Saturday, December 5, 2009

Former "Eric the Red" Davis at Redsfest

This weekend was the Cincinnati Reds' annual fan convention, Redsfest. Interactive games, displays, photographs and autographs highlight this fan fest, which is one of the best in all of baseball. I arrived at the convention, surveyed the convention and spotted that Eric Davis was signing for fans at an autograph booth. The line was already cut off and no one else was being permitted to enter the line for Davis' autograph. About the same time, I saw Tom Browning and headed over to the small group accumulated for him. Browning had a drink in his hand, so when I asked him to sign my bobble head I offered to hold his drink for him. He handed me the drink and I joked that I was of legal age so it was okay. Browning inked the bobble head nicely on the cap and it will make a fine addition to my collection. I quickly headed back over to Davis, who was still sitting at the table in the autograph booth. He was talking to a girl and I asked him if he would please autograph my photo. Davis asked rather grouchily, "Where were you before?" Davis is somewhat difficult in-person and often times complains but ultimately relents and signs. I responded jokingly, "I had to get Tracy Jones." "Tracy Jones!" Eric responded. He then took my blue sharpie and signed my photo. Davis put the pen down, turned his head away and started talking to a lady seated next to him. I thanked him (even though he wasn't even paying attention anymore) and went on my way. Davis is always somewhat arrogant so the experience is about what I expected.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Tom Wopat and The Dukes of Hazzard

Growing up in the early 1980's, there was no bigger show on television than "The Dukes of Hazzard". Depicting Bo and Luke Duke, along with their cousin Daisy, the show generally featured an adventure that ultimately ended up with the brothers running from the law. However, the true star of the show was the orange "General Lee" car that they drove. Making death-defying leaps and jumps, the heroics of the "General Lee" were playground fodder with kids mimicking and reenacting the stunts over recesses. "Dukes of Hazzard" was simply something that a kid never missed on Friday nights at 8:00 pm.

This weekend the touring musical "Chicago" is performing all weekend long at the Aronoff Center here in Cincinnati. One of the stars of the show is Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke on "The Dukes of Hazzard" television program. I arrived armed with some great cast shots from the show. "Chicago" ended around 10:30 pm and in a matter of less than five minutes, Tom Wopat was standing at the merchandise booth. There was a variety of "Chicago" merchandise for sale, as well as three of Wopat's music CD's. As people purchased CD's for $20.00 each, Tom generously asked their name and autographed their purchase. I approached Wopat, mentioning to him that I had met him several years ago after a show with the Cincinnati Symphony at Music Hall, in which he had appeared with his co-star John Schneider. He remembered that show and I asked if he would autograph my photographs. Wopat graciously signed all five with the black Sharpie he was holding and on the last one asked me my name. He personalized it, "To Brent, All the Best! Tom Wopat". Another collector I know then posed for a picture with Wopat who then said, "Okay, switch it out", knowing that I wanted a picture with him as well. Getting a photograph with Wopat was cool since Wopat was still wearing the black tuxedo that he wore during the his performance in "Chicago". Appearing at the merchandise booth is definitely a business for Tom Wopat, as he quickly tallied up the number of CD's that he sold with the merchandise booth attendant, even before I was able to leave.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Heading to Notre Dame: Coach Brian Kelly

Much of the talk in the local sports media has been regarding Univeristy of Cincinnati football coach Brian Kelly. As expected, Charlie Weiss was fired as coach of Notre Dame this past Monday and speculation has been rampant for weeks that Coach Kelly would be his successor. Kelly has avoided much of the discussion and has referred to the University of Cincinnati coaching job as a "destination" position, while piling on accolades for the strength of the university's football program.

Brian Kelly's last appearance of the season tonight at the original Montgomery Inn for his weekly radio show, The Brian Kelly Show, might very well be his last appearance ever on 700 WLW FM as UC's coach. Signing autographs during commercial breaks, Kelly was friendly to all who approached him for autographs. I spotted people getting footballs, helmets and caps signed by Kelly, whose reputation is skyrocketing as one of the best up-and-coming coaches nationwide. Kelly signed three photographs in silver sharpie for me with requested personalizations and the "Go Bearcats" moniker. I approached Kelly again with three photographs that he signed as I wished him the best and a Merry Christmas. Kelly used the opportunity to inscribe one of the photos "Merry X-mas, Brian Kelly". Signed in silver Sharpie marker, these are quality items that have a lot of visual appeal.

Ken Broo from channel 5 WLWT interviewed Coach Kelly, immediately after the conclusion of the radio show. After Kelly shook a few hands, as he was departing, I posed for a picture with possibly the next coach of the Notre Dame football team. I hope it's not so, but if I were to venture a guess, I believe Kelly will accept the Notre Dame job when it is offered. For all Coach Brian Kelly has done in building the Bearcats' football program, the fans of Cincinnati should thank him and wish him the best in whichever direction he chooses to go.

The Who Tragedy in Cincinnati

Tonight marked the 30th anniversary of The Who concert tragedy in Cincinnati, Ohio. On December 3, 1979, eleven concert-goers were trampled to death in a crowd that rushed the entrance to the Riverfront Coliseum (now called US Bank Arena) building to get into The Who concert. Many of the details of the evening are still disputed, but this tragedy was a culmination of several unfortunate events with lethal results. WKRP, a popular television show at the time, even had a special and somber episode that paid tribute to the incident. Many safety practices and procedures guiding the operation of concerts to this day are a result of the breaches that occurred that deadly night in Cincinnati.

