Hope it's not too bad, and you recover quickly, SC.

Just got back to hotel; spent almost 2 hours in the Emergency Room; hadda get 8 stitches between two fingers.

The Cubs had just gone ahead, and A. Ramirez was batting....he hit a foul ball straight at me. I stood up, watching and waiting and a whole bunch of hands went skyward reaching for the ball. Never taking my eye off the ball, I positioned myself perfectly, and felt the ball plop into my hand. I squeezed onto it, but some yahoo from two rows back had a plastic glass of beer there, too. Evidently the glass broke into pieces, and as I looked down on Lori (who was now covered by this yahoo) I saw she was "trapped" under this guy. He got up off her, and when I sat down to show her the ball, she freaked out.....my pants were covered with blood. She yanks me up, drags me out into the aisle (while passing over fellow fans in our row, dripping blood, and having them congratulate me for making a great catch). God was looking down on me because the ONLY First Aid Station in all Wrigley Field was only 100 feet away. They were able to stop the bleeding, and sent me on my way to the hospital.

It hurts like a mofo, and Lori just went down to the drug store to fill a prescription for a pain-killer.

Don Cardi heard about what happened and left a hilarious message on my phone (about "hitting" Bruno Tattaglia at 4 A.M. in retaliation for my wound).

Anyway, I'm OK, and am sorry I didn't call anyone back yet....Lori has my cell phone with all the numbers.

omg, glad you're back from the ER, SC. Hope the rest of the weekend goes well.

Owie!! I'm glad you're okay, SC... and I hope you feel a lot better soon.
I hope you guys keep on having fun!! Great pictures!

I am so sorry you got hurt. Thank God you are ok.I hope Lori is ok to. Did ya get to keep the ball? I hope so.

SC--This could be good. Maybe you'll be on SportsCenter tonight.

SC - regarding your adventerous day, I saw the below article on ESPN - if you scroll a bit seems you are a mini - celebrity

……..

With the Cubs trailing, 2-1, in the eighth, pinch-hitter Neifi Perez reached on a single off Guillermo Mota (9-6) and scampered to second on a throwing error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez. Perez scored on an RBI single by Sammy Sosa, who was batting sixth for the first time since June 10, 1994.

"That was a huge hit," said manager Dusty Baker of Sosa's single. "That's how I remember Sammy -- base hits up the middle."

The game did however have a scary incident. After a Ramirez foul ball, a fan made a fantastic catch however a near brawl nearly ensured as over jubilant fans all rushed for the foul ball with most falling upon the other. After the ‘lucky’ fan got to his feet and raised the souvenir, the crowd roared their approval. However the crowd grew silent as it was apparent he was injured in the Malay as he was covered with blood. His 'female companion' got him up and rushed him through the mass of people who now began to chant ‘WUSSY, WUSSY’. When he held up his bloody hand as to show his injury they now began chanting – ‘Tape it Up, Tape it Up’. Unconfirmed rumors are that he now began to wimper and yell – my Red Sox fans would never do this. Another scary incident happened as the fans now chanted ‘Throw Him Back, Throw Him Back’ as to suggest throwing him over the wall as they do home runs from opposing teams. His lady friend flipped the fans the bird as she was finally beginning to get control of the situation. All seemed to end until the injured fan yell incited the crowd once more who were back to chanting, once again ‘WUSSY’ with the ever mature “I know what You are but what am I” reply. Luckily he was able to get to the exit before he would have been really injured.

The Chicago Cubs organization apologized for the incident saying that they did not know he was a Red Sox fan, otherwise he would not have been allowed admission. They also stated that the Red Sox connection explains the fact that he would leave a game after getting a little ‘boo boo’ on his finger.

Back to the game Mark Grudzielanek was hit by a pitch, and one out later, Mota exited for Matt Perisho. Pinch-hitter Todd Walker reached on an infield hit that Perisho deflected to load the bases. Corey Patterson lined out to first baseman Jeff Conine, and Perisho was lifted for Rudy Seanez.

With the sellout crowd of 39,078 on its feet, Lee hit a bases-clearing double into the gap in left-center to put the Cubs ahead, 5-2 …….


:p

Hey all - OMG, tonight was an incredibly fun night, I almost pissed my pants -- between Don Cardi and Mikey Montana, and Vito and Gigi -- it was ridiculous. I think between the 4 of them, we've "seen" the entire Godfather and Scarface movies via impressions. OMG, hilarious!!

Don't have time right now to get into the details, but perhaps others will. Probably won't be able to post much until I get home on Monday. See y'all then!!

Thats very funny, BD....remind me to send you my Bloody Mary mix recipe.

Thanks, all, for the good wishes. I'm OK

I'm just ticked off that I missed all the excitement at the bar last night....it sounds like our crowd had quite an evening.

We REALLY have to plan a big get-together and get lots of us members to meet.

