That's ############ awesome. I can only imagine that my childhood idol, J.D. Salinger, wants me to track him down.

Sachin Tendulkar might not want to talk to me - but the closest I've gotten to him is 10 feet. Elsewhere, I'm sure Will Clark is busy - somewhere, somehow.

Who would win a home run derby: Kuiper, Jason Tyner, or me? I'm pretty sure that Kuiper once had a card that showed him posing with a broken bat, but I couldn't find it.

I once emailed Joe Posnanski, not thinking he would even read it. He emailed me back with some good points to an argument I had made disagreeing with his column. That's the closest I've ever felt to feeling what Joe felt when Duane Kuiper emailed him.

I'll never have that experience. My greatest sports hero growing up was Jim Clark. He's still my greatest sports hero, now that I think about it...

Kuiper was a major leaguer for all or parts of 12 seasons, making him many times better at baseball than most of us who played the game. However, he's a far better broadcaster than he was a major leaguer. I can't think of a former player who is smoother in the booth than Duane Kuiper. He also may be the smoothest white person ever named Duane.

I sent a fan email to Alex Gordon's #1 Fan and he replied. That reply is now stuck to my fridge with a magnet.

Yeah, Kuiper is great. He sounds like he was born to be a broadcaster all along.

Tyner has 3 professional HRs.

Kuiper was a major leaguer for all or parts of 12 seasons, making him many times better at baseball than most of us who played the game. However, he's a far better broadcaster than he was a major leaguer. I can't think of a former player who is smoother in the booth than Duane Kuiper.

Well said.

Sachin Tendulkar might not want to talk to me - but the closest I've gotten to him is 10 feet. Elsewhere, I'm sure Will Clark is busy - somewhere, somehow.

I once met Kaif at the airport, and he was a very personable chap.
You managed to get within 10 ft of Tendulkar?! wow!
Even when I was following the team around England in '99, we never managed to meet him. Ran into all the bowlers though

Kruk and Kuipe do a great job in the booth. Makes me jealous as an A's fan, where I'm subjected to Ray Fosse's borderline insane mumblings.

I'm sure Will Clark is busy - somewhere, somehow

I know a Will Clark. He likes baseball and has plenty of free time. He might find subbing for a childhood idol kind of creepy, but like I said he's got some free time.

I once emailed Joe Posnanski, not thinking he would even read it. He emailed me back with some good points to an argument I had made disagreeing with his column. That's the closest I've ever felt to feeling what Joe felt when Duane Kuiper emailed him.

No disrespect to Joe. P, who I like a lot, but getting a few e-mails from Bill James over the years has been really amazing.

"there’s a short list of kids who idolized me. I’d like to meet them all. Duane Kuiper” "

That is awesome! Duane Kuiper just bought himself a spot on my roster in any historical fantasy league if I need a no-hit utility player. Seems like a pretty cool guy.

I can totally relate to Posanski here. I met Andre Dawson once, when I was stalking GMs at the winter meetings a few years back (to no avail of course), just ran into him and Tony Perez in a common area. Asked to shake his hand (he obliged) and said I didn't care about a job at that moment (he was working for the Marlins), just that he was my favorite player and it was an honor to meet him.

Was easily one of the top 10 moments of my life, and my life isn't too bad. Cool to see that a veteran writer gets those chills too.

As John said, getting to meet Bill James was right up there as well.

I onced ditched a class in which Graham Kerr was speaking at, it felt kind of cool. Of course he got me back by having a ground breaking ceremony in front of my dorm room. Curse you Graham, curse you!

It's a shame some of Duane's smoothness didn't get passed down to his brother. Glen is awful as a play-by-play man. Way too much time spent theorizing, not enough time describing the game. The speech disorder doesn't help either. (Shtrike one, shtruck out shwinging, he shtole that one on the pitcher...) Korach is excellent on the radio but the seventeen second delay prevents us from muting the TV and tuning in the FM signal. I'm all for simulcasting as the Warriors used to do with Bill King.

