2012 Travelers Celebrity Pro-Am

I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning to go to the event I had been waiting for over the last few months. I had never gone to a golf tournament, but I wanted to give it a try since I am a golf fan, and there were some interesting celebrities to graph as well.

I decided that in this entry, I will not go in order of when I got guys, but just go from the bad stuff to the great stuff.

For players that I did not have a photo for, I just used the autograph cards I had. I got an assortment of guys on those, most notably:

Hunter Mahan:

Lucas Glover:

2010 Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen:

I got a lot of programs signed, they were free, and a nice item to get done.

Uconn Men's Associate H.C. George Blainey and Women's Associate H.C. Chris Dailey:

Bo Van Pelt, Fredrik Jacobson:

Rory Sabbatini:

2011 PGA Champion, Keegan Bradley, very nice guy:

2009 PGA Champion, Y.E. Yang:

ESPN Legend, Chris Berman:

And now for the nicest items, the photos!

"The Voice" season 1 winner, and CT native, Javier Colon:

Once again, Keegan Bradley:
He never looked up so it was incredibly easy to dip:

Padraig Harrington:

I went for the dip and he wouldn't do it.

Hunter Mahan again:

WWE Legend, Booker T!

Booker was probably one of the nicest people there, he really liked the photo.

2X Grammy Winner, Michael Bolton. His manager kept telling him to stop, but he signed for like 10 people when I got him, I wish I got him on something nicer but I just planned to get him last night:

Louis Oosthuizen:

Basketball Hall of Famer, and Uconn coaching legend, Geno Auriemma, his counterpart Calhoun dropped out of the tournament so he was a no show. I got him to add the HOF inscription on the first one:

Sunday's U.S. Open Champion, Webb Simpson:

And now for the best stuff. I had jussst missed Doug Flutie when he was coming out and leaving practice, but I was able to get him during the round:

Flutie was really, really great today about signing, I was worried that I just was unlucky, but I was glad that I was able to land him coming off the green on 9.

Two words... Bubba Watson. To say that EVERYBODY wanted him at the tournament would be a drastic understatement. He had said early in the day, that he would sign off of the last hole, and he was not lying. Hundreds of people pushed to get him(I had gotten a great spot against the rail, about 45 minutes before he would be leaving. He skipped around A lot, but did sign a lot, and when he came over to me I was so happy:

To give you a sense of how crazy it was, I couldn't move at all for 10 minutes after I got him

I was interviewed by NBCCT and was on the 11 a.m. news, so that was cool.

In other news, Bill Murray made a complete ass out of himself towards people.

I did get very close to Ray Allen, but he didn't sign yet this week, he's tough as it is, never mind with the injury.

Total Autographs at the Event:43

Total Autographs for 2012:434

Aaron Hernandez and Niko Koutouvides @ Mohegan Sun 6/16/12

On Saturday I went over to Mohegan Sun again to meet CT natives Aaron Hernandez and Niko Koutouvides. I was excited to meet Hernandez, because even though I am a Jets fan, he is my favorite Patriots player.

I got to the casino around 11:45 for the 2:00 signing, and was about 40 people back.

It was really loose security, and they signed whatever you had. I forgot my nice Hernandez 8x10 at home, but luckily I had another photo in my bag.

The only bad thing about these casino signings is the countless clueless/drunk/stupid people who walk up to people in line asking,"Who are all these people waiting for?" Especially when there are signs and ads on videoboards.

I got Niko on the giveaway photo:

Both guys were really nice, I wish I had brought my best photo, but no big deal.

I'm doing the Travelers all day Wednesday, see you there!

Total Autographs for 2012:391

Pawtucket Vs. Gwinnett 6/12/12

Yesterday I went over to McCoy again to try and get Mark Prior and Daniel Bard. I hadn't had any luck at night with either, so I figured my best shot was to get them going in.

Mark Prior was one of the first players to show up, and he was very nice as I had heard. He signed 1/2 cards, which is not a big deal, but there were only 4 of us.

 Daniel Bard was one of the last players in, but he is one of the more interesting guys that I got so I will talk about this encounter now.

"Daniel can you please sign?"
"Didn't I get all of you guys yesterday?"
"I've never gotten you(truth)."

He then came over and did 1 per. None of the 4 that were there, including me, were there the previous day...

 Next up was Gerald Perry, I'm finally done with cards for him(for now):

Another surprise yesterday was that Lars Anderson was actually NICE, any other day he is the biggest jerk you could ever meet:

Another weird encounter was with Clay Mortenson. He definitely remembers me at this point and I couldn't tell if he was joking around with us or being serious that he knew us:

 I added Doug Mathis to my team ball, which now has 19 players:

 I once again got Alex Wilson, who has been really nice this season:

Tony Thomas signed my team setter from last season:

The last Pawtucket guy from yesterday was Che-Hsuan Lin:

Off Gwinnett's bus, I was able to land former Oriole great,Felix Pie

As well as Jose Constanza who has played last year, as well as this year for the Braves, batting .291 in the majors:

This was the first time I had ever used,"signature cards" they are a nice alternative to use if you have nothing for a player.

I came back to hang my board before the game and did pretty well:

From top to bottom I got:
Jamie Dismuke
Lance Zawadski
Buddy Carlyle
Josh Wilson
Tyler Pastornicky
Jose Constanza
Jose Lugo

As I was pulling up my board, I felt a tug, and looked down, and Luis Durango had attached this to it:

 It was funny because when I pulled it up he looked up and made sure I liked it, he's a pretty nice guy.

