Queen of Sports

Obama: “It’s Tough To Say No To Mark Cuban”

Reigning NBA Champions, the Dallas Mavericks visited the White House on Tuesday. The team was met by a both praising and joking President Obama. Obama praised the team, calling their win a “great victory” and said, “It’s too bad that next year, it’ll be the Chicago Bulls here.”

Typically, the championship team meets the President when the team plays in Washington, D.C. however with the lockout shortening the season, the Mavericks aren’t scheduled to play the Wizards. Mavs owner Mark Cuban insisted his team get a meeting with the President. Obama joked, “It’s tough to say no to Mark Cuban.”

Photo: Twitter

Preliminary Team USA Basketball Team Announced

A dozen players will be sent to London this summer to represent the USA in basketball. The preliminary roster of 19 players has just been announced. Here is the list:

Guards: Chauncey Billups, Kobe Bryant, Eric Gordon, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook, and Deron Williams.

Forwards: LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala, LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Lamar Odom.

Centers: Tyson Chandler, Dwight Howard.

Seven players will eventually get trimmed from the list. Team USA camp begins July 5 in Las Vegas.

Celebrity Sighting: Rihanna Sits Court-side At Lakers Game

Pop star Rihanna was at Staples Center last night, sitting court-side with her assistant as the Los Angeles Lakers played the Memphis Grizzlies.

Rihanna was wearing an American flag t-shirt with a pair of super-short shorts and sky-high Louboutins. Her court-side appearance didn’t distract the Lakers, who beat the Grizzlies. Matt Barnes, who is single after announcing his split from Basketball Wives star Gloria Govan in October, tweeted after their win, “@Rihanna thx for coming to the game 2nite, u MIGHT be good luck!!! Hahaa”

Photo: London Entertainment ./ Splash

New Nike Kobe System Spot

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Kobe Bryant introduced the Kobe System last month, Nike Basketball’s latest ad campaign which capitalizes on the “system” concept of Kobe’s latest signature sneaker. The sneaker becomes a formula for success and that formula is hilariously pitched like a Tony Robbins motivational speech.

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The latest ad features Aziz Ansari, Kanye West, Hope Solo, Landon Donovan, Jerry Rice, Serena Williams, Paul Rodriguez, Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, and Leehom Wang all promoting the Kobe System.

Delonte West Banned From The White House

As the current NBA Champions, the Dallas Mavericks were invited to visit the White House today to be honored by President Obama. One member of the team, however, will not be present: Delonte West.

West is not allowed to visit the President’s home because he is still on probation following weapons charges he pleaded guilty to in 2010. “That’s what happens when you make bad decisions in your life. You can’t go to the White House,” said West.

West, who was born in D.C., wasn’t too upset about being left out of the trip, however. He said, “I’ve been there 100 times in my lifetime. I live right around the corner.”

Charles Barkley As Shaquille O’Neal On SNL

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Charles Barkley appeared on Saturday Night Live this weekend, playing in a skit of Inside the NBA on TNT as Shaquille O’Neal. Kenan Thompson played Barkley and Bill Hader did a hilarious impersonation of Ernie Johnson Jr.

Dirk Nowitzki Does Dramatic Reading Of Britney Spears Classic

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Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki may be from Germany, but his command of the English language is not lacking. He showcases his reading skills in a dramatic reading of the Britney Spears classic pop hit “Oops I Did It Again.”

Charlotte Observer Makes Embarrassing Typo About Baron Davis

A typo printed in the Charlotte Observer made a few readers chuckle, including Baron Davis who bore the brunt of the embarrassing mistake.

The New York Knicks, who Davis now plays for, played the Charlotte Hornets last night. The Charlotte Observer made note of an injury which kept Davis out of the game. His “herniated disc” was edited to read “herniated disk” but something went awry and it was spelled a little wrong without correction before being sent to the typesetter.

Davis wrote on his Twitter, “Excuse the person from the Observer who made a Typo. . My Goldmember is not herinated.” Davis proved he isn’t immune to impeccable spelling as he himself spelled “herniated” wrong.

Voting For 2012 NBA All-Stars Underway

The 2012 NBA All-Star game will be played in Orlando next month, on February 26.

Voting by fans on-line is now underway. There are four ways to vote: at NBA.com, through the Sprint Mobile app, from your mobile device at m.nba.com, and by texting the last name of the player you want to vote for to 69622.

Fans who vote will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a trip to the All-Star game, NBA tickets, and other prizes.

Deron Williams Welcomed To The Red Bull Family In Style

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New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams was thrown a party to welcome him into the Red Bull family. As the latest athlete to endorse the energy drink, Williams was thrown an extravagant party in New York City.  He was scheduled to arrive on helicopter, but high winds prevented that from happening and he instead took a “Military Extreme Vehicle” from Prudential Center to Manhattan. The party was attended by guests like rapper Jim Jones and Prodigy of Mobb Deep.