December 16th, 2008 - Famous Sporting Families

My final article is on Deidre Freeman, a diver at the University of Iowa. Deidre's dream is to become an Olympic diver. She's already making waves in her sport (excuse the pun). Her freshman year at Iowa she led the team in one-meter and three-meter dives and recorded eight top-five finishes. As a sophomore she ranked eighth all-time at Iowa in one-meter diving and fifth all-time in three-meter diving. She was also an academic all-Big Ten letterwinner. Needless to say, she's holding her own in her family.

Although her dream to become an Olympian is an amazing feat, it only seems natural to her because both her parents went to the Olympic trials. Her mom competed in the high jump at the Canadian Olympic trials before the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. Her dad competed in U.S. pole vaulting trials in those years as well.

In celebration of this sporting family phenomenon I'm doing my blog component on famous kids of famous athlete parents. First I'll name off some famous father-son duos, next father-daughter and last, kids of famous athlete parents.
I also added on a few athete couples who are looking to have kids in the near future.

Like father like son-
1. Felipe Alou and Moises Alou (Baseball - MLB)
2. Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds (Baseball - MLB)
3. Ralph Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Racing - NASCAR)
4. Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. (Baseball - MLB)
5. Gordie Howe and Mark Howe (Hoceky - NHL & WHA)
6. Archie Manning, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning (Football - NFL)
7. Ken Norton and Ken Norton Jr. (Boxing)
8. Gilles Villeneuve and Jacques Villeneuve (Racing - F1)
9. Boby Hull and (Hockey - NHL)
10. Al Unser and (Racing - Indy Car)
11. Calvin Hill and Grant Hill (Football - NFL)
12. Yannick Noah and Joakim Noah (Tennis)
13. In Wright, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Shaun Wright (Soccer - PREM)
14. Yogi Berra, Dale Berra and Tim Berra (Baseball - MLB, Football - NFL)
15. Bill Walton and Luke Walton(Basketball - NBA)
16. Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and Marco Andretti (Racing - Indy Car)
17. Lee Petty and Richard Petty (Racing - NASCAR)
18. Man o' War and War Admiral (Horse Racing)
19. Jimmy Walker and Jalen Rose (Basketball - NBA)
20. Bob Greise and Brian Greise (Football - NFL)
21. Joe Bryant and Kobe Bryant (Basketball)

Like father like daughter-
1. Muhammad Ali and Laila Ali (Boxing)
2. Nate Williams and Natalie Williams (Basketball - NBA & WNBA)
3. Valeri Liukin and Anna Kotchneva Liukin - Nastia Liukin (Gymnastics)
4. Michael Carter and Michelle Carter (Shot put)
5. Robbie Nay and Meagen Nay (Swimming)

Children of famous athletes -
1. Nancy Chaffee (Tennis) and Ralph Kiner (Baseball) - had three children before divorcing
2. Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner (Gymnastics) - had a baby boy in 2006
3. Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi (Tennis) - have two children, Jaden Gil and Jaz
4. Mia Hamm (Soccer) and Nomar Garciaparra (Baseball) - gave birth to twin girls in 2007
5. Julianne McNamara (Gymnastics) and Todd Zeile (Baseball) - have four children
6. Ann Meyers (Basketball) and Don Drysdale (Baseball)- had three children
7. Kristi Yamaguchi (Ice Skating) and Bret Hedican (Hockey) - have two daughters
8. Sara Renner (Cross Country Skiing) and Thomas Grandi (Technical Skiing) - have a baby daughter named Aria
9. Gabrielle Reece (Volleyball) and Laird Hamilton (Surfing) - have a daughter named Reece
10. Jennie Finch (Softball) and Casey Daigle (Baseball) - have a young son called Ace

Kids soon...maybe -
1. Misty May (Volleyball) and Matt Treanor (Baseball)
2. Kerri Walsh and Casey Jennings (Volleyball)