For the third year in a row, the Stars hosted an alumni game and for the second time, they've had a pregame autograph signing. I had high hopes this year-- Jason Arnott was on the list, and I haven't gotten him since he was playing for Edmonton.
Arron, Jake, and I went downtown early hoping to catch the Rangers at their hotel. Unfortunately the bus pulled up to a side entrance and about 12 other graphers were there. All I got was head coach Alain Vigneault on a puck.
We got in line pretty early for the alumni signing at least. Unfortunately Jason Arnott canceled and was replaced by Andy Moog... and I left all my Moog cards at home. Double suckage: I have a set card for him. Looks like it's going into the mail if I can figure out which address is best for him.
Aside from that, everything went well. They had spots for Shawn Chambers and Ed Belfour, but they had their on-stage commitment first so I missed out. Also pulling a no-show surprisingly was Bob Bassen, and not-so-surprisingly was Gerald Diduck. You may recall Diduck no-showed last year as well and was a one-per signer at a pregame alumni event a few years back. But as I'm sure I said with my Rangers' Alumni post a while back I don't mind that much. I'd rather a player be on the list and no-show than to not be on the list and show up. It's better to have cards that I don't need than to need cards I don't have.
On the plus side, those who did show up and sign were great. Brent Severyn signed four cards, as did Greg Adams, Stu Barnes, Bill Huard, and Al Secord. Dan Blackburn signed four cards and a puck, and Jere Lehtinen signed the three cards I had room for. I only put three because one was a horizontal jersey card. I did throw in a "Kiitos paljon" (Thank you very much in Finnish) and got a "Ole hyva" back. I'm half Finnish but I know incredibly little of the language-- I can introduce myself, say thanks, count to ten, and curse a lot.
Overall, not too bad despite the near-shutout on the Rangers. Had I not had to drive to Decatur on Friday I would have gotten them at their practice in Frisco. Hoping the Avs will practice when they come in a few weeks. I also got a few signed at the Sidekicks game on Thursday. Full details on that are on the Pacific Soccer Project blog.
Blog is on indefinite hiatus as of November 2020.
Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Hounding Reports: Browns Backers 10/20, Winnipeg Jets 10/26, and a TTM
Can't believe I forgot to write about the Browns Backers' outing last week.
Actually, I can. The game was terrible, it was a 45-minute drive back home, and since it was a sit-down signing there's not much to write about except for what I got. Former Brown and College Football Hall of Famer Jim Ray Smith signed five cards, commenting that he was pretty sure I had all of the ones made of him. Former Cowboy Kevin Brooks signed five, saying "Man, you've got some old ones there!" He was only in 1989 Pro Set, but I had five of it. And former Cowboy Dave Manders signed the only two I was able to get of him. Not bad at all-- just wish the Browns had showed up to play and had a quarterback with an IQ above room temperature.
Anyways, today it was onward downtown to the Winnipeg Jets' hotel. I wasn't super-enthusiastic about this because I was asking myself really now, who do the Jets have that I need badly? Then I remembered there are like 7 or 8 of their players in the sets I'm doing, and there's always the Stars' alumni signer, so I might as well go on down. I didn't prep my cards until Wednesday, so I was missing a few guys and had limited quantity on several, but I ended up doing just fine.
I skipped Friday night. Usually I'd go, especially since they're at an easy hotel, but since I had a relatively low quantity and they come three times, it's not like it was urgent that I get anything done. Instead I aimed for Saturday at morning skate. Unfortunately, due to the earlier start time of the game, they moved their skate up an hour. While I caught the 8:10 train and was at the hotel at 9, the players were already coming out, and the bus left by 9:15. I was the only one there, and in a case like that, I hate being the only one getting things signed. Just seems weird to me. The last time I did it was for the Canucks in Boston back in 2003. So I didn't do anything. I also decided not to bother with them returning from morning skate.
So after burning off some time having lunch, reading a couple of DFW's free indie newspapers (I always liked the Phoenix in Boston and the Scene and Free Times in Cleveland, and so far the Observer has been right on par with them), and dashing up to Barnes and Noble at SMU, I headed back down about 1:30 or so.
Once again I was the only one there at first, but fortunately Tyler, another hockey grapher, showed up so I wasn't alone thankfully. Having a second person there definitely helps-- the more eyes and brains the better (as long as it doesn't get crazy with 10-20 or more people there) and being a foot taller than me, he can see over the fences better than my 5'8" ass can.
Tobias Enstrom was the first one out. Coming off the bus after putting his bags on I asked him to sign my card. He said he doesn't sign on game days. I think he just didn't like my Finland Hockey hat. Damn Swedes.
After that brief disappointment, Dustin Byfuglien came out. He gave a look that seemed to indicate he would sign once he got his bags on the bus, and did just that without us even having to ask. He put the pen to three of my four cards. Goalie coach Wade Flaherty signed two (excellent sig, by the way), while assistant coach Charlie Huddy signed all 8. I thanked him after signing four and he went to hand my pen back, but asked "Want me to sign those others too?" Obviously I won't pass that up-- dude was a big part of the 1980's Oilers dynasty.
My order will be off quite a bit from here, but it doesn't matter really what order they came in, so here goes with just a basic list...
Andrew Ladd on my Upper Deck Rookie Class set card
Chris Thorburn on a 2013-14 Score card (he looks exactly like...)
Al Montoya on another Upper Deck Rookie Class set card
Blake Wheeler on a Rookie Class setter
Head coach Claude Noel on the back of a 1990-91 Pro Set Jets logo card
Zach Bogosian, Rookie Class setter
Ditto on Michael Frolik-- UDRC setter
Olli Jokinen on a UD Game Jersey card from 09-10; I had heard Jokinen could be kind of jerkish but he was alright with us; he was always one-per when I had gotten him before
Matt Halischuk on a 10-11 Score
Ondrej Pavelec on a UDRC setter
Evander Kane on two-- note that he signs right to left, so your right-most card will get smeared; mine did, but should be salvageable with a little erasing
Bryan Little on four cards, including a UDRC setter-- I already had it from a trade, but still, good to have one I got myself
Devin Setoguchi on 2 of my 4 cards
So for those keeping score, that's 31 cards signed with the Stars' Alumni yet to come. The Stars bring out a former player before just about every game and asking one of the employees near the table, I found out Brent Severyn was the guy this game. That was big-- I needed Severyn for my 2002-03 Fleer Throwbacks set!
As I was waiting in line, I saw Craig Ludwig walking around. I didn't restock him in my book or I would have gotten him for sure. Bob Bassen also showed up. He's head of the Stars' Alumni Association now. He signed the four cards I had with me, and I asked him if he had talked to Paul Baxter about joining the Alumni Association. While Baxter never was with the Stars (or North Stars), he does live in North Texas as the head coach in Wichita Falls of the NAHL (my former boss). A few former non-Stars who live near Dallas are members (Al Secord, Dan Blackburn, and a few others) so I figured I'd bring it up in-person with him after mentioning it to Bassen on Twitter. Bassen told me he actually had indeed talked to him a few days before, so there may be another member to add to the rolls soon. So 'graphers, carry your Baxters with you as well when you go for Alumni events just in case.
Anyways, as expected Sevy was a good guy, even commenting on the "old ones" I had of Al Secord next to him in my book (hey now, 1990 is NOT old!). He signed the three I had of him.
So, 38 autographs total. Not too bad a day. 50 over the past week. And I still have the Stars' practice tomorrow. Hopefully I can knock out some of the 50-50 stuff for friends that I've had sitting here for a month and a half.
Oh yeah, one TTM of note as well, Bill Lee came back to me three weeks ago. The former Red Sox hurler signed 3 of the 4 cards I sent in blue Sharpie, keeping the fourth one. Total time through his home address in Vermont: 67 days.
Actually, I can. The game was terrible, it was a 45-minute drive back home, and since it was a sit-down signing there's not much to write about except for what I got. Former Brown and College Football Hall of Famer Jim Ray Smith signed five cards, commenting that he was pretty sure I had all of the ones made of him. Former Cowboy Kevin Brooks signed five, saying "Man, you've got some old ones there!" He was only in 1989 Pro Set, but I had five of it. And former Cowboy Dave Manders signed the only two I was able to get of him. Not bad at all-- just wish the Browns had showed up to play and had a quarterback with an IQ above room temperature.
Anyways, today it was onward downtown to the Winnipeg Jets' hotel. I wasn't super-enthusiastic about this because I was asking myself really now, who do the Jets have that I need badly? Then I remembered there are like 7 or 8 of their players in the sets I'm doing, and there's always the Stars' alumni signer, so I might as well go on down. I didn't prep my cards until Wednesday, so I was missing a few guys and had limited quantity on several, but I ended up doing just fine.
I skipped Friday night. Usually I'd go, especially since they're at an easy hotel, but since I had a relatively low quantity and they come three times, it's not like it was urgent that I get anything done. Instead I aimed for Saturday at morning skate. Unfortunately, due to the earlier start time of the game, they moved their skate up an hour. While I caught the 8:10 train and was at the hotel at 9, the players were already coming out, and the bus left by 9:15. I was the only one there, and in a case like that, I hate being the only one getting things signed. Just seems weird to me. The last time I did it was for the Canucks in Boston back in 2003. So I didn't do anything. I also decided not to bother with them returning from morning skate.
So after burning off some time having lunch, reading a couple of DFW's free indie newspapers (I always liked the Phoenix in Boston and the Scene and Free Times in Cleveland, and so far the Observer has been right on par with them), and dashing up to Barnes and Noble at SMU, I headed back down about 1:30 or so.
Once again I was the only one there at first, but fortunately Tyler, another hockey grapher, showed up so I wasn't alone thankfully. Having a second person there definitely helps-- the more eyes and brains the better (as long as it doesn't get crazy with 10-20 or more people there) and being a foot taller than me, he can see over the fences better than my 5'8" ass can.
Tobias Enstrom was the first one out. Coming off the bus after putting his bags on I asked him to sign my card. He said he doesn't sign on game days. I think he just didn't like my Finland Hockey hat. Damn Swedes.
After that brief disappointment, Dustin Byfuglien came out. He gave a look that seemed to indicate he would sign once he got his bags on the bus, and did just that without us even having to ask. He put the pen to three of my four cards. Goalie coach Wade Flaherty signed two (excellent sig, by the way), while assistant coach Charlie Huddy signed all 8. I thanked him after signing four and he went to hand my pen back, but asked "Want me to sign those others too?" Obviously I won't pass that up-- dude was a big part of the 1980's Oilers dynasty.
