Rulon Gardner

Utah Spirit Magazine

2007

By Scott Schulte

Douglas Schulte

Spending time with Rulon Gardner is much like hanging out with a kid. A really big kid, mind you, but a kid just the same.

“Check this out,” Gardner says as he punches the buttons of his cell phone. He turns the phone display. “It’s me and Garth Brooks.”

A few seconds later a new photo, “Jason Giambi.

“These guys are cool,” Gardner says. “It’s been fun to get to know these guys. They’re all a lot of fun."

“Wanna see something?” he asks.

Rulon opens the door to his garage where he keeps some of his fun toys, a Hummer, a specialized Harley Davidson motorcycle and a souped-up Mustang.

“You wouldn’t believe the deal I got on this Hummer…” he says proudly.

Now, understand, Gardner is not bragging. It’s not in his nature. For Gardner, it’s about sharing. Sharing what his hard work has given him.

“What fun is it if you can’t share your experiences and your life with others?” he asks. And it’s been that way since his retirement following his last match at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games where he claimed the Bronze medal. On that day, Gardner simply removed his shoes, a symbolic gesture of retiring from the sport of wrestling, and walked away. The man who had shocked the world four years earlier when he snatched the Gold medal by defeating the “unbeatable” Alexander Karelin of Russia and overnight became Sydney’s version of the 1980 U.S. Hockey team, had reached his goals and knew it was time to move on.

“When I removed my shoes after that last match,” Gardner says, “I had a mixture of emotions. It was sad because I knew it was the last time I would wrestle competitively, but as athletes we all think about what we’ll do when it’s all over, and then it happens."

"On that day I closed a chapter of my life,” he says. “Now I’m on to a new one. I get to coach, which is what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m involved in wrestling on many different levels.”

And although he enjoys reminiscing, Gardner is no dumb jock locked into his glory days. Gardner has clear business and personal goals he works just as hard to achieve as he did when he wrestled. His approach to these aspects of life remains the same as his drive to becoming part of Olympic history. It’s all about perspective for the North Salt Lake (Utah) resident.

“Wrestling and winning were never really identical goals in my life,” Gardner says. “Even winning the gold medal wasn’t necessarily the achievement of my goal. The goal in wrestling was to compete at the highest level I could and walk off the mat knowing I had done everything I could to win. Each time I competed I just needed to know that I had wrestled the best I could. In 2000, I did that and won the Gold medal. In 2004 I did the same thing and came away with the bronze. I don’t have regrets.”

Gardner lives in the moment. He has found the middle ground and ability to utilize his past experiences for today’s life.

“I do a lot of speaking,” he says. “I could live off my speaking engagements, but I have other interests that I want to pursue.”

The speaking engagements take in a number of audiences, from school children to high powered corporate executives. The message remains the same for these diverse audiences, only the delivery changes. The ability to motivate and give people, especially children, the confidence to strive for worthy goals gives Gardner his greatest joy.

“I don’t think winning a Gold medal will be the biggest impact I have on the world I live in,” he says. “Having the chance to take my experiences, the good times and the tough times and deliver a message to people and hopefully encourage them to dream big and not to give up when the going gets tough…that is a much bigger responsibility for me.”

“I want to utilize my experiences to inspire people,” he says. “If I can give people something to hang on to or a reason to get out of bed in the morning then I feel I’m being successful."

“When I give a speech and then receive letters or e-mails from parents telling me the positive impact I had on their child,” Gardner says, “that’s when I’m reminded that it’s a much bigger calling to have a good influence on the lives of others through my experiences than it was winning a Gold medal.”

Away from the podium, Gardner is using his background in physical education and his name for one of his newest ventures, Rulon Gardner’s L.A. Workout, a combination of workout facility and wrestling gym. The facility, slated to open in late 2007 in Logan, is part of the process of expanding the sport that has given him so much in his own life.

“We’re real excited about the facility,” Gardner says. “This will be a place people can workout, but also a place where we can start a competitive wrestling club for young people.”

Gardner explains this is the first step in developing several similar facilities in Utah and Wyoming.

“Between my partners and myself, we have about 70 years of experience, and we want to utilize those skills for something positive like this.” And as Gardner works on the fitness facilities, he is also eying the opportunity to invest in the oil industry. True to his background as an outdoorsman, Gardner isn’t interested in tearing up virgin land to hunt for new hot spots. Rather, by investing in Granite Energy, he will be part of a system that will work existing oil fields, leaving nature to itself and those, like himself, who want to experience all it has to offer.

“Right now I’m doing some marketing for Granite,” he says. “When you travel the world, you can see what we truly have and what we can lose, so owning stock in this company and actually owning some oil wells is a great opportunity for me as a businessperson and as an individual."

“Our job is to go in and help oil fields that are existing and quite honestly make some good money at the same time.”

Gardner has stepped off the wrestling mat as a competitor and is becoming a smart businessman, and in doing so offers simple advice for those seeking success in either direction.

“When I began training for the Olympics,” Gardner says. “I had to take a step back one time and look at it from a realistic point of view; much like a businessperson has to look at the risks of investing time and money into a venture.” Gardner noted he knew the average Olympic athlete retires in his or her mid-30s with no guarantees of financial reward, let alone security. This is, after all, the United States where most Olympic athletes fund themselves through personal and family sacrifice or by receiving small sponsorship stipends from businesses.

“I had to look at it and say, ‘Am I willing to sacrifice today, tomorrow and the next eight years of my life and then be able to walk away from the sport and be able to go into teaching and be OK?’” Gardner says. “I was willing to take that jump. It’s the same in business. There are no guarantees in life. But I knew I could be satisfied when my career ended if I worked as hard as I could at my goals."

“I have the same approach to business."

“If I go after something and do everything I can to be successful, then I can live with the outcome.”