I once met Kaif at the airport, and he was a very personable chap.
You managed to get within 10 ft of Tendulkar?! wow!
Even when I was following the team around England in '99, we never managed to meet him. Ran into all the bowlers though

Back when I still lived in India, I went to a school in Delhi that was near where the Indian team was training. On the last day of school, my parents took me to the Indian camp, and we got to watch people in action - got a couple of lower-level autographs and talk to the team manager. Then Tendulkar walked in, and a number of people gathered round him, including me, but he said hi but he had to go somewhere. This must have been 1994 or whereabouts. Absolutely thrilling experience - I was elated for days.

Also, I'm down with the Kuiper love. Kruk and Kuip are the best broadcasting team I've ever heard - including the Red Sox crew (I hate, hate Jerry Remy) and the Pirates crew, as well as the A's crew or any of the national broadcasts (TBS, WGN). Just great chemistry, and fun guys. The only guy who can add something is Jon Miller on nights when he is around.

Seeing Rush in the front row, thanks to a friend who worked in the box office was right up there too.

I didn't know I was even going to the concert or that they happened to be in the town I was in that weekend, and found out I was going to the concert the night before, and that the tickets were front row that day. Everyone should get to meet their heroes at least once!

I offered Tori Amos a banana once, and almost stole Alanis Morrissettes harmonica. Had to settle on giving away her Reese's pieces to her fans.

Seeing myself in the mirror every day is always a thrill. I never have the nerve to talk to myself, though. I'm too important to waste my time on someone like me, so I don't bother myself.

I got an email from Skip Bayless once. And, that, well, actually that kind of sucked.

I offered Tori Amos a banana once, and almost stole Alanis Morrissettes harmonica. Had to settle on giving away her Reese's pieces to her fans.

Those are some of the best sexual euphemisms I've heard today.

{knock, knock}

"Hello?"

"Is this the brush with greatness thread?"

Four years ago, I coached Carl Hiaasen's kid in pee wee soccer, and went to a couple of parties at his home before he moved upstate a few years ago.

Anyone read "Skinny Dip"? Well, Carl's wife and I went to the same gym (Carl might have as well, but I never saw him there). There was another regular there who absolutely had to be the inspiration for "Tool", the bumbling henchman from the afore mentioned book. I never got the chance to ask him or his wife if that was indeed the case, but I'm convinced it was.

I once emailed Joe Posnanski, not thinking he would even read it. He emailed me back with some good points to an argument I had made disagreeing with his column. That's the closest I've ever felt to feeling what Joe felt when Duane Kuiper emailed him.

I sent a fan email to Alex Gordon's #1 Fan and he replied. That reply is now stuck to my fridge with a magnet.

And I met Mr. "Keeler" last week. So that makes, me, like Duane Kuiper's fourth cousin or something.

I onced ditched a class in which Graham Kerr was speaking at, it felt kind of cool.

The Galloping Gourment brought his very large yacht to Petersburg, Alaska one summer when I was up there working as a deck hand on a salmon seiner. I didn't actually meet him (or see him), but was told he was very nice. At the end of his visit, he bought a lot of fish to stock his galley.

I've already told my Daisuke Matsuzaka story.

Then there was the time I lucked into breakfast with former sumo Grand Champion Chiyonofuji. Basically, in baseball terms that'd be like having breakfast with Willie Mays.

Then there was the time I accidently ran into Robert B. Parker outside the men's room. I was about 18, I think, and my mom and I (both Spenser fans) went to a book signing. We arrived really early, before anyone else was there. My mom had to use the restroom and I was waiting down the hall. Suddenly the men's room door opens, and out comes Robert B. Parker. I stammered something stupid about being there to hear him speak and get my book signed, and he very kindly said, "Is that so? Let's take care of that right now," and signed my book.

I once saw Ken Finkleman prowling the streets of Toronto

I tried to use all my powers of psychic energy to convince him to come over and talk to me, and it almost worked. He stopped 20 feet past me and came back...but it was only because he apparently forgot he was meeting someone at the Second Cup I was sitting infront of. It was still quite thrilling for me...Finkleman is one of my greatest heroes...although I think it would ruin my opinion of him if he were nice and actually talked to me.

