Sports stars you've met or hung out with.

[Damaramu 0]

Ok with college football coming down to the wire and the NFL doing the same everyone may be a little on edge. So I'm making this post so everyone can recount memories of stars that they've met that were pretty cool. What sports stars have you met that were nice to you or you even talked to for a while? Who was a complete ass? Any cool autographs?

 

The only stars I've met are the OU football players. Not having a professional team I don't really get to see any big time athletes around here. Although I'm hoping that whenever I start writing for the OU Daily I'll meet some.

My editor said he interviewed Kobe Bryant when they were in OKC.

[Bored 0]

Gee another thread to have an excuse to talk about Jason White, eh?

[Damaramu 0]

Gee another thread to have an excuse to talk about Jason White, eh?

Nope. I never said his name. As a matter of fact I was going to read everyone else's posts and ask questions and not relate any of my experiences.

So nope you're wrong.

Like I said earlier. Everyone complains about me talking about OU and such but when I don't mention them or get upset on something in relation to them everyone trolls me to try and get a rise.

 

So people in big time sports markets....who have you met? Make with some stories. I figure if you had an MLB team you'd have met them b/c I understand those guys are pretty visible throughout town.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I've run into a few Ohio State players. Andy Katzenmoyer (I just butchered that name) was a complete ass and a real idiot.

 

Maurice Clarrett and Ahmed Plummer work out at the same gym that I do. Clarrett is an ass as his posse gets in everyone's way.

[Prime Time Andrew Doyle 0]

My mums cousin married former West Indies cricket captin Carl Hooper. Last friday, me and my brother were chilin with him at this charity cricket match. While the rest of the peolple there paid $600, we got in for free.

[bob_barron 0]

I met Chauncey Billups when he did Letterman. I also met Tony Delk, Stephon Marbury and some other Suns at a Nets v. Suns game.

 

One time I was at Letterman waiting for someone and Paul O'Neill drove by, stuck his head out and asked us who was on the show.

[Damaramu 0]

I've run into a few Ohio State players. Andy Katzenmoyer (I just butchered that name) was a complete ass and a real idiot.

 

Maurice Clarrett and Ahmed Plummer work out at the same gym that I do. Clarrett is an ass as his posse gets in everyone's way.

Do a lot of the big time athletes have a crew that follows them around? You know guys that are only friends with them b/c of who they are and just generally act like assholes b/c of who there friend is?

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Yeah, a lot of guys who are NFL prospects will have them.

 

I also forgot that my friends got into a fight with Shannon Sharpe at the Arnold Fitness Expo a few years ago.

[Guest Nanks]

My mums cousin married former West Indies cricket captin Carl Hooper. Last friday, me and my brother were chilin with him at this charity cricket match. While the rest of the peolple there paid $600, we got in for free.

Hey, no kidding, that's pretty cool. But when did Hooper captain the Windies???

 

Mark Philippoussis

Zali Steggall

Kirstie Marshall

Jeff White

David Schwarz

 

They're probably my top 5. I've met a boatload of AFL players at one time or another also.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Various NHLers & Blue Jays (not too many from the current team though, moreso from the glory years) and a few random other MLB players. Most are usually pretty friendly. Biggest asshole was Carl Everett.

[CanadianChris 0]

I played blackjack with Mats Sundin once.

 

I also have a cousin who used to play for the Penguins...finished runner-up to Joe Nieuwendyk for the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year). He dated Alyssa Milano for a bit.

[Damaramu 0]

I'm hoping that I get some sort of another NBA pre-season game in OKC next season so that I can interview one of them in the locker room or whatever. That'd be awesome.

 

The Big XII B-ball tourney will be in OKC next year I believe. So maybe I can get there and interview players from all the teams.

I wish I had a professional team but apparently the market here is to small....even though people in Oklahoma are insane about sports. We could support a hockey team or a basketball team. Hell if we had a bigger park we could have a baseball team. Honestly though I don't know where we'd put a football team b/c I can't think of anywhere in OKC where they could fit a stadium b/c the place has been so built up and packed with shit over the years that you can't walk 2 feet without hitting a building.

[Guest Brian]

I used to hang out with most of the University of Washington basketball players when I went to high school. In particular, Brandon Roy and I used to lift and Will Conroy and I had a bunch of classes together, including a drama class we did a couple of dialogues for (co-wrote one). Isiah Stanback, the QB, played JV on the baseball team his freshman year before he didn't pull in the grades.

 

I know a couple of people in the area who are sports agents. Carl Lopez of Lopez, Fantel, and Associates introduced me to the Throwing Samoan Jack Thompson when I was a kid, since he was my best friend's godfather.

 

Eric Goodwin, the brother of Aaron Goodwin who is Lebron James agent, got me his autograph. I met Payton through him.

 

Jamie Moyer's eldest boy used to play baseball with my youngest brother, and shops at the grocery store I worked at. I was helping out with the baseball team and we nearly had a rainout, but he helped work the field with me.

 

I guess Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen used to live in an apartment complex in the village and I just missed them by an hour or so at work.

[The Mandarin 0]

I haven't met any for a few years (I think), but what I can gather from my awful memory is that I've met Bret and Bobby Hull, Eric Lindros, Arnold Palmer, many of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Doug Gilmore and Mats Sundin and, uh..the Stanley Cup.

 

I know I've met a lot more though.

[Dogbert 0]

I played blackjack with Mats Sundin once.

