OpTic Gaming Book Signing (Barnes & Noble at The Grove) (5-20-16)

I am currently writing a new post about the 2017 NHL All-Star Fan Fair, and I realized I never posted about the OpTic Gaming book signing I attended in May of last year.

Despite not publishing a post for the event, I did upload a video about the event on my YouTube channel which you can find below.

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, which you can find at YouTube.com/DJChucky21 or by clicking the embedded link above.

Stay tuned for my post about the All-Star Fan Fair tomorrow, and as always, thanks for reading.

Larry Robinson (Larry Robinson's Play It Again Sports) (5-1-15)

I heard about this signing about 2 weeks ago and since it was announced that Kings legend and Hall of Famer, Larry Robinson would be signing for 3 hours alongside NHL legends, and current broadcasters, Jim Fox, Daryl Evans and Sean O'Donnell, it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down. I decided to go check it out and to my surprise only about 40 people were there when I showed up at 6 when it started and they ended up starting at about 6:15. I got small pictures signed by Fox, Evans and O'Donnell and I had 4 cards to get signed but they gave everyone a sticker that only allowed 1 per. I got to the table at about 6:45 and he ended up actually signing 2 out of the 4 cards for me: 

After getting your stuff signed, you were given a small box of mints *pictured above* and a sweatband watch *ran out of Kings* courtesy of Larry Robinson and his store. Overall, it was a pretty good signing and he was a really nice guy. He also took pictures with everybody who asked. So thanks to Larry Robinson for hosting the signing in his store, Jim Fox, Daryl Evans and Sean O'Donnell for showing up and signing as well and thanks to you for reading. 

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BONUS: I also got Sean O'Donnell and Patrick O'Neal pre-game on April 4th at Kings FanFest before they took on the Av's and ended up getting Nick Nickson, Jim Fox and Daryl Evans inside the arena, and Bob Miller post-game. 

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James Worthy (WSS) (11-29-14)

I know it's a bit late, but last week I heard about a James Worthy signing going on, so I decided to go check it out. He was scheduled to sign from 1-2 pm but due to another signing he had at Frank & Sons, the signing had to be rescheduled to be from 2-3 pm. I arrived at around 1:30 because I didn't think there would be many people, as this signing was not as advertised as the one at Frank & Sons, and this one at WSS was not released as early as the other one. So I got to the signing, and I arrived to see that my prediction was correct, as there were only about 30 people in line when I arrived. James came at 1:50 but did not start signing until about 2:15 but it did not take long for me to be up next in line. I got to the table and had James sign my 8x10 I had of him, and then as I was leaving, I saw a couple people getting back in line, since there were only about 10 people behind me when the event started, and James was only doing 1 per. So I decided to go back and get my card signed as well: 

James was really cool and talked to everyone in line and it was just overall a great event. So thanks to WSS for hosting the event and James Worthy for attending. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more to come soon.

Toyota Sports Center (10-18-14)

It's finally hockey season again which means it was finally time for me to head out to El Segundo again to see the Kings practice and try to graph a little hockey again. The Lakers were also at TSC practicing today but my goal was to get some of the Kings done with. This was one of the few weekend practices the Kings will have this season so it was great to be able to attend today. Practiced was scheduled for 10 am so I got there at 9 am to see if I could get anybody on their way in. Rob Blake was the only person who came by before practice and I was able to get him on all 3 of my cards I had for him: 

After I got Rob Blake, I waited around for awhile to see if anyone might be running late yet still stopped to sign really quickly but no one came by so I just made my way into the rink to watch practice. As the team started to leave the ice about an hour later, I started to make my way back to the front to wait for them to come out. Nobody came by for a while but after about 30 minutes I caught Daryl Evans walking to his car and after calling his name he came by to sign a card for me: 

Nobody was coming out and I was afraid they might stay late watching tapes or working out to get ready for their game tomorrow at Staples Center vs the Wild. Luckily after over an hour, I saw Marian Gaborik start to walk out of TSC and towards his car. I was standing at the fence that leads to the players parking lot and his car was not very far from where I was so as he got closer towards me I called his name and sure enough he came by and signed a couple of cards for me: 

I was really excited about these 2 cards as I've never gotten Marian before so I was really glad to add these to my collection. I decided to stay out front today to try to get a few young guys out there and it ended up working out just fine as only 2 Kings stopped out back while the rest of them exited without even stopping. The last auto of the day was by Brayden McNabb who I got as he was getting in his car along with Andy Andreoff. I did not have anything for Andy since he just made his debut less than a week ago but I was able to get a card signed by McNabb: 

