(3767,2,'2011-03-01 12:49:39','2011-03-01 20:49:39','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3765 alignnone\" title=\"azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/azita-ghanizada.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\r\n\r\nBorn in Kabul, Afghanistan, Azita Ghanizada is a witty, down-to-Earth, extra-attractive actress who’s appeared on TV shows like <em>Entourage</em>, <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>, <em>Castle</em>, <em>Bones</em>, <em>Psych</em> and <em>NCIS: Los Angeles</em>. As a child, Azita fled Afghanistan with her family and sought refugee asylum in the States. She was raised in Northern Virginia and eventually moved out to LA to pursue a career in acting.\r\n\r\nAzita is set to start in the new SyFy series <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\">Alphas</a></em>, a show that follows a team of ordinary citizens with extraordinary mental abilities who tackle cases that other government agencies are unable to solve. <em>Alphas</em> was created by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Penn\" target=\"_blank\">Zak Penn</a> (the writer of X-Men and X-Men 2) and will be directed by <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070474/\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Bender</a>, who previously directed <em>Lost</em>. Star Trek vet Ira Steven Behr will serve as the show\'s executive producer/showrunner.\r\n\r\nWe got to chat with Azita about her unique upbringing, <em>Alphas</em>, working with Jack Bender, what it\'s like on the set of <em>Entourage </em>and who the funniest cast member is on <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How did you first get into acting?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> How did I first get into acting? I started acting in commercials actually. I did a bunch of what every day actors do. You come out here and you start taking acting classes and you study and you sign the commercials. I started working commercials and hanging out in<strong> </strong>a dark theatre with a bunch of other acting kids. I did a couple little LA plays and then started doing guest stars on television, and at the same time was kind of up for very big movies and not getting them. Things kind of shifted. There was a writer’s strike and then I kind of focused on TV. Just really did it that way in terms of how I got engaged in it.\r\n\r\nWhen I was little, I learned English on television. I’m from Afghanistan. When we came over, we came here as political refugees. I was a baby and my mom was obsessed with American television and I watched TV all the time and I just thought, what a wonderful place to be, in TV. They had such great lives. I wasn’t allowed to be an actor. My parents really were very strict, concerned Afghans<strong> </strong>and they just thought that that was an obscene career for a young adult and for a woman especially. I just kind of defied them and packed my bags and moved to LA. I decided, “all right I’m going to give it a go,” and that’s what I did.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do your parents support you now?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well of course it’s all their idea (laughs). Of course now I’m like the pride and joy. I’m like the shining star of Afghanistan. They’re like “that is my daughter and I’m like, really? You’re full of shit!” So yeah, I think they’re so excited. I don’t think they’ll ever understand what it is that I’m doing. I think they would probably prefer for me to be married and be a doctor and have babies or something. But I think they’re very happy when they get to see me on television.\r\n\r\nAnd I’ve done some risky stuff. And these very conservative Afghans are like calling people and saying, “oh please watch Azita on <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575755/\" target=\"_blank\">Castle</a></em>.” And I’m like, “I’m a <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/media/rm347574016/nm1671257\" target=\"_blank\">dominatrix</a>!”\r\n\r\n<strong>CS</strong>: (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>AG</strong>: “Please don’t tell people to watch that!” and my mother’s like “who cares it looks so sexy” and I’m like “oh my god you crazy foreigner!”(laughs) But she’s very supportive now. I kind of was very defiant and independent my whole life and so whether or not they supported me never mattered. It was what I wanted to do and I worked my little butt of to do it. So as long as I did it with integrity and I did it in a way that I valued, it didn’t really matter whether they accepted my profession. I never expected them to and the fact that they’re supportive and watch all those things now is icing on the cake.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you were very young when you and your family fled Afghanistan and came to the US as refugees and were granted asylum. Was there kind of a conflict with having an American upbringing with a more traditional family setting?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Absolutely. For whatever reason my parents had the hindsight to bring us into the States, but at the same time it was everything that they had no power over. They didn’t understand staying after school. They didn’t understand doing plays. They didn’t understand girls and boys working together and on the playground, things like that. It was a real struggle for them and it was a real struggle for us, because I have two sisters. So for three girls that were really kind of … I don’t know. We struggled quite a bit to fit in both the American culture and to try and fit in at home as well. But we were all very strong willed and we fought for what we thought was right both in school and at home. I think that’s a part of why I am able to achieve any amount of success. I think I’m just a fighter and I’m a little brave. And yeah, they struggled. They ended up separating when I was just in middle school. It was really hard for them because they broke all the rules of their tradition by doing so, but it was the best thing they could have done for themselves and for us. There was just a very black cloud over their names for a while because they were discouraged to do something like that. That was unheard of in the Afghan culture. You stayed married. But they didn’t. The majority of the family really kind of shunned them.\r\n\r\nNow that things are a little different and it’s been like 10 years or so, more people are separated, more people are divorced, more people know they have more rights. It’s definitely different now, but back then it was hard. I mean trying to be an actor, it was like I might as well have become slut, you know what I mean? It was like the worst thing, it was a terrible, terrible idea for them.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’re also involved in different United Nation refugee causes, the UN Refugee Agency, the High Commissioner for Refugees, have you been back to Afghanistan recently? What does your involvement with these different UN organizations entail?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well you know I have not been back to Afghanistan. My sister went back. I was up for the lead girl in “The Kite Runner” and I thought okay this’ll be shot in Northern Afghanistan so okay, I’m going to back. It’s just me and the other girl and in my head it was mine. When I didn’t get that, I decided to dye my hair blond. I was kind of like a little broken from that and I felt like that was so much my story, which it kind of was. When that didn’t happen I kind of retreated a little bit.\r\n\r\nI was offered another film in Afghanistan – an Afghan Dari foreign language film called <em>The Black Tulip</em> – last year. The security element wasn’t quite what I would want to see considering I had fought my whole life to be an actor. The men were extremely intolerant and I wasn’t necessarily about to go back into the country and be like screw you I’m an actor! I was like so maybe this isn’t the best idea. So instead I shot a pilot with Sam Shepard and Lucas Black called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553691/\" target=\"_blank\">Tough Trade</a></em> and it was set in Nashville.\r\n\r\nBut the UN Refugee Agency and Women for Women both work so much with the women in Afghanistan who, you know they just legalize rape, they’re setting themselves on fire. The UN Refugee Agency literally takes care of- I mean they were right there on the front lines helping these Afghans and these refugee camps. As a product of the war – that’s what I am – and the majority of my family, they were all refugees.\r\n\r\nSo for me it’s such important kind of thing to show both an example of what can happen and what you can become, as a positive story out of almost four decades of war. I’m probably the first girl from Afghanistan to really break in American television. And to be in HCR and Women for Women, it’s important to kind of have a role model. Somebody that can come from circumstances that aren’t the most ideal and with education, fight, hope, and perseverance, you can make it. You can make anything happen.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So based on you and your families’ experiences, is that what led you to study politics and international journalism at Virginia Tech? Did you want to learn more about global affairs and be an active voice in those matters?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well I think I did that because that’s what my family wanted. I thought, okay Peter Jennings was another person that I followed and I thought, okay well I can do that. I can shed light on what’s going on with Afghanistan and I can be a journalist – a broadcast journalist – things like that. I also studied English and thought, well I can write books and I can do all these things.\r\n\r\nBut you know I wanted to be an actor my entire life. It was the first thing I dreamt of. I gave my Emmy acceptance speech when I was 11 years old on the dining board at my birthday party. It was just something that was stronger than the desire to do anything else.\r\n\r\nI knew that if I had any type of a platform as an actor and if I can break as an actor as an Afghan, then I could shed some light – in a really positive and a different way, not in a neutral way – on what’s going on. And kind of create awareness to teach people how to help in small ways and to inspire. If I can inspire ten women in a country that doesn’t have a lot of inspiration, then I have done a wonderful thing.\r\n\r\nSo yeah, I grew up in Washington DC so I grew up around colleges, I grew up around politicians. But in Virginia you have to have an understanding of current events and global affairs and what’s going on. Being an actor and being in the entertainment business is the furthest thing from anybody’s mind. And so coming to LA and experiencing this entertainment business, which is very separate, I still held on to being committed to, I don’t know, applying a voice to people that don’t have a voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’ve had a few different roles over the years, but now you’re going to be the new female lead on a SyFy channel show called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\" target=\"_blank\">Alphas</a></em>.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Yeah!\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> What first interested you in this script from Zak Penn?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well, you know, it was really funny. I thought I was going to be in Nashville doing <em>Tough Trade</em>. And I thought, okay this show is going to go. I mean <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Bone_Burnett\" target=\"_blank\">T-Bone Burnett</a> was executive producing it and we had a stellar cast. It was from <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenji_Kohan\" target=\"_blank\">the creator of <em>Weeds</em></a>. When that didn’t happen, you know, I kind of had to go back into auditioning. I was actually auditioning for a big comedy film that’s going to be released next year, and I was going to be in the mix for that and at 10:00 at night they called and said “you have to audition for <em>Alphas</em> tomorrow morning.” and I was like what’s <em>Alphas</em>? And they were like “you have to do it first thing in the morning.” And I read it, I memorized it, and there was a lot of scientific jargon and a lot of using that part of your brain that can explain things to people in a positive way.\r\n\r\nMy character also had a moment where she went into one of her senses and I thought, okay this is a really different thing for me. This girl is really soft, she’s awkward, she’s self conscious, she’s so smart, but she doesn’t know how to communicate. She lives in a very conservative home. She’s still under her family’s roof and they’re a little embarrassed of her because she has these super abilities. So there were a lot of things I related to right away and it’s also very different than what I’ve gotten to show. So I just went in and they’re like “it’s yours” and then I got on the plane and read the script and it was so interesting and really, really familiar. And I mean the fact that <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/\" target=\"_blank\">David Strathairn</a> was the lead, I was just so excited. I’m such a fan of his. To get to work with him is so exciting. And then Zak Penn is so funny and as far as sci-fi stuff goes he’s kind of awesome. And then there’s Jack Bender, who’s the director of <em>Lost</em> and I just thought, well I can’t really do anything wrong if I’m in there hands,<strong> </strong>you know what I’m saying?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah totally.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> So it was kind of- I show up on day one and my girl you know she has the ability to hyper intensify all of her senses. I kind of had to figure out a way to do that. We decided that she kind of goes into these little trances which feeds into her awkwardness and her self-consciousness. I think that she’s going to kind of come out of her shell and become something special, so we’ll see what happens this season.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now is David like a super intense actor to work with? He seems like kind of an intense guy.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> He is the nicest, classiest man ever. He’s intense when the cameras roll and he’s practicing with the other actor and that’s what you want. He’s available, he’s ready, he is going to connect with you. He is a generous actor. He was telling me these awesome stories about doing Shakespeare in the Park in the 70s and hitchhiking across America and being part of the theatre movement. He just loves actors and he loves what he does. So no, he wasn’t intense at all. He’s quiet and he’s private but when the cameras are rolling he’s 100% available for you. He wants to make sure it’s the best production and the best show. He was really focused on my ideas and seeing that the majority of my stuff is with him I was really blessed to work with him this time and Sam Shepard last year. I mean I had like two cowboys, you know? So he’s just terrific. He was so good.\r\n\r\nI mean <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948272/\">Malik Yoba</a>, was probably a little intense but … (laughs). His character is a little intense so the stuff with him would be like - he’s kind of like an intense character. But when the cameras would stop rolling you’d all start laughing because he’s so good at it. He’d almost have me in tears. I’d be like flushed red because I’d be so frustrated with him and then he’ll stop and be like just splitting up laughing and I’m like, I hate you so much. But nobody was too intense. Everybody was amazing. Warren Christie I worked with before so, you know, it was easy to work with him. He’s hunky and easy to look at so it’s fine.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) I’m sure he felt the same way about you.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How would you describe Jack Bender’s style as a director?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Jack is one of the grooviest – and that’s the best word to describe him – men I’ve ever met. He’s something out of a different era. He is a filmmaker. He sees everything. He knows exactly what to do, how to finesse it. He knows how to talk to actors. He was an actor I think in the very beginning of his career. He’s … I don’t know. For me personally if I can work with him for the rest of my life I would take that job. He gets it. I got him. I trust him. He’s just … he’s one of the raddest people and probably one of the most amazing directors I’ve worked with. I really loved working with Gavin Hood too but I just think that for me Jack Bender is the bee’s knees as far as what I want in a director. He was awesome.\r\n\r\nAnd I get why the <em>Lost</em> fans love him so much, that’s what makes the show intense and exciting. All of those elements will be played in that because Jack’s got that background. Jack’s got this like kind of quirky, interesting take on the show.\r\n\r\nI mean it’s kind of like <em>X-Men</em> meets <em>The X-Files</em>. We’re all ordinary human beings. It’s not like we live in this alternate universe. We live in New York City. It’s present day New York City and we’re kind of walking around with these powers that we can’t really do in front of people. It’s a really kind of interesting concept. It’s not this big glossy show, it’s more human.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You also appeared on <em>Entourage</em>. You were Johnny Drama’s date at the Gatsby premiere.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh yeah.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Was that set really fun? Are those guys like really homies on the set? It seems like it would be a pretty fun working environment.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh my goodness they are all so close. They are all so much fun. Kevin Connelly and Jerry Ferrara are two of my close friends so I went in there with friends on the set. We worked really long hours doing the premiere and they are the funnest group of guys. They make each other laugh.\r\n\r\nKevin Dillon does this like crazy insane laugh before we have to go to a laughing scene which makes everybody start cracking up. He is just so - he was so wonderful to work with because he’s so committed to the character. Jerry and Kevin are so fun and Adrian and Jeremy Piven were great. It was one of the funnest working experiences of my career because nobody had any attitudes. Everybody had fun. Everybody was excited to come to work. The director had been doing it for so long but they knew how to get their shots and stuff.\r\n\r\nIt really is a boys’ playground. Like it is just like a boy’s wet dream, it really is. It’s like you get to come to work and hang out with your best friends and you get to shoot some really cool television and there’s always pretty girls around and you’re in these awesome homes and these really cool cars. Nobody is being a dick. Everybody loves each other and it’s a wonderful environment.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who was the funniest person on the set of <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh I mean, wow. You know I only worked with Neil Patrick Harris and I mean he’s so funny I could have died. But you know I interacted with- it was their last day of shooting so everybody was there. Jason Segel is probably the funniest one to me. He was just- he’s so funny. But my scenes were with Neil and Neil was just … I mean that guy is just ballsy and he’s risky and he goes for it. He’s really fun. But I definitely think that Jason … I don’t know, they’re all funny. I mean even Cobie – who’s now in <em>The Avengers</em> – they’re all so funny and that’s why that show works so well. I don’t know. They’re all funny in their own way. And Alyson Hannigan, I mean come on, that’s like an embarrassment over the riches. They’re all funny. (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) So I read somewhere that you exercise like something ridiculous – like five to six days a week. How do you keep up this acting schedule and still find time to stay so fit?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> You know I try to work out 60 minutes, six days a week. It’s kind of nonnegotiable for me even if I’m working. Maybe if I’m working I’ll drop to four days a week. But you know I just wake up and I run. I’m blood type O, and I’m a Scorpio, and I’ve got a lot of passion and if I don’t get it out somehow I might you know, murder somebody.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs) I don’t know. Exercise gives me endorphins. It’s really fun. You know that hour is my hour to kind of work out scenes too. I can work out scenes in my head. I can work out. I can day dream certain things. I wasn’t allowed to exercise when I was little. I wasn’t allowed to participate in sports or take dance or do anything like that, so as an adult I don’t take it for granted. I really enjoy it, I love seeing what my body is capable of doing and how it’s capable of transforming and I love being in shape.\r\n\r\n<em>Alphas</em> will premiere on Syfy in the summer of 2011.','Azita Ghanizada Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3763-revision-3','','','2011-03-01 12:49:39','2011-03-01 20:49:39','',3763,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3763-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(3768,2,'2011-03-01 12:50:17','2011-03-01 20:50:17','','Azita-ghanizada','','inherit','open','open','','azita-ghanizada-2','','','2011-03-01 12:50:17','2011-03-01 20:50:17','',3763,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-.jpg',3,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3769,2,'2011-03-01 12:51:07','2011-03-01 20:51:07','','Azita-ghanizada','','inherit','open','open','','azita-ghanizada-3','','','2011-03-01 12:51:07','2011-03-01 20:51:07','',3763,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg',1,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3770,2,'2011-03-01 12:49:44','2011-03-01 20:49:44','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3765 alignnone\" title=\"azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/azita-ghanizada.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\r\n\r\nBorn in Kabul, Afghanistan, Azita Ghanizada is a witty, down-to-Earth, extra-attractive actress who’s appeared on TV shows like <em>Entourage</em>, <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>, <em>Castle</em>, <em>Bones</em>, <em>Psych</em> and <em>NCIS: Los Angeles</em>. As a child, Azita fled Afghanistan with her family and sought refugee asylum in the States. She was raised in Northern Virginia and eventually moved out to LA to pursue a career in acting.\r\n\r\nAzita is set to start in the new SyFy series <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\">Alphas</a></em>, a show that follows a team of ordinary citizens with extraordinary mental abilities who tackle cases that other government agencies are unable to solve. <em>Alphas</em> was created by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Penn\" target=\"_blank\">Zak Penn</a> (the writer of X-Men and X-Men 2) and will be directed by <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070474/\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Bender</a>, who previously directed <em>Lost</em>. Star Trek vet Ira Steven Behr will serve as the show\'s executive producer/showrunner.\r\n\r\nWe got to chat with Azita about her unique upbringing, <em>Alphas</em>, working with Jack Bender, what it\'s like on the set of <em>Entourage </em>and who the funniest cast member is on <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How did you first get into acting?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> How did I first get into acting? I started acting in commercials actually. I did a bunch of what every day actors do. You come out here and you start taking acting classes and you study and you sign the commercials. I started working commercials and hanging out in<strong> </strong>a dark theatre with a bunch of other acting kids. I did a couple little LA plays and then started doing guest stars on television, and at the same time was kind of up for very big movies and not getting them. Things kind of shifted. There was a writer’s strike and then I kind of focused on TV. Just really did it that way in terms of how I got engaged in it.\r\n\r\nWhen I was little, I learned English on television. I’m from Afghanistan. When we came over, we came here as political refugees. I was a baby and my mom was obsessed with American television and I watched TV all the time and I just thought, what a wonderful place to be, in TV. They had such great lives. I wasn’t allowed to be an actor. My parents really were very strict, concerned Afghans<strong> </strong>and they just thought that that was an obscene career for a young adult and for a woman especially. I just kind of defied them and packed my bags and moved to LA. I decided, “all right I’m going to give it a go,” and that’s what I did.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do your parents support you now?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well of course it’s all their idea (laughs). Of course now I’m like the pride and joy. I’m like the shining star of Afghanistan. They’re like “that is my daughter and I’m like, really? You’re full of shit!” So yeah, I think they’re so excited. I don’t think they’ll ever understand what it is that I’m doing. I think they would probably prefer for me to be married and be a doctor and have babies or something. But I think they’re very happy when they get to see me on television.\r\n\r\nAnd I’ve done some risky stuff. And these very conservative Afghans are like calling people and saying, “oh please watch Azita on <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575755/\" target=\"_blank\">Castle</a></em>.” And I’m like, “I’m a <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/media/rm347574016/nm1671257\" target=\"_blank\">dominatrix</a>!”\r\n\r\n<strong>CS</strong>: (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>AG</strong>: “Please don’t tell people to watch that!” and my mother’s like “who cares it looks so sexy” and I’m like “oh my god you crazy foreigner!”(laughs) But she’s very supportive now. I kind of was very defiant and independent my whole life and so whether or not they supported me never mattered. It was what I wanted to do and I worked my little butt of to do it. So as long as I did it with integrity and I did it in a way that I valued, it didn’t really matter whether they accepted my profession. I never expected them to and the fact that they’re supportive and watch all those things now is icing on the cake.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you were very young when you and your family fled Afghanistan and came to the US as refugees and were granted asylum. Was there kind of a conflict with having an American upbringing with a more traditional family setting?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Absolutely. For whatever reason my parents had the hindsight to bring us into the States, but at the same time it was everything that they had no power over. They didn’t understand staying after school. They didn’t understand doing plays. They didn’t understand girls and boys working together and on the playground, things like that. It was a real struggle for them and it was a real struggle for us, because I have two sisters. So for three girls that were really kind of … I don’t know. We struggled quite a bit to fit in both the American culture and to try and fit in at home as well. But we were all very strong willed and we fought for what we thought was right both in school and at home. I think that’s a part of why I am able to achieve any amount of success. I think I’m just a fighter and I’m a little brave. And yeah, they struggled. They ended up separating when I was just in middle school. It was really hard for them because they broke all the rules of their tradition by doing so, but it was the best thing they could have done for themselves and for us. There was just a very black cloud over their names for a while because they were discouraged to do something like that. That was unheard of in the Afghan culture. You stayed married. But they didn’t. The majority of the family really kind of shunned them.\r\n\r\nNow that things are a little different and it’s been like 10 years or so, more people are separated, more people are divorced, more people know they have more rights. It’s definitely different now, but back then it was hard. I mean trying to be an actor, it was like I might as well have become slut, you know what I mean? It was like the worst thing, it was a terrible, terrible idea for them.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’re also involved in different United Nation refugee causes, the UN Refugee Agency, the High Commissioner for Refugees, have you been back to Afghanistan recently? What does your involvement with these different UN organizations entail?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well you know I have not been back to Afghanistan. My sister went back. I was up for the lead girl in “The Kite Runner” and I thought okay this’ll be shot in Northern Afghanistan so okay, I’m going to back. It’s just me and the other girl and in my head it was mine. When I didn’t get that, I decided to dye my hair blond. I was kind of like a little broken from that and I felt like that was so much my story, which it kind of was. When that didn’t happen I kind of retreated a little bit.\r\n\r\nI was offered another film in Afghanistan – an Afghan Dari foreign language film called <em>The Black Tulip</em> – last year. The security element wasn’t quite what I would want to see considering I had fought my whole life to be an actor. The men were extremely intolerant and I wasn’t necessarily about to go back into the country and be like screw you I’m an actor! I was like so maybe this isn’t the best idea. So instead I shot a pilot with Sam Shepard and Lucas Black called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553691/\" target=\"_blank\">Tough Trade</a></em> and it was set in Nashville.\r\n\r\nBut the UN Refugee Agency and Women for Women both work so much with the women in Afghanistan who, you know they just legalize rape, they’re setting themselves on fire. The UN Refugee Agency literally takes care of- I mean they were right there on the front lines helping these Afghans and these refugee camps. As a product of the war – that’s what I am – and the majority of my family, they were all refugees.\r\n\r\nSo for me it’s such important kind of thing to show both an example of what can happen and what you can become, as a positive story out of almost four decades of war. I’m probably the first girl from Afghanistan to really break in American television. And to be in HCR and Women for Women, it’s important to kind of have a role model. Somebody that can come from circumstances that aren’t the most ideal and with education, fight, hope, and perseverance, you can make it. You can make anything happen.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So based on you and your families’ experiences, is that what led you to study politics and international journalism at Virginia Tech? Did you want to learn more about global affairs and be an active voice in those matters?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well I think I did that because that’s what my family wanted. I thought, okay Peter Jennings was another person that I followed and I thought, okay well I can do that. I can shed light on what’s going on with Afghanistan and I can be a journalist – a broadcast journalist – things like that. I also studied English and thought, well I can write books and I can do all these things.\r\n\r\nBut you know I wanted to be an actor my entire life. It was the first thing I dreamt of. I gave my Emmy acceptance speech when I was 11 years old on the dining board at my birthday party. It was just something that was stronger than the desire to do anything else.\r\n\r\nI knew that if I had any type of a platform as an actor and if I can break as an actor as an Afghan, then I could shed some light – in a really positive and a different way, not in a neutral way – on what’s going on. And kind of create awareness to teach people how to help in small ways and to inspire. If I can inspire ten women in a country that doesn’t have a lot of inspiration, then I have done a wonderful thing.\r\n\r\nSo yeah, I grew up in Washington DC so I grew up around colleges, I grew up around politicians. But in Virginia you have to have an understanding of current events and global affairs and what’s going on. Being an actor and being in the entertainment business is the furthest thing from anybody’s mind. And so coming to LA and experiencing this entertainment business, which is very separate, I still held on to being committed to, I don’t know, applying a voice to people that don’t have a voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’ve had a few different roles over the years, but now you’re going to be the new female lead on a SyFy channel show called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\" target=\"_blank\">Alphas</a></em>.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Yeah!\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> What first interested you in this script from Zak Penn?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well, you know, it was really funny. I thought I was going to be in Nashville doing <em>Tough Trade</em>. And I thought, okay this show is going to go. I mean <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Bone_Burnett\" target=\"_blank\">T-Bone Burnett</a> was executive producing it and we had a stellar cast. It was from <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenji_Kohan\" target=\"_blank\">the creator of <em>Weeds</em></a>. When that didn’t happen, you know, I kind of had to go back into auditioning. I was actually auditioning for a big comedy film that’s going to be released next year, and I was going to be in the mix for that and at 10:00 at night they called and said “you have to audition for <em>Alphas</em> tomorrow morning.” and I was like what’s <em>Alphas</em>? And they were like “you have to do it first thing in the morning.” And I read it, I memorized it, and there was a lot of scientific jargon and a lot of using that part of your brain that can explain things to people in a positive way.\r\n\r\nMy character also had a moment where she went into one of her senses and I thought, okay this is a really different thing for me. This girl is really soft, she’s awkward, she’s self conscious, she’s so smart, but she doesn’t know how to communicate. She lives in a very conservative home. She’s still under her family’s roof and they’re a little embarrassed of her because she has these super abilities. So there were a lot of things I related to right away and it’s also very different than what I’ve gotten to show. So I just went in and they’re like “it’s yours” and then I got on the plane and read the script and it was so interesting and really, really familiar. And I mean the fact that <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/\" target=\"_blank\">David Strathairn</a> was the lead, I was just so excited. I’m such a fan of his. To get to work with him is so exciting. And then Zak Penn is so funny and as far as sci-fi stuff goes he’s kind of awesome. And then there’s Jack Bender, who’s the director of <em>Lost</em> and I just thought, well I can’t really do anything wrong if I’m in there hands,<strong> </strong>you know what I’m saying?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah totally.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> So it was kind of- I show up on day one and my girl you know she has the ability to hyper intensify all of her senses. I kind of had to figure out a way to do that. We decided that she kind of goes into these little trances which feeds into her awkwardness and her self-consciousness. I think that she’s going to kind of come out of her shell and become something special, so we’ll see what happens this season.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now is David like a super intense actor to work with? He seems like kind of an intense guy.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> He is the nicest, classiest man ever. He’s intense when the cameras roll and he’s practicing with the other actor and that’s what you want. He’s available, he’s ready, he is going to connect with you. He is a generous actor. He was telling me these awesome stories about doing Shakespeare in the Park in the 70s and hitchhiking across America and being part of the theatre movement. He just loves actors and he loves what he does. So no, he wasn’t intense at all. He’s quiet and he’s private but when the cameras are rolling he’s 100% available for you. He wants to make sure it’s the best production and the best show. He was really focused on my ideas and seeing that the majority of my stuff is with him I was really blessed to work with him this time and Sam Shepard last year. I mean I had like two cowboys, you know? So he’s just terrific. He was so good.\r\n\r\nI mean <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948272/\">Malik Yoba</a>, was probably a little intense but … (laughs). His character is a little intense so the stuff with him would be like - he’s kind of like an intense character. But when the cameras would stop rolling you’d all start laughing because he’s so good at it. He’d almost have me in tears. I’d be like flushed red because I’d be so frustrated with him and then he’ll stop and be like just splitting up laughing and I’m like, I hate you so much. But nobody was too intense. Everybody was amazing. Warren Christie I worked with before so, you know, it was easy to work with him. He’s hunky and easy to look at so it’s fine.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) I’m sure he felt the same way about you.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How would you describe Jack Bender’s style as a director?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Jack is one of the grooviest – and that’s the best word to describe him – men I’ve ever met. He’s something out of a different era. He is a filmmaker. He sees everything. He knows exactly what to do, how to finesse it. He knows how to talk to actors. He was an actor I think in the very beginning of his career. He’s … I don’t know. For me personally if I can work with him for the rest of my life I would take that job. He gets it. I got him. I trust him. He’s just … he’s one of the raddest people and probably one of the most amazing directors I’ve worked with. I really loved working with Gavin Hood too but I just think that for me Jack Bender is the bee’s knees as far as what I want in a director. He was awesome.\r\n\r\nAnd I get why the <em>Lost</em> fans love him so much, that’s what makes the show intense and exciting. All of those elements will be played in that because Jack’s got that background. Jack’s got this like kind of quirky, interesting take on the show.\r\n\r\nI mean it’s kind of like <em>X-Men</em> meets <em>The X-Files</em>. We’re all ordinary human beings. It’s not like we live in this alternate universe. We live in New York City. It’s present day New York City and we’re kind of walking around with these powers that we can’t really do in front of people. It’s a really kind of interesting concept. It’s not this big glossy show, it’s more human.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You also appeared on <em>Entourage</em>. You were Johnny Drama’s date at the Gatsby premiere.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh yeah.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Was that set really fun? Are those guys like really homies on the set? It seems like it would be a pretty fun working environment.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh my goodness they are all so close. They are all so much fun. Kevin Connelly and Jerry Ferrara are two of my close friends so I went in there with friends on the set. We worked really long hours doing the premiere and they are the funnest group of guys. They make each other laugh.\r\n\r\nKevin Dillon does this like crazy insane laugh before we have to go to a laughing scene which makes everybody start cracking up. He is just so - he was so wonderful to work with because he’s so committed to the character. Jerry and Kevin are so fun and Adrian and Jeremy Piven were great. It was one of the funnest working experiences of my career because nobody had any attitudes. Everybody had fun. Everybody was excited to come to work. The director had been doing it for so long but they knew how to get their shots and stuff.\r\n\r\nIt really is a boys’ playground. Like it is just like a boy’s wet dream, it really is. It’s like you get to come to work and hang out with your best friends and you get to shoot some really cool television and there’s always pretty girls around and you’re in these awesome homes and these really cool cars. Nobody is being a dick. Everybody loves each other and it’s a wonderful environment.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who was the funniest person on the set of <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh I mean, wow. You know I only worked with Neil Patrick Harris and I mean he’s so funny I could have died. But you know I interacted with- it was their last day of shooting so everybody was there. Jason Segel is probably the funniest one to me. He was just- he’s so funny. But my scenes were with Neil and Neil was just … I mean that guy is just ballsy and he’s risky and he goes for it. He’s really fun. But I definitely think that Jason … I don’t know, they’re all funny. I mean even Cobie – who’s now in <em>The Avengers</em> – they’re all so funny and that’s why that show works so well. I don’t know. They’re all funny in their own way. And Alyson Hannigan, I mean come on, that’s like an embarrassment over the riches. They’re all funny. (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) So I read somewhere that you exercise like something ridiculous – like five to six days a week. How do you keep up this acting schedule and still find time to stay so fit?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> You know I try to work out 60 minutes, six days a week. It’s kind of nonnegotiable for me even if I’m working. Maybe if I’m working I’ll drop to four days a week. But you know I just wake up and I run. I’m blood type O, and I’m a Scorpio, and I’ve got a lot of passion and if I don’t get it out somehow I might you know, murder somebody.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs) I don’t know. Exercise gives me endorphins. It’s really fun. You know that hour is my hour to kind of work out scenes too. I can work out scenes in my head. I can work out. I can day dream certain things. I wasn’t allowed to exercise when I was little. I wasn’t allowed to participate in sports or take dance or do anything like that, so as an adult I don’t take it for granted. I really enjoy it, I love seeing what my body is capable of doing and how it’s capable of transforming and I love being in shape.\r\n\r\n<em>Alphas</em> will premiere on Syfy in the summer of 2011.','Azita Ghanizada Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3763-revision-4','','','2011-03-01 12:49:44','2011-03-01 20:49:44','',3763,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3763-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(3771,2,'2011-03-01 12:53:48','2011-03-01 20:53:48','','Azita-ghanizada2','','inherit','open','open','','azita-ghanizada2','','','2011-03-01 12:53:48','2011-03-01 20:53:48','',3763,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg',4,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3772,2,'2011-03-01 12:54:05','2011-03-01 20:54:05','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3765 alignnone\" title=\"azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/azita-ghanizada.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\n\nBorn in Kabul, Afghanistan, Azita Ghanizada is a witty, down-to-Earth, extra-attractive actress who’s appeared on TV shows like <em>Entourage</em>, <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>, <em>Castle</em>, <em>Bones</em>, <em>Psych</em> and <em>NCIS: Los Angeles</em>. As a child, Azita fled Afghanistan with her family and sought refugee asylum in the States. She was raised in Northern Virginia and eventually moved out to LA to pursue a career in acting.\n\nAzita is set to start in the new SyFy series <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\">Alphas</a></em>, a show that follows a team of ordinary citizens with extraordinary mental abilities who tackle cases that other government agencies are unable to solve. <em>Alphas</em> was created by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Penn\" target=\"_blank\">Zak Penn</a> (the writer of X-Men and X-Men 2) and will be directed by <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070474/\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Bender</a>, who previously directed <em>Lost</em>. Star Trek vet Ira Steven Behr will serve as the show\'s executive producer/showrunner.\n\nWe got to chat with Azita about her unique upbringing, <em>Alphas</em>, working with Jack Bender, what it\'s like on the set of <em>Entourage </em>and who the funniest cast member is on <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3769\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"441\" /></a>CS:</strong> How did you first get into acting?