This was a first for me professionally as my son, Doug (12), worked with me on this story. It was part of his Journalism Merit Badge and he did a great job. Doug asked some great questions that I had not thought of. I think due to Rulon's nature of staying young at heart, having a 12 year-old's perspective during the time we all spent together was important to the final product. As for Rulon, he's a great guy and lives in a nice home in a typical Utah neighborhood. He is always approachable by people and is great with fans. We did this interview just weeks before his latest brush with death, a plane crash into Lake Powell.

Garth Brooks: On Success

Featured in Priorities Magazine

July 1999

Finding Garth Brooks before a concert may be one of the most difficult tasks a reporter could have. Most performers can be found relaxing (usually napping) in a dressing room or being whisked off to a promotional radio or television spot. But to find Garth after the final sound check, one need only seek out the worst seat in the house-the most absolutely miserable spot for anyone to watch a two-hour (sometimes more) concert from. Find that spot and the guy with the baseball cap, sweat pants and tee shirt: that's Garth. Yep, that's him, all right, the biggest-selling performer of all time sitting in rafter seats transforming himself into that one fan in that one spot.

"To give the best show possible, you need to know what it's like to be one of the people stuck in these seats," says Brooks, looking down on the empty arena. "These people spend their hard-earned money to see a show, and they need to come away with a special feeling."

Brooks has always maintained this type of tight relationship with those less fortunate fans sitting in the high altitude seats. He, like other entertainers such as Billy Joel, sends security guards to the rafter seats before shows with front-row upgrade tickets for these, the most faithful of his fans. For Brooks, keeping connected to his back-row fans doesn't stop there, however. He has also been known to fly across a sold-out audience to forgotten sections of arenas, giving these people a taste of the front row, even if just for a few minutes. He has also made climbing rope ladders and swinging over frenzied fans-all while singing away-an art form.

"When Garth does these crazy things, he makes people feel connected to him," explains Nancy Brooks, country music reporter for Westwood One Radio (Metro Source News). "People feel like Garth cares about them. Like he's someone they could sit down and talk to."

And with Garth, it's true. Most anyone could sit down and chat with him. He not only finds it natural to entertain every single person in the arena, but he believes it to be his responsibility.
"Everything I have and have enjoyed in this business is due to the people who buy CDs or come out to concerts," Brooks says. "It's those people who have made my career possible."

Born Troyal Garth Brooks on February 7, 1962, to Troyal Raymond, and Colleen Carroll Brooks, Garth was introduced to the entertainment business at an early age. His mother, who passed away this past summer after a valiant battle with cancer, was a recording artist in the 1950s with Capitol Records.

"We had music in our house all the time," Brooks said. "My mother had a big influence on me musically."

Brooks spent most of his teenage years and early 20s honing his skills as an athlete and musician. His athletic ability paved a way for him to attend Oklahoma State University on a track scholarship where he earned a degree in marketing. His college years also gave Brooks the opportunity to improve his music and lay the groundwork for his stage show while he made his way across Oklahoma and Texas from one honky-tonk bar to another.

"Those were great times," Brooks has said. "Hanging out with a bunch of my buddies and playing music...it was some of the most fun I've ever had."

And while his buddies were content playing small bars and frat parties, Garth wanted more. In 1986, he said goodbye to then girlfriend Sandy Mahl, packed up his car and headed to Nashville on nothing more than a guitar and lofty goals.

He lasted 23 hours.

After returning home and working on his sound, Garth bore down and took one of his biggest and ultimately most important risks of his career and life. He packed up the car again and, this time with his new bride, Sandy, went back to Nashville.

"Without Sandy," Garth says. "I would have never stayed that second time. "And that would have been it."

At one point, Garth became so frustrated with the slamming doors and broken promises of Nashville, he sat in his car pounding on the steering wheel complaining to his wife and wondering out loud if it was all worth the struggle. It was Sandy, not Garth, who found the courage to stay. She gave him an ultimatum.

"Either we stay and you get it done or we go home," Sandy told her husband. "But if we go home, we're not coming back."

The couple stayed and Sandy did temporary clerical work, Garth worked at a boot store and the couple cleaned a church, all the while working towards that one big break. It came, but not after nearly every producer in Nashville heard and rejected the guy from Oklahoma. During amateur night at a local bar in Nashville, one of the performers scheduled to take the stage before Garth never showed up, bumping him up a spot in that night's lineup. Terrified and not completely prepared, Garth took the stage and let his instincts take over. He played his own songs and tunes by other performers with the high-energy, bang-em-up, take-no-prisoners style his fans have come to love today. When his 15 minutes were up and he was shaking people's hands, an executive from Capitol signed him to a deal. The contract offer was made by Lynn Shults, one of the people who had recently passed on Garth.

For Sandy, the break came as no surprise, according to Garth. "She believed in me before I did," Garth has said about his wife.

Sandy's strength has always been an important part of what Garth Brooks is. She not only sat by Garth when he was ready to quit that night in the car, but she also stood beside him when he stumbled personally.

"It's no secret that Sandy and I have been through some tough times," Garth says. "But we're working hard to keep that special thing we have together."

It was also Sandy who held Garth's hand during the 1990 Academy of Country Music Awards televised ceremony when he watched Clint Black walk off with the three awards he had also been nominated for.

As difficult as it was for Garth to go home empty-handed, it only made him more committed to his work. This was, after all, the same performer who ran home after his first 23 hours in Nashville only to return and conquer. In retrospect, Garth says taking those early risks was as important as writing his first songs.

"It's easy to avoid risks," Brooks said prior to batting practice with the San Diego Padres last spring. "You can sit back, rest on your laurels and be scared, or you can take some chances, be scared and willing to let the chips fall where they may."

It has been risk taking that has carried Garth from being just another strummin' cowboy on the local radio station to super stardom. When his second CD, No Fences, included a song that tackled the topic of domestic abuses, Garth didn't back down from the swirl of controversy. In fact, when "The Thunder Rolls" video was pulled from most video networks due to its violent nature, Garth, who portrayed the abusive husband in the video, seized the opportunity to discuss this and other social ills, all the while having his picture plastered all over the country.

"I have always gone with what my heart says," Garth has said about "Thunder," "and I think taking on topics like domestic violence is the right thing to do."

Although his CD and videos helped keep Garth's name in front of the masses early on, it was stories about his stage show that circulated all over the music industry. His concerts always showcase his love for every type of music from James Taylor to KISS. Smashing guitars, flames, jumping into the crowd, screeching into the microphone one minute and then holding a single rose while quietly singing love songs with tears streaming down his face another, Garth had people eating out of his hands.

"His concerts are the big thing with Garth," says Nancy Brooks. "When you go to a Garth Brooks concert, you will have two or three hours of the widest emotional range you can possibly have."
With the knowledge of his stage prowess, Garth took his show into the living rooms of America in 1991 with his first of four televised concerts for NBC. "This is Garth Brooks" introduced the man Rolling Stone dubbed "The Cat in the Hat" to all of America. It was then that most Americans began to understand the phenomena that is Garth. As part of the two-hour special, Garth used two-minute pieces throughout the show to literally introduce himself to viewers. He allowed people the chance to see Garth the man kicking around in his Oklahoma State football jersey, while his friends and band members told stories about their front man.

"That was such a great move," Nancy Brooks says. "He almost forced people to pay attention to him. I mean he beamed himself into the homes of America."

And in doing so he beamed himself into the hearts of folks from New York to L.A.
Since then, his concerts have become almost legendary worldwide. Tickets to Garth Brooks concerts are gobbled up in the expected markets like Nashville and Houston, not to mention the not-so-usual country markets like Detroit, L.A. and New York. And unlike some performers, Brooks expels the same level of intensity and energy whether he's playing Cowboys Stadium in Irving, Texas, or the New Haven Coliseum in coastal Connecticut. His fans appreciate the effort and show this in their loyalty.

Nearly half a million of those loyal fans packed New York's Central Park in August of 1997 for an HBO concert. While some took the subway from Queens for the free concert, others trekked from as far away as northern Idaho and even England. One woman with a thick British accent said she would have traveled to hell and back to spend an evening with Garth.

"Standing up there before all of those people in the middle of New York was terrifying," Garth said. "But at the same time it was absolutely wonderful."

In doing the Central Park show, Brooks joined an exclusive group of Central Park performers, including Diana Ross, Simon and Garfunkel and Elton John.

"This was definitely a first," said one New York City cop following the show. "That guy puts on an amazing show."

Brooks understands his roots and loves honoring those who came before him, as was evident during the Central Park show. Billy Joel joined him onstage, much to the joy of the Big Apple crowd. Joel and Brooks performed one of each other's tunes with the Piano Man at the keyboard. Then to wrap up the show, Garth brought out the legendary Don McLean, who led Garth, his band and the exhausted crowd in one of rock's biggest anthems, "American Pie."

"It's just a way for me to show my respect and appreciation for those performers I grew up listening to," he said.

As his popularity grew and his name became synonymous with other stars, Garth roped in more loyal fans when he stuck to previous agreements in spite of the potential for lost revenue. In 1990, Garth had agreed to play a stint at the Silver Spring Gala in Arlington, Texas, for just $10,000. By the time the show had come, Garth was a megastar raking in millions of dollars and being one of the most sought-after musicians in the world, yet he played the show and then donated his fee to charity. In Queens, New York, a similar situation occurred and Garth brought in more than 12,000 fans for a fund-raiser for the New York Metro Country Music Association.
For many people, falling in love with an artist comes down to one thing...does this person care about me? Garth understands the need for people to be cared about and spends his time freely signing autographs and posing for photos, all the while making the one person he is speaking to feel as if he or she is the only person in the room. As one woman said after waiting an hour-and-a-half for an autograph outside the Peoria Sports Complex in Arizona during Garth's brief stint as a professional baseball player, "He didn't just sign my shirt, he actually talked to me."

As his stature grew in the music industry, Garth continued to keep focused on his target audience, the average guy riding around in his pickup truck listening to country music. That is, perhaps, why Garth has fought to keep his CDs and tickets reasonably priced. During his world tour Garth charged just $17.50 per ticket, while the Eagles forced fans to fork over $100 a seat. And while CDs were reaching into the $30 and $40 range, Garth worked hard to keep his releases reasonably priced at $20.

"People work hard for the money they have," Garth has said. "They shouldn't have to pay ridiculous prices to enjoy music." Garth has also gone to bat for common people, almost like a modern-day Robin Hood. When the House of Representatives voted to cut millions of dollars from the endowments for art, entertainment and humanities and public broadcasting, Garth teamed up with other celebrities to protest the move.

In keeping with his appreciation for all types of music, in 1996 Garth stood before a nationally televised audience and a room full of his peers ranging from talents in R&B to heavy metal. It was then that Garth declined to be honored over TLC, Green Day, Boyz II Men and Hootie and the Blowfish as the entertainer of year. Garth said it would be unfair to single out one performer and style above all others. Said Garth, "I mean no disrespect...Music is made up of a lot of people and if we're one artist short, then we all become a lesser music." With that he humbly walked away to a standing ovation.

Now as a new millennium is ushered in, the king of country music stands at the threshold of something new and exciting. Garth has set aside his cowboy hat and tight jeans for long, jet-black hair (a wig).

Garth Brooks in the Life of Chris Gaines was released in the fall and has been warmly accepted by fans and critics alike.

The CD is part of a prequel to his first full-length feature film, The Lamb. Not much information has been released about the film, except that Garth will portray a musician struggling to come to terms with his own life as a superstar. And although this may not necessarily be a stretch for Garth, it is, once again, a major career risk.

