Autograph Questions With...Dan Paille

Another "AQW..." that was gathered at the recent Guelph Storm Alumni Game.

I watched a young Dan Paille in 2003-04 play for the OHL's Guelph Storm, and he tore up the league that season.

















He picked up 80 points in only 59 games, that year. He made the Canadian squad for the World Junior Tournament, and was named captain. He led Team Canada to a silver that tournament, his same medal result the year before. But he grew from that loss, and helped lead the Storm to an OHL Championship that year. He scored 18 points in 22 games, that playoff drive. He was great to watch, as a Storm fan that year.














I've had a few things signed by Dan, that season, which turned out to be his last with the Storm. The next season, the Buffalo Sabres assigned him to Rochester, after drafting him in the 1st round, 20th overall in 2002. After spending the 2005-06 season in the AHL, Buffalo called him up next season. Paille scored his first NHL goal on January 14, 2006, against the Los Angeles Kings. In the summer of 2007, Paille signed a one-year, $535,000 one-way contract to remain in Buffalo, then re-signed with Sabres for two years, which was announced on July 16, 2008, for $2.2 million: $900,000 in the first year, and in the second, $1,300,000.

He got to play in the, now famous, 2008 Winter Classic with Buffalo, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Buffalo ended up losing in a shoot-out, as Sidney Crosby scored the game winner on Ryan Miller.

Paille was traded to the Boston Bruins on October 20, 2009 for a third-round and a conditional fourth-round draft selection. Paille's move to Boston marked the first ever trade of a player under contract between the two division rivals in their common 39 years in the NHL.

This trade enabled Paille to play in his second Winter Classic. On January 1st, 2010, his Bruins faced the Philadelphia Flyers, at Fenway Park. Again, this game went to overtime, but his time wouldn't lose this time! The Bruins won in Boston, as Marco Sturm scored early in overtime.















When Paille returned to Guelph, a few weeks ago, for the Alumni game, I had a couple of photos for him to sign. When I got to see him, at his signing table, he gladly signed each of the photos, commented on how much he liked the Sabres photo, in which he is jumping after a goal! After chatting for a minute, we shook hands and that was it.


















After the game, I decided to stick around and meet some of the players and hopefully interview them for my blog. When Paille came outside of the Sleeman Centre, after the Alumni game, he agreed happily to answer some questions about autographing.

Which now leads me to our interview.

Autograph Questions With...Dan Paille

Who was the first person, you ever asked for an autograph?
DP; "Walter Gretzky."













Who was the most recent person, you've asked for an autograph?
DP; "My teammate, Zdeno Chara."














What's the 'coolest' thing you've been asked to sign?
DP; "Hmmm...a baseball bat, in Boston!"














What NHL city do you find is the worst for autograph hounds?
DP; "Montreal." (He immediately had an answer for this question!)












Finally, if you could ask anyone, living or deceased, for an autograph...who would it be?
DP; "Hmmm...Mario Lemieux."


















There's another "AQW..." in the books.














Hope you enjoyed it, I should another one ready soon for posting. Want a hint on who it is?! It's not a Storm alumni...it's a San Jose Shark, and I didn't have a single thing for him to sign! Thanks to Bill, again, for the photo of Dan and I.

All the best,
C.

PS- I realize the last few postings have been nothing but interviews, but this summer has been pretty quiet on the autograph front, and when I get an 'adventure' worth posting...you'll see it! Until then, please visit regularly, and try to enjoy the "AQW..." interviews!

Autograph Questions With...Paul Quantrill

So many interviews conducted, so little time to blog them.

Yes readers, I've got ALOT of "AQW..." to blog about now! Now, if I could only find decent to write them all out!

Anyways, enough complaining, let's get started.

Last Thursday, my family and I made the trip (back) to St. Mary's, Ontario for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's celebrity softball game. I had the pleasure of meeting the Hall's newest inductee; Paul Quantrill.













Paul Quantrill, born in London, Ontario, is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He earned a reputation for being very durable and having impeccable control. He regularly appeared in 80 or more games a season and did not walk more than 25 batters in a season since 1996. Commentators often joked that he had a "rubber arm".

