Lot's of Celebs and Pics On 'Grown Ups' Set

Town will be filled with “Grown Ups” for an extra day, as filming for the Adam Sandler comedy continues today near Pilgrim Congregational Church.

Funeral scenes being filmed for the Columbia Pictures movie, “Grown Ups” were expected to wrap by now, but producers have asked for an extension on their contract with the town.

Filming for the movie, staring Sandler, Rob Schneider, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Norm MacDonald and Salma Hayek, began last Monday. The movie is about high school friends who return home for their basketball coach’s funeral.

After Southborough, filming will move to Essex, a Cape Ann town near Gloucester, where the actors will be shooting scenes until mid-August.

Selectmen Tuesday night met to extend a license and location agreement with Lakefront Productions for use of St. Mark’s Street, a portion of the Town House parking lot and the island at the intersection of St. Mark’s and Common streets through today, with cleanup slated for Thursday.

The town will get an additional $1,330 for the extra day of filming, a pro-rated amount on top of the $20,000 agreed upon for the company’s original contract from May 11 to 26, said Town Administrator Jean Kitchen.

The production company will be making a donation to the Woodward School for use of a portion of its facility and parking lot.

Superintendent Charles Gobron said the school is getting a $10,000 donation.

“On the whole, it’s been a wonderful experience,” Gobron said. “Lots of kids have seen the stars. They’ve been great.”

Pilgrim Congregational Church, where scenes were shot outside and inside, is getting about $25,000, church officials said.

Yesterday, fans lined the stone wall on the eastern side of the Old Burial Ground cemetery, craning for views of the stars as scenes were shot outside the church.

Julie McHenry, 20, a Southborough resident who attends prep school in Newton, said she’d been coming to the set after school since filming started last Monday. She’d gotten a few pictures, but no autographs yet.

“I think it’s cool they’re filming at my church,” she said. “It’s my last week of school, so no homework - I have time to come down and hang out.”

Dan McSweeney stopped with his daughter, Rylie, 3, to see if he could get a picture of some of the actors. McSweeney said he’s driven past the area every day between his Framingham home and work at Verizon but had yet to stop until yesterday.

“Having something like this is big for the town,” he said. “Kevin James - he’s probably the funniest out of all of them. If I get a picture, I get a picture.”

Algonquin Regional High School sophomores Renee Roy and Alyssa Borelli, both 16, were hoping to get autographs. Borelli said she came to the set Wednesday through Friday last week and had gotten a picture of herself with Schneider.

“He was so nice,” she said. “This is the best thing to happen to Southborough.”

Roy said it was her first visit to the set and she came to see what it would be like. She also hoped to get an autograph.

“I don’t care who as long as I get someone,” she said. “It would be really cool if we could walk onto the set.”

Topps Readies Next UFC Trading Card Issue

Topps calls its first ever UFC card release “one of the most successful brand debuts in trading card history”. By most accounts, it did turn out to be a smart business move.

UFC fans and collectors have been gobbling them up at card shops, on eBay and through other outlets.

Monday, the company announced its next series of cards would be released on July 6.

The 2009 Topps UFC flagship product will have two autographs and two relics in every hobby box.

The 150 Base card-set features 100 stars, 40 fighters seen for the first time on a Topps card and 10 personalities. There are four full parallels of the base set (16 per box): Gold (1 per pack), Onyx (#'d to 188), Ruby (#'d to and Diamond ( 1 of 1).

Inserts (16 per box) include (25) Photo Finish, (10) Octagon of Honor, (15) Greats of the Game and (25) Bloodlines…paralleled by Onyx, Ruby and Diamond.

Topps will also offer the first 25 of 100 UFC Fight Poster cards.

