Friendly Encounters: Richard Dent and Eric Katz

Friendly Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

I met Eric Katz while he was an intern with the Chicago Bandits.  Eric worked with broadcaster Mike Knezevich.  He handled some interviews, as well as being Mike's broadcast partner.  I was impressed with his work all season.
Eric's status is up in the air for 2016.  I really hope he gets to work one more year with the Bandits.  I am hoping to use Eric on some Johngy's Beat projects and to join Eric and Mike in the broadcast booth again.
It was fun watching Eric develop on the job,  He's a young guy with a lot of talent and passion for what he does.  His future is bright, no matter what path he takes.  It is great to see the youth of today getting their feet planted as their careers start to develop.  I envy Eric for getting such an early start.  Despite an interest in writing, my first published piece came when I was 30+ and Johngy's Beat started when I was 40+.
I wish Eric a lot of luck along the way and I hope to see him around the ballpark this summer.  In the meantime, I leave this picture of Eric with Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Richard Dent.

Eric Katz and Richard Dent in Chicago, IL-December 2012.

Friendly Encounters

This is another in a series of meetings of my friends and celebs.

I have known Chuck E. Gekas for over 10 years. Chuck has been nicknamed 'Cuzz' because he shares his name with his cousin Chuck T. 'Chachi' Gekas, whom I knew first.
Cuzz is a great guy, with a unique sense of humor. He is a big sports fan, usually cheering for Chicago teams. However, the Detroit Tigers, University of Michigan and the San Diego Padres also get his support. In fact, Cuzz bravely cheered for his Padres at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium on one of our baseball road trips.
Cuzz is highlighted today in a flashback to 1988. While attending the wedding of his friend Sandy Valentin, Cuzz ran into Richard Dent (former Chicago Bears great), one of Sandy's guests. Fortunately, Cuzz had the foresight to get his picture taken with the SackMan, knowing one day he would be the star of an award-winning blog (well Johngy's Beat might win an award someday)!

Chuck E. Gekas, Richard Dent and Sandy Valentin in northwest suburbs, IL-1988.