Quantrill was drafted in 1986 by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 26th round, 660th overall, and again by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 1989 amateur draft, 161st overall, and made his Major League debut on July 20, 1992.

Originally considered a starter, Quantrill eventually found consistency as a reliever after several years of splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation for several teams. Some of his best years came for the Toronto Blue Jays, in his home province of Ontario.

Before the 2004 season, Quantrill signed a two-year $6.8-million deal with the New York Yankees.
















Due to poor performance in late 2004 and early 2005, Quantrill was designated for assignment on July 1, 2005. The next day he was traded to the San Diego Padres for pitchers Tim Redding and Darrell May. Quantrill was then traded to the Florida Marlins and spent the rest of the year in the bullpen. In the middle of March while playing in the Baseball World Classic, Quantrill said he would retire at the end of the World Baseball Classic.











Quantrill was one of the coaches for Team Canada during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

On June 19, 2010, Quantrill was inducted, along with former Blue Jay Roberto Alomar, into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St Marys, Ontario.

He pitched in 841 MLB games, by far the most of any Canadian.

After recieving a great autograph from Quantrill, and posing for a picture with the Canadian relief pitcher, the former 2001 All-Star answered a few autograph questions.


















Let's roll.

Autograph Questions With...Paul Quantrill

Who was the first person you asked for an autograph?

PQ; My father got me a Bobby Orr autograph, when I was young.


















Who was the most recent person you asked for an autograph?

PQ; It was actually a Yankees team signed baseball for my son, while I played there.


















What MLB city had the most autograph hounds, when you played?

PQ; Baltimore.













What's the 'coolest' thing you've ever autographed?

PQ; Being Canadian, I have to say signing a hockey stick was the coolest thing that comes to mind!


















Finally, if you could ask anyone (living or deceased) for an autograph, whom would you ask?

PQ; Babe Ruth.




















Well, that's my first baseball player "AQW...", and I'm glad that it was a Canadian baseball player! Hoped you enjoyed it!














Thanks to Paul for his time, during his induction weekend. And thanks to Chris for taking our picture!

Take care,
Chris

Autograph Questions With...Ryan Callahan

Welcome back.

Right off, I recently attended (with my wife) the Guelph Storm Alumni Reunion game, in Guelph, Ontario. The Storm decided to bring back some (former) star players, have a game...all in the name of charity. The tickets to special event were 10 dollars, with all net proceeds from the event being donated to the Guelph Wish Fund For Children.














There was an autograph signing with the players before the game, which was a bonus for me, as I just wanted to see the game originally! There were dozens of former Storm players in attendance, and we ended up with LOTS of autographs!

I also had the rare chance to speak to a few Storm alumni, and ask them a few autograph questions, which I'll try to blog within the next few weeks. (Easier said than done?!)

Let's change gears here.

When people (friends, family, etc...) find out that my hobby is collecting (in-person) autographs, I get asked a few common questions. "Who's your most famous?", "Who's your most valuable?", "Who's really nice and who isn't?", "What's your favourite signed piece?", and "Who's your favourite player, of your favourite sport?"

Let me tackle the last question. Growing up, I loved hockey (still do!), and my favourite player was the greatest to ever play...Wayne Gretzky. Since Wayne retired, I've enjoyed a few other players' style, but there was one player whom I got to see since his beginnings in junior hockey. And maybe it's because I got to watch him grow within the game, and begin to dominate each level he joined, he became my favourite player.

I love to watch Sidney Crosby play, but my favourite current NHL player is Ryan Callahan.














Most junior hockey fans have that one special player, they got to watch for 3 or 4 years, blossom into a great NHL player...and mine happens to be the former Captain of the Guelph Storm, and current Alternate Captain of the New York Rangers. Strange part is...I hate the Rangers, as I'm a Leafs fan! I often say, I'm not a Rangers fan...my favourite player, plays for the wrong team!














Anyways, Cally, is simply a great player. Let me tell you about the Rochester, NY native.

Callahan played one year of high school hockey for Hilton High School. He began his junior career with the Rochester Junior Americans of the Empire Junior B Hockey League where he played for two seasons, 1999–2001, then moving on to the Syracuse Jr. Crunch and Buffalo Lightning of the OPJHL before moving onto a four-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) stint with the Guelph Storm, where he played alongside future Ranger teammate Daniel Girardi. Ryan turned professional with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), where he played most of the 2006–07 season.














