Kurt Warner is our Most Caring Athlete
October 13, 2009
No vacation from celebrities
I'm back to work after a trip to the West but no matter how far any of us go anymore we can't escape celebrity news, right? The morning I departed was the morning that David Letterman's sex-with-staffers scandal was the talk of the airport; I returned the day Michael Jackson's new single This Is It — officially released just yesterday — was leaking. (You can listen to it here.) The documentary This Is It will hit theaters on Oct. 28. Check out the trailer on the movie site and I bet you'll want to see it regardless of your opinion of Jackson, who died in June.
Speaking of documentaries, mark your calendars for Nov. 2. That's when Poliwood — Barry Levinson's look at the connection between politics and Hollywood — will air on Showtime. I wrote about it last spring when I interviewed, Tim Daly, and it was in limited release. Tim's not the only celebrity featured in this movie, much of which was shot during the 2008 presidential campaign. Quite an array of others are too, including Annette Bening, Sting, Susan Sarandon, Elvis Costello, Kerry Washington, Angela Bassett, Will.i.am and more.
Because I was in Colorado last week I got caught up in baseball's National League Division playoffs and I was sorry to see the fun of rooting for the Rockies ending last night. It's good to be home
August 14, 2009
LeBron James is all business at photo shoot
Eighteen minutes of camera flashing this morning at the downtown Washington, D.C. Ritz Carlton hotel, and the experience that is LeBron James was done breezing through our USA WEEKEND photo shoot. Our Design Director Leon Lawrence tells us that James was light on conversation (he’s not a morning person, according to his handlers), and all business when he showed up at 9:30, a half an hour behind schedule, but it took him less than a minute to flash that famous smile and set the room abuzz with energy.
Wearing a body conforming steel blue shirt, and grey slacks, James was gearing up for a long day of Q & A’s, press conferences, and rabid fans while promoting his upcoming documentary More Than A Game being released by LionsGate. James walked in, shook a few hands and was ready to go to work. Photographer David Yellen gave him a run down of the props -- a number of basketballs of various sizes including some so small that his giant hands could completely engulf them -- and the kind of emotion we were looking for, and we were off. (That's the two of them at work in the photo.) A power overload darkened the conference room where we were shooting for a couple of frantic minutes but we were able to restore it and finish up in a flurry. James graciously signed a few balls and then swept from the room for what promised to be a very busy day.
Photo by David Baratz for USA WEEKEND
Win a John Elway autographed football
Most of the Lynch family lives in Denver, so you know I know the name John Elway. Well, in the magazine this weekend we've got Elway, the two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Denver Broncos (at right), telling you how to organize your fantasy football team this fall. I know it's August, but fantasy football drafts are on, so click here for Elway's very smart advice. Better yet, click here and you'll get all the details on how to win a football autographed by Elway. Or just go straight to our USA WEEKEND facebook page, become a fan and be eligible to win the football.
July 17, 2009
Ben Roethlisberger, Samuel L. Jackson team for our ESPYs cover
The 2009 ESPY Awards air on ESPN this Sunday at 9 pm. EST, and to preview the annual gathering of sports and entertainment elite, we paired Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback and recent Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger and movie legend (and ESPYs host) Samuel L. Jackson for a special look at why jocks love stars and stars love jocks. For his cover story in this weekend's magazine, senior staff writer Dennis McCafferty talked with the twosome at great length during the photo shoot and found out some interesting tidbits. For example, did you know Jackson was serious about swimming and track and field growing up? These days, the Pulp Fiction star is more at home on the golf course, an affinity he shares with Roethlisberger. "I’m pretty determined," the Steeler QB says. "I got caught up in some pretty rough stuff recently, and I wasn’t going to leave there until I got the ball back on the green. It was ‘Whack! whack! whack!’ But I got it out." Of course, golf is a truly big deal for Jackson. "The biggest. I try to play every day, or at least get on a driving range and hit some long balls before I have to go out and earn my money on a movie set."
June 30, 2009
Kurt Warner visits Disney's Magic Kingdom
Senior writer Dennis McCafferty checks in from Orlando, where he spent the day Monday with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner at Disney's Magic Kingdom for an upcoming cover story. That's the two of them hamming it up at below like the celebs who do the 'I'm going to Disney World!' commercials. Dennis reports:
"Kurt was having a great time, hosting a large group of kids and their families there from across the country with his also-somewhat-famous wife, Brenda. I asked Kurt if he used to go to Disney World as a kid. 'I did," he told me. 'But I don't remember there being so many other theme parks here in Orlando. I think there was mainly just the Magic Kingdom back then.' Not that he's protesting. He loves heading out to the quite-lively Downtown Disney and getting into the arcades. 'They have all kinds of wild simulators now,' he said. 'They can make you feel like you're on a roller-coaster, or on a pirate ship. But they still have plenty of the classic arcades, too, that I loved as a kid.' "
Photo by Preston Mack
June 22, 2009
Indian-born pitchers set to play ball
The Slumdog Millionaire-esque story of Rinku Singh (at left) and Dinesh Patel got a lot of attention in the spring when the movie was raking in awards and ticket sales. But these two Indian-born men who won a baseball game show in their native land, Tuesday start their first season in Bradenton, Fla. relief pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates Gulf Coast League (GCL) rookie team.
Singh and Patel grew up in rural India and never heard of baseball prior to participating in the Million Dollar Arm reality show in India. The prize was $100,000 and the chance to come to America for coaching. Singh, 19, threw consistent 87 mph pitches and won the prize. Patel, 20, came in second with his faster, but less accurate, pitch. But after a few major league scouts saw the two in action, they both were invited to the U.S. Pitching coach Tom House trained the two for six months and they then signed minor league contracts. While they are tired of analogies comparing them to the Oscar-winning film, we can’t help it. Their first game is Tuesday, against the Yankee’s GCL rookie team in Tampa, Fla.
Photo by Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY
April 10, 2009
Exclusive clips from Spike Lee's Kobe Bryant documentary
For a piece in this week's issue of the magazine, senior editor Craigh Barboza spoke with the NBA’s reigning MVP Kobe Bryant, who will be leading his Los Angeles Lakers into the upcoming postseason as the Western Conference's No. 1 seed. They chatted about Kobe Doin' Work, a documentary directed by Spike Lee that chronicles a single game day for arguably the world's greatest basketball player. The movie airs on ESPN Saturday, May 16, and debuts on DVD the following Tuesday. But in a USA WEEKEND exclusive, you can watch three video clips from the DVD, with commentary from Spike and Kobe, by clicking read more below.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
April 03, 2009
Share your baseball opening day memories
Opening day of the Major League Baseball season is not only a definite sign that spring has come, but it's also akin to a religious experience for many baseball fans. It's a time when every team still has an equal shot to reach the World Series in October, from the perennially snubbed Chicago Cubs to the powerhouse New York Yankees (featuring Derek Jeter, at right, and a new stadium this year) to the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. Monday marks the opening day for many of these ball clubs (Sunday night for some), and for a piece in this weekend's issue of the magazine, we asked ESPN baseball writer and commentator Tim Kurkjian to tell us about his memorable opening day experiences. He gave us three recollections, including an Indians/White Sox first game from 1940 that featured a Bob Feller no-hitter. But we bet that our readers have their own memories, too, so tell us below about your favorite opening day game ever.
Photo by Robert Deutsch/USA Today
