Hey basketball fans! It’s been a while since my last update. I think I just got burned out. I never gave up graphing but blogging takes a lot more work. Scanning, writing, trying to come up with original content. It just all caught up with me. But I'm back! And no, that's not the Christmas Miracle. Last night I had the opportunity to graph the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is our last home game before Christmas so I was hoping some players might be a little nicer because of the holiday. I got there right on time and secured a spot on the first row and waited. Andrew Wiggins was already out warming up and Tyus Jones was sitting on the bench. The first player to make his way to the lockers was none other than star center, Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT). Regular readers of this blog (if you're still here, thank you!) know that KAT doesn’t usually warm up. If he does, he blows past the throng of people waiting for his autograph. That was not the case this time as he not only signed one for everyone waiting but he allowed me a photo op! Granted, the crowd was smaller than I expected for this team, but this is most definitely a once-in-a-lifetime thing! I could be wrong though and I really hope so. He signed a card for my Hoops set and I couldn’t be more thrilled! I was actually shaking a bit afterwards. Thank you Mr. Towns! Dario Saric, Tyus Jones, and Andrew Wiggins signed for a few fans (mostly kids). I didn’t get any of them, but Jones was the only one I’d gotten before and unfortunately he came off at the same time as Wiggins and he saw me pull my cards back because I had the Wiggins stack on top. I could have gotten him but it was just bad timing. The next player I got was Luol Deng. As he was warming up I was debating back and forth if he was Luol Deng or Gorgui Dieng. Take a look at their headshots and then picture them both warming up from a short distance. Tell me you wouldn’t get them somewhat confused? Mr. Deng signed a national flag photo and obliged a photo op, but he said I had to take it while he was signing because he didn’t have much time. He actually got through the people next to me fairly quickly and had time to pose with me. He doesn’t smile, but I’m happy with what I got. Thanks Mr. Deng! The next player to come by was former Thunder forward Taj Gibson. He'd never been much of a signer at home, but I've come to expect that with our guys. The last time I'd seen Taj with the Timberwolves, he ran past everyone and high-fived people, but put his hand down before he got to me and so I awkwardly high-fived his shoulder. I didn't have high expectations for him, and just as I'd expected, he ran past everyone once he was done shooting. I don’t remember much about past experiences with Jerryd Bayless but for some reason I thought he wasn’t a fan of it (but that’s actually Gerald Henderson). I didn’t have a photo or a card for him — I checked — so I had him sign my logo photo. I’m working on the 16-17 Complete set and actually don’t have his card. Next time maybe. Robert Covington was the last player out and while I'd never seen him play before, I had optimism that he wouldn't let us down. However, when time started ticking down I got a little nervous. Even if he ended up being a nice guy, there didn't seem to be enough time for him to get to all of us. When he was through warming up, he ran past everyone, offering a few high-fives to the kids up front. All in all, I'm happy with this outing. I landed the best autograph I've gotten all season and we still have half the season to go. The next game on the schedule is New Year’s Eve against Dallas. I’m set on Dirk (still trying to get that selfie) and eager to see if Luka Doncic is as great at signing as I’ve been hearing Final totals: Bayless 1/1 Covington 0/2 Deng 1/1 + selfie Gibson 0/1 Jones 0/1 Saric 0/2 Towns 1/2 + selfie Wiggins 0/3 Until next time, J.R.
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My birthday is usually a quiet day, with my family planning a get-together usually one or more weeks late just to lump the other people who have birthdays this month into one party. That day is tomorrow, so I spent today at work (which was not as bad as you might think -- we had a mini-party on Friday, a co-worker brought me cookies AND lunch on her day off Saturday, and we're having a family party tomorrow night). Some years, there's a specific person I'm hoping posts a birthday message on my Facebook wall, and I got that one this year -- early. Additionally, my Facebook friends set a record in the number of friends posting birthday messages, so GO you guys! The Denver Nuggets game was later in the evening, and this was an interesting game, as it seems that no one in Oklahoma cared to see this team. It was a smallish-crowd and I got a front-row spot to graph. I didn't have to share it with anyone other than Jeremy, who's there most of the time anyway. For this game, my manager has "connections" and was able to get the-Thunder-powers-that-be to put my name on the JumboTron(TM) under the birthday announcements. I had both my camera and phone queued up, zoomed in and ready to go, but the couple to my left picked a HORRIBLE time to get up and top off on their beer (they really could have gone down the left instead of the right), and so I just barely got video footage of my name on the JumboTron(TM) on my camera alone. If I didn't get the footage, this would mean a bit more, but I'll stick