Last night, I had the pleasure of spending some quality time with NBA Hall of Famer and all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the charismatic former Governor of Minnesota, Jesse “The Body” Ventura. I interviewed both at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ on seemingly unrelated business – both had books coming out and I wanted to speak to both for a currently in-production, yet-to-launch project for broadcast in the Lehigh Valley. After both heard of my background with Phillies Nation and Phillies Nation TV, the conversation quickly turned to baseball.
Abdul-Jabbar currently operates the Skyhook Foundation to improve lives through sports and education. For more information, please click here.
“I remember watching the broadcast (of Game Six) and there was Jack Buck with the call ‘And we’ll see you tomorrow night.’ after (Kirby) Puckett’s home run. And then the next night, next game rather, Jack Morris pitched the greatest game in baseball history. I remember Danny Gladden scoring on (Gene) Larkin’s single. What a great Series.”
Governor Ventura was there to talk to readers about his new book about the assassination of JFK and stayed for a few hours, doing Q&A with readers and fans. You too can meet Governor Ventura at his next signing at 7 PM on Monday October 7 at the Barnes and Noble on Rutgers University’s campus.
Footage of these interviews will air on Phillies Nation TV on the Comcast Network and Comcast SportsNet and on my upcoming project with FireRock Productions for the Lehigh Valley. You are not going to want to miss what Abdul-Jabbar has to say about playing against Moses Malone and Dr. J and you will want to catch Jesse’s memories of wrestling in Allentown and Philadelphia!
I would like to thank Debra of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s team, Jen of Jesse Ventura’s team, and Pat of Bookends for helping organize these interviews.