Very favorable: Carlos Rogers - Really cool guy Calvin Murphy - Extremely nice and outgoing Mo Taylor Glen Rice Cat Cynthia Cooper Luis Gonzalez Jose Lima Bill Worrel - Not an athlete but an extremely nice guy. Above average favorable: Walt Williams
Haven't met too many. Roger Clemens-Met him once when we were at Landry's in Katy waiting for a table back in '86 or so. He was there to pick-up some food to take home and my Dad convinced me to follow him out to his car and ask for his autograph. Very nice guy and didn't mind at all an 10 year-old kid bothering him. He also used to dress up on Halloween and sign autographs in his driveway until the very last kid got one. Micheal Williams-dated my sister. Of course he was cool. David Wesley-Met him before he was a sports star, but one year at Baylor basketball camp (it was after he led Baylor to a huge upset over #3 Arkansas), he came up to me while I was shooting baskets by myself and asked if I wanted to play one-on-one. He was nice and let me stay in it before beating me 15-13. We then played two-on-two against a couple of friends. Very nice guy. Roderick Rhodes-was supposed to sign autographs at one of my brother's Mobile One stores for two hours. Shows up an hour late and left 30 minutes early with people still in line. I'm still trying to figure out why people wanted his autograph.
Mrs. JB used to work at Starbuck's years ago and Jeff Bagwell was a regular. She said he was always very polite and nice. Calvin Murphy is very cool. Hakeem was very polite. I gave Kelvin Cato driving directions - he was really nice and laid back. Tina Thompson is really cool. Walt Williams was a cut-up. Mo Taylor is EXTREMELY nice. I've met him twice and he's really the coolest guy. Matt Bullard is the nicest guy. The best of the bunch, by far, is Rudy T. He is one of the nicest, coolest guys you will ever meet. I was priveleged to get to hang around him enough to where he knows me and comes up to talk when he sees me, which is just amazing to me. I still can't believe I was hanging out one morning shooting hoops with him in a parking lot and listening to stories about the Rockets in the 70's. Unreal. A friend of mine who knows absolutely NOTHING about sports was in the airport once and saw a guy on crutches with a bunch of luggage and asked him if he needed a hand. The guy thanked him and my friend carried his bag up to the check-in desk. The guy was Clyde Drexler. My friend said to him, "Are you an athlete?" He said Drexler just laughed and said, "You really don't know who I am, do you?" My friend said that Clyde was really nice and even told him to come into Drexler's sometime and have dinner on him.
I have met Calvin Murphy ....very nice guy! Moises Alou and family, held his kid while his wife got a package ready for me. Derick Bell was in the kitchen. Alou was cool. Cynthia Cooper - I accidently called her Swoopes, because I didnt really know too much about the WNBA. She didnt like that very much, but managed to smile. Karl Malone - was the biggest a$$hole I have ever met.
Just thinking when I met Calvin Murphy the first time, I was in awe. He was my hero growing up and the one guy I really found it difficult to approach. I went up to him, said hello and told him who I was (we were at an arena campaign event). I told him that I had been watching him since I was a kid and he said, "I really appreciate that but don't start that old s***!" and then just busted out in hysterical laughter. We sat and talked basketball for a few minutes. He was going OFF on how Allen Iverson was making a mockery of the league because he was leading the league in scoring but shooting under 40 percent. Just a great, great guy.
Personally met: Grant Hill- great guy. This was at the height of his popularity before his injuries, and I'm sure he was tired of signing autographs, especially cuz it was latenight at a hotel, but he smiled and chatted with me for a few minutes before signing an autograph for me. Warren Moon- another great guy. He made the autograph out to "My #1 fan" and was real cordial. We ended up talking on the elevator down to the lobby and for about 5 minutes afterwards as well before he shook my hand and left the hotel. Robert Horry- goofy guy, sort of aloof, but still nice. He really does look a lot more like Will Smith in person than on tv. Saw him at AMC 24 in Sugar Land. Eddie George- really nice guy. Being an OSU alum, my dad talked to him for about 15-20 minutes about Columbus and OSU. I mostly listened to him and my dad talk about his Buckeye days, but it was still really cool to shake his hand. Hakeem Olajuwon- nice, but sort of quiet and reserved. Got an autograph and a picture with him (damn film never devloped!) He also walked into my friend's business and saw him there. Talked with him for a few minutes that time and got a handshake. Friends/indirect: Mark Jackson- I started a thread about this a few months back. My friends said he was real nice. Escalade (his brother) was also there, and they said he was cool too. TJ Ford- friend played ball with him and PJ Tucker over the summer. Said he was real nice and pretty goofy, not taking the game seriously at all. He ended up getting a signed shirt and a picture with him, TJ, and PJ. Ricky Williams- heard he was a dick to the guys, but a sweetheart to all the ladies he wanted to hit on. Friend was a girl, and he tried to hit on her in front of her boyfriend.
