Since the advent of American professional sports, an athlete's entourage has significantly impacted how we view professional athletes themselves.

From the great boxers of yesteryear to today's NBA brethren, fans and pundits have gravitated toward -- and, perhaps more often, away from -- an athlete based on the crew he rolls with. Before becoming perhaps the greatest boxer of his century, Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champ, drew scorn from whites and embarrassed some African-Americans by surrounding himself with a vast entourage of managers, assistants, secretaries, valets and -- most damagingly, in that day and age -- white blonde women.

In recent times, we've seen a commissioner (David Stern) publicly call out a player (Allen Iverson) for his group of unsavory friends, and we reacted in horror -- or is it mild amusement? -- as one NFL player's pals allegedly shot up a Las Vegas strip club during NBA All-Star Weekend. Sure, for every Pacman Jones, there's a Rip Hamilton or Ron Artest, whose childhood pals from Coatesville, Pa., and Queensbridge, N.Y., respectively, try -- and sometimes fail -- to keep their leader on the straight and narrow. But most coaches, execs and players would probably agree that the friends belonging to today's athletes are grabbing headlines at far too great a clip.

And yet, in terms of capturing the imagination and accruing pop-culture mileage, even Pacman has got nothing on Vince Chase. No entourage has come to simultaneously define, defy and prop up the entourage phenomenon quite like the fictional crew featured in "Entourage," the mind-bogglingly popular HBO series about Hollywood actor Vince Chase (played by Adrian Grenier) and his pals from Queens.

Vince's entourage, which is loosely based on the life of executive producer Mark Wahlberg and his pals, includes his slimy agent Ari Gold (Emmy winner Jeremy Piven), less successful older bro Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon), best friend Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly) and Jerry Ferrara's Turtle, the most lovable, sexist, pot-smoking, delinquent hanger-on Hollywood has to offer.

On the eve of the premiere of the show's fourth season, I hooked up with Ferrara, a native New Yorker and Yankees and Knicks lifer, to chat about "Entourage" the series, the phenomenon of entourages and the impact of both on the sports landscape.

SAM ALIPOUR: I heard that before you guys shot the very first episode, you all went to a fight in Vegas. Did you write that off as "research"?

JERRY FERRARA: [Laughs] The role didn't exactly require tons of research. But before we shot the first episode, Mark got us all together and flew us out to the first Roy Jones-Tarver fight. We went to the fight, gambled and got to know each other. Then, we came back to LA and started work the next day. It was a brilliant strategy on Wahlberg's part.

One of the perks of being a celebrity is gaining entry into the sports world. You're a big Yankees and Knicks fan, so what type of perks have you gotten?

The best was probably when we presented the Team of the Year award two years ago at the ESPYS. I had to hand the award to Curt Schilling, which hurt my feelings. I also did a commercial for the Knicks, and any game I want to go to, they put me right on the court. Growing up in Brooklyn, I used to sit in the nosebleeds, and now I'm sitting on the court. It's an unbelievable feeling. Every time David Lee and Channing Frye say "What's up?" to me, I freak out.

Let's talk about that. A vast majority of athletes watch your show. Trust me, I've conducted a major study. And obviously, athletes are known for their entourages. So what type of feedback have you gotten from ballers?

Luckily, it's all been positive. It would really break my heart if an athlete told me, "You guys are getting it all wrong." Some of the guys on the Knicks watch the show. But they all say they enjoy watching it.

So you're the one Knicks fan who doesn't think they need to move either Stevie Franchise or Stephon Marbury?

I've always loved Francis as a player. He's got a lot of good years left in him if he can get healthy. It's hard to get into the flow of the season if you play 10 games, then miss 10 games. And he can be a very good tutor for a guy like Nate Robinson, so I'd say keep Franchise around.

If you could be a part of any athlete's entourage, who would it be?

That's a great question. I'll go with LeBron James. I met him once, and he's a really good guy. That's the most important thing. That's the kind of person I want to be associated with. I wouldn't mind being his driver. I'm sure I'd be driving some sick cars.

But you're a Yankees fan. I'm surprised you didn't go with Derek Jeter. He cleans up with the ladies, so I'm guessing he'd be Turtle's pick.

[Laughs] Turtle would have loved that. But Jerry has a girlfriend. I've been with her for a long time, so on that level, I'm happy. But Jeter definitely does well.

Let's flip it. If you could have any athlete in your entourage, who would you choose?

See, that's where I'd recruit Jeter. Yankees, four rings, it speaks for itself. He's one of the best players who ever lived.

Assuming he's down, what role would Jeter serve?

[Laughs] Teach me how to swing a f------ bat.

Turtle used his position in Vince's entourage to land himself a management deal with rapper Saigon. And before "Entourage," I read that you were a community college dropout flipping burgers. Quite a leap. Was it just hard work on your part, or were you a member of some celebrity entourage like Turtle?

