Sportz Undercover founder and editor Jared Zwerling was interviewed by “And One,” a website hosted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper on Cleveland.com. Click here to check it out.

On Friday night, the most famous basketball playground in the world, New York City’s Rucker Park, was the setting for the Boost Mobile Elite 24 high school basketball all-star game and inaugural dunk contest (re-airing tonight on ESPN2 at midnight EST). 24 blue-chip college prospects from across the country took the same court where NBA legends like Wilt Chamberlain and current players like Rafer Alston, of the Houston Rockets, first became household names.

Wrapping up its third year, the Boost Mobile Elite 24 now boasts elite elements beyond its blue-chip game roster; the event attracted several major sponsors and was broadcast live on ESPNU. It also featured a multi-day itinerary for the players, which took them to city landmarks, photo shoots and meet and greets with NBA pros and sports executives. I caught up with Elite 24 founder and “Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot” film producer, Kris Stone, who is Under Armour’s Director of Brand Basketball, after the game to find out more.

Q: What were your overall impressions this year?
A: I feel like each year we’re getting better at running the event. I thought there were a lot of player surprises this year, like Maalik Wayns who played so well. That was the first time I ever saw John Wall play. He’s a super athlete. Derrick Favors was amazing – for a guy to do what he did without even touching the ball. Lance [Stephenson] was hurt, he had a pulled groin and he wasn’t even supposed to play, so that’s how tough Lance is.

Q: Talk about the progression of skill level you’ve seen coming into this game.
A: They’re a lot bigger and stronger than I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what they’re feeding them. Chauncey Billups last night said, “I can’t believe how big these kids are.”

Q: The Elite 24 has really developed into a primetime event. Now you have sponsors like Spalding, 2K Sports. Do you have any ideas heading into next year?
A: Originally when I was thinking about the game, I always felt like we can take this and put it in Venice Beach and move it back to New York each year. So we would go from Venice Beach back to New York. But I’m so scared to do that because the energy of Rucker Park is so unbelievable. There’s just so much energy in this park, and it’s just hard to take this game out of here.

Q: I was actually at the movie screening for “Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot.” You just mentioned how you were thinking about moving the game out west to Venice Beach. But I liked how you showcased former Elite 24 players from all over the country, not just in the New York area, and what it’s like to be an elite athlete in different regions.
A: I think when you get all these kids together, the one thing that you realize is that they’re all very special. They all have these amazing skills to make them elite high school athletes, and it’s great to get them in New York for four or five days, let them become friends and do regular kids’ stuff.

Q: Did you show “Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot” to the kids?
A: We tried, but their schedule was so busy and ESPN had its runaround, doing photo shoots and behind-the-scenes stuff with the kids. Also Stephen A. Smith came to speak with them yesterday about media relations. I would like it for one day where they don’t do any media. They can just hang out by themselves and just be kids. Chris Rivers, [the executive director of the Reebok All-American Camp], said, “They should just get on the subway and go to a Yankees game and hang out.”

Q: Any stories that standout for you revolving around a kid being in New York City or at Rucker Park for the first time? Anything you overhear or do you have any anecdotes that kind of capsulate what Rucker Park means for a new player coming here?
A: It’s interesting. We had a lot of personalities in the last two years. These kids this year, they were really quiet and really humble. John Wall had a dynamic personality and was always smiling. But for the most part, these kids were just so quiet. We went by the Apollo Theater today and they just kind of looked at it. I think the one time they really started laughing was when this lady walked out of a building when we were coming up to the park tonight, and she had rollers in her hair. They’re like, “Yeah, we’re in Harlem now.” They started feeling the culture.

Photo credit: Photo courtesy of ESPN

A version of this story is appearing soon on SI.com.

Shortly after returning home from the 10-kilometer open-water test event in Beijing in late May, U.S. Olympic swimmer Chloe Sutton (pictured) and her mom, Wendy, were sitting in their car at an intersection in Orange County, Calif. Suddenly, a gold star-shaped balloon magically appeared, drifting down towards the street. Wendy turned to Chloe and said, “Awww, how cute, it’s a star! Make a wish!” Chloe, without hesitation, responded, “I wish, one day, I could go to the Olympics.”

It was a surreal moment because, after a few seconds, Sutton realized she had won the test event and would be heading back to Beijing – this time, for the Olympic Games.

When you’re a 16-year-old like Chloe Sutton, you may be forgetful at times of all the accolades you’ve received. In just two years of 10k racing, her long-distance dominance has enabled her to compete overseas where she has earned three gold medals, one silver and one bronze, all while maintaining her hold as a two-time national champion. On August 20 in Beijing (airing as a live webcast on NBCOlympics.com on August 19 at 9 p.m. EST) in the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, Sutton and 24 others, featuring Paralympian Natalie du Toit, will line up in front of roughly 37,000 fans for the 10k marathon, which translates into 6.21 miles in about two hours.

Sutton was introduced to the 10k event in 2006 when, as a highly-ranked 1500-meter swimmer, she was invited to the USA Swimming Open Water Select Camp. The national governing body for swimming was trying to recruit more racers to get involved with the 10k, which had recently been named a new Olympic sport. You could say the 10k was Sutton’s gift because she won her very first event, the 2006 Open Water Swimming National Championships, which qualified her for the national team.

“I love everything about open water,” says Sutton, who started swimming when she was 7 and also enjoys body surfing. “Every race is so different and thrilling. It’s the kind of thing everyone dreams of doing. I get sent to the most amazing places to do my very favorite thing. A lot of people ask me why I like it. ‘How can you like swimming for two hours? Isn’t it boring?’ But there are so many things going on and so many things to think about. It’s the most exciting thing you could ever imagine. I love it.”

