I was on a plane with Dr. J a few years ago. I was like 14 (i guess it was a decade ago, ugh) and didn’t recognize him, but my old man did. I see Bruce Smith in bars ALL the time down here. Atleast once a month I see him out, and he is actually a real chill guy and will shoot the shit with you like a normal person. Although my bar tender friends hate him because he doesn’t tip, and sometimes just doesn’t pay his tabs at all. I also saw Pele in London two years ago, but that doesn’t really count as I was on my way to a soccer match, and I believe he was as well. He was surrounded by body guards and a mob of people trying to get autos and pics.

My favorite was seeing the recently retired Alonzo Mourning when he was still a standout C/PF at Georgetown University. I was very young and with my parents in a shopping mall in northern VA when Zo and a few lesser-known teammates came strolling by. I didn’t recognize him, but my father sure did, as he boldly waltzed up to Zo and jokingly challenged him to a one-on-one game…which they never did play.

Last year I saw Brooks Robinson at a gas station in York, PA. However, he was in town for a promotion with the independent York Revolution, so it wasn’t entirely random. He did sign my O’s hat for me inside the store, as he normally is very cordial to the fans.

My friends and I saw Hulk Hogan at a bar in Atlanta during a friend’s bachelor party. The Hulk’s advice to my friend was “Don’t do it!”

I have seen him countless times in public. George seems to be at not only every single Wizards game, but he also hits up tons of restaurants and never fails to create a scene.

at Villanova, NBA player Tim Thomas sat next to me in two classes (Intro Statistics and Intro Theology). He was a pretty nice guy, little bit shy and overwhelmed by the attention, I think. Stopped coming to class as soon as the basketball season ended…which was rather a big hint about his intentions. Not exactly a notable athlete, but center Rafal Bigus was in the same classes – and in regards to that comment about how big 7’7" is in person, well…Bigus was 7’2", and in person that was damned big. He sat two seats behind me (I don’t know he folded himself into the desks) and every time he walked past me when I was already seated I was about eye level with belt buckle. Maybe a little under.

I briefly was in a bar the same time as Allen Iverson and his retinue; I was friends with the bartender. He hated when Iverson would come in b/c while Iverson himself would pay and leave a large tip, by the time he was out the door one of his hangers-on would simply pocket the money and dare the bartenders to say anything. I did not witness this, so take it as you will.

I once drove past Brian Billick on 495. That’s about it.

…I bumped into Katarina Witt at a play in Brooklyn 4 or 5 years ago.

Literally, bumped into her.

It was intermission of a play at BAM, I think probably the Uncle Vanya that Simon Russel Beale did there. Anyway, we saw that she was sitting a few rows in front of us during the first act. Then intermission came, and we headed to the lobby like everyone else for coffee, pee break, whatnot.

The lobby was jam-packed. Like rush-hour subway packed. And just as Katarina was threading past on my right, a person behind me got jostled and it pushed me right into her. I kind of thrust my hand out to keep my balance and pretty much wound up grabbing her ass. It was rock hard.

This was probably three or four years ago. I didn’t actually recognize him at first: all I knew is that I was in line behind a huge white guy with really wide shoulders. He was buying MiniDV tapes and it wasn’t until I saw him climb into his Hummer H2 that I put the pieces together.

I was in line behind Shane Battier at Pat’s in Philly. Talked to him and his buddy a bit – he seemed pretty laid back and actually kind of awkward.

Doug Glanville used to come see his old college team when we played in Florida on our spring trip each year. He’s a very normal guy – incredibly intelligent.

Saw Jerome Bettis on the street outside of a bar in Philly. Looked like a big fat bowling ball with arms and legs.

Went to take a piss during a fanfest when I was about 12 – when I started I was the only one at the urinals, but about halfway through Brady Anderson walked in and took a piss as well. Made as much small talk as is possible when urinating next to another man…

Play on a summer team with Pete Schourek currently and play poker with him occasionally. Great guy.