Thus concludes my brush with greatness
Unless it counts that I played pee wee baseball with Women's Hockey Superstar Cherri Piper...
Oh what's that you say? It doesn't count?
Right-o

Cole Ford used to buy me beer.

I once saw Ken Finkleman prowling the streets of Toronto

Was he looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's?

I once stole Billy Cowan's Do Not Disturb sign off his hotel door...while he was bamschnaggling a stewardess.

I once emailed Todd Jones and asked him to email my best buddy from my fantasy league and demand a trade to my team. I woke up the next morning to find a message in my inbox from Jones that simply said "Game on." My friend replied to it, thinking I'd set up a dummy account. It took me about 30 minutes on the phone with my buddy to finally convince him it really was Todd Jones that had sent him the email that stated "He knows the game, and he loves me too. You don't want me. You just got stuck with me. Do the right thing and trade me to Rick's team." Afterwards, I emailed Todd and thanked him and he responded that it was no problem and he enjoyed it. I've loved the guy ever since for that.

Sachin Tendulkar might not want to talk to me - but the closest I've gotten to him is 10 feet.

Steve Waugh & the Master Spinner for me - I loved those guys

Cyndi Lauper once wore my hat to disguise herself from fans. The full story can only be a letdown, so I'll leave it at that.

I was once walking down a side street in Toronto which was totally deserted around 1 30 am on my way to meet my girlfriend at the time. Halfway down the street I realized there was some filming going on in a small condo but filming in Toronto back then was so commonplace that I thought nothing of if. As i passed the film equipment a rather attractive blonde lady passed in front of me and smiled and said hello , I vaguely recogonized her and said hello back , thinking maybe I had met her at my work or what have you. 15 minutes later I realized it was Helen Hunt.

My at the time girlfriends friends boyfriend stole my Notre Dame hat (the bastard) and then went to a strip club where Jenna Jameson was appearing. Needless to say stuff happened involving Jenna and the hat and I didn't ask for it back.

In 1993, Bill Walsh accidentally punched me in the jaw. I was in a crowd, and while he was reaching over my shoulder to shake hands with someone I turned my head. Didn't hurt; wasn't that hard. He said, "Sorry, son."

Andy Van Slyke was my idol gorning up

Old Andy actually lived near me. When I was like 12 or so, I had to sell candy bars for my little league team as a fundraiser. I intentionally went into Andy's neighborhood to sell the candy. I knocked on the door and lo and behold, Mrs. Andy Van Slyke answered the door. I forgot to check the darn schedule! The Pirates were out of town. Damnit.

Funny, because looking back, as much as I worshipped Andy, Mrs. Van Slyke might have been the better choice as she was easier on the eyes.

By the way, she bought 3 candy bars. All carmel for those interested.

She bought candy bars with rocks and dirt in them?

Maybe I had too much to drink tonight, but regarding NO. 40....... To quote a caveman, "Ahh what?"

I met David Berman and Craig Finn this past year, talked AL Central baseball with Finn. That was awesome.

I served Doug Gilmour lunch, which was a huge thrill for a Leafs fan. Nice guy, even shorter than me.

And I delivered room service to Mark McKinney one time.

I think that's the full list of my heroes that I've met. No ballplayers, but that's Canada for you.

I got to meet John Stossel. I was spotted and waved out by Matthew LeCroy in the Mall of America (as in, he recognized me, not the other way around). Those are probably my 2 biggest heroes that I've met in person.

On the flip side, I've met Ann Coulter.

I danced and sang as an elf on stage with the other Kenny Rogers.

I yelled "you suck" at Craig Benson when he was giving a speech at Hampton Beach.

Krukow and Kiper are awesome to listen to. Very entertaining.

OK, let's see:

I once ran into Morley Safer in midtown Manhattan. Literally ran into him. Totally my fault. He was very cool about it.

Sam Sheppard watched me parallel park once. I did not come within two feet of his Corvette, which was a bit dinged up anyway. Putz.

Mickey Mantle once bought me a Natural Light. Actually, he bought a round for the whole bar. Signed an autograph for the manager and was on his way to the next place in about 45 seconds.

