DARREN CLARKE AND JAPAN: PROFILES IN PERSEVERANCE

Five years ago, Darren Clarke was a broken man in need of a shoulder
to cry on. He had been at his wife's side as she battled, then succumbed
to cancer.

128 days ago, Japan was a country in need of a world-wide hug. They were
devastated by an earthquake and a tsunami that caused a nuclear
disaster. 22,000 people lost their lives and the country is still in disarray.

Clarke's recovery is just about complete, while Japan is a long way
from being whole again. But on Sunday, they both demonstrated their
resiliency, holding off the heavily favored Americans, showing the
world that no matter how bad things get, there is still reason to hope,
believe, and persevere.

Clarke ranked 111th in the world, had become less significant than
Tiger Woods is in golf right now. He wasn't given much of a chance to
win the British Open, after all, he hadn't finished in the top-10 of a
major since 2001. His game, as well as his body, weren't exactly
a picture of strength. But Clarke still believed that he could win a
major at the ripe old age of 42. He didn't care that he had played
19 times in the Open Championship and had never even sniffed the
Claret Jug.

Battling the elements and a trio of Americans that included Dustin
Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Ricky Fowler, who were all younger
and more talented than himself, Clarke stuck to his game plan and
waged a fierce battle on his way to winning the British Open.

Japan was playing in the World Cup final for the first time. In fact,
this was the first time they had reached the final in any major tournament.
They had lost to the Americans in their 25 previous meetings. The
task of beating the Americans in the World Cup was akin to a bunch
of college kids trying to upset the Soviet Union in hockey game during
the 1980 Winter Olympics. Japan was the smallest team in the tournament,
but they played with the biggest heart.

They battled back to tie the United States not once, but twice. With
not much left in the tank, they found a way to beat the Stars and Stripes
in penalty kicks and win their first-ever World Cup. As they did throughout
the tournament, they unfurled a banner that read, "Thank you world for
your support." Their win set off a wild celebration back home in Japan
and helped ease its pain, if even for just a few days.

It was easy to be happy for Darren Clarke. He's the everyman,  not
your typical golfer. One who likes his Guinness, and one who likes to
close down the local pubs in the wee hours of the morning. American
player after American went out of their way to congratulate Clarke,
as he is universally loved and respected by everyone on tour. And
after all he's been through, you couldn't blame him for shedding a tear
as he walked down the 18th fairway on his way to history.

Losing the World Cup was shocking for the United States team and
disappointing for all of us who supported and cheered them on. But
it wasn't that hard to be happy for Japan after all that country has been
through. As Hope Solo said, "It was a tough loss for us, but if any
country was going to beat us for the World Cup, I'm kind of glad it
was Japan."

DEREK JETER OR TOM BRADY. WHO HAS BETTER LIFE?

No athletes playing different sports are as similar as Tom Brady
and Derek Jeter. Both are driven, passionate, cool under pressure,
and are defined by the number of championship rings they wear.

They don't pump fraud into their body and their natural filters
prevent anything stupid from coming out of their mouths.
Brady and Jeter are of impeccable character, they are well-mannered,
well-spoken, and respected by nearly everyone in the sports
world. (Yes, I remember what Antonio Cromartie said about
the Patriots QB, but he is, after all, Antonio Cromartie)



Their similarities extend
beyond the playing field
and people they are.
Brady and Jeter have
each dated their share
of beautiful actresses
and entertainers. Both
are worth well over
$100 million dollars,
building mansions the
size of the stadiums
they play in.

BUT JUST WHO
HAS THE BETTER
LIFE?

DEREK JETER?
TOM BRADY?









WOMEN
Every Super Bowl winning QB should have a super model on his arm,
right? Tom Brady is married to the Ferrari of all super models in
Gisele Bundchnen. She is like Jordan, Madonna, and Pele...celebrities
who are identified by just one name. Gisele also makes $45 million dollars
a year, which dwarfs Brady's salary of $18 million per season.

Jeter has been dated and rumored to be engaged to Minka Kelly,
an actress of "Friday Night Lights" fame. She is the only child of
former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay and her mother is a former
exotic dancer. Kelly is also part of the "Charlie's Angels" remake
and is scheduled to be in three movies to be released in the next
year. She is cute and wholesome looking, but she's no Gisele.

