Michael Beasley Now Doing Ballet

Move over, Yoga. Michael Beasley is here to introduce the League’s newest fitness trend: Ballet. Yup. Here’s the Star Tribune with the report: “Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley has kept busy during an extended, locked-out NBA summer when he played ball everywhere from China to Manhattan’s famed asphalt playgrounds. He has also taken up ballet to transform his body and hired a public- relations agency to improve his image. ‘I want everyone to know that I’m not this monster that they perceive,’ he said. ‘I’m a really nice guy.’ To that end, Beasley has organized what he calls an ‘All-Star Classic’ exhibition game that will be played Friday night at Osseo High School with several of his teammates and other NBA players but won’t include the star power of Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, John Wall and No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams, all of whom originally committed to play … ‘I feel like with the lockout, the main people being hurt are the fans,’ Beasley said. ‘They’re the ones suffering the most. I just felt it was right to put on a game for my hometown fans.’ … Beasley proclaimed himself completely healthy after playing much of last season despite a recurring sprained ankle and an injured hip. He has played with childhood pal Durant and Wall in exhibition games across the country and also has incorporated elements of yoga, karate and, yes, ballet into summer workouts intended to make his body stronger, more limber and help ensure a long, productive career. He has dropped about 15 pounds after playing last season at 240 pounds. ‘I don’t really dance,’ he said. ‘I do it for the stretching.’ Does he own a tutu? ‘No, no, no, no,’ he replied. ‘I wear shorts and a shirt.’ Is this just a ploy to get on ‘Dancing With the Stars?’ ‘I don’t really consider myself a star,’ he said, ‘but if they want me to dance, I’ll dance.'”