Queen of Sports

New England Patriots Host Cook-Off For 2010 Tailgate Recipe

Three New Englanders will compete for the winning 2010 tailgate recipe in Ocean Spray’s 2nd Annual Tailgating Recipe Contest on October 2nd at Gillette Stadium. Chef Ming Tsai, host of Simply Ming, and Patriots Hall of Famer Steve Grogan will be on hand to announce the winner and judge the dishes. The cook-off is a part of Ocean Spray’s Fall Harvest Weekend at Patriot Place, with events like pumpkin carving, a farmers market, and hayrides. The Fall Harvest events are free and open to the public. The winner can claim the title of “Official Tailgate Recipe of the New England Patriots” for their dish.

Washington D.C. Teams Pair Up With Coca-Cola To Fight Childhood Obesity

A company that seems an ironic sponsor to fight childhood obesity considering its contribution to the issue is Coca-Cola. Nevertheless, the Coca-Cola Company has teamed up with the Washington Capitals, Mystics, Nationals, Redskins, and Wizards to take part in educating youth on the importance of physical activity and a balanced diet. The initiative, titled “Live Positively: Get the Ball Rolling” will promote physical activity for youth by providing fitness clinics instructed by staff and professional athletes from the various Washington D.C. teams. Washington Nationals’ vice chairman and principal owner Mark D. Lerner said, “Our athletes serve as role models to our kids, and we understand the importance of inspiring kids to lead active and healthy lifestyles. We are thrilled to partner with Coca-Cola and the other Washington sports teams to encourage kids and families to be active and healthy here in our nation’s capital.”

U.S. Ryder Cup Team Designating $2.6 Million To Charities And Youth

The U.S. is partaking in their 38th Ryder Cup this weekend in Wales, hoping to add another win to their record of 25 wins, 10 losses, and 2 ties. Whether or not they are victorious, they will be making a big difference in the lives of many Americans. Team Captain Corey Pavin and each U.S. team member will be donating $100,000 to the charity or charities of their choice, $50,000 to the college/university of their choice, and $50,000 to the Ryder Cup Junior Golf Academy. The Ryder Cup Junior Golf Academy is a new prospect, set to launch in the summer of 2011 for aspiring young golfers who would not otherwise receive PGA-level instruction. The college and university donations are a part of Play Golf America University, a PGA of America college and university golf program which provides PGA instruction to students. Some of the charities receiving donations include the Tiger Woods Foundation, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Alzheimers Association, and the American Junior Golf Association.

Photo: THE PGA OF AMERICA/PR NEWSWIRE

Seattle Seahawks Let Fans In On New Beneficial Marketing

Marketing is a huge part of the business of sports. It is also a way to give fans a little incentive to either go to games, or follow a team. By cross-marketing between sports teams and various companies, fans get a payback while th teams gain a following and the companies can advertise in hopes of gaining revenue. In the case of the Seattle Seahawks, or the “Freehawks” as CNBC’s sports business reporter Darren Rovell called them, sponsor redemptions were used in abundance after Sunday’s win against the San Diego Chargers. Sunday’s game was just an example of how Seahawks fans can benefit all season long.

Seattle Seahawk’s marketing sponsors are now attaching giveaways to game statistics, a higher yield marketing giveaway than familiar sports promotions such as free tacos from Jack-In-The-Box when the Lakers hold their opponent to under 100 points in a game. Fans who were at the Seahawks game can show their ticket at a local 7-Eleven and, because the team scored a touchdown in the red zone, receive a free small Slurpee and 3.5 oz. bag of Oberto beef jerky. Papa John’s is offering fans a large cheese pizza with a free topping for $9 for every Seahawk touchdown this season. Every time the Seahawks win, Papa John’s is doubling the number of free toppings. The list goes on: when the Seahawks get 3 sacks, fans get 1 free Jumbo Jack from Jack-In-The-Box, Top Pot doughnuts is giving away a free doughnut to every fan in attendance if the Seahawks get a 100 yard receiver, or a free coffee if they get a 100 yard rusher. Any Seahawks fan, whether they attended or not, can receive a free short stack of pancakes from IHOP every time the team scores 21 points or more, by printing out a coupon on-line. With all these incentives, it gives fans even more reason to watch the game so they can tally up their freebies, while sponsors are getting their name and product out there. It really is a win-win for all parties.

Happy Birthday Kevin Durant!

One of our favorite NBA player, Kevin Durant is celebrating his 22nd birthday today!

Fun Facts About Kevin: He was born in Washington, DC to Wanda and Wayne Pratt, he has one sister Brianna and two brothers Tony and Rayvonne.

Kevin signed his first professional endorsement deal with Upper Deck in May 2007. He was the number 2 overall draft pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. The team has since relocated to Oklahoma City.

Kevin and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley grew up together having a close friendship and remain best friends.

He was named the cover athlete for NBA Elite ’11, he previously appeared on the cover of NCAA March Madness 08.

