We secured this exclusive feature of LaShawn Merritt with USA Today. LaShawn Merritt is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist with USA Track & Field and he gives an up close and personal look into his personal training for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games along with a look back on his gold medal wins at the …
Universal Sports & Entertainment Management client and 2012 NFL Draft prospect, Brandon Boykin speaks with ESPN.com’s David Ching of Dawg Nation right before the Senior Bowl. Check out an excerpt from Brandon Boykin’s interview with ESPN.com: Don’t bother asking Brandon Boykin for an opinion on where the latest mock NFL draft predicted him to be …
We connected I AM SPORTS client and New England Patriots RB, Kevin Faulk to an exclusive interview with the HuffingtonPost.com. Jordan Schultz writes: After beating Houston 20-13 in the Divisional round, Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed proclaimed that “we’re coming and they know it,” in reference to the AFC Championship game Sunday at New England. …
Here is Neil Everett and Stan Verrett’s new commercial for the all-new Audi A6 Quattro for SportsCenter: Sphere: Related Content
We connected I AM SPORTS client and Los Angeles Clippers star, Caron Butler to a one-on-one interview with The Huffington Post. In this exclusive interview, Caron talks Chris Paul and the Clippers defense and compares playing for the Clippers versus his former Championship team, the Dallas Mavericks. (Caron Butler, far right) Excerpt from Caron Butler’s …
We connected Universal Sports & Entertainment Management client and former University of Georgia CB, Brandon Boykin to an exclusive one-on-one interview with FOX Sports South. Boykin discussed everything from his senior year with UGA football, his amazing performance at the Outback Bowl, training for the NFL Combine, 2012 NFL Draft preparation and more. LISTEN by …
We connected Universal Sports & Entertainment Management client and NFL Safety, Morgan Burnett of the Green Bay Packers to an exclusive one-on-one interview with SB Nation’s Green Bay Packers blog: Was this like a second rookie season for you since you were only able to play in four games in 2010? Honestly this will be …
We joined forces with Team USA aka the US Olympic Committee for a cross-publicity opportunity for our client, two-time 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, LaShawn Merritt. LaShawn participated in a LIVE “Athlete Chat” and took questions from fans. WATCH: Sphere: Related Content
Neil discusses his broadcast and TV career and how he landed his job at ESPN. The University of Oregon visited Neil at the ESPN Production Facility during Rose Bowl week in California. #GODUCKS Part 1/4 Interview with Neil Everett: Part 2/4 Interview with Neil Everett: Sphere: Related Content
Our client, Neil Everett, is a proud alum from the University of Oregon. He is having the time of his life as Oregon is in Los Angeles for the 98th Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio to be played on Monday, January 2, 2012 (NEVER ON SUNDAY) at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California …
Jan
25
We secured this exclusive feature of LaShawn Merritt with USA Today.
LaShawn Merritt is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist with USA Track & Field and he gives an up close and personal look into his personal training for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games along with a look back on his gold medal wins at the Olympics in 2008.
WATCH LaShawn Merritt in this candid interview with USA Today:
Hits newsstands on Thursday, January 26th, 2012.
Sphere: Related ContentJan
25
Universal Sports & Entertainment Management client and 2012 NFL Draft prospect, Brandon Boykin speaks with ESPN.com’s David Ching of Dawg Nation right before the Senior Bowl.
Check out an excerpt from Brandon Boykin’s interview with ESPN.com:
Sphere: Related ContentDon’t bother asking Brandon Boykin for an opinion on where the latest mock NFL draft predicted him to be picked.
He hasn’t heard and doesn’t particularly care to know.
“I don’t pay attention to Mel Kiper and the mock drafts. I don’t pay attention to it at all,” said Boykin, who recently completed his career as an All-SEC cornerback at Georgia. “Ultimately your performance and what you do kind of dictates those big boards and where you go. I know that they kind of favor people who are in the spotlight whose teams might be winning.”
Brandon Boykin is poised to say goodbye to college life as a Dawg, and he plans to showcase his playmaking talents this week at the Senior Bowl.
For the record, Boykin’s standing in ESPN.com’s position rankings is not too shabby. He’s rated as the No. 6 cornerback and No. 56 overall, with several NFL draft projections slotting him to go in the second or third round.Boykin should have little difficulty convincing scouts that he has the athleticism necessary to compete in the NFL. It’s his size and cornerback technique that they will scrutinize this week in Mobile and in tryouts between now and when the draft kicks off in late April.
That’s why his performance this week in practice and in Saturday’s game will be so valuable for the former Bulldog.