My order will be off quite a bit from here, but it doesn't matter really what order they came in, so here goes with just a basic list...
Andrew Ladd on my Upper Deck Rookie Class set card
Chris Thorburn on a 2013-14 Score card (he looks exactly like...)
Al Montoya on another Upper Deck Rookie Class set card
Blake Wheeler on a Rookie Class setter
Head coach Claude Noel on the back of a 1990-91 Pro Set Jets logo card
Zach Bogosian, Rookie Class setter
Ditto on Michael Frolik-- UDRC setter
Olli Jokinen on a UD Game Jersey card from 09-10; I had heard Jokinen could be kind of jerkish but he was alright with us; he was always one-per when I had gotten him before
Matt Halischuk on a 10-11 Score
Ondrej Pavelec on a UDRC setter
Evander Kane on two-- note that he signs right to left, so your right-most card will get smeared; mine did, but should be salvageable with a little erasing
Bryan Little on four cards, including a UDRC setter-- I already had it from a trade, but still, good to have one I got myself
Devin Setoguchi on 2 of my 4 cards
So for those keeping score, that's 31 cards signed with the Stars' Alumni yet to come. The Stars bring out a former player before just about every game and asking one of the employees near the table, I found out Brent Severyn was the guy this game. That was big-- I needed Severyn for my 2002-03 Fleer Throwbacks set!
As I was waiting in line, I saw Craig Ludwig walking around. I didn't restock him in my book or I would have gotten him for sure. Bob Bassen also showed up. He's head of the Stars' Alumni Association now. He signed the four cards I had with me, and I asked him if he had talked to Paul Baxter about joining the Alumni Association. While Baxter never was with the Stars (or North Stars), he does live in North Texas as the head coach in Wichita Falls of the NAHL (my former boss). A few former non-Stars who live near Dallas are members (Al Secord, Dan Blackburn, and a few others) so I figured I'd bring it up in-person with him after mentioning it to Bassen on Twitter. Bassen told me he actually had indeed talked to him a few days before, so there may be another member to add to the rolls soon. So 'graphers, carry your Baxters with you as well when you go for Alumni events just in case.
Anyways, as expected Sevy was a good guy, even commenting on the "old ones" I had of Al Secord next to him in my book (hey now, 1990 is NOT old!). He signed the three I had of him.
So, 38 autographs total. Not too bad a day. 50 over the past week. And I still have the Stars' practice tomorrow. Hopefully I can knock out some of the 50-50 stuff for friends that I've had sitting here for a month and a half.
Oh yeah, one TTM of note as well, Bill Lee came back to me three weeks ago. The former Red Sox hurler signed 3 of the 4 cards I sent in blue Sharpie, keeping the fourth one. Total time through his home address in Vermont: 67 days.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Hounding Report: Washington Capitals, October 4-5
In two full seasons of hotel hounding in Boston I had never been kicked out of a hotel.
Sure, some restricted where we could go, most wouldn't let us go inside at all, and the Westin end of the Copley Place mall wouldn't let us hang out inside, but aside from that, no hotel had a problem with us waiting outside.
Apparently Dallas hotels are amazingly bipolar. The Capitals' one had zero problem with a few graphers waiting inside on Friday night, but decided to give us all the boot on Saturday afternoon. What the hell? We're about 90% certain Ovechkin asked that we be removed.
A little info first: I will not be revealing Dallas hotel names on here. I did the legwork to find this one and to find the Panthers (who were staying at the Casa de Impossible, so I didn't go). You can do the work too. It's not hard; it just takes a little social engineering know-how.
Friday night we arrived around 6 pm. This was well after the team had arrived, but I had to work until 4:30 and had a 45-minute train ride from Irving. So I missed them early. Knowing how things often worked when I did hotels in Boston, we waited near the cabs, expecting maybe we could catch the last few leaving for dinner and/or everyone coming back. Usually players would start returning at about 7 or so, so we figured it shouldn't be too long.
Finally at 8:30 we had our first hit as Adam Oates got out of a cab and signed for us. The Hall of Famer is one of the best signers you'll come across, and I discovered he will usually do three per person. I also asked him if Player Personnel Director and former King, Ranger, North Star, Flame, and Red Wing Brian MacLellan travels with them. He said he sometimes does, but isn't on this trip.
As we waited a little longer, Arron noticed a bus pulling in. The other graphers who came from out of nowhere when Oates arrived took off walking fast inside the hotel. I knew it had to be the Caps' bus, so I took off with them from the outside. Unfortunately I got there just as Ovechkin was walking through the door. The players paraded off and when they come that quickly, it's tough to recognize them. I did at least get Holtby to stop and he signed two of my four cards. Inside we got Joel Ward as well, signing two of four. We called it a night after that. Decent start, but could have been much better.
We came back the next morning and I met up with a couple friends from the TTM board (ghb5 and his wife) who came in from Kansas City. They said they saw Jason Chimera inside and he signed, so I went over and asked if he would. He glared at me and said they can't sign inside the hotel. Huh, okay.
We waited outside by the bus and unfortunately most players apparently travel in an Anti-Grapher Buddy System-- sacrifice one player while the other(s) boards the bus. We did manage to get Nicklas Backstrom (1-per, so he did my set card), Troy Brouwer (1/4), Eric Fehr (2/4), Mike Green (1/4), John Erskine (4/4), and Karl Alzner (2/4). I also got Tom Wilson on an 8x10, but my gold pen crapped out so I erased it and figured I'd get him on it at game time with a better pen.
We didn't bother going for the Caps coming back from their skate, instead heading up to Triple Cards in Plano. I've decided I want to work on a master set of 1990 Pro Set Football. The set is loaded with errors and variations and I want to try to get them all. I already have a ton from that set, so I'll have to scour them to find what all I have. I picked up a couple of the rarer ones I could find (images of several of the variations can be seen here). I also grabbed a 13-14 Score hockey jumbo and a 13-14 Prizm pack. Pulled the Prizm version of Eric Hartzell's rookie and got a few cards for which I pulled the photos (cards 101-200 in the commons, if I remember correctly, plus some/all of the rookies; I'll have to look that up for certain). It's cool finally seeing some of my work in its full form.
We got back to the hotel, waited, and security came and told us to leave. As we were walking off, the bus pulled up. Assholes.
We did get Craig Ludwig at the Stars' pregame signing in Victory Plaza. Even better, I got out some of my frustration playing Floorball, discovering I'm not too bad at it (I may join the weekly games in Fort Worth), and by yelling at notorious autograph scammer Andrew Miller (AKA rangersfan1982). Miller was been busted on a number of sites for selling fake Jurickson Profar autographs and was at the very least banned from SCN and TheBench for his illegal dealings. Looks like he was allowed back on SCN. So, caveat emptor.
Anyways, Miller was about 7 spots in front of me, and I yelled "Oh, they let scammers in here?" A few minutes later, "Hey Andrew, can I buy one of your fake Profars?" After he got Ludwig and started walking off I shouted "Gonna learn to fake his sig too, Andrew?" He was pretty rattled-- he really picked up the pace walking away after that. I will call him out any and every time I see him.
Fun story about Ludwig, he was watching us playing Floorball and when I get up to him he asks who was winning when I left. I told him we were down by two and he looks at me astonished, asking "And no one was yelling at each other, throwing any elbows, getting the sticks up?!" I told him "Well, I thought I might have to drop the gloves to get a little spark going, but I couldn't find a willing partner." He looks at my fedora and says "Next time just throw that Walter White hat at 'em, that should do it!"
Totals: 22 autographs (not including the erased Wilson)
Sure, some restricted where we could go, most wouldn't let us go inside at all, and the Westin end of the Copley Place mall wouldn't let us hang out inside, but aside from that, no hotel had a problem with us waiting outside.
Apparently Dallas hotels are amazingly bipolar. The Capitals' one had zero problem with a few graphers waiting inside on Friday night, but decided to give us all the boot on Saturday afternoon. What the hell? We're about 90% certain Ovechkin asked that we be removed.
A little info first: I will not be revealing Dallas hotel names on here. I did the legwork to find this one and to find the Panthers (who were staying at the Casa de Impossible, so I didn't go). You can do the work too. It's not hard; it just takes a little social engineering know-how.
Friday night we arrived around 6 pm. This was well after the team had arrived, but I had to work until 4:30 and had a 45-minute train ride from Irving. So I missed them early. Knowing how things often worked when I did hotels in Boston, we waited near the cabs, expecting maybe we could catch the last few leaving for dinner and/or everyone coming back. Usually players would start returning at about 7 or so, so we figured it shouldn't be too long.
Finally at 8:30 we had our first hit as Adam Oates got out of a cab and signed for us. The Hall of Famer is one of the best signers you'll come across, and I discovered he will usually do three per person. I also asked him if Player Personnel Director and former King, Ranger, North Star, Flame, and Red Wing Brian MacLellan travels with them. He said he sometimes does, but isn't on this trip.
As we waited a little longer, Arron noticed a bus pulling in. The other graphers who came from out of nowhere when Oates arrived took off walking fast inside the hotel. I knew it had to be the Caps' bus, so I took off with them from the outside. Unfortunately I got there just as Ovechkin was walking through the door. The players paraded off and when they come that quickly, it's tough to recognize them. I did at least get Holtby to stop and he signed two of my four cards. Inside we got Joel Ward as well, signing two of four. We called it a night after that. Decent start, but could have been much better.
We came back the next morning and I met up with a couple friends from the TTM board (ghb5 and his wife) who came in from Kansas City. They said they saw Jason Chimera inside and he signed, so I went over and asked if he would. He glared at me and said they can't sign inside the hotel. Huh, okay.
We waited outside by the bus and unfortunately most players apparently travel in an Anti-Grapher Buddy System-- sacrifice one player while the other(s) boards the bus. We did manage to get Nicklas Backstrom (1-per, so he did my set card), Troy Brouwer (1/4), Eric Fehr (2/4), Mike Green (1/4), John Erskine (4/4), and Karl Alzner (2/4). I also got Tom Wilson on an 8x10, but my gold pen crapped out so I erased it and figured I'd get him on it at game time with a better pen.
We didn't bother going for the Caps coming back from their skate, instead heading up to Triple Cards in Plano. I've decided I want to work on a master set of 1990 Pro Set Football. The set is loaded with errors and variations and I want to try to get them all. I already have a ton from that set, so I'll have to scour them to find what all I have. I picked up a couple of the rarer ones I could find (images of several of the variations can be seen here). I also grabbed a 13-14 Score hockey jumbo and a 13-14 Prizm pack. Pulled the Prizm version of Eric Hartzell's rookie and got a few cards for which I pulled the photos (cards 101-200 in the commons, if I remember correctly, plus some/all of the rookies; I'll have to look that up for certain). It's cool finally seeing some of my work in its full form.
