A Chicago Draft – by the Fine Mr. R Michal

 

Our story takes place during one of the last drafts in Chicago, maybe 3 or 4 years ago. We were all to meet in downtown Chicago for lunch at the trendy ESPN Zone restaurant. It was Thursday or Friday, the NCAA tournament was going on, and the place was packed. I had to work that morning, so Jon and Bob Michal had met the out-of-towners at the hotel near the airport and driven them downtown, where I would meet them. When I entered the restaurant, I saw Bob Michal standing there and he said our group was waiting to be seated. In the meantime, he said, everyone had gone to the game room to pass time.

 

So I went to the game room and started meandering through, and soon I spotted Steve playing pinball over here and Jed by the laser rifles over there. Then I found Bob Beardsley and Bob Courter and we started talking, and then Elly came by to join the group. It was then I noticed this young guy in his early 20s standing nearby staring at me. I didn't think anything of it, but then our group moved to another area and here was this kid staring at me again. So I thought "Cripe, this young guy wants me to pick him up!" By this time everyone had arrived and we greeted each other and then Elly turned toward the young guy and said, "Everybody, this is my son Daniel!" So that was it, the young guy was Daniel Kaufman, who no one in Chicago had met before.

 

The reason he'd been staring was probably because he'd been awed to be in the presence of so much BCBL greatness.....me, Beardsley, Courter, Miles, Elly, Bob Michal....events like this don't happen everyday.