Manchester United's Wayne Rooney - Austin Osuide photo

SPORTS NOTES - WANYE ROONEY & LeBRON JAMES from TEENAGERS TO IMMEDIATE SUCCESS IN THE PROS

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

Never mind injuries Wayne Rooney is an all grit footballer who has toughness, skill and determination. If it's someone you want to watch your back then Rooney is the man - What is behind the drive of LeBron James rise to fame and success? After winning his second consecutive NBA MVP Award there is something that has driven him to his success which is captured in a film documentary More Than A Game

Tuesday May 4, 2010

WAYNE ROONEY - THE IRON MAN

When it comes to having someone watching your back the guy who qualifies is Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. Rooney is as tough as nails and is all blood and guts. When he goes down with an injury he returns to the pitch ahead of schedule. The best thing is he's a hell of a footballer.

Still a baby at 24 Rooney is coming back again from injury to help his team fight it out with their last breath in the battle with Chelsea for the English Premiere league title. If it's tough your looking for you can find it in Rooney.

Rooney began his career with Everton, joining their youth team at age ten and rising through the ranks. He made his professional debut in 2002 and his first goal made him the youngest goal scorer in Premier League history at the time. He quickly became part of Everton's first team, spending two seasons at the Merseyside club. Before the start of the 2004-05 season he moved to Manchester United for £25.6 million and became a key member of the first team. Since then, he has won the Premier League three times, the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League and also two League Cups.

Rooney made his England debut in 2003 and at Euro 2004 he briefly became the competition's youngest goal scorer. He is frequently selected for the England squad and also featured in the 2006 World Cup.

A quick starter On 19 October 2002, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney scored a match-winning goal against reigning league champions Arsenal; in addition to ending Arsenal's thirty-match unbeaten run, it made Rooney the youngest goal scorer in Premier League history, a record that has since been surpassed twice; first by James Milner and then by James Vaughan. He was named BBC Sports' 2002 Young Personality of the Year. He played 33 Premier League games that season and scored six goals.

Though a Liverpool native and an Everton fan as he was growing up Rooney became disenchanted with the clubs performance after the 2003-04 season when they finished seventh. He wanted to be with a more competitive club to challenge for European competition thus he requested a transfer which Everton refused. A bidding war ensued between Newcastle and Man U. Manchester United ultimately won the bidding war and Rooney signed after a £25.6 million deal with Everton was reached. At the time of his sale Everton were struggling financially with a significant debt and the deal helped turn the clubs finances around. It was the highest fee ever paid for a player aged under 20. Rooney was still only 18 years old when he left Everton.

Rooney became the youngest player to play for England when he earned his first cap in a friendly against Australia on 12 February 2003 at seventeen, the same age in which he also became the youngest player to score an England goal. Arsenal youngster Theo Walcott broke Rooney's appearance record by 36 days in June 2006.

His first tournament action was at Euro 2004, in which he became the youngest scorer in competition history on 17 June 2004, when he scored twice against Switzerland; however, this record was topped by Swiss midfielder Johan Vonlanthen four days later. Rooney suffered an injury in the quarterfinal match against Portugal as England was eliminated on penalties.

In addition to a down to the wire battle with Chelsea for the Premiere League title Rooney is fighting it out with Chelsea's Didier Drogba for the golden boot scoring title. The departure of Christiano Ronaldo has given Rooney more space to shine and display his talents. His next big test will be in the World Cup when a tattered England squad will face the Worlds best national football teams.

SAY WHAT!!!

ESPN Singapore reported that former Chelsea manager Luiz Filipe Scolari currently with an Uzbekistan club side is the highest paid manager in football earning 13 million Euros a year topping another former Chelsea manager now Inter Milan Jose Mourinho 11 million Euros.

GO FIGURE

Denmark a nation with only 5 million people is capable of producing a world class football squad that is currently ranked 34th in the FIFA WORLD RANKINGS. To put that into perspective Cambodia has a population of 14 million and are ranked 171. Agreed Cambodian football has had their problems but the nation has almost three times Denmark's population. If they handle their business properly and focus on developing a top notch football program population doesn't matter intentions and effort do.

LeBron James on the move - Keith Allison Photo

LeBRON JAMES IS MORE THAN A GAME PLAYER

The meteoric rise of LeBron James was embellished with his winning his second consecutive NBA MVP Award. His Cleveland Cavaliers are currently fighting it out with the Boston Celtics in the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs.

James, the only Cavalier to ever win the award, was second in the NBA in scoring (29.7 ppg) and averaged 8.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 block, leading Cleveland to an NBA-best 61-21 regular season record. James' 8.6 assists broke the record for highest assist per game average by a forward in NBA history (Larry Bird, 7.6 apg, 1986-87). The 6'8" forward led the league in scoring on the road (31.0 ppg), helping Cleveland tie the NBA's second-best road record at 26-15 (Boston).

In the 76 regular season games he played this year, James amassed 2,258 points, 651 assists and 554 rebounds, becoming just the third player (seventh time) to have more than 2,250 points, 650 assists and 550 rebounds in a season (Oscar Robertson, five times, 1961-66; Michael Jordan, 1988-89).

James has been a quiet leader but as he's maturing and gaining confidence with his success it raises the question what drove him to be up to this point one of the best ever NBA players. To top that off his journey began being drafted into the league out of St. Vincent - St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio when he was only 18-years-old.

The answer can be found in a documentary about James with footage of him and his childhood friends growing up in Akron Ohio with the dream of becoming the best high school basketball team in the USA.

The film captures James and three of his closest friends sticking together from starting out as a youth team that practiced at the Salvation Army's basketball court. From that point on they had the same coach guide them when he became the coach of their when they reached high school.

The real underlying reason why he became so driven is his young single mother who gave birth to James at 16. His mother was only six months shy of graduating from high school. There was a period of time where within a year they moved several times verging on having no place at all to reside. They stuck together. She gave him love and he responded by being a good kid who was motivated by her and his love for his friends and basketball.

To this day the 25-year-old James remains friends with his former teammates. The film also tells their journey with much of the documentary featuring them and how they bonded as friends and gave each other support. It's not all about James their story also inspires motivation.

If it's a positive story you're looking for about rising from the depths of poverty to being strong and successful that story is told in this film. More Than A Game is an inspiring film and a must watch worthy of adding to your video library.

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