Queen of Sports

Tour de France Cyclists Participating in Patrick Dempsey Fundraiser

Patrick Dempsey, who plays Dr. Derek Shepherd on “Grey’s Anatomy”, is hosting the Dempsey Challenge to raise money for the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer, Hope & Healing at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. The Challenge takes place October 2nd and 3rd and will feature non-competitive cycling, running, and walking events. Eight-time Tour de France competitor Levi Leipheimer has just signed on to take the challenge, along with this year’s top Tour de France finisher Chris Horner and five-time Olympian George Hincapie. Patrick Dempsey himself plans to cycle the 50-mile course, as well.

Bike Bought For $5 Belonged To Floyd Landis

Greg Estes of Kentucky bought a bike at a yard sale for $5. It turns out the bike belonged to the 2006 Tour de France victor who had his title stripped after admitting to doping, Floyd Landis. The previous owner had found the bike abandoned on an interstate and thought it was broken. But after Estes took it to some bike shops, he soon found out the custom high-tech pedals were custom made for Landis and that the bike is worth about $8,000. Not bad for a yard sale find.

Sports Date Of The Week And Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Queen of Sports follower Frenchie who won our Sports Date of the Week Contest!

Here is the winning date and this weeks Sports Date of the Week:

Take a bike ride with your beau and bring a picnic full of French items! We would suggest, bread and cheese (brie would be our choice) along with a bottle of French wine, a nice bottle of Bordeaux! Take it one step further and download some romantic french music and you’ve got yourself one romantic date.

You can also do some research and see if any local bars are showing portions of the Tour de France and ride your bikes there!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our contest! Make sure to enter our Miami Heat nickname contest for another opportunity to win a vuvuzela from South Africa!

Lance Armstrong Caught In Three Crashes!

Previous Tour de France champion, cyclist Lance Armstrong ended up involved in three crashes during Sunday’s stage.  Lance banged up his hip during the first crash and was unable to keep up during the climb through the Alps.

“My Tour is finished,” said Lance, who finished 39th for the heat. “No tears from me. I’ve had a lot of years here where it’s been very different, so I’m not going to dwell on today.”

Lance also took to his Twitter, saying “When it rains it pours I guess Today was not my day, needless to say. Quite banged but gonna hang in here and enjoy my last 2 weeks.”

Lance will continue on with the course and will work on earning wins during the various stages.

“Obviously the Tour’s finished for me, but I can try and win stages, try and help the team,” added Armstrong. I’ll “really try and appreciate my time here, and the fact that I’m not coming back.”

Fight At The Tour De France!

A hockey game broke out at today’s stage finish line at the Tour de France and by game, we mean fight. The dual between Spain’s Carlos Barredo and Portugal’s Rui Costa was intense. With a bicycle wheel tossed, helmets thrown and punches landed, the two cyclists were on the ground and had to be separated by those nearby.

Apparently, there is an accusation that Costa elbowed Barredo while passing, nearly knocking him over. Each was fined 400 Swiss francs for causing “injuries and menace” at the end of a race.

Check out the video footage here:

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According to Spanish journalists, Barredo called Costa to apologize for the incident.

Tour de France Has Begun!

The most prestigious cycling competition, the Tour de France began on Saturday July 3rd and will continue until July 25th.

The course the cyclists will cover is approximately 2,200 miles and while it changes every year, the end point is always in Paris with the final stretch is on the Champs-Elysees.

The rider who is in the overall lead will wear a yellow jersey.

American Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times from 1999 – 2005. After his 2005 win, Lance announced his retirement but decided to return to competitive cycling in 2009 and finished third in last years Tour de France.

French cyclist Sylvain Chavanel is currently in the lead with Lance trailing him in fifth.

Photo: Tour de France

Athletes On Forbes Celebrity 100, Tiger Tops Athletes At #5

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey landed the number one spot on Forbes Celebrity 100 list, where they rank the most powerful celebrities.

The only athlete in the top 10 is golfer Tiger Woods who came in at number five, maintaining his ranking from last year. Even though Tiger took a huge hit after infidelities came to light at the end of last year, he remains the world’s highest paid athlete thanks to sponsors like Nike, Electronic Arts and Upper Deck. Nike built their entire golf empire ($650 million) using Tiger.

