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
TAPA NOW A PRINCE?
Well, maybe not really a prince, but on Wednesday, Rafael Nadal won the prestigious Prince of Asturias sports award.
The first hottie since Bjorn Borg to win two back-to-back majors, bring home a gold from Beijing, and dethrone Roger Federer, has followed up his French Open title with a bit-o-royal-love. “Rafael Nadal is an exemplary athlete,” the Prince of Asturias jury said. “Both in victory and in the very few times in which he tastes defeat, he behaves like a great athlete.” And we all know how sexy it is when Rafael tastes victory by nibbling on those wonderful trophies. Nadal won the award because the jury feels, as do I, that Nadal always has a kind word for his opponents, and because he’s created a charity foundation- (which I cant seem to fin any info on so if anyone of you know about it please hit me up). The award goes to a person, persons or organization deemed to have excelled in their field and worked to promote sports in general…fittingly enough, our beast was nominated alongside Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and the Spanish National Football Team.
At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Sport…has decided to bestow the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Sport on the tennis player Rafael Nadal. The Jury has prized the merits of the sportsman: in Grand Slam competitions, his fourth French Open title and his first Wimbledon victory, thereby becoming the number one tennis player in the world and, in this Olympic year, also obtaining the gold medal in Beijing. Rafael Nadal is an example to follow. Both in his victories and in the very few occasions when he is defeated, he shows great sportsmanship. The way he reacts after a victory and the way he highlights the merits of his opponents is particularly admirable. He has also recently established a charitable foundation bearing his name, which focuses on social work among disadvantaged groups and cooperation for development.The Prince of Asturias Award laureate for Sport was one of the major figures at the Beijing Olympic Games, along with Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Yelena Isinbayeva, three of the final candidates for said Award. The Jury has valued Rafael Nadal’s contribution to the excellent year that Spanish Sport has enjoyed in 2008, achieving three major international prizes in different disciplines.
Congratulations to Rafael Nadal and his royal nod….he is make right choice, no?
This time I really am taking a few days off…I’ll be back after Peter Windsor wakes me up bright and early Sunday morning to work the grid from the Belgian F1 Grand Prix.
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Delinda Lombardo delinda@athlebrities.com
BOOTILICIOUS
Men’s Vogue recently hosted a party for James Blake and his delicious booty. The bootlicious tennis beast has honored his papa- who passed away from cancer- by establishing the Thomas Blake Sr. Memeorial Research Fund…the coctail party delivered us James Blake in a Huge Boss suit as he expressed gratitude for Men’s Vogue’s help with setting up an online auction at charityfolks.com. Bid away kids…they got ‘a chance to hang out with Blake at a 2009 tournament in Miami’ up for bids, as well as a trip to the Evian Resort in France, a Maurice Lacroix watch, and a Niketown shopping experience. “All this support get me closer to my goal of raising $1 million by next year,” Blake said. And yes, that is indeed John Mayer chatting away with James Blake.
RAFAEL NADAL’S NEW LOOK
Rafael Nadal has also earned some serious love from NY Magazine and has shown his gratitude by finally taking off his shirt to grace not only the cover, but also several pages inside. Rafa’s manangers say our Tapa is in the process of tapping into his marketing potential and has been working with designers at Nike to ‘come up with a new look’. “It is fair to say that it is more mature,” Nike spokesman Kilee Hughes said of the new on-court look Rafa is sporting for the first time at the U.S. Open. Rafa came up with the idea for an image makeover and ‘the new look was developed gradually over the past couple of years, with sponsors, Mr. Nadal’s communications team and the player himself working together’…the new gear reflects the player’s personality. They write: Mr. Nadal doesn’t like black, but prefers bright colors that are more “Latin.” Nike says the short-sleeve polo shirts — complete with mesh side panels — will allow him to “counterpunch with color.” The company says, “With colors as vibrant as the culture of Majorca, Rafa will burst onto the court in chlorine blue, orange blaze, white and concord [purple]. Rafa’s contrasting tones are set to shine, day and night in the city that never sleeps.” And what about those capri’s? His shorter shorts will be loose, as opposed to their tight, sometimes see-through predecessors. They will have Velcro fastenings. And who doesn’t love Velcro, no?