it here anyway: Jerkfaces! Gary Harris was signing as I was coming down the steps. I could have hurried down and gotten him, but I didn't have anything for him and would have gotten him on the logo photo anyway. I was still sorting through my photos when Will Barton snuck by. Oops, no one was paying attention! Would have have signed anyway? I don't know. The other side had a few more people that could have stopped him, too, but didn't. My last game was almost two weeks ago, so you'll have to give me a pass on this next one. I had a mini-brain fart. I had a photo for Jameer Nelson but didn't pull it out for him to sign as he and Wilson Chandler came by at the same time, and my brain thought, "Hey, I can get them both on the same photo!" I didn't realize until minutes later that I actually DID have a photo for Jameer. Chandler skipped around and I didn't get him. Oh well. Darrell Arthur was next and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. His stats look pretty decent too. Talk about an underrated guy! It sort of makes me wish I had something more than a logo photo for him to sign. I recognized Emmanuel Mudiay when he came by, and the only thing that struck me about him is that he seemed, well, rather short (he didn't look like the 6'5" he's listed at). Maybe it was because I'd just seen Darrell Arthur (6'9"), or maybe one or both of those guys is lying about their height. There was a bit of a lull before Danilo Gallinari came off, and while he was out shooting, I thought about asking him for a selfie. I always play this by ear, depending on the player, his popularity, and whether or not I see him taking pictures with other fans. Usually if he obliges for someone on the other side and he doesn't appear to be pressed for time, I'm more likely to ask. I don't recall seeing him taking pictures with anyone on the other side, but there was something about him that seemed, I don't know, a bit cold -- so I let him be. He signed my photo with Jeremy's gold marker, which I still haven't been able to figure out what brand it is. It's a black-barrel marker with a gold cap. The only thing I've seen on Amazon that matches this is a Gundam marker, but that has a crap-ton of Japanese writing on it and Jeremy's appeared to have no writing on it at all. Jusuf Nurkic signed for everyone as far as I could tell, but he didn't strike me as the type to take a selfie although he may have obliged if I'd asked. At this point, the only guy left was Juan Hernangomez, so Jeremy left to go get the remaining Thunder players and it was really just me and the out-of-towner couple from Denver. Juancho took his time and I was getting a bit concerned that he would pull a Novak. I also thought he'd be willing to take a selfie with me, but at the end he almost skipped me but I managed to catch him after he was through signing for the Denver couple. The Nuggets are a pretty good signing team, and while I'm not sure I'd be as excited to graph them again, it was a good experience and I'd recommend this team if you are graphing for the first time. Arthur 1/1 Barton 0/1 Gallinari 1/1 Hernangomez 1/1 Mudiay 1/1 Nelson 1/1 Nurkic 1/1 The next game on the docket is Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies. I've seen this team before and they're all pretty good about signing as well. I've yet to see Mike Conley, and Zach Randolph is pretty hit-or-miss, but regardless, this should be another good outing as well! Until next time, J.R. I parked in a new parking lot for the Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, at the recommendation of my aunt, who has full-season tickets. It's much closer to the arena, but she said it wouldn't be scary walking to it in the dark because "there's people that walk that way also." No. That was freaking scary. It was incredibly sketchy and run-down. I'm pretty sure there was even a homeless guy camped out there. There are no street lights that lead up that way. Yes, there are people that walk that way, but not quite as many that trek to Bass Pro, and did I mention the whole no street lights thing? Stephanie was worried I'd get mugged at one of the games I went to (the last game vs. Atlanta) and I politely laughed her off on that but thanked her for her concern. No. This one, I legit feel like I could get mugged at some point. I probably won't park there again unless I'm flipping late or it's an early game on the weekend. Last season's Christmas Day game was against the Chicago Bulls and I only walked away with 2 autographs from that game. Readers of this blog and my Facebook will remember that as The Derrick Rose Fiasco. Hopefully this one wouldn't turn out to be like that. The giveaway item at last year's game was a blue candy cane (which, I still have, and which, upon retrospect, doesn't seem like something I should be proud of), but this year's giveaway was a special commemorative ornament. I walked in from the far right door, was immediately presented with an ornament, and then took two, maybe three steps before I was presented a second one. I couldn't believe my luck and hoped for a third as I continued walking, but it wasn't meant to be. If Stephanie and I are still friends AND in contact next Christmas, I think I'll send this to her. It would be a nice souvenir from my hometown. Plus, it's a nice heavy chunk of solid metal. Value!!! I remember Nemanja Bjelica from last season. Readers of this blog will recall I named the entry after his indiscreet ball