SPORTSCASTER'S MEMORABILIA FOR SALE

I am moving out some of the 
CLASSIC SPORTS MEMORABILIA 
that I have collected for the past 40 years.

You can contact me directly about these great, vintage items
 or check out more in my Ebay store at 

http://stores.ebay.com/Top-Notch-Transactions?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

Here are photos of just a couple of the items. 

Check them out and let me know if you are interested. 

Lots more to come. Stay tuned.
**

CAITLIN GOES GOLFING

I had a great time at Sherwood, Country Club, 

last week, covering the

 PowerShares QQQ Championship

 in Thousand Oaks, CA.

The event was part of The Schwab Cup playoffs 

on the Champions "over 50" Tour. 

I got some great interviews with Jesper Parnevik, Billy Andrade, Gene Sauer, Joe Durant and actor Craig T, Nelson.

Speaking of celebrities, Caitlyn Jenner 

showed up Thursday to play in the pro-am event.

She played in a group with Nelson and Jesper Parnevik

I approached Caitlyn for an interview, but she said that she wasn't doing any media that day. Caitlyn did indicate that she might have more to say when her book comes out in April. On this day, Caitlyn was letting her golf game do all the talking...

I'll share some of my golfer interviews in future blogs.

**

VINTAGE VIN SCULLY!

Thanks to Vin Scully for brining decades and decades and

 decades of Dodgers' baseball to our radios and televisions.

The Voice

The Stories

The Style and Class

will never be duplicated.

Happy Retirement, Vin!

BIG, BIG NIGHT AT THE "HALL"!! 9-9-16

SPRINGFIELD, MA.

What a great night at the 

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame!

From Yao Ming to Izzo to A.I. to Swoopes

 and Shaq and everyone in between.

Humor, class, and true human emotions on display. 

Here are some stars and some

 scenes from the scene in Springfield.

Allen Iverson- long and winding speech from the heart.

"John Thompson saved my life!"

"I remember my first game against Mike (Jordan). I couldn't stop looking at him. There was an aura about him. I looked at his shoes and he was wearing Jordans."

 Shaq- Praised his family and entertained the audience. 

He also praised Kobe and jabbed his former teammate

 for getting him traded to Miami.

Yao Ming- Humble and humorous. 

What a shame that his NBA career was cut short by injuries. 

That is Carroll Dawson in the background (dark glass). 

He was the Rockets' GM and was instrumental 

in getting Yao to the USA.

Jerry Colangelo- Mr. USA Basketball and the 

Chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame

Dr. J- Need I say more?

Dale Brown- Shaq's head coach at LSU. 

The man who offered Shaq a scholarship 

when Shaq was a big teenager in Germany.

Dikembe Mutombo- 

Still wagging that big finger for all it is worth!

Draymond Green 

with his Michigan State head coach

 and new Hall of Famer

Tom Izzo

Jerry Reinsdorf- Chicago Bulls' Owner

Delivered one of the best lines of the night.

Regarding bar mitzvahs:

"It is the day when a Jewish boy learns

 that he has a better chance of buying an NBA team

 than he has of playing for one."

Classic Evening!

Great night!

**

THE BIG ORANGE!

It was fun watching Shaq get his Hall of Fame jacket

 and meeting with the media 

at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame 

in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Here is a little clip of my chat with Shaq

https://vimeo.com/182106401

Congratulations Big Guy!

**

MINNESOTA MADNESS?

Sam Bradford might have been the best QB available 

to replace Teddy Bridgewater,

 but the Vikes just gave up a 1st and 4th round pick 

to get an average, overpaid, injury prone QB. 

What? 

Favre and Tebow weren't available?

**

AMERICAN PRIDE!

You have to see this!

 Even if you've already seen it.

 It is worth seeing over and over again.

U.S. Army Reserve 2nd Lieutenant, Sam Kendricks, competed in the pole vault event at the Rio Olympics. Watch what happened when Lt. Kendricks heard our national anthem playing in the arena as he was making a very important approach in his event. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PechzO5LASs

GREAT PRIDE!

BTW- Lt. Kendricks jumped 19 ft  2 1/4 inches in Rio 

and won the bronze medal. 

It was the first American medal in the pole vault since 2004.

I salute you!

**

Today marks the first anniversary show for

 "OPEN SEASON" on KCAA-AM/FM.

Special guest includeOlympic basketball star, Breanna Stewart, Rams' defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and Tim Brown (of Yahoo) joins the show to talk Major League Baseball.

Tune in at 3:05PM (pt) to KCAA-AM-1050/FM-106.5. 

Streaming at www.kcaaradio.com 

** 

IN YOUR FACE- NEW CATCHER'S MASK

We are running a feature on "Open Season" today at 3:05 PM (pt) about a revolutionary new catcher's mask 
that has shock absorbers built into it. 

Tyler Flowers of the Atlanta Braves,
 has been wearing it this season 

and several other MLB catchers and umpires
 are wearing the new gear which is supposed to 

cut down on "impact" by up to 50% over traditional masks.

I'll talk with the inventor of the "Force 3 Pro Gear Defender" mask, Jason Klein, and with Tyler Flowers on "Open Season" today. 
It is a fascinating concept, 
especially with all the current talk about concussions. 

This product just might keep catchers safer and, in the process, keep them on the field. If you have a catcher in your family, I highly recommend that you check out today's show.

Here is the link to to the Force 3 Defender site:

http://www.force3progear.com/masks

Tune in KCAA- AM-1050/FM-106.5 
for "Open Season." 
Streaming at www.kcaaradio.com
**

ALI + ME!

I listened on the radio when he 

knocked out Sonny Liston, but

  I didn't meet Muhammad Ali until 1981 

when he was preparing to fight Trevor Berbick

 in the "DRAMA IN THE BAHAMS" in Nassau. 

It was Ali's comeback bout after losing to Larry Holmes.

We met a few times more. 

This picture from a charity event 

in Los Angeles in the early 1990's. 

The last time I saw Ali was in the mid 1990's

 at a reception for him at the LAX-Hilton. 

He was slowed by Parkinson's, 

but managed to "spar" for a few seconds

 when he entered the ballroom.

 The "champ" worked the room, met his fans.

He spent time talking with my wife and me and 

he graciously signed two pamphlets for my daughters 

and then floated towards the exit.

Ali stopped in the double-doorway 

and with his back turned to all of us, 

the champ stood there for a few moments 

and then "levitated." 

I know it was a trick, but I swear 

that I saw light between the floor and Ali's feet.

When he was convinced that we were all duly dazzled, 

the champ "descended" 

and walked down the hallway into the light.

He was always a showman, even with Parkinson's weighing him down and slowing him up. The disease could quiet his huge voice, and slow his incredible motor skills, but it could never steal his mind, his humor, or his compassion for others.

From a distance, 

I learned a lot of lessons from Muhammad Ali 

and none of them had anything to do with boxing.

You will be greatly missed, champ, 

and you will always be 

"THE GREATEST".

**