Jim Souhan did a nice article on Dick Jonckowski in today’s Star Tribune. Dick has been a figure in Minnesota sports for some time including the Vikings, Gopher Baseball and Gopher Basketball. He’s only the 2nd announcer to ever take the mike at Williams Arena.

For those of you that don’t know Dick, he’s got a great radio voice and unique personality. He’s the current PA announcer for Gopher Basketball and Baseball. He’s also got a lot of passion for the games he calls and has shown up over the last several years for his reading of “The Night Before Christmas” as part of my niece’s Christmas dance recital.

I had the opportunity to coach against him in American Legion baseball several years ago when he assisted his son, Jeff, in running the Shakopee ballclub and I was coaching Prior Lake. Always joking around and had plenty of stories. He’s a class act.

You can also see some of Dick’s favorite memories here.

This past weekend was the 26th running of the Twin Cities Marathon, “The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America”.

One of my friends was running and a group of us met him at the finish line to cheer him on.  I can’t imagine the training that is involved in preparing for something like this, but its amazing that people can do this and still be in one piece when finished.

Cheers to JP for putting in the time and dedication to take this challenge head-on.  What a great accomplishment!

I was in Las Vegas on vacation last week.  A “run-in” probably isn’t the right wording, but it sounded interesting, right?  On Saturday we were walking through the new Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino and checking out the Miracle Mile Shops when we came across a sports memorabilia store.  It was none other than “Charlie Hustle” himself sitting at a table and signing autographs.  Here are a couple photos that I took while passing through.

I didn’t wait in line for an autograph and was a little torn anyway when thinking if I should.  Pete Rose was a phenomenal baseball player.  After all he holds the records for most hits, at-bats, games played, and outs.  That is pretty impressive.

But, he made the mistake of betting on baseball, and in some cases for or against his own team.  In 2004 he admitted to the betting and was banned from ever being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

So, I wanted the autograph but I didn’t.  Nonetheless, it was great to see someone in person that at one point in history was an iconic figure of America’s favorite pastime.

This October marks the fifth season (I believe) of my participation in a fantasy hockey league.

Ever since the return of hockey to Minnesota in 2000, I have become more of a hockey fan.  Growing up, I remember periodically watching the Minnesota North Stars, but that was nothing compared to what I remember since 2000.

So, a group of co-workers and friends have taken part in this fantasy hockey league for a number of years now.  While most of us no longer work with each other, we still come together during the fall and winter to participate in the league.

Now I know that we are only two games into the season, but I have to point out that the Goalieknockers (my team, of course), are in first place.  I know it may not last for long, but after last year’s horribly unthinkable outing, I expected more from myself this year.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress.  But for now, I have this to show for my efforts.