Yasiel Puig
Right fielder, Los Angeles Dodgers
The enthusiastic rookie, who defected from Cuba with his mom in 2012 on his second attempt, has helped ignite the team from last place in the National League West to a comfortable first-place lead.
Right fielder, Los Angeles Dodgers
The enthusiastic rookie, who defected from Cuba with his mom in 2012 on his second attempt, has helped ignite the team from last place in the National League West to a comfortable first-place lead.
Since the 22-year-old — who signed a rich seven-year, $42 million contract — was called up June 3 from the minors, the fleet, muscular Puig has come out swinging in baseball and pop culture, earning the league's Player of the Week honors after his first seven days in the big leagues.
The sizzling debut has propelled Dodger baseball into must-see TV again and fueled sellouts at home and on the road. (A recent walk-off victory against the New York Yankees notched KCAL 9's highest local ratings for a regular-season game since 1998.)
Puig notes that Dodger Stadium — and his downtown L.A. apartment — are his favorite places in the city, where he frequently is spotted in his now-trademark white Rolls-Royce.
"Here, the media gets me in one spot as opposed to when I'm on the road and I'm inundated with cameras," he tells THR via an interpreter — he's still learning English — noting that he's now recognized nearly everywhere he goes. (Puig uses his Instagram feed to document his encounters with such athletes and entertainers as LeBron James, Snoop Dogg and Jay Z.)
Puig also is taking care of his enterprising business, signing a sunglasses deal with Italian designer Rudy Project, though he denies reports of a deal with Jay Z's Roc Nation sports management division (he's repped by Jaime Torres).
As for going Hollywood, he jokes that he's open to a Puig biopic — with one stipulation. "If anyone wants to do a movie about my life, give me a call, I'll star in it," the 6-foot-3 star says with a roaring laugh.
Second baseman, New York Yankees
"I can't wait until the offseason," says Cano on a breezy summer night as the New York Yankees uncharacteristically sit close to the bottom of the American League East standings.
VIDEO: New York Yankees' All-Star 2nd Baseman Robinson Cano's THR Photo Shoot
"When I first came up to the majors [in 2005], I was interested in what people in the media said," the 30-year-old says. "But you have to learn how to put it to the side."
VIDEO: New York Yankees' All-Star 2nd Baseman Robinson Cano's THR Photo Shoot
Forward, Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder star, 24, has nabbed the regular-season scoring title three times, won Olympic gold in London and memorably squared off against LeBron James’ Miami Heat in the 2012 Finals (the series’ decisive game pulled in 18.4?million viewers on ABC).
In 2010, the Washington, D.C., native signed a five-year contract extension with the Thunder reportedly worth $86 million, and he’s already preparing for future negotiations: In June, Durant became the first basketball player to sign with Jay Z’s agency Roc Nation Sports.
"I thought it would be cool to have a group that's focused on helping me out and helping me grow off the court," he tells THR, adding, "My mind-set is: Play the game the right way, you win, you show people what kind of player you are, then the endorsements or the off-the-court stuff will come." (He now has contracts with Sprint, Gatorade, sports memorabilia company Panini, General Electric, game developer 2K Sports and Nike, with earnings adding to estimated $13 million a year.)
Quarterback, Washington Redskins
While at Texas' Copperas Cove High School, he was the best 400-meter hurdler in the country, so fans knew he was fast. In his final season at Baylor University — from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science, having made the dean's list twice — he set records for passing yards and passing efficiency, so it was clear he could throw.
Downhill skier
Ever since nabbing the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver — with almost 30 million TV viewers watching — American skier Vonn has been bombarded with high-profile offers. Among those she nixed: reality TV shows, alcohol ads and a Playboy spread in Germany.
The 5-foot-10, 28-year-old Vonn — who burst onto the world stage as a teenager at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where she competed in slalom and combined — has parlayed her success on the slopes into a slew of lucrative endorsement deals including Rolex, Red Bull, Head and Oakley (she reportedly is worth about $3 million).
Despite numerous offers of acting work, Vonn has kept Hollywood largely at bay due to a grueling training schedule that sees her in the gym four to six hours a day, five to six days a week.
"It’s always like a week or 10 days of shooting, and I never have that much time to give while I’m preparing for my next event," says the Law & Order junkie (her parents are lawyers).
Vonn's star power continues to rise, thanks in part to her romance with Tiger Woods. As for the biggest perk of being one-half of a celebrity sports couple, Vonn is quick to weigh in: "It’s really cool because I know the feeling of working hard and winning, and it's fun to watch the person whom I love do the same thing."
Vonn now has her sights set on her fourth Olympics — next year’s hot-button Games in Sochi, Russia. Although calls for a boycott are mounting in the face of Russia’s anti-gay laws, Vonn is noncommittal. "I feel like every place that we go to for the Olympic Games — like Beijing — there’s a lot of controversy," she says. "I think that’s just part of the Games, and we’ll see what happens."