For Autographs & Relics:

16 Ultimate Foto: On-card autographs from the contestants of Ultimate Fighter # 9.

10 Dual Autographed Fight Mats (#'d to 25)

20 Autographed Ultimate Gear (#'d to 25)

50 Fighters and Personalities Autographs…Red ink versions #'d to 25..including Brock Lesnar.

15 Bloodlines Signatures (#'d to 25)…Image attached

5 Octagon of Honor Autographs (#'d to 25)

32 Fight Mat Relics..with Gold, Onyx, Ruby and Diamond Parallels.

20 Ultimate Gear Relics: Pieces of gloves, shorts, etc. (#'d to 199)

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Will Ferrell Thrills Sydney Fans...Signs Autographs

US comedic star Will Ferrell has thrilled fans, walking the red carpet for the world first outing of his latest film Land of the Lost in Sydney.

Hundreds of screaming fans greeted Ferrell, who spent much time signing autographs and posing for photos at the Greater Union cinema complex in Sydney's CBD.

Ferrell said he was delighted the first showing of the film was in Australia.

"It's pretty exciting to have the first premiere being overseas, I've never had that done before," Ferrell said.

Some fans dressed up in costumes paying homage to Ferrell's various movie characters.

Ferrell said it was great to see such enthusiastic supporters.

"Did you see the guy in the elf outfit," Ferrell laughed.

Director Brad Silberling said they had rushed to put the finishing touches on the film, based on the 1970s series created by Sid and Marty Krofft, just last week.

"We finished the movie early last week, that's after almost like two years of making the movie," Silberling said.

The story is a comedy adventure about scientist Dr Rick Marshall — played by Ferrell — who is sent back in time and space.

Accompanying him are a research assistant, a redneck and a primate named Chaka.

It also stars Anna Friel and Danny McBride.

Silberling said he was delighted to bring together adventure, action and comedy in the one film.

"The movie's crazy, irreverent and it is — we think — very funny," he said.

In the film, Ferrell, who is known for being attacked by animals in his films, is hunted down by a dinosaur.

Ferrell, a childhood fan of the original series, said he loved mixing comedy with animals and non-human characters.

"Animals, prior to having them being used in a comedic context, it was either the animal's funny, or the animal's cute," Ferrell said.

"It always struck me as a funny thing."

While tonight's showing was the first in the world, the official world premiere title has been given to a premiere in Hollywood later in the week.

Land of The Lost is released nationally on June 11.

NOTE: Ferrell has ‘come out of his shell’ the past year or so as far as signing. If you remember, he was considered one of the worst Hollywood celebrity signers in 2007…Lon

Sports Collectors Digest, R.I.P.?

Reprinted from AutographAlert.com

Today our mailbox was filled with emails from readers upset with Sports Collectors Digest (SCD). There are just too many emails to personally respond to so we will just group some of the comments together with our reply.

"Autographalert.com we can really use your help…I have been shut out at SCD's web site, as T.S. O'Connell (SCD Editor) has shut down his blog comments from frustrated readers who find him to be wrong…."

It is our opinion you are wasting your time with O'Connell. Several years ago, O'Connell and his merry band of men was told by one on the staff of autographalert.com that if he continued along the path he was taking, SCD will implode. Since then SCD has lost nearly all it's advertisers and it's latest issue has been reduced to a measly 42 pages. Not thick enough to open and let our dog use it for a latrine.

The "Voice of the Hobby" is gagging for breathe of air yet your voices are not heard. We strongly suggest all of you express your dissatisfaction to Dean Listle, the publisher @ dean.listle@fwmedia.com. Another one you can contact would be David Nussbaum, Chairman & CEO of F+W Publications.

We gave up with SCD a few years back. Seemed like we were paying $29.95 for a bobble head and getting a free weekly newsletter was no longer worth it.

As far as some of the things sold through auctions advertised in SCD we no longer feel sorry for those who purchase an autograph worth $3,500 and pay only $500 for it. There is enough printed on the internet to educate those who are foolish enough to think they got a bargain and not smart enough to realize they got it at such a low price because those who have expertise know the item was not genuine and did not bid.

Some of our readers have emailed us stating they are so outraged they have created blogs on their sites "to allow their voices to be heard."

Some have requested www.autographalert.com tell our readers about their problems with SCD on their blogs. Two we can publish are:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TomTresh2

www.sports-rings.com Go to Sitemap and click on Sports Blog.