We got back to the hotel, waited, and security came and told us to leave. As we were walking off, the bus pulled up. Assholes.
We did get Craig Ludwig at the Stars' pregame signing in Victory Plaza. Even better, I got out some of my frustration playing Floorball, discovering I'm not too bad at it (I may join the weekly games in Fort Worth), and by yelling at notorious autograph scammer Andrew Miller (AKA rangersfan1982). Miller was been busted on a number of sites for selling fake Jurickson Profar autographs and was at the very least banned from SCN and TheBench for his illegal dealings. Looks like he was allowed back on SCN. So, caveat emptor.
Anyways, Miller was about 7 spots in front of me, and I yelled "Oh, they let scammers in here?" A few minutes later, "Hey Andrew, can I buy one of your fake Profars?" After he got Ludwig and started walking off I shouted "Gonna learn to fake his sig too, Andrew?" He was pretty rattled-- he really picked up the pace walking away after that. I will call him out any and every time I see him.
Fun story about Ludwig, he was watching us playing Floorball and when I get up to him he asks who was winning when I left. I told him we were down by two and he looks at me astonished, asking "And no one was yelling at each other, throwing any elbows, getting the sticks up?!" I told him "Well, I thought I might have to drop the gloves to get a little spark going, but I couldn't find a willing partner." He looks at my fedora and says "Next time just throw that Walter White hat at 'em, that should do it!"
Totals: 22 autographs (not including the erased Wilson)
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Hounding Report: Rangers Tunnel, August 18, plus a look wayyyyyyy back
I'll keep it brief: Ron Washington 3/3 and Mitch Moreland 3/3. That's it. Blah.
I didn't feel like going to the game since I already have gone for the Mariners eleventy billion times this year. I'll save my money, time, and effort for the Astros this week and the Twins in two weeks.
Anyway, I was looking through my external hard drive at the autograph site I used to have ages ago (2003-2010 or so) and remembered I still have all my old hounding reports from that time. So, I figure I'll post a few excerpts from them.
Such as, my first ever attempt...
Monday, January 20, 2003
Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins
1 pm
My first day! I went out at 8:45 am. Players began arriving around 10. Very cold (25, but VERY cold with wind chill below 10). Due to the weather, few players stopped to sign. The crowd at its largest point was about six of us. Steve Shields walked by with no one recognizing him until it was too late. Hal Gill walked to the arena, stopping to sign for everyone on the way. Glen Murray came out to sign, but only for 2 or 3 people (I was not one of them). I didn't bother to stick around to get the Caps. Totals: One Autograph.
I didn't know that opposing players weren't accessible at all at the Garden (or FleetCenter as it was called then). Or that pregame wasn't worth trying 99 times out of 100. You live and learn, I guess. I sure did. A week later, I found myself astonished that Martin Lapointe signed three cards for me in one fell swoop. Needless to say, three is now average for me. The truly awe-inspiring ones are those who sign 8 or more for me.
It took almost two weeks before I got the hotels figured out, and I was off an rolling. My first time out was against Montreal...
Thursday, February 6, 2003
Montreal Canadians vs. Boston Bruins
7 pm
This time, I went out to the Marriott Copley at 8 am, hoping to catch the Habs nice and early. However, I didn't know until after I arrived that they weren't leaving to skate until around 10. So, after a Burger King breakfast and a quick read of the Boston Globe, I went over to the hotel. As usual, the guys I see at Fleet Center were there with a few cronies. We all waited around, and the first to come was Niklas Sundstrom. He signed a 3x5 card for me (I would have had him sign my card if I could have seen who the hell he was). Soon after came Jose Theodore and Mike Ribeiro. I got Theo to sign my card, as Ribeiro snuck his way on to the bus. Next to come was Saku Koivu-- the big one I wanted to get!! I even wore my Finland hockey hat and everything. Everyone else got in quickly, and he signed for all of them, while I got nothing. Not long after Koivu came Andrei Markov, who signed my card very neatly in Cyrillic (much like Nikolai Khabibulin). After him, I got Joe Juneau (he only signs JJ, but it looks cool) on a card. Igor Ulanov completely blew us all off. Randy McKay stopped and signed two for me. To finish it all off, Stephane Quintal signed a 3x5 for me (see Niklas Sundstrom). So, despite knowing who very few were, I think I did all right. Totals: Seven autographs.
Whenever I hear about how tough the hotels are here in Dallas, it definitely makes me wish for the easy days of going to the Marriott in Boston. Connected to a mall, security was relatively lax, it made for many easy experiences...
Friday, February 28, 2003
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins
Game Saturday
Day was warmer (but that's not saying much), but with light snow. I went down to the Copley Marriott just before 3 pm. For the first time, I was approached by security, asking what I was doing there. Fortunately, we all were permitted to stay. The bus came in not long after 4 pm, and the players all went for their bags, and ran for the door. Todd Warriner signed a 3x5 card for me on his way in. Jeremy Roenick signed for everyone, signing two cards for me. I followed the other autograph seekers into Copley Place to wait for more players. There we got Eric Weinrich, who signed 4 cards for me, and Eric Desjardins, who signed one per person. Soon after, Marty Murray, Guillaume Lefebvre, Dan Seidenberg, and Eric Chouinard came up the stairs together. Each (except Chouinard, whom I somehow missed) signed a 3x5 for me. Following them were Kim Johnsson and Marcus Ragnarsson. Ragnarsson signed a card for me, and Johnsson signed a 3x5 (would have had him sign my card had I known it was him). Donald Brashear was the next to come up the stairs, refusing to sign for anyone. He said "Later" to at least one person. True to his word, he came down and signed for a few of us about 20 minutes later. He signed my Hockey Fighting Department shirt. Next, I went downstairs to Starbucks and got Ken Hitchcock to sign my Flyers team card. I continued outside, where a couple of us saw Craig Hartsburg and Wayne Fleming. We followed them inside, and each signed a 3x5 for me. Finally, I got a picture taken with Brashear, and got Gary Dornhoefer to sign my HFD shirt. Totals: Eighteen autographs.
Granted, security wasn't as awesome everywhere. Over at the Copley they were more strict about kicking people out even if all we were doing was trying to get out of the cold and the rain with the team having not arrived yet.
Friday, April 4, 2003
Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins
Game Saturday
I arrived at the Westin at 2:30 pm. The largest crowd we had at any point was 5. At 7:15, I was promptly kicked out of the atrium of Copley Place. By 7:30, only two of us remained. The bus finally arrived at 7:45. Miroslav Satan signed one card for me, followed by two cards signed by Martin Biron, and four from Daniel Briere. In the mall, Ales Kotalik signed a card I had just traded for. TOTALS: Eight autographs from 4 players.
I ended up with 342 items signed that season, which wasn't too bad considering I didn't do anything from October through mid-January and usually only tried to get one card signed by each player when I first started out.
Due to heavy schoolwork and other issues, I didn't write as much in the first part of the 2003-04 season, then following a hard drive crash in August, I lost all my info from March and onward. But there was at least a little info.
2003 was the worst year of my life, bar none. It seemed things like this (and most of the time worse) happened on a monthly basis...
New Jersey Devils, 10/8/03
Ritz-Carlton
7 pm game
Great weather, average sized crowd night before and at game time. The team was pretty good about signing all around. Had my bag stolen at some point, losing some cards, a puck or two, and my multi-player signed Hockey Fighting Department T-shirt. Never found it. Dammit. The crappy luck of 2003 continued.
Getting back to graphing was a nice bright spot though. Got to hang out with friends, add to the collection, and just get my mind off things. And of course, it's cool to meet the players when they're nice, like Ryan Walter.
Vancouver Canucks, 11/15/03
Ritz-Carlton
7 pm game
One of the best groups of signers out there. Naslund, Morrison, both Sedins, Sopel, Linden, Salo, Cooke, Jovanovski, Chubarov, Malik, Keane, May, Allen, Cloutier, Hedberg, Crawford, McIlhargey, and Ryan Walter all signed. Walter signed my only card of him (from 1990-91) and said "What, you got some old cards for me there? Hey, a 1964 one, alright!" Only rough spot on the team was Bertuzzi.
One of the things I've discovered is that the hounds in every city are exactly the same. I can describe a guy in Boston and find a relatively good comparison to him in Dallas. I can describe these guys to someone in San Jose, and they can put a name on them all. The faces and names change, but the characters are the same.
Take Ace, for example. For the life of me I can't remember his name. But you may know someone like him. Ace is a blocker. He'll get in his spot and not move from it at all. And he's not exactly a small guy either-- not huge, but enough to screen you nicely. Most of the time, I get a guy and get out of the way, then most collectors have the courtesy to let me back in my spot. I try to do the same for them. Ace was a pillar: not moving. He drove around a van loaded with giant Rubbermaid containers full of stuff to get signed. Pucks, balls, cards, photos, books, calendars, posters... and from every team too. I can understand it if you want to get your 2003 Bruins calendar signed by everyone in it. But a Phoenix Coyotes one, along with a New York Rangers one and a Vancouver Canucks one? How many calendars can you display at once?
Sadly, I got stuck behind Ace once...
N.Y. Rangers, 1/19/04
Ritz-Carlton
1pm Game on Monday the 19th
I went to the Ritz-Carlton at 9 am. First I was able to get Brian Mullen returning from getting coffee at Starbucks. He signed all 8 cards I had for him. Coming to the bus, I was stuck behind Ace, so I got almost no one (this was due to my attempt at getting John Davidson to sign-- in related news, he won't sign his Fleer Greats of the Game card). Darius Kasparaitis signed one after running for coffee. Vladmir Malakhov also signed one. Joel Bouchard signed both my cards, and Jamie Lundmark signed one on his way to a cab (just before the bus arrived). Total: 13 autographs from 5 players.
I try to help out friends whenever I can. Russ got some items signed for me when I was out on Christmas and/or Spring breaks, so I helped him out with a few on the Sabres, and still massively racked. This also shows the importance of doing one's homework, as I missed out on some easy graphing early in the day.