A glaring injustice is that thirty years after the fact, no memorial, plaque or other destination exists on the site of this great concert tragedy. It truly is a shame as the eleven people who lost their lives that evening were mainly just kids trying to see one of their favorite bands in concert. Here's to hoping that City Council and Hamilton County are able to work together to create some recognition for those who died unnecessarily that fateful night.

I Scored With Bronson Arroyo

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo made an appearance at a Bigg's grocery store to promote an energy health supplement drink. It was a great chance to obtain some Arroyo signatures but apparently the main purpose of the event -to promote the milk-based drink - is for naught, as I can not even recall the actual name of the drink! Scheduled for 5:00-7:00 pm, I has presumed that the attendance might be light at the autograph signing as it was being held on a weekday and at a time when many people are still either at work or on their commute home from work. There also was not a lot of promotion of the event so all this led to a line of approximately 15 people waiting in line when Arroyo arrived. Bronson spent a few minutes talking to a couple of people at the front of the line and then got down to the business at hand. Arroyo had small promotional pictures with him and most everyone in line seemed to have brought multiple items with them for the signing. The line moved slowly as Bronson willingly autographed multiple items and chatted with fans as he signed for them.I approached the table with a variety of photographs and Arroyo immediately loved a cartoon photograph that I presented for signing. Using a blue sharpie, Arroyo inked all seven of my photos with his bold autograph, accompanied with a "61", his uniform number. I waited a few more minutes and went through the line a second time, getting Bronson to autograph my Bronson Arroyo bobble head doll and three more photos (one Reds and two Red Sox). Since the line was non-existent with more than an hour left, I went through a final time giving Arroyo copies of the photographs he liked earlier. He also asked me if I could print a large photo of him as either a member of the Cincinnati or Boston Red Sox for an event being held at his former high school. As I had a stack of over-sized photographs for him to sign this time, I pulled a large photo print of him pitching for the Reds from the stack and handed it to him. He thanked me and willingly signed six more items for me, including three copies of varying sizes of a photograph of Arroyo meeting President George Bush. The former President threw out the first pitch on Opening Day a few years ago so it was cool to get copies of this historical moment autographed. Signed in silver Sharpie, the final result is amazing and Arroyo inked the other three photos in a blue Sharpie.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Sarah Palin Book Signing

On November 20, 2009 Governor Sarah Palin made an appearance at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, Ohio, the fourth stop on her on-going book tour for "Going Rogue". In the week leading up to the event, the book store was pre-selling copies of the book, which included a line number for the book signing. All available pre-sale copies sold briskly and were sold out by the evening of November 16 - more than three days before the event! Luckily, I had a friend who had an extra line number so even though I missed out on the pre-sale, I still had a line number for the event. Each line number entitled the bearer to get two books signed.

As I arrived at the event, just before noon, I spotted the Sarah Palin tour bus in front of me, also arriving at the event. The bus pulled behind the store and Governor Palin was already inside the store by the time I parked and got around to take pictures. Contrary to prior statements that the store would be closed for business, I entered Joseph-Beth Booksellers to find it bursting with people and barely enough room to navigate my way to the autograph line even though I was holding a VIP ticket. Weaving my way through the crowds, I eventually took my advance place in line and awaited my time to meet Governor Palin. The book signing was held in the area at the top of the steps on the second level of the store. The area was surrounded with flowing, blue curtains and Sarah Palin was not even visible until I was at the top of the steps. A table was set up there where any bags or packages were to be checked. We also were reminded constantly that no cameras were allowed and photographs were prohibited once entering the area where Sarah Palin was signing. However, we were informed that a professional photographer would be taking photographs as we met Governor Palin, which would be available for us to access on the internet, afterwards. Two different store staff members made sure that each person had the book turned to the tile page for signing and yet another staff member took each person's book upon approaching the table. As I approached governor Palin, she smiled, looking right at me, extending her hand and asked, "Hello. What's your name?" As we shook hands, I answered and Sarah queried, "What do you do?" I replied, "Small business owner...Here in Cincinnati and in Los Angeles." She asked me, "How are things right now?" "Good, but they would be better with you in office," I responded. Smiling even bigger, Sarah said, "Thank you, that is very sweet of you." Palin signed both of my books with a big, bold signature with the black Sharpie she was wielding. In a moment the moment was over and upon exiting, a staff member handed me a business card with a website that stated that photographs from the event would be available in 5 days. I can say that even today, closing in on two weeks after the fact, the photos have still not been posted to the website: http://www.shealahcraighead.com/. With the book signing scheduled from noon-3:00 pm, Palin's bus pulled up to the backdoor exit of the bookstore a little after 3:00. She came out, got on the bus quickly and it took off for the next stop, a signing that evening in Columbus, Ohio. With well over 1,000 people in attendance, it was amazing to see Governor Palin handle the overwhelming crowds so well and take the time to engage in conversation with attendees. Sarah shook each person's hand before she signing their book and truly seemed to be enjoying the event. It was an honor to meet Governor Palin and I look for her to run for President of the United States in 2012.

A few minutes after the bus departed, a staff member began walking through the store, offering "signed" bookplates to anyone purchasing copies of Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue". Unlike the signatures that Sarah signed earlier that resembled "S-A-P-A-L-I", these were every letter, spelled-out autographs: "S-A-R-A-H-P-A-L-I-N". I was given four of these bookplates and the fact that these were complete, unrushed autographs made them that much more desirable. My elation over these perfect autographs was short-lived, as upon closer inspection the next day, it became apparent that these "signatures" are autopens. All of the bookplate signatures are signed exactly the same and since no one signs exactly the same every time, it is obvious they are autopens. Autopens also exhibit a bit of a mechanical, shaky appearance which was also evident in the bookplate autographs.