There is an undeniably under-covered juxtaposition to 10k racing. A panoramic view of a 10k race will show you swimmers racing in a lake, sometimes set against a pristine backdrop like at Elk Lake in Victoria, Canada. But a close-up shot will confirm a 10k race is anything but clean. It is a swimming bullfight, as competitors are in close proximity creating treacherous currents and grappling with each other, which can lead to disqualification. In fact, many swimmers lather grease on their ankles so their opponents’ hands will slip off.

Sutton is unquestionably battle-tested as challenges in and out of the water have consumed her adolescence. Sutton’s record for different residences reads like a resume: because her father, David, is in the Air Force, she has moved numerous times. Born at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif., she has also lived in Alabama, Nebraska, Colorado, Virginia and three other cities in California. When she was 9, her family didn’t hear from David, a former college football player, for hours on 9/11 while he was working in the Pentagon, but fortunately he had been evacuated. Five years later competing in her 10k debut, Sutton experienced her own shock – not only by finishing first. Her victory was slowed down by having her goggles ripped off and waiting for new ones, causing her to have a two-minute delay, then ending up in a field of jelly fish and getting stung all over her body.

“Chloe has lost her share of important races along the way, but it is amazing to me that she always got back in the water more determined,” Wendy says. “Weeks or months after the disappointment she would often talk with me about how she could see that it made her so much stronger. Whether she was 8 or 16 [years old], she could see how hardships made her better.”

These days, Sutton, when she has spare time, talks to large groups of adults and children about her on-the-go journey and swimming success stories. With all her traveling and intense training schedule, which consists of swimming 10 – 15,000 yards six days a week, running and abdominal exercises, Sutton enrolled in a homeschooling curriculum called the University of Nebraska Independent Study Program. She plans to graduate from high school in 2010.

For now, it’s all about the Olympics. Sutton, her teammates and coaches (Bill Rose is the women’s open water coach) left for Singapore before heading to Beijing to complete training. Although there is the pollution problem in the Forbidden City, Sutton is not concerned with how the outdoor event may affect her breathing, or anything else for that matter. During the test event in May, she didn’t think the air quality was as bad as people were describing it. Before she gets into position along the race’s starting rope in Beijing, Sutton, who’s a strong Christian and prays before every race, will simply ask God for strength and protection. Wendy, David and her brother, Colin, who will be watching back home, know they’ll be granting her wishes in spirit.

“I have always been a very determined and competitive person, and if I set my mind to something, I will achieve it to the very best of my ability,” Sutton says. “Swimming has always been the thing I’ve loved and making it to the Olympics, and beyond, has been the one thing that I have basically dedicated my life to. I hope to be able to continue to improve and compete for a long time to come.”

10k experts suggest that swimmers settle into the No. 2 position during a race, enabling them to draft off the leader. Considering Chloe’s always had to play catch up adjusting to different zip codes and she’s still been able to catapult to the top of her competition, don’t count out Chloe on the final lap. The omen of the gold star-shaped balloon can only mean one thing: a gold medal.

Photo credit: Pei Qingsheg

Everyone has a favorite sports movie when they were a kid. Mine was Rookie of the Year, released in 1993, about a boy, Henry Rowengartner (pictured), who breaks his arm but develops a throwing hitch that enables him to pitch more than 100 mph. His gift lands him a contract with the Chicago Cubs, and instantly he becomes the talk of Chitown. Not that I actually ever wanted to break a bone when I was a kid, but there many days I acted out walking onto a pitching mound with thousands of fans cheering my name.

The other day I happened to flip to the film, and stopped to watch for a bit as I hadn’t seen it in years. It’s interesting how the babyface you once had, admiring what you thought was the most incredible thing ever, changes when you get older. For some, the product has become too silly and predictable (well, that’s kind of the idea of a family movie in the first place). But for me, I took away an important message, one that underscores the tangled mess of youth sports. After Henry’s older teammate, mentor and Cubs’ aging legend, Chet Steadman, finds out he got traded, he sternly says to Henry, “Don’t take this game too seriously because one day it’ll all be over. Your gift will be gone.”

At that turning point in the movie, Henry had mastered his pitching control, was striking out batters consistently and earning rave reviews from team management. But Henry was forgoing a backyard life a kid should have and alienating his two best friends and their project to build a boat together. Immediately I started thinking about all the young athletes across the country who were being catapulted into adult-like situations at alarming rates. Sports is really the one landscape where kids can grow up too fast like Tom Hanks in Big. Because in sports, you don’t necessarily need an education to succeed; you just need a gift, which is what Henry had.

But with the gift comes immense pressure and business control. In just his first appearance as a Cub, Henry throws a few wild pitches and the team’s front office is already furious. Eventually Henry settles down on the mound, and as his role on the team expands, his stepfather, who becomes his agent, wants to leverage his son for more money. Losing sight of his fatherly figure, the stepfather is enticed to sign a more lucrative contract for Henry with the New York Yankees, and in return, he collects a higher percentage of the deal. Mind you, Henry is a 12-year-old who had just been playing Little League.

Outside of its outrageous comedic moments, Rookie of the Year paints a realistic, behind-the-scenes picture of the over-aggressiveness in sports involved with finding the next great talent. From a tactical standpoint, it’s obvious why coaches, trainers, recruiters and businessmen see the need to boost youth development at an early age: they want to represent that player who will give them a financial advantage. But they all need to cool off on the gold rush and let these kids lead a LEGO-natured life for a few more years. Why? More and more kids are tearing their ACL’s (these are adult injuries, folks), turning to anti-depressant medication to battle the unfair pressure that’s put on them and beefing up on performance-enhancing drugs as a result of the heightened competition. What do they know about steroids? They’re accepting them like it’s a new video game system.

