I Can't Believe This

So it turns out that uncertainly-gendered South African sprinter is both a woman and a man. She has no womb or ovaries, but she does have internal testes and three times the testosterone of a normal female. Seriously? Could anyone have really predicted this? It's still unclear whether she gets to keep her medal, officials say she probably won't get to race anymore.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/09/10/2009-09-10_caster_semenya_.html

Causing a Fashion Stir...

The "World's Greatest Tennis Player Ever" dazzled the Wimbledon courts in some pretty fancy attire (for Wimbledon, where players are supposed to wear only all white). He even brought a gold manbag to match his Sgt. Pepper warm-up suit. And then he dominated his opponent in straight sets, so whatever, keep the sparkles coming. Now let's be honest, he barely has hints of gold... do people really care this much? The bag.. ok, that is a bit much.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/fashionnews/5605809/Roger-Federers-Wimbledon-fashion-sense-dazzles-Centre-Court.html

This Explains How He's Hungry All The TIme

Michael Phelps smokes from a bong during a weekend filled with smoking weed and chugging booze, reports UK’s News Of The World.

“You could tell Michael had smoked before,” the paper’s source revealed. “He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do. He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits. Michael ended up getting a little paranoid, though, because before too long he looked like he was nervous and ran out of the place.”

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2009/01/31/michael-phelps-smoking-bong/

Ocho Cinco

Wide receiver Chad Johnson legally changed his name to “OchoCinco” - the rough Spanish translation of his jersey number 85. WTF? Why? Apparently, the NFL has some issue with it... but Reebok is even more pissed because they have a bunch of old jerseys that say "Johnson" that they're now stuck with. What would really possess someone to do this?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AizI_onxfCTRh9Lc_KYbD105nYcB?slug=ap-bengals-ochocinco&prov=ap&type=lgns

Does Anyone Look At Her Ears?

I guess it's not unusual to see a high-profile professional athlete score a million dollar endorsement deal with the likes of Adidas, Nike, and Reebok and as a condition of the contract, you have to wear their stuff during games.

But you would be hard pressed to find even the most flamboyant of athletic stars rocking semi-precious stones or diamonds while competing in their field of expertise. I mean, would T.O. rock a blinged out chain or studs during a game? DOUBTFUL.

Well, that is until now. Tiffany & Co. announced that it signed a two-year deal with tennis champ Maria Sharapova. Tiffany & Co. will outfit her at in eight different pairs of earrings over the next eight Grand Slam tennis events, including the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. and Australian Opens. Additionally, the pair of earrings Sharapova wears on court and at the various Grand Slam events will then be available immediately for sale at Tiffany's stores worldwide. N0w I need to know- chandeliers, studs... what are we talking? And honestly, who is looking at Sharapova's ears? Irregardless, aren't her ears covered with all that Nike crap?

Of course, it gets better. Tiffany & Co. has also accessorized Sharapova's custom French Open tennis dress. The "Paris dress," by Nike will be a 1920s-inspired ultra-light design that is finished with luminous Tiffany pearl button closures that fastens at the back of the dress. Is this necessary? Her hair is way longer than any back button enclosure!

Don't worry, I'm not jealous...arghhh... If only I drank more milk as a young child, enjoyed exercise, had uber genes to perform superhuman athletic feats...I'm sure I could be getting these multi-million dollar endorsements AND able to wear free awesome jewelry. But hey, I'm kinda "smart," that certainly makes up for it all.

http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=6206567

Say It Ain't Say, Jason...

Anyone around me knows that I love Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins. I, in fact, even watched "Dancing with the Stars" a few times to watch him dancing like a queen. In any event, if Jason Taylor wants to pretend his football career is as important as his new Hollywood one, he's going to have to try harder. According to his blog (yes, he has one), Taylor says he'll miss the Miami Dolphins' mini-camp in lieu of "some things" he's gotta do in L.A.

But according to TMZ, Taylor is confirmed to show up at Mark Ballas and Derek Hough's joint birthday party in Las Vegas this weekend. That seems more important than training camp- I guess Miami can't have a season worse than 1-15, right?

http://www.tmz.com/2008/05/20/taylor-to-teammates-see-you-in-vegas-bitches/

12 Cents An Hour?

This just caught my attention... Michael Vick, you know the dog fighting "ringleader" and former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, recently wrote a letter to a friend of his describing prison life and how he was playing quarterback for both sides on the prison team and just keeping in shape generally. Vick reportedly gets paid to wash pots for 12 cents an hour. Are you kidding me? So, he goes from signing a $130 million dollar deal (which he has to forfeit) to making basically 2% of minimum wage? I'm completely speechless.

I'm actually wondering if any NFL team will ever sign him again... thoughts?

