D-Wade To Pitch Lincoln Navigators

Fresh off winning the NBA Championship and being named MVP with his Miami Heat , Dwyane Wade has hooked up with Lincoln to pitch their new Navigators. The commercials, part of Lincoln’s "Advancing the American Dream" campaign, will start airing in September.

“Lincoln is a brand poised for growth, building off new-product sales success,” Al Giombetti, president of Ford and Lincoln Mercury Marketing and Sales, said in a statement. “The ‘American Dream’ platform not only speaks to those customers striving for and achieving their own successes, but outlines the future for the Lincoln brand.”

According to Lincoln, the spot shows Wade as he drives the redesigned Lincoln Navigator through an urban section of town and comes upon a make-shift basketball court with local kids looking up at the broken basketball hoop. Wade steps out of the Navigator to the amazement of the kids and calls them over to help pull out a new basketball hoop and enough basketballs for everyone. Once the hoop is set up, Wade pulls out a bike from the rear of the Navigator, throws the car keys to the coach, and you hear his voice say, “My dream is to leave the world better than I found it.” This spot will run concurrent with the Navigator arriving in dealerships in September.

The campaign will also feature commercials starring gourmet chef, Rocco DiSpirito, known for the NBC reality series, “The Restaurant.” So do they get hooked up with free rides or what?

Emmitt Smith to Dance with the Stars

It seems as though ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” is the first order of business for retiring athletes. First Jerry Rice, now Emmitt Smith has signed on to appear on the hit show next season along with Tucker Carlson of MSNBC, talk-show host Jerry Springer, Vivica A. Fox, Harry Hamlin, Joey Lawrence, Mario Lopez, Sara Evans, Willa Ford,Monique Coleman, and Shanna Moakler.

The new season kicks off on September 12. The “American Idol” of celebrity dancing, pairs a celeb with a professional dancer to compete against other celebs and their partners as judges score the routines and fans of the show call in and vote for their favorites. The pair with the least amount of votes is eliminated. Last season, Jerry Rice made it to second place. Is this event only open to retired athletes? Wouldn’t it be cool if folks like Maurice Clarett, Ricky Williams, or Mike Tyson could get on?

Karl Malone in the Restaurant Business

Karl Malone has been enjoying his retirement riding horses, staying in the country, and just living the cowboy life. Now the Mailman is getting in on the restaurant business. Malone recently got down with the Huddle House franchise and plans on opening his first restaurant in Farmerville, Louisiana, his hometown, before the end of the year.

"We are ecstatic about having someone like Karl with his business stature become a franchisee of Huddle House," Philip M. Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of Huddle House, Inc. said in a statement.

Malone also owns some interest in auto dealerships and timber companies. The next investment for Mailman? Cowboy hats and jeans so tight they squeeze the blood out of your toes.

T-Mac heads back to Asia, hosts softball event

Once again Tracy McGrady is heading out east to promote the world of Adidas. Next week, T-Mac’s tour will begin in Seoul, then Guangzhou, Manila and finally finishing up in Hong Kong.

"This summer marks my third time to Asia, and I continue to look forward to these trips every year," McGrady said in a statement. "Over the last couple of years I have continued to gain great respect and love for everyone in Asia. I appreciated all that my fans have done for me on these tours and look forward to meeting more of them this year and thanking them for their support."

While in Asia, McGrady will promote the Asia-only T-MAC 1 Adidas shoe, host community events, make appearances at retail stores and participate in grassroots basketball activities. Hopefully he doesn’t get hurt.

T-Mac also recently raised $150,000 for the Betty Ross Elementary School by hosting his annual Celebrity Softball Classic. Participants included Antoine Walker, Allen Iverson, Cuttino Mobley, Robert Horry, James Posey, Rafer Alston, Dikembe Mutombo, Luther Head and Mike James.

Mutumbo Drops $15 million for African Hospital

Speaking of Mutumbo, the Congo native put up a cool $15 million towards the development of the Biamba Maria Mutombo Teaching Hospital and Research Center. Named after his mother, the hospital will open on September 2 in his home town of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"We were very close," Mutombo told the Associated Press about his mother who died in 1997. "To do something of this caliber in the name of your beloved mom, it will mean a lot not just to me but to the people of Congo."

The $29 million hospital will have a pediatric wing, surgery suites and a women’s center. The African country suffers from epidemic cases of malaria, tuberculosis, measles, cholera and HIV/AIDS.