Offensive photo was “appropriate”, says Olympian

You folks out there in interwebland have been going batshit crazy for the story about Spain’s ‘Chinese wink’ team photo (300+ comments so far), and it seems most of you have been waiting for an apology from the Spaniards for a few days. Instead, however, they have been protesting their innocence - Spanish NBA star Jose Calderon wrote on his website:

Clearly, most of us are ‘absolutely confused’. The whole ‘some of my best friends are Asian’ excuse is a popular choice

No relation to Rafa, we presume

One may think The Spoiler is scraping the WAG barrel by dedicating a day to the former wife of a retired Lebanses-American basketball player, but a cursory glance at Mexican supermodel Elsa Benítez will prove otherwise. The 30-year-old beauty was married to Rony Seikaly (twelve years her senior) for nearly six years, but since 1995 has been bringing in the bacon for herself with high profile photoshoots with Vogue, Elle, Victoria’s Secret and various other arty publications that make it justifiable for her to show the world her boobs.

Luol Deng is bringing home plenty of the good paper

Luol Deng is a 23-year-old forward who entered the NBA draft in 2004, and has since been plying his trade with the Chicago Bulls. Deng was born in Sudan, but when his family claimed political asylum he moved to South Norwood, where he narrowly avoided becoming a Crystal Palace fan and chose to follow Arsenal.

He moved to the US to play netball when he was 14, and yesterday signed a six-year deal with the Bulls that should line his pockets with £40m, almost twice the basic salary David Beckham is earning in Los Angeles. (Although Mr B is likely to earn much more than this because of his tendency to hawk underwear, fizzy drinks and marker pens.)

Despite being

The world’s hottest virgin is officially off the market

Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima is, without question, one of the best looking women on the planet. She has dated Lenny Kravitz and New York Yankees rounders player Derek Jeter, but she is now engaged to Serbian basketball player Marko Jarić. Whose face looks like this. What a crazy world we live in.

Wayne finally leaves the swimming pool, but doesn’t venture far

Up until yesterday, only the promise of cheap fast food had been enough to lure Wayne and Coleen Rooney away from the steps of The Wynn hotel’s swimming pool. Now, however, the Manchester Utd striker has branched out to see what the rest of Las Vegas has to offer, by moving a few feet inside the building to the Wynn’s nightclub Blush.

He’s pictured above sharing a (carbohydrate-filled and alcoholic) beverage with heavily tattooed basketball star LeBron James. Whether Coleen was still shrivelling away in the pool at this point is unknown.

Will Wayne and Coleen ever stray more than twenty yards from their hotel? Will this honeymoon go down as one of the most boring in history? The case continues…

[Fan Nation]

NBA forward unnecessarily thrilled about receiving free garment

American netball fans are currently engrossed in the NBA Finals, where Kevin Garnett’s Boston Celtics are attempting to throw more balls into some small elevated hoops than the LA Lakers. As a reward for his outstanding defensive performances this season, Garnett was treated to a personalised shirt courtesy of Europe’s second most successful team.

Even though it’s a small gesture for a well paid sportsman, it’s great to see Garnett react with childlike excitement. It’s probably the same bounding enthusiasm that Jermain Defoe expresses when he bursts open the doors of Chinawhite to see a gaggle of scantily-clad Big Brother rejects. Bless.

[Thanks to the dreamboats at Pies for the find]

The lost art of hissy fit has just been reinvigorated

Step one: Pick a teammate at random and start insulting them. Maybe question his choice of car or the sluttiness of his girlfriend (‘Your car costs less than mine and your girl isn’t as slutty as mine’).

Step two: Attack. Throw something light that comes to hand, and for god’s sake don’t engage in fisticuffs. Your sponsorship deals and vanity could both be heavily affected if your hair and face are touched.

Step three: Your opponent will have worked himself up into a tissy