Celebrities Hit the Saddle Ranch for Charity
Celebrities Hit the Saddle Ranch for Charity
Yesterday at the Saddle Ranch Chop House in LA, I hit up the ‘Babes on the Bull’ event to benefit P.L.A.Y. (www.playforkids.org). Tons of celebrities were there to support the cause-bringing friends and packing the place to capacity with the general public who were invited in for free. Aside from ‘LA’s hottest girls” riding the mechanical bull, live entertainment included fire dancers (Fire Groove) and a live auction. Items up for bids included amazing seats at a Lakers game, VIP booths at LA’s hippest spots, golf rounds, Dodgers tickets and others. The coolest thing about the auction was that everyone entering the Ranch received a hundred-bucks (voucher) to use towards auction items.
Celebrities who leant their name and time to the cause included: Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean; AnnaLynne McCord (90210); sexy as hell and well coordinated D.J. D-Wrek (MTV’s Wild n Out); Warrant front man Jani Lane; Leonard Robinson (MTV Wild n Out); Claudia Jordon; David Faustino (Married w/Children, STAR-VING); Gladiator Romeo; Corey & Susie Feldman and a few others which I’ll get to in a minute.
Ideally, I’d give you all the quotes I received but I’m gonna pare it down and give props and spankings to those who I feel deserve it. First up, gotta give massive props to (yeah) Corey Feldman and his wife Susie. Admittedly, I was a bit surprised to learn that Corey has been in 15 number 1 movies-all of which grossed over $50M each. Pretty impressive if you ask me. But what was even more impressive was his attitude-and that of his wife. They were the most energetic couple to walk the red carpet. Both wore huge smiles and possessed a sincere attitude towards ‘helping the kids’. The couple gets a five start rating from me in terms of charity work-especially after I overheard Susie say to one of the reporters “Didn’t we see you at the Autism event?”
Another one who gave me a few warm fuzzies was David Faustino. He spoke prior to the event; “I figured I’d come out today and support the cause” he said ”I live in the neighborhood, so you know, I give a little cheer, a little money, you know-promote, the whole package…I’ve ridden bulls here before but I’ve always been drunk, so if I do it would be my first sober attempt at riding the bull.” Interesting also to hear him speak about the contents of his iPod. “I listen to a lot of hip hop, but I don’t like the state of hip-hop necessarily today and I don’t listen to all of it but right now Kings of Leon I really like a lot.” The ‘Married with Children’ actor has a new show on the Internet called ‘STAR-VING’. “It’s a show that I created with my partners that is basically based on our own lives but we really exaggerate it to make fun of ourselves and turn the volume up to eleven,” he said, “We premiered on Crackle.com which is a Sony Pictures Television website. In the first few episodes I got the entire Married With Family cast reunion, it’s just a funny, funny show-very offensive, very rude and crude. Some people will love it and some people will hate it.” Be warned kids-its not for everyone but I found it funny, fresh and every bit as Anti-Entourage as Faustino has described it. As a fan of STAR-VING, I had to know what to expect in future episodes. “As you know we had the whole Married with Children cast on. Then we have Gilbert Godfry this season, we have a Growing Pains reunion with Alan Thicke and Jeremy Miller, Tracy Gold. And Ron Jeremy makes an appearance in an episode that’s been banned from YouTube.” The inquiring mind of a crazy redheaded blogger also had to know if Faustino was going to add any ‘washed-up’ athletic talent to the show. “How about Dennis Rodman” I asked. Faustino seemed to mull it over as he said “Really? You want Dennis Rodman? I’ll see what I can do for you”. Damn straight I do, Faustino, damn straight.
