Queen of Sports

Meet Zakumi!

Check out the picture of Zakumi, the mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

For the last 40 years, every World Cup has had their own mascot. The types of mascots have varied from lions, a rooster, a dog, an orange and a jalapeno pepper.

But for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, a leopard named Zakumi takes center stage!

The name Zakumi is a combination of “ZA” standing for South Africa and “kumi” which translates into 10 in various languages across Africa.

Several South African companies were asked to design the mascot, but Cape Town designer Andries Odendaal came out victorious.

“Zakumi is a proud South African and, as such, an ideal ambassador for the first African World Cup. He was born in 1994, the same year as the country’s democracy. He is young, energetic, smart and ambitious, a real inspiration for young and old, not only in our country,” explained Danny Jordaan, CEO, 2010 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee.

Athlete Sighting: Vince Young

NFL quarterback Vince Young was spotted partying in Hollywood last night at MyStudio nightclub.

Just one day before the Tennessee Titan quarterback hit the Los Angeles club with friends, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hinted that he wouldn’t be suspending Vince for his altercation outside a strip club last month.

Vince was issued a citation for punching a guy in the face outside a Dallas area strip club.

Better be careful Vince!

Who Are Those Kids?

Fans new to the game of soccer have been asking who those kids are that accompany the players onto the field during the opening ceremonies. Well we have the answer!

FIFA partnered with McDonald’s for the McDonald’s Player Escort Program, which brings together the stars of today with the stars of the future.

The initiative will give 1,408 children ranging from the age of six to 10 from 47 different countries the chance to walk hand-in-hand onto the field with soccer stars at all 64 matched during the 2010 World Cup.

The children selected in their home countries through competitions and contests will attend the tournament, tour cultural sites in South Africa and play in their own friendly soccer matches.

McDonald’s has been an Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup since 1994.The McDonald’s Player Escort Program began in 2002 at the World Cup Korea/Japan. Since the program was started, more than 6,000 children have had the unique experience of walking on the field with soccer players.

Michael Vick May Be In Some Major Trouble…Again

It’s been in the news, and everyone’s heard the story. There was a shooting following a birthday party for Michael Vick in Mexico, and his buddy Quanis Philips was shot. Quanis Philips was a co-defendant in Vick’s dogfighting case, and the two have been ordered not to associate with one another, as they’re both felons. Michael Vick had been of “no interest” to the police last week when they believed Vick’s story that he left well before the shooting.

Now, video tape has been released which proves Vick actually left minutes before the shooting took place. Vick’s lawyer is standing by his initial statement that Vick “was long gone before the shooting, does not know who did the shooting and had nothing to do with the shooting.” Detective are still looking into the case, no suspects have been identified and no altercations were reported before the incident took place. The gunshot wound was not serious to Philips, but the two may be in major trouble for associating. The incident is being investigated by the NFL as well, and if they find reason to believe Vick was violating the agreement they have with him, he could be suspended.

Tiger Woods Weighs In On LeBron Free Agency

With the countdown to LeBron James free agency era beginning in just hours, everyone has had an opinion about where the NBA superstar should end up.

Now, the number one golfer in the world, Tiger Woods has contributed his two cents.

Tiger told reporters at a press conference in Philadelphia, where the golfer will defend his title at the AT&T National at the Aronimink Golf Club, that he thinks LeBron should go to the Lakers. Huh?

“Yeah, actually I would love to see him go to the Lakers,” Tiger said. “I’m an L.A. guy, can’t help it. That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?”

Interesting would be one way to describe it, impossible is another.

If Paraguay Wins… Model Will Run Through Streets Naked

Taking a page from Diego Maradona’s handbook, Paraguay lingerie model Larissa Riquelme who has been in the stands cheering on her team has vowed to strip naked and run through the streets of Paraguay naked if her team wins the World Cup.

The 24-year-old replied when asked about her naked run “Of course, but with my body painted with the colors of Paraguay.” We definitely know some guys who will now be rooting for Paraguay.

Athlete Sighting: Tony Romo

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo took a break from practicing his golf swing and was spotted enjoying a day at Six Flags Over Texas. The NFL quarterback was at the park with friends and his girlfriend’s brother, actor Chace Crawford.

The group rode on several rides including Superman, the Titan, the Shockwave and Batman: The Ride.

Sports Date Of The Week: Soccer Time!

Since we are right in the middle of the World Cup tournament, we thought a soccer themed sports date of the week would be perfect!

Even though the US was ousted last week, there are still plenty of great teams and sexy athletes to follow! The field has been narrowed to eight teams: Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Ghana, Netherlands, Paraguay, Spain and Uruguay.

Our suggestion is to put on the colors of the team you are supporting and check out the games on Saturday. Argentina will face off against Germany at 10am ET followed by Paraguay vs Spain at 2:30 ET. After these great teams play you’ll be inspired to kick the ball around yourself, so take your guy to the nearest park and do your best Lionel Messi impression!

All The Single Ladies!

Check out this funny commercial that’s playing in the arenas during the World Cup games. It’s a spot for Seara, a global food supplier and they use Beyonce’s single girl anthem “Single Ladies”.

The spot features Brazilian players Robinho, Neymar da Silva and Ganso.

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Seara has signed on to be a World Cup sponsor in 2014 as well.

Kobe Bryant Issues Challenge to Brazil National Team

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is currently in Johannesburg with Nike trying to drum up interest in soccer among people in the US. It seems that Nike thinks that if Kobe is attending games and interested in soccer then his fans will be too. We’ll see how that one turns out.

Kobe has always been a big fan of the Brazil National Team and now that the US is out of it, it seems that Brazil and Germany are the basketball players favorites to win the World Cup.

In the video below, Kobe issues a challenge to the members of Brazil. Who will be the first to six? If Brazil wins, this will be their sixth World Cup win. Kobe, just won his fifth championship and he’s already talking about winning his sixth.

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And while Kobe is hanging out in South Africa, his wife Vanessa is combating a story that she’s not very nice to Lamar Odom’s wife Khloe Kardashian.