Will Ferrell and Heidi Klum in 2008 Sports Illustrated

Leave it to Will Ferrell to do brilliant cross-promotion of his sports movies. His latest is “Semi-Pro”, a basketball comedy, and instead of showing up at the NBA All-Stars game, what does he do? He shows up in Sports Illustrated’s 2008 Swimsuit Issue with a half-naked Heidi Klum groping him. Why? Um, probably because his movie will be of no real interest to real basketball fans, but it will to guys who like to ogle half-naked chicks in bikinis. You da man, Will Ferrell!

Jackie Moon is one-hit wonder who used the profits from the success of his chart-topping song “Love Me Sexy” to achieve his dream of owning a basketball team. But Moon’s franchise, the Flint Michigan Tropics, is the worst team in the league and in danger of folding when the ABA announces its plans to merge with the NBA. If they want to survive, Jackie and the Tropics must now do the seemingly impossible — win.

Images from SI: