[sanjosefuji]

Sometimes two plus one doesn't equal three. Last Thursday, I hung out with my nephew and took him to grab Sharks autographs. We went to the San Jose Arena, and I bought one of those "This is Sharks Territory" signs, while my nephew wanted to get his 8x10Shark's logo signed.


Unfortunately, practice was canceled... so most of the players weren't there. However, we didn't leave empty handed.


Mike Ricci stopped by, signed for us... then proceeded to joke around with my nephew about schoolwork and grades. It was one of those moments that he'll remember for years.


Coach McLellan and injured forward Martin Havlat also took the time to sign for us. Although at first, it didn't look like Havlat was going to sign for us. He's been on IR since December 21st and was on crutches. So he was a little preoccupied and none of us wanted to bother him.


Then, he waved my nephew (nobody else) over and signed for him. You should have seen the smile on my nephew's face. The rest of us figured that we'd have to wait until another day... but right before he left, he offered to sign for everyone.


After that... my nephew was hooked. On the drive home, he asked if we could go out again, so we made plans to go on Saturday with my buddy, Mike and his daughter. Unfortunately, my nephew's family was leaving town in the early afternoon, which meant he couldn't go.


But Mike was still interested, so I decided to go anyways... and boy, am I glad I did.


I was able to get the rest of my sign autographed:

It's not autographed by the entire team, but I was able to get all of the big names: Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Clowe, Burns, Havlat, Boyle, Niemi, Ricci, Vlasic, Couture, and McLellan.


Plus... I was able to finish a project I started in November, by grabbing Joe Thornton's autograph on this dual photo with Patrick Marleau:

It was the first time I was able to grab every key player in one outing. Hopefully the Sharks are feeling this generous the next time I take my nephew. But I have a feeling that even if he gets the opportunity to say "hello" to only one player, it'll still make his day... which will make my day.


What about you...

Did you ever have the pleasure of meeting someone famous as a child? If so, who?

I can't remember the specific year, but when I was in elementary school... Judy Blume, my favorite childhood author, visited my classroom.

I know she's not an athlete... but for a guy who isn't a big reader, the experience motivated me to read all of her children's books.


Well, that's all I've got. I hope everyone has a great week. Sayonara!





More...