It is our opinion that SCD's latest actions may be the final nail in their coffin. Talk about a possible conflict of interest, they have gone into associating themselves in the auction business with a June 2009 debut. They are dealing with a depressed and vanishing readership have made the decision to go up against some of the few advertisers they have left. A legitimate competing auction house and advertiser would have to pay up front about $1,000 to get a full page ad in SCD. To get the attention of readers the auction house may want to follow up with a few additional ads. SCD can publish all the full page ads they want for the mere cost of ink and paper. The few auction houses, to date, that remain with SCD can no longer be competitive.

To put a lid on this, we stopped complaining when it fell on deaf ears and no responses. We no longer subscribe, so have no desire to complain.

Tom Hanks Autograph Enigma During Movie Premiere

With his latest movie - Angels And Demons - Tom Hanks might be having sort of enigma disorder.

After playing the geek professor Robert Langdon at the latest "Da Vinci Code" saga movie, the actor got so addicted to his role that he's kinda encrypting his own autograph.

Guess what he signed on a fans book while at the premiere of Angels and Demons last Thursday night in Los Angeles.

A Big - "F U". Is that his real signature? Or was he playing Professor Robert Langdon with her fans?

Strawberry Visits Buffalo...and a Unique Tiger Woods Autograph

I attended the Buffalo Bisons game Saturday at Coca-Cola Field to watch the new Buffalo Bisons, the Triple A affiliate of the New York Mets, take on the old Buffalo Bisons, now known as the Columbus Clippers. Good to see the Bisons win, which is a rarity these days.

But the main attraction wasn't on the field. The big draw Saturday was a visit by Darryl Strawberry. Strawberry bobbleheads were handed out to the first 4,000 through the Swan Street gate. An hour before game time, the line to enter stretched from the Swan Street entrance, around the front of the stadium and all the way to Exchange Street! Once inside, a second line quickly formed, and I'd estimate that at least 1,000 fans stood in line for an autograph from the former Mets star.

Bisons management did a good job of keeping the line moving at a steady pace. Autograph signings featuring former big league greats are frequent in Rochester. Let's hope we see more of them in Buffalo.

Speaking of autographs, a couple of weeks ago I met a local man who was selling parts of his impressive sports memorabilia collection. Most of what he was selling was out of my ballpark financially, but it was great just seeing the items that he had accumulated over the years.

Perhaps the smallest piece in the collection came with the greatest story. It was a golf ball autographed by a then up-and-coming star named Tiger Woods. What made it unusual was that he didn't cross the "T" in Tiger. Instead, he topped the "T" with an upward pointing arrow.

"I'm putting an arrow over the T because I'm soaring to the top," Tiger told the man, "and when I get there, I'm not signing autographs with an arrow anymore."

This gentleman wouldn't part with the unique golfball. Can't say as I blame him.

Autographed Baseball From 1934 Barnstorming Trip to Japan in HOF

Seventy-five years ago, a neighbor gave a baseball to 12-year-old Rowland Montgomery. He must have had no idea what he was giving up.

“Mr. Weston was not into baseball. He was an Englishman and didn’t understand baseball,” Montgomery said.

Albert Weston was the chief steward on the Canadian Pacific steamship Empress of Russia. In 1934, this vessel carried a group of American players from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Japan for a set of exhibition games.

The players on the trip signed a ball for Weston, who then gave it to Montgomery. This past November, Montgomery donated the ball to the National Baseball Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. It features autographs of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Gomez, Connie Mack, Jimmie Foxx and Earl Averill — all Hall of Famers — along with Clint Brown, Doc Ebling, Lefty O’Doul, Bing Miller, Bud Warren, Rabbit Warstler, Joe Cascarella, Frankie Hayes, Eric McNair and Jack Quinn.

Weston moved back to England shortly thereafter, and Montgomery didn’t know the importance of what he had when he accepted the ball.

“Not as a kid that age. It was baseball, and I was interested in sports,” he said.

Ruth was his favorite player, and to have his autograph was something special, but the ball has much greater meaning today. Ruth, Gehrig and Mack all held records that were believed to be unbreakable, although two of those have since been eclipsed.