"Nothing this guy does surprises me anymore," says Nancy Brooks. "From what I hear, the movie is supposed to be great."

Especially if you watch it from the back row.

I've had the chance to interview Garth Brooks three times over the last 10 years. This story utilized some from each interview. At one interview Garth and I sat tossing a baseball back and forth as he was preparing to practice as a member of the San Diego Padres to raise money for his "Touch 'Em All" Foundation. The interview was fun because we just talked about average things like home, family, religion, etc. I mentioned that I had a son named Taylor (one of Garth's daughter is also named Taylor) and we started talking about our children. He asked how man kids I had and I told him two boys. He asked me the other name (Doug) and then Garth asked if he could sign my baseball hat for them. That hat sits atop a shelf in my home. Another thing about Garth Brooks is that his music is the soundtrack of my fatherhood days. I had never been much of a country music fan, but when Taylor turned 2 I was introduced to Garth Brooks on his first televised performance and I was hooked. My sons and I always has his music playing in the car when we were traveling or outside doing things. When I hear any Garth Brooks song it takes me back to some moment with my sons. I had the chance to experience his Central Park concert and it remains one of the highlights of my career.

Since this story appeared in 1999, Garth and Sandy divorced and he has since re-married Trisha Yearwood.

Herb Alpert - Brentwood Magazine 2006

CHANGING SCALES:

Music's Herb Alpert Crafts Life-Size Sculptures

While preparing for this interview, I came to understand - by way of a question from my 16-year-old football and lacrosse-playing 11th grader - the influence that one man has had and continues to have on the soundtrack of several generations. The conversation went like this:

"Who are you interviewing?"

"Someone you wouldn't know."

"Try me."

"Okay, his name is Herb Alpert. He -"

"Yeah, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. I know."
With that, my son was off with his buddies.

"It's nice to know the younger generation knows who I am," Alpert says after I relay the story. "It's always nice to be recognized and appreciated for your work."

Today, being recognized for Alpert has as much to do with his audience's eyes as with its ears. Alpert's series of "spiritual totems," which were unveiled at New York City's Bryant Park this fall, remains on exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium Plaza and the Paseo Colorado complex.

"I have been busy with my artwork," Alpert says. "Painting and doing sculptures is something I have been doing since early in my musical career."

The totems were inspired by those of the Tlingit tribe of Alaska. Alpert created them during a stay in the Pacific Northwest.

"These spirit totems are just that - very spiritual in nature," Alpert says. "When I start in this work, I'm not completely certain what form it will take, what size it will be. Artwork and music are very similar that way. You may start one place and wind up someplace completely different."

For those who know Alpert solely for his music genius in the areas of composing, arranging, and performing, his turn as a visual artist might come as a surprise, which Alpert understands. But, he says, his art and his music come from the same source: a desire to be happy and to create something the world can be a part of.

"That's what music and art have always been about for me," he explains. "To play my music and do my art and be satisfied. I never set out to be famous. I always thought it would be nice if my work could make others happy along the way."

If numbers are the gauge, then Alpert has succeeded in making people happy for more than four decades. In 1962, Alpert and business partner Jerry Moss founded A&M Records, which has been responsible for some of the world's most influential pop artists, including the Carpenters, Sheryl Crow, Quincy Jones, the Police and Sting. But its first musical sensation was the Alpert's Tijuana Brass, which has had countless number one hits. Alpert, the Tijuana Brass and Moss boast six Grammy Awards among them.

"I've always been pulled to musical acts that had passion about their sound," Alpert says of those with whom he has worked and to whom he likes to listen. "It's like when we signed the Carpenters. They were just passionate and had a unique sound due to Karen's voice and Richard's amazing arrangements. They were just a brother and sister throwing everything they had into their musical gift, and it was very appealing."

Alpert's instincts were correct: The Carpenters went on to become one of A&M's greatest success stories.

And while he has become deeply involved in the visual arts, Alpert remains committed to music. A compilation of recently rediscovered musical tracks have been retooled and released as an album called "Lost Treasures." Putting "Treasures" together meant that Alpert had to add layers to songs recorded decades ago.

"The process of creating this was interesting because we discovered the lost tracks," Alpert says. "So we went into the studio, and I added my trumpet parts to the already existing music. It was an exciting creative process."

Alpert is also re-releasing his famous "Whipped Cream & Other Delights," complete with a new whipped-cream cover girl.

"The cover of that album back in the late 1960s was really pushing things," Alpert says of the image of a nude woman covered completely in whipped cream. "It was fun, and so we decided with the new release, we'd update it with a new whipped-cream girl."

From whipped-cream girls and smooth-listening music to paintings and sculptures, Alpert remains an icon - for all ages.

"It's all just a joy," he says.

I grew up listening to Herb Alpert and probably had my first crush on the woman from the original "Whipped Cream" album cover that my parents tried (unsuccessfully, I might add) to hide from my 5 siblings and me. Our family spent many nights at home listening to Herb or musicians that were in some way influenced by him. To interview him after being a child of the late 1960s was a true honor. He is a great man, humble and appreciative to those who helped make him successful. He has a real love for his fans, which I found refreshing.

Leading Man - Player Magazine 2004

CALL IT A CRIME OF PASSION. KRISTIE LEE WILCOX WAS LOOKING for a date. Not just any date,but one with the hottest hunk in baseball:Derek Jeter. Her not-so-subtle plan included a mad dash across the infield of the House That Ruth Built on Opening Day 2003. As throngs of baseball fans recall,Wilcox did in fact make her love connection. Thanks to a blinding burst of speed,she eluded stadium officials and handed Derek Jeter her name and number.
And she got her date ... in court.

