Sports Archives

New York, May 15, 2008 – Surfing legend Laird Hamilton boarded a boat at dawn on Thursday and sailed into New York Harbor, with the intent of surfing around the Statue of Liberty.  However, the waters around Lady Liberty proved wave-free, so Hamilton stood on his surfboard and paddled instead, no doubt thankful that he did not fall into the murky New York waterway.   The stunt launched “Wonderwall”, Hamilton’s new line of skate and surfwear with discount apparel chain Steve & Barry’s.

Along for the ride were Hamilton’s wife, pro volleyball player Gabrielle Reece and their daughters Reece Viola, age 4, and Brody Jo, four months.

New York, March 12, 2008 – Having read in the Daily News over the weekend that football great Eli Manning was being courted to model a sexy underwear line, we raced over to Macy’s for the Super Bowl MVP’s appearance at the store’s Herald Square flagship on Wednesday.  But alas, Manning was not running around in his skivvies – he was fully clothed, although he did pull up his sleeve a bit to show off his wristwatch.  Manning is the face – or wrist – of the Citizen Eco-Drive timepiece. 

Fans began lining up at the store as early as 10 A.M. to meet the quarterback in person, and a few who purchased the watch got their photos snapped with Manning. 

Photo: Joy E. Scheller

New York, February 5, 2008 – They had the nerve to hold a primary election and a Super Bowl rally right in the middle of New York Fashion Week.  So between catwalks, we managed to stop by City Hall on Tuesday morning, where half the city seemed to have called in sick to fete Super Bowl champions The New York Giants. 

Late that night, after a full schedule of fashion shows, we stopped by the 7th floor at the Hammerstein Ballroom on 34th Street, where Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her family and supporters celebrated her (very slim) victory in Tuesday’s multi-state presidential primary elections.  Too much confetti streamed down onto the sweating crowd of mostly young people, who listened rapt to her speech – the one you all saw comfortably on TV.  Bill and Chelsea Clinton shook hands, while Hillary did a lot of kissing and hugging; as one observer put it, if she had a cold, everyone has it now. 

New York, November 29, 2007 – Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo made out and danced all night at the NASCAR Nextel Cup party at Marquee, but the couple everyone had their eyes on was Lance Armstrong and a mystery blonde who was NOT Ashley Olsen!  At least, we had our eyes on them.  Some people were undoubtedly fixed on the NASCAR drivers themselves; champ Jimmie Johnson also paid attention to a pretty blonde all evening – his wife, Chandra. 

David Spade, Gabriel Aubry, Gavin DeGraw, Jermaine Dupri, Miri Ben Ari and DJ AM also made for good people watching. 

Los Angeles, November 4, 2007 – Highly compensated soccer star David Beckham played a match for free on Sunday – for a good cause.  The British athlete organized the soccer game to raise funds for victims of the devastating wildfires that recently swept his new home state of California.   Ticket prices were kept relatively low at $20, with 100% of sales revenue going to charity.  Plus, we hear that free parking was offered at L.A.’s Home Depot Center for the match. 

Becks’ L.A. Galaxy trounced the more amateurish Hollywood United, 12-4. (We overheard one Galaxy player say, "Wow, that's more goals than we scored all season!") Actor Anthony LaPaglia looked a bit incompetent as the Hollywood goalie, but, to be fair, he was trying to block Beckham’s powerful kicks, and he did manage to deflect one. 

Superman Returns star Brandon Routh suited up for Hollywood, jogged around the field and even messed up his helmet hair a bit, but it seemed he was stuck on the bench all throughout the game.

Beckham’s three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz watched the match from a skybox, and their dad kept waving to them from the field.