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23996104/

Speaking of Football....Ode to Tom Brady

Okay...so speaking of other football royalty....lets take a moment to discuss the man himself, Mr. Tom Brady. Okay. So we will start with his underdog rise to the top. He was a backup quarterback at the University of Michigan until his senior year when he started and played average. He was drafted in the last round of the draft by the New England Patriots to serve ultimately as a short-lived career backup for super-star quarterback Drew Bledsoe. First season with the Patriots, Bledsoe gets injured and this average guy from Michigan steps up AND TAKES THE TEAM ALL THE WAY TO THE SUPERBOWL !!!! AND WINS !! Then he takes them to another Superbowl and wins. Then another Superbowl and Wins ! He has the record for the most consecutive post-season wins at 12 and 2. And he is only 30 years old. He has about 6 or 7 more years left in him. His only black sheep so to speak...is his baby's momma, Bridget Moynihan, who probably just wanted to keep the man (particularly because he is a super-star and she is a struggling actress). And of course, the new woman on his arm, Giselle. Could not be more perfect for Mr. Brady. I be he retires from the NFL, has a bunch of kids and serves as a Senator for Massachusetts (takes Ted Kennedy's seat). Cheers to Tom Brady.

Michael Jordan's Divorce....

The final numbers for Michael Jordan's divorce are in: The final severance package for Juanita Jordan, which includes the couple's seven-acre estate in Chicago and custody of their three children, will total $168 Million!!!

The settlement far exceeds the most expensive celebrity divorce on public record, in which Neil Diamond paid his ex-wife Marcia Murphey $150 million. I suppose whatever Heather Millls gets from Paul McCartney (sooner or later) will make MJ's woes history. Guess he'll be coming out to the Bobcats games a little more!

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/11/12/jordans-divorce-costs-him-168-million/?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Hingis Is "Blow"ing Off Her Career

Former world number one Martina Hingis is retiring from tennis amidst news that she tested positive for cocaine at this year’s Wimbledon. “I have tested positive, but I have never taken drugs and I feel 100% innocent,” Martina said in a statement. “The reason I have come out with this is because I do not want to have a fight with anti-doping authorities. Because of my age and my health problems, I have also decided to retire from professional tennis.” (Sidenote: Hingis is 27.)

To her credit, Hingis underwent a privately arranged hair test which came back negative for cocaine and stated, "I would think that it would be impossible for anyone to maintain the coordination required to play top class tennis while under the influence of drugs. And I know one other thing - I would personally be terrified of taking drugs."

I guess you can take steroids and other performance enhancing supplements, but you can't do coke.

http://sports.aol.com/tennis/story/_a/hingis-quits-over-positive-cocaine-test/20071101135609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Boston Wins The World Series...But In BIGGER Baseball News, Alex Rodriguez Opts Out

I love this. Not content with not being in the post season spotlight, the Yankees are stealing the post season spotlight again. Alex Rodriguez has opted out of his $252 million, 10-year Yankees contract!!

Upon hearing the news, Steinbrenner -- now the figurehead of the Yankees' baseball operations -- sent a scathing message Rodriguez's way. "It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee, he doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field.

The golden question is which team will be able ... other than the Yankees ... to pay Rodriguez the $30 million a year that Boras and Rodriguez are demanding? Ironically, the team that could is the Boston Red Sox. Too bad for Alex though, the Sox just proved they don't really need him. (Sweeping the World Series and what not .. no biggie.) Alex- so classy, not trashy.



http://blackvoices.aol.com/blogs/2007/10/29/alex-rodriguez/#cont

No Word If Pets Are Allowed...

Page Six is reporting that Michael Vick, pictured right, has purchased a condo at the Icon "Where You Live Is Who You Are" South Beach. Word is that Dwyane Wade also has a place there (post separation) and that Shaq is in and out of there a lot (also post separation). Apparently, Michael's brother, Marcus, who is as familiar with courtrooms as Michael, is making use of the Icon digs...

Since Michael's indictment he hasn't visited, but his brother Marcus, who was released by the Miami Dolphins and has charges of statutory rape pending, has no problem partying it up with the ladies in his brother's pad." Marcus Vick is being sued by a young woman who claims she had a two-year sexual relationship with him starting when she was 15. The Icon South Beach might want to change it's motto...

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10252007/gossip/pagesix/south_beach_bite.htm

Tony Romo: 67 Million More Reasons To Love Him

From the mailbag... "I was surprised today when Tony Romo was kissing a pretty brunette woman when he finished his press conference about his new 67 million dollar contract. People there said the same woman was at the game he played the Sunday before last, leaving in his SUV. After being linked very recently with Sophie Bush and then partying with Britney Spears, I am wondering if this woman lives in a hole and doesn't hear what all he is up to or maybe she has 67 million reasons not to care."

Agreed... does Tony Romo really think he's the next Tom Brady? Well... maybe. But he certainly isn't pulling in girls as hot as Mr. Brady. He actually reminds me of a guy people used to call "ears".. no word on who started that one.

Thank you to the PSG for catching this one.

Riverdance Tryouts

Oh my god... I love this. Jon Papelbon, cute young closer for the Sox... with a penchant for terrible dancing. Why on EARTH would he do this? Surely not to turn people on... Don't worry Jon, you're still hot. Thanks to my little JD for sending this in.

Derek Jeter In Miami...With A Girl?

So, who hasn't heard about the "Shore Club" incident... Sleep with Jeter and you get to park free... but is there possibly more?

