Catching Up with Delanie Wisz

It took some effort, but I got a picture with pro softball player Delanie Wisz. She was my only goal on her team and I succeeded.

Delanie starred at UCLA, before joining Athletes Unlimited. At UCLA, she helped lead the Bruins to a pair of NCAA College World Series appearances. She debuted with AU in 2023 and became a Bandit in 2025, when real teams were announced.

Two new teams joined AU in the offseason and the Bandits (now the Chicago Bandits) could only protect five players. No disrespect to those chosen, but Delanie should have been protected. She has versatility of playing several positions, including RF, 3B, 1B and catcher. That type of ability, coupled with her skill set, should have made her an easy keeper. Instead, she became a great pickup for the Oklahoma Spark.

On her first series back in Rosemont, she hit 3 HRs in three games. Despite her being on the opposing team, I cheered every time.

I have been a fan of Delanie's for many years. I actually started as a fan and admirer of her sister Stevie. A player at UCLA prior to Delanie, Stevie has battled heart issues for many years. She is tough and inspirational.

I have followed Stevie, Delanie and their mom on social media and I have seen all of their triumphs and hurdles. They have such a strong faith and positive attitude, despite the hardships they have experienced.

AU instituted a new tougher policy with player pictures and autographs. I camped out near the player locker room door and hoped to catch her when she wasn't in game mode. Prior to the last game, she was already on the field, but she went back to the clubhouse. When she reappeared to head to the field, she was accompanied by a policeman, a common practice now to discourage fans from bothering her. Undaunted, I approached her just as she neared the field and the policeman started walking away. To her credit, Delanie was as sweet as could be.

I immediately sent the picture to Delanie's mom, like I did with every previous picture I took with Delanie. Mom Wisz has always been kind to me. On one Chicago roadtrip to see Delanie, she came over to me to thank me for my support over the years. Like I wrote, it is a beautiful family.

For more info on Delanie and the league, go to auprosports.com. Also, check here for my recurring coverage.

Delanie Wisz and me in Rosemont, IL-June 2026.

Celebrity Jersey Cards Special Edition #803: WWE FIFA Bobby Lashley & Liv Morgan

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series featuring celebrities wearing sports jerseys. With the World Cup starting today, I produced some Special Edition WWE FIFA Celebrity Jersey Cards.

Bobby Lashley made his pro wrestling debut in 2005 for Ohio Valley Wrestling. I know Bobby from his time with Resistance Pro Wrestling many years ago. One of the biggest, but nicest, folks you'd ever want to meet, Lashley was a force in the ring and a fun guy outside of it. He was a big proponent of coconut water back then. He has won wrestling titles wherever he has gone, but also some mixed martial arts titles.

Gionna Jene Daddio signed with the WWE in 2014 and eventually gained fame as Liv Morgan. A longtime fan of wrestling, Morgan is living her dream, having won several titles in the WWE in singles and tagteam competition. She also has done some episodic television.

Talking Travel with Haley Reinhart

I have written many times about musician Haley Reinhart. About four years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing her. That interview helped launch my Talking Travel series on Global Traveler.

I have wanted to interview her again for a while, but the timing was never quite right. That changed with my recent interview with musician Dave Koz. While setting up the interview, I learned Haley would be appearing on his upcoming Somma cruise. I pitched the idea of doing both interviews to Koz's PR person and all agreed. Another factor in my favor was Haley releasing her newest song "Promise." 

I was a bit more relaxed in this interview with Haley. I am still just as big of a fan of her, but having talked to her many times in person, I was much more at ease. For her part, Haley was as charming and engaging as always.

We talked a bit about "Promise" and her voiceover work on "F is For Family." Then we moved into talk of the cruise. We finished with a little Chicago talk, as she is a Chicago area gal.

The interview can be found on the Global Traveler YouTube channel. I hope you'll enjoy it and that you'll subscribe to the channel. The more subscribers the channel gets, the more fun interviews I can do.

My Media Colleague Bruce Miles

The title of this isn't just my small brag. It is something veteran media person Bruce Miles once said at a book discussion he held.

Bruce has carved out a great career. He has done things I truly admire. In a parallel universe, I would have followed his career path.

A few years ago, I had the honor of sharing the media area of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League with Bruce. That's something I never saw coming way back when I started writing more at a relatively advanced age. To me, that signified I had achieved a level of success I never expected.

Bruce has stayed with the Bandits since then, while I chose not to officially cover the team. It wasn't a good fit for me, but I left on my own terms, which is another victory for me. In my early days, I took every assignment I could get. Now I am at the point I can walk away if it doesn't work for me. No offense to Athletes Unlimited or the Chicago Bandits, but being credentialed di not allow me to do the type of coverage I liked doing. I still follow and cover he league on my own.

That's why I was at the Ball Park in Rosemont for Opening Weekend. Bruce was one of the first folks I saw Saturday and I had to get a quick picture. Once the games and season starts, I know Bruce is very busy. This was a lucky pass.

As for the "media colleague" title, that was from a quote by Bruce. When I attended one of his book discussion, he introduced me at the end of the session. I was a bit surprised and certainly grateful. Even if it was just out of politeness, having Bruce do it really made me feel good.

Bruce is a class act and an excellent writer, author and reporter. Meeting him was cool enough, but working with him was a thrill.

Bruce Miles and me in Rosemont, IL-June 2026.

Friend Encounters: Paloma Starr and Tommy Else

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today, I feature two of my friends I met through our time with Resistance Pro Wrestling. While Tommy would say he is a star, even he must admit Paloma is the celebrity in this picture.

A noted fan of the San Francisco 49ers, Paloma has added the Chicago Cubs to her fandom since moving here. Once when she had an extra ticket, she invited pal Tommy to a Cubs game. He only "condition" was he had to wear his Cubs Hawaiian shirt. He readily agreed, but he probably would have worn it either way. He added a luchador mask, which 35,000 fans happy not to actually see him.