Buffalo Sabres, 1/21-22/04
Westin
Game 7 pm Thursday the 22nd
I went to the Westin at 4 pm. It turns out, the Sabres had arrived at 2 am and had a practice at the Fleet Center. I just missed the first bus coming back. Alexei Zhitnik signed 3 cards for me out of a taxi. Riding in the same cab was Jochen Hecht, who signed two. The second bus arrived, and I get Scott Arniel to sign 6 cards. Also off the bus, Jason Botterill signed 2. Moving up to the mall, Dimitri Kalinen signed one for me. Daniel Briere signed two, and Taylor Pyatt signed one. Not long after that was announcer Rick Jeanneret, who signed my team logo card, and James Patrick who signed two cards. The coaches came by again, and I had Lindy Ruff sign my other team logo card. To finish it off, Andrew Peters signed my card of him.
I returned to the Westin on Thursday at 9 am. The players came out at around 10. Unfortunately, they paraded. I was able to key in on Brian Campbell and he signed 5 for me (3 of mine and two of Russ' cards). Next was Henrik Tallinder, who signed the only card I had of him. Alexei Zhitnik signed 3 more for me, and Eric Boulton signed my photo and Russ' card.
After this, I went to Fleet Center to get the Bruins. Unfortunately, we weren't ready and missed Samsonov, O'Donnell, Rolston, and Donato. Finally, our slump ended with Mike Knuble, who signed 3 for me. Rob Zamuner walked out and signed 3, then driving by was P.J. Axelsson, who signed two. Not long after Axey was the trio of Martin Lapointe, Dan McGillis, and Patrice Bergeron. While everyone racked on Bergeron, I got one from Lapointe, and two from McGillis. Following them were Glen Murray and Nick Boynton. Each signed one for me. Felix Potvin came out about 10 minutes later, and signed two for me. Recent call-up Shaone Morrisonn walked out with new teammate Jiri Slegr, and signed the only card I had of him. Finishing it off was announcer and former player Bob Beers, who signed the last two cards I have of him. Totals: 51 autographs from 24 players.
My lone experience with Bobby Orr has soured me on the man forever. I have sigs from Gretzky, Howe, and Lemieux. I just need Orr to complete the Big Four. What happened when I tried? This...
Florida Panthers, 1/24-25/04
Marriott
Game 7 pm
Lanny called me at 8 am. WE HAVE A BOBBY ORR SIGHTING!!! I quickly got dressed, packed my stuff, and ran for the Marriott. After waiting for an hour or so, Orr finally emerged from Gourmeli's, and Lanny and I went for it. We asked for a picture, and Orr responded with "I didn't think your type were allowed in here." He stopped for a photo with Lanny, and turned and left before I could get a picture with him. I called out "Mr. Orr, could I get a picture with you?" He kept walking toward the escalator and down. "Mr. Orr, can I get a picture with you down there?" Orr shouted back "You can't come down here!" What an ass!
Fortunately the Panthers were pretty good about signing after Orr steamrolled me. Even in a surprise opportunity the next day!
It turned out, the Panthers were set to stay over one more night, so I went back to the Marriott once more at 9 am on Sunday. Juraj Kolnik walked by us inside, and Russ asked him when they were practicing. He said the bus leaves at 12:30. Se we waited around, and went outside at around 11:45. First we spotted Steve Shields, who signed 3 cards for each of us as he flagged down a cab. Next to come by was Kristian Huselius, who signed one for each of us. Next to come by was Matt Cullen, who signed one for each os us. Roberto Luongo came next, signing two for each of us, and Viktor Kozlov, who signed one. Kozlov even asked if I had anything I wanted him to sign before I got him! Donald Audette came out next with three others. He said "Aw shit, get out of here you guys!" then laughed and signed one for each of us. Last to come was Valeri Bure. He signed 3 for each of us before getting on the bus.
Remember back when the Penguins sucked? As a fan of theirs, I do. Believe me, I do. They were better signers by then, but some were still sticklers about it. Like Bob Errey...
Pittsburgh Penguins, 2/1/04
Lenox
Game 1 pm
I went to the Lenox at 6 pm. The team came in at 7. There was a small crowd of us, only five total-- me, Marty, Russ, Tino, and Tino's dad. I got Rico Fata immediately off the bus. He signed 3 cards for me. I also got Sebastian Caron to sign my only card of him. We then moved up to wait by the street when announcer Bob Errey came out. He signed 3 of my 8 cards. (Drew's note: Russ was the one who recognized Errey but wasn't certain it was him, asking "Bob? Bob Errey?" Ever since then, I referred to him as "Bob? Bob Errey?" whenever Russ mentioned him.) After him was Brian Holzinger, graduate of Padua High School in Parma, OH. He signed my Brooklyn arena puck, and we talked about Cleveland-area hockey a bit. He said he and his family gave some consideration to US (my old high school) before going to Padua. Next to come was a crowd of several players. I got Kelly Buchberger as he crossed Boylston Street. He signed the 3 cards I had with me. Also there was Steve McKenna, who also signed all 3 cards I had of him. I waited around for another hour in case any players returned, then left at about 8:30.
I returned to the Lenox the next morning, at 9 am. There was a bigger crowd this time-- about 12 or so of us. First out was Tom Kotsopoulos, but I had nothing for him. Next was Drake Berehowsky, who hurried to a cab, but still signed one for everyone. The bus arrived, and Randy Hillier was the first to board, signing a card for each of us. Marc Bergevin was next, signing all 3 of my cards of him. Kelly Buchberger once again signed 3 cards for me. Milan Kraft and Brian Holzinger came out together, and each signed 2 for me. Hall of Famer and assistant coach Joe Mullen came out next, and signed one for everyone. Notice to all out there, he insists on personalizing pucks. Mike Eastwood was next, signing 2 of my 3 cards. Head coach Ed Olczyk was next, signing one for some, then getting on the bus. I was lucky enough to get one from him. Next came Bob Errey. He was a real asshole today. While signing, he asked "What do you guys do with these things?" One answered simply "We collect them." Errey then went on a long rant on how if you don't sell them, then you can just send to the team for autographs. He still signed one for everyone. He signed the wrong one for me, so I got Tino to get Errey to sign the right one. So he did 2 for me overall. Aleksey Morozov was the next one out with Dick Tarnstrom. I had nothing for Tarnstrom, but got Morozov to sign a card. One more time, Rico Fata signed 3 cards for me, as did goalie Jean-Sebastian Aubin. Last to come was Hall of Fame General Manager Craig Patrick, who signed one for everyone, as well as stopping for pictures. TOTALS: 40 autographs from 17 players.
RIP Brad McCrimmon. I haven't used the term "jerseys" since you corrected me.
Atlanta Thrashers, 2/3/04
Marriott
Game 7 pm
I went to the Marriott on Monday at 4 pm. The team, it turns out, arrived the night before and practiced at Northeastern. A few of them walked the mall. First to be spotted were Frederic Cassivi and Francis Lessard. Lessard signed my photo of the 02-03 Chicago Wolves, and Cassivi a card. Next was Zdenek Blatny, who signed a photo. We followed Byron Dafoe toward the Prudential Center mall, and he signed a card for each of us. Next was assistant coach Brad McCrimmon. A great guy, he signed 9 cards for me. He pointed out his 90-91 Score and 91-92 Pro Set cards as his favorites, the Pro Set because of the old jerseys the players were in. Or, "sweaters," as he corrected me. We waited downstairs, and I missed Ivan Majesky and Ronald Petrovicky as I tripped and fell on my way out to get them. Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov requested extra security guards so they didn't have to sign for us. I missed Marc Savard on his way into the mall, but got him to sign a card upon returning. Frantisek Kaberle signed my only card of him, and Patrik Stefan signed 3 outside while waiting for a cab. Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre signed my only card of him on his way out to a cab, as did Tomas Kloucek.
I returned at 9 am. The players paraded, unfortunately. I was able to get Shawn McEachern to sign 3 cards, and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre to do one. Finally, we got Kovalchuk to sign as he came out at the back of the pack. However, I got stiffed by Dany Heatley, the last to leave. TOTALS: 25 autographs from 12 players.
Boston: colder than Sweden.
Florida Panthers, 2/22/04
Marriott
Game 7 pm
I went to the Marriott on Sunday at around 2:30 pm. The small media bus was first to arrive (around 3:30) , and I was able to get Denis Potvin coming off it. He signed 2 cards for me. I got Nathan Horton off the bus to sign a puck for me. First to come inside the mall were Vaclav Nedorost, Lukas Krajicek, and Juraj Kolnik. Each signed my only card of them. Next came Matt Cullen, Branislav Mezei, and Steve Shields. Cullen signed one, Mezei two, and unfortunately, my paint pen was giving me grief, so I missed Shields. Next up was All-Star Olli Jokinen. He signed a card for each of us. Security kicked us out, and we moved downstairs, then outside. Out there, I was able to get Byron Ritchie on two cards, and Marcus Nilson on one. Marcus, hailing from Sweden, tried to claim "It's cold out" in order not to sign (Nilson was shipped off to Calgary a few weeks later. Cold enough for ya now Marcus?). Last to come was Valeri Bure, who signed a puck for me.
Sometimes, life gets in the way of things. Also, I love Burke's comment.
Philadelphia Flyers, 2/27-28/04
Ritz-Carlton
Game 1pm
I swear, I'm never going to class on a day a visiting team is practicing. In addition, I'm not scheduling a band practice EVER when a team is coming in. Because of these, I missed half the team. Friday, I missed the Flyers practice (several people got sticks from players and tons of autographs from everyone), and missed them coming back by a matter of minutes. I arrived at the Ritz at around 4 pm. I was able to get Joni Pitkanen to sign 2 pucks. After him, Alexei Zhamnov signed 2 cards, and Radovan Somik signed 1. Craig Hartsburg signed all 8 cards I had for him. Sean Burke was next out. He did 2 cards for me, and a puck I had my friend Nick get him on. After a long wait, John LeClair came out, signing 2 pucks for me. Last for the day was Claude Lapointe, who signed my 3 cards.
The next day, I returned at 8:45 am. First out was Brian Propp, who signed all 9 cards I had of him. Bobby Clarke was next, signing a puck. Not long after him was assistant coach Terry Murray, who signed my 2 cards. The bus arrived, and all 17 of us went over. I got in a poor position, unfortunately. I was able to get Robert Esche on 3 cards, then Alexei Zhamnov on 2 pucks. Sean Burke signed my Florida Panthers puck ("I forgot I played there," he said, laughing) and Simon Gagne signed a puck as well. Last was Marcus Ragnarsson on a card. I missed out on everyone else, thanks to my crappy positioning (at a crappy hotel).
You have to love when players have good attitudes about signing. Take Peter Bondra, for instance...
