Mario Lopez – Cover Story
Check out the exclusive, behind the scenes vibe of the Mario Lopez cover shoot for Jetset Magazine.
Mario Lopez from CHESWORTH films™ on Vimeo.
UCONN DO IT. CORRECTION: UCONN DID IT!
April 6, 2011 By
Okay– I was as bored as anyone watching the UConn-Butler game last night. Wow. It was rough. But it was cool watching the better team win, and UConn fans are going to love the book we did for them. It’s a perfect celebration of the season and amazing post season romp to history. Here’s the foreword I wrote for the book. It’s out Thursday. All over New England. Enjoy!
Foreword to Book:
There’s a reason a team takes its lumps during a nine-week romp through the toughest basketball conference on the planet. Pretty simply, it’s to get ready for something bigger. To prepare for something special. To make future achievements historic. In a National Championship game that was billed as a battle of the dogs, the alpha dog hammered the underdog. And one night for the Huskies pretty much summed up one season for the Top Dogs in college basketball. Adversity turned into opportunity. Deficits turned into victory dances. And in the end, when there was no time left on the clock and no games left on the schedule, challenges morphed into championships.
There was no script to follow for the 2010-11 UConn Huskies, because the path they followed to their third national title was carved out by one of the most gritty and resilient teams we’ve seen in college hoops.
Led by a hall-of-fame coach and a true-blue college superstar who showed the world what a student athlete looks and acts like, this Huskies team gave themselves and their fans an unending supply of memories and a lifelong lesson that when you want something, you don’t ask for it. You just go out and get it. Cheers to a special team and an unforgettable accomplishment.
JETSET COVER STORY ON MUHAMMAD ALI – FIGHT NIGHT
January 16, 2011 By
15 years ago the Chicago Bulls were completing the most dominant and successful season in the history of professional sports. It was their 72-win, NBA Championship season, and working as the weekend sports anchor for the NBC television affiliate meant I was on the floor, and in the locker room for most of those wins. To say it was a great experience would be like saying Betty White should not star in the remake of Black Swan.
I did a special TV series during the month of January where I followed the Bulls around on a road trip that went through Denver, Sacramento and LA. It was obviously an incredible, exhilarating ride, unless hanging with Michael Jordan for a week in his prime and watching the behind the scenes nut job antics of Dennis Rodman doesn’t sound like fun to you. Well, it was.
However— I have one, major regret from that year that I still kick myself over at least 9-11 times per half year. Because covering and following the Bulls was such a larger than life experience, and the fact that a photo op could occur at any moment, I never went anywhere without carrying a camera in my briefcase. Seriously, I was going to be ready if Rodman tried to French kiss Benny the Bull or if Jordan wanted me to babysit his Lamborghini. If something memorable was going to happen, I would have a picture of it!
Fast forward to the NBA Finals in 1996: the Bulls were hosting the Sonics in Game 1 at the United Center. NBC was doing the pre-game show and broadcasting the game of course, and we had wrapped it up and we were waiting for the game to start in our courtside seats on the baseline near the visiting team’s bench. (Side note—that was when NBA broadcasts during the playoffs were magical. I don’t know how you’ve completely sucked the incredible joy out them ESPN, but congratulations, you have!) All of a sudden there was a stir in the arena. I figured that could only mean one thing– Rodman had gotten nude and was trying to give Oprah a tattoo while Jerry Springer was piercing her belly button. Actually that wasn’t the case—what was causing the roof to rise before the game had even started was ‘The Champ’, Muhammad Ali was on the floor, heading to his seat, and the crowd was going absolutely bonkers just being in the presence of him. Well, he kept walking right towards me and my friend, and was within four feet of us when I reached into my bag, grabbed my camera, and —–choked on the magnitude of the moment and froze. I did not ask Muhammad Ali if I could get a photo with him.
Good God, I was a television anchor and reporter, I annoyed people for a living, and I didn’t have the guts to ask the Champ if he’s pose for a quick photo? It wasn’t like I didn’t have a camera. It was in my freaking hand!
Well, he walked by me. Luckily I’d have other opportunities to be with Ali, but it would be 12 years later when I was fortunate enough to ride in a helicopter with him (a separate story for another day).