ADVANTAGE: A BIG ONE
TO BRADY









MANSIONS
When it comes to abodes, the one's Jeter and Brady have constructed,
are anything but humble. These places are their only signs of
immodesty. Brady and Gisele are putting the finishing touches on a mansion
that is 22,000 square feet in Brentwood, California. The spread is
just down the road from where Arnold Schwarzenegger lives, or
used to anway.

The eight bedroom mansion is on 3.75 acres of land and has a six-car garage,
lagoon-shaped pool, wine cellar, cardio room, fitness center and spa. Brady
and Gisele paid $11 million dollars for the lot and another $20 million for
construction costs. There's no truth to the rumor that Brady has a room
assigned to Bill Belichick went the Patriots head coach is in town.

ST. JETERSBURG

Colossal, mammoth, ridiculous.
Pick any one or pick
them all. Those adjectives
apply to Jeter's 31,000 square
feet mansion in Tampa.
31,000 square feet! The pad
includes seven bedrooms,
nine bathrooms, a pool, two
3-car garages, a room for
billiards and memorabilia.
ADVANTAGE: JETER
Water gives him the nod.


EARNINGS.
Not counting endorsements, Jeter has made $205 million dollars in his career
through last season. He'll get another $51 million dollars over the next three
years under his current contract. $256 million dollars for playing baseball
is pretty impressive.

Brady signed a 4-year, $72 million contract last season, but that number

will be eclipsed once the lockout end and Peyton Manning put his signature

on a new contract. But at $18 million dollars a season, Brady is the highest
paid player in the NFL. Over the course of his career, the Patriots QB has
made nearly $150 million dollars. EARNINGS ADVANTAGE: JETER

ENDORSEMENTS

If they wanted to, Brady and Jeter could be an endorsement slut like
Peyton Manning, who is seemingly omnipotent on television. The Patriots
QB has deals with Under Armour, Stetson, SmartWater, and Rolex.
With his Hollywood good looks, Brady could make far more than the
$10 million dollars a year he makes in endorsments.Gosh, if Phil
Mickelson and his man-boobs can make $40 million a year, Brady and
Jeter cad do that without breaking the kind of sweat that Phil does during
a round of golf in New Orleans during the summer.

                                                       
Jeter has a nice stable full of endorsement deals which include Ford,
Gatorade, and Gillette. Like Brady, Jeter guards against overexposure

and over saturation. He like Brady, pulls in an extra $10 million dollars
per year from endorsements. ADVANTAGE: EVEN

CAREER

In 2000, Brady was a

sixth round pick out of

Michigan, while Jeter was

the 6th pick of the 1992

MLB draft out of Kalamazoo.

If he didn't sign with the

Yankees, Jeter would have

played for the Maze and Blue.

The Patriots QB has won

three Super Bowls, two NFL

MVP award and holds the

the record for most TD
passes in season (50)

                                                            

THE CAPTAIN

Jeter is the captain of the most famous franchise in sports. He has

5-World Series rings, is a 12-time all-star, five gold gloves and a career

average of .314. His best individual achievement is being the only

Yankeeto amass 3,000 or more hits in his career. Ruth, Gerhig, Mantle,

or DiMaggio came close to achieving the magic milestones.

Jeter and Brady have both been Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.

They have huge mansions, squeaky clean images, more money than God,

multiple world championships, great looking woman, fame, respects,

adoration, and near perfect lives. Who has the better one? Definitely a toss

up.

NESN VS YES: THE BATTLE FOR BASEBALL SUPREMACY

The rivalry between New York and Boston extends a lot further
than the Red Sox and Yankees. Their television networks, YES
and NESN battle every night while broadcasting their respective
teams games.

When it comes to baseball production, they rank 1 and 1a in the
country. They are the Peyton Manning and Tom Brady of regional
networks, the most powerful and glamorous. It's NESN, YES, and
then everybody else. If one is better, it's not by much. Here's the
tale of the tape.

PRE-GAME SHOW
NESN holds the overwhelming edge in pre-game shows. They
are often imitated, but never duplicated. NESN set the standard
years ago, and everyone else, including YES is trying to catch up.
NESN was the first to have the outdoor set, and if you look at
other pre-game shows around the country on Fox Sports Net and
MASN, they all have sets outside, whether it be on the concourse
of the stadium or outside of it. With Yawkey Way as the backdrop,
and the charm of  Fenway Park, NESN has all the ingredients to
make up the best pre-game show in the business.

