior to the Games, originally appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper La Marca and now is circling the Internet with alarming speed. The NY Times reports that the team is sponsored by Li-Ning Footwear, a Chinese company founded by Li Ning- the final torchbearer who was hoisted along the top of Beijing National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony. The ad is reportedly about the Spanish teams recent contract extension with the footwear giant and their ability to offend just about everyone who looks at this picture. (Telegraph)

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