“I think a lot of people know that I’m a great player, but kind of haven’t seen me yet in an environment where I can just completely cover somebody one-on-one in the open field,” he said. “At Georgia, I played a lot of slot and was doing a lot of blitzing and stuff like that. My opportunity is to just show people my talent at corner, as well as how versatile I am in the return game and any other thing that I have to do on the field.”
Jan
21
We connected I AM SPORTS client and New England Patriots RB, Kevin Faulk to an exclusive interview with the HuffingtonPost.com.
Jordan Schultz writes:
Sphere: Related ContentAfter beating Houston 20-13 in the Divisional round, Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed proclaimed that “we’re coming and they know it,” in reference to the AFC Championship game Sunday at New England. Without question, Reed and his teammates will take solace in the fact that just two years ago, they went into Foxborough and destroyed the Patriots 33-14. In that game, Tom Brady threw for 154 yards, had a passer rating of 49.1 and the Ravens ran for 234 yards. “Their era is not over,” Ray Rice said afterwards. “We’ll always remember this win.”
While the 2012 Ravens still feature many of the same players that pulled off that upset, the Patriots’ personnel is rather different…
With Wes Welker injured, the only other Patriots to catch a pass that day were Randy Moss, Sammy Morris, Julian Edelman (who plays more defense than offense now), Sam Aiken and Kevin Faulk.
Perhaps no player has been through more with the New England franchise than Faulk. Drafted out of LSU in 1999, the running back has spent his entire career as a Patriot. He has been both a starter and deep reserve. He has also won three Super Bowls and while two years may not seem like a long time, it feels light years away to him.
“There is a lot of turnover on our roster from 2010,” Faulk told The Huffington Post.
“We have the resilience and will to keep playing no matter what goes on through the course of the game, but you can’t judge this team based on what we’ve done so far.”
Second-year man Hernandez has receiver-like quickness, great run-after-catch ability and — as witnessed in the Denver game (five carries for 61 yards) — is now a threat running the ball out of the backfield as well.
“He is a very diverse player and can do a lot of different things,” Faulk says. “That was something that we have worked on for a couple weeks.”
Jan
20
Here is Neil Everett and Stan Verrett’s new commercial for the all-new Audi A6 Quattro for SportsCenter:
Sphere: Related ContentJan
19
We connected I AM SPORTS client and Los Angeles Clippers star, Caron Butler to a one-on-one interview with The Huffington Post.
In this exclusive interview, Caron talks Chris Paul and the Clippers defense and compares playing for the Clippers versus his former Championship team, the Dallas Mavericks.
(Caron Butler, far right)
Excerpt from Caron Butler’s interview with The Huffington Post:
[Chris] Paul is a maestro on the open floor and the catalyst to “Lob City.” As expected, his connection with Blake Griffin has been nearly flawless, but perhaps even more impressive has been his ability to integrate DeAndre Jordan into the mix.
But it’s his defensive energy — he’s second in the league in blocks — that teammate Caron Butler believes has made the most dramatic impact.
“He’s been unbelievable,” Butler told The Huffington Post. “He has a presence inside the paint, in terms of being that guy who can anchor the defense, and keep the defense on a string.”
Butler, who in December signed a three-year, $24 million deal with the Clippers, played in just 29 games for the world champion Mavericks last season before rupturing the patellar tendon in his right knee.
He believes that time will only help this team unite even more and improve on rebounding and defense, two elements where the Clippers rank a poor 27th and 20th, respectively.
Head coach Vinny Del Negro wants his team to play a physical brand of defense — by depending on fast rotations, bumping cutters and an increased effort — in order to overcome a lack of athleticism and quickness on the perimeter. Relying on the shot-blocking prowess of Jordan is vital, he said, but they should not rely on it too much to cover up problems on the wing.
“We feel like we should and will be a better rebounding team and get better defensively,” Butler said.
In their first two benchmark victories of the young season against the Heat and Lakers, the 7-4 Clippers vastly improved on defense. Normally a scoring juggernaut, Miami scored a mere 89 points on 99 possessions. The Lakers meanwhile, were held to 94 points, mostly thanks to the Herculean, 42-point effort of Kobe. Neither foe ever established a consistent rhythm, and both were coerced into contested jump shots during critical junctures.
Paul — whom Butler praises as the linchpin to the Clippers’ success — was terrific against Miami with 27 points and 11 assists, and even better against the Lakers, registering a season-high 33 points.
With the truncated 66-game season, integrating a marquee player into the flow is challenging enough. When that player happens to be a point guard, it is even harder. Paul though, is such a cerebral player and natural floor leader that he has assumed the role with ease.
“The reason why everyone plays off of each other so well is because of Chris Paul,” Butler said.