Earlier this summer, I attended an invite-only camp called Football University at Rutgers University for Northeast high school football standouts. Some 8-year-olds were at this camp. 8-year-olds! Former NFL coaches and players were having all the campers, up to 18, practice complex routes and footwork routines. I was speaking to one of the coaches who told me it’s imperative that even the youngest kids should understand the technicalities of football because that’s how they’ll get ahead. But at that age, they should not be overwhelmed with X’s and O’s; at that age, they should be taught fundamentals and to enjoy the game. After the camp’s morning workout, a public relations representative from the NFL spoke to the kids about media relations, conducting interviews and how to act like a professional at all times, and I couldn’t believe the babies in the group were required to sit through the seminar. It was not appropriate for them because they were still years away from experiencing those things.

My dad and uncle occasionally remind me of their younger days growing up in Brooklyn when they played stickball and handball in the street. They even built a neighborhood basketball court themselves. These days, kids are being handed invitations to attend elite camps, like Football University, and suddenly they’re slaves in a fish farm-like system. There’s a lack of adolescence. This trend is exploding around the world as more countries, significantly China in the four years leading up to the Olympics, are establishing an infrastructure of athletic academies — so fixated with turning children into champions and winning gold medals. In fact, there was even some debate this week as to how old the Chinese gold medalist female gymnasts were – 10, 16, who knows.

To make matters worse, if you look around the country, school is out. This fall, roughly 90% of the nation’s children will return to a public school system that is broken. They will enter a culture that has been stripped of all notion of right and wrong. They will go to school designed to educate them in math, science and English, but instead they’ll be pushed in sports to boost the prestige of the athletic programs, which has become a key component to an institution’s success.

Another issue I have is with parents who don’t make the effort to immerse themselves in youth culture. They really need to step in and become more knowledgeable about athletic trends and amateur exploitation in sports. I think the idea of having seminars and support groups, covering topics like training and recruiting, would be invaluable. To be honest, I think a lot of parents sign their kids up for a sports team or camp without fully understanding the competitive environment. Actually, many coaches want parents to butt out of their business and keep sideline distance away. Parents may not get the satisfaction of seeing their child play as many minutes as another — that’s just the nature of sports — but they should be provided an open forum and encouraged to ask questions.

Parents say their children are their gift. Sometimes their children develop a gift. But never should these gifts be abused too soon or else there could be dire consequences.

I’ll tell you what, Rookie of the Year didn’t make me laugh this time around.

Photo credit: Videodetective.com

In the past 10 years post-Jordan, the league has heard the skepticism: Who can replace “His Airness” as the face of the league? What happened to defense and half-court, fundamental-style basketball? Why has the league become a fraternity for thugs who engage in on-court altercations? Where is the integrity of the league’s referees? How can NBA agents get away with throwing money under the table to potential lottery picks?

This week, a new question burned through sports talk: Will American economics jeopardize the league’s talent roster? While the Euro is dominating the dollar in a one-on-one currency exchange rate matchup, free agent Josh Childress (pictured) rejected a contract from the Atlanta Hawks and accepted a loftier multi-year deal from Greek club Olympiacos (exempt from all taxes, too). Most American players who hop on one-way transatlantic flights are lesser known to the mainstream, unable to land a pro contract or, if they do, usually average low single-digit points off the bench. But because Childress played a crucial role in the Hawks’ playoff run this past season, stretching the Boston Celtics’ insecurities to seven games in the first round, there was more scrutiny of his business decision. Of course, this is simply an aberration at this point, but again the NBA has an impending conundrum whereby David Stern needs to schedule interviews to diminish the pessimism surrounding the league’s future.

What’s left in the wake of these PR malignancies is a separation of some fans and sponsors from the league because they don’t want to be associated with a rocky situation until the matter subsides. As a result, we lose sight of the fact that sports agencies, which are in the business of maximizing players’ earning potential off the court through marketing strategies, can struggle to solidify endorsement deals for their clients – the league’s core product.

In the first segment of a two-part interview, I spoke with Burton Chawla, sales account executive for Excel Sports Management, about his role at the sports agency which boasts Jason Kidd and Paul Pierce as clients, how the NBA’s faded image has affected the relationship between players and advertisers, and what upcoming business opportunities he foresees for his clients.

Q: What does your job entail at Excel?
A: Excel is a full-service boutique sports agency. We are boutique in the number of full-time employees we have in the office (New York City and Los Angeles), but we are big enough where we boast 25 NBA players. My role here is defined, but because we are boutique we all wear different hats. My job is to generate as much off-court income both regionally and nationally for all of my 25 players. With the pending Olympics, I am also working on some global opportunities.

Q: From a player’s perspective, what traits do you think he’s looking for in an agency? Where do you see the competitive advantage?
A: I think it varies from player to player. A player who wants an agent with a track record and who will spend time on him will come to Excel. A player who wants a big agency where he can have teams [of employees] work on his marketing may go with someone else. I just think it is too relative to comment with any sweeping generalization.

Q: How did your work experience at SLAM, RISE and doing freelance projects in sports prepare you for your step up to Excel?
A: The work at SLAM, RISE and any other freelance I was involved with (ESPN mostly) comes into play because this industry is one of “who you know” rather than “what you know.” Also, “who you know” plays into “what you know.” Additionally, just learning how to pitch, set up meetings, follow-up – all the basics of learning how to be a professional I learned through my past experiences.

Q: When you pitch one of your clients to an advertiser in hopes of getting him a sponsorship deal, what is your strategy? How do you try to “up-sell” your client’s services?
A: The strategy varies from client to client and from potential endorser to endorser. I always try to hear the goals of the potential endorser or advertiser first, and then try to fit the right player in based on the player’s personality, team, interest, etc.

Q: You’ve mentioned in previous conversations that it’s sometimes difficult to pitch your clients because the advertisers don’t want to talk to NBA players. Do you think the so-called “image problems” of the NBA and the controversy surrounding sports agents are factors? What kind of feedback do you get from advertisers?
A: I think the “image problems” probably play a role. I think, bigger than that, is that the overall popularity of pro basketball is sinking. Are ratings going up? Yes. Are dollars overall going up? Yes. But that has more to do with inflation, growing exposure globally of sports, how connected the world has become, etc. The heyday of professional basketball was in the 90s with Michael Jordan. Fortune 500 companies were more willing to spend on guys. Think about a guy like Kobe Bryant. Other than Nike, when was the last time you saw him on TV? Michael might even be on TV now more than Kobe.

Q: What effect will it have on Excel if one of your clients signs overseas? Is it a benefit or a hindrance for you to help him generate income?
A: It does affect my ability to do my job, but some of the most marketable players will more than likely not go that route. I don’t really work with our guys that play overseas. To understand the [international] market, you either have to be a part of that market or make yourself a part of that market – at least from a regional standpoint. Before Josh Childress signed, one of our clients was considering taking more money to play overseas. I would not have been a part of his marketing/endorsement team at that point.

Q: The endorsement game is big business and ultra competitive now. Where do you think are some of the future business opportunities (ex: products, branding) for players to stand out in the corporate clutter?
A: The obvious answer is the Internet. Players have their own websites. Webisodes are getting huge. Digital media is what everyone is plugged into these days.

Q: What have been some business wins for you since being at Excel?
A: Nationally, Paul Pierce’s on-court success has been helpful in pitching him. He has propelled himself into superstar status by out-dueling both LeBron and Kobe. Specifically, Paul will be the face of Yahoo! Fantasy Sports next year.

Q: What are some of the rewards and challenges you face in your job and working in the sports agency industry?
A: The rewards are the glamour involved in working in sports and entertainment. Everyone immediately thinks it is more glamorous than it really is. The reality is that it is a grind. Sports, although “cool” from the outside, is just like every other job. The biggest challenge in the industry is probably linked to the aforementioned glamour. It is a grind and not all fun and games.

The second segment will explore Burton’s work with his newest client, 2008 first-round draft pick Jerryd Bayless of the Portland Trail Blazers, and how he’s planning to build Jerryd’s endorsement portfolio. Stay tuned…

Photo credit: Icon SMI

I caught the Home Run Derby, the player parade on Sixth Avenue and the All-Star Game, and was most impressed with the attention the league gave to Yankee Stadium and the legends of the game. I think it would’ve been more meaningful if Reebok, which now owns Mitchell & Ness, outfitted them in their classic jerseys while they were being recognized nationally.

I realize that the Home Run Derby compares to the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest in that both events take their sport to unique soaring heights, but I would love to see more activities during MLB All-Star weekend. I think the league would have some fun packaging “out-of-the-box” programs, while delivering sales in the process – a step away from their traditional pastimes for which the sport is known. At the core, baseball is sort of a stationary sport with not many dipsy-dos like in basketball, so that’s why it would be exciting to mix some “And 1″ elements into the game. Imagine a skills challenge where a player has to throw pitches through a moving target, then lay down bunts aimed at targets in the infield, and finish it off with a race around the bases to score the lowest time.

It’s fun to see how far a home run can travel, especially when someone’s smacking them high up into the upper deck at a consistent rate like Josh Hamilton, but the pace of the Home Run Derby feels slower than ever in what’s becoming a faster-paced sports environment (One example: Twenty20 is a new high-adrenaline format of cricket, featuring cheerleaders and rousing music between plays). I actually pessimistically predict that baseball will keep getting tucked deeper and deeper away into the confines of old-school living; the more we jet set and become transfixed on high-speed technology, the more we’ll change the channel on baseball.

Another idea for an MLB All-Star event that would attract viewers of all ages is an under-30 vs. over-30 game featuring the best players in each age group. I think a rookies vs. sophomores contest, like the NBA does, wouldn’t be as pertinent because many MLB players in their first or second years are not taking the field yet. Also, in baseball you can play well into your 30’s and even 40’s at an All-Star level.

The parade’s placement was key – Avenue of the Americas passing Radio City Music Hall – but the procession, outside of the cheers and the Boston boo’s, felt like something Ebenezer Scrooge had organized. It didn’t offer a lot of excitement. It was just one Chevrolet pickup truck after another rolling slowly along, carrying an All-Star and his entourage dressed in business casual attire. I mean, Chevy executives had to be happy promoting a relevant vehicle, but where were the mascots, the entertainment, the goodies for the fans? Were the players headed to a meeting at the United Nations? I don’t think so. Some players hardly twitched to the onlookers’ remarks. Hey, you’re an All-Star because we voted you in, so show some respect! Even Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, the hometown All-Star starters, blended right into the heart of corporate America, a.k.a. Treo Town or Blackberry Boulevard, wearing suits and acting disinterested as if they were CEO’s and the crowd were college interns.

To end things off in the 15th inning, I really enjoyed the extraordinary defense exhibited in the All-Star game, most notably by NL catcher Russell Martin. Obviously for the past 10 years or so, from Sosa to steroids, home runs have been the hot topic in baseball, so it was a significant diversion to see offensive gems thwarted in the spotlight. One thing that still perplexes me is why the All-Star game is not on a Sunday. Tuesday just feels like any other day in a long, long baseball season — just another day at the office.