Callahan received his first NHL call-up to the Rangers on November 28, 2006, making his NHL debut on December 1, but he would only play in that one game before being sent back down to the Wolf Pack.


















He was called up for a second time on December 19, but would again only play in one NHL game in that stint. Towards the end of the season, Callahan was called up for the third and final time on March 15, 2007, after scoring 35 goals in 60 AHL games, and he would stay with the Rangers through the postseason. Two days later, on March 17, he scored his first two NHL goals against Joey MacDonald of the Boston Bruins. He scored his first career assist on March 21 and first career game-winning goal on April 1. He scored his first two NHL playoff goals in a 7–0 win in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Atlanta Thrashers on April 17, 2007.

After scoring one goal in the first eight games of the 2007–08 season with the Rangers, Callahan was out for a month with a Grade two knee sprain. He never gained his full strength back at the NHL level, going his next 16 games without a goal, so the Rangers sent him back to the Wolf Pack on January 7, 2008. After 11 games in Hartford, he was called up on February 3 to replace an injured Brendan Shanahan in the Rangers' line-up against the Montreal Canadiens.[6] Callahan tallied his second career two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks on February 17. Callahan scored the game winning goal with 20 seconds remaining to help clinch the Victoria Cup for the Rangers during an exhibition game in Switzerland.












2008–09 was a breakout year for Callahan. On October 1, 2008, Callahan scored the game winning goal for the New York Rangers with 20 seconds left in the inaugural Victoria Cup. The Rangers defeated Metallurg Magnitogorsk by a 4-3 tally. In the regular season, he was third on the Rangers with 22 goals and fifth on the team with 40 total points during the regular season. Callahan was awarded the Rangers' Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for his hard work throughout the season, and scored the winning goal in the team's playoff-clinching win in the final home game of the season. Callahan was re-signed by the Rangers on July 13, 2009.

Callahan was named an alternate captain of the Rangers on October 2, 2009. On January 1, 2010, he was named to the United States Olympic team, with whom he earned a silver medal in Vancouver.


















I've seen Cally play lots of times, at the junior level...witnessing first hand, the Storm winning the 2004 OHL Championship. I saw him again, at the AHL level, during the 2007 All-Star Classic, when he scored the game winning goal (7-6), with less than 10 seconds left in the game! In 2008, we made the trip to Buffalo, to see the Rangers play the Sabres, and finally got to see Cally play at the NHL level. I'm glad to say that I've seen him play at all three major levels of his career. I've gotten his autograph countless times, on various cards and pictures, and he's ALWAYS been accomodating and friendly each and every time.












So, when I finally had the chance to catch up with #24 again at the Storm Alumni game, I was pretty excited!

When I reached the table where Callahan was sitting for his portion of the autograph session, I was about 4th in line for him. When I reached the front of the line, he recognized me, smiled, dropped his Sharpie, saying; "Hey...how's it going, man?!" while offering his hand!

I shook his hand, replying that I was good, and asked the same of him. We spoke for a minute, as I asked about his knee and if he was going to play today. He said that his knee was good, and that was going to play. I also asked him; if he was on Facebook, to which he said no, and that he has someone pretending to be him. He said that he gave up FB along time ago. Just a head's up, folks.

After our quick conversation, he signed a couple of 8x10's for me, personalizing one photo to me. Corinna, my beautiful wife, went through Cally's line earlier (as I was in Jeff O'Neill's line), and got to get a card signed for my son, by Cally. (Thanks to Ryan, for the card.)

Afterwards, I shook his hand again, and thanked him for everything. He seemed pretty appreciative, as he knows that I'm a big supporter.













After gaining alot more Storm players' autographs, I returned to where Cally was, and had a chance to take a picture with him, and got to ask him some autograph questions...which I hope you know enjoy!

Sorry for the long delay/build up...but please, carry on!

"Autograph Questions With...Ryan Callahan"


















Who was the first person, that you ever asked for an autograph?

#24; "It was Jason Bonsignore. I asked him, as a kid, in Rochester...where he's also from".


















