My "Press Pass" I Used to Cover KG

The year:  January 1995.  The season--my fifth year.  I needed to write a new story because 1) this is what writers are supposed to do and 2) my team was struggling and I needed something to get me through the most disappointing season of my career.  So I started searching for a subject, and heard about this six-foot-eleven high school senior named Kevin Garnett, who was playing for Farragut Academy on the West Side.  I bolted at the end practice one day (shocking my teammates for I typically was the last one out of the gym).  I jumped into my tiny Honda Civic and raced down to the west side, for what would be one of many trips to cover Kevin, his team, his chances of making it in the NBA.  I had a hard time getting into some games because of the crowds, and more importantly, I wasn't always sure if I could get access with all the media covering and his team like they were rock stars.  A sports info guy who covered our team said he'd take care of me--he made up an official "Northwestern University Press" pass and had a guy from the equipment room laminate it.  My title:  "Urban Affairs Reporter."  

Embarrassed, I showed security this pass on two occasions, and they kind of winced, out of pity, then let me in.  How 'bout that media guide shot?  My curls were out of control.  Imagine those curls shaped into a mullet in the late 80s, a few missing teeth, braces, freckles, and that was me.  Oy oy oy ... 

Celtics Thump Lakers in Final Game...

When people ask me to name my favorite team, I often say, "Whatever team I'm playing on."  No, I'm not a Knicks Fan.  Or a Giants Fan.  No Chicago Bears.  The Yankees don't move me the way they move about 95 percent of this city.  Aside from rooting for the teams where the players are family and friends (and my alma mater, Northwestern University and USA during the Olympics), I've rooted for three teams over the course of my life:  My Team.  Larry Bird's Team.  Kevin Garnett's Team.  Here is my favorite player--and wow, did he get a little nuts in the celebration or what?  I watched the post-game interview, and he told the story about knocking the bully's ass out--that's what he felt like after all these years of being told he couldn't win.

To Celebrate My Birthday

Here are the two people who did all the work to get me here. My dad called me today, reminding me that I was his greatest Father's Day gift. I remember the way my mom would stand in my doorway, and watch me sleep before she called out my name to wake me up, and how she sometimes would crawl into bed with me, even when I was a miserable teenager who wanted to sleep in on a Saturday morning. I woke up this morning, laying in the dark, missing all the nights I used to curl up next to her when she was sick, and rub her back and smell her skin. This morning, I looked at the door, and the light coming in my room, and imagined her standing there.

Classic Hoops Photos

When I came across this classic wallpaper of Garnett throwing it down at the Garden during game 2, I started to feel nostalgic.

So I went into my files. Here's me in my prime at Welsh-Ryan Arena, just miles north of where KG played his senior year of high school basketball. I wasn't able to find one of me dunking, so I opted to run a different kind of classic that would send a clear message ala KG.

What you are about to see is an advertisement on why a basketball player, particularly one who is a magnet for picks, should wear a mouthguard. (This shot epitomizes the look and feel of most of my college career. Not to get all JFK on you, but I think I got hit twice--once by 43 on the drive, then the second hit and whiplash came from Big Girl setting the screen.)

Ah, to be young, tough and totally nuts again. I miss those days of taking these kind of hits, but I do not want them back. Instead, I'll just live vicariously through a high-def TV and keep talking to #5 ... Yeah, Kev! That's it...Go Green!