And finally, on a funny note-but still saying thanks for lending your name to a good cause- was Shawn Stewart. As you know, I’m sometimes ‘celebrity’ challenged and had no idea that Shawn is Rod Stewarts son. After doing a bit of research, I couldn’t stop laughing. Granted, Shawn looked adorable in his hoodie and black eye but it wasn’t until I got home that I read that Stewart is “one of the stars of the A&E cable show Sons of Hollywood” and “was arrested” after a couple claimed “Stewart and others riding in a Rolls-Royce Phantom confronted them, then began punching and throwing bricks at them and their vehicle outside the April 22 party.” The wild-child was wearing some UFC gear, so I’m going to assume that the black eye is the product of a newfound hobby and not another run-in with the law?
There’s a link to all my photos on my events page.
As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com
Celebrity Apprentice: Annie Duke to Join Dennis Rodman in the Boardroom?
CELEBRITY APPRENTICE: ANNIE DUKE TO JOIN DENNIS RODMAN IN THE BOARDROOM?
One cool thing about poker becoming mainstream is that there are some remarkably generous peeps sitting at the tables holding em and folding em and seeping their way into mainstream celebrity…and finally, Annie Duke has successfully infiltrated the celebrity circuit and landed a spot on the second celebrity installment of NBC’s ‘The Apprentice.”
On Friday night, Ultimate Bet’s official Aruba blog, which is authored by Gene Bromberg, stated the following: “Annie Duke wasn’t able to attend (or play in the Aruba Poker Classic) because, as you may have heard, she was selected to be on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice this season. She had to fly to L.A. for the premiere party and she’ll be competing for the Ante Up for Africa charity. Annie and Donald Trump in the same boardroom… that should make for some interesting TV.”
Interesting TV? If the rumors are true we can expect to see Brian McKnight, Dennis Rodman and Joan Rivers fighting in the boardroom as Annie Duke holds an ace up her sleeve…that ace being mad poker skills. She’s already got her WSOP bracelet and won the first ever World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions for $2 million…but of interest to me is her big heart.
Aside from her poker skills, girlfriend has been one of the faces behind Ante Up For Africa alongside Sir Don Cheadle. As you know, Celebrity Apprentice awards money for charity and according to the above statement, it’s confirmed that she’s gonna to play for the victims of the crisis in Darfur. In any case, do not underestimate Annie Duke. Her brother, Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer, is one of the top minds in poker. Dubbed “The Professor.” Now, I’m not sure, but I suspect a gifted poker pro may have an advantage over an aging botoxed actress, a sexy singer and a questionably stable super-fine-bad-ass that I still love when he isn’t getting arrested.
Last season on the first version of the Celebrity Apprentice, ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge Piers Morgan took home the title and kicked down his winnings to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Very sweet…yet stung a bit because he defeated country music superstar Trace Adkins, who was playing for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and essentially got America to fall in love with him…others included Carol Alt, Lennox ‘I wouldn’t want him running my company’ Lewis, actor Stephen Baldwin, the oh-so-annoying Omarosa (who IS she?) and the adorable fighter Tito Ortiz…
On a charity related side-note, I stumbled across a blog post this morning on ‘Trouble with Roy’…seriously this guy breaks it down dollar by dollar and nails IT. Please take a few minutes to read his entry: Shame on America, Paul Newman Edition. Thanks Roy…whoever you are. I needed a Monday morning smile and you delivered it beautifully.
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As always, thanks for reading.
Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
Not sure how many of you caught the ‘Costas Now’ special that’s being run ad nausea on the HBO, but if you get a chance, check it out. Costas held a sort-of roundtable discussion with industry ‘big-wigs’ and discussed, among other things: how negativity is fueling sports talk radio and seeping into other mediums; how the relationship between athletes and reporters is being breached by jealously and mistrust; and how the influx of blogs are making it harder to distinguish between real news and an ‘uneducated’ opinion. The program has ignited a short of shit-storm after author/blog hater Buzz Bissinger attacked Deadspin’s Will Leitch on-stage and said: “I feel very strongly about this. I really think you’re full of shit because I think blogs are dedicated to cruelty, they’re dedicated to journalistic dishonesty, they’re dedicated to speed. It is the complete dumbing-down of our society.” Thankfully, we got guys out there like Jason Whitlock standing up for blogsnot all of ‘em, but he does recognize the good ones…No doubt, if I were to open my vault, I’d have no trouble attaining DeadSpin status. But to categorize all blogs, as Bissinger has, as ‘dedicated to cruelty, journalistically dishonest and dumbing down society’ is ridiculous. In my opinion, blogs are a threat to mainstream media because we’re not bound by the usual restraints put on journalists, therefore allowing us to express our opinions freely. And those opinions aren’t necessarily ‘uneducated’, in fact, I’d say it’s quite the opposite. (After all, is it uneducated to write that Washington Redskins second round draft pick, wide receiver Malcolm Kelly has the sickest bodyin-the-draft? I think not)…
Im not going to sit here and attack DeadSpin either. While Im not a huge fan, I understand that people have a need to laugh at the absurd and normal behavior of ‘celebrities’ who’ve been put on a pedestal. Its human nature, and its kinda sad. I could spend hours ‘blogging’ about a hottie who reached into his own pocket to help a needy family-but no one seems to care. But if were to blog about, hmmm, lets-say- a well known basketball star who hangs out with a posse of weed-stealing punks-my hits would go through the roof…Maybe DeadSpin does spread cruelty, but more often than not, all ya gotta do is open up your morning paper and you’ll find shit equally as cruel but not nearly as accurate. So, in keeping with the theme, lets talk a little smack about a few troublemakers shall we?
Former NBA beast Dennis Rodman was arrested for allegedly hurting a woman at a Century City hotel. Apparently the ink-a-licious bad boy grabbed a woman’s arm leaving a bruise after the pair drank too much and argued…and this is news because? He’s the only athlete to get drunk and pull his girl outta da club because he didn’t like the way she was drinking all his Crystal? I think not. Its news because of the innate nature of people to hear about scandalous behavior. Rodman was jailed for investigation of “felony domestic violence” and freed on $50,000 bail. Now, if this were DeadSpin, I’d open my vault and issue a collective ‘Its-time-for- all-you-ballers-on-the-West-Coast-to-recheck-yourselves-because-it-looks-like-things-have-just-started-to-get-ugly-for-those-big-headed-playas-who-feel-they-can-just-get-what-they-want-without-paying-the-reeper.’ But Im not DeadSpin and I don’t spread cruelty but I do love to talk shit once in a while…like what’s up with Jose Canseco? Dude just walked away from his $2.5M pad in the Valley. “You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously, when you make all that money, people think, ‘OK, let’s assume it is $35 million.’ People have to understand that $35 million, you’re paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you’re taking care of your whole family.” But wait, we got a book plug coming up…”What about other families that we’re hearing on TV, that they’re saying, `We have nowhere else to go,’” he said. “I mean, that is amazing. I’ve got books (he’s put out two expose-type books on drug use in baseball that I’m sure omit the sexual-assault-covers-ups-that-are-rampant-in-the-sport)…And now, former track star Tim Montgomery has been indicted on heroin distribution charges? No wonder DeadSpin is so popular…Montgomery was arrested Wednesday, accused of dealing more than 100 grams of heroin in Virginia over the past year. “You get caught up in the achievements,” he said. “You get blinded and make really bad mistakes.” But enough about the negative, lets get back to basics…
I’M PURRING
Our Columbian kitten is currently flexing those beautiful muscles at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte. It has been far too long since we’ve gotten some great shots of Villegas doing what he does best missing the cut getting down and dirty while he concentrates on getting it in the hole.
Another one of our treats is currently ruling the clay-court…Rafael Nadal defeated Lopez Thursday to reach the Barcelona Open quarterfinals, which also gave him his 100th win on clay in his last 101 matches. “That’s not bad,” Nadal said. Is not bad either, no, that Barca babe Lionel Messi and an unknown hot-hot-hottie watched our Rafa spank Lopez.
As always, thanks for reading.
delinda@athlebrities.com
