Friend Encounters: Kofi Kingston, Austin Creed and Niko

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today I feature a special young man. Niko is one of the most positive folks I know. As you can see from the photo, Niko has health challenges, but you would never know it from his ever-present smile.

I am not especially close with Niko, but we always take a selfie and chat a bit when I see him at various wrestling events or comic cons. Niko is a huge wrestling fan and has even befriended several wrestlers.

I don't know the extent of his health issues. I just pray for his health and peace. I am always inspired and impressed by his attitude. Instead of complaining about his condition or the procedures he has to have, he praises God for his life. That is real strength. That is real belief.

Niko deserves every bit of fun he can get. I am always happy seeing wrestlers give him a little extra special memories.

Such was the case when he met Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed, formerly part of the New Day in the WWE. After a lengthy run in the WWE, they are now in All Elite Wrestling as the New Level. Niko met them at the recent AEW show at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates.

Kofi Kingston, Niko and Austin Creed in Hoffman Estates, IL-September 2026.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #830: Rachael Ellering x 5

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today I salute the WNBA champion Golden State Valkyries.

Rachael Ellering is a second-generation wrestler. Her father is Precious Paul Ellering, former wrestler and manager of the legendary Road Warriors. Ater being trained by :ance Storm, Rachael made her in-ring debut in 2015.She has wrestled in the WWE and Impact Wrestling. In Impact, she was a tag team champ with Jordynne Grace and won the Knockouts Tag Team of the Year Award in 2021. Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked her as number 87 of the Top 100 female wrestlers in its PWI Female 100 in 2019. Rachael is a legit sports fan, particularly of her native Minnesota teams and the WNBA.

While I couldn't find any pictures of Rachael sporting jerseys from either WNBA title finalist, I did make Celebrity Jersey Cards of her with five other teams and I will keep looking for the others.

Regan Lydale's Sign of Success

I have known Regan Lydale possibly from her pre-teen years. I first met her as a fan at Resistance Pro Wrestling. She expressed a desire to be a wrestler from the very first time I saw her.

RPro wrestler and my pal Tommy started working with her back then. Obviously, she was too young to actually wrestle for real then, but Tommy wokrd with her on training and other aspects of wrestling. Regan worked very hard for many years.

Fast forward many years, she debuted for Freelance Wrestling and hasn't slowed down since. She has wrestled in many states and won several titles.

When Tony and I ventured to Ego Pro Wrestling, run by my old pal "The Ego" Robert Anthony, I saw a few life sized banners, one of which featured Regan. That's pretty impressive. Ego has enough faith in her to put her on one of his banners.

Regan is still in her early 20s and has a long way to go, like most young wrestlers, but she is certainly on the path to success. There have been signs of it along her journey and now there is a real, physical sign of her success.

Regan Lydale and me in Shorewood, IL-October 2026.

Jamie Koala Art

It had been a while since I last saw artist Jamie Koala. When she appeared at DuPage Mighty Con, I had to go out and see her.

I first saw Jamie several years ago at Flashback Weekend. Her art was amazing. Starting as a teenager with alternative metal music album artwork, merchandise and photo shoots, Jamie expanded her platform into fashion. Sadly, Jamie has a chronic illness, which hinders her ability to appear at conventions. She still tries to do smaller ones though, which is why she appeared in Wheaton.

Described as a dark artist, a lot of Jamie's work focuses on skulls, but she isn't limited to just that. She has created pieces for musicians, as well as pieces featuring animals and other objects. She works in black and white and multi-colors.

As such a creator, it is important to have your work seen. Being unable to do many conventions limits her visibility. Se relies on word of mouth and the internet to spread the word.

To see more of Jamie's beautiful work, go to koalaartanddesign.com. Check back here for my coverage of the creative community.

Jamie Koala and me in Wheaton, IL-September 2926.

The Ego and Me

I was a first of "The Ego" Robert Anthony from the first time I saw him in a wrestling ring. Ego is one of the best I have ever seen on the independent scene.

Ego has had a few appearances in the big companies. I totally believe he has all it takes to make it there, but he is a teacher and that seems to be his priority.

A couple years ago, Ego started Ego Pro Wrestling. Pretty much every wrestler and fan thinks they can run a company. Most can't. Ego can and he has been proving it with sell-out crowds an great shows.

After hearing rave reviews, I finally made it to one of his shows. It has been a long time since Tony and I both enjoyed a show start to finish, but we did that night. The opener was a bang of a match and the rest of the card did not let up.

I have a lot of respect for Ego, for his work in and out of the ring. I know he helped my young cousin during a tough time and he has helped many other youngsters. I will always appreciate him for that work.

For more info on Ego Pro, look for Ego Pro Chicago on Facebook. Look here for more of my coverage, as I will be going to more of his shows.

Robert Anthony and me in Shorewood, IL-October 2026.

Muddonna of the Toledo Mud Hens

On my trip to see the Toledo Mud Hens a few weeks ago, I had a goal to get pictures with their two mascots. It took an effort, but I was able to get one at least.