scratch. Mr. Bjelica signed a much nicer (well, a nicer one for him, anyway) signature this year, offering his full graph this time around. He even asked me where I wanted him to sign it. Players don't usually ask me that. You would think it was just because it was Christmas, but probably not -- there was a guy to my left who only had his printed-out ticket and a program, offered the back of the ticket for signing, and got what I got last year. Mr. Bjelica was also taking selfies with people and I probably should have asked for one. Oh well. I think Adreian Payne stopped to sign for Charlie and the few kids around him, but he took off after that. Like straight up, Harry Potter-vanished. I was ready for him, but he was gone when I looked up. Kris Dunn did something similar, although I did actually see him walk off. Post-game, I'm hearing rumors that Dunn signs for kids only, and that something happened during his rookie season that turned him off signing for adults. Do we have Kevin Garnett to blame on this one? Tyus Jones and John Lucas III skipped around and I didn't get them. I get the feeling they were only signing for kids, because the guy to my left was definitely not a kid and he got passed over, too. They just bounced around from section to section looking for kids to sign for. Hey come on, adults want to have a merry Christmas, too! If you guys were star players, this would be The Derrick Rose Fiasco all over again! Good old Zach LaVine. I like this guy, he seems to be humble despite his somewhat recent success as a Slam Dunk Champion (though not much else at this point). He appeared to be in a big hurry, so he took the first marker he got (a giant black Sharpie) and just went right down the lines and scribbling. What I got from him last year was so much better than this year's. To be fair, my photo last year was better, too, but I don't think that played a significant role. He did come back around to make sure he didn't miss anybody, but I don't think he stopped to take many selfies. Andrew Wiggins had left the court earlier, but told a kid he would be back (the kid asked first; I doubt Wiggins started that conversation). And I thought to myself, where have I heard THAT line before? True to his word, Wiggins did come back out, but he DEFINITELY went down the Wiggins tunnel when he was done with practice because NO ONE saw him afterward. Shabazz Muhammad unintentionally skipped me last season, and I was hoping I could get him this time around. He was quiet, but signed his usual, smallish signature at the bottom of my photo. Man, Ricky Rubio -- he skipped me last season. I must have been in the front row last year, too, because he flat out skipped that whole side. I was hoping he wouldn't do it again, because he seemed so nice when he came out, saying he would sign when he was done. Guess what? He did it again. For many graphers, there's always that one (or maybe two) players that won't or don't sign for you. I don't think this was anything personal; I was just very surprised that he would skip me two years in a row. He's my new D.J. Augustin! I will be trying again next season, but hopefully with better results! At this point, only Brandon Rush and Gorgui Dieng were still out, and both of those guys signed for me last season so I was pretty sure I'd get them again. Nope. Rush was well, in a rush to get away and he jogged back to the lockers (presumably not signing for anybody), and Dieng walked off. I was really hoping Rush would stop. I printed out a nice photo of him from his Kansas Jayhawk days and he might have given me a nicer quality signature. Or inscribed it, "Rock Chalk Jayhawk". Next time! There was still some time left at this point, and Heather the usher was making a point to clear everyone out. I saw Semaj Christon and Cameron Payne practicing on the other side, so I high-tailed it through the bleachers to the other side to try for them. It was a bit crowded and I had to wait behind some kids (which was probably to my benefit because players like signing for kids), but the same thing happened as at the last game -- they kept practicing until the High-5 tunnel kids came out, but this time I saw Payne and Christon both run by. I probably shouldn't even bother next time, but you know what -- you can't get autographs if you never wait. A lot of this IS a waiting game. But sometimes it's worth it. Bjelica 1/1 Christon 0/1 Dieng 0/1 Dunn 0/1 Jones 0/1 LaVine 1/1 Lucas 0/1 Muhammad 1/1 A.Payne 0/1 C.Payne 0/1 Rubio 0/1 Rush 0/1 Wiggins 0/1 I got 3 autographs this Christmas, better than the two I got last year. Maybe next year I'll get 4! That's not sarcasm, is it??? Hope all of my readers had a great Christmas. The next game for me is on MY ACTUAL BIRTHDAY, versus the Denver Nuggets. I hope it will be a good graphing experience. I'd feel horrible if it didn't go well. There's no one I'm really wanting, so I won't be making a giant sign, but I hope I don't get skipped. That would royally suck. But we'll see. This is my first time graphing Denver, so I don't know if they're good about signing or not. Fingers and toes crossed. Until next time, J.R. I ended up not going to the Suns game on Saturday because it was supposed to snow during what would have been the second half of the game. I thought I was being smart, what with my car being 17 years old. It turns out that the snow wasn't as much as anticipated, and a lot of fans did end up attending. Oh well. There are only two teams that I've