Ottawa Senators, 3/23/04
Ritz-Carlton
7 pm game
Not as good as last trip. Most of the team signed, but the crowd was bigger and players had a team dinner. New addition of Bondra is good (He had a phone call and stopped to say "Hey let me call you back, I'm busy signing;" he also accidentally started signing the wrong card-- one of Todd White-- stopped, apologized profusely, and signed another card. I was able to remove the autograph and later get it signed by White.) but otherwise, the team wasn't as good as on previous trips. Managed to get Rob Ray on a puck, which is a victory in and of itself. When I asked him, he said Joe Kocur is, by far, the hardest puncher he's ever fought, even moreso than Tony Twist who broke his orbital bone.
Tie Domi. If you rearrange the letters in his name, you get "me idiot."
Toronto Maple Leafs, 3/25/04
Ritz-Carlton
7 pm game
Again, blown off by most of the team, but I did finally get Tie Domi. While I was standing with another collector, Domi came out and the guy called out to him saying "Please, Tie, I've never gotten you before!" He stopped at the door to the bus and said "Never? You've never gotten me? Alright, but don't ever ask me again." Domi signed one per for everyone and went back to the bus. At the door he turned back again and said-- "Remember, don't ever ask again" and got on. Whatever, I'll take it. And I'll certainly ask again. Back to back minor victories in getting some of my all-time favorite fighters.
I did some baseball hounding too, but didn't write about individual outings. I did at least do a half-assed rating.
2004, The good (consistent signers), the bad (never sign), and the ugly (VERY hard to get):
GOOD: Tom Foley (Tampa Bay coach and former MLB infielder), Sean Burroughs (San Diego 3B), Barry Zito (Oakland pitcher), Dan Gladden (Former MLB outfielder, Twins announcer), Danys Baez (Tampa Bay pitcher), Milt Thompson (Former MLB outfielder and Phillies coach), most of the New York Yankees (Joe Torre, Jon Lieber, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill, Miguel Cairo, Tony Clark, Ruben Sierra, John Flaherty, Bubba Crosby, Dioner Navarro, Tanyon Sturtze, Orlando Hernandez, and Mel Stottlemyer all signed a ball for me), Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek.
BAD: Lou Piniella, Mike Lieberthal, most of the Phillies, the rest of the Yankees, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez.
UGLY: Gary Sheffield, Bruce Bochy, Larry Bowa, Mariano Rivera, Hideki Matsui, most of the Red Sox.
2005, Same deal:
GOOD: Casey Blake, Grady Sizemore, Don Mattingly, Jamey Wright, Johnny Damon, Lynn Jones, Aaron Boone, C.C. Sabathia, Kevin Millwood, Josh Bard, Jason Stanford, Robby Thompson, Jeff Datz, Dan Williams, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, Scott Elarton, Bob Hoery, David Riske, Fernando Cabrera, Matt Miller, Steve Karsay.
BAD: Jhonny Peralta, Jose Hernandez, Alex Cora, Jody Gerut, Buddy Bell, Joel Skinner, Eddie Murray, Rafael Betancourt, Arthur Rhodes, Juan Gonzalez, Mike Scioscia, Bengie Molina, all of the Yankees, all of the Red Sox not named Johnny Damon.
UGLY: Alex Rodriguez, Victor Martinez, Ben Broussard, Eric Wedge, Ron Belliard, Coco Crisp, Travis Hafner, Jake Westbrook, Jason Dubois.
That's enough for now. I'll post more from the old days in Boston and Cleveland later. Maybe even some from my few Texas outings before TCG came into existence.
I didn't feel like going to the game since I already have gone for the Mariners eleventy billion times this year. I'll save my money, time, and effort for the Astros this week and the Twins in two weeks.
Anyway, I was looking through my external hard drive at the autograph site I used to have ages ago (2003-2010 or so) and remembered I still have all my old hounding reports from that time. So, I figure I'll post a few excerpts from them.
Such as, my first ever attempt...
Monday, January 20, 2003
Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins
1 pm
My first day! I went out at 8:45 am. Players began arriving around 10. Very cold (25, but VERY cold with wind chill below 10). Due to the weather, few players stopped to sign. The crowd at its largest point was about six of us. Steve Shields walked by with no one recognizing him until it was too late. Hal Gill walked to the arena, stopping to sign for everyone on the way. Glen Murray came out to sign, but only for 2 or 3 people (I was not one of them). I didn't bother to stick around to get the Caps. Totals: One Autograph.
I didn't know that opposing players weren't accessible at all at the Garden (or FleetCenter as it was called then). Or that pregame wasn't worth trying 99 times out of 100. You live and learn, I guess. I sure did. A week later, I found myself astonished that Martin Lapointe signed three cards for me in one fell swoop. Needless to say, three is now average for me. The truly awe-inspiring ones are those who sign 8 or more for me.
It took almost two weeks before I got the hotels figured out, and I was off an rolling. My first time out was against Montreal...
Thursday, February 6, 2003
Montreal Canadians vs. Boston Bruins
7 pm
This time, I went out to the Marriott Copley at 8 am, hoping to catch the Habs nice and early. However, I didn't know until after I arrived that they weren't leaving to skate until around 10. So, after a Burger King breakfast and a quick read of the Boston Globe, I went over to the hotel. As usual, the guys I see at Fleet Center were there with a few cronies. We all waited around, and the first to come was Niklas Sundstrom. He signed a 3x5 card for me (I would have had him sign my card if I could have seen who the hell he was). Soon after came Jose Theodore and Mike Ribeiro. I got Theo to sign my card, as Ribeiro snuck his way on to the bus. Next to come was Saku Koivu-- the big one I wanted to get!! I even wore my Finland hockey hat and everything. Everyone else got in quickly, and he signed for all of them, while I got nothing. Not long after Koivu came Andrei Markov, who signed my card very neatly in Cyrillic (much like Nikolai Khabibulin). After him, I got Joe Juneau (he only signs JJ, but it looks cool) on a card. Igor Ulanov completely blew us all off. Randy McKay stopped and signed two for me. To finish it all off, Stephane Quintal signed a 3x5 for me (see Niklas Sundstrom). So, despite knowing who very few were, I think I did all right. Totals: Seven autographs.
Whenever I hear about how tough the hotels are here in Dallas, it definitely makes me wish for the easy days of going to the Marriott in Boston. Connected to a mall, security was relatively lax, it made for many easy experiences...
Friday, February 28, 2003
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins
Game Saturday
Day was warmer (but that's not saying much), but with light snow. I went down to the Copley Marriott just before 3 pm. For the first time, I was approached by security, asking what I was doing there. Fortunately, we all were permitted to stay. The bus came in not long after 4 pm, and the players all went for their bags, and ran for the door. Todd Warriner signed a 3x5 card for me on his way in. Jeremy Roenick signed for everyone, signing two cards for me. I followed the other autograph seekers into Copley Place to wait for more players. There we got Eric Weinrich, who signed 4 cards for me, and Eric Desjardins, who signed one per person. Soon after, Marty Murray, Guillaume Lefebvre, Dan Seidenberg, and Eric Chouinard came up the stairs together. Each (except Chouinard, whom I somehow missed) signed a 3x5 for me. Following them were Kim Johnsson and Marcus Ragnarsson. Ragnarsson signed a card for me, and Johnsson signed a 3x5 (would have had him sign my card had I known it was him). Donald Brashear was the next to come up the stairs, refusing to sign for anyone. He said "Later" to at least one person. True to his word, he came down and signed for a few of us about 20 minutes later. He signed my Hockey Fighting Department shirt. Next, I went downstairs to Starbucks and got Ken Hitchcock to sign my Flyers team card. I continued outside, where a couple of us saw Craig Hartsburg and Wayne Fleming. We followed them inside, and each signed a 3x5 for me. Finally, I got a picture taken with Brashear, and got Gary Dornhoefer to sign my HFD shirt. Totals: Eighteen autographs.
Granted, security wasn't as awesome everywhere. Over at the Copley they were more strict about kicking people out even if all we were doing was trying to get out of the cold and the rain with the team having not arrived yet.
Friday, April 4, 2003
Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins
Game Saturday
I arrived at the Westin at 2:30 pm. The largest crowd we had at any point was 5. At 7:15, I was promptly kicked out of the atrium of Copley Place. By 7:30, only two of us remained. The bus finally arrived at 7:45. Miroslav Satan signed one card for me, followed by two cards signed by Martin Biron, and four from Daniel Briere. In the mall, Ales Kotalik signed a card I had just traded for. TOTALS: Eight autographs from 4 players.
I ended up with 342 items signed that season, which wasn't too bad considering I didn't do anything from October through mid-January and usually only tried to get one card signed by each player when I first started out.
Due to heavy schoolwork and other issues, I didn't write as much in the first part of the 2003-04 season, then following a hard drive crash in August, I lost all my info from March and onward. But there was at least a little info.
2003 was the worst year of my life, bar none. It seemed things like this (and most of the time worse) happened on a monthly basis...
New Jersey Devils, 10/8/03
Ritz-Carlton
7 pm game
Great weather, average sized crowd night before and at game time. The team was pretty good about signing all around. Had my bag stolen at some point, losing some cards, a puck or two, and my multi-player signed Hockey Fighting Department T-shirt. Never found it. Dammit. The crappy luck of 2003 continued.
Getting back to graphing was a nice bright spot though. Got to hang out with friends, add to the collection, and just get my mind off things. And of course, it's cool to meet the players when they're nice, like Ryan Walter.
Vancouver Canucks, 11/15/03
Ritz-Carlton
7 pm game
One of the best groups of signers out there. Naslund, Morrison, both Sedins, Sopel, Linden, Salo, Cooke, Jovanovski, Chubarov, Malik, Keane, May, Allen, Cloutier, Hedberg, Crawford, McIlhargey, and Ryan Walter all signed. Walter signed my only card of him (from 1990-91) and said "What, you got some old cards for me there? Hey, a 1964 one, alright!" Only rough spot on the team was Bertuzzi.
One of the things I've discovered is that the hounds in every city are exactly the same. I can describe a guy in Boston and find a relatively good comparison to him in Dallas. I can describe these guys to someone in San Jose, and they can put a name on them all. The faces and names change, but the characters are the same.
Take Ace, for example. For the life of me I can't remember his name. But you may know someone like him. Ace is a blocker. He'll get in his spot and not move from it at all. And he's not exactly a small guy either-- not huge, but enough to screen you nicely. Most of the time, I get a guy and get out of the way, then most collectors have the courtesy to let me back in my spot. I try to do the same for them. Ace was a pillar: not moving. He drove around a van loaded with giant Rubbermaid containers full of stuff to get signed. Pucks, balls, cards, photos, books, calendars, posters... and from every team too. I can understand it if you want to get your 2003 Bruins calendar signed by everyone in it. But a Phoenix Coyotes one, along with a New York Rangers one and a Vancouver Canucks one? How many calendars can you display at once?
