Gia Allemand: Still "Pitching" If Pavano Isn't

Pavano Connection Will Boost Allemand

Gia Allemand
Maxim.com
Gia Allemand

Yankees fans are pretty angry at their wasted $40 million investment on pitcher Carl Pavano. But think about this. Without Pavano, many of us would have never heard of Gia Allemand.The two were engaged but broke up in March. With those Maxim photos out this month--she first appeared as a “Hometown Hottie” in Maxim while she was with Pavano--our friend Gia should know she should probably be charging a little more for those autographs on her official Web site. A 24-by-36 poster of her is $9.95. An autographed one? Just five dollars more ($14.95). Now that's a bargain, folks.

Unlike Pavano, she’s still relatively undiscovered, aside from the massive linkage I've seen on WithLeather . She worked her way to the top doing everything she could and despite some setbacks--finishing runner-up in both the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Contest and in the 2005 Miss Red Hot Taj Mahal Super Bowl contest--she has been named Miss Italia, Miss South Beach and Miss American Teen. I love how Allemand charges $5 for her autograph, yet Steiner Sports is selling a game-used road jersey the oft-injured Pavano wore in April and May for $2,000. Assuming he did wear it during every road game during those two months, he would have made one start in it, throwing 79 total pitches.

To be honest, we’d rather buy 133 autographed Gia Allemand posters.

WWE Death Stunt Comes To An End

Sherri Martel
wwe.com
Sherri Martel


It’s pretty funny that all I’ve been writing about is the WWE since, before last week, I hadn’t written about the organization once in seven years. Many wrestling fans were wondering how the WWE could continue the death stunt of Vince McMahon’s character when another character Sherri Martel really did die just four days after McMahon’s limo was blown up. Well, McMahon was forced to make an appearance on last night’s RAW. It was supposed to be his fake memorial service, but instead it turned into a real one of sorts. That’s because wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and son were really found dead in what could be a murder-suicide

Chris Benoit
AP
Chris Benoit

“Tonight’s storyline was to have been the alleged demise of my character Mr. McMahon," said McMahon, on Monday night's broadcast. "However, in reality, WWE superstar Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and their son Daniel are dead."

According to this siteBenoit is the 38th wrestler aged 40 and under to have died in the last 22 years.

Reader Response
I got many emails on my entry on Dean Karnazes, who was trying to break the world treadmill running record to garner attention for Accelerade. The most intriguing one came from John Lesko.

“The hardcore running community generally dislikes this guy and does not think highly of him, especially when his ultra record is compared to others. While winning the ‘04 Badwater and ‘06 Vermont 100 is nice, others in the ultra running world have more accomplished resumes without all the hoopla and money surrounding them. For you to say that he is the “world’s best runner” can only be construed as opinion, especially when you have the likes of Scott Jurek - 7 time winner of the Western States 100 and only American to win the Spartathlon still running. What Dean is is the world’s best marketer in the runner community. He has the looks and the story to push products onto the weekend 5Kers and running hobbyists who marvel at his accomplishments. While I tend to think he is vastly overrated, he does bring needed attention to a variety of charities during his circus-like routines, for which you cannot knock the guy. Love him or hate him, he gets people talking, but in the mostly obscure world of ultra running, where people run for the love of the sport and not for the attention and surely not for the dollars, not all are welcoming the exposure he generates.”

Questions? Comments? SportsBiz@cnbc.com