We are more than happy to announce our new client, Andrew Goudelock, rookie scoring sensation for the Los Angeles Lakers.

On Day One, we created an original skit on SportsCenter by connecting him with our other client, Neil Everett.

As a rookie, Andrew has received some crazy nicknames from his veteran teammates. On SportsCenter, Neil tries to help him find a nickname.

WATCH:

The very next day, Kobe Bryant dubs Andrew “Mini-Mamba”!

From the LA Times:

Another “Mamba” has slithered into Staples Center, and Kobe Bryant doesn’t seem to mind.

In fact, Bryant is all for it.

The self-described Black Mamba has bestowed a similar nickname upon Andrew Goudelock, calling the Lakers rookie guard “Mini-Mamba” because he is a fearless shooter similar to Bryant.

“It’s a very big compliment, especially coming from the real Mamba,” Goudelock said after scoring 12 points Tuesday in the Lakers’ 106-73 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. “I hope it sticks.”

Goudelock has scored in double figures in three of four games since Coach Mike Brown decided to make him the primary backup to starting point guard Derek Fisher. Living up to his nickname, Goudelock has also taken seven or more shots in each game despite playing only between 15 and 25 minutes.

Goudelock’s strong play has potentially alleviated the need for the Lakers to take a serious look at free agent guard Gilbert Arenas, who was waived in December by the Orlando Magic via the so-called amnesty clause. Goudelock, who rarely played until the last week, has made the most of his opportunity.

“I think I was kind of in awe when I came out here playing with some of these guys,” Goudelock said. “I didn’t know where to fit in or how to do it. The talent has always been there, but I didn’t really know how to put it all together. These last few games, just running point guard, I think I’ve been more aggressive to simplify things, not trying to think too much and just play my game, and I think it’s working out for me.”

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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.

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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.

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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:

So 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.”

This story appeared in the December 20th paper for the New York Times.
Click here to read the full story on LaShawn Merritt in the New York Times.

PHOTO CREDIT BY: Jason Hirschfeld for The New York Times

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We secured a feature for NFL’s Larry Grant (LB, San Francisco 49ers), on the HuffingtonPost.com for AOL Sports.

In the article, sports writer Jordan Schultz, notes that the“San Francisco 49ers [are] Becoming Contenders Virtually Overnight.”

The article goes in-depth with Grant:

Defensively, Patrick Willis has flourished into one of the game’s most devastating linebackers and, is flanked by 23-year-old NaVorro Bowman, whose 68 total tackles rank second in the NFL.

Another linebacker on this team is 26-year-old Larry Grant, a local kid drafted by the Niners in 2008 only to be put on waivers two years later and eventually return to his hometown club. Grant — who last season played for NFC West rival St. Louis — has noticed a drastic difference from the 49ers this year, who by the way lead the division by four games over Seattle.

“I knew a little bit about this organization with coach [Mike] Singletary and knowing the players here, and it just didn’t seem like they were playing together as a team and buying into the system here,” Grant told The Huffington Post.

“Coach Harbaugh has brought a lot of trust. The players have been trusting and buying into his system, and doing things his way and not their own way, or the way things have been done in the past.”

Grant — having played both against and now with Smith — has already noticed a considerable difference.

“Alex’s confidence has [been] raised a lot,” he says. “It comes through the coaches and the players. … What comes with his confidence is him playing within a system that Harbaugh and his offensive coordinator [Greg Roman] have brought. His potential is unlimited.”

The 49ers lead the NFL in rush yards against, including holding the game’s second leading rusher LeSean McCoy to 18 yards on nine carries and possible Pro Bowler LeGarrette Blount to a mere 34 yards on 10 carries. This is a line that penetrates gaps very quickly and forces offenses into obvious passing situations with a slew of third down and long’s. It’s a simple philosophy, sure, but one that most teams cannot execute.

And for Larry Grant, it makes his return home that much sweeter.

“Being a San Francisco kid, I’ve always dreamed of being with the Niners,” he says.

“St. Louis released me after the lockout. San Francisco called me, and after thinking about it, no one really gets a second chance to go back home to do what they wanted to do in the first place. I told myself, ‘I’m going to do what I can to make this team and help it go to the playoffs and a Super Bowl.’”

Grant has never taken the road more traveled, but yet it’s always seemed to work out. He even started his collegiate career at City College of San Francisco, only to be named JUCO National Player of the Year. More importantly, this is a guy who is used to winning. Grant played in four straight national championship games, two at City College and two at Ohio State, and he recognizes that this 49ers team is a winner.

“As long as we progress week by week, the sky is the limit for our team and this defense,” he says. “I think our team will be one that a lot of people have to think about.”

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Press mentions go a long way, especially when they are made by sites like CNN.com. Today, our client, Jessica Danielle of PlayerPerspective.com was mentioned on CNN’s blog/blogger round-up regarding online commentary about Joe Paterno and his firing from Penn State.

CNN.com stated that the blogosphere was unrelenting on Penn State, Paterno. The article went on to mention that State College, site of the Penn State University campus, was trending on the popular microblogging site Twitter. And users were scolding the school for what it purportedly did or did not do. “From day 1 it’s hard to argue that Paterno WASN’T a key part of the cover up,” tweeted our client who goes by the Twitter handle: @NFLGoodWitch.

On her own blog, Jessica Danielle, shared her thoughts on the legacy of Joe Paterno, stating “When it comes to Joe Paterno, maybe we were all wrong.”

Also, we connected, Jessica Danielle, for a national radio tour to discuss the legacy of Joe Paterno and to provide some insight and commentary on the Penn State crisis.

