Jess Lockwood

Jess Lockwood - Genuine sports phenoms – immense talents scouted heavily in their youth who gain the mental comportment to match freakish physical skills, enabling them to become World Champions – are rare, and beautiful. Jess Lockwood isn’t quite yet a Tiger Woods or a Wayne Gretzky – especially in a brutal sport where lives can change in an instant. But PBR’s reigning world champion, who did just what the pundits predicted he would at 20 years old, is a story worth watching.
 
In 2017, capping one of the tightest championship races in league history, Lockwoodentered the record books as the youngest World Champion in PBR (Professional Bull Riders) history.  His march to the title and its million-dollar bonus also demonstrated that the five-foot-five-inch, 130-pound cowboy taking on punishing bulls 12-15 times his size, may be, pound-for-pound, one of the toughest athletes in sports. 

The 2016 Rookie of the Year began his second year, and first full season, on the elite tour on a high note, winning the season opening Major at Madison Square Garden, $117,183.33, and 860 world points. 

Jess soared to world No.1, holding that ranking the first six weeks of the year until suffering several serious injuries he remarkably battled back from in his title march, including:

 
- A torn groin at the Iron Cowboy at AT&T Stadium on Feb. 18 sidelined Jess for five weeks.
 
- Knocked unconscious in Springfield, Missouri on Sept. 9 by World Champion Bull SweetPro’s Bruiser just three events after a win in Oklahoma.
  
- One week later, after being carried out of the arena on a backboard, returned in Austin, rode two bulls for 90-plus points, and won the event title.   

- The following weekend in late September, suffered four broken ribs, a punctured lung and lacerated kidney after being stomped by Blue Magic at Buck Off the Island.Jess spent 30 hours in a Long Island hospital and was driven cross-country by his bull-riding buddy Stetson Lawrence to family in North Dakota. He came down with pneumonia during the 1,600-plus mile trek.
 
- Two events later, returned to action in Raleigh, North Carolina, two weeks earlier than doctor’s orders.
 
- Entering the World Finals, Lockwood strapped a giant back of ice around his torso in the T-Mobile Arena locker room and then went out to make history by winning the first three rounds of the event on three consecutive nights, including two 90-point rides, reclaiming the world No. 1 standing for the first time since February. He concluded the five-day, sixround event 447.5 points ahead of No. 2 Derek Kolbaba. 
 
Lockwood became the second rider in PBR history (along with Silvano Alves in 2010-2011) to win the PBR Rookie of the Year and World Champion title in back-to-back seasons. He is the fourth Rookie of the Year to become World Champion. 
 
As the Montana cowboy begins his quest to earn his second world title, would you be interested in covering this superstar athlete on an apparent track to becoming one of the all-time greats of his sport

Don Criqui

The Legendary American Sports Broadcaster and the voice of the Norte Dame football on the Norte Dame/IMG Sports Network. Don holds the record for the longest-tenured broadcaster of one sports league in the U.S. TV history, having called NFL football for 47 seasons (1967-2013) on both NBC and CBS. His prolific career spans well beyond the NFL and includes announcing for the NCAA, NHL, PGA, Tennis and Olympic events. Don has been honored with the Pete Rozelle Award by the Pro Football Hall of Dame. Don has served as a sports radio contributor for several New York City stations, including 20 years on WOR-AM’s “Rambling with Gambling” as well as “Imus in the Morning” on both WNBC and WFAN. Don and his wife Molly reside in New Jersey. They have 5 children and fifteen grandchildren. 

"Blonde on Blonde"

Deirdre Imus, Founder of the site devoted to environmental health, ImusEnvironmentalHealth.org, a resource for healthy green living where Deirdre shares tips on how to "green" the way you care for yourself, family and the planet. Everything from the food you eat, the clothes you wear, baby care products, cosmetics, and personal care products, you’ll find practical advice and tips for a healthier lifestyle. Deirdre is a vegetarian for life!

Deirdre is also President and Founder of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center® at Hackensack University Medical Center and Co-Founder/Co-Director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer. It is the only vegetarian working cattle ranch for kids with cancer.   

Deirdre is a New York Times multiple best-selling author and appears weekly on Imus in the Morning's Blonde on Blonde and Psychos.

The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center® works to ensure children live the healthiest lives possible – today, tomorrow, and decades from now. In her quest to clean up the environment for our kids, Deirdre developed the award-winning Greening The Cleaning® program and product line, which replaces the hazardous ingredients commonly found in cleaning agents with environmentally-responsible, less toxic products wherever possible.  The program and products are used throughout the country in schools, healthcare facilities, and businesses.