After losing three of its first four games, the Clippers have rattled off seven of nine, with signature wins over the Lakers and Heat before being trounced in Utah without Paul. With Griffin becoming a reliable post option and not just a dunker, he is scoring on the block and consistently warranting double-teams. Despite the loss of Eric Gordon in the CP3 trade, the Clippers have a cadre of shooters to spread the floor as kick-out options in veterans Chauncey Billups, Mo Williams and Butler.
Even still, this team is likely another year or two away from being a real contender in the Western Conference. Winning four out of seven against the likes of Dallas, Oklahoma City and the Lakers is not the same as winning in January. Just don’t tell that to Butler, who knows first hand what it takes to capture a title.
“We all got the urge of winning,” he said. “There are a lot of similarities in this locker room [compared to Dallas]. Guys genuinely care about each other. That’s something that I saw early on in Dallas, and I see a lot of that going on right now.”
Click here for the full story, Chris Paul Addition Transforms Los Angeles Clippers Overnight, by Jordan Schultz.
Sphere: Related ContentJan
13
We connected Universal Sports & Entertainment Management client and former University of Georgia CB, Brandon Boykin to an exclusive one-on-one interview with FOX Sports South.
Boykin discussed everything from his senior year with UGA football, his amazing performance at the Outback Bowl, training for the NFL Combine, 2012 NFL Draft preparation and more.
LISTEN by clicking on the image:
More about Brandon Boykin’s 2011 season with UGA:
Jan
12
We connected Universal Sports & Entertainment Management client and NFL Safety, Morgan Burnett of the Green Bay Packers to an exclusive one-on-one interview with SB Nation’s Green Bay Packers blog:
Sphere: Related ContentWas this like a second rookie season for you since you were only able to play in four games in 2010?
Honestly this will be my first full season so I got a lot out of the season. I still got a long way to go. I’m looking forward to every week as a moment to improve myself and get better.
Has it been great getting all this game experience this year?It’s been a real good learning experience. Last year, only playing four games, the time I sat out gave me a lot of appreciation for the game. So now I enjoy every moment that I can out on the field and I cherish that moment.
What’s the weather like up in Green Bay? Is the cold going to be a factor this weekend?Right now it’s about high 30s, low 40s, so that’s a good day in Green Bay. I’m not for sure what the weather’s going to be like on Sunday, but it’s playoff time so the cold won’t really affect anything. Everyone’s going to be excited to be out there.
How’s your hand doing [he broke his right hand in October]?My hand’s fine. I’m at 100%.
Is that going to help you? It’s been a while since you’ve been able to grab an interception. Are you getting anxious?I know the interceptions will come. Play your role on the defense, do your job, and your share of plays will come to you. I have to be accountable to my teammates, and do my job to the best of my ability.
Since you’ve already played the Giants once this season, does that help you to prepare now?It helps out because you can go back and watch the film from the previous game. And maybe get your mistakes corrected. Going into the playoff game, we’re going to stick to the same preparation that we do any other week and apply it to the game. We really get started on everything tomorrow morning [Wednesday].
You’re playing in the last game of the playoff weekend. Does that make you more anxious? Would you rather be the first game of the weekend?No, it doesn’t really matter. As long as your out there playing is the main thing. A lot of guys are just excited and ready to get out there.
Jan
11
We joined forces with Team USA aka the US Olympic Committee for a cross-publicity opportunity for our client, two-time 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, LaShawn Merritt.
LaShawn participated in a LIVE “Athlete Chat” and took questions from fans.
WATCH:
Jan
09
Last night we attended the African-American Film Critics Association Awards Dinner with client, actor Romeo Brown in Los Angeles, CA.
Also in attendance was The Help’s actresses Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, honoree Richard Roundtree, filmmaker Ava Duvernay, Sheryl Lee Ralph and actor, Hill Harper.
Jan
08
Last night, we attended the St. Jude Research Hospital’s 50th Anniversary Gala at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA with our client Neil Everett of ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Tony Bennett performed and other celebrity guests included Jason Bateman, Diahann Carroll, Daisy Fuentes, Lance Gross, Jon Hamm, Harry Hamlin, Mila Kunis, Elise Neal, Jaime Pressly, Raven Symoné, William Shatner, John Slattery, Alison Sweeney, Capt Chesley Sullenberger and Buzz Aldrin.
