Most people, when they get an Olympic gold medal hang onto it for dear life. Jason Kidd, who played on the Olympic basketball team however is giving his away. And to whom? No other than Elaine Wynn, wife of casino mogul Steve Wynn. It turns out that Kidd met Mrs. Wynn last year while he and the rest of the U.S. team were staying at the Wynn while training in Las Vegas. They got to talking over a banquet and Kidd promised that if the team won the gold he would give her his medal. No, he's not in debt to the house, Kidd says it's just a thank you because "the way they treated us at the Wynn, it was the least I could do." I'm hoping the Wynns display the medal at one of their hotels.Jason Kidd Gives His Gold Medal To The Wynns
Most people, when they get an Olympic gold medal hang onto it for dear life. Jason Kidd, who played on the Olympic basketball team however is giving his away. And to whom? No other than Elaine Wynn, wife of casino mogul Steve Wynn. It turns out that Kidd met Mrs. Wynn last year while he and the rest of the U.S. team were staying at the Wynn while training in Las Vegas. They got to talking over a banquet and Kidd promised that if the team won the gold he would give her his medal. No, he's not in debt to the house, Kidd says it's just a thank you because "the way they treated us at the Wynn, it was the least I could do." I'm hoping the Wynns display the medal at one of their hotels.Bally Women's Arkel Tennis Tote
Tennis season's not over yet! Why not help the economy and get yourself a fresh, new bag for the fall? Bally's bright pearl orange Arkel bag is made of patent calf with a patent leather-trimmed twill lining. It measures 15.5" H x 18" W x 4.5" D and has a 6.75" shoulder drop. The top is open for ease of putting in and taking out your tennis wear and accessories, and the zippered exterior pocket holds your tennis racket. Made in Italy, dust bag included: $1,095. (But you can get it at Endless for just $492.75, with free overnight shipping.)TaylorMade Limited-Edition Driver for Charity
TaylorMade has revealed the design of their limited-edition Patriot Golf Day driver, which is a customized version of their popular r7 line featuring Movable Weight Technology. The special limited-edition design features the Patriot Golf Day logo on the toe of the club, an F-16 on the sole, a red, white and blue headcover, and a commemorative Patriot Golf Day box for display.
The clubs will be sold via silent auction at participating golf courses around the country (locations found here) running from Aug 29th to Sept 5th, with proceeds going to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation.
Via acquire
Golf's Most Expensive Bag is from Louis Vuitton
When you already do well with handbags, ipod cases and luggage might as well try your hand at creating a top-of-the-line golf bag for the most elite of the sport. When golfers are already shelling out big bucks for their Big Berthas, premier balls and posh outfits they may just drop over $8,000 on the fancy, Damier Geante bag from Louis Vuitton! It is trimmed in cowhide, wrapped in luxurious canvas and features many pockets, tees, a wheeled travel cover and even an umbrella. Make a fashion statement on the course with this bag -- just be sure you can afford the greens fee and friendly bets on top of the bag before you venture out.
Win A Yankee Stadium Proposal
If you've ever thought you might want to do the stereotypical baseball stadium proposal, here's your chance to do it without having to spring for the rock, provided that you are a Yankees fan. Jewelry retailer Michael C. Fina, Hearts On Fire diamonds and N.Y. Yankees All-Star pitcher Mariano Rivera are offering a contest called The Final Engagement. Fans who write a short essay (250 words or less) describing why they should be chosen will be entered into the contest to win a 1.5-carat Hearts On Fire diamond engagement ring valued up to $40,000, plus four tickets to the Sept. 18 game and to propose live via the Diamond Vision screen. Winners will be chosen based on love of the Yankees as well as a creative and persuasive essay. For each entry, Michael C. Fina and Hearts On Fire will donate $1 to the Mariano Rivera Foundation, a nonprofit that benefits underprivileged children. The contest ends August 31.
[via National Jeweler]
Vinny Testaverde in Oyster Bay Cove, Estate of the Day
Chad Pennington and Vinny Testaverde share more than just their NFL quarterback careers in common, they also have the same real estate agency to help them sell their New York homes. We saw Pennington's home on Sunday today Testaverde's mansion. Testaverde's home is also a brick Colonial but on a more lavish scale than Pennington's. Testaverde's Oyster Bay Cove home is a six-bedroom on over four acres. The home includes a master suite with private balcony,sitting room, steam shower and Jacuzzi. It's a little more recognizable as a sports home than Pennington's was especially since Testaverde's got his footballs and jerseys on display in the theater room. Of course the home also has a huge fitness area with a suana and steam room and there is also a video game room, billiards room and a trophy room, fabulous kitchen and a nice wine nook. The property includes a Gunite pool with a waterfall, kiddie pool, Jacuzzi and a basketball court. It is listed at $6.495 million.
