Way back in the fall of 2009, LeBron James seemed to be on top of the world. He had won his first MVP award months earlier, was set to own the NBA landscape as a free agent the next summer, and had put the Cleveland Cavaliers in position to win their first title. Things were so great, in fact, that he planned to take another step towards global icon status by starring in his first film, the working-title-sounding “Fantasy Basketball Camp.” With Hollywood mega-producer Brian Grazer on board, the project looked like a slam dunk!

As you may have heard, LeBron’s public image took a bit of a hit over the next few years. In the 2010 postseason, he disappointed worldwide audiences as the heavily favored Cavs fell to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Weeks later, James spurned Cleveland for South Beach during the ill-conceived “The Decision” special on ESPN, and pretty much everyone decided he was a big fat jerk. Production plans for the film were tabled for at least a year, and then put on hold indefinitely when the Miami Heat lost to the underdog Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. The future of the film, eventually titled “Ballers,” seemed unclear, especially when the creative team neglected to embrace my suggestion of turning it into a slasher movie with LeBron murdering the greatest champions in basketball history.

 

However, after two championships, unquestioned status as the best player in the NBA, and a return to broad popularity, “Ballers” is a workable idea once again. The movie also has an ostensible star signed to play LeBron’s brother. From Jeff Sneider for TheWrap (via Vulture):

LeBron James’ feature film debut project is heating up again, as comedian Kevin Hart will join the NBA champion in Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment’s “Ballers,” an individual familiar with the project told TheWrap.

The diminutive Hart may appear small next to James but he’s a big star, with the hit comedy “Think Like a Man” under his belt and the upcoming “Ride Along” shaping up to be a potential franchise at Universal.

“Ballers” will find Hart playing LeBron’s brother, who gets a chance to emerge from James’ towering shadow when he attends a fantasy basketball camp in Miami.

Hart and James will executive produce with Maverick Carter and Imagine’s Kim Roth.

Production is scheduled to start in the summer of 2014. In the meantime, Hart will co-write the comedy with his frequent collaborators Joey Wells, Chris Spencer and Harry Ratchford. Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel were the original writers on the project along with Peter Steinfeld.

As noted by Mike Fleming Jr. of Deadline Hollywood, the pairing hearkens back to the beloved 1988 comedy “Twins,” in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and the much smaller Danny DeVito played the title pair. Listed at a conservative 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, James will dwarf the 5-foot-3 Hart in every scene they share. I just hope Hart can handle making jokes about his height.

The current iteration of “Ballers” appears to differ from the original idea, with Hart’s relationship with his brother LeBron serving as the central premise instead of five friends interacting with the basketball star for the first time. Hart, to his credit, has some familiarity with the NBA, both as a regular participant in the league’s All-Star Celebrity Game and from acting alongside Metta World Peace in 2012’s “Think Like a Man.” LeBron has experience acting as host on “Saturday Night Live” and has a series in development at Starz, but this will be his debut on the silver screen. Here’s hoping the opening credits list him as “And Introducing LeBron James.”

Of course, it might be a mistake to speak of this project as if it’s a sure thing. For all we know, James and the Heat will fail to win the 2014 title in embarrassing fashion, with pending free agent LeBron spurning his team for a hated rival in the TV special “The Decision II: Money Never Sleeps.” Then Grazer, James, Hart, and their cohort will have to push “Ballers” back again, waiting for a time when the moviegoing public is ready to accept LeBron with open arms.

What I’m saying, basically, is that “Ballers” may eventually only get made as a “Last Vegas” ripoff in which 70something retirees LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Mario Chalmers (played by Kevin Hart) return to the NBA for one last crazy weekend before their children put them in a nursing home. It’ll be the top-grossing movie of 2050, just ahead of the newest entry in the “Transformers” series.

The couple were in attendance at this past weekend’s UFC 298 pay-per-view, where they were interviewed by TNT Sports. Asked whether he had ever thought about stepping into the Octagon, Ford said:

“100%. I do get nervous about messing up this pretty face. I will say I’ve always been a fan of it, always train for it. It is something I was talking about in the last two years about actually going over and having a match. Seeing CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and even Bobby Lashley, the guy I’m with now, doing different promotions, those fighter promotions. So, it was something I had an interest in, but it got shut down quickly by [gestures to Bianca]”.