Some things to ponder looking ahead to St. Louis. Chime in with your reflections.

Photo credit: MLB.com

We watch sports for mainly one reason: to see our team win. And during one of our team’s games, we long to see the home runs, the touchdowns, the last-second buzzer beaters that will catapult our protagonists to the peak. We anticipate the big breaks. That’s what we pay to see, and excites us to call our friends after the game and say, “Man, you gotta see the highlights tonight.” But many times, the most dramatic highlights don’t appear by simply looking for the big picture; rather you’ll find them by observing the close-up nuances of the sport. They arguably conjure up the best story leads, the best front-page newspaper photos and the best color commentaries. Here are some of my favorites:

After a walk-off home run and the baseball player is rounding third, a cadre of his teammates are at home plate waiting to pounce on him and give him dozens of noogies.

The reaction of a tennis player winning a grueling, five-set match by dropping to the court in jubilation, fists pumping in the air.

When a wide receiver thinks he has a pass buttoned up, but then a free safety strikes him blind side with full-throttle vengeance, knocking the receiver down like he hit an invisible wall and the ball out his hands, confirming that Saturdays and Sundays are terrifying and exhilarating at the same moment of impact.

After a scoring run in basketball and the opposing team calls a timeout, the winning team’s subs erupt off the bench and run to their teammates for a series of mid-air chest bumps.

When the victorious national soccer team celebrates by running around the field holding up the country’s flag with the team members huddled close together, a sequence that lifts the whole nation to its dancing feet in the streets for days to follow.

The calming silence of a tennis rally, except for the players’ grunts and the powerful impact of the ball against the racket, almost like a climatic scene during a theater performance, where at the end is a thunderous applause.

Football teammates sneaking up behind their winning coach and dumping Gatorade on him, who then reflexes an astonished look – eyes squinty, big-open mouth – like he just found the most heavenly waterfall to cool off under.

A breakaway during a women’s basketball game, and when you least expect it, the player rises up one-arm extended and dunks it home.

The leap-out-of-the-press-box energy and tongue-rolling, speed-of-sound commentating by a soccer broadcaster after his country’s cleatsmen have scored a tie-breaking GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL!

The slow, calculated walk of the baseball manager to the mound while the pitcher’s trepidation soaks through his hat as he takes it on and off, seemingly nerved by the scoreboard and his day job security.

The seconds after a car race and the winning driver sticks out a thumbs-up from his door window, a special sign cementing a champion, but also an assuring one to his fans, family and pit crew, affirming that he survived another dangerous, fiery event.

During the closing seconds of a crucial college basketball game, one team’s five players huddle up and plan a strategy, arms around each other’s shoulders, while their teammates on the bench interlock arms, and when a big bucket helps them regain the lead, they all jump off their seats and clap in unison.

When a brand new Grand Slam tennis champion climbs into the stands and runs up the steps to give his family and coaches a group hug, a unique photo moment that is usually lost in the Where’s Waldo wildness of team sports celebrations.

LEEEEEET’S GEEEEEET REEEEEEADY TOOOOOO RUUUUUUMBLE!

What are some of your favorites?

Photo credit: Getty Images

It is very fitting that internationally-acclaimed artist Cai Guo-Qiang is spearheading the visual and special effects of the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. The Summer Games represent China’s global housewarming party as the country looks to break free from its communist struggles and introduce its new image to the entire world – literally – as the biggest television audience ever (four billion!) is set to watch. Cai is a master of artistic explosion who has received global recognition as an originator of new art forms using gunpowder as his brush. As Cai sees it “to create, you must destruct,” which reflects his philosophy that conflict and transformation are conditions of life. His creative transgressions featuring pyrotechnic explosion events and large-scale drawings made from igniting gunpowder and fuses laid on fibrous paper have expanded the accepted parameters of art. These artistic concepts were the foundation of Cai’s Guggenheim Museum exhibition in New York City entitled “I Want To Believe,” which just completed its three-month run in May.

Through an interpreter, I spoke with Cai on a recent morning in Beijing where he is “98% of the time” these days working around the clock; in fact, he was coming off about four hours of sleep before our interview. Although Cai was not allowed to discuss the specifics of the ceremonies, our conversation covered how he got involved with the Olympics, his artistic approach, creative challenges and sports appreciation. Cai is well aware of the political picture in China, having grown up in Chairman Mao Zedong’s Red China, and plans to shed light on China’s past, present and future through his Olympic creations.

Q: Are you a sports fan?
A: I’m definitely a sports person. I started out practicing martial arts when I was little. Now I lift weights and go to the gym. I love jogging. I love to watch swimming, gymnastics and boxing – my number one favorite.

Q: How did you get involved with the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies? What was that process like?
A: Originally, there were several hundred creative teams from all over the world that competed to join the Olympic creative team. The government chose 13 out of those several hundred, then selected the final five teams, which consist of artists, directors, dancers, choreographers, etc. I’m the artist on one of the creative teams for the opening and closing ceremonies. My team has other members from China, although most of them live in New York or other countries. Basically, I have two roles: first, I’m one of the members of the core creative team, which consists of seven members, including dancers, directors, artists and film directors like Yimou Zhang, who directed the movie Hero [starring Jet Li]. Second, I’m the Director of Visual and Special Effects.

Q: When you found out you were chosen, what was your reaction?
A: It’s been a very interesting experience because I mostly live in New York City and work with artists usually from Western countries. With the Olympic creative team, I’m mainly working with artists or film directors or dancers from China, so it’s been very different from my past experiences. And the other thing is thinking about how my creative team and I can link Chinese history to Western culture to show people more of China’s roots and somehow present its past, present and future through the Olympics.