For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.
[via Newsday]
Gallery: Vinny Testaverde in Oyster Bay Cove
Continue reading Vinny Testaverde in Oyster Bay Cove, Estate of the Day
Chad Pennington in Muttontown, Estate of the Day
Laura Mann of Newsday reported last month that Jets quarterback Chad Pennington had put his house on Long Island on the market but I think recent news makes today a fine chance to discuss this one. The quarterback, who just lost his job to the man who can't retire, Brett Favre, has a home in Muttontown, New York that he is eager to sell.
I would not have guessed that this six bedroom brick Colonial belonged to a celebrity and certainly not a sports celeb until I saw the huge fitness area. Pennington's pad is a 7,000 square foot home on over two acres that include a Gunite pool and a four-car garage. It's a rather bland but certainly expensive family home with details like a billiards room, master suite with a fireplace and what looks to be a coffee bar. Overall it looks freshly outfitted from a high end furniture store right down to the window treatments. Pennington bought the house in 2005 for $3.595 million. It first hit the market for $4.095 million a month ago but is now down to $3.995 million as Pennington clearly wants to get out of town.
For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.
Gallery: Chad Pennington in Muttontown
Continue reading Chad Pennington in Muttontown, Estate of the Day
Mindful Mats, for Yoga Aficionados
So you do yoga, and love it. But your mat is, well, a big bore. And sharing mats at the gym ... um, no thanks. Go upscale and green with a Mindful Mat from Plank Designs ($85). These cool-looking mats feature high-quality photos in four themes, Cobra (main photo; get it? snake in the grass?), Pill, Plank and Shag (gallery), and are made with eco-conscious materials. They're constructed of EcoLite, an eco-composite synthetic rubber, and EcoCell, a recycled polyurethane foam, and are biodegradable and recyclable. They do not contain rubber, later or PVC and don't use a lot of energy to produce. You'll have a clear conscience, to go along with your clear head, when you leave class.P.S. Also offered are three text design mats ($65, gallery), "Bling," "Me," and "Chocolate," though I'm not sure whether these meet the eco-standards of the photo mats.
Gallery: Yoga Mats from Plank Designs
Ralph Lauren's Official Olympics Collection
Ralph Lauren's 2008 Olympics Collection from his Polo line, to be worn by American athletes at the summer games in Beijing next month, is now available in stores. Lauren designed the official Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony parade outfits as well as an assortment of Olympic "village wear" pieces for the U.S. Teams, which anyone may now purchase. The Summer Olympics in Beijing run from Aug. 8 - 24th. Lauren's patriotic, logo-festooned red, white and blue designs are "inspired by the rich past of the Olympic Games and in keeping with the time-honored tradition of this historic event." Visit Lauren's site here for more and check out the gallery to see athletes modeling the collection.
Gallery: Ralph Lauren for the Olympics
-in-village-wear-design_thumbnail.jpg "Deontay Wilder (boxing)")
Fairway Skins Ladies' Golf Gloves
Ladies' golf glove and pouch maker Fairway Skins Co. introduced its new line of butterfly-design gloves, made from the finest cabretta leather ($36). In keeping with the company's signature floral designs, each of the six new species rests on a colorful botanical, creating gloves that seems almost too nice to use on the course. Six classic floral designs also are available. Fairway Skins won a "Best New Product" award at the 2007 PGA Fall Expo and last year the company was awarded the GolfTest USA "Seal of Excellence" for the superior quality, value and performance of its products. See the gallery for a few of the new designs as well as classic styles and pouches.[Via BunkerShot]
Gallery: Fairway Skins Ladies' Golf Gloves
The Classicist: On Equestrian Style
Followers of my sporadic style posts here have probably noticed certain threads running throughout; anglophilia, certainly, but also an affinity for all things equestrian-related: the polo matches staged by the likes of Veuve Clicquot and Mercedes-Benz; the Royal Ascot Races; riding boots by John Lobb of London; leathergoods by Swaine Adeney Brigg; and even classic sporting art. All these elements and more come together beautifully in Vicky Moon's new book Equestrian Style: Home Design, Couture, and Collections from the Eclectic to the Elegant, due out this week from Clarkson Potter.