Enjoy yourselves kids…I’m taking a much-needed sabbatical…I’ll be back when the urge strikes.
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Delinda Lombardo delinda@athlebrities.com
GOLDEN TAPA
Tomorrow, Rafael Nadal will officially be declared the Worlds Number One and he’s backing it up with a delicious gold medal hanging round his neck. Nadal won a gold medal Sunday after serving Fernando Gonzalez a major dose of karma in the form of a 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3 beating. This is Spain’s first gold medal in tennis and considering Nadal’s phenomenal year, are we really surprised to see the Gold adorning Spain’s most precious commodity? Nadal has won 38 of his past 39 matches.
“Nowhere in my best dreams I can imagine something like what I did this year,” Nadal said. “I know how difficult it is to win these things, and especially here, because you only have one chance every four years.” Indeed, but I did imagine something like this in one of my best dreams and your medal ended dangling from the tip of my toes…
GOLDEN SENSATION: MICHAEL PHELPS
What can I possibly say about Michael Phelps that hasn’t been said? That he’s the Lance Armstrong of water sports? That his body is sick? That his smile is infectious? That he’s class act? Did I mention that body? Dear god…if only the games were broadcast live on the West Coast I’m sure most of you would have heard me screaming during the events. I assure you kids that I haven’t been turning a blind eye to the hot male Olympic swimmers. I’ve been so awestruck with some of the abs diving into the pool that I actually burned out my DVR by rewinding-pausing-rewinding-pausing the action and had to call a cable technician specialist to get it up and running again.
Without a doubt- we now have two Olympics that will remain in the forefront of our memories. Beijing 2008, which gave us a chance to bear witness to one of the most phenomenal athletes in the world earn 8 gold medals while smashing world records, and the 1972 Munich games where Mark Spitz brought home 7. I’ll never forget watching Spitz as a kid, a time when the Olympics were at their purest. It was all about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Today, on the West Coast anyway, its about trying to avoid turning on the news because you know they are gonna spoil the games. And it sucks. I would have loved nothing more than to hear Phelps “live” after his win…I would have loved to see him “live” run into the stands to hug his mother and sisters. “I don’t even know what to feel right now,” Phelps said. “There’s so much emotion going through my head and so much excitement. I kind of just want to see my mom.”
Over the years, I’ve seen several great athletes profiled in reference to their genetics and how it makes them exceptional athletes. Some, like –cold-water’ swimmer Lewis Pugh, actually has an internal thermometer that automatically adjusts his core body temperature to adapt to freezing water temperatures. (There might be about four people in the world that can do this) Others, like Lance Armstrong, also have the ability to smash what-we-thought-we-knew about the genetic code of some athletes. Some are just gifted in the genetics department. I even saw a special on Tom Brady and his ability to throw a perfect pass. Not sure if its Brady’s genetics or not, but it was more than a pleasure to watch the slow-mo cam as it focused in on his arm and explained the split second timing it takes to complete a pass…but I digress. Back to Michael Phelps’ Perfect Body.
I have been trying to find this video in color but its only available on YouTube in black and white. (You can view the original video on NBC) It’s a mouthwatering explanation of Phelps size 14 feet, big hands, height, weight, and body shape which make him a cut above the rest when it comes to the water….
“Nothing is impossible,” Phelps said. “With so many people saying it couldn’t be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that’s something I learned and something that helped me…Without the help of my teammates this isn’t possible. I was able to be a part of three relays and we were able to put up a solid team effort and we came together as one unit. For the three Olympics I’ve been a part of, this is by far the closest men’s team that we’ve ever had. I didn’t know everybody coming into this Olympics, but I feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference.”
And I’m off to enjoy the rest of this day….
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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
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.
