ESPN Sportscenter Commercials Trivia Quiz

Answer: LeBron James

LeBron James was drafted right out of high school and entered the NBA with such high expectations that he was tagged with more than one nickname. The one that stuck was "King James", but this particular commercial keyed in on "The Chosen One". "Videogame James", "L-Train", "Bron Bron" and "LBJ" were other nicknames that never really caught on.

Answer: Maria Sharapova

At the age of 17, Maria Sharapova won the women's title at Wimbledon. In doing so, she replaced Anna Kournikova as the darling of the tennis world. Maria was born in Siberia, but moved to Florida in the United States when she was six.

Answer: Kerri Strug

In the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Kerri was competing in the women's team competition. Going into the last rotation, the American women held a large lead over the second-place Russians. This lead started to dwindle as Dominique Moceneau fell on both of her vaults. On her first vault, Kerri hurt her ankle badly, but it was thought she needed a good score to hold the lead and win gold. Encouraged by her coach Bela Karolyi ("You can do it!"), she executed a vault that the judges scored a 9.712. The commercial evokes one of the most indelible images of that competition: Bela Karolyi carrying the injured Strug off the mat.

Answer: Boston Celtics

Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett come up with some doozies. First, Kevin Garnett suggests The Three Basketeers. Next, Paul Pierce pitches The Parquet Posse (sorry, I couldn't pass on the alliteration opportunity) in reference to the Boston Garden's famous parquet floor. Then, Ray Allen offers up Barrage Trois, adding, "It's French". Finally in unison, all three offer up The Three Amigos in reference to the movie starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short. They even do the little dance manuever seen in the movie.

Steve evokes some colonial history and calls them The Boston Three Party, which seems to please them. It also seems to stick, especially on ESPN sportscasts. Now history (legend in Bean Town), the Boston Celtics completed a fairy-tale season in 2008 by bringing Boston its 17th championship banner.

Answer: Kobe Bryant

Kobe looks so young in this commercial because he is only 17. Another basketball player drafted directly out of high school, he was selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets who promptly traded him to the Lakers for Vlade Divac. Kobe has had a storied career with three championships, ten all-star elections and an MVP selection.

He also has a gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics as part of the Redeem Team. In the commercial, the anchors claim the rookies lack confidence and they are forced to repeat the phrase "I am the man!" as a confidence-building mantra.

Answer: Roger Federer

At the time the commerical was written Roger Federer was ranked as the top male tennis player in the world. He held that rank for a record 237 consecutive weeks. He even retained the ranking after losing to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2008. The streak ended on August 18th after Roger failed to make the gold medal round in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Answer: Greg Oden

Greg Oden played one year at Ohio State University. He led the Buckeyes to the championship game of the NCAA Tournament, but lost to Florida. He is considered the most skilled center to enter the league since Shaquille O'Neal and the team that drafted him, the Portland Trailblazers, expect him to be a force under the basket.

In the commercial he tries to prove that he's sophisticated and dynamic. The funniest line is, "I'm a chameleon."

Answer: LaDainian Tomlinson

LaDainian Tomlinson was drafted 5th overall out of Texas Christian by the San Diego Chargers. He is known as a fierce competitor and a talented, powerful runner. What causes his errors in the mailroom is his trademark dark shield that he wears just inside the grill of his helmet.

This keeps defenders from reading his eyes and figuring out which way he will make his cut. Come to think of it, how do we know that's actually LT in that uniform?

Answer: Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony, known as 'Melo", is well-known for always wearing a coordinating headband. When Allen Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets, he and other players took to wearing a headband as well. The worst part of this commercial is how drenched with sweat Scott's shirt is.

Answer: Tony Romo

Tony Romo is surrounded by friends and members of the famous Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Jessica Simpson is conspicuously absent. The Eastern Illinois star was an unsigned free agent in 2003. Dallas scooped him up and he showed they made the right choice three years later on "Sunday Night Football" by defeating the Carolina Panthers. Two weeks later he would be instrumental in taking down the last undefeated team in the 2006 season, the Indianapolis Colts.

Many of the commercials that beat up on Scott Van Pelt are written by Scott Van Pelt. You've got to love someone who can laugh at themselves.

Answer: Drew Brees

Drew Brees is trying to fit a Mardi Gras float through the front gate, but it won't go. He's unsuccessfully trying to get people to back up. Drew Brees was originally drafted by the San Diego Chargers out of Purdue University, but signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2006 as a free agent.

Answer: Tiger Woods

By the time his career is over, Tiger Woods will probably be known as the greatest golfer of all time. Some argue that this is already the case. The commercial must not have been shot on a Sunday since Tiger is not wearing red.

Answer: Manning

Peyton and Eli are behaving like brothers do. We witness an ear flick, a wet-willy, a butt-kick and finger-pointing when Archie turns around to glare at them. Mom Olivia and older brother Cooper are also present.

Peyton and Eli have followed in their father's footsteps and have become star quarterbacks in the NFL. Both Peyton and Eli have Super Bowl rings, but Archie never even had the satisfaction of a winning season. The oldest brother, Cooper, was a wide receiver in high school and was heavily recruited. His career as a football player ended when he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis. He currently runs a successful financial firm in New Orleans.

Answer: Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' record of 61 home-runs in a single season. He hit number 62 on August 8, 1998 against Steve Traschel of the Chicago Cubs. Sammy Sosa, who was also chasing the record, was present and one of the first to congratulate Mark. Mark would go on to hit 70 home runs that season, but would later lose the record to Barry Bonds in 2001. Barry hit 73. Dan Patrick "reluctantly" accepts the ball, sells it and buys a Lamborghini.

Answer: Ozzie Guillen

Ozzie Guillen, manager of the Chicago White Sox, is seen on one of the monitors in the digital center trying to make a call to the bullpen. How he received a wrong number is not known, as those dugout phones are always direct connections to a phone in the corresponding bullpen. Ozzie took over as skipper of the Chicago White Sox in 2004, after signing in the 2003 off-season.

In 2005, he led the team to a World Series victory.

Answer: Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson was keeping the pick axe in the trunk of the Lowe's Chevy. I was unaware stock cars had trunks. Racing for Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie won back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.

Answer: Danica Patrick

It was an "honest mistake" since Dan's parking spot sign reads "D. Patrick". Danica Patrick's fourth place finish in the 2005 Indianapolis 500 was the best finish by a female driver at the annual event. On April 20, 2008, she became the first woman to win an IndyCar race at the Indy Japan 300.

Answer: Chad Johnson

After Stuart and Steve embarass themselves, John impresses Chad with the disappearing ball routine. Chad's only demand is to add a puff of smoke. Chad Johnson now goes by Chad Javon Ocho Cinco. Yep, he legally changed his name on August 28, 2008.

Answer: Michael Phelps

The medals displayed are the six gold and two bronze that he won in Athens in 2004, since the commercial was shot just after those Olympics concluded. His incredible performance in Beijing in 2008 brought his total number of medals to sixteen, fourteen of them gold.

Answer: Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe, known as Mr. Hockey, played in the NHL from 1946 until 1971 with the Detroit Red Wings. He even did a one year stint with the Hartford Whalers in 1979. The Gordie Howe hat trick consists of: 1) scoring a goal, 2) getting an assist and 3) getting into a fight. This truly displays what an all-around player he was.