Queen of Sports

Chris Paul Reportedly Joining Lakers In Three-Team Trade Deal

According to reports from ESPN’s Marc Stein, New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul will likely be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In exchange, the Lakers will be giving up Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. The trade, rumored to be amongst three NBA teams, will see Gasol heading to the Houston Rockets. Rockets’ Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic will be sent to New Orleans along with Odom.

Chris Paul is an All-Star and U.S. Olympic team member who would bring even more star power to the Lakers team with his average 18.7 points and 9.9 assists per game in his six seasons.

Pau Gasol Ready To Play Overseas During Lockout

Pau Gasol won’t let a little NBA lockout keep him from the sport he loves to play. He has voiced his interest in playing in his home country of Spain if the lockout keeps him from the game. But Spain is only his first option. He would also consider China, which he thinks has “great potential” next to Spain.

Gasol will be playing in the European Championships in September, giving Spain the chance to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

Photo: PauGasol.com

Pau Gasol On Univision’s Eva Luna

Los Angeles Laker forward Pau Gasol is serious about giving acting a shot. After a cameo appearance on CSI, the Laker player was on the season finale of Univision’s TV show Eva Luna. Here’s what Pau had to day about the spot:

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“I am delighted to participate in a novela that is so important and to have the opportunity to be part of the final episode and be one of the surprises for the audience,” said Pau.  “I am excited to be able to get closer to the Hispanic audience in this way.”

The two-hour finale which featured the 7 foot Spaniard in a church, drew 6.9 million viewers. What do you think of Pau moonlighting as an actor???

Five Ejected In Last Night’s Lakers And Mavericks Matchup

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Things got pretty heated last night at Staples Center as the Lakers fought to secure their win streak, taking on the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers came out strong and stayed strong, winning 110-82 but not without a little added drama in the fourth quarter. Jason Terry shoved Steve Blake who came back and got in his face. Matt Barnes got all riled up and involved in the mix, having to be held back by Mavericks assistant coach Terry Stott and escorted off the court. The mini brawl led to four ejections: Steve Blake and Matt Barnes from the Lakers, and Jason Terry and Brendan Haywood from the Mavericks.

But that wasn’t the end of the drama. In a very strange turn of events, a “partially naked” (according to the LA Times) woman was stopped by a horde of security after she began sprinting down the aisle leading down to the Mavericks bench. And even later in the game, Shannon Brown joined the other two “Killah Bees” in the locker room after he was ejected for shoving Dallas reserve Brian Cardinal, in a display of disapproval for Cardinal’s hit to Pau Gasol.

Matt Barnes will likely face a suspension after hearing from the league’s front office. Even without the Killah Bees, the Lakers will likely remain strong as they take on the Utah Jazz tonight and the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. One things for sure: they aren’t going to let anyone push them around.

NBA Stars Score For Japan UPDATE

We told you last week that NBA stars like Lakers Pau Gasol, Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook would be donating $1,000 per point they scored in their games on Friday night for earthquake and tsunami stricken Japan. Well the numbers are in and these three guys pulled in some big dollars!

Combined, the three players will donate $69,000. Derrick scored 24 points in a victory of the Memphis Grizzlies. Pau added 26 points as his Lakers beat cross town rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers 112 – 104. And Russell scored 19 points in the Thunders win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In addition to the three players mentioned above, approximately 20 other players made the same pledge.

Always great seeing athletes contribute to those in need. Great work guys!

NBA Stars Scoring For Japan

Several NBA stars have teamed up with Direct Relief International to help provide support and recovery to the people in Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami that shook the nation two weeks ago.

Many players, including LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol, Al Horford, JaVale McGee, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, have committed to donating $1,000 for every point they score in games occuring between March 25-27th. Other players who have agreed to set donations include DJ Augustin, Jarron Collins, Jason Collins, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Tyreke Evans, Danilo Gallinari, Xavier Henry, Antawn Jamison, Jason Kapono, Quincy Pondexter, Brian Scalabrine, Etan Thomas, and Ben Wallace.