"It was spontaneous ..."she told Hollywood Five-O. "It was like two innings [into play], and I told my friend, 'I'm gonna give Derek Jeter my phone number.'So I did." After getting a standing ovation from 56,000 fans, she was snagged by security and ended up spending the night in a Bronx jail. Unfortunately for Wilcox, her case wasn't heard by Kim Basinger because the Academy Award-winning actress would have dismissed the charges.

"He's a hunk,"Basinger told Sports Illustrated. "Women like guys who have a big presence but sort of play it down. It's very appealing."

The women, the money,the fame,and the adoration of the world's most demanding sports fans, Derek Jeter has it all. And then some. One day his life will be a movie and it will begin with a clip of the great Joe DiMaggio being interviewed by Keith Olbermann on Fox Sports.

"Legend has it that at age 5, Derek told everyone he would someday be the Yankees'starting shortstop. They laughed then. They're cheering now," said the Yankee Clipper.

And it's those cheers that finally convinced Jeter that he had hit the big time. In his autobiography, The Life You Imagine, he recounts his first trip down the legendary Canyon of Heroes. It was 1996, and the Bronx Bombers had just won the World Series by knocking off the Atlanta Braves. Jeter and teammate Jim Leyritz caught a subway to Lower Manhattan for the start of the parade. "It was kind of scary," Jeter writes, "because the subway was packed with so many fans that I wasn't sure if we were going to get off."

The duo finally did manage to escape and were able to catch up with the rest of the team. As they paraded down Broadway, following the route taken by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Thurman Munson, and Reggie Jackson, tons of ticker tape rained down from the sky. On one of the Yankee floats, however, it was a much different story.

"So many young ladies held up signs asking me to marry them that it turned out to be a joke with my teammates," Jeter writes. "It got embarrassing because my teammates teased me relentlessly."

Back in those days, George Steinbrenner and Co. paid Jeter a paltry $130,000, a bottom-of-the-basement figure that could best be described as the league minimum. His 2003 compensation package? Over $15 million,a figure that no doubt takes into consideration a career batting average of .317 (fifth highest in Yankee history) and a record 101 postseason hits. Throw in four World Series rings, and is it any wonder the Yankees re-signed Jeter through 2010?
But Jeter is more than just a clutch player. The sexy shortstop is an unparalleled branding opportunity, one that savvy marketers such as Visa, Nike, Fila, and Gatorade have tapped into to promote their goods and services. All of this translates into a lifestyle that is almost unimaginable. When Jeter goes for a night on the town looking to use that famous Visa he now endorses, one of his favorite hangouts is Manhattan's China Club.

According to manager Tim Gleason, Jeter, who is polite and accommodating, gets all-star treatment.

"Derek Jeter is not waiting outside in line to get in," Gleason says."We usually know ahead of time when Derek's coming in, and we try to help him have a good time."

When Jeter arrives, the paparazzi cameras flash,the girls scream,the guys try to get him to sign a ball, a hat, or anything else they can find. It's all about catching a glimpse of the star. Once in the door,Jeter is usually whisked off to a VIP area overlooking the rest of the club.

"When he comes in people definitely notice and there's always a buzz,"says Gleason."You can tell who is a regular here because they don't get as excited as the tourist types."

Gleason adds that Jeter is not a heavy drinker. Nor is he as boisterous as, say, former Yankee teammate David Wells, who was notorious for attracting good and bad press.

"Some celebrities draw attention to themselves," Gleason says."Derek's not like that."
Whenever Jeter hits the town, he always attracts, well, attractive people - particularly women.
"Derek is definitely surrounded by beautiful people," Gleason says."You might think he always comes from a model shoot. It's amazing."

Spring training offers an endless string of anecdotes; most revolve around the opposite sex. According to an anonymous staffer at the Radisson Bay Harbor in Tampa, "Things get pretty nuts around here when the Yankees are in town, but it's really Jeter that everyone, especially the girls, are after. They'll do almost anything to see Jeter."

"They'll wait forever. They'll scream.We've even had women who've tried to figure out what room he is in and then climbed the outside of the building to his balcony."

In conclusion? "It's pretty nuts."

Some of the women whose phone numbers grace the pages of Jeter's little black book include singer Mariah Carey, actress Jordana Brewster, MTV VJ Venessa Minnillo, and not one, but two Miss Universes, 2000 winner Lara Dutta and 2001's Denise Quinones. Most recently Jeter was seen at a Florida nightclub dancing with the famed tennis beauty Anna Kournikova. Both insist they're "just friends."

What makes Jeter so appealing is that he fills so many niches. He plays for the most storied and controversial baseball team on the world's biggest stage,and he does it with grace, style,and most of all,championships. His looks are impeccable, with his boyish face, bright smile, and stellar confidence neatly packaged in his slender 6'5"frame.

Former teammate Chili Davis may have said it best when he told Sports Illustrated, "Hanging out with him sucks because women flock to him. Let's see. He's been on the cover of GQ, is rich, famous, hits for average and power,and is a helluva nice guy."

Now that's a player.

Derek Jeter is an interesting person to meet. He knows he is Derek Jeter and what that means to the rest of us mere mortals. When I met him, Jeter was with Joe Torre, Roger Clemens and Tino Martinez at an event in Las Vegas. All four men were nice, polite even signing a piece of paper for my two sons who, like their dad, are raving mad Yankee fans. Of course, since then, my sons have lost the piece of paper, but that's another long story. I enjoyed the few minutes I spent with the four Yankee legends and eventually that meeting led to this story.

Sean Bean - Bad Guy roles with good guy rules

Brentwood Magazine
2005

Sean Bean is sleepy. Having just arrived in LA from London the day before this interview, Bean spent most of the day finishing work on one of his two upcoming films, Flightplan, a thriller with Jodie Foster. After returning to his room at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bean caught a few hours of sleep and is just now having breakfast. He’s trying to figure out just what time it really is.