Muddy the Mud Hen was their original mascot. In 2003, he was joined by Muddonna. In an early inning, she came near our section. I meandered over to her, but she moved to dance on the dug out. I waited for her to finish, but then she sat down in the stands. There were too many fans around her to get there.

After a few minutes, she headed up the stairs, but seemed to be in a hurry. I didn't get this close to miss my opportunity. You never know when you won't get another chance. I chased her a bit and finally caught up with her. We took a quick picture, which was good enough for me.

I did look for Muddy, but I never saw him in the stands. The two did have an autograph session for kids, but I did resist the urge to go there. Actually, I thought I might get another chance to get Muddy, but at least I knew I already had Muddonna.

I never did get the pic with Muddy, but I was content. I hit half of my goal.

Muddonna and me in Toledo, OH-July 2026.

Loyola's Malick Diallo and Rosalie Mercille

Prior to the start of Loyola's basketball seasons, I attended a special event at Gentile Arena. Malick Diallo and Rosalie Mercille were two of the players I met.

From Bamako, Mali, Diallo is a junior center. After his first season at TCU, Diallo missed most of his second season with a kneee injury.

A native of Montréal, Québec, Canada, guard Mercille is in her senior season. While in high school, Mercille was three-time member of Team Canada, helping the team to a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. After a season at Monmouth, Mercille joined the Ramblers. She has averaged 5.6 points and 0.9 assists per game. 

Loyola's women's basketball regular season starts November 3 hosting Wright State. Under first year head coach Morgan Paige, the Ramblers look to improve on its 16-18 season last year.

For more information on both Loyola basketball teams, go to loyolaramblers.com. Also, look here for my recurring coverage.

Malick Diallo, Rosalie Mercille and me in Chicago, IL-October 2026.

Friend Encounters: Tammy Williams and Chris

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

If I am featuring my pal Chris, he is most likely with a musician or softball player. Today, he is shown with one of the best softball players.

Chris is one of the longer tenured Chicago Bandits fans (or part of the Crusty Old Guys). He goes way back, much loger than I do. At games, he used to take hundreds of pictures of the players and action. He would always give a few to the players. He also gave me a few, along with helping me identify various players when I took selfies. Unfortunately, with Athletes Unlimited taking over, he is not allowed to bring his big camera into the games. It's a shame. He never sold the pictures or even published them beyond his social media pages and the players appreciated his pictures.

Today though, I show Chris on the other side of the camera. Chris posed with Northwestern Hall of Fame shortstop and Bandits legend Tammy Williams and Ozzie. With Tammy at short and Amber Patton at third base, the Bandits had a great left side of the infield. It was pure pleasure watching them. They are still friends and actually now work together, according to Tammy who told me this at the Opening Day for the new softball field.

I love this picture, because it represents a real fun time with the Bandits, who won the National Pro Fastpitch Championship that season. As far as I am concerned, Tammy and Chris are both champs.

Tammy Williams, Ozzie and Chris in Rosemont, IL-August 2015.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #829: Special Halloween Edition: AJ Lee

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series on which I create virtual trading cards of celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today is another special Halloween Edition with no jersey, but full costume.

Halloween is over, but I have one more special Celebrity Jersey Cards celebration. This time, AJ Lee is solo, without her wrestler-husband CM Punk.

Lee definitely gets into the Halloween spirit. Lee dressed as Chun-Li from the Street Fighters franchise and Kitana from the Mortal Kombat franchise. While I am not very familiar with either of these, I am a fan of Lee's effort. From what I see, she did an excellent job in creating the costume.

I am a big fan of Lee from her work in wrestling to her work for mental health awareness. She remains one of my interview wishes, but I know that is a long shot at best. The mental health is my best angle, but methinks she is a bit too big and doesn't need me.

Happy Birthday, Cuzz!

Today my pal Cuzz celebrates his birthday. I celebrate with him from afar.

I have been friends with Cuzz for about 30 years. Through those years, we have gone on 20 baseball trips, a few Michigan football trips and several comic con trips. We have also attended Flashback Weekend for many years. Whatever it is, it is always fun.

Recently retired, Cuzz is living the relaxed life now. We need to make more time to get together. We haven't worked on the Backup Catcher Hall of Fame in ages. We also need to sharpen our 3-1-1 skills.

The 3-1-1 is a way to hide a weak link in a set by putting it into the first "1" in a 3-1-1. For instance, Chicago has so many great things like the skyline, sculptures, pizza, sports teams, architecture. The sports teams are the weak link, but they are hidden within the 3-1-1. It can work for any grouping if you want to skim over a weaker component.

Anyway, the 3-1-1 has brought us lots of laughs over the years. The reverse 3-1-1 is a spinoff of it, which Cuzz and I love, but that's for another day. 

Getting back to Flashback, Cuzz and I ran into his old friend and author Martin and his son. I wrote about Martin's first book on Global Traveler.

I appreciate all the good times with Cuzz and I look forward to many more. Happy birthday, Cuzz!

Martin, his son and Cuzz in Rosemont, IL-August 2026.