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> How did I first get into acting? I started acting in commercials actually. I did a bunch of what every day actors do. You come out here and you start taking acting classes and you study and you sign the commercials. I started working commercials and hanging out in<strong> </strong>a dark theatre with a bunch of other acting kids. I did a couple little LA plays and then started doing guest stars on television, and at the same time was kind of up for very big movies and not getting them. Things kind of shifted. There was a writer’s strike and then I kind of focused on TV. Just really did it that way in terms of how I got engaged in it.\n\nWhen I was little, I learned English on television. I’m from Afghanistan. When we came over, we came here as political refugees. I was a baby and my mom was obsessed with American television and I watched TV all the time and I just thought, what a wonderful place to be, in TV. They had such great lives. I wasn’t allowed to be an actor. My parents really were very strict, concerned Afghans<strong> </strong>and they just thought that that was an obscene career for a young adult and for a woman especially. I just kind of defied them and packed my bags and moved to LA. I decided, “all right I’m going to give it a go,” and that’s what I did.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do your parents support you now?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well of course it’s all their idea (laughs). Of course now I’m like the pride and joy. I’m like the shining star of Afghanistan. They’re like “that is my daughter and I’m like, really? You’re full of shit!” So yeah, I think they’re so excited. I don’t think they’ll ever understand what it is that I’m doing. I think they would probably prefer for me to be married and be a doctor and have babies or something. But I think they’re very happy when they get to see me on television.\n\nAnd I’ve done some risky stuff. And these very conservative Afghans are like calling people and saying, “oh please watch Azita on <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575755/\" target=\"_blank\">Castle</a></em>.” And I’m like, “I’m a <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/media/rm347574016/nm1671257\" target=\"_blank\">dominatrix</a>!”\n\n<strong>CS</strong>: (laughs)\n\n<strong>AG</strong>: “Please don’t tell people to watch that!” and my mother’s like “who cares it looks so sexy” and I’m like “oh my god you crazy foreigner!”(laughs) But she’s very supportive now. I kind of was very defiant and independent my whole life and so whether or not they supported me never mattered. It was what I wanted to do and I worked my little butt of to do it. So as long as I did it with integrity and I did it in a way that I valued, it didn’t really matter whether they accepted my profession. I never expected them to and the fact that they’re supportive and watch all those things now is icing on the cake.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you were very young when you and your family fled Afghanistan and came to the US as refugees and were granted asylum. Was there kind of a conflict with having an American upbringing with a more traditional family setting?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Absolutely. For whatever reason my parents had the hindsight to bring us into the States, but at the same time it was everything that they had no power over. They didn’t understand staying after school. They didn’t understand doing plays. They didn’t understand girls and boys working together and on the playground, things like that. It was a real struggle for them and it was a real struggle for us, because I have two sisters. So for three girls that were really kind of … I don’t know. We struggled quite a bit to fit in both the American culture and to try and fit in at home as well. But we were all very strong willed and we fought for what we thought was right both in school and at home. I think that’s a part of why I am able to achieve any amount of success. I think I’m just a fighter and I’m a little brave. And yeah, they struggled. They ended up separating when I was just in middle school. It was really hard for them because they broke all the rules of their tradition by doing so, but it was the best thing they could have done for themselves and for us. There was just a very black cloud over their names for a while because they were discouraged to do something like that. That was unheard of in the Afghan culture. You stayed married. But they didn’t. The majority of the family really kind of shunned them.\n\nNow that things are a little different and it’s been like 10 years or so, more people are separated, more people are divorced, more people know they have more rights. It’s definitely different now, but back then it was hard. I mean trying to be an actor, it was like I might as well have become slut, you know what I mean? It was like the worst thing, it was a terrible, terrible idea for them.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’re also involved in different United Nation refugee causes, the UN Refugee Agency, the High Commissioner for Refugees, have you been back to Afghanistan recently? What does your involvement with these different UN organizations entail?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well you know I have not been back to Afghanistan. My sister went back. I was up for the lead girl in “The Kite Runner” and I thought okay this’ll be shot in Northern Afghanistan so okay, I’m going to back. It’s just me and the other girl and in my head it was mine. When I didn’t get that, I decided to dye my hair blond. I was kind of like a little broken from that and I felt like that was so much my story, which it kind of was. When that didn’t happen I kind of retreated a little bit.\n\nI was offered another film in Afghanistan – an Afghan Dari foreign language film called <em>The Black Tulip</em> – last year. The security element wasn’t quite what I would want to see considering I had fought my whole life to be an actor. The men were extremely intolerant and I wasn’t necessarily about to go back into the country and be like screw you I’m an actor! I was like so maybe this isn’t the best idea. So instead I shot a pilot with Sam Shepard and Lucas Black called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553691/\" target=\"_blank\">Tough Trade</a></em> and it was set in Nashville.\n\nBut the UN Refugee Agency and Women for Women both work so much with the women in Afghanistan who, you know they just legalize rape, they’re setting themselves on fire. The UN Refugee Agency literally takes care of- I mean they were right there on the front lines helping these Afghans and these refugee camps. As a product of the war – that’s what I am – and the majority of my family, they were all refugees.\n\nSo for me it’s such important kind of thing to show both an example of what can happen and what you can become, as a positive story out of almost four decades of war. I’m probably the first girl from Afghanistan to really break in American television. And to be in HCR and Women for Women, it’s important to kind of have a role model. Somebody that can come from circumstances that aren’t the most ideal and with education, fight, hope, and perseverance, you can make it. You can make anything happen.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So based on you and your families’ experiences, is that what led you to study politics and international journalism at Virginia Tech? Did you want to learn more about global affairs and be an active voice in those matters?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well I think I did that because that’s what my family wanted. I thought, okay Peter Jennings was another person that I followed and I thought, okay well I can do that. I can shed light on what’s going on with Afghanistan and I can be a journalist – a broadcast journalist – things like that. I also studied English and thought, well I can write books and I can do all these things.\n\nBut you know I wanted to be an actor my entire life. It was the first thing I dreamt of. I gave my Emmy acceptance speech when I was 11 years old on the dining board at my birthday party. It was just something that was stronger than the desire to do anything else.\n\nI knew that if I had any type of a platform as an actor and if I can break as an actor as an Afghan, then I could shed some light – in a really positive and a different way, not in a neutral way – on what’s going on. And kind of create awareness to teach people how to help in small ways and to inspire. If I can inspire ten women in a country that doesn’t have a lot of inspiration, then I have done a wonderful thing.\n\nSo yeah, I grew up in Washington DC so I grew up around colleges, I grew up around politicians. But in Virginia you have to have an understanding of current events and global affairs and what’s going on. Being an actor and being in the entertainment business is the furthest thing from anybody’s mind. And so coming to LA and experiencing this entertainment business, which is very separate, I still held on to being committed to, I don’t know, applying a voice to people that don’t have a voice.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’ve had a few different roles over the years, but now you’re going to be the new female lead on a SyFy channel show called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\" target=\"_blank\">Alphas</a></em>.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Yeah!\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> What first interested you in this script from Zak Penn?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well, you know, it was really funny. I thought I was going to be in Nashville doing <em>Tough Trade</em>. And I thought, okay this show is going to go. I mean <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Bone_Burnett\" target=\"_blank\">T-Bone Burnett</a> was executive producing it and we had a stellar cast. It was from <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenji_Kohan\" target=\"_blank\">the creator of <em>Weeds</em></a>. When that didn’t happen, you know, I kind of had to go back into auditioning. I was actually auditioning for a big comedy film that’s going to be released next year, and I was going to be in the mix for that and at 10:00 at night they called and said “you have to audition for <em>Alphas</em> tomorrow morning.” and I was like what’s <em>Alphas</em>? And they were like “you have to do it first thing in the morning.” And I read it, I memorized it, and there was a lot of scientific jargon and a lot of using that part of your brain that can explain things to people in a positive way.\n\nMy character also had a moment where she went into one of her senses and I thought, okay this is a really different thing for me. This girl is really soft, she’s awkward, she’s self conscious, she’s so smart, but she doesn’t know how to communicate. She lives in a very conservative home. She’s still under her family’s roof and they’re a little embarrassed of her because she has these super abilities. So there were a lot of things I related to right away and it’s also very different than what I’ve gotten to show. So I just went in and they’re like “it’s yours” and then I got on the plane and read the script and it was so interesting and really, really familiar. And I mean the fact that <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/\" target=\"_blank\">David Strathairn</a> was the lead, I was just so excited. I’m such a fan of his. To get to work with him is so exciting. And then Zak Penn is so funny and as far as sci-fi stuff goes he’s kind of awesome. And then there’s Jack Bender, who’s the director of <em>Lost</em> and I just thought, well I can’t really do anything wrong if I’m in there hands,<strong> </strong>you know what I’m saying?\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah totally.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> So it was kind of- I show up on day one and my girl you know she has the ability to hyper intensify all of her senses. I kind of had to figure out a way to do that. We decided that she kind of goes into these little trances which feeds into her awkwardness and her self-consciousness. I think that she’s going to kind of come out of her shell and become something special, so we’ll see what happens this season.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now is David like a super intense actor to work with? He seems like kind of an intense guy.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> He is the nicest, classiest man ever. He’s intense when the cameras roll and he’s practicing with the other actor and that’s what you want. He’s available, he’s ready, he is going to connect with you. He is a generous actor. He was telling me these awesome stories about doing Shakespeare in the Park in the 70s and hitchhiking across America and being part of the theatre movement. He just loves actors and he loves what he does. So no, he wasn’t intense at all. He’s quiet and he’s private but when the cameras are rolling he’s 100% available for you. He wants to make sure it’s the best production and the best show. He was really focused on my ideas and seeing that the majority of my stuff is with him I was really blessed to work with him this time and Sam Shepard last year. I mean I had like two cowboys, you know? So he’s just terrific. He was so good.\n\nI mean <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948272/\">Malik Yoba</a>, was probably a little intense but … (laughs). His character is a little intense so the stuff with him would be like - he’s kind of like an intense character. But when the cameras would stop rolling you’d all start laughing because he’s so good at it. He’d almost have me in tears. I’d be like flushed red because I’d be so frustrated with him and then he’ll stop and be like just splitting up laughing and I’m like, I hate you so much. But nobody was too intense. Everybody was amazing. Warren Christie I worked with before so, you know, it was easy to work with him. He’s hunky and easy to look at so it’s fine.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) I’m sure he felt the same way about you.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> How would you describe Jack Bender’s style as a director?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Jack is one of the grooviest – and that’s the best word to describe him – men I’ve ever met. He’s something out of a different era. He is a filmmaker. He sees everything. He knows exactly what to do, how to finesse it. He knows how to talk to actors. He was an actor I think in the very beginning of his career. He’s … I don’t know. For me personally if I can work with him for the rest of my life I would take that job. He gets it. I got him. I trust him. He’s just … he’s one of the raddest people and probably one of the most amazing directors I’ve worked with. I really loved working with Gavin Hood too but I just think that for me Jack Bender is the bee’s knees as far as what I want in a director. He was awesome.\n\nAnd I get why the <em>Lost</em> fans love him so much, that’s what makes the show intense and exciting. All of those elements will be played in that because Jack’s got that background. Jack’s got this like kind of quirky, interesting take on the show.\n\nI mean it’s kind of like <em>X-Men</em> meets <em>The X-Files</em>. We’re all ordinary human beings. It’s not like we live in this alternate universe. We live in New York City. It’s present day New York City and we’re kind of walking around with these powers that we can’t really do in front of people. It’s a really kind of interesting concept. It’s not this big glossy show, it’s more human.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3771\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada2\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"373\" height=\"542\" /></a>CS:</strong> You also appeared on <em>Entourage</em>. You were Johnny Drama’s date at the Gatsby premiere.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh yeah.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Was that set really fun? Are those guys like really homies on the set? It seems like it would be a pretty fun working environment.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh my goodness they are all so close. They are all so much fun. Kevin Connelly and Jerry Ferrara are two of my close friends so I went in there with friends on the set. We worked really long hours doing the premiere and they are the funnest group of guys. They make each other laugh.\n\nKevin Dillon does this like crazy insane laugh before we have to go to a laughing scene which makes everybody start cracking up. He is just so - he was so wonderful to work with because he’s so committed to the character. Jerry and Kevin are so fun and Adrian and Jeremy Piven were great. It was one of the funnest working experiences of my career because nobody had any attitudes. Everybody had fun. Everybody was excited to come to work. The director had been doing it for so long but they knew how to get their shots and stuff.\n\nIt really is a boys’ playground. Like it is just like a boy’s wet dream, it really is. It’s like you get to come to work and hang out with your best friends and you get to shoot some really cool television and there’s always pretty girls around and you’re in these awesome homes and these really cool cars. Nobody is being a dick. Everybody loves each other and it’s a wonderful environment.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who was the funniest person on the set of <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh I mean, wow. You know I only worked with Neil Patrick Harris and I mean he’s so funny I could have died. But you know I interacted with- it was their last day of shooting so everybody was there. Jason Segel is probably the funniest one to me. He was just- he’s so funny. But my scenes were with Neil and Neil was just … I mean that guy is just ballsy and he’s risky and he goes for it. He’s really fun. But I definitely think that Jason … I don’t know, they’re all funny. I mean even Cobie – who’s now in <em>The Avengers</em> – they’re all so funny and that’s why that show works so well. I don’t know. They’re all funny in their own way. And Alyson Hannigan, I mean come on, that’s like an embarrassment over the riches. They’re all funny. (laughs)\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) So I read somewhere that you exercise like something ridiculous – like five to six days a week. How do you keep up this acting schedule and still find time to stay so fit?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> You know I try to work out 60 minutes, six days a week. It’s kind of nonnegotiable for me even if I’m working. Maybe if I’m working I’ll drop to four days a week. But you know I just wake up and I run. I’m blood type O, and I’m a Scorpio, and I’ve got a lot of passion and if I don’t get it out somehow I might you know, murder somebody.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs) I don’t know. Exercise gives me endorphins. It’s really fun. You know that hour is my hour to kind of work out scenes too. I can work out scenes in my head. I can work out. I can day dream certain things. I wasn’t allowed to exercise when I was little. I wasn’t allowed to participate in sports or take dance or do anything like that, so as an adult I don’t take it for granted. I really enjoy it, I love seeing what my body is capable of doing and how it’s capable of transforming and I love being in shape.\n\n<em>Alphas</em> will premiere on Syfy in the summer of 2011.','Azita Ghanizada Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3763-revision-5','','','2011-03-01 12:54:05','2011-03-01 20:54:05','',3763,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3763-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(3773,2,'2011-03-01 12:57:11','2011-03-01 20:57:11','','Alphas - Syfy','','inherit','open','open','','alphas-syfy','','','2011-03-01 12:57:11','2011-03-01 20:57:11','',3763,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Alphas-Syfy.jpg',5,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3774,2,'2011-03-01 12:55:36','2011-03-01 20:55:36','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3765 alignnone\" title=\"azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/azita-ghanizada.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\n\nBorn in Kabul, Afghanistan, Azita Ghanizada is a witty, down-to-Earth, extra-attractive actress who’s appeared on TV shows like <em>Entourage</em>, <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>, <em>Castle</em>, <em>Bones</em>, <em>Psych</em> and <em>NCIS: Los Angeles</em>. As a child, Azita fled Afghanistan with her family and sought refugee asylum in the States. She was raised in Northern Virginia and eventually moved out to LA to pursue a career in acting.\n\nAzita is set to start in the new SyFy series <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\">Alphas</a></em>, a show that follows a team of ordinary citizens with extraordinary mental abilities who tackle cases that other government agencies are unable to solve. <em>Alphas</em> was created by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Penn\" target=\"_blank\">Zak Penn</a> (the writer of X-Men and X-Men 2) and will be directed by <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070474/\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Bender</a>, who previously directed <em>Lost</em>. Star Trek vet Ira Steven Behr will serve as the show\'s executive producer/showrunner.\n\nWe got to chat with Azita about her unique upbringing, <em>Alphas</em>, working with Jack Bender, what it\'s like on the set of <em>Entourage </em>and who the funniest cast member is on <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3769\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"441\" /></a>CS:</strong> How did you first get into acting?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> How did I first get into acting? I started acting in commercials actually. I did a bunch of what every day actors do. You come out here and you start taking acting classes and you study and you sign the commercials. I started working commercials and hanging out in<strong> </strong>a dark theatre with a bunch of other acting kids. I did a couple little LA plays and then started doing guest stars on television, and at the same time was kind of up for very big movies and not getting them. Things kind of shifted. There was a writer’s strike and then I kind of focused on TV. Just really did it that way in terms of how I got engaged in it.\n\nWhen I was little, I learned English on television. I’m from Afghanistan. When we came over, we came here as political refugees. I was a baby and my mom was obsessed with American television and I watched TV all the time and I just thought, what a wonderful place to be, in TV. They had such great lives. I wasn’t allowed to be an actor. My parents really were very strict, concerned Afghans<strong> </strong>and they just thought that that was an obscene career for a young adult and for a woman especially. I just kind of defied them and packed my bags and moved to LA. I decided, “all right I’m going to give it a go,” and that’s what I did.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do your parents support you now?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well of course it’s all their idea (laughs). Of course now I’m like the pride and joy. I’m like the shining star of Afghanistan. They’re like “that is my daughter and I’m like, really? You’re full of shit!” So yeah, I think they’re so excited. I don’t think they’ll ever understand what it is that I’m doing. I think they would probably prefer for me to be married and be a doctor and have babies or something. But I think they’re very happy when they get to see me on television.\n\nAnd I’ve done some risky stuff. And these very conservative Afghans are like calling people and saying, “oh please watch Azita on <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575755/\" target=\"_blank\">Castle</a></em>.” And I’m like, “I’m a <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/media/rm347574016/nm1671257\" target=\"_blank\">dominatrix</a>!”\n\n<strong>CS</strong>: (laughs)\n\n<strong>AG</strong>: “Please don’t tell people to watch that!” and my mother’s like “who cares it looks so sexy” and I’m like “oh my god you crazy foreigner!”(laughs) But she’s very supportive now. I kind of was very defiant and independent my whole life and so whether or not they supported me never mattered. It was what I wanted to do and I worked my little butt of to do it. So as long as I did it with integrity and I did it in a way that I valued, it didn’t really matter whether they accepted my profession. I never expected them to and the fact that they’re supportive and watch all those things now is icing on the cake.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you were very young when you and your family fled Afghanistan and came to the US as refugees and were granted asylum. Was there kind of a conflict with having an American upbringing with a more traditional family setting?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Absolutely. For whatever reason my parents had the hindsight to bring us into the States, but at the same time it was everything that they had no power over. They didn’t understand staying after school. They didn’t understand doing plays. They didn’t understand girls and boys working together and on the playground, things like that. It was a real struggle for them and it was a real struggle for us, because I have two sisters. So for three girls that were really kind of … I don’t know. We struggled quite a bit to fit in both the American culture and to try and fit in at home as well. But we were all very strong willed and we fought for what we thought was right both in school and at home. I think that’s a part of why I am able to achieve any amount of success. I think I’m just a fighter and I’m a little brave. And yeah, they struggled. They ended up separating when I was just in middle school. It was really hard for them because they broke all the rules of their tradition by doing so, but it was the best thing they could have done for themselves and for us. There was just a very black cloud over their names for a while because they were discouraged to do something like that. That was unheard of in the Afghan culture. You stayed married. But they didn’t. The majority of the family really kind of shunned them.\n\nNow that things are a little different and it’s been like 10 years or so, more people are separated, more people are divorced, more people know they have more rights. It’s definitely different now, but back then it was hard. I mean trying to be an actor, it was like I might as well have become slut, you know what I mean? It was like the worst thing, it was a terrible, terrible idea for them.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’re also involved in different United Nation refugee causes, the UN Refugee Agency, the High Commissioner for Refugees, have you been back to Afghanistan recently? What does your involvement with these different UN organizations entail?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well you know I have not been back to Afghanistan. My sister went back. I was up for the lead girl in “The Kite Runner” and I thought okay this’ll be shot in Northern Afghanistan so okay, I’m going to back. It’s just me and the other girl and in my head it was mine. When I didn’t get that, I decided to dye my hair blond. I was kind of like a little broken from that and I felt like that was so much my story, which it kind of was. When that didn’t happen I kind of retreated a little bit.\n\nI was offered another film in Afghanistan – an Afghan Dari foreign language film called <em>The Black Tulip</em> – last year. The security element wasn’t quite what I would want to see considering I had fought my whole life to be an actor. The men were extremely intolerant and I wasn’t necessarily about to go back into the country and be like screw you I’m an actor! I was like so maybe this isn’t the best idea. So instead I shot a pilot with Sam Shepard and Lucas Black called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553691/\" target=\"_blank\">Tough Trade</a></em> and it was set in Nashville.\n\nBut the UN Refugee Agency and Women for Women both work so much with the women in Afghanistan who, you know they just legalize rape, they’re setting themselves on fire. The UN Refugee Agency literally takes care of- I mean they were right there on the front lines helping these Afghans and these refugee camps. As a product of the war – that’s what I am – and the majority of my family, they were all refugees.\n\nSo for me it’s such important kind of thing to show both an example of what can happen and what you can become, as a positive story out of almost four decades of war. I’m probably the first girl from Afghanistan to really break in American television. And to be in HCR and Women for Women, it’s important to kind of have a role model. Somebody that can come from circumstances that aren’t the most ideal and with education, fight, hope, and perseverance, you can make it. You can make anything happen.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So based on you and your families’ experiences, is that what led you to study politics and international journalism at Virginia Tech? Did you want to learn more about global affairs and be an active voice in those matters?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well I think I did that because that’s what my family wanted. I thought, okay Peter Jennings was another person that I followed and I thought, okay well I can do that. I can shed light on what’s going on with Afghanistan and I can be a journalist – a broadcast journalist – things like that. I also studied English and thought, well I can write books and I can do all these things.\n\nBut you know I wanted to be an actor my entire life. It was the first thing I dreamt of. I gave my Emmy acceptance speech when I was 11 years old on the dining board at my birthday party. It was just something that was stronger than the desire to do anything else.\n\nI knew that if I had any type of a platform as an actor and if I can break as an actor as an Afghan, then I could shed some light – in a really positive and a different way, not in a neutral way – on what’s going on. And kind of create awareness to teach people how to help in small ways and to inspire. If I can inspire ten women in a country that doesn’t have a lot of inspiration, then I have done a wonderful thing.\n\nSo yeah, I grew up in Washington DC so I grew up around colleges, I grew up around politicians. But in Virginia you have to have an understanding of current events and global affairs and what’s going on. Being an actor and being in the entertainment business is the furthest thing from anybody’s mind. And so coming to LA and experiencing this entertainment business, which is very separate, I still held on to being committed to, I don’t know, applying a voice to people that don’t have a voice.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’ve had a few different roles over the years, but now you’re going to be the new female lead on a SyFy channel show called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\" target=\"_blank\">Alphas</a></em>.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Yeah!\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> What first interested you in this script from Zak Penn?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well, you know, it was really funny. I thought I was going to be in Nashville doing <em>Tough Trade</em>. And I thought, okay this show is going to go. I mean <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Bone_Burnett\" target=\"_blank\">T-Bone Burnett</a> was executive producing it and we had a stellar cast. It was from <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenji_Kohan\" target=\"_blank\">the creator of <em>Weeds</em></a>. When that didn’t happen, you know, I kind of had to go back into auditioning. I was actually auditioning for a big comedy film that’s going to be released next year, and I was going to be in the mix for that and at 10:00 at night they called and said “you have to audition for <em>Alphas</em> tomorrow morning.” and I was like what’s <em>Alphas</em>? And they were like “you have to do it first thing in the morning.” And I read it, I memorized it, and there was a lot of scientific jargon and a lot of using that part of your brain that can explain things to people in a positive way.\n\nMy character also had a moment where she went into one of her senses and I thought, okay this is a really different thing for me. This girl is really soft, she’s awkward, she’s self conscious, she’s so smart, but she doesn’t know how to communicate. She lives in a very conservative home. She’s still under her family’s roof and they’re a little embarrassed of her because she has these super abilities. So there were a lot of things I related to right away and it’s also very different than what I’ve gotten to show. So I just went in and they’re like “it’s yours” and then I got on the plane and read the script and it was so interesting and really, really familiar. And I mean the fact that <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/\" target=\"_blank\">David Strathairn</a> was the lead, I was just so excited. I’m such a fan of his. To get to work with him is so exciting. And then Zak Penn is so funny and as far as sci-fi stuff goes he’s kind of awesome. And then there’s Jack Bender, who’s the director of <em>Lost</em> and I just thought, well I can’t really do anything wrong if I’m in there hands,<strong> </strong>you know what I’m saying?\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah totally.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> So it was kind of- I show up on day one and my girl you know she has the ability to hyper intensify all of her senses. I kind of had to figure out a way to do that. We decided that she kind of goes into these little trances which feeds into her awkwardness and her self-consciousness. I think that she’s going to kind of come out of her shell and become something special, so we’ll see what happens this season.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now is David like a super intense actor to work with? He seems like kind of an intense guy.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> He is the nicest, classiest man ever. He’s intense when the cameras roll and he’s practicing with the other actor and that’s what you want. He’s available, he’s ready, he is going to connect with you. He is a generous actor. He was telling me these awesome stories about doing Shakespeare in the Park in the 70s and hitchhiking across America and being part of the theatre movement. He just loves actors and he loves what he does. So no, he wasn’t intense at all. He’s quiet and he’s private but when the cameras are rolling he’s 100% available for you. He wants to make sure it’s the best production and the best show. He was really focused on my ideas and seeing that the majority of my stuff is with him I was really blessed to work with him this time and Sam Shepard last year. I mean I had like two cowboys, you know? So he’s just terrific. He was so good.\n\nI mean <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948272/\">Malik Yoba</a>, was probably a little intense but … (laughs). His character is a little intense so the stuff with him would be like - he’s kind of like an intense character. But when the cameras would stop rolling you’d all start laughing because he’s so good at it. He’d almost have me in tears. I’d be like flushed red because I’d be so frustrated with him and then he’ll stop and be like just splitting up laughing and I’m like, I hate you so much. But nobody was too intense. Everybody was amazing. Warren Christie I worked with before so, you know, it was easy to work with him. He’s hunky and easy to look at so it’s fine.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) I’m sure he felt the same way about you.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> How would you describe Jack Bender’s style as a director?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Jack is one of the grooviest – and that’s the best word to describe him – men I’ve ever met. He’s something out of a different era. He is a filmmaker. He sees everything. He knows exactly what to do, how to finesse it. He knows how to talk to actors. He was an actor I think in the very beginning of his career. He’s … I don’t know. For me personally if I can work with him for the rest of my life I would take that job. He gets it. I got him. I trust him. He’s just … he’s one of the raddest people and probably one of the most amazing directors I’ve worked with. I really loved working with Gavin Hood too but I just think that for me Jack Bender is the bee’s knees as far as what I want in a director. He was awesome.\n\nAnd I get why the <em>Lost</em> fans love him so much, that’s what makes the show intense and exciting. All of those elements will be played in that because Jack’s got that background. Jack’s got this like kind of quirky, interesting take on the show.\n\nI mean it’s kind of like <em>X-Men</em> meets <em>The X-Files</em>. We’re all ordinary human beings. It’s not like we live in this alternate universe. We live in New York City. It’s present day New York City and we’re kind of walking around with these powers that we can’t really do in front of people. It’s a really kind of interesting concept. It’s not this big glossy show, it’s more human.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3771\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada2\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"432\" /></a>CS:</strong> You also appeared on <em>Entourage</em>. You were Johnny Drama’s date at the Gatsby premiere.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh yeah.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Was that set really fun? Are those guys like really homies on the set? It seems like it would be a pretty fun working environment.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh my goodness they are all so close. They are all so much fun. Kevin Connelly and Jerry Ferrara are two of my close friends so I went in there with friends on the set. We worked really long hours doing the premiere and they are the funnest group of guys. They make each other laugh.\n\nKevin Dillon does this like crazy insane laugh before we have to go to a laughing scene which makes everybody start cracking up. He is just so - he was so wonderful to work with because he’s so committed to the character. Jerry and Kevin are so fun and Adrian and Jeremy Piven were great. It was one of the funnest working experiences of my career because nobody had any attitudes. Everybody had fun. Everybody was excited to come to work. The director had been doing it for so long but they knew how to get their shots and stuff.\n\nIt really is a boys’ playground. Like it is just like a boy’s wet dream, it really is. It’s like you get to come to work and hang out with your best friends and you get to shoot some really cool television and there’s always pretty girls around and you’re in these awesome homes and these really cool cars. Nobody is being a dick. Everybody loves each other and it’s a wonderful environment.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who was the funniest person on the set of <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh I mean, wow. You know I only worked with Neil Patrick Harris and I mean he’s so funny I could have died. But you know I interacted with- it was their last day of shooting so everybody was there. Jason Segel is probably the funniest one to me. He was just- he’s so funny. But my scenes were with Neil and Neil was just … I mean that guy is just ballsy and he’s risky and he goes for it. He’s really fun. But I definitely think that Jason … I don’t know, they’re all funny. I mean even Cobie – who’s now in <em>The Avengers</em> – they’re all so funny and that’s why that show works so well. I don’t know. They’re all funny in their own way. And Alyson Hannigan, I mean come on, that’s like an embarrassment over the riches. They’re all funny. (laughs)\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) So I read somewhere that you exercise like something ridiculous – like five to six days a week. How do you keep up this acting schedule and still find time to stay so fit?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> You know I try to work out 60 minutes, six days a week. It’s kind of nonnegotiable for me even if I’m working. Maybe if I’m working I’ll drop to four days a week. But you know I just wake up and I run. I’m blood type O, and I’m a Scorpio, and I’ve got a lot of passion and if I don’t get it out somehow I might you know, murder somebody.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs) I don’t know. Exercise gives me endorphins. It’s really fun. You know that hour is my hour to kind of work out scenes too. I can work out scenes in my head. I can work out. I can day dream certain things. I wasn’t allowed to exercise when I was little. I wasn’t allowed to participate in sports or take dance or do anything like that, so as an adult I don’t take it for granted. I really enjoy it, I love seeing what my body is capable of doing and how it’s capable of transforming and I love being in shape.\n\n<em>Alphas</em> will premiere on Syfy in the summer of 2011.','Azita Ghanizada Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3763-revision-6','','','2011-03-01 12:55:36','2011-03-01 20:55:36','',3763,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3763-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(3775,2,'2011-03-01 12:57:34','2011-03-01 20:57:34','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3765 alignnone\" title=\"azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/azita-ghanizada.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\r\n\r\nBorn in Kabul, Afghanistan, Azita Ghanizada is a witty, down-to-Earth, extra-attractive actress who’s appeared on TV shows like <em>Entourage</em>, <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>, <em>Castle</em>, <em>Bones</em>, <em>Psych</em> and <em>NCIS: Los Angeles</em>. As a child, Azita fled Afghanistan with her family and sought refugee asylum in the States. She was raised in Northern Virginia and eventually moved out to LA to pursue a career in acting.\r\n\r\nAzita is set to start in the new SyFy series <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\">Alphas</a></em>, a show that follows a team of ordinary citizens with extraordinary mental abilities who tackle cases that other government agencies are unable to solve. <em>Alphas</em> was created by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Penn\" target=\"_blank\">Zak Penn</a> (the writer of X-Men and X-Men 2) and will be directed by <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070474/\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Bender</a>, who previously directed <em>Lost</em>. Star Trek vet Ira Steven Behr will serve as the show\'s executive producer/showrunner.\r\n\r\nWe got to chat with Azita about her unique upbringing, <em>Alphas</em>, working with Jack Bender, what it\'s like on the set of <em>Entourage </em>and who the funniest cast member is on <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3769\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"441\" /></a>CS:</strong> How did you first get into acting?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> How did I first get into acting? I started acting in commercials actually. I did a bunch of what every day actors do. You come out here and you start taking acting classes and you study and you sign the commercials. I started working commercials and hanging out in<strong> </strong>a dark theatre with a bunch of other acting kids. I did a couple little LA plays and then started doing guest stars on television, and at the same time was kind of up for very big movies and not getting them. Things kind of shifted. There was a writer’s strike and then I kind of focused on TV. Just really did it that way in terms of how I got engaged in it.\r\n\r\nWhen I was little, I learned English on television. I’m from Afghanistan. When we came over, we came here as political refugees. I was a baby and my mom was obsessed with American television and I watched TV all the time and I just thought, what a wonderful place to be, in TV. They had such great lives. I wasn’t allowed to be an actor. My parents really were very strict, concerned Afghans<strong> </strong>and they just thought that that was an obscene career for a young adult and for a woman especially. I just kind of defied them and packed my bags and moved to LA. I decided, “all right I’m going to give it a go,” and that’s what I did.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do your parents support you now?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well of course it’s all their idea (laughs). Of course now I’m like the pride and joy. I’m like the shining star of Afghanistan. They’re like “that is my daughter and I’m like, really? You’re full of shit!” So yeah, I think they’re so excited. I don’t think they’ll ever understand what it is that I’m doing. I think they would probably prefer for me to be married and be a doctor and have babies or something. But I think they’re very happy when they get to see me on television.\r\n\r\nAnd I’ve done some risky stuff. And these very conservative Afghans are like calling people and saying, “oh please watch Azita on <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575755/\" target=\"_blank\">Castle</a></em>.” And I’m like, “I’m a <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/media/rm347574016/nm1671257\" target=\"_blank\">dominatrix</a>!”\r\n\r\n<strong>CS</strong>: (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>AG</strong>: “Please don’t tell people to watch that!” and my mother’s like “who cares it looks so sexy” and I’m like “oh my god you crazy foreigner!”