Ruth was the career home-run king until Hank Aaron passed him in 1974, Gehrig held the record of 2,130 games played until Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed it in 1995 and Mack’s record 3,776 wins as manager of the Philadlephia Athletics still stands. Mack has nearly 1,000 more wins than his closest colleague, fellow Hall of Famer John McGraw (2,763).

The 1934 tour brought American players to the Far East for 18 games. Considered a great success, the tour helped spark Japan to organize its first professional baseball league just two years later. It was Ruth’s only baseball trip overseas.

Montgomery kept the ball locked up in a safe-deposit box for years but decided it was time to find the ball a permanent home. Many fans donate items to the Museum, which has more than 35,000 three-dimensional artifacts in the collection.

“I am getting up there in years and wanted to do something with the ball before I die. I figured I could sell it by an Internet auction, but what would I do with the money? I decided a better place for it would be at the Hall of Fame.”

Montgomery has always been a baseball fan, going to games in his hometown of Vancouver. He has never been to Cooperstown but would really like to.

“I have always been a bit interested in baseball and I doubt I will make it there. No, I shouldn’t say that. I never say never.”

Allman Brothers Band Autographs Guitar for Miami GuitarTown Project

Florida-based visual artist Jeannette Parssi decided to bring something extra to the table when invited by Gibson Guitar to participate in the second installment of Gibson’s Miami GuitarTown Project. After painting the naked Epiphone Casino electric guitar Gibson shipped to her for the event, Parssi was able to have the instrument autographed by all seven members of the Allman Brothers Band, which will no doubt add to its value when auctioned for charity later this year. "The band was more than happy to help," says Parssi, "as it seems they always are when it comes to supporting worthy causes. I really appreciate all of the band members signing the guitar for me. It turns my artwork into a real collector's item, which will benefit some very worthwhile charities in Miami."

In September of 2008, Gibson Guitar announced the launch of Miami GuitarTown, the second installment of such an exhibit in Florida, which will take place throughout the city of Miami. The Miami GuitarTown is a public arts project that features both 10-foot tall fiberglass Gibson Les Paul model guitar sculptures that will be on display throughout Miami in front of city landmarks, sponsor locations and other popular destinations for several months, and a showcase of regular-size Epiphone Casino guitars. Both the fiberglass sculptures and the Casinos will be artistically designed and painted by local and nationally acclaimed visual artists and celebrities. Gibson has also recently announced that Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan has been named Celebrity Co-Chairperson for the project.

"As a growing international arts hub, it is very exciting to have Miami join the ranks of other major cities in hosting this wonderful project," said the Honorable Mayor Manny Diaz. "Miami is a dynamic international city and makes for the perfect backdrop for a project as colorful, exciting and innovative as Gibson GuitarTown," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of presenting sponsor Gibson Guitar. "We look forward to helping the charities who will benefit from the project and combining the sounds of Miami with the artistry of South Florida." The three beneficiaries are The Miami Music & Art Fund, Miami Children's Hospital Foundation and The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood. These nonprofit organizations will share in the proceeds raised by the project and be awarded a check by the Gibson Foundation following a gala auction later this year.

Man Pleads Guilty To Faking Autographs, Selling Books

A Reading, Pa. man has admitted to forging the signatures of famous authors in copies of their books and then selling those books at inflated prices on eBay. Forrest Smith, III, of Reading pleaded guilty in federal court today to three counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud. Prosecutors say he received more than $300,000 from the sales of books by authors that included John Grisham, James Michener, and Truman Capote. They say Smith bought the unsigned books with an account registered in his name and re-sold them as “signed” with an account registered in his wife’s name.

Prosecutors say he carried out the scheme by obtaining documents containing authentic signatures of each author and using ink-based stamps made for the signatures to place them in the books. Smith faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and restitution when he’s sentenced in September.

Piers Morgan Slams Ringo Starr Over Autograph Row

Piers Morgan has branded Ringo Starr “disgusting and selfish” amid reports the Beatles legend snubbed an autograph-hunting pensioner.

