We’re part of #TeamKG are you?

As we are now just mere months away from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, there will be many events on your television where you get your first look at great athletes with amazing stories. You hear the story of athletes who have had to overcome difficult obstacles in order to keep their Olympic dream alive.

Last Thursday on the George Brew show, we had the pleasure of meeting one of those inspirational athletes. Her name is Kelly Gunther. She is a member of the United States Long Track Speed Skating Team.

Gunther has been skating she was six years old both as a figure skater and later on as an inline speed skater. She just missed out on making the national team for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

However, throughout her career, she has shown courage, perseverance, and a strong will to overcome adversity. In 2010 during a 500 meter race, she suffered a brutal ankle injury that kept her for months off the ice while rehabbing in Colorado Springs. She has overcome that obstacle through the help of her great support group. People thought she would never skate again. Now she is getting set to try to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi as a member of the USA Long Track Speed Skating Team.

Kelly does need your help! Currently, she is not receiving any money from US Speed Skating or the United States Olympic Committee. Help to be a part of #TeamTG by assisting her with a tax deductible donation that would go towards providing this great athlete with training, living expenses, and providing her with equipment.

Go to Rallyme.com/rallies/225 to send in your donation or email TeamKellyG@gmail.com for more information on her story,

We at What’s Brewin’ would like to thank Kelly Gunther for sharing her amazing story with us and we wish her the best of luck in trying to qualify for the Winter Olympics.

You can listen to the full interview with Kelly by clicking the link below:

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/whatsbrewin/2013/10/18/the-george-brew-show

Mushnick gone way overboard

by Jim Hague

There’s no question that New York Post sports columnist (or drivel contributor, as I’d prefer to call it) Phil Mushnick has angered me to no end about things he’s spewed on the wasted space of the Post.

I am not one to just simply write off the Post as being a bad newspaper. I have good friends like Mike Vaccaro, Fred Kerber, George King, George Willis, Mark Cannizzaro and Dave Satriano who do a great job writing and reporting for the Post. They are all excellent journalists and credits to the craft.

But Mushnick is an embarrassment to journalists everywhere. He constantly spews venom, crap that makes absolutely no sense.

A few years ago, he ripped Jersey City and St. Peter’s College’s Yanitelli Center as being in a crime-ridden area and that it was unsafe to hold high school basketball games there at night. I wrote an e-mail to him, criticizing that column and he admitted to me that he had never been there! How could have he written such a scathing picture of Jersey City and especially Yanitelli if he had never even been there? It blew me away.

Anyway, Monday morning, Post readers of Mushnick got the chance to glance upon these pearls of journalistic wisdom, thrown at Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, just a few days after it was learned that Peterson’s 2-year-old son was murdered by the man who was involved with the child’s mother.

Ready for this? It’s beyond sickening.
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We in the media — especially those working event broadcasts — have a horrible habit of blindly or wishfully reporting great achievers are additionally blessed: They’re great humans.

Among many others, we did it with Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. Last year, we began to do it with Adrian Peterson, before, and then after, he was selected the NFL’s MVP. With every big game — 2,037 running yards worth — the media bloated his profile: There runs Superman, a super guy, too.

“We talked with him after practice, and let me tell you this and that about Adrian Peterson.” “Adrian Peterson still finds time to do charity work in the Twin Cities area.” Blah, blah and blah. Good equals goodness.

Thus it was unsurprising Peterson’s downside went ignored. In 2009, he was busted for driving 109 mph in a 55 mph zone. He dismissed that as no big deal, which was doubly disturbing — his older, full brother was killed by a reckless driver.

Last summer, Peterson was in a club when he and friends were informed that it was closing time, past 2 a.m. Apparently, Peterson and pals felt they would decide when it was time to close. The police report noted three cops were needed to subdue Peterson.

He spent the rest of the night in jail, arrested for resisting arrest (a charge that was later dismissed).

Of course, we all have to operate from are our own set of values, our personal sense of right from wrong. Perhaps, given current standards among NFL players — mostly college men, no less — Peterson qualifies as a man of good character.

Still, I’m stuck with what I’ve got. And it’s sickening the NFL’s latest MVP, hours after his son died — allegedly murdered — declared he was “ready to roll,” ready to play football.

Me? I’d be fighting for breath, my knees weak with grief, demanding to know why, who, how. Then, I suspect, I’d seethe with rage, swearing retribution. I even think I’d take off a day or two from work. Maybe a week.