I once had a lengthy and animated discussion about punctuated equilibrium with Stephen Jay Gould. It's not my fault that everyone else in the class was too dumbstruck to speak on the day that he guest lectured. He was kind enough to pretend that I was making good points.

But the winner has to be the time that Elmo and Zoe shook my hand while I was buying my kids tickets to Sesame Street Live.

When I worked at an indoor pool as a teenager, I allowed Ken O'Brien to go through the side door into the gymnasium where he and some other Jets (Freeman McNeil was one of them) were playing a charity basketball game.

I saw Willie Mosconi play pool in Atlantic City outside of Caesar Palace. That was extremely cool.

Bobby Nystrom used to do some work at my company years ago, so I would see him every now and then. I also saw him again at a Christmas party in 1990 with Ed Westphall and a bunch of us guys chatted with them for a while. They were even rating some of the girls at the party. :-)

I shook hands with Richard Ravetch as he was campaigning for mayor of NYC in 1989.

I have seen quite a few baseball players at games for autographs. I have one HOF autograph (Ralph Kiner) that Igot after a game.

Oh, having a conversation with Pete Palmer and sitting behind Bill James two years ago in Toronto was a highlight.

My sister-in-law once had Tim Allen hide behind her when some photographer was bugging him.

My brother once told Donald Sutherland where the bathroom was.

Me? Best I can do is I had dinner with Sean Forman a couple nights ago. ah well . .. .

Me? Best I can do is I had dinner with Sean Forman a couple nights ago. ah well . .. .

Hey, that's cool! I wish I had been in St. Louis to see him and thank him for B-R.com in person.

Well, it wasn't just Sean and me. Greg Spira was at the table as well. And the only reason it was only the three of us was because the place couldn't fit all 14 of us together in one slot so we got broken up.

Still, the evening did give me an idea for my next THT column that should go up next week. . . .

I once peed next to Jon Langford...

A few others for me:

Met and shook hands with Muhammad Ali, who gave me his autograph without me asking him for it. I was the first person to notice him on the street and went up and greeted him. As you would expect, he quickly draws a crowd. A bunch of other guys starting hounding him for autographs and he signed for them (I didn't ask because I knew it was difficult for him to sign because of the Parkinson's). And, my God, I'd just shook Muhammad Ali's hand. I could have died right then and been happy. Right before he stepped inside the theater we were standing outside, he waved for me to come to him. I was so dumbstruck by this I didn't move -Whaaaaa? you mean me? - and a man with him grabbed my arm and led me to Ali's side. He leaned over and asked my name and signed a Nation of Islam pamphlet for me. Then went into the building. He was my childhood hero and my favorite athlete of all-time. That's my Kuiper moment.

Shook hands with George W. Bush in the summer of 2000. He came to our small college town on a weekday afternoon, so my wife and I went out there just for something to do. Turns out we were right on the rope line and came over after his stump speech. I proceeded to vote for Gore and Kerry.

Met Dr. Drew Pinsky and dined at the same table as him. Apparently I wound up on the local news when they covered his visit to our school. They tell me it went something like this: "Dr. Drew Pinsky was in town to help students with their sexual problems (camera cuts to me)." My political theory professor had a field day with that one.

Talked to Kent Mercker for about 15 minutes before a Triple-A game in Louisville in 1990. He was really cool and answered all my questions. I remember asking if he thought he get called up soon and he said "Hopefully sometime in the next five years." I think he knew he was ready for The Show. Also said he would welcome a trade to the Red Sox if it meant he got the call.

I once had quiche with Richard Thompson in his dressing room after a show.
I drank beer with Andy Gill of the Gang of Four.
I got to go through Detlef Schrempf's record collection.

I got to go through Detlef Schrempf's record collection.

I own Tom Newberry's old sofa, love seat, and recliner set. Admittedly, it's not as cool as Jon Voight's car, but still. At least I bought it from him personally, and thus verified it was the real Tom Newberry.

I was at the O'hare airport waiting to catch a flight back to Philly when my cousin came back from the food court and said Ali is over by the food court. Went over to check it out and sure enough Ali is on a cart waiting to board a plane to NY.


