JOURNAL - January 15, 2007

JOURNAL ARCHIVE

 

January 15, 2007

I always enjoy going out to shows and seeing live performances. The other night my wife and I and our friends, Bob and Beverly Neville and Donna and Art Conforti, went out to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota, Florida to see Frankie Valli perform. It was a great night and certainly brought back a lot of memories. Having been raised in New Jersey, it was a real treat to have the opportunity to go back stage and meet Frankie Valli in person. It turned out that we knew a lot of the same friends from back in Jersey. He also spoke of how excited he is with the success of the Broadway musical, Jersey Boys. Soon, Jersey Boys will be going on a national tour around the country and I can assure you it is a fabulous show and one I would highly recommend.

I also recently was honored to participate in a book being published in appreciation and recognition of Father Theodore Hesburgh, former President of the University of Notre Dame.  I was asked to write a letter for inclusion in a book titled, Thanking Father Ted.  I wrote about how much I love the University of Notre Dame and how proud I am to have had both of my daughters receive both their undergraduate and master's degrees from this fine university.  It truly is a special place and one at which my family has enjoyed many proud and special moments.

I recently returned from having a blast shooting my latest Hooter's commercial.  My wife and I traveled to Atlanta to do the shoot and we always have a great time seeing our friends, Keith Johnson and Mike McNeil.  I am so thankful for my partnership with Hooter's as they have so generously donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the V Foundation to help find a cure for cancer research.  I am extremely thankful for their commitment to this worthy cause.

ALLTEL Wireless and I have recently teamed up to promote college basketball.  I had a great time doing a two hour radio tour across the country to talk about all of the exciting things ALLTEL Wireless is doing for college basketball fans out there.  There is a great sweepstake and you can find out more details by checking out the ALLTEL contest information on my site. CLICK HERE

I am looking forward to my DiGiorno Pizza commercial to be coming out soon.  It should be hilarious and it stars, yours truly, doing some spectacular moves on the court (thank goodness for all those wizards in special effects!).  Scott's Lawn Care is also coming to Sarasota to shoot a commercial right here in my very own backyard.  I know we will have a great time and I am looking forward to meeting all of the great people at Scott's and Lowe's.

Lastly, my wife and I hade a great time with my dear friend, Nick Bollettieri and his wife Cindi.  Nick is a legend and he is one of the few people that can go toe to toe with me on energy level.  He never stops and he is busier now than ever before.  He is an incredible motivator and one of the best coaches in tennis of all time.  We always have a great time together.

I certainly have been very fortunate in my career to have had so many lasting relationships both personally and professionally.  I will forever be thankful to all of the people who have been so kind to me.  No one can ever say I didn't have a great time doing a job I love!