The Flying Tomato Takes Gold in the Halfpipe

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 6:31 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Snowboarding god Shaun White woke up Sunday morning and realized he was in the Olympics. Awesome. After falling on his first run, he got himself stoked before his second qualifying run. "I got all Olympic-y. I got that out of the way."

In dramatic fashion, "The Flying Tomato" came from behind - in fact, it took him until the second wave to qualify for the finals. He was the overwhelming favorite to win and the other riders had all but conceded the win to the red-haired god before they even arrived at Torino. And once in the finals of the men's snowboarding competition, Shaun didn't disappoint as he easily beat teammate Danny Kass who took the silver and Markuu Koski of Finland who nabbed the bronze.

The 19-year-old shredding star with the flaming red hair said he stood at the top of the halfpipe on Sunday before his first qualifying run and basically freaked out. "I think we all saw my first run. I didn't deal with it too well," Shaun said.

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Prefering Life in the Slow Lane: Danica Patrick Weds

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 8:06 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 )

Racing's leading lady Danica Patrick has topped off her outstanding year by getting married to her beau Paul Hospenthal, a physical therapist and personal trainer, in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Saturday, People magazine is reporting.

It should come as no surprise since Danica told People earlier this summer that one of her favorite things is sharing life in the slow lane with Hospenthal and their miniature schnauzer, Billy. "She's kind of a TV junkie," Hospenthal, 40, says of his new 23-year-old bride who he says also enjoys barbecuing and working out. "But you won't see her watching much racing."

Danica was rookie of the year and held the Indy 500 crowds spellbound when she had the lead, even if it was only for a brief time. Her 4th place finish was the highest finish for a woman ever at Indy, and she told People that she relies on her intuition when racing. "I can see things happening and have time to react to them. I think that is a special gift."

Ali G Slam Dunks NBA Stars

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 )

It's basketball season and give it to British comedian Sascha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G) to star in the best commercials for it.

Ali G does Kobe Bryant

Ali G : Check it. West Side. This be Ali G representing with my man Kobe Bryant. Yo, respect.

(Bryant nods head.)

Ali G : How many springs does an official ball have in it?

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Warning: Don't Mess with Danica Patrick. Punches Will be Thrown.

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 12:40 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Over the weekend, warrior princess and race car rookie sensation Danica Patrick bitch-slapped fellow driver Jaques Lazier for driving like a girl. At least, that was Jaques initial story before he changed it and then announced that his four-year-old son hits harder.

"So you're telling me that Jaques is saying he got beat up by a girl?" Danica asked.

The bad juju between the two was caused by a crash in the Toyota Indy 400 as their cars came together, spun, and slammed into a wall. Danica suffered a sore left elbow while Jaques was not injured. But each blamed the other for the crash that set up the dramatic finish. Tempers flared and the two had to be separated.

That's when Danica tapped Jaques in the temple and told him to use his head. Jaques remember the encounter differently.

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The MegaRamp Scares the Bejeezus out of Skateboarders

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

"in 20 years of skateboarding, i've never had to ride an elevator to the top of a ramp. i've also never seen a weather vane spinning on the deck to help skaters make adjustments depending on the wind. birds land on the uppermost railing, then fly off. when a blimp floats by, i can make out that the pilot is wearing a lakers cap."

great article at slate by bret anthony johnston who says of the 9-story behemoth used at the x-games: "every time the megaramp shows up on television, a new skater gets his wings."

Sharapova Attracts Attention of Maroon 5's Adam Levine

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

The Sun in London is reporting that tennis superstar Maria Sharapova is on top of the world now that she's dating Adam Levine , despite her apparent reluctance to date. She and the Maroon 5 frontman have been going on secret dates after they met at Maria's 18th birthday party at the New York Club, Hiro.

Adam has previously dated model Kelly McGee and actress Natalie Portman. The Sun is reporting that Adam, 26, and Maria have been "seeing each other quietly for months."

And congratulations to Maria, who today officially became the World's No. 1 Women's Tennis Player.

No Way! Danny Way Successfully Defends Big Air Title

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Crazy dude and skateboarding champion Danny Way, fell on his first three jumps, then nailed his fourth attempt, scoring 94.75 points to win his second X-Games 11 title in the Skateboarding Big Air. Along with claiming the $50,000 prize, he defeated his main rival Pierre-Luc Gagnon of Montreal, who finished second (94 points), and Andy Macdonald of Pacific Beach who took third (92.75).

The jump requires a speed of about 45 mph, hitting a lip and flying the 80 foot gap, hitting the landing then, as momentum carries them up another 27-foot quarter pipe where they are launched 20 feet or so in the air, sticking a second landing. Definitely, not a sport for sissies.

