Stephanie Baer of the Omaha Heart

I don't usually mingle with the opposition, but as a "reporter" I am supposed to be unbiased.  That's my loophole and I am taking it.

Prior to a Legends Football League game a couple years ago, I had finished doing my coverage of the Chicago Bliss and I almost literally ran into Stephanie Baer of the Omaha Heart.  Despite some playful jeering from the Bliss, I had to stop and talk to Baer for a bit.

The Heart was the big underdog against the Bliss, especially on the Bliss home turf, but Baer and the Heart would not hear of it.  We talked about that and playing in relative obscurity in Omaha.  Baer plays for the love of the game and the fans.  She has the mind of an athlete and she works hard all year to stay in football shape.

The Bliss would go on to stomp the Heart 44-0 in the game, which was a microcosm of their bad season.  The Heart went winless and even a long stretch of being pointless, but they kept their heads up and never quit.  They remained classy in defeat.

I always have had great respect for my hometown Bliss, but players like Baer deserve credit, too.  Playing for a poor team in a small market has to be hard, especially with the year-round practices, lack of pay and other constraints of the LFL.  Still, there is Baer (and others) not only playing hard, but giving a few minutes to a reporter she will probably never see again.

Thank you Steph Baer.  Good luck always.

Stephanie Baer and me in Bridgeview, IL-May 2015.

Bob Boyd Climbed a Mountain With Johngy

A lot of celebrities have worn the Johngy shirt and I appreciate all of them.  Still, somehow it is always a special kick when old friends wear it.  Such was the case with Bob Boyd.

I first met Bob way back in the mid-1980's when he joined CWO&O as a salesman.  I had already logged in a year or so as a sales assistant while I went to DePaul.

Bob was always good for a laugh, a fun story and even some good career advice.  We occasionally went to lunch and also enjoyed beverages after work.  Bobn was a good guy.

Years later, through the magic of Facebook, we reconnected.  An active guy, Bob is a mountain climber.  When he requested a Johngy shirt, I had no idea he would wear one at the top of Pikes Peak on one such climb.  This is probably the highest point a Johngy shirt has ever been worn.  Way to go Bob!

I appreciate Bob's support now and I really appreciate all Bob did back in the day.  His kindness, both professional and personal, helped me on many occasions.

Bob Boyd at Pikes Peak, CO-July 2015.

Judge Reinhold at Days of the Dead Chicago 2016

At Days of the Dead Chicago 2016, Judge Reinhold joined two of my clubs.  As previously mentioned, he joined the Jay Leno Club, be requesting a photo with me.  He also joined my ever-growing list of Seinfeld characters I have met.

While I have not met any of the big four of Seinfeld, I have met quite a few actors who have appeared on the epic sitcom.  That list includes Patrick Warburton (David Pudd), Larry Thomas (Soup Nazi), David Naughton (off-the-wagon Dick), Brenda Strong (the braless wonder) and Lee Arenberg (Mike).  Obviously, there are so many actors still to go and Rena Sofer would be at the top of my list.

Reinhold has had an excellent career.  At the top of his resume I would put Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but he also had great roles in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, Gremlins, The Santa Clause and more, including his role as Aaron, the close-talked, on Seinfeld.

Fans greeting Reinhold at Days of the Dead, spanned the ages.  Of course, a lot of people approached him and "close-talked" him.  The novelty and humor of that had to wear thin after a while, but Reinhold never showed signs of wear.  He was a great guest, laughing and talking at length with many fans.

It was a rare midwest appearance for Reinhold and leave it to Days to bring him here.  At a convention with a few huge headliners (Ric Flair, Alice Cooper, Tony "Candyman" Todd), Reinhold was one of the most popular guests.

Judge Reinhold and me in Schaumburg, IL-November 2016.

Tom Richmond at C2E2 2016

Artist Tom Richmond is a native of Wisconsin.  He crossed the border during his college years to work as a caricature artist at Six Flags Great America.  He claims his work sucked in comparison to others and his goal became "not to suck."  I think Richmond is underestimating his ability back then, but either way, his ability now is undeniable.

Richmond worked at a variety of jobs involving caricatures.  He evetually worked for Cracked, although his dream was to work for Mad.  Eventually, he did land his dream job at Mad.  He also does commissions, which you can purchase through his site or at comic cons throughout the year.

