Me, I was comfortably housed in a Winnebago in a parking lot outside the “headquarters” of the GU hotel/party central. A Winnebago with 11 guys, 1 girl (no to your next question) and what I believe to be the first delivery in Kentucky history of cases of beer to an RV in a Kentucky parking lot.

The crowd, and this is your call this is to verify, add to contribute – slander will be edited – includes Tom B, Jeff P, Rich C, Andrew B, Geoff C, Steph D, was Chris J also on that ride?

With a romp of St. John’s behind us, I think only the GU fans knew that Nova might give us a game. Whether or not the Nova point gaurd Gary McClain’ admission to cocaine use was the reason, we still rolled out a bunch of 1st rounders and got nosed out by a team we just couldn’t beat

three times in one year.

Memories:

Sleeping in a tanning bed for some peace and quiet

Hawaii Five-O onto the carpet

Hearing the PA announcer spitting out all those records for shooting percentage for Nova – please try to tell me Gary McClain was the only 1.

I may be bitter – but only because I don’t have a stub from Seattle the year before.

Comment welcomed.

NCAA Final Four 1985 – Georgetown v. Villanova - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

This was the 2nd round of the tournament, and we got to see some big name teams go at it. USC vs. BC and Kentucky vs Iowa.

There were plenty of tickets so we had 3 carloads of people head out to the coliseum just to see the games. Noone had any real rooting interest. In those days the NCAA didn’t ban beer – so you could have a few, or more, and kick back for an NCAA double-header.

I think the 1st game was a bit of a surprise – with the closest team BC getting bounces by USC. I remember there were a lot of BC people there and after they got beat,  the crowd thinned out, and we moved down real low to the good seats. We had to split up but it was worth it.

Kentucky was and I guess will always be a powerhouse – back then they were coached by Tubby Smith – he had a good run. They lost in the next round to USC.

NCAA Tournament – Round 2 – 2001 - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

It was one of those days, when despite your best efforts to NOT get into a testosterone battle, it was unavoidable. Grab you balls and show what you got – Bowling Balls I mean.

OK – so it was me (aging),. my brother-in-law (aged) and our father-in-law who out of respect I will not mention his age with the wives and kids at Chelsea Piers after a fancy brunch in the city – but the “Battle of Lane 19″ will not soon be forgotten.

We cleared the first hurdle when no-one’s arms were separated at the shoulder on the early frames, no fingers stuck in balls or smashed in the ball return. And things were close. The 4 year was in the lead, having picked up a couple of soft spares (bumpers in play) but we weren’t complaining, all figuring that a bathroom break would take her out of a frame or two before the end.

As we got to the middle frames, the old “dad-in-law” decides to switch to a heavier ball (great – as if his frailty wasn’t already an issue!) I’m pretty sure they had a guy with a defibrillator standing behind up the whole time anyway. So he steps up to the line and WHAM – Strike. Then the red face, the fist pump and it was on.

Not to be outdone, the kids from Queens – closer to AARP than any other age landmark – decide to step up their games. One starts throwing the heavy hook, swinging balls toward the pocket a good 50% of the time and I bear down for a spare, then Strike, Strike. With all that – we still trailed the 4 year old who must have been holding it in, cause she wasn’t going anywhere (despite not knowing the score – it was like bowling against Tommy!)

I missed the Turkey – but knocked down seven and knew it was locked up – chucked ball 2 in the 10th into the gutter and strutted off with the knowledge that I had mastered 2 gray and/or balding dudes on the lanes. None of us had bowled in a couple of decades, and if you as me will never bowl again – thus crowning me Champion of the Family for Life (or until the 4 year old challenges me somewhere down the line!)

Who’s the man in THIS family! - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

Looking back at this game, I wonder why I didn’t see more balls fly out of the ballpark. I was back in Texas again (smarter this time by scheduling my meetings there for April instead of the middle of the summer) and as usual our night our started with some good natured fun at the game.

