KOBE GRANTS A WISH

First, the 49-point man needs a stylist. While the other NBA babes are dressing up in fine Italian suits, Kobe Bryant shows up in a plaid jacket, red shirt and matching red thingy sticking out of his pocket? And on a night when he’s granting a Make-a-Wish…come on Kobe, you could do much better…but props to the Princess for a sick game last night, where he scored 49-points and answered the Nuggets trash-talk with some phenomenal shots…following the game, Kobe donated his game worn shoes to Make-A-Wish participant Joe Spears.

Speaking of the Nuggets…Carmelo Anthony must have heard Lamar Odom when he said (about Kobe), “He’s one of those players you don’t really want to make mad.” Melo simply saved his ‘make-him-mad’ activities for Luke Walton. “As a team,” Melo said, “I think we lost our focus, lost our composure.” Ya think?

Kanye West took in game two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals (Nuggets/ Lakers)…

NOTHING BUT NETS

I applaud the NBA’s efforts at fighting malaria; I really do, but a giant mosquito? Yesterday, NBA Commissioner Stern was at the UN Headquarters in New York for the announcement of a new grassroots effort to help fight malaria with the UN and the Nothing But Nets Foundation. And yes, they actually paid some bozo to dress up as a mosquito.

MARADONA GONE CRAZY

Those little fists attached to Diego Maradona got quite a workout today…the spitfire was leaving a courthouse in Argentina when local photographers and journalists went crazy and chased him as he and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, tried to escape. Maradona allegedly shouted, “Don’t push Claudia” before throwing an air punch. He was later heard complaining: “They hit me with a camera!” After watching two of the videos posted on YouTube, gotta side with the furry beast- he was swamped-and delivered a lame punch at someone-which didn’t connect and he was smacked in the face with a camera…

FIA AGAINST RACISM

Today, the FIA launched their “Racing Against Racism” campaign at the Circuit de Catalunya, in response to the taunting of Lewis Hamilton during winter testing at the same track in February. Thankfully, they had enough sense to keep Max Mosley away from launch, appropriate since the FIA says the campaign will send a strong message that racism of any kind will not be tolerated, including Nazi-style orgies…but the story here is about Hamilton’s class, not Mosley’s lack of taste. Tomorrow Hamilton will take the track for a practice session, at which point we’ll see if they have, in fact, wiped out racsim. Hamilton has remained classy and hasn’t allowed a few idiots ruin it for the rest of Spain. “The Circuit de Catalunya is a great track. We can’t ever lose it from the calendar. It always sees competitive racing, and there are so many enthusiastic fans there all the time which makes for a great atmosphere.” The Spanish F1 goes down this Sunday.

BIG SURPRISE

Once a year I mention the Dakar Rally…the Central European Rally of Dakar series is being held in Hungary and Romania between April 20 and 26 after the Lisbon-Dakar race was cancelled over security concerns. Admittedly, I don’t know much about this rally, except every year someone crashes in spectacular form. This years crash winner is French biker Gilles Diguet.

PELE IN SWAROVSKI

The U.S. Soccer Foundation is auctioning a rare Swarovski crystal portrait of Brazilian superstar Pele to raise money to develop a synthetic grass soccer field for FC Harlem in New York. This cool one-of-a-kind Pele collectable combines acrylic paints with more than 17,000 Swarovski Crystals, all inserted by hand. The U.S. Soccer Foundation is the major charitable arm of soccer in the U.S., and will direct 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of this authentic item to FC Harlem.

THE OBAMA EFFECT

“People who keep on shooting even though they have no jump shot. You can tell that there is a certain self-delusional aspect to their game that says something about who they are,” Presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Barrack Obama to Bryant Gumbll on HBO’s Real Sports. Obama playing hoops at the White House could be a reality-especially after Gumball told him that the White House has an outdoor basketball hoop: “I wasn’t aware of that. I was thinking I was gonna have to tear down the bowling alley to build a basketball court. But I’m still thinking if I get there, we may need at least a little indoor half-court.” And could Obama’s interest in hoops be the inspiration behind the cover of Time magazine’s May 5 issue. The side-by-side image mimics the NBA Playoffs ad campaign ‘There Can Only Be One.’

As always, thanks for reading.
delinda@athlebrities.