Joe Forte may be a rookie -- and sure, he's not 21 yet. Yeah, he likes Madden 2002 and wants to buy rims that don't stop spinning when his vehicle stops -- but he's not green. He understands more about the media than most people in the media.

"Life is like chess," the first-round Celtics pick says. "Everyone has a motive, a reason for doing things, and the winners are always one step ahead, figuring out what the next person is going to do and why."

Forte turns off the Inside Edition segment on *NSYNC that's playing on his front-seat TV monitor and steps out of his green Range Rover. The D.C.-area resident hasn't moved to Boston yet, and he's spending the day playing chess in Lafayette Square, across from the White House. And I'm scoping out potential opponents.

Some have their own chess pieces that they're carrying around in purple velvet bags, some play quick five-minute games so they can fit six opponents in during an hour lunch. Some play for money. Joe's just looking to play.

"My freshman year at North Carolina, another freshman emailed me and said he didn't believe that I could play," Forte remembers. "So I personally went to his dorm room and beat him. I had to call him out."

Forte's used to calling people out. Take the piece in last Thursday's USA Today that mentioned Forte as one of the guys playing and working out with Michael Jordan. "It's not true," the 6'4" guard said with a smile. "I've never even met Jordan before, but it's good press."

And hey, everyone has a motive, a reason for doing things -- and Forte's already one step ahead, figuring out what the next person is going to do. Forte has tinted car windows for a reason.

"At first, I had regular see-through windows," Forte says, "but too many people were trying to get me to pull over, so now I'm prepared for the next guy."

Or the next botched media story.

Shelly Gepfert covers The Life for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail her at shelly.gepfert@espnmag.com.