Who was the most recent person, that you've asked for an autograph?

#24; "Markus Naslund." (Cally played with Naslund, for the NYR, when Naslund retired)















What's the coolest thing you've ever been asked to autograph?

#24; "Hmmm...you know, I gotta say a 'fight' picture! I really think it's cool to sign a picture of me in a hockey scrap!"


















What NHL city, other than your home team's city, has the most autograph seekers?

#24; "Montreal."













Finally, if you could ask anyone (living or deceased) for an autograph, whom would you ask?

#24; "Muhammad Ali."














Well, that's my "AQW..." with my favourite player. He was really, really accomodating, and I thank him for that...and his time. I urge you all to check out a Rangers game next time, they're on tv, and watch for #24. He'll be the one, that his coach will be depending on.

I got to do my "AQW..." with 5 or 6 other players, which I hope you return to check out in the next few weeks.

Also, in the next little while, I'll show some autograph successes that I had at the Guelph Storm Alumni game.

Finally, the team that Cally played for...(the white team), won the Storm Alumni game.














Take a guess on who the game MVP was?

Yup...#24. Ryan Callahan.

Go Storm Go!
Chris

PS; Thanks to Corinna for her help, throughout the day...and for helping me 'razz' O'Neill! Thanks to Bill for his kindness with his camera, et al...and again to Ryan, with the Cally card for Josh. Our day, was a great day.

Autograph Questions With...Stephenie LaGrossa

Time for the 2nd installment of "AQW...", hope you enjoy it.

Autograph Questions With...Stephenie LaGrossa












As I explained in my previous posting, I had the chance to meet Stpehenie LaGrossa of Survivor, and recieve her autograph. During the signing, she kindly agreed to answer a few questions about autographing. This is what was said;

"Who was the first person, you ever asked for an autograph?"

SLG; "Hmm...oh, Mickey Mouse! Yes, my parents to us to Disney World when I was kid, and I asked Mickey for his autograph!"














"Who was the most recent person, that you've asked for an autograph?"

SLG; "Eric Desjardins. When I was the 'in-game host' of the Philadelphia Flyers, I needed to get him to sign a jersey for a contest we were doing for the fans."















"What's the 'coolest' thing you've ever been asked to sign?"

SLG; "The coolest thing...hmmm...oh, my torch from Survivor Palau. A lady paid $10,000 for it, with proceeds going to charity!"













That's it folks. I didn't get to ask as many questions, as I did with Hayley Wickenheiser, but I hope you enjoyed reading this. Stephenie was very, very accommodating and seemed to enjoy the couple questions I asked! The answer about her torch, you could tell she was very proud that it raised so much money for the Survivor charity.














Just a quick bio; when Stephenie was a territory sales representative in pharmaceutical sales, she received the call to be cast on CBS Survivor: Palau. She was one of the most popular players to ever play the game (92% approval rating) and was invited back for the very next season, Survivor: Guatemala, where she finished second to the $1,000,000 winner. She appeared a third time, on Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, and was voted off second after separating her shoulder.














Thanks to Stephenie for her time!

Take care,
C!

The Tribe Has Spoken

Sports, sports, sports!

That's all I seem to blog about lately!

Time for a much needed shift in direction, on the autograph front.

"The Tribe Has Spoken"

On May 17th, while searching a website that's great for autograph news, I stumbled upon something that caught my attention.

Before I reveal what that information was, let me set this up properly.

We all have 'guilty pleasure' television shows that we always watch, but don't always tell our friends about! My wife always watches the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows. My mom, she loves American Idol and Dancing With The Stars.

For me...my guily pleasure television show is Survivor.












I love it.

There, I said it!

So, when this website mentioned that a Survivor contestant was going to be in Ontario...I began to smile.

One of the greatest Survivor players ever, was going to make two appearances in two South-western Ontario horse racetracks. The tracks, were Flamboro Downs and Western Fair Raceway, near Hamilton and London respectively.

The Survivor appearing was to be Stephenie LaGrossa.


















Commonly known as just 'Stephenie' to most Survivor fans, she was to appear on the 23rd at Flamboro Downs, and the following day in London's Western Fair Raceway. Her autograph signing was to be 2 to 4pm in Flamboro, which is the signing I decided I would attend because of it's proximity to my home in Guelph, Ontario.

