At 36,  some models look to be a bit more discreet but Heidi is holding nothing back.  Here are a few pictures from Allure magazine’s April edition.  Enjoy….

Whipped Cream

Heidi wears something "light".

Heidi goes for something snug.

Heidi's not afraid to throw her weight around.

Despite a sudden rush of cool air,  Cooke seemed focused on the track.   An official tried to be discrete and let her know, but to no avail. Despite the split, Cooke and her sled partner Nicola Minichiello finished a respectable  seventh  in the championships

Cooke and Minichiello are a highly regarded team having previously won a gold medal at the World Championships in Lake Placid in 2009. They are currently representing England at the Olympics in Vancouver.

Click on this picture of Carmen for more of her Winter Games.

(DailyHelping acknowledges a deficiency in music appreciation and certainly welcomes’ it’s learned readers for what’s  hot in music.)

Over the next week there will be a column discussing some of the best movies, television shows and books over the past ten years. This is a subject ripe with suggestions and so we at DailyHelping welcome your input. Find the comment link following each column and let us know what you think.

“Invictcus“. It’s a movie you’re going to hear a lot about, and for good reason. There are also going to be a lot of Americans who will get their first taste of rugby and it will have them wondering which is more brutal,  American football or Rugby?

“Invictus” is based on a book called, “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the game that Changed a Nation” (by John Carlin). It chronicles a fairly recent and very highly charged period of time in South Africa. Apartheid was falling and Nelson Mandela had been released from prison; then quickly elected President.

In an effort to bring a divided country together, he sought the efforts of the nation’s rugby team and since South Africa was the host of the games, Mandela urged the black South Africans to support what was a widely-hated team  .  A decent showing at the 1995 Rugby World Cup would have been effective, but no one expected them to win.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film stars Morgan Freeman as President Mandela, and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the Rugby team’s captain.

The movie is out on December 11, 2009, and is already generating Academy Award buzz.

For some, baseball is not the preferred pastime and much of the DailyHelping readership resides outside of the United States;  so the game may not be all that familiar or entertaining.  In an attempt to instill a certain amount of interest in the series, the DailyHelping would like to introduce it’s readership to the “Wives and Girfriends of the 2009 World Series “.

This is a team you can cheer for.

Worth mentioning:  Yankee catcher, Jorge Posada’s lovely wife, Laura.

Jorge's wife remembers to bring the six pack to the game.

Clearly this is a woman who loves to work out almost as much as her husband.

Much has been made of  Yankee All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez and his penchant for celebrity girlfriends. Shortly after filing papers for divorce from his wife of six years, Cynthia,  the tabloids were a buzz with stories about Madonna and model Melissa Britos but his latest hasn’t been shy about coming to the games and cheering her guy on.

It’s none other than A-list actress Kate Hudson.

One of the more interesting of the bunch is the secret wife of Yankee outfielder Hideki Matsui.

Matsui  has refused to reveal  details regarding his “sudden” wedding in the Spring of ‘08 or about his new wife,  saying only that she was 25 and from Japan, where she formerly worked “in a reputable position at a highly respected company.”

Something for Hideki's Wallet. Kids to be drawn later.

He is so secretive about his wife’s identity that there are only a few hand- drawn pictures of the woman in circulation, some hotter than others,  but nothing definitive.

It’s also interesting to note that Philadelphia pitchers, Cole Hamels and Kyle Kendrick opted for former Survivor contestants.  These are women that have shown that they can handle the jungle and come out looking pretty good.

Here is your roster of hot wives and girlfriends, courtesy of coedmagazine.com

The Daily Helping also loves Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. It’s not often she breaks from the hard news to touch on a story about the Seattle Mariners, but as mentioned, this is kinda special.  Please take a look at this clip, as Ms. Maddow shares the tale.

Writer (and now director) Robert D. Siegel has touched on mainstream sport and the almost unhinged devotion that many fans have for their gridiron heroes.  In what may be the most inspired bit of casting to come along since….Mickey Rourke as a wrestler, Siegel has found gold in stand-up comedian, Patton Oswalt (King of Queens, the voice of Rem’y the culinary rat in “Ratatouille”).

Oswalt is entirely believable as a major-league New York Giants fanatic who gets too close to his idol and finds himself the victim of a violent assault. In a scenario that sounds  familiar to those who follow the news of athletes behaving badly. (From Plaxico’s gun to Vick’s Dog Fights, to fans getting tossed through sports bar windows), the movie goes deep into the psyche of a man who has little else to cheer for in his life.  Not since Scorsese’s ,” King of Comedy” have we seen a basement-dwelling fan so unpleasantly linked with those he worships.

Having suffered severe injuries, Oswalt’s character has the chance to “cash-in” and send his favorite player away for a very long time.  The pressures come from every direction and all reviews seem unanimous in their praise for the movie and it’s cast.

The trailer for “Big Fan” is below. It definitely looks like something we’re all going to want to see, even if some of what we see is pretty close to home.

Just a side note:  In “King of Comedy”, Robert DeNiro plays Rupert Pupkin, a man obsessed with being a late night talk show host.

In the movie, “The Fan” (1996), Robert DeNiro plays Gil Renard, a knife salesman who becomes obsessed with a star baseball player (played by Wesley Snipes).  If you’re going to see either of these two movies, the choice isn’t even close.

“King of Comedy” is a brilliant satire on fan adulation and celebrity. Jerry Lewis steals the movie.  It also has a fantastic soundtrack.

The movie, starring Brad Pitt, Demetri Martin, and a roster of genuine ball players isn’t exactly a traditional baseball storyline. Variety has reported that if they can’t find a studio who will take over then it’s likely Soderbergh will be dropped and that may in turn send Pitt packing.  If that’s the case, Moneyball will head to the showers.