The saddest thing about me blowing it at that Bulls game that day— is something I learned as I wrote the cover story for the January/February issue of Jetset Magazine on Muhammad Ali, which is currently out right now. Do you realize that Muhammad Ali has never turned down a photo request in his life? Ever. He’s also never turned down someone who’s asked for his autograph. I hope you can check out the story in Jetset Magazine because you’ll learn why he never ever says no. Which makes me look even more like an idiot when you realize I didn’t ask him when I had that golden opportunity back in 1996.
AUBURN CHAMPIONSHIP BOOK – BUILDING THE BOOK
January 16, 2011 By
I played four years of college football and I’m pretty sure I only suffered one concussion. It was in September of 1989, I was a senior and we were playing at Auburn. It was a tremendous thrill being on the same field that Bo Jackson ran wild on during his Heisman Trophy year, and in the same stadium where a majestic bald eagle soared through the sky at every game, delighting the 88,000 fans that gather there for every game. And let me tell you, I was taking in all the sights and sounds and enjoying every second of playing in a legendary stadium against a national power. Now, the problem was, I was doing that as I was running a crossing pattern through the Auburn secondary, and a free safety hit me so hard that by the time I made it to the huddle for the next play, I was so woozy I couldn’t stand still and got called for a false start. Coaches’ love when you do that, they really think it’s funny.
That would not be the first time an Auburn football team has caused me to lose sleep and not be able to see straight. It happened again this week, as we put the finishing touches on our brand new championship sports book on the Auburn Tigers that I believe without a doubt is the best book we’ve done in three years.
It’s called: War Eagle! The Auburn Tigers, led by Cam Newton, win the 2011 BCS Championship and dominate college football in historic fashion!
Once again, we have the first championship sports book on the shelves across the state of the National Champion, and we literally have the book for sale all over Alabama today, less than 3 days after the game.
We obviously had written and produced a book on Oregon and Auburn, and had both ready to be finished on Monday night. All we needed was someone to win the game. As soon as it ended, we started picking the photos from the game that we’d use on the cover and in the photo gallery. The clock was ticking— and it was time to get to work. I sat down on my couch in our loft in Minneapolis and fired up my laptop. Keep in mind, our place where we were staying for a little while would be considered a tight squeeze for a married Keebler Elves couple. We had four people–including two kids, including my son Dash, who if I woke up I guarantee you he’d coax me into watching the West Coast version of SportsCenter and he’d be simultaneously banging away on the Ipad. Oh, I forgot to mention, he’s 1- year old.
So I had to stay quiet, and finish the 7 hours of work without:
Falling asleep
Waking everyone up
Late night turned into early morning. Things were coming together, but there was still a lot to do. Write the final game story. Accumulate all the stats and sidebar notes. Decide what photos to use in the photo gallery. And most importantly— find the right shot to use on the front cover. Since I had put Cam Newton’s name in the title, I had to have a clear, focused, tight shot of him and his smile. I figured there would be dozens to choose from. I was as wrong as you could possibly be. I kept refreshing the sight where our photos are uploaded, and the selection was mediocre at best. There was not a single shot of Cam and the crystal championship trophy. Not one. Maybe it was because he had to get x-rays after the game and he didn’t have time to hold it up before he went to the locker room. I wasn’t sure, all I knew is if I didn’t get a good photo of Auburn’s star on the cover I’d piss off an entire fan base, my partners with the book, and most importantly, Charles Barkley.
I was fighting it around 4:30 am. Since I had been up until 4:00 a.m. the previous night as well, I was tired. I was also getting ticked off. Where are the good Cam Newton photos? Doing an artist rendering for the cover shot wasn’t going to work. Using a photo from his Junior College championship game the year before was another bad idea. Finally we went to Getty Images, found the perfect photo for the cover and got it all wrapped up and finalized at the printer by 6:30 am.
Here it is: For Sale now:
www.rylinmedia.com
“THE MAN. THE MYTH. THE DONALD!”
