Sports

SI cover model Kate Upton lends her good looks and apparent video game expertise to help a quartet of major leaguers learn the ropes in an ad for the new game MLB 2K12.

Titled “Finger Mechanics with Kate Upton,” the ad shows the curvaceous blonde teaching the baseball stars to an unhittable circle changeup ... virtually of course.

“Take your thumb, go up and then around, and that’s a circle change,” says Upton, who graces the cover of Sports Illustrated‘s swimsuit edition, to her audience.

Best. Pitching. Coach. Ever.

Kate Upton MLB 2K12 Ad

The ballplayers getting their learn on from the 19-year-old stunner are Detroit's Justin Verlander, Tampa's David Price, Cincinnati's Jay Bruce and L.A.'s C.J. Wilson.

MLB 2K12 comes out on March 6, and Upton's lesson may pay off: A user who pitches a perfect game will be entered into a contest for a chance to win $1 million.

Date with Kate not included.

University of Alabama freshman Jack Blankenship thought of a great way to distract players from opposing schools: With a huge photo of his own contorted face.

From snarling Saddam Hussein to sultry Marilyn Monroe, giant craniums are nothing new in the stands of sporting events. But this was definitely a unique twist.

Blankenship, a native of the Tide's hometown of Tuscaloosa, began showing up behind the basket at games this month with a giant picture of his own dome:

Alabama Fan Distracts Other Team

"I never really saw the relevance of photos of celebrities, so I figured why not just a picture of me," Jack said. "I thought that it would be a little different."

The unusual sight of a student waving a giant picture of his own face during free throw attempts drew far more attention than Blankenship ever expected.

ESPN2 cameras caught him with the sign during Alabama's 69-67 overtime victory over Ole Miss on February 4, prompting announcer Pam Ward to remark:

"This guy ... who does that? I mean, who makes a picture of themselves?"

It's a fair question, but so is this: Why don't more skinny freshman fans at colleges across the country do this! Random, goofy-faced challenge extended!

Sports Illustrated cover girl Kate Upton is all the rage this week after the magazine's annual swimsuit issue mega-unveiling, so naturally, her love life is in focus.

Leave it to Ellen DeGeneres to get to the bottom of one recent rumor.

The talk show host got straight to the point by asking stating, "Your boyfriend, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. How does he feel about this?"

"I did not have a Valentine's date this year," Kate Upton, 19, responded. Ellen was unfazed by that seemingly implausible, evasive response, continuing:

"OK, so he was busy ... So how does your boyfriend Mark Sanchez feel about all this whole Sports Illustrated cover thing? He must be proud, right?"

"Well, even if I had a boyfriend. I wouldn't ask how he felt about it," Kate said, persistently dodging Ellen's questions. But again, it didn't end there.

"He would just tell you though, right? Has he told you? Your boyfriend Mark Sanchez? I'm just guessing that it's him. Is it him?" DeGeneres asked.

No response. Kate then asked Ellen if she wants Mark to be her boyfriend, which she point-blank replied, "Yeah... He's cute. Don't you think he's cute?"

Kate finally caved, a little, adding, "Yeah, he is cute," and explained that she met him years ago through her sister that works for the New York Jets.

That was enough for Ellen, who concluded: "She's dating Mark Sanchez." Maybe. But if she isn't, we doubt she'll be alone next Valentine's Day.

The last man off the bench just a few weeks ago, New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin is lighting up NBA opponents and causing Linsanity in the sports world.

Battling lawsuits, probation restrictions, stalkers and clothing 24/7, Lindsay Lohan creates a different kind of Lindsanity every time she leaves the house.

From New York to Los Angeles, how do these gripping phenomena stack up against each other? Let's find out in a THG Tale of the Tape showdown!

1. NEW YORK POST COVER HEADLINE

Lin: AMASIAN!
Lindsay: SMASHED
Edge: Lin

2. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Lin: Harvard
Lindsay: Lynwood Correctional Facility for Women
Edge: Lin

3. 2011 EARNINGS

Lin: $473,604
Lindsay: $1,000,000+
Edge: Lindsay

4. MOST OFTEN SEEN ...

Lin: On the court
Lindsay: In the courtroom
Edge: Lin

Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa Bryant just split, but are already working on a reconciliation, according to reports... and photos of them kissing (on TMZ).

Vanessa showed up for the Lakers' win over the Atlanta Hawks last night, and the couple shared a kiss in the tunnel on the way into the locker room.

Love was apparently in the air for the ex-spouses on Valentine's Day!

Vanessa filed for divorce in December, and they already sealed a property settlement deal in which she got all three of their homes and $75 million.