Way of San Diego, who designed the 70-foot mega ramp used in the event in L.A., did a frontside 360 jumping the gap and then did a "Christ Air" move (both arms out to the side in mid-air holding the board in one hand) at the end.

Last month, he gained world wide attention for his sport by jumping across the Great Wall of China not once but five times, with a few 360-degree turns thrown in. He was injured during one of the jumps, but Danny craves big air and competed in the Games with a massively swollen ankle, or what he called an "elephant ankle."
, Way, 31, suffered what was called an "avulsion fracture" on his right ankle doing the China jump. (The damaged ankle ligament ripped a small chunk of bone off his ankle.) He then re-injured it last Tuesday when he hit the coping on the ramp at the X-Games and had been limping badly all week, using a cane with a mermaid handle (nice Danny!) and his ankle heavily wrapped and tapped.

After winning, Way told reporters, "This is kind of surreal. After getting hurt in China, I didn't know if I could compete. I thought, 'Well, there goes the X Games.' My goal was just to come out and skate. Once I figured out that I could do that, I wanted to land a run. I saw all these other guys doing it, and I wanted to do it too."

"It's cool to jump over things, but I'm not trying to be Evel Knievel on a skateboard. We're looking for ways to advance the sport. I don't try to group it as extreme sports or action sports. I just call them dangerous sports. We're just all a collection of crazy guys."

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Letterman's Top 10 Signs Lance Armstrong Is Getting Cocky

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Sporting a solid 2:46 lead over Italy's Ivan Basso, Lance Armstrong looks set to win a record 7th successive Tour de France - and end his career when he crosses the finish line in Paris.

Lance says his post-racing plans are to spend more time with his kids, who live with his ex-wife, and just "spending some more time surfing, and riding motorcycles and not have the stress of being a professional athlete."

Baring an accident or sudden illness, it's widely expected Lance will win on Sunday. In fact, the victory is so assured that David Letterman has put out the:

Top 10 Signs Lance Armstrong Is Getting Cocky

10. Goodbye Gatorade, hello Colt 45.
9. For next two stages will be riding a unicycle.
8. Is only giving 109%.
7. Shouts, "Which one of you French bastards want my autograph?"
6. Yesterday rode twenty miles out of his way looking for whores.
5. Already put the yellow championship jersey for auction on eBay.
4. Lets fans ride on the handlebars.
3. During stage 18, took in the noon showing of "Wedding Crashers".
2. On alternate days, substitutes his fat brother Dennis Armstrong.
1. Took detour to nail Jude Law's nanny.

Fan Mail Address: Danica Patrick. Race Car Driver. USA

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 7 )

While Danica Patrick was a virtual unknown outside of the racing world last spring, she's now garnered almost stardom "household name" status since her 4th position start at the Indy 500.

She's so popular now that she's getting mail from around the world addressed simply as: "Danica Patrick. Race Car Driver. Indianapolis."

Sure enough, the letters make their way to the motor speedway offices and [eventually, I suppose] get to Danica. Pfft, when your fans don't mess with things like zip codes or street addresses and the villians at the United States Post Office give you a pass, you know you're SOMEBODY.

In fact, race officials have told reporters that 10,000 more tickets have been sold for the upcoming August 14 Kentucky IRL 300 than had sold at this same time last year. Last year's IRL race at the Kentucky Speedway drew 61,885 fans, the largest crowd at the Speedway for an IRL race, and next month's race could see an even larger crowd.
, Although Patrick has yet to win a race, she said she is satisfied in the progress she has made: "I think that everybody hopes I do well. The smart people know that I'm very early in my career," Patrick said.

"I've done so little, and I've done so little oval racing, there's just so much things that are new to me. Smart people, people that are educated in motor racing, know where I'm at in the learning curve. They have a good grasp of what's going on each and every weekend."

What Patrick has done more than anything is boost the IRL's image and exposure. This year's Indy 500 TV ratings were the race's highest since 1996, and Patrick became the first IRL driver to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. You go girl.

Read the full article at Cincinnati Post Online.

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Serena & Venus Compete for Role in "X Men 3"

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

After conquering the tennis world the last six years, Venus and Serena Williams are each hoping to launch a film career by landing an acting gig in "X-Men 3". Both sisters will be competing for the role of a bisexual hooker in the film, which will also star Halle Berry and Sir Ian McKellen.

"Brett [Ratner] feels either of the girls would be fantastic for the role, which is a superhero who oozes sex appeal," a source told The Sun.

As far as casting goes, Serena has the inside track over Venus in this competition - she's been dating "X Men 3" director Brett Ratner. But she's gonna have to lose the weight she's put on this spring ... she doesn't exactly look like Halle did as Catwoman, who prowled around looking very skinny and seductive in black leather. Now that, oozed sex appeal.