Queen of Sports

Athlete Sighting: Rampage Jackson

UFC star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson ran into some members of the cast and crew of The A-Team while on the red carpet for the premiere of Liam Neeson’s latest starring role in The Grey. Jackson starred alongside Bradley Cooper, and Neeson in the film. Director Joe Carnahan and producer Jules Daly, who were also in attendance, stopped to greet Jackson.

The Grey takes place in Alaska where an oil drilling team becomes stranded. The film is a story of man’s survival and the tests of leadership. The Grey comes out in theaters Jan. 27. To promote the film, FOX is giving away two free tickets to the Daytona 500. NASCAR fans can enter here.

Photo: thanks to Jeff Freedman

Athlete Sighting: Gina Carano At Haywire Premiere

The face of women’s MMA, Gina Carano, was spotted on the red carpet last night at the premiere of the upcoming Steven Soderbergh movie Haywire. Carano stopped for a photo with her co-star, Channing Tatum, at the Director’s Guild in Los Angeles.

The film also stars Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Douglas. Also spotted on the red carpet: Georges St-Pierre, Sasha Grey, Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed, and Hugh Hefner’s son Cooper.

Photo: Suntzulynn for LE / Splash News

Gina Carano In GQ Magazine

Gina Carano, the face of women’s MMA and star of the action movie Haywire opening in theaters Jan. 20, knows how to kick butt and look good while doing it. We learned in this month’s GQ that combination is what made Steven Soderbergh custom build the starring role in his upcoming movie. He saw her fighting on TV and decided to cast her as the movie’s tough secret agent “to showcase her debutante prettiness and skull-crushing thighs.”

Carano told GQ despite her profession and abilities, “I am not a violent person. I actually don’t like to hurt people.” She said she likes fighting “because it’s honest.”

Carano played up her sex appeal in the photo shoot, sporting a Herve Leger swimsuit in most of the photos. To check out a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot, visit GQ.com.

Photos: GQ

A Game Of Honor Weekly Web Series Chronicles Moments That Led Up To The Army-Navy Game

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CBSSports.com began airing weekly webisodes on Oct. 17, documenting the various moments before the U.S. Military Academy took on the U.S. Naval Academy in a football game with unmatched rivalry.

The episodes are available for viewing at CBSSports.com. A final episode of the 10-week series will air tonight. The series leads up to the final culmination of a feature-length documentary film airing on Showtime on Dec. 21. The film, “A Game of Honor,” will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the students lives as they prepare not only for the big football game but for their future careers as servicemen. The game took place on Dec. 10 in Washington, D.C.

Check out the trailer for the “A Game of Honor” above.

Klitschko Brothers And Stallone Producing Rocky: The Musical

Sylvester Stallone joined boxing’s Klitschko brothers at a press conference to announce the trio would be producing a musical based on the original Rocky movie from 1976.

“Rocky: The Musical” is set to open in Hamburg, Germany in November 2012. The Klitschko brothers will train the performers, and original songs like “Eye of the Tiger” will be incorporated into the musical. Stallone said he wants the plot of the musical to focus on the love story between Rocky and Adrian.

There hasn’t been any word on whether or not the musical will make its way to the States.

Baron Davis Making Documentary About Decline Of Men’s Fashion

Baron Davis found something he’s passionate about that will take up his time during the lockout and it involves men’s fashion. More specifically, Davis is taking aim at the decline of men’s style in the U.S. by developing a documentary on the subject. The Cavaliers guard is calling the film “American Schlub.”

“We used to be fashion forward,” Davis told the Wall Street Journal. Now, he says, “We’re more of a sweats and Ugg boots type of society. We wanted to challenge men, from that perspective.”

The documentary is currently in pre-production. Davis has produced four movies in the past, including a documentary about the Bloods & Crips.

Stay tuned for a release date. We’re pretty excited to watch this film. The decline of men’s fashion is something we could make some comments on, too.

Photo: Facebook

Sports Date Of The Week: Roll Tide/War Eagle

ESPN rolled out seven different films this year documenting various people and moments in sports history. The in-depth look into sports combined with ESPN’s high quality filming and storytelling make these films worth watching. In between the football and hockey games, and UFC 139, if you find yourself with some time this weekend, why not sit down with your significant other and catch one of these films. This weekend, Roll Tide/War Eagle will be re-played on ESPN2.

Roll Tide/War Eagle is all about the historic rivalry between Auburn and Alabama. The one-hour film describes the history of bad blood between the two programs as told by iconic Hall of Famers, the figures who launched the rivalry into the national spotlight, and the fans.

Roll Tide/War Eagle airs on ESPN2 on Nov. 20 at 8:30 pm PST.

The Tiger Woods Hot Dog Thrower Blames Ryan Gosling Movie

We told you last week about the man who threw a hot dog at Tiger Woods during the Frys.com Open. Well, there’s a new development in the story.

The man offered up an odd explanation for why he did such a bizarre thing. “I threw the hot dog toward Tiger Woods because I was inspired by the movie ‘Drive,’” he said to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “As soon as the movie ended, I thought to myself, ‘I have to do something courageous and epic. I have to throw a hot dog on the green in front of Tiger.’”

We saw the movie, and just to clarify…there are not any scenes involving hot dogs.

Photo: Richard Foreman. Courtesy of FilmDistrict and Bold Films and OddLot Entertainment

Sports Date Of The Week: Moneyball

We’ve had our eye on Moneyball since last summer when Columbia Pictures was still casting for the film. Feature full-length movies centered on true stories in sports are rare in this century’s film history, and we were excited to see if the film had more to offer than an all-star cast.

Moneyball stars Brad Pitt who plays Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane, the man credited for creating a new approach to scouting players and building a succesful team without a huge salary. Based on the best-selling book “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” by Michael Lewis, the film has enough drama, nuggets of humor, and suspense (especially if you don’t already know the story) to keep viewers dialed into the film. The film never gets too technical with baseball jargon and can be enjoyed by both sports fans and the average person alike.

Jonah Hill plays a very likeable Peter Brand, (a pseudonym for Paul DePodesta) a young Harvard grad with a degree in economics who teaches Beane a statistical approach to looking at a player’s worth. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays team manager Art Howe, a departure from his usual roles in films.

The film reminds us why the sport of baseball is so romanticized in American culture and personalizes Beane’s story with elements of his personal life that keep us invested in his life throughout the film.

Moneyball hits theaters everywhere on Sept. 23. Check it out with a date this weekend.

Photos: iMDb

*Thanks to Jeff Freedman for the invite!

Plot Of Movie Starring Kevin Durant Revealed

Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant will be starring in a movie set for release in 2012. According to iMDb, the movie titled “Switch” will be directed by John Whitesell whose resume include films like “Big Momma’s House 2″ and “Malibu’s Most Wanted.”

The synopsis of the movie, according to the Caballero Casting website says, “In a magical twist, Kevin Durant switches all of his basketball-playing skills with an enthusiastic young fan who becomes the star of his high school team…and leaving Durant and the Thunder helpless. With the playoffs approaching, they need to discover what it is that brought them together before the early end to the Thunder’s season.”

The film will be mostly filmed in Baton Rouge, and is being produced by Warner Bros. Durant is the only actor currently cast for the film in which he will play himself.

The film sounds a little like “Freaky Friday” mixed with “Space Jam.” Will you see this film?

Photo: Skullcandy