The pair married over a decade ago and have two little girls (above).

However, Kobe has been trying to win her back ever since the split, and the divorce is not final, so there's more than a glimmer of hope for the pair.

While Kobe and Vanessa Bryant submitted all the necessary papers to divorce, it doesn't become finalized until mid-June - six months under California law.

There's plenty of time to withdraw the papers, and it looks like things are trending that way, though Kobe and Vanessa are NOT living together ... yet.

[Photo: WENN.com]

It's official: Jeremy Lin is a Linternational sensation.

The New York Knicks point guard hit a three-pointer with .5 seconds remaining last night to help his team post its sixth straight victory, 90-87 over the Toronto Raptors.

Lin finished with 28 points and 11 assists and has now scored more points in his first five starts than any player in modern NBA history. Watch the game-winner now:

Jeremy Lin Game-Winner Versus Toronto

Let's all hope Floyd Mayweather was paying attention.

That law-breaking boxer posted one of the dumbest Tweets in the history of Twitter - which is saying A LOT - this week when he wrote that "Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise."

Right. Because no black players in the NBA ever receive praise and because Lin isn't accomplishing feats that, literally, no one has accomplished on the court in 40 years.

Can't this bigoted moron go to jail already?

Kate Upton's Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition cover, which was leaked yesterday and goes on sale today, is pretty close to a dream come true for guys.

And for the 19-year-old model herself.

The Floridaian follows in the footsteps of bikini-baring bombshells Irina Shayk, Brooklyn Decker, Bar Refaeli and Marissa Miller as SI swimsuit cover girl.

She's modeled for Victoria's Secret and posed for racy Guess? ads when she was the face of the clothing line, but nothing in her life compares to this:

After Kate Upton's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover was unveiled, she told People, "This means so much for me personally. This has always been my dream."

Upton says the cover image was among the first ones taken by legendary photographer Walter Iooss, Jr., during the photo shoot in Sydney, Australia.

"In the beginning you're pretty relaxed, you're not thinking of new poses and it just feels really natural at that point," she says.

"At Sports Illustrated everyone's so nice. It’s like a family, you don't really think too much into it. I just have a lot of fun and be myself. It just comes so naturally."

Kate Upton's Sports Illustrated cover: The hottest ever?

Kate Upton will grace the cover of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

The announcement was made by ... the leaked cover below, first posted on TMZ.

A few of the issues arrived early to a gas station in Michigan (why that state got first dibs, who the heck knows) and the pics are already making the online rounds, as these things frequently seem to do. Check out Kate Upton's SI swimsuit issue cover below:

Sports Illustrated originally planned to announce the 2012 swimsuit edition cover girl and the cover shot at an event tonight ... and they still might. But here she is.

Kate Upton was recently rumored to be dating Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets. There's no rumor about this, though: The 19-year-old (?!) is a stunner!

Upton made a sizzling debut in last year's edition, but it's safe to say this 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover will launch her into the stratosphere.

For those out there saying that the swimsuit issue has nothing to do with sports, annual issue also features athletes in body paint (i.e. Alex Morgan nude).

So there.

The Lin Dynasty is taking over the NBA. He just Lins, baby. His every move is simply unbeLINable.

Seriously, Jeremy Lin is awesome.

After just three starts, the Harvard graduate - yes, Harvard - is the talk of professional basketball, dropping 38 points on the Los Angeles Lakers last night, outdueling Kobe Bryant and piling up the most points in his first trio of career starts than anyone NBA player in 40 years.

Stars from Dwayne Johnson to Spike Lee are singing Lin's praises on Twitter, while the only thing more proficient than his buckets are the pun-based headlines sweeping newspapers around the country.

Before Lin made it big in the NBA, though, he starred in a YouTube video alongside viral sensation Ryan Higa (aka "nigahiga"). Watch “How to Get into Harvard” now and join the Linsanity...

Jeremy Lin Music Video - How To Get into Harvard

They were teammates on the field, but Hope Solo and Alex Morgan are going at it away from the soccer pitch.

In October, the Team USA goalie posed naked for ESPN the Magazine's Body issue and now Morgan, another star on last summer's World Cup squad, is doing the same in the upcoming Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

She's seen here in boday paint only:

"It was a completely new experience and definitely took some getting used to before I felt comfortable," Morgan says of standing around in nary an item of clothing. "I had to look in the mirror every five minutes to make sure I actually had a swimsuit on."

She does. Sort of.

This iconic, controversial edition of Sports Illustrated will be released on Tuesday, with the cover model unveiled Monday night on The Late Show with David Letterman.