The Ringers

Ah, what could have been. I've thought about the what ifs in life over and over again. Like, what if I had Dan Marino and Ronnie Brown on my flag football team? What if, indeed...

As it happens, I've run into these pro athletes and a few more during my years in South Florida. And yes, I have little shame when it comes to asking them to lend me their talents, their 4.40 speed (well, maybe not Marino) every Thursday night for one hour. I mean, is that too much to ask? Here's a recap of who I've asked and what they've had to say.

Offer #1: Ronnie Brown, Pro Bowl running back for the Miami Dolphins

How the negotiations went: I was actually interviewing Ronnie for an article for the magazine I work at. Toward the end of the interview, I managed to casually slip a "oh by the way, I play flag football."

His response: "Ah, man, I don't think I can. You know, contracts and all." First off, Ronnie Brown has to be one of the nicest people on the planet, and I can tell saying "no" is very hard for him to do anyways. Second, he didn't actually say no... I'm still holding out, Ronnie.

Offer #2: Yatil Green, wide receiver and former first-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins

How the negotiations went: I was actually in Orlando at a conference when I ran into Yatil. He thought I looked familiar, thought I went to school with him. I actually had no idea who who this guy was, much less a very hyped college receiver. "What school did you go to?" I asked. Miami, he said. "Nah, I didn't go to Miami, I went to UF," I told him. "But that's cool you went to Miami." (Note: I was just being friendly to a stranger. It is NOT cool if you went to the University of Miami. I'm just sayin'...) Then he said, "Yeah, I used to play ball down here." My response, "Oh, you played basketball?" "No, football," he said. "Football?!" I asked. "Well, do you want to play co-ed flag football with me?"

His response: "I wish I could, but my knees are all torn up." Turns out it was a good decline for our flag football team. I later found out how troubled Yatil's knees were and how they basically ended his football career.

Offer #3: Dan Marino, pro bowler and former NFL MVP

How the negotiations went: I was at a gala honoring Wayne Huizenga this past fall and was waiting patiently in line at the bar. Dan the Man saunters up (presumably to cut in line), and he stands right next to me for a solid five seconds. Then, well, out gushes my praise of him. I told him I grew up watching him and O.J. McDuffie, growing up in Jacksonville, Fla., he and the Dolphins were my team as a kid, I told him that I attribute everything I know about football to him. And of course the inevitable question of, "Hey, will you play flag football with us? came up.

His response: "Well, I can't really run around anymore. My knees don't work the same way." Much like Ronnie Brown, Dan the Man didn't say no. I'm still waiting for an answer, Dan...

Offer #4: Louis Oliver, owner of the 103-yard pick-6 against Jim Kelly

How the negotiations went: My friends were playing in a friendly flag football tourney at Sunlife Stadium in which each team had a former NFL player coach them. My friends' coach was - you guessed it - Louis Oliver. So, I'm hanging on the sidelines, just chilling, when the idea strikes me to ask Louis to play on our team. "So, what do you normally do on Thursdays?" I ask.

His response: "Yeah, maybe. I mean, I gotta see." Again, he didn't say no...

Offer #5: Channing Crowder, University of Florida great and Dolphin linebacker (pictured with Chicago Bears safety Major Wright and Miami Dolphins receiver Davone Bess)

How the negotiations went: I was at an opening of the uber-awesome Dos Caminos restaurant last week in Fort Lauderdale, when it was as if the seas parted and Channing Crowder's dreads came into perfect view. It must be stated I'm a huge Channing Crowder fan. Think what you may of his antics, I love the way he plays, and I love how he's just plain emotional.

His response: "I'm not that good at pulling flags, though!"

All in all, I'd have a sick flag football team if I could have somehow made those offers more meaningful. As they say in sports, there's always next season.

Fashion show

South Florida has a its own version of Carolina Herrera. Last Friday night I went to a fashion show put on by Victoria Castro Lopez that benefited the American Red Cross South Florida. Here are some blurry snapshots of some of the looks from her spring/summer collection as well as a peek at her fall line.

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'I Need More Love'

There are good concerts, and then there are memorable ones. I've been to a fair number of concerts in my lifetime (probably close to 100 or so of all varieties -- rock, jazz, classical, blues -- but easily one of the top three concerts I've ever been in attendance of happened about six years ago. There they were: Robert Randolph and the Family Band.

I was a student at the University of Florida. I had heard of Robert Randolph and the Family Band, liked one of their songs ("I need more love"), and heard they were coming to the Alligator Rocks club. My photographer-friend was covering the concert for the local paper, and I asked her to talk to the bouncer to get me and my buddy Wes in for free. Access granted.

Alligator Rocks held maybe 100 or so comfortably, so it was a nice, intimate crowd that got, well, loud. And pumped. At that time, Robert Randolph just got selected to Rolling Stones' 100 greatest guitarist of all time (if memory serves me right, he was #97). So the concert was touted as a chance to see one of the greatest living guitarist. Boy, did we.

Robert is the first pedal steel guitarist I've ever seen live. And I think it might be difficult to find one much better. It's one thing to see a great show, and it's another to hear talented musicians. We got to do both that night. Wes and I even got to meet Robert after the concert. We were just walking to our car when we ran into him going to his tour bus. He was still coming off the high of the concert, telling us this concert was almost as good as the one he did at the Wetlands (where the band recorded a live CD). I don't remember much of the chance encounter, but I remember Robert being one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people I've met. I think he was wearing a red Sixers jersey for the concert, and Wes and I innocently asked him if he was from Philly. "Nah," he said. "I'm from Jersey."

We got his autograph, and he called me "sweetie" a few times, and that's pretty much all I remember. Oh, except we caught a glimpse of the inside of his tour bus and about five or six blondes from the concert crowd made their way in the bus...

Fast forward to today, six years later, and I got to finally see Robert Randolph and the Family Band again. They were headlining the Riverwalk Blues and Music Festival here in downtown Fort Lauderdale. I just got home from the concert. 'Twas amazing. No surprise. And, the best part was I got to meet Robert all over again. Below's some visual proof of the excitement.

The Bonnet House

Can you imagine staying in an un-air-conditioned place in Florida? Ugh. I've lived in Florida my entire life, and sometimes staying in an air-conditioned place still doesn't give much refuge from the heat and humidity.

But there is one un-air-conditioned place I'm happy to visit here in Fort Lauderdale. It's the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens, one of the city's neatest gems (yes, I like using the word "neat" whenever I get the chance). It's the former home of Hugh Taylor Birch's daughter Helen and son-in-law, Frederic Bartlett (and then Bartlett's second wife Evelyn).

I went to the Bonnet House this past Saturday, probably my fourth visit in two years. Truthfully, it's just as good as the first visit. What I like so much about it is the colors. Lots of beautiful primary colors on the walls and lots of interesting art pieces collected over the years by Evelyn. The courtyard is the bread and butter of the place, where colors unite and your eye can find about 89 awesome details. I fell in love with the place so quickly that it even became the backdrop for a photo shoot our magazine did for our October 2009 issues of Gold Coast and Boca Life (see below).

Visit the Bonnet House when you can. It's a great spot just to learn a little about Fort Lauderdale's history (the tours are awesome and given by really informed and caring volunteers). Just visit it before it gets too hot because, well, there ain't no air conditioning.