Overall it was an okay day for graphing even though most of the regulars that come out front did not show up out there but I was still glad to get the 2 Marian Gaborik cards so I guess it wasn't all that bad. I will be attending tomorrow's game vs Minnesota and it may very well be a historic game as both Jonathan Quick and Andy Andreoff have a chance at setting a career milestone as Quick looks for his 33rd career shutout to surpass Rogie Vachon for most shutouts in franchise history and Andreoff seeks his first career point. I will also be trying to graph Jim Fox pre-game and Sean O'Donnell post-game so stay tuned as I may be posting tomorrow a recap of what I get if anything. So, thanks for reading and stay tuned for more to come very soon.

Valenzuela, Cey, Jarrin (WSS) (8-2-14)

There were 2 Dodgers signings going on this Saturday but I chose this one in hopes of getting Fernando Valenzuelas autograph. I showed up a bit late around 10 am, which is when the event was scheduled to start, but Ron Cey did not come out and begin to sign until 11 am. The line moved quick and by 11:15 I had an ROMLB (Real Official Major League Baseball) signed on the sweetspot with the inscription "1981 WS MVP": 

I was also able to get a card signed by Cey thanks to someone who helped me out with it: 

Valenzuela and Jarrin were not scheduled to come out and sign until 12 pm and they were supposed to be signing until 1 pm but they ended up staying until 1:50 instead. Due to a mix up in the lines I ended up getting my items signed at about 1:45 and I had Jaime Jarrin sign my ROMLB on the sweetspot and he inscribed "HOF/98" as well: 

I was also able to get a picture that they were giving out that they had at the table signed by Jaime:

When I got to Valenzuela he was ready to sign my baseball on a side panel but I asked him to sign on the sweetspot and after a bit of hesitation he signed it on the sweetspot. I was going to ask for the "1981 NL Cy Young" inscription but since they were trying to move through the end of the line fast and he was already getting upset with the time he had been signing for I didn't try to ask: 

The baseball still came out very nice and I am glad to finally get one signed by Fernando in my collection. And like Ron Cey, I was able to have someone help me out with a card as well: 

I ended up being one of the last few people to get Fernando even though there were about 10 more people in line he just got up and left. Overall about 75 people showed up for Ron Cey and about 125 showed up for Fernando and Jaime and I think it was a good signing and I'm glad that I was able to get all 3 guys on at least the baseballs. So thanks to Fernando Valenzuela, Ron Cey and Jaime Jarrin for signing for all the fans possible and thanks to WSS for hosting the event. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more to come.

Bernie Nicholls (The Optometry Practice of Dr. Alex Corbin Liu) (7-12-14)

Former NHL player and 3x All-Star, Bernie Nicholls was scheduled to sign at an optometrist office in Rowland Heights so I decided to check it out for this rare opportunity to get a chance to meet him. He was scheduled to start at 2:30 and finish at 3:30 and they announced he would do 1 per for the 1st 50 fans, but if you bought a photo or puck from the office you would get a ticket to get the item signed plus an additional item. I arrived around 11:15 and bought an 8x10 and then I left to eat and go to a nearby store while I tried to kill some time. I got in line around 12:30 and there was about 30-40 people in line. Bernie arrived at about 2:00 but did not begin to sign until 3:00. I finally got inside and got to meet him at about 3:25 and I had him sign my 8x10 with the "3 Allstars" inscription and a card I brought as well: 

Bernie was very nice with fans and even took his 2012 Stanley Cup Championship ring and let everyone take pictures with it. Overall about 75 people showed up and it was a great signing, so thanks to Dr. Liu for hosting the signing and thanks to Bernie for being such a great guy and signing and taking pictures with everyone. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more.

TOR @ LAA (7-8-14)

The Blue Jays were in town for a 3-game set against the Angels so I decided to go to one of the games in hopes of finally meeting Jose Bautista. I chose the second game since they were giving away a cowboy rally monkey and because R.A. Dickey was scheduled to pitch. I got to the stadium about 15 minutes after the stadium opened and I ran straight to the Blue Jays side in hopes of seeing Jose pregame. No one signed for either team until after BP, but during BP I was able to get a ball that went foul and bounced straight to me: 

After BP I made my way to the Blue Jays dugout and luckily Jose had just finished an interview and he began to sign. He started off signing balls and then went to cards and photos. After about 5 minutes I was able to get my card signed by him:

That was it for BP so after getting Jose I went to the bullpens to try and get some of the Blue Jays pitchers. When I got to the bullpen I noticed Jim Hill was there just finishing up an interview so I got to meet him and he was very friendly and talked to everyone: 

After that I waited for the pitchers to arrive. I had no luck with Dickey, and all of the relievers walked through a different entrance so I wasn't able to get either of them but I was able to get Josh Thole as he was leaving the bullpen for warm ups:

That was it for the day but overall it was pretty good since I finally got to meet Jose Bautista. Thanks to Jose and Josh for signing. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more to come soon.