Q: So has it been more of a challenge for you to adjust to the creative visions of artists in China?
A: It’s been a challenge to work with these Chinese artists. In terms of the creative form, there are similar elements when working with Chinese artists or with Western artists. But in terms of the concepts for the ceremonies and trying to connect Chinese culture and history to create the right blend, these are the things that are very different from my past experiences. Many ceremonies take place in China, but the Olympic ceremonies are special because they are international events – that is, intended not only for Chinese people, but for everyone in the world. So the challenge is trying to find a good balance to make world audiences appreciate the ceremonies. After all, there will be one hundred thousand people in Beijing to witness the ceremonies first-hand and more than four billion people watching on television.

Q: Will you be featuring your renowned explosion events during the opening and closing ceremonies? If so, how will the Olympics influence your artistic approach?
A: The difference with past explosion events is that they had individual titles and focused more on specific concepts. For the Olympics, things will be more artistic. I will create more concrete forms with pyrotechnics rather than just patterns like most fireworks displays. For example, you make a flower not because you want to make a flower, but because it’s something that is a symbol or has meanings for it. What I mean by the flower being a symbol is that the pyrotechnics will not just be comprised of pretty shapes and objects, but an evident theme and concept will be presented through these forms. In this sense, it’s more conceptual. Another difference is that with my previous ceremonies, people got together and saw lots of fireworks in the air. It was just like a celebration. This time with the Olympics, the explosion events will have a more special meaning. And the other thing is, to make it meaningful you have to use more sophisticated [pyrotechnic] technology to make things happen.

Q: You’ve put on explosion events in front of thousands of people. For the Olympics, your work will be watched by billions of people – the biggest television audience ever. How does that make you feel that the whole world will be watching your work?
A: It feels like I have more flexibility in terms of the explosion events because TV expands the freedom and the possibilities for people to see more clearly what you are doing. Because of this increased perspective, I can expand to a larger scale.

Q: The opening ceremonies are the entrance to the Olympics and will set the stage for what’s to come in those next two weeks of competition. But to me, the opening ceremonies really represent China’s official entrance to the world, finally opening a previously isolated communist society. Do you see the opening ceremonies having this kind of significance? What do they mean to you?
A: The slogan for the Beijing Olympics is “One World, One Dream.” The basic idea behind the opening ceremonies is to deliver that message to the world – what China is about and what kind of tone the Olympics should establish to the world. Because of its political struggles, it’s more of a closed society to foreign countries. People think China is more mysterious just because they don’t really know that much about it. So the opening ceremonies are an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Chinese culture and civilization, as well as all the traditions of the past, present and future. And the other thing is to let people know that China isn’t mysterious; it’s much the same as other countries, and Chinese people are just like people in other countries. We want to be like, “Everybody’s our friend. We are the world. We are no different.”

Photo credit: HonoluluAcademy.org

In the news recently, American government leaders have hinted about boycotting the Beijing Olympics to protest China’s treatment of Tibetans and lack of concern for the environment. But can you imagine if the entire U.S. Olympic team was ordered by the President and his administration to boycott the Summer Games? Well, that’s exactly what happened in 1980 – a story, to this day, that’s still been under covered.

Twin brothers Tom and Jerry Caraccioli, coming off of the success of their first Olympic-themed book published in 2006, Striking Silver: The Untold Story of America’s Forgotten Hockey Team, decided to recapture arguably the most stunning turn of events in sports history. In Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, now available at all major booksellers, the Caraccioli’s explore the political climate during the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan and the aftermath of Jimmy Carter’s boycott through first-person retrospectives by 18 of those 500 American athletes and coaches – none of whom represented the U.S. in Moscow that summer.

Below is my interview with Jerry, a television network executive at CBS Sports, who shares the brothers’ vision for the book, highlights some of the gripping athletes’ stories and discusses the historical circumstances behind the boycott.

Q: How did the idea come about to write the book?
A: After we did our fist one, a lot of people were asking us if we had any ideas for a second one. Out first book was really just out, but we actually did have a few ideas for a second one, and based on all the research and stories that we did regarding the first one, we were like, “Wow, there’s a lot of untold Olympic stories.” We did the first book in time for the 2006 Winter Olympics. We thought with the next Olympics in 2008 in China, the story of the 1980 Olympics is completely untold because [the Americans] had to boycott the Games. Not a lot of people even know that. So that’s kind of how it came about.

Q: Did you ever think it would be so timely to the political unrest going on right now in China?
A: Well, we kind of thought that it might be. This isn’t a brand new story. I’m not saying it was completely by surprise; we had thoughts that there might be some type of controversy that would surround these Games just based on the news that had been happening.

Q: For the book, you focused primarily on the athletes and their stories of what it was like to go through the boycott?
A: We wanted to tell the story of the time – give background of why it happened and how it happened politically. That was kind of the narrative thread. [The book] was told by the athletes through their stories and the sacrifices they made. We wanted to tell the story of how the boycott affected them through their eyes and we matched it up with the political aspects of what was going on in the world.

Q: Athletes sometimes don’t play because they get injured or maybe there’s a league lockout, like with the NHL a couple of years ago. But it’s inconceivable to think that international politics was the deciding factor in not allowing these athletes to participate.
A: Yeah, Anita DeFrantz on the back of our book said, “The boycott of 1980 was a stunning experience because I thought in our country the individuals had the right to make their choices in sport.” That was certainly a theme that was prevalent with a lot of the athletes. Technically, the USOC and their delegation voted on [the boycott]. A lot of the athletes felt like they were kind of pressured into voting the way they did.