Flamoboro Downs is about 25 minutes driving time, through the countryside, from my home.

I told my wife, Corinna, about Stephenie's appearance and she decided that she would join me in meeting the Survivor...as Corinna really enjoys Survivor as well!

I started looking up images of Stephenie, on various websites, to see if there was anything cool to get signed. Since, this was a appearance at a casino/racetrack, I figured that there would be a giveaway picture of some sorts...possibly a 4x6, 5x7, or a 8x10. I hoped that I could get my own picture autographed and recieve one of the giveaways...if I asked nicely enough! Corinna was hoping for just a giveaway for herself.

After searching google images, I found a cool looking cast photograph of the Survivor's from 'Heroes vs. Villains', and decided that this would the pic to get signed by Stephenie. I know that other Survivors, like Ethan, Boston Rob & Amber, and Johnny Fairplay (to name a few), and travel to Ontario to for signings...so this way I could have something to get signed if other contestants from 'Heroes vs. Villains' come to Ontario for a signing.













After deciding on the photo, it was now the waiting game.

Fast forward to the Sunday, of the signing.

After driving south to Flamboro Downs, from Guelph, we arrived at the racetrack about 30 minutes before the signing. We entered the building, and headed for the casino part of the racetrack...where the signing was to take place.


















Now, before I continue...let me give you a head's up. Since, we weren't allowed to bring our camera inside the casino...sadly, there are no photos of my 'autograph encounter'.

I'll use photos from the internet for reference. These pics aren't my own.

When Corinna and I walked inside the casino, immediately to our right was a table set-up for Stephenie's event. Apparently the casino was giving away an HD television everyday in the month of May, and brought in Stephenie to help promote their contest. We scouted out the line in front of the table, which had a tropical theme around it(Surivior-ish?!), and found no one.

Yup, no one was in line.

So, Corinna and I did what came naturally...we played a few slots!

After a small donation to the casino, we heard over an announcement that Stephenie had arrived and had was beginning to start her autograph signing. When we made our way back to the entrance of the casino, where she was signing, a few people had already lined up. In the line-up, we were approached by a representative of the casino, and asked if we were 'Winner's Circle' members. I said that we both were members of the casino's VIP club, and he asked if he could see our cards. Of course, neither Corinna or myself had our cards with us, so the rep said that with our cards, we could enter a contest to win a very private meet and greet dinner with Stephenie later in the afternoon. Good enough for me! He took our information, and went to get us both some new cards.

When he returned, we were still in line, he gave us both our new cards, entry ballots into the meet and greet with Stephenie, 5 dollars in casino cash, and a ballot to enter the draw for the HD televison! Pretty cool, eh?

For those that know me well...know that I'm a very, very "lucky" person. I'll just leave it at that.

After stuffing all this paperwork into our pockets, it was our time to meet one of the greatest Surivior contestants to play the game!


















I approached Stephenie, with Corinna at my side, and said hello. She welcomed us, smiling, asking us how we were doing. After our greetings, I showed her my Survivor; Heroes vs Villains cast photo, and she looked very impressed. After signing only her 5x7 giveaway photos, she looked at us as real fans for having something for her to sign!

"Wow, guys...this looks like the promo's the network gave out!" Stephenie said, looking at my picture, and then rubbing her finger over the image to see if it was truly a giveaway. "No" I began, "I found it this cool shot, on Google images". "It's really cool" She answered. "Where would you like me to sign it?" Stephenie asked. I looked at the picture, and saw that she was standing in front of Colby Donaldson (another fan favourite). "Would you mind signing right above Colby?" I suggested.

She took her black Sharpie, and beautifully signed her autograph, adding an incription.














She signed her name, then added S10, S11, S20, and finally a 'smiley face'. Her inscription, which she seems to add to everything she autographs, represents her 3 seasons on Survivor.

After she signed my 8x10, I asked her some autograph questions, that she agreed to answer...I'll post the 2nd "AQW..." later this week, featuring our short conversion!

After our private Q&A about signing autographs, Stephenie signed a 5x7 for Corinna and I individually. This was the giveaway, that featured the OLG Slots logo and Stephenie posing for a candid Surivior photo.