“I left England yesterday and I think it’s about 11 o’clock here in LA,” says Bean with his thick British accent.“It’s been a busy couple of days.”

Such is life for one of Hollywood’s busiest men. Flightplan is scheduled for release in the fall, while The Island with Ewan McGregor is slated for July. Both projects are exciting, according to Bean, but he admits that his part as Captain Rich, the pilot of a jumbo jet in Flightplan, is more ironic.

“I really hate to fly,” Bean admits. “It scares the hell out of me.”

His fear of flying led to one of his more harrowing real-life adventures. While shooting The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in New Zealand, Bean decided to drive from one location to another in order to avoid flying. He talked co-star Orlando Bloom into accompanying him on what should have been a peaceful drive through the countryside. Things did not go as planned.

“It had been raining for several weeks and there was a massive mudslide, which blocked the road we were driving on,” Bean recounts.“So we decided to go back, but sure enough there was another mudslide so we were sort of trapped in the middle of nowhere.”

Bean and Bloom spent the next three days in the home of an elderly woman who was kind enough to take in the stranded movie stars.

“She was a lovely older woman,” Bean says. “She took good care of, fed us, made sure we were comfortable. She was a true blessing.”

Bean and Bloom realized the roads would not be cleared for several more days, so they accepted a ride from a medical helicopter transporting a little girl in need of medical attention. Bean was thankful, but not thrilled.

“It was terrible,” Bean says. “The damn chopper bounced all over the place. I begged the pilot to land so we could get out, but he said no and we eventually made it to our location. I’ve never been so scared in my life!”

Bean has no problem sharing his weaknesses as a human being. What people see on the big screen is, after all, a story being told, and Bean only portrays a character. But Bean admits his numerous “bad guy” roles have made for an interesting life.

“People look at me and they may not know exactly where they know me from but they just have something in the back of their mind that says,‘he’s a bad man,’” Bean says.“It’s especially difficult trying to get through airport security here in the States. The security people seem to just think I’m a bad guy.”

This does make sense, though. Bean may be best known as Boromir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but he’s also remembered for trying to kill Harrison Ford and Anne Archer in Patriot Games, Michael Douglas and Brittany Murphy in Don’t Say a Word, and Pierce Bronson in Golden Eye. Most recently, he played the villain in National Treasure with Nicholas Cage. With that rap sheet, it’s no wonder Bean gets harassed by law enforcement officials.

“I guess those things stick with people,” Bean says. “But in Patriot Games, it was Ford who got the better of me in the film and in reality.” Bean shows off the scar on his head that came courtesy of Mr. Ford while shooting the last scene of Patriot Games.

“We were fighting on a motor boat that was being thrown around in a water tank in the studio,” Bean recounts. “Harrison’s character had to hit my character with a metal rod and with all of the chaos of the moment he actually hit me in the face and knocked me over and split my head open.”

Bean received stitches, caked on the makeup and continued shooting. “Not many people can say they have a scar from Harrison Ford,” he says.

Neither can many people say they have worked with as many superstars as Bean. In addition to the aforementioned big names, Bean worked with Brad Pitt in Troy and Liv Tyler and Sean Astin in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Hollywood’s top directors, including Wolfgang Peterson and Brian Grazer, have also sought after Bean. Not bad for the kid who grew up in the blue-collar home of his welder father, dreaming of becoming an artist. “The acting was not something I planned on,” Bean says. “It just sort of fell into my lap.”

Upon graduating from the Royal Academy of the Arts in London, Bean joined the Royal Shakespeare Company because of his love for the Bard. Still a relative unknown, Bean exploded onto the scene in 1990’s The Field, starring opposite Richard Harris.

Soon after came Patriot Games. Bean has been working steadily ever since.

“Art is really my first love. That’s how I wanted to make my living,” Bean says.“Now art is my way to relax.”

As 2005 winds down, Bean’s career cranks upward. Already planned for next year is Silent Hill, a horror/thriller with Radha Mitchell and an as-yet-untitled Niki Caro project loosely based on the first class action sexual harassment lawsuit in the U.S., the successful Jenson v. Eveleth Mines.

“I’m excited about these next four films,” Bean says. “I think people will be able to get a better look at my talent. I’m not going to be just playing a bad guy.”

That should help him get through airport security.



Sean was a great interview. I have always enjoyed his work and he is just a great person to talk to. I was impressed about his love and devotion for his family. He really is a family man. I remember watching him several years ago in Patriot Games with Harrison Ford and thinking that he was the perfect bad guy. His character scared me, even though I knew Harrison Ford would kick his butt at the end. When I told Sean that my younger son, Doug, was a big Lord of the Rings fan, Sean found time to call back and leave a message for Doug on my answering machine. See, he's not such a bad guy, after all.

When Evil Walked Our Streets - Davis County Clipper

Ted Bundy's image is not here because that is what he sought - to become famous. I refuse to place his image next to Debbie Kent, the victim, and Viewmont High School, a place that is wonderful and where he caused terror.

Nov. 21, 2006

The kidnapping of Viewmont High School student Debbie Kent at the hands of confessed serial killer Ted Bundy may be considered by some residents a mere dark moment in Bountiful history. But for those who knew and loved the perky 17-year-old along with those who searched for years to find her, the nightmare is as vivid today as the night it occurred.

“It’s not something that ever goes away,” said Debbie’s father, Dean. “It’s just one of those things we have had to learn to live with as our lives have gone on.”

Each year, the Kent family experiences bitter sweet emotions as a scholarship in the memory of their daughter is awarded at Viewmont High.

“That’s a difficult time because we think of her, and we are back to where it all began.”

The beginning of this never-ending nightmare began as innocently as the event which the Kent family was attending. Enjoying a play being performed at Viewmont on the night of Nov. 8, 1974, Debbie was asked to make the short drive from the high school to the Rustic Roller Skating Rink at the south end of the city to pick up her younger sibling.