EDGE-NESN

PRE-GAME/POST-GAME HOST. 
The men who steer the ship from start to finish, are both top notch.
Tom Caron (NESN) and Bob Lorenz (YES) are true professionals
who never stumble,  mess up, and are always accurate. Name
a time when they screwed up on something. Exactly. Caron grew up
in New England and has become part of the fabric of it. He is blue-
collar and dedicated. He's what they call a "gamer" in the sports world.

Meticulously prepared, Caron could tell you the zodiac sign of the
mother of the back-up catcher at Lowell, the Red Sox class 'A'
affiliate in the New York-Penn League. Lorenz, is completely polished
after spending years on the national/world stage of CNN. He's
knowledgeable and easy to listen to and easy to like.

Caron and Lorenz are even across the board on knowledge, presentation,
preparation, and the ability to right the ship when things are frenetic
in the waters below. However, Lorenz gets the slight edge for
his overall experience and polish.

EDGE-LORENZ

PRE-GAME/POST-GAME ANALYST.
Dennis Eckersley (NESN) is quite simply, the best baseball analyst in
the country, bar none. You can have Tim McCarver, John Kruk,
or anyone else. They can't touch the Eck. This guy is pure as a
person and as a talent. The Hall of Fame pitcher is incredibly
knowledgeable and  unfiltered. He says it like it is and doesn't
care about offending players or management. Plus, he, as Stuart
Scott like to say, "is cooler than the other side of the pillow."
Also in NESN's stable of analysts are the incomparable Peter
Gammons and Hall of Famer Jim Rice. Nobody, anywhere in
the country can compete with that.

Jack Curry (YES). Curry covered the Yankees for 20 years
with the New York Times and is as knowledgeable as any writer
covering the game today. As a television analyst, Curry is network
quality and don't be surprised if he shows up on ESPN one day.
He has an all-American look and remarkable camera presence
for a person who has not been in the business that long. He's very
likeable and doesn't bring a pompous, holier than thou demeanor
to the set. John Flaherty sits in on occasion and the former Yankees,
Red Sox, Rays, Padres, and Tigers catcher is very astute. A junior
Tim McCarver, but a lot more likeable.

EDGE-OVERWHELMING TO NESN.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Don Orsillo (NESN) made it to the top the old-fashioned way. He
rolled up his sleeves and worked his ass off. Orsillo paid his dues
with stops in places like Binghamton, Springfield (MA), and Pawtucket.
An incredibly hard-worker, Orsillo is always prepared but isn't
bolted to a dizzying array of stats and information. He isn't some
stat geek who tries to go overboard with a desire to impress people
with numbers and knowledge. He knows the game and has a lot
of fun calling it. Orsillo is not the biggest man in the booth, not
with Jerry Remy at his side. Working with a local legend is not easy,
but Orsillo handles it with ease and always does a great job of setting
the Rem Dawg up. Trademark call: "Down by way of the K".

Michael Kay (YES). Kay is a New Yorker and a Yankee fan, through
and through. After all, he's a Bronx native and went to Fordham. He
covered the Yankees for years as writer for the NY  Post and NY
Daily News. He's a former broadcast partner of the immortal John
"thaaaaaaaa-Yankees win" Sterling. Kay, wouldn't fit into the classic
play-by-play mold like his fellow Fordham graduates, Vin Scully or
Mike Breen. Kay is the everyman, a guy happy to be in the seat that
most people would give up their first and second child for. Sometimes
goes overboard on the stats, but so what. It's obvious that Kay loves
the game and loves the Yankees. Goes out of his way to really set
up the analysts in the booth. Trademark call: "Seeeeeee Ya"

EDGE: ORSILLO

GAME ANALYST.
No need to spend a lot of time and effort on this one. Jerry Remy
(NESN) has attained cult-hero status. He is Boston through and through,
complete with the thick accent. If he ran for Mayor, he'd beat
Marbles Menino is a landslide. Knowledgeable and funny, Remy
takes his job seriously, but not himself. He has become an institution
and as much a part of Fenway Park as the Green Monster.