The suspect in the beating murder of Peterson’s 2-year-old is the boyfriend of Peterson’s “baby mama” — now the casual, flippant, detestable and common buzz-phrase for absentee, wham-bam fatherhood.

The accused, Joseph Patterson, previously was hit with domestic assault and abuse charges.

With his resources, how could Peterson, the NFL’s MVP, have allowed his son to remain in such an environment? Did he not know, or not care? Or not care to know? Or not know to care?

Peterson couldn’t have provided his son a better life, a longer life?

Money can’t buy love, but having signed a $96 million deal, he could not have provided his child — apparently his second from a “baby mama” — a safe home?

But given Peterson’s father did hard time for drug money laundering maybe we’re both stuck with the values in which we were born, raised.

On Friday, Peterson said he was “focused” on football. On Sunday, he played. But it’s not as if murder doesn’t now regularly afflict the NFL.

Maybe Peterson’s son is just one more stands-to-reason murder victim, just another child born to just another “baby mama,” one more kid who never had a shot, anyway. Maybe, by now, even if we can’t accept it, we can expect it.

===================================================================

Now, is that sickening or what? How in the world could the Post allow such hurtful and venemous words ever to appear on its pages? The man should be allowed to grieve in his own way. Has anyone seen the pictures of Peterson with his son at training camp in August, kissing the little boy and putting his helmet on the child’s head, giving him a football? Those photos are priceless and now rip any good soul’s heart out.

That is, any good soul except Phil Mushnick. He chooses to bring up Peterson’s past indiscretions _ and those of Peterson’s father! _ in a mean spirited pile of shiite written just three days after the child’s senseless death.

And then he’s throwing around the term “baby mama.” Excuse me. If that isn’t racist, I don’t know what is.

This was clearly the most sickening sports column I’ve ever read. I’m embarrassed for my friends that work there at the Post. Words can’t begin to describe the anger I have for this conglomeration of excrement.

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You can read more of my work at www.hudsonreporter.com, www.theobserver.com andwww.dailyrecord.com.

My Bud Selig Interview

Got ya reading!  We both know that Bud Selig would never agree to an interview with me or any other blogger, so I present the questions that I would ask him.

Bud, thank you for joining me today.

Under your watch baseball has grown leaps and bounds, what in your opinion is the reason for it?

The 1998 Home Run Derby between McGwire and Sosa is credited with saving the game after the 1994 Strike, How do you sleep at night knowing both players were juicing during it?

You openly didn’t care about steroids until the U.S. Government hauled you up to Capitol Hill. Can we just call you a hypocrite now?

I’m going to name you a list of players who have made boatloads of money for the game, tell me what they have in common?  Piazza, Bonds, Clemens, Palmiero, McGwire, Sosa, Rodriguez, Braun, Ortiz, Ramirez.  And Bud you can’t say steroids.

Why can’t we have instant replay in baseball?

Am I wrong in assuming the witch hunt towards Alex Rodriguez has everything to do with keeping the media off of your back for your string of awful decisions in regards to Instant Replay, the All Star Game, Contraction, World Baseball Classic?

Umpires are downright awful as of late, any chance of you saying something or are you afraid of their union?

How does your ego feel that you are trying to cement your legacy as commissioner of baseball?

Thanks for sitting down with me.  As usual after hearing you talk I need to go and talk a shower.

 

Fantasy Focus: New England Patriots

With the start of the NFL Season quickly approaching with teams heading to Training Camp, we will begin to look at teams from a Fantasy Football standpoint.

Coming off a 12-4 season and a trip to the AFC Championship game, the New England Patriots headed into the off-season with a huge question.  Will they resign Wes Welker and if they don’t how do they replace him?  Well back in March the first question was answered and they didn’t. The second part of the question was answered with the signing of Danny Amendola and seemingly moving Aaron Hernandez to the slot, with a hopefully healthy Jake Ballard into his spot on the line.

Rob Gronkowski‘s broken forearm didn’t heal as the Patriots and he would hope, after having multiple surgeries to clear up infections, and then stunning people with a precautionary trip back under the knife to clean up his back.

The biggest shock of the off-season happened in mid June when Aaron Hernandez was being investigated in relation to a homicide and then a week later charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd.

The Patriots have done a good job since in distancing themselves from the former TE that wore #81, and the players are trying to remove the the distraction.  But let’s look at the depth chart and try to help you with your fantasy drafts.