(laughs) But she’s very supportive now. I kind of was very defiant and independent my whole life and so whether or not they supported me never mattered. It was what I wanted to do and I worked my little butt of to do it. So as long as I did it with integrity and I did it in a way that I valued, it didn’t really matter whether they accepted my profession. I never expected them to and the fact that they’re supportive and watch all those things now is icing on the cake.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you were very young when you and your family fled Afghanistan and came to the US as refugees and were granted asylum. Was there kind of a conflict with having an American upbringing with a more traditional family setting?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Absolutely. For whatever reason my parents had the hindsight to bring us into the States, but at the same time it was everything that they had no power over. They didn’t understand staying after school. They didn’t understand doing plays. They didn’t understand girls and boys working together and on the playground, things like that. It was a real struggle for them and it was a real struggle for us, because I have two sisters. So for three girls that were really kind of … I don’t know. We struggled quite a bit to fit in both the American culture and to try and fit in at home as well. But we were all very strong willed and we fought for what we thought was right both in school and at home. I think that’s a part of why I am able to achieve any amount of success. I think I’m just a fighter and I’m a little brave. And yeah, they struggled. They ended up separating when I was just in middle school. It was really hard for them because they broke all the rules of their tradition by doing so, but it was the best thing they could have done for themselves and for us. There was just a very black cloud over their names for a while because they were discouraged to do something like that. That was unheard of in the Afghan culture. You stayed married. But they didn’t. The majority of the family really kind of shunned them.\r\n\r\nNow that things are a little different and it’s been like 10 years or so, more people are separated, more people are divorced, more people know they have more rights. It’s definitely different now, but back then it was hard. I mean trying to be an actor, it was like I might as well have become slut, you know what I mean? It was like the worst thing, it was a terrible, terrible idea for them.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’re also involved in different United Nation refugee causes, the UN Refugee Agency, the High Commissioner for Refugees, have you been back to Afghanistan recently? What does your involvement with these different UN organizations entail?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well you know I have not been back to Afghanistan. My sister went back. I was up for the lead girl in “The Kite Runner” and I thought okay this’ll be shot in Northern Afghanistan so okay, I’m going to back. It’s just me and the other girl and in my head it was mine. When I didn’t get that, I decided to dye my hair blond. I was kind of like a little broken from that and I felt like that was so much my story, which it kind of was. When that didn’t happen I kind of retreated a little bit.\r\n\r\nI was offered another film in Afghanistan – an Afghan Dari foreign language film called <em>The Black Tulip</em> – last year. The security element wasn’t quite what I would want to see considering I had fought my whole life to be an actor. The men were extremely intolerant and I wasn’t necessarily about to go back into the country and be like screw you I’m an actor! I was like so maybe this isn’t the best idea. So instead I shot a pilot with Sam Shepard and Lucas Black called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553691/\" target=\"_blank\">Tough Trade</a></em> and it was set in Nashville.\r\n\r\nBut the UN Refugee Agency and Women for Women both work so much with the women in Afghanistan who, you know they just legalize rape, they’re setting themselves on fire. The UN Refugee Agency literally takes care of- I mean they were right there on the front lines helping these Afghans and these refugee camps. As a product of the war – that’s what I am – and the majority of my family, they were all refugees.\r\n\r\nSo for me it’s such important kind of thing to show both an example of what can happen and what you can become, as a positive story out of almost four decades of war. I’m probably the first girl from Afghanistan to really break in American television. And to be in HCR and Women for Women, it’s important to kind of have a role model. Somebody that can come from circumstances that aren’t the most ideal and with education, fight, hope, and perseverance, you can make it. You can make anything happen.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So based on you and your families’ experiences, is that what led you to study politics and international journalism at Virginia Tech? Did you want to learn more about global affairs and be an active voice in those matters?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well I think I did that because that’s what my family wanted. I thought, okay Peter Jennings was another person that I followed and I thought, okay well I can do that. I can shed light on what’s going on with Afghanistan and I can be a journalist – a broadcast journalist – things like that. I also studied English and thought, well I can write books and I can do all these things.\r\n\r\nBut you know I wanted to be an actor my entire life. It was the first thing I dreamt of. I gave my Emmy acceptance speech when I was 11 years old on the dining board at my birthday party. It was just something that was stronger than the desire to do anything else.\r\n\r\nI knew that if I had any type of a platform as an actor and if I can break as an actor as an Afghan, then I could shed some light – in a really positive and a different way, not in a neutral way – on what’s going on. And kind of create awareness to teach people how to help in small ways and to inspire. If I can inspire ten women in a country that doesn’t have a lot of inspiration, then I have done a wonderful thing.\r\n\r\nSo yeah, I grew up in Washington DC so I grew up around colleges, I grew up around politicians. But in Virginia you have to have an understanding of current events and global affairs and what’s going on. Being an actor and being in the entertainment business is the furthest thing from anybody’s mind. And so coming to LA and experiencing this entertainment business, which is very separate, I still held on to being committed to, I don’t know, applying a voice to people that don’t have a voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’ve had a few different roles over the years, but now you’re going to be the new female lead on a SyFy channel show called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\" target=\"_blank\">Alphas</a></em>.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Yeah!\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Alphas-Syfy.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3773\" title=\"Alphas - Syfy\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Alphas-Syfy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" /></a>CS:</strong> What first interested you in this script from Zak Penn?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well, you know, it was really funny. I thought I was going to be in Nashville doing <em>Tough Trade</em>. And I thought, okay this show is going to go. I mean <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Bone_Burnett\" target=\"_blank\">T-Bone Burnett</a> was executive producing it and we had a stellar cast. It was from <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenji_Kohan\" target=\"_blank\">the creator of <em>Weeds</em></a>. When that didn’t happen, you know, I kind of had to go back into auditioning. I was actually auditioning for a big comedy film that’s going to be released next year, and I was going to be in the mix for that and at 10:00 at night they called and said “you have to audition for <em>Alphas</em> tomorrow morning.” and I was like what’s <em>Alphas</em>? And they were like “you have to do it first thing in the morning.” And I read it, I memorized it, and there was a lot of scientific jargon and a lot of using that part of your brain that can explain things to people in a positive way.\r\n\r\nMy character also had a moment where she went into one of her senses and I thought, okay this is a really different thing for me. This girl is really soft, she’s awkward, she’s self conscious, she’s so smart, but she doesn’t know how to communicate. She lives in a very conservative home. She’s still under her family’s roof and they’re a little embarrassed of her because she has these super abilities. So there were a lot of things I related to right away and it’s also very different than what I’ve gotten to show. So I just went in and they’re like “it’s yours” and then I got on the plane and read the script and it was so interesting and really, really familiar. And I mean the fact that <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/\" target=\"_blank\">David Strathairn</a> was the lead, I was just so excited. I’m such a fan of his. To get to work with him is so exciting. And then Zak Penn is so funny and as far as sci-fi stuff goes he’s kind of awesome. And then there’s Jack Bender, who’s the director of <em>Lost</em> and I just thought, well I can’t really do anything wrong if I’m in there hands,<strong> </strong>you know what I’m saying?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah totally.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> So it was kind of- I show up on day one and my girl you know she has the ability to hyper intensify all of her senses. I kind of had to figure out a way to do that. We decided that she kind of goes into these little trances which feeds into her awkwardness and her self-consciousness. I think that she’s going to kind of come out of her shell and become something special, so we’ll see what happens this season.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now is David like a super intense actor to work with? He seems like kind of an intense guy.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> He is the nicest, classiest man ever. He’s intense when the cameras roll and he’s practicing with the other actor and that’s what you want. He’s available, he’s ready, he is going to connect with you. He is a generous actor. He was telling me these awesome stories about doing Shakespeare in the Park in the 70s and hitchhiking across America and being part of the theatre movement. He just loves actors and he loves what he does. So no, he wasn’t intense at all. He’s quiet and he’s private but when the cameras are rolling he’s 100% available for you. He wants to make sure it’s the best production and the best show. He was really focused on my ideas and seeing that the majority of my stuff is with him I was really blessed to work with him this time and Sam Shepard last year. I mean I had like two cowboys, you know? So he’s just terrific. He was so good.\r\n\r\nI mean <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948272/\">Malik Yoba</a>, was probably a little intense but … (laughs). His character is a little intense so the stuff with him would be like - he’s kind of like an intense character. But when the cameras would stop rolling you’d all start laughing because he’s so good at it. He’d almost have me in tears. I’d be like flushed red because I’d be so frustrated with him and then he’ll stop and be like just splitting up laughing and I’m like, I hate you so much. But nobody was too intense. Everybody was amazing. Warren Christie I worked with before so, you know, it was easy to work with him. He’s hunky and easy to look at so it’s fine.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) I’m sure he felt the same way about you.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How would you describe Jack Bender’s style as a director?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Jack is one of the grooviest – and that’s the best word to describe him – men I’ve ever met. He’s something out of a different era. He is a filmmaker. He sees everything. He knows exactly what to do, how to finesse it. He knows how to talk to actors. He was an actor I think in the very beginning of his career. He’s … I don’t know. For me personally if I can work with him for the rest of my life I would take that job. He gets it. I got him. I trust him. He’s just … he’s one of the raddest people and probably one of the most amazing directors I’ve worked with. I really loved working with Gavin Hood too but I just think that for me Jack Bender is the bee’s knees as far as what I want in a director. He was awesome.\r\n\r\nAnd I get why the <em>Lost</em> fans love him so much, that’s what makes the show intense and exciting. All of those elements will be played in that because Jack’s got that background. Jack’s got this like kind of quirky, interesting take on the show.\r\n\r\nI mean it’s kind of like <em>X-Men</em> meets <em>The X-Files</em>. We’re all ordinary human beings. It’s not like we live in this alternate universe. We live in New York City. It’s present day New York City and we’re kind of walking around with these powers that we can’t really do in front of people. It’s a really kind of interesting concept. It’s not this big glossy show, it’s more human.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3771\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada2\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"432\" /></a>CS:</strong> You also appeared on <em>Entourage</em>. You were Johnny Drama’s date at the Gatsby premiere.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh yeah.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Was that set really fun? Are those guys like really homies on the set? It seems like it would be a pretty fun working environment.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh my goodness they are all so close. They are all so much fun. Kevin Connelly and Jerry Ferrara are two of my close friends so I went in there with friends on the set. We worked really long hours doing the premiere and they are the funnest group of guys. They make each other laugh.\r\n\r\nKevin Dillon does this like crazy insane laugh before we have to go to a laughing scene which makes everybody start cracking up. He is just so - he was so wonderful to work with because he’s so committed to the character. Jerry and Kevin are so fun and Adrian and Jeremy Piven were great. It was one of the funnest working experiences of my career because nobody had any attitudes. Everybody had fun. Everybody was excited to come to work. The director had been doing it for so long but they knew how to get their shots and stuff.\r\n\r\nIt really is a boys’ playground. Like it is just like a boy’s wet dream, it really is. It’s like you get to come to work and hang out with your best friends and you get to shoot some really cool television and there’s always pretty girls around and you’re in these awesome homes and these really cool cars. Nobody is being a dick. Everybody loves each other and it’s a wonderful environment.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who was the funniest person on the set of <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh I mean, wow. You know I only worked with Neil Patrick Harris and I mean he’s so funny I could have died. But you know I interacted with- it was their last day of shooting so everybody was there. Jason Segel is probably the funniest one to me. He was just- he’s so funny. But my scenes were with Neil and Neil was just … I mean that guy is just ballsy and he’s risky and he goes for it. He’s really fun. But I definitely think that Jason … I don’t know, they’re all funny. I mean even Cobie – who’s now in <em>The Avengers</em> – they’re all so funny and that’s why that show works so well. I don’t know. They’re all funny in their own way. And Alyson Hannigan, I mean come on, that’s like an embarrassment over the riches. They’re all funny. (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) So I read somewhere that you exercise like something ridiculous – like five to six days a week. How do you keep up this acting schedule and still find time to stay so fit?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> You know I try to work out 60 minutes, six days a week. It’s kind of nonnegotiable for me even if I’m working. Maybe if I’m working I’ll drop to four days a week. But you know I just wake up and I run. I’m blood type O, and I’m a Scorpio, and I’ve got a lot of passion and if I don’t get it out somehow I might you know, murder somebody.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs) I don’t know. Exercise gives me endorphins. It’s really fun. You know that hour is my hour to kind of work out scenes too. I can work out scenes in my head. I can work out. I can day dream certain things. I wasn’t allowed to exercise when I was little. I wasn’t allowed to participate in sports or take dance or do anything like that, so as an adult I don’t take it for granted. I really enjoy it, I love seeing what my body is capable of doing and how it’s capable of transforming and I love being in shape.\r\n\r\n<em>Alphas</em> will premiere on Syfy in the summer of 2011.','Azita Ghanizada Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3763-revision-7','','','2011-03-01 12:57:34','2011-03-01 20:57:34','',3763,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3763-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(3776,2,'2011-03-01 12:58:27','2011-03-01 20:58:27','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3765 alignnone\" title=\"azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/azita-ghanizada.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\r\n\r\nBorn in Kabul, Afghanistan, Azita Ghanizada is a witty, down-to-Earth, extra-attractive actress who’s appeared on TV shows like <em>Entourage</em>, <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>, <em>Castle</em>, <em>Bones</em>, <em>Psych</em> and <em>NCIS: Los Angeles</em>. As a child, Azita fled Afghanistan with her family and sought refugee asylum in the States. She was raised in Northern Virginia and eventually moved out to LA to pursue a career in acting.\r\n\r\nAzita is set to start in the new SyFy series <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\">Alphas</a></em>, a show that follows a team of ordinary citizens with extraordinary mental abilities who tackle cases that other government agencies are unable to solve. <em>Alphas</em> was created by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Penn\" target=\"_blank\">Zak Penn</a> (the writer of X-Men and X-Men 2) and will be directed by <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070474/\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Bender</a>, who previously directed <em>Lost</em>. Star Trek vet Ira Steven Behr will serve as the show\'s executive producer/showrunner.\r\n\r\nWe got to chat with Azita about her unique upbringing, <em>Alphas</em>, working with Jack Bender, what it\'s like on the set of <em>Entourage </em>and who the funniest cast member is on <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3769\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"441\" /></a>CS:</strong> How did you first get into acting?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> How did I first get into acting? I started acting in commercials actually. I did a bunch of what every day actors do. You come out here and you start taking acting classes and you study and you sign the commercials. I started working commercials and hanging out in<strong> </strong>a dark theatre with a bunch of other acting kids. I did a couple little LA plays and then started doing guest stars on television, and at the same time was kind of up for very big movies and not getting them. Things kind of shifted. There was a writer’s strike and then I kind of focused on TV. Just really did it that way in terms of how I got engaged in it.\r\n\r\nWhen I was little, I learned English on television. I’m from Afghanistan. When we came over, we came here as political refugees. I was a baby and my mom was obsessed with American television and I watched TV all the time and I just thought, what a wonderful place to be, in TV. They had such great lives. I wasn’t allowed to be an actor. My parents really were very strict, concerned Afghans<strong> </strong>and they just thought that that was an obscene career for a young adult and for a woman especially. I just kind of defied them and packed my bags and moved to LA. I decided, “all right I’m going to give it a go,” and that’s what I did.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do your parents support you now?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well of course it’s all their idea (laughs). Of course now I’m like the pride and joy. I’m like the shining star of Afghanistan. They’re like “that is my daughter and I’m like, really? You’re full of shit!” So yeah, I think they’re so excited. I don’t think they’ll ever understand what it is that I’m doing. I think they would probably prefer for me to be married and be a doctor and have babies or something. But I think they’re very happy when they get to see me on television.\r\n\r\nAnd I’ve done some risky stuff. And these very conservative Afghans are like calling people and saying, “oh please watch Azita on <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575755/\" target=\"_blank\">Castle</a></em>.” And I’m like, “I’m a <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/media/rm347574016/nm1671257\" target=\"_blank\">dominatrix</a>!”\r\n\r\n<strong>CS</strong>: (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>AG</strong>: “Please don’t tell people to watch that!” and my mother’s like “who cares it looks so sexy” and I’m like “oh my god you crazy foreigner!”(laughs) But she’s very supportive now. I kind of was very defiant and independent my whole life and so whether or not they supported me never mattered. It was what I wanted to do and I worked my little butt of to do it. So as long as I did it with integrity and I did it in a way that I valued, it didn’t really matter whether they accepted my profession. I never expected them to and the fact that they’re supportive and watch all those things now is icing on the cake.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you were very young when you and your family fled Afghanistan and came to the US as refugees and were granted asylum. Was there kind of a conflict with having an American upbringing with a more traditional family setting?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Absolutely. For whatever reason my parents had the hindsight to bring us into the States, but at the same time it was everything that they had no power over. They didn’t understand staying after school. They didn’t understand doing plays. They didn’t understand girls and boys working together and on the playground, things like that. It was a real struggle for them and it was a real struggle for us, because I have two sisters. So for three girls that were really kind of … I don’t know. We struggled quite a bit to fit in both the American culture and to try and fit in at home as well. But we were all very strong willed and we fought for what we thought was right both in school and at home. I think that’s a part of why I am able to achieve any amount of success. I think I’m just a fighter and I’m a little brave. And yeah, they struggled. They ended up separating when I was just in middle school. It was really hard for them because they broke all the rules of their tradition by doing so, but it was the best thing they could have done for themselves and for us. There was just a very black cloud over their names for a while because they were discouraged to do something like that. That was unheard of in the Afghan culture. You stayed married. But they didn’t. The majority of the family really kind of shunned them.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nNow that things are a little different and it’s been like 10 years or so, more people are separated, more people are divorced, more people know they have more rights. It’s definitely different now, but back then it was hard. I mean trying to be an actor, it was like I might as well have become slut, you know what I mean? It was like the worst thing, it was a terrible, terrible idea for them.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’re also involved in different United Nation refugee causes, the UN Refugee Agency, the High Commissioner for Refugees, have you been back to Afghanistan recently? What does your involvement with these different UN organizations entail?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well you know I have not been back to Afghanistan. My sister went back. I was up for the lead girl in “The Kite Runner” and I thought okay this’ll be shot in Northern Afghanistan so okay, I’m going to back. It’s just me and the other girl and in my head it was mine. When I didn’t get that, I decided to dye my hair blond. I was kind of like a little broken from that and I felt like that was so much my story, which it kind of was. When that didn’t happen I kind of retreated a little bit.\r\n\r\nI was offered another film in Afghanistan – an Afghan Dari foreign language film called <em>The Black Tulip</em> – last year. The security element wasn’t quite what I would want to see considering I had fought my whole life to be an actor. The men were extremely intolerant and I wasn’t necessarily about to go back into the country and be like screw you I’m an actor! I was like so maybe this isn’t the best idea. So instead I shot a pilot with Sam Shepard and Lucas Black called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553691/\" target=\"_blank\">Tough Trade</a></em> and it was set in Nashville.\r\n\r\nBut the UN Refugee Agency and Women for Women both work so much with the women in Afghanistan who, you know they just legalize rape, they’re setting themselves on fire. The UN Refugee Agency literally takes care of- I mean they were right there on the front lines helping these Afghans and these refugee camps. As a product of the war – that’s what I am – and the majority of my family, they were all refugees.\r\n\r\nSo for me it’s such important kind of thing to show both an example of what can happen and what you can become, as a positive story out of almost four decades of war. I’m probably the first girl from Afghanistan to really break in American television. And to be in HCR and Women for Women, it’s important to kind of have a role model. Somebody that can come from circumstances that aren’t the most ideal and with education, fight, hope, and perseverance, you can make it. You can make anything happen.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So based on you and your families’ experiences, is that what led you to study politics and international journalism at Virginia Tech? Did you want to learn more about global affairs and be an active voice in those matters?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well I think I did that because that’s what my family wanted. I thought, okay Peter Jennings was another person that I followed and I thought, okay well I can do that. I can shed light on what’s going on with Afghanistan and I can be a journalist – a broadcast journalist – things like that. I also studied English and thought, well I can write books and I can do all these things.\r\n\r\nBut you know I wanted to be an actor my entire life. It was the first thing I dreamt of. I gave my Emmy acceptance speech when I was 11 years old on the dining board at my birthday party. It was just something that was stronger than the desire to do anything else.\r\n\r\nI knew that if I had any type of a platform as an actor and if I can break as an actor as an Afghan, then I could shed some light – in a really positive and a different way, not in a neutral way – on what’s going on. And kind of create awareness to teach people how to help in small ways and to inspire. If I can inspire ten women in a country that doesn’t have a lot of inspiration, then I have done a wonderful thing.\r\n\r\nSo yeah, I grew up in Washington DC so I grew up around colleges, I grew up around politicians. But in Virginia you have to have an understanding of current events and global affairs and what’s going on. Being an actor and being in the entertainment business is the furthest thing from anybody’s mind. And so coming to LA and experiencing this entertainment business, which is very separate, I still held on to being committed to, I don’t know, applying a voice to people that don’t have a voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’ve had a few different roles over the years, but now you’re going to be the new female lead on a SyFy channel show called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\" target=\"_blank\">Alphas</a></em>.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Yeah!\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Alphas-Syfy.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3773\" title=\"Alphas - Syfy\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Alphas-Syfy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" /></a>CS:</strong> What first interested you in this script from Zak Penn?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well, you know, it was really funny. I thought I was going to be in Nashville doing <em>Tough Trade</em>. And I thought, okay this show is going to go. I mean <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Bone_Burnett\" target=\"_blank\">T-Bone Burnett</a> was executive producing it and we had a stellar cast. It was from <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenji_Kohan\" target=\"_blank\">the creator of <em>Weeds</em></a>. When that didn’t happen, you know, I kind of had to go back into auditioning. I was actually auditioning for a big comedy film that’s going to be released next year, and I was going to be in the mix for that and at 10:00 at night they called and said “you have to audition for <em>Alphas</em> tomorrow morning.” and I was like what’s <em>Alphas</em>? And they were like “you have to do it first thing in the morning.” And I read it, I memorized it, and there was a lot of scientific jargon and a lot of using that part of your brain that can explain things to people in a positive way.\r\n\r\nMy character also had a moment where she went into one of her senses and I thought, okay this is a really different thing for me. This girl is really soft, she’s awkward, she’s self conscious, she’s so smart, but she doesn’t know how to communicate. She lives in a very conservative home. She’s still under her family’s roof and they’re a little embarrassed of her because she has these super abilities. So there were a lot of things I related to right away and it’s also very different than what I’ve gotten to show. So I just went in and they’re like “it’s yours” and then I got on the plane and read the script and it was so interesting and really, really familiar. And I mean the fact that <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/\" target=\"_blank\">David Strathairn</a> was the lead, I was just so excited. I’m such a fan of his. To get to work with him is so exciting. And then Zak Penn is so funny and as far as sci-fi stuff goes he’s kind of awesome. And then there’s Jack Bender, who’s the director of <em>Lost</em> and I just thought, well I can’t really do anything wrong if I’m in there hands,<strong> </strong>you know what I’m saying?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah totally.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> So it was kind of- I show up on day one and my girl you know she has the ability to hyper intensify all of her senses. I kind of had to figure out a way to do that. We decided that she kind of goes into these little trances which feeds into her awkwardness and her self-consciousness. I think that she’s going to kind of come out of her shell and become something special, so we’ll see what happens this season.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now is David like a super intense actor to work with? He seems like kind of an intense guy.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> He is the nicest, classiest man ever. He’s intense when the cameras roll and he’s practicing with the other actor and that’s what you want. He’s available, he’s ready, he is going to connect with you. He is a generous actor. He was telling me these awesome stories about doing Shakespeare in the Park in the 70s and hitchhiking across America and being part of the theatre movement. He just loves actors and he loves what he does. So no, he wasn’t intense at all. He’s quiet and he’s private but when the cameras are rolling he’s 100% available for you. He wants to make sure it’s the best production and the best show. He was really focused on my ideas and seeing that the majority of my stuff is with him I was really blessed to work with him this time and Sam Shepard last year. I mean I had like two cowboys, you know? So he’s just terrific. He was so good.\r\n\r\nI mean <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948272/\">Malik Yoba</a>, was probably a little intense but … (laughs). His character is a little intense so the stuff with him would be like - he’s kind of like an intense character. But when the cameras would stop rolling you’d all start laughing because he’s so good at it. He’d almost have me in tears. I’d be like flushed red because I’d be so frustrated with him and then he’ll stop and be like just splitting up laughing and I’m like, I hate you so much. But nobody was too intense. Everybody was amazing. Warren Christie I worked with before so, you know, it was easy to work with him. He’s hunky and easy to look at so it’s fine.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) I’m sure he felt the same way about you.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How would you describe Jack Bender’s style as a director?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Jack is one of the grooviest – and that’s the best word to describe him – men I’ve ever met. He’s something out of a different era. He is a filmmaker. He sees everything. He knows exactly what to do, how to finesse it. He knows how to talk to actors. He was an actor I think in the very beginning of his career. He’s … I don’t know. For me personally if I can work with him for the rest of my life I would take that job. He gets it. I got him. I trust him. He’s just … he’s one of the raddest people and probably one of the most amazing directors I’ve worked with. I really loved working with Gavin Hood too but I just think that for me Jack Bender is the bee’s knees as far as what I want in a director. He was awesome.\r\n\r\nAnd I get why the <em>Lost</em> fans love him so much, that’s what makes the show intense and exciting. All of those elements will be played in that because Jack’s got that background. Jack’s got this like kind of quirky, interesting take on the show.\r\n\r\nI mean it’s kind of like <em>X-Men</em> meets <em>The X-Files</em>. We’re all ordinary human beings. It’s not like we live in this alternate universe. We live in New York City. It’s present day New York City and we’re kind of walking around with these powers that we can’t really do in front of people. It’s a really kind of interesting concept. It’s not this big glossy show, it’s more human.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3771\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada2\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"432\" /></a>CS:</strong> You also appeared on <em>Entourage</em>. You were Johnny Drama’s date at the Gatsby premiere.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh yeah.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Was that set really fun? Are those guys like really homies on the set? It seems like it would be a pretty fun working environment.\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh my goodness they are all so close. They are all so much fun. Kevin Connelly and Jerry Ferrara are two of my close friends so I went in there with friends on the set. We worked really long hours doing the premiere and they are the funnest group of guys. They make each other laugh.\r\n\r\nKevin Dillon does this like crazy insane laugh before we have to go to a laughing scene which makes everybody start cracking up. He is just so - he was so wonderful to work with because he’s so committed to the character. Jerry and Kevin are so fun and Adrian and Jeremy Piven were great. It was one of the funnest working experiences of my career because nobody had any attitudes. Everybody had fun. Everybody was excited to come to work. The director had been doing it for so long but they knew how to get their shots and stuff.\r\n\r\nIt really is a boys’ playground. Like it is just like a boy’s wet dream, it really is. It’s like you get to come to work and hang out with your best friends and you get to shoot some really cool television and there’s always pretty girls around and you’re in these awesome homes and these really cool cars. Nobody is being a dick. Everybody loves each other and it’s a wonderful environment.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who was the funniest person on the set of <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh I mean, wow. You know I only worked with Neil Patrick Harris and I mean he’s so funny I could have died. But you know I interacted with- it was their last day of shooting so everybody was there. Jason Segel is probably the funniest one to me. He was just- he’s so funny. But my scenes were with Neil and Neil was just … I mean that guy is just ballsy and he’s risky and he goes for it. He’s really fun. But I definitely think that Jason … I don’t know, they’re all funny. I mean even Cobie – who’s now in <em>The Avengers</em> – they’re all so funny and that’s why that show works so well. I don’t know. They’re all funny in their own way. And Alyson Hannigan, I mean come on, that’s like an embarrassment over the riches. They’re all funny. (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) So I read somewhere that you exercise like something ridiculous – like five to six days a week. How do you keep up this acting schedule and still find time to stay so fit?\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> You know I try to work out 60 minutes, six days a week. It’s kind of nonnegotiable for me even if I’m working. Maybe if I’m working I’ll drop to four days a week. But you know I just wake up and I run. I’m blood type O, and I’m a Scorpio, and I’ve got a lot of passion and if I don’t get it out somehow I might you know, murder somebody.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs) I don’t know. Exercise gives me endorphins. It’s really fun. You know that hour is my hour to kind of work out scenes too. I can work out scenes in my head. I can work out. I can day dream certain things. I wasn’t allowed to exercise when I was little. I wasn’t allowed to participate in sports or take dance or do anything like that, so as an adult I don’t take it for granted. I really enjoy it, I love seeing what my body is capable of doing and how it’s capable of transforming and I love being in shape.\r\n\r\n<em>Alphas</em> will premiere on Syfy in the summer of 2011.','Azita Ghanizada Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3763-revision-8','','','2011-03-01 12:58:27','2011-03-01 20:58:27','',3763,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3763-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(3777,2,'2011-03-01 13:00:28','2011-03-01 21:00:28','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3765 alignnone\" title=\"azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/azita-ghanizada.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\n\nBorn in Kabul, Afghanistan, Azita Ghanizada is a witty, down-to-Earth, extra-attractive actress who’s appeared on TV shows like <em>Entourage</em>, <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>, <em>Castle</em>, <em>Bones</em>, <em>Psych</em> and <em>NCIS: Los Angeles</em>. As a child, Azita fled Afghanistan with her family and sought refugee asylum in the States. She was raised in Northern Virginia and eventually moved out to LA to pursue a career in acting.\n\nAzita is set to start in the new SyFy series <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\">Alphas</a></em>, a show that follows a team of ordinary citizens with extraordinary mental abilities who tackle cases that other government agencies are unable to solve. <em>Alphas</em> was created by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Penn\" target=\"_blank\">Zak Penn</a> (the writer of X-Men and X-Men 2) and will be directed by <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070474/\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Bender</a>, who previously directed <em>Lost</em>. Star Trek vet Ira Steven Behr will serve as the show\'s executive producer/showrunner.\n\nWe got to chat with Azita about her unique upbringing, <em>Alphas</em>, working with Jack Bender, what it\'s like on the set of <em>Entourage </em>and who the funniest cast member is on <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3769\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"441\" /></a>CS:</strong> How did you first get into acting?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> How did I first get into acting? I started acting in commercials actually. I did a bunch of what every day actors do. You come out here and you start taking acting classes and you study and you sign the commercials. I started working commercials and hanging out in<strong> </strong>a dark theatre with a bunch of other acting kids. I did a couple little LA plays and then started doing guest stars on television, and at the same time was kind of up for very big movies and not getting them. Things kind of shifted. There was a writer’s strike and then I kind of focused on TV. Just really did it that way in terms of how I got engaged in it.\n\nWhen I was little, I learned English on television. I’m from Afghanistan. When we came over, we came here as political refugees. I was a baby and my mom was obsessed with American television and I watched TV all the time and I just thought, what a wonderful place to be, in TV. They had such great lives. I wasn’t allowed to be an actor. My parents really were very strict, concerned Afghans<strong> </strong>and they just thought that that was an obscene career for a young adult and for a woman especially. I just kind of defied them and packed my bags and moved to LA. I decided, “all right I’m going to give it a go,” and that’s what I did.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do your parents support you now?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well of course it’s all their idea (laughs). Of course now I’m like the pride and joy. I’m like the shining star of Afghanistan. They’re like “that is my daughter and I’m like, really? You’re full of shit!” So yeah, I think they’re so excited. I don’t think they’ll ever understand what it is that I’m doing. I think they would probably prefer for me to be married and be a doctor and have babies or something. But I think they’re very happy when they get to see me on television.\n\nAnd I’ve done some risky stuff. And these very conservative Afghans are like calling people and saying, “oh please watch Azita on <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575755/\" target=\"_blank\">Castle</a></em>.” And I’m like, “I’m a <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/media/rm347574016/nm1671257\" target=\"_blank\">dominatrix</a>!”\n\n<strong>CS</strong>: (laughs)\n\n<strong>AG</strong>: “Please don’t tell people to watch that!” and my mother’s like “who cares it looks so sexy” and I’m like “oh my god you crazy foreigner!”(laughs) But she’s very supportive now. I kind of was very defiant and independent my whole life and so whether or not they supported me never mattered. It was what I wanted to do and I worked my little butt of to do it. So as long as I did it with integrity and I did it in a way that I valued, it didn’t really matter whether they accepted my profession. I never expected them to and the fact that they’re supportive and watch all those things now is icing on the cake.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you were very young when you and your family fled Afghanistan and came to the US as refugees and were granted asylum. Was there kind of a conflict with having an American upbringing with a more traditional family setting?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Absolutely. For whatever reason my parents had the hindsight to bring us into the States, but at the same time it was everything that they had no power over. They didn’t understand staying after school. They didn’t understand doing plays. They didn’t understand girls and boys working together and on the playground, things like that. It was a real struggle for them and it was a real struggle for us, because I have two sisters. So for three girls that were really kind of … I don’t know. We struggled quite a bit to fit in both the American culture and to try and fit in at home as well. But we were all very strong willed and we fought for what we thought was right both in school and at home. I think that’s a part of why I am able to achieve any amount of success. I think I’m just a fighter and I’m a little brave. And yeah, they struggled. They ended up separating when I was just in middle school. It was really hard for them because they broke all the rules of their tradition by doing so, but it was the best thing they could have done for themselves and for us. There was just a very black cloud over their names for a while because they were discouraged to do something like that. That was unheard of in the Afghan culture. You stayed married. But they didn’t. The majority of the family really kind of shunned them.