It was nice to get a Texas win, and they always treat me well down there. Here’s the thing that catches my attention about this game though – especially knowing what we now know. Among the players in the line-up that day…

Jose Canseco, Manny Ramirez, Pudge Rodriguez, Albert Belle (he’s a maybe). It hurts a little and in a way I feel like I was watching some World Wrestling event knowing what these guys were up to. Texas won and the only dinger was hit by Doug Strange a .230 hitter who as far as I can tell never got accused of more than a speeding ticket!

Funny how that works out sometimes.

source: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/

Watching Canseco in 1994 – Pass the Juice please - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

This story is NOT about the game between the Royals and the Texas Rangers on August, 13th 1990. But it IS about what happened that night…….

The Pine Tar Bat, It was David against Goliath, The Team from a small midwestern town challenging the might Yankees in New York. They brought in Goose Gossage to face George Brett. 1st pitch Brett put it up in the right field 2nd Deck. The Yankees a few games before noticed he used a lot of sticky pine tar instead of batting gloves. Well after Brett’s game deciding  home run they brought the pine tar rule (can’t be over 17” from the handle).

So the umpires called him out. (it was a very big deal) the Baseball Commissioner stepped in and said the bat not the pine tar hit the ball. The Royals had to fly clear to New York to finish out the last inning. But this was one of Baseball’s great moments.

I took the photo at the bottom of this Stubstory at the Baseball Hall of Fame, then came home to Galveston and enlarged it into an 8×10. Later I went to Kansas city on vacation, caught a couple of Royals games and I managed to get Brett’s attention. I told him it was his pine tar bat, Brett signed the picture and asked me, “is that what happened to that thing?? -  to end up in Cooperstown?”.

During the game a lot of fans were offering me big bucks for this autograph, I hope you may enjoy this story.

Thank you. Joseph Terrazas

The Pine Tar Bat – George Brett - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

On a cold and cloudy afternoon in early January 2011, while browsing the Telemadrid teletext, I read that a very good tribute to Led Zeppelin group called Letz Zep were going to be playing in two weeks time in Madrid! I’ve been a fan of Led Zeppelin since I was a teenager, had all their albums, saw ‘The Song Remains The Same’ in the cinema many times and own the DVD but I’d never actually seen Led Zeppelin play ‘live.’ I was in need of a lift so I got onto the computer to do some research, liked what I read and rushed out get a ticket for myself and my husband, who, although he didn’t know much about Led Zeppelin, likes concerts and wanted to come with me. I hadn’t been to a rock concert for years though I used to go to quite a lot when I was young, free and single. When we arrived at the venue on a chilly Tuesday night, the Sala Heineken was three quarters full. I could hear some English voices as well as Spanish being spoken around me. The audience age ranged from under twenty to over sixty, men and women of a wide range of hair lengths and musical tribal persuasions. The sight of Jimmy Page’s Zoso logo on one of the amplifiers increased my anticipation though I thought to myself that the guitarist would have to be very good indeed to justify it.

At 21:20, the lights dimmed, thick acrid smoke began to waft its way across the stage, the sound of an excerpt from a fifties musical, followed by what sounded to me like a part of the intro to The Doors’ L.A. Woman was heard while the ghostly figures of the band members: Billy Kulke, Andy Gray, Steve Turner and Benjy Reid, took their places. Expectation was at a height. The familiar drum intro, the guitar riffs, the vocals starting off… ”Been a long time since I Rock n Roll…” How true in my case and what a delight it was to hear it ‘live’ and played so well then they went straight into Heartbreaker, during which my husband asked me, ”Are they as good as you thought they might be?” I gave him a huge smile. ”Yes, so far, very good!” The very good got better and better as I was transported back in time and the band approached and even equaled the quality material they were covering! Incredible! I loved it! Letz Zep had a new fan by the time they finished Rock n Roll and I was to hear them play several favourite tracks which I hadn’t heard played ‘live’ before.