Kevin is a spokesperson for the Washington D.C. branch of P’Tones Records, a nationwide non-profit after school music program.

Happy Birthday Kevin!

Dez Bryant Treats Teammates To $54K Dinner

You might remember back in training camp when Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dex Bryant refused to carry veteran Roy Williams shoulder pads, well, Roy definitely took advantage of an opportunity to get him back!

On Monday night, Dez took his fellow offensive teammates to dinner at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse but Roy decided to invite the defensive players as well.

The final tally of the bill came to: $54,896.

“They got the young fella,” said Dez’s adviser David Wells. “What could he say? He had to pay it unless he wanted to wash dishes for a month.”

Players ordered basically everything on the menu and even took home bottles of wine.

Picking up those shoulder pads is lookin’ real good right about now!

Fifth Third Burger To Be Featured On Food Network’s “Unwrapped”

The Western Michigan Whitecaps made waves in April 2009 when they announced a new menu item, the Fifth Third Burger.

The famous giant hamburger served at Fifth Third Ballpark, home of the Whitecaps, will be featured on an upcoming episode of the Food Network’s “Unwrapped” with host Marc Summers. The episode will be taped at the ballpark this Friday at 7pm.

The Fifth Third Burger, which weighs almost 5 pounds and has 4,889 calories and 299.5 fat grams.The burger consists of an 8-inch sesame seed bun that requires 1 pound of dough, nearly a cup of chili, five one-third pound hamburger patties, five slices of American cheese and a liberal doses of salsa, nacho cheese and Fritos. It’s topped off with lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Jalapenos are optional.

Since the launch of the burger, 3,253 (1,939 in 2009 and 1,314 this year) have been sold and 761 people have attempted the Fifth Third Burger Challenge. A total of 483 have won the challenge and earned commemorative “I Did It” T-shirts.

Photo: Western Michigan Whitecaps

Lamar And Khloe’s Anniversary Celebration

We told you yesterday that Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom and reality TV princess Khloe Kardashian were celebrating their one-year anniversary. Well now we have some fun details from the day!

Check out this cute personalized jumpsuit that Lamar gave Khloe:

But the real surprise came when Khloe was blindfolded and brought to the Beverly Hills estate where the two were married last year. The couple renewed their vows in an intimate ceremony with friends and family.

Congratulations you two! Wishing you many more years of happiness.

Photos: Twitter

Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Bid

Check this video highlighting the five proposed stadiums for Qatar’s 2022 bid for the World Cup.

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Those stadiums look pretty amazing!

Qatar, also known as the State of Qatar is an Arab country known officially as an emirate, in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the country, followed closely by cricket.

Last weekend, FIFA’s technical team performed three days worth of inspections to determine if Qatar is a viable country to host the 2022 World Cup. After the analysis was complete, head of FIFA’s inspection team Harold Mayne-Nicholls said “from an organizational point of view, Qatar has the potential to host the FIFA World Cup. But, it would pose a number of logistical challenges. So far we have only had one tournament so compact as this — and that was the very first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930, with 10 teams in two stadiums. That was 80 years ago and the scope of the competition has changed dramatically. There are 32 teams, 80,000 people [in the FIFA delegation, teams, media, etc.], plus hundreds of thousands more. Currently, Qatar hasn’t got enough transport or hotels.”

But Qatar’s CEO of the bid tried to use the country’s compact size to their advantage, boasting that fans would be able to attend two games a day rather than having to travel long distances between stadiums.

Other countries competing for the 2022 bid include South Korea, the USA, Japan and Australia.

Evan Longoria And David Price Calls Attendance “Embarrassing”

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (pictured above) and pitcher David Price spoke out about the lack of attendance at their recent games. On Monday night, 13,000 fans were at Tropicana Field when the Rays had a chance to clinch a playoff berth.

“You’d pretty much like to think that a team in a playoff hunt, with an opportunity to clinch, that you could at least get 30,000 in here to cheer you on,” Evan said. “We play 155 games of really good baseball, and it’s kind of like, what else do we have to do to get fans into this place? I mean, it’s actually embarrassing to us.”

Monday’s crowd was the fourth smallest of the year. The Rays entered Monday’s game with the best record in the league with a half-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. Had they won or had the Red Sox lost at Chicago, they would have clinched at least the wild-card berth. But the Rays came up short in a loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

“It’s disheartening,” Evan said. “It’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a long time. It’s not a jab at the fans. It’s not a kick below the belt, but it’s something we’d like to see. Obviously we want to bring a championship to Tampa. We’d like more than 12-to-15,000 to know about it.”

David posted on his Twitter account “Had a chance to clinch a post season spot tonight with about 10,000 fans in the stands … embarrassing.” He later followed up with this tweet, “If I offended anyone I apologize I did not think it was gonna turn into this ….”

So what do you guys think, is it ok for these players to call out the fans? They’ve received quite a media backlash for these comments. Let us know your thoughts!

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Photo: PR Photos