For IWB & Ted: Park the Shark

[MayorBeluga]

IWB & Ted (Among others)

We were in Connecticut this weekend visiting my wife's sister. She asked us if we wanted to participate in the Prostate Cancer fundraising walk Saturday morning. Of course we said yes, and I immediately thought of our good friend Park the Shark. Spent much of the walk along the Connecticut shore just thinking of Park, including going to see recruits play their high school games. Among the best were when the two of us went to Tosa East v. MUHS games, sitting together rooting for opposite teams. Or driving Park to the MU event "behind enemy lines" in Madison that Crean set up when he was first hired - Ted probably recalls that one well.

Glad I did the walk since it made me think of our friend.

PS - too bad I didn't win the raffle item donated by St. John's Men's Basketball: two tickets behind the SJU bench for any home game at MSG this coming season.

[TedBaxter]

Think of Mike often. Regret not getting over to see him the last few months of his life.

I had so many fun times with Mike and the one thing that always stands out is that almost every time we met to watch a Marquette recruit, the recruit would have a terrible game. We just got to the point where we'd expect it and laugh about it.

[MUAlphaBangura]

IWB & Ted (Among others)

We were in Connecticut this weekend visiting my wife's sister. She asked us if we wanted to participate in the Prostate Cancer fundraising walk Saturday morning. Of course we said yes, and I immediately thought of our good friend Park the Shark. Spent much of the walk along the Connecticut shore just thinking of Park, including going to see recruits play their high school games. Among the best were when the two of us went to Tosa East v. MUHS games, sitting together rooting for opposite teams. Or driving Park to the MU event "behind enemy lines" in Madison that Crean set up when he was first hired - Ted probably recalls that one well.

Glad I did the walk since it made me think of our friend.

PS - too bad I didn't win the raffle item donated by St. John's Men's Basketball: two tickets behind the SJU bench for any home game at MSG this coming season.

Milford, Baby!

Never forget the joy in Mike's eyes at the basketball banquet telling us his experience behind closed doors with the MU team and coaches. It wasn't too long after that he passed. I always try to remember the Park the Shark pre-cancer. One of the best.

[IWB]

Isn't that exactly what happened when we saw Trevon Hughes Ted? Or the Dominic James trip, where Dominic went down with an injury 8 seconds into the game, but did come back to star for Richmond with the game winner.

Thanks for bringing this up Mayor. Every time I go through his neighborhood in Tosa I think of him. Was just a great guy.

I remember he was Buzz' special guest at the end of the year banquet I took him home and we sat and talked with his wife and Mike told her about every second of the event, being in the practice gym with the team praying over him etc. He told her he couldn't wait to go to that event the following year. She looked at me with that look, knowing he wouldn't be there much longer. About a week later he wanted to take me out to lunch as a thank you. We went to Saz's and talked MU hoops until he was too tired to talk anymore. When I took him back home and dropped him off he didn't head up the porch into the front door, he headed down the driveway towards the back door. As I sat in my car watching him walk down his driveway, I knew it would be the last time I would see him and to this day, I can't get that picture out of my head, nor do I want to. A great memory of a great guy and friend.

[MayorBeluga]

IWB- thanks reminding me of those final (alas) stories of Park. Now if you'll excuse me, I seem to have something in my eye.

[TedBaxter]

It will be 5 years on June 22nd that Mike passed away. Got something in my eye also.

The Trevon Hughes story was meeting Mike at St. John's during Trevon's sophomore year and finding out from one of the cadets during the JV game that Trevon wasn't allowed to play Saturday games that year because he got in a fight as a freshman with another cadet. Mike was real happy about that one.

[Mark Miller]

Mike was a terrific person. Just a pleasure to be around.

Several of us went on trips with Mike to watch potential MU recruits. Dominic James in Indiana and a couple of guys who wound up elsewhere at Lake Forest Academy. Those were great times.

About three months before Mike passed away, he gave me a call and spoke at length about MU's latest recruit -- Jamail Jones. We had both watched him on ESPN2 and were hopeful he could become a big-time contributor. It didn't work out that way, but every time I hear Jamail's name, I think of Mike. I also think of him every time I pass to American Family Insurance building on the Interstate going to a MU game.

He is greatly missed.

[IWB]

Yes indeed Mark, he had gotten video tapes of some of Jones' games and was pretty high on his outside shooting abilities.