Billy Kulke, alias Robert Plant, sported a seventies style shirt with a feather pattern, bootleg cut denim jeans, snakeskin boots and his very long and curly blond locks made him resemble Percy himself. Andy Gray, alias Jimmy Page, had the same hair as the brilliant guitarist and wore a black, chest revealing top and flared trousers with an intricately embroidered semi oriental pattern on the outsides of the arms and legs. Steve Turner, interpreting John Paul Jones, was wearing a late seventies style outfit and resembled Jonesy in looks, demeanour and ability. Benjy Reid, the interpretor of John Bonham, with very long, very straight blond hair more reminiscent of Rick Wakeman than of Bonzo, was dressed in a black sleeveless T shirt and loose black pants.

It goes without saying that they must have watched Led Zeppelin’s film loads of times because they got their gestures, movements, poses, everything off to a tee. There’s only one Robert Plant, there’s no doubt, but Billy Kulke did fantastically well interpreting the vast repertoire of vocalizations that Robert Plant emitted at his best and as the show progressed he got better and better, superbly so during Since I’ve Been Loving You. Andy Gray’s fingers flew while performing some of the most technically demanding guitar numbers ever composed and during his showpiece, Dazed and Confused, extracted a more melodious sound than Jimmy Page while playing the guitar with a violin bow, the strings of which were visibly worn when he waved it to show the audience on completion of that segment of the song. Credit where credit is due – Andy Gray merits bearing the Zoso logo on his amplifier. Steve Turner handled the bass and keyboards with great skill and when at one point when his guitar became unplugged, he swiftly transferred to the keyboards to continue with identical bass notes on that instrument – the mark of a true professional and he received an ovation when the song was completed. Benjy Reid with his flailing blond hair and arms was simply spectacular, a drum machine, and he played the drums with the same consummate skill, force and precision just as Bonzo once did.

After Heartbreaker, Billy said, ‘¡Hola Madrid!’  and the audience responded with an ovation of approval. He spoke correct Spanish while introducing the songs, reverting to English from time to time, notably while introducing Stairway to Heaven, ”I think this is a song of hope.” I looked around to see that everyone was in a state of rapture and were singing along, not only to the marvelous ‘live’ version of this particular classic but all the other songs too. The line, ”Does anybody remember laughter?” received a huge cheer from the public.

Throughout the show, a sense of humour and camaraderie between the band members was very evident with Billy crediting each one individually as the concert progressed.  As one marvelous song was played after another I was wishing they would carry on and on but there remained one that I especially wanted to hear and the extended version of Whole Lotta Love was simply sensational. Billy, Andy, Steve and Benjy surpassed themselves in terms of brilliance, entertainment and humour thanks to their improvisation and insertion of some parts of other songs along with Boogie Mama like Sex Machine, Let’s Have A Party and Hello Mary Lou, with Billy referring to Steve as a little boy of forty four being allowed to boogie and in altering the super well known chorus with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he sang: ‘I believe Cristiano Ronaldo knows what I’m talkin’ about when I say — Woman!’ The Real Madrid FC player’s glamourous image wasn’t much appreciated by soccer fans, upon which someone in the audience shouted ‘Messi’ then ‘Iniesta’ (both of FC Barcelona) and Billy, with a huge grin, obligingly including their names in a separate chorus as well. I was doubled up in laughter at this, then of course, he sang, ‘Woman, you need it — LOVE!’ After they completed this classic rock anthem, they bowed and left the stage and a public calling loudly for more. After two hours of brilliantly interpreted Led Zeppelin classics, the encore would have to be something special and the band returned on stage to loud cheers with a storming version of Immigrant Song. The public again sang Oweh Oweh Oweh… which is what Spanish soccer fans chant when their team is dominating the game. Letz Zep didn’t reappear but it certainly was an appropriate chant to end one of the best rock concerts I’ve ever attended.