POS	FIRST	SECOND	THIRD	OTHER
WR	Danny Amendola	Michael Jenkins	Matthew Slater	Kenbrell Thompkins Quentin Sims
LT	Nate Solder	Will Svitek	Kevin Haslam	Elvis Fisher
LG	Logan Mankins	Nick McDonald	Tyronne Green	Josh Kline
C	Ryan Wendell	Nick McDonald
RG	Dan Connolly	Marcus Cannon	Chris McDonald
RT	Sebastian Vollmer	Marcus Cannon	Markus Zusevics	R.J. Mattes
TE	Rob Gronkowski	Michael Hoomanawanui	Daniel Fells	Jake Ballard Zach Sudfeld Brandon Ford
WR	Julian Edelman	Aaron Dobson	Josh Boyce	Lavelle Hawkins Kamar Aiken Mark Harrison Perez Ashford
QB	Tom Brady	Ryan Mallett	Tim Tebow
RB	Stevan Ridley	Brandon Bolden	LeGarrette Blount	George Winn
RB	Shane Vereen	Leon Washington	James Develin	Ben Bartholomew

 courtesy patriots.com

Tom Brady is still a top 3 NFL QB, brain wise.  This season will most likely not prove to be the past 3 years of Brady, fantasy wise.  I believe you can still pencil him in for 3500+ yards, 30 TD’s and less than 8 interceptions. but in saying that most of those will come post October 1st.  Getting Gronkowski healthy hopefully by then, acclimating Amendola to the offense to fill the Welker role.  The questions in the passing game, may be relieved by the emergence of the running game last season.

Stevan Ridley isn’t a 350+ carry back, but he is a guy who should be able to carry rock 250-300 times and score you 10 TD’s and gain you over 1100 yards.  A good 2nd back or 1st in a deeper league.  Shane Vereen proved he could catch the ball on swing routes and you saw that in two memorable catches against the New York Jets in the now infamous “Buttfumble” game and against Houston in the Divisional Round.  If he shows the durability to carry the ball 150+ times and catch 50 passes, the Patriots offense should be fine and in position to win a sort of strengthened AFC East, and make a run into the Playoffs.

When it comes to Rob Gronkowski’s fantasy outlook, it all depends on when he makes his way back onto the field.  With the Patriots first two games coming within 5 days of each other against the Bills and Jets, expect Gronk to be back onto the field anytime after week 3.  If he plays in 12+ games, you can pencil in #87 for 800+ yards and 10+ TD’s.  The Patriots TE’s won’t have the same dynamic effect as it has had since 2010, but with Gronk, Ballard, Hooman, and Daniel Fells. expect the Patriots TE’s as a whole to have 100+ receptions, 1500+ yards and 15 TD’s.

Patriots WR’s since Randy Moss haven’t been down the field threats. The biggest question there is, Can they find a way to replace Wes Welker’s sure hands on 3rd and medium.  If Amendola can produce at 75% of Welker’s production, that’s good for nearly 90 catches and 900 yards.  A healthy Julian Edelman can be counted on for 50 catches and 600 yards.  the Patriots have waited a long time to see if drafting Edelman can prove to be a productive WR.  With the acquisition of Leon Washington, Edelman will not have to handle the kick return duties.  Aaron Dobson and Michael Jenkins are tough to call fantasy wise, because of as you’ve seen in the past, if #12 doesn’t trust throwing them the ball, they won’t see it too often.

Where should you draft the Patriots?

Tom Brady 4th or 5th Round

Stevan Ridley 8th-12th Round

Shane Vereen 16th-20th Round

Rob Gronkowski 10th-14th round

Danny Amendola after the 15th Round

Julian Edelman free agent pickup

Stephen Gostkowski top 5 K

Tweet of the Day 6/11/13

@Breakthecycle2 Good choice!

— New Jersey Devils (@NHLDevils) June 12, 2013

Opening Day

As many of us sports fans begin to transition into the marathon that is 162 games in 180 days, we look to Opening Day as a new start.  Every team is 0-0, every fan has hoped that once October starts their favorite team has 11 more wins in them that will lead to a celebration on a field and tshirts and hats purchased that signify a World Championship.

For others, it has the feeling of the first day of school, time to see your seat mates, meet some new people that for 81 days throughout the early spring til early fall will share in the ups and downs, the cheers and tears, the hot dogs, beers and ice cream cones that quench the heat in July and August.
Last season, I had the privilege of working along side Bald Vinny, for 86 Yankee games at Bald Vinny’s House of Tees. Opening Day last year had a different feel to it as this year also has one.