We had an employee party and some of the guys invited Matt Geiger along. He joined in the festivities of jumping off the balcony. This of course being late summer right before he started the season with a knee injury. For a guy who was making something like 8 million a year he was with some ugly chicks.


A few years back we had the catering gig for a lot of the concerts and I ended up catering a Bryan Adams concert. One of the waitresses we brought along was infatuated with celebrities and she and Bryan Adams ended up flirting for awhile before the concert started. God she was so horny on the ride back home that if my girlfriend was into threesomes it would have been a slamdunk, alas she was not.

Met Dr. Drew Pinsky and dined at the same table as him. Apparently I wound up on the local news when they covered his visit to our school. They tell me it went something like this: "Dr. Drew Pinsky was in town to help students with their sexual problems (camera cuts to me)." My political theory professor had a field day with that one.

Good addition. I also met him and had him sign my copy of the Dr. Drew and Adam book when he spoke at my school. He was up there with LeCroy and Stossel for me.

my music ones are an extensive list but here goes, thom yorke hung out my old work the day after we opened for an acoustic gig he did. spent the day with elastica before their first show in toronto ( well only the three girls but they were all very nice) toured with rob thomas before he became mega succesful, he was down to earth and a ton of fun then, who knows how fame might have changed him. hung out with archers of loaf the night we opened for them, ditto for silverchair although the guy was in a wheelchair at that show after numbing his legs in a drunken accident a few months before. Met billy corigan and james iha on two seperate occasions ( once back stage in toronto , once while in chicago ) . well thats some. i have more but its more of the same.

Something like a third to a half of our congressmen have talked personally to Jesus Christ.

When I worked as a sportswriter, I had about a two-hour one-on-one interview with Brooks Robinson. He couldn't have been a nicer guy. He wasn't a hero of mine, but he had been my dad's favorite player, which made it even more memorable. The only other ballplayer I interviewed was Greg Maddux.

As for random brushes, I grabbed Paul Hornung's golf clubs when they eluded his grasp going around the luggage carousel at Laguardia. He offered his thanks, but sadly no tip on that Sunday's Bears-Packers game.

Let's see, working at a theatre, I've had some good ones. I spoke to Al Pacino on the phone, he was very apologetic about not coming to an event we were having, talked to Liev Schrieber, had Ian McKellen wish me luck in all my endeavors and graciously take a photo, met Jerry Stiller and heard his wife Anne Meara call my friend a #### for not letting them cut in a line, was scrupulously avoided by Edward Albee at a play because my friend and I were crying during the show (it was good! shut up!), was dumbstruck upon being close enough to Patrick Stewart to touch him....many more. Good times. No ballplayers though, unless you count the time at Camden Yards I got to talk to Johnny Damon for five minutes because I was out early in my A's hat looking for autographs and everybody else was clustered around Jason Giambi.

I once emailed Todd Jones and asked him to email my best buddy from my fantasy league and demand a trade to my team. I woke up the next morning to find a message in my inbox from Jones that simply said "Game on." My friend replied to it, thinking I'd set up a dummy account. It took me about 30 minutes on the phone with my buddy to finally convince him it really was Todd Jones that had sent him the email that stated "He knows the game, and he loves me too. You don't want me. You just got stuck with me. Do the right thing and trade me to Rick's team." Afterwards, I emailed Todd and thanked him and he responded that it was no problem and he enjoyed it. I've loved the guy ever since for that.

This one was awesome, and definetly improves my opinion of Todd Jones.

My wife and I ended up having a thirty minute conversation in the kitchen of a friend's house with two other couples, which were Mac from Superchunk (my favorite band for a while in high school) and his wife (who owns/runs our favorite restaurant in Chapel Hill), and the dude from Seven Mary Three and his wife. Mac and I talked a while about the new Richard Buckner album, which Merge hadn't released yet but that a music critic buddy of mine had made a copy of.

Oh, and I studied with Lucinda Williams' dad, so had some brushes with that ridden hard and put away wet musical artist.

I had gay sex with Chester A. Arthur.

I had gay sex with Chester A. Arthur.

Who hasn't? Our sluttiest president, no doubt.

I was 17th in line for the Eleanor Roosevelt gang bang, man she was like a horse.

