I got back to San Diego late last night from working at the Jam Session and attending the game. The Jam Session was crowded most days and the city and it's people did a great job with the whole all-star weekend. Houston and the host hotels were decorated beautifully for the event, and I think most people left the city with a good impression. I got to meet and see a lot of celebs and players, and even got to take a pictures with some of them! Here's some of the people I got a change to meet: Carl Herrera: Got a picture with Amigo at the Jam Session. He came in late the first night and was walking around with his daughter (?). Not too many people recognized him but as a Rockets fan, who could forget Amigo?! Boris Diaw: Got a picture with him at the Jam Session. Really cool guy. Talked to me for a bit about normal stuff and was really down to earth. Ronny Turiaf: Also got a picture with him. He was hanging out with Diaw. We went through a stack of basketball cards I had, and he asked for about 7 cards of players he knew so he could get them signed for himself over the weekend. It was really neat seeing him like any other fan. Artis Gilmore: Got a picture with him also at the Jam Session. He was really tall and quiet. Was hanging out with his family (?). Clutch the Bear: Got a photo with our mascot. Something every fan should have! Mark Bryant: Photo with the former Rocket. He was talking to Clyde and Clyde went in the lounge before I could ask him for a photo. Mark was still outside and took a picture with me. Again, most fans didn't know who he was, but a true Houston fan wouldn't pass up the opportunity. Damon Jones: He was walking fast somewhere but stopped to take a quick picture with me. Seemed like a cool guy. Sam Cassell: What a prick!! We were behind him and asked if he would take a picture with us. Didn't turn around and just walked off really fast and said "I'm out to my seats". First we weren't too offended or anything, but we walked around the main concourse a few times and he was always out there talking to other players like he was all that. We asked him again later and he acted like we weren't even there and didn't even acknowledge us. Also saw a girl ask him to take a picture to which he replied rudely "Take it then" . She said she wanted to take a picture WITH him and he just started walking away with an attitude. He was the only player that had any hint of a bad attitude towards the fans the whole weekend. Tyronne Lue: Got a picture with him as we were walking out. He was just hanging out by the wall with someone. I blinked in the pic Del Harris: Took a picture with me as he was leaving the arena. I told him thanks for coaching China and helping them out. He was thankful and seemed really nice. Dwight Howard: Took a picture with me and seemed like a really cool, laid back guy. Seemed really down to earth. Clyde Drexler: Took a picture with me but he was sort of in a rush to get out of there as there was a crowd starting to form. My friend turned off the flash on my camera by accident and the picture turned out a little blurry, plus Clyde was looking away at someone asking for an autograph . He was signing a lot of autographs and seemed like a great guy. One of the top people I wanted to get a photo with (being a Rocket fan) so it was sort of dissappointing that the picture didn't turn out great, but still really cool to have! RUDY T!!! : The number one person I wanted to get a picture with, and my all-time favorite Rocket. He seemed really happy to take a picture with me and was so nice! I told him he changed my life, and thanked him for everything he's done for Houston. Exactly what I had thought of saying to him if I ever got the chance! He was so genuine and one day I hope to meet him again to talk to him some more. It was a perfect picture and will be enlarged, framed, and proudly displayed in my home. The highlight of the whole trip by far!! I had always wanted to meet Rudy and finally got the chance to. Luther Head: Tood a picture of him at the 610 radio booth at the Jam Session. Tried to ask him for a picture as he left but the security guy didn't really let me close enough. He seemed really nice though. The Toyota Center main concourse was like a who's who of sports and entertainment. My coworker took pictures with a few rappers (I'm not too into rap so I was just the photographer). Dr. J walked right past me as I walked in the doors, and there were just too many others whose faces were familiar but I wasn't confident enough in knowing their names to approach. I saw Jay-Z walk in my hotel as we were hanging out in the lobby. My coworkers saw Beyonce and P Diddy there as well! We had invitations to a Nike party but got there late so the only people they were still letting in were Nike athletes. We saw Emeka Okafor and Elton Brand go in with some friends, and I'm sure there were tons more inside. All in all, the trip was great. I had so much fun and came home exhausted. I'll never forget the experience!
Cool man, I am happy for you. Yah, Cassell is not very personable, I got to see him all the time around Fonde during the summer league they play there. Sam I Am and Cat aren't exactly people you would like to hang out with unless you have a high tolerance for endless cursing and stuck-ups. As for Rudy, him and his wife are possibly the nicest people I've ever met next to Dream, just really down to earth and wonderful people that just exude positive energy whenever you're around them. Rudy and Dream are on par for me as far as my favorite Rockets of all time. BTW, Yao and T-Mac are REALLY nice guys as well, they're down to earth and nice to everyone around them. They're genuinly nice guys and good citizens, we're lucky to have had those type of people all the time representing our organization.
samwas a prick when i went to treasure a few yrs ago i stuck out my hand he was like "sigh",rolled his eyes,gave me a handshake
Come guys give Sam a break. If you looked like Sam Cassell, would you want people wanting to take pictures of you all the time? I mean every picture is bad. Sam knows he's not photogenic.
Dr. J walked past me too, but the battery in my camera was dead. Did you see his wife, woman, or whatever. She definately beat out all the other NBA wives HANDS DOWN!!!!
man sounds like you had an awesome time, good stuff. i went to the jam session on saturday and thought it was terrible because of how many people were there. if you wanted to do anything it was near an hour wait. probably my own fault for going on the weekend but my friends and i had no fun at all.
Glad you enjoyed your time with Rudy. He is an absolutely amazing person. Just having few words with him would make you realize why both Steve and Yao looked at him as a father figure.
Still on my high from the weekend! Before we flew out, I made a list of my top guys I'd like to meet. 1. Rudy 2. Dream 3. Clyde. 2 out of 3!! Forget Jordan, Lebron, Kobe, Iverson, etc... I can definitely see why EVERYONE has only the best things to say about Rudy. Although Dream is my favorite Rockets player (never had the chance to see Rudy play), Rudy is my favorite Rocket of all-time. Player, Assistant Coach, Coach, etc...the man is a staple in the organization and belongs in Houston. I can't wait for the day he's brought back to the Rockets in some capacity. I've been trying to find a retro jersey of his for a while, anyone know of a place that sells them? Sam really dissapointed me. I used to root for him wherever he went because of his time as a Rocket, but forget about that now. The Jam Session was packed over the weekend, while it was literally empty on Monday. Allstar weekend in my hometown! http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1612/7/20/17/21/44/0/44211720709_0_ALB.jpg http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1612/7/20/27/65/39/0/39652720709_0_ALB.jpg http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1612/7/20/27/91/81/0/81912720709_0_ALB.jpg
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I went into the hilton hotel after the rookie game i saw: Rasheed Wallace Elton Brand Boris Diaw Tony Parker and Eva Chauncy Billups Kevin Garnett Branden Haywood Luther Head Daron Williams Emeca Okaror Delonte West Nate Robinson Ronny Turiaf Magic Johson Russel Simmons Steven A Smith and others....... KG and Rasheed were total ASSHOLES Elton Brand is short and real cool Luther Head was real cool everyone talked to me because I acted laid back and they thought I played for the Texans.
As promised in a different thread, here are some of the pics that I took during All-Star Weekend. Sorry it took so long. Enjoy. Players in the Hilton http://photobucket.com/albums/e39/AteAllNight/NBA Players Check-In/?action=view&slideshow=true During All-Star Game http://photobucket.com/albums/e39/AteAllNight/NBA All-Star Game 2006/?action=view&slideshow=true
