The Jerome Brown Memorial Athletic Center is located on the north side of the University of Miami campus, adjacent to the MTI basketball arena. In addition to its indoor track, pool, weight room, and conditioning equipment, the JBC is equipped with a press room and media center, complete with global uplink capabilities. At the heart of the facility is a circular broadcast chamber, its tinted smart-glass walls designed to conceal a myriad of cameras and lights, microphones, special effects boards, and technicians.

Diane Tanner enters the interview chamber, wearing her standard skintight designer ESPN body leotard. The voluptuous blonde takes her place opposite Samuel in an identical crushed velvet chair and adjusts her cleavage. ‘Nervous?’

‘Should I be?’

‘This is a live interview.’

‘Won’t be my first.’

‘I make you nervous, don’t I?’

‘Do you always come on to the athletes you interview?’

She smiles. ‘Only the cute ones.’

‘Stand by, Diane.’ The voice, coming from a hidden microphone. ‘Five … four … three—’

Diane switches to a more professional smile. ‘Welcome to This Week in Sports. I’m your host, Diane Tanner, and with me today is University of Miami’s star tailback, Samuel “the Mule” Agler. Sam, thanks for taking time to be with me.’ She winks.

‘My, uh … pleasure.’

‘Sam, pro scouts have already anointed you the most prolific running back ever to play in the professional collegiate ranks. Before we talk about your accomplishments on the field, I thought we’d take a quick peek into your private life. You were born in Chads Ford, Pennsylvania, is that right?’

‘According to the birth certificate.’

‘Your mother died when you were three. What happened?’

‘Drunk driver. This was before the new safety protocols.’

‘Of course. So your father, Gene, moved the two of you to Hollywood Beach, Florida, to start life over. Why Florida?’

‘Job transfer. He took over as principal at Pompano High.’

‘How old were you when you started playing football?’

‘Five or six.’

‘And the rest, as they say, is history. Star tailback your freshman year in high school. Led the nation in scoring and total yardage for four straight years. The most recruited PCAA athlete in history. Scored a perfect sixteen hundred on your entrance exams. With your scores and grades, you could have accepted an academic scholarship at Harvard.’

‘I suppose. But I wanted to stay close to home.’

‘Because you fell in love with your high-school sweetheart. How romantic.’ Diane allows the sarcasm to drip.

‘She keeps me in line.’

‘I bet she does. You don’t drink or Bliss. You donate your time to anti-drug messages. Jesus, Mule, you’re every American mother’s wet dream.’

‘Some of us were raised the right way.’

‘Hmm, now how does that old song go … “ only the good die young ?” Anyway, let’s talk football. Tell us what it’s like to step out on the playing field and have 120,000 crazed fans screaming your nickname? How does it feel?’