Friend Encounters: Tony Schiavone and Ty

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today is another bittersweet picture. It features a departed friend meeting one of his favorites.

Ty was a buddy I met through conventions. Always smiling, he was a pleasure to see. I always enjoyed our short catchups. Ty died earlier this year. I am choosing to continue featuring him as my way of keeping his memory alive. I know he was a big fan at conventions and approved of my earlier posts whie he was alive. I think he would approve of these as well.

Last year, Ty traveled to Iowa for a Hall of Fame event. He went All Elite Wrestling announcer Tony Schiavone. A longtime broadcaster, Schiavone is a true legend in the sport. Like him or not, nobody can deny his impressive resume. Like Ty, I am a fan of Schiavone's work.

Ty has a lot more celebrity encounters and I will feature him here on occasion to remind myself of my old pal. RIP Ty.

Ty and Tony Schiavone in Waterloo, IA-June 2024.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #768 Kaley Cuoco & Woody Harrelson

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series on which I make virtual trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I turn my attention to football.

A native of California, Kaley Cuoco rose to stardom as a teenager on tv's 8 Simple Steps and followed that with The Big Bang Theory. For her Celebrity Jersey Card, Cuoco posed with her partner and thei child. Cuoco sported #30, probably worn most notably by former running back Dave Meggett, while her partner wore #26, most recently well-worn by Saquon Barkley. Their little one did not wear a jersey, although that would have been a really cool triple CJC.

A native of Texas, Woody Harrelson gained big fame on tv's Cheers, before embarking on a successful movie career. Harrelson overcame a convicted killer father and a poor upbringing. Harrelson is a fan of chess, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals, but it was a Minnesota Vikings jersey that landed him on a Celebrity Jersey Card. 

Cards That Never Were: Johnny Musso 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 too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

I previously created Cards That Never Were for former Chicago Bears running back Johnny Musso, but I did not create one for Topps 1976. I couldn't find any decent pictures. I think I finally found one.

After starring at the University of Alabama, Musso was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 1972 NFL draft. He chose to play for the British Columbia Lions in the Canadian Football League instead. After three seasons there, he played one season with the Birmingham Stallions of the World Football League, before finally joining the Bears. He saw action in seasons from 1975-77 and was on the injured list for all of 1978. 

I created the 1976 cards and then decided to also do one for 1979, which would be his Career-Capper." Even though he didn't play in 1978, he was still with the Bears.

Loyola Ramblers and Nevaeh Dickman

I'm back "On the Beat" with the Loyola Ramblers women's basketball team. I'll be providing recurring coverage here and on GlobalTravelerUSA.com.

The season started with a nice 59-55 win in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, the Home Opener against Green Bay wasn't successful. The Ramblers fell 55-46.

The game was a mixed bag. Down 8-5 after one quarter the Ramblers roared back in the second quarter and trailed only by one at halftime. The third quarter was a disaster though, as Green Bay thumped the Ramblers 20-5. The Ramblers did mount a big comeback in the final quarter, but they were just down too many to catch up.

After the game, I attended Coach Allison Guth's press session. She was as animated as I have ever seen. She was mad about the first and third quarters. Ever the professional, Coach Guth praised Green Bay's effort, while also acknowledging her team's comebacks.

On my way out of the arena, I ran into first year forward Nevaeh Dickman. Coming out of Indiana, Dickman was Dickman ranked as the No. 6 recruit in Indiana, the No. 104 prospect nationally, and the No. 23 power forward in her class by 247Sports. Those are pretty nice numbers. In 10 total minutes in the first two games, Dickman went 2-4 on free throws for two points, while adding one assist to her stat line. Clearly, much more will be expected from her, but it's early in the season and she is still a rookie.

For more info on Dickman and the Ramblers, go to LoyolaRamblers.com. Also, check back here for my coverage.

Nevaeh Dickman and me in Chicago, IL-November 2025.

Shiny Hardware: Chicago Bears Title Belt and Missa Kate

Ordinarily, I do not need anything else in a picture with Missa Kate, but when I last saw her with her cool Chicago Bears belt, I made an exception. Leave it to Missa to bring it up a level.