Saw David Wright on the street in NY last year. Not a fan of his so I didn’t try to talk to him or anything. He’s much bigger looking in person than I expected.

My friends see Ryan Zimmerman at the local bars all the time (he lives about a mile from me), but I haven’t run into him yet. He’s apparently very cool and talks to pretty much anybody who is interested.

Growing up I played against or with the Upton brothers, Gavin Floyd, Michael Cudduyer, Zimmerman, David Wright, Joe Koshansky (up and down guy for the Rockies), Jeff Baker (hit a monster bomb off me when I was a sophomore in high school), Cla Merideth, Ross Ohlendorf, and probably a bunch of others that I am forgetting about. At the time most of them seemed like they were going to be really good (except Koshansky), but none of them seemed like sure thing major leaguers.

Was at EPCOT Center at the same time as Cal. Saw him as we were getting on the boat that takes you across the lake (I forget if it was just to the other side of Epcot or back to our hotel, or what). I wanted to get an autograph, but my dad didn’t think I should hassle Cal while he was on vacation.

2 years ago my friend got my wife and two VIP tickets to a big country music fest in Camden NJ. We were standing in the VIP tent drinking, and 2 tables away was John Runyan.

Then, our seats were two rows behind him, so for a day it was kind like I was John Runyan, other than the enormous size and nearly limitless wealth.

I work in Georgetown and the walk between my office and the Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro takes me past the Four Seasons, which seems to be the hotel of choice for most of the NBA teams. I’ve seen their buses outside the hotel on several occasions (most recently the Bucks a few weeks ago), but I’m not enough of a hoops fan to miss my train home to do some star gazing. I did spot Pat Riley standing outside the bus a few years ago when he was coaching the Heat, but I didn’t say anything. Seeing him up-close in his Armani when I was wearing my schlubby winter coat and hadn’t shaved all week was a bit humbling. He was taller and thinner than I expected, but just as greasy.

As you may have gathered from some of my comments back and forth with SC, I am a pretty big wrestling geek. In 2002, I went to Toronto over spring break with some college buddies for Wrestlemania 18. When we got off of the plane at YYZ, we spotted Kurt Angle picking up his crazy hot stripper wife, who was likely arriving on a subsequent flight from Pittsburgh. He was wearing the red white and blue jogging suit and everything! I managed to snap a grainy photo of him (from a safe distance) as we were waiting for cabs.

An hour or so later, we’d checked into the hotel (Holiday Inn right across from SkyDome) and walked down the street to grab a cheap dinner at Subway. While we were in line, Rob Van Dam walked out of the bathroom, right past us, and out of the store. I was busy staring at the menu like a dork and completely missed him, but my friends were sure to tell me about it just after he left.

Later that evening, we were back in the hotel lobby on our way to the bar. Ron Simmons (aka Faarooq) walked past us with his family. I wanted to say something, but he’s a legit scary looking guy (College Football Hall of Famer at FSU) and I blanked on how to address him. In hindsight, Mr. Simmons would have been wise. Anyway, I was discreetly trying to point out to my friend that RON SIMMONS was walking by, but he didn’t take me seriously until he had already passed us and was on his way down the stairs. At that point, my friend registered what I was saying and shouted, “DAMN!” (Simmons’ catchphrase). He actually paused on the stairs and stared at us for a terrifying moment before moving on.

Pat Burrell used to practically live in the Irish Pub in Philly, he was always in there occasionally with other players. It was amazing how fast he could get there once a game was over. It was also amazing how many girls would suddenly file in right at the end of a game. A few Met players came in with him once. It was kind of surreal seeing Tom Glavine in a bar.

Had breakfast with Brooks Robinson, Mike Flanagan, and Johnny Unitas through a church sponsored function. (Not all at the same time.) I’ve bumped into Brooks probably a dozen times. Great guy, the best.

Steve Blake was in Redwood about a week after the Terps won the championship. I actually told him congratulations, like he needed it.