Total Autographs at this game:24
Total Autographs for 2012:387

The Jose Canseco Project 6/11/12

I have been wanting for weeks to head up to Worcester to see the infamous, Jose Canseco. It is well known that Canseco has a very bad attitude, and is even a little crazy about certain things. Tonight was not easy at all, but in the end, I walked out happy.

This was a double header, so I wasn't sure if he would stay for both games, but he indeed appeared in both.

Attempt #1:I walked into the stadium, and Jose was warming up down the line. When he was finished, I politely asked him to sign(I was literally the only person trying at this point). He said,"After the game."

As I was walking away, this I suppose 25-30 year old guy stopped me and said,"I got 3 cards signed earlier, would you like one?" I found this to be very generous from a stranger. I thanked him and went and watched game 1.

 Attempt #2: As Worcester was walking off the field I tried to get Jose to sign again, but this time he ignored me.

Attempt #3: I wandered outside and waited outside their "clubhouse" which is basically a trailer for him to come out. After about 5 minutes or so of waiting, a man came up to me and explained to me that I couldn't be there. I tried to talk him into it but he didn't seem to have any of it. He was polite though. He was asking how I got out there like I breached Fort Knox or something though.

Attempt #4: After game 2 warm ups, I again asked Jose to sign and got,"AFTER THE GAME!"

Attempt #5 After the game, I sneaked back to the club house and asked Jose to sign as he went off the field. He said,"When I come out."

Success: Jose, maybe 10-15 minutes later came out, and said,"Okay let's go." And signed my 2 Sports Illustrateds.


This made for a longgggg and annoying night, but in the end I got what I went for.

 Total Autographs For 2012:363

Pawtucket Vs. Gwinnett Braves 6/10/12

As I walked inside today, I was excited when I looked at the field because Daniel Bard was exercising. When he finished, I asked him to sign, he said,"No I have to go to a meeting." He then threw me a baseball. Obviously I was disappointed, but hey nothing I could do.

After this happened, I went to hang my team sheet and got 6 different guys:

1)Kris Medlen
2)Pitching Coach,Marty Reed
3)Jose Lugo
4)Dusty Hughes
5)Manager, Dave Brundage
6)Shawn McGill


I also was able to get the Braves #7 Prospect, Tyler Pastornicky on the ball Bard gave me:

 Felix Pie signed, but only for 2 people.

Post Game was much better, I did a team sheet again:

Top:Pitching Coach, Jamie Dismuke
Bottom Left: Anthony Varvaro
Bottom Right:A really rushed Luis Durango


Tyler Pastornicky again:

I did pretty well with Pawtucket, the usuals didn't sign i.e. Iglesias & friends.

Neither Daniel Bard or Mark Prior signed, however I was told both did coming in.

Will Inman:

Clayton Mortenson:

Jon Hee:

 Finally, I got Ryan Kalish again. He asked me how I was doing, and he seemed to like our photo:

Autographs at this game:32

Total Autographs For 2012:361

Pawtucket Vs. Indianapolis 6/5/12

My month has started out really slow, but I made it out to Pawtucket last night for the first time in a while. Indianapolis is in town, and unluckily the main guy I wanted to meet, Alex Presley was called up Monday night to Piitsburgh. Starling Marte was there though who was still a nice target

I only did post game outside, and I started a "team ball", since I am going back tonight. On the team ball, I got:
Chase d'Arnaud,Rudy Owens:

Anderson Hernandez:

Evan Meek:

Eric Fryer, Jose Diaz(Diaz is probably the biggest baseball player I have ever met, he is listed at 6'4 300)

Then I got the Pirates' 4th Top Prospect Starling Marte, normally I wouldn't have got him on a ball, but I had a slightly smudged one from a box I had, plus he's a good prospect:

Ryan Kalish took a long time to come out, because he was watching the Celtics beat the heat. But when he came out, he was extremely nice, maybe even nicer than in the past. It's nice to see him back, because I was at the game last May when he got hurt and it was not fun to watch. I hope he makes it back to Boston soon.:

I saw Mark Prior but he was being interviewed and ignored the few graphers, hopefully I can get him soon.

Total Autographs for 2012:329

Featured Team #1 Cleveland Indians

"Featured team" is going to be a new series that I do, that will highlight the players I have met/have gotten an autograph of on major league teams. I did a random draw on random.org, and the first team I got was the Cleveland Indians.

Total Players I have met on this team:6

Justin Masterson: Justin is one of the nicest players out there, I met him while he was in AAA a number of years ago, playing for Pawtucket, and he was always a class act. Justin also signs anything you send him in the mail, and quickly I must add.

 Jack Hannahan: Again, just a really nice guy. I also met him when he was playing for Pawtucket in 2010. I got to talk to him a bit one time, and he was actually interested in the conversation. If it were not for Rhode Island's favorite security guard, I would have also gotten a picture with him.

Asdrubal Cabrera: This one was a really long time ago at the Eastern League All Star Game at Dodd Stadium. It was an on-field signing, and I got him in the program they handed out with every player in it.

Jeanmar Gomez: I got to meet him last year when he was pitching for Columbus, nothing special about the story, decent guy though.

Scott Barnes: This one was actually just a few weeks ago, when Columbus came through Pawtucket.

Johnny Damon. I picked up a card at a show a long time ago, I would love to meet him one day as he was an intricate part of the 2004 team.