The drummer is alleged to have turned down an elderly lady when she asked for his signature at the Chelsea Flower Show in London earlier this week.

And Britain’s Got Talent judge Morgan is so incensed by the claim, he has launched a furious verbal attack on the rocker.

He says, “Ringo was always the least talented, ugliest, jammiest member of The Beatles. We can now add the words ‘disgusting’, ’selfish’, ‘greedy’ and ‘thoughtless’ to the list too.”

eBay Policy Change Deals With Counterfeits

Sports memorabilia collectors who buy on eBay and wind up with a non-genuine item have a little more protection after the auction giant announced changes to the user agreement late last week. According to senior legal counsel Scott Shipman, the revision will address the obligations of both buyers and sellers in transactions where a buyer thinks he’s in receipt of a counterfeit item.

Under the revised agreement:

# Buyers and sellers shall work in good faith during the resolution process to determine that the item is not counterfeit.

# If buyer and seller cannot determine that the item is not counterfeit, buyers are required to send the item back to the seller. Cost of return shipping will be paid by the buyer or eBay, unless both buyer and seller have agreed otherwise.

# Covered claims that meet the conditions and are not excluded will count as a violation by the seller of our prohibited and infringing items policy.

# If eBay determines the buyer is not acting in good faith, eBay may restrict or eliminate their ability to return items or make future claims.

# Sellers shall not list, advertise, or cause that item to appear for sale, barter or trade, on any eBay Inc. web site or service.

These revisions to the user agreement are being made to:
# Provide sellers protections against inaccurate counterfeit claims.
# Provide buyers assurances about the authenticity of the item received.
# Maintain integrity of the eBay marketplace.

The new User Agreement is effective immediately for new members and on June 14, 2009, for current members.

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There are so many events in our city that we will miss when we lock up ourselves in home. To find the complete information for events on each city, we can visit Acheapseat.com. From the website, we can find list of any events from all shows or matches. They provide the complete schedules from music show like DTE Energy Music Center Tickets to big sport matches like Giants matches. This website is actually not specializing their page to provide schedule, but for ticket purchasing. We can easily get the tickets for every show displayed on the website.

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Memorabilia Buffs Enjoy the Sport of Collecting

It starts innocently enough. A youngster visiting the neighborhood store with mom or dad skillfully persuades his parent to purchase a pack of sports cards. He carefully tears away the wrapper to reveal the treasure inside. As he thumbs through the stack, he suddenly comes across a player on his favorite team. And then it's official — whether he knows it or not, he has officially joined the worldwide brotherhood of sports memorabilia collectors.

For the avid collector, that collection can grow to hundreds, if not thousands of cards. Others expand their interests to autographs or game-worn jerseys, perhaps. Whether you're buying, selling or trading, there's always someone out there willing to make a deal.

While Don (we're withholding last names here) got his start collecting cards, it wasn't until about three years ago that this middle-aged Buffalo area resident started collecting autographed hockey pucks. By attending alumni events and visiting the usual places where one might find today's current NHL players, he's assembled an impressive collection that now tops 1,000 pucks!

"I started by making a Top 50 list of the players I wanted to get, like Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr and Jean Beliveau," said Don. "Every puck in my collection tells a story. I remember where I got each and every one. Now I've got pucks from every team in the NHL, Hall of Famers, a few minor leaguers and all but three players from the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team."

And while he never sells any of his pucks, he does like to give some away. To date, he estimates that he's donated a couple hundred pucks to various charities, school fundraisers and local nonprofit organizations. It's his way of giving back to the hobby that he enjoys so much.

Tom, a savvy collector just out of his teens, has already surrounded himself with more than 300 "yes men." His impressive collection of sports bobbleheads, always appearing to be nodding their approval, currently occupies a new display case in his parent's suburban Buffalo home.

"One birthday I received a Chicago Cubs no-name player bobblehead, and away it went," said Tom, referring to the start of his collection. Among his favorites are an autographed C.C. Sabathia bobblehead and a Jamestown Jammers bobblehead featuring the team's old logo, mascot and uniform.

