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ESPN The Magazine Chad Johnson-Rick Reilly Party

June 5th, 2008 | by HG |

I got a chance to go attend ESPN the Magazine’s ‘Revenge of the Jocks’ party hosted by Chad Johnson and Rick Reilly Wednesday night in Los Angeles. The party was a celebration of Rick Reilly joining the mag and athletes running the asylum for an edition, like they did last year when they were led by Matt Leinart.

The event was held at the X Bar which is located inside the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, and was packed with stars and beautiful women like any Los Angeles party should be. During the course of the night I was able to learn several things.. Chad and TJ will both be at camp next week, but don’t feel much like talking to the media, former Patriots don’t like cheating questions, and Crystal who works for ESPN and provided my credential for the event is also Laura Lane’s publicist.. Small world..

There are pictures, interviews, NBA finals predictions, and some thoughts after the jump.

The picture has nothing to do with the party, but damnit.. Do you see what we’re going through out here in Cali? It’s like the Thunderdome out here but since it’s LA, nobody’s gonna complain until the price of gas makes the price of kush go up.

I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of former NFL player Eddie George so just pretend he showed up to the party on this blue tractor.

HG: I know it’s early but who do you see in the Super Bowl next year?

EG: Man it changes so much now it’s hard to say. Look at the Giants… They came outta nowhere. I’d have to say though that the Patriots are still the front runner in the AFC and in the NFC I really like Dallas’ chances.

HG: You’re a guy that had interest away from the football field, what do you make of the Bill Parcells-Jason Taylor back and forth that’s going on in Miami?

EG: Management always sticks their noses in the numbers. They’re worried about the salary cap and the financial side of things, but as players we can’t be robots. A lot of us are businessmen and realize that the ability to play at a high level is short so we have to have other things going. The game doesn’t care about you when you’re done.

HG: Who do you like in the NBA finals?

EG: I like the Lakers. I’m not saying Kobe’s Michael, but he’s like Michael. They can both take over the game at anytime and they’re exciting to watch. I like the Lakers bench, the coaching staff, and the confidence the team has so I gotta say Lakers.

Former UCLA basketball coach and current ESPN college basketball analyst Steve Lavin was in the house. I used to do a pretty good Lavin impersonation, but I didn’t break it out when I caught up with him.

HG: After seeing the recent scandal at USC with O.J. Mayo, were you shocked or have you known that SC’s been paying guys for years?

SL: (Laughing) Ok so we’re getting straight to it huh?

HG: I figured since you coached at UCLA you might have some thoughts on USC’s problems..

SL: (Laughing) Next..

HG: Ok how about the rule requiring kids to attend a year of college before heading to the NBA.. Where do you stand on that?

SL: The draft isn’t a perfect science. Look at Kobe Bryant.. He was drafted 13th, but after a year of school he would’ve gone higher. Then you have guys like Langdon, Sheldon Williams, J.J. Reddick that get drafted high but don’t play as well as they should..

HG: Sorry to interupt but what you’re telling me is you hate Duke?

SL: No, nooo,.. I’m saying it’s challenging to project how well guys are going to play in the NBA but to answer your question directly, I think the age limit was a step in the right direction. The only thing I think they should’ve done differently is to have made the age limit 20. There’s talk of moving the limit to 20, but it would’ve been easier if they had just started at 20. Now it’ll take hard work from the league and the players union to come together and agree on raising the limit, not to mention the free market/capitalism aspect of the equation. I understand where the players are coming from too, but I’m in favor of the age limit.

HG: Ok, last question. Lakers or Celtics?

SL: The Lakers are playing well. The Celtics are a worthy opponent and if they were playing anybody else I would pick them but the Lakers are so balanced and they have the best player so I’m taking Los Angeles. It’s really amazing to watch because these Lakers are turning into the Bulls of the 90s, with Kobe playing the same role as Michael Jordan.

Rick Reilly strolled down the red carpet with a “what the hell am I doing on a red carpet?” look on his face. He wasn’t disgusted, it was disbelief. When I started asking questions, then he was disgusted.

HG: We have a mutual friend, Bill, who told me he kicked your ass on the golf course.

RR: You know William? That’s great and yes it’s true. He did beat me, but I was on quaaludes. Write that down, I was on quaalades.

HG: Trust me… So I’m sure you’re aware of Buzz Bissinger’s take on bloggers, what are your thoughts on the old school/ new school debate?

RR: Well now I’m in the new school so to speak so we’ll see. I made the jump (to new media) to see if my voice would carry in this form. I do wonder though, is it journalism or am I behind the times? The one thing I’ve noticed, Sports Illustrated versus ESPN is that the response to my piece is a lot faster. At Sports Illustrated, the magazine would go out on a Thursday and I might not hear anything for three or four days. At ESPN I’m getting emails right away.

HG: Ok, so Rick Reilly’s on the record saying blogs are better..

RR: Not better. Just different.

HG: What’s your number one criticism of blogs?

RR: The responsibility. I don’t think there is much. Sure you don’t have editors or bosses but you can still be responsible. There’s a site, Every Day Should Be Saturday, that wrote some bullshit about us (gesturing to his girlfriend) that was just wrong. They didn’t double check, they didn’t call me, they just printed it. Call me, I’m available, I’m out there. People can email me. Before you write something like that you should check your sources. The bloggers have more power than they realize and things that they write can spread quickly.

