This past Sunday was the second day of the Toronto Blue Jays Legends signing at Pickering Markets. Appearing that day was Jesse Barfield and Duane Ward. Even though I showed up pretty late, I was fortunate enough to have a baseball signed by both players.
This was the second time I met the 1986 AL HR leader. This first time was after a game when I won a draw for a meet & greet.
Duane Ward was a late announcement, which surprised a lot of people. But it adds more bang for your buck and it was a privalege to meet a 2x World Series Champion.
Great thanks to Heritage Stick Co. and Pickering Markets for always coming through with autograph signings to our little sector in Durham Region.
Today, former Toronto Blue Jays players Kelly Gruber and George Bell did a signing at Pickering Markets. It was the first of two days the markets will hold a Blue Jays autograph session. It was great to meet the two baseball legends and I'm looking forward to Sunday's event as well.
I was stoked to come across this Cooperstown Toronto Blue Jays road jersey being sold online. Not only is it in amazing condition, but the price was as well. Keep checking in to find out which player it will turn into.
Grabbed a new Skate Mental Dan Plunkett deck at Hammer Skateboard. Always wanted to try these out. Great start to the summer. Support your local skate shop.
Today, my brother Tim and I checked out the Primitive Skateboards demo in Toronto. It was one of the most hyped up events of the year and it didn't disappoint. Pro skaters Paul Rodriguez, Nick Tucker, Shane O'Neill, Carlos Ribeiro, Devine Calloway, along with ams Trent McClung and Diego Najera put on a clinic at one of Toronto's best parks. Sadly, I forgot my iPhone and couldn't take pics of/with any skaters - but it's a day I'll never forget.
At the end of the demo, the team signed autographs for the massive crowd and since freebies are always nice a grabbed this exclusive tour poster and a handful of stickers.
As for the board, I couldn't leave the demo without getting it signed as well. Most of the skaters were kind enough to sign it while skating.
It was a great day overall, much love to Mehrathon Trading and Adrift for bringing the Primitive team to our country. Looking forward to the next one. Support your local skate shop.
The Primitive Skateboards team is coming to Canada and I headed out to So Hip It Hurts to grab a deck in hopes of receiving an autograph. This is a Rally Series Paul Rodriguez pro model and comes in size 8". P-Rod will make an appearance along with two of my other favourite pros Devine Calloway & Shane O'Neill.
Hope to see you at the Toronto demo if you're in the Ash Bridges Bay area on June 14. Support your local skate shop.
An outlet store is having a massive blowout sale on NBA jerseys and I quickly got caught up. I grabbed a pretty sweet gem; a Los Angeles Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar jersey. To me, he's definitely the greatest player of all time.
This is the road jersey worn by the LA Lakers in the 80's in the dark purple. The letters and numbers are done up in single layer twill with screen printed white and yellow.
Born on 16 April 1947 in New York City, NY, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar [previously known as Lew Alcindor] was selected first overall in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He would take part in his first All-Star Game and earn the Rookie of the Year Award. The next season, he won the scoring title, NBA Championship, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, and NBA's Most Valuable Player Award. In 1975, he would get traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
While in Los Angeles, he helped turn the franchise into a dynasty winning 5 NBA Championships between 1980-88. On 5 April 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would break the record for most career points on skyhook shot at the Great Western Forum. The 1988-89 season would be his last in the NBA. His final game took place on 13 June 1989 against the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. In a total of 1560 games played he averaged 24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and 2.5 BPG.
NBA Achievements
Rookie of Year [1970]
6x NBA Most Valuable Player [1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980]
6x NBA Champion [1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1988-89]
NBA Finals MVP [1971, 1985]
19x NBA All-Star [1970-77, 1979-89]
2x NBA Scoring Champion [1971-72]
4x NBA Blocks Leader [1975-76, 1979-80]
NBA Rebound Title [1976]
NBA 50th Ann'y All Time Team [1996]
NBA All-Time Leading Scorer [currently with 38, 378 points]
No. 33 retired by both Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in his honour
"You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go... Don't ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body." - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
This past Sunday, Switch Skate & Snow was holding a contest/demo sponsored by Faction Sales & Kadence Canada. Canadian pros Wade Desarmo, Morgan Smith and TJ Rogers were at the event as well as other riders for the distributors. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures because I wanted to focus more on the demo and it was rained out. But I got signatures from the pros and it wasn't a bad day overall.
Wade Desarmo signed DGK's Parental Advisory DVD. Check his part out, it's one of the best.