yet to see (Brooklyn, Phoenix) and won't be seeing later this year. Not wanting to miss two games in a row, I attended Monday's tilt against the Atlanta Hawks. I was hoping for Dwight Howard after hearing some favorable reports in previous seasons, but had my expectations tempered since he sometimes has trouble staying healthy. This ended up being a game of brain farts. Giant ones. I had photos printed out for many of the guys that I ended up getting on the logo photo. Which turned out nice, by the way. Dennis Schroder has a very unique haircut/color, and I recognized him right away and got him on my logo photo. He was like a machine, though -- if you weren't ready when he came by, he went right past you. It didn't matter if you were a kid or not. The kids on the tail end of the other side got skipped. It was sort of sad, really. I remember getting skipped by D-Rose last season in that same/similar spot. What bugs me afterwards about the Schroder signing is that I actually DID have a photo printed of him. I just forgot! Brain fart #1. Taurean Prince was next. His signature isn't much more than a "TP" followed by his jersey number, but he was polite and signed for those of us waiting. Tiago Splitter walked back and forth a bit right about this time, and he looked like he was about to head back to the locker room, but he told us he would be back. Yeah, where have I heard that one before? The next guy had a shorter haircut, and I wasn't sure if it was Ryan Kelly. I mean, I was probably 60% sure at this point, but rather than embarrass myself, I had him sign my logo photo instead, opting to figure out his identity later. Five minutes pass. Damn, that was definitely Ryan Kelly. Brain fart #2.
Andre Roberson was next, and I'd never seen him come by the visiting side before. I have a really dark background photo of him that I want him to sign, and when he's on the visiting side, he will use YOUR marker, instead of the crappy, dry black one that he's given on the home side. Alas, I fumbled a bit too long, COULDN'T FIND HIS PHOTO, and he had to go. Brain fart #4? Judges? We'll take it. When a guy is in the limelight for dating a celebrity, your expectations of him being a nice guy, posing for pictures, and signing autographs tends to get a bit...cloudy. Kris Humphries was one of those guys. I don't think he picked up a single pen, unless he signed for Charlie, but I believe he ran past everyone without making eye contact. Kyle Korver was the last guy off, and I don't know if he was just stressed or in a hurry, but he didn't really look too happy to be signing autographs. Or maybe it's just the way he looks. Either way, he took a black Sharpie and ran with it, but he signed the logo photo for me. I can't believe I didn't print a photo for him. I know I searched Google for some, but they just didn't make it into my order. Brain fart #5. Bazemore 1/1 Collison 0/1 Humphries 0/1 Kelly 1/1 Korver 1/1 Millsap 1/1 Morrow 1/1 Muscala 1/1 Prince 1/1 Roberson 0/1 Schroder 1/1 Scott 1/1 Splitter 1/1 This wasn't a terrible autograph outing. It could have been better had I remembered who was who, and whose pictures I had printed, but I walked away with quite a bit so I'm happy. Would I graph the Hawks again? If Mr. Superman would actually show, then perhaps. The next game on the docket is the Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I've seen them before, and the only guy I want to get but haven't been able to get, is Ricky Rubio. We'll see. Until next time, J.R.
Tonight, my hometown Thunder take on the New Orleans Pelicans. I was surprised to see Enes Kanter out practicing again. This seems to be something new for him, coming out to practice every few games or so. He never came out last season, but hopefully he'll be out again when I decide to go over there. I didn't attend last season's Pelicans game, but I've read that Anthony Davis didn't come out for practice. This year, he did. Would he sign? Either way, a lot of people would leave the section afterwards if he did (or didn't). Most players that don't sign will trot or run off towards the lockers. Anthony Davis walked. Slowly. Or normally, who knows. I think he may have signed for Charlie and a few other kids at the front, but he skipped most all of us and *WALKED* back to the lockers. This is when Buddy Hield came out. I got a high-five from Buddy Hield! Stick your hand out to the monitor and YOU TOO can get a high-five from Buddy Hield! ...No? It doesn't work like that? Well... I guess you just had to be there. I thought E'Twuan Moore would be surprised if people knew his name, because my perception of him at the Christmas Day game last season when he was a member of the Chicago Bulls was that he would absolutely rack for anyone who know who he was. Ehh..I didn't really get that vibe this time around. He was quiet and I probably could have asked him for a selfie, but it just didn't feel right. He signed one for me, but I don't know if I'd go through the trouble to find and print out a photo for him next time. Nothing against him, I just didn't get that kind of a vibe from him. I didn't know who Terrence Jones was, but he looked vaguely familiar to me. He signed a few and then skipped most of the rest of us. It's just as well, seeing as how I didn't print anything for him and I also didn't know who he was. Turnabout is fair play. A guy came off the court, who I THOUGHT was Anthony Brown (but I was just going to hold my logo photo out for, because I