8:00am The Morning Report with Dan Kennedy

8:10am Zito & Garrett

8:20am The Morning After

8:30am Ryan and Tyler f. Jessica Chandler

8:40am The Vennie Penn Project

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Congrats to client, Natasha Hastings, in the 15th Anniversary issue of Jezebel Magazine. She was selected as one of the “Most Beautiful in Atlanta”. The digital issue displays actress, Paula Patton, on the cover.

Click here to see the digital issue of Jezebel Magazine’s “Most Beautiful in Atlanta”.

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Client, NBA Legend Spencer Haywood, sat down with the HuffingtonPost.com for an exclusive one-on-one interview.

In the interview, he discussed everything from the NBA Lockout, his nomination for the 2012 NBA Hall of Fame and who is better, Kobe or Lebron.

Jordan Schultz and Spencer Haywood:

What is your stance on the NBA Lockout?
What I don’t understand is how and why this is taking so long. I thought they would have reached a conclusion before they started cancelling games. I do understand that everyone wants to negotiate and extend the deadline. Taking it to this level seems like it has gotten personal more so than the business.

How disappointing is it to come after such an exciting postseason and finals?
Not only the finals, but the year in itself. I thought this [season] was incredible; the best year that I can remember. I never experienced this kind of basketball in the NBA — the fan participation, the height of this glory. I mean, there were a couple years there with Magic and Bird, and with Jordan making his run. But this succeeded that.

Who do you feel the blame falls on?
I can’t put the blame [anywhere], but I would like to see the players be a little bit more flexible, because of this political and economic climate that we’re in. Teams like Minnesota and Sacramento — they’re not making money. They can’t break even. I thought that when the owners gave that 57 percent [Basketball Related Income in 1999], that they were out of their minds. I thought it’d always be like 50-50, or 51-49, but since they did, maybe you make an adjustment and walk. That’s the logic for me, because you have a salary. All of these players are looking at the future, but I just think that right now if anything is falling around you, that you don’t push your profession into a free fall. It’s going to be difficult for fans to justify getting back into that arena while saying well, “You know, these guys are fighting over millions of dollars.”

Given the current economic climate, does the NBA need to be more sensitive to its fans?
Well, that is what’s going on in America. If you look at every election, every negotiation now, it’s as if we have lost our sense of fair play. We have decided that all we need to do is just put it up against the wall, and it’s my way or the highway, and it’s not right. We have to be negotiating in good faith. The product is our fan base, and we can’t keep asking the fans to put up with our inability to negotiate.

How long will it take the league to recover from this lockout?
Oh lord, I think this could be some damage that would take another five years to recover from. I’m hoping that everyone can get back to work, because we are looking at the players and management, but we are not looking at the vendors, the drivers, the parking lot attendants. These people are being put out on the streets. They are living check-to-check. Cities are going to be hurt by this tremendously.

Who is the best player in the league?
Kobe.

A lot of people would say Dwyane Wade or LeBron James.
Yeah, I know, with Dwyane Wade, I can have that discussion. But LeBron, he hasn’t won it yet, so I can’t. He’s the best athlete, but the only way you can judge the best player is what they have done, and Kobe has five rings.

Is it unfair to criticize LeBron for not having won a title at 26, considering Michael Jordan didn’t win his first until he was 29?
I don’t even criticize him at all. The minute that he gets that one ring — which probably will be this year — he will exorcise the demons. You know, Jordan had the demons on him as well. Every player has it if you are that No. 1 or No. 2 guy … until you get the championship.

What is your take on the NBA’s current early entry rule, allowing players to leave college after one year, or when they turn 19?
I think that with the ruling the way it was used when high school guys came in, that it was abused and not fair to the veteran players. Then you have one guy that is one year out of college who will come in and push this guy out of the league — and they are sitting on the bench in street clothes — and the owners and coaches are telling me, ‘well he’s going to develop in two or three years.’ In my opinion, I would like to see two years or more. It also helps the universities because we have people going to school for higher education and we have so many students coming in who cannot afford to pay. [These athletes] help the athletic department and some of that money helps other students to be at that school.

Are players coming out of school early not emotionally ready for the demand of the NBA?
That’s what I’m saying. Now, you can be physically ready to play, and there’s always been a few. I remember one year [2001] I spoke to players at the rookie transition period. The top six players were Tyson Chandler, Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop, Eddy Curry, Kwame “Fumble Man” Brown and Jason Richardson. They were kids. Only one big guy made it and it was Tyson Chandler years later. If you look at that draft alone, it tells you something’s not right here.

How do you feel about your upcoming Hall of Fame induction?
I feel real excitement. There was recently a piece on me, and out top of the 27 players with my numbers, they are in the Hall of Fame; the only one that’s not is me. I’m just elated that I’m alive and around to see it.

Have you thought about your speech?
I’m going to speak from my heart and let it roll with what I feel. I’m the first one in the NBA to be the youngest guy. I am the first to be on the Olympic team. I still hold all the records. I did that in 1968, and I was 18 when I made the team. I’m the original youth for all sports! The NBA uses Haywood v. The NBA — that is the US Supreme Court ruling to pave the way. My case opened the path for football players as well. In thirty years, we only had three guys go from high school to the NBA: Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby. At that time, it wasn’t a game for the youth. Now, it is.

Click here for the full interview on Spencer Haywood on the HuffingtonPost.com’s SPORTS.

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Here is client, Natasha Hastings, on CBS Better Mornings Atlanta. Thanks to the CBS Atlanta team!

WATCH:

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