Morgan Smith and TJ Rogers signed a Blind deck. Pretty excited for both of their signatures on this one.
Since I grabbed a cruiser a few days ago, I thought it'd work well with a set of regular wheels. Unfortunately, I was wrong and out $20. However, Toronto's So Hip It Hurts just received a an order of OJ Wheels and I just had to grab them. These are the 56mm 87A Keyframes and usually meant for filming and/or cruising around.
What I love about OJ Wheels are the bonus gifts that come along with them. This set includes a free DVD or CD [whichever it is, haven't opened it yet - but still hyped] which is above and beyond in comparison to the other brands.
Pro skater Ron Whaley explains the OJ Wheels Keyframes model while Peter Raffin demos. Support your local skate shop.
Grabbed an amazing pair of DVS Shoes, these are Chico Brenes' pro model; the Nica. Gotta support the core skate shoe brands while they're still around and Chico Brenes is constantly killing it even after 20+ years.
He's also a pretty nice guy. This was taken at an LRG signing a few years back. Here I am with him [left], Tommy Sandoval [middle] & Rob Gonzalez [right].
Felt like grabbing a cruiser today and got some brand new parts for really cheap. Can't wait to do beer runs with this. Or maybe just get from point A to point B, whatever the case is - I'm excited!
The deck is made by 5Boro NYC and measures 7.6" x 29.5".
These are 3.5 Krux Trucks and measure perfectly with the small cruiser deck. I remember almost having a chance to buy the hot pink colours several years ago but passed. Fortunately, I found them once again.
These 52mm Bones 100s should help me get around for the time being before saving enough for some real cruiser wheels. They also work well with some Spitfire Cheapshots bearings.
Couldn't resist picking up Plan B's True DVD. The price was great and after seeing this on the big screen when it premiered a few years ago, it's worth owning.
Grab yourselves a copy and support your local skate shop.
One of my most wanted jerseys finally fell into my hands this week and couldn't be any more happy with this pickup. This is a Toronto Blue Jays alternate jersey of their greatest pitcher in franchise history; Roy "Doc" Halladay.
The older run Majestic Athletic jerseys were the best in my opinion. The logo on the chest is fully embroidered. The details on the back are done up in double and triple layered pro tackle twill. A real standout is the top silver material of the numbers.
Born on May 14, 1977 in Denver, CO, Harry Leroy Halladay III was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1995 and made his pro debut in 1998. His first career win came in a one-hit game on September 27. In 2002, he made his first All-Star Game appearance and won the the American League Cy Young Award the next year. In 2010, "Doc" was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.
After a four year run in the National League, Roy Halladay signed a 1-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and announced his retirement to finish his career with the club he started with. Upon retiring, he compiled a 203-105 W-L record, 3.38 earned run average, 2117 strikeouts, 67 complete games, and 20 shutouts.
Career Highlights
8× All-Star [2002-03, 2005-06, 2008–11]
2× Cy Young Award [2003, 2010]
Pitched a perfect game [29 May 2010]
Pitched a no-hitter [Postseason; 6 October 2010]
Great pickup off eBay this past week, I was able to scoop up a San Antonio Spurs David Robinson Hardwood Classics Swingman jersey.
The details are done up in screen printed tackle twill. This is the road style jersey worn by the Spurs in the mid-90's. This was also the season David Robinson led the league in scoring [29.8 PPG] and became one of the few players to register a quadruple-double [34 points, 10, rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks].
Born in Key West, FL on 6 August 1965, David Robinson was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the #1 overall pick in 1987 and made his professional debut two years later. He would receive the Rookie Of The Year Award for his efforts. Throughout his career, he'd accomplish some of the greatest feats on the court and earn many awards throughout his time in the NBA. Furthermore, players given the NBA's Community Assist Award receive the David Robinson Plaque; an award named in his honour.
Career Highlights & Achievements
NBA Rookie of the Year [1990]
NBA Most Valuable Player [1995]
10× NBA All-Star [1990–96, 1998, 2000-01]
NBA Scoring Champion [1994]
NBA Rebounding Leader [1991]
NBA Blocks Leader [1992]
NBA Defensive Player of the Year [1992]
2× NBA Champion [1999, 2003]
NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team [1997]
4× All-NBA First Team [1991-92, 1995-96]
4× NBA All-Defensive First Team [1991-92, 1995-96]
No. 50 retired by San Antonio Spurs in his honour
"Defense is what matters. Scoring never interested me." - David Robinson