wasn't 100%), but turned out to NOT be Anthony Brown. I don't know who he was. He also didn't sign when he got to my side. I think he may have signed for a few people up front, but that was it. What to say about Omer Asik? His name is pronounced like Dominik Hasek's last name except without the H. Sorry to all non-Canadians and non-hockey fans who didn't get the reference. The kid to my left had a bad black Sharpie, and though I can't be totally sure of this, I kind of get the feeling Asik would have passed me by if he didn't need my Sharpie. Nevertheless, he signed for all of us. He used my Sharpie to sign the kid's card and the programs and whatnot from the fans on my right. N00b tip -- don't be that guy who goes graphing without a Sharpie. All the other regular graphers carry multiples from what I've seen, and I'm one of them. You gotta have options. Jrue Holiday disappeared for a while and I wasn't sure if he was hidden off in a corner or if he'd snuck off down another tunnel. He appeared right about this point and I can't be sure if he signed for anyone, but if he did, it was for a few kids and the rest of us got skipped. I'm sensing a theme here. He always looks so happy in his Media Day team pictures, but it turns out that he's not so nice after all. J.J. Barea anyone? Alexis Ajinca came off right about the time Buddy Hield was making the rounds, so he was able to slip past all of us. I looked right at him as he walked by, and the kid next to me did as well. He didn't stop, we didn't ask, and no Ajinca autographs were given to either of us. Regrets? Nah. Buddy Hield signed normally at the beginning. He went to the far end of my section and signed there, got people on the section across from mine, and then things got a little crazy and he had to rush. He said he "had to go back to the lockers" and I really think he was telling the truth. He knows Oklahoma loves him. No lie. At the end there, he grabbed a black Sharpie and just ran with it, scribbling the best "Buddy Hield" he could on whatever he saw. I noticed he skipped the kids' programs on my left and possibly on my right. I know he hit my photo, and even though it didn't come out great, I'm still happy I got it. During the game, the crowd cheered whenever Hield came into the game and whenever he scored a basket. He shot a few 3s and probably an equal number of air balls. But a guy in my section yelled out in a raspy voice, "He plays for the wrong team, what's wrong with y'all?!" And then when Hield started draining a bunch of 3s and put the Pelicans within four points of us, he said, "Y'all gonna cheer for him now?" And there was none. Ajinca 0/1 Asik 1/1 Not Brown 0/1 Davis 0/1 Hield 1/1 Holiday 0/1 Jones 0/1 Moore 1/1 This wasn't a bad outing even though I have walked away from other games with more. I didn't get Anthony Davis, but most of us didn't and I didn't really have high expectations from him anyway. For those of you who would like to try your luck, Mr. Davis ONLY uses a black Sharpie. The next game on the docket for me is Sunday's game versus the Boston Celtics. I haven't seen them play before, and there's no one I *MUST* have, but hopefully the crowd will be small and I'll be able to get some selfies. Until next time, J.R. Tonight's game is against the Washington Wizards. I really like this up-and-coming team. They've got a lof young guys with promise and talent. In a few years, maybe we'll be talking about them come playoff time! Going into this game, I had some expectations and had heard some rumors so I wasn't sure what to expect with some other guys. The core of this team is similar to what it was last year, but there are some new guys that have been brought in to help bolster some weak areas. Fellow grapher Jeremy said that Morris brothers in general aren't usually nice about signing autographs and posing for pictures, and for Marcus (who I saw at the Detroit game) definitely seemed to fit that bill. But Markieff Morris was SO nice! He was impressed with my camera like a few other players have been, and he put his hand on my arm while I took the selfie. He also signed a photo for me. I'll bring that picture with me next time I see him and hopefully he'll sign it! Bradley Beal ran past everyone with his Beats on last year, but this year he was willing to sign up to 2 for the kids. I don't know if he would have done it for me, though. Either way, I only had one photo for him. He was wearing his Beats again so I figured it wouldn't be an ideal situation to ask for a selfie. You gotta know how to pick your moments when you IP graph. John Wall was the autograph I wanted most (again), and he had a security guard/handler again. It was a different guy this year, although the one from last year was also around. He was nice about changing pens for specific items, but I don't think he would have agreed to a selfie, in all honesty. The paint pen wasn't all that great (could have been prepped better), but at least it didn't explode. It is a bit faint, but it's my first one signed in paint pen (all the others have been in Sharpie). I still have some learning/experimenting to do in this arena. I'm not one to sell, but if I got a better-looking one, I'd be willing to part with this one. If you're interested, that'll have to wait till next season. As expected, Marcin Gortat was a bit of a dick, although just slightly nicer than usual. He sort of reminds me of Gru from the Despicable Me movies, y'know, before he adopted those girls