Howie Kendrick (Stadium Nissan at Orange) (5-24-14)

Howie Kendrick was at Stadium Nissan in Orange and was scheduled to be there from 11-1 pm. It was a late decision but I decided to go and ended up getting there around 11:45. Howie had to leave early so they cut the line at a certain point before I got there but luckily they extended the line a bit and I made it through. I got up to the front of the line pretty quickly and they said it wa 1 per so I had him sign an ROMLB on the sweetspot for me:

I asked him if he could inscribe "2011 All-Star" but he said no. Although I couldn't get an inscription, it's still a really nice auto to add to the collection. I'd like to thank Stadium Nissan for hosting the signing, and Howie for showing up. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more.

Toyota Sports Center (4-12-14 and 4-19-14)

Day 1 (4-12-14)

I heard that the Lakers were going to be practicing so I decided to head down to their practice facility in El Segundo. It was only about 20 minutes from where I live so it wasn't too bad. I showed up around 9 am and left at 2 pm, the D-Fenders (Lakers D-League Affiliate) were practicing along with the Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors D-League Affiliate) that day in preparation for their playoff series. I was also able to see the Los Angeles Kings practice but since I did not go prepared I had nothing to get signed but I was able to take pictures with Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Dwight King, Willie Mitchell, Daryl Evans and Daryl Sutter. I waited for the Lakers on there way out of the parking lot and I was able to get most of them: 

Top Left: Gary Vitti 

Top Middle: Luke Walton

Top Right: Shawnee Williams

Middle Left: Kendall Marshall

Middle: Nick Young

Middle Right: Jordan Hill

Bottom Left: Jodie Meeks

Bottom Middle: Ryan Kelly

Bottom Right: Robert Sacre

Day 2 (4-19-14)

I decided to go back to Toyota Sports Center the following week to see the Kings practice and to try to graph them and it turned out pretty well. I took some cards and a 2012 Stanley Cup Champs 8x10 Photo to get signed by the people I didn't have cards for. I also took an 8x10 picture of Justin Williams with the Stanley Cup and I was lucky enough to get it signed:

As for my Stanley Cup Champs photo, I was able to get a few people to sign it:

Top Left: Jake Muzzin

Top Right: Alec Martinez

Middle Left: Jarret Stoll

Middle Right: Dwight King

Bottom Left: Daryl Evans

Bottom Right: Rob Blake

Along with the 2 photos, I was also able to get 4 cards signed.

Jonathan Quick:

Jordan Nolan:

Anze Kopitar:

Matt Greene:

To cap the day off, I had bought 2 blank pucks to get signed and I got them signed by a few upcoming stars.

Tanner Pearson:

Martin Jones: 

Tyler Toffoli:

Overall, I had a great time graphing at Toyota Sports Center and I had a great time meeting a lot of the players, coaches and alumni. Thanks to all of the guys who stopped to sign and take pictures and thanks to you for reading. Stay tuned for more.

Michael Cooper (WSS) (3-8-14)

Earlier this week I heard about a Michael Cooper signing that was going to be at a WSS in Anaheim. Michael was scheduled to sign from 6 pm-7 pm so I decided to go check it out and see how it was since I haven't been to a signing for a while now. I got there at 5 and there were about 10 people in line. At 5:45, 15 minutes before his scheduled time, Michael walks in through the front of the store, waves to everyone, walks through the front entrance and begins to sign right away. I made it to the front of the line by 6:05 and Michael was by far the nicest person I have met. He shook everyone's hand as they walked up to the table he was signing at and asked each and every person how they were donig. I had my Lakers 2012-13 Yearbook with me with pictures of all their Championship Rings and he was nice enough to sign all 5 pages for me of all 5 rings he won. He also inscribed something on each page without me asking as well: 

He also took photos with everyone who asked. Michael Cooper was an awesome guy and he was very nice and I'm glad I got to meet him. Overall there was about 30 people and everyone got to meet him. So I'd like to thank WSS for hosting the event and Michael Cooper for showing up and being such a great guy. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more to come.