Worlds Sexiest Female Athletes

Top ten sexiest and most attractive female player, athletes, celebrities in the world today. From swimming to cycling, beach volleyball to softball, NASCAR to F1, tennis to golf, football to basketball, soccer to baseball, we name the top male sports sex icons today.

1. Maria Yuryevna Sharapova - is a Russian professional tennis player. At the end of 2006, she was the world’s highest-paid female athlete. Sharapova has won two Grand Slam singles titles. She is the reigning U.S. Open champion, having defeated Justine Henin in the final of the 2006 U.S. Open. Two years earlier, she defeated Serena Williams in the final at Wimbledon.



2. Stacy Keibler - In the year 1999, Keibler entered a contest held by WCW to find a new member of Nitro Girls dance troupe, which she won. Initially a Nitro Girl, Keibler would perform dance routines every week on WCW’s flagship show Monday Nitro under the name Skye. However, this didn’t last long as she soon accepted a larger role and became a valet using the provocative stage name Miss Hancock (originally Miss Handcock), briefly serving as an associate for the tag team of Lenny Lane and Lodi dubbed “Standards and Practices”. Despite wearing business suits, her character would often climb on top of the announcers table and start dancing sensually, much to the announcers’ and fans’ delight. It was also during this period that she began using what would become her trademark ring entrance.



3. Shannon Elizabeth - Elizabeth appeared in several low-budget films, including the notorious Jack Frost and Dish Dogs, before being cast in 1999′s American Pie, which was a major box office success. Elizabeth subsequently appeared in several major Hollywood films, including Scary Movie (2000) and Tomcats. Elizabeth starred in the UPN series Cuts until the show was canceled in May of 2006. In August 1999, she appeared nude in Playboy magazine. In 2000 and 2003, she was featured in Maxim magazine.



4. Candice Michelle - Candice Michelle came to WWE as a contestant in the Diva Search 2004. Although she wasn’t one of the final ten contestants to make it to the televised event, WWE hired Candice anyway and placed her on the RAW brand under the gimmick of a makeup artist. Initially, Candice Michelle’s role was limited. She was never given an angle on RAW and she rarely made television appearances unless to participate in one of the program’s occasional lingerie pillow fights or bikini contests that were held between Christy Hemme, Maria Kanellis, Stacy Keibler, and herself.



5. Anna Kournikova - Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova was born on June 7, 1981 is a retired Russian professional tennis player and model. Although she never won a major singles tournament, she became one of the best known tennis players worldwide. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name one of the most common search strings on Google.



6. Nicole Vaidisova - Vaidišová is an emerging star in women’s tennis who has been playing since she was six years old. She is a student of Nick Bollettieri and is said to consider her serve her biggest weapon.[1] As of May 14 2007, Vaidišová is ranked no.7 in the WTA rankings. On August 9 2006, she moved up in the rankings to no.9, becoming the 12th-youngest player in Tour history to crack the Top 10, at 17 years, 3 months, and 2 weeks of age.



7. Shana Hiatt - Shana Hiatt is a model and presenter who has appeared in several magazines. A former Army brat rose primarily in Tabernacle, New Jersey, she is best known for hosting the first three seasons of World Poker Tour on the The Travel Channel. While Hiatt was a non-player prior to her job with the World Poker Tour, she is now an avid online poker player who occasionally plays in casinos.



8. Sania Mirza - Sania Mirza was on born November 15, 1986 is an Indian tennis player. She was born in Mumbai but brought up in Hyderabad. Coached by her father Imran Mirza, she began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She was the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with career high rankings of number 31 in singles and 24 in doubles. She is now ranked 48th in singles and 38th in doubles as of April 9th, 2007.



9. Danica Patrick - Danica Patrick began gokarting in 1992 at Sugar River Raceway outside of Brodhead, Wisconsin and went on to win several national championships. She moved to England at the age of 16 in order to advance her racing career. She has also earned a GED. Focusing primarily on road racing, Patrick raced in several developmental open-wheel series while in Europe, including Formula Ford and Formula Vauxhall. A big achievement was finishing second in England’s super-competitive Formula Ford Festival, the highest-ever finish by either a woman or an American in the event.