Was walking towards OPCY in the early 90’s with my girlfriend when a very large, muscled man shoved us into the fence as we approached a group of people heading the other way with a gruff, “No autographs!” And that is why I will forever hate Juan Gonzalez.

When I worked at Bill Batemen’s in Reisterstown in late 2001/early 2002 a myriad of Ravens used to come in. They were not interested in tipping but were interested in sleeping with the waitresses. Same general timeframe I was also working at FYE (just out of college and working multiple crap jobs while trying to find one decent one) and I waited on Michael McCrary buying pretty much every PS2 game in the store.

Once at Pickles some nondescript dude played that bean bag toss game with people I know (not me, I suck at that game) for about an hour and only just as he was leaving did anyone realize it was Brian Burres (heh).

Not my story, but my roommate likes to tell the story of when she talked to and danced with Scott Erickson at Have a Nice Day Cafe. He was there with Albert Belle who refused to even look at my roommate when she said hello to him.

Years ago at Memorial Stadium, a former supplier of mine gave me tix to an O’s game right behind home plate. Great seats. We also had tickets to eat at the old “buffet” club under the seats. After we ate, we were heading up the ramp and who was walking with us and our usher? Johnny U and John Mackey. It was awesome. Their box was right behind ours, and we talked baseball with them all night.
Last summer, the wife’s “Monkey Business” got a call thatone of the Ravens had a thing for monkeys, and they wanted us to surprise them with a ballon delivery by a chimp.
We had it all set up for the day before they broke camp in Westminister, but when we got there Harbaugh had made practice run late and they last minute cancelled on us.
As we were waiting in the lot at the castle, Ozzie Newsome came out to the car and he and his office staff hung out with us for about thirty minutes while we waited for our check.
Lastly – Sitting at the Rusty Rudder bar one night back in the mid-90’s – lat night- everyone is bopping to Love Seed Mama Jump, and next to us at the bar was Gary Williams, Len Elmore, and James Worthy. None of the three of them was feeling any pain at all, and Worthy was dancing with as many young pretty ladies as he could – sometimes 2 and three at a time.

I saw Eric Byrnes on the street in NYC near my office and he was dressed like a total crackhead. Ridiculously tight tie-dyed t-shirt, absurd looking bell-bottom jeans with patches and studs on them. He looked coked up. His wife/girlfriend/slut/whatever looked particularly trashy and it looked like they had just gotten done dropping a ton of money shopping. He was trying to buy a Daily News from a guy on the street and the guy didn’t have change so he just gave him a $20 and walked away. The guy selling the papers looked like it was the single greatest thing that ever happened to him.

Also my friends sister is married to Michael Cudduyer so when the Twins were in town in NY we went to the game and then went for a drink briefly afterward with Cudduyer, Morneau, and Joe Nathan. They were all cool guys and it was an awesome experience.

I went to a dinner with Shaq and his entourage, sat next to Chris Dodd on an airplane, waited behind Wolf Blitzer for a urinal, shook John Legend’s hand at the inauguration, spoke briefly with Howard Dean, introduced Martin O’Malley at a high school, sat behind Kevin Durant/Michael Beasely at a Wizards game, and probably a few others instances that I’m forgetting about.

I did play ball against Reggie Willits in high school. Ran into a few Hornets players at a grocery store during an ice storm. Hilton Armstrong and Tyson Chandler along with someone else I can’t remember.

However, I did work at a grocery store near where Brian Billick lived – I know exactly where he lived because one time my mom ran into these two cleaning ladies at a gas station who were lost and trying to find Billick’s house and she had to get the address and guide them there (pretty confusing if you’ve never been there).

Only once did I have the misfortune of working the opening shift at 6am, but that morning I looked up and there was Brian Billick with a cup of coffee. I didn’t say anything, but I’m sure he knew I knew.

