Valentine's Day special: These sports stars have romance in their name

ldquoWhatrsquos in a namerdquo wrote Shakespeare Quite a lot actually especially when yoursquore a famous sports star with romance in your name and itrsquos Valentinersquos DaySports and love may sound like polar opposites but sometimes the lsquotwain do meet At least for some sports stars whose names actually evoke romance On Valentinersquos Day 2021 we take a look at sports stars whose names light the spark of love on VDayBobby Valentine baseballBobby Valentine PicAFPWhy is former American baseball player Bobby Valentine on this list Itrsquos obvious read his name Nicknamed Bobby V he has played for some of the finest teams in Major League Baseball MLB viz the Los Angeles Dodgers 1969 197172 California Angels 197375 New York Mets 197778 and Seattle Mariners 1979 He also went on to take on the role of manager for teams such as the Texas Rangers 198592 the New York Mets 19962002 and the Boston Red Sox 2012 The 70yearold is currently the athletic director for Sacred Heart University He is married to Mary Bianca the daughter of former Brooklyn Dodgers player Ralph Bianca and they have a son Bobby JrValentino Rossi MotoGPValentino Rossi PicAFPValentino Rossi get it known as one of the greatest racers of all time is also one of the biggest heartthrobs in the world of racing With a huge fan following he sets pulses racing not only on the circuit but also off it Rossi was born in the city of Urbino Italy His father Graziano is a former motorbike racer Rossi fell in love with racing at a young age and was passionate about karting He is a recordequalling ninetime Moto GP world champion and stands third in the list of those with most titles Nicknamed The Doctor he is the only racer to compete in over 400 races in his career Rossi has become a legend over the past two decades and is still giving younger racers a run for their money The 41yearold Italian will be racing for Petronas Yamaha Racing Team in the 2021 seasonAndy and Grant Flower cricketAndy and Grant Flower PicAFPThe Flower brothers are probably one of the most loved brother duos in the world of cricket and why not The two former Zimbabwe cricketers coupled their batting talent with a calm and composed approach to the gamewhich was quite a delight to watch during their career Born in Salisbury Andy and his younger brother Grant pursued cricket at a young age and were one of the finest players in their group The brothers made their debut in 1992 and were the mainstay of the Zimbabwe cricket team for a decade Grant played 67 testsscoring 3457 runs and 221 ODIs scoring 6571 runsBrother Andy known as one of the finest batsmen Zimbabwe has produced played 63 tests scoring 4794 runs and 213 ODIs with 6786 runs to his name Together the duo is famously called Flower Power Andy Flower retired from international cricket in 2003while Grant Flower retired in 2010Danny Rose footballDanny Rose PicAFPCould a surname get more romantic than Dannys The English footballer is quite the charmer even when he is not tackling strikers from the opposition Rose is one of EPL club Tottenham Hotspurs finest defenders and has played 156 games and scored 8 goals since his 2007 debut for the team Born in South Yorkshire Danny also has a younger brother Mitch who plays for Notts County They come from a football family former player Michael Rankine is a cousin Danny Rose has also played for other clubs such as Leeds United Watford Peterborough United Sunderland Bristol City and Newcastle UnitedJoe Hart footballJoe Hart PicAFPThe England footballers name may be missing an lsquoersquo however it is pronounced lsquoheartrsquo Born Charles Joseph John Hart in Shrewsbury he is one of the finest goalkeepers England has produced in recent times Joes father Charles sold gym equipment while his mother Louise was a nursery teacher Not many are aware that before his professional career in football Joe Hart also played cricket in his younger days Hart was part of the Shrewsbury CC team and also in the youth squad for Worcestershires cricket club He is most famously known for his 12year stint with EPL club Manchester City having appeared in 266 games He currently plays for Tottenham Hotspur Since his international debut in 2007 Hart has appeared for England in 75 games Hart married Kimberly Crew in Italy in 2015 and the couple has a son named HarlowBret Hart wrestlingThis former Canadian WWE wrestler is one of the biggest superstars in the history of the industry A true heartthrob who literally wore a heart read Hart on his leather