HG: Who do you like in the NBA finals?

RR: I’d like to see LA win but it’s gonna be Boston

I’m a terrible photographer but this is what you get when I can’t get anybody to roll with me to an NFL player’s party. Keyshawn Johnson and Chad Johnson are actually sharing some laughs in these pictures even though it looks like could still be in uncomfortable interview mode. After chilling with Chad for a few minutes, Keyshawn gave me a little time to ask him a few questions.

HG: I saw you and Chad huggin it out over there, everything’s cool now?

KJ: It always has been. That’s my family right there.

HG: Things didn’t seem cool when you interviewed him..

KJ: That’s just tv. I got love for Chad and always will.

HG: Moving on to another guy you got love for, Bill Parcells.. What do you think of the way he’s handling Jason Taylor?

KJ: It’s not a big situation. The media blows stuff out of proportion. The bottom line is Jason Taylor is gonna get paid a lot of money to play football so he’ll be playing football in 2008. That’s all it’s gonna come down too, but the media likes to take things and make them bigger than they are.

HG: Before you walked over we were debating who’s the better receiver, you or Chad? I’m pretty sure I know already, but who do you think is better between you two?

KJ: I’d say if you look at my first 11 years, I was better. I got to the Super Bowl, I won a championship. I have a ring so that says a lot. I don’t really need to worry about stats, yards and all of that. I have a ring.

HG: Last question Key, Lakers or Celtics?

KJ: That’s easy. Lakers.

Willie McGinnest of the Cleveland Browns stopped by but he was a man of few words.

HG: After the success that the team had last year, how do you see the Browns doing in ‘08-09?

WM: It’s gonna be a good year for Cleveland. (walking away) We made some good progress (walking away) last year so we’re expecting a lot this season.

HG: Ok, I can see you gotta go so real quick.. Do you think the Patriots cheated more or less after you left the team?

WM: (kinda laughing) No comment.. We never cheated.

HG: Thanks Willie.

Chad Johnson poses with Amerie, the musical guest of the evening.

ESPN the Magazine shot two covers for the ‘Revenge of the Jocks’ edition. One is what Disney wanted, the other is what Ocho Cinco wanted. Chad announced to the party that next week a version of nude Chad without the book comes out.

It took me a couple of tries to get some words from Chad Johnson, but in the end it was worth the effort. I caught Chad a few minutes after he grabbed the mic to tell T.J. Houshmandzadeh that he loved him and “We’re gonna have a blast tonight since I won’t be there during the season.”

HG: Thanks for the time.

CJ: No problem bruh.

HG: So I’ve read the article in the mag and you say you’re gonna be at camp next week, but is everything good?

CJ: No. It’s not. I still want to be traded but do you know what happens if I don’t show up at camp?

HG: They hit you for $800,000.

CJ: More like $1.8. $1.8?!? Of course I’m showing up. Who wouldn’t? But you know what bothers me the most? They came to me last year and they wanted me to change who I am.

HG: Tone down the celebrations and things like that?

CJ: Nah, I was already doing that. I did the HOF jacket but that wasn’t much. They didn’t want me to be my normal self.

HG: What is your normal self? What do they have a problem with?

CJ: I put a lot of pressure on guys to perform at a high level, like I do. People can’t handle that and then I’m labeled a problem.

HG: I don’t see the celebrations as a problem…

CJ: I’m about to be a problem (laughing).. I might have to go Kobe Bryant, but I’m gonna be traded.

HG: Ok, let’s say you get your wish, the Bengals trade you.. Where do you want to go?

CJ: Philly, Dallas, Washington.. Any of those are good.

HG: No Patriots?

CJ: I mean, you know, they’re already pretty set with what they got. It sounds good but those are my top three teams.

HG: I’m an Eagles fan so I hope you end up in Philly.. You think you and Donovan would put in work?

CJ: Whooo-ooo yeah..

HG: In the NFL the quarterback usually gets the blame for the teams failures and the credit for the wins. Do you think Carson Palmer deserves any blame in Cincy?

CJ: The thing is, I’m the face of the franchise. I’m the one that’s out front so I’m gonna get the blame. That doesn’t bother me though I can handle it, but I think it’s time for us ( Chad and the Bengals) to go our separate ways. I’m the scapegoat so they need to trade me.

HG: We’ll see what happens. Last question, I’ve been asking everybody who they like in the NBA finals.. Who you got?

CJ: I wanna see Kobe win it. After everything he’s been through, the whole Shaq situation, it would be good to see Kobe get one. I like KG too though, so if he wins, that’s cool especially since he was finally able to get out of Minnesota.

If you can’t tell, I had a great time and I haven’t written about the best part of the night. I got a chance to stand about four feet from Amerie. I have a huge crush on her, have for years, and getting to see her in person only made me love her more.. Even though I was too scared to look her in the eye. I had no problem talking to athletes about anything, but as soon as Amerie hit the red carpet I became a shy mute.. It’s all right tho, I’ll get ‘er next time.

Chad Johnson, Rick Reilly, ESPN The Magazine, Revenge of the Jocks

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