On another day, Adalius Thomas bought some groceries. I didn’t know him on sight, but I knew as soon as I looked at him that he was on the Ravens. Ray Lewis, Ogden, would have recognized those guys but at the time (5 years or so ago) I wasn’t quite so familiar with the rest of the roster. If I knew his name I might have said something but instead I think I just stared a bit and probably came across like the nerdy white guy that I am.

Going back a bit farther, the year the Terps won the national championship I was at the baggage claim at BWI and when my dad came to pick me up he looked a few people past me, announced, “Hey, that’s Lonny Baxter!” and went over and started talking to him. LB, I think, was tickled to be recognized.

I know a lot of you guys aren’t hunters but whatever.

My grandpa takes Gen. Tommy Franks quail hunting on occasion and OU and Tampa Bay Buc Jimmy Wilkerson hunted pheasat at my dad’s place on Saturday.

and it’s certainly the most significant. My soph. year of high school I played football with Johnny U’s son (he later transferred to another school) but Johnny would come watch some practice, come to the games, etc, like any other dad. He seemed to really want to just be treated exactly like any JV football dad, and the other fathers did a creditable job…but whenever he walked into the stands you could just see the unbelievable hero worship going on.

I played baseball against Howie Long’s kid and John Grisham’s kid. Howie would sit behind the outfield fence to avoid having people pester him. Grisham was awesome though – he financed a complex (as well as his son’s HS field which is awesome) down there and he does a ton of the field work himself. So in between games we’d all watch him drag the infield on a tractor and then rake the baselines. Always looked like he was having the time of his life. I think it made my mom’s year when she overheard him say something positive about my pitching. She tells that story at every opportunity.

Ex-terp players at Comcast. But that’s not random because they played there. Or they are LaMont Jordan and big hoops fans.

When I worked in Philadelphia (I work for the same company now, but from home here in York) in the early 2000s, I was packing up to go home one evening, and former Sixers President/GM Pat Croce walks by. (He was working on some motivational speaking gig with one of our executives).

All I could really think of to say was “Hey…how are you?” Of course, since Pat Croce is happy all the time, he said “GREAT!”

summer before my senior year in high school, i was in st. barth’s w/ my family. we went out for lunch one day and ran into magic johnson and six smokin young ladies in beach gear. it was about 3 months later that he announced he had HIV. i always wondered what happened to those women.

I used to work at a wine shop in Harbor East. When Javy was an O, he (and is hoooooooot wife) would buy a case of wine a month for us. He was a very nice guy. Also, a little known fact, he has “Gina,” his wife’s name, tattooed like a ring around his ring finger. Horseface Killer came in once, too. The best sighting, however, was getting to help Omar from the Wire pick out a bottle of Champagne to bring to the Wire’s finale party. I think I might have been drooling when I talked to him. Other notable Wire characters: McNulty came in a few times as did Kima (very timid and shy, always accompanied by a white dude with dreads), Bubs (a remarkably suave gentleman in real life), Bunk, and Bunny Colvin.

Living in DC, I walked past Gilbert Arenas who is not very tall. Also, for hockey fans, my apartment is right next door to Donald Brashear.

Favorite non-athlete, non-Wire meet was Huey Lewis at an Italian restaurant in Lake Tahoe.

but I have very few sports stories. I sold luggage to Scott Rolen while in college.

I’ve met, well, exactly no one famous. Except for a Univ. of Md. Journalism school lunch with David Brinkley. That was cool. And Brooks Robinson came to my Little League dinner in 1978 or so.

But, apparently, I’ve coached two first-degree murderers on my wrestling team within the last 24 months.

http://www.wmdt.com/topstory/topstory.asp?id=3359 (later convicted – wrestled for me 2 years ago)

http://www.wmdt.com/topstory/topstory.asp?id=4154 (the 16-year-old male – wrestled for me last season)

I’d much rather have it be something cool like Les Paul or James Hetfield. Although, Van Hammer came to my wrestling tournament once. Does that count, SC?