jacket sleeve Bret was the face of WWE s New Generation Era in the 1990s and is known as one of the most technically sound wrestlers in the business With his boyish charm Bret Hart was a hit with women and respected by men He was born in Canada to Stu Hart another famous professional wrestler and is one of 12 siblings He is famously known as Bret The Hitman Hart as well as The Pink and Black Attack monikers he developed in WWE Hart main evented WWEs flagship payperview WrestleMania on 3 occasions WrestleMania IX X and XII He has held titles across five decades beginning in the 1970s up to the 2010s and holds a total of 17 championships in his career in WWE and WCW He won the WWF world heavyweight championship 5 times and the WCW World heavyweight championship twice During the 1990s in WWE he held the WWF title for the most number of days combined 654 Hart is infamously known for the lsquoMontreal Screwjobrsquo that occurred in 1997 during a match with Shawn Michaels which ended in controversy after which he joined WCW He returned to WWE in 2010 for a last stint and then retired Bret Hart was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by his onscreen rival Stone Cold Steve Austin The 63yearold former WWE superstar was married to Stephanie Washington in 2010 after his previous two marriages ended in divorceVagner Love footballVagner Love PicAFPLove is pretty much in the air when it comes to this footballer He was born Wagner Silva de Souza in Rio de Janeiro but is famously known as Vagner Love ndash a name he earned during his time at the club CSKA Moscow He was reportedly given the name lsquoLoversquo due to his Casanovalike lifestyle Vagner Love has been part of various football clubs such as Palmeiras CSKA Moscow Flamengo Shandong Luneng Monaco Corinthians Besiktas and Alanyaspor His most famous stint came at CSKA Moscow where in 158 matches he scored 79 goals He currently plays for the team Kairat at the Kazakhstan Premier League He was also part of the Brazilian national team that won the Copa America titles in 2004 and 2007Ron Darling baseballRon Darling PicAFPThe former American baseball player was a hit with the women during his career Born Ronald Maurice Darling Jr in Hawaii he played as a pitcher in Major League Baseball MLB He is of HawaiianChinese and FrenchCanadian descent In his 12yearlong career Ron played for teams such as the New York Mets the Montreal Expos and the Oakland Athletics His time with the NY Mets was most memorable as he even won the 1986 World Series after they defeated the Boston Red Sox in the final Darling was also a National League AllStar in 1985 and in 1989 took home the Gold Glove Award for pitchers In terms of number of alltime wins for New York Mets Darling ranks fourth with 99 wins The 60yearold was first married to model Antoinette OReilly who also featured in a few television and film roles They have two children In 2004 he married makeup artist Joanna Last with whom he has a son In 2020 Darling was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame He also appeared in Hollywood films such as Shallow Hal Day After Tomorrow and Mr 3000Reto Hug triathlonAthlete Reto takes lsquoaffectionrsquo to a whole new level At 6rsquo2rdquo Reto is a lean mean machine The former triathlon athlete who was born in Switzerland he earned a name for himself during the 2000 Summer Olympics Hug finished in eighth place with a time of 1492130 At the 2004 Olympics he completed a time of 2014043 and was placed 40th During the 2008 Olympics he was placed 29th with a timing of 1520493 Reto retired in 2012 after the International Triathlon Union ended Hug is married to Olympic gold medalwinning triathlon athlete Nicola Spirig The couple has a son and daughterBeau Belga basketballBeau means boyfriend or a male admirer But in the case of this basketball player itrsquos an identity He was born Beau Michael Vincent Esparrago Belga in The Philippines Belga plays in the Philippine Basketball Association PBA for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters basketball team His father was a driver and his mother a housewife He is the eldest of three siblings He studied at Philippine Christian University in Manila and also earned a spot to play for the PCU Dolphins Belga is a gold medal winner at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games His awards include being a threetime PBA AllStar a twotime PBA champion and an NCAA Philippines champion He is currently the assistant coach for the UST Growling Tigers teamThese athletes sure have a unique connection to Valentines Day