Rudy T. is a really nice guy. Meet him at the airport when Yao arrived in which I stuck to my one spot until everybody followed Yao, then all of a sudden in the back of the crowd, Rudy T. came out of nowhere. I shook his hand, asked how great of a moment this was, and just chatted to me like he knew me. Mario Elie was ok, I got his autograph along with Eddie Selfko at Bookstop on Shephard when the Chronicle's Believe It Again book came out. Hakeem was ok way back in the days when i meet him at Dillards at the Galleria during an autograph session back in '91 and took a picture with him. Jerry Stackhouse was nice enough for my sister to take a picture of him when she saw him at the Riverwalk in San Antonio. I saw Kenny Anderson over at Sharpstown Mall back in like 1993 when he was playing for the Nets. Didnt say nothing to him as I barley noticed it was him. Kelvin Cato and Charles Oakley were cool enough to shake my hand in the Lexus Lounge after the Kings game last month. Wanted to take a pic, but both looked pretty pissed. I havent meet any other atheletes that were asses, yet.
Jeff Bagwell: cool guy Jose Canseco: jerk Nolan Ryan: aweseome guy, very relaxed, talkative Rober Horry: cool Otis Thorpe: kind of stand offish Antonio McDyess: nice guy Cynthia Cooper: extremely nice Ricky Henderson: quiet Ken Griffy Jr.: nice guy Roger Staubach: VERY nice guy Jimmy Johnson: nice, quiet Micheal Irvin: loud, but nice, he partied at a bar with us Mickey Mantle: jerk, but he was really old, so I cut him some slack Hank Aaron: AWESOME: at a card show in the late 80s, hardly anybody there, talked with him for like 20 minutes Maury Wells: Nice guy Drew Pearson: AWESOME: at a card show with few people, signed autographs then hung out to tell stories and take pictures when he could have left Dante Hall: hung out with him at A&M...cool guy (went to fish camp with him) Chris Cole: in my best friend's frat...cool guy Craig Reynolds: really nice guy Kevin Bass: nice guy Biggio: Nice guy Diamond Dallas Paige: surprisingly funny guy Francis: posed with my wife and I before a game Rudy T: talked to him for like 10 minutes before 2002 season...positive guy Steve Elkington: gets a bad rap, but actually a hilarious dude Roger Clemens: kind of standoffish, but he looked tired, so I cut him some slack and the #1 nice guy I've met: Dallas Cowboys back up QB and current broadcaster: BABE LAUFENBERG At the 1990 (or 91? I was young) Dallas Cowboys training camp he stayed an hour and a half after practice to take pictures, sign autographs, talk and whateve. He let kids hold his helmet to take pics, he put his pads on some kids for pics, he stayed until everybody had a chance to get sigs, take pics, and talk...and then he gave his helmet, jersey and pads to a kid in a wheelchair, signing all of them for him, and took the kid in the wheel chair to go meet all of the other players. He was awesome.
Alonzo Morning - at the 94 finals - very nice and extremely polite. Craig Biggio - at the Little League ball fields - very friendly, nice to the kids. Dexter Manley - at the gym - talked to me first, funny and friendly. John Thompson - at the 94 finals - loud and kind of obnoxious. Funny story about Biggio who I have met on a couple of occasions. Once he was hosting a "fun baseball practice" for a bunch of kids. Afterwards, the kids were trying to get their hats and gloves autographed. I thought one of the kids might get run over by all of the moms jostling to get pictures up close and personal.
Hockey Trevor Linden - met him a bunch - great guy. Pavel Bure - indifferent. Cliff Ronning - above average. Wayne Gretzky - very good guy Canucks Locker Room 1994 - i got to go through the canucks locker room right after a Canucks/Kings game - most of them were naked , but they were very friendly nonetheless. the goalies let me try on their pads and helmets, they all signed stuff for me - took pictures, talked - i watched TV with a few of them while talking. They were all very friendly. Bernie Nichols - WAY WAY WAY above average - during a hockey game tossed 2 pucks to my brother who was 10 at the time. one during pre-game skate, and one while in the penalty box. and he signed some stuff for me. Basketball Cuttino Mobley - great guy. Bryant Reeves - above average Olden Polynice - above average. Larry Bird - indifferent. Brent Price - good guy - i beat him in a free throw competition at a PGA golf tournament and won tickets to a Vancouver Grizzlies/Kings game. Stu Jackson - good guy - beat him in a free throw competition - same as above. Steve Nash - really good guy, met him a few times, always very positive. Golf Sergio Garcia - average. Mike Weir - way above average. John Daly - friendly guy. Other Ross Reblagiatti (sp?) - Snowboarding Gold Medalist - pretty good guy. Chris Dufficy - pro-snowboarder - very good guy - went for half a day with me and a buddy just chilling and boarding.
