And for column of the year ...
Scenes from the Red Carpet, and behind the curtain at the Kodak Theatre at Wednesday’s ESPYs, as Briefing follows the athletes’ lead, and temporarily abandons a large wardrobe of tennis shoes and athletic gear ...
Generation next
That’s what Vince Young was going on about in the interview room, hugging Matt Leinart, declaring they were the NFL’s future.
“It’s like Magic and Bird,” Young said, smiling. “Cheese!” They answered almost everything. Leinart talked about the fascination of fatherhood, waxing about the joys of his young son, Cole. “I change diapers all the time,” Leinart said.
But there’s always that last question before the great escape. Very dangerous, indeed.
This final query -- from the front row in the press room -- went unanswered as they walked off the platform. It had to do with a certain, once-rumored acquaintance of Leinart’s.
“Are you still friends with Paris Hilton?” one scribe asked.
Leinart didn’t smile. He was probably thinking: Larry Bird didn’t have to face questions about Paris Hilton.
Trivia time
What did Leinart do in his first professional start?
Sleepless in L.A.
New mother Lisa Leslie, who gave birth three weeks ago, showing almost no sign of having done so, an unofficial world record for looking in shape after having a baby.
“I’m looking forward to being able to run again,” said Leslie, who added that she is planning on playing in the Olympics in Beijing next summer.
Has she slept at all?
“No, I have not,” she said. “I nurse at 12, 3 and 6 a.m.”
Fashion talk
“You can never go wrong with a black dress,” Olympic swim star Amanda Beard said.
Beard, hanging on the red carpet beforehand, is exchanging dress information. She went with a “body orange dress,” designed by Jenny Packham.
It was interesting talking clothes with Beard because she has been prominent in the news for a lack of them, having recently posed for Playboy.
“I’m very surprised how great the attention has been,” she said. “It’s actually been pleasantly positive. A lot of females have been very, very nice to me.”
Not everyone has managed to see the pictures.
“Check it out,” Beard said, laughing. “Everyone keeps telling me that they’re a little too, like, calm. They wanted something a little more risque. I wanted to approach it from more of an artistic point of view. And that’s why I picked the photographer, who does things like that.”
Her next meet will be in Paris this summer. Beard and her coach have set modest goals.
“I talked to Dave Salo about what I should do, and we set some very easy time standards,” Beard said. “My goal is to crush them.”
Foul talk
For a certain No. 1 draft choice, it’s either tonsils coming out (eventually) or fouling out of summer league games with a staggering amount (19) in his first two games. Ten in one game gets you tossed out.
Welcome to Greg Oden’s summer.
“My NBA career involves a lot of fouls,” he said, poking fun at himself.
Trivia answer
He threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas City.
And finally
ESPYs co-host Jimmy Kimmel, on an award to Peyton Manning: “I’m happy for Peyton ... but another stake in Eli’s heart.”