and turned into a nice guy. Mr. Gortat signed one for Jeremy's wife, saying he would because it was a photo of him with his national team (I gotta print one of those!), and when he came off the court, he signed for a few kids (and Jeremy again), but all the while saying, "I gotta go" in a slightly annoyed tone, much like last time. I'm not sure how I ended up getting Beal, Wall, and Morris, but not Gortat. The stars sign, but the other guys are hit or miss. Is this a parallel universe? Have I stumbled into the Twilight Zone? And are there any kids out there that want to hold out my photo to get signed? Marcus Thornton signed for the kids but didn't sign for me. I only had a logo photo and it wasn't out all the way, so who knows. Do I regret not getting him? Honestly? No. The last guy, I'm not really sure who he was but he looked like Ian Mahinmi. The kids had their card pages out to the tab marked "Andrew Nicholson" but I didn't really think it looked like him. Either way, we all got kicked out of the section before mystery dude came off the court. Beal 1/1 Gortat 0/1 Mahinmi? 0/1 Morris 1/1 + selfie Thornton 0/1 Wall 1/1 I got all of the autographs I wanted, so I'm okay with this outing. I'm pretty satisfied with the Wall swingman, but I'd love to try again next season with a better-prepped paint pen. And maybe gold, instead of silver. The next game on the docket is against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. Anthony Davis will probably be around (but will he come out)? He's a black Sharpie only guy, so we'll see. Good luck to my fellow OKC graphers! Until next time, J.R. I missed most of the East teams last season because I was actually paying much more for my tickets on the resale market, so I picked and chose which games to go to (mostly higher-profile West games). However, I had mixed feelings about this game against the Detroit Pistons. There were players I was after, but no one I just HAD to get. After the game, I try to haul it/hoof it out of the arena to get to Bass Pro as quick as I can, because getting out of that parking lot after a game SUCKS. Somewhere by the Sonic Corporate parking lot, I either tripped or lost my footing and fell onto a manhole cover. I lost all of my drink on the grass and some of my photos got wet. The Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 'graph got the brunt of it as far as graphs go, and a few of my unsigned photos were sticky on the edges. I made out fine, I have a bruise on my left thigh and a couple of cuts on my left pinky and ring fingers. This wasn't how I wanted to remember this game, or the type of souvenir I was expecting, but oh well. Thems the breaks. Not sure if I'll slow down when I walk, but maybe I'll choose my path a bit more carefully next time. I'll spare you all the pictures. You're welcome. Sunday Update: my left shoulder is also sore. Funny, it didn't hurt at all until today. As soon as I arrived, Boban Marjanovic was wrapping up his practice session and started signing for the kids in the front row. He is probably the nicest player I have met thus far, last season included. I didn't have time to take my jacket off, but I held out a Spurs photo for him, and he said, "Oh!" And I was like, "Yeah, [it's the] Spurs!" He signed his name and then asked me if I wanted him to sign it with his number #40 (from the Spurs) or his current number #51 (Pistons). Most players won't give you this option. JaVale McGee is conscious of what number he's pictured in and will sign the number that matches his jersey in the photo; same with Steve Novak. On the other hand, players like Dion Waiters or Ryan Anderson will sign with their current number, regardless of what team they're pictured with. After Mr. Marjanovic was done, I saw the opportunity there (the crowd was still small at that point and even the early arrivals were still making their way through the entry gates), so I asked him if I could get a picture with him and he said, "Definitely!" When he saw my camera, he said, "Oh!" like he was excited. A lot of players and people react that way. It's the perfect camera for selfies and the very reason why I bought it. Thank you random lady from last season's Spurs game, for botching my selfie so that I could buy this camera. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was next, and while I didn't have anything for him, he was nice too. He signed a pretty nice signature (much nicer than the KCPs that I've seen on eBay) and also agreed to a selfie with me. The next guy, some fans got excited about and I am ashamed to admit that I didn't realize who he was until after the fact. I knew he was an assistant coach. What I didn't realize at the time was this was Tim Hardaway. Yes. The Tim Hardaway from my childhood. The Tim Hardaway who played for the Golden State Warriors. The one guy whose autograph I got this evening and DIDN'T ask for a picture with, even though he probably would have because he did for all of those kids. I'm kicking myself a little for this one, but hey -- you can't win 'em all. Stanley Johnson was next and I'd heard some reports on 101 that he's not a very nice guy when it comes to autographs. Even though he is a relatively no-name player, he won't sign or is very particular about signing. I believe he signed for the kids but skipped everyone else. So unless you're 10 years old, or look like you're 10 years old, you can probably forget about getting Stanley. I had studied the roster briefly before