1-10 being the nicest Clyde- 10, surprise! Glen Rice- 10 Bubba McDowell- 10, still my close friend Zo Highsmith- 6, annoying Kevin Garnett- 10+, almost too nice to be true Kenny Thomas- 10, bought me a drink Roger Clemens- 8, shook my hand Brevin Knight- 10, hung out all night in Cleveland Luis Gonzales- 10, came to my show twice Brian Hunter- 10 Cat- 9 Steve- 9 Sheryl Swoopes- 7, she has an amazing body and caught me staring at it. Ken Norton Jr.- 1, he walked out in the middle of one of my shows
Mrs JB worked at the Starbucks on Augusta and Woodway? I used to study there all the time in grad school and Bagwell was always coming in.
My Dad used to work for the Blue Jays, and especially during Spring Training I hung ou t there a lot as a little kid, ran erands for the GM, was a batboy, was babaysat by players' wives, went to restaurants etc. with them, and generally had the run of the clubhouse. Although I admit I was such a fan as to be in a certain amount of awe, my recollections were that they, and the people on the periphery ( announcers, execs, etc.) were really, really nice and friendly. But there were some jerks, and even more who were different around the media. Not always what you'd expect; some nice guys became guarded and short when the media came around, other less nice guys would turn on the shine when the press was near or the cameras rolling. Most of these names will mean little to Houstonians, but I'll pass on a few experiences. Dave Stieb. One of the best pitchers of his ear who was usually betrayed by terrible support and even worse bullpen, started the All Star Game several times.Was considered surly and a jerk by the media, but was really, really nice to peopl other than the press. Here's an example I sa firsthand. The greatest criticism of Stieb was that he was a perfectionist who was impossible to deal with after a loss or bad performance. That may have been true, but this is what I saw one day: After a bad pitching day, Stieb was in the clubhouse for quite a while, and by the time he came out few fans were left waiting. Alfredo Griffin, who had a rep as a great, lovable fan favorite preceded Stiebm and when a little boy with his father waiting approached him and politely asked for an autograph, Griffin uttered a rude remark and just walked on by. Stied, who as I said had just pithced a bad game, came out with his wife. He had his little son in one arm and a stack of books in the other. He saw Griffin's actions, and the little boy's shocked and dissapointed face. He quietly handed his son to his wife, put the books on the ground, and without being asked went over to the boy, hunched down to talk to him, and spent more than 5 minites chatting, apologizing for Griffin's behaviois by saying he was really busy, and got the little boy from tears to laughing. He then asked his wife for a ball, and sutographed it with personal commentary. Now it should be noted that I was among the very few people around, and none of them were press. That, to me, was a sign of real class. On the other hand, there were guys like Joe Carter, who were all smiles and sunshine in front of the camera, and as soon as it was turned off treated everyone else like lesser mortals if he bothered to communicate with them at all. Rude, arrogant, and the embodyment of the high paid pro. Yet the press would have you believe that he was a saint. Kirk Gibson, without going into too many details, is an absolutely bigotted, sexist pig that would make John Rocker look like a UN ambassador were he ever to be on camera the way he was off. There are plenty more. Mostly related to baseball to any extensive degree, but some basketball and football exposure through other mediums. For example Iverson is ok, chatty but evasive, and a LOT shorter/smaller than you'd think. Vince Carter can be really nice or really withdrawn and defensive depending on the day you see him. McGrady was a nice guy; a little cocky, but nice. Hakeem Olajuwon, despite his troubles in Toronto, was class personified. Alvin Williams was just as he appears; completely grounded and humble, and the player you would least know was anything other than an ordinary Joe if you didn't recognoze him. But the biggest thing I learned in my time around athletes is that, to a large extent, the guys who are portrayed as nice vs. the guys who aren't often reflects more how they treat the press than what they're really like. Stieb is the greatest example on the one hand, Joe Carter on the reverse, but it was prety consistent. We aren't aware how much the media shapes our perception of what athletes are like.
Met a few of the 80s Rockets, but can't rate them by a hand shake or small talk. BUT, way back when, I was tending a bar in Dallas called Baja Louie's. For weeks a gentleman would come in quietly, drink his drinks and leave after a few words with my boss. Understand, I didn't move to the states until my last year of HS and American sports didn't rate...soccer was the game. So I knew of nobody in the sports world. One day after this quiet gentleman left my boss came behind the bar and ask if I knew who that guy was. "No idea", I said, "but he sure is the quiet type". In general as a bartender, if you come in quiet, you get a quiet bartender. My boss said, "that was Micky Mantle". WHAT?????? Since I've created a quiet relationship with him (my boss said that was the best thing I could've done), it was hard for me to ask for an autograph or start acting like I knew who he was. He was by far the only sports personality that didn't act or talked like it. It hurt when he passed away.
Of the many I have met, 4 stand out as the nicest and most approachable: Tony Perez (Reds) Sparky Anderson (Reds Manager) Bob Watson (Astros) Jerry Koosman (Mets)