What exactly occurred when Debbie left the auditorium remains a mystery, but after a lifetime of searching and reviewing the case, Bountiful resident and retired Sgt. Ira Beal, who was one of the lead investigators in the case, has put together a likely scenario.

“We know Bundy was lurking in the area because other people had seen him and his VW Bug that night,” said Beal, who now works for the City of Bountiful. “We have two theories about how Bundy took Debbie.”

One thought was that Bundy, as he often did, used his good looks and charm to lure young ladies into his clutches. The other thought, the one Beal believes led to Debbie’s abduction, was much more brazen.

“I think he came up behind her and grabbed her and possibly threatened her so she wouldn’t scream,” Beal said. “I believe there was some kind of struggle and he was able to subdue her get Debbie to his car.”

For those who have studied Bundy, this would make sense. Earlier that evening, a young Carol DaRonch barely escaped the clutches of evil when Bundy lured her into his car. DaRonch, unlike most of his Bundy’s victims, was able to escape.

Perhaps not wanting to risk another mishap, it is likely that Bundy chose to attack Debbie rather than risk losing another potential victim.

Beal said he recalls Debbie’s purse and keys being discovered in close proximity to her car as evidence supporting his theory.

“I didn’t know when I first became involved in the case that night that this would be a case that I’d still be talking about 32 years later,” Beal said. “But I get at least two to three interview requests a year about the case.”

As days turned to weeks in 1974 Beal said it was a simple key that first linked the case to Bundy, who was initially stopped for a routine traffic violation in August 1975.

“We had found a key near where Debbie was taken that went to a set of handcuffs,” Beal said. “It’s not something you’re going to just stumble upon every day.”

“When Bundy was first stopped by Officer Bob Hayward, police found weird items in his car like rope, tools and plaster of Paris (Bundy often tricked women by wearing fake casts), a stocking mask, an iron bar and two sets of handcuffs in his car.”

One of the sets of handcuffs matched the key found at Viewmont High School.

And while the Kent’s and residents of Bountiful prayed for a happy ending, Bundy began his charade with police.

“Bundy just played games with everyone,” Beal said. “He knew we didn’t have enough strong evidence to keep him and he had the audacity to say to Det. Jerry Thompson, ‘you have a couple of strands of straw…keep looking and you’ll find a broom.”

Despite his arrogant demeanor, Bundy stumbled.

“He told us he’d never been to Bountiful, but then we found a receipt for gasoline from the night Debbie disappeared, from a Chevron station on Main Street in Bountiful,” Beal said. “But it still wasn’t anything hard. It was a bunch of little things that together pointed at Bundy, but nothing solid.”

Finally, a lineup was arranged and DaRonch, the girl who could have been his victim that fateful November night, confidently pointed out Bundy as the man who tried to kidnap her. This led to Bundy’s 15 year conviction for aggravated kidnapping. The Debbie Kent case, however, remained a mystery.

As time passed, life slowly went back to normal for most Bountiful residents. The story of Debbie Kent’s abduction became the stuff kids told at sleepovers. But as the Kent family struggled with the realization that something evil had entered their family, Beal and other investigators remained diligent as Bundy was elusive, even behind bars.

“We still didn’t have an answer as to what had happened to Deborah,” Beal said. “We were all pretty confident that Bundy had been behind her vanishing, but we still didn’t have any hard evidence to prove he had taken her.”

That break wouldn’t come for more than two decades. After escaping from custody in Utah and then Colorado, Bundy was finally arrested, convicted and sentenced to die in the electric chair for the murderous spree he went on in Florida. Once the man who could seemingly escape anyone was finally faced with certain demise, Bundy showed the coward he truly was by torturing his victims once more in offering to speak of his crimes with investigators.

“At the point when he knew he was going to die Bundy decided he wanted to start talking,” Beal said.

Investigators from Utah were sent to Florida where they endured Bundy’s ramblings.

“I’ve listened to the tapes of Bundy talking about Debbie and others,” Dean Kent said. “It was obvious to me that he was only looking to prolong his own life.”

During those moments, Bundy not only confessed to the kidnapping and murder of Debbie, but gave specific instructions about where her remains could be found. The sleepy town of Fairview, in Sanpete County, Bundy told investigators, had been the dumping ground for the pretty high school girl.

“When I heard him give the directions to that spot out near Fairview I knew he wasn’t lying about the location,” Beal said. “I knew he at least knew the place and that gave us hope.”

Bundy was executed on Jan. 24, 1989 at 7:07 a.m., EST, shortly after the interview, leaving with detectives and the Kents directions to the possible resting place of Debbie. Unfortunately, like the frustration of the previous years, investigators and the Kent family would have to endure months of waiting until the spring thaw allowed a search to be conducted.

Beal recalled the search.

“I remember driving to Fairview and doing an intense search over about two square miles,” Beal said. “We found many bones that were determined to belong to animals.”

“But then there was this one…”

A small bone found among the others. A knee cap. A human one.

“I thought we were on to something when we found that knee cap,” Beal said.

The bone was sent to the state pathologist and it was determined to be that of a human and a match for someone the size of Debbie Kent.

“At that point I felt we had found her,” Beal said. “Given everything we were told by Bundy, the fact that he had such minute details in his directions, then finding the bone and having it be the right size to be hers.”

“It all fit.”

“We went down there to Fairview and we told about the knee cap,” Dean Kent said. “At that point we pretty much came to the conclusion that it was Debbie. That it was her final resting place.”

In 1989, however, there was no such thing as DNA, high tech forensics that could match people through science. According to Dr. Albert Harper, director of the Henry Lee School of Forensics at the University of New Haven, Conn., a DNA sample could be taken from the knee cap and matched against the DNA of her parents.

“It’s almost like a paternity test,” Harper said. “Once a lab has the DNA from the bone, they could then match it 0against the DNA of the parents.”

