I flew with Sandberg this morning

[Sosa21MVP]

Took a leak next to Tom Crean in a restroom at Banker's Life Fieldhouse (no he didn't peak like a weirdo).

 

Almost walked into Phil Jackson in downtown Portland back in 2000. He was in his own little Zen world just taking a leisurely walk.

 

Waited for a plan seated near Ted Marchibroda at the Indy airport.

 

Exchanged words with Bob Knight once while at IU. I used to work in the basement of Assembly Hall. Was walking out with a buddy one day as Bob was walking in. He was decked out in fishing gear. Bob said "how are you boys doing?" Responded "okay coach". Epic story, right?

 

Played a pickup game with Keith Smart once. He was on the other team and no I did not even attempt to guard him. He hit a few jumpers.

 

Saw Roy Firestone at Assembly Hall when he was visiting campus to interview Coach Knight (I think it might have been around the time after that Neil Reed tape came out).

 

I went to the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party twice, got autographs from Shane Matthews, Garrison Hearst and Dan Patrick. Kevin Butler was also signing but he was gone by the time I got to the tent. :(

Edited November 8, 2013 by Sosa21MVP

[Guest]

Seems like everyone has stories related to college.

 

I played pickup ball with Jason Kapono and Earl Watson. Basically, it was the rest of us standing around while those two kept going after each other. Kapono was definitely the stoner he came off as. Got dunked on by Ryan Hollins and faced Ricky Nolasco in high school.

 

My mom met Rick Fox while covering a story and he literally took the notepad and pen out of her hands and gave her an autograph she had no interest in.

[Derwood]

My family shared a cabin with the Sandusky family at a church retreat

Get out. Any shower play?

 

This was in the late 80's, purportedly before he started a'diddlin'

[Clem Fandango]

When I was working for the Mobile Bay Bears I got to see Ryne Sandberg in his lycra boxers or whatever they wear in lieu of jockstraps these days walking around outside the visitors clubhouse when Tennessee was in town.

 

I got to walk past a then 19 year old Giancarlo Stanton after he took some hacks in the batting cages. It's unfair how genetically superior he is to everyone else on the planet.

 

Turner Ward, now the hitting coach for the Diamondbacks, was the hitting coach of the Bay Bears when I was there and I had to speak to him often because I was responsible for transferring video and corresponding data from the previous games to his and the other coaches laptops. He is a super nice dude.

[UK1679666180]

Nothing too exciting, a couple of years ago had X-mas with Mark Ruffalo, his family is from Kenosha and my wife is close to his 1st cousin. Unfortunately I didn't know who he was.

 

 

When I was 13, Sinbad got me and my friends kicked out of Great America.

[bhogg]

In 89 ( I was 12) I was outside wrigley after a game trying to get autographs. Got a few, joe girardi hung around and talked to me and my folks for a good 10 minutes.

 

I met Boggs and sandberg in the Albany airport after the 2005 hall of fame weekend. They were cool, but you could tell they had been through a long week.

[Clem Fandango]

Nothing too exciting, a couple of years ago had X-mas with Mark Ruffalo, his family is from Kenosha and my wife is close to his 1st cousin. Unfortunately I didn't know who he was.

 

Oh yeah, I spent Christmas with Sam Lecure. He was my cousin's brother-in-law. He was married to Megan Willis, who ended up working for my cousins briefly. She was super hot.

 

They got divorced. My cousin told me she likes the ladies. Not sure if that was just him taking a jab at her, though.

 

Sam was really nice. I told him if/when he made it to the majors to watch out for Dusty. His response was "Oh, don't worry, I won't let him ruin my arm". The cautionary tales of Prior and Wood will echo on for eternity.

[illiniguy]

My family shared a cabin with the Sandusky family at a church retreat

Get out. Any shower play?

 

This was in the late 80's, purportedly before he started a'diddlin'

If you'd have had your jorts on you'd have got some action.

[Post Count Padder]

Met Doc Rivers in the Orlando Airport when he was the Magic coach.

 

At State College Spikes game last season we met Denny McLain. He was doing a signing because I guess he really needs the money. He was being kind of a creeper on any and all attractive girls that walked up to him.

 

My girlfriend, our friends and I went to a club in Philly for her birthday earlier this year. A few friends came late because they were at a concert and they arrived with Steven Paige from the Barenaked Ladies. He seemed off. He told my gf 24 was a "good age for clinical depression" and when I asked to buy him a beer, he said "nah, I gotta go find a jukebox" and stumbled out. It was a weird experience.

 

When I was a kid, I went to New Jersey Jackals (indy league baseball) games a lot. One time we got to the game early and got some autographs. One player was really nice and chatted with us for awhile. After he handed back the ball with his autograph we realized it was Mark Lemke. He was trying to make a comeback as a knuckleball pitcher. He didn't do too well:

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=lemke-001mar

[Derwood]

Wife just ran into Kevin Nealon

[treebird]

Wife just ran into Kevin Nealon

 

Who's hugepenischeatonyourhusband that?

[KaiserCesar]

I walked by Tom Ricketts today on Wacker, but I avoided eye contact so he wouldn't ask for spare change.

 

#poortomticketts

[Coach.]

Mid 70's and the Lena Pony and Colt leagues are taking their annual trip, this time to County Stadium to see the Royals play the Brewers. Our busses arrived very early, so we're just standing around the parking lot, screwing off and pissing off the parents who were brave enough to chaperone. Who pulls up and gets out of their car, but Hank Aaron. For a good 15 seconds, he's 10 yards from me and no one else notices. I freeze and do absolutely nothing. Suddenly, a swarm of autograph seekers surrounds him, and I'm in "I got a rock" mode.