Sadly, I got stuck behind Ace once...
N.Y. Rangers, 1/19/04
Ritz-Carlton
1pm Game on Monday the 19th
I went to the Ritz-Carlton at 9 am. First I was able to get Brian Mullen returning from getting coffee at Starbucks. He signed all 8 cards I had for him. Coming to the bus, I was stuck behind Ace, so I got almost no one (this was due to my attempt at getting John Davidson to sign-- in related news, he won't sign his Fleer Greats of the Game card). Darius Kasparaitis signed one after running for coffee. Vladmir Malakhov also signed one. Joel Bouchard signed both my cards, and Jamie Lundmark signed one on his way to a cab (just before the bus arrived). Total: 13 autographs from 5 players.
I try to help out friends whenever I can. Russ got some items signed for me when I was out on Christmas and/or Spring breaks, so I helped him out with a few on the Sabres, and still massively racked. This also shows the importance of doing one's homework, as I missed out on some easy graphing early in the day.
Buffalo Sabres, 1/21-22/04
Westin
Game 7 pm Thursday the 22nd
I went to the Westin at 4 pm. It turns out, the Sabres had arrived at 2 am and had a practice at the Fleet Center. I just missed the first bus coming back. Alexei Zhitnik signed 3 cards for me out of a taxi. Riding in the same cab was Jochen Hecht, who signed two. The second bus arrived, and I get Scott Arniel to sign 6 cards. Also off the bus, Jason Botterill signed 2. Moving up to the mall, Dimitri Kalinen signed one for me. Daniel Briere signed two, and Taylor Pyatt signed one. Not long after that was announcer Rick Jeanneret, who signed my team logo card, and James Patrick who signed two cards. The coaches came by again, and I had Lindy Ruff sign my other team logo card. To finish it off, Andrew Peters signed my card of him.
I returned to the Westin on Thursday at 9 am. The players came out at around 10. Unfortunately, they paraded. I was able to key in on Brian Campbell and he signed 5 for me (3 of mine and two of Russ' cards). Next was Henrik Tallinder, who signed the only card I had of him. Alexei Zhitnik signed 3 more for me, and Eric Boulton signed my photo and Russ' card.
After this, I went to Fleet Center to get the Bruins. Unfortunately, we weren't ready and missed Samsonov, O'Donnell, Rolston, and Donato. Finally, our slump ended with Mike Knuble, who signed 3 for me. Rob Zamuner walked out and signed 3, then driving by was P.J. Axelsson, who signed two. Not long after Axey was the trio of Martin Lapointe, Dan McGillis, and Patrice Bergeron. While everyone racked on Bergeron, I got one from Lapointe, and two from McGillis. Following them were Glen Murray and Nick Boynton. Each signed one for me. Felix Potvin came out about 10 minutes later, and signed two for me. Recent call-up Shaone Morrisonn walked out with new teammate Jiri Slegr, and signed the only card I had of him. Finishing it off was announcer and former player Bob Beers, who signed the last two cards I have of him. Totals: 51 autographs from 24 players.
My lone experience with Bobby Orr has soured me on the man forever. I have sigs from Gretzky, Howe, and Lemieux. I just need Orr to complete the Big Four. What happened when I tried? This...
Florida Panthers, 1/24-25/04
Marriott
Game 7 pm
Lanny called me at 8 am. WE HAVE A BOBBY ORR SIGHTING!!! I quickly got dressed, packed my stuff, and ran for the Marriott. After waiting for an hour or so, Orr finally emerged from Gourmeli's, and Lanny and I went for it. We asked for a picture, and Orr responded with "I didn't think your type were allowed in here." He stopped for a photo with Lanny, and turned and left before I could get a picture with him. I called out "Mr. Orr, could I get a picture with you?" He kept walking toward the escalator and down. "Mr. Orr, can I get a picture with you down there?" Orr shouted back "You can't come down here!" What an ass!
Fortunately the Panthers were pretty good about signing after Orr steamrolled me. Even in a surprise opportunity the next day!
It turned out, the Panthers were set to stay over one more night, so I went back to the Marriott once more at 9 am on Sunday. Juraj Kolnik walked by us inside, and Russ asked him when they were practicing. He said the bus leaves at 12:30. Se we waited around, and went outside at around 11:45. First we spotted Steve Shields, who signed 3 cards for each of us as he flagged down a cab. Next to come by was Kristian Huselius, who signed one for each of us. Next to come by was Matt Cullen, who signed one for each os us. Roberto Luongo came next, signing two for each of us, and Viktor Kozlov, who signed one. Kozlov even asked if I had anything I wanted him to sign before I got him! Donald Audette came out next with three others. He said "Aw shit, get out of here you guys!" then laughed and signed one for each of us. Last to come was Valeri Bure. He signed 3 for each of us before getting on the bus.
Remember back when the Penguins sucked? As a fan of theirs, I do. Believe me, I do. They were better signers by then, but some were still sticklers about it. Like Bob Errey...
Pittsburgh Penguins, 2/1/04
Lenox
Game 1 pm
I went to the Lenox at 6 pm. The team came in at 7. There was a small crowd of us, only five total-- me, Marty, Russ, Tino, and Tino's dad. I got Rico Fata immediately off the bus. He signed 3 cards for me. I also got Sebastian Caron to sign my only card of him. We then moved up to wait by the street when announcer Bob Errey came out. He signed 3 of my 8 cards. (Drew's note: Russ was the one who recognized Errey but wasn't certain it was him, asking "Bob? Bob Errey?" Ever since then, I referred to him as "Bob? Bob Errey?" whenever Russ mentioned him.) After him was Brian Holzinger, graduate of Padua High School in Parma, OH. He signed my Brooklyn arena puck, and we talked about Cleveland-area hockey a bit. He said he and his family gave some consideration to US (my old high school) before going to Padua. Next to come was a crowd of several players. I got Kelly Buchberger as he crossed Boylston Street. He signed the 3 cards I had with me. Also there was Steve McKenna, who also signed all 3 cards I had of him. I waited around for another hour in case any players returned, then left at about 8:30.
I returned to the Lenox the next morning, at 9 am. There was a bigger crowd this time-- about 12 or so of us. First out was Tom Kotsopoulos, but I had nothing for him. Next was Drake Berehowsky, who hurried to a cab, but still signed one for everyone. The bus arrived, and Randy Hillier was the first to board, signing a card for each of us. Marc Bergevin was next, signing all 3 of my cards of him. Kelly Buchberger once again signed 3 cards for me. Milan Kraft and Brian Holzinger came out together, and each signed 2 for me. Hall of Famer and assistant coach Joe Mullen came out next, and signed one for everyone. Notice to all out there, he insists on personalizing pucks. Mike Eastwood was next, signing 2 of my 3 cards. Head coach Ed Olczyk was next, signing one for some, then getting on the bus. I was lucky enough to get one from him. Next came Bob Errey. He was a real asshole today. While signing, he asked "What do you guys do with these things?" One answered simply "We collect them." Errey then went on a long rant on how if you don't sell them, then you can just send to the team for autographs. He still signed one for everyone. He signed the wrong one for me, so I got Tino to get Errey to sign the right one. So he did 2 for me overall. Aleksey Morozov was the next one out with Dick Tarnstrom. I had nothing for Tarnstrom, but got Morozov to sign a card. One more time, Rico Fata signed 3 cards for me, as did goalie Jean-Sebastian Aubin. Last to come was Hall of Fame General Manager Craig Patrick, who signed one for everyone, as well as stopping for pictures. TOTALS: 40 autographs from 17 players.
RIP Brad McCrimmon. I haven't used the term "jerseys" since you corrected me.
Atlanta Thrashers, 2/3/04
Marriott
Game 7 pm
I went to the Marriott on Monday at 4 pm. The team, it turns out, arrived the night before and practiced at Northeastern. A few of them walked the mall. First to be spotted were Frederic Cassivi and Francis Lessard. Lessard signed my photo of the 02-03 Chicago Wolves, and Cassivi a card. Next was Zdenek Blatny, who signed a photo. We followed Byron Dafoe toward the Prudential Center mall, and he signed a card for each of us. Next was assistant coach Brad McCrimmon. A great guy, he signed 9 cards for me. He pointed out his 90-91 Score and 91-92 Pro Set cards as his favorites, the Pro Set because of the old jerseys the players were in. Or, "sweaters," as he corrected me. We waited downstairs, and I missed Ivan Majesky and Ronald Petrovicky as I tripped and fell on my way out to get them. Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov requested extra security guards so they didn't have to sign for us. I missed Marc Savard on his way into the mall, but got him to sign a card upon returning. Frantisek Kaberle signed my only card of him, and Patrik Stefan signed 3 outside while waiting for a cab. Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre signed my only card of him on his way out to a cab, as did Tomas Kloucek.
I returned at 9 am. The players paraded, unfortunately. I was able to get Shawn McEachern to sign 3 cards, and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre to do one. Finally, we got Kovalchuk to sign as he came out at the back of the pack. However, I got stiffed by Dany Heatley, the last to leave. TOTALS: 25 autographs from 12 players.
Boston: colder than Sweden.
Florida Panthers, 2/22/04
Marriott
Game 7 pm
I went to the Marriott on Sunday at around 2:30 pm. The small media bus was first to arrive (around 3:30) , and I was able to get Denis Potvin coming off it. He signed 2 cards for me. I got Nathan Horton off the bus to sign a puck for me. First to come inside the mall were Vaclav Nedorost, Lukas Krajicek, and Juraj Kolnik. Each signed my only card of them. Next came Matt Cullen, Branislav Mezei, and Steve Shields. Cullen signed one, Mezei two, and unfortunately, my paint pen was giving me grief, so I missed Shields. Next up was All-Star Olli Jokinen. He signed a card for each of us. Security kicked us out, and we moved downstairs, then outside. Out there, I was able to get Byron Ritchie on two cards, and Marcus Nilson on one. Marcus, hailing from Sweden, tried to claim "It's cold out" in order not to sign (Nilson was shipped off to Calgary a few weeks later. Cold enough for ya now Marcus?). Last to come was Valeri Bure, who signed a puck for me.
Sometimes, life gets in the way of things. Also, I love Burke's comment.
