Ok, so I thought I would be writing about training camp at this point, but I just can't seem to catch a break.  If I head down to Foxboro, TC gets rained out.  If I think its going to rain and I skip it, TC is on.  D'oh!

So here's something I've been meaning to put on for awhile.  Let's call it a reprint.  This is the blog entry for Kevin Faulk's Celebrity Softball Game.  I wrote it the day after the event and got it up on Patriots Planet and Patsfans.com, and I had every intention of putting it up here....but I just never got around to it.  So here I present it to you, albeit belatedly:

So here it is. The wife, the boys and I made the drive from Nashua, NH to Brockton, MA yesterday to attend Kevin Faulk's Celebrity Softball Game to benefit the United Way. A great time was had by all. Kudos to Kevin for organizing this event! Kudos to his teammates for supporting the event and participating! And kudos to the Brockton Rox organization for hosting this awesome event and providing a great venue!



So we started with the pr-game tailgate party. Upon entrance to outdoor tent area which served as the tailgate spot, I immediately bee-lined it to the memorabilia tent, where they were auctioning off some very cool items for charity.

An open bar with beer and wine was provided so I grabbed a Coron and made camp at one of the tables available. I next put some fresh batteries in my digital camera and that's when tragedy struck! My digital camera of about 4-5 years suddenly did not work! Oh the horror! You can imagin my state of total panic!



Fortunately, the wife is much cooler headed and once again saved the day. Jenn actually ran out across the street to a grocery store and picked up a disposable camera. What a saint this woman is! I would have been devestated if I had no documentation of this event! The pictures are a little grainy, but at least I got them. (First thing I did today, BTW, was head out to Best Buy to get a new digital!)



At this point a couple of players started showing up at the party. They were all really great about talking to the fans, taking pics, and signing autographs. It was interesting to see their different srategies: some kind of set up shop and let a line form, other kind of strolled through the crowd and stopped intermittently and then kept moving. Some players had their families with them and stopped to eat, others just mingled with fans.



One of the first guys I ran into was special teams captain Larry Izzo. I talked with Larry and told him I couldn't wait to attend his upcoming karaoke event. He said he was really looking forward to the event.

Next I ran into Freddy Smerlas, former player and frequent contributor to WEEI's "The Big Show". Steve DeOssie and him were tight - just about always side by side. I didn't connect with Steve, but Fred was supercool and very nice.

Where was Jenn during these meet-and-greets? Well running out caused her to work up an appetite, so she was hitting the buffet! It was a nice BBQ type spread of ribs, chicken, corn, cornbread, beans and salad. Pretty nice. There was this kind of jerk-chicken with pineapple salsa which was real good. I mainly sustained myself on a diet of Coronas and autograph-hunting though!



Ran into Pierre Woods. Very cool guy, said he wanted to get some time in at OLB this year.

Also ran into Sammy Morris right before he did an interview with some reporter for TV. I asked him about each he and Maroney hitting 1,000 yards on the season and he said, "That's what we're shooting for."

Speaking of Maroney, he was at the tailgate too. He was very mobile, but the boys darted off when the saw him and each got him to sign their ball. Lucky kids! I was glad Jeffrey hooked up with him as he is his favorite player these days.



Ran into Jarvis Green who served as the game's umpire.

Also ran into Chad Jackson. I told him I had a feeling that this was going to be his breakout year and he said he felt confident about really contributing this year.  Also ran into one of my favorite guys, Billy Yates.

Ran into Eric Alexander and his little pooch! When we taking a picture with him I asked if he wanted to get his dog in the photo. He tried to pick the little bugger up, but it kept jumping away!

Stopped by Matt Gutierrez's table after he was done eating - very cool guy. Almost seemed a little surprised that I wanted his autograph! It just goes to show how overwhelming being in the NFL can be for some of the younger guys.

Also ran into Ty Warren and Matt Cassel, but didn't get photos. I told Matt that I heard he was a hell of a baseball player and he said, "We'll see."