\n\n<!--more-->\n\nNow that things are a little different and it’s been like 10 years or so, more people are separated, more people are divorced, more people know they have more rights. It’s definitely different now, but back then it was hard. I mean trying to be an actor, it was like I might as well have become slut, you know what I mean? It was like the worst thing, it was a terrible, terrible idea for them.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’re also involved in different United Nation refugee causes, the UN Refugee Agency, the High Commissioner for Refugees, have you been back to Afghanistan recently? What does your involvement with these different UN organizations entail?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well you know I have not been back to Afghanistan. My sister went back. I was up for the lead girl in “The Kite Runner” and I thought okay this’ll be shot in Northern Afghanistan so okay, I’m going to back. It’s just me and the other girl and in my head it was mine. When I didn’t get that, I decided to dye my hair blond. I was kind of like a little broken from that and I felt like that was so much my story, which it kind of was. When that didn’t happen I kind of retreated a little bit.\n\nI was offered another film in Afghanistan – an Afghan Dari foreign language film called <em>The Black Tulip</em> – last year. The security element wasn’t quite what I would want to see considering I had fought my whole life to be an actor. The men were extremely intolerant and I wasn’t necessarily about to go back into the country and be like screw you I’m an actor! I was like so maybe this isn’t the best idea. So instead I shot a pilot with Sam Shepard and Lucas Black called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553691/\" target=\"_blank\">Tough Trade</a></em> and it was set in Nashville.\n\nBut the UN Refugee Agency and Women for Women both work so much with the women in Afghanistan who, you know they just legalize rape, they’re setting themselves on fire. The UN Refugee Agency literally takes care of- I mean they were right there on the front lines helping these Afghans and these refugee camps. As a product of the war – that’s what I am – and the majority of my family, they were all refugees.\n\nSo for me it’s such important kind of thing to show both an example of what can happen and what you can become, as a positive story out of almost four decades of war. I’m probably the first girl from Afghanistan to really break in American television. And to be in HCR and Women for Women, it’s important to kind of have a role model. Somebody that can come from circumstances that aren’t the most ideal and with education, fight, hope, and perseverance, you can make it. You can make anything happen.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So based on you and your families’ experiences, is that what led you to study politics and international journalism at Virginia Tech? Did you want to learn more about global affairs and be an active voice in those matters?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well I think I did that because that’s what my family wanted. I thought, okay Peter Jennings was another person that I followed and I thought, okay well I can do that. I can shed light on what’s going on with Afghanistan and I can be a journalist – a broadcast journalist – things like that. I also studied English and thought, well I can write books and I can do all these things.\n\nBut you know I wanted to be an actor my entire life. It was the first thing I dreamt of. I gave my Emmy acceptance speech when I was 11 years old on the dining board at my birthday party. It was just something that was stronger than the desire to do anything else.\n\nI knew that if I had any type of a platform as an actor and if I can break as an actor as an Afghan, then I could shed some light – in a really positive and a different way, not in a neutral way – on what’s going on. And kind of create awareness to teach people how to help in small ways and to inspire. If I can inspire ten women in a country that doesn’t have a lot of inspiration, then I have done a wonderful thing.\n\nSo yeah, I grew up in Washington DC so I grew up around colleges, I grew up around politicians. But in Virginia you have to have an understanding of current events and global affairs and what’s going on. Being an actor and being in the entertainment business is the furthest thing from anybody’s mind. And so coming to LA and experiencing this entertainment business, which is very separate, I still held on to being committed to, I don’t know, applying a voice to people that don’t have a voice.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> You’ve had a few different roles over the years, but now you’re going to be the new female lead on a SyFy channel show called <em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183865/\" target=\"_blank\">Alphas</a></em>.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Yeah!\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Alphas-Syfy.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3773\" title=\"Alphas - Syfy\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Alphas-Syfy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" /></a>CS:</strong> What first interested you in this script from Zak Penn?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Well, you know, it was really funny. I thought I was going to be in Nashville doing <em>Tough Trade</em>. And I thought, okay this show is going to go. I mean <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Bone_Burnett\" target=\"_blank\">T-Bone Burnett</a> was executive producing it and we had a stellar cast. It was from <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenji_Kohan\" target=\"_blank\">the creator of <em>Weeds</em></a>. When that didn’t happen, you know, I kind of had to go back into auditioning. I was actually auditioning for a big comedy film that’s going to be released next year, and I was going to be in the mix for that and at 10:00 at night they called and said “you have to audition for <em>Alphas</em> tomorrow morning.” and I was like what’s <em>Alphas</em>? And they were like “you have to do it first thing in the morning.” And I read it, I memorized it, and there was a lot of scientific jargon and a lot of using that part of your brain that can explain things to people in a positive way.\n\nMy character also had a moment where she went into one of her senses and I thought, okay this is a really different thing for me. This girl is really soft, she’s awkward, she’s self conscious, she’s so smart, but she doesn’t know how to communicate. She lives in a very conservative home. She’s still under her family’s roof and they’re a little embarrassed of her because she has these super abilities. So there were a lot of things I related to right away and it’s also very different than what I’ve gotten to show. So I just went in and they’re like “it’s yours” and then I got on the plane and read the script and it was so interesting and really, really familiar. And I mean the fact that <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/\" target=\"_blank\">David Strathairn</a> was the lead, I was just so excited. I’m such a fan of his. To get to work with him is so exciting. And then Zak Penn is so funny and as far as sci-fi stuff goes he’s kind of awesome. And then there’s Jack Bender, who’s the director of <em>Lost</em> and I just thought, well I can’t really do anything wrong if I’m in there hands,<strong> </strong>you know what I’m saying?\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah totally.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> So it was kind of- I show up on day one and my girl you know she has the ability to hyper intensify all of her senses. I kind of had to figure out a way to do that. We decided that she kind of goes into these little trances which feeds into her awkwardness and her self-consciousness. I think that she’s going to kind of come out of her shell and become something special, so we’ll see what happens this season.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now is David like a super intense actor to work with? He seems like kind of an intense guy.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> He is the nicest, classiest man ever. He’s intense when the cameras roll and he’s practicing with the other actor and that’s what you want. He’s available, he’s ready, he is going to connect with you. He is a generous actor. He was telling me these awesome stories about doing Shakespeare in the Park in the 70s and hitchhiking across America and being part of the theatre movement. He just loves actors and he loves what he does. So no, he wasn’t intense at all. He’s quiet and he’s private but when the cameras are rolling he’s 100% available for you. He wants to make sure it’s the best production and the best show. He was really focused on my ideas and seeing that the majority of my stuff is with him I was really blessed to work with him this time and Sam Shepard last year. I mean I had like two cowboys, you know? So he’s just terrific. He was so good.\n\nI mean <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948272/\">Malik Yoba</a>, was probably a little intense but … (laughs). His character is a little intense so the stuff with him would be like - he’s kind of like an intense character. But when the cameras would stop rolling you’d all start laughing because he’s so good at it. He’d almost have me in tears. I’d be like flushed red because I’d be so frustrated with him and then he’ll stop and be like just splitting up laughing and I’m like, I hate you so much. But nobody was too intense. Everybody was amazing. Warren Christie I worked with before so, you know, it was easy to work with him. He’s hunky and easy to look at so it’s fine.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) I’m sure he felt the same way about you.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> How would you describe Jack Bender’s style as a director?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Jack is one of the grooviest – and that’s the best word to describe him – men I’ve ever met. He’s something out of a different era. He is a filmmaker. He sees everything. He knows exactly what to do, how to finesse it. He knows how to talk to actors. He was an actor I think in the very beginning of his career. He’s … I don’t know. For me personally if I can work with him for the rest of my life I would take that job. He gets it. I got him. I trust him. He’s just … he’s one of the raddest people and probably one of the most amazing directors I’ve worked with. I really loved working with Gavin Hood too but I just think that for me Jack Bender is the bee’s knees as far as what I want in a director. He was awesome.\n\nAnd I get why the <em>Lost</em> fans love him so much, that’s what makes the show intense and exciting. All of those elements will be played in that because Jack’s got that background. Jack’s got this like kind of quirky, interesting take on the show.\n\nI mean it’s kind of like <em>X-Men</em> meets <em>The X-Files</em>. We’re all ordinary human beings. It’s not like we live in this alternate universe. We live in New York City. It’s present day New York City and we’re kind of walking around with these powers that we can’t really do in front of people. It’s a really kind of interesting concept. It’s not this big glossy show, it’s more human.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3771\" title=\"Azita-ghanizada2\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Azita-ghanizada2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"432\" /></a>CS:</strong> You also appeared on <em>Entourage</em>. You were Johnny Drama’s date at the Gatsby premiere.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh yeah.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Was that set really fun? Are those guys like really homies on the set? It seems like it would be a pretty fun working environment.\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh my goodness they are all so close. They are all so much fun. Kevin Connelly and Jerry Ferrara are two of my close friends so I went in there with friends on the set. We worked really long hours doing the premiere and they are the funnest group of guys. They make each other laugh.\n\nKevin Dillon does this like crazy insane laugh before we have to go to a laughing scene which makes everybody start cracking up. He is just so - he was so wonderful to work with because he’s so committed to the character. Jerry and Kevin are so fun and Adrian and Jeremy Piven were great. It was one of the funnest working experiences of my career because nobody had any attitudes. Everybody had fun. Everybody was excited to come to work. The director had been doing it for so long but they knew how to get their shots and stuff.\n\nIt really is a boys’ playground. Like it is just like a boy’s wet dream, it really is. It’s like you get to come to work and hang out with your best friends and you get to shoot some really cool television and there’s always pretty girls around and you’re in these awesome homes and these really cool cars. Nobody is being a dick. Everybody loves each other and it’s a wonderful environment.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who was the funniest person on the set of <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> Oh I mean, wow. You know I only worked with Neil Patrick Harris and I mean he’s so funny I could have died. But you know I interacted with- it was their last day of shooting so everybody was there. Jason Segel is probably the funniest one to me. He was just- he’s so funny. But my scenes were with Neil and Neil was just … I mean that guy is just ballsy and he’s risky and he goes for it. He’s really fun. But I definitely think that Jason … I don’t know, they’re all funny. I mean even Cobie – who’s now in <em>The Avengers</em> – they’re all so funny and that’s why that show works so well. I don’t know. They’re all funny in their own way. And Alyson Hannigan, I mean come on, that’s like an embarrassment over the riches. They’re all funny. (laughs)\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) So I read somewhere that you exercise like something ridiculous – like five to six days a week. How do you keep up this acting schedule and still find time to stay so fit?\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> You know I try to work out 60 minutes, six days a week. It’s kind of nonnegotiable for me even if I’m working. Maybe if I’m working I’ll drop to four days a week. But you know I just wake up and I run. I’m blood type O, and I’m a Scorpio, and I’ve got a lot of passion and if I don’t get it out somehow I might you know, murder somebody.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>AG:</strong> (laughs) I don’t know. Exercise gives me endorphins. It’s really fun. You know that hour is my hour to kind of work out scenes too. I can work out scenes in my head. I can work out. I can day dream certain things. I wasn’t allowed to exercise when I was little. I wasn’t allowed to participate in sports or take dance or do anything like that, so as an adult I don’t take it for granted. I really enjoy it, I love seeing what my body is capable of doing and how it’s capable of transforming and I love being in shape.\n\n<em>Alphas</em> will premiere on Syfy in the summer of 2011.','Azita Ghanizada Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3763-autosave','','','2011-03-01 13:00:28','2011-03-01 21:00:28','',3763,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3763-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3778,2,'2011-03-02 09:50:06','2011-03-02 17:50:06','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. That’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. We go down to the beach with a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out, have a good time and make sure everyone’s having fun too. You have to enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever, so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Captain-Morgan-Thumb.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3790\" title=\"Captain Morgan Thumb\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Captain-Morgan-Thumb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"200\" /></a>And being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on who she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she\'s into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want!”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','Last Chance to Vote for the Round of 32 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','publish','open','open','','last-chance-to-vote-for-the-round-of-32-in-the-2011-captain-morgan-bracketmaster-challenge','','\nhttp://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/','2011-03-02 09:52:11','2011-03-02 17:52:11','',0,'http://manjr.com/?p=3778',0,'post','',1),(3779,2,'2011-03-02 09:29:41','2011-03-02 17:29:41','','Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','erica-moore-2011-bracketmaster-challenge','','','2011-03-02 09:29:41','2011-03-02 17:29:41','',3778,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg',2,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3780,2,'2011-03-02 09:30:13','2011-03-02 17:30:13','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to bracketmaster.spike.com and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\n\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\n\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\n\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\n\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\n\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. You know, that’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. So we go down to the beach a get a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. You know, I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out and have a good time and make sure everyone’s havin’ fun, you know? You gotta enjoy your life!”\n\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\n\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\n\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\n\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\n\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on would she’ll be supporting.\n\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\n\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\n\nIn addition to visiting the bracketmaster.spike.com site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\n\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want, that’s unlimited.”\n\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','V','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision','','','2011-03-02 09:30:13','2011-03-02 17:30:13','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3781,2,'2011-03-02 09:31:00','2011-03-02 17:31:00','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to bracketmaster.spike.com and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. You know, that’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. So we go down to the beach a get a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. You know, I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out and have a good time and make sure everyone’s havin’ fun, you know? You gotta enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on would she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the bracketmaster.spike.com site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want, that’s unlimited.”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','MANjr. Morganette Erica Moore Is Ready to Advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-2','','','2011-03-02 09:31:00','2011-03-02 17:31:00','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(3782,2,'2011-03-02 09:31:39','2011-03-02 17:31:39','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to bracketmaster.spike.com and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. You know, that’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. So we go down to the beach a get a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. You know, I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out and have a good time and make sure everyone’s havin’ fun, you know? You gotta enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on would she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the bracketmaster.spike.com site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want, that’s unlimited.”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','MANjr. Morganette Erica Moore Is Ready to Advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-3','','','2011-03-02 09:31:39','2011-03-02 17:31:39','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(3783,2,'2011-03-02 09:32:26','2011-03-02 17:32:26','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to bracketmaster.spike.com and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. You know, that’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. So we go down to the beach a get a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. You know, I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out and have a good time and make sure everyone’s havin’ fun, you know? You gotta enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on would she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the bracketmaster.spike.com site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want, that’s unlimited.”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','MANjr. Morganette Erica Moore Is Ready to Advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-4','','','2011-03-02 09:32:26','2011-03-02 17:32:26','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(3784,2,'2011-03-02 09:32:33','2011-03-02 17:32:33','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to bracketmaster.spike.com and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. You know, that’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. So we go down to the beach a get a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. You know, I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out and have a good time and make sure everyone’s havin’ fun, you know? You gotta enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on would she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the bracketmaster.spike.com site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want, that’s unlimited.”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','MANjr. Morganette Erica Moore Is Ready to Advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-5','','','2011-03-02 09:32:33','2011-03-02 17:32:33','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(3785,2,'2011-03-02 09:32:36','2011-03-02 17:32:36','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to bracketmaster.spike.com and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. You know, that’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. So we go down to the beach a get a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. You know, I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out and have a good time and make sure everyone’s havin’ fun, you know? You gotta enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on would she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the bracketmaster.spike.com site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want, that’s unlimited.”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','MANjr. Morganette Erica Moore Is Ready to Advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-6','','','2011-03-02 09:32:36','2011-03-02 17:32:36','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(3788,2,'2011-03-02 09:47:16','2011-03-02 17:47:16','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. That’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. We go down to the beach with a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out, have a good time and make sure everyone’s having fun too. You have to enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever, so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on who she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she\'s into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want!”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','MANjr. Morganette Erica Moore Is Ready to Advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-9','','','2011-03-02 09:47:16','2011-03-02 17:47:16','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(3786,2,'2011-03-02 09:36:51','2011-03-02 17:36:51','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. You know, that’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. So we go down to the beach a get a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. You know, I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out and have a good time and make sure everyone’s havin’ fun, you know? You gotta enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on would she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want, that’s unlimited.”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','MANjr. Morganette Erica Moore Is Ready to Advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-7','','','2011-03-02 09:36:51','2011-03-02 17:36:51','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(3787,1,'2011-03-02 09:37:32','2011-03-02 17:37:32','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. You know, that’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. So we go down to the beach a get a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. You know, I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out and have a good time and make sure everyone’s havin’ fun, you know? You gotta enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on would she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want, that’s unlimited.”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','MANjr. Morganette Erica Moore Is Ready to Advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-8','','','2011-03-02 09:37:32','2011-03-02 17:37:32','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(3789,2,'2011-03-02 09:49:32','2011-03-02 17:49:32','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. That’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. We go down to the beach with a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out, have a good time and make sure everyone’s having fun too. You have to enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever, so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on who she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she\'s into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want!”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','Last Chance to Vote for the Round of 32 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-10','','','2011-03-02 09:49:32','2011-03-02 17:49:32','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(3790,2,'2011-03-02 09:51:18','2011-03-02 17:51:18','','Captain Morgan Thumb','','inherit','open','open','','captain-morgan-thumb-2','','','2011-03-02 09:51:18','2011-03-02 17:51:18','',3778,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Captain-Morgan-Thumb.jpg',1,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3791,2,'2011-03-02 09:50:06','2011-03-02 17:50:06','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\r\n\r\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\r\n\r\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\r\n\r\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. That’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. We go down to the beach with a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out, have a good time and make sure everyone’s having fun too. You have to enjoy your life!”\r\n\r\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\r\n\r\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever, so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\r\n\r\nAnd being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\r\n\r\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\r\n\r\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on who she’ll be supporting.\r\n\r\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\r\n\r\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she\'s into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\r\n\r\nIn addition to visiting the <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\r\n\r\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want!”\r\n\r\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','Last Chance to Vote for the Round of 32 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-revision-11','','','2011-03-02 09:50:06','2011-03-02 17:50:06','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(3792,2,'2011-03-04 16:36:43','2011-03-05 00:36:43','Today is the last day to fill out your complete bracket for the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>. If you haven’t yet done so, head over to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and make your selections for the Round of 32 now. You can win all kinds of cash and prizes including a $15,000 grand prize home entertainment system.\n\nWhen you make your picks, be sure to vote for MANjr Morganette Erica Moore from Jacksonville in the South division. We got the opportunity to serve as an honorary Morganette coach for this tourney, and we want to make sure our girl wins it all!\n\nWhat makes Erica Moore so perfectly suited to be the Ultimate Morganette you ask? Well first off, she’s totally gorgeous:\n\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3779 alignnone\" title=\"Erica Moore - 2011 BracketMaster Challenge\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-Moore-2011-BracketMaster-Challenge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" /></a>\n\nAs you can see, The Captain will be in good company when Erica makes her way through the tournament and wins this thing. Undisputed hotness aside, Erica’s the type of girl who just likes to go out and have fun. And she’s totally comfortable hangin’ with the boys.\n\n“I’m definitely a guy’s girl. I like sports. I’m not worried about gettin’ dirty or goin’ out. I go to the beach all the time and ride bikes. That’s really big here. Sunday fun days are big. We go down to the beach with a bunch of people and just enjoy the day. I’m fun. I’m always down for a good time. I’m not Debbie Downer – I gotta go out, have a good time and make sure everyone’s having fun too. You have to enjoy your life!”\n\nSo what kinds of sports does she like?\n\n“I grew up playing pretty much every sport you can imagine. I played it, or at least tried to play it. My favorite sport to play would be volleyball. I played forever, so that one is near and dear to my heart. But as far as watching sports, I love football. That’s my favorite sport to go and watch.”\n\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Captain-Morgan-Thumb.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3790\" title=\"Captain Morgan Thumb\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Captain-Morgan-Thumb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"200\" /></a>And being from Jacksonville, you know she supports the Jags.\n\n“Absolutely, those are my boys. That’s my team and Jones-Drew is my favorite.”\n\nAnd for March Madness, Erica’s got some strong feelings on who she’ll be supporting.\n\n“As far as college basketball goes, the Florida Gators are my team. I grew up a Gator girl, so I keep pretty good tabs on all their sports.”\n\nSo Erica loves sports, she’s a guy’s girl and she\'s into going out, enjoying life and having a good time. Her favorite drink is Captain Diet and she’s ridiculously good looking. Does this not sound like the Ultimate Morganette to you?\n\nIn addition to visiting the <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> site, Morganette voters can also text “ERICAM” to 44686 and as Erica told us, there’s no limit to the number of times you can text a vote for her from your phone.\n\n“You can text as many times as you want. All day long. Till your phone dies, till your fingers fall off. You can just text and text as much as you want!”\n\nWith the Round of 32 coming to a close tomorrow, Erica will need your support in the Sweet 16. You can still win prizes for picking in the Round of 16, so make sure you visit the site, send in a text and support our girl Erica!','Last Chance to Vote for the Round of 32 in the 2011 Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge','','inherit','open','open','','3778-autosave','','','2011-03-04 16:36:43','2011-03-05 00:36:43','',3778,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3778-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3793,9,'2011-03-02 10:37:15','2011-03-02 18:37:15','<em>Take Me Home Tonight</em>, a crazy night out comedy starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler and Teresa Palmer, hits theaters this Friday. Set in 1988, the film follows three friends who attend an end-of-summer party to celebrate the waning moments of their youth. It’s got laughs, raging, romance and of course, a ridiculous dance-off.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/38yfngAcaAM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/38yfngAcaAM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nTo find out more about the film you can visit the <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/takemehometonight\" target=\"_blank\">Official Take Me Home Tonight Facebook Page</a>, or check out the lateast updates on the movie via Twitter (<a href=\"http://twitter.com/#%21/TMHTthemovie\" target=\"_blank\">@TMHTthemove</a>)\r\n\r\nTo celebrate the release of the film, we’re giving away a Take Me Home Tonight Prize Package that includes a Take Me Home Tonight t-shirt, mini poster and toiletry bag:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3794\" title=\"Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"177\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHere\'s how to win:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Follow us on twitter <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a></li>\r\n	<li> Leave a comment and tell us what your favorite 80s song is</li>\r\n	<li> That’s it!</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe winner will be selected at random next Wednesday, March 9.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<em><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3795 alignnone\" title=\"Take Me Home Tonight Mini Poster\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"400\" /></a></em>','Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway','','publish','open','open','','take-me-home-tonight-giveaway','','','2011-03-02 10:38:01','2011-03-02 18:38:01','',0,'http://manjr.com/?p=3793',0,'post','',18),(3794,2,'2011-03-02 10:32:42','2011-03-02 18:32:42','','Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','take-me-home-tonight-giveaway-2','','','2011-03-02 10:32:42','2011-03-02 18:32:42','',3793,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg',2,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3795,2,'2011-03-02 10:33:27','2011-03-02 18:33:27','','Take Me Home Tonight Mini Poster','','inherit','open','open','','take-me-home-tonight-mini-poster','','','2011-03-02 10:33:27','2011-03-02 18:33:27','',3793,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg',1,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3796,2,'2011-03-02 10:37:11','2011-03-02 18:37:11','<em><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3795 alignnone\" title=\"Take Me Home Tonight Mini Poster\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"400\" /></a></em>\n\n<em>Take Me Home Tonight</em>, a crazy night out comedy starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler and Teresa Palmer, hits theaters this Friday. Set in 1988, the film follows three friends who attend an end-of-summer party to celebrate the waning moments of their youth. It’s got laughs, raging, romance and of course, a ridiculous dance-off.\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/38yfngAcaAM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/38yfngAcaAM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\nTo find out more about the film you can visit the <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/takemehometonight\" target=\"_blank\">Official Take Me Home Tonight Facebook Page</a>, or check out the lateast updates on the movie via Twitter (<a href=\"http://twitter.com/#%21/TMHTthemovie\" target=\"_blank\">@TMHTthemove</a>)\n\nTo celebrate the release of the film, we’re giving away a Take Me Home Tonight Prize Package that includes a Take Me Home Tonight t-shirt, mini poster and toiletry bag:\n\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3794\" title=\"Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"177\" /></a>\n\nHere\'s how to win:\n<ul>\n	<li>Follow us on twitter <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a></li>\n	<li> Leave a comment and tell us what your favorite 80s song is</li>\n	<li> That’s it!</li>\n</ul>\nThe winner will be selected at random next Wednesday, March 9.\n\nGood luck!','Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3793-revision','','','2011-03-02 10:37:11','2011-03-02 18:37:11','',3793,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3793-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3797,2,'2011-03-02 10:37:15','2011-03-02 18:37:15','<em><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3795 alignnone\" title=\"Take Me Home Tonight Mini Poster\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"400\" /></a></em>\r\n\r\n<em>Take Me Home Tonight</em>, a crazy night out comedy starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler and Teresa Palmer, hits theaters this Friday. Set in 1988, the film follows three friends who attend an end-of-summer party to celebrate the waning moments of their youth. It’s got laughs, raging, romance and of course, a ridiculous dance-off.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/38yfngAcaAM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/38yfngAcaAM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nTo find out more about the film you can visit the <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/takemehometonight\" target=\"_blank\">Official Take Me Home Tonight Facebook Page</a>, or check out the lateast updates on the movie via Twitter (<a href=\"http://twitter.com/#%21/TMHTthemovie\" target=\"_blank\">@TMHTthemove</a>)\r\n\r\nTo celebrate the release of the film, we’re giving away a Take Me Home Tonight Prize Package that includes a Take Me Home Tonight t-shirt, mini poster and toiletry bag:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3794\" title=\"Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"177\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHere\'s how to win:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Follow us on twitter <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a></li>\r\n	<li> Leave a comment and tell us what your favorite 80s song is</li>\r\n	<li> That’s it!</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe winner will be selected at random next Wednesday, March 9.\r\n\r\nGood luck!','Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3793-revision-2','','','2011-03-02 10:37:15','2011-03-02 18:37:15','',3793,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3793-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(3798,2,'2011-03-02 10:39:05','2011-03-02 18:39:05','<em>Take Me Home Tonight</em>, a crazy night out comedy starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler and Teresa Palmer, hits theaters this Friday. Set in 1988, the film follows three friends who attend an end-of-summer party to celebrate the waning moments of their youth. It’s got laughs, raging, romance and of course, a ridiculous dance-off.\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/38yfngAcaAM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/38yfngAcaAM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\nTo find out more about the film you can visit the <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/takemehometonight\" target=\"_blank\">Official Take Me Home Tonight Facebook Page</a>, or check out the lateast updates on the movie via Twitter (<a href=\"http://twitter.com/#%21/TMHTthemovie\" target=\"_blank\">@TMHTthemove</a>)\n\nTo celebrate the release of the film, we’re giving away a Take Me Home Tonight Prize Package that includes a Take Me Home Tonight t-shirt, mini poster and toiletry bag:\n\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3794\" title=\"Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Giveaway.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"177\" /></a>\n\nHere\'s how to win:\n<ul>\n	<li>Follow us on twitter <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a></li>\n	<li> Leave a comment and tell us what your favorite 80s song is</li>\n	<li> That’s it!</li>\n</ul>\nThe winner will be selected at random next Wednesday, March 9.\n\nGood luck!\n\n<em><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3795 alignnone\" title=\"Take Me Home Tonight Mini Poster\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Take-Me-Home-Tonight-Mini-Poster.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"400\" /></a></em>','Take Me Home Tonight Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3793-autosave','','','2011-03-02 10:39:05','2011-03-02 18:39:05','',3793,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3793-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3799,2,'2011-03-03 17:34:36','2011-03-04 01:34:36','','How Many Xzibits Would Xzibit Exhibit','','inherit','open','open','','how-many-xzibits-would-xzibit-exhibit','','','2011-03-03 17:34:36','2011-03-04 01:34:36','',0,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/How-Many-Xzibits-Would-Xzibit-Exhibit.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3800,3,'2011-03-03 17:35:34','2011-03-04 01:35:34','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/How-Many-Xzibits-Would-Xzibit-Exhibit.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3799\" title=\"How Many Xzibits Would Xzibit Exhibit\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/How-Many-Xzibits-Would-Xzibit-Exhibit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"590\" height=\"572\" /></a>\r\n\r\nVia <a href=\"http://i.imgur.com/GhcLt.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">Imgur</a>','How Many Xzibits Would Xzibit Exhibit','','publish','open','open','','how-many-xzibits-would-xzibit-exhibit','','','2011-03-03 17:35:34','2011-03-04 01:35:34','',0,'http://manjr.com/?p=3800',0,'post','',0),(3801,2,'2011-03-03 17:35:02','2011-03-04 01:35:02','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/How-Many-Xzibits-Would-Xzibit-Exhibit.jpg\"><img src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/How-Many-Xzibits-Would-Xzibit-Exhibit.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"How Many Xzibits Would Xzibit Exhibit\" width=\"590\" height=\"572\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3799\" /></a>\n\nVia Imgur','How Many Xzibits Would Xzibit Exhibit','','inherit','open','open','','3800-revision','','','2011-03-03 17:35:02','2011-03-04 01:35:02','',3800,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3800-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3803,2,'2011-03-04 16:37:46','2011-03-05 00:37:46','','Erica M - Captain Morgan Morganette','','inherit','open','open','','erica-m-captain-morgan-morganette','','','2011-03-04 16:37:46','2011-03-05 00:37:46','',3802,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-M-Captain-Morgan-Morganette.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3804,2,'2011-03-04 16:37:12','2011-03-05 00:37:12','Quick BracketMaster update for you guys. Our gal <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/last-chance-to-vote-for-the-round-of-32-in-the-2011-captain-morgan-bracketmaster-challenge/\" target=\"_blank\">Erica</a> has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>! Now she needs your support to get to the Elite 8. So we’re asking you guys to go to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and cast your fault for Erica in the South region. You can also text ERICAM to 44686 as many times as you want!\n\nIf Erica advances, the MANjr team will get to go to Vegas, courtesy of Captain Morgan. Support our Morganette and get us to Sin City folks!','Our Morganette Advances to the Sweet 16!','','inherit','open','open','','3802-revision','','','2011-03-04 16:37:12','2011-03-05 00:37:12','',3802,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3802-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3805,2,'2011-03-04 16:38:05','2011-03-05 00:38:05','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-M-Captain-Morgan-Morganette.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3803\" title=\"Erica M - Captain Morgan Morganette\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-M-Captain-Morgan-Morganette.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"472\" height=\"594\" /></a>\r\n\r\nQuick BracketMaster update for you guys. Our gal <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/last-chance-to-vote-for-the-round-of-32-in-the-2011-captain-morgan-bracketmaster-challenge/\" target=\"_blank\">Erica</a> has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>! Now she needs your support to get to the Elite 8. So we’re asking you guys to go to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and cast your fault for Erica in the South region. You can also text ERICAM to 44686 as many times as you want!