A few years back we had the catering gig for a lot of the concerts and I ended up catering a Bryan Adams concert. One of the waitresses we brought along was infatuated with celebrities and she and Bryan Adams ended up flirting for awhile before the concert started. God she was so horny on the ride back home that if my girlfriend was into threesomes it would have been a slamdunk, alas she was not.

Back in about 1983, one of my friends interviewed Bryan Adams for a music magazine we both wrote for, and he tried to pick her up. She wasn't impressed by his zits...

At the World Series I met Ozzie Smith and Gary Carter. Reggie Jackson signed a ball for me, but he didn't even say a word.

At the All-Star Cafe in New York I got off an elevator as Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada were getting on.

Derek Bell came into the store where I worked and complained that the Astros uniforms were ugly. Unfortunately that was about an hour before I got to work.

And I once punched Mickey Mantle in the mouth after I plunked Joe Pepitone which started a brawl. Oh wait.

She wasn't impressed by his zits...

By the time we got there those zits were big giant pock marks.

This is probably not in keeping with the spirit of the thread, but i can't resist and my closet brush with fame was Barry Williams (Greg Brady) sitting at a bar in costume for the play he was appearing in that night in a restaurant I workedat as eveyone ignored him. My brother used to work at fancy hotels and he has a picture of himself with Magic johnson's arm around his shoulder, plus autograpjhs from Peter Townsend, Joh Entwhistle and Roger Daltry-unfortunatly, he got them post Kieth moon.

Speaking of the Brady Bunch my dads best man at his wedding worked the concierge desk at the Four Seasons or Ritz or whatever it was many decades ago and he used to send up teenage boys to the Dad Brady's room whenever he was staying. Needless to say it wasn't a schocker to use when he came out of the closet.

This will make Repoz jealous ...

I got to meet a lot of my favorite musicians (and make a lot more new favorites) through presenting concerts, but my favorite story was ...

seeing Cecil Taylor and Elvin Jones at the Vanguard. And as they're winding their way offstage through the crowd (we're giving them a standing ovation natch), Elvin sees me, comes over and gives me a big hug and says "I haven't seen you in a long time man."

I'd never met Elvin in my life. :-)

I sold a sporting news subscription over the phone in the pre-internets days to Frank Pastore.

I think he was surprised I knew who he was.

Then again, he could have been someone on this site...enough of a baseball fan to know who he was, and enough of a joker to play along.

I served Doug Gilmour lunch, which was a huge thrill for a Leafs fan. Nice guy, even shorter than me.

Played hockey with "Digger" and Dan Quinn as a kid. Gilmour was a tightly wound, hyper-competitive, yappy kid. Haven't seen him since I was 12. His brother was a hell of an athlete--way better than Doug.

Chatted with Cito Gaston--amazing guy. Stood around the batting cage with Joe Carter and Cito--wanted to talk to Joe and choked. Choked again later that day when George Armstrong was in the press area (my No. 1 sports hero--bar none.) Got to know Travis Fryman when he was in the minors. Had beers with Dirk Graham (won the Selke trophy in 1991) when I worked as a bouncer. I've met a lot of guys since I started writing about baseball. I'm amazed that I've never lost that awe of some (baseball) players.

Other than Armstrong, I've never been awed by NHLers. In the part of Canada where I grew up you can't swing a dead cat without hitting somebody who is or has played in the NHL.

Best Regards

John

I shook Juan Gone's hand once, back when I was 11 and he was God. Not exactly a brush with greatness, just one of those scheduled autograph things and I got lucky enough to touch him.

Also checked out an experimental theater DVD to Haley Joel Osment at my school's library. He's a year behind me and by all accounts a total pothead.

I have a picture of Mick Foley putting me in a choke hold. He agreed to it when I told him a buddy of mine had a picture of Al Snow putting him in a headlock, and Mick couldn't resist one-upping Al Snow.

This will make Repoz jealous ...

OK, wiseguy...(since I've told the dancing with Madonna & stabbing with OJ stories many times)

Pissed next to Andre the Giant (the answer is yes)

Got leveled by a right from mejor dickbag Bill Graham at a Dylan concert.