ONE EYE ON SWEET MELON, THE OTHER ON A TAPA
Three American activists were arrested yesterday for “thinking” about unfurling a Tibetan flag during the opening ceremony, but that didn’t distract me nearly as much as the Men’s USA hoops team hotties looking all dapper and giddy as they entered the Birds Nest from Hell.
My Sweet Melon…where do I start? Will you pa-leeze share your video coverage with me? I’m not happy about you-know-who shaking your precious hand, but I’m sure it was a great moment for you. I just ask that you wash that hand before touching me before we cuddle up to watch videos…LaLa can make the popcorn and pour the bubbly for us. I promise Ill be good.
Our Hoops babes have a tough schedule ahead of them, after a prelim-game on Sunday against Yao Ming and China, they must defeat the teams placed alongside them in the dreaded Group of Death: Greece (Euro champs), Spain (World champs), Germany (with Dirk Nowitzki and his funky hair cut) and Angola who aren’t expected to go far.
Gonna give some props to Kobe for recognizing that they have some fierce competition ahead of them. “Other countries have All-Stars, too,” he said. And I hate to admit it, but I love this photo of Kobe getting his tie adjusted by La-Lame, although my money says this was staged. Kobe wouldn’t take the Worlds stage with a crooked tie, come on. These boys took hours to put on those crisp white pants and unnecessary tams before walking in…but like I said, it’s a great photo regardless of how it came to be.
The Opening Ceremonies looked like a lot of fun…something along the lines of a SuperBowl halftime show taken over by MTV meshed with a massive dose of Cirque de Soleil.
I wont mention all the displaced migrant workers who lost their homes to build the Birds Nest. I wont mention the thousands of people suffering at the hands of the Chinese government, but I certainly wont forget.
I also won’t forget that in ten-days our Spanish treat Rafael Nadal will ‘officially’ become the Worlds Number one…but dear god, the Spanish outfits are horrendous. Sorry Spain, this girl ain’t digging the red clown suits and straw hats.
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Delinda Lombardo delinda@athlebrities.com
RAFA and ROLIING INTO FIRST PLACE?
The tennis gods have opened their big, beautiful, tan, muscular arms and ushered our edible little tapa into the world’s number one spot, unofficially, but I’m still gonna declare August 1 a holiday. Rafa Day…Our baby ripped it like a Spanish warrior from the hands of a more than one opponent to climb over a Swiss Ego and land on both feet with class and humility, no?
Granted, Rafael Nadal’s official-official number one ranking wont be ‘acknowledged’ until he wins the tournament, Sunday, but even if he doesn’t, he has enough points in Cincinnati to overtake Roger Federer when the rankings are released on Aug. 18. “Yeah, very tough match” he panted after downing Nicolas Lapentti 7-6, 6-1 on Friday, “I was little bit tired…the weather here is very hot…important for me into semifinals, very, very happy…happy because I fight it a lot the last three years to be number one, but for sure be number one is always a goal, no?”
We have a new worlds number one, Rafael Nadal. Oh how I’ve waited to hear those words outside of my dreams…Rafa said he would wait until “after Davis Cup for party.” However, after sitting in second place for 158 straight weeks on the ATP World rankings, I hope he’s chugging down a few glasses of Sangria with his lady…after all, its not everyday you dethrone a man who was on a 235 week run. I will refrain from sending condolences to Roger Federer or making any kind of comments like Rafa deserves it because he trained harder, remained focused, and wasn’t busy texting his celeb-pals between sets in order to make sure they were watching him play. But I do hear Roger Federer will be carrying the Swiss flag at next Friday’s Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing-so that’s good, right? And it coincides with his 27th birthday, so I’m sure he’ll be just fine…
Congratulations Rafa for becoming the 24th player in the history of the ATP Rankings to hold the number one position and the third Spaniard to accomplish the feat, joining Carlos Moya (1999) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003).
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As always, thanks for reading. Delinda Lombardo delinda@athlebrities.com
