Hey everyone. I'm a novice at the internet, but I was able to put a fan page on facebook for the blog. You see it on the top left of the page. The problem is I can't really seem to do much else with it. Hopefully once I get a profile picture on there it will start to look more professional.
Thanks for checking in...more stories soon. Let's get some more followers...spread the word!
Ken
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Go Phils
Interesting that the Phillies play at 9:30 and 10pm this weekend in weather more suited for hockey than baseball. Like i said in my previous post, the tail is wagging the dog here, and its all about the almighty dollar.
Working on several stories...Jack Kemp, Burt Reynolds, Jaromir Jagr, Joe Torre, John Matuzak.
Thanks for checking in.....GO PHILS
Working on several stories...Jack Kemp, Burt Reynolds, Jaromir Jagr, Joe Torre, John Matuzak.
Thanks for checking in.....GO PHILS
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Comments...
Received many phone calls, emails, and text messages about the post titled " A Friend in Need". Thanks!
If you haven't had a chance, please read some of the comments that follow that post on the blog. Obviously, many people felt the same about Leo Roselli.
Ken
If you haven't had a chance, please read some of the comments that follow that post on the blog. Obviously, many people felt the same about Leo Roselli.
Ken
Monday, October 5, 2009
Breath of Fresh Air..
Hold outs.....Plaxico Burress......player's union on strike.....Pac Man Jones.....charging for autographs.....Pete Rose...... contract renegotiations......games that end far past my bedtime....Barry Bonds.......HGH.....Roger Clemons...personal seat licenses....Milton Bradley...guaranteed contracts....rich NFL owners that won't give even meager benefits to struggling older Hall of Fame players....lock outs....Sammy Sosa.......opposing players having a friendly chat and patting each other on the rump both pre game and at halftime....John Calipari...it goes on and on and on.
Sports has become a soap opera. The big money has clouded everyone's judgement. If I can't stay up late enough to watch a World Series game, how can I expect my kids to follow baseball with the same passion that I developed as a kid?
NCAA basketball coaches go from program to program getting richer and richer leaving a wake of recruiting violations for their former school and ex-players to deal with.
Have you watched an NFL game lately? There are so many commercials, it wouldn't surprise me if in a cost cutting move the teams did away with oxygen tanks on the sideline. There is no need when you have a 3 minute break every 6 plays.
$100 a ticket for Flyers games? In this economy?? How are the blue collar Dad and Mom supposed to take their two sons to a game and spend this kind of money? Let's see...$400 for tickets...$20 to park....$80 for hot dogs, beers, sodas, and souveniers. $500 for a night out? Outrageous!
NBA players that have 100 million dollar deals and complain that their teammate has a 110 million dollar deal. The union refuses to test for marijuana. Come on...I'll bet you there is more hash in an NBA hotel than Dinty Moore.
Having said all that, two things happened last week that gave me hope. Small signs for sure, but it's something for a sports lover to cling to:
The Detroit Lions won their first game this year after going 0-16 the previous season. After the game and the post game prayer, the players filed out of the locker room and shook hands with the loyal fans that remained in the stadium and have supported them through this ordeal. Finally, a touch of class.
The Philadelphia Phillies clinched their third consecutive NL East crown last week. After the usual champagne celebration in the locker room, the players went back on the field to spray bubbly on and touch the sign honoring the late Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas who died unexpectedly earlier this season.
Two signs that maybe some small shreds of sanity and humanity are creeping back into sports. It's about time, wouldn't you say?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
A Friend in Need...
Stuck at 27 followers...if you like the blog please spread the word!
Hope you enjoy this post about a dear friend....
Ken
LEO ROSELLI
I’ve chronicled my athletic background ad nauseum in this blog. For a guy most people don’t remember (I’m too egocentric to say never heard of), I have a fairly impressive athletic resume, if I do say so myself. Special mention All State basketball in High School, All- Region NJCAA basketball in junior college, division one scholarship basketball at Memphis State, division one football scholarship at Memphis State (without having played ANY high school football), member of the 1980 NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles, member of the 1983-85 two time USFL champion Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, three professional football championship rings, and a scrapbook that equals the bulk of the local yellow pages. For a farm boy from northern Illinois, I can look back on my achievements with great pride. However, I won an award on Monday that I will forever cherish. It doesn’t have any diamonds, and it is possibly the smallest trophy in my possesion. But what it represents is incredibly important.
For those of you who know me personally, my family hasn’t had the easiest of times. Blessed with four daughters and a set of triplets, our daughter Alexandra is a cancer survivor, but the chemotherapy treatments cost her most of her hearing and part of her eyesight. My wife Terri had a terrible mishap last May in front of our home when she was hit by a car while standing near our driveway. I rushed back from a business meeting in NYC to find her in the Cooper Hospital trauma unit with a badly bruised and bleeding brain. Thank God she survived, but it was two months of hell between Cooper and the rehab hospital. During this period, I had a dispute with my employer regarding the time I missed while being at the hospital attending to my wife, and I left my six figure position. Two weeks later, the stock market crashed and even though I have an impeccable resume and a history of success in my field, I found most employers shying away from hiring a 50+ high salary salesman due to financial conditions. So I started my own company and now work out of my home. It’s been a roller coaster ride to say the least.