the game and knew the next guy coming our way was Henry Ellenson. I didn't have anything more than a logo photo for him, but he was very nice about signing it and taking a picture with me. He, too, was impressed with my camera: "Oh, nice!" Jon Leuer seemed like he was in a bit of a hurry, but he ran past everyone. I'm not sure if he even signed for the kids. When Andre Drummond came out, someone asked him if he would sign, and Andre kind of mumbled that he would do it after he was done. I know what you're thinking: oh, yeah, where have we heard that one before? Well you know, sometimes they really do come out and sign after they're done. Unless you're Andrew Wiggins. Hello, secret mystery tunnel. He dangled us around a bit, making us think he would come our way, but in the end, he ended up taking the Wiggins tunnel back to the lockers. Sneaky! If I had to guess, I think it was the dude and his girlfriend that asked if he would sign initially, that scared him off. Who whips out a giant 16x20 with a paint pen right off the bat? Tact, dude! Tact! You look like a flippin' dealer! I don't know about you, and I don't speak from personal experience, but I am sort of glad Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris don't both play for the same team anymore. I can't imagine having to figure out which brother is which. I know, I know -- they're identical twins. But unless you guys know how to tell them apart when they're NOT wearing their jerseys, I don't know how to properly identify them. Fortunately, it was only Marcus at this game. But rather unfortunately, Marcus didn't sign. Does anyone know what was the inspiration for Aron Baynes' new haircut? This is not a riddle, I sincerely do not know the answer. I think someone on 101 said he took a picture of a turnip from VeggieTales, went to the barber and said, "I want you to make me look like this." As silly as that sounds, I think it's spot-on. I would have thought his would be an easy autograph to get, but no-- he ran by everyone. Beno Udrih is known to be a non-signer, and to no one's surprise, he didn't sign. He, too, has an unusual haircut. Going to the barber with Baynes, huh? Ish Smith didn't sign, and Reggie Jackson stayed out so late (they were about to do the starting lineups) that of course, nobody got his autograph. I get that you don't want to sign, Reggie -- you've proven your point. Do you really still have to be out there shooting buckets when the cheerleaders are doing the pre-game entertainment show? Ironically, he didn't play at all during the game. All that work for nothing, eh? Baynes 0/1 Caldwell-Pope 1/1 + selfie Ellenson 1/1 + selfie Hardaway 1/1 Jackson 0/0 Johnson 0/1 Leuer 0/1 Marjanovic 1/1 + selfie Morris 0/1 Smith 0/1 Udrih 0/1 The next game on the docket is against the Washington Wizards. I have a John Wall swingman that is just BEGGING for an autograph on it. Paint pen! This will be my first attempt in asking for a jersey signed in paint pen. All the others thus far have been in Sharpie, and the red Wizards jersey with blue numbers won't look good in Sharpie. Here's to hoping! Until next time, J.R. Tonight's game is against the Indiana Pacers. Their warmup jerseys (starters: blue; non-starters: yellow/black) looked sort of like Charlie Brown's shirt. Were they the Indiana Pacers or Team Charlie Brown? Like at the Orlando Magic game, Enes Kanter was out practicing with the team. I was surprised to see him out again in the same month/season. Will it happen more often? Either way, this lottery ticket of sorts gives me something to hope for when I eventually graph the Thunder. I'm not sure if he signed for anyone when he came out, but Rodney Stuckey ran past everyone when he was done warming up. Myles Turner was nice and signed for everyone, even taking selfies with people who asked. Jeff Teague skipped around and signed worthless items like the program but skipped cards/photos/premium items. That's weak sauce, bro. Thaddeus Young signed for everyone but he seemed kind of quiet. Well, Al Jefferson definitely lives up to his nickname. That dude is BIG! And so nice! He said he would sign for everybody and he straight up DID. Even those up in the corners that were way up high and hard to reach -- Big Al made the effort to get them all. He said he was one-per based on the number of people he had to sign for, but that was totally fine with me. You go, Big Al! Oh what an epic fail...again. The lady that stands at the foot of the stands in the blue jacket said the Pacers were done, and only Nick Collison and Lauvergne were on the court on the other side. I did notice Collison start to come over to the Pacers basket, but I foolishly left early because everyone else I was standing with left also. The other side still had everyone waiting. If I hadn't gone over to the Thunder side, I would have been in a PRIME position to get a selfie with Nick Collison! Epic fail. I'm still bitter about this but I really hope I get another opportunity. Mr. Collison is a really nice guy and who knows how much longer he'll play. His minutes go down every season and he's really learning a lot about coaching from sitting on the bench. Fingers crossed on this one! OK, I didn't really ask Andre Roberson, but I probably could have because the kid to my right wasn't quite ready (they were getting a selfie, courtesy of mom). I don't really have regrets here, because Andre signs a lot. It'll happen at some point, I'm sure. I was way too high up for