The set list:

Rock N Roll
Heartbreaker
What Is And What Should Never Be
Misty Mountain Hop
Since I’ve Been Loving You
No Quarter
Over The Hills And Far Away
Dazed And Confused
Black Mountain Side
Kashmir
Trampled Underfoot
Stairway to Heaven
Moby Dick
Whole Lotta Love
Immigrant song

Letz-Zep – yup you read that right, Letz-Zep - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

I’ve been a fan of Stubstory for a few months and stumbled across a story about the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT written by Charly P. I go with my kids a couple of times a year and thought it would be fun to share.

First of all, it’s a place the kids always love, there’s lots to look at and a small play area (bring your hand sanitzer) so it’s easy to kill a weekend afternoon there. As for the article by Charly, we heeded her warning about “lazy pizza” and had burgers and fish and chips instead. Still not sure what “lazy pizza” is – but we decided to play it safe!

As for the Aquarium itself, it’s a great place and if you’ve ever fished the North Atlantic you can see a lot of the fish you’re supposed to come home with after a day on the boat. I think the kids’ favorite is the pool where you can touch the rays, for me it’s always watching those sharks swim around.

Couple of suggestions:

1) When you watch them feed the seals, don’t sit in the little arena – stand off on the left side. It’s a long-ish show and the kids don’t have that much attention span – so you can shuffle them into position to see a little and get out once everyone has watched them get fed and act cute.

2) Meerkats. Keep expectations low. They are cute, but sleep alot. You almost never see any action, the room’s a little stinky and this isn’t just a grown up’s opinion, they pulled me out to make little sailboats pretty quick.

Norwalk Maritime Aquarium – Meerkats? - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

Their Unleaded Tour
(Unleaded, Meaning they didn’t bother bringing long time Bassist, John Paul Jones??? )

Early into the show Page seemed to be content to play second fiddle to Plant as he set the direction early on, until Page broke loose with Heartbreaker, then solo after solo. He displayed the daredevil chops that turned the blues inside out and pointed the direction for Ritchie Blackmore,Ted Nugent, Eddie Van Halen and a host of other hard rock maniacs.

He broke out the Cello bow for Babe I’m Gonna Leave You. They weren’t backed by an Egyptian orchestra as the last tour but had all the elements covered. They had the 13,000 people at the outside venue rocking, they looked healthy and happy to be together again.

The first encore was Ramble On then finished the show with Rock N’Roll. I’ve always enjoyed Jimmy Page’s work as he’d always add different elements to his songs (Donovan credited him with playing the first Power chord ever recorded on the Hurdy Gurdy Man – 1967), no one had ever filled a gap on a song with such moaning and groaning.

Thank You Joseph Terrazas

Page and Plant – Their Unleaded Tour - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

This was the year the Newark Bears won the Atlantic League Championship, and we took the ride up to Bridgeport one night for a game. If you’ve read any of the minor league baseball stuff on this site you know by now that I think it’s the best value in sports, and it was 10 years ago also.

Between you and me – Bridgeport is a funky town – unless it’s changed a lot you don’t want to get lost there, and maybe you don’t want to stop at red lights either. But the Ballpark at Harbor Yards is tucked on the other side of the highway and was nice enough.

The Bluefish got famous, or was that infamous for an incident years later when ex-pro shortstop Jose Offerman charged an ump with a baseball bat – I don’t know if that was in B-Port or not, but it made national TV.

My notes say I was there with my friend Tony, who moved to LA a couple of years ago, so we probably drank a lot of beer, no notes about who won the game.

Bridgeport Bluefish vs. Newark Bears - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?

It wasn’t a ballet, somebody was standing on chairs, and there were 2 boys who were not dancing and were just in their underwear.

The girl took all the chairs and it went literally up to the ceiling, Literrrrallly, and it went in all different shapes, not just one chair on top of another, like one chair’s like that, one chairs like that, and she was balancing on one hand and on her tippy toe. And super tippy toe – it was scary. The chairs were all painted pink and she also threw 1 chair down when she went down and there’s 2 men who were under with a big blanket to catch the chairs.

To me the best part was those two men in their underwear – Ha, Ha, Ha!

Amazing - StubStory.com - Every ticket tells a story. Don't it?