10. Martina Hingis - Martina Hingis (pronounced: hing-GISS) was born on September 30, 1980 in Košice, Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia is a former world number one Swiss tennis player. Known as the "Swiss Miss," she has won five Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, one Wimbledon, and one US Open). She has also won nine Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, winning a calendar year Grand Slam in 1998, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. She spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1 and set a series of "youngest-ever" records before ligament injuries in both ankles forced her to withdraw from professional tennis at the relatively early age of 22.

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Moving On Without LeBron

Mo Williams, 27, healthy, and has three years and $26 million remaining on his contract with Cleveland Cavaliers . But none of that mattered much to him this summer after he watched LeBron James(notes) leave the Cavs to join the Miami Heat. Williams said he was so disheartened by James’ exit that he considered walking away from the NBA.

“That’s how bad it got,” He said. “I contemplated it. I really sat down and envisioned life after basketball. …I really saw myself not playing at all.

“It just didn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t make sense to me.” He continued.

Williams played alongside James the past two seasons, serving as the Cavs’ starting point guard and second-leading scorer as they finished with the NBA’s best record two years in a row. Cleveland’s regular-season success, however, didn’t translate to the playoffs, where the Cavs fell short of reaching the NBA Finals both times. Still, Williams felt comfortable in his role next to James. He was named to the All-Star team in 2009 and remained hopeful that, together, they could deliver a championship to Cleveland in the 2010-11 season.

Those hopes all but disappeared on July 8 when James announced he was leaving. By the time of James’ televised special, Williams had heard from enough people around James to know his days of playing next to the two-time reigning MVP were over – even if Williams didn’t want to admit it.

“As anyone tied to the Cavs, you want to be in denial,” Mo said. “ You never want to say, ‘Yeah, OK, LBJ is gone.’ ”

Williams didn’t hide his disappointment; even tweeting in the hours after the announcement that he hoped James would change his mind. Williams also publicly expressed his regret for how James broke the hearts of Clevelanders and for the earlier firing of Coach Mike Brown, who had lost James’ support.

“I had to get it off my chest,” William said.

Williams said he and James remain friends, but he’s also tried to use the past two months to move on.

“You get back here to Cleveland, get around the new coaching staff, start a few workouts, get around the young guys and basically accept the fact that we are not what we once were,” he said. “We don’t have the No. 23 jersey hanging in the locker before every game now.”

James wasn’t the only key figure in the organization to leave in the off-season. Brown was fired and eventually replaced by Byron Scott. Former general manager Danny Ferry parted ways with the franchise, and his assistant, Chris Grant, was named the new GM. Assistant GM Lance Blanks left to help run the Phoenix Suns. The Cavs didn’t make any headline moves, acquiring role players in guard Ramon Sessions(notes) and center Ryan Hollins(notes), while trying to preserve future roster flexibility. Veteran forward Antawn Jamison(notes) is still on the roster, but both he and Williams could eventually find themselves on the trade block as the Cavs continue to rebuild.

“This summer was very, very stressful for me,” Mo said. “I really lost a lot of love for the game this summer.

“You play this game for one reason. You play to win games and win championships. I couldn’t understand why a lot of things were happening to our organization, to a really good basketball team. I couldn’t really understand it. And when you don’t understand things, it can really stress you out.”

Williams is slowly adapting to the new Cavaliers, who, along with their new coaching staff, will have a new offense that will be heavy on pick-and-rolls. Scott might play Williams at shooting guard with Sessions or Daniel Gibson(notes) running the point. In addition to being relied upon to score more, Williams inherits additional leadership responsibility with James and veteran center Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes) gone.

“It’s crazy because ever since [James left], everybody I see, they approach me and say, ‘Hey, you’re going to be able to play your game now,’ ” Williams said. “ ‘You are going to be able to show everybody what you got,’ or ‘you’re going to be able to do this.’ I was happy with my role. We were winning basketball games. I was coming home every night a winner.

“Who can’t love that? That is what playing a role on a team is all about. Everybody can’t be the star. I was perfectly comfortable being that piece.”