\r\n\r\nIf Erica advances, the MANjr team will get to go to Vegas, courtesy of Captain Morgan. Support our Morganette and get us to Sin City folks!','Our Morganette Advances to the Sweet 16!','','inherit','open','open','','3802-revision-2','','','2011-03-04 16:38:05','2011-03-05 00:38:05','',3802,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3802-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(3806,2,'2011-03-04 16:38:32','2011-03-05 00:38:32','Quick BracketMaster update for you guys. Our gal <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/last-chance-to-vote-for-the-round-of-32-in-the-2011-captain-morgan-bracketmaster-challenge/\" target=\"_blank\">Erica</a> has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>! Now she needs your support to get to the Elite 8. So we’re asking you guys to go to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and cast your fault for Erica in the South region. You can also text ERICAM to 44686 as many times as you want!\r\n\r\nIf Erica advances, the MANjr team will get to go to Vegas, courtesy of Captain Morgan. Support our Morganette and get us to Sin City, folks!\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-M-Captain-Morgan-Morganette.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3803\" title=\"Erica M - Captain Morgan Morganette\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-M-Captain-Morgan-Morganette.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"472\" height=\"594\" /></a>\r\n','Our Morganette Advances to the Sweet 16!','','inherit','open','open','','3802-revision-3','','','2011-03-04 16:38:32','2011-03-05 00:38:32','',3802,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3802-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(3807,2,'2011-03-04 16:39:08','2011-03-05 00:39:08','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-M-Captain-Morgan-Morganette.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3803\" title=\"Erica M - Captain Morgan Morganette\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Erica-M-Captain-Morgan-Morganette.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"472\" height=\"594\" /></a>\n\nQuick BracketMaster update for you guys. Our gal <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/last-chance-to-vote-for-the-round-of-32-in-the-2011-captain-morgan-bracketmaster-challenge/\" target=\"_blank\">Erica</a> has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/captain-morgan-2011-bracketmaster-challenge-with-manjr-morganette-erica-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge presented by Spike.com</a>! Now she needs your support to get to the Elite 8. So we’re asking you guys to go to <a href=\"http://bracketmaster.spike.com\" target=\"_blank\">bracketmaster.spike.com</a> and cast your fault for Erica in the South region. You can also text ERICAM to 44686 as many times as you want!\n\nIf Erica advances, the MANjr team will get to go to Vegas, courtesy of Captain Morgan. Support our Morganette and get us to Sin City folks!','Our Morganette Advances to the Sweet 16!','','inherit','open','open','','3802-autosave','','','2011-03-04 16:39:08','2011-03-05 00:39:08','',3802,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3802-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3808,2,'2011-03-04 17:23:16','2011-03-05 01:23:16','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3809\" title=\"old-cell-phones\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you’re like me, you probably have a pretty decent-sized collection of crappy old cell phones just sitting in some drawer at home all lonely-like. Whether it’s a late-90s Nokia or your very first flip phone, we’re all starting to amass out-of-date cell phone gear that we just can’t bring ourselves to throw away. With smartphones getting so much smarter all the time, the likelihood of you breaking out your old Zack Morris brick phone is slim-to-none. If you’re not gonna use that stuff, might as well get rid of it, right?\r\n\r\nWell did you know that less than 10% of discarded phones in America get recycled? Most of these discarded phones just sit around unused or worse, they get tossed in landfills. So what should you do with those old phones you’ll never use again? We talked to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Schwartz\" target=\"_blank\">Cat Schwartz</a>, a leading tech expert, to get her take on recycling old cell phones. Here’s how the conversation went down:\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I have a lot of old cell phones lying around and I don’t really know what to do with them. Don’t want to throw them away. Don’t really want to just donate them or whatever. How do you go about recycling these things?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> To me it’s just really interesting because when the iPhone story came out – that Verizon has a new iPhone – people started asking me “I’m going to make the switch but I can’t take my AT&amp;T iPhone with me, what can I do with my iPhone? I don’t want to just put it in a drawer” which is where half the phones end up anyways.\r\n\r\nSo I started working with a couple companies and I found this company <a href=\"http://www.securetradein.com/vendors/TRA000/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">securetradein.com</a>. You go to the website, enter in the make and model of the phone that you have, and then they give you a couple pictures to make sure it’s the right phone. Then they tell you how much they’ll give you for the phone, and you print out a FedEx shipping label that they give you and send it in. Then they send you a check.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So they cover the shipping costs?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yes, they cover the shipping costs. It’s cool because then you actually have some cash for the device. I can’t tell you how many phones I have in my drawer, but when I was doing research I realized I have like 8 cell phones because I upgrade once a year sometimes.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> So this is the best way to get something for it. You have to know a couple things going into the process to make sure it goes smoothly.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3812\" title=\"130603BEX606\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"420\" /></a>CS:</strong> So this isn’t just for smartphones, this can be for any old cell phone, correct?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yeah absolutely. It can be for any phone. It’s great because I have an old Sidekick that I put in there and it was not a lot of money, like six bucks, but I’m like, you know, that’s six more dollars than I would have had before. It’s great.\r\n\r\nSo if you’re going to do this there’s a couple things you need to know going into it. First and foremost, if you’re going to trade your phone in, you want to get as much personal data off that phone as you possibly can. Or make sure that the company that you’re going to be trading your phone in with is 100% guaranteed to wipe everything off the phone. Take the SIM card out as well because often the SIM card will store data.\r\n\r\nIt’s a cool thing to do that I highly suggest. It’s an eco friendly thing to do at this point because phones should not end up in landfills. They have toxic chemicals in them that can hurt the environment and they need to be recycled properly so this is a way to get that done too.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you mentioned $6 for a Sidekick, I think I have an old Mitsubishi phone from like 2001 or something that I doubt will be useful to anybody.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Right. So if it’s totally not valuable they will recycle it for you. They’ll send you the free shipping label or you print out the free shipping label and they’ll recycle it for you at least. There are phones that are not worth anything, but you should recycle them and this is a really easy way to do that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Can you get additional cash for things like accessories, car chargers, that kind of stuff?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> No, they don’t give you extra money for those things. But it is good if you have them because you want to recycle them with the phone because who needs another charger?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So where do these phones end up after they get recycled?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Well after they get recycled they use some of the parts for scrap metal. I’m not totally sure where the end result of the recycled product goes, but products that are able to be salvaged are refurbished and resold or they’re donated to the troops or latchkey kids. There’s a bunch of different organizations that take the phones that aren’t quite great enough to sell, but that are definitely still useful and make phone calls.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is there a way that people can shop for phones that have been donated just to find a basic use cell phone for a cheap price?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Personally, I go to eBay. I worked for eBay for a long time. I don’t anymore, but I still highly recommend that as the place to go to buy used electronics. Refurbished electronics on eBay are the best deal you’re going to find. You just have to look at the details of the listing and make sure they have a good return policy and that other people are happy with the place you’re buying something from. But hands down they’ve got the best selection.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> For the secure trade in, are there any restrictions in terms of where you have to be located? Is this open to only the US?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> All over the United States, anywhere in the United States. Anywhere that FedEx will ship to that’s where they extend to.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So outside of cell phones I know that we collect a lot of discarded electronics. Are there other similar type programs that exist outside of just cell phones?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Absolutely. Securetradein.com is going to be expanding, but there are definitely other websites that are fantastic for this. You just need to find out how much the device is worth and then figure out whether to recycle it or get the bit of money that you can.\r\n\r\nTo find out more about recycling your cell phones, or to learn about the latest gadgets and tech news, visit Cat’s website, <a href=\"http://www.hitechmommy.com/\" target=\"_blank\">HighTechMommy.com</a>.','Time to Recycle All Your Old Cell Phones','','publish','open','open','','time-to-recycle-all-your-old-cell-phones','','','2011-03-04 17:23:16','2011-03-05 01:23:16','',0,'http://manjr.com/?p=3808',0,'post','',0),(3809,2,'2011-03-04 17:15:19','2011-03-05 01:15:19','','old-cell-phones','','inherit','open','open','','old-cell-phones','','','2011-03-04 17:15:19','2011-03-05 01:15:19','',3808,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3810,2,'2011-03-04 17:18:22','2011-03-05 01:18:22','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3809\" title=\"old-cell-phones\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" /></a>\n\nIf you’re like me, you probably have a pretty decent-sized collection of crappy old cell phones just sitting in some drawer at home all lonely-like. Whether it’s a late-90s Nokia or your very first flip phone, we’re all starting to amass out-of-date cell phone gear that we just can’t bring ourselves to throw away. With smartphones getting so much smarter all the time, the likelihood of you breaking out your old Zack Morris brick phone is slim-to-none. If you’re not gonna use that stuff, might as well get rid of it, right?\n\nWell did you know that less than 10% of discarded phones in America get recycled? Most of these discarded phones just sit around unused or worse, they get tossed in landfills. So what should you do with those old phones you’ll never use again? We talked to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Schwartz\" target=\"_blank\">Cat Schwartz</a>, a leading tech expert, to get her take on recycling old cell phones. Here’s how the conversation went down:\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> I have a lot of old cell phones lying around and I don’t really know what to do with them. Don’t want to throw them away. Don’t really want to just donate them or whatever. How do you go about recycling these things?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> To me it’s just really interesting because when the iPhone story came out – that Verizon has a new iPhone – people started asking me “I’m going to make the switch but I can’t take my AT&amp;T iPhone with me, what can I do with my iPhone? I don’t want to just put it in a drawer” which is where half the phones end up anyways.\n\nSo I started working with a couple companies and I found this company <a href=\"http://www.securetradein.com/vendors/TRA000/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">securetradein.com</a>. You go to the website, enter in the make and model of the phone that you have, and then they give you a couple pictures to make sure it’s the right phone. Then they tell you how much they’ll give you for the phone, and you print out a FedEx shipping label that they give you and send it in. Then they send you a check.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So they cover the shipping costs?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yes, they cover the shipping costs. It’s cool because then you actually have some cash for the device. I can’t tell you how many phones I have in my drawer, but when I was doing research I realized I have like 8 cell phones because I upgrade once a year sometimes.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> So this is the best way to get something for it. You have to know a couple things going into the process to make sure it goes smoothly.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So this isn’t just for smartphones, this can be for any old cell phone, correct?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yeah absolutely. It can be for any phone. It’s great because I have an old Sidekick that I put in there and it was not a lot of money, like six bucks, but I’m like, you know, that’s six more dollars than I would have had before. It’s great.\n\nSo if you’re going to do this there’s a couple things you need to know going into it. First and foremost, if you’re going to trade your phone in, you want to get as much personal data off that phone as you possibly can. Or make sure that the company that you’re going to be trading your phone in with is 100% guaranteed to wipe everything off the phone. Take the SIM card out as well because often the SIM card will store data.\n\nIt’s a cool thing to do that I highly suggest. It’s an eco friendly thing to do at this point because phones should not end up in landfills. They have toxic chemicals in them that can hurt the environment and they need to be recycled properly so this is a way to get that done too.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you mentioned $6 for a Sidekick, I think I have an old Mitsubishi phone from like 2001 or something that I doubt will be useful to anybody.\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Right. So if it’s totally not valuable they will recycle it for you. They’ll send you the free shipping label or you print out the free shipping label and they’ll recycle it for you at least. There are phones that are not worth anything, but you should recycle them and this is a really easy way to do that.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Can you get additional cash for things like accessories, car chargers, that kind of stuff?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> No, they don’t give you extra money for those things. But it is good if you have them because you want to recycle them with the phone because who needs another charger?\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So where do these phones end up after they get recycled?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Well after they get recycled they use some of the parts for scrap metal. I’m not totally sure where the end result of the recycled product goes, but products that are able to be salvaged are refurbished and resold or they’re donated to the troops or latchkey kids. There’s a bunch of different organizations that take the phones that aren’t quite great enough to sell, but that are definitely still useful and make phone calls.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is there a way that people can shop for phones that have been donated just to find a basic use cell phone for a cheap price?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Personally, I go to eBay. I worked for eBay for a long time. I don’t anymore, but I still highly recommend that as the place to go to buy used electronics. Refurbished electronics on eBay are the best deal you’re going to find. You just have to look at the details of the listing and make sure they have a good return policy and that other people are happy with the place you’re buying something from. But hands down they’ve got the best selection.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> For the secure trade in, are there any restrictions in terms of where you have to be located? Is this open to only the US?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> All over the United States, anywhere in the United States. Anywhere that FedEx will ship to that’s where they extend to.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So outside of cell phones I know that we collect a lot of discarded electronics. Are there other similar type programs that exist outside of just cell phones?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Absolutely. Securetradein.com is going to be expanding, but there are definitely other websites that are fantastic for this. You just need to find out how much the device is worth and then figure out whether to recycle it or get the bit of money that you can.\n\nTo find out more about recycling your cell phones, or to learn about the latest gadgets and tech news, visit Cat’s website, hightechmommy.com.','Time to Recycle All Your Old Cell Phones','','inherit','open','open','','3808-revision','','','2011-03-04 17:18:22','2011-03-05 01:18:22','',3808,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3808-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3811,2,'2011-03-04 17:18:56','2011-03-05 01:18:56','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3809\" title=\"old-cell-phones\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you’re like me, you probably have a pretty decent-sized collection of crappy old cell phones just sitting in some drawer at home all lonely-like. Whether it’s a late-90s Nokia or your very first flip phone, we’re all starting to amass out-of-date cell phone gear that we just can’t bring ourselves to throw away. With smartphones getting so much smarter all the time, the likelihood of you breaking out your old Zack Morris brick phone is slim-to-none. If you’re not gonna use that stuff, might as well get rid of it, right?\r\n\r\nWell did you know that less than 10% of discarded phones in America get recycled? Most of these discarded phones just sit around unused or worse, they get tossed in landfills. So what should you do with those old phones you’ll never use again? We talked to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Schwartz\" target=\"_blank\">Cat Schwartz</a>, a leading tech expert, to get her take on recycling old cell phones. Here’s how the conversation went down:\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I have a lot of old cell phones lying around and I don’t really know what to do with them. Don’t want to throw them away. Don’t really want to just donate them or whatever. How do you go about recycling these things?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> To me it’s just really interesting because when the iPhone story came out – that Verizon has a new iPhone – people started asking me “I’m going to make the switch but I can’t take my AT&amp;T iPhone with me, what can I do with my iPhone? I don’t want to just put it in a drawer” which is where half the phones end up anyways.\r\n\r\nSo I started working with a couple companies and I found this company <a href=\"http://www.securetradein.com/vendors/TRA000/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">securetradein.com</a>. You go to the website, enter in the make and model of the phone that you have, and then they give you a couple pictures to make sure it’s the right phone. Then they tell you how much they’ll give you for the phone, and you print out a FedEx shipping label that they give you and send it in. Then they send you a check.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So they cover the shipping costs?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yes, they cover the shipping costs. It’s cool because then you actually have some cash for the device. I can’t tell you how many phones I have in my drawer, but when I was doing research I realized I have like 8 cell phones because I upgrade once a year sometimes.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> So this is the best way to get something for it. You have to know a couple things going into the process to make sure it goes smoothly.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So this isn’t just for smartphones, this can be for any old cell phone, correct?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yeah absolutely. It can be for any phone. It’s great because I have an old Sidekick that I put in there and it was not a lot of money, like six bucks, but I’m like, you know, that’s six more dollars than I would have had before. It’s great.\r\n\r\nSo if you’re going to do this there’s a couple things you need to know going into it. First and foremost, if you’re going to trade your phone in, you want to get as much personal data off that phone as you possibly can. Or make sure that the company that you’re going to be trading your phone in with is 100% guaranteed to wipe everything off the phone. Take the SIM card out as well because often the SIM card will store data.\r\n\r\nIt’s a cool thing to do that I highly suggest. It’s an eco friendly thing to do at this point because phones should not end up in landfills. They have toxic chemicals in them that can hurt the environment and they need to be recycled properly so this is a way to get that done too.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you mentioned $6 for a Sidekick, I think I have an old Mitsubishi phone from like 2001 or something that I doubt will be useful to anybody.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Right. So if it’s totally not valuable they will recycle it for you. They’ll send you the free shipping label or you print out the free shipping label and they’ll recycle it for you at least. There are phones that are not worth anything, but you should recycle them and this is a really easy way to do that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Can you get additional cash for things like accessories, car chargers, that kind of stuff?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> No, they don’t give you extra money for those things. But it is good if you have them because you want to recycle them with the phone because who needs another charger?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So where do these phones end up after they get recycled?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Well after they get recycled they use some of the parts for scrap metal. I’m not totally sure where the end result of the recycled product goes, but products that are able to be salvaged are refurbished and resold or they’re donated to the troops or latchkey kids. There’s a bunch of different organizations that take the phones that aren’t quite great enough to sell, but that are definitely still useful and make phone calls.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is there a way that people can shop for phones that have been donated just to find a basic use cell phone for a cheap price?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Personally, I go to eBay. I worked for eBay for a long time. I don’t anymore, but I still highly recommend that as the place to go to buy used electronics. Refurbished electronics on eBay are the best deal you’re going to find. You just have to look at the details of the listing and make sure they have a good return policy and that other people are happy with the place you’re buying something from. But hands down they’ve got the best selection.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> For the secure trade in, are there any restrictions in terms of where you have to be located? Is this open to only the US?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> All over the United States, anywhere in the United States. Anywhere that FedEx will ship to that’s where they extend to.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So outside of cell phones I know that we collect a lot of discarded electronics. Are there other similar type programs that exist outside of just cell phones?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Absolutely. Securetradein.com is going to be expanding, but there are definitely other websites that are fantastic for this. You just need to find out how much the device is worth and then figure out whether to recycle it or get the bit of money that you can.\r\n\r\nTo find out more about recycling your cell phones, or to learn about the latest gadgets and tech news, visit Cat’s website, <a href=\"http://www.hitechmommy.com/\" target=\"_blank\">HighTechMommy.com</a>.','Time to Recycle All Your Old Cell Phones','','inherit','open','open','','3808-revision-2','','','2011-03-04 17:18:56','2011-03-05 01:18:56','',3808,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3808-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(3812,2,'2011-03-04 17:21:51','2011-03-05 01:21:51','','130603BEX606','','inherit','open','open','','130603bex606','','','2011-03-04 17:21:51','2011-03-05 01:21:51','',3808,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3813,2,'2011-03-04 17:19:00','2011-03-05 01:19:00','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3809\" title=\"old-cell-phones\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you’re like me, you probably have a pretty decent-sized collection of crappy old cell phones just sitting in some drawer at home all lonely-like. Whether it’s a late-90s Nokia or your very first flip phone, we’re all starting to amass out-of-date cell phone gear that we just can’t bring ourselves to throw away. With smartphones getting so much smarter all the time, the likelihood of you breaking out your old Zack Morris brick phone is slim-to-none. If you’re not gonna use that stuff, might as well get rid of it, right?\r\n\r\nWell did you know that less than 10% of discarded phones in America get recycled? Most of these discarded phones just sit around unused or worse, they get tossed in landfills. So what should you do with those old phones you’ll never use again? We talked to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Schwartz\" target=\"_blank\">Cat Schwartz</a>, a leading tech expert, to get her take on recycling old cell phones. Here’s how the conversation went down:\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I have a lot of old cell phones lying around and I don’t really know what to do with them. Don’t want to throw them away. Don’t really want to just donate them or whatever. How do you go about recycling these things?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> To me it’s just really interesting because when the iPhone story came out – that Verizon has a new iPhone – people started asking me “I’m going to make the switch but I can’t take my AT&amp;T iPhone with me, what can I do with my iPhone? I don’t want to just put it in a drawer” which is where half the phones end up anyways.\r\n\r\nSo I started working with a couple companies and I found this company <a href=\"http://www.securetradein.com/vendors/TRA000/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">securetradein.com</a>. You go to the website, enter in the make and model of the phone that you have, and then they give you a couple pictures to make sure it’s the right phone. Then they tell you how much they’ll give you for the phone, and you print out a FedEx shipping label that they give you and send it in. Then they send you a check.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So they cover the shipping costs?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yes, they cover the shipping costs. It’s cool because then you actually have some cash for the device. I can’t tell you how many phones I have in my drawer, but when I was doing research I realized I have like 8 cell phones because I upgrade once a year sometimes.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> So this is the best way to get something for it. You have to know a couple things going into the process to make sure it goes smoothly.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So this isn’t just for smartphones, this can be for any old cell phone, correct?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yeah absolutely. It can be for any phone. It’s great because I have an old Sidekick that I put in there and it was not a lot of money, like six bucks, but I’m like, you know, that’s six more dollars than I would have had before. It’s great.\r\n\r\nSo if you’re going to do this there’s a couple things you need to know going into it. First and foremost, if you’re going to trade your phone in, you want to get as much personal data off that phone as you possibly can. Or make sure that the company that you’re going to be trading your phone in with is 100% guaranteed to wipe everything off the phone. Take the SIM card out as well because often the SIM card will store data.\r\n\r\nIt’s a cool thing to do that I highly suggest. It’s an eco friendly thing to do at this point because phones should not end up in landfills. They have toxic chemicals in them that can hurt the environment and they need to be recycled properly so this is a way to get that done too.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you mentioned $6 for a Sidekick, I think I have an old Mitsubishi phone from like 2001 or something that I doubt will be useful to anybody.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Right. So if it’s totally not valuable they will recycle it for you. They’ll send you the free shipping label or you print out the free shipping label and they’ll recycle it for you at least. There are phones that are not worth anything, but you should recycle them and this is a really easy way to do that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Can you get additional cash for things like accessories, car chargers, that kind of stuff?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> No, they don’t give you extra money for those things. But it is good if you have them because you want to recycle them with the phone because who needs another charger?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So where do these phones end up after they get recycled?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Well after they get recycled they use some of the parts for scrap metal. I’m not totally sure where the end result of the recycled product goes, but products that are able to be salvaged are refurbished and resold or they’re donated to the troops or latchkey kids. There’s a bunch of different organizations that take the phones that aren’t quite great enough to sell, but that are definitely still useful and make phone calls.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is there a way that people can shop for phones that have been donated just to find a basic use cell phone for a cheap price?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Personally, I go to eBay. I worked for eBay for a long time. I don’t anymore, but I still highly recommend that as the place to go to buy used electronics. Refurbished electronics on eBay are the best deal you’re going to find. You just have to look at the details of the listing and make sure they have a good return policy and that other people are happy with the place you’re buying something from. But hands down they’ve got the best selection.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> For the secure trade in, are there any restrictions in terms of where you have to be located? Is this open to only the US?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> All over the United States, anywhere in the United States. Anywhere that FedEx will ship to that’s where they extend to.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So outside of cell phones I know that we collect a lot of discarded electronics. Are there other similar type programs that exist outside of just cell phones?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Absolutely. Securetradein.com is going to be expanding, but there are definitely other websites that are fantastic for this. You just need to find out how much the device is worth and then figure out whether to recycle it or get the bit of money that you can.\r\n\r\nTo find out more about recycling your cell phones, or to learn about the latest gadgets and tech news, visit Cat’s website, <a href=\"http://www.hitechmommy.com/\" target=\"_blank\">HighTechMommy.com</a>.','Time to Recycle All Your Old Cell Phones','','inherit','open','open','','3808-revision-3','','','2011-03-04 17:19:00','2011-03-05 01:19:00','',3808,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3808-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(3814,2,'2011-03-04 17:22:24','2011-03-05 01:22:24','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3809\" title=\"old-cell-phones\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you’re like me, you probably have a pretty decent-sized collection of crappy old cell phones just sitting in some drawer at home all lonely-like. Whether it’s a late-90s Nokia or your very first flip phone, we’re all starting to amass out-of-date cell phone gear that we just can’t bring ourselves to throw away. With smartphones getting so much smarter all the time, the likelihood of you breaking out your old Zack Morris brick phone is slim-to-none. If you’re not gonna use that stuff, might as well get rid of it, right?\r\n\r\nWell did you know that less than 10% of discarded phones in America get recycled? Most of these discarded phones just sit around unused or worse, they get tossed in landfills. So what should you do with those old phones you’ll never use again? We talked to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Schwartz\" target=\"_blank\">Cat Schwartz</a>, a leading tech expert, to get her take on recycling old cell phones. Here’s how the conversation went down:\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I have a lot of old cell phones lying around and I don’t really know what to do with them. Don’t want to throw them away. Don’t really want to just donate them or whatever. How do you go about recycling these things?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> To me it’s just really interesting because when the iPhone story came out – that Verizon has a new iPhone – people started asking me “I’m going to make the switch but I can’t take my AT&amp;T iPhone with me, what can I do with my iPhone? I don’t want to just put it in a drawer” which is where half the phones end up anyways.\r\n\r\nSo I started working with a couple companies and I found this company <a href=\"http://www.securetradein.com/vendors/TRA000/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">securetradein.com</a>. You go to the website, enter in the make and model of the phone that you have, and then they give you a couple pictures to make sure it’s the right phone. Then they tell you how much they’ll give you for the phone, and you print out a FedEx shipping label that they give you and send it in. Then they send you a check.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So they cover the shipping costs?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yes, they cover the shipping costs. It’s cool because then you actually have some cash for the device. I can’t tell you how many phones I have in my drawer, but when I was doing research I realized I have like 8 cell phones because I upgrade once a year sometimes.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> So this is the best way to get something for it. You have to know a couple things going into the process to make sure it goes smoothly.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3812\" title=\"130603BEX606\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"420\" /></a>CS:</strong> So this isn’t just for smartphones, this can be for any old cell phone, correct?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yeah absolutely. It can be for any phone. It’s great because I have an old Sidekick that I put in there and it was not a lot of money, like six bucks, but I’m like, you know, that’s six more dollars than I would have had before. It’s great.\r\n\r\nSo if you’re going to do this there’s a couple things you need to know going into it. First and foremost, if you’re going to trade your phone in, you want to get as much personal data off that phone as you possibly can. Or make sure that the company that you’re going to be trading your phone in with is 100% guaranteed to wipe everything off the phone. Take the SIM card out as well because often the SIM card will store data.\r\n\r\nIt’s a cool thing to do that I highly suggest. It’s an eco friendly thing to do at this point because phones should not end up in landfills. They have toxic chemicals in them that can hurt the environment and they need to be recycled properly so this is a way to get that done too.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you mentioned $6 for a Sidekick, I think I have an old Mitsubishi phone from like 2001 or something that I doubt will be useful to anybody.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Right. So if it’s totally not valuable they will recycle it for you. They’ll send you the free shipping label or you print out the free shipping label and they’ll recycle it for you at least. There are phones that are not worth anything, but you should recycle them and this is a really easy way to do that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Can you get additional cash for things like accessories, car chargers, that kind of stuff?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> No, they don’t give you extra money for those things. But it is good if you have them because you want to recycle them with the phone because who needs another charger?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So where do these phones end up after they get recycled?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Well after they get recycled they use some of the parts for scrap metal. I’m not totally sure where the end result of the recycled product goes, but products that are able to be salvaged are refurbished and resold or they’re donated to the troops or latchkey kids. There’s a bunch of different organizations that take the phones that aren’t quite great enough to sell, but that are definitely still useful and make phone calls.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is there a way that people can shop for phones that have been donated just to find a basic use cell phone for a cheap price?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Personally, I go to eBay. I worked for eBay for a long time. I don’t anymore, but I still highly recommend that as the place to go to buy used electronics. Refurbished electronics on eBay are the best deal you’re going to find. You just have to look at the details of the listing and make sure they have a good return policy and that other people are happy with the place you’re buying something from. But hands down they’ve got the best selection.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> For the secure trade in, are there any restrictions in terms of where you have to be located? Is this open to only the US?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> All over the United States, anywhere in the United States. Anywhere that FedEx will ship to that’s where they extend to.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So outside of cell phones I know that we collect a lot of discarded electronics. Are there other similar type programs that exist outside of just cell phones?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Absolutely. Securetradein.com is going to be expanding, but there are definitely other websites that are fantastic for this. You just need to find out how much the device is worth and then figure out whether to recycle it or get the bit of money that you can.\r\n\r\nTo find out more about recycling your cell phones, or to learn about the latest gadgets and tech news, visit Cat’s website, <a href=\"http://www.hitechmommy.com/\" target=\"_blank\">HighTechMommy.com</a>.','Time to Recycle All Your Old Cell Phones','','inherit','open','open','','3808-revision-4','','','2011-03-04 17:22:24','2011-03-05 01:22:24','',3808,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3808-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(3815,2,'2011-03-04 17:22:29','2011-03-05 01:22:29','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3809\" title=\"old-cell-phones\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you’re like me, you probably have a pretty decent-sized collection of crappy old cell phones just sitting in some drawer at home all lonely-like. Whether it’s a late-90s Nokia or your very first flip phone, we’re all starting to amass out-of-date cell phone gear that we just can’t bring ourselves to throw away. With smartphones getting so much smarter all the time, the likelihood of you breaking out your old Zack Morris brick phone is slim-to-none. If you’re not gonna use that stuff, might as well get rid of it, right?\r\n\r\nWell did you know that less than 10% of discarded phones in America get recycled? Most of these discarded phones just sit around unused or worse, they get tossed in landfills. So what should you do with those old phones you’ll never use again? We talked to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Schwartz\" target=\"_blank\">Cat Schwartz</a>, a leading tech expert, to get her take on recycling old cell phones. Here’s how the conversation went down:\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I have a lot of old cell phones lying around and I don’t really know what to do with them. Don’t want to throw them away. Don’t really want to just donate them or whatever. How do you go about recycling these things?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> To me it’s just really interesting because when the iPhone story came out – that Verizon has a new iPhone – people started asking me “I’m going to make the switch but I can’t take my AT&amp;T iPhone with me, what can I do with my iPhone? I don’t want to just put it in a drawer” which is where half the phones end up anyways.\r\n\r\nSo I started working with a couple companies and I found this company <a href=\"http://www.securetradein.com/vendors/TRA000/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">securetradein.com</a>. You go to the website, enter in the make and model of the phone that you have, and then they give you a couple pictures to make sure it’s the right phone. Then they tell you how much they’ll give you for the phone, and you print out a FedEx shipping label that they give you and send it in. Then they send you a check.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So they cover the shipping costs?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yes, they cover the shipping costs. It’s cool because then you actually have some cash for the device. I can’t tell you how many phones I have in my drawer, but when I was doing research I realized I have like 8 cell phones because I upgrade once a year sometimes.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> So this is the best way to get something for it. You have to know a couple things going into the process to make sure it goes smoothly.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3812\" title=\"130603BEX606\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"420\" /></a>CS:</strong> So this isn’t just for smartphones, this can be for any old cell phone, correct?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yeah absolutely. It can be for any phone. It’s great because I have an old Sidekick that I put in there and it was not a lot of money, like six bucks, but I’m like, you know, that’s six more dollars than I would have had before. It’s great.\r\n\r\nSo if you’re going to do this there’s a couple things you need to know going into it. First and foremost, if you’re going to trade your phone in, you want to get as much personal data off that phone as you possibly can. Or make sure that the company that you’re going to be trading your phone in with is 100% guaranteed to wipe everything off the phone. Take the SIM card out as well because often the SIM card will store data.\r\n\r\nIt’s a cool thing to do that I highly suggest. It’s an eco friendly thing to do at this point because phones should not end up in landfills. They have toxic chemicals in them that can hurt the environment and they need to be recycled properly so this is a way to get that done too.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you mentioned $6 for a Sidekick, I think I have an old Mitsubishi phone from like 2001 or something that I doubt will be useful to anybody.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Right. So if it’s totally not valuable they will recycle it for you. They’ll send you the free shipping label or you print out the free shipping label and they’ll recycle it for you at least. There are phones that are not worth anything, but you should recycle them and this is a really easy way to do that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Can you get additional cash for things like accessories, car chargers, that kind of stuff?