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ESPY Gossip: The buzz in Vegas
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
LAS VEGAS – There was plenty of chatter at the post-ESPY party at the MGM Grand following the awards show. Here's a sample of what some were talking about:
|  | | Torres got the chills from the ESPYs. |
"There was a bunch of great combinations of interviews. Ray Lewis and Maurice Greene were great together, James Woods and Jonathan Ogden together, Jack Nicklaus and Martin Sheen together. And I just always love to interview Eddie George ... because he's incredibly nice, incredibly talented and incredibly beautiful." -- Suzy Kolber
"The Jack Nicklaus Lifetime Achievement Award was pretty special because I grew up being a big fan of his. The highlight for me at the beginning was talking to Tiger outside. He asked about my golf game (Dilfer is a scratch golfer) which made me feel pretty good." -- Trent Dilfer
"Sam Jackson was awesome because he's so personable, he's so open, he's so funny and he knows how to play it. Sheryl Swoopes was really neat because she's a woman and she's accomplished so much. I've been doing football so much I don't get to interview a lot of women." -- Melissa Stark
"I think seeing all the clips that everyone has done, it just gave me chills the whole entire night." -- Dara Torres
"The presentation of Cathy Freeman was big. It's not just about an athlete who overcame athletic obstacles, she overcame human obstacles. Athletics is not about athletics. Athletics is about the human touch and what you feel inside. So it was one of those moments. I would say that Marion Jones was the best dressed, but her husband's real big, so I won't." -- Stuart Scott
"To be able to be on stage to talk about the V Foundation and talk about Jim Valvano was my high point. In a way, it's a gift ... If you are going to ever find something that is such a gift out of such a tragedy like losing someone you love, well this is it. I miss Jim desperately, but I every day thank him for the opportunity to be associated with the foundation." -- John Saunders
My highlight was Samuel L. Jackson playing football in that skit. I see the two kids running around here tonight, I think they've become major media stars...they'll be in SportsCenter commercials for sure, now. -- Steve Levy
The fashion police
Despite the many rumors, there wasn't an ESPY given for Best Dressed of the Night. But that didn't stop the masses from talking about who the best dressers would be.
"I think it will be Stallone because he's Stallone," said Dan Patrick. "I mean, that guy is put together thread by thread and he's got his act together top to bottom. But see, Stallone won't stand out because he's not going to have anything outlandish." |  | | Cathy Freeman and Samuel L. Jackson in their Sunday best. |
Stuart Scott said Ray Lewis is the best bet. "He'll have on something very stylish," he said.
Ray Lewis showed up at around 1:45 ET on Monday in jean shorts with Fat Albert's face on the right pants pocket and a black silk shirt. When asked if Lewis would indeed be the best dressed later in the day, Lewis said that the insiders had it all wrong. "Oh no, I got to go get a tuxedo right now," said the Baltimore Ravens linebacker who is up for Pro Football Player of the Year. "I might have something funky, but I'm not sure. I have to go shopping right now."
Stuart also said Marion Jones should be on everyone's list. "Look at what she wore in the Olympics," said Scott. "You know what I'm saying? Nuff said."
Pete Sampras had absolutely no doubt who would be the best dressed -- his wife. "I have seen my wife's (actress Bridgette Wilson) outfit and I think she will steal the show. I guarantee it." Wilson will be wearing an Emporio Armani yellow chiffon top and pants.
ESPY host Samuel L. Jackson is sure to wow the crowd as well with the third of four outfits he is going to wear on the night. Jackson will don a 1940's retro-style suit about 30 minutes into the show. According to his stylists Frank Fleming and Askia Jacob, the outfit is a navy double breasted, pink-striped suit that Jackson will wear with a pink shirt and blue and pink tie. Fleming and Jacob said that one of the best elements of the outfit is the hat: a dark purple fedora with a black band.
Others have said that the best dressed couple would be Tara Reid and Carson Daly -- although the two told ESPN.com in an exclusive interview that they'll be wearing nothing particularly flattering. Reid will be wearing a blue strapless outfit by Armani and Daly will wear Hugo Boss. "Both outfits are dressy," said Reid. "They're kind of conservative for both of us. We normally dress a little more funky than we're dressing tonight. But we have the Grammys coming up and we have to get ready for that."
