I know I have been slacking a little in the blog entry department over the past week. Despite starting the year strong with almost daily writings I have fallen behind once again. For what it's worth (1st ever Buffalo Springfield reference on the blog) I have been quite busy and never want to write a quick, weak entry just for the sake of it. So, with that in mind, I am now in catch-up mode.
Last Friday we had a serious day of signings up at the office. It began at about 12:45 when Mets legend Keith Hernandez popped in for a private signing. Mex is one of my all-time favorite players and announcers. While Ron Darling and Gary Cohen are strong play-by-play guys, Hernandez is a legit storyteller and really can relate the game so well to the average fan. He, in my humble opinion, is at his best during a blow out telling amazing stories from the glory days. Anyway, with this being the final season at Shea we made sure to get some prolific product signed commemorating the end of an era. Interesting story (at least to me)- My friend's grandfather did some of the original construction on Shea Stadium so every time we drive past it he refers to it as "The House My Grandfather Built"...never gets old to me. So with the end almost near Keith signed a handful of balls with the inscription "Shea Goodbye" as well as a few Shea Stadium subway signs inscribed "Last Stop 2008".





Towards the end of the Hernandez signing he was joined in our conference room by former (just declared for the NFL draft) Rutgers star running back Ray Rice. Ray is a serious legend in my neighborhood. He is a graduate of my former high school (NRHS!) and will eventually (if not already) be known as the greatest product of our city and school district of New Rochelle (it's definitely not me). This was Ray's first signing so there was a serious buzz in my office that day. To me the coolest thing was watching Keith introduce himself to Ray. I am still kicking myself for not getting a photo with both of them together. While Rice seemed a little overwhelmed at first he got in a major groove and banged it out in no time. We got some impressive product signed including Rutgers jerseys, mini-helmet, helmets as well as a major array of strong photos. The best thing about Ray (aside from the fact that he is just an awesome kid in general) is his signature..he writes out every letter and you can read it. I must have told him five times to never change his signature. Everything came out so great and we are extremely excited about our relationship with the young superstar.
So there was part one of me catching up on my blog entries. There are sure to be many more posted over the next twenty four hours so keep checking back (there will be a few surprises that you will not want to miss reading about- Go Giants!)