You see, last year I was the new student on the first day of school, the person everyone had to get to know, this year is different, the anticipation of opening day leads to seeing the friends that I made last season, and of course meeting new people along the way. Last year was nerve wracking, can I be Vinny’s right hand man, will I be accepted by the Creature Faithful? Will what seems to be the ultimate dream job for a sports fan be just that and those answers are YES!

The season on River Ave. is long at times, short at others, the rain sucks, the heat is hotter, but nothing beats it. the walk off wins are exciting, the environment is only compared to working for Disney and seeing ca kid’s face the first time they meet Mickey. 

Meeting people from all over the country and world is awesome, hearing how they made Yankee Stadium and stopping by the House of Tees, is something I’ve heard Vinny talk about on The George Brew Show and on other various interviews is more humbling that you would think. The people that I knew through a twitter handle only, became real living breathing people, who were cool folks that I became friends.

Walking into the Yankee Bar and Grill, to see a smiling Tracey, or Nicky, or Peg, or Chris, who like you were there until 11 or 12 the night before and the smiles on their face at 10 am make the day go quicker and just overall better. The ability to see the early morning sun as it peeks through the clouds and sun splash Yankee Stadium is picturesque. When the rain pounds you into submission, there sure is a rainbow that follows and it usually leads to Yankee Stadium,

This article is dedicated to Bald Vinny, the best boss, friend and mentor anyone can have, but it also is to those of you who made the 2012 season memorable for me. Thank you for the memories, and lets make 2013 a whole hell of a lot better. See you on River Ave. tomorrow, for yet another 1st day of school.

This is a special Trade Deadline Preview episode of Gloves OFF! with your Host Matthew Barnaby.

This episode is dedicated to the Buffalo Regals U14 Tier 1 Minor Hockey team….. heading to Nationals next week in PIttsburgh with Matthew as their Head Coach!

On Today’s show….It’s 7 days until the trade deadline…. Matthew will take a look at all the potential Buyers and Sellers in the East and West.  Which teams are going to say…. Let’s Make A Deal!

Jarome Iginla….. now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Brendan Morrow….. now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Douglas Murray….. now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ray Shero has thrown down the gauntlet!  Did he open the floodgates for an active Trade Deadline or did he handcuff those teams needing impact players?

The Boston Bruins must respond to the Penguins moves….. What will they do?

The Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks are looking for the pieces to push them over the top! Watch the chess match unfold in the next 7 days!

Are you ready….. Matthew’s ready to take the Gloves OFF!

 

 

Listen to internet radio with Matthew Barnaby on Blog Talk Radio

Report: Penguins acquire Jarome Iginla from Flames

What’s Brewin with the Bruins by Tim Rosenthal of http://www.bruinsdaily.com

(Getty Images) Despite reports suggesting that he’d be a member of the Boston Bruins, the Calgary Flames traded Jarome Iginla to the Pittsburgh Penguins early Thursday morning.

Well it looks like the Boston Bruins lost out again.

Early Thursday morning, Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster announced that Jarome Iginla has been dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In return, Calgary receives prospects Ben Hanowski, Kenny Agostino and a 2013 first round pick.

This coming after numerous reports suggested that Iginla would be coming to Boston – including from TSN’s Bob McKenzie and Aaron Ward.

Here’s the confirmation from a tweet on the official Penguins’ Twitter account

With the addition of fellow veteran Brenden Morrow from the Dallas Stars and depth defenseman Douglas Murray from the San Jose Sharks, the red-hot Pens have increased their odds of capturing their second Stanley Cup in five years.

Peter Chiarelli and company will need to look elsewhere now. Potential names that have been floated around include Jaromir Jagr and Ryan Whitney, just to name a couple.

In the meantime, one can’t help but to wonder that this is a missed opportunity for Chiarelli and company.

Three BRAND NEW Loudmouth Designs!

This is always the best day at Loudmouth headquarters, when the new Spring designs come in. We hope it’s the best day for you too. The supplies are limited on these so please do not delay.

The name says it all! They’re swirly, they’re wild, but they still look super sharp, especially with a black shirt. Or just go full volume with a Lemon Chrome, Autumn Glory or Stark White shirt!

