Sports Beat

How's this for a lineup: Allen Iverson at the point, rapper Jay-Z on the wing. That's the strategy at Reebok, which has begun a marketing partnership with the rapper called the S. Carter Collection by Rbk. ( Jay-Z's real name is Shawn Carter.) The street sneakers, priced at around $150, will be unveiled in ads during NBA All-Star weekend in February. This is the latest entr�e into the hardwood arena for Jay-Z, who cites Iverson in his song A Million and 1 Questions ("To guide ya'll through, show you how it's done, I'm the question and the answer like Iverson") and styles NBA throwback jerseys. Last week the rapper and his lady love, Beyonce Knowles—below, together at a Knicks game—joined Michael Jordan, Charles Oakley and Ahmad Rashad for dinner at swanky Jimmy's Downtown in Manhattan, and for Jay-Z it was partly a research outing. He's reportedly planning to open a club in Manhattan and may name it in honor of his late friend and former St. John's and Timber-wolves star Malik Sealy.

?Sometimes even James Bond needs help, which explains how British Olympic fencer Steven Paul and U.S. surfer Laird Hamilton got onto the set of Die Another Day. Paul doubled for leading man Pierce Brosnan and also tutored Madonna, who makes a cameo in Day's sharp fencing scene. While it was Paul's first film, Hamilton, who rides a massive wave in the opening sequence, worked with Kevin Costner on Waterworld. So which Hollywood hunk is better suited to a raging surf? "I don't recommend either go there," Hamilton told SI. "It's not for the inexperienced." Nor was Hamilton overly excited about Day's compactly built costar, Halle Berry. "I like my women like I like my waves," Hamilton explained. "Big."

?Olympic mogul meister and Wheaties box-er Jonny Moseley, who hosts the MTV reality series Battle of the Sexes that debuts next month, has found that TV work can be dangerous. Last year while filming CBS's Battle of the Superstars in Jamaica, Moseley stepped on a stingray and limped to second place behind Alpine skier Bode Miller. When he returned to the island in August to shoot Battle of the Sexes, Moseley says, "I was snorkeling for about one minute and what do I see but a huge stingray. I'm scared of Jamaica." Moseley also got a fright from MTV bad boy Puck, who was on hand with the Real World cast. "Puck was chasing people around with a machete, causing havoc," Moseley says. "The experience was a trip. I had fun, but I'm not sure I'd do it again."

?Former Ravens defensive tackle Tony Siragusa plays a Russian mobster in 25th Hour, which stars Edward Norton and opens this week. Siragusa, who originally thought he'd been cast as an Italian mobster, took voice lessons to hone his Russian accent.... Dale Earnhardt Jr., who's known for his trademark compliment, "He's a kick-ass dude," should feel at home when he hosts the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Grappling Classic, a jiujitsu tournament in Concord, N.C., on Jan. 25. Grapplers include world champ Ricco Rodriguez and former champ Royce Gracie. "The point is to get the word out about jiujitsu," says Earnhardt, an avid fan of the martial art.... Curt Schilling is on the cover of this month's Worth, posing in civvies under the header "25 Most Generous Young Americans." The 36-year-old Diamondbacks pitcher, who has raised more than $3 million for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), was named the magazine's Young Benefactor of the Year.