Sat in a convention suite where General Westmoreland farted...and he blamed someone else!

I cold-cocked Richard Benjamin as a belidged Paula Prentiss cursed me out.

A drunk Bill Haley showed up at my door...looking for my insane Elvis wannabee neighbor.

Played stickball with mass murderer/serial killer/mob hitman Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski

Asked by John Tesh "What does it take to be a punk?" (the Michael Kay-headed doofer was going to ask out the lead singer of the Waitresess)

Favorite (probably only) celebrity email -- from David Thomas of Pere Ubu.

Random encounter -- Sam Sheppard at a restaurant around the corner from where the Big Fish crew was headquartered. Come to think of it, my garage appears in the baseball (or was it football?) sequence in that movie, as my backyard is adjacent to the junior high field where it was filmed.

Otherwise ... mostly favorite musicians, like all 4 Buzzcocks, most of the Mekons & Wire, etc. I also took Jello Biafra's knee upside my head when he stage-dived during the Dead Kennedys' first ever show in Phoenix back in 8/82.

Jesse Jackson, but that was in my incarnation as a newspaper reporter, so it doesn't really count. Same with Bill Clinton, as that was in my incarnation as an Arkansan born & bred.

Harry Harrison, whose Make Room! Make Room! was filmed as Soylent Green, bought me a beer at an sf convention in Louisiana.

Of course, when I was a kid I spent a couple of hours with the poster child for undeserving Hall of Famers, Travis Jackson, but he was a relative.

Ummmm ... I went to a party once at Elleston Trevor's house (extremely prolific novelist undoubtedly best known for The Flight of the Phoenix & The Quiller Memorandum) outside Scottsdale. His wife was in my then-wife's (now the city manager of Bill Clinton's hometown, of course) grad-level English class at ASU.

I danced and sang as an elf on stage with the other Kenny Rogers.

Well, like, who hasn't?

Wow Harry Harrison. He was one of my favorite authors as a kid. Stainless Steel Rat and what was the other one, Biff the Intergalactiv Hero? The guy was great but then he got caught up in that whole alternate history crap.

Accidently met that Star Wars author, Zaun or something at a triple crown bookstore. Went there just to browse and it turns out he was there to do a book signing. The guy looked like a total dork. He was wearing the exact same outfit as he is wearing in his photo in his book right down to the stupid german looking emblem necklace.

I had a distant brush with greatness on Tuesday. I went to get my hair cut after work, and with the trade deadline and all I started trying to talk baseball with the barber. He wasn't too into it, but after a while he did mention that he had a relative who plays baseball for Texas. I asked him who it was, and it turned out that he's Mark Teixeira's first-cousin-once-removed. He hadn't heard about the trade, and he nearly cut my ear off when I told him about the $140M extension.

"the Michael Kay-headed doofer was going to ask out the lead singer of the Waitresess"

At least he's got good taste in women.

"I danced and sang as an elf on stage with the other Kenny Rogers."

Which one is the other one? The cranky pitcher or the chicken pitchman?

One more: My mother went to high school with Jeff Goldblum. She was the president of the Drama Club, and she was always upset that he'd never be in any of their productions, because he was shy. We went to see him when he did a musical here in town, and met him after the show.

it turned out that he's Mark Teixeira's first-cousin-once-removed.

One of our reporters in Little Rock was Toni Tennille's cousin.

Why on earth he ever disseminated that factoid, I haven't the vaguest idea.

Derek Lowe threw sunflower seeds at me and called my friend fatty cakes.

Nothing significant, but:
Talked to Bo Ryan a few times
Met and shook Natalie Portman's hand
Talked to Roger Ebert for a couple of minutes
I saw Mick Foley on the street once, he was wearing a Twins jersey.
Met Jerry Zucker once

I forgot two of the best:
Mark Borchardt & Mike Schank from American Movie

This is probably not in keeping with the spirit of the thread, but i can't resist and my closet brush with fame was Barry Williams (Greg Brady) sitting at a bar in costume for the play he was appearing in that night in a restaurant I workedat as eveyone ignored him.