Also mingling were Brandon Merriweather, Santonio Thomas, Vince Wilfork, and a couple of other guys.





Some players we're practicing on the field at this point and I saw Antwain Spann playing catch. Moss was on the field too and everybody was yelling "Randy!! Randy!!" I was close enough to Spann so I yelled, "Hey Antwain, you got a minute!" He turned around and came over and said hi and signed some stuff for me and the boys. I think the players really appreciate it when you are able to recognize them personally and refer to them by first name. Everybody was asking me - who's that? who's that? because it was clear I could identify the players. And once agian, half the crowd there thought that Billy Yates was Vince Wilfork!

For the game the players were divided into two teams, Red and Blue. Red was the clear favorite with the crowd since the Red roster boasted Faulk, Moss, and Jabar Gaffney.

The red team took an early lead. The game was real casual and light, with players tackling each other and whatnot. It was fun as a specatator to see. Also there were some great blasts! Faulk pitched for Red.

Blue came back, though and tied the game. Chad Jackson pitched for Blue.

Now a word on Randy Moss. What a character this guy is! He is such a rebel- he just does things his own way! At one point he walked from the field over to the crowd and started signing autographs. You should have seen the scene this caused! People just started running around the stadium trying to get his sig. Someone would throw him a football and he would throw it out to another player and play catch. Then he'd sign it and throw it back! It was crazy. During the commotion I went down behind the Red dugout. Everybody was focused on Randy at this point so I called down to one of my favorite players: "Yo James!" James Sanders looked up and I held up a mini-helmet. "Got time for one?" He nodded and motioned for me to throw it down, so I did. He signed it (after I threw the pen down too!) and tossed it back up. Sweet! Thanks, James!





A couple of thoughts on autograph collecting at these types of events:





Wait for an acknowledgement from the player. While James was signing my helmet some kid saw what was happening and just chucked a baseball mitt at him. He wasn't even looking so it hit him in the chest! Make eye contact and get a nod before tossing something down.



Also, screaming a player's last name over and over and over...it does not work. Learn who the players are, know thier first names, and call out maybe once. If they look over, cool. If not, don't sweat it. Very annoying to hear people just screaming "Meriweather! Meriweather! Merriweather!" over and over.



And if you don't get it don't be bitter...they can't sign for evertone and you can always try again later.





So anyway, back to the game. There was some cool inter-inning entertainment including a very humorous dance-off between Matt Cassel and Kelly Washington. Matt won. There was also a race, a closest to the tee putt-off, and the players zinging T-shirts into the crowd. Fun stuff.





The game ended with Red winning on a Randy Moss RBI. Go figure.

The whole thing ended with a salute from the MinuteMen of the End Zone Militia.

It was a real fun time. Thanks Kevin! Hope you all enjoyed the report. The next big event for Den will be Larry Izzo's Salute to the Troops Karaoke Contest in June. Hope to see you there!

...so that was it.  A golden oldie.  Hope you enjoyed and I will try to be better about staying on top of this whole blogging thing. Later.

Another sweet event is just around the corner.  For the second time, Kevin Faulk will host his Celebrity Softball Game, to benefit the United Way.  This should be another great year of watching the Pats pretend to be the Sox.  Who needs Big Papi when you've got Big Vince Wilfork at the plate, right? 

Should be a great time - kudos to Kevin for putting this event together.  I will definately be checking it out and will of course offer my full report in case you can't make it.  If you can, I encourage you to attend - Kevin's softball game draws some big names.  Last year's attendees included Tedy Bruschi, Wes Welker, Laurence Maroney, Ben Watson, and fan favorite Doug Flutie.   Attend the VIP tailgate part prior to the game for some face time and autographs with the players.  Not too mention food and drink!

Here's the scoop:

http://www.brocktonrox.com/therox/headlines/index.html?article_id=755

Big event on the horizon:  Larry Izzo's Salute to The Troops fundraiser to benefit the families of veterans.  This is a really fun event that is presented as a "karaoke contest".  So if you've ever dreamed about seeing Tedy and Vrabes duet to "All The Girls I've Loved Before" this may be your best shot!  Larry's event always draws a ton of big names from the Pat's roster.  Past attendees have included Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi, Matt Light, Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau and many others.  