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> No, they don’t give you extra money for those things. But it is good if you have them because you want to recycle them with the phone because who needs another charger?\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So where do these phones end up after they get recycled?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Well after they get recycled they use some of the parts for scrap metal. I’m not totally sure where the end result of the recycled product goes, but products that are able to be salvaged are refurbished and resold or they’re donated to the troops or latchkey kids. There’s a bunch of different organizations that take the phones that aren’t quite great enough to sell, but that are definitely still useful and make phone calls.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is there a way that people can shop for phones that have been donated just to find a basic use cell phone for a cheap price?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Personally, I go to eBay. I worked for eBay for a long time. I don’t anymore, but I still highly recommend that as the place to go to buy used electronics. Refurbished electronics on eBay are the best deal you’re going to find. You just have to look at the details of the listing and make sure they have a good return policy and that other people are happy with the place you’re buying something from. But hands down they’ve got the best selection.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> For the secure trade in, are there any restrictions in terms of where you have to be located? Is this open to only the US?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> All over the United States, anywhere in the United States. Anywhere that FedEx will ship to that’s where they extend to.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So outside of cell phones I know that we collect a lot of discarded electronics. Are there other similar type programs that exist outside of just cell phones?\r\n\r\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Absolutely. Securetradein.com is going to be expanding, but there are definitely other websites that are fantastic for this. You just need to find out how much the device is worth and then figure out whether to recycle it or get the bit of money that you can.\r\n\r\nTo find out more about recycling your cell phones, or to learn about the latest gadgets and tech news, visit Cat’s website, <a href=\"http://www.hitechmommy.com/\" target=\"_blank\">HighTechMommy.com</a>.','Time to Recycle All Your Old Cell Phones','','inherit','open','open','','3808-revision-5','','','2011-03-04 17:22:29','2011-03-05 01:22:29','',3808,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3808-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(3816,2,'2011-03-04 17:24:20','2011-03-05 01:24:20','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3809\" title=\"old-cell-phones\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/old-cell-phones.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" /></a>\n\nIf you’re like me, you probably have a pretty decent-sized collection of crappy old cell phones just sitting in some drawer at home all lonely-like. Whether it’s a late-90s Nokia or your very first flip phone, we’re all starting to amass out-of-date cell phone gear that we just can’t bring ourselves to throw away. With smartphones getting so much smarter all the time, the likelihood of you breaking out your old Zack Morris brick phone is slim-to-none. If you’re not gonna use that stuff, might as well get rid of it, right?\n\nWell did you know that less than 10% of discarded phones in America get recycled? Most of these discarded phones just sit around unused or worse, they get tossed in landfills. So what should you do with those old phones you’ll never use again? We talked to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Schwartz\" target=\"_blank\">Cat Schwartz</a>, a leading tech expert, to get her take on recycling old cell phones. Here’s how the conversation went down:\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> I have a lot of old cell phones lying around and I don’t really know what to do with them. Don’t want to throw them away. Don’t really want to just donate them or whatever. How do you go about recycling these things?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> To me it’s just really interesting because when the iPhone story came out – that Verizon has a new iPhone – people started asking me “I’m going to make the switch but I can’t take my AT&amp;T iPhone with me, what can I do with my iPhone? I don’t want to just put it in a drawer” which is where half the phones end up anyways.\n\nSo I started working with a couple companies and I found this company <a href=\"http://www.securetradein.com/vendors/TRA000/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">securetradein.com</a>. You go to the website, enter in the make and model of the phone that you have, and then they give you a couple pictures to make sure it’s the right phone. Then they tell you how much they’ll give you for the phone, and you print out a FedEx shipping label that they give you and send it in. Then they send you a check.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So they cover the shipping costs?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yes, they cover the shipping costs. It’s cool because then you actually have some cash for the device. I can’t tell you how many phones I have in my drawer, but when I was doing research I realized I have like 8 cell phones because I upgrade once a year sometimes.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> So this is the best way to get something for it. You have to know a couple things going into the process to make sure it goes smoothly.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3812\" title=\"130603BEX606\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/zack-phone.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"420\" /></a>CS:</strong> So this isn’t just for smartphones, this can be for any old cell phone, correct?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Yeah absolutely. It can be for any phone. It’s great because I have an old Sidekick that I put in there and it was not a lot of money, like six bucks, but I’m like, you know, that’s six more dollars than I would have had before. It’s great.\n\nSo if you’re going to do this there’s a couple things you need to know going into it. First and foremost, if you’re going to trade your phone in, you want to get as much personal data off that phone as you possibly can. Or make sure that the company that you’re going to be trading your phone in with is 100% guaranteed to wipe everything off the phone. Take the SIM card out as well because often the SIM card will store data.\n\nIt’s a cool thing to do that I highly suggest. It’s an eco friendly thing to do at this point because phones should not end up in landfills. They have toxic chemicals in them that can hurt the environment and they need to be recycled properly so this is a way to get that done too.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you mentioned $6 for a Sidekick, I think I have an old Mitsubishi phone from like 2001 or something that I doubt will be useful to anybody.\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Right. So if it’s totally not valuable they will recycle it for you. They’ll send you the free shipping label or you print out the free shipping label and they’ll recycle it for you at least. There are phones that are not worth anything, but you should recycle them and this is a really easy way to do that.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Can you get additional cash for things like accessories, car chargers, that kind of stuff?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> No, they don’t give you extra money for those things. But it is good if you have them because you want to recycle them with the phone because who needs another charger?\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So where do these phones end up after they get recycled?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Well after they get recycled they use some of the parts for scrap metal. I’m not totally sure where the end result of the recycled product goes, but products that are able to be salvaged are refurbished and resold or they’re donated to the troops or latchkey kids. There’s a bunch of different organizations that take the phones that aren’t quite great enough to sell, but that are definitely still useful and make phone calls.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is there a way that people can shop for phones that have been donated just to find a basic use cell phone for a cheap price?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Personally, I go to eBay. I worked for eBay for a long time. I don’t anymore, but I still highly recommend that as the place to go to buy used electronics. Refurbished electronics on eBay are the best deal you’re going to find. You just have to look at the details of the listing and make sure they have a good return policy and that other people are happy with the place you’re buying something from. But hands down they’ve got the best selection.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> For the secure trade in, are there any restrictions in terms of where you have to be located? Is this open to only the US?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> All over the United States, anywhere in the United States. Anywhere that FedEx will ship to that’s where they extend to.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So outside of cell phones I know that we collect a lot of discarded electronics. Are there other similar type programs that exist outside of just cell phones?\n\n<strong>Cat:</strong> Absolutely. Securetradein.com is going to be expanding, but there are definitely other websites that are fantastic for this. You just need to find out how much the device is worth and then figure out whether to recycle it or get the bit of money that you can.\n\nTo find out more about recycling your cell phones, or to learn about the latest gadgets and tech news, visit Cat’s website, <a href=\"http://www.hitechmommy.com/\" target=\"_blank\">HighTechMommy.com</a>.','Time to Recycle All Your Old Cell Phones','','inherit','open','open','','3808-autosave','','','2011-03-04 17:24:20','2011-03-05 01:24:20','',3808,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3808-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3817,2,'2011-03-07 12:13:54','2011-03-07 20:13:54','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway?\r\n\r\n<!--more-->It’s simple. First, follow us on Twitter <a href=\"http://twitter.com/#!/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a>. Then watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad. One second place winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card, and one third place winner will receive an oversized poster of the 2011 SI Swimsuit cover signed by Irina Shayk!  Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','publish','open','open','','sports-illustrated-model-search-presented-by-nissan-16-gb-ipad-giveaway','','\nhttp://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/','2011-03-21 14:32:18','2011-03-21 21:32:18','',0,'http://manjr.com/?p=3817',0,'post','',2),(3818,2,'2011-03-07 11:50:31','2011-03-07 19:50:31','Last month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever Sports Illustrated Model Search. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the Sports Illustrated Model Search website. (http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch). Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\n\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\n\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\n\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the Sports Illustrated Model Search website to vote for your favorite model.\n\nGood luck!\n\nhttp://bit.ly/2011modelsearch','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision','','','2011-03-07 11:50:31','2011-03-07 19:50:31','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3819,2,'2011-03-07 12:04:12','2011-03-07 20:04:12','','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway-','','inherit','open','open','','sports-illustrated-model-search-presented-by-nissan-%e2%80%93-16-gb-ipad-giveaway','','','2011-03-07 12:04:12','2011-03-07 20:04:12','',3817,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-.jpg',5,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3820,2,'2011-03-07 11:52:19','2011-03-07 19:52:19','Last month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\n\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\n\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\n\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\n\nGood luck!','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-2','','','2011-03-07 11:52:19','2011-03-07 19:52:19','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(3821,2,'2011-03-07 12:05:11','2011-03-07 20:05:11','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3819 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway-\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-3','','','2011-03-07 12:05:11','2011-03-07 20:05:11','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(3822,2,'2011-03-07 12:05:50','2011-03-07 20:05:50','','Apple_iPad_16GB_WIFI','','inherit','open','open','','apple_ipad_16gb_wifi','','','2011-03-07 12:05:50','2011-03-07 20:05:50','',3817,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Apple_iPad_16GB_WIFI.jpg',4,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3823,2,'2011-03-07 12:07:02','2011-03-07 20:07:02','','thumb_Ipad16gb pple','','inherit','open','open','','thumb_ipad16gb-pple','','','2011-03-07 12:07:02','2011-03-07 20:07:02','',3817,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/thumb_Ipad16gb-pple.jpg',1,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3824,2,'2011-03-07 12:10:14','2011-03-07 20:10:14','','Sports Illustrated Model Search Group','','inherit','open','open','','sports-illustrated-model-search-group','','','2011-03-07 12:10:14','2011-03-07 20:10:14','',3817,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg',2,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3825,2,'2011-03-07 12:11:22','2011-03-07 20:11:22','','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--','','inherit','open','open','','sports-illustrated-model-search-presented-by-nissan-%e2%80%93-16-gb-ipad-giveaway-2','','','2011-03-07 12:11:22','2011-03-07 20:11:22','',3817,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg',3,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3826,2,'2011-03-07 12:05:16','2011-03-07 20:05:16','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3819 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway-\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"290\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-4','','','2011-03-07 12:05:16','2011-03-07 20:05:16','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(3827,2,'2011-03-07 12:11:34','2011-03-07 20:11:34','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-5','','','2011-03-07 12:11:34','2011-03-07 20:11:34','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(3828,2,'2011-03-07 12:13:05','2011-03-07 20:13:05','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\n\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\n\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\n\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\n\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\n\nGood luck!\n\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\n\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-6','','','2011-03-07 12:13:05','2011-03-07 20:13:05','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(3829,2,'2011-03-07 12:13:19','2011-03-07 20:13:19','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-7','','','2011-03-07 12:13:19','2011-03-07 20:13:19','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(3830,2,'2011-03-07 12:13:24','2011-03-07 20:13:24','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-8','','','2011-03-07 12:13:24','2011-03-07 20:13:24','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(3831,2,'2011-03-07 12:13:54','2011-03-07 20:13:54','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-9','','','2011-03-07 12:13:54','2011-03-07 20:13:54','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(3832,2,'2011-03-07 12:14:32','2011-03-07 20:14:32','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-10','','','2011-03-07 12:14:32','2011-03-07 20:14:32','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(3833,2,'2011-03-08 13:42:38','2011-03-08 21:42:38','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\n\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\n\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\n\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. First, follow us on Twitter <a href=\"http://twitter.com/#!/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a>. Then watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\n\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad. One second place winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card, and one third place winner will receive an oversized poster of the 2011 SI Swimsuit cover signed by Irina Shayk!  Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\n\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\n\nGood luck!\n\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\n\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-autosave','','','2011-03-08 13:42:38','2011-03-08 21:42:38','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3834,2,'2011-03-07 12:15:08','2011-03-07 20:15:08','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-11','','','2011-03-07 12:15:08','2011-03-07 20:15:08','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(3835,2,'2011-03-07 12:18:20','2011-03-07 20:18:20','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad and one runner-up winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card. Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-12','','','2011-03-07 12:18:20','2011-03-07 20:18:20','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(3836,2,'2011-03-07 13:09:49','2011-03-07 21:09:49','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad. One second place winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card, and one third place winner will receive an autographed oversized poster of the eight models.  Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-13','','','2011-03-07 13:09:49','2011-03-07 21:09:49','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(3837,2,'2011-03-07 13:10:57','2011-03-07 21:10:57','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad. One second place winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card, and one third place winner will receive an autographed oversized poster of the eight models.  Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad & $100 iTunes Card Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-14','','','2011-03-07 13:10:57','2011-03-07 21:10:57','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(3838,2,'2011-03-07 13:11:32','2011-03-07 21:11:32','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. Watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad. One second place winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card, and one third place winner will receive an autographed oversized poster of the eight models.  Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-15','','','2011-03-07 13:11:32','2011-03-07 21:11:32','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(3839,2,'2010-11-16 16:08:04','2010-11-17 00:08:04','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2599\" title=\"martin-truex-and-mike-iaconelli-lead\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/martin-truex-and-mike-iaconelli-lead.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"283\" />\r\n\r\nLast month, the MANjr team went out to Charlotte, North Carolina for a pretty sweet Toyota event. <a href=\"http://www.toyotaracing.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Toyota Motorsports</a> sponsors NASCAR racer Martin Truex, Jr. and pro bass fisherman Mike Iaconelli, and the two guys got together to teach each other a thing or two about their respective sports.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/mtruex01/cup/\" target=\"_blank\">Martin Truex, Jr.</a>, who drives the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for <a href=\"http://www.michaelwaltripracing.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Waltrip Racing</a>, is a two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion. His father, Martin Sr., also raced the No. 56 car in the Grand National Division. Truex Jr. began racing when he was 10 years old. During his first race for Michael Waltrip Racing, Truex earned a sixth place finish in the Daytona 500. He has 13 wins, 59 top tens and 10 poles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and 1 win, 43 top tens and 5 poles in the Sprint Cup Series.  Martin\'s younger brother Ryan Truex competes for Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR K&amp;N Pro Series East. Both brothers competed in a Nationwide Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway last month. Ryan finished in 37th place and Martin earned a second place finish.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.mikeiaconelli.com/bio.php\" target=\"_blank\">Mike Iaconelli</a> is ranked as one of the Top 20 Bass Anglers in the World. He hosts the show \"<a href=\"http://www.versus.com/shows/city-limits-fishing-with-mike-iaconelli/\" target=\"_blank\">City Limits Fishing with Mike Iaconelli</a>\" on the VERSUS Network. Iaconelli started fishing at an early age, and he parlayed an early interest in bass fishing into a solid career as a pro angler. Iaconelli was the 2003 Bassmaster Classic Champion, the 2006 Bass Angler of the Year and he earned a 2nd place finish at the 2009 Bassmaster Classic. While earning an Advertising and Public Relations degree from Rowan University, Iaconelli worked as a disc jockey. He collects vinyl records and he\'s known for his trademark scream when he reels in a big fish.\r\n\r\nSo Martin Truex, Jr. met with Mike Iaconelli at the <a href=\"http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Charlotte Motor Speedway</a> in order to teach him some pointers about NASCAR driving. Weather conditions didn\'t permit the use of the No. 56 car, so Martin took Mike around the track a couple of times in the Toyota Hybrid Pace Car, which paced the Coke 600 in 2009. After a couple of laps around the track, Martin and Mike switched spots, and the professional angler tried his hand at racing.\r\n\r\nAfter Iaconelli got to experience the fast track at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, it was off to Lake Norman. The weather cleared up and it turned out to be a gorgeous day on the lake. It was a definitely a change of pace from the racetrack as Mike showed Martin some pointers on how to catch bass. The pro bass fisherman caught quite a few before Truex reeled in his first catch.  You could tell that both guys really enjoyed the experience of testing out another sport and getting an education from a seasoned pro.\r\n\r\nIt was fun hanging out with Martin and Mike. Both guys displayed a true passion for the sports they grew up loving. A good time was had by all, just check out the video highlights of the day\'s events:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"600\" height=\"409\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=16323454&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;loop=0\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"600\" height=\"409\" src=\"http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=16323454&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;loop=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nThe entire MANjr team has a new appreciation for bait and NASCAR turns. Special thanks to Martin, Mike and everyone from Toyota Motorsports for letting us tag along in Charlotte!\r\n\r\n[nggallery id=12 template=carousel images=15]','Hanging Out With NASCAR Driver Martin Truex Jr and Pro Bass Fisherman Mike Iaconelli','','inherit','open','open','','2587-revision-15','','','2010-11-16 16:08:04','2010-11-17 00:08:04','',2587,'http://manjr.com/2010/uncategorized/2587-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(3840,2,'2011-02-07 15:23:04','2011-02-07 23:23:04','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/mark-wahlberg-departed.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3612 alignnone\" title=\"mark wahlberg departed\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/mark-wahlberg-departed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"283\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe Fighter received seven Oscar nominations this year, but Mark Walhberg, the film’s leading actor, didn’t get any love. He may still win a Best Picture Oscar for his role as the film’s producer (doubtful, but I’m saying there’s a chance), but there will be no Academy Award victory for his portrayal as young “Irish” Mickey Ward. Wahlberg was nominated for a Golden Globe and SAG award, but he didn’t make the cut for the Best Actor nod.\r\n\r\nSo in light of this slight, we put together the 9 best Mark Wahlberg acting performances before The Fighter. If you think this guy’s all about underwear, good vibrations and <a href=\"http://www.hulu.com/watch/37753/saturday-night-live-mark-wahlberg-talks-to-animals\" target=\"_blank\">talking to animals</a>, you’ve missed out on some pretty decent acting performances over the years.\r\n<h2><strong>9. Renaissance Man</strong></h2>\r\nThis was Marky Mark’s big screen debut. He dropped the rhymes and the Y in his name and showed people he could be taken seriously.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"445\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/D6sHF4TQPQs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"445\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/D6sHF4TQPQs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"> </embed></object>\r\n<h2><strong>8. Invincible</strong></h2>\r\nIt’s a feel good, sappy Disney-fest for sure, but Wahlberg’s portrayal as Eagles walk-on Vince Papale was entertaining has hell.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Aux_hRJYED8?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Aux_hRJYED8?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n<h2><strong>7. The Big Hit</strong></h2>\r\nThis super-ridiculous, John Woo-produced film doesn’t get enough credit for being fantastic. Is it silly? For damn sure. Does Wahlberg shine in his role as unappreciated, stressed-out hitman Melvin Smiley? Indeed he does. Wahlberg plays a pushover/badass who guzzles Malox and tried to find balance in his life as a contract killer, fiancée and all around nice guy. Get over the goofiness and it just works.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/oZo_3B-i0W0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/oZo_3B-i0W0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n<h2><strong>6. Fear</strong></h2>\r\nHe was oh so nutty, remember? You don’t get nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain without some serious acting ability. They don’t just hand those things out, you know. Reese Witherspoon found out that nobody dumps Mark Wahlberg. Nobody. Watching him go ape-shit on Reese’s friends and family totally showed off this guy’s range. After 1996, it was clear that Marky the Rapper was gone and Mark the actor was here to stay/\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"445\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/iWWxwVQH9qo?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"445\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/iWWxwVQH9qo?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n<h2><strong>5. I Heart Huckabees</strong></h2>\r\nPoems are amazing, just like Wahlberg’s acting skills.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/8uOUHmbTIyY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/8uOUHmbTIyY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n<h2><strong>4. Three Kings</strong></h2>\r\nThree Kings is another underappreciated Wahlberg film. The guy’s strengths really came out in this movie. Part ass-kicker, part funny man, with a little bit of dopey optimism mixed in there, Wahlberg found his niche in this film. He showed off his chops after his lung collapsed, and he was just plain awesome in this torture scene:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/goT1haJd350?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/goT1haJd350?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n<h2><strong>3. The Basketball Diaries</strong></h2>\r\nIt’s a simple formulas really, Wahlberg plus heroin equals great acting. This film is further proof that Wahlberg excels when he plays characters named “Mickey.” Wahlberg’s convincing portrayal of a junkie in 1995 opened the door for more serious roles.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9csU5wStpoU?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9csU5wStpoU?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n<h2><strong>2. The Departed</strong></h2>\r\nWhat a scene stealer this guy was as Staff Sgt. Dignam. Dude got to say all the best line, like “I\'m the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy” or “Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself.” Just classic stuff like that. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and he edged out Jack Nicholson for the only supporting actor Oscar nomination for the film. It’s not like it was a big stretch for Wahberg to play a mouthy Southie, but his delivery was so spot on.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/lTaVxTmB5k4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/lTaVxTmB5k4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n<h2><strong>1. Boogie Nights</strong></h2>\r\nThis is the role that made Mark Wahlberg a big bright shiny star. It’s a great film with an amazing ensemble cast, but the film wouldn’t have worked without an incredible performance by the lead role. Wahlberg delivered the goods. He was able to play the naïve kid who develops into a convincing ego-maniac. Dirki Digler is one of the most memorable characters of all time, and it made Wahlberg into a borderline A-lister.\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/pkkcvtrIUSg?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/pkkcvtrIUSg?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nIs Mark Wahlberg the greatest actor of our generation? Of course not. But the guy\'s got enough wins under his belt to avoid being a punchline. He\'s come a long way from the Funky Bunch and he\'s grown as an actor and as a producer. He\'s made his fair share of stinkers, but he\'s put together enough good performances to earn a lil\' respect too.','The 9 Best Mark Wahlberg Acting Performances Before The Fighter','','inherit','open','open','','3611-revision-5','','','2011-02-07 15:23:04','2011-02-07 23:23:04','',3611,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3611-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(3841,2,'2011-03-07 13:26:04','2011-03-07 21:26:04','','Tiger Blood','','inherit','open','open','','tiger-blood','','','2011-03-07 13:26:04','2011-03-07 21:26:04','',0,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Tiger-Blood.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3842,3,'2011-03-07 13:27:15','2011-03-07 21:27:15','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Tiger-Blood.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3841\" title=\"Tiger Blood\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Tiger-Blood.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Tiger Blood','','publish','open','open','','tiger-blood','','','2011-03-07 13:27:15','2011-03-07 21:27:15','',0,'http://manjr.com/?p=3842',0,'post','',0),(3843,2,'2011-03-07 13:26:25','2011-03-07 21:26:25','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Tiger-Blood.jpg\"><img src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Tiger-Blood.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Tiger Blood\" width=\"640\" height=\"512\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3841\" /></a>','Tiger Blood','','inherit','open','open','','3842-revision','','','2011-03-07 13:26:25','2011-03-07 21:26:25','',3842,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3842-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3844,2,'2011-03-07 13:28:19','2011-03-07 21:28:19','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Tiger-Blood.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3841\" title=\"Tiger Blood\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Tiger-Blood.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Tiger Blood','','inherit','open','open','','3842-autosave','','','2011-03-07 13:28:19','2011-03-07 21:28:19','',3842,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3842-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3845,2,'2011-03-07 13:15:38','2011-03-07 21:15:38','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. First, follow us on Twitter <a href=\"http://twitter.com/#!/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a>. Then watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad. One second place winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card, and one third place winner will receive an autographed oversized poster of the eight models.  Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-16','','','2011-03-07 13:15:38','2011-03-07 21:15:38','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(3846,2,'2011-03-08 13:37:19','2011-03-08 21:37:19','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. First, follow us on Twitter <a href=\"http://twitter.com/#!/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a>. Then watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad. One second place winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card, and one third place winner will receive an oversized poster of the 2011 SI Swimsuit cover signed by Irina Shayk!  Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-17','','','2011-03-08 13:37:19','2011-03-08 21:37:19','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(3847,2,'2011-03-08 13:39:53','2011-03-08 21:39:53','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-3824 alignnone\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Group\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"159\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLast month, we told you about Nissan and Sports Illustrated partnering up to put on the first ever <a href=\"http://manjr.com/2011/girls/model-vs-model-si-videos-presented-by-nissan/\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search</a>. Eight models from around the world are competing in the search, and the winner will be featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. You can vote for your favorite model by visiting the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a>. Voting ends tomorrow, so make sure you visit the site today and cast your vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nNissan and SI rolled out a series of new videos to promote the model search this week. The videos feature Kowalczyk, the office-saving, donut-hunting driver from the Nissan Juke commercials and the extra-fine ladies of the SI Model Search. The series, titled “Rookie Slot,” follows Kowalczyk as he rides his Nissan Juke to Vegas to meet the models and pick up a very important bag. Take a look at the four videos in the series:\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ekDF33VEu5I?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Zn-Os6DXLpw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/6kCH5KoGQKs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/9i1AmSgi1kk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"></embed></object>\r\n\r\nSo how do you win the iPad giveaway? It’s simple. First, follow us on Twitter <a href=\"http://twitter.com/#!/manjrcom\" target=\"_blank\">@MANjrcom</a>. Then watch the videos above and use the email form below to answer one question: What was in the bag?\r\n\r\nThat’s it. Send us your name, email address and tell us what was in the bag. One grand prize winner will receive a 16GB iPad. One second place winner will receive a $100 iTunes Gift Card, and one third place winner will receive an oversized poster of the 2011 SI Swimsuit cover signed by Irina Shayk!  Winners will be chosen at random next Monday, March 14.\r\n\r\nSo check out the videos, check out the models, send us an email and don’t forget to visit the <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2011modelsearch\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated Model Search website</a> to vote for your favorite model.\r\n\r\nGood luck!\r\n\r\n<!--cforms name=\"Contest Submission\"-->\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" title=\"Sports Illustrated Model Search Presented by Nissan – 16 GB iPad Giveaway--\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sports-Illustrated-Model-Search-Presented-by-Nissan-–-16-GB-iPad-Giveaway-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"139\" /></a>','Sports Illustrated Model Search - 16 GB iPad Giveaway','','inherit','open','open','','3817-revision-18','','','2011-03-08 13:39:53','2011-03-08 21:39:53','',3817,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3817-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(3848,2,'2011-03-09 12:29:45','2011-03-09 20:29:45','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3850\" title=\"coco-crisp\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"282\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWhether it\'s the nickname, his cheerful personality or his epic brawl with pitcher James Shields, Coco Crisp is a guy you don\'t forget. Born and raised in LA, Crisp has been on four teams during his 9-year Major League career. He came up with Cleveland, won a championship with the Red Sox, and played one injury-plagued season in Kansas City before joining the Oakland A\'s last year.\r\n\r\nA couple weeks back we had a good chat with the A\'s center fielder. After appearing in only 124 games the last two season, Crisp is healthy and excited about his team\'s chances this year. During our interview, we talked about his nickname, his charity work, baseball brawls, the A\'s outfield, speed vs. power, Charlie Sheen\'s UCLA batting practice, who\'s got the nastiest stuff and who\'s the most underrated pitcher in baseball.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you started last season on the DL and you’ve had to deal with some injuries in the past. Are you fully healthy going into this season?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, for the first time in a long time. I think last year was really a challenge for me to even be ready to start the season. Then I end up breaking my finger to start the season which probably was a little blessing in disguise because I don’t know if my shoulder was really 100% ready, but I was good enough to play at a level to compete. So I broke my finger and it was very disappointing to the guys before the season started. But you know like I said, it was probably a blessing. Maybe I would have re-injured my shoulder and then I’d be out the whole year. Right now I feel great. I’ve been in really good shape, able to work out just like I normally would. I’m just ready, ready for the season to start.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is the team as a whole healthier this year than they were last year?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> At least to start this season. We got a little banged up towards the end of last season. To start the season last year, we were pretty healthy I think. Sheets was coming in as a question – whether or not he was going to be ready. Myself, I was a question mark. But for the most part, I think this year there’s no question marks on if anybody is going to be healthy – with the exception of maybe Sweeney and I think he’s doing really well. I know Penny was dealing with some stuff this year. But I think everybody is ready to go and I think our health and our team is really good.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp3.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3853\" title=\"108972123CP019_Oakland_Athl\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"441\" /></a>CS:</strong> What do you think about the team’s chances this year?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I think they’re greater than last year. I thought we had a great chance last year to win our division, the way our team was structured. You know the thing that we were just talking about—the injuries last year—that kind of changed our season a little bit and made it difficult for us to compete.<strong> </strong>And we still did a great job of competing, because of our pitching staff was so phenomenal, or is phenomenal.\r\n\r\nI think with the addition that we have this year and with some luck and just being blessed and staying away from injuries, I think this year our team is stronger. We have filled the need that we were lacking last year – which are some power players. I think that bringing those players – I mean we still have speed, we have defense and our backbone is our pitching. The only thing that I felt that we were a little low on was power, and they did a great job of addressing that this year.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do you think with all the additions in the offseason that you’ve got a crowded outfield or is that a good problem to have?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well for the team (laughs). For the team, that’s always a great thing because you have that many good players that you don’t know who to play out there. You have a lot of options. For the manager, it can get a little bit difficult I think because of those options. It puts a little strain on him. Because they’re so good and probably so close – I mean I’m trying to say “they” but I’m in there I guess – it can be difficult on us to try and shuffle and maneuver guys so they don’t get upset.\r\n\r\nOn a personal level, you want to be out there every day playing. That’s the heart of the champion and a winner and those are the type of players we have on our team. You want to be out there helping the team. You want to play, you don’t want to just cheerlead. From the top, it’s a good look, but all the way from the bottom it’s kind of like, I want to be out there playing you know. But you don’t want to be that guy to mess up team chemistry either. So I think with the crowded outfield, and the personalities that we have in that outfield, I think we can deal with what might happen or the toughness of being in a crowded outfield. But I think everybody wants to be out there playing. I think depth is always a great thing on the team though.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So are you fired up to be playing with <a href=\"http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=5799\" target=\"_blank\">David DeJesus</a> again?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, that’s my boy! We had good chemistry in the outfield when we’re playing. You know, we didn’t play that long together, because I did get injured in 2009 very quickly in the season. But in spring training, we grew that chemistry and through that first month, it was easy playing alongside him because his moves were easy to see. If he was going for the ball, it was easy to read you. That’s kind of how me and Sweeney were last year as well. That’s just because they are really good outfielders and the communication level and they way they go about it is very similar, and it makes it easy to play alongside them. That’s always a great thing. There’s no fear of running into each other, getting injured.\r\n\r\nAnd as a center fielder, there’s that respect that if I’m calling for it, he backs me up proper. I mean just being a good outfielder makes it easy.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now you guys are a young team but you’ve still got a lot of veterans, including yourself. Who would you say is the clubhouse leader in Oakland?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Wow, I think from different aspects, I think this year it’s hard to say. I don’t know. I know I’m more vocal. Sheets is a very vocal guy. He was last year. Raj [Rajai Davis] was there last year, he was the leader of our chapels. So there’s different leaders in the clubhouse, and it’s not just about baseball sometimes. Elli [<a href=\"http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/ellisma01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Ellis</a>], you know he’s been there for a long time. So you look at those guys. You look at the guys who are not just older guys, but guys who have also been there throughout the duration of their career. He’s one of those guys, so if I was going to pick somebody I would say him.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> What do you think is more important in baseball, having speed or having power?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Wow, you can’t have both? (Laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> This day and age, it’s flipping to more of an old school game where speed was more relevant in baseball back then. Then it turned over into power and now it’s kind of coming back to that. But for a ball club I think both are essential in building a team.