Missa is one of my favorite wrestlers (and people) on the wrestling scene. She is equally good as a babyface or heel, although I prefer her as a heel. She is just so quick-witted, relying on smarts, instead of cheap heat. Her in-ring skills are just as good. She has the best spin kick I have ever seen. Outside the ring, she is one of the sweetest folks out there. At all of her matches, she always manages to give Tony and me a wink or other such nod during the match.

At SSW's Suplex the Stigma, an event to raise awareness for suicide, Missa was there repping the You are More crew. Although they have shut down, they did great work promoting positivity. At the event, Missa had a Chicago Bears belt. After the show, I got a picture with her as usual. I had to ask for the belt to be included, because it was such a beautiful belt. "Chicago's Favorite Sweetheart" proved again why she is the best.

Missa Kate and me in Kenosha, WI-September 2025.

Talking Travel with Tess Millhollon

Like a lot of my Talking Travel interview guests, Tess Millhollon turned to travel looking for direction and answers. After a trip to Australia, she found her career and life path.

Millhollon realized a need for solo women travelers. She developed HerHouse, an app connecting solo women travelers with background-checked hosts. It's a safe way for women to travel and for women to host travelers. The amount of interaction on the trips is up to the individuals involved.

Millhollon discussed all of this in our interview, along with her book Sherbet Skies and giving her travel favorites. Her energy and positivity made this a fun one, along with being highly informative, especially for women.

The interview is at Talking Travel with Tess Millhollon. While you are there, please SUBSCRIBE to the GT YouTube channel.

I Found the Lost Soul

During the summer, POWW Entertainment ran an outdoor wrestling show at Elk Grove Days. Several POWW legends participated, including Mike Caputo.

Perhaps better known as "The Lost Soul" Chris Cairo, Caputo is a POWW Hall of Famer. In November, he was inducted into the POWW HOF, along with his tag mate Kanoa. A multi-time CCW?POWW tag champ, Cairo was hugely popular. What he lacked in size, he made up for in gimmick, talent and charisma. 

I first met Caputo about 15 years ago. I hadn't seen him in action in several years. He looked in ring shape. More importantly, he had not lost a bit of charisma or personality. The crowd loved him. It was great to see him in action.

Guys like Caputo are what makes indy wrestling fun. While he was never going to make it big in the WWE, Caputo was a good worker who helped build POWW. Actually, in today's big leagues of wrestling with multiple companies and divisions, I have no doubt Caputo could have been signed.

For more info on POWW, go to POWWEntertainment.com. Also, check here for my coverage.

Mike Caputo and me in Elk Grove, IL-August 2025.

Friend Encounters: Melanie Cruise and Tommy Else

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

My friend Tommy would suggest he is a celebrity and I cannot deny three of my interviews with him have more than 40K views. Still, in the world of pro wrestling, despite his tag team championship run, he ranks well below Melanie Cruise.

Mel was RPro's first women's champ. She was extremely popular and one of my favorite wrestlers and people back then. Since then she has wrestled all over, including a stint in All Elite Wrestling, although in recent years, she has wrestled more sporadically. We miss Mel!

At Elk Grove Rotary Fest, Mel wrestled with her brother against the tag team of Regan Lydale and Hardcore Craig. Adding to the fun, Tommy was Regan's first trainer and longtime friend.

After the match, Tommy and I caught up with our old RPro mate. It was great seeing her and chatting a bit. We had some great memories from back in the RPro days. Not seeing her very often these days, I really appreciated this opportunity. Oh wait, this is about Tommy. Yeah, he got a picture with her.

Seriously though, it was great seeing them tohether. I love them both.

 Tommy and Melanie Cruise in Elk Grove Village, IL-July 2025.

Celebrity Jersey Cards

Celebrity Jersey Cards #767 Questlove & Nancy Curtis

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series on which I make virtual trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys.

Born in Philadelphia, Ahmir K. Thompson grew to fame as musician Questlove. Currently, he is the drummer and one of the lead vocalists for The Roots, the house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He has produced recordings for Elvis Costello, John Legend and several others. He has also written eight books. He earned his Celebrity Jersey Card by sporting a Philadelphie Eagles jersey while drumming.

Born in Arkansas, Nancy Curtis has gone on to a successful opera career. She has been invited to sing for several Presidents, as well as sports teams. It was her performance for the Houston Texans that won her a Celebrity Jersey Card.