Queen of Sports

Team LeBron Beats Team Durant In Flag Football

A flag football game organized by LeBron James and Kevin Durant when it looked like playing basketball wouldn’t be in the cards for the two NBA players was held last night in Akron, Ohio.

Team LeBron beat out Team Durant 70-63. The game was streamed live on Ustream. Both teams’ rosters were filled up with friends and family including Durant’s brother Tony who played the quarterback position. A rematch has been scheduled to take place in Oklahoma City.

James celebrated a touchdown in the style of Stevie Johnson mocking Plaxico Burress at one point. He must not have heard about the backlash or didn’t care.

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Athlete Sighting: NBA Stars At The USC Vs Oregon Game

Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and LeBron James all wore matching jackets to yesterday’s USC vs Oregon game in Eugene, Oregon. Chris Paul was the odd-man out in his grey sweatshirt. The NBA stars were in Oregon visiting Nike headquarters.

The Trojans beat the Ducks 38-35, and USC’s Robert Woods showed some recognition that James was in the house by doing the signature LeBron James powder toss after a touchdown:

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Nike’s ‘Basketball Never Stops’ Ad Campaign

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Nike Basketball’s newest ad campaign targets ball players’ dedication and love for the game. Their main commercial features players of all calibers, from high school to pick-up games in an alley.

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The latest in the series of ads features LeBron James practicing relentlessly at all hours of the night.

Three Big Names Dropping Out Of NBA World All-Star Classic

We told you yesterday the details of the NBA World All-Star Classic tour that will have the NBA’s top players travelling to four different countries to play in six games.

ESPN is reporting today that sources have informed their Chris Broussard that LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul have decided not to participate in the tour. Headliner Kevin Durant also may not play the entire tour. James, Anthony, and Paul wanted to spend more time with their families, and are hopeful an NBA season will begin shortly, according to the sources.

Chris Paul is a member of the player’s union and wanted to be available for meetings.

Another change to the roster: Steve Nash was not a candidate for the roster despite reports he was.

NBA World All-Star Classic Details Finalized

Eighteen of the NBA’s all-star players will be leaving the country for a four-continent tour that will include six games and commence on Sunday.

ESPN.com first reported on the ESPN World All-Star Classic last week, but Chris Broussard is now reporting that the details of the tour are finalized and dates are set.

Headlining the tour: Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant. Another 14 players will be officially announced today, but are expected to include: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, Tyson Chandler, Steve Nash, Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, and Chris Kaman.

Absent from the roster: MVP Derrick Rose, who opted out because the “scheduling was just too tough.” Rose’s Bulls teammate Joakim Noah may replace him.

The tour will kick off Sunday in Puerto Rico, then the players will head to the 02 Arena in London for two games, a game in Macau, and the final two games will be played in Melbourne, Australia.

Many of the proceeds of the event will go to charity and players will earn salaries up to $1 million.

Tim Tebow Proves His Worth In OT Win

Tim Tebow impressed Broncos fans this weekend, starting his first game of the year against the Miami Dolphins, by showing he is the man for the job.

A former Gators star, Tebow had both Broncos and Gators fans rooting for him at the Florida stadium.

In the final 2 and a half minutes of the 4th quarter, with a tied score at 15-15, Tebow made two touchdown passes that forced the game into overtime. A 52-yard field goal by Matt Prater gave the Broncos a 18-15 win over the Dolphins.

The now 0-6 Dolphins have a long season ahead of them. Miami running back Reggie Bush said, “I’m trying to search for answers. I just keep coming back to embarrassing.”

LeBron James tweeted after the win, “Congrats to @TimTebow for that comeback win today. Impressive! He’s just a winner.”

Despite the fact the former Gators star made his starting debut, the stadium was reportedly only half full at the start of the game.

Photo: Image of Sport / PR Photos

ESPN Ranks LeBron James As No. 1 Basketball Player

ESPN and its TrueHoop Network asked 91 experts to rank basketball players on a scale from zero to 10 in terms of the “current quality of each player.” The top of the list? LeBron James. He was followed by Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and all the way down at the No. 7 spot was Kobe Bryant.

So, why did LeBron deserve a No. 1 spot despite having zero rings? Some of ESPN and True Hoop’s best sounded off on whether his ranking was just right, too high, or too low. All the reporters quoted below agreed LeBron’s ranking was just right. But they also said this:

Henry Abbott said, “No, his footwork isn’t perfect. Yes, his jumper needs fixing. Sure, he had a bad crunch time when it mattered most.”

J.A. Adande said, “LeBron’s array of skills is unmatched. He just doesn’t put them all to the best use.”

Mark Haubner said, “I firmly believe LeBron’s subpar play now has cost his teams championships in two straight seasons. Maybe No. 1 is better left as ‘Vacant’ for now.”

What do you think about the rankings? Should Kobe be in the No. 7 spot? Does LeBron deserve the No.1 spot? Voice your opinion in the comments!

To see the full list, go here.

Esquire Releases Excerpt From Anti-LeBron Book

With a title like “The Whore of Akron,” it’s clear author Scott Raab is no LeBron James fan. But his dislike for James goes beyond  any other displays of “haterdom” we’ve seen directed at James. He wrote a whole book, which he calls “a memoir about his torrid, turbulent affair with LeBron James.”

Born and raised in in Cleveland, now living in New Jersey, Raab had been embedded with the Cavaliers for a year right before James was traded to the Heat. He was waiting and hoping for a victory Cleveland sports fans never got to experience.

The excerpt describes his experience at American Airlines Arena, and is as much of a diss on Miami as it is on James. Just to make it clear how deep his hatred runs, he says at one point, “For as long as I’ve been a fan, I’ve rooted hard against certain teams and players, but never have I hoped to see a career-ending injury — until tonight.”

Raab has written for Esquire since 1997. You can read the whole excerpt here.

LeBron James Attending His First Liverpool Match

LeBron James became a minority owner of the Liverpool Football Club in April but is only now finding the time to head to England to catch one of their games live.

James will be at Liverpool’s home game against rival Manchester United Saturday morning. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 for those devout fans in the States who want to wake up at 4:40 am PST.

James has been tweeting photos of the Liverpool facilities and his trip.

Athlete Sighting: LeBron James

Locked-out Miami Heat star LeBron James was seen going for a stroll after leaving his Manhattan hotel yesterday. The NBA athlete would typically be participating in practices and pre-season games right now but with no end to the lockout in sight it appears LeBron is enjoying some time in the Big Apple.

LeBron caused quite a stir on Twitter yesterday when he sent a tweet to ESPN’s NFL insider John Clayton, “when is the deadline for a team to sign a free agent?” John told the NBA player that the trade deadline is Tuesday.

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll reached out to LeBron, sending him a photo of a Seahawks jersey with his name sewn on it.

We highly doubt LeBron would risk injury to play in the NFL… But if he did, what NFL team would you like to see LeBron play for? Don’t forget this State Farm commercial from a couple years ago where LeBron announced he was taking his talents to the Cleveland Browns:

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Photo: Splash News