Queen of Sports

Baylor’s Ladies Beat Notre Dame; End With Perfect Record

The Baylor Bears not only won the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, they did so ending their season with a perfect 40-0 record. The Bears beat Notre Dame 80-61 last night, taking care of some “unfinished business” the team says helped motivate them. The team became the first in NCAA Division I history to end the season undefeated.

Junior Brittney Griner cut down the net. She was dominant in leading the team to their title. Next year, Griner will return along with the team’s other four starters. They’re already taking about a repeat next year.

Ratings for the championship game were up 13%  from last year’s Texas A&M-Notre Dame game.

University of Kentucky Wins NCAA Championship

The University of Kentucky Wildcats beat out Kansas last night 67-59, winning the school’s first national basketball title since 1998.

The team was able to give Coach Jon Calipari his first title after four Final Four trips with three different schools.

Leading the pack was sophomore Doron Lamb, with 22 points and back-to-back 3-pointers that helped the team secure its lead in the dicey end of the game. Lamb is a likely first-round-draft prospective, along with teammate Anthony Davis who is expected to be the No. 1 draft pick in the 2012 draft.

President Obama was off on his bracket; he had North Carolina picked to win it all. How did you do with your bracket?

NBA Stars Raising Funds And Awareness For St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital

NBA Cares ambassadors, including Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade will be hitting the court this week shooting hoops not only for their teams but for a worthy cause. Hoops for St. Jude week, which began yesterday, involves NBA players and teams raising awareness about the fight against childhood cancer.

Ambassadors began helping raise awareness about the program prior to this week, and fans can get involved by donating and bidding on an auction online.

“By supporting Hoops for St. Jude fans can help the doctors and scientists continue their lifesaving research and treatment,” said Pau Gasol, who has a background in the medical field. “A donation to St. Jude means not only saving one child’s life, but thousands of children’s lives around the world.”

Programs such as Hoops for St. Jude are crucial for the research hospital. More than 75 percent of the hospital’s $1.7 million-a-day cost  to operate comes from funds obtained through public programs.

To donate or find out more, visit St.Jude.org/Hoops.

Photo: PRNewsFoto/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

LeBron James Battling Britney Spears In Bowling Hall Of Fame Induction Competition

LeBron James. Britney Spears. Bowling. It seems unlikely the two celebrities would have anything to do with each other, let alone with bowling in the mix. However, a campaign by the Bowler’s Proprietor’s Association of America to make the sport of bowling the number one participatory sport in the country has gathered a number of celebrities to face off for the honor of induction into the Celebrity Bowling Hall of Fame.

LeBron and Britney are part of this week’s match-up, both vying for votes to advance in the contest. James made his way into the running, beating out Tim Tebow in votes. Britney Spears beat out fellow musician Drake to advance.

Incentives are given in the form of bowling coupons to those who vote. You can vote here at GoBowling.com.

Annie Leibovitz Captures The Anthony Family For Vogue

The latest issue of Vogue now on shelves features New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony‘s wife La La Anthony discussing “love and basketball.” For the feature, Annie Leibovitz photographed a very glam Anthony family, with La La certainly the focal point.

Vogue writer Robert Sullivan meets up with La La as she’s filming her Vh1 reality show, La La’s Full Court Life. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the day, we learn that La La is spending the day promoting her new line of mineral makeup, Motives by La La. We all know her story, a hardworking girl from Brooklyn who gained her own acclaim first on MTV, but Sullivan brings out the realities of her life not necessarily portrayed on her reality show.

La La and Carmelo are both always on the move. While come couples might struggle with the disconnection, the Anthonys make it work.  Carmelo sees it as a benefit to their marriage. “We’ve been together for eight years, and we’ve kind of made it work,” he reflects. “I have my things, and she has hers. I mean, it would be bad if only one of us had things going on.” She sees the positive side, too, “When you go away, you know, you get to miss ’em,” she says. “So then you really don’t get tired of somebody.”

You can read the whole feature here.

Photo: Annie Leibovitz for Vogue

Tebowmania Headed To The Home Of Linsanity

The New York Jets have acquired quarterback Tim Tebow, a day after the Broncos made the player obsolete with their signing of veteran QB Peyton Manning.

The news has been confirmed on the team’s website, but the terms of the deal have not yet been revealed. We do hear the team obtained Tebow in exchange for the Broncos’ seventh-round pick for a fourth- and sixth-round choice.

Tebow will likely be coming off the bench for Mark Sanchez, who just signed a three-year extension with the team.

We can’t help but wonder how Tebow, a devout Christian, will feel about all the foul language coach Rex Ryan likely uses in the locker room and on the field.

In other New York sports news: Linsanity is heating back up. The Knicks are putting together a run for the playoffs under new coach Mike Woodson. The team has won four straight games under the new leader.

Shoutout to TerezOwens who provided the “first look at Tebow in a Jets uniform.” He’s also already spotted some Tebow fans in New York!

Photo: TerezOwens.com

Athlete QOTD: LeBron James

During last night’s game in Miami against the Phoenix Suns, the Heat stayed up, winning 99-95. A scary collision during the last minute of the game, however, between LeBron James and Grant Hill had Heat fans holding their breathe while James remained on the floor for a couple minutes.

During a postgame news conference, James was asked if he’s ever had a concussion before.

“No,” he responded. “I’m too tough for that.”

Then he walked away.

You can watch a video of the collision here.

Luke Walton And Derek Fisher Leave The Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers made some mid-season changes to their roster this week.

Luke Walton, who had spent his entire career with the Lakers, was relocated, along with  Jason Kapono, to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In exchange, the Lakers obtained Ramon Sessions, Christian Eyenga, and a 2012 first-round draft pick.

Less pleasing news for Lakers fans was word that veteran Derek Fisher was traded to Houston in exchange for a a 2012 first-round draft pick and Jordan Hill.

Fisher, at 37 years old, was slowing down but always seemed to be the clutch shooter in times of need. What do you think about the new Lakers line-up?

Mike D’Antoni Abruptly Resigns As Knicks Head Coach

On the heels of an eight-game losing streak, New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni has abruptly resigned today, according to a source who has requested anonymity until an official statement has been made.

The Knicks were hot while star Carmelo Anthony was injured and Jeremy Lin spurred a winning streak, however after Anthony’s return to the game, the Knicks began to spiral downward. Rumors swirled about Anthony wanting to be traded, but his agent said today he did not want out of New York and was not seeking a trade.

The Knicks are currently 18-24, tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the eight and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The team will have to find a replacement for D’Antoni.

President Obama Explains His NCAA Tournament Bracket

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President Obama explained his NCAA tournament bracket to ESPN’s Andy Katz. He has North Carolina slated to win it all, but points out that last year his first round was great and it was “all down hill from there.”

Have you done your brackets? Who do you have slated to win it all?