The second athlete listed on Forbes Celebrity 100 is Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant coming in at 14, falling 4 spots from last years ranking and followed by NBA legend Michael Jordan at 20.

Here are the rest of the athletes rounding out the top 100:

28 LeBron James – he snagged his second consecutive NBA MVP award this season. Will his ranking improve if he signs a deal with a team in a bigger market in Cleveland?

29 Roger Federer – last year was a great year for Roger, reaching the finals in all four Grand Slam tournaments and coming away with wins at the French Open and Wimbledon.

31 Floyd Mayweather – after a 21 month hiatus, Mayweather returned to the ring to big dollars, $25 million for his comeback fight and $40 million for his fight with “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

36 David Beckham – after ripping his Achilles tendon, sidelining him for the 2010 World Cup, he has been lobbying to bring the Cup to London for 2018. He also is working on designing his own underwear line, sexy!

45 Phil Mickelson – Lefty won his third Masters this year and has brought in $59 million worth of prize money over the course of his career, placing him behind Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh.

46 Cristiano Ronaldo – last year Real Madrid paid a record $132 million dollar transfer fee to Manchester United for his rights. He is also sneaking up on David Beckham as the most marketable soccer player.

49 Alex Rodriguez – he will make $33 million dollars playing for the Yankees this year. He helped the organization win their 27th World Series title last fall.

52 Shaquille O’Neal – earned $20 million dollars with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season and will be hard pressed to find that type of deal for the 2010 – 2011 season. Shaq still remains an active pitchman and is working on a couple TV projects.

55 Manny Pacquiao – he is regarded as the best boxer in the sport right now and was elected a member of Congress in the Philippines in May, he spent a reported $7 million on his campaign.

61 Serena Williams – finished the year ranked at number one and earned two Grand Slam titles. She and her sister Venus became minority owners of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins in August.

64 Derek Jeter – is in the last year of his 10-year deal with the Yankees. Everyone excepts the short stop to re-sign with the club but it will be interesting to see the terms of his new deal. Derek remains the baseball’s top endorser earning $9 million annually off the field through endorsements with Ford Motor, Gatorade, Gillette, Nike and others.

65 Lance Armstrong – returned to competitive cycling last year after a three-and-a-half year hiatus where he placed 3rd in the Tour de France, which he has won a record seven times.

81 Maria Sharapova – makes $22 million in endorsement dollars annually with deals with top companies Canon, Prince, Tiffany, Tag Heuer, Land Rover and Nike. She re-signed with Nike in January and will now earn royalties from her own tennis line.

83 Venus Williams – ranked number two right behind her sister, Venus has continued to pursue passions off the court. She co-authored a book, Come to Win that will be released next month. She interviewed people who played sports in their youth who went on to have successful non-sports careers including Meg Whitman, Vera Wang and Jack Welch.

96 Danica Patrick – one of NASCAR’s biggest stars, her licensed merchandise was one of Nascar’s top sellers at the start of the year despite her best finish being 30th.

One interesting thing we noticed, no NFL players on this list!

Lance Armstrong Outraged About Photoshopped Magazine Cover

Lance Armstrong appeared on the cover of Outside magazine this month wearing a blue t-shirt that says “38. BFD.” 38 refers to his age and BFD refers to, well…big effing deal to be polite.  The feature on the seven-time Tour de France champion answered questions about Lance’s age and whether he will continue riding or not. The problem? Lance says he was wearing a plain shirt, and that the text was photoshopped in without his approval. He spoke out on his Twitter saying the stunt they pulled on the cover is “Lame Bull****.”

Photo: Outside Magazine

Lance Armstrong In RadioShack Commercial

Lance Armstrong is featured in a new RadioShack ad.The commercial shows Lance, the company’s “Chief Mobility Officer” explains when it is appropriate to leave a voicemail or send a text message.

Check out the spot here:

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The partnership was established in July 2009 with the help of Wasserman Media Group. Not only do they use Lance as a spokesperson, but they also sponsor his cycling team.

Athlete Sighting: Lance Armstrong

Superstar cyclist Lance Armstrong was spotted having dinner at Pane e Vino in Montecito, California on Thursday night.