We thanked Stephenie for her time, shook hands, and parted ways.

Or so we thought.

It was at this point we noticed my friend Mike, and chatted with him for a few minutes, after he got a few things signed by Stephenie LaGrossa. After our conversation with Mike, we went back into the casino for another quick donation!

Afterwards, Corinna and I walked out of the casino, and sat down in the lounge area to take a proper look at all the paperwork we were given earlier. We began to fill out the ballots we were given, and properly read the other ballots we recieved. I filled out a pair of ballots for the meet & greet with Stephenie, as Corinna did also, and then Corinna put our ballots into the drum for the 4pm draw. I put our televison ballots into another drum...hoping for a big screen win!

After taking a walk around the building, seeing the sights of Flamboro Downs, it was soon time for the draw for the meet & greet. The draw for the tv was to happen at midnight...we weren't staying that long!

We saw the racetrack officials gather around the drum, and began to pull out 5 ballots. There was at least 100 ballots filled out, and I figured that our chances were slim.

But we did have hope!

They began to announce the 5 winners, over the speaker system, and our names...weren't included.

Corinna said, "Alright Mr Lucky, you can't win them all! Let's go home". I agreed, and we began to walk out of the atrium, headed for the parking lot.

"Our 5 winners have 5 minutes to claim their prize, or we will draw again until we have 5 winners!"

Those were the magic words that stopped us both in our tracks! Corinna and I, smiled at eachother, and quickly decided to stick around to see what would happen.

After the longest 5 minutes of our day, 3 winners claimed their great prizes, leaving 2 prizes unclaimed.

"We will be drawing two more names for our meet and greet with Stephenie LaGrossa, and full dinner..."

I looked at Corinna and said, "They're going to pull your name!". She laughed, and responded; "I never win, you're the lucky one here!"

The rep's began to announce the 2nd set of names..."Fred (I can't remember his last name)...and..."

You pretty much know who they pulled next right?!

Me.

After they announced my name, I looked at Corinna who was just smiling and shaking her head. "See...you always win!". I just laughed, and went to go over to where the ballot box was, to claim my prize.

The rep's told me that I just won a private meet and greet with Stephenie, where there will be a professional photographer taking pictures of the winners with Stephenie, and private Q&A session, and a 5 star dinner in the private 'Confederation Room'. I asked if I could bring my wife with me, and they said yes, that the prize was for the winner plus one guest. I thanked them a million times, and walked back to where Corinna was.

"The good news is that I won the prize, the bad news is I can't bring anyone with me!" I said to her, pulling a prank...as I often do with Corinna.

"Nice try, I heard what they said...I'm going with you!" She responed laughing, giving me a shot in the arm!

After sharing a laugh, talking about the prize, and figuring out what questions we would ask in the Q&A, we waited until 5pm...when the private event began.

We headed upstairs, above the casino, to where the seating was to view the horseraces, and spotted the 'Confederation Room', off in the secluded corner of the area. After realizing that Flamboro Downs was host to the annual 'Confederation Cup' race, we put 2 and 2 together on why this private room has this distinct name.

At 5pm, the rep's invited the winners and their guests into the Confederation Room. They had a photo area set up in the back corner of the room, where Stephenie was waiting for everyone to come in for private, professional photos. The photographer had a great little set up, with a couple lamps, and a black backdrop.

We were about the 4 or 5 couple in line, and we were checking out our surroundings, as we waited for our turn to say hello to Stephenie again.

The had a massive buffet table set up against the far wall, which was about 15 feet long. In front of the bar area, was a dessert table that was about 7 feet long. Between us (against one wall), and the buffet dinner wall, was about 10 round tables...all beatufully decorated in white.

Flamboro Downs did it up.

It was our turn with Stephenie, to have our picture taken. She smiled at us, as she said hi guys...hopefully recognize us from earlier. The photographer quickly explained that this photo will be available after the dinner for us to take home, as I stood beside Stephenie, and Corinna stood on her other side. Stephenie commented on that I should in the middle, because Corinna and her were both wearing the same colour (white)...I responded by saying that she was the celeb here, and she should be in the middle! She laughed, and said ok, as the photographer took a couple of shots.