College Gameday's Chris Fowler said that his colleague Lee Corso luckily wouldn't be showing up at the ESPY Awards this year. "Lee's the kind of guy who would wear brown shoes with a black tux," said Fowler. Chris also said that Corso would have trouble getting in because he would want to wear a big hat, just like he does at the end of every show.
"It would have to be something that wouldn't obstruct the view of the people that paid for the $1,000 seats," Fowler said. "The last thing we'd want to do is create violence."
We knew about the cheerleaders, but the reporters?
Dara Torres, the Olympic swimmer who is up for Comeback Athlete of the Year, talked about her new job as sideline reporter for the XFL:
"It has been an interesting challenge," said Torres, who has won nine gold medals in the four Olympic games (1984, 1988, 1992 and 2000). "I don't think anyone knew what to expect going in, but the football has been great and I am really enjoying my role as a reporter."
When asked if any weird happened on the sidelines so far, Torres nodded. "I got pinched in the rear during the Vegas game," she said. "Plus, during my first game my (earpiece and pack) fell off so I couldn't hear what the guys in the truck were saying to me. There have also been some incidents where the crowd has gotten a little rowdy -- stuff I'm not really used to -- but the game this weekend at Memphis went well and the crowd was a little more tame.
The Tux man to the stars
Vince Caruso is the official tuxedo fitter of the ESPY's -- just like he has previously been for the Grammys and the Oscars. This weekend, Caruso matched up about 100 ESPY event goers with tuxedos. That's nothing for Caruso, who approximated that he has fitted more than 40,000 people in the past 27 years in the business. Caruso's got plenty to say as well:
On Rulon Gardner: "He's the only guy I'm looking forward to doing. He's got the biggest chest of all-time. The guy is a barrel. No, he's a horse."
On if he thought Gardner ever wore a tuxedo: "This could be the first. I don't know if he had a prom date." |  | | The Tux Man's biggest challenge. |
On Gardner's measurements: "He told me he wore a 56 jacket, but I think he's a 58. He told me his neck was a '21,' but I think he's a '22.'" (Caruso has up to size 66 in tuxedo jackets).
On Leann Rimes: "I got to fit her, but I felt kind of bad because she was 17 and here I was pinching her leather pants."
On Michael Irvin: "I talked to his personal tailor last year in Dallas. He got a really fine, three-quarter length tuxedo that was really wild. But when the bellman came to bring it in the room, he was standing there naked ... and he was asking the bellman to help him put on his bowtie. 'No. Not 'till you get some drawers on,' the bellman said in his Bronx accent. Then Irvin said, 'I'm a pro athlete.' And the bellman said, 'I don't care what you are.' "
The coveted ESPY hat
ESPY hats -- 100 percent cotton and made in Bangladesh -- are perhaps the most sought after collectible in Las Vegas right now. That's because there's apparently little supply and high demand.
"I'm not the keeper of the hats," said one member of the production crew, who mentioned that she will be packing her hat so that no one steals it off her head tomorrow.
"All I know is that there's not a lot of them and that's a fact," said Mike Urrunaga, a producer for ESPN radio, who was feverishly searching for something to warm up his icy skull.
But ESPN radio host Todd Wright said that the hats should not be on the rare species list -- at least in other parts of the country. Wright said he gives away free ESPY hats all year round on his All Night program. "And this is the same traditional blue hat," Wright added.
Aah, but it's not. John Drubner, the production manager who says he ordered the hats, definitely took an economics class in college: "I short ran them, just so we could have them, just so no one else can have them, even though they wanted them." This year's ESPY hats are actually black and are dated "February 12, 2001" on the back.
Dan Patrick was one of the few who wasn't concerned about getting an ESPY hat. "I exude ESPY so why wear a hat that says ESPY, when I am ESPY," he said.
A roll of the dice
Eisen's philosophy on gambling: "I think life is a bit of a gamble to be quite honest," said Rich, spouting his doctrine in the gambling capital of the U.S. "When you get out of bed you have no idea what's coming your way, the chips are down, you have to focus and hope for the best. So I would think everyone is a bit of a gambler."
ESPN.com's John Hunter also contributed to this report.
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