Is Mike Eruzione The Most Popular U.S. Winter Olympian?

November 16, 2009 By

I know the Winter Olympics aren’t far off when I start receiving inquiries about Olympic speakers. They seem to be especially popular this year because the Olympics will take place in nearby Vancouver, British Columbia. So who are the most popular Winter Olympians? Over the next couple blogs I’ll profile a couple of them – Mike Eruzione, Picabo Street and Dorothy Hamill. First up is Eruzione.

A graduate of Boston University, Eruzione captained the hockey team his senior year and is among the school’s all-time leading scorers.  Little did he know that what lied ahead would change his life forever. ... Read More

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Why Goose Gossage Is The Perfect Golf Partner

October 26, 2009 By

Since I spend so much time around athletes, people often ask me about my most memorable experiences. And while I’ve had my share of memories, both good and bad, one that always sticks out involved New York Yankees Hall of Famer Goose Gossage. If you haven’t met Goose, he’s a great guy who loves to have a good time. He’s full of laughs and great stories.

I was playing in a pro-am scramble golf event with Goose in Copper Mountain, Colorado in the late 90’s. The other members in our group were big Yankee fans from New Jersey. One of the members of our fivesome had just purchased a new putter and unfortunately waited until the tournament to try it out. To say this guy was bad is a major understatement. He was the worst putter I’ve ever seen. He just couldn’t figure out how to use it. If he had a 10 foot putt, he would hit it 20 feet past the hole. As the day went on, Goose gave the guy some good-natured ribbing, which everyone was enjoying. ... Read More

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Are Mike Ditka & Dan Hampton The Two Most Popular 1985-86 Bears?

October 22, 2009 By

The 1985-86 Chicago Bears are remembered as one of the greatest and most flamboyant NFL teams in history. Who can forget the ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’? It’s cast of characters included quarterback Jim McMahon, Richard Dent, ‘Refrigerator’ Perry and Hall of Famers Mike Ditka, Mike Singletary, Walter Payton and Dan Hampton.

Mike Ditka & Dan Hampton are two of PFP Sports & Celebrity Talent's  most popular  speakers.

PFP Sports & Celebrity Talent Agency books many of the ’85 Bears for speaking engagements, personal appearances and endorsements, but works most closely with Mike Ditka and Dan Hampton. ... Read More

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Jim Abbott is a Highly Sought After Motivational Speaker

October 20, 2009 By

Jim Abbott, a baseball Icon, is a popular inspirational  &  motivational speaker. He was the underdog growing up. He was born with only one hand but had aspirations of reaching the Major Leagues.

As a youngster, he would spend hours bouncing the ball off a wall to practice fielding and throwing. He showed enough promise in high school to be drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays but chose instead to attend the University of Michigan. He led the Wolverines to Big Ten titles in his freshmen and junior years and had a career record of 26-8. He went on to win the prestigious Golden Spikes Award, presented annually to the outstanding college baseball player in the United States. ... Read More

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Drew Pearson A Top NFL Speaker Practices What He Preaches

October 18, 2009 By

When companies and organizations contact me about booking football speakers but have a limited budget, there are any number of people I can recommend, including Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Dan Hampton and Roger Craig. Another person at the top of the list is former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson. I always tell my clients that Drew delivers a lot of bang for the buck. Not only is he polished and well-spoken, he’s also a very successful businessman who practices what he preaches. He is a top motivational sports speaker who delivers.

Pearson, signed by the Cowboys as a free agent out of Tulsa in 1973, became one of the most dominating wide receivers of his era and, along with Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, helped lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances and a victory in Super Bowl XII in 1978. He was a three-time All Pro, All-NFL in 1975 and second team All-NFC in 1978. Pearson led the NFC in pass receptions with 58 in 1976 and was the Cowboys’ offensive captain in 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1983. For his achievements, he was named one of the Top 20 All-Time Wide Receivers and was selected to the NFL 1970’s All-Decade Team. ... Read More

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Tiger Woods Earns $1B Tops Michael Jordan As Highest Paid Athlete

October 8, 2009 By

Tiger Woods earns $1B becoming highest paid athlete

Forbes reported last week that Tiger Woods became the first athlete to earn $1 billion in career earnings from endorsements, prize winnings, golf course design and appearance fees. Woods reportedly earns $30 million a year from Nike and receives $10 million per project for his golf design work. He also just won $10 million last week for winning the FedEx Cup title.

The crazy part is that Woods in only 33 years old and has many years of competitive golf, endorsements and golf course design ahead of him. It’s not a stretch to say that he’ll likely make well in excess of $2 billion by the time his career ends. It’s estimated that he has now earned more than NBA great Michael Jordan ($800 million) and retired Formula One driver Michael Shumacher ($700 million). ... Read More

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Wayne Gretzky Retires As Coach of Phoenix Coyotes

September 24, 2009 By

Wayne Gretzky announced Thursday he would be stepping down due to the financial turmoil surrounding the team.

As the bankruptcy court battle between Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie and the NHL over the sale of the financially troubled team continues, Gretzky announced on his web site that he was leaving.

“This was a difficult decision that I’ve thought long and hard about,” Gretzky said. “We all hoped there would be a resolution earlier this month to the Coyotes ownership situation, but the decision is taking longer than expected. ... Read More

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Is Tedy Bruschi Patriots Most Popular Player Ever?

September 21, 2009 By

There aren’t many things that make Bill Belichick cry. But when Tedy Bruschi recently announced his retirement, the robot-like coach was forced to choke back tears.

Ex New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi may be Patriots most popular player.

Said Belichick, “I’ve had the privilege of coaching a lot of great players and leaders in the National Football League, and I’ll just put Tedy up there with all of them and above all of them. There’s no player that I think epitomizes more of what I believe a player should be on the field, off the field, really, in every situation.” ... Read More

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Which NFL Greats Will Be Inducted Into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

September 21, 2009 By

The preliminary list of modern-era nominees for induction in 2010 in the Pro Football Hall was recently released and it’s loaded with big names. Headlining the list are Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, two of the greatest players in NFL history.

NFL greats  Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith are top contenders for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Other nominees include Tim Brown, Herschel Walker, Andre Reed, Cris Carter, Sterling Sharp and former commissioner Paul Tagliabue. ... Read More

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Can Joe Mauer Hit 400 Batting Mark?

September 11, 2009 By

Each year there seems to be one or two baseball players who catch the attention of the sports world and stir conversation about the hallowed .400 batting mark.

This year, that talk has centered around Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who is currently hitting .363. History tells us that he’ll likely fall short – it’s arguably the most difficult record in sports to break.

The last player to hit .400 was the  great Ted Williams, who achieved the feat in 1941. Williams entered the last day of the season with a batting average of .39955, which would have been rounded up to .400, making him the first man to hit .400 since Bill Terry in 1930. ... Read More

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