Q: How much were the voices of the American athletes heard in the boycott process? I know the issue went to court where the ruling was in favor of the USOC. Were the athletes even invited to court?
A: Yeah, 25 athletes – led by Anita DeFrantz – sued the USOC and their voice was absolutely heard in terms of presenting their case. The [Jimmy] Carter administration held meetings with the USOC and the athlete council, but it was tough [for the athletes]. They were asking to make a decision to go against the President, so there was a lot of pressure to make sure the vote went the way the administration wanted it to.

Q: When Carter made his decision, did other countries follow suit or were they already having their own judgments on the boycott?
A: I think a lot of the other countries were looking to the U.S. as to what we were going to do before they decided completely. There were other countries that said they were going to boycott, but their national organizing committees decided that they were going to let their athletes decide for themselves. Even though their government said, “We support this action,” their national organizing committees said, “Well, we’re going to let the athletes decide.” And that was the case with several countries, including Great Britain.

Q: Would you say that the U.S. had a “communist” mindset for not allowing their athletes to compete?
A: I wouldn’t categorize it as that. The U.S. thought what they were doing was correct and believed in it. And as Walter Mondale had said, “We felt that what we were doing was the proper course of action.”

Q: Did any of them go on to compete in the 1984 Olympics?
A: Some of them did. But all the athletes that we profiled didn’t. The athletes we dealt with, [the 1980 Olympics] was their one shot and it was taken away. About half the team probably went on to compete in the 1984 Olympics. And some had competed before in ’76 and ’72.

Q: When the athletes looked back on the event, did they still have animosity towards the Carter administration after all these years? Or was there a new sense of, “You know what, I’ve thought about it more and have changed my viewpoint?”
A: They all had come to a different realization of what it was all about at different parts in their lives. Some knew right away that they were going to be missing out on something really special; others were just too young to realize that. Some agreed with it – they supported the President and his administration – and others didn’t at the time.

Q: Were there any athletes’ stories that stuck out to you – maybe that surprised you or made you emotional about what they were going through?
A: There’s a few that kind of stuck out – a few different lines and things that some of the athletes talked about in their stories, like with Don Paige who was probably America’s best half-miler. When the 800-meter race [in the 1980 Olympics] came on – the big race featuring Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett – he would’ve been right in the thick of that. He couldn’t watch it and went out and sat in his parent’s backyard and his dad came out and told him what happened. He put his arm around him and said, “Boy, I would’ve loved to have seen you in that race.” You can just relate to something like that I think. There were other [stories] like with Glenn Mills who was a swimmer and basically swam for his brother who had passed away; that was his motivation growing up. He really was just swimming to win the state tournament [in high school]. He made a promise to his brother that he would win the state tournament, and as he was progressing and going on the coaches that he was training with saw that his real potential was the Olympics. And he ended up making the [1980 Olympic] team, which, of course, he had to boycott. Then he went back to the [Olympic] trials in ’84 and missed out on making the team by like a hundredth of a second. I do know that one of the athletes, Sue Walsh, who was a swimmer actually missed out by one one-hundredth of a second in the 1984 Olympic tryouts. Four years earlier, that would’ve been good enough to have a spot [on the team]. They took the top three times [in 1980], and [in 1984] they took the top two times. All the stories have those types of heartbreaking stories.

Q: How did you pick the athletes whom you profiled? Did you target them initially when you started writing the book?
A: No, we tried to just get diversity in sport and gender. Some people grew up in the country and some people grew up in New York City. It kind of just evolved. There wasn’t really any complete rhyme or reason. We did try to give a sampling of all sports. We have a cycler in there and a marksman and…

Q: And Isiah Thomas.
A: And Isiah Thomas.

Q: Through your research on the book topic, did you agree with Carter’s decision? What were some of your feelings as you went through the project?
A: Well, we just presented the athletes’ opinions. We didn’t take sides. It’s more of the history of what happened and we let the participants present their stories. And, of course, Vice President Mondale wrote the forward and he presented the administration’s side of things.

Q: I read a brief account of Mondale’s forward. He was very apologetic?
A: He actually did apologize and said that he was sorry for it. He was talking about the athletes and said, “They lost a big point in their lives that they weren’t going to be able to reclaim. I know this is still a very raw moment in American history and for that I am sorry.” He also said, “I believe our young athletes who sacrificed so much deserve great credit for their part in denying respectability and odious regime.” But he still thought that what they did was the right thing to do. He said, “Boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympic Games was a very painful decision for all involved in making it, but one that we thought was the right thing to do.”

Q: Do you think the decision to boycott was made more for security reasons? Or do you think the President and his administration were just bitter towards the Soviets for what they were doing in Afghanistan, and really as a protest to their actions, the U.S. said, “You know what, we don’t want to be associated with you?” Or was it a combination of the two?
A: Well, according to Vice President, it was a security situation.

Q: It’s interesting to hear about what’s going on these days with the Beijing Olympics. Nancy Pelosi came out and said that President Bush should protest and the athletes should protest. I’m sure there are a lot of athletes who see the Olympics as an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and view it strictly as athletic competition. They would probably say, “Why should politics get in the way? This is sports, not politics.” It just doesn’t feel right when you associate the two together, so when does politics cross the line into sports?
A: Well, if there’s one thing that we saw in writing this book, when politics and the Olympics intersect it has not proven to be a very good mix. So before there’s a call for any type of boycott, you need to be able to answer the question: Will it affect change? And if it won’t, then the only people that really are affected are the athletes.