Direct Relief has already provided emergency funds for thousands of displaced individuals throughout the tsunami-affected Miyagi prefecture, with special attention paid to the elderly and disabled. Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief International issued this statement in a press release, “Direct Relief responds to emergencies all around the world, including the U.S., and the scale of the tragedy in Japan is immense by any measure. These world-class NBA athletes are showing world-class generosity to support people in Japan who need help now and will still need it as the headlines fade. We hope they light up scoreboards this weekend.”

If you haven’t already donated to the relief efforts in Japan, you can text “Give10″ to 20222 to give $10 to Japan. 100% of the funds received for the Japan Relief and Recovery Fund will be dedicated exclusively to relief and recovery efforts in Japan.

Pau Gasol Impersonator Trying To Cash In On Resemblance

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Michael Fanter looks like Pau Gasol. Actually, he looks alot like him. Fanter is banking on the resemblance, marketing himself  with his website PauDouble.com and even releasing this commercial. His website’s main purpose is to provide a contact for people who want to book the look-alike. He suggests bookings for corporate events, film, commercials, basketball tournaments, club appearances, and more. He says he will “wear the Lakers home jersey and shorts, can play basketball, mingle with your guests, and make your event unforgettable.” The guy really does look like Pau, but we’re confused why anyone would book him for an event. We can just see the look of excitement on people’s faces when Pau Gasol walks through the door only for you to have to tell them, “He’s an impersonator.” What’s the point? Other people must be asking the same question because the calendar on his website is wide open. But hey, can’t blame the guy for trying.

Jerry West Statue At Staples Center

Before the All-Star festivities last week, the crew at Staples Center unveiled the latest statue in a collection of influential Los Angeles sports legends. This one was long overdue. Pictured above is a statue of Laker great and NBA logo model Jerry West.

He joins Magic Johnson, Chick Hearn, Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya in the bronze statue collection at Star Plaza outside Staples Center.

Always the gracious one, Jerry had this to say at the unveiling ceremony on Thursday, ““This is awkward for me, to be honored by the people I admire most is just incredible. … I played for the fans of L.A., and particularly my teammates. Every time I put on a Laker uniform, I was filled with a tremendous sense of pride.”

Those celebrating the occasion included Magic Johnson, former teammate Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Pat Riley, Shaquille O’Neal, Pau Gasol, Bill Walton, James Worthy, Los Angeles Laker owner Jerry Buss and NBA commissioner David Stern.

Noticeably absent was current Laker star Kobe Bryant but he apparently sent a video message.

Pau Gasol Makes Guest Appearance On Lifetime Channel Show

Lifetime is obviously known for their made-for-TV movies that appeal to women, so we were intrigued when we found out Los Angeles Laker Pau Gasol made an appearance on the network this week. Well, he wasn’t acting in a melodramatic, emotional made-for-TV movie. It turns out he made a guest appearance on “Seriously Funny Kids,” a new show starring Heidi Klum that features kids’ funny reactions to different situations. On Tuesday night’s episode, he made an appearance to surprise a young Laker fan.

You can watch the episode here, it’s actually really funny and cute. Kind of reminds us of Bill Cosby’s “Kids Say The Darndest Things.” You should listen to the young Laker fan to hear his interpretation of how the Lakers celebrate after a win and who his favorite Laker is.

Photo: MyLifetime.com

Athlete Quote Of The Day: Kobe Needs Pau To Be The Black Swan

After the Lakers’ loss to the Celtics on Sunday, Kobe Bryant reportedly had a pep talk with Pau Gasol inspired by a recent Oscar-nominated movie . Kobe tried to inspire Pau to be more like him and take more shots, saying,

“When I’m out there being aggressive and doing my thing, he needs to follow suit and just be just as aggressive which is hard for him because it’s kind of against his nature. But I think tonight was a good step … Even when he was in Memphis and he was the go-to guy, he was always very nice. Very white swan. I need him to be black swan.”

The pep talk must have worked to some degree, because the Lakers won against the Houston Rockets last night in overtime. Pau Gasol must have channeled his inner black swan.