Interview with Jose Tabata

Jose Tabata was the Yankees second best prospect in 2008. He was in the trade that sent Ross Ohlendorf to the Pirates with Tabata and sent Marte and Xavier Nady to the Yankees. He is on his way to become an outfield star.

BW: Who is your idol? Why?

JT: Andres Galarraga followed the example and never made a dirty trick in his life in this case, overcame cancer and for his charisma and his way of life despite the fame.

BW: Who is your favorite baseball player?

JT: Derek Jeter is my favorite player because he is consistent and does not lose his groove despite the years he has played.

BW: What baseball player are you like?

JT: Players like Andruw Jones.

BW: What advice would you give to a young baseball player?

JT: Players like Andruw Jones would tell you, the advice to a player to not take criticisms the wrong way, and above all fight for what you want regardless of the obstacles you may encounter.

Interview with Tyrone Johnson

Tyrone Johnson is a quick and one of the best guards of the 2012 college freshman. He committed to be a Georgetown Hoya in two years and seems like a classy superstar. Here is our interview:

BW:How difficult is it for a basketball star to choose a college?
TJ: Its very difficult for a student athlete to choose the right institution for them for many reasons. Location, the prospect might want to stay close to home to friends and family. Education purposes, the school might want him to start for there basketball team but do not offer his major at there university. Size of the school, some prospects want to be seen with bigger names rather than a smaller school thats more family oriented.

BW:Who is your idol and why?
TJ: My idol is Martin Luther King Jr, because he fought for all people and stood up for what he believed in and people hated him for it but soo many more people loved him for it. He died for his dream and now because of his dream, the world is a better place.

BW:What NBA are you most similar to?
TJ: The NBA player I'm most similar to has to be LeBron James. He came from nothing with the world against him and became a success in the midst of drugs, crime, and adversity.

BW:Who is your favorite NBA team?
TJ:My favorite NBA team is the Cleveland Cavaliers.

BW:Were you always a Georgetown fan?If not, who were you a fan of?
TJ: No. I'm a North Carolina Tarheels fan. I love the winning tradition they have and how they go about keeping their tradition alive.

Interview with Brad Childress

Brad Childress is the coach of the division winning Minnesota Vikings. Brad was able to take the time to answer these questions despite a hectic draft week for the Vikings. Here is our interview:

BW:What do you want your legacy to be remembered as?
BC: I think the most important aspect our coaches want to be remembered by is our preparation. No team can win every game, but we always want to outhustle and outprepare our opponents so it gives us the best chance to succeed. In any sport, the way you go about practicing and preparing carries over to game day. To be a winner, you must prepare like one.

BW:What is your most embarrassing moment?
BC: I've learned from many mistakes on the job. The one I regret is cutting Marcus Robinson on Christmas Eve. I should not have handled the situation that way and should have shown more compassion. I do not regret cutting him, but I look back in embarrassment at cutting him on that particular day and time. Marcus has a family--that move could have waited until after the holiday season.

BW: What is the toughest part of being a head coach?
BC: To be a head coach, you must have thick skin. Luckily for myself, I have been around Andy Reid, Barry Alvarez and many other strong-willed, talented coaches in my career. The fans are always very important to us, but it's crucial a coach remains dedicated to what he believes in, even if it's unpopular among many fans.

BW: Who has been your favorite player to coach?
BC: I've enjoyed almost all of the young men I've had the pleasure of coaching. Two of my favorites have been Pat Williams and Antoine Winfield based on the way our relationships have changed over time. Both are great young men and very strong willed. I pushed Antoine and Pat to get better and they pushed me to get better. We didn't always have a smooth relationship initially, but now we have a great one.

BW: What team did you like as a kids?
BC: Growing up in Illinois, I was a Bears fan.

BW: Who was your idol when you were younger?
BC: Family has always been very important to me. I love football but family comes first, and they are my inspiration.

Interview with VT Coach Seth Greenberg

Seth Greenberg is the head coach of Virginia Tech men's basketball team. Coincidentally we are from the same town and we got to meet at the Jewish Hall of Fame. Here is our interview:

BW: Are you a good motivator considering you have beaten three top seeds as a coach (UNC, Duke, and Kansas; coincidentally who have won the past three National Championships)?

SG: I think we try to get our kids to play to their potential and be the best they can be and get them to understand to play every play and not to take a play off. To compete at the highest level each and every night is what our goal is as coaches?

BW: How do you think your team will do this coming season?

SG: I'm excited about our team. We returned, as long as Malcolm Delaney decides to come back and not go to the NBA then we return a lot of very good players. Now that doesn't mean because we were successful last year, really has nothing to do with this coming year. You've got to do it every single year. We have the potential to be really special?

BW: Who was your favorite coach as a kid?