Q: What is the epilogue about?
A: It’s a story about the gold medals that were given to each athlete during their visit to the White House. The athletes didn’t really know what [the medal] was and it ended up being the Congressional Gold Medal, which is only given to the likes of George Washington. The list of recipients dates back to 1776 and it contains less than 200 names, including George Washington, Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, Douglas MacArthur, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Winston Churchill, Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama. Each member of that [U.S. Olympic] team was presented that medal. It’s the highest honor Congress bestows to civilians. We also have every athlete from the team listed in the epilogue. We only profiled 18 of the athletes, but, of course, they’re representing all the athletes. We wanted to make sure that all athletes were part of this book. We’ve got everyone’s name in there. We have coaches in there as well. It was over 500.

Q: Have the athletes ever had a reunion?
A: Not to my knowledge. I know that the track and field team is going to be honored at the Olympic trials this year. Different teams have gotten together at certain points in time.

Q: It’s ironic that when you sum up what happened in 1980, the Soviets remained in Afghanistan and the Olympics went on, but the one group that was really affected by this whole thing were the American athletes.
A: Unfortunately, they were the ones that were affected the most.

Photo credit: NewChapterPressOnline.com

“One of the most powerful plays about sports in the last decade.” That’s how The New York Times described it. On a Saturday not too long ago, while hosting a visitor from out of town, I was searching through theater listings for the evening. That’s when I saw that impressive critic’s compliment and said, “We’ve gotta go see this.” The off-Broadway play was called “Runt of the Litter,” playing at the 37 Arts Theatre in New York City. I had never seen a sports-themed stage performance before, so being an obvious sports junkie I saw this is an unique opportunity to experience the theatrical side of the sports industry.

As you take your seat, you hear the sounds of stadium noise coming from the speakers above. The stage is simply decorated, and you immediately recognize the play’s setting is a locker room. Over on stage right there’s a training table with various medical appliances, and on the opposite side there’s a locker and a large waste basket. Before the play starts, you wonder how one actor, Bo Eason (pictured), is about to enact one of the most powerful plays about sports in the last decade.

Reading through the show’s Playbill, Bo Eason was a former NFL player for the Houston Oilers in the 1980s who was regarded as one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the league. Right after he retired because of various injuries — make that seven knee operations — Bo pursued his passion for acting and eventually landed several roles, including one opposite Antonio Banderas and Sarah Jessica Parker in Miami Rhapsody. The idea to write, direct and perform “Runt of the Litter” was always in his back pocket. As Bo grew up, an ongoing theme repeated itself in his life, and he finally wanted to get it off his chest. The stage was his outlet.

“Runt of the Litter” is Bo’s semi-autobiographical account of his upbringing as the youngest son in his family — hence the title of the play — and how he was treated as second best to his older, more successful brother, Tony, a quarterback who led the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XX (Bo uses aliases for his real family members in the play). On stage, Bo aggressively details what it was like to live with an alcoholic father who spent most of his time saying “God Damnit” on the sidelines of Bo’s youth games, but spewed no such venom at Tony who basked in his accomplishments. Bo’s fierce and highly-animated stage presence represents how badly he wants to beat his brother and earn respect from his dad in the process.

The play is Bo’s fantasy opportunity to be the golden child. During the hour-and-a-half monologue, Bo is gearing up for a Super Bowl matchup against his brother and describes his yearning to intercept a pass thrown by his brother or to punish him in the backfield with a sack. His storytelling is riveting as he intertwines faith, poetry, deep-rooted emotion, hilarious anecdotes and flip-flopping of roles as his family members. And while keeping to the script, Bo gives the audience a glimpse of the physical and mental preparation of an NFL player in a locker room minutes before a game — like “going into war” as Bo proclaims. He pretends to inject cortisone into his surgically-repaired knee, straps on his knee brace, wraps his wrists, spreads on eye black, gets pumped up to rock-jam music and dances across the locker room floor, and then puts the finishing touches on his pre-game routine by putting on his jersey and helmet. His performance is electrifying.

Right before Bo takes the field he innocently tells the audience like a 5-year-old, “I can’t wait to make my father proud,” and he runs through the door at the back of the stage. Stadium noise, louder than before, fills the room for a few minutes, and then Bo re-enters looking beat up with a muddy jersey. The game’s over, and something has happened. Bo got his chance to sack his brother, but he caused him to have a major injury. Bo had his moment, but his determination and killer instincts drove him over the edge. Yet, as Bo explains to conclude the play, these traits molded him into the “runt of the litter,” which has a spiritual meaning. It is said that the youngest puppy in a litter will eventually have the most resolve and strongest soul because he will be bullied by his elders from birth and, therefore, will have to fight the hardest to scrap for food and attention. Seven real knee surgeries later, Bo’s talents have received widespread acclaim as he’s seen his play go from an off-Broadway debut to a national tour, and within a year the story will be showing at a movie theater near you. This injured runt has finally emerged from his family shadows.

My thoughts leaving the theater that night were drawn to Bo’s intensity during the play. Nearly every word he spoke he spit a rainstorm, nearly every movement he made was a sharp jab like a boxer’s punch. It felt like he would jump into the audience at any moment to deliver a hard tackle on us as if we were his offensive assignment on the football field. It was like watching a snake raise his head and coil up its tail or a crocodile tortoise-walking and opening its jaw — both in position to strike their prey. When Bo said he was “going to war,” the chills down my back proved his point. His delivery honestly made me a little uneasy at times in my seat and I longed for some relief. This was sports, far from war. Bo’s portrayal of his character demonstrated his obsession with winning and being the best, which is a common behavioral trait for most professional athletes. Like Bo, they are playing on an elite level because they have developed a thicker skin than their competitors dealing with parents and coaches who constantly pushed them to adhere to lofty goals. Athletes tend to be coy about details of their rough upbringing, so it was enlightening to go through that emotional experience with Bo. God Damnit, his father should be proud now!

Photo credit: TheaterMania.com