USA Click  Men’s  Women’s
Currently available in USA only. Available in Australia in 2 days!
Will soon become available in Canada, Europe.
Keep checking!

 

It’s like you got sprayed with rainbow-colored silly string! No fewer than NINE shirts will go with these pants. Another work of Loudmouth abstract art to add to your pants collection.

USA Click  Men’s  Women’s
Currently available in USA only. Available in Australia in 2 days!
Will soon become available in Canada, Europe.
Keep checking!

Some LM trivia. Disco Balls Black is our all-time best-seller. So in true Loudmouth fashion where bigger IS better, we thought if we made them bigger people will like them even better. And the name? Well, how could we resist? Can you blame us?

USA Click  Men’s  Women’s
Currently available in USA only. Available in Australia in 2 days!
Will soon become available in Canada, Europe.
Keep checking!

 

Why I’m a Dukie, congrats Bobby you earned this one

Let me take you on a little journey in the way back machine if I may.  I take you back to August 1992, Yanitelli Center in the campus of St. Peter’s College in Jersey City and The Bob Hurley Basketball Camp.   Hundreds of aspiring basketball players filled the 3 court gym that is the home of the St. Peter’s Peacocks that day, for a multitude of reasons, but the main one was Mr. Hurley’s sons were going to be there.

Being a Jersey City kid, who had never heard of Duke University until my Catholic School 4th Grade teaching mother had come home in January of 1990 and said that one of her former students was going to be playing on Channel 4 that Sunday against Notre Dame, was in fact pretty damn cool and exciting.  So the next day I walked into St. John the Baptist School and into Mrs. Sheridan’s 2nd Grade Class Room and said that my mom taught a kid who is playing basketball on Channel 4 on Sunday against Notre Dame.  It’s 1990, I’m 7 and I’m a Catholic School Student, of course the only College I knew were Notre Dame and Harvard and I only knew Harvard because my parents had taken me to Boston the year before on Easter break.  After making this statement to Mrs. Sheridan she looked at me and I thought she must think I’m nuts, but instead” Your mom taught Bobby Hurley”, huh who is all I could think.  I get home and said to mom, did you teach Bobby Hurley, she said yeah, and I said oh Mrs. Sheridan asked after I told her about him being on Channel 4.

This may have been the first basketball game I had ever watched and immediately, I was hooked.  That week I started asking my parents and grandparents for anything Duke, t-shirt, hat, rubber basketball, but the holy grail was a #11 Duke jersey, I figured at that time I had a Phil Simms and Sean Burke one, why not get my favorite basketball players.  The jersey though would have to wait.

It was then that I began following Duke, hell I even learned how to spell Krzyzewski at 7, thanks Mrs. Sheridan for all the help on that one, if Duke was on TV, I had to watch them.  And this was in the days of only 1 ESPN, so imagine how hard it was then to find a Duke game on TV.   While kids in the neighborhood were Seton Hall fans after their run to the Final Four in 1989, I was a Dukie, while they pretend to be Michael, Larry or Magic, I wanted to be Bobby, the kid from Jersey City, the kid my Mom taught in 4th Grade at Our Lady of Mercy.

After Duke advanced to the National Championship game in 1990, Mrs. Sheridan asked me if my parents were going to let me watch Duke play UNLV that night, I said yes and she said make sure you get to bed right after it’s over, imagine that a teacher saying it’s ok to stay up late and watch a basketball game…  The next morning ass dragging after Duke got it’s ass kicked by UNLV, she asked me how I was and I told her I cried myself to sleep, because Bobby and Duke didn’t win.  ( Get off my back I was 7, you are allowed to cry at 7)  When it came time to pick number in Little League, I wanted to be #11, worked for Simms and Hurley, had to help me.  

But getting back to the original story,  Mr. Hurley’s basketball showed one thing to me, I had no shot at the NBA, but I enjoyed playing the game and it was good exercise so why not at least get a little better to play with the neighbor hood kids.  Their had to be more than 100 kids at the clinic and everyone wanted to coached, by the reigning Most Outstanding Player of that year’s NCAA Tournament and the kid from Jersey City who a month earlier was playing games against Larry, Magic and Michael, we all wanted to be those guys and in the ShopRite on 440’s photo center their was a picture of Bobby next to those guys.  Now at this point, I had probably watched every single Duke game that was on TV since the 1990 season, I learned how to read box scores to see how well Bobby and the team were doing, and I am on the same building, let alone the same basketball court as him.  As the camp awards and prizes were given out, now I know there were 101 kids there, if for no other reason, my loving mother has broken my balls enough about, not winning a raffle prize to this day. I’m 30, it was 20 years ago, I’m over it.