Afterwards, we thanked her and the photographer, and we were directed by the rep's to find a seat at any table, and help ourselves to dinner.

Music to my ears!

Corinna and I picked a couple spots facing where Stephenie was hopefully going to speaking, and headed over to the big buffet table.

Oh my word...they did it up. 5 star is truly what this spread was!

We started at the bread area, where there was 3 different loaves of bread, and a huge bowl of various buns. Next was the salad bar, where you had 3 types of salads to build. After grabbing a small Greek salad, next was the pasta. I can't begin to remember how many styles they had, but I took some Rigatoni. Next was the main courses. They had 'jerk' flavoured ribs, smoked Salmon, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, chicken wings, steamed vegeatables, two kinds of rices, breaded lamb chops, and a honey ham.

I grabbed a little bit of overthing, and headed back to our table, where Corinna was waiting for me. I smiled at her, and mentioned how great my luck was! She laughed, and began with her salad.

After dinner and a quick jaunt to the desset table, the Q&A was about to begin.

Stephenie took a mic, and walked into the centre area, and began to talk about her life. She mentioned that she grew up in a catholic family, in Philadephia, the only sister to 3 (or 4?) older brothers. She spoke about her college career, then began to talk about her audition tape that she made to try and get on Survivor.


















She explained that, she and some her friends went to a Bon Jovi concert in Philly, and that Jon Bon Jovi picked her out of the crowd and brought her on stage to dance with him during a song!

So she submitted that scene to Survivor, saying that "If Jon Bon Jovi could pick me out of a crowd of thousands, you should be able to, too!". This got a huge laugh, and a round of applause!

She also went onto mention that she is now engaged to Philadephia Philles starting pitcher, Kyle Kendrick, and that she owns a pizza restaurant named GIGI Restaurant & Lounge in Philadelphia.














She began the Q&A session after this, and I had the first question!

I asked her how her shoulder was feeling, (as she separated in the first episode of Heroes vs Villains) and if James ever apologized for how her treated you on H vs V?

Stephenie began to explain how her shoulder got injured, and that not everything went down as it was broadcasted on tv. She told us how it happened, and how she had to pop it back into it's socket during the challenge. She also went on to say that she participated in the challenge after the injury was corrected! I won't comment on what she said about the editing of her injury, but you can all probably figure it out.

When she went to answer my question about James, a few people booed! During H vs V, she was labelled kryptonite by fellow cast member James Clement due to her inability to listen to the designated leader and his repetitive statements that whatever tribe she is on, it will be destined to fail. He, in my opinion, really came off as a bully, and eventually led a group to vote her off the show.

Stephenie said that during a wrap party, in which her fiance Kyle Kendrick also attended with her, that James approached both of them together as a couple...and apologized to both of them for his actions during Heroes vs Villains. She smiled as she said this, seeming to be touched that James said this to her and her partner. I was glad she shared this private moment with us all, when all she had to say was that "it was dealt with".

Corinna got ask a question next, which was "Where does everyone go, after the get voted off the island?" Stephenie gave a very honest answer! Sorry, but I won't reveal what was said here...I don't want to get sued by the producers of Survior! But if you ever cross paths with me, just ask...I'll tell you in person.

Stephenie went on to reveal some things like, that it takes 3 days of filming to fit into each 44 minute episode. Contestants really do stink after awhile, but 'you get used to it!". There are over 500 employees for each season, running around the tribes and setting up challenges. That Playboy has asked her 3 times to appear nude, and she has said no all 3 times..."The fact I have a Catholic family, with older brothers and a dad, kind of makes it difficult to do Playboy!" she joked.

She really gave open and honest questions into Survivor, which I'll be happy to share with you, if you ask in person.

After the hour long Q&A session, which had a great amount of laughs!, it was time for Stephenie to get going. The photographer returned with framed photos of our pictures with Stephenie, which she then handed out to the winners! When we got our photo, we quickly saw how special it was. Flamboro Downs had put in a special matte, that had an OLG Slots logo, the date, and had Stephenie autograph the matte for us! It looked great!















We both went over and shook Stehenie LaGrossa's hand one final time, and said goodbye.

What a great day.