The crowds around the top men’s court were especially large when former NBA players Chris Kaman and Robert Sacre were playing. The former Los Angeles Lakers teammates were very approachable and easy to talk with on Saturday when I had the chance to do so.

I had a 10-15 minute talk with Kaman, a 2010 NBA All-Star, Michigan native and downstate Greenville resident. Kaman wasn’t sure of the name of the place where he and Sacre were staying for the weekend. “Some island something that starts with the letter M. It has two very old bridges, one of them I was afraid to walk over and a car drove across it from the Michigan side of the bridge,” Kaman said to me as we chatted under a shade tent near Eagle Automotive. I then realized that the two 7-footers were staying at The Four Seasons Island Resort on Miscauno Island in Pembine.

Kaman said the Four Seasons was reportedly the only hotel in the area that could accommodate their height. “We went to eat at the T & T, the steak was excellent,” he added.

Our conversation ranged from Steve Mariucci and Tom Izzo, to Jason Whitens and the North Central Jets winning three Class D basketball state titles in a row. Kaman played at Tri-Unity Christian School in Wyoming in the Lower Peninsula before moving on to Central Michigan and then becoming a lottery pick, No. 6 overall, by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2003.

ROBERT SACRE

“Class D is harder to win than people realize, because of the private schools that participate,” Kaman stated.

Sacre, who starred at Gonzaga before becoming a second-round draft pick of the Lakers, said the only place he’d ever been in Michigan prior to spending the weekend in the Iron Mountain area was Auburn Hills and Pontiac when the Lakers played the Detroit Pistons at the now demolished Palace of Auburn Hills. The hotel the NBA had a contract with was in nearby Pontiac.

Kaman went on to explain that when his 13-year career ended after the 2016 season, his third with the Portland Trailblazers, he wanted to part on his own terms. He could have returned to Portland, or a different team, as he had more than one offer, but chose to return home to Michigan to be with his wife and three young children.

And for the record, when Sacre and Kaman emerged from underneath the tent, they made me, a 6-foot-3 husky man, look small. It was a great experience to get to talk with both of them. …

As many of you know, I am probably the biggest Bob Uecker fan anyone could come across. Here’s a couple of his recent quotes that I found hysterical:

“I hit a grand slam off Ron Herbel once, and when his manager came out to get him as he was removing him from the game, he was bringing Herbel’s suitcase with him.” One more funny one when he was asked by his broadcast partner Jeff Levering if he was ever in a baserunning rundown during his playing career. His answer: “That’d be in an alley in Philadelphia. It was a 1968 Ford. I got away!” Ueck is one of a kind, that’s for sure. …

Last Saturday afternoon, my wife joined me as we attended a veterans picnic at Lake Antoine County Park, organized by the Dickinson County Office of Veterans Affairs and fellow Navy veteran David Stohl of Iron Mountain. I am not sure who is a prouder Navy veteran than Dave or I, and from what my sources at the Dickinson County Office of Veterans Affairs tell me, he organized the majority of the picnic, which was had plenty of food and drink, as well as outdoor games and door prizes. Well done shipmate!

There’s one other thing I must note about Dave, who is the scoreboard operator at Mountaineer Stadium, taking over for Walt Lakari who stepped down after many years.

Back in early January when both Iron Mountain and North Central played MHSAA playoff football games at the Superior Dome in Marquette, the host teams had to provide their own chain gang, clock operators and public address announcer. Stohl did a great job operating the complex score clock at the Superior Dome. He had his season-long spotter Doug Schupp by his side. Dougie took the season off from officiating games in 2020 as he recovered from hip surgery. Schupp did the PA for the Mountaineers’ 7-6 loss to Johannesburg-Lewiston. His voice boomed all throughout the mostly empty (due to COVID-19 precautions) Superior Dome. You can certainly see who got the public speaking gene in his family — his cousin Brian Giachino excelles as a PA guy for area baseball games. Schupp did fine that day nonetheless. …

Stay safe, happy and healthy ladies and gentleman. Prep fall sports season is upon us, let the madness in my life and my office ensue. …