How long will it take for Williams to grow comfortable with his new role? Not even he knows. But after two months, he also understands it doesn’t make much sense to sit around pining for his departed teammate.

“We just got to go to work, man,” He said. “At the end of the day we still have to move forward because the only people who feel sorry for us are the ones who have the Cavs uniform on and whoever is in the stands rooting for the Cavs. That’s it. Everybody else could care less.”

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Why Shaquille O’Neal Play for the Enemy?

Just after the Los Angeles Lakers won last season's title, Kobe Bryant(notes) let slip a little comment ("I just got one more than Shaq. You can take that to the bank. You know how I am, I don't forget anything.") That proved what a lot of people had suspected for years — the Kobe/Shaq feud isn't over. As much as they'll be buddy-buddy at All-Star games or before their teams play each other, these two want nothing more than to destroy each other and prove that they are the best player of their generation. No matter what they say or how they act, that's always going to be the case.

In fact, the fact that that enmity will never die is the very reason the Boston Celtics took a chance on Shaquille O'Neal(notes). No, really, it is. Just because Kobe Bryant mentioned Shaq at his postgame press conference, the Celtics inked the well-traveled big man. Seriously. The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn has the proof.

Of course, this could be all a part of Kobe's master plan. It probably went something like beat the Celtics, rile up Shaquille O'Neal, have him convince Boston he'll help because he wants to beat Kobe one last time, then Boston signs Shaq and realizes he's not quite as good as he used to be and his presence in the locker room destroys the fragile chemistry that the Celtics have built. Just like that, there's one less contender for the Lakers' third straight title. It's a genius move, and it's one that only Kobe Bryant could conceive. And while it's totally far-fetched, it's kind of not that far-fetched. Only moderate distance-fetched, I'd say.

That being said, if Shaquille O'Neal is as dedicated to besting Kobe Bryant as the Celtics' brass thinks he is, Boston's getting a great deal. Less than $1.5 million for a motivated Shaq is totally worth it, even if he only plays 20 minutes a game. Sure he might struggle mightily against hyperathletic teams like the Heat and Magic in the Eastern Conference playoffs before Boston even meets the Lakers in the finals, but those are just minor details.

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Mosley- Mora; Results Creates more Questions.

LOS ANGELES (AP) —Sugar Shane Mosley wanted a triumph that would earn him another big-money fight. Sergio Mora wanted to reinstate himself as an influential boxer.

Neither left Staples Center satisfied after their 12-round draw Saturday night.

The junior middleweight bout was an anticlimactic ending to a solid card that featured spectacular knockout wins by Victor Ortiz, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Daniel Ponce De Leon.

In a sometimes dull fight, the 39-year-old Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) didn’t get redemption for his one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May, and Mora (22-1-2, 6 KOs) fell short of his biggest victory.

Both fighters were booed by the crowd, which chanted “Canelo! Canelo!” - the nickname of the rising 20-year-old Mexican star - during the main event.

“We both fought hard,” Mosley believed. “It was good fight, a good decision.”

The fight was very difficult to score, with judge Kermit Bayless calling it 115-113 for Mora, David Denkin giving Mosley a 116-112 edge, and Lou Moret ruling it even at 114-114. The scores at press row were equally divided, from a six-point victory for Mosley to a four-point win for Mora.
Mosley had an edge in the CompuBox punchstats, landing 161 of 522 punches to 93 of 508 for Mora.

Mora, who held the 154-pound title in 2008, said he actually let up because he thought he was winning the fight down the stretch.

“I should’ve listened to my corner,” he said. “They were telling me that it was a close fight. I thought I was winning, so I didn’t fight as hard because I have respect for Shane. I didn’t want to hurt him.”

Mosley was the assailant from the beginning, but had a difficult time landing clean punches because Mora is a stick out defensive fighter. The former 154-pound titleholder constantly danced out of harm’s way or tied up Mosley when he got inside.

Mora throws many fewer punches than Mosley but landed more clean shots, giving him several rounds. Neither fighter hurt the other or even had a particularly big round, making it even more difficult to take apart them.

