OT - I Played with/against that guy

Submitted by JeepinBen on

Sparked by the Tigers Call up thread, I was wondering who all here had good stories playing with/against people who made it. I've seen on the boards people who played high school football against so-and-so and I've always found it interesting.

Only person I can think of that I played against was Phil Kessel. Freshman year of high school his team (Madison Capitals) dominated the midwest league we were playing in. I was a goalie and the best game I've ever played was against that team. 0-0 with three minutes left, I made about 50 saves on the night, we had taken 7 shots (his whole team was amazing, they went undefeated). With 3 minutes left their team gets a penalty shot. Kessel takes it, bears down on me, and burns me. Bad. We lost 3-0, but it was their closest game all year, and it was really sweet to see him playing on Team USA at the Olympics.

So what about you guys? Who tackled Kevin Grady? Who got dunked on by Petway? Let's hear some of the old glory stories

mds315

July 7th, 2010 at 4:31 PM ^

I once guarded Juwan Howard Jr.  he was about twice my size.  and he liked to yell when he was abusing me in the post.  it was scary.

GONZO735

July 7th, 2010 at 5:16 PM ^

I remember when Ian Gold was running the ball at Belleville high School...that kid was BIG, FAST and would run THROUGH you and not around you. I had a headache from hell after playing them in a scrimmage. I think he only carried the ball about 10 times, for about 75 yards and a score...but I'll never forget the trash talking he put on after EVERY run. I also played against Drew Henson. He was GIGANTIC, bigger than most of our D-lineman!!haha!! We lost a close game to them, but he had a pretty good game as he threw for about 200 yards and 3 scores......we did sack him 4 times....but he was a LOAD to bring down.

Shaqsquatch

July 7th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^

Not a UM player, but I played against Mark Dell, although I was an O Lineman, so I didn't see too much of him unless he spent time on D or kick return.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, he was likely the return man, and if that's the case, I brought him down on the opening play of the game.

Dread-Our_Dreads

July 7th, 2010 at 4:43 PM ^

I know he is not a michigan player, but i played against Durrell Summers. He put on a dunk show before the game, and one of the dunks involved him jumping up, slamming the ball on the backboard, and then slamming it. Then in the game he just rained three's on us, go figure.

MH20

July 7th, 2010 at 4:46 PM ^

I grew up around the corner from Justin Abdelkader in Norton Shores (suburb/nice area of Muskegon).  I occasionally played street hockey with him and the other neighborhood kids when I was a young teen.

Side note: I saw him last nite in GR at the Buffalo Wild Wings off E Beltline (next to Celebration North).

Double side note: That was one helluva Tigers game, everyone in the place went nuts when Miggy hit that tying homer, and then went even crazier after Damon's walked it off.

EDIT: I realize this doesn't quite fit the OP's guidelines, but hey, at least it was hockey (albeit in the street as kids).

Wolverine318

July 7th, 2010 at 5:07 PM ^

I may have played hockey with you...

On the other note, I have skiied with Bode Miller and did a couple competitions in the states with him.

I also competed in high school cross country and track against Dathan Ritzenhein, one of the top American marathon runners. He kicked my ass by a lot. I remember getting my mom to take a picture of me, ahead of Ritz as he was about to lap me during 3200m.

BlockM

July 7th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^

I played basketball in 7th and 8th grade with David Kool (MAC player of the decade). I shared third-string duties with one other kid on an 11 person team, and probably scored a total of ten points over both seasons. Kool averaged something like 25 a game.

I did block him once in a game of IM volleyball in high school. He probably doesn't remember it, but I still brag about it whenever I get the chance.

Plegerize

July 7th, 2010 at 4:50 PM ^

I was blessed with the opportunity to play with DEATH my first two years of high school. He was two years older than me so I watched him while he was on varsity and sometimes scrimmaged against him.

I got to play with Vince Helmuth who was a bull moose and a half in high school. It sucked scrimmaging against him in practice, but on Fridays I was glad he was the one on my team.