Here are a few photos from Ella Bee Media Group from the VIP lounge before dinner:
Jan
02
Neil discusses his broadcast and TV career and how he landed his job at ESPN. The University of Oregon visited Neil at the ESPN Production Facility during Rose Bowl week in California. #GODUCKS
Part 1/4 Interview with Neil Everett:
Part 2/4 Interview with Neil Everett:
Dec
31
Our client, Neil Everett, is a proud alum from the University of Oregon. He is having the time of his life as Oregon is in Los Angeles for the 98th Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio to be played on Monday, January 2, 2012 (NEVER ON SUNDAY) at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California as part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).
Neil served as the MC for the Oregon dinner at Lawry’s also known as the “Beef Bowl” and will be the announcer at the Oregon pep rally.
Read more about the dinner from the Register-Guard and how one of the Oregon linemen, Mark Asper saved a man’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver.
Check out some photos from Neil during Rose Bowl week:
Dec
21
Here is client LaShawn Merritt’s exclusive feature with Jere Longman of the New York Times.
The article details what happens with his mistake that led to Merritt’s 21-month ban from track & field.
Read an excerpt from the article here:
Sphere: Related ContentSo many florid excuses have been given by athletes claiming to have unintentionally taken banned substances that enhance performance. The toothpaste was spiked. The wedding cake was sabotaged. The suspicious blood was provided by a “vanished” twin who died in utero. All these excuses were roundly dismissed as purposeful cheating.
But what happens when an athlete ingests a prohibited substance and it was truly inadvertent? And he can prove it to the satisfaction of antidoping officials? And he is willing to tell the truth about what he took, even if his admission causes his private life to be made public and subjects him to embarrassment and ridicule?
This is what happened to LaShawn Merritt. Three times from October 2009 to January 2010, he tested positive for steroid derivatives called DHEA and pregnenolone.
Except — and this is a big exception — the substances were not intended to enhance athletic performance. They were contained instead in a male-enhancement product called ExtenZe, bought over the counter from a convenience store.
Olympic athletes are responsible for what they put in their bodies, no matter how it got there. It is a principle known as strict liability. But in recent years, antidoping officials and arbitrators have become more sophisticated in distinguishing deliberate cheating from uncalculated indiscretion, especially in situations involving poorly labeled nutritional supplements.
Penalties meted out reflect a difference in intent and culpability between athletes like Merritt and those like Marion Jones, who participated in a clever doping ring, lied to federal investigators, was forced to return her five medals won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was sentenced to six months in prison.
“We’re here to stop those who are intentionally cheating,” said Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency. “But you have to appreciate that there are rare times when athletes bring forward convincing proof that it was not intentional. The rules are flexible enough to take that into consideration.”
Instead of being suspended for 24 months, the maximum penalty for first offenders in steroid cases, Merritt was barred from competition for 21 months, ending in late July. Crucially, this allowed him to compete weeks later at the 2011 world track and field championships in Daegu, South Korea.
“It felt like my get-out-of-jail date,” Merritt said.
In a preliminary heat, he ran the fastest time of any quarter-miler this year, 44.35 seconds. Still not fully race sharp after a long layoff, though, Merritt was caught at the wire in the final and finished second. Then in October, he scored one of the most important victories of his career, not on the track but before the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The tribunal nullified a controversial rule established by the International Olympic Committee. The rule prohibited athletes who received doping bans of six months or longer from competing in the next Olympics even if they had completed their suspensions. Essentially, the I.O.C. constraint was found to punish athletes twice for the same violation.
His eligibility restored for the London Games, Merritt will attempt to become the only man other than Michael Johnson (1996, 2000) to repeat as Olympic champion at 400 meters.
“I saw a top-10 list of the most ridiculous excuses for positive drug tests,” Tygart said. “This is probably the only one on the list proved true through a court of law.”
Dec
20
Today, The Hollywood Reporter broke that our client Romeo Brown has been casted in Lovelace, the biopic about Linda Lovelace, the porn star best known for her performance in the 1972 box-office hit Deep Throat.
According to The Hollywood Reporter:
Sphere: Related ContentAmanda Seyfried will play Lovelace and Peter Sarsgaard will play her husband, Chuck Traynor. Brown is slated to play DJ Frankie Crocker, but little is known about the character.
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman are directing the film, from a script by W. Merritt Johnson and Andy Bellin. Lovelace also will feature Sharon Stone, Juno Temple and Wes Bentley.
The script is based on The Complete Linda Lovelace, a biography by Eric Danville that was published in 2001, one year before Lovelace died. Avi Lerner, Jason Weinberg, Jim Young, Heidi Jo Markel and Laura Rister are producing.
Brown’s television credits include Rizzoli & Isles, Dexter and JAG. He also lent his voice to video game L.A. Noire.
Lovelace will begin filming in Los Angeles in January.Brown is represented by Pakula/King & Associates and Rothman/Patino/Andrés Entertainment.
