SMOOTH OPERATOR
David Beckham has signed what is thought to be his biggest sponsorship deal yet by becoming the face of shaving giant Gillette.
Sources say the England football captain's deal "dwarfs" the value of his other product endorsements, which reportedly netted him £6.75 million ($19.6 million) from companies including adidas, Pepsi and Vodafone.
The three-year deal will see Beckham appear in advertising and promotional campaigns around the world, including the US where he is likely to become a household name fronting the "The Best a Man Can Get" advertisements.
Seems the 29-year-old Real Madrid star's sex txt problems haven't put off the sponsors. And he was helped to sign on the bottom line by wife Victoria's favourite dealmaker, his manager and Spice Girls founder Simon Fuller.
THAT WAS HOLMES THE NIGHT BEFORE LAST
Broadcaster Paul Holmes had a most unbecoming end to a last-minute mercy trip to New Plymouth. He valiantly stepped in to give a speech on Thursday after rival network presenter John Campbell pulled out, then he took a late flight back to Auckland.
The two pilots headed home and he was left locked inside the terminal. A quick phone call to surprised police - you can imagine the Yeah, Right response - then turned into a hunt for security guards while Holmes twiddled his thumbs until being freed in the wee small hours.
Then it was up before the crack of dawn for his radio show.
TAKING THE HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN IN A HOLDEN
Junior Puleosi's loved Holdens so much that when he died he did not want his coffin carried in a Ford.
The Feilding man, who died of cancer this week just short of his 44th birthday, had told his family he "wanted to go in a Holden".
Funeral director Janie McPhee, whose hearse was a Ford, was happy to accommodate the request, saying funerals should be a celebration of a person's life and a tribute to what they loved. So Mr Puleosi's coffin was painted Holden racing team red, carried Holden logos and sported a No 1.
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