Richmond is very approachable at comic cons.  In fact, rarely is someone so accomplished, so under the radar at such places.  This man's work appeared in Mad!  That magazine brought tears of laughter to generations.  It inspired many kids (including me) to attempt to reproduce the caricatures.  I first saw and fell in love with caricatures, although I never developed that talent.  I could copy their work free hand pretty well, but I could not create original caricatures.

Richmond's work is amazing, whether it is for Mad or other creations.  You can see a lot of his awesome work on and get more info, including his appearance schedule at TomRichmond.com.  You can also follow Tom Richmond on twitter.

Tom Richmond and me in Chicago, IL-March 2016.

Friendly Encounters: Bob Griese and Matthew Pike

This is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

I met Matthew Pike when he joined the Chicago Bliss (of the Legends Football League) as the Quarterback Coach.  Coach Keith Hac takes it that seriously, which is why the Bliss has won 3 of the last 4 LFL titles.
Matthew was a welcome addition, especially as the Bliss transitioned from the legendary Heather Furr, who retired after the 2015 season.  He worked with the new crop of quarterback prospects, before Aussie import Cinda Barclay won the spot.
Matthew quarterbacked the Purdue Boilermakers from 1991-93.  He completed 156 of 337 passing attempts for 46.3% for 2273 yards, with 12 TD's against 17 interceptions.  After Purdue, he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, but left to play football in Europe.  He returned to the US to play indoors.
At a game last season, Matthew met Purdue legend and NFL Hall of Famer Bob Griese.  Griese starred for the Boilermakers about 25 years before Matthew lead the team.  In between were a solid line of QB's including Mike Phipps, Gary Danielson, Mark Herrman and Jim Everett.  None matched the achievements of Griese, but all were excellent at Purdue and went on to have solid NFL careers.  Of course, after Matthew, Drew Brees would be the biggest name to lead the Boilermakers.
It has to be a cool feeling to be in that line of quarterbacks.  It's like a fraternity.  Even though his NFL career did not work out, Matthew had his time to shine at Purdue.  Now he has time to shine as he guides the quarterback on the 3 time LFL champion Bliss.

Matthew Pike and Bob Griese in West Lafayette, IN-October 2016.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #312 Ashley Judd & Farah Fath

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series where I create virtual trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys.  Today, we focus on collegiate hockey.

Actress Ashley Judd was born in Granada Hills, CA, but graduated from the University of Kentucky.  She represented her Alma Mater well on their promo poster a few years back and earned her Celebrity Jersey Card in the process.  I'm guessing ticket sales improved after the poster was printed.

Actress Farah Fath was born in Lexington, KY, which would explain her promo poster for the University of Kentucky hockey team.  Fath never attended UK, because she started acting as a yougster, but who really cares?  Fath in a UK hockey jersey equals one of the best Celebrity Jersey Cards yet!

On The Beat With The DePaul Blue Demons

I graduated from DePaul University 30 years ago (in June).  I attended several DePaul games then and more over the years, but none was quite like the game I attended last Saturday.

I was not sitting in the student section.  I was not sitting in the regular fan section either.  I was sitting in Press Row.  I was sitting two seats to the left of the north end basket!  This was going to be cool.

My recap of the day is on the Patch at On The Beat With The DePaul Blue Demons.  It is also the subject of my latest online contribution to Global Traveler,

Here though, I want to go beyond the numbers and the box score.  I'm going to discuss the giddy kid in me sitting almost on the basketball court.

This strikes me deep from two ends.  First, as a lifelong sports fan, it was so cool to sit this close to the action.  I even got my hands on the ball twice, when it came sailing into the press table.  Much like the feeling of standing on a Major League Baseball field, I couldn't believe I was so near an NCAA court.

Actually, I was even on the court prior to the game.  I talked to a few of the players, along with DePaul Coach Dave Leitao and Seton Hall Coach Kevin Willard.

The other part of this coolness was that I was actually part of the Press.  This never ceases to amaze me.  I always wanted to be a writer, but life took me in another direction.