Philadelphia Flyers, 2/27-28/04
Ritz-Carlton
Game 1pm
I swear, I'm never going to class on a day a visiting team is practicing. In addition, I'm not scheduling a band practice EVER when a team is coming in. Because of these, I missed half the team. Friday, I missed the Flyers practice (several people got sticks from players and tons of autographs from everyone), and missed them coming back by a matter of minutes. I arrived at the Ritz at around 4 pm. I was able to get Joni Pitkanen to sign 2 pucks. After him, Alexei Zhamnov signed 2 cards, and Radovan Somik signed 1. Craig Hartsburg signed all 8 cards I had for him. Sean Burke was next out. He did 2 cards for me, and a puck I had my friend Nick get him on. After a long wait, John LeClair came out, signing 2 pucks for me. Last for the day was Claude Lapointe, who signed my 3 cards.
The next day, I returned at 8:45 am. First out was Brian Propp, who signed all 9 cards I had of him. Bobby Clarke was next, signing a puck. Not long after him was assistant coach Terry Murray, who signed my 2 cards. The bus arrived, and all 17 of us went over. I got in a poor position, unfortunately. I was able to get Robert Esche on 3 cards, then Alexei Zhamnov on 2 pucks. Sean Burke signed my Florida Panthers puck ("I forgot I played there," he said, laughing) and Simon Gagne signed a puck as well. Last was Marcus Ragnarsson on a card. I missed out on everyone else, thanks to my crappy positioning (at a crappy hotel).
You have to love when players have good attitudes about signing. Take Peter Bondra, for instance...
Ottawa Senators, 3/23/04
Ritz-Carlton
7 pm game
Not as good as last trip. Most of the team signed, but the crowd was bigger and players had a team dinner. New addition of Bondra is good (He had a phone call and stopped to say "Hey let me call you back, I'm busy signing;" he also accidentally started signing the wrong card-- one of Todd White-- stopped, apologized profusely, and signed another card. I was able to remove the autograph and later get it signed by White.) but otherwise, the team wasn't as good as on previous trips. Managed to get Rob Ray on a puck, which is a victory in and of itself. When I asked him, he said Joe Kocur is, by far, the hardest puncher he's ever fought, even moreso than Tony Twist who broke his orbital bone.
Tie Domi. If you rearrange the letters in his name, you get "me idiot."
Toronto Maple Leafs, 3/25/04
Ritz-Carlton
7 pm game
Again, blown off by most of the team, but I did finally get Tie Domi. While I was standing with another collector, Domi came out and the guy called out to him saying "Please, Tie, I've never gotten you before!" He stopped at the door to the bus and said "Never? You've never gotten me? Alright, but don't ever ask me again." Domi signed one per for everyone and went back to the bus. At the door he turned back again and said-- "Remember, don't ever ask again" and got on. Whatever, I'll take it. And I'll certainly ask again. Back to back minor victories in getting some of my all-time favorite fighters.
I did some baseball hounding too, but didn't write about individual outings. I did at least do a half-assed rating.
2004, The good (consistent signers), the bad (never sign), and the ugly (VERY hard to get):
GOOD: Tom Foley (Tampa Bay coach and former MLB infielder), Sean Burroughs (San Diego 3B), Barry Zito (Oakland pitcher), Dan Gladden (Former MLB outfielder, Twins announcer), Danys Baez (Tampa Bay pitcher), Milt Thompson (Former MLB outfielder and Phillies coach), most of the New York Yankees (Joe Torre, Jon Lieber, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill, Miguel Cairo, Tony Clark, Ruben Sierra, John Flaherty, Bubba Crosby, Dioner Navarro, Tanyon Sturtze, Orlando Hernandez, and Mel Stottlemyer all signed a ball for me), Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek.
BAD: Lou Piniella, Mike Lieberthal, most of the Phillies, the rest of the Yankees, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez.
UGLY: Gary Sheffield, Bruce Bochy, Larry Bowa, Mariano Rivera, Hideki Matsui, most of the Red Sox.
2005, Same deal:
GOOD: Casey Blake, Grady Sizemore, Don Mattingly, Jamey Wright, Johnny Damon, Lynn Jones, Aaron Boone, C.C. Sabathia, Kevin Millwood, Josh Bard, Jason Stanford, Robby Thompson, Jeff Datz, Dan Williams, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, Scott Elarton, Bob Hoery, David Riske, Fernando Cabrera, Matt Miller, Steve Karsay.
BAD: Jhonny Peralta, Jose Hernandez, Alex Cora, Jody Gerut, Buddy Bell, Joel Skinner, Eddie Murray, Rafael Betancourt, Arthur Rhodes, Juan Gonzalez, Mike Scioscia, Bengie Molina, all of the Yankees, all of the Red Sox not named Johnny Damon.
UGLY: Alex Rodriguez, Victor Martinez, Ben Broussard, Eric Wedge, Ron Belliard, Coco Crisp, Travis Hafner, Jake Westbrook, Jason Dubois.
That's enough for now. I'll post more from the old days in Boston and Cleveland later. Maybe even some from my few Texas outings before TCG came into existence.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Hounding Report: Fort Worth vs. San Angelo, August 11; plus some hockey hounding recon
On Thursday, I got a text from Chris (whom I know I've mentioned on here a few times) asking if I wanted to go over to Fort Worth for a quick, impromptu hounding session on the Fort Worth Cats on Sunday. It was the final home series for the team and so if I wanted to get my Jim Essian cards signed, I should consider going. Additionally, former Indians manager Doc Edwards is the San Angelo manager so I could likely get him too.
Sadly, I only had 1 card of Essian and two of Edwards. On the plus side, it gave me a good excuse to run down to Duane's. I was able to find a 1965 Edwards card, as well as another 8 Essian cards, so I was all set. Cost me $3. Of course, I bought other items too to push my total up to about $20, but whatever. It's a card store, I'm bound to find other things I can't possibly live without, like two boxes of 7th Inning Sketch QMJHL cards from 1990-91 at $5 each.
Anyways, we got to the ballpark in Fort Worth early enough that we were able to find Essian in the stands watching warmups. He was cool about signing and chatting with us, and signed all nine cards I had on me. As a former catcher back in my Little League days, I always like adding catchers to my collection-- especially former Indians' catchers.
After Essian, we went to the visitors side and after waiting a while and chatting with a few other collectors (including one who writes for The Hardball Times), out came Edwards. Doc Edwards has been in baseball for 57 years now, at least ten of which were spent with the Indians organization. Five members of his 1988 Indians are now big-league managers (hitting coach Charlie Manuel, pitcher Bud Black, first baseman Terry Francona, pitcher John Farrell, and shortstop Ron Washington).
Slowly, about 15 minutes before the start of the game, Edwards made his way out, stopping to chat with us and sign our cards. I mentioned to him that I was an Indians fan from back when he was managing there, that I was a huge Cory Snyder fan. He said Snyder is a great guy and that his daughter, Amberley, was involved in a serious car accident a few years ago-- I wasn't aware of it. She was a champion horse rider and was on her way to Colorado when her horse trailer flipped in Wyoming and sent her off the road. She survived, but is unfortunately a paraplegic following the accident. He said they are doing well though, and a quick Google search showed that Amberley is back to riding once again. Cory is currently the hitting coach for the Jackson Generals, AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
After walking around a bit, we saw former Rangers' pitcher DeWayne Vaughan, in town to watch his son play ball before heading back to Colorado where he currently works in the oil business. I was out of cards of him, but fortunately Chris had an extra one for me. He signed for us and spent a good chunk of a half inning chatting with us.
So not a bad day at all. Added 13 autographs to the collection, and if any of the Cats or Colts had cards, I'm sure I could have gotten plenty more. Plus Chris hooked me up with a bunch (11, to be exact, aside from the Vaughan card) for doing the driving.
Continuing on to the second half of this entry, I got to do a little recon on potential hotel hounding of hockey and basketball teams this season. I'm not going to mention the names of the places, but they're not too hard to find or figure out. The reports I've heard are pretty accurate though: these places do not appear grapher-friendly at all. That doesn't mean I won't try them out though. It's $5 to get downtown and at the worst, I go, I get no autographs, I spend a chunk of the day in the middle of Dallas, grab a bite to eat, maybe finally get around to going to the Sixth Floor Museum, or the art museum, or whatever sounds good, then I head home.
Walked four miles total yesterday in 100-degree heat while hauling a computer and external hard drive while scoping it all out. I also spent some time at the library for a large research project that I'm hoping could turn into a full-fledged book. We'll see what happens, but I'm at least off to an excellent start with it.
Sadly, I only had 1 card of Essian and two of Edwards. On the plus side, it gave me a good excuse to run down to Duane's. I was able to find a 1965 Edwards card, as well as another 8 Essian cards, so I was all set. Cost me $3. Of course, I bought other items too to push my total up to about $20, but whatever. It's a card store, I'm bound to find other things I can't possibly live without, like two boxes of 7th Inning Sketch QMJHL cards from 1990-91 at $5 each.
Anyways, we got to the ballpark in Fort Worth early enough that we were able to find Essian in the stands watching warmups. He was cool about signing and chatting with us, and signed all nine cards I had on me. As a former catcher back in my Little League days, I always like adding catchers to my collection-- especially former Indians' catchers.
After Essian, we went to the visitors side and after waiting a while and chatting with a few other collectors (including one who writes for The Hardball Times), out came Edwards. Doc Edwards has been in baseball for 57 years now, at least ten of which were spent with the Indians organization. Five members of his 1988 Indians are now big-league managers (hitting coach Charlie Manuel, pitcher Bud Black, first baseman Terry Francona, pitcher John Farrell, and shortstop Ron Washington).
Slowly, about 15 minutes before the start of the game, Edwards made his way out, stopping to chat with us and sign our cards. I mentioned to him that I was an Indians fan from back when he was managing there, that I was a huge Cory Snyder fan. He said Snyder is a great guy and that his daughter, Amberley, was involved in a serious car accident a few years ago-- I wasn't aware of it. She was a champion horse rider and was on her way to Colorado when her horse trailer flipped in Wyoming and sent her off the road. She survived, but is unfortunately a paraplegic following the accident. He said they are doing well though, and a quick Google search showed that Amberley is back to riding once again. Cory is currently the hitting coach for the Jackson Generals, AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
After walking around a bit, we saw former Rangers' pitcher DeWayne Vaughan, in town to watch his son play ball before heading back to Colorado where he currently works in the oil business. I was out of cards of him, but fortunately Chris had an extra one for me. He signed for us and spent a good chunk of a half inning chatting with us.
So not a bad day at all. Added 13 autographs to the collection, and if any of the Cats or Colts had cards, I'm sure I could have gotten plenty more. Plus Chris hooked me up with a bunch (11, to be exact, aside from the Vaughan card) for doing the driving.