My sister introduced me to Eve Plumb while I was decorating a Tournament of Roses parade float.

I also met Bill Simmons in college while visiting a high school friend at Holy Cross. The experience was unremarkable. (Likewise, I'm sure.)

My sister introduced me to Eve Plumb while I was decorating a Tournament of Roses parade float.

Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

I shoveled snow for the Scooter once. Gave us pretty decent cash plus autographed photos for our work. We were all pretty shocked that he would be there. Not only that, but that he answered the door himself.

No, he didn't call us "huckleberries".

My mother went to high school with Jeff Goldblum.

I saw Jeff Goldblum ice skating in Rockefeller Center once. He's not a very good skater; he spent the whole time leaning on a girlfriend type, who appeared to have talked him into the whole thing. We were zipping rings around him.

"he spent the whole time leaning on a girlfriend type"

That might just have been a strategy, if he felt like being handsy.

I could buy the idea of him as a bad skater, though. He's REALLY tall, which could mean that he has a high center of gravity.

Living in Iowa City my whole life, I've got mostly Big Ten athletes and particularly Iowa Athletes.

#80 made me think of this story: When I was in the Netherlands, I was talking to a girl in Amsterdam for a while, and eventually it comes up that I really like baseball.

"Oh, a friend of mine from college plays baseball - I think he got drafted by Philadelphia a few years ago."

Me - "Really, where did you go to school?"

"Southwest Missouri State"

Me - "Oh, what's his name, I'm really into baseball, maybe I've heard of him."

"Ryan Howard."

I proceed to tell her that he won the MVP last year, to which she replies, "oh, yeah, I think I heard something about that."

My mother went to high school with Jeff Goldblum.

I went to high school with Joey "Pooch" Pantucci

In Russia, Joey "Pooch" Pantucci goes to high school with you.

Wait ... no ... never mind.

*sigh*

Bob Stanley taught me to pitch.

Mine are not all that impressive, but...

A few years ago (when I was going to KU) I had an email exchange with Bill James wherein I convinced him to get lunch with me at the Free State Brewery in Lawrence. He brought his son along and paid for the whole meal. I was starstruck the whole time, but he was very nice and the three of us ended up having a good conversation for the hour or however long it was.

I ran into J Mascis next to the merch table before a Dinosaur Jr concert last year. I asked him for an autograph and he obliged, but he looked stoned out of his mind. Mumbled something and walked backstage. (sidebar: during the show, he stormed off stage and refused to come back for ten minutes, because someone in the front row had knocked his mic stand into his face)

One time I met Darren Robinson from Phantom Planet at a coffee shop the afternoon of a gig across the street. When I told him I was just waiting for the venue to open so I could buy tickets, he asked if I wanted to be on the guest list. So three friends and I got in for free. Sweet.

Lastly, the last time Nada Surf (my favorite band in the world) played in Lawrence, it was still cold outside, so I had worn a jacket to the show. But when I got inside, I realized I should have left it in the car, so I went to return it. As I was walking by a side door, it opened and out walked four guys - the three members of Nada Surf and a journalist of some sort. I just stopped, said "Holy crap," and stared with my mouth open. Motionless. After several seconds of this, Matthew Caws walked over, stuck out his hand and said "Hi, I'm Matthew." All I could muster was "I know" until he asked me my name, and then snapped back to the real world and told him how excited I was to meet him and see the show. The end.

I went to elemenatry school with C.J. Ramone.

A friend of mine used to be in a rotisserie league with the drummer for Veruca Salt.

Bumping this thread because I like it and it makes me laugh: A classic photo.

A friend of mine used to be in a rotisserie league with the drummer for Veruca Salt

During my first fantasy season ever, back in '88, one of the owners was/had been Gennifer Flowers' supervisor when she had a state job. Not that anyone would've had any reason to know her name back then, of course.

I went to elemenatry school with C.J. Ramone.

And Marky Ramone (a/k/a Marc Bell) was also in the Voidoids & the Misfits & ...

Oops. That was an earlier thread.

Never mind.

A friend of mine used to be in a rotisserie league with the drummer for Veruca Salt.

My brother in law is the lead singer for No They Do