Before the main event, junior welterweight contender Ortiz (28-2-1, 22 KOs) took a round to feel out Vivian Harris (29-5-1, 19 KOs) before unloading, stopping Harris early in the third round after knocking him down three times in the second.

Ortiz was too quick and sharp for his aging opponent. He landed a right hook and then a quick right uppercut to knock down Harris 45 seconds into the third round, with referee Raul Caiz waving off the fight right when Harris hit the canvas.

Ortiz’s handlers have been talking to WBO titleholder Timothy Bradley, and Ortiz likes the idea of facing the winner of the Dec. 11 fight between WBA champion Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana, who knocked out Ortiz in the sixth round last year at Staples Center.

Harris, a former titleholder from New York, is 1-3 with one no-contest in his last five fights.
Earlier, Alvarez had a spectacular third-round knockout of veteran Carlos Baldomir.

Alvarez (34-0-1, 26 KOs) hurt Baldomir (45-13-6, 14 KOs) with a number of punches toward the end of the final round before a straight left put the Argentine on his face. Baldomir, who had failed to go the distance only once before, was able to get to his feet, but was too wobbly to continue.

Baldomir was a good test for the 20-year-old star from Guadalajara because of his experience and awkward style, but Alvarez was much quicker than Baldomir, and he patiently outboxed his 39-year-old foe. Baldomir, who has one of the best chins in boxing, took most of the big shots, but was slowly worn down.

Ponce de Leon (40-2, 33 KOs) also stopped Antonio Escalante (23-3, 15 KOs) with a single right hook at 2:40 of the third round in a 12-round featherweight bout.

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The Team Up of the Sons

It's almost certainly not a good sign for the future of Michigan basketball that there may be more star power in the stands at Crisler Arena next season than on the court.

Jordan Dumars, son of ex-Pistons star Joe Dumars, will be a sophomore at Michigan this season. Jon Horford and Tim Hardaway Jr. are part of this season's incoming freshman class. And then on Tuesday, class of 2012 wing Glenn Robinson III, son of former Purdue star Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson, announced that he has committed to the Wolverines.

"I just talked to my mom and dad and coaches and everybody in my family," the younger Robinson tell UMHoops.com. "Yesterday I just started to like it more and more and I figured there was no point in waiting. Michigan is where I want to go. They have a great academic program and basketball program. I just like everything about Michigan and that's where I want to be. I think I'll fit perfectly."

Big Ten fans might be curious why Robinson wouldn't attend Purdue like his father, but the answer is because the Boilermakers haven't shown much interest so far. In fact, Michigan was the only Big Ten scholarship offer Robinson had along with the likes of Colorado, Valparaiso, Missouri State and others.

If recruiting the sons of NBA players is going to be coach John Beilein's strange niche, then maybe the greatest irony is the lone legacy he tried to bring to Michigan but failed to land. That would be Glen Rice Jr., the son of the former Michigan star who now starts at guard for Georgia Tech.

Even without the Rices, a father-son exhibition game at Michigan would draw a lot of fans the next few years. Maybe the kids will improve with time, but right now the smart money would be on the elders.

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Tiger Woods Historic Clubs Sold

When is a club more than a club? When it's part of history, and part of a set that goes for a cool $57,242.20. Such is the case with 11 Titleist irons and wedges, which just so happened to be used in a rather famous run of golf, and now have just changed hands for a large sum of money, according to Golf Week.

Steve Mata, a longtime golf industry fixture, has sold the clubs, which were used in Tiger Woods' famous "Tiger Slam" of 2000-01. (You can see one of them in action there at right.) Over that stretch, from the 2000 U.S. Open to the 2001 Masters, Woods captured all four majors, holding all the titles at the same time if not all in the same calendar year.

The clubs came under scrutiny earlier this year when Mata listed them on eBay. Woods denied the clubs were his the Tiger Slam models, saying he had used two sets of irons, and that both were in his possession.

But both Mata and tour pro Greg Kraft stated unequivocally that Woods gave the clubs to Mata when Mata, who formerly worked for Titleist, delivered a new set of clubs to Woods. It would be the last set of Titleist clubs Woods used, as he switched to Nike in 2002.