SG: Probably Red Holzman. Who I looked up to when I got into to coaching was Larry Brown. Red Holzman because the concept of playing great defense, making the extra pass, ball-you-man defense, and moving without the ball. And Larry Brown because I thought he was a great communicator as a coach?

BW: What was your most challenging moment?

SG: You know your most challenging moment coaching is just trying to rebuild programs. At Virginia Tech we had to rebuild a program in the toughest basketball conference in the country, the ACC, but it is also your most rewarding moment.

BW: What was your proudest moment?

SG: Probably when we beat number one Kansas in Kansas. Winning on the road is so difficult.

BW: What goal do you want to accomplish by the time your career is over?

SG: To help mentor and develop young people and hopefully try to compete for a National Championship.

Interview with Bill Goldberg

Bill Goldberg was a professional wrestler and now is a star on Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice. He is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. Here is our interview:

BW: Did you ever find any challenges because you were Jewish?

BG: Absolutely. Everybody thinks that the stereotypes over the years continue on in the year 2010. That is just not the case. As a kid growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, there weren't many Jewish kids in Tulsa. For sure we were a minority. And did I get picked on as a kid, absolutely. But one day I stood up for myself, and I said, "Absolutely no more. No more." So the trials and tribulations I went through as a kid, I didn't want anyone else to go through. If I could find something in my life to help others deal with that situation then I'm gonna do it and I was lucky enough when I got hurt playing football I couldn't do that anymore so I wasn't as successful as I wanted to be so I went into professional wrestling and I got a bit lucky. The rest is history.

BW: Who do you want to star in a movie with?

BG: No one. I don't like movies.

BW: Who won The Celebrity Apprentice?

BG: Uhm, Rod Blagojeveich.

BW: Who were your favorite people to work with on The Celebrity Apprentice?

BG: Curtis Stone and Holly [Robinson] Peete.

BW: Is that Bret Michaels' real hair?

BG: I would say no.

Interview with Jon Scheyer

Jon Scheyer is one of the best players in Duke history. This year his Blue Devils beat Butler to win the National Championship. Here is our interview from the Jewish Hall of Fame:

BW: What made you decide to go to Duke?

JS: I would say many things played into going to Duke, one of them would be Coach K, being able to play in Cameron and their stadium, and I knew the players I would play with so it was exciting.

BW: What was going through your head when Gordon Heyward threw up the last shot in the National Championship game?

JS: I was a little nervous. I didn't think it was going in, but there's always that small doubt. Basically it changes whether or not you win the National Championship, but I was happy when it didn't go in.

BW: What was it like being a part of the North Carolina-Duke rivalry?

JS: Well it's the best rivalry in all of sports to me and one of the reasons that makes me feel that way is that you're five minutes apart, not a couple of hours, five minutes from each other.

BW: Who was your toughest defender?

JS: Toney Douglas was one of the toughest. He was a really tough guard and he is with the Knicks right now.

BW: Who is your idol and why?

JS: A couple of guys at Duke. Two that stand out are Shane Battier and JJ Redick. Just the way they present themselves how they competed and especially the way Shane was a great leader.

BW: What are your goals for the NBA?

JS: I want to get on a good team. I want to win and I want to be successful. I want to contribute.

Check in for new interviews for the next six days all at 8:09 AM Eastern Time.

From One WNBA Great to the Next: Interview with Courtney Paris

Courtney Paris was one of the best women's college basketball players of this era. She is now a member of the Chicago Sky and nice enough to do this interview with me:

BW: Do you regret going to Oklahoma over champ UConn?

CP: No, I don't regret going to Oklahoma over UConn... they were my top two schools but I feel like Imade the right choice. UConn is a great program and I wanted to go to Oklahoma and help make it become great as well.

BW: What was your most embarrasing moment of your career and why?

CP: Most embrarrssing moment had to be top of my junior year I was with the national team in Chile and I thought our game was 3 hours earlier then it was. So I had my uniform and bag and everything ready to go at our team lunch and I walk into the room and everyone else is in their normal clothes, then Diana Turasi goes, "Hey coach look like the rookies ready to play."

BW: What was your toughest moment and why?

CP:Toughest moment had to be my last college game in the Final Four, I really wanted to win a national championship but the thing that was really tough was knowing that it was the last time I would play with that group of girls.

BW: Who was your idol?

CP:I love Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever.

BW: Do you think women will play in the NBA? If so, do you think you will?

CP: Well right now we are forturnate to have our on National Basketball Association in the WNBA but if a women were to play in the NBA I would say it would be Candace Parker. Most post players in the nba are between 6'10- 7 feet. Candace is 6'5 and she has guard skills so she would probably be the best to do it.

BW: Who is your toughest opponent?

CP: I find most times the toughest opponent is myself.