YES employs rotating game analysts (David Cone, Paul O'Neill,
John Flaherty, Al Leiter, and Ken Singleton, who also does play-by-play)
They are all very, very good. Leiter and Flaherty can explain the game
and situations as well as anyone in the business. O'Neill and Cone are
brilliant in conveying their experiences to the viewers. If you want one
analyst to depend on every night, then I'm sure you'd favor Remy and
NESN. If variety is your cup of tea, YES is the place for you.

EDGE: NESN, IN A LANDSLIDE.

GAME REPORTERS.
Does Heidi Watney (NESN) know baseball? Does it matter? She is
the type of eye-candy that makes male viewers between 50 and 70
go into full cardiac arrest. Raised in California and the cousin of
PGA golfer, Watney was hand picked by Tom Werner, former
big-time television producer, and part-owner of the Red Sox. Watney
isn't always buttoned up and prepared with her information, but
she does a good job, and the camera fawns over her like an 8th grader
who suddenly discovers he has a super-hot teacher. Watney is sure to be
on the radar of ESPN, if not Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight,
or TMZ. :)

Kim Jones (YES) is a sports journalist through and through. Earned a degree
from Penn State in journalism and was on the NFL beat for the Star-Ledger for
many years. She continues to write a Sunday NFL column for that paper.
Jones is ALWAYS prepared and is really knowledgeable  about the game.
She is not in the same category as Watney when it comes to looks, but not
many people are. However, the camera does like her and she has a nice
way and presence about her. Only drawback is that she sometimes gets
too emotional in her post-game interviews and tends to fall into the
"hero worshipping" category.

EDGE: JONES.

GAME BROADCAST/PRODUCTION TEAM.
NESN and YES are in a class of their own when it comes to broadcasting
baseball. They are far and away the best of the regional networks and
can more than hold their own with ESPN and Fox. Ruppert Murdoch's
hack-in-your email network does only one game a week, NESN and
YES broadcasts every night. NESN approaches every game as if it's
the seventh game of the World Series and it shows.

The director/producer tandem of Mike Narracci and Russ Kenn are
outstanding and kind of like Adrian Gonzalez. Everybody knew he could
ball, but until he got on the national stage, nobody really knew he was this
spectacular. If Kenn and Narracci were in New York, they'd be recognized
for their brilliance.

YES is equipped with people behind the scenes that have eye-popping
backgrounds and resumes. John Fillippelli was given the task of starting
the network from scratch, backed with the deep pockets of George
Steinbrenner. Everything about their broadcasts is first class and it's obvious
that no expense has been spared. Their nightly production is network
quality and enjoyable to watch.

EDGE: EVEN

NESN and YES have a lot to work with. Teams with great tradition,
historic and new stadiums, die-hard fan bases, and deep pockets. They
both do a great job of maximizing their resources and producing spectacular
broadcasts every night.

Which network is better? As I said before, it's like trying to decide between
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Both are brilliant, always prepared, and
rarely have a bad game. Take your pick.

+Full Disclosure: I worked for NESN from 2004-2006. Had a great
time there but as everyone knows, I'm not biased.

CHRISTIAN LOPEZ IS ONE COOL DUDE

Before that spectacular, sun-soaked Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium,
Christian Lopez was just regular guy. He graduated from St. Lawrence
University and works at Verizon selling phones at one of their retail stores.
Lopez is a die-hard Yankees fan and admires Derek Jeter.

At 2pm Eastern time, his life changed forever. He came up with the
ball that Jeter hit for number 3,000, a home run that made Jeter part
of a club that doesn't include Ruth, Gerhig, Mantle, DiMaggio, Berra,
or any other legendary Yankee.

When Lopez beat over more than 48,000 fans for the ball, it would've
been easy for him to say "cha-ching". Souvenir experts said the Derek
Jeter 3,000 hit ball would be worth around $250,000. That is big money,
especially for a 23-year old kid fresh out of college. Lopez could've had
the ball on eBay by the time Jeter collected his next hit, which came two
innings later. Lopez could've waited and fielded offers from the highest
bidder that would've made him pretty wealthy. But he didn't. Lopez
made sure that Jeter got the ball for free.