 

“Listen, it’s rough in there, you know? You get a heel or a big toe right to the eye and get knocked out, and I have to watch that? It’s tough. I love to watch it for entertainment, but to see my husband in there…but I’ll support him no matter what he wants to do”.

Belair herself may have a tough test up ahead, with TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace wanting a match with her.

Kelly Piquet’s daughter, Penelope, has motorsport running through her veins. Her grandfather, Nelson Piquet, and her uncle, Nelson Piquet Jr., are F1 racers. She is the daughter of Ferrari F1 racer Daniil Kvyat, and her mother is currently dating two times world champion Max Verstappen.

After the dominant performance of Red Bull in the Bahrain Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has been spending quality time with his family. He started dating Kelly at the end of 2020 and has been a best friend to his stepdaughter Penelope, whom he lovingly addresses as P.

Kelly and Max’s relationship has been going stronger than ever. Recently, he took P to the racetrack for some first hand go-karting experience.

 

In Kelly Piquet’s official Instagram account, the family is seen wearing racing gear in a picture, followed by a short video of a Go Kart going around the track. Nevertheless, Kelly and Penelope seem to be properly enjoying their time with the Bahrain Grand Prix winner.

“From the most special dinner in the desert, to a fun boat day, to P finally learning how to swim on her own, P’s first time in a go kart, water parks, movies, arcades, and to ending the trip with a fantastic start to the race year,” she posted.

How did the fans react?
Kelly’s Instagram post flooded social media, as fans all over the world seemed to love the stepfather-daughter relationship between Max and P. Here are some comments from the post:

“Max and P 🥹🥹 you can see how much he loves you and her.”

“The boat photo is so sweet.”

“Look at max man.. so inspirational!”

“Max teaching p to swim is the most adorable thing.”

“The way she leans on Max.”

“Such a beautiful lil family. Its so cute to see Max and P together as well! “

How is Max Verstappen performing in the 2023 calendar year?
After winning back-to-back Formula 1 Championships in 2021 and 2022, Max Verstappen has had a brilliant start in 2023. He heads into the year with an early lead as he and Red Bull dominate in the Bahrain Grand Prix. He finished the race with a total time of 1:33:56.736, almost 12 seconds ahead of second place, Sergio Perez.

Do you think Max will be able to win the Championship three times in a row after such a brilliant start? Don’t forget to comment your thoughts!

Maria Sharapova is quite busy between business and fashion after she retired from tennis in 2020. Now, PR Newswire released a press release about Stagwell set to host world-class athletes as part of the 2023 Cannes Lions. And in that press release, details were shared about how they want to create a cultural zeitgeist platform for sports.

Sharapova will be joined by Allyson Felix, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field, Spencer Dinwiddie, a Brooklyn Nets star, along with DK Kizer, a former quarterback. And other well-known personalities from the NBA arena.

The former world number one will be among the spoon sport’s first beach partners, all ready to share their vigor and acumen regarding the power of sports and also their ability to connect with large audiences.

 

Sharapova and her new life
The tennis player announced her retirement back in February 2020 and is now facing her new path as a married woman and mother of a small child.

Sharapova spoke in an interesting interview with the microphones of New Beauty and released interesting statements. Here are her words: “The role of mother must arrive at a certain point in your life, I felt ready and to tell the truth it was something I’ve always dreamed of.

I have an excellent relationship with my mother, we are very close and we share a lot, we are related and this is also why I wanted to have a child so that I could share my experiences with him. I’m excited to see him grow and I’m learning new things too.

Every day is a new day, there’s always something to learn and it’s a great challenge.” The former tennis player continues: “Even the sporting aspect is very demanding, it keeps you grounded every day. Tennis was something I wanted to do every week, beyond winning and losing.

 

 

I always had to reinvent myself and challenge myself and I just didn’t feel comfortable. I don’t know if it’s more difficult being a tennis player or a mother, let’s just say both roles are very demanding.” Maria then spoke of her son Theodore, the true protagonist of the interview: “He is an exemplary child, I often talk to him and pray that he has a quiet day.

Fortunately he is very good, I was lucky I must say. Also when I breastfeed him I’m always hungry, I feel like I always have to eat and this thing intrigues me. This was the fastest year of my life, it flew by in the blink of an eye.

I’m excited about this phase of my life, I feel like I’m spending my first months of life and I see that everything is fine. I’m curious to understand how my life will unfold, between work and family and the important thing is to find the right balance.”