John has always enjoyed a glass of wine and collecting sports memorabilia. About two years ago, he found a way of combining the two interests when he discovered the NHL Alumni Wine Series. Two of the bottles in the collection feature former Buffalo Sabres stars Pat LaFontaine and Rob Ray. He enjoyed his collectibles even more when he was able to add LaFontaine's and Ray's autographs to the bottles.

Later he would pick up a bottle of Bully Hill Sabres wine and have it signed by the team's number one bully, Andrew Peters. Then he came across a bottle of wine made for Ryan Miller's Steadfast Foundation and got that autographed, too. And then a bottle of wine for the Kevin Everett Foundation and Brian Moorman's PUNT Foundation — both autographed as well.

His prized bottle is one he purchased at the Farewell to the Aud event at Buffalo's Convention Center featuring Memorial Auditorium on the label. He promptly got in line and had it signed by the famed French Connection — Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert.

He keeps them on display in his family room, each one 750ml of conversation starter.

Pitt and Jolie Sign For Fans at Cannes Gala

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have met the crowds outside the gala premiere of his latest film, Inglourious Basterds, at the Cannes Film Festival.

The 45-year-old Hollywood star said: “It’s great fun to be here, especially with this lovely lady.”

The couple took time to pose for photographs and sign autographs for fans at the Palais des Festivals.

Quentin Tarantino’s film is in the running for the Palme d’Or for best film at the prestigious French event.

‘Real pleasure’

The couple, who were making their first public appearance together in months, were the focus of huge media attention.

Around 1,000 fans had also gathered to see the pair, a year after Jolie’s pregnancy was mistakenly revealed at the festival by her Kung Fu Panda co-star Jack Black.

This year, the glamorous star wore a daring salmon pink gown which exposed one shoulder. She told reporters it was “wonderful” to be back in the French Riviera.

As the entire cast mounted the steps of the venue - as is traditional at Cannes premieres - Pitt fetched Jolie, who had hung back from the photo opportunity.

His co-stars Mike Myers, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent also walked the red carpet.

Tarantino - who won the Palme d’Or for Pulp Fiction 15 years ago - was also at the event, where a number of classic tracks from his previous movies were played.

His latest outing, a violent saga about Jewish freedom fighter stalking Nazi soldiers in occupied France, has gained warm press reviews.

It marks his first collaboration with Pitt, who has called it “a real pleasure” to work with Tarantino.

“Artistically me and Brad have been sniffing around each other for a while,” the film-maker said earlier in Cannes.

“One of the questions I get asked a lot is ‘what actor would you like to work with?’ And Brad has always been one of the ones I’ve said.”

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8 Days in New York City!

I returned last Friday from an 8-day trip to New York City with just over 100 new photographs. Here are some of the highlights from the trip…Kevin:

On May 12, I made the trip downtown to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex. Yoko Ono was appearing at one of several events to promote the display: John Lennon-The New York City Years. As she arrived in her Mercedes V12 sedan, her “people” quickly let us know she would not have time to sign autographs on her way into the event. Nevertheless, I asked if I could wait and she nodded, “yes,” as she passed by me. About an hour later, she emerged and said, “You are still waiting for me?” Upon that statement she walked over to me and signed an 8×10 photo and posed with me for the above shot.

Any Star Trek fans out there? Here I am with the new Spock and Kirk at an event May 9. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto agreed to pose for this shot after signing an 8 x 10 for me.

Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush is currently starring with Susan Sarandon on Broadway in the play, Exit the King. Rush, best known for his role as Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, couldn’t have been nicer. This Australian actor really enjoys interacting with his fans. Rush signed several photos and took this photograph with me following an evening performance of the play.

I had not one, but two encounters with Academy Award winning director Ron Howard. Howard was in town to promote his latest movie, Angels and Demons. This shot is after the Colbert Report taping. Earlier in the day, Howard signed several photos and posed following his appearance on Good Morning America. Ron is one of Hollywood’s definite good guys as he signed and posed at nearly all his promotional stops.