Prior to my wife’s accident, she was employed in food preparation for the family owned Italian specialty food store L. E. Roselli’s in Medford, NJ. This small shop with a huge kitchen in the back turns out some of the most authentic and delicious Italian lasagna, marinara sauce, sausage and meatballs (among other goodies) that you have ever tasted. It was owned and operated by Leo Roselli, who took it over from his parents Delores and Leo Roselli several years ago. Around the holidays the line wraps around the door to get in. Not only is the food great, the prices are fair. Needless to say, it’s a most popular and thriving business.
When Terri was injured, my cell phone was ringing off the hook. I was literally exhausted and my nerves were shot. Although I was so appreciative of the love and concern everyone was showing for my wife and our family, I was physically incapable of answering all the calls I was receiving at that time. I did try to call a select few, and they were so kind to spread the word to the others that we were all doing as well as could be expected, but it was touch and go at the time. When the phone rang one more time and I saw it was Leo, I mustered the strength to hit the “send” button on my cell and accepted the call.
“Listen, Ken. I won’t keep you long. I just want to tell you that everyone here loves you and your family, and we are going to keep paying Terri her full salary as long as we possibly can” Leo said. “When you get around to it, eventually you can stop in and I can help you fill out the state disability papers, but for right now I want you to just take care of your family and let me help you here”. “By the way, Ed DiLorenzo (Leo’s second in command) and I are coming over tonight to cut your lawn. You stay at the hospital, and call me if you need anything” Of course I was appreciative, but was too tired to express it properly at the time. I merely whimpered a heartfelt “thanks” as we ended the conversation, and brushed the tears of gratitude away from my eyes.
On Friday of that week, Delores Roselli called the house and my daughter Taylor answered. “Can you come over here”? she asked. “I’ve got your Mom’s paycheck and I’d like to give it to you”. So Taylor got in her mom’s Honda Pilot and headed towards the store. She was back in about thirty minutes and hurried inside to speak to me. “Dad”, she said, “I need your help bringing all this in”. “Bringing what in”? I asked. “Why do you need help bringing Mommy’s paycheck in”? “No”, Taylor countered. “They filled the car with food.”
I went outside and my jaw dropped. My large SUV was filled to the brim with more food than Mussolini’s army could have hoped for. Italian bread, cheese, frozen and fresh pasta, sauce, you name it. It took us about 20 minutes to unload it all and put it away. And this episode repeated itself week, after week, after week; more food, more paychecks, and more philanthropy than I had ever experienced.
Leo didn’t want to bother me with phone calls. But I noticed when I would come home late at night from the hospital the lawn was mowed and edged often. I knew who did it, and it was so incredibly thoughtful. “What a great guy and what a nice family”, I said to myself as I struggled in the door to do the household duties Terri had done so often that I had so much taken for granted. I truly had an appreciation for my wife, the Roselli’s, my health and family, and many other things this latest life lesson had taught me.I visited Leo as often as I could during this period, and expressed the gratitude that I felt to him and his family. The last time I saw him I mentioned that he looked like he was losing weight, and he said he had no idea why.
Leo Roselli died on Tuesday, July 14 2009 after a short but courageous battle with a rare cancer of the sweat glands. He was 43 years old, and left a wife Laura, two young sons Matthew and Leo, along with hundreds of heartbroken family, co-workers and friends. They had a golf tournament in his honor last Monday. I shot a 77 and won a small trophy of a school bus as my prize. Although I never got to play golf with him, it seems Leo had a terrible slice and hit his ball inside a school bus traveling down an adjacent road to the golf course once. Luckily no kids were on the bus at the time, and he disavowed any knowledge of the act when the angry driver confronted the foursome. So it was decided that the trophy to the winner would be that of a school bus. I will place it on a prominent spot in my trophy area and cherish it as much or more than any of the afore mentioned accomplishments.
When Billy Joel wrote “Only the Good Die Young”, he could have been writing about Leo Roselli. And he will be missed by all of us. Had he gotten to know him, even that school bus driver would surely miss him as well.
I’ve chronicled my athletic background ad nauseum in this blog. For a guy most people don’t remember (I’m too egocentric to say never heard of), I have a fairly impressive athletic resume, if I do say so myself. Special mention All State basketball in High School, All- Region NJCAA basketball in junior college, division one scholarship basketball at Memphis State, division one football scholarship at Memphis State (without having played ANY high school football), member of the 1980 NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles, member of the 1983-85 two time USFL champion Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, three professional football championship rings, and a scrapbook that equals the bulk of the local yellow pages. For a farm boy from northern Illinois, I can look back on my achievements with great pride. However, I won an award on Monday that I will forever cherish. It doesn’t have any diamonds, and it is possibly the smallest trophy in my possesion. But what it represents is incredibly important.