Let's see not necessarily big players, but I played with Coach Andy Moeller's kids who were funny as hell and great kids, and I knew Terry Malone's kids as well. Malone had a son who was one year younger than me and a smoking hot daughter my same age. I loved growing up in the Ann Arbor/Saline area :)

Cbus 91Wolverine

July 7th, 2010 at 4:55 PM ^

Gus Johnson was our catcher & first baseman in high school.  He was like a young Miguel Cabrera in the Detroit Catholic League.  He used to marvel when my curve actually curved.

bdwiese

July 7th, 2010 at 5:47 PM ^

I come from a swimming family (two of my cousins swim for UM now) and have known his family for a long time - total class act.  I remember that he was 5'8" as a HS sophomore and not as good as his older brother Christian (who also swam for Michigan).  Times have definitely changed.

My HS team got killed by Craig Krenzel, lost to Michael Tennessee (twice) who went on to be a D2 AA for GVSU, and we beat Jim Sorgi in the playoffs one year.  Sorgi might have been the toughest HS kid I've ever seen.  I remember we just unloaded on him over and over and being as skinny as he was, I thought he might break in half.

wmu313

July 7th, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^

Great swimming family. I think all 4 vanderkaay brothers swam for UM right? In HS I was convinced they were all robots sent from space to dominate Oakland County swim meets. 

bdwiese

July 7th, 2010 at 10:25 PM ^

All 4 were at Michigan.  I believe Christian, Peter, and Alex were on the same team together at one point.  Christian didn't have the size, but if he had avoided injury he would have been an All American.

MIWolverine1111

July 7th, 2010 at 4:59 PM ^

I played football against John Goodman (Notre Dame), Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame), Tyquan Hammock (MSU), Lawrence Barnett (IU), Mick Mentzer (IU), and Roderick Smith (Ohio State)

wolverine71

July 7th, 2010 at 5:00 PM ^

not a Michigan alum but I lined up opposite Orlando Pace (former OSU/Sandusky alum) for a cross conference scrimage. I was a junior, he was a freshman. The first encounter wasn't too bad, I stood my ground. The second encounter however, he blindsided me and put me on the shelf for three weeks with a separated shoulder. THE hardest hit I had ever taken from one person. I'll never forget it.

dpb

July 7th, 2010 at 5:05 PM ^

Lamarr Woodley (and Jerome Jackson) destroyed us 56-7 my junior year.  Saginaw was awesome that year, and then they lost the first round of the playoffs.

Seth

July 7th, 2010 at 5:09 PM ^

Used to see at least one Farmington Hills Harrison game a year, which featured a lot of future Spartans, e.g. Drew Stanton, Agim Shabaj.

The Smokevich brothers played with my brother at Seaholm. I knew them kinda (like through people).

Gabe Watson was at Southfield High while I was in high school (I wasn't on the team then -- I was on the school newspaper).  He was a freshman when I was a senior (at Birmingham Groves, which is like a mile from the other Southfield school), and we played them really early in the year, so Groves got to be like the first school to ever see that wrecking ball in person. At 14, he was already bigger than any two varsity players. By the time he was a Michigan recruit, he was the biggest thing in town.

I like to tell the story a lot of when I was umping rec softball at M, and the football players had two teams. Braylon Edwards was a ridiculous centerfielder. Tyler Ecker was a serious power hitter. Pat Massey (6'6 or something like that ) complained that I was calling strikes that were at least 5 feet in the air. I was like "dude -- you have an engineer pitching underhand to you and you can't swing at a softball that's at your chest?" He didn't think it was funny, but the rest of his team did. Ha ha! I am cool to football players! Take that popular people in high school!

Oh, almost forgot: we skiied against Drew Henson (Brighton). He only was on the ski team for one season, I think.

Seth

July 8th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^

Which team? I did a lot of umping one year when I was broke and picking up every hour I could.

One of those teams (they had a corec-B and an all-male A team) was a group I've been secretly hoping will reappear on MGoBlog. They had Troy Neinberg on their team, and few of them started umping later on. I once called a line drive-ish ball to the 2nd baseman an "infield fly," which was my worst call ever and totally screwed that team because the fielder dropped it and let it squirt into the outfield, and I had to call the whole damn play back. I still feel bad about it.

They also had a plumpish girl at catcher who was there when my cell phone (in my cargo shorts) accidentally called my friend, and my roommates were fucking around saying things like "I am the Umpire's Pocket! Fear me, and the ounce of weed beside me!"

Serenity Now

July 7th, 2010 at 5:07 PM ^

I played against Biakabutuka in High school. Thanfully I played oline then.

