James drops from third to sixth in Harris Interactive survey conducted June 14-21, before he left the Cavaliers for Miami. Woods a factor despite news of his numerous extra-marital affairs. Serena and Venus Williams favorite female stars.
LeBron James (left) is five titles behind Kobe Bryant (right) and five notches below him in popularity.New York -- Tiger Woods has dropped into a tie with Kobe Bryant as the favorite American sports star.
Woods had held the position alone since 2006, but the Los Angeles Lakers guard moved up from fourth last year to grab a share of the top spot, Harris Interactive said Tuesday.
LeBron James dropped from third to sixth in the company's survey of 2,227 adults conducted online June 14-21, before he left Cleveland to sign with Miami. Retired NBA star Michael Jordan fell from second to seventh.
Yankees captain Derek Jeter moved up one spot to third and quarterback Brett Favre went from ninth to fourth. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning was fifth, up from seventh.
New England quarterback Tom Brady, who failed to make the top 10 last year, was at No. 8, followed by New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
NASCAR's Jeff Gordon and St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols dropped out of the top 10.
Among female athletes, sisters Serena and Venus Williams were 1-2, followed by race car driver Danica Patrick, retired soccer star Mia Hamm and tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova.
Volleyball player Misty May-Treanor was tied for seventh with gymnast Shawn Johnson; basketball player Lisa Leslie was ninth; and retired tennis players Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova were tied for 10th.
Dropping out of the top 10 were basketball's Candace Parker, golfer Annika Sorenstam, former tennis star Chris Evert and figure skater Michelle Kwan.