Two of the above were canceled. The Stars' November 11 one was canceled without telling anyone (I found out when I showed up to an empty parking garage) until it was put on Twitter in response to a question, fifteen minutes after it was supposed to start. The Ducks' practice was canceled when they altered their travel plans due to the Chicken Littles of the National Weather Service predicting doom and gloom over the Dallas area. We got some cold and rain, but little else.
Sadly, this means I won't ever get Teemu Selanne in-person. And since his mailed requests are ghost-signed, I won't be getting him unless someone else can help me out in trade.
This time, I asked the Stars beforehand if practice was still on. No response on Twitter, so I put a call in, and fortunately yes, they were still on, thankfully.
I got my wife to help me out this week too. Our original deal was that I would go up and get her on Friday instead of Saturday and she would help me with the Ducks. Since the Ducks canceled, she agreed to help with the Stars. As we waited, I saw a few non-players and non-coaches around. Marty Turco, Bob Bassen, and Daryl Reaugh were all watching. As the players headed off the ice, we headed for the lines in the hallway.
Bassen was the first one we saw, and he signed the four cards I had of him. With a Sharpie, his signature gets kind of tough to read, but now that I'm using Staedtlers with a thin tip, you can read a nice, clear "Bobby Bassen" on his sig.
Aaron Rome was the first player out. He's been out injured for much of the season so I didn't recognize him until I asked someone. Fortunately he signed the four cards I had with me.
Turco and Trevor Daley came out at about the same time. Daley signed the only card I had left of him, while Turco signed all four, even while on the phone. Normally I leave players alone when they're in the middle of a call, but he was stopping and signing and taking pictures with others, so I went ahead and asked him and he was cool about it. Marty always is.
Sergei Gonchar was the next one out-- kind of odd the defensemen were the first out when they were the last to leave the ice, doing some extra time with James Patrick and Curt Fraser. Gonchar was his usual self though, signing four for me and three for Gen. Antoine Roussel signed the lone card I had of him as well.
I got to help a few other collectors out that I have 50/50 deals or other various trades with as well. Rich Peverley was one-per, signing one I have for Gregg in Ohio and one for Harri over in Finland. Peverley has been hacking pretty badly though-- his sig looks more like a JS than anything resembling his name.
Vernon Fiddler was next out, signing 2 of the four cards I had along with all three of Gen's. I've seen him wearing a Cleveland Indians hat a bit, so as a Cleveland native I was interested to know how he ended up a fan. Turns out it's for the Edmonton Indians baseball team in his hometown.
Alex Goligoski signed the three I had with me (one for Eric in Rhode Island), followed by Cody Eakin and Ryan Garbutt walking out together. Eakin signed four for me and two for Gen (one goes to Eric), and Garbutt signed the only one I have left of him, while laughing about the old cards I had of Curt Fraser, even sending Eakin back to take a look.
Stephane Robidas was the last one we saw, signing all four cards I had on me (two going to Kyle in Connecticut).
TOTALS: 42 signed cards, 36 for me, 1 for Gregg, 1 for Harri, 2 for Eric, 2 for Kyle
Also, last night I whipped this up, hoping to go and get Prince Fielder after his press conference. With the cold, wet weather and the fact I was hungry, I didn't. But I like how it turned out for my first attempt at anything like this. Found a shot of Prince and combined it with the jersey and helmet logo from a Nelson Cruz picture.
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