This event will take place at 7 pm on June 4th at the Roxy in Boston.  Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.  Check out www.larryizzosalutetothetroops.com for more info.  Should be fun - I hope to see you there!

So the wife and I headed down from Nashua last Saturday to Pinz in Milford, MA to attend Vince Wilfork's Annual Draft Day Fundraiser to benefit the Diabetes Research Institute.  Diabetes research is a cause which is close to Vince, who lost his father to the disease.  I must say, I usually go to the Draft Day Party at Gillette (the "official" one) - but Big V's event was AWESOME!  He sures knows how to throw a party!!

Your $40 ticket - again to benefit charity - gets you into the event at Pinz which is an awesome restaurant/bar/bowling alley/arcade facility!  A GREAT choice in venues.  Plus you get access to the all-you-can eat buffet, which included these awesome slider-type mini-cheeseburgers, buffalo wings, pizza rolls, chicken tenders, salad and rolls.  Good stuff - especially the sliders.  Of course the full bar was also available (don't I know it!) 

Plus, you got to take part in the silent and live auctions if you wanted to.  The Big 4 of Boston Sports was well represented.  I think every Pat wanted to contribute to Vince's cause - Brady, Moss, Seau and just about everyone else had signed some memorabilia being auctioned.  There was also a sweet custom jersey (Name:  Superbowl/Number:  42) that I belive the whole roster signed.  There was also a football that Vince had brought to Hawaii and got just about every Pro Bowler to sign.  Nice pieces - I was drooling.

Pinz was showing the draft coverage on about 3 billion screens!  It was sweet!  They had huge mega-screens over the bowling lanes and loads of other screens everywhere, most hi-def.

The staff was super-friendly and supercool.  Shout-outs to Dave, Elaine, Walt, Amber and the whole staff at Pinz!

So  the wife and I first made camp at a table in the bar about an hour before the draft started.  A couple of rounds of Corona ensued! 

We met some supercool fans!  Everybody was really friendly and eager to speculate on the draft at the upcoming season .  In fact I exchanged several e-mail adresses and hope to tailgate this season with some of the great people we met!

I liked the Pats first two picks a lot.  Getting younger and faster at LB and CB is huge.  Mayo seems really smart - and student of the game and just the type of savy linebacker Belichick loves to utilize.  Wheatley has blasing speed and I think he will definately contribute to our shaky secondary.  And a later-round QB?  Hey, it's worked for us before.

The place went nuts when our picks were announced.  Kudos to Michael Holley who predicted the first pick would be Mayo on WEEI.  I definately appeared to be smarter than I am when I called that.  Thanks Mike!

On to the main event (at least for me, your resident OCD-driven autograph junkie) - meeting the players.

Met Ty Warren.  Supercool guy - had never met him before.  Very laid-back, mellow, and gratious.  He signed my football and a mini-helmet for me. 

Kevin Faulk was there, too.  A gentlemen as always.  He signed my football and a Superbowl 39 cap for me.  

And of course there was Big V.  He was great.  So generous, so friendly, truly a CLASS ACT.  He'd do interviews for the media, sign autographs for a few score of people, and then help run the event itself.  Over and over - all day.  What a guy - I can't say enough about 75.  We talked briefly and I'm hoping that my little memorabilia business will be working with Vince on a signing in southern NH - he seemed quite enthustic about the idea, so I will keep you guys in the loop.

Lonnie Paxton and Ellis Hobbs were also there, briefly, but I missed hooking up with them before they left.  This was the second time in about three months that I missed hooking up with Hobbs at an event.  Hopefully, the third time will be the charm!