Whether rumor or not, only time will tell, but a dedicated YPB reader just sent in this tip, "MY BROTHER JUST SAW DEREK AND STACY STYLEZ IN MIAMI TOGTHER...I am SURE of it. They were having coffee or whatever outside, everyone was swooming all around them. Someone asked her name, she shouted back "Stacy Stylez" even spelled it...but the best part is...HER FREAKIN LAPTOP HAS HER NAME GLITTERED ALL OVER IT...She sat there and probably answered emails..haha. My Brother said she is very attractive, and seemed "likeable" whatever that means. They left holding hands...you figure it out."

Holding hands? Do we haev a "new" couple on our hands? I saw "new" in the broadest sense, as they have been linked together before. This is exactly what the doctor ordered after an early October exit... just a little TLC. The picture says it all...

Not So Super...

Well, the Dolphins are unfortunately off to an 0-6 start with no prospect of winning soon in America, so hopefully they can bring a win home from overseas! On Oct. 28, London's very own Wembley Stadium will host the first regular-season NFL game outside North America. It took just 90 minutes to sell the first 40,000 tickets for the game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants.

This must have caused quite a stir, because a future Super Bowl champion may someday be crowned overseas in a game witnessed predominantly by a foreign audience, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "There's a great deal of interest in holding a Super Bowl in London," Goodell told reporters Monday. "So we'll be looking at that."

The NFL has been expanding its overseas presence for years by televising games around the world. It's held preseason games in numerous countries in Europe, Asia, Mexico and Canada, and in 2005, the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers played the first regular-season match outside the United States. In fact, a game at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City drew the league's largest crowd to date, 103,467.

Games are so expensive to go to now... $100 per ticket, $40 for parking, $100 in drinks and food... now a plane ticket and hotel? No thanks.

Derek Jeter In Miami...

Yes! I am sure Perez Hilton would die to have taken this photo.

Saturday afternoon Derek Jeter attempts to have a pool party at the PH of the Shoreclub in Miami. Derek came down to Miami to get a breath of fresh air after the consecutive losses for the NY Yankees. Unfortanlety, a pool "party" that only consists of a few people isn't great for the ego boosts. Its sad but true as you can see on Derek's face. It was Derek's own personal "party of five"...

Derek actually relocated the small "exclusive" guests at his party away from the windows of the building next door. He feared he would end up in the tabloids. But we still managed to grab you a photo! Left soon after this - I could barely take all of the "excitement".

Update: Seems that Derek's luck took a turn for the better... http://www.nypost.com/seven/10162007/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm

MLB reports...For the first time, a Yankee failure falls on Jeter
This time the shortstop, Derek Jeter, the captain of the New York Yankees, hurt the team every bit as much as the third baseman did. It goes on his record with all the winning.

This one goes on him, really for the first time.

After all the hits he has gotten at this time of year, after all the plays he has made, The Flip against Oakland in 2001 is the greatest play in Yankee postseason history, which means all the Octobers, this time Jeter left even more runners on base than A-Rod did.

The Rock Donates $1 Million to The U

Dwayne Johnson, better known as 35-year-old wrestler-turned-actor "The Rock" and his wife, Dany Garcia Johnson, announced a $1 million gift Tuesday to Miami's football facilities renovation fund- the largest gift former Hurricane student athletes have ever made to the university's athletic department.

The Hurricanes' football locker room will be renamed in Dwayne Johnson's honor.

"Dany and I have always said that being a student athlete here at the University of Miami has always been a tremendous part of our lives," Johnson said. "The skill sets that we learned here as student athletes, talking about commitment, talking about sacrifice ... those skill sets are invaluable."

The Johnsons, who announced their separation in June after 10 years of marriage, met as Miami students. The couple say they remain close. Dany Garcia Johnson was a rower for the Hurricanes, and is now an alumni trustee. She graduated in 1992; he graduated in 1995. They made a $2 million gift last year to help fund the construction of an on-campus alumni center.

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/ap/20071002/119136480000.html

Bears Brothers...

If you're not watching, here is a reason to. This is Viki's friend... my question is, who is that chick in the back? Not a good angle for her... Wait, now that I look at it- what is he wearing? Is that like a metallic woven belt? But then again, who is looking -- look at his body!!! (the first picture clears up the metallic belt mystery)... You're going to ask (I'm sure) - his tattoo means "loyalty".

Special thanks to Ms. Davidson for finding these lovely photos.

Sports Updates

Lots of happenings in college football...

Miami beat FIU 23-9... No.5 Florida kills No.20 Tennessee 59-20 in what was supposed to be a good game... FSU beat Colorado... almost a full sweep for the Florida teams, but UCF came close to Texas 35-32, close game that will surely drag Texas down a few spots in the polls. Outside of Florida, USC maintains its' No.1 stature by crushing No.14 Nebraska...

Upsets this week include: unranked Kentucky over Louisville and Utah over No.11 UCLA.

BUT... the news of the week: DUKE WINS!! Their 22-game losing streak is over!! Yeahhh!!!