OK, A question for we Rocket Fans who are kinda bored

Definately not a Rocket....but I saw Cal Ripken Jr. at a resturant in Napa, CA.

 

I saw the NOT so famous Matt Maloney puking at Cypresswood Golf Club.

 

i haven't had any recent encounters since i'm here in atlanta, but...

i did see rudy t about four years ago there in houston at numbers. some friends and i made a weekend trip from school to see "the specials" when they were playing there. immediately after the show was over i saw rudy coming down a flight of stairs. pretty big guy.

 

Saw Adrian Caldwell, Robert Horry, Terry Teagle, and somebody else over at the Bennigan's (?) on Kirby and 59. My friend and I chatted with Horry for a bit. We all had a common friend, so that made the conversation easy to start... seemed like a cool guy.

 

akeem olajuwon spent the entire day at my cousins house back in like '87. he came with his girlfriend at the time and they stayed for lunch and dinner. he was good friends w/ my dad and uncles back then. i don't remember too much - i was only about 7 or so - but i remember him hitting his head trying to enter my cousins room. we all laughed. at the time i really didn't know him, but now that i look back at it, it was definately pretty cool.

i've gotten to meet several athletes since so many of them shop at my fathers shop. don baylor was in the other day while the Mets were in town.

 

i saw larry smith at spec's in sugarland loading up on some booze around the time rudy T and his staff were let go.

see calvin murphy all the time -- he lives close to me

 

Akeem Olajuwon went to our school (Dulles High) once, i didn't saw him since I was in class, but my friend did got his signature.

 

I think I just saw Robert Horry, yesterday, at the movie theatre. Kinda scruffy face with a hat, so I'm not sure. But how many 6'10 guys are there who look like the Fresh Prince....is what heyschweetie said.

He used to come to the Village a lot, and I think he still does. His tailor is in the Village.

 

I saw almost the entire team when I snuck into the press conference introducing Scottie Pippen to the team at Westside. Talked a little smack with Gene Peterson, too. I was with a friend who worked at Microsoft Sidewalk (which CBFC used to write for) and I pretended I'd just left my credentials at the office. I pretended to take notes throughout the press conference.

Rudy T: About ten times, all over town. Mostly at A Moveable Feast and Whole Foods.

Jim Boylen: A few weeks before Rudy was fired, at Tien Ren restaurant. He assured me Rudy and all assistants would definitely be back.

Sam Cassell: I was stopped at the light at Kirby and 59 when he ran from Bennigan's to the island in the middle of Kirby to buy a paper from the guy with the huge goiter that sells papers there. Seemed surprisingly tall.

Chuck Nesbitt (or whatever his name was): Walking through the Galleria. Pretty hard to miss that guy.

Also used to date a girl who used to date Vernon Maxwell. And no, she didn't catch anything from him and no, I didn't catch anything from her.

 

I saw Matt Maloney when I used to work at Haagan Daaz in First Colony Mall. Every Monday morning at 9am he would come and stare at the menu for about 5 minutes and then I would ask him "Can I help you" and he'd look at me like his dog just died or something and then just walk away.

 

I saw Kelvin Cato in the Rose Garden parking lot after the last game of the 02 season. I also met Calvin Murphy at a different Portland game.

 

Evander Holyfield came to my school during fifth period and talked to the gym class in fifth period. I had tennis fifth period and we didn't play that day. Instead, we sat in the bleachers to listen to him talk. I forgot what he talked about. Something probably about abstaining from sex or something. naaah. Something about working hard and stuff like that. I wonder how we got that gig. This was like a few months after the Mike Tyson debcale. At the end of his little abstain from sex, mix in a playstation speech, he let us ask questions. Stupid ass kids asked him about the ear. I wanted to ask when he was going to fight Lennox Lewis to unify the belts. I was chicken ****.

Umm. Chris Issak at umm. I forgot what store. This was when he had his forever blue cd out. I think that is the name of the cd. It was Blockbuster music I think? On westheimer.

Hmm. That is all I recall.