A lot of  people in this country were saying, "you idiot!" How can you give
up that ball for nothing."  After all, big-money grabs have become the American
way, haven't they? Reggie Bush took a king's ransom from a prospective agent
when he was still in college. Terrell Pryor put his signature on anything Ohio
State for more than $40,000. And how about juror number three in the Casey
Anthony trial. As soon as the foreman said, "not guilty", she sprinted from
the Juror's box to the salon for a make-over and was on "Good Morning
America" the next day. I think she asked for Gloria Allred's phone number
and hired a publicist, hoping to capitalize on someone else's misfortune. Is
this a great country or what? And how sick will it be when Casey Anthony
makes her first dollar off the death of her daughter.

But Lopez didn't have dollar signs in his eyes. He didn't want to get become
instantly wealthy just because he was fortunate to be in the right place at the
right time. He didn't hold the Yankees hostage for season-tickets, dinner with
Reggie Jackson, or ask to throw out the pitch. He just gave the ball to security
who passed it on to Jeter. Then it was like Charlie in the "Willy Wonka and the
Chocalate Factory." After giving back the gobstopper or whatever that piece
of candy was called, Willy gave Charlie the world.  The Yankees rewarded
Lopez with prime tickets for the rest of the season and a few other goodies.

Lopez will get to enjoy some time in the limelight. There will be feature articles
in every metropolitan newspaper. He'll be on ESPN, "Good Morning America",
Letterman, Leno, and every talk show in between. But we'll all be happy for
him because he wasn't someone who wanted to get rich quick off a Ponzi
scheme or schemed his way to selling the ball to the highest bidder. Its good
to know there are some people who have been raised the right way and
are just as classy as the player who hit it, Derek Jeter.

THE STANLEY CUP LOVE AFFAIR

The Stanley Cup doesn't come out very often, but when it does, it becomes
a rock star like Mick Jagger. People want to touch it, have their picture taken
with it, and in some cases, sleep with it. Hockey's Holy Grail has been kissed
more times than Madonna, hoisted as often as Bud Light, and has more mileage
on it than one of Tiger Woods' porn stars.

The question is, why have sports fans become so fascinated with something that
has more nicknames than Shaq? First of all, Lord Stanley is by far the
coolest looking trophy in sports. The World Series trophy appears as if all 30
pennants on it will come apart when the wind blows. If you added eyes and
a smile to the NBA Trophy, you'd have Wilson from the movie, "Castaway"
on a nice mantle. The Lombardi Trophy is handsome, but it just isn't big,
rugged, and as attractive as the Stanley Cup.

In a sport that ranks dead last in popularity among the major ones, how did the
NHL's big trophy become the most coveted among players and fans? Until 1994,
the Stanley Cup was like Katie Couric's run as the anchor of the CBS Evening News:
On the big stage, but nobody really cared or paid much attention to it. Most of the
time, the Stanley Cup was touring Canada along with the team that had just won it.
For the people in the United States, it was out of sight and out of mind.

That all changed when the New York Rangers won it all 17 years ago. They
treated Lord Stanley as if they were taking the hottest girl in the world to the
prom. They showed it off proudly to anyone and anywhere. It went to stadiums,
swimming pools, strip clubs, and sandy beaches. It stayed on the front page
of the New York Post longer than the lurid details of Tiger's downfall.                            
        

                                                                   
The Rangers started the tradition where every player, coach and trainer gets the
trophy for at least one day. Since then, players have had their kids baptized in
Stanley's Cup or taken pictures of their babies in it for holiday greeting cards.
Where their imagination goes, so does the Stanley Cup.

The NHL allots 100 days for the winning team to do what they want with the Cup.
And it provides security and a chaperon just in case some derelict out there
has grand plans of hijacking Lord Stanley and using it for a big ransom.

After going dry since 1972, The Boston Bruins are finally drinking out
of the Cup. They are on pace to outdo the Chicago Blackhawks who
paraded it around to every bar, stadium, and hot spot in the city with
broad shoulders. In just over two weeks, the Stanley Cup has been
to Fenway Park, the glistening NESN studios, and a bar where it helped
the rack up a tab of more than $150,000.

At 35 inches tall and almost 35lbs, the Stanley Cup is sturdy enough
to handle the wear and tear that goes with the miles of travel and the millions
of touches. It is like a golden retriever, tough but friendly, big and durable,
and approachable enough where you can kiss and caress it.

The Stanley Cup. Quite simply the coolest trophy in sports.