A day behind the desk

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Adrian Peterson Helps Out At ESPN

Adrian Peterson stops by ESPN to be a guest editor-in-chief at ESPN The Magazine

Adrian Peterson Helps Out At ESPN

This story appears in the Aug. 8, 2011 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

So what did AP do all day as boss in Bristol? Here's the firsthand play-by-play.

10:00 a.m. | WORKDAY BEGINS for The Mag employees.

10:30 | WORKDAY BEGINS for me. (One of the perks of being the boss is that you can be fashionably late.)

Ture LillegravenLike any good editor, AD starts the day by beating up one of his photo editors.

10:45 | MEET with The Mag's style and photo editors, Samantha Rubin and Nancy Weisman, to choose a look for the day. I don't know if other chief editors (much better title) get styled to start their day. Anna Wintour probably does. And now me.

11:00 | COVER PHOTO SHOOT. With all due respect to my predecessor, Ron Artest, aka Metta World Peace, it's my turn. Loved ripping his cover.

11:45 | HEAD TO ESPN CAFETERIA for The Mag's welcome barbecue -- or as I call it, a Bristolcue. In Texas, where I'm from, hot dogs and hamburgers are for a 6-year-old's birthday party. Where's the brisket, potato salad and sweet tea?

12:15 p.m. | MINGLE with some of the folks who work for me. Promised big raises and bonuses to all. I'm also introducing shots on late nights to take the edge off.

12:45 | RUN into Skip Bayless, and he starts busting on me just like he does everyone else. Damn, Skip. Can that man walk 15 feet without criticizing someone or something?

Ture LillegravenAD attends, as he calls it, a Bristolque. Where's the brisket?

12:55 | HOWARD BRYANT is working on a story about leadership in football and the role of the running back. I want to see the story, and I don't have it. His phone goes straight to voice mail. "How you doing, Howard? This is the boss man. Stop ignoring my phone calls, and let's get this wrapped up. Capisce?"

12:57 | HOWARD BRYANT calls back, and I give him some notes: Sometimes the leaders on a team are the guys pushing themselves in the weight room, lifting 300 pounds. And he needs to know that's not usually the QB. Howard assures me his story will be in this afternoon. It better be.

1:10 | PICK PHOTOS with the "former" chief editor Chad Millman, art director Jason Lancaster and Weisman for Lolo Jones' speed-dating story. I'm a huge track-and-field fan. My mom and my sisters all ran track, and I admire Lolo. I select pictures to make Lolo proud when she sees her story.

1:30 | MEET with NFL editors Ryan Hockensmith and Raina Kelley to brainstorm ideas for one last story. We want a surprise -- a profile of a guy people won't expect. My first instinct is to feature my teammate Antoine Winfield. He's a total cornerback, but that might be too obvious, so we focus on the guys I hate (to play against -- linebackers Patrick Willis and Ernie Sims. Pat's a beast, but everyone knows that. Sims is a little more under the radar. Hockensmith and Kelley love the idea and get cracking.

2:00 | GET ON my soap box. Athletes have things to say, but they usually get asked only about game recaps and labor situations. But this is Revenge of the Jocks, and I'm editor, so we're giving athletes, myself included, a chance to get something off their chests.

2:10 | IN MY OFFICE with my ROJ team going over every story in the issue. It was pretty cool to be able to comment on the lineup, the order and the content of each piece.

3:00 | PEP TALK with staff. I want them to know I appreciate their hard work. And that I'm exhausted. I'll be catching a plane to Miami for a little vacation. It's good to be chief.

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