For those of you who know me personally, my family hasn’t had the easiest of times. Blessed with four daughters and a set of triplets, our daughter Alexandra is a cancer survivor, but the chemotherapy treatments cost her most of her hearing and part of her eyesight. My wife Terri had a terrible mishap last May in front of our home when she was hit by a car while standing near our driveway. I rushed back from a business meeting in NYC to find her in the Cooper Hospital trauma unit with a badly bruised and bleeding brain. Thank God she survived, but it was two months of hell between Cooper and the rehab hospital. During this period, I had a dispute with my employer regarding the time I missed while being at the hospital attending to my wife, and I left my six figure position. Two weeks later, the stock market crashed and even though I have an impeccable resume and a history of success in my field, I found most employers shying away from hiring a 50+ high salary salesman due to financial conditions. So I started my own company and now work out of my home. It’s been a roller coaster ride to say the least.
Prior to my wife’s accident, she was employed in food preparation for the family owned Italian specialty food store L. E. Roselli’s in Medford, NJ. This small shop with a huge kitchen in the back turns out some of the most authentic and delicious Italian lasagna, marinara sauce, sausage and meatballs (among other goodies) that you have ever tasted. It was owned and operated by Leo Roselli, who took it over from his parents Delores and Leo Roselli several years ago. Around the holidays the line wraps around the door to get in. Not only is the food great, the prices are fair. Needless to say, it’s a most popular and thriving business.
When Terri was injured, my cell phone was ringing off the hook. I was literally exhausted and my nerves were shot. Although I was so appreciative of the love and concern everyone was showing for my wife and our family, I was physically incapable of answering all the calls I was receiving at that time. I did try to call a select few, and they were so kind to spread the word to the others that we were all doing as well as could be expected, but it was touch and go at the time. When the phone rang one more time and I saw it was Leo, I mustered the strength to hit the “send” button on my cell and accepted the call.
“Listen, Ken. I won’t keep you long. I just want to tell you that everyone here loves you and your family, and we are going to keep paying Terri her full salary as long as we possibly can” Leo said. “When you get around to it, eventually you can stop in and I can help you fill out the state disability papers, but for right now I want you to just take care of your family and let me help you here”. “By the way, Ed DiLorenzo (Leo’s second in command) and I are coming over tonight to cut your lawn. You stay at the hospital, and call me if you need anything” Of course I was appreciative, but was too tired to express it properly at the time. I merely whimpered a heartfelt “thanks” as we ended the conversation, and brushed the tears of gratitude away from my eyes.
On Friday of that week, Delores Roselli called the house and my daughter Taylor answered. “Can you come over here”? she asked. “I’ve got your Mom’s paycheck and I’d like to give it to you”. So Taylor got in her mom’s Honda Pilot and headed towards the store. She was back in about thirty minutes and hurried inside to speak to me. “Dad”, she said, “I need your help bringing all this in”. “Bringing what in”? I asked. “Why do you need help bringing Mommy’s paycheck in”? “No”, Taylor countered. “They filled the car with food.”
I went outside and my jaw dropped. My large SUV was filled to the brim with more food than Mussolini’s army could have hoped for. Italian bread, cheese, frozen and fresh pasta, sauce, you name it. It took us about 20 minutes to unload it all and put it away. And this episode repeated itself week, after week, after week; more food, more paychecks, and more philanthropy than I had ever experienced.
Leo didn’t want to bother me with phone calls. But I noticed when I would come home late at night from the hospital the lawn was mowed and edged often. I knew who did it, and it was so incredibly thoughtful. “What a great guy and what a nice family”, I said to myself as I struggled in the door to do the household duties Terri had done so often that I had so much taken for granted. I truly had an appreciation for my wife, the Roselli’s, my health and family, and many other things this latest life lesson had taught me.I visited Leo as often as I could during this period, and expressed the gratitude that I felt to him and his family. The last time I saw him I mentioned that he looked like he was losing weight, and he said he had no idea why.
Leo Roselli died on Tuesday, July 14 2009 after a short but courageous battle with a rare cancer of the sweat glands. He was 43 years old, and left a wife Laura, two young sons Matthew and Leo, along with hundreds of heartbroken family, co-workers and friends. They had a golf tournament in his honor last Monday. I shot a 77 and won a small trophy of a school bus as my prize. Although I never got to play golf with him, it seems Leo had a terrible slice and hit his ball inside a school bus traveling down an adjacent road to the golf course once. Luckily no kids were on the bus at the time, and he disavowed any knowledge of the act when the angry driver confronted the foursome. So it was decided that the trophy to the winner would be that of a school bus. I will place it on a prominent spot in my trophy area and cherish it as much or more than any of the afore mentioned accomplishments.
When Billy Joel wrote “Only the Good Die Young”, he could have been writing about Leo Roselli. And he will be missed by all of us. Had he gotten to know him, even that school bus driver would surely miss him as well.
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