Continuing on to the second half of this entry, I got to do a little recon on potential hotel hounding of hockey and basketball teams this season. I'm not going to mention the names of the places, but they're not too hard to find or figure out. The reports I've heard are pretty accurate though: these places do not appear grapher-friendly at all. That doesn't mean I won't try them out though. It's $5 to get downtown and at the worst, I go, I get no autographs, I spend a chunk of the day in the middle of Dallas, grab a bite to eat, maybe finally get around to going to the Sixth Floor Museum, or the art museum, or whatever sounds good, then I head home.
Walked four miles total yesterday in 100-degree heat while hauling a computer and external hard drive while scoping it all out. I also spent some time at the library for a large research project that I'm hoping could turn into a full-fledged book. We'll see what happens, but I'm at least off to an excellent start with it.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Hounding Report: Rangers-Royals, June 1-2
Damn you, Mother Nature.
What started out as pretty decent hounding was again made a bit tough by random rains. They stopped by gametime, but still, it can be hard to work through. I know, everyone in Wichita Falls wishes they had that problem. Too bad.
I had to miss the tunnel Saturday morning as I went to go pick out and order my new glasses. I got some good ones, and they should be done in a week to ten days. After finishing there, I quickly drove back, jumped on the bike and headed for the tunnel. Martin, Ogando, Magadan (DAMMIT), and Moreland all stopped and signed before I got there. Heard George Brett walked through, but no one realized it was him.
On the plus side, as we were leaving for the gates, Colby Lewis came in, and he stopped and signed so I wasn't totally blanked at the tunnel. First time I've ever gotten him and he did all three cards I had on me.
The STH gate didn't open until all the others did, so there was no bonus early admission to be had to help me out. I don't get it: why bother having it for only certain games? Of what I've heard compared to previous years, the perks for having season tickets have gotten less and less every year. Add in the fact that the Rangers are now towing people who arrive early to hound the tunnel and it seems they're really starting to take their fans for granted. Let's see what happens if and when the team finds itself back in the cellar.
Things were pretty good inside for the most part when we could dodge the raindrops. Luis Mendoza signed the three cards I had on me to start things out. Unfortunately it was also DairyMax Weekend, featuring a cow milking contest and an egg toss contest. And where did they do it? Right down the left field line. Despite this, I did manage to get Aaron Crow on a card, along with bullpen coach Doug Henry on three. As Arron and I tried to figure out who to try to get from the cow-milkers and egg-tossers, he looked over and saw Eric Hosmer signing for Chris. So we bolted over and got there in time, signing one for each of us. Bruce Chen had shot me down earlier down the line, but signed at the dugout on one of the two cards I had (doubles of his 1999 UD Choice-- so I'm not sure if he's one-per, or no-doubles).
Elliot Johnson took part in the egg-toss and signed the two cards I had of him. Finishing off the day was Rusty Kuntz, who signed the three cards I had of him.
I also picked up a few hockey ones: Arron got me three Stephane Robidas cards from a 50/50 we did, and I also got a set hit that I bought from a member of the TTM Hockey board who is selling off her collection with a baby on the way. I also bought a GU Jeff Odgers from her, and she tossed in some random unsigned cards as well.
During Saturday's game, we hoped maybe we could get Mark McLemore after he finished the fifth inning broadcast. Unfortunately he came out with his hands full and gave us a "Not now, guys." He's there every game though, so I'm sure I'll get him sometime this season. I got him once last year on four cards anyway.
After the game, we got a tip on where the Royals were staying, so we drove out to their hotel. All I can say is if it's the Four Seasons in Irving, don't bother. We got there, realized there was no way in hell we'd get anyone, and just decided to go grab dinner and call it a night.
Sunday, I figured I'd skip the game and just hit the tunnel. Seeing as it's a Sunday, there would be a pre-game parade on the field for some group, they were sold out of cheap tickets, and I didn't really need anyone badly anyway. The tunnel has largely sucked on Sundays, but we did at least get a few today. Ron Washington signed three, as did Jason Frasor. We also got lucky as Royals manager Ned Yost walked out, signing the four cards I had of him. Total for the weekend: 27 baseball, 4 hockey.
When he put the Sharpie to my 1985 Fleer card, Ned Yost became the 1000th signed baseball card in my collection.
What started out as pretty decent hounding was again made a bit tough by random rains. They stopped by gametime, but still, it can be hard to work through. I know, everyone in Wichita Falls wishes they had that problem. Too bad.
I had to miss the tunnel Saturday morning as I went to go pick out and order my new glasses. I got some good ones, and they should be done in a week to ten days. After finishing there, I quickly drove back, jumped on the bike and headed for the tunnel. Martin, Ogando, Magadan (DAMMIT), and Moreland all stopped and signed before I got there. Heard George Brett walked through, but no one realized it was him.
On the plus side, as we were leaving for the gates, Colby Lewis came in, and he stopped and signed so I wasn't totally blanked at the tunnel. First time I've ever gotten him and he did all three cards I had on me.
The STH gate didn't open until all the others did, so there was no bonus early admission to be had to help me out. I don't get it: why bother having it for only certain games? Of what I've heard compared to previous years, the perks for having season tickets have gotten less and less every year. Add in the fact that the Rangers are now towing people who arrive early to hound the tunnel and it seems they're really starting to take their fans for granted. Let's see what happens if and when the team finds itself back in the cellar.
Things were pretty good inside for the most part when we could dodge the raindrops. Luis Mendoza signed the three cards I had on me to start things out. Unfortunately it was also DairyMax Weekend, featuring a cow milking contest and an egg toss contest. And where did they do it? Right down the left field line. Despite this, I did manage to get Aaron Crow on a card, along with bullpen coach Doug Henry on three. As Arron and I tried to figure out who to try to get from the cow-milkers and egg-tossers, he looked over and saw Eric Hosmer signing for Chris. So we bolted over and got there in time, signing one for each of us. Bruce Chen had shot me down earlier down the line, but signed at the dugout on one of the two cards I had (doubles of his 1999 UD Choice-- so I'm not sure if he's one-per, or no-doubles).
Elliot Johnson took part in the egg-toss and signed the two cards I had of him. Finishing off the day was Rusty Kuntz, who signed the three cards I had of him.
I also picked up a few hockey ones: Arron got me three Stephane Robidas cards from a 50/50 we did, and I also got a set hit that I bought from a member of the TTM Hockey board who is selling off her collection with a baby on the way. I also bought a GU Jeff Odgers from her, and she tossed in some random unsigned cards as well.
During Saturday's game, we hoped maybe we could get Mark McLemore after he finished the fifth inning broadcast. Unfortunately he came out with his hands full and gave us a "Not now, guys." He's there every game though, so I'm sure I'll get him sometime this season. I got him once last year on four cards anyway.
After the game, we got a tip on where the Royals were staying, so we drove out to their hotel. All I can say is if it's the Four Seasons in Irving, don't bother. We got there, realized there was no way in hell we'd get anyone, and just decided to go grab dinner and call it a night.
Sunday, I figured I'd skip the game and just hit the tunnel. Seeing as it's a Sunday, there would be a pre-game parade on the field for some group, they were sold out of cheap tickets, and I didn't really need anyone badly anyway. The tunnel has largely sucked on Sundays, but we did at least get a few today. Ron Washington signed three, as did Jason Frasor. We also got lucky as Royals manager Ned Yost walked out, signing the four cards I had of him. Total for the weekend: 27 baseball, 4 hockey.
When he put the Sharpie to my 1985 Fleer card, Ned Yost became the 1000th signed baseball card in my collection.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
First session: failed. Second session: coming soon!
After getting off work last night, I quickly packed up and took off on a quest to find the Angels' hotel.
Unfortunately, I had no luck. Part of the problem is that I'm moving to an area that is spread out, and I have no knowledge of the local hotels. In Boston, everything was compact and walkable, and there were a bunch of hotels to try out. It didn't take long for me to know who stayed where.
In the Dallas area, it's more spread out. Arlington is good size, but it's not a major metropolis on its own. There are two hotels near the ballpark in the Sheraton and Hilton. I walked to the Sheraton (about a mile, not too bad), but they weren't there. They used to stay there, but apparently they no longer do. I called, nothing. Called the Hilton, nothing there either. I don't feel like jumping in the car and driving anywhere else, so I think I'll just chalk up this one as a big ol' zero and hope for the best tomorrow at the tunnel. Maybe a player or two might cab in and I can get them. Not betting on it though.
But first, I get a brief session today. I found out Ferguson Jenkins is doing a signing in Arlington, so I'm going to go for that. I need him for my Topps All-Time Fan Favorites sets. Maybe I can go through the line twice. If not, just one is a good start. I thought about hitting the tunnel, but after weighing my options and talking to Arron, Jenkins wins out. It's not often he signs for free, and a guaranteed shot at a HOF'er is better than an unlikely shot at current players I'll see plenty more times this season and probably next.
After that, a stop by the card store, and then prepare for the tunnel tomorrow. I'll try to post a pic of whatever Ferg signs for me.
I'm finally back in the hounding game again. I love it.
Unfortunately, I had no luck. Part of the problem is that I'm moving to an area that is spread out, and I have no knowledge of the local hotels. In Boston, everything was compact and walkable, and there were a bunch of hotels to try out. It didn't take long for me to know who stayed where.
In the Dallas area, it's more spread out. Arlington is good size, but it's not a major metropolis on its own. There are two hotels near the ballpark in the Sheraton and Hilton. I walked to the Sheraton (about a mile, not too bad), but they weren't there. They used to stay there, but apparently they no longer do. I called, nothing. Called the Hilton, nothing there either. I don't feel like jumping in the car and driving anywhere else, so I think I'll just chalk up this one as a big ol' zero and hope for the best tomorrow at the tunnel. Maybe a player or two might cab in and I can get them. Not betting on it though.
But first, I get a brief session today. I found out Ferguson Jenkins is doing a signing in Arlington, so I'm going to go for that. I need him for my Topps All-Time Fan Favorites sets. Maybe I can go through the line twice. If not, just one is a good start. I thought about hitting the tunnel, but after weighing my options and talking to Arron, Jenkins wins out. It's not often he signs for free, and a guaranteed shot at a HOF'er is better than an unlikely shot at current players I'll see plenty more times this season and probably next.
After that, a stop by the card store, and then prepare for the tunnel tomorrow. I'll try to post a pic of whatever Ferg signs for me.
I'm finally back in the hounding game again. I love it.
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