Queen of Sports

Authentic Brands Group Acquires MMA Brands TapouT And Silver Star

Authentic Brands Group is a brand building marketing group with a client list that includes the Bob Marley Brand. They just recently acquired two of the top brands in MMA, TapouT and Silver Star. TapouT is the number one brand in MMA, and is almost synonymous with the sport of MMA, having seen the growth of the sport for the past 15 years. The founders, who originally included the late Charles “Mask” Lewis, have stayed impassioned about the culture of MMA while becoming a household name. Silver Star Casting Company, an apparel brand rooted in MMA, action and motor sports, sponsors champion level athletes.

Photo: PR Newswire

Athlete Sighting: Chuck Lidell

Former Ultimate Fighting Champion Chuck Lidell was seen leaving a New York City  back, foot and acupuncture store earlier this week with his toenails painted metallic blue! Wonder if it’s some sort of superstition!

Athlete Sighting: Tom Brady And Wes Welker

New England Patriot players Tom Brady and Wes Welker were spotted sitting ringside at UFC 118 at the TD Garden in Boston on Saturday night.

Didn’t know these guys were UFC fans! Love seeing athletes support other athletes and sports!

Shaq Calls Out Korean MMA Fighter Hong Man Choi

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In his first public appearance in Boston, Shaquille O’Neal came out to support the UFC this past weekend, where he attended both the UFC Fan Expo and UFC 118. An MMA fan, Shaq can’t just sit by and watch anymore. He has made it known he wants a fight. He said that if he were younger, he’d choose to start out his MMA career with a fight against Tito Ortiz.  Instead, he’s invited  Ortiz to make an appearance on his TV show Shaq Vs. next season.

For now, Shaq wants to fight Korean Hong Man Choi. An inch taller than Shaq at 7’2″, Hong Man Choi has fought some worthy opponents such as Fedor Emelienko and Mirko “Cro Crop”.  He also fought retired baseball crazy Jose Canseco in a Super Hulk Tournament for the Japanese MMA promotion DREAM, and beat him in 1 minute and 15 seconds. Since Hong Man Choi is not in the UFC, the fight between he and Shaq would have to be picked up by another MMA promotion. We’re staying tuned, this is a fight we’d like to see.

Chuck Liddell Shaves His Mohawk Off For A Good Cause

Ultimate Fighting champion Chuck Liddell will shave off his signature mohawk to support the BIC 4 GOOD initiative. BIC 4 GOOD, an initiative started by the razor company Bic, asks Americans to shave their head and in turn Bic will make a donation to DoSomething.org. DoSomething.org empowers youth to do good in their communities, and Chuck Liddell hopes to raise awareness and inspire others to do as he has. Liddell said, “By shaving off my own signature ‘do, I hope to inspire people to do the same for this important program.” If anyone is too afraid to take the plunge like Chuck, they can log in on-line to virtually shave their heads, and $4 will be donated to DoSomething. Every video sent in of a shaved head will send $444 to DoSomething and $44 will be sent for every photo of a shaved head. While we’re sad to see his mohawk go, we’re glad it’s for a good cause!

Photo: WENN

Athletes On Entourage

HBO’s Entourage has been the show that every celebrity wants to make a cameo on. They have written in everyone from Scarlett Johansson to Bono to Hugh Hefner. Most of the athletes we have encountered love the show so it would make sense that they would be booking cameos also!

Athletes that have appeared on the show include: boxer Vitali Klitschko, NBA player Lamar Odom, boxer Lennox Lewis, UFC champion Chuck Lidell, golfer Phil Mickelson, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, NFL quarterback Tom Brady and NBA player LeBron James.

The show, now in its 7th season has had a strong sports theme as agent Ari Gold is trying to add a sports division to his agency. Athletes and sports related folks that have been featured this season already include Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, NFL player Adrian Peterson, legendary boxer Mike Tyson, NBA player Chris Bosh, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and NBA player Kevin Love.

Check out a couple clips from this seasons episodes featuring cameos from those listed above.

Jerry Jones:

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Chris Bosh:

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Mike Tyson:

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What athlete do you want to see on Entourage? We’d like to see Charles Barkley, Chad Ochocinco, Derek Jeter and Landon Donovan on the show! Leave your suggestions in the comments section!

Brandon Jennings Autograph Session

Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings will be signing autographs today in Venice Beach at the Power Balance booth from 3 – 3:30pm.

Power Balance has been a hit among athletes. Los Angeles Laker Lamar Odom, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero and mixed martial artist Shane del Rosario all swear by the powers of the bracelet.

UFC Fighter Shane Carwin Among Prosecutor’s List of Athletes Who Ordered Steroids

The Mobile Press-Register is reporting that the U.S. prosecutor’s office in Alabama has a list of 22 professional athletes who ordered steroids from an illegal operation in Mobile, Alabama that led to several arrests. Among them is Greely, Alabama resident and UFC veteran fighter Shane Carwin who just lost to Brock Lesnar at UFC 116 last month. Shane Carwin has never failed a drug test in his professional career, which makes the news surprising. Carwin almost took the heavyweight title from Lesnar, but lost to a submission.

Other athletes on the list include WWE wrestler and former champion Kurt Angle, Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Brendan Kirby, and a hand full of professional bodybuilders and other wrestlers. Two professional baseball players were on the list, but were named only by initials in the court documents.

Athlete Sighting: Anderson Silva

Current Middleweight Champion, UFC fighter Anderson “The Spider” Silva was spotted leaving My Studio Nightclub in Hollywood on Tuesday night.

Photo: SPW/Splash News

UFC President Dana White Hangs Out With Skater Rob Dyrdek

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UFC President Dana White took his kids to Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, the warehouse/playground that is featured on his MTV reality show of the same name. It was one of his son’s birthdays, and the kids got to skate, hang out with the pro skater, ride his three-wheeled sports car, and shoot each other with a tennis ball cannon. Dana White posts weekly video blogs that you can watch on the UFC channel on YouTube.