Dean said he would be open to such a test.

“It would be nice to have a definite, positive answer,” Dean said.

Unfortunately, the knee cap is more than likely gone.

“When we found the knee and received the results from the pathologist and connected all the dots and the Kents felt like they had an answer we considered the case closed,” Beal said. “We had taken the case as far as we possibly could given it was 1989.”

The state medical examiner’s officer refused any comment concerning the bone, but a worker at the office said the only way it would be further investigated would be due to an official request by the Kent family.

Such a request has yet to be filed.

Dean recently said he used to scan airports, emptying movie theatres, streets or any other place where people met in search for his daughter.

“I used to always look,” he said. “It was almost automatic. I didn’t even realize I was doing it half the time.”

After all the time, the hard work, the emotional drain, and ashed dreams, Dean said, “I don’t look anymore.”

****

This was one of most difficult stories I've ever written. Interviewing Mr. Kent and seeing the sadness in his eyes is something I will never forget. I don't pity the Keny family, though. I see them as true heroes. They have fought all these years to keep alive the memory of their daughter who, by all accounts, was as fine a person as members of the media have made her out to be. As for Ted Bundy, I believe he was a pure evil human being. I have no feelings of compassion toward him over his upbringing and things he had to endure as a young person as difficult as they may have been. Many people experience childhood pain and do not become maniacs and turn to torture and killing others to medicate their sickness. Ted Bundy was also a coward. It was obvious the way he tried to prolong his life by dragging on his confessions. In many cases I do not believe in the detah penalty (unless someone is caught red-handed or confesses to a brutal crime), but in this case I believe justice was almost served. How could justice be completely served when this man brought such horror to our world.

Another interesting note about this story is that my son, Taylor, recently graduated from Viewmont High School, the place where Debbie was kidnapped by Bundy. I am an assistant wrestling coach at Viewmont as well. Since investigating this story I find an uneasy feeling when I am in the area police suspect Debbie was abducted. It's hard to explain, but it feels like sacred ground.

The Grand Obsession - Player Magazine

Every moment of Jon Gruden’s day is focused on one goal — his next Super Bowl.

A Renaissance Man he is not.

NEXT.

IT’S ONE OF THE SINGLE GREATEST enticements in pro sports. It implies hope. It connotes optimism. It fuels passion. Next time. Next down. Next inning. Next half. Next game. Next series.

For Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden, next year can’t come fast enough.

“When the season ends I immediately begin planning for the next season,” he says. “And the time to make things right is now. I just can’t wait for the season to begin.”

Right now, however, Gruden is holding court at a Super Bowl party in Houston. Gone is the man who rages up and down the sidelines like a caged lion at the end of his chain. Instead, the easy going guy I meet introduces me to his lovely wife, Cindy, counsels one of superagent Leigh Steinberg’s pro football hopefuls, and then hails another coaching legend, Terry Donahue. But behind the laughter, behind those piercing blue eyes, is a war horse chomping at the bit — thinking, scheming, analyzing as he prepares his return to the pinnacle of pro football.

At 31, Gruden became the youngest offensive coordinator in the history of the NFL when he was hired by the Eagles in 1995. Three years later, Darth Vader himself, Al Davis, hired Gruden to coach the Silver and Black. By the end of his four-season stint with the Raiders, Oakland was good enough to go to the Super Bowl without him. Actually, it was against Gruden and his new franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On that January day, the Vince Lombardi Trophy for Super Bowl XXXVII was awarded to the new head coach, who schooled his ex-employer 48-21

Then came the doldrums. Tampa Bay’s pirate frigate sailed south last year and finished with a lackluster 7-9 record. Seven of those losses were by a touchdown or less

“Those are the toughest ones. But you learn and move forward and get ready … for
the next game,” Gruden says. “It was frustrating because we’re competitors, and I’m extremely competitive, and my job is to win football games. It didn’t happen last year, and it has to change. It will change.”

Not that Gruden has any job security issues. Late last year, he signed a contract extension that will keep him in Tampa through the 2008 season. “It’s always good to know the people above you have confidence in you,” Gruden says. “But even with that, I still have to get the job done.”

Gruden is unlike most human beings and not just because he earns millions of dollars coaching a pro football team. Living on just four hours of sleep per night, Gruden is the ultimate Type A personality with only one interest away from his wife and three kids.

“Football is really all I know. I’m not a scratch golfer. I don’t know how to bowl. I can’t read the stock market. Hell, I have a hard time remembering my wife’s cell phone number. But I can call, ‘Flip Right Double X Jet 36 Counter Naked Waggle at 7 Quarter’ in my sleep,” says Gruden. So writes the 40-year-old in his 2003 autobiography, Do You Love Football?!

One of many manifestations of this laser-like focus is his refusal to dwell on the past, including personnel problems such as the departure of Keshawn Johnson and longtime Buc Warren Sapp
.
“I’m not going to waste my time talking about that stuff,” Gruden says. “I’m excited to talk about Ian Gold or Derrick Deese, guys who want to play for us.”

For Gruden, this sort of in-your-face approach to life is expressed via the sort of work ethic that builds empires. “We are at the office early in the morning picking apart tape, going over formations — defensive and offensive. We have basically diluted last year as much as we can so we can see every detail, the positive and negative. Then you start rebuilding it. It’s a long, very tedious process, but it’s necessary to get us back where we want to be next year.”

So where does Jon Gruden want to be when the 2004 campaign winds down?

His next Super Bowl.

Jon Gruden is a fun guy to spend time with. He's extremely focused and you get the impression if you were to annoy him too much he could snap your neck like a twig. In reality, given the right situation, like a party, Jon and his wife are just like your next door neighbor in that they are engaging, funny, interested in your life as much as you are in theirs. When I did this story he just handed me his cell phone number and said, "call me direct if you have any other questions."