I'm a community college dropout, but I didn't flip burgers. I did work at a Boston Market, so I was actually flipping chickens. It's been a wild ride. But I was never in an entourage when I came out here from New York. I really didn't know anyone. I earned it with small acting parts. When you earn what you get, you appreciate it more.

I'm a huge fan of Piven's, but it's safe to say he benefited from being friends with John Cusack. And Kevin Dillon has a more famous brother in Matt Dillon. They're now big stars in their own right, but early on, who benefited the most from being in an entourage, in your mind: Dillon or Piven?

You know, I don't think either of them benefited at all. Jeremy and Kevin are both insanely talented. I'm not even sure they were in entourages. Kevin and Matt never worked together in a movie before. Kevin's been acting since he was 17, in gigantic movies like "The Doors" and "Platoon." And with Jeremy, he's been in movies with Cusack…

Roughly 107 times.

But they're friends. Friends enjoy working together. Jeremy has an Emmy, and he kills as Ari. They have friends and family in the business, but I think they both actually had to work harder to break out of that.

Good point. Going into this season, Vince is pretty peeved at Ari. In your opinion, when an entourage member screws up -- like, say, whoever is running around with Pacman Jones, [allegedly] shooting up strip clubs and what not -- what should they do to get back in with the entourage leader?

Well, I don't really know Pacman or what his situation is, but there are a lot of f---ups within our entourage so I'd say, in the case of Ari or in my case, apologize and physically go out and correct the situation. The Vince character does so much for our characters. He's a very generous guy, so you don't want to screw that guy over because he's genuinely giving you a life. Make it up to him in any way possible.

The Lakers told me that you guys recently shot an episode courtside at a Lakers game.

Yeah, that's actually Sunday's episode. Any time we read a scene like that -- like the scene about the Klitschko-Sanders fight, or the race track, or the U2 concert -- we get excited because we legitimately shoot at these places. I hate it when other shows say they're at the game, then you cut to the stands and there's like five people there. The Lakers were kind enough to let us shoot there, and the fans in those seats were kind enough to give us their tickets. When we got there, I tried to give my lines away because I wanna watch Kobe drop 65, you know?

Lamar Odom told me he really enjoyed his cameo in season two. Any athlete cameos this season?

Yeah, we have [UFC fighter] Chuck Liddell in one of the most classic "Entourage" scenes we've ever had. Let's put it this way: It has never been done on TV before. And I'm trying to get some of my Knicks on the show.

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Larry David recently met with the Jets' front office to offer advice. If you could call up [Knicks coach/GM] Isiah Thomas right now, what would you tell him?

Right now, they're at a place where they're on the right track, then they got bit by the injury bug. Any time you lose three of your four top scorers and your top rebounder, you're going to have problems. But I would just say, "Look, you've got a great group of young guys, you have a very bright future, work on cutting that payroll down, keep finding that young talent, and definitely DON'T TRADE ANYBODY. Especially David Lee or Channing Frye.

The Yankees have lowered their payroll this season. How on earth can they compete?

Yeah, what is it, $220 million now? You know what, the Yankees never have to worry about the playoffs. It's just a question of whether they can put it together for a Series run. Once you get to the playoffs, you throw the payrolls and records out the window. The Tigers showed us that last year. They were flat going in, but they got on a run. The Yankees are absolutely fine.

Sheffield had some not-so-nice things to say about the Yankees in one of my recent columns. Are you sad to see him go?

You definitely don't want to see a guy like Sheffield go. He's one of the best power hitters of all time. I think his criticism was more about the breakup. When you break up, you never have good things to say. But he gave everything he had when he was here and that's all you can ask for. For that, I'll miss him. And please don't hit a million home runs against us.

Vince's entourage parties hard, smokes strange substances and dominates women. Is Wahlberg's entourage as wild as your fictional entourage?

Nowadays, he doesn't roll like he used to. He's a father now. He's much more subdued. The guys who I met in his entourage, they're not necessarily wild. They just know how to have a good time. They're really good guys, and that's the biggest thing. They're not out to hurt anybody. They're just all about fun.

I read somewhere that you want to do a sports radio show. Anything come of that?

As of right now, nothing concrete. But I've been talking with my managers and agents. It was my first dream, once I realized I wasn't headed for the NBA. I always wanted to play basketball, but once I hit 5-7 and didn't grow another inch, those dreams died. So I used to listen to WFAN all the time when I was younger. If I could work it out, I'd love to do it. Because outside of acting, all I do is talk about sports. I could turn that into a nice little second career.

How does an athlete's entourage compare to an actor's entourage?

I got to meet a lot of athletes and their friends at the ESPYS, and it's not really that different, from what I gather. It's a different world because we're Hollywood, where it's a who's who of acting and directing. And in sports, you're dealing with other athletes. But it's the same deal.

Sam Alipour is based in Los Angeles. His Media Blitz column appears in ESPN The Magazine and regularly on Page 2. You can reach him at Sam.Alipour@gmail.com.