Sports

AS USUAL, TOM BRADY WANTS TO BE THE BEST

Always a perfectionist, Tom Brady may be retired from football, but he still has regular practices – just not on the field. These practices are with an acting coach. Tom inked that lucrative multi-year deal to be a sports commentator for Fox, and although the camera loves his all-American looks, he’s not completely comfortable on live TV. His new career doesn’t start until 2024, so he’s working with a private acting coach to improve his onscreen presence. And that’s not all. He’s also working with a tutor to improve his vocabulary so he’ll never be at a loss for words on live TV.

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

QUEEN ELIZABETH: THIS IS HOW ROYALS HAVE FUN?

If anybody is steeped in tradition, it’s Queen Elizabeth, 92, and after all these years she still thinks a “hunt” is a good time. Imagine getting up at the crack of dawn with freezing temperatures, and trekking through the misty woods in search of birds to shoot. There are plenty of cute dogs around, but killing quail (or whatever birds these Brits hunt) just doesn’t seem like that much fun. The Queen (with a hood and walking stick) was having such a good time with her friends on vacation, however, that she didn’t even go home when the Duke had his driving accident. By the way, the Queen drove her own Range Rover to the shoot.

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

HERE’S SOMETHING WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HELEN HUNT

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Little did we know that Oscar winner Helen Hunt, 52, was an accomplished surfer! We remember her fondly on the 90’s sitcom Mad About You with Paul Reiser, which won her a bundle of Emmies. Helen says she only learned to surf ten years ago and now credits the sport for keeping her in shape. Nowadays she lives with director/writer Matthew Carnahan and their 11 year old daughter Makena. (Above, Helen is riding one wave after another in Maui.)

Photo Credit: AKM-GSI

SPORTS FAN ADAM SANDLER HOLDS UP PRODUCTION TO WATCH RED SOX

Not EVERYONE is happy with the affable Adam Sandler on the set of his currently filming movie Grown Ups 2 on location in Massachusetts. The cast, which includes Chris Rock, Andy Samberg, Salma Hayek, David Spade, Maya Rudolph, Taylor Lautner, and Patrick Schwarzenegger, and most of all, the CREW, are tired of waiting around for Adam. Adam is in the habit of holding up the entire production to go watch a Red Sox game in his TV tent, which has a huge screen playing the game, and several smaller screens showing continuous ESPN and sport events. Sometimes everyone ends up sitting around for around 17 hours straight waiting for Adam, and although they get paid, they’re not thrilled. Adam figures they’re happy getting all that overtime money, but behind his back the crew laments that NOT everyone cares about sports, and they would MUCH rather get the job done and get back to their lives and families.

BILLY CRYSTAL AND PENNY MARSHALL WERE DUPED BY SPORTS COLLECTIBLE DEALER

A top collector of baseball memorabilia in New York has been exposed as a fraud and he cheated sports crazed celebrities out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Six years after Barry Halper’s death, it turns out he was a con man who sold replicas and forged autographs as one-of-a-kind gems. Among those burned are sports fanatic Billy Crystal, who paid $239,000 for “Mickey Mantle’s 1960 glove” and Penny Marshall, who paid $387,500 for “the last glove Lou Gehrig used in 1939.” Both were judged to be fake. We imagine these items were framed and displayed on the walls of their homes with considerable pride.

TEVA STILETTOS: FOR HIKING OR THE RED CARPET?


If a pair of Louboutin stilettos and a pair of Teva sport sandals were thrown into a teleporter like the one in Jeff Goldblum’s “The Fly” movie, this is the questionable creation that might come out. Actually the Teva company merged with Grey Ant to introduce these homely high heels for girls who just can’t wear flat shoes – even to do yard work or go hiking. We wonder if Victoria Beckham will be the first celebrity to sport these $330 (black & white or tan) rock climbers. Although we can’t picture her in tweed socks.

LEONARDO DI CAPRIO: WHAT BAR RAFAELI DID FOR LOVE

Leonardo DiCaprio’s model girlfriend, Bar Rafaeli, is bending over backwards to keep her moody boyfriend happy. She’s even become a sports fan to please him. According to a friend, one of the problems that Leo and Bar experienced when they previously dated was that she felt like a sports widow, so now she’s learned to love all his favorite sports, especially basketball. “Bar accompanies Leo when he goes to the Lakers games or even when he watches games at his local sports bar, Goal in Hollywood,” the insider says. “She decided that she was never going to change Leo so she decided it was just easier to start watching sports with him.”