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I think you can get away with having less power and more speed guys, than just having a power hitting team, because speed doesn’t slump and power does. You know? So you have a lot of guys that just go for the gusto. It can be a tough time winning with those guys even though it’s going be a fun team to watch. Everybody loves to see the long ball. But the small ball – the bunting, the slap hitting, stealing bases – that can also be fun to watch. It’s just a completely different game. I think the consistency of speed, I think I would choose over power.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah, that makes sense. Who do you think has the nastiest stuff in the American League?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Ah cha cha cha, that’s a good question! Oh man. You know, from the left side, <a href=\"http://www.ccsabathia52.com/\" target=\"_blank\">C.C. Sabathia</a>, he’s probably one of the filthiest pitchers in the game. I know <a href=\"http://www.thetelegraph.com/sports/eyes-51362-fla-lee.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cliff Lee</a> throws an invisi-ball.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> It’s like you see it and you’re like, I’m gonna tattoo it, and all of a sudden it just disappears on you and you’re like, wow I missed that? He comes right after you. I think <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_League\" target=\"_blank\">Brandon League</a>, his stuff is filthy. He just doesn’t exactly know where he’s going to be and that’s what’s kind of scary.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) He’s up there throwing freaking 100 miles per hour up there. It’s moving everywhere and you figure one of these times it’s going to move into you by accident. He’s pretty difficult to face.\r\n\r\nYou know so many guys. You say American League… I’ve been fortunate enough not to really have to face the A’s pitching staff last year, so I know they’re pretty difficult to face.\r\n\r\nYeah, I’d pretty much say my number one person would be C.C. He figured out how to throw his changeup away, utilize his slider down and in to a righty, and then he throws 95 plus. It doesn’t matter if the previous batter got on base, he’ll still try to throw a 100 miles per hour. So he’s pretty filthy\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who do you think is the most underrated pitcher in baseball?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Oh man. Okay. I haven’t been asked that question. That’s a good one there. I would say it would be me.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Nobody’s seen me up on the mound. They won’t know where my ball is going either. I’m like a knuckleballer without a knuckleball. Just because the speed of my throw. But everybody is used to like 90 plus and I’ll be throwing like that 75.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) Sneaky.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> 75, 85, with minimal movement that will throw everybody off. They won’t know what you do (laughs).\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Most underrated pitcher… you know right now I have to go with somebody on my team because they haven’t got the notoriety as of yet that they’re probably going to get this year. I have to say <a href=\"http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8179\" target=\"_blank\">Gio Gonzalez</a>.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Gio Gonzalez. All right.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How did it feel when you made the final catch in the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_American_League_Championship_Series\" target=\"_blank\">2007 ALCS</a> that sent the Red Sox to the World Series?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> It was a good moment. Simply because me and Ellsbury had been shuffling the whole year, and they were leaning more toward going to Ellsbury and put me in for defense. I didn’t give up, so I’m out there trying my best and we’re obviously still going to win the game, but I’m just playing my heart out out there. Just trying to stay in there mentally and play my best. So when I ran that ball down and made that catch, it was more of like, yeah we clenched, but it was more internal, more like victory for myself. So it was a great moment for myself and it will always be that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I know the season’s a grind and games can go on forever, how do you stay loose throughout the season?\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp6.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3857\" title=\"coco-crisp6\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"448\" /></a>CC:</strong> For the whole season? Ice. (laughs) Ice. A lot of ice baths. Hot cold tub. Keeping it light mentally, you know clowning around. Having a routine to follow, it kind of set your mind at ease. I think your teammates help you out too, because that bond between the guys in the clubhouse, that back and forth kind of keeps you at ease, playing cards and all that. Mentally, it takes a lot of stress out of your day. Instead of just sitting down and thinking for eight hours about for 8 hours about what’s about to go down during the game and who you’re facing and everything like that. I think having a good clubhouse really allows you to focus in the beginning of the game. Not on baseball, but just be around it, and prepare yourself in an easy way. And then your training staff is a big part too. Whether it’s your strength coach or the doctors or the actual physical therapists, the trainers in there that take care of you. Those guys are essential in keeping the 162 game grind going.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now you mentioned keeping it light, what kind of pranks do you pull on the younger guys?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well there’s the classic end of the year rookie prank of the dress up, everybody knows about that. Then there are some other things that you can’t necessarily talk about. I mean there’s one where you go out to dinner… Dang, I don’t know if I want to give this up because then everybody will know about it.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I can’t give up the prank. I don’t want to be that guy to say those funny pranks that people know like, oh so this is going to happen, he’s not gonna get me, you know. But you know keeping it light, there’s some fun stuff especially on the young guys. It’s nothing too crazy. It’s all in fun and love and everybody gets a kick out of it. Even the people that are getting pranked, after the fact it’s more like a relief, like a joke you know. It’s all in fun and everybody has a good time with it. Can’t disclose too much, though.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I heard that you were at UCLA when <a href=\"http://www.obsessedwithsports.com/2011/02/11/charlie-sheen-at-ucla-baseball-team-batting-practice/\" target=\"_blank\">Charlie Sheen was taking batting practice</a> recently. How did he do? Can that guy hit a pitch?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, he’s pretty good, nah he’s really good. It’s surprising, because there’s a lot of other athletes that try to play baseball or hit. Like, I’ve seen LeBron James try to take some hacks and some other guys. Not saying that they’re terrible, but just giving Charlie some props, man. He was really good.\r\n\r\nObviously, he’s been in baseball movies and I heard he played in high school and was really good in high school. So all that kind of correlates to when you’re older you’re still probably pretty good. So he was out there taking hacks and hitting balls to the warning track. And we didn’t even have good balls. We weren’t cheating with major league baseballs, the nice pretty pearls out there. We had like some used baseballs that the leather’s not really tight on, and he was still socking them really well.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS: </strong>How did you get your nickname, man?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well, my real name is Covelli right, Covelli Crisp. My great grandma used to call me “Co” for short, Co Crisp. I have a little sister, about 2 ½ years younger than me, and friends, we all grew up in the same little apartment complex. We used to hang out, throw balls and talk crap, talking nasty to each other, I used to clown sister and clown my friends and joke around and just be a knucklehead. They would try to clown me, but it never really did work or I didn’t really care what they were saying. Finally, a cereal box came in the house with a cartoon character on it, with big ears and the box was “<a href=\"http://www.healthize.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/cocoa-krispies.gif\" target=\"_blank\">Coco Krispies</a>.” Now, I had large ears.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS: </strong>(laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I kind of grew into them a little bit. But back then, you should see some of my pictures, my ears were protruding a little bit, like what’d you say? (laughs) So they started calling me “Coco Crisp” like the cereal character. They’re like, oh the character’s name is ”Coco” that’s what we’re gonna call him and that’s you. So I hated the name “Coco” for however long they called me that, like a month or whatever. Those jokes kind of die out and then you try to throw it out there again like once in a blue moon.\r\n\r\nIn Double-A, I filled out a questionnaire saying who’s your favorite actor? What’s your favorite food? Nickname? Yada yada, this and that. So I filled that out. On the questionnaire, I wrote down my nickname that I had as a kid which wasn’t really a nickname, it was more of a joke, but it was the only thing that I really had as a nickname. Nobody called me anything else. So I just put “Coco” down. One of the guys on our team thought it was funny. And at this time I wasn’t really hitting that well. Like .250, and the year before I was the minor league organizational player of the year. And so I was like focusing too hard, I don’t know what was going on.\r\n\r\nAnyway, I walk up to the plate, still focusing too hard, trying to hit better, and one of the guys thought it was funny and before the game he told the announcer and the score guy to put it up there on the scoreboard. So I walk up to the plate and he says, “now batting, Coco Crisp.” And I’m walking up to the plate all seriously focused and them I hear that and I’m like umm… it just messed me all up. Took my focus all away and everything.\r\n\r\nSo I step to the box and I’m kind of flustered. And I see the pitch, first pitch or whatever, and I smack it. Pow. Base hit. I’m like, oh okay. It had changed my mentality from over-focusing to relaxing more and not thinking about anything but my stupid name that was on the scoreboard. I couldn’t think about baseball.\r\n\r\nSo anyway I had a good game and another good game. The numbers start rising. About a month later, I get traded to Cleveland, and the name comes with me over there. I’m hitting over there, so I say leave it up there. It was like .417 or .427, whatever I was hitting. Somebody gets hurt up top in the big leagues. I was in Double-A and they called me up to the big leagues. So it was like a month and a half span where I was actually Coco Crisp. Now I’m up in the big leagues, the name followed me up there. “Now batting number 10, Coco Crisp.” So in a month and a half – m y entire life I was Covelli before – but after a month and a half, I was Coco Crisp. Now I’m stuck with the name that started off as a joke! It’s still kind of a joke, but I’ve accepted it. It’s cool now. So that’s the story.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Nice man. So you think <a href=\"http://bleacherreport.com/articles/389821-the-dallas-bradenalex-rodriguez-feud-continues\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Braden is still pissed off at A-Rod</a>?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I don’t think so. I think Alex Rodriguez is eccentric. He’s a really good ball player. And with really good ball players, there’s always something different about them. Not really good, I mean like the best you know? Like Manny or … you know there’s something that’s always slightly … like that old Arsenio Hall, it kind of makes you go “hmmm” sometimes. So no, he ain’t mad at him. But if he steps on his mound again… (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp-throws-a-punch-at-james-shields.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3854\" title=\"coco-crisp-throws-a-punch-at-james-shields\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp-throws-a-punch-at-james-shields.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" /></a>CS:</strong> Then we got some trouble (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> There would probably be like a replay.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now I know you’re a big boxing enthusiast. You like to box, you watch boxing. Did you get into that brawl with James Shields just so you could show off your boxing skills?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) The answer to that is no.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> In the game… outside of the game it’s completely different, I have no hard feelings. Even in the game now, I have no hard feelings towards him. With anybody, you know, I don’t need to hold grudges, you know. I have a forgive-and-forget type of mentality. But anyway, in the game in the moment there are certain things, certain unwritten rules that happen within the game and sometimes there’s a thin line and it’s a blurred line and sometimes it’s crossed or somebody thinks it’s crossed and then there;s some back and forth and then things happen like that. But I can say that is in the past and hey, I just enjoy facing him now.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> When you’re involved in a bench clearing brawl, what’s your mindset? What are you thinking? Are you trying to inflict pain? Just make a statement?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) It depends. I’ve been in three now in baseball. That one, that is known. There was one in college and one in the minor leagues. All different, all different situations. Me, I was directly involved with the one seen on TV – as seen on TV – and the other two indirectly. It’s more like if you’re involved directly, then you’re going to actually fight. The other ones, it’s more you’re there to break it up, but if things are around you, you have to fight you know? So it’s a different kind of mentality with both things.\r\n\r\nBut to inflict pain? Not necessarily. When I ran out there I didn’t go out there with the intention to 187 somebody.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I just went out there to just fight. That was simple. That was it. Not to do anything else. It sounds so nonchalant to me because I used to box so it was like…\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> It’s not even a thing.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) Yeah, you know, it’s fighting so whatever.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you’re from LA, you were born here, you grew up here and I understand you’re involved in a few charities out here. What are you involved in?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well there’s a couple that are very close and dear to me. The main number one thing is RBI, <a href=\"http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/rbi.jsp\">Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities</a>. They work in conjunction with Major League baseball now because they became so global and they helped so many people. They’re tied in with me, because as a kid, growing up there in the inner city myself, you can get lost. My dad, my parents, did a great job of finding avenues where they would lead me in the right direction. RBI Baseball was that right direction for me. It helped me strive to be better in the classroom, and as a person and on the baseball field. I got travel, see some of the world. It helped me realize that this is what I wanted to do, play baseball. I ended up winning a World Series with them in 1995. It was the first RBI Championship World Series. It’s moments like that you never want to take back, you just hold on to. I don’t know if I’m the first person to win an RBI World Series Championship then win a World Series championship, so look into that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) But you know, that’s definitely one charity that’s helped me a lot. Another charity that I just recently got involved in is <a href=\"http://www.nea.org/readacross\">Read Across America</a>, which is dear to me because as a kid I had trouble reading in classroom in front of people. With that, I couldn’t really get out of my shell the way that I wanted to. I mean I was like a class clown and a fun type of person all the time. But in the classroom sitting down, it was like, “ah don’t pick me to read, I don’t want to read.” I could read, (laughs) but it was just trying to get out of your shell and be comfortable with who you are.\r\n\r\nI think this program allows kids to do that. I think reading in school is the most essential thing in learning. You have to do it all the time. The simplest thing for me now is reading bedtime stories to my kids or the more significant thing for me is looking over contracts. Also, I have speaking engagements where I have to read off Teleprompters and things like that. Getting kids started at a younger age will allow them to have more confidence in doing things and putting themselves out there to be able to try different things that they normally wouldn’t have. I think it’s a really good program.','Coco Crisp Interview','','publish','open','open','','coco-crisp-interview','','\nhttp://www.obsessedwithsports.com/2011/02/11/charlie-sheen-at-ucla-baseball-team-batting-practice/','2011-04-12 02:07:59','2011-04-12 09:07:59','',0,'http://manjr.com/?p=3848',0,'post','',0),(3850,2,'2011-03-09 11:52:48','2011-03-09 19:52:48','','coco-crisp','','inherit','open','open','','coco-crisp','','','2011-03-09 11:52:48','2011-03-09 19:52:48','',3848,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3851,2,'2011-03-09 12:20:08','2011-03-09 20:20:08','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3850\" title=\"coco-crisp\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"282\" /></a>\n\nWhether it\'s the nickname, his cheerful personality or his epic brawl with pitcher James Shields, Coco Crisp is a guy you don\'t forget. Born and raised in LA, Crisp has been on four teams during his 9-year Major League career. He came up with Cleveland, won a championship with the Red Sox, and played one injury-plagued season in Kansas City before joining the Oakland A\'s last year.\n\nA couple weeks back we had a good chat with the A\'s center fielder. After appearing in only 124 games the last two season, Crisp is healthy and excited about his team\'s chances this year. During our interview, we talked about his nickname, his charity work, baseball brawls, the A\'s outfield, speed vs. power, Charlie Sheen\'s UCLA batting practice, who\'s got the nastiest stuff and who\'s the most underrated pitcher in baseball.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you started last season on the DL and you’ve had to deal with some injuries in the past. Are you fully healthy going into this season?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, for the first time in a long time. I think last year was really a challenge for me to even be ready to start the season. Then I end up breaking my finger to start the season which probably was a little blessing in disguise because I don’t know if my shoulder was really 100% ready, but I was good enough to play at a level to compete. So I broke my finger and it was very disappointing to the guys before the season started. But you know like I said, it was probably a blessing. Maybe I would have re-injured my shoulder and then I’d be out the whole year. Right now I feel great. I’ve been in really good shape, able to work out just like I normally would. I’m just ready, ready for the season to start.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is the team as a whole healthier this year than they were last year?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> At least to start this season. We got a little banged up towards the end of last season. To start the season last year, we were pretty healthy I think. Sheets was coming in as a question – whether or not he was going to be ready. Myself, I was a question mark. But for the most part, I think this year there’s no question marks on if anybody is going to be healthy – with the exception of maybe Sweeney and I think he’s doing really well. I know Penny was dealing with some stuff this year. But I think everybody is ready to go and I think our health and our team is really good.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> What do you think about the team’s chances this year?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> I think they’re greater than last year. I thought we had a great chance last year to win our division, the way our team was structured. You know the thing that we were just talking about—the injuries last year—that kind of changed our season a little bit and made it difficult for us to compete.<strong> </strong>And we still did a great job of competing, because of our pitching staff was so phenomenal, or is phenomenal.\n\nI think with the addition that we have this year and with some luck and just being blessed and staying away from injuries, I think this year our team is stronger. We have filled the need that we were lacking last year – which are some power players. I think that bringing those players – I mean we still have speed, we have defense and our backbone is our pitching. The only thing that I felt that we were a little low on was power, and they did a great job of addressing that this year.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do you think with all the additions in the offseason that you’ve got a crowded outfield or is that a good problem to have?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well for the team (laughs). For the team, that’s always a great thing because you have that many good players that you don’t know who to play out there. You have a lot of options. For the manager, it can get a little bit difficult I think because of those options. It puts a little strain on him. Because they’re so good and probably so close – I mean I’m trying to say “they” but I’m in there I guess – it can be difficult on us to try and shuffle and maneuver guys so they don’t get upset.\n\nOn a personal level, you want to be out there every day playing. That’s the heart of the champion and a winner and those are the type of players we have on our team. You want to be out there helping the team. You want to play, you don’t want to just cheerlead. From the top, it’s a good look, but all the way from the bottom it’s kind of like, I want to be out there playing you know. But you don’t want to be that guy to mess up team chemistry either. So I think with the crowded outfield, and the personalities that we have in that outfield, I think we can deal with what might happen or the toughness of being in a crowded outfield. But I think everybody wants to be out there playing. I think depth is always a great thing on the team though.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So are you fired up to be playing with David DeJesus again?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, that’s my boy! We had good chemistry in the outfield when we’re playing. You know, we didn’t play that long together, because I did get injured in 2009 very quickly in the season. But in spring training, we grew that chemistry and through that first month, it was easy playing alongside him because his moves were easy to see. If he was going for the ball, it was easy to read you. That’s kind of how me and Sweeney were last year as well. That’s just because they are really good outfielders and the communication level and they way they go about it is very similar, and it makes it easy to play alongside them. That’s always a great thing. There’s no fear of running into each other, getting injured.\n\nAnd as a center fielder, there’s that respect that if I’m calling for it, he backs me up proper. I mean just being a good outfielder makes it easy.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now you guys are a young team but you’ve still got a lot of veterans, including yourself. Who would you say is the clubhouse leader in Oakland?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Wow, I think from different aspects, I think this year it’s hard to say. I don’t know. I know I’m more vocal. Sheets is a very vocal guy. He was last year. Raj [Rajai Davis] was there last year, he was the leader of our chapels. So there’s different leaders in the clubhouse, and it’s not just about baseball sometimes.\n\nElli [Mark Ellis], you know he’s been there for a long time. So you look at those guys. You look at the guys who are not just older guys, but guys who have also been there throughout the duration of their career. He’s one of those guys, so if I was going to pick somebody I would say him.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> What do you think is more important in baseball, having speed or having power?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Wow, you can’t have both? (Laughs)\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> This day and age, it’s flipping to more of an old school game where speed was more relevant in baseball back then. Then it turned over into power and now it’s kind of coming back to that. But for a ball club I think both are essential in building a team.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> I think you can get away with having less power and more speed guys, than just having a power hitting team, because speed doesn’t slump and power does. You know? So you have a lot of guys that just go for the gusto. It can be a tough time winning with those guys even though it’s going be a fun team to watch. Everybody loves to see the long ball. But the small ball – the bunting, the slap hitting, stealing bases – that can also be fun to watch. It’s just a completely different game. I think the consistency of speed, I think I would choose over power.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah, that makes sense. Who do you think has the nastiest stuff in the American League?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Ah cha cha cha, that’s a good question! Oh man. You know, from the left side, C.C. Sabathia, he’s probably one of the filthiest pitchers in the game. I know Cliff Lee throws an invisi-ball.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> It’s like you see it and you’re like, I’m gonna tattoo it, and all of a sudden it just disappears on you and you’re like, wow I missed that? He comes right after you. I think Brandon League, his stuff is filthy. He just doesn’t exactly know where he’s going to be and that’s what’s kind of scary.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) He’s up there throwing freaking 100 miles per hour up there. It’s moving everywhere and you figure one of these times it’s going to move into you by accident. He’s pretty difficult to face.\n\nYou know so many guys. You say American League… I’ve been fortunate enough not to really have to face the A’s pitching staff last year, so I know they’re pretty difficult to face.\n\nYeah, I’d pretty much say my number one person would be C.C. He figured out how to throw his changeup away, utilize his slider down and in to a righty, and then he throws 95 plus. It doesn’t matter if the previous batter got on base, he’ll still try to throw a 100 miles per hour. So he’s pretty filthy\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who do you think is the most underrated pitcher in baseball?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Oh man. Okay. I haven’t been asked that question. That’s a good one there. I would say it would be me.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Nobody’s seen me up on the mound. They won’t know where my ball is going either. I’m like a knuckleballer without a knuckleball. Just because the speed of my throw. But everybody is used to like 90 plus and I’ll be throwing like that 75.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) Sneaky.\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> 75, 85, with minimal movement that will throw everybody off. They won’t know what you do (laughs).\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Most underrated pitcher… you know right now I have to go with somebody on my team because they haven’t got the notoriety as of yet that they’re probably going to get this year. I have to say Gio Gonzalez.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Gio Gonzalez. All right.\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> How did it feel when you made the final catch in the 2007 ALCS that sent the Red Sox to the World Series?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> It was a good moment. Simply because me and Ellsbury had been shuffling the whole year, and they were leaning more toward going to Ellsbury and put me in for defense. I didn’t give up, so I’m out there trying my best and we’re obviously still going to win the game, but I’m just playing my heart out out there. Just trying to stay in there mentally and play my best. So when I ran that ball down and made that catch, it was more of like, yeah we clenched, but it was more internal, more like victory for myself. So it was a great moment for myself and it will always be that.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> I know the season’s a grind and games can go on forever, how do you stay loose throughout the season?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> For the whole season? Ice. (laughs) Ice. A lot of ice baths. Hot cold tub. Keeping it light mentally, you know clowning around. Having a routine to follow, it kind of set your mind at ease. I think your teammates help you out too, because that bond between the guys in the clubhouse, that back and forth kind of keeps you at ease, playing cards and all that. Mentally, it takes a lot of stress out of your day. Instead of just sitting down and thinking for eight hours about for 8 hours about what’s about to go down during the game and who you’re facing and everything like that. I think having a good clubhouse really allows you to focus in the beginning of the game. Not on baseball, but just be around it, and prepare yourself in an easy way. And then your training staff is a big part too. Whether it’s your strength coach or the doctors or the actual physical therapists, the trainers in there that take care of you. Those guys are essential in keeping the 162 game grind going.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now you mentioned keeping it light, what kind of pranks do you pull on the younger guys?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well there’s the classic end of the year rookie prank of the dress up, everybody knows about that. Then there are some other things that you can’t necessarily talk about. I mean there’s one where you go out to dinner… Dang, I don’t know if I want to give this up because then everybody will know about it.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I can’t give up the prank. I don’t want to be that guy to say those funny pranks that people know like, oh so this is going to happen, he’s not gonna get me, you know. But you know keeping it light, there’s some fun stuff especially on the young guys. It’s nothing too crazy. It’s all in fun and love and everybody gets a kick out of it. Even the people that are getting pranked, after the fact it’s more like a relief, like a joke you know. It’s all in fun and everybody has a good time with it. Can’t disclose too much, though.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> I heard that you were at UCLA when Charlie Sheen was taking batting practice recently. How did he do? Can that guy hit a pitch?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, he’s pretty good, nah he’s really good. It’s surprising, because there’s a lot of other athletes that try to play baseball or hit. Like, I’ve seen LeBron James try to take some hacks and some other guys. Not saying that they’re terrible, but just giving Charlie some props, man. He was really good.\n\nObviously, he’s been in baseball movies and I heard he played in high school and was really good in high school. So all that kind of correlates to when you’re older you’re still probably pretty good. So he was out there taking hacks and hitting balls to the warning track. And we didn’t even have good balls. We weren’t cheating with major league baseballs, the nice pretty pearls out there. We had like some used baseballs that the leather’s not really tight on, and he was still socking them really well.\n\n<strong>CS: </strong>How did you get your nickname, man?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well, my real name is Covelli right, Covelli Crisp. My great grandma used to call me “Co” for short, Co Crisp. I have a little sister, about 2 ½ years younger than me, and friends, we all grew up in the same little apartment complex. We used to hang out, throw balls and talk crap, talking nasty to each other, I used to clown sister and clown my friends and joke around and just be a knucklehead. They would try to clown me, but it never really did work or I didn’t really care what they were saying.\n\nFinally, a cereal box came in the house with a cartoon character on it, with big ears and the box was “Coco Krispies.” Now, I had large ears.\n\n<strong>CS: </strong>(laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> I kind of grew into them a little bit. But back then, you should see some of my pictures, my ears were protruding a little bit, like what’d you say? (laughs) So they started calling me “Coco Crisp” like the cereal character. They’re like, oh the character’s name is ”Coco” that’s what we’re gonna call him and that’s you. So I hated the name “Coco” for however long they called me that, like a month or whatever. Those jokes kind of die out and then you try to throw it out there again like once in a blue moon.\n\nIn Double-A, I filled out a questionnaire saying who’s your favorite actor? What’s your favorite food? Nickname? Yada yada, this and that. So I filled that out. On the questionnaire, I wrote down my nickname that I had as a kid which wasn’t really a nickname, it was more of a joke, but it was the only thing that I really had as a nickname. Nobody called me anything else. So I just put “Coco” down. One of the guys on our team thought it was funny. And at this time I wasn’t really hitting that well. Like .250, and the year before I was the minor league organizational player of the year. And so I was like focusing too hard, I don’t know what was going on.\n\nAnyway, I walk up to the plate, still focusing too hard, trying to hit better, and one of the guys thought it was funny and before the game he told the announcer and the score guy to put it up there on the scoreboard. So I walk up to the plate and he says, “now batting, Coco Crisp.” And I’m walking up to the plate all seriously focused and them I hear that and I’m like umm… it just messed me all up. Took my focus all away and everything.\n\nSo I step to the box and I’m kind of flustered. And I see the pitch, first pitch or whatever, and I smack it. Pow. Base hit. I’m like, oh okay. It had changed my mentality from over-focusing to relaxing more and not thinking about anything but my stupid name that was on the scoreboard. I couldn’t think about baseball.\n\nSo anyway I had a good game and another good game. The numbers start rising. About a month later, I get traded to Cleveland, and the name comes with me over there. I’m hitting over there, so I say leave it up there. It was like .417 or .427, whatever I was hitting. Somebody gets hurt up top in the big leagues. I was in Double-A and they called me up to the big leagues. So it was like a month and a half span where I was actually Coco Crisp. Now I’m up in the big leagues, the name followed me up there. “Now batting number 10, Coco Crisp.” So in a month and a half – m y entire life I was Covelli before – but after a month and a half, I was Coco Crisp. Now I’m stuck with the name that started off as a joke! It’s still kind of a joke, but I’ve accepted it. It’s cool now. So that’s the story.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Nice man. So you think Dallas Braden is still pissed off at A-Rod?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I don’t think so. I think Alex Rodriguez is eccentric. He’s a really good ball player. And with really good ball players, there’s always something different about them. Not really good, I mean like the best you know? Like Manny or … you know there’s something that’s always slightly … like that old Arsenio Hall, it kind of makes you go “hmmm” sometimes. So no, he ain’t mad at him. But if he steps on his mound again… (laughs)\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Then we got some trouble (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> There would probably be like a replay.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now I know you’re a big boxing enthusiast. You like to box, you watch boxing. Did you get into that brawl with James Shields just so you could show off your boxing skills?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) The answer to that is no.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> In the game… outside of the game it’s completely different, I have no hard feelings. Even in the game now, I have no hard feelings towards him. With anybody, you know, I don’t need to hold grudges, you know. I have a forgive-and-forget type of mentality. But anyway, in the game in the moment there are certain things, certain unwritten rules that happen within the game and sometimes there’s a thin line and it’s a blurred line and sometimes it’s crossed or somebody thinks it’s crossed and then there;s some back and forth and then things happen like that. But I can say that is in the past and hey, I just enjoy facing him now.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> When you’re involved in a bench clearing brawl, what’s your mindset? What are you thinking? Are you trying to inflict pain? Just make a statement?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) It depends. I’ve been in three now in baseball. That one, that is known. There was one in college and one in the minor leagues. All different, all different situations. Me, I was directly involved with the one seen on TV – as seen on TV – and the other two indirectly. It’s more like if you’re involved directly, then you’re going to actually fight. The other ones, it’s more you’re there to break it up, but if things are around you, you have to fight you know? So it’s a different kind of mentality with both things.\n\nBut to inflict pain? Not necessarily. When I ran out there I didn’t go out there with the intention to 187 somebody.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I just went out there to just fight. That was simple. That was it. Not to do anything else. It sounds so nonchalant to me because I used to box so it was like…\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> It’s not even a thing.\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) Yeah, you know, it’s fighting so whatever.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you’re from LA, you were born here, you grew up here and I understand you’re involved in a few charities out here. What are you involved in?\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well there’s a couple that are very close and dear to me. The main number one thing is RBI, <a href=\"http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/rbi.jsp\">Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities</a>. They work in conjunction with Major League baseball now because they became so global and they helped so many people. They’re tied in with me, because as a kid, growing up there in the inner city myself, you can get lost. My dad, my parents, did a great job of finding avenues where they would lead me in the right direction. RBI Baseball was that right direction for me. It helped me strive to be better in the classroom, and as a person and on the baseball field. I got travel, see some of the world. It helped me realize that this is what I wanted to do, play baseball. I ended up winning a World Series with them in 1995. It was the first RBI Championship World Series. It’s moments like that you never want to take back, you just hold on to. I don’t know if I’m the first person to win an RBI World Series Championship then win a World Series championship, so look into that.\n\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\n\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) But you know, that’s definitely one charity that’s helped me a lot. Another charity that I just recently got involved in is <a href=\"http://www.nea.org/readacross\">Read Across America</a>, which is dear to me because as a kid I had trouble reading in classroom in front of people. With that, I couldn’t really get out of my shell the way that I wanted to. I mean I was like a class clown and a fun type of person all the time. But in the classroom sitting down, it was like, “ah don’t pick me to read, I don’t want to read.” I could read, (laughs) but it was just trying to get out of your shell and be comfortable with who you are.\n\nI think this program allows kids to do that. I think reading in school is the most essential thing in learning. You have to do it all the time. The simplest thing for me now is reading bedtime stories to my kids or the more significant thing for me is looking over contracts. Also, I have speaking engagements where I have to read off Teleprompters and things like that. Getting kids started at a younger age will allow them to have more confidence in doing things and putting themselves out there to be able to try different things that they normally wouldn’t have. I think it’s a really good program.','Coco Crisp Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3848-revision','','','2011-03-09 12:20:08','2011-03-09 20:20:08','',3848,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3848-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3852,2,'2011-03-09 12:22:12','2011-03-09 20:22:12','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3850\" title=\"coco-crisp\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"282\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWhether it\'s the nickname, his cheerful personality or his epic brawl with pitcher James Shields, Coco Crisp is a guy you don\'t forget. Born and raised in LA, Crisp has been on four teams during his 9-year Major League career. He came up with Cleveland, won a championship with the Red Sox, and played one injury-plagued season in Kansas City before joining the Oakland A\'s last year.\r\n\r\nA couple weeks back we had a good chat with the A\'s center fielder. After appearing in only 124 games the last two season, Crisp is healthy and excited about his team\'s chances this year. During our interview, we talked about his nickname, his charity work, baseball brawls, the A\'s outfield, speed vs. power, Charlie Sheen\'s UCLA batting practice, who\'s got the nastiest stuff and who\'s the most underrated pitcher in baseball.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you started last season on the DL and you’ve had to deal with some injuries in the past. Are you fully healthy going into this season?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, for the first time in a long time. I think last year was really a challenge for me to even be ready to start the season. Then I end up breaking my finger to start the season which probably was a little blessing in disguise because I don’t know if my shoulder was really 100% ready, but I was good enough to play at a level to compete. So I broke my finger and it was very disappointing to the guys before the season started. But you know like I said, it was probably a blessing. Maybe I would have re-injured my shoulder and then I’d be out the whole year. Right now I feel great. I’ve been in really good shape, able to work out just like I normally would. I’m just ready, ready for the season to start.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is the team as a whole healthier this year than they were last year?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> At least to start this season. We got a little banged up towards the end of last season. To start the season last year, we were pretty healthy I think. Sheets was coming in as a question – whether or not he was going to be ready. Myself, I was a question mark. But for the most part, I think this year there’s no question marks on if anybody is going to be healthy – with the exception of maybe Sweeney and I think he’s doing really well. I know Penny was dealing with some stuff this year. But I think everybody is ready to go and I think our health and our team is really good.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> What do you think about the team’s chances this year?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I think they’re greater than last year. I thought we had a great chance last year to win our division, the way our team was structured. You know the thing that we were just talking about—the injuries last year—that kind of changed our season a little bit and made it difficult for us to compete.<strong> </strong>And we still did a great job of competing, because of our pitching staff was so phenomenal, or is phenomenal.\r\n\r\nI think with the addition that we have this year and with some luck and just being blessed and staying away from injuries, I think this year our team is stronger. We have filled the need that we were lacking last year – which are some power players. I think that bringing those players – I mean we still have speed, we have defense and our backbone is our pitching. The only thing that I felt that we were a little low on was power, and they did a great job of addressing that this year.