Queen of Sports

The Best Pitcher In Little League Is A Girl!

Chelsea Baker is a 13-year-old girl from Florida, with long brown hair and stylish glasses.  She looks like your average pre-teen. But Chelsea is different from most girls her age. For starters, she’s the only girl in a baseball league that is all boys. But all the teasing she gets quickly disappears when she strikes out a boy. And she’s struck out a lot of boys, in fact she has pitched two perfect games and has a 12-0 record this season and her team has never lost a game that she pitched. For these reasons, she’s being called the best pitcher in the state, if not the country.

Her story is even more inspiring than the fact that she’s the only girl among boys, however. She was taught to pitch by a 22-year MLB veteran, Joe Niekro. He taught her how to pitch a “knuckleball” and it’s become her secret weapon after years of practicing it. He passed away in 2006, but would be proud of Chelsea and how far she’s come with what he taught her. Chelsea Baker is gaining more media attention and with it the message that girls should not have barriers set up for them in sports will hopefully inspire more young girls to try their hardest.

Shaq Serenades Justin Beiber

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Justin Beiber was doing a soundcheck before his show in Phoenix when Shaquille O’Neal surprised him by showing up. Someone gave him a microphone, and after Justin sang “You’re too old for this, you shouldn’t be here. Just kidding.” Shaq responds by serenading Beiber, telling him he’s his biggest fan. Hmmm…we’re not sure if he means he’s his tallest fan, or he really has Beiber fever.

Carmelo Anthony and LaLa’s Honeymoon In Costa Rica

After their wedding in New York a couple weeks ago, Carmelo Anthony and his wife LaLa went on their honeymoon. They chose Costa Rica, where they went fishing, ziplining, and relaxed. LaLa posted some photos on her website, and also said the food in Costa Rica was “INCREDIBLE.” We would have liked more details, especially on the food, but these pictures will do for now. It looks so beautiful and green there!

Photos: IAmLaLa.com

Dodgers To Host An 80′s Theme Night

On August 6th, The Washington Nationals are coming to Dodger Stadium, as will thousands of fans dressed in 80′s gear. The theme night is part of a promotion that includes a giveaway to the first 20,000 fans. The giveaway is a poster made to look like a movie poster, with Matt Kemp dressed like Michael Jackson and the words “King of Swing” at the bottom. Ironically, the Dodgers will take on rookie pitcher Stephan Strasburg on 80′s night, but Strasburg might be a little confused about some of the styles because he only lived through 3 years of the 80′s, being born in 1988. Go to Dodgers.com to buy your tickets!

Ron Artest Takes Over ESPN Magazine

August’s issue of ESPN Magazine is different from any other issue to have hit shelves in recent months. That’s because Ron Artest presided as guest editor of the “Revenge of the Jock” issue. Ron Artest has really been keeping himself busy with all sorts of endeavors, and this one proved to be a challenge for him. He posted a picture of the issue on his new website, RonArtest.com, with the headline: “ESPN Guest Editor Ron Artest My Toughest Interview.” The cover of the issue reads: “Guest Editor Ron Artest My Toughest Interview Yet: Me!” The magazine features stories like “Under the Dome” which has Artest delving a little deeper into his own head by interviewing himself. He also participated in meetings with staffers, photo shoots, and interviews for the issue.

Photo: RonArtest.com

MLS All-Star Game: Manchester United Wins 5-2

Last night Reliant Stadium in Houston hosted a record-breaking crowd in attendance to watch the 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star game. 70,728 fans came out to watch MLS All-Stars take on Manchester United. Only 24 seconds into the game Manchester United’s Red Devils had already scored a goal. Bruce Arena of the LA Galaxy served as the All-Star coach and said, “I think going into this game there certainly were a number of advantages that Manchester United had. And they showed that. They’re a quality team, an experienced team.” Javier “El Chicharito” Hernandez made his debut with the Red Devils and was a fan favorite after his performance playing for his native Mexico in the World Cup. Brian Ching, who plays for the Dynamo was the other fan favorite in his hometown of Houston, especially after he made the goal that cut the Red Devil’s lead. Landon Donovan made an appearance later in the game for the All-Stars. In the end, the Red Devil’s came out on top, with a score of 5-2.

Athlete Sighting: Pau Gasol And Girlfriend In Spain

Pau Gasol and his girlfriend, Silvia Lopez, were spotted going out to lunch in Barcelona. Pau is such a gentleman, he opened the car door for her after the two locked lips. The paparazzi caught them making out in the midst of eating french fries at a restaurant in Barcelona. Lopez is a cheerleader, and the two met when she was cheering for his former club, FC Barcelona. They are both from Catalonia, Spain. What a cute couple. Where’s the ring, Pau?

Photo: Splash News

Betty Boop Becomes The UFL’s Official Mascot

The United Football League is an independent professional football league that fills in the gaps for cities who don’t have NFL teams. Players who have previous played for the NFL, or who didn’t make the cut in training camp typically make up the players. There are currently five franchises in the UFL, with the Las Vegas Locomotives being the defending champions. Other teams include the Florida Tuskers out of Orlando, the Hartford Colonials, the Omaha Nighthawks, and the Sacramento Mountain Lions.

A partnership between the UFL and Betty Boop will make the iconic character the ‘Official Fantasy Cheerleader of the UFL.’ Betty Boop will appear on team merchandise, and a Betty Boop mascot will make her rounds at all games and events. The league is hoping to bring some excitement to the stadiums with the mascot’s presence, as well as making an entrance into pop culture with the character’s new association with the league.

Freddie Couples’ Ecco Endorsement Sets New Records For The Shoe Company

Ecco is a conservative Danish shoe company that makes innovative and comfortable shoes. When they made a spikeless golf shoe, a hybrid product that looked like a street shoe, they didn’t expect it to sell incredibly well. The history of golf shoe sales has never favored such products. With that in mind, they projected sales for the shoe to be a meager 2,000 pairs in 2010. That is about the amount one Nordstrom chain location would buy in Converse All-Stars per month, just to put things in perspective.

Then Freddie Couples entered the picture. His endorsement with the company let him pick whatever shoes he chose for tournaments. He picked a few pairs of the spikeless Golf Street shoe, and went on to win three tournaments in a row leading up to the Masters. Then he played the Masters in Augusta and wore the spikeless shoes again, this time proving they were capable of withstanding the elements. From that point on, the shoe broke records, becoming the biggest selling golf shoe in the company’s history. Those 2,000 pairs have turned into 26,000 pairs that are set to hit stores this month, with another 55,000 expected to hit stores in the fall. Now Ecco has Freddie Couples’ endorsement to thank, but then again a good product doesn’t continue to sell unless it really is quality.

Photo: Ecco

Amare Stoudemire Learns of Jewish Roots; Makes A Trip To The Holy Land

Amare Stoudemire, the 27-year old power forward who just signed with the Knicks this summer, just found out after all these years that his mother is Jewish. He has decided to embrace it and learn more about the religion, by taking a trip to Israel to learn Hebrew. He’s currently in Jerusalem and said he’s already learning Hebrew. He’s been tweeting about the trip, saying “On the flight to Israel. This is going to be a great trip. The holy land. Learn about it. This is ze ha’halom sheli. Shalom.” ‘Ze ha’halom sheli’ means ‘this is my dream’ in Hebrew. Word has spread fast in Israel where they are already lobbying to for him to play on their national team. Nesi’ah tovah, Amare!