 

I also have a cousin who used to play for the Penguins...finished runner-up to Joe Nieuwendyk for the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year). He dated Alyssa Milano for a bit.

Rob Brown?

 

Anyways, the closest I've got to a sports star is Rhett Warrener's brother, or possibly Oleg Saprykin's dad.

[CanadianChris 0]

I played blackjack with Mats Sundin once.

 

I also have a cousin who used to play for the Penguins...finished runner-up to Joe Nieuwendyk for the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year).  He dated Alyssa Milano for a bit.

Rob Brown?

That's him. He got traded away from the Penguins the season they won their first Cup.

[Secret Agent 0]

I've met Barry Sanders before and even had to fix his computer!!

 

Dama, I think we could easily support an NFL team here. They could also find room for a stadium in Bricktown I'm sure. They'd have to do away with shitty team names like "Wranglers" though.

[nogoodnick 0]

I met Damon Stoudamire and Brian Grant before. Of course everyone that lives in Portland knows somebody that knows Damon.

[Guest Vitamin X]

A few, most notably as I've mentioned before, Kyle Boller who I played against in high school. We all grew up in a small town (Santa Clarita) that for some reasons churns out pro athletes, but Boller and I are close to the same age so I knew people that knew people that knew him and vice versa. I actually went to his house for his "Going to the NFL" party, or some shit like that after his senior year at Cal, and I got fuckin plastered and puked in his backyard. Fun stuff.

 

Also met Sting (the wrestler), although I'm not sure if that counts as a pro athlete. He was coming out of this one diner one night with me and a couple friends and he looked very familiar but didn't ring a bell (no makeup obviously). My friend recognized him and talked to him for a bit. Nice guy. I've also briefly met Todd Zeile who also went to the same school Sting and Boller went to (Hart High), during his stint with the Dodgers. Also met Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who did some thing at my high school, I forget for what.

 

All of them were good people, except perhaps for Boller, but that was maybe because he was kind of a prick to the guys on my football team because of the school we went to, which proves that he really isn't above high-school level shit. So it feels kinda nice to see him get humbled in the NFL, since he was a cocky asshole in high school ("Huh, I broke all of John Elway's California high school records, dude").

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Bah forget what I said.

[Guest The Gecko]

This doesn't really compare, and I don't know if any of you are really in to golf... but at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio I met probably one of the greatest golfers of all time, Jack Nicklaus. It was strange because we were watching his son finish that hole and he just walked up with his golf attire on, no security or anything, he just wanted to see his son play, he seemed like a pretty cool guy.

[alfdogg 0]

Carl Erskine and "Jumpin'" Johnny Wilson (former Harlem Globetrotter) both live right here in Anderson. Those are the only ones I've ever met.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

My Girlfriend and Ben Rothleisberger are friends; so i've hung out with the 2004 Rookie of Year on a few occasions.

 

Used to deliver Piazza to Barry Larkin when he lived here.

 

countless run in's with wrestlers. I have had many long convo's with them; the most stand out was me and a buddy meeting Jericho and Christian at a Waffle House after a house show here in 'nati.

[Damaramu 0]

Well Vitamin now you know you can laugh at Boller and say "You suck in the NFL dude."

[Art Sandusky 0]

Used to deliver Piazza to Barry Larkin when he lived here.

Please, someone else make the joke.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I see the Virginia football players around grounds all the time. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, the OT (and Kiper's #4 underclassmen prospect, or something crazy like that), is in one of my friend's Econometrics class, so we've been hanging out at the guy's apartment now and then.

 

I've also met lots of golfers, because I live on the TPC Prestancia course in Florida. Paul Azinger's hanging around there all the time. It's kinda fun to take a swing at the driving range with him on one side of you and Jim Albus on the other.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Used to deliver Piazza to Barry Larkin when he lived here.

Please, someone else make the joke.

Jesus. I totally slipped up on that one.

[the max 0]

Well Vitamin now you know you can laugh at Boller and say "You suck in the NFL dude."

And then Boller can laugh as he rolls around on his money pile.

[Guest Vitamin X]

^^^

Exactly.

 

Not to mention he also had a great game yesterday against New York, and I'd be lucky if my teammate from high school Manuel White (plays fullback and halfback at UCLA) makes it big in the NFL, when he was one of the most sought-after players for both the NBA and NFL. Kid's an athletic monster, and it's insane how you see guys who just completely dominate in high school and look to be a sure lock for the pros disappear in college. I had thought the same thing happened to Kyle Boller actually until his senior year at Cal.

[MARTYEWR 0]

Generally, just various CFLers and NHLers, all who played in Ottawa at the time. When I was working as a patio cook for a private Golf Club, seven Ottawa Senators showed up and drank light beer after a round of golf. They included: Daniel Alfredsson, Magnus Arvedson, Chris Phillips, Wade Redden, and a few others who I forget at the moment.

 

Another day, then-coach Jacques Martin was there. Didn't talk to him too long; all that was mentioned by me was "Good luck this coming season."

 

As for CFLers, I've been to a number of Ottawa Rough Riders and Ottawa Renegades pep rallies, which is where I've met players. The most notable meeting was this past Grey Cup, when I met fellow high schooler Ibrahim Khan at a Grey Cup breakfast bash. We wound up talking for 30 minutes about topics not just limited to football. Got to hear some details about Renegade direction in the offseason too.