I also ran into Gary Tanguay from the Mohegan Sun Sports Report - who was really affable and pleasant.  He was very appreciative when I told him I really enjoyed his radio and TV work.  Brain Lowe from Patriots Today was also there.  Where were you, Hazel Mae and Kristina Akra???  :(

Vince had a few guys from the U. of Miami there, too and I talked with them.  They we're great.  I had Vince and two of his Hurricanes teammates sign my admission ticket - a unique piece of memorabilia to be sure.

I can't wait for next year.  I definately plan on returning to Pinz next Draft Day and would highly recommend the event. 

Hey, welcome to Den's blog!  This is my first foray into the world of blogging, so please bear with me.  If you've discovered this blog, you've probably done so through my website, www.neplayerpromotions.com , and therefore probably already know a bit about me already.  If not, let me bring you up to speed:

My name is Dennis Boyer- I usually just go by Den.  My wife's name is Jennifer- she goes by Jenn.  We've got a couple of young boys in our lives - Zach and Jeffrey.  We live in southern New Hampshire.

Jenn and I are what you would call hard-core, die-hard Patriots fans.  We schedule our lives around Pats games.  Yes, we love love the Sox, Celts, and Bruins as well, but it's the Patriots that are our passion - our obsession.  We split a pair of season tickets with some friends and we love to tailgate.  And I'm not talking about burgers and dogs - when I tailgate I'm into tuna steaks, tenderloin, and jumbo shrimp. 

Anyway, I love meeting and interacting with Pats players.  I often travel all over New England attending player appearances at charity events, grand openings, book signings - whatever.  And Jenn is usually in tow. 

As a way of documenting these experiences, I began collecting autographs.  I have amassed what I belive to be a pretty impressive collection over the years.  I've had players sign helmets, jerseys, balls, caps, t-shirts, photos, and even ticket stubs.

I always enjoy meeting the players and I've been to many awesome events, but I have also been dissapointed at some appearances I've attended.  They lacked a certain "event" quality .  When you see five-time all pro Ben Coates sitting at a table with three people in line to get his autograph, something just doesn't jive.

I've always had a flair for the dramatic - I like things to be "epic".  And I do have background in advertising and promotion.  I begain to think that I could organize a better event than what I was largely seeing.  Better for the fans and better for the player.  Bigger and better events with things like raffles and give-aways and other incentives.

Thus was the inspiration for New England Player Promotions.  With help and support from my wife, I've been able to form this modest memorabilia company.  I still have a full-time regular gig (I'm a civil servant), but NEPP is my true passion. 

So here's my goals with the blog thing:

First, I plan on sharing my experiences traveling around New England attending events.  Just last Saturday, Jenn and I attended Vince Wilfork's Annual Draft Day Fundraiser - a good time was had by all.  A summary of Vince's party will be the subject of my next post.

Secondly, I'll be sharing my personal thoughts and opinions on the Boston sports scene, and life in general.  It is a great time to be a fan.  As I write this the Celtics are even with the Hawks in the first-round of the NBA playoff, the Sox are favored to repeat as World Series Champions (hope you got your furniture from Jordan's), and I honestly believe the Pats can go undefeated again in 2008. 

Thirdly, I'll be offering some article-type posts on things relating to the autograph-collecting industry and hobby.  Training camp is coming up, and my experiences have taught me that camp is the BEST place to get free Pats player autographs.  More on this, with my own tips and tricks, down the line.

And lastly, I hope to keep anyone interested in player appearances in the loop.  If you want to know when and where the players will be - stay tuned.  Hopefully I'll be sharing a lot of news on New England Player Promotion events (I've got several irons in the fire now), but I won't be limiting the news to my own happenings.  I'll keep you in the loop on the events of other companies as well.  (Hey, most of these guys are my friends and it's good for the industry and good for you, the collector.)  Also news and info on upcoming charity events and other goings-on.  (Larry Izzo's charity karaoke event is coming up - more on that next post, too.)

So,  I hope you enjoy the blog.  Please drop me some feedback - I appreciate it and am open to criticisms and suggestions.  I look forward to hearing from you, Patriots Nation.

Next post - a full summation of Big Vince's Draft-Day Party.

-Den