A bit to my surprise, Tommy has actually become a big fan of the Cubs. Not just a surface-level social media fan, Tommy knows his stuff.

Meanwhile Paloma recently started appearing on Ring the Belle, the daily wrestling talk show on Sirius radio. I'd like to glom a bit of credit for her media success, because of her time as the "Chica On the Beat" at Resistance Pro. The truth is she is a natural and I was lucky to have her on my interview series. Her success is all her own and she deserves all of it. Give it a listen and if you call in, mention Johngy sent you.

Paloma and Tommy in Chicago, IL-June 2015.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #802: George Meyer & Bill Rasmussen

This is a regular series in which I create virtual trading cards for celebrities wearing jerseys. Once again, we are working our way alphabetically through all of the Major League Baseball teams with today's folks providing a lot of entertainment.

Born in Pennsylvania, but raised in Tucson, Arizona, George Meyer earned his place in pop culture history for his work on The Simpsons. He was a script writer and producer. He was once president of the Harvard Lampoon and was hired by David Letterman shortly after college. I found no connection to the Seattle Mariners, but he still gets a Celebrity Jersey Card for repping the team.

Chicago native Bill Rasmussen was one of the co-founders of ESPN. Despite my opinion that ESPN isn't nearly what it once was, I credit it with being revolutionary and a huge part of sports. Still alive at 93, unfortunately a few years ago  Rasmussen announced he had Parkinson's Disease. Rasmussen tossed a first pitch for the Mariners to merit a Celebrity Jersey Card.

Cards That Never Were: Craig Kusick Topps 1976

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual trading cards for players missed in various sets. It is a concept I borrowed from far to many folks to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

After signing with the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1970, fist baseman Craig Kusick made his MLB debut in 1973. He remained with the Twins until he was purchased by the Toronto Blue Jays midway through the 1979 season. In 1980-81, Kusick played in the minors for the San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers, but never made it back to the MLB. For his career, Kusick played parts of seven MLB seasons, appearing in 497 games, hitting .235 with 46 HRs, 171 RBIs and 155 runs scored.

For his efforts, Topps gave Kusick cards in sets from 1974-'80, except for 1976, despite appearing in 57 games in 1976. When U searched for a workable picture, once again Gio of When Topps Had (Base)Balls beat me to it. Gio's site has thousands of awesome card creations. Why mess with perfection? So I feature his card instead of trying to make my own.

Congratulations to New Colorado State University Softball Coach Michelle Gascoigne

Michelle Gascoigne is going from the Wildcats to the Rams. Michelle is the new head coach for the Rams softball team.

I have known Michelle since she played for the Chicago Bandits in 2014. Prior to that, I remember watching her pitch for the University of Oklahoma. She was a key pitcher as the Bandits won the National Pro Fastpitch championship in 2015. She began her coaching career as a grad assistant at Oklahoma in 2014, before joining Northwestern in late 2015. She has been with the Cats since then.

Michelle was always great for a quick picture, chat or interview. It's bittersweet, as I am happy to see Michelle get a head coaching position, but I am sad to see her leave NU and the Chicago area. 

I thank Michelle for her kindness over the years, as well as all she did on and off the field. She is a champ and I wish her much success at Colorado State. I'll be following her career there and hopefully see her again sometime. 

Go to csurams.com for more info. Also, check back here for my coverage.

Michelle Gascoigne and me in Evanston, IL-May 2022.

Celebrity Jersey Cards Special Edition 801: WWE FIFA Bianca Belair & Zelina Vega

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series featuring celebrities wearing sports jerseys. With the World Cup starting today, I produced some Special Edition WWE FIFA Celebrity Jersey Cards.

Bianca Belair made her pro wrestling debut in NXT, WWE's developmental brand in 2016. Since then, she has won multiple titles as a singles wrestler or in a tag team. She also won the 2021 Royal Rumble. She is known for her long braid, which she has used against opponents. Belair is married to fellow wrestler Montez Ford.

Thea Megan Trinidad Büdgen rose to fame as Zelina Vega (sometimes just Zelina) after making her pro wrestling debut in 2010. After a couple years in TNA, followed by several years on the independent scene, Vega joined the WWE in 2017. She is known for her uniquely colored hair. She is married to wrestler Aleister Black,

Sean Logan Pops Up at Squared Circle Expo VI

Squared Circle Expo VI featured about 100 wrestling stars and legends. We met one wrestler though, who we didn't expect, but was one of the highlights of the weekend.

We first saw Sean Logan at 2econd Wrestling. Sean has a great gimmick involved taking selfies throughout his match. Don't get the wrong idea though. He is not a comedy act. As funny as this is, his ring work is tops. Wrestling is always first. He just incorporates the selfie stuff into the act and it works beautifully.

As always at SCX, Tony and I are busy trying to meet all the talent. Early Saturday morning, eagle-eye Tony spotted Sean roaming the room. There as an attendee and not part of the wrestler lineup, Sean was there just like we were. We all wanted to meet some of our favorites.

The difference is Seam is one of our favorites. After some chatting, we had to ask for a selfie with Sean and he happily obliged.

While he is one of our favorites, I like to think we are two of his favorite fans. Part of his routine is taking selfies during his ring entrance. After one show, we mentioned we would love to be part of that. The next show, he remembered and took a selfie with us as he circled the ring. After seeing that, others made requests, too. Ever the heel, Sean declined. We had been his fans from his debut. We weren't just jumping on the bandwagon.

If you get a chance, see Sean in action. He will definitely impress.

Sean Logan, Tony and me in Indianapolis, IN-March 2026.