Queen of Sports

Happy Birthday Hank Baskett!

Happy 28th Birthday to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett!

Fun Facts About Hank: He was born in Clovis, New Mexico. His father, Henry Jr., worked for the Air Force before becoming director of a social service program, and his mother Judy, works as a financial officer at Cannon Air Force Base.

After dating for six months, Hank proposed to girlfriend, Playboy model Kendra Wilkinson at the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. The pair tied the knot on June 27, 2009 at the Playboy mansion. On December 11, 2009, Kendra gave birth to the couples first child, Hank Baskett IV.

Hank co-stars in a spinoff of The Girls Next Door, titled Kendra, which focuses on his wife’s life after leaving the Playboy Mansion and getting engaged to him. The show premiered on June 7, 2009, and had record breaking numbers for E! with 2.6 million viewers.

Happy Birthday Hank!

Happy Birthday Jennie Finch!

USA softball pitching princess Jennie Finch is celebrating her 30th birthday today!

Fun Facts About Jennie: She won an Olympic gold medal in Athens in 2004 and followed up with a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Time Magazine named her the most famous softball player in history.

On July 20, 2010 Finch officially announced her retirement from softball to focus on her family. Jennie married MLB pitcher Casey Daigle on January 15, 2005. Casey proposed to Jennie on the softball field at the University of Arizona, her Alma Mater. In an interview, Jennie said about the proposal, “He blindfolded me and took me to the mound and said, ‘You have been the queen of the diamond for four years. Now I want you to be the queen of my heart.’ ”

Casey and Jennie have a son, named Ace who was born on May 4, 2006.

Happy Birthday Jennie!

Happy Birthday Shaun White!

The Flying Tomato, Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White is celebrating his 24th birthday today!

Fun Facts About Shaun: This two-time Olympic gold medalist was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect for which he endured two open-heart operations before the age of one.

Shaun has had endorsement deals since he was seven years old. Corporate endorsement deals include Burton Snowboards,Oakley, Inc., Birdhouse Skateboards, Park City Mountain Resort, Target Corp., Ubisoft, Adio, Hewlett-Packard and Red Bull. In fact, in 2009, Red Bull built Shaun his very own secret halfpipe made out of natural snow in Colorado so he could prep for the 2010 winter Olympics.

In 2007, Shaun appeared on the E! reality television show, Girls Next Door and was shown teaching Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt how to snowboard. Check out a clip from the show:

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Happy Birthday Shaun! Hope it’s a good one!

Happy Birthday Jason Taylor!

Wishing New York Jets linebacker Jason Taylor a very happy birthday!

Fun Facts About Jason: While at the University of Akron, Jason was a starter for both the football and basketball teams.

He married the sister of his former teammate Zach Thomas. Jason and Katina filed for divorce in 2006 but were able to reconcile. The couple ave three children together, sons Isaiah and Mason, and daughter Zoey. In 2004 Taylor and his wife Katina founded the Jason Taylor Foundation with the goal of improving the lives of children in South Florida.

Taylor has been widely recognized for his charitable work. In addition to winning the 2007 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, he has been named twice as one of Sporting News “Good Guys” and was honored by CBS Sports’ James Brown with a JB Award, given annually to NFL players who have demonstrated a commitment to building better communities and stronger families.

Jason was a contestant on the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars where he placed second. Check out his performance set to the theme song of Monday Night Football:

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Happy Birthday Jason!

Athlete Sighting: Alex Rodriguez

Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez and his rumored girlfriend Cameron Diaz were spotted having a romantic dinner at The Lioin in New York City last night. The couple was celebrating the actress’ 38th birthday. Although the couple was coy and left the restaurant separately, they later met up at A-Rod’s NYC bachelor pad.

Happy Birthday Larry Fitzgerald!

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is celebrating his 27th birthday today!

Fun Facts About Larry: Larry’s father, Larry Fitzgerald Sr., is a sportswriter for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. It is believed that when he covered Super Bowl XLIII he was the first reporter to cover his own son in a Super Bowl.

In 2005, Larry was on the cover of the EA Sports video game NCAA Football 2005. Larry was one of two players who graced the cover of Madden 2010. He is one of only two football players to be on two different covers of the EA Sports American Football games.

In January 2010, Fitzgerald appeared in a television commercial saying that he was completing his college degree at the University of Phoenix while playing football with the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

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Happy Birthday Larry!

Happy Birthday Andy Roddick!

One of our favorite tennis players, Andy Roddick is celebrating his 28th birthday today! Andy is currently in Flushing Meadows for the U.S. Open.

Fun Facts About Andy: He was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was a business man and his mother a school teacher. His mom is currently in charge of the Andy Roddick Foundation.

Andy was flipping through a Sports Illustrated swimsuit magazine when he first spotted his future wife, Brooklyn Decker. The pair began dating in 2007, became engaged in 2008 and married in Austin in April of 2009. Before Brooklyn, Andy dated actress/singer Mandy Moore.

Andy hosted Saturday Night Live on November 8, 2003, becoming the second professional tennis player to host (Chris Evert being the first). He also appeared on the television shows Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and The Weakest Link.

We are going to leave you with one of our favorite Andy videos, check it out:

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Wishing you a very Happy Birthday Andy!!!

Happy Birthday Scott Hamilton

American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton turns 53 years old today! We remember being glued to the television when he skated waiting for his infamous back flips on ice!

Fun Facts About Scott: He won a gold medal in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.

Scott has dabbled in movie and television industry lending his voice to an episode of King of the Hill and making a cameo on The Fairly OddParents. In 2009, he was a contestant on the Donald Trump reality show, Celebrity Apprentice and also made a brief appearance in the Will Ferrell comedy Blades of Glory. On March 8, 2010, Scott Hamilton: Return to the Ice premiered on the Bio Channel. The two-hour television special chronicled Scott’s return to skating after battling cancer.

In 2009, Scott wrote the book, The Great Eight, which shared the secrets to his happiness and how he overcame numerous challenges and disappointments throughout his life.

On it’s 10th anniversary, the Make-A-Wish Foundation recognized Scott as the Foundation’s first ever “Celebrity Wish Granter of the Year.” Scott is an honorary board member for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and has worked with St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Check out Scott’s back flip on ice at the 2:36 mark:

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Happy Birthday Scott!

Happy 21st Birthday James Harden!

Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden turns 21 years old today!

Fun Facts About James: He was born in Los Angeles, California and went to Arizona State University. He was drafted 3rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.

James was spotted celebrating his birthday at Hollywood rooftop hot spot Drais at the W Hotel on Sunset Boulevard on Wednesday night.

Happy Birthday James!

Phillies Pitcher Kyle Kendricks Birthday Bash!

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Kendricks celebrated his 26th birthday with friends and family last weekend at Gigi Restaurant and Lounge in Philadelphia.

Celebrating with Kyle was his fiancee, Stephanie LaGrossa, a former contestant on the hit reality television show, Survivor. Kyle proposed to Stephanie during the MLB All-Star break when the two were in Atlantic City. Rumor has it the couple plans to wed this November.

Kyle’s teammates Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins (with wife Johari) and Roy Halladay (with wife Brandy) attended the birthday bash.

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Photo: WENN