From the phone calls I received at 1:00 in the morning I'm guessing you drunks were more then a little 3 sheets to the wind. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. That's saying an aweful lot coming from me. :p

I hope the boys weren't looking for phone sex....

All I'm saying is microwaved Zuccinni and cigarettes were involved. The bad boys tried to blame it on Don Sicilia. For one thing I know he doesn't smoke. For another I never heard of a Filipino with a thick New York accent.

Sounds like it was SC. Must have been the painkillers......

Nope, I don't believe he was there. Then I supposedly was talking to Al Pacino. Like he would hang with you scrubs. :p

Sounds like you guys all had a good time.Wish I could have gone.....hopefully next year.
SC- Damn you're a celebrity now.

Our don with the boys (John Fiore and Joe Gannascoli from "The Sopranos")

SC and Lori relaxing in hotel lobby.

JG thinking: Look at me, I look awesome with these guys.

Sopranos fellas: I hope this guy hurrys up and takes the god damned picture. This guy behind me is starting to get a little to freindly with his hands.

Turi: Two more inches JG and you'd be touching some serious nipples.

I would cross the road if I saw SC walking towards me down the street. Infact I'd probably run away.

Your lady, however, would get a wee wink.

TIS, Lori and Geoff chillin'

Fantastic pics, SC! I'm loving this. Brilliant pictures of everybody. Love the Pork Store T-shirt, JG! Alas, you can't buy anything like that in stores here.

What were John and Joe like to talk to? And, this is a daft question, but how did you meet them, and for how long were you?

Did you remind Vito that he is only where he is (captain) because Gigi conveniently died on a toilet seat?

The two of them were very friendly, and signed a (free) poster for Geoff with the words "To the Gangster Bulletin Board" (or something to that effect). I'm sure he'll post a copy of that when he gets home.

They (John and Joe) really befriended Don Cardi and Mikey Montana, but went out of their way to be be friendly to all of us.

Also - Clem Caserta (Jimmy Whispers from "A Bronx Tale", "The Untouchables", "Casino", etc.) was a real charmer. We have some nice pics with him, but he asked we refrain from posting them on the net.

Don Sicilia is busy slaving away at work; Don Cardi, Mikey Montana and La Dolce Vita caught their flights home already; Geoff left on his drive back a little while ago; Lori and TIS just left for a drive into Chicago, so I am now gonna get caught up on some sleep before dinner.

Guys and gals - When there's gonna be a get-together of our members, TRY to come and meet those with whom you correspond here. I'm sure you'll have a good time.

To those who are overseas - get your own groups together (but you must post pictures here).

Oh yeah!! You should see me on a bad day! :p

They are "regular" guys and funny as hell. I missed it last night, and I'm sure some of the others will fill you in with details (Don Cardi and Geoff), but they had the place rocking with imitations of movie stars, and doing dialogue from "Scarface" (with Mikey Montana).

The convention was something of a bust, and they were probably happy to have some guys their age with which to hang out. Almost every time I was looking for Don Cardi, the two of them were with him (and Mikey Montana). It wasn't long before they were calling Geoff, by name, too.

I bought a picture of both of them (they autographed it) in which GiGi (John) is sitting on the toilet (dead) while Vito (Joe) is taking his pulse.

Hey everyone, Just arrived home from the convention. I must tell you all that I had a fantastic time! Everyone just jelled together like we have known each other for years! What an honor meeting everyone. SC ad Lori are really warm and great people! Don Geoff, a fantastic guy! La Dolce Vita and TIS are two really really sweet ladies! Don S. is a fun guy! I also would like to thank them all for treating our newest member and my friend, Mikey Montana as if he has been on our board for years! Just a fantastic fun time had by all!!!!! Throwing Joe G. ( Vito Spat ) and John F. ( Gigi ) into the mix really topped off the fun. I don't think that the Itasca Holiday Inn will EVER be the same after having our crew! I am already looking forward to next years get together and really hope that more of us can get together.


Don Cardi

SC, when you are talking a bust, do you mean that there were few people there?

Did anyone make any of the tours?

Sounds like maybe the board should hold its own get together.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by fathersson:
[QB] SC, when you are talking a bust, do you mean that there were few people there?

Fathersson,

I think that what SC meant when he said that the convention was a bust is that there was not as large a turnout as the promoter had expected. As far as "our" participation at and in the convention, it was a success. I also felt that the quality of merchandise displayed was pretty nice stuff. This guy did not just throw any kind of dealer with any kind of junk in the convention. I felt that the promoter sincerely gave his all in putting this thing together. As said earlier, the turnout of people was the bust, and that is what I believe SC was reffering to in his post.
I will definatley attend a second one when this promoter puts it together for next year.


Don Cardi

FS -

Don Cardi answered what I was thinking....the "bust" part of the convention was very low turnout. The hotel, and its staff, was VERY accomodating, and the facilities were fine, but I think the location (FAR from the city) and lack of local advertising in advance hurt tremendously.

We'll see if the organizer will try again next year. (IF he does, he'll try New York/New Jersey).