I occasionally wrote a guest feature at Lerner Newspapers.  I also wrote a couple articles for Global Traveler magazine and became a regular online writer for GT.  I started a blogsite and also begane writing for other sites (like The Patch, WrestlingFigs, TruSchool Sports and more).  Somehow, it all seems to add up to a decent resume.  At least it adds up to enough to get media credentials.

So there I was with my media crednetials sitting in Press Row.  It really doesn't get much better.  Thank you to DePaul University for their hospitality.

Chyna at Days of the Dead Chicago 2015

It's always sad to see anyone die at a young age.  Seeing pictures of Chyna and me are especially sad though.

Chyna (Joanie Laurer) died way too young.  She rose quickly in the world of wrestling.  Unfortunately, she also fell too quickly.  Once out of the wrestling spotlight, things occasionally got ugly, too.

It's a shame.  Importance is placed on the wrong things at times.  Politics and other such games too often get mixed in to produce damaging results.

Chyna wasn't clear of her rewsponsibility in the mess, but she deserved better than what she got.  At times, it seemed like Chyna was against the world.  Nobody was in her corner (except maybe Howard Stern, ionically).

Recently, Chyna started making more punlic appearances.  She seemed to be doing well.  She was totally friendly and we actually forged a bit of a "fan friendship" from seeing each other several tmes in a short time span.

I thanked her fopr helping me with a literacy program many years ago.  She remembered and thanked me for including her.  We had some nice moments.

When I heard of her deth, it didn't shock me, unfortunately.  Although she seemed to be in a better place, we have seen too many wrestling personalities ride the roller coaster with bad endings.

Her death did sadden me a bit more than usual.  She just seemed like a lost soul.  I'm sure she'll eventually get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame 9and rightly so), but I just wish it ocurred during her lifetime.  I don't fault the WWE for her passing, but a healing of sorts between the two parties might have gone a long way in helping Chyna to find peace.

Joanie Laurer and me in Schaumburg, IL-November 2015.

Prefrontal Scortex at the Windy City Rollers 2017 Juanna Rumbel Cup

Aren't roller derby referees like pro wrestling referees, in that they are part of the act?  Actually, the refs in roller derby are legitimate officials.  They watch the action, enforce the rules, call penalties and keep the action within the official rules of roller derby.

I still get asked if roller derby is real or scripted like pro wrestling.  The truth is that roller derby has been both, but the Windy City Rollers and leagues like the WCR, are a legitimate sports league.  Aside from colorful names, the rest of what happens is highly competitive sports, played by skilled, trained and dedicated athletes.

Prefrontal Scortex is one such colorful name and it belongs to one of the referees of the WCR.  Like the athletes, he spends most of the night working hard on the track.  He enforces the rules, makes the calls and keeps the game flowing.  Especially in a fast-paced sport like roller derby, his role is very important to the fans.  There is so much happening on the track.  Prefrontal Scortex and his fellow refs have their hands full.  They keep the game on track (no pun intended), while not getting in the way of the action or becoming part of the game.

Thank you to the Windy City Rollers for their hospitality.  I'll be reporting on the WCR all season, but you can also follow them at WindyCityRollers.com, the WCR Facebook page and the WCR on twitter.

Prefrontal Scortex and me in Chicago, IL-February 2017.

Gene Okerlund at C2E2 2016

Meeting Mean Gene Okerlund was like meeting a piece of wrestling history.  The legendary broadcaster has interviewed all of the biggest names in pro wrestling.

Scottie "The WonderBoy" Steiner and I had a lot of fun at C2E2, hanging with Wisconsin promoter David Herro and Okerlund.  Scottie's colorful shirt was the topic of a few of Okerlund's jokes (and rightly so).

Okerlund looks great, too.  My first memories of Mean Gene go back to the early 80's.  Now 35 years later, I can't believe I am conversing with this legend.  (Maybe 35 years from now, I will say the same about Scottie).

In a sport where huge, ciseld bodies rule and the fans are constantly looking for the next best thing, Mean Gene is timeless.  He transcends the product.  Do not miss any chance to meet this legend.

For that matter, do not miss a chance to go to C2E2, where you can meet such legends.  Go to C2E2.com to learn about the upcoming event.

Scott Steiner, Gene Okerlund and me in Chicago, IL-March 2016.