Finally, here’s the legendary Jane Fonda. Fonda currently stars with Colin Hanks on Broadway in 33 Variations. This shot was taken following a weekend matinee performance of the play. In addition to signing playbills, Fonda was good about signing other items from her career. And, she always has her dog, Leah, along side.

Thanks Kevin!

Golf King Arnold Palmer Helps Vince Gill's Kids Charity

He’s 79 now, with wispy white hair, a grandfatherly manner and, unfortunately, a golf game that has seen its better days.

“I’m embarrassed when I can’t hit the kind of golf shots I used to hit,” Arnold Palmer says.

But he doesn’t have to hit a ball to exert profound influence on golf. When your nickname has been The King for decades, your reputation precedes you. Your scorecard is no longer relevant.

Palmer touched down on Monday at The Vinny, an annual pro/celebrity event hosted by music star Vince Gill that benefits youth golf. Palmer spent much of the day posing for pictures, signing autographs and chatting with players at the Golf Club of Tennessee.

Many were star-struck. You didn’t have to be around when Palmer won the last of his 62 pro tournaments in 1973 to know that you were in the presence of greatness.

“It’s the most amazing thing to meet your heroes,” Gill said. “… He’s the kind of man that makes you feel like you’ve known him your whole life.”

The two met several years ago at a pro-am. They played together once, which Gill said was “like jammin’ with Chet Atkins.”

Palmer is one of the transcendent figures in golf. These days he is considered golfing royalty, but he came from humble beginnings, which helped popularize the game among the masses.

He burst upon the scene in the mid-’50s, winning tournaments with both substance and style. Those who followed him on the course were labeled Arnie’s Army. His success and charisma helped bring television to the pro golf tour.

He merged an extraordinary golf game with uncommon business savvy. With his own equipment and clothing lines as well as a wine label, Palmer was far ahead of his time. He became his own global brand.

His former business partner, the late Mark McCormack, called Palmer “an immortal in alligator shoes.”

On Monday, Palmer fielded questions on a number of topics. Among them:

• Tiger Woods’ struggles since returning from knee surgery: “I think Tiger is over the physical part of his rehab. … I have no question in my mind that he will come back very strong.”

• The disappointment of Franklin, Ky., golfer Kenny Perry’s final-hole bogey and subsequent playoff loss at the Masters in April: “I’ve been there, done that. It’s not easy. It’s about swallowing hard and getting on with your life. … If you play this game long enough, you’re going to have those things happen to you.”

• Determining the greatest golfer ever in the face of technological advancements: “The greatest player of all time — I don’t think they’re ready to announce that yet. Jack Nicklaus certainly has set a standard that is going to be pretty tough to beat. At the same time, Tiger is on his way to maybe bettering that. We’ll see.”

Palmer has made occasional golfing trips to Nashville over the years. He recalled playing exhibition matches in town in the ’60s and ’70s. In 1995, he played in the erstwhile BellSouth Senior Classic.
Serving as ambassador

He swore off tournament golf for good three years ago because he didn’t want to put a deteriorating game on public display. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

“I’m not strong enough anymore,” he said. “My whole game was based on strength — hitting the ball hard and getting after it. Now I go out and play with some of my friends every once in a while and they all hit it farther than I do. That really upsets me.”

As his skills have diminished, Palmer has embraced the role of ambassador. He has inherited the role as starter at the Masters, hitting a ceremonial drive off the first tee at Augusta National on the morning of the opening round.

Today, he is off to Dallas, where he will make an appearance at the Byron Nelson Classic, albeit without his golf clubs.

“I’m on a tour,” he said.

He also remains active in the design of golf courses. Founded in 1972, Arnold Palmer Design Co. has created more than 300 courses worldwide, including the Governors Club in Brentwood and King’s Creek in Spring Hill.

Like fellow golf superstar Tom Watson, another visitor to The Vinny, said on Sunday: “Arnie’s an inspiration to all of us. He never slows down.”

Even without a golf club in hand, Arnold Palmer is still in the game.