The item description in the eBay listing indicated that the clubs are a "Titleist special Grind 681 stamped 'T' forged iron set." The club grips are also the same style Woods used. That was good enough for one buyer to shell out nearly 60 large, regardless of what Woods had to say.

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I am not Spain’s Greatest Athlete – Nadal

MADRID – U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal returned home on Wednesday, insisting his latest tennis triumph did not qualify him as Spain's greatest-ever athlete.

Nadal, who became the seventh player to complete a career grand slam with Monday's victory at Flushing Meadows, said any comparisons to the greats was "madness."

"As a tennis player I took an important step forward with this and these have been six unforgettable months," Nadal said shortly after touching down from New York at Madrid's Barajas airport. "I can't say that I'm the best Spanish sports person of all time because I have no idea. But it's an honor to be considered."

Nadal's 2010 triumphs, including French Open and Wimbledon titles, have brought his total of major championships to nine at age 24.
His successful season has been a big part of a tremendous year of international sporting success for Spain, which won soccer's World Cup for the fist time and saw Alberto Contador win his third Tour de France.

"I don't know where (my successes) fit into this year. They are all important," the top-ranked Nadal said. "Luckily, we're living during an era of Spanish sport that will be difficult to repeat. Of course we could repeat it, but we should enjoy it (now)."
Among Spain's greatest athletes are the likes of five-time Tour champion Miguel Indurain and two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso.

While Nadal has replaced four-time major champion Manolo Santana as the country's greatest tennis player, the Mallorca native still feels he has room for improvement.

"I'm not a complete player — there are always things I can improve," Nadal said. "(But) I'm so happy with everything that happened and can't ask for anything more"

Nadal said winning three majors in 2010 wasn't necessarily better than 2008, when he won his first Wimbledon crown and Olympic gold, something he considered more difficult than a Grand Slam title given the four-year gap between Olympic games. He also preferred to wait and see how he fares in November's World Tours Final in London.

Nadal, whose improved serve helped him drop only one set at the US Open en route to beating Novak Djokovic in the final, said his main rival Roger Federer was still the benchmark of the sport and should not be written off yet.

The second-ranked Swiss player, who has won a record 16 major singles titles, wasted two match points in his semifinal defeat to Djokovic.

"I would love to have the success of Federer," Nadal said. "In nine years he's achieved things that are practically impossible to repeat. It's difficult to be 100 percent each year, but he's managed to do it and it's normal to have a little drop."

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Michael Phelps is no Longer Best in the World – Says Coach

The man who helped turn Michael Phelps into the greatest swimmer in Olympic history no longer thinks the 16-time gold medalist is even the top swimmer on the U.S. swim team.
Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach for the past 15 years, recently said that Phelps' American teammate Ryan Lochte is the world's best swimmer thanks, in part, to a stellar performance at this summer's Pan Pacific Championships in which Lochte beat Phelps in two head-to-head races and won six gold medals to Phelps' five.

"Obviously, Ryan Lochte is the best swimmer in the world this year. No question," Bowman said. "That will be a huge challenge for Michael going forward, hopefully a motivator."
Bowman almost certainly believes that Lochte is the best swimmer in the world right now, emphasis on right now. Ever since the 2009 world championships, Phelps has swum poorly and with little inspiration while Lochte has dominated fields with ease. This was a predictable slip for Phelps; after climbing the Olympic equivalent of Mt. Everest, how could one expect him to get up for the Pan Pacific Championships?

But though Lochte has been better for the past year, Bowman almost also certainly believes that Phelps won't stay No. 2 for long. The coach's comments were based in truth but were rooted in a desire to motivate his swimmer for the rapidly-approaching 2012 Olympics in London. Phelps relaxed both physically and mentally after his conquest of Beijing, knowing that London was a long way away. Now that we're less than 23 months out from the Opening Ceremony, it's time for Phelps to get serious about training. He didn't need to be great in July 2010 in order to be the best in July 2012. But he will need to start being great soon if he wants to cement his legacy as the greatest Olympian of all time.

