MMA fighter Chael Sonnen calls out LeBron James on the Next Edition of JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME®

NEW YORK METS LEGEND DWIGHT GOODEN TALKS CANDIDLY ABOUT DRUG ABUSE ON THE NEXT EDITION OF

JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME^®

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick and NBA Commissioner David Stern are interviewed by Rome while outspoken MMA fighter Chael Sonnen calls out LeBron James and others in a lively Open Forum discussion with NFL player Brendon Ayanbadejo and NBA commentator Tom Tolbert

JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME Airs Tonight/Wednesday, June 12 at 9p ET/PT

Only on SHOWTIME^®

LOS ANGELES (June 12, 2013) – No topic is off limits as New York Mets legend Dwight Goodentalks openly and honestly about missing the Mets 1986 World Series parade, the first time he tried cocaine, and chokes up when speaking about handing the game ball to his dying father after pitching a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium, all on this month’s edition of JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME—premierestonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. 

**Editor’s note: Click the video links below for must see clips from tonight’s episode.  All videos can be embedded on websites and/or shared on Twitter.

Gooden video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0ZZsqUnU9k

Also appearing on this month’s edition are San Francisco 49ers star quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who explains the newest addition to his expanding tattoo collection, and outgoing NBA CommissionerDavid Stern, who talks about the highs and lows of 30 years on the job.

Kaepernick video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UUKuLIsyZ0 

Stern video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLEh4fhUPjI

NFL player Brendon Ayanbadejo, MMA fighter Chael Sonnen and NBA commentator Tom Tolbertall stop by for a lively Open Forum discussion.  The group discusses LeBron James’ greatness and answers Rome’s question: What sport has the toughest athlete? 

Sonnen video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO0fbfvYA24

Providing comedic relief are brothers Jason and Randy Sklar who joke about some of today’s top sports’ headlines and Rome gives some stern advice to Justin Bieber in his “Sincerely Yours” segment.

Following are excerpts from this week’s episode:

JIM ROME: You didn’t make it to the Mets victory parade in 1986. Why not? And where were you?

DWIGHT GOODEN: “That was one in the book that I struggled with putting on paper, but I said that if I’m going to come clean, I have to come clean. That parade should have been the greatest moment of my baseball career and it turned out to be the worst moment of my baseball career. I was active in my addiction. I went to my drug dealers to get some drugs for the parade and then to meet my teammates at a local bar but I never made it. I was at my drug dealers on Long Island in the housing projects. I remember just watching the clock spinning so fast and then watching the parade on TV and that really sobered me up. But I remember the guilt and the shame and the embarrassment that I felt. I remember driving to my apartment and just balling and thinking: How am I going to explain this to my teammates now that they know I have this problem?

ROME: You were on Season 5 of “Celebrity Rehab”. Who had the biggest issues?

GOODEN: I would say Michael Lohan. He was definitely a head case. He’s doing well now but now I can kind of see why Lindsay has the problems she has.

***

ROME: Colin, I know a lot has been made of your tattoos. I know you got some more work done recently. What did you do?

COLIN KAEPERNICK: I got some tribal work done across my chest to finish my chest plate. A lot of different meanings there: Family, inner strength, spiritual growth and humility are the main ones.

ROME: The chest plate is really interesting to me. You have “Against All Odds”. Break that down. Why were the odds against you?

KAEPERNICK: I just feel like at every point, every step of my life there’s been people telling me I can’t do things; that I won’t make it because of this, that or the other. To me, there are a lot of situations where I shouldn’t have succeeded. I really do believe that the odds were against me.

***

ROME: “The Decision” went so badly for LeBron. Do you think LeBron had it in him to turn this thing around like he has?

CHAEL SONNEN: I think LeBron’s a dork. Listen, he won one world championship and it was in the Olympic Games. It’s so aggravating to hear someone win an NBA title and be called a world champion when it’s only done in America. If you’re not at a global event where everyone can participate, then you didn’t win a world championship, you won a national championship.

TOM TOLBERT: All I know is that people love greatness. And they love winners. How’s he a dork?

SONNEN: LeBrons’s a nerd. LeBron’s a wimp. You got this nerd named Ray Lewis. You know, if I saw these guys I’d smack ‘em right in the face.

ROME: If you had to pick pound for pound, who’s the toughest athlete by sport?

BRENDON AYANBADEJO: I would say UFC fighters. It pains me to say it, because we know that fatigue makes a coward of us all. Not only are you fatigued in the UFC, but you are also performing a skilled martial art. You have to go out and execute a skilled game plan.

SONNEN: To me it’s who can overcome adversity. It’s who’s tired and who can push through anyway. I like marathon runners because I know it’s hard. You want to stop but you keep stepping one foot in front of the other. I really admire that.

***

ROME: You presented Magic Johnson the NBA All-Star MVP trophy in Orlando. What made that day so significant to you?

DAVID STERN: I think No. 1 it gave me the opportunity to give him a big hug in front of a network audience stage that told the world that you can’t get AIDS from hugging somebody. It was just so much a moment to cherish that he was alive and we thought we were going to lose him. And here he is alive and well and healthy.

