Queen of Sports

Athlete Sighting: Matt Kemp

Los Angeles Dodgers player Matt Kemp was spotted at Mastro’s steak house in Beverly Hills on Saturday night.

Matt was seen leaving the restaurant with girlfriend and pop singer, Rihanna.

Viva La Kobe

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Is it just us or is this summer’s free agency hype the most creative of all time? Check out this video by Ryan Parker, who writes and plays songs about sports to the tune of songs we’ve heard before. The photo editing is great, too.

England’s World Cup Soccer Team: Out of the World Cup and Without Underwear

England was knocked out of the World Cup after losing to Germany. That wasn’t all they lost in South Africa, though. Their underwear, uniforms, shirts, and about $750 in cash and other goodies were stolen by the cleaning staff of the hotel they were staying in. After the losses were reported, the police searched the homes of all the cleaning staff and officially determined the culprits. Everything was returned and the culprits were sent to jail and later convicted in…a special World Cup court? Who knew. Their punishment? Three years in prison and fines. Ouch.

Photo: Image.net

Chris Henry Was Suffering From Brain Damage Prior To His Death

There is some new information about Cincinnati Bengals player Chris Henry, who we reported earlier this month donated his organs following a car accident which left him dead, and it does not make the NFL look good. Or any contact sports, really.

Research concluded that Henry had CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a form of degenerative brain damage that occurs as a result of being hit in the head too many times. Research on the health issue shows that it is associated with impulsive behavior, which could explain a lot about Chris Henry’s behavior leading up to his death. CTE is not diagnosable until a death occurs, and therefore the only research which can be done is thanks to donations.

While a few cases of CTE have existed previously of NFL players who’s ultimate cause of death was fueled by impulsive behavior and depression, there are currently no statistics on MMA fighters and CTE. MMA, being the highest contact sport, is still new but incidents such as the one we reported earlier today make us wonder. Is it safe? What can be done to increase safety? Is it just another gamble we take with our health and safety that shouldn’t be such an issue?

MMA Fighter Dies After His Professional Debut

Michael Kirkham appeared in his first professional fight on Saturday night, and passed away early Monday morning due to a brain hemorrhage. Kirkham was only 30 years old. He moved up from amateur to pro on a small card in South Carolina as a lightweight fighter. He was knocked out early in the fight by strikes, with the referee stopping the fight. He was taken out of the ring on a stretcher and then to the hospital after he didn’t gain consciousness.

This is very sad not only  for the family and friends of the fighter, but also for the sport of MMA itself. It receives such scrutiny due to the violent nature of it, and isn’t even allowed in some states including New York. It’s a very misunderstood sport, and incidents such as this make it more so. Surprisingly to those who don’t know much about MMA, this death is only the second in regulated MMA history. Regulated means it is legal in the state, and is sanctioned. Typically states will sanction the event according to their rules and regulations.

Vanessa Bryant Denies Feud With Khloe Kardashian

While In Touch Weekly reported word from an “insider” that Vanessa Bryant hates Khloe Kardashian and the word spread fast, Ron Artest and Vanessa Bryant have quieted the rumors. Word had it that Vanessa Bryant hated Khloe and her family for being attention-hungry fame-seekers, and that she would make a point to never sit near Lamar’s wife at games. Ron Artest was asked if there was a feud between the wives on “Entertainment Tonight” and he said they were “all cool.”

In another interview with “Entertainment Tonight” Vanessa said, “I have been a Laker wife for the past 10 years and I’ve never had an issue with anyone, especially any of the Laker wives … Celebrating your first NBA championship is an exciting time, I know because I’ve shared five along with my husband. My focus will remain spending quality time with my husband and children this summer. I look forward to supporting the Lakers on their quest for another championship next season.”

Photo: Twitter

UK Newspaper Reporting Landon Donovan Got British Woman Preggers

More bad news coming to Landon Donovan, after his team was ousted from the World Cup by Ghana in a 2 – 1 overtime win, a U.K. newspaper is reporting that the fan favorite has impregnated a British woman.

Landon, who is separated from his wife, actress Bianca Kajlich, played on loan for Liverpool club Everton for several months this past winter.

When asked about the pregnancy report, Landon did not deny it and told Sports Illustrated, “I was informed of the possibility during the World Cup, and if I need to take responsibility, then I will provide the appropriate support. This is a private matter, and I will refrain from further comment at this time.”

Rumor mills were spinning at the possible reconciliation of Landon and Bianca for a few weeks now after he blew her a kiss during a post-game interview, publicly thanked her for helping him mature and the two shared an emotional phone call after his game winning goal against Algeria.

“It would surprise no one if Landon and Bianca were back together very soon,” one of Kajlich’s friends told People. “They have remained in contact and are very close to one another.”

Landon and Bianca don’t have any children together. The woman claiming to be carrying Landon’s baby has yet to be publicly identified.

Athlete Sighting: Kobe Bryant

After winning his 5th NBA Championship, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was spotted at the USA vs Ghana elimination match in Rustenburg, South Africa on Saturday night.

Kobe was in South Africa through his endorsement deal with Nike. The athletic gear company has been trying to get their athletes involved in the World Cup to help boost the company’s soccer reputation. Nike is not a sponsor of the World Cup, Adidas is their main athletic gear sponsor.

Kobe, who spent some of his childhood in Italy is very familiar with soccer and knows the sport well. His pick to win it all? Germany, who beat England 4 – 1 yesterday.

Also in the audience was former US President Bill Clinton who was seated next to Rolling Stones front man, Mick Jagger.

Happy Birthday Derek Jeter!

New York Yankee star player Derek Jeter is celebrating his 36th birthday today!

Fun Fact About Derek: His love life has been followed by celebrity tabloids since his rookie season with the Yankees in 1996. Derek has been linked to pop singer Mariah Carey, actresses Jordana Brewster and Jessica Biel. He dated television personality Vanessa Minillo off and on for three years. He is currently dating Friday Night Lights television actress Minka Kelly.

Derek is very close to teammate, Yankee catcher Jorge Posada. Derek served as best man at Jorge’s wedding.

Derek has appeared in national advertisements for Nike, Gatorade, Fleet Bank, VISA, Florsheim, Gillette Fusion, Skippy, Ford and XM Satellite Radio.

He has an apartment at the Trump World Tower in Manhattan and also has homes in Marlboro, New Jersey, Greenwood Lake, New York and the Davis Islands neighborhood of Tampa, Florida.

Happy Birthday Derek!

The Best Girl Fight We’ve Ever Seen

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Last night on Bellator 23, which is an MMA promotion, the most notable fight was between two women MMA fighters. Zoila Frausto knocked out Rosie Sexton in what many have deemed the most devastating knockout in women’s MMA history. Zoila Frausto’s nick name is the “Warrior Princess” because she says she is a princess when she’s not in the ring. She said the second she steps into the ring, however, she’s a warrior. She lived up to her nick name, and we like that she gave “hitting like a girl” a new meaning!

An interesting fact about Rosie Sexton: she earned her PhD in Theoretical Computer Science at Manchester University. Wow! Talk about girl power.