December 8, 2010 By
I got a call in early December from Al Roker’s production company. They were producing a telethon for NBC to benefit Alzheimer’s research, and had just returned to their studios after taping a portion of the telethon with Donald Trump in his office. It was funny, because they were moderately frantic and relatively joyous to have reached me, for whatever reason. Here’s why—the entire portion of the telethon segment they taped with The Donald, he had over his left shoulder a framed cover of the Post magazine that he appeared on— back in 2007! (I founded that magazine and was Editor in Chief) Roker’s team needed my permission to use the video on the show. I had to think about it for a full one tenth of a half of a fraction of a mill-second, and then decided that, yes, Al and Donald, you may use the video with my magazine featured in it.
The photo is hilarious. He’s had to have been featured on hundreds of magazine covers in his life, and he frames and showcases this one. I remember writing the story on him and interviewing him for it. Some of the interview was via email, and one thing I remember is he’s so meticulous and efficient. Every response and quote and comment was spelled perfectly. Laid out beautifully. No slang, shortcuts or anything other than perfectly crafted words and sentences. I’ve dealt with a lot of big name stars and he was definitely one of the most professional. The cover shot we used was very cool, and along with the cover line I wrote for that issue really summed him up. He was walking out of a helicopter, on a red carpet. The caption said “The Man. The Myth. The Donald!”
SAN FRANTASTIC!
December 8, 2010 By
We cranked out a book on the San Francisco Giants after they won their first World Series since moving to the Bay Area. Let me say this, what a break it was for us that the Giants won instead of the Rangers. It looks like it will be our best-selling book yet, and Costco and other stores all sold out of it. It was an absolute whirlwind. We literally wrote the book, designed it and sent it to the printers in a span of 22 hours. Literally, we produced the entire book in one day. It’s nice to know that when the clock is ticking, we can do it that quickly, but it’s not the best way to go.
What I love about our championship books www.sport-publishing.com (see all 10 books here) is how it captures the excitement of what it means for a team to win a title for their city. It’s like a 144 page time capsule, and the Giants book is our best yet. The cover has a great photo of Tim Lincecum holding the World Series trophy with an army of photographers and media members behind him. It’s a simple photo that grabs your eye, and the Giants team colors, Orange and black are really appealing. Great job to everyone involved on the team of producing these books in a breakneck pace.
Next up—the BCS Championship book on either Oregon or Auburn, and than a special book we’ve got planned for the spring that has the potential to be absolutely huge. It’s not sports related, but if we pull it off, we’ll be getting some major attention across the country. I’ll keep you posted!
THE PULSE NETWORK – WHAT I’M UP TO
December 8, 2010 By
Let me make something perfectly clear— I can’t stand the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think they are the dirtiest team in organized sports. They try to hurt opposing players, they cheat, they get too many breaks from the league and their fans are obnoxious clowns. If you’re wondering what this has to do with anything of substance, well, it’s my way of promoting my appearances on The Pulse Network every Monday at 11:00 Eastern with my friend Butch Stearns. Butch and I used to anchor the nightly sportscasts at Fox 25 in Boston and now he hosts a sports talk show on The Pulse Network. It’s a very cool new media entity. In a nutshell—here’s what they do:
The Pulse Network engages its audience in a rich multi-media environment. Our hosts provide smart and insightful analysis on the biggest stories of the day and use the timeliness of social media to advance the dialogue while providing a three hundred and sixty degree perspective to keep you informed.
Basically, it gives me a forum to absolutely go ballistic and rant on the daily hot sports topics with Butch. Any day is a great day to rip the Steelers, so I do it. I Skype in for the live show each Monday, and you can watch/listen to it live right here every Monday.
END OF HIS KINGDUMB
July 13, 2010 By
I can’t remember a contrived, ego-centric, breathlessly-promoted, self-serving, self-destructive, polarizing, narcissistic love-fest I’ve watched recently that ticked me off more than what ESPN aired last night with The Diss, oh, excuse me, The Decision
Lets get to the highlights of what I guarantee you will turn out to be the worst career decision LeBron James has ever made.