Dec
16
Actor and client, Romeo Brown (Rizzoli & Isles, L.A. Noire, God Bless America) has just booked the movie, Lovelace. He will be co-starring alongside Amanda Seyfried who will play Linda Lovelace. Lovelace will be directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. The cast also includes Juno Temple, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Dorothy Boreman and Wes Bentley.
Lovelace is the story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.
Dec
15
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt will stretch a bit farther from his signature event, running the 500 meters at Millrose Games.
Organizers announced that Merritt will compete in the race on Feb. 11 in New York. He won the gold in the 400 and 1,600 relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
He’s attempting to break the world indoor record in the 500. In 1994, Mark Everett set the Millrose Games mark in the 500 in 1:01.19.
Merritt will join a field that includes Olympian Allyson Felix competing in the 60 and Bernard Lagat in the 5,000.
His goal is to defend his title in the 400 at the London Olympics.
Sphere: Related ContentDec
14
Last night, client Mindy R. Smith attended the luxury grand opening of Prada at Lenox Square in Atlanta.
Check out more photos from the event on UptownMagazine.com.
PHOTO CREDIT: Paras Griffin
Dec
13
This week, we secured a one-on-one interview with new client, LaShawn Merritt (two-time 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist) with Track & Field News. Here is a snippet of the story. You can catch the entire story in the March/Spring Issue of Track & Field News magazine. Thanks to Jon Hendershott and the team at Track & Field News.
LaShawn Merritt Eyes London Olympic Title Defense
He is the reigning Olympic 400 champion and defending his title in London naturally is prime in the mind of LaShawn Merritt right now.
“I’m just getting back into training,” says the 25-year-old Virginian. “Doing sprint training and body core work and just getting my wind back. This is the Olympic year so you know everyone will be ready.”
Merritt trains in Norfolk, Virginia, with career-long coach Dwayne Miller. Merritt says, “For the ’12 season, we plan for me to do more overdistance training than in the past, just to build up a good base.”
Part of that desire to establish a strong base ties in with Merritt’s 2011 season—all five finals that he ran after regaining his eligibility following a celebrated doping case.
“The past is always there, but I’m looking ahead to coming years,” he offers. “I did feel that the ’11 season was a success because I ended up where Dwayne and I wanted me to be: in the final at the World Championships and trying to defend my title.
“When I ran [his seasonal best] 44.35 in my heat in Daegu, I felt good, ready for more. In the final, I just got outleaned at the line by Kirani James. He is a fantastic young talent and a very deserving champion.”
While James won’t surprise anyone after his undefeated ’11 season, the world also knows that Merritt is back in full force, too.
“I think that to beat Kirani will
Sphere: Related ContentDec
03
We are in the business of social media and helping our clients share their messages online. Of course, everyone loves TV coverage, radio interviews and any piece of media content they can hold in their hands like a magazine or newspaper, but we believe that it is equally important to have a strong online presence. Our experience has taught us that a great media presence online will lead to traditional media coverage.
Let’s say we get a campaign started, our clients are online…okay, now what?
On a professional level, no one wants their YouTube video, blog post, podcast or any content they put their time and effort into creating to just sit there. We want to share it with others and that is where the concept of “going viral” comes from.
As you may know, I LOVE INFOGRAPHICS!
Here’s an infographic on everything you may want to know about viral content online.
What is your favorite viral video campaign? With 9 million views here is mine:
Sphere: Related ContentNov
26
In the midst of the great NBA news that the lockout has ended, we are also happy to announce that client NBA Legend, Spencer Haywood, has officially made the list of nominees for the 2012 NBA Hall of Fame.
NBA.com reports that Haywood joins Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Jerry Krause and Vlade Divac for the list of NBA Hall of Fame nominees. They are among a field that joins returning headliner, Reggie Miller, as candidates for the Class of 2012.
The most-recognizable names, by committee:
Al Attles, John Bach, Dick Bavetta, Maurice Cheeks, Lefty Driesell, Bill Fitch, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Curt Gowdy (contributor category), Tim Hardaway, Spencer Haywood, former NCAA executive Tom Jernstedt (contributor), Mark Jackson, Bernard King, Jerry Krause, Reggie Miller, Dick Motta, Don Nelson, Billy Packer (contributor), Rick Pitino, Paul Silas (as a player), George Raveling (contributor), Mitch Richmond, Ralph Sampson, Eddie Sutton, Rudy Tomjanovich, Gene Shue, Jim Valvano (contributor), Donnie Walsh (contributor), Gary Williams, Paul Westphal (as a player), Jamaal Wilkes.
Sphere: Related Content