I played with and against NHLer Francis Bouillon up until he got drafter by the Quebec junior league and I gave up my hockey future to play drums in a death metal band.

Ah the ol' days.

spam and beans

July 7th, 2010 at 5:10 PM ^

When I was a senior @ Jenison High School, Brandt was a junior.  Man that guy was a beast.  Really nice guy.  Every time he knocked me down in practice, he would help me up.  I suspect it was just to knock me down again. 

CleverMichigan…

July 7th, 2010 at 5:16 PM ^

Having attended a small NY school, none of the guys on my football team (or almost any boys' sport for that matter) went anywhere of note. The other girl on the team, Genna Kovar, ended up playing varsity field hockey all 4 years (I played my last 2) and is racking up athletic honors at D1 Hofstra. If anyone follows Olympic field hockey, I heard she was asked to try out for the US team.

We also had a girl go to SJU for basketball, which is in the A10 (UMass, Rhode Island, etc), and our softball team is traditionally good so there's a bunch of them in D1 and D2 schools.

T4L

July 7th, 2010 at 5:23 PM ^

Our head football coach is the brother-in-law of Lowell's head football coach, so he knows all about Kevin Grady when he was at EGR.

There's a pair of twins my age whose older brother played against--and lined up against--Jake Long four years in a row. They also matched up in basketball too.

My dad also lined up against Mark Messner at their 4-way scrimmage. My dad was a junior and Messner was a senior, so that went well.

nightavenger

July 7th, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^

I played against Boubacar Cissoko in a 7 on 7, and Edwin Baker in a game.The one time I got past Booboo's press coverage, I got decked by an outside linebacker.  I tackled Edwin after a 5 ish yard gain.

Keith

July 7th, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^

Lloyd Carr was using.  I used a urinal next to the one Nate McLouth (Atlanta Braves outfielder and former All-Star) was using.

Those two anecdotes aside, my family is not full of creepy stalkers who follow famous sports figures into bathrooms.

Blue In NC

July 7th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^

Not a real game but played a pickup b-ball game in the summer against Glen Rice and Rumeal Robinson at the CCRB.  Also played pickup against JP Oosterban (too lazy to spellcheck) and some of the football guys that went to the pros in the IM league.  Obviously, there were some good atheletes (e.g. Derrick Alexander).

919 Brown

July 7th, 2010 at 5:36 PM ^

I played Nerf basketball against Sean Higgins and Loy Vaught in a small two bedroom apartment. It was brutal.

I was also playing in a local men’s b-ball pick-up league that year that was actually run by a MSU grad. One night I asked him if I bring a couple of extra guys since we always were short players, he of course said, “sure, bring them on.” The following week I showed up with Loy and Eric Riley, the look on his face was priceless. Loy was a riot and still one of my all-time favorite players.

JD_UofM_90

July 7th, 2010 at 11:26 PM ^

with Loy and his little brother at the YMCA in Grand Rapids when he was still in high school.  He looked about 25 years old as a teenager.  Threw him an ally oop during a pickup game... that was pretty cool....  Eric Riley was in my Astronomy class while at UofM....

Bosch

July 7th, 2010 at 5:37 PM ^

since I played soccer and tennis.......

In college, I had a few chance encounters with various U of M athletes at the CCRB and/or IM building and on the intramural fields.  My favorite encounter is playing flag football with Mike Cervenak (I was friends with a couple of baseball players).  He didn't have a big time major league career, but his story is pretty good.

Mike's Wikipedia

In short, he graduated from U of M in 1999.  He didn't get drafted and ended up playing minor league ball on various teams through 2008.  A lot of guys might have given up but he stayed with it and eventually got called up to the Phillies in '08.  His time in the majors was short lived and his stats are less than stellar, but he got to The Show and he got a couple of hits and an RBI to show for it.

BBA1994

July 7th, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^

Soccer - I played against Alexi Lalas in high school his school, Cranbrook, was in the same conference as mine.

Baseball - I played against Pat Hentgen in summer ball.  I got a base hit off Steve Avery in summer ball.  Charles Johnson played catcher for a team from New York in the NABF World Series (15-16 year olds) and he hit 3 home runs off our team to knock us out of the World Series tourney (needless to say we walked him his 4th time up).