Trust me, this is going to end up an unmitigated disaster for Mr. James that is going downgrade his imperial status from King to Sidekick.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer my larger-than-life iconic superstars to be the top dog on their own team, not a 2010 version of what would happen if Scottie Pippen, (co-star) Clyde Drexler, (supporting character) Dick Cheney (second banana) and Abraham Lincoln (similar facial hair to what LeBron sported) were morphed into a 260 pound dunking machine with a bad beard. I have news for you LeBron, before 8:28 Central last night you were the face of a franchise, a league, and a city, now you are nothing more than a bit player on a freak show. And I don’t believe you were comfortable making that decision. You looked more nervous than Rosie O’Donnell at a Laker Girls tryout, and in case none of your boys from high school you’ve hired as your glorified go-fers have informed you, the Miami Heat don’t play in South Beach. When you finally announced what we all had tuned into The Diss for, you know, which team you’d play for next year, you seemed timid, confused, disappointed and ashamed; or in other words, how a typical Packers fan feels when he’s changing in front of a mirror.
And by saying “I’m taking my talents to South Beach”, to me means only one thing—you’re more excited about the possibilities of the nighlife and eclectic, electric, pulse-pumping party scene than you are about building a dynasty.
Hey, don’t get me wrong, I believe that LeBron has earned the right to make any decision he wants, and I hate to break it to you city of Cleveland, but you don’t own LeBron James any more than you own Drew Carrey. Were you burning dark horn-rimmed glasses in the streets when he left the local comedy circuit to take a sitcom in Hollywood? I mean this with absolutely no offense Cleveland, but your city is identified by losing. It doesn’t mean you are losers, but it does mean you wallow in not winning, and it is as much of your persona as New Yorkers are known for brashness. For some reason you believe you are cursed or jinxed and frankly I don’t know how you would handle bona fide sports success and I’m beginning to believe you’ll never have to worry about it.
In time, I will address the response Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert issues to LeBron leaving his team via his message on the team’s website on a later date, but suffice it to say Lindsay Lohan showed more class and dignity in the courtroom this week than Gilbert did with his pathetic response.
Bottom line, I’m bummed out. I was in the Chicago Bulls locker room after almost every game the Bulls played during their second three-peat in the mid to late 90’s. I saw in person every day, how a true larger-than-life icon handles business on and off the court. In my mind, I wanted LeBron to become that, and I really think he could have if he stayed in Cleveland or went to the Knicks. But LeBron got seduced. Not by Pat Riley, or the Heat Franchise or the thought of winning multiple titles. (you think he’d be joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh if they played for Oklahoma City?) He’s being pulled to South Florida because of the weather, lifestyle, lack of state income tax and the safety of not having to be The Man. When you fancy yourself as “The Chosen One”, you usually don’t enlist co-stars to help you fight your battles. You lead the charge. And the saddest thing about last night is the aura of LeBron James I think is without question different, certainly minimized, and quite possibly almost over. And that’s what bums me out the most.
THROW THE BOOKS AT THEM
July 13, 2010 By
Okay, the confetti has stopped floating from the rafters of the Staples Center, and hopefully the Chicago Blackhawks have sucked the last drop of Jack Daniels out of the Stanley Cup and shaved those hideous beards they sported during the playoffs and fans of those two teams can get down to something important—RELIVING THE MEMORIES OF THEIR CHAMPIONSHIP FOREVER!
Okay, that plug was about as subtle as a fairwell manifesto from Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.
We’ve got the Lakers and Blackhawk’s championship books for sale for anyone interested. Click on the book cover on my home page and you’ll be in our bookstore.
They are the two best books we’ve cranked out in the last couple years, and if you’re a fan of those teams, you’ll love it.
It was wild putting them together.
Okay—I’m not afraid to publicly say I don’t like the Boston Celtics. I’m so happy Phil Jackson was able to further distance himself from Red Auerbach in career championships, and seeing the trio of Garnett, Pierce and Allen walk off the court defeated, dejected and devastated was like Christmas morning all over again. It would have been a true struggle for my anti-Celtics bias to not shine through, and I don’t think I would have been able to hide it.
Oh, and as I write this, we’re seriously contemplating a book on LeBron joining forces with Dwyane Wade and ‘bringing his talents to South Beach.’ We’re checking with book stores in Miami and South Florida now to see what kind of demand there will be, and if fans want it, we’ll have tens of thousands on bookstore shelves next week.
So—stay tuned!