Viva Las Vegas

For the second straight year I made the trip to Las Vegas to help my brother, Mike, with the Michael Jordan Sr Flight School. The camp is for men who think they can play basketball. As you can imagine, 90% of them can't. But I guess if you have $17.5k laying around - why not?

It was a great trip - spending time with Mike and Mom (making her first Vegas visit); seeing a couple shows - George Carlin and Danny Gans; eating countless meals at the Caribe Cafe with Mike, E, Ben, Frieder, and others; watching Jordan throw down $25k - $50k per blackjack hand; having the opportunity to meet Jordan; meeting the Packman; and everything else that went along with the weekend.

I always enjoy meeting and interacting with the college and NBA coaches. This year's staff included Dean Smith, John Thompson Jr and III, Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello, Billy Donovan, Roy Williams, Gary Williams, Lenny Wilkins, Doc Rivers, Bill Walton, Chuck Daly, Flip Saunders, Rick Pitino, PJ Carlisimo, Pat Riley - to name a few. It is great to see them in an environment like this as everyone is approachable and in good spirits.

But the best moment of the weekend and one of the coolest moments of my life was meeting Bob Knight. Coach Knight was there as a speaker - telling a number of basketball stories about Jordan and the Olympics, Coach K and the Army, Indiana Basketball, and life in general - a truly entertaining and insightful 60 minutes. But the best part of meeting him is when Mike and I, referred to by Coach Knight as "these boys", went to deliver Coach his gear for the weekend. We knocked on the door and could hear him whistling as he approached. When he opened the door, all he was wearing was a pair of red boxer shorts - CLASSIC. Not only was it surreal that we were meeting Coach Knight in a rare one on one moment, but he was only in his boxers! Mike and I couldn't stop talking about - a memory that will stay with my the rest of my life. He is a great guy and the perception of him is totally wrong. Thanks for the memories Coach Knight - I will be cheering for Texas Tech a little harder this year.

Check out the photos and video from the trip.