JOHNGY'S BEAT
YOUR 316TH BEST SOURCE FOR POP CULTURE NUGGETS
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Statues Week: Walter Payton in Chicago
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Statues Week: Orlando Cepeda in San Francisco
Monday, June 5, 2023
Friend Encounters: Statue Week: Bridget Mac & Scottie Pippen Statue
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Celebrity Jersey Cards #639 Lisa Leslie & Chelsea Gray
Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create virtual trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I continue my season-long alphabetical journey through all Major League Baseball teams with a couple WNBA-MLB crossovers.
California native Lisa Leslie starred at USC, before embarking on a stellar 12 year career with the Los Angeles Sparks. She has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball HOF. Leslie threw a ceremonial pitch for the Dodgers to earn her Celebrity Jersey Card.Saturday, June 3, 2023
David Eckstein Surprised Me at Fan Expo
Yesterday, I wrote about an extra surprise when I met actress Ashley Eckstein. Today, I feature that surprise, her husband David.
David had an excellent 10 year Major League Baseball career. He started with the Anaheim Angels, but also played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. He was the World Series MVP when his Cardinals won it all in 2006.
Of course as a Chicago Cubs fan, David and the Cardinals were rivals. Still, I am a baseball fan. Cubc loyalist or not, I would never pass a chance to meet a player like David.
As I wrote yesterday, always eep your eyes open at Fan Expo. You never know who might be with your favorite celebrity or just in the crowd. I was the first person to recognize David, which might not be a big deal, because most of the attendees are not hge baseball fans.
Fan Expo returns to Chicago August 10-13. As always, I will be "On the Beat" meeting all sorts of celebrities and creators.
For more info on Ashley, go to AshleyEckstein.com. Also, check FanExpoHQ.com for updates and scheduling.
Friday, June 2, 2023
Ashley Eckstein at Fan Expo
Fan Expo returns to Chicago August 10-13. As always, I will be "On the Beat" meeting all sorts of celebrities and creators. Last year at Fan Expo, I met a cool celebrity and got an added bonus of meeting her famous husband.
Ashley Eckstein is an actress, designer voice over actress and more. She is might be best known as the voice of Ahsoka Tano in the Star Wars franchise. She also played Jan Brady in the TV-movie The Brady Bunch in the White House. She became an author in 2018 with the release of It’s Your Universe: You Have the Power to Make It Happen.
While waiting to meet Ashley, I looked at her handler and he looked very familiar. Then it clicked in my head. It was David, her husband and former Major League player. When I approached him, I asked if it would be possible to get a picture with him, too. He immediately started coming around the booth. When I said it wasn't necessary, that I could take a selfie across the table, he brushed it aside and came around anyway.
Ashley saw it and I explained I was a big baseball fan, even though David played for the rival St. Louis Cardinals for a while. We all laughed a bit, but I think they both got a real kick out of me recognizing him.
Ashley took a few selfies with me and I went on my way. As I walked past the long line waiting to meet her, several fans asked why I took a picture with her handler. Even after I told them who it was, most still didn't know. There weren't a lot of baseball fans in the crowd.
The lesson here is to keep your eyes open. You never know who you might see at Fan Expo.
For more info on Ashley, go to AshleyEckstein.com. Also, check FanExpoHQ.com for updates and scheduling.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Arn Anderson and Brock Anderson at C2E2
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
On the Beat With Maddie Kapsimalis of Dayton SB
Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Maddie Kapsimalis, who finished her second collegiate season on the softball diamond. It was a special interview for several reasons.
Although Maddie played her high school ball at Glenbrook South in a nearby suburb, I had not seen her play in person until this season when her Dayton Flyers played at Loyola. Maddie's father Greg and her godfather Chuck Gekas are longtime friends, which made it even more unlikely I had not seen her play.
Maddie had a stellar season, batting .358 after flirting with .400 for most of the season. As great as that season was, Maddie had even better stats in high school, where she put up a .407 average to rank her seventh all time in Illinois. She accomplished all of this while coping with type 1 diabetes.
A age six, Maddie was diagnosed with T1D, but that did not deter her from an athletic career. She set a goal to be a two-sport varsity athlete and she achieved that goal in her sophomore year. She went on to Drexel and then Dayton, putting up impressive stats along the way. Maddie speaks openly about dealing with T1D, but she has dealt with it so long, it is part of life. Maddie's courage and the difficulties T1D brings should not be minimized or overlooked.
The Flyers finished with their second-most wins in program history. The future looks bright for the team and Maddie. Entering her junior season, Maddie will assume a bigger leadership role, while continuing to put up impressive stats at bat and on defense.
Maddie discussed all of this in our interview. Soft-spoken and humble, Maddie is special on and of the field. Despite my loyalty to Loyola, I love watching players like Maddie and teams like Dayton. You can't help but like them. I already look forward to Dayton's next trip to Loyola.
I wrote more about Maddie and her career on TheEveryDayFan.com. Check the story and interview, along with all the great sports coverage on EDF.
Check the interview at On the Beat With Maddie Kapsimalis on YouTube. Go to DaytonFlyers.com for more info on Maddie and the Flyers.