It's a magnificent, much-needed extension of the horsey lifestyle portrayed in Hunt Country Style, the book I wrote about back in April. Moon divides her volume into different facts of the equestrian experience: In the Field, On the Farm, At the Track, In the Ring, On the Move, and Down the Road, focusing on all facets of horsiness and everything that goes along with it. The emphasis is on authenticity, not affectation; she barely mentions Ralph Lauren for instance except in the context of the actual polo team he fields.
Gallery: Equestrian Style
Bonhams' Fine Sporting Gun Sale
If you missed out on one of those $100,000 Asprey shotguns we told you about that were auctioned off at Christie's in May, not to worry - Bonhams is holding its own Sporting Guns sale in London on July 30 where you can bid on some extremely fine pieces at a fraction of the cost. In actual fact, the highest priced guns at the Christie's sale were made by Holland & Holland, and there are several fine examples of their craft in the Bonhams sale. For instance, a 1947 12-bore 'Royal de Luxe' sidelock ejector shotgun with foliate-scroll engraving and gold inlays (above), est. $32,000 - $40,000, in its original leather case.
Also on offer: A fine lightweight 1934 12-bore over-and-under shotgun by J. Woodward, in a leather case, est. $40,000 - $50,000; a 10-bore 'Premiere' single-trigger over-and-under shotgun by E.J. Churchill, est. $20,000 - $30,000; a 1905 12-bore self-opening sidelock ejector gun by Purdey, est. only $10,000 - $14,000; and several fine vintage guncases including one stunning example executed in crocodile skin, est. only $400 - $800. See the gallery for pix.
Gallery: Bonhams Summer Sporting Guns
The Classicist: The Henley Royal Regatta
Earlier this month we reported on the Royal Ascot races, one of the highlights of the English social season. This week ushers in another classic British sporting event-cum-society pageant, the Henley Royal Regatta. The five-day Regatta, held on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, takes place over the first weekend of every July and runs from Wednesday the 2nd through Sunday the 6th this year.
International crews compete in various races at the Regatta, which has been held every year since 1839 except during the two World Wars, the main event being the Grand Challenge Cup for Men's Eights. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort, became the Regatta's first Royal Patron in 1851, a tradition carried on by the reigning monarch ever since, though unlike Royal Ascot they don't always deign to attend.
Even more so than at Ascot, Henley provides an opportunity for aristocrats from the sporting and social sets to dress in that distinctively British style which has inspired so many fashion designers over the decades. The commercialization of Henley, unlike Ascot, Wimbledon and cricket at Lord's, has been slower to take hold, and as Godfrey Smith writes in The English Season, it is something of "an Edwardian time warp."
Gallery: Henley Royal Regatta
Stained Celtics Shirt Wins Big For Charity
Sporting triumphs are often marked with the splash of victory, that moment when the Gatorade hits the winning coach's unsuspecting head. Celtics coach Doc Rivers got a good soaking in orange Gatorade when the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. His Gatorade-stained shirt has now brought in $55,000 for The Shamrock Foundation through an auction on sports radio WEEI (850 AM). The Boston Globe's Celtics Blog reports that an anonymous bidder pledged $35,000 for the shirt and the Gatorade bucket used in the soaking. The Gatorade company donated an addition $10,000 and a second anonymous donor gifted a $10,000 pledge.Steve Pagliuca, Celtics managing partner and president of The Shamrock Foundation has offered another $35,000 if the shirt's new owner will let the Celtics show off the shirt to fans at certain points during the next season.
The Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation benefits children in Boston, partnering with community based organizations that provide healthcare, shelter and vital services for children in need. The foundation's current community partners are Perkins School for the Blind, Childrens Hospital Boston, Horizons for Homeless Children, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC). They accept donations if you want to commemorate the Celtics victory with a little giving of your own.
The GoldenPutter For Ladies
When I was first learning to play golf when I was young, it was a big thrill that there were finally orange and lime green balls. Then came the hot pink golf balls and I was in heaven. My teenage self would have loved this pretty princess putter from The GoldenPutter but it would have been a bit out of my price range. Each Golden Putter has a 24 carat gold plated shaft, a leather grip (in pink but other colors are available) and a head with customizable crystal inlays. The First Special Lady Edition of the "GoldenPutter" will be available for 1995 euros. For those with more money to spend there is the possibility to create a diamond lady putter will be available for around $150,000.