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do you think with all the additions in the offseason that you’ve got a crowded outfield or is that a good problem to have?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well for the team (laughs). For the team, that’s always a great thing because you have that many good players that you don’t know who to play out there. You have a lot of options. For the manager, it can get a little bit difficult I think because of those options. It puts a little strain on him. Because they’re so good and probably so close – I mean I’m trying to say “they” but I’m in there I guess – it can be difficult on us to try and shuffle and maneuver guys so they don’t get upset.\r\n\r\nOn a personal level, you want to be out there every day playing. That’s the heart of the champion and a winner and those are the type of players we have on our team. You want to be out there helping the team. You want to play, you don’t want to just cheerlead. From the top, it’s a good look, but all the way from the bottom it’s kind of like, I want to be out there playing you know. But you don’t want to be that guy to mess up team chemistry either. So I think with the crowded outfield, and the personalities that we have in that outfield, I think we can deal with what might happen or the toughness of being in a crowded outfield. But I think everybody wants to be out there playing. I think depth is always a great thing on the team though.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So are you fired up to be playing with David DeJesus again?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, that’s my boy! We had good chemistry in the outfield when we’re playing. You know, we didn’t play that long together, because I did get injured in 2009 very quickly in the season. But in spring training, we grew that chemistry and through that first month, it was easy playing alongside him because his moves were easy to see. If he was going for the ball, it was easy to read you. That’s kind of how me and Sweeney were last year as well. That’s just because they are really good outfielders and the communication level and they way they go about it is very similar, and it makes it easy to play alongside them. That’s always a great thing. There’s no fear of running into each other, getting injured.\r\n\r\nAnd as a center fielder, there’s that respect that if I’m calling for it, he backs me up proper. I mean just being a good outfielder makes it easy.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now you guys are a young team but you’ve still got a lot of veterans, including yourself. Who would you say is the clubhouse leader in Oakland?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Wow, I think from different aspects, I think this year it’s hard to say. I don’t know. I know I’m more vocal. Sheets is a very vocal guy. He was last year. Raj [Rajai Davis] was there last year, he was the leader of our chapels. So there’s different leaders in the clubhouse, and it’s not just about baseball sometimes.\r\n\r\nElli [Mark Ellis], you know he’s been there for a long time. So you look at those guys. You look at the guys who are not just older guys, but guys who have also been there throughout the duration of their career. He’s one of those guys, so if I was going to pick somebody I would say him.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> What do you think is more important in baseball, having speed or having power?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Wow, you can’t have both? (Laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> This day and age, it’s flipping to more of an old school game where speed was more relevant in baseball back then. Then it turned over into power and now it’s kind of coming back to that. But for a ball club I think both are essential in building a team.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I think you can get away with having less power and more speed guys, than just having a power hitting team, because speed doesn’t slump and power does. You know? So you have a lot of guys that just go for the gusto. It can be a tough time winning with those guys even though it’s going be a fun team to watch. Everybody loves to see the long ball. But the small ball – the bunting, the slap hitting, stealing bases – that can also be fun to watch. It’s just a completely different game. I think the consistency of speed, I think I would choose over power.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah, that makes sense. Who do you think has the nastiest stuff in the American League?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Ah cha cha cha, that’s a good question! Oh man. You know, from the left side, C.C. Sabathia, he’s probably one of the filthiest pitchers in the game. I know Cliff Lee throws an invisi-ball.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> It’s like you see it and you’re like, I’m gonna tattoo it, and all of a sudden it just disappears on you and you’re like, wow I missed that? He comes right after you. I think Brandon League, his stuff is filthy. He just doesn’t exactly know where he’s going to be and that’s what’s kind of scary.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) He’s up there throwing freaking 100 miles per hour up there. It’s moving everywhere and you figure one of these times it’s going to move into you by accident. He’s pretty difficult to face.\r\n\r\nYou know so many guys. You say American League… I’ve been fortunate enough not to really have to face the A’s pitching staff last year, so I know they’re pretty difficult to face.\r\n\r\nYeah, I’d pretty much say my number one person would be C.C. He figured out how to throw his changeup away, utilize his slider down and in to a righty, and then he throws 95 plus. It doesn’t matter if the previous batter got on base, he’ll still try to throw a 100 miles per hour. So he’s pretty filthy\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who do you think is the most underrated pitcher in baseball?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Oh man. Okay. I haven’t been asked that question. That’s a good one there. I would say it would be me.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Nobody’s seen me up on the mound. They won’t know where my ball is going either. I’m like a knuckleballer without a knuckleball. Just because the speed of my throw. But everybody is used to like 90 plus and I’ll be throwing like that 75.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) Sneaky.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> 75, 85, with minimal movement that will throw everybody off. They won’t know what you do (laughs).\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Most underrated pitcher… you know right now I have to go with somebody on my team because they haven’t got the notoriety as of yet that they’re probably going to get this year. I have to say Gio Gonzalez.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Gio Gonzalez. All right.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How did it feel when you made the final catch in the 2007 ALCS that sent the Red Sox to the World Series?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> It was a good moment. Simply because me and Ellsbury had been shuffling the whole year, and they were leaning more toward going to Ellsbury and put me in for defense. I didn’t give up, so I’m out there trying my best and we’re obviously still going to win the game, but I’m just playing my heart out out there. Just trying to stay in there mentally and play my best. So when I ran that ball down and made that catch, it was more of like, yeah we clenched, but it was more internal, more like victory for myself. So it was a great moment for myself and it will always be that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I know the season’s a grind and games can go on forever, how do you stay loose throughout the season?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> For the whole season? Ice. (laughs) Ice. A lot of ice baths. Hot cold tub. Keeping it light mentally, you know clowning around. Having a routine to follow, it kind of set your mind at ease. I think your teammates help you out too, because that bond between the guys in the clubhouse, that back and forth kind of keeps you at ease, playing cards and all that. Mentally, it takes a lot of stress out of your day. Instead of just sitting down and thinking for eight hours about for 8 hours about what’s about to go down during the game and who you’re facing and everything like that. I think having a good clubhouse really allows you to focus in the beginning of the game. Not on baseball, but just be around it, and prepare yourself in an easy way. And then your training staff is a big part too. Whether it’s your strength coach or the doctors or the actual physical therapists, the trainers in there that take care of you. Those guys are essential in keeping the 162 game grind going.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now you mentioned keeping it light, what kind of pranks do you pull on the younger guys?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well there’s the classic end of the year rookie prank of the dress up, everybody knows about that. Then there are some other things that you can’t necessarily talk about. I mean there’s one where you go out to dinner… Dang, I don’t know if I want to give this up because then everybody will know about it.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I can’t give up the prank. I don’t want to be that guy to say those funny pranks that people know like, oh so this is going to happen, he’s not gonna get me, you know. But you know keeping it light, there’s some fun stuff especially on the young guys. It’s nothing too crazy. It’s all in fun and love and everybody gets a kick out of it. Even the people that are getting pranked, after the fact it’s more like a relief, like a joke you know. It’s all in fun and everybody has a good time with it. Can’t disclose too much, though.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I heard that you were at UCLA when Charlie Sheen was taking batting practice recently. How did he do? Can that guy hit a pitch?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, he’s pretty good, nah he’s really good. It’s surprising, because there’s a lot of other athletes that try to play baseball or hit. Like, I’ve seen LeBron James try to take some hacks and some other guys. Not saying that they’re terrible, but just giving Charlie some props, man. He was really good.\r\n\r\nObviously, he’s been in baseball movies and I heard he played in high school and was really good in high school. So all that kind of correlates to when you’re older you’re still probably pretty good. So he was out there taking hacks and hitting balls to the warning track. And we didn’t even have good balls. We weren’t cheating with major league baseballs, the nice pretty pearls out there. We had like some used baseballs that the leather’s not really tight on, and he was still socking them really well.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS: </strong>How did you get your nickname, man?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well, my real name is Covelli right, Covelli Crisp. My great grandma used to call me “Co” for short, Co Crisp. I have a little sister, about 2 ½ years younger than me, and friends, we all grew up in the same little apartment complex. We used to hang out, throw balls and talk crap, talking nasty to each other, I used to clown sister and clown my friends and joke around and just be a knucklehead. They would try to clown me, but it never really did work or I didn’t really care what they were saying.\r\n\r\nFinally, a cereal box came in the house with a cartoon character on it, with big ears and the box was “Coco Krispies.” Now, I had large ears.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS: </strong>(laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I kind of grew into them a little bit. But back then, you should see some of my pictures, my ears were protruding a little bit, like what’d you say? (laughs) So they started calling me “Coco Crisp” like the cereal character. They’re like, oh the character’s name is ”Coco” that’s what we’re gonna call him and that’s you. So I hated the name “Coco” for however long they called me that, like a month or whatever. Those jokes kind of die out and then you try to throw it out there again like once in a blue moon.\r\n\r\nIn Double-A, I filled out a questionnaire saying who’s your favorite actor? What’s your favorite food? Nickname? Yada yada, this and that. So I filled that out. On the questionnaire, I wrote down my nickname that I had as a kid which wasn’t really a nickname, it was more of a joke, but it was the only thing that I really had as a nickname. Nobody called me anything else. So I just put “Coco” down. One of the guys on our team thought it was funny. And at this time I wasn’t really hitting that well. Like .250, and the year before I was the minor league organizational player of the year. And so I was like focusing too hard, I don’t know what was going on.\r\n\r\nAnyway, I walk up to the plate, still focusing too hard, trying to hit better, and one of the guys thought it was funny and before the game he told the announcer and the score guy to put it up there on the scoreboard. So I walk up to the plate and he says, “now batting, Coco Crisp.” And I’m walking up to the plate all seriously focused and them I hear that and I’m like umm… it just messed me all up. Took my focus all away and everything.\r\n\r\nSo I step to the box and I’m kind of flustered. And I see the pitch, first pitch or whatever, and I smack it. Pow. Base hit. I’m like, oh okay. It had changed my mentality from over-focusing to relaxing more and not thinking about anything but my stupid name that was on the scoreboard. I couldn’t think about baseball.\r\n\r\nSo anyway I had a good game and another good game. The numbers start rising. About a month later, I get traded to Cleveland, and the name comes with me over there. I’m hitting over there, so I say leave it up there. It was like .417 or .427, whatever I was hitting. Somebody gets hurt up top in the big leagues. I was in Double-A and they called me up to the big leagues. So it was like a month and a half span where I was actually Coco Crisp. Now I’m up in the big leagues, the name followed me up there. “Now batting number 10, Coco Crisp.” So in a month and a half – m y entire life I was Covelli before – but after a month and a half, I was Coco Crisp. Now I’m stuck with the name that started off as a joke! It’s still kind of a joke, but I’ve accepted it. It’s cool now. So that’s the story.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Nice man. So you think Dallas Braden is still pissed off at A-Rod?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I don’t think so. I think Alex Rodriguez is eccentric. He’s a really good ball player. And with really good ball players, there’s always something different about them. Not really good, I mean like the best you know? Like Manny or … you know there’s something that’s always slightly … like that old Arsenio Hall, it kind of makes you go “hmmm” sometimes. So no, he ain’t mad at him. But if he steps on his mound again… (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Then we got some trouble (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> There would probably be like a replay.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now I know you’re a big boxing enthusiast. You like to box, you watch boxing. Did you get into that brawl with James Shields just so you could show off your boxing skills?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) The answer to that is no.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> In the game… outside of the game it’s completely different, I have no hard feelings. Even in the game now, I have no hard feelings towards him. With anybody, you know, I don’t need to hold grudges, you know. I have a forgive-and-forget type of mentality. But anyway, in the game in the moment there are certain things, certain unwritten rules that happen within the game and sometimes there’s a thin line and it’s a blurred line and sometimes it’s crossed or somebody thinks it’s crossed and then there;s some back and forth and then things happen like that. But I can say that is in the past and hey, I just enjoy facing him now.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> When you’re involved in a bench clearing brawl, what’s your mindset? What are you thinking? Are you trying to inflict pain? Just make a statement?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) It depends. I’ve been in three now in baseball. That one, that is known. There was one in college and one in the minor leagues. All different, all different situations. Me, I was directly involved with the one seen on TV – as seen on TV – and the other two indirectly. It’s more like if you’re involved directly, then you’re going to actually fight. The other ones, it’s more you’re there to break it up, but if things are around you, you have to fight you know? So it’s a different kind of mentality with both things.\r\n\r\nBut to inflict pain? Not necessarily. When I ran out there I didn’t go out there with the intention to 187 somebody.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I just went out there to just fight. That was simple. That was it. Not to do anything else. It sounds so nonchalant to me because I used to box so it was like…\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> It’s not even a thing.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) Yeah, you know, it’s fighting so whatever.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you’re from LA, you were born here, you grew up here and I understand you’re involved in a few charities out here. What are you involved in?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well there’s a couple that are very close and dear to me. The main number one thing is RBI, <a href=\"http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/rbi.jsp\">Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities</a>. They work in conjunction with Major League baseball now because they became so global and they helped so many people. They’re tied in with me, because as a kid, growing up there in the inner city myself, you can get lost. My dad, my parents, did a great job of finding avenues where they would lead me in the right direction. RBI Baseball was that right direction for me. It helped me strive to be better in the classroom, and as a person and on the baseball field. I got travel, see some of the world. It helped me realize that this is what I wanted to do, play baseball. I ended up winning a World Series with them in 1995. It was the first RBI Championship World Series. It’s moments like that you never want to take back, you just hold on to. I don’t know if I’m the first person to win an RBI World Series Championship then win a World Series championship, so look into that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) But you know, that’s definitely one charity that’s helped me a lot. Another charity that I just recently got involved in is <a href=\"http://www.nea.org/readacross\">Read Across America</a>, which is dear to me because as a kid I had trouble reading in classroom in front of people. With that, I couldn’t really get out of my shell the way that I wanted to. I mean I was like a class clown and a fun type of person all the time. But in the classroom sitting down, it was like, “ah don’t pick me to read, I don’t want to read.” I could read, (laughs) but it was just trying to get out of your shell and be comfortable with who you are.\r\n\r\nI think this program allows kids to do that. I think reading in school is the most essential thing in learning. You have to do it all the time. The simplest thing for me now is reading bedtime stories to my kids or the more significant thing for me is looking over contracts. Also, I have speaking engagements where I have to read off Teleprompters and things like that. Getting kids started at a younger age will allow them to have more confidence in doing things and putting themselves out there to be able to try different things that they normally wouldn’t have. I think it’s a really good program.','Coco Crisp Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3848-revision-2','','','2011-03-09 12:22:12','2011-03-09 20:22:12','',3848,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3848-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(3853,2,'2011-03-09 12:24:19','2011-03-09 20:24:19','','108972123CP019_Oakland_Athl','','inherit','open','open','','108972123cp019_oakland_athl','','','2011-03-09 12:24:19','2011-03-09 20:24:19','',3848,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp3.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3854,2,'2011-03-09 12:26:25','2011-03-09 20:26:25','','coco-crisp-throws-a-punch-at-james-shields','','inherit','open','open','','coco-crisp-throws-a-punch-at-james-shields','','','2011-03-09 12:26:25','2011-03-09 20:26:25','',3848,'http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp-throws-a-punch-at-james-shields.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3855,2,'2011-03-09 12:22:23','2011-03-09 20:22:23','<a href=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3850\" title=\"coco-crisp\" src=\"http://manjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coco-crisp.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"282\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWhether it\'s the nickname, his cheerful personality or his epic brawl with pitcher James Shields, Coco Crisp is a guy you don\'t forget. Born and raised in LA, Crisp has been on four teams during his 9-year Major League career. He came up with Cleveland, won a championship with the Red Sox, and played one injury-plagued season in Kansas City before joining the Oakland A\'s last year.\r\n\r\nA couple weeks back we had a good chat with the A\'s center fielder. After appearing in only 124 games the last two season, Crisp is healthy and excited about his team\'s chances this year. During our interview, we talked about his nickname, his charity work, baseball brawls, the A\'s outfield, speed vs. power, Charlie Sheen\'s UCLA batting practice, who\'s got the nastiest stuff and who\'s the most underrated pitcher in baseball.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you started last season on the DL and you’ve had to deal with some injuries in the past. Are you fully healthy going into this season?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, for the first time in a long time. I think last year was really a challenge for me to even be ready to start the season. Then I end up breaking my finger to start the season which probably was a little blessing in disguise because I don’t know if my shoulder was really 100% ready, but I was good enough to play at a level to compete. So I broke my finger and it was very disappointing to the guys before the season started. But you know like I said, it was probably a blessing. Maybe I would have re-injured my shoulder and then I’d be out the whole year. Right now I feel great. I’ve been in really good shape, able to work out just like I normally would. I’m just ready, ready for the season to start.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Is the team as a whole healthier this year than they were last year?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> At least to start this season. We got a little banged up towards the end of last season. To start the season last year, we were pretty healthy I think. Sheets was coming in as a question – whether or not he was going to be ready. Myself, I was a question mark. But for the most part, I think this year there’s no question marks on if anybody is going to be healthy – with the exception of maybe Sweeney and I think he’s doing really well. I know Penny was dealing with some stuff this year. But I think everybody is ready to go and I think our health and our team is really good.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> What do you think about the team’s chances this year?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I think they’re greater than last year. I thought we had a great chance last year to win our division, the way our team was structured. You know the thing that we were just talking about—the injuries last year—that kind of changed our season a little bit and made it difficult for us to compete.<strong> </strong>And we still did a great job of competing, because of our pitching staff was so phenomenal, or is phenomenal.\r\n\r\nI think with the addition that we have this year and with some luck and just being blessed and staying away from injuries, I think this year our team is stronger. We have filled the need that we were lacking last year – which are some power players. I think that bringing those players – I mean we still have speed, we have defense and our backbone is our pitching. The only thing that I felt that we were a little low on was power, and they did a great job of addressing that this year.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Do you think with all the additions in the offseason that you’ve got a crowded outfield or is that a good problem to have?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well for the team (laughs). For the team, that’s always a great thing because you have that many good players that you don’t know who to play out there. You have a lot of options. For the manager, it can get a little bit difficult I think because of those options. It puts a little strain on him. Because they’re so good and probably so close – I mean I’m trying to say “they” but I’m in there I guess – it can be difficult on us to try and shuffle and maneuver guys so they don’t get upset.\r\n\r\nOn a personal level, you want to be out there every day playing. That’s the heart of the champion and a winner and those are the type of players we have on our team. You want to be out there helping the team. You want to play, you don’t want to just cheerlead. From the top, it’s a good look, but all the way from the bottom it’s kind of like, I want to be out there playing you know. But you don’t want to be that guy to mess up team chemistry either. So I think with the crowded outfield, and the personalities that we have in that outfield, I think we can deal with what might happen or the toughness of being in a crowded outfield. But I think everybody wants to be out there playing. I think depth is always a great thing on the team though.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So are you fired up to be playing with David DeJesus again?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, that’s my boy! We had good chemistry in the outfield when we’re playing. You know, we didn’t play that long together, because I did get injured in 2009 very quickly in the season. But in spring training, we grew that chemistry and through that first month, it was easy playing alongside him because his moves were easy to see. If he was going for the ball, it was easy to read you. That’s kind of how me and Sweeney were last year as well. That’s just because they are really good outfielders and the communication level and they way they go about it is very similar, and it makes it easy to play alongside them. That’s always a great thing. There’s no fear of running into each other, getting injured.\r\n\r\nAnd as a center fielder, there’s that respect that if I’m calling for it, he backs me up proper. I mean just being a good outfielder makes it easy.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now you guys are a young team but you’ve still got a lot of veterans, including yourself. Who would you say is the clubhouse leader in Oakland?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Wow, I think from different aspects, I think this year it’s hard to say. I don’t know. I know I’m more vocal. Sheets is a very vocal guy. He was last year. Raj [Rajai Davis] was there last year, he was the leader of our chapels. So there’s different leaders in the clubhouse, and it’s not just about baseball sometimes.\r\n\r\nElli [Mark Ellis], you know he’s been there for a long time. So you look at those guys. You look at the guys who are not just older guys, but guys who have also been there throughout the duration of their career. He’s one of those guys, so if I was going to pick somebody I would say him.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> What do you think is more important in baseball, having speed or having power?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Wow, you can’t have both? (Laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> This day and age, it’s flipping to more of an old school game where speed was more relevant in baseball back then. Then it turned over into power and now it’s kind of coming back to that. But for a ball club I think both are essential in building a team.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Right.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I think you can get away with having less power and more speed guys, than just having a power hitting team, because speed doesn’t slump and power does. You know? So you have a lot of guys that just go for the gusto. It can be a tough time winning with those guys even though it’s going be a fun team to watch. Everybody loves to see the long ball. But the small ball – the bunting, the slap hitting, stealing bases – that can also be fun to watch. It’s just a completely different game. I think the consistency of speed, I think I would choose over power.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Yeah, that makes sense. Who do you think has the nastiest stuff in the American League?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Ah cha cha cha, that’s a good question! Oh man. You know, from the left side, C.C. Sabathia, he’s probably one of the filthiest pitchers in the game. I know Cliff Lee throws an invisi-ball.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> It’s like you see it and you’re like, I’m gonna tattoo it, and all of a sudden it just disappears on you and you’re like, wow I missed that? He comes right after you. I think Brandon League, his stuff is filthy. He just doesn’t exactly know where he’s going to be and that’s what’s kind of scary.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) He’s up there throwing freaking 100 miles per hour up there. It’s moving everywhere and you figure one of these times it’s going to move into you by accident. He’s pretty difficult to face.\r\n\r\nYou know so many guys. You say American League… I’ve been fortunate enough not to really have to face the A’s pitching staff last year, so I know they’re pretty difficult to face.\r\n\r\nYeah, I’d pretty much say my number one person would be C.C. He figured out how to throw his changeup away, utilize his slider down and in to a righty, and then he throws 95 plus. It doesn’t matter if the previous batter got on base, he’ll still try to throw a 100 miles per hour. So he’s pretty filthy\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Who do you think is the most underrated pitcher in baseball?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Oh man. Okay. I haven’t been asked that question. That’s a good one there. I would say it would be me.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Nobody’s seen me up on the mound. They won’t know where my ball is going either. I’m like a knuckleballer without a knuckleball. Just because the speed of my throw. But everybody is used to like 90 plus and I’ll be throwing like that 75.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs) Sneaky.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> 75, 85, with minimal movement that will throw everybody off. They won’t know what you do (laughs).\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Most underrated pitcher… you know right now I have to go with somebody on my team because they haven’t got the notoriety as of yet that they’re probably going to get this year. I have to say Gio Gonzalez.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Gio Gonzalez. All right.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> How did it feel when you made the final catch in the 2007 ALCS that sent the Red Sox to the World Series?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> It was a good moment. Simply because me and Ellsbury had been shuffling the whole year, and they were leaning more toward going to Ellsbury and put me in for defense. I didn’t give up, so I’m out there trying my best and we’re obviously still going to win the game, but I’m just playing my heart out out there. Just trying to stay in there mentally and play my best. So when I ran that ball down and made that catch, it was more of like, yeah we clenched, but it was more internal, more like victory for myself. So it was a great moment for myself and it will always be that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I know the season’s a grind and games can go on forever, how do you stay loose throughout the season?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> For the whole season? Ice. (laughs) Ice. A lot of ice baths. Hot cold tub. Keeping it light mentally, you know clowning around. Having a routine to follow, it kind of set your mind at ease. I think your teammates help you out too, because that bond between the guys in the clubhouse, that back and forth kind of keeps you at ease, playing cards and all that. Mentally, it takes a lot of stress out of your day. Instead of just sitting down and thinking for eight hours about for 8 hours about what’s about to go down during the game and who you’re facing and everything like that. I think having a good clubhouse really allows you to focus in the beginning of the game. Not on baseball, but just be around it, and prepare yourself in an easy way. And then your training staff is a big part too. Whether it’s your strength coach or the doctors or the actual physical therapists, the trainers in there that take care of you. Those guys are essential in keeping the 162 game grind going.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now you mentioned keeping it light, what kind of pranks do you pull on the younger guys?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well there’s the classic end of the year rookie prank of the dress up, everybody knows about that. Then there are some other things that you can’t necessarily talk about. I mean there’s one where you go out to dinner… Dang, I don’t know if I want to give this up because then everybody will know about it.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I can’t give up the prank. I don’t want to be that guy to say those funny pranks that people know like, oh so this is going to happen, he’s not gonna get me, you know. But you know keeping it light, there’s some fun stuff especially on the young guys. It’s nothing too crazy. It’s all in fun and love and everybody gets a kick out of it. Even the people that are getting pranked, after the fact it’s more like a relief, like a joke you know. It’s all in fun and everybody has a good time with it. Can’t disclose too much, though.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> I heard that you were at UCLA when Charlie Sheen was taking batting practice recently. How did he do? Can that guy hit a pitch?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Yeah, he’s pretty good, nah he’s really good. It’s surprising, because there’s a lot of other athletes that try to play baseball or hit. Like, I’ve seen LeBron James try to take some hacks and some other guys. Not saying that they’re terrible, but just giving Charlie some props, man. He was really good.\r\n\r\nObviously, he’s been in baseball movies and I heard he played in high school and was really good in high school. So all that kind of correlates to when you’re older you’re still probably pretty good. So he was out there taking hacks and hitting balls to the warning track. And we didn’t even have good balls. We weren’t cheating with major league baseballs, the nice pretty pearls out there. We had like some used baseballs that the leather’s not really tight on, and he was still socking them really well.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS: </strong>How did you get your nickname, man?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well, my real name is Covelli right, Covelli Crisp. My great grandma used to call me “Co” for short, Co Crisp. I have a little sister, about 2 ½ years younger than me, and friends, we all grew up in the same little apartment complex. We used to hang out, throw balls and talk crap, talking nasty to each other, I used to clown sister and clown my friends and joke around and just be a knucklehead. They would try to clown me, but it never really did work or I didn’t really care what they were saying.\r\n\r\nFinally, a cereal box came in the house with a cartoon character on it, with big ears and the box was “Coco Krispies.” Now, I had large ears.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS: </strong>(laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> I kind of grew into them a little bit. But back then, you should see some of my pictures, my ears were protruding a little bit, like what’d you say? (laughs) So they started calling me “Coco Crisp” like the cereal character. They’re like, oh the character’s name is ”Coco” that’s what we’re gonna call him and that’s you. So I hated the name “Coco” for however long they called me that, like a month or whatever. Those jokes kind of die out and then you try to throw it out there again like once in a blue moon.\r\n\r\nIn Double-A, I filled out a questionnaire saying who’s your favorite actor? What’s your favorite food? Nickname? Yada yada, this and that. So I filled that out. On the questionnaire, I wrote down my nickname that I had as a kid which wasn’t really a nickname, it was more of a joke, but it was the only thing that I really had as a nickname. Nobody called me anything else. So I just put “Coco” down. One of the guys on our team thought it was funny. And at this time I wasn’t really hitting that well. Like .250, and the year before I was the minor league organizational player of the year. And so I was like focusing too hard, I don’t know what was going on.\r\n\r\nAnyway, I walk up to the plate, still focusing too hard, trying to hit better, and one of the guys thought it was funny and before the game he told the announcer and the score guy to put it up there on the scoreboard. So I walk up to the plate and he says, “now batting, Coco Crisp.” And I’m walking up to the plate all seriously focused and them I hear that and I’m like umm… it just messed me all up. Took my focus all away and everything.\r\n\r\nSo I step to the box and I’m kind of flustered. And I see the pitch, first pitch or whatever, and I smack it. Pow. Base hit. I’m like, oh okay. It had changed my mentality from over-focusing to relaxing more and not thinking about anything but my stupid name that was on the scoreboard. I couldn’t think about baseball.\r\n\r\nSo anyway I had a good game and another good game. The numbers start rising. About a month later, I get traded to Cleveland, and the name comes with me over there. I’m hitting over there, so I say leave it up there. It was like .417 or .427, whatever I was hitting. Somebody gets hurt up top in the big leagues. I was in Double-A and they called me up to the big leagues. So it was like a month and a half span where I was actually Coco Crisp. Now I’m up in the big leagues, the name followed me up there. “Now batting number 10, Coco Crisp.” So in a month and a half – m y entire life I was Covelli before – but after a month and a half, I was Coco Crisp. Now I’m stuck with the name that started off as a joke! It’s still kind of a joke, but I’ve accepted it. It’s cool now. So that’s the story.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Nice man. So you think Dallas Braden is still pissed off at A-Rod?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I don’t think so. I think Alex Rodriguez is eccentric. He’s a really good ball player. And with really good ball players, there’s always something different about them. Not really good, I mean like the best you know? Like Manny or … you know there’s something that’s always slightly … like that old Arsenio Hall, it kind of makes you go “hmmm” sometimes. So no, he ain’t mad at him. But if he steps on his mound again… (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Then we got some trouble (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> There would probably be like a replay.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> Now I know you’re a big boxing enthusiast. You like to box, you watch boxing. Did you get into that brawl with James Shields just so you could show off your boxing skills?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) The answer to that is no.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> In the game… outside of the game it’s completely different, I have no hard feelings. Even in the game now, I have no hard feelings towards him. With anybody, you know, I don’t need to hold grudges, you know. I have a forgive-and-forget type of mentality. But anyway, in the game in the moment there are certain things, certain unwritten rules that happen within the game and sometimes there’s a thin line and it’s a blurred line and sometimes it’s crossed or somebody thinks it’s crossed and then there;s some back and forth and then things happen like that. But I can say that is in the past and hey, I just enjoy facing him now.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> When you’re involved in a bench clearing brawl, what’s your mindset? What are you thinking? Are you trying to inflict pain? Just make a statement?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) It depends. I’ve been in three now in baseball. That one, that is known. There was one in college and one in the minor leagues. All different, all different situations. Me, I was directly involved with the one seen on TV – as seen on TV – and the other two indirectly. It’s more like if you’re involved directly, then you’re going to actually fight. The other ones, it’s more you’re there to break it up, but if things are around you, you have to fight you know? So it’s a different kind of mentality with both things.\r\n\r\nBut to inflict pain? Not necessarily. When I ran out there I didn’t go out there with the intention to 187 somebody.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) I just went out there to just fight. That was simple. That was it. Not to do anything else. It sounds so nonchalant to me because I used to box so it was like…\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> It’s not even a thing.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) Yeah, you know, it’s fighting so whatever.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> So you’re from LA, you were born here, you grew up here and I understand you’re involved in a few charities out here. What are you involved in?\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> Well there’s a couple that are very close and dear to me. The main number one thing is RBI, <a href=\"http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/rbi.jsp\">Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities</a>. They work in conjunction with Major League baseball now because they became so global and they helped so many people. They’re tied in with me, because as a kid, growing up there in the inner city myself, you can get lost. My dad, my parents, did a great job of finding avenues where they would lead me in the right direction. RBI Baseball was that right direction for me. It helped me strive to be better in the classroom, and as a person and on the baseball field. I got travel, see some of the world. It helped me realize that this is what I wanted to do, play baseball. I ended up winning a World Series with them in 1995. It was the first RBI Championship World Series. It’s moments like that you never want to take back, you just hold on to. I don’t know if I’m the first person to win an RBI World Series Championship then win a World Series championship, so look into that.\r\n\r\n<strong>CS:</strong> (laughs)\r\n\r\n<strong>CC:</strong> (laughs) But you know, that’s definitely one charity that’s helped me a lot. Another charity that I just recently got involved in is <a href=\"http://www.nea.org/readacross\">Read Across America</a>, which is dear to me because as a kid I had trouble reading in classroom in front of people. With that, I couldn’t really get out of my shell the way that I wanted to. I mean I was like a class clown and a fun type of person all the time. But in the classroom sitting down, it was like, “ah don’t pick me to read, I don’t want to read.” I could read, (laughs) but it was just trying to get out of your shell and be comfortable with who you are.\r\n\r\nI think this program allows kids to do that. I think reading in school is the most essential thing in learning. You have to do it all the time. The simplest thing for me now is reading bedtime stories to my kids or the more significant thing for me is looking over contracts. Also, I have speaking engagements where I have to read off Teleprompters and things like that. Getting kids started at a younger age will allow them to have more confidence in doing things and putting themselves out there to be able to try different things that they normally wouldn’t have. I think it’s a really good program.','Coco Crisp Interview','','inherit','open','open','','3848-revision-3','','','2011-03-09 12:22:23','2011-03-09 20:22:23','',3848,'http://manjr.com/2011/uncategorized/3848-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),