Top highlight from Rome’s “Sincerely Yours” segment:

ROME to Justin Bieber: … I don’t want to hear about Keyshawn Johnson chasing you around your hood because you’re going too fast and furious in your Ferrari. You live in Calabasas, not the Brickyard, Biebs. You’re supposed to be running from 13-year-old Beliebers, not 40-year-old receivers. Be a good neighbor and call your 40 million followers off Eric Dickerson, too. Because the second he hit you on Twitter, your army was hitting the Dick with things like, “Who the F--- are you?” and “Shut up, Grandpa!” Come on. That grandpa was breaking rushing records three decades before you were dropping “Baby”. You and your legions need to respect your elders and step off the NFL, because if there’s any force as fierce in this country as Bieber Fever, it’s pro football. Bieber fans want no part of Raiders fans.

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About Showtime Networks Inc.:

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME^®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ and FLIX^®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2^™, SHOWTIME^® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME^®, SHOWTIME BEYOND^®, SHOWTIME NEXT^®, SHOWTIME WOMEN^®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE^®and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD^™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ ON DEMAND, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME^®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel^™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV^®.

SEASON TWO OF JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME RETURNS THIS WEDNESDAY WITH ICE CUBE, FLOYD MAYWEATHER AND RONDA ROUSEY

Season 2 Premieres Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME® LOS ANGELES (March 12, 2013) - JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME returns for its second season tomorrow, Wednesday, in front of a studio audience with guests Ice Cube, Floyd "Money" Mayweather, Ronda Rousey, Dhani Jones and Dr. Harry Edwards.  The episode premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME®. Media mogul, actor and rapper Ice Cube sits down with Rome for a one-on-one interview to give  his thoughts on current sports and entertainment topics including the L.A. Lakers, the Oakland Raiders, and his new album.  Coming together in a free forum discussion, the first female UFC champion Ronda Rousey, noted sports sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards, and former NFL star Dhani Jones join Rometo debate cheating, sex and religion, and how all three play such a large role in today's sporting world. Photo Credit: Patrick Wymore/SHOWTIME Plus, undefeated, eight-time world champion boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather joins theprogram via satellite to tackle Rome's 10 Questions segment.  Mayweather recently announced a unique, groundbreaking revenue-sharing arrangement with Showtime Networks Inc. and its parent company, CBS Corporation. He returns to the ring May 4 to face Robert Guerrero in "MAY DAY: Mayweather vs. Guerrero" produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV®. When Rome asks Mayweather what the one thing is that he won't mess with, Mayweather responds, "A married woman."  To which Rome replies, "Good answer. Good policy." JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME, in its second season on SHOWTIME, airs Wednesdays with multiple replays each week on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME EXTREME® and availability on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND.   Following are excerpts from this week's episode: JIM ROME: Do you trust Dwight Howard at this point? ICE CUBE: No. Not yet. Not till he re-signs. That's what it's all about. How could we when he could just get up and leave on a whim. Until he makes the commitment to the Lakers, how can I make the commitment to him? I love Dwight. I want to see him a Laker. I think he can get up there on the wall and be champion for the Lakers. So it's on him. Him not being committed has to affect his play. It has to. What's going to determine it for me is if he remains long-term with the Lakers. And he wears the Laker jacket, you know what I mean. It seems like right now he's a visitor. ROME: Between Kobe, LeBron and Michael Jordan, who do you got as the best ever and why? ICE CUBE: Kobe's never been cut. I don't think LeBron's got the mental fortitude like Kobe Bryant has. I think it's just what he had to go through in Italy. I just think he's cut from a different cloth. No disrespect to Michael Jordan and years ago you would never hear me say this.  I just think Kobe had the benefit of looking at Michael in a way. I think he's kept his body in more condition than anyone has ever seen and he's doing things 17 years later that are just amazing. He never walked away from the game and came back. For some reason I just think Kobe is the true definition of a baller, with nothing else on his mind. ROME: What's the difference between someone like Kobe Bryant and Ray Lewis, who have bounced back from adversity, and Tiger Woods? Why hasn't he bounced back? What's the difference between him and all the other guys that have come back? RONDA ROUSEY: I think Mike Tyson said it best when he said a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter. I think you need to enjoy what you're doing and compartmentalize what you are doing with your professional life. Whenever I see Tiger Woods play golf, he looks pretty miserable. If he could just enjoy what he's doing and have fun out there and return to where he was at the beginning then I think he can. Top highlight from Rome's Quick Hits: ROME: Used to be the question wasn't whether or not (Tiger) Woods would run down Jack, but rather how badly he'd smash his mark. But it says here he won't get there. And it won't be because of his knee, Achilles, driver, putter or rebuilt swing. It'll be because of sex. He had too much of that and not nearly enough heart. Rome's Sincerely Yours takes on the Bracket Guy in your office pool: ROME: This year, you're even more insufferable now that you've gone online with all your garbage. Now, you're the jerk who drops all his 12-5 upsets into his Twitter timeline. Bad enough you're going to lose all nine pools you entered.  You're also going to lose all 12 of your followers because they'd all rather get catfished than get subjected to one more of you sleeper picks with a 'please retweet' chaser. Tell you what; this year, instead of laying out your Elite 8, why don't you go get an elite date. And don't talk about your NCAA picks until someone asks you about them, because no one will. Bracket Guy, you are a 16-seed in this tournament we call life. A guaranteed loser every single year.

