Today, 2012 NFL Draft Prospect Brandon Boykin spoke with 790 the Zone’s 2 Live Stews.

Click here to listen to Brandon Boykin’s interview: Brandon Boykin on 790 the Zone 2 Live Stews

Boykin is represented by Universal Sports & Entertainment Management.

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We booked our client family lawyer Mindy R. Smith on the Atlanta CBS show, “Public Affairs on Peach”. Check out her segment as she discusses Rush Limbaugh and the contraception controversy.

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Thanks again to Jordan Schultz of the HuffingtonPost.com who had an exclusive one-on-one chat with client LaShawn Merritt as he is training for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

How is your training coming along, less than six months away from London?

This is a major year for the sport of track and field. For the general public, a lot of people only know Olympics, but we actually have a season every year. This year has just been a lot of focus; a lot of focus mentally and spiritually and just training hard.

Is there something technique wise that you’ve specifically worked on improving?

We haven’t even worked on anything different yet, because it’s early. It’s just a lot of base training now; the pool workouts, the lifting and breaking the body down to get it ready so it will be able to last all the way through the Olympic Games in August.

Are you fully healthy right now?

I’m healthy; been keeping up with my nutrition and my massages and been seeing my therapist and the whole nine, you know. I’m feeling good about the season, to get to the Olympics and just defend my titles.

Who is your stiffest competition right now?

In the US you have Jeremy Wariner, who won the 2004 Olympics. You have Kirani James (Grenada), who just won the World Championships last year, the Borlee (Kevin and Jonathan) twins out of Belgium and Jermaine Gonzales out of Jamaica. Every Olympic year, somebody always comes out of the woodworks, whether it be a younger athlete or somebody old trying to make a comeback, so there’s no room right now for any distractions because this is the year that makes people.

Do you talk or train with [US teammate] Jeremy Wariner?

We don’t train together. He’s in Texas and I’m on the east coast. We communicate when we’re at meets, but not too much during the training. It’s sort of like we’re co-workers in terms of getting on the track and running the event, but at the end of the day we want each other’s promotion. It’s a mutual respect. But I [still] want to win and he wants to win.

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Today, we attended the 49th Annual ICG Publicists Awards which was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The awards, which traditionally takes place the week of the Academy Awards, awarded honorees in the following categories: Motion Picture Showman of the Year, Television Showman of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Maxwell Weinberg Publicist Showmanship Award for a Television Campaign and separately for a Motion Picture campaign, Press Award, International Media Award, Les Mason Award for Career Achievement in Publicity, Excellence in Still Photography Award for Television and separately for Motion Picture, and the Bob Yeager Award for Community Service.

Among those who were honored included David Heyman, Producer of the entire Harry Potter Movie Franchise, who received the Motion Picture Showman of the Year Award, David Stapf, President of CBS Television Studios, who received the Television Showman of the Year Award, and legendary Actress and Comedian Carol Burnett, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition to those being honored, Julie Andrews and Jodie Foster dedicated the 2012 ICG Publicists Directory to veteran Disney publicist, Arlene Ludwig.

Rove McManus Australia’s top talk show host and leading producer of entertainment television there served as today’s host.

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Last night, LaShawn Merritt hit up New York Fashion Week before today’s 105th Millrose Games.

He attended the Rock & Republic Fashion Show and Launch Party at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.

Also in attendance was Zoe Saldana, Kelly Bensimon, Tinsley Mortimer, Mena Suvari, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick and Molly Sims.

Check out photos from the Rock & Republic Fashion Show.

Getty Images by: Dimitrios Kambouris

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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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