Meet CES Client Ed Wang

Meet Ed Wang, left tackle for the Buffalo Bills and the NFL's first player of full Chinese descent.

Written by Charolette Hsu

The air inside the Buffalo Bills’ autograph tent was hot and sticky, pregnant with the humidity of late July. This was not where rookie left tackle Ed Wang wanted to be. Nevertheless, he hunched his 320-pound frame over a table and went to work, initialing a football, a sports glove, and a few other items.

He gripped a Sharpie in his hand, but his mind was elsewhere. When he lifted his head to survey the remaining fans, he seemed relieved to discover they were waiting for the other linemen attending the pre-season signing session, and not for him.

His handlers, sensing his sour mood, okayed his early departure.

“I had two bad days in a row,” he sighed as he made his way to the locker room. Sweat soaked his hair, which tumbled halfway down his back in tangled, dripping strands. Practice had gone poorly that afternoon. He had struggled, giving up mock sacks.

From there, his luck worsened. The next day, he hurt his thumb. The injury would require surgery. As he readied for the operation, he wondered how long it would take to recover. Two weeks? A month? Training camp had started less than a week before, and he could not afford to sit out. He had already lost valuable practice time in June to a high-ankle sprain. What else could go wrong?

Wang bears a scar on his thumb from the Aug. 2 surgery that has kept him on the sidelines. (photo by Christina Shaw)

Wang, a fifth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech, is the NFL’s first player of full Chinese descent, though he has nowhere near the star power of Asian sports heroes like Houston Rockets center Yao Ming or Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. The Bills brought Wang on to add depth to their roster, and even if he survives pre-season cuts, he’ll likely see few minutes on the field this year.

But Wang never expected to be famous. He just wants to play.

Friends say Wang is the kind of athlete who, even in college, refused alcohol during the season. At parties, he volunteered as designated driver. His parents, track-and-field professionals who once held spots on China’s national team, started coaching him at age six for a future in the NFL. He grew up on whole milk and steak—fat slabs of beef for dinner three times a week.

His life has been one of expectations, and now he is looking to prove himself one more time. He can’t let the opportunity slip away—not after all he has weathered, after all his parents have given to catalyze his dreams.

Charlotte Hsu is a freelance contributor to Artvoice. A former reporter for the Las Vegas Sun, she now works in the University at Buffalo’s communications office. She writes about Buffalo at cjhsu.wordpress.com.

Read more: http://artvoice.com/issues/v9n34/making_the_cut#ixzz0xjYQ6Tu
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CES Client Ziggy Hood impresses Steelers after his off-season training with Chip Smith and Robby Stewart at CES

Steelers encouraged by Ziggy Hood's improvement

Originally posted by Alan Robinson (AP), August 10, 2010

LATROBE, Pa. — No matter the sport, coaches often say an athlete shows the most improvement at any stage of his career between the first and second seasons.

So far, the Pittsburgh Steelers are seeing exactly that in second-year defensive end Ziggy Hood.

Hood, the Steelers' first-round draft pick in April 2009, didn't play much as a rookie while making the adjustment from a 4-3 defense at Missouri to the Steelers' not-easy-to-learn 3-4 system. Unlike many first-rounders, he wasn't expected to make an immediate impact. And he didn't.

During this Steelers training camp, he is.

"The game's starting to slow down for me," Hood said. "Everything's better. I'm learning more."

The 6-foot-3, 310-pound Hood is still playing behind Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel, but he's showing the physical side the Steelers expected when they drafted him. Coach Mike Tomlin saw that on the first day of camp, when Hood easily pushed aside first-round pick Maurkice Pouncey during a blocking drill.

"He's taken the kind of jump that you'd expect a second-year first rounder to take," Tomlin said. "This guy works extremely hard and you'd be tough to find anybody who spent more time in our building during the offseason than Ziggy Hood. It's paying off for him and he's playing with a great deal of confidence."

Hood, one of the most frequent visitors to the Steelers' weight room, also is 10 pounds heavier, an asset that may allow him to fill in occasionally at nose tackle. The Steelers have rarely had someone who could play all three linemen positions in the 3-4.

Smith, who is 34, and Keisel, who will be 32 next month, welcome that versatility because it might allow them to rest for an occasional series. For now, Hood isn't starting, but he's starting to show exactly why the Steelers drafted him.

"You can see he's already made huge growth — he's going to be somebody special," Smith said. "If you're good enough, you're going to get on the field. If we get a nice rotation going, it would be nice because guys won't have to play a ton of snaps and it will keep you more fresh. And maybe that fourth quarter we won't be so tired to finish."

The Steelers' defense, the NFL's best statistically over the past five seasons, appeared to wear down last season as Smith (shoulder) and safety Troy Polamalu (left knee) missed most of the season. The injuries thinned their depth and often showed up in the fourth quarter, when the Steelers uncharacteristically lost leads five times.

Those late-in-the-game collapses — the worst of which came in an inexplicable 27-24 loss at home to Oakland — ultimately cost the Steelers (9-7) any chance of returning to the playoffs a season after they won the Super Bowl.

Now, Hood appears much better equipped to step in should a starter go down, a concern to the Steelers as their defensive line ages; nose tackle Casey Hampton will be 33 when the season starts. Due to assorted injuries, Smith and Keisel haven't played a full season together since 2006.

"Ziggy's a big, strong guy. He's a different type animal," Hampton said. "He might be the strongest player on the team. Ziggy can pretty much play on the line where he wants to. I've got that old-man strength. He's got that still-in-the-weight room strength."

Hood's lack of experience held him back last season, when the Steelers couldn't afford to give him much on-the-job training.

"He's still a young guy, and he has a ways to go technically on a few things," Tomlin said. "But we like what we see of him. He has great passion and he's displaying that daily."

Meanwhile, the on-field heat index was above 100 as the Steelers practiced Tuesday. Linebacker James Harrison (sore shoulder) sat out for the third day in a row.

CES Athlete Curtis Lofton named one of the 2010 NFL Breakout Players

Originally posted by Curtis Compton, Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

Potential 2010 NFL breakout player, Curtis Lofton-- CES Client.

LB, Atlanta Falcons

He rarely came off the field last year as their heir apparent to departed Keith Brooking (CES Client). He's a big part of the unit's talented nucleus, which includes rookie Sean Weatherspoon flanking Lofton.

CES Athlete and Vikings QB, Joe Webb TD run against 49ers

Watch the touchdown run by clicking HERE

Watch Joe jump 7 bags while training at CES

Jacques McClendon goes in fourth round without a Combine Invite

Original posting by Michael David Smith on April 26, 2010 1:23 PM ET

Jacques McClendon was not invited to Indianapolis for the annual scouting combine. But on Saturday he got a much more important invitation to Indianapolis.

The Colts selected McClendon, a guard from Tennessee, in the fourth round of the draft, making him the highest-drafted player who wasn't invited to the combine.

Gil Brandt of NFL.com notes that in addition to McClendon in the fourth round, five players not at the combine were taken in the fifth round, 11 were taken in the sixth round and 22 were taken in the seventh round.

Among the notables to be snubbed for combine invitations but still get drafted were Jonathan Crompton, a Tennessee quarterback taken by the Chargers in the fifth round; Fendi Onobun, a former college basketball player and tight end prospect taken by the Rams in the sixth round; and Tim Toone, a wide receiver from Weber State who became Mr. Irrelevant when the Lions took him with the final pick in the draft.