 

Me and a bunch of friends saw Horry at the AMC 24 in First Colony about 4 years back. This was during the offseason, and he was with some pretty hot chick. They were talking to each other and it seemed they were having a good time not being bothered by other people, so we just stared at him as he walked by...it's cool to see near 7 footers duck to not hit the hanging signs.

Anyway, thought I'd quote your post because the encounters are similar, just spaced out a few years in time

 

my aunt owns a dry cleaners. and i was there 1 day and Robert Horry came in. (this was like 8-9 years ago) and i was in total awe, and didnt say anything just stared. i went there every other afternoon that week....and i was armed, basketball and sharpie....he came in to pick up his clothes and i attacked him. got my oldschool rockets red and gold ball signed....

 

On a more obscure and old-school note, I played golf with Eric Riley at Sharpstown 3 years ago. He was pretty cool and a fairly decent golfer (must be hard when you are 7 feet tall).

 

if this was about seeing NBA players I sure would have a long list since my job is to surpervise hotel staffs to make sure that everything is absolutely perfect for about half of the NBA teams, but since it's just about Rockets sightings:

I saw Vernon Maxwell driving a ferrari down westheimer years ago. I remember first I noticed the car, then I noticed the license plate was something like MAXXXXX and then I noticed the dark, bald head. I drove up beside him to double check and sure enough....

I saw Rudy Tomjanovich shopping at Whole Foods before it moved locations.

I saw Cuttino Mobley in the lobby of one of the hotels I often work at before the rockets opposing team arrived. He wasn't there for anything to do with the other team apparently though. He was with a couple ladies. (and I can say that since the rockets aren't a client of ours)

 

*note to self, dont let my children attend Dulles High School. I would like to have my children be able to write a decent sentence.

 

Francis and Mobley at Dave and Busters... both playing Area 51. (the zombie shooter game.)

When they were done I said hi to Mobley. (didn't bother Steve cuz he was with his girl) I told Mobley I was a fan and I watch every game and keep up the good work. He seemed annoyed.

 

OK, here goes:

When I was in 7th grade, I won a contest from the Olive Garden to be an honorary ballboy for the Rockets for a night. This just happened to be during the first championship season. They played the Atlanta Hawks that night (Feb. 15, 1994). I got the entire squad's autographs on a jersey (Olajuwon, OT, Horry, Mad Max, Kenny, Sammy, Air Bullard, even Chris Jent) in the locker room after the game. THAT was my first-ever game to attend! (Hate me yet?)

After I went off to school at Sam Houston to major in Broadcast Journalism, then it really started to get cool. I've had press passes to Rox games on two different occasions. The first was a Suns game in November 2000, when they still had Kidd. This was the game where Rodney Rogers just about got his butt whooped by the whole team for fouling Hakeem so hard. I interviewed Hakeem, Stevie, Mobley and the Mooch in the locker room before the game, plus went over and talked to J-Kidd for a few minutes. After the game, again (with the rest of the press) I interviewed Hakeem, Steve, Mobley, as well as Mo-Taylor and Rudy at his post-game press conference.

The second time I got the passes, I "shadowed" Bill and Calvin on the press row for a game against the Warriors towards the end of the season (March 2002). This was the infamous "There's a bat in the Compaq Center!" game. (What were the odds???) Anyways, Bill and Calvin put me on TV that night, and it was incredible to say the least.

I'm working on getting another pass for a game in the new digs this season...

As for other athletes, well, I work sound on the sidelines for Sports Radio 610 during Texans' home games. If anyone can tell me how to post photos that aren't on a web site but are on my hard drive here at work, I've got plenty of pics from games...including cheerleaders.

Anyways, that's my brush with fame!

 

Oh yeah!!!! I also met Calvin Murphy when my middle school basketball team went to U of H to film a haltime segment with Calvin on basketball fundamentals.

It was my turn to do the "between the legs dribble" and he asked me my name and i said, "Bill." he said "What?.. Billy?" and I said, "no... BILL like Bill Worrell.