[chuckywang]

Saw Charles Barkley at Miami International Airport the day after the Bulls vs. Heat Eastern Conference Finals game (I was there for a connection to the Caribbean). Walked up to him and said "Hi, my name is Charles too". (facepalm)

[Warpticon]

I have precious few celebrity stories, aside from seeing like 5 dudes trying to holla at Chilli from TLC on my very first trip to Lenox Mall in Atlanta.

 

Also, for non-regular-guy celebrity stories, this is gold: http://www.hypnagogics.com/questo

 

Bumping this to say that if you do nothing else, read the George Clinton and MIA stories.

[NOLA]

I saw Guy Fieri do his show for Food Network at a poboy shop/dive bar in my neighborhood. Basically, he was a total douche and thought he was a big time celeb, and was basically shouted out of the place by all the day drunks. His frosted tips were pristine however.

[XZero771679666304]

I saw Guy Fieri do his show for Food Network at a poboy shop/dive bar in my neighborhood. Basically, he was a total douche and thought he was a big time celeb, and was basically shouted out of the place by all the day drunks. His frosted tips were pristine however.

 

Yeah, he's got douche written all over him.

 

My wife interacts with celebrities occasionally, and one of the ones she found the most unpleasant kind of surprised me: Deepak Chopra. Apparently he can be a real diva.

[NOLA]

Also, a friend of mine is a special assistant or something on a production crew here. She was handling Nick Nolte last spring and said he was the most unique person she had ever met. He has gotten to be very old, very quickly. One moment he would forget names, where he was or what day it was all the time. The next moment he was completely on top of his game when the camera was on. He would flirt with her and try to charm her daily, but he was always gracious and well mannered at the same time. A very interesting and cool guy she would say.

[XZero771679666304]

Nolte's "aging" probably has less to to do with the passage of time than a myriad of other things.

[NOLA]

http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4810428986687865&w=277&h=157&c=7&rs=1&pid=1.7

It's not the years. It's the mileage.

[mhuber92211]

Being in hotel business leads to meeting a fair amount of celebs but the best experience was while working at Caesar's Tahoe in 97. We were the host property for all the celebs from the golf tournament that now is actually televised around 4th of July. Anywho, I was working the overnight shift and managing limo departures when Pete Rose came down. He was an hour early for departure and we just sat in the lobby talking baseball while waiting. Really a nice guy with a ton of knowledge. Just a cool expereince

[Guest]

I saw Guy Fieri do his show for Food Network at a poboy shop/dive bar in my neighborhood. Basically, he was a total douche and thought he was a big time celeb, and was basically shouted out of the place by all the day drunks. His frosted tips were pristine however.

 

Yeah, he's got douche written all over him.

 

My wife interacts with celebrities occasionally, and one of the ones she found the most unpleasant kind of surprised me: Deepak Chopra. Apparently he can be a real diva.

He's part deity, so yea. Dude has made million selling snake oil and roses.

[Guest]

Don't faint with excitement, but I'm golfing against Rick Lysander tomorrow in a match play tournament. Rick narrowly missed the HOF with his 11 career saves in the early '80's with the Twins. The gallery should be full with young autograph seekers, and my confusion will likely be whether the gallery is actually there for me or Mr. Lysander.

[Layoutman]

Way back before the duck dynasty phenomenon. I stood in line to clear canadian customs with Phil Robertson in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. He was a celebrity back then to us waterfowlers. Needless to say I cleared customs much faster than Phil, his beard didn't have much grey in it then.

[chopsx9]

Won tickets to Saturday Night Live and the after party in some bar down by the water - had to sneak into the VIP room - so my buddy and I kept to ourselves most of the night to avoid being booted.

 

BUT Cameron Diaz was the host and the Smashing Pumpkins were the musical guests ( I think this was '98). The Pumpkins played a bunch of songs and Diaz and the Pumpkins chick (who was pretty cute in her own right - not the Asian one who turns out is a guy) got really drunk and seemed awfully chummy and she later left when the band left - I still try not to let my imagination dwell on what may have happened later.

 

I can't recall who was in the cast then (don't think it was a high point for the show) - I remember Chris Kattan being there - So maybe Will Ferrell was there - but honestly don't remember. I remember the cast all seemed to split up once they arrived and sit at their own tables around the bar; each with their own little entourage.

 

Bunch of other celebrities showed up: Jerry Seinfeld, Dan Akroyd, John Goodman, Claire Danes, Sinbad - I'm sure there were some others. 3 Yankees were there - David Wells, Tino Martinez and ???.

 

I remember Wells and Goodman trying to hit on Diaz at various times with absolutely no success. Most them them got drunk and acted like idiots - that was my big take away - that these guys all get drunk and act like fools just like the rest of us. Seinfeld and Akroyd spoke for a long time together at a table in the corner. Diaz was all high energy bouncing around and dancing with the band. The Yakees were gawking almost as much as we were - especially at Diaz. It was good front row seat.

 

I had gone up to Lorne Michaels to thank him for donating the prize I had won - but he wanted nothing to do with me and I'm sure I saw a little red dot flicker across my chest until he was a safe distance away.

 

That was my big brush with anyone famous.

 

I did play Tennis with Mark Knowles (#1 Doubles player for awhile with Daniel Nestor) when I was a kid. He'd wipe the court with me on a regular basis but he always had a really bad temper even as a 10 year old - so it was always entertaining.

 

My Dad played tennis with Sean Connery once and my sister was at Boletari in Florida at the same time Andre Agassi was there.