As of now, there's no real concern from the Phelps' team. It's better to have a relaxed, motivated Michael Phelps training for London rather than a burnt out, overconfident one. Having a great swimmer like Lochte trying to usurp Phelps' throne is the best possible scenario for Bowman. There's a new carrot to dangle. For an athlete who has already reached the highest peak of his sport, that's never a bad thing.

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USA Cruise Past Turkey to End 16-Year Wait for World Championship Trophy

ISTANBUL (2010 FIBA World Championship) – The United States of America beat Turkey 81-64 to win the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

The result ended a 16-year wait for the USA, who had not won this tournament since 1994.

In the first official game ever between the two teams, Mike Kryzewski’s team gradually pulled away as Turkey looked to be suffering the after effects of their hard-fought win over Lithuania in Saturday’s semi-final.

Down 17-14, the Americans reeled off 11 unanswered points in a stretch spanning the late part of the first quarter and early second for a 25-17 advantage and they stayed in front the rest of the way.

Kevin Durant (who visited with FIBATV.com after the victory) gave his team their first double-digit lead, 31-21, midway through the second period. The Turks fought bravely but never got close enough to prove a real threat.

The teams went back and forth and Durant knocked down his second three-pointer of the night to put the USA up 12-7.

Hedo Turkoglu answered by hitting consecutive long bombs that edged Turkey in front 15-14 with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

However, he then picked up a knock and had to leave the game, going to the locker room before returning minutes later with a thick sleeve on the knee.

Omer Asik’s lay-up stretched the Turks’ lead to 17-14 with 3:28 remaining in the period, but the Americans then accounted for the last eight points of the period to lead 22-17.

Durant tied it at 17 all with a deep three-pointer, Stephen Curry, fresh off the bench, also connected from downtown and Russell Westbrook made a pair of free-throws in the dying seconds.

Turkey’s offense stalled and they were forced into two shot clock violations by their opponents’stifling defense.

Westbrook converted a three-point play early in the second quarter to cap the 11-0 spurt.

Ersan Ilyasova and Rudy Gay traded baskets before the USA yet again used some tough defense to force Turkey into another shot clock violation.

Turkoglu re-entered the game with 7:46 left in the half and Kerem Tunceri made a pair of free-throws that cut the deficit to 27-21.

Durant then hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers – the latter one tying Puerto Rico’s Larry Ayuso for most in a game at the FIBA World Championship – consecutively for a 48-32 advantage just two minutes into the third quarter to account for more than half of his team’s points (26 of 48).

Semih Erden scored inside on two occasions, only for Durant and Billups to cancel those points out for 38-28.

Oğuz Savaş made three of four free-throws before Gay scored with a minute remaining before the break.

Ilyasova split a pair from the charity stripe and Westbrook made good on both his tries in the dying seconds for a 42-32 halftime lead.

Turkey had their fourth shot clock violation right after the break.

Durant then hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers consecutively for a 48-32 advantage just two minutes into the third quarter to account for more than half of his team’s points (26 of 48).

Turkoglu could only watch from the bench as his knee injury forced him back on the sidelines.

Ender Arslan drained a three-pointer for Turkey’s first points of the period with 6:36 to go.

Andre Iguodala then skied high for an offensive rebound and fed Odom for an easy two.

Omer Onan hit three of four throws and Arslan knocked another long bomb for six straight points that got the home side within 52-41.

Gay’s jumper ended the run, Westbrook then buried a rare three-pointer, Durant knocked a turnaround jumper and Lamar Odom got an easy dunk as the American pushed the advantage to 61-48 heading into the final frame.

Derrick Rose showed off his speed to score four quick points in the open court at the start of the fourth and Odom later scored inside for the USA’s first 20-point lead, 70-50.

He later had a tip-in off as Rose missed a free-throw for a three-point play.

Tunceri knocked down a three-pointer and fed Gonlum underneath for an easy two that got Turkey within 74-57 but at the other end he failed to close in on Odom who made him pay with a jumper for his eighth and ninth points of the period.

Westbrook and Turkoglu traded three-pointers for 79-62 and the former then threw an alley-oop to Iguodala to add some stylish finishing touches.

Durant finished with a game-high 28 points.

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