EPISODE 4 OF JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME PREMIERES TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. ET/PT ON SHOWTIME®

Rome Goes One-On-One With Bernard Hopkins, Kevin Durant, Josh Cribbs and Jared Allen; Bill Cowher, Harry Edwards and Ron Shelton Join Jim Rome in The Forum

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 12, 2012) – This week on JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME former boxing world champion Bernard Hopkins joins the program via satellite to give his take on the future of Manny Pacquiao’s career after the devastating knockout he suffered last Saturday night.  Hopkins also speaks about the return of boxing to CBS for the first time in 15 years on Saturday.  Episode four premieres tonight, Wednesday, December 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. 

Also on the episode, Super Bowl winning coach and current CBS analyst Bill Cowher, professor, sociologist and author Dr. Harry Edwards, and acclaimed film director/screenwriter Ron Shelton join host Jim Rome in an open forum on today’s hottest sports topics.

Additionally, Rome conducts one-on-one interviews with Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant and Cleveland Browns wide receiver and kick returner Josh Cribbs.  Plus, Rome dishes out “10 Questions” to Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Jared Allen.

JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME, in its first season on SHOWTIME, airs Wednesdays with multiple replays each week on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME EXTREME^® and availability on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND.  

Following are excerpts from this week’s episode:

BERNARD HOPKINS INTERVIEW

On the punch that sent boxing legend Manny Pacquiao face first into the canvas last Saturday night…

ROME: Is that the type of punch that ends careers?

HOPKINS: Absolutely. That’s the type of punch that takes more than one fight out of you. It takes a couple of fights out of you. It’s one of those types of knockouts that you can recover from in life, but I don’t think you can recover fully in the sport. That was a devastating knockout that has a long-term effect…. I know when you see a guy get knocked out and hit in that way, they are considered damaged goods and they live up to that title.

ROME: So it sounds like you would advise him to retire.

HOPKINS: I would advise him to grab his wife and kids and take a long vacation. Take a long year off. Regroup physically, mentally, spiritually and then you make the decision there. Truthfully it was such a devastating knockout that I don’t think he will ever be the Pacquiao that he was.

ROME: Boxing returns to CBS after 15 years on Saturday night. You won the last fight on CBS back in 1997. What kind of boost do you think the network presence will give the sport?

HOPKINS: To me that’s what we’ve been missing. Corporate America ran from boxing for many reasons. But now they’re coming back. I’m so glad that not only Golden Boy, but other promoters have good relationships with these networks. This is something great. I remember growing up and watching boxing on “Wide World of Sports.”

JOSH CRIBBS INTERVIEW

ROME: What do you think about the proposed kickoff rule change?

CRIBBS: I’m upset that’s it’s even being discussed. The tradition and the history of the NFL wouldn’t be the same without a kickoff. I’m disturbed that this is even being talked about or considered by our commissioner to mess up such a great game as the NFL.

ROME: Are returning punts any safer than returning kicks?

CRIBBS: No. Not at all. The thing about punts is that you have one guy standing back there by himself and people are still coming at you full speed. There will still be collisions and there will still be injuries. If you get rid of kickoffs and punts then we’ll just have offense and defense and we’ll just have intramurals.

ROME: The 4^th-and-15, is that a suitable replacement. Is that a fair and equitable swap?

CRIBBS: Definitely not. I guarantee if you talk to some players around the league it will gain some laughter. That’s just what it is: A joke. It’s a terrible travesty and I don’t know why they would even be considering this for our great NFL league.

KEVIN DURANT INTERVIEW

ROME: What’s the biggest thing you take away from Kobe Bryant?

DURANT: Just how hard he plays and how much he demands from his teammates. He has no friends and that’s the type of approach I have to take and that’s what I’m doing right now.

ROME: You have said people want you and LeBron James to hate each other. Why do you think that is?

DURANT: People always tell me (Larry) Bird and Magic (Johnson) didn’t like each other and people try to compare us with them. But I don’t play on hate. I play to compete and win. That’s what I’m about.

10 QUESTIONS WITH JARED ALLEN

ROME: If you become commissioner of the NFL, if you could, what changes would Commissioner Allen make first?

ALLEN: I’d probably undo everything that Roger Goodell has done. I’d get football back to its rawest, simplest form and just, you know, take all these horse collar tackles and all these so-called illegal hits out and just get back to football at its rawest form.

*  *  *

About Showtime Networks Inc.:

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME^®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ and FLIX^®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2^™, SHOWTIME^® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME^®, SHOWTIME BEYOND^®, SHOWTIME NEXT^®, SHOWTIME WOMEN^®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD^™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ON DEMAND, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME^®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel^™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV^®.