The Beat
Danni Boatwright,the last person standing on last year's Survivor: Guatemala, has a new tribe:the Arena Football League. Boatwright, who infamously revealed on the show thatfellow competitor Gary Hogeboom was a former NFL quarterback, has been hired bythe Kansas City Brigade as a sideline reporter for local TV broadcasts.Boatwright (below) says she doesn't mind moving from Guatemala to Kansas City("better barbecue here"), and she hopes to bring her interviewingskills up to Michelle Tafoya--esque levels. "My questions," she says,"haven't been so poignant yet." As for her Survivor dough--she won $1million--Boatwright, 30, says her only planned splurges are a hip replacementfor her dog and tickets to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
‚ñ† It won't renderthe 6 a.m. wake-up call completely painless, but Nike is offering a servicethat allows you to be plucked from the arms of Morpheus by, among others, MariaSharapova and Alex Rodriguez. The company's website, nike.com/nikeair, listseight athletes--the others are the Suns' Amaré Stoudemire, surfer MonycaByrne-Wickey and Olympic medalists Joan Benoit Samuelson, Justin Gatlin,Kaitlin Sandeno and Liu Xiang--whose recorded messages will be sent to yourphone at a designated hour at no charge. Those who need an especially strongprod might consider Sharapova's message: "Get your ass out of bed!"
■ George Clooneyisn't about to let a little thing like an Oscar nomination mess up hisbasketball routine. Clooney, who will be up for acting, directing and writingprizes for Good Night, and Good Luck and Syriana on March 5, joked to reportersabout a possible conflict between the event and his weekly pickup game."You've got to leave at 3:30 'cause there'll be a long line. [I] play ballat noon. I can make it." Clooney's basketball jones is no joke. He'sproducing a television project about a fictional expansion team, the San DiegoStingrays, whose coach is played by former NBA bench boss Don Nelson.
■ Next up for theSexiest Man Alive (People, Nov. 28): the story of a football program's struggleto rebuild after tragedy. Matthew McConaughey will play Marshall coach JackLengyel, who took over as Thundering Herd coach after Rick Tolley died in a1970 plane crash that also claimed 74 players, coaches and staff members. Loststar Matthew Fox has been cast as an assistant under McConaughey.... Atmidseason, Bernie Mac is the leading point-getter in the NBA Cares CelebrityFantasy League, and he evaluated his competition for SI. On Pamela Anderson,who is tied for first place in the West Division: "That lady's got skill,dude." On ESPN columnist Bill Simmons, who trails Mac by one game: "Hedon't want nothing of me. He's a journalist, and he hides behind that pen."For the record, TNT analyst Kenny Smith sits in last place at 1-13.
PICTURE THIS
No celebration of the world's longest-reigning monarchwould be complete without a little Thai diving. In honor of King BhumibolAdulyadej, who has ruled Thailand for 60 years, 400 skydivers formed the designon the nation's flag over the city of Udon Thani. The stunt set a new worldrecord--largest free-fall formation--and, no doubt, convinced King Adulyadejthat the sky's the limit for the next anniversary of his coronation.
SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
Former USC running back Anthony Davis will broadcasthis gastric-bypass surgery live on the Internet next month.
They Said It
LUIS GRILLO, NBA referee, to Bernie Bickerstaff, coachof the injury-ravaged Bobcats, before Charlotte's loss to the Raptors lastFriday:
"You want me to dress?"
PHOTO
WILLY BOEYKENS (PICTURE THIS)
PHOTO
MARC SEROTA/REUTERS (GRILLO)
PHOTO
ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES (BOATWRIGHT)