this one when Joffrey Lauvergne came off the court. It shouldn't surprise me that he didn't sign for my side. See, I TOLD YOU that other side gets skipped less. He was signing for those way up high on the opposite side. Lesson learned for next time! Bitter face emoji. To recap: Jefferson 1/1 Lauvergne 0/1 Roberson 0/1 Stuckey 0/1 Teague 0/1 Turner 1/1 Young 1/1 During the game, there were two girls sitting behind me. One of them kept asking the other, "Did that go in?" Yes. No. It made me laugh the first couple of times, but it got old pretty quick. Umm...how about watching the instant reply on the Jumbotron? Overall, this wasn't a terrible outing, although I have walked away from many other so-so experiences with more autographs in hand. I usually get more than one signature on the logo photo, but not this time. If I had a chance to see the Pacers again, I might not, unless Paul George is playing. The next game on the docket is Saturday against the Detroit Pistons. This is another Eastern Conference team that I haven't seen yet, and while there's no one on the roster that I MUST HAVE, I'm looking forward to it. Until next time, J.R. I've never really been apathetic about graphing, but for some reason I felt thay way for this game against the Houston Rockets. I've never seen the Rockets play in person, so that couldn't be it. Maybe it's that slow start I mentioned in previous entries, or maybe it's because I've heard some jerky things about James Harden (black sharpie only, regardless of your age) and I was hoping they wouldn't be true. But let's not get ahead of ourselves! K.J. McDaniels was first. He seemed to be a little quiet but he signed at least one for most everyone that was waiting. Ryan Anderson was a really nice guy! He commented on the photo I presented to him, saying that he had a cheesy grin, and we both laughed about it. Come to think of it, I should have asked for a selfie because I really think he would have done it. I'll just make a mental note and file it away for the next time I see him, and hopefully the circumstances are ideal for a selfie then. You just have to know when to pick your moments if you graph and selfie -- sometimes due to time constraints, you can only get one or the other. Clint Capela signed one for everyone waiting. His signature is OK; it's a big C with loops in the middle. This was also the time when those two dudes showed up and got all in my space, but it's ai'ight, we formed an alliance! Three Musketeers and junk like that! We gon' get James Harden! His autograph gon' make my program worth $500! I'mma sell it too! Those were their words, not mine. I don't sell my IP basketball autographs -- just check my store! It's on this same page. We got Nene's autograph! It's probably worth like ten bucks! Hey Harden, what'chu you doing for Thanksgiving? We gon' have that cookout? If I had my phone I would tweet Harden and tell him man you lied to me [about signing later]! And he be like, Damn. I'm coming! Where you at son? Oh, the things I hear at games! I could write a book. Or a blog...! These dudes were straight up amusing/funny, even if they were all up in my personal space. Until next season! WE WILL GET JAMES HARDEN. Alliance, yo! Nene was nice too, although he wasn't particularly chatty or engaging. I saw him sign random pages in the program for people. If I was a player I might not sign those unless you're a kid. One kid handed him a paint pen to sign a ball, but didn't take the cap off. Hello. Nene asked the kid to take the cap off. Any other player would have probably brushed him off/skipped him and not thought twice about it. On another note, can anyone read/translate what he wrote? Assistant coach John Lucas who wrote on me with a red pen. Sorry, I had to get that out of the way. I had a Sharpie out for him but he was on auto-pilot and used those dudes' red pen on my photo. In his attempt to get to everyone, he got a little happy with the pen and finished his ending stroke on my thumb. But to get back to the main point -- who signs a photo with a pen? A PEN. Coach Lucas, that's who. He was nice though, and I'll give him points for that. I don't have much to say about James Harden other than he's kind of a jerk. Or a body part (you pick). He used a red Sharpie for somebody, and I was pretty sure he was strictly black Sharpie only. He skipped a crap-ton of people, signed mostly for kids, and even made one of them cry (and not in a good way). The kid was still sort of crying when the next guy came along. And that was a while later. Back to Harden, I also heard the sig quality left MUCH to be desired. Maybe it's a good thing we didn't get him? I'd rather have something recognizable than a sloppy mess. But that's just me. Patrick Beverley signed a few but skipped most of us. Not really a dirty move, but I didn't really expect him to sign. He knows he gets a frosty reception here in OKC. Eric Gordon. Second verse, same as the first. One per. Anderson 1/1 Beverley 0/1 Capela 1/1 Gordon 1/1 Harden 0/1 Lucas 1/1 McDaniels 1/1 Nene 1/1 The next game on the docket for me is Sunday's game against the Indiana Pacers. I used to really envy people who got to go to a Pacers game, and looking back I am not really sure why. Nevertheless, Paul George is who I'm after, but we'll see. I never know how a star player will react when introduced to a crowd of autograph seekers. Fingers crossed. Until next time, J.R. |
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