Deirdre has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors for her impact as a leader in the field of environmental health, and for raising awareness about childhood chronic illnesses that are in epidemic proportions like autism, asthma, and obesity.  Deirdre serves on the boards of several children’s health organizations, including the National Autism Association, Safe Minds, Generation Rescue, SKIP of New York, East Harlem Council for Human Services, Inc., Boriken Neighborhood Health Center.

Tony Powell

What do you get when you cross the charisma of Eddie Murphy, the irreverence of Chris Rock, and the Old School charm of Bernie Mack? I have no idea, however, I do know that when you add a quick wit, great storytelling ability, and the performance chops of a seasoned pro you have Tony Powell.

Like someone getting chocolate in your peanut butter or you getting peanut butter in their chocolate, accidents have a way of discovering pure artistry. While attending the University of Virginia, Tony Powell was asked to calm an unruly audience. Suddenly all those summer afternoons listening to Richard Pryor, and Bill Cosby albums seemed to have purpose. With his trademark quick wit, and clever impressions, Tony released the comedic genie trapped within to the delight of the unruly audience. Who knew at that moment in time that Powell was about to embark on a comedic odyssey that would lead to appearances on The Chris Rock Show , NBC's Showtime at the Apollo and two appearances on A&E's Comedy on the Road. Powell has made several appearances on The Comedy Channel. Powell has also opened for celebrity musical groups such as The Ojays and the Whispers. He has worked as the studio warm-up act for Bill Cosby and Nickelodeon's Keenan and Kel show. Since December of 2007 Tony has brought his comedic talents, as both a writer and performer, to the nationally syndicated radio program "Imus In The Morning;" heard weekdays from 6-10 AM EST and simulcast on the Fox Business Network..

As an actor, he has recently appeared on several national television commercials (Visa, Dawn Detergent, Ritz Crackers, Snuggle Brand Fabric Softener). Tony was also the radio voice of ''Mr. Chill'' for Miller Genuine Draft and the U.S. Army reserves. Powell’s voice talents have also been featured in national radio spots for Fila and Heineken. Powell is a college campus favorite as well. He has performed at over a hundred colleges and universities.

Growing up in East New York, Brooklyn, survival requires one of three things; you either have to be a great fighter, fleet of foot, or be a whole lotta funny. Let's just say, Tony Powell ain't no Ali or Usain Bolt, he is however, a whole lotta funny.

Professor Douglas Brinkley

Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University, bestselling author, Grammy-award winning producer and presidential historian for CNN. Eight of his books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and each of his most-recent publications have been New York Times bestsellers. Brinkley received the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Naval History Prize for Driven Patriot in 1993 and the Benjamin Franklin Award for The American Heritage History of the United States in 1998. His book 2006 The Great Deluge:  Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast won the Robert F. Kennedy book award.  He is also the author of the award-winning biographies Rosa Parks: A Life, Cronkite, and Wheels of the World: Henry Ford, His Country, and a Century of Progress.  Published in 2016, Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America is the third volume of Brinkley’s bestselling U.S. environmental history series.

Brinkley’s most recent book, JFK: A Vision for America—which he edited together with the president’s nephew, Stephen Kennedy Smith—features JFK’s greatest speeches, iconic photography, and reflections by leading statesmen, writers, historians, and public figures. The book is the basis for New-York Historical’s upcoming exhibition honoring the 100th anniversary of President Kennedy’s birth: American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life and Time, opening June 23.

Brinkley, who has edited Jack Kerouac’s diaries, Hunter S. Thompson’s letters, and Theodore Dreiser’s travelogue—and has co-edited a previously unpublished novel by Woody Guthrie together with Johnny Depp—serves as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, Audubon, and American Heritage, and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Century Association, and the Society of American Historians, and has held board or leadership advisory roles at the American Museum of Natural History, the Yellowstone Park Foundation, the National Audubon Society, and the Rockefeller-Roosevelt Conservation Roundtable—reflecting his commitment to conservation and environmental preservation.

Brinkley has been described as “America’s new past master” and has received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities throughout the nation for his work as an Americanist. He earned his BA from Ohio State University and a PhD in U.S. diplomatic history from Georgetown University.

"Battle of the Bands"

The I-Man and the Imus in the Morning gang compare original songs to contempary renditions.