So after the camp is over Bobby gets mobbed, I work my way over with the help of my Mom and Bobby’s 4th Grade teacher to get my copy of Sports Illustrated with Bobby on the cover signed, which I still have, but I also own an 11×14 reprint that hangs on the wall of the Man Cave Studio.  After Bobby put his John Hancock on it, my mom said let me introduce you to his brother Danny.  Danny who I knew from watching the Sweet Sixteen game between Duke and Seton Hall, and it was even cooler seeing the whole Hurley family on Good Morning America back in March.  I told Danny he played a great game against Duke that night and thought that he was very good and I looked forward to watching him play the following year, he thanked me and we started talking and shooting around, he asked me where I went to school and said my Mom was his favorite teacher, something I hear a lot of, I only wish I had her. After maybe 10-15 minutes we said our good byes, mom snapped some pictures, still have this adorable one of Danny holding my sister, I thanked my mom for sending me to the camp and how great it was to meet my sports hero.

The following Duke season led to Duke being ousted by Jason Kidd and California, but for my 11th birthday the elusive Blue #11 Duke jersey was mine, yes my version of a Red Ryder BB gun, I love that jersey and still have it.  But it was also awesome because Bobby had been drafted to play for the Sacramento Kings, no directv and league pass then, so Mom had promised me part of my Christmas present would be to see Bobby and the Kings play, since dumb-ass me screwed up my chance of seeing Bobby and Duke play against Rutgers in his Senior year, as long as I could keep my grades and act together, which I did.  I didn’t see Duke play live and in person until this past December against Temple and you know that scene in Rudy, when his Dad walks into Notre Dame Stadium for the first time, yeah, that was me seeing Coach K walk onto the floor.  What a thrill to see Bobby play against the Nets, I don’t remember if the Kings won that night, all I remember was that I was 10 rows on the floor cheering my 11-year-old heart out for “Jersey City’s Prince who became a King” as the late Ed “The Faa” Ford wrote as a headline of his column in the Jersey Journal, shortly after the night that would change Bobby’s career forever.

During the 1992 USA Basketball practices between The Dream Team and the college all-stars that were playing them to get ready to play in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Larry Bird had said that Bobby was a future perennial All-Star, Magic Johnson fell in love with his game and I think if  you ask His Airness, he would have loved to have Bobby run the point for his Chicago Bulls teams.  I remember waking up early on December 13, 1993 after going to the New York Giants game the day before and learning that both the Knicks and Bulls were rumored to be interested in trading for Bobby, who at the time was splitting minutes with Spud Webb.  As I turned on the TV in my room, I hear Sacramento Kings star Bobby Hurley was involved in a serious car accident and sustained life threatening injuries…….

BOOM, you hear that at 30 and you stop, think about being 11.  I went and told my mom and for the next 2 hours we watched TV trying to learn more, I was crying so hard, I didn’t go to school.  All I wanted to do was find out if my hero was OK   The Jersey Journal kept everyone in Jersey City, updated on Bobby’s condition,  I sent a get well soon card that same day, a few weeks later, a postcard came thanking me for the best wishes.

That year for Christmas, my Grandma, who hated seeing me so upset bought me a pair of ITZ sneakers which Bobby was endorsing, I got some other clothes from them which where really cool and I only wish they had survived.  I got my Sacramento Kings Bobby Hurley jersey for Easter which I just found in my basement…Score!

 

It was that summer though, he was on the comeback trail and playing in a Summer League game at St. Rose’s gym in Belmar, were I would be all of 5 feet form the end line of a game he was playing in against Anthony Mason of the Knicks.

Sports Illustrated wrote a great article on his road back, and the road back was completed the next fall, when Bobby returned to the Kings lineup.

Why did go all fan boy in this post, 1 reason, when I learned that Bobby was going to become the new Head Basketball Coach at the University of Buffalo, I felt that the journey was now complete.  I always agreed with The Faa on his headline, but I have an addition to it, “Jersey City’s Son who became a Friar, a Blue Devil, a King, a Survivor, a Grizzly, a Horse Owner, a Husband, a Dad, a Hall of Famer, is now in the Family Business, now isn’t that what a kid from Jersey aspires to be?”