By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
As celebrity golf tournaments go, the American Century Championship that was held earlier this month on the shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe traditionally rates as one of the best in the world, regularly attracting Hall of Fame players from the NFL, NBA, and NHL ranks.
This year’s tourney, held July 11-13, drew the likes of former Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz, San Francisco 49er legend Jerry Rice, NBA great Charles Barkley, former NFL standout Charles Woodson of University of Michigan fame, and scores of others.
The celebrity-amateur portion of the event, which is held before the three-day tournament begins, is populated by others from the worlds of sports and entertainment, including such notables as golfing legend Annika Sorenstam, sportscaster Joe Buck, comedian Ray Romano, and even the esteemed Larry the Cable Guy.
Adding some Michigan flavor to the celeb-am segment was attorney Rick Bloom, one of the principals with his brother Ken in the Farmington Hills law firm of Bloom, Bloom & Associates. A 1982 U-M Law School grad, Bloom has had the joy of playing in the event two times, and this year was part of a foursome that featured reliever Goose Gossage, a flame-throwing pitcher who befuddled batters for 22 seasons before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.
“I was wearing my Tiger hat when I met Gossage, and his first comment to me was something on the order of, ‘I can’t believe I’m playing with an effing Tiger fan,’” Bloom said with a hearty laugh.
For Detroit baseball fans like Bloom, Gossage will be forever etched in a happy World Series memory when he squared off against Tiger star Kirk Gibson in an eighth-inning showdown of Game 5 of the 1984 fall classic. With the Tigers leading 5-4 over the San Diego Padres, the lefty-hitting Gibson strode to the plate while Padres’ manager Dick Williams went to the mound to confer with his star pitcher.
“There were two Tiger runners on base at the time, and Williams wanted to intentionally walk Gibson, but Gossage insisted on pitching to him,” Bloom related. “In fact, Goose told me that he told Williams, ‘I own Gibson.’”
On that day, he didn’t, as Gibson launched a three-run homer into the upper deck of right field at Tiger Stadium, setting off a title-clinching celebration that still warms the hearts of all Tiger fans.
“Despite our baseball differences, Gossage turned out to be a great guy to be partnered with in the golf outing,” said Bloom, who during college spent his summer nights as a hot dog vendor at Tiger Stadium. “We had a lot of fun talking baseball.”
As for the golf, Bloom had a singular purpose in mind: “Don’t do anything to humiliate myself.”
Said Bloom: “I’m not a very good golfer, as I’m more than happy to get a bogey on every hole. But playing in an event like that tournament brings a special kind of pressure, as there was a gallery and you don’t want to hit an errant shot that might cause problems.”
In this year’s case, Bloom said it was “mission accomplished,” as he played a steady round of golf with no mishaps.
As a bonus, Bloom enjoyed the opportunity to meet another legendary sports figure – Mike Eruzione, the captain of the 1980 U.S. hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the famous “Miracle on Ice” game.
Eruzione, a left-winger who played for Boston University, scored the winning goal against the Soviets, beating star goalie Vladislav Tretiak in the semifinal game of the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
“He couldn’t have been nicer or more down-to-earth,” Bloom said of Eruzione, who sparked the U.S. squad in its march to the gold medal. “He even joked that if he hadn’t scored that goal, he’d be painting houses for a living.”
Legal News
As celebrity golf tournaments go, the American Century Championship that was held earlier this month on the shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe traditionally rates as one of the best in the world, regularly attracting Hall of Fame players from the NFL, NBA, and NHL ranks.
This year’s tourney, held July 11-13, drew the likes of former Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz, San Francisco 49er legend Jerry Rice, NBA great Charles Barkley, former NFL standout Charles Woodson of University of Michigan fame, and scores of others.
The celebrity-amateur portion of the event, which is held before the three-day tournament begins, is populated by others from the worlds of sports and entertainment, including such notables as golfing legend Annika Sorenstam, sportscaster Joe Buck, comedian Ray Romano, and even the esteemed Larry the Cable Guy.
Adding some Michigan flavor to the celeb-am segment was attorney Rick Bloom, one of the principals with his brother Ken in the Farmington Hills law firm of Bloom, Bloom & Associates. A 1982 U-M Law School grad, Bloom has had the joy of playing in the event two times, and this year was part of a foursome that featured reliever Goose Gossage, a flame-throwing pitcher who befuddled batters for 22 seasons before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.
“I was wearing my Tiger hat when I met Gossage, and his first comment to me was something on the order of, ‘I can’t believe I’m playing with an effing Tiger fan,’” Bloom said with a hearty laugh.
For Detroit baseball fans like Bloom, Gossage will be forever etched in a happy World Series memory when he squared off against Tiger star Kirk Gibson in an eighth-inning showdown of Game 5 of the 1984 fall classic. With the Tigers leading 5-4 over the San Diego Padres, the lefty-hitting Gibson strode to the plate while Padres’ manager Dick Williams went to the mound to confer with his star pitcher.
“There were two Tiger runners on base at the time, and Williams wanted to intentionally walk Gibson, but Gossage insisted on pitching to him,” Bloom related. “In fact, Goose told me that he told Williams, ‘I own Gibson.’”
On that day, he didn’t, as Gibson launched a three-run homer into the upper deck of right field at Tiger Stadium, setting off a title-clinching celebration that still warms the hearts of all Tiger fans.
“Despite our baseball differences, Gossage turned out to be a great guy to be partnered with in the golf outing,” said Bloom, who during college spent his summer nights as a hot dog vendor at Tiger Stadium. “We had a lot of fun talking baseball.”
As for the golf, Bloom had a singular purpose in mind: “Don’t do anything to humiliate myself.”
Said Bloom: “I’m not a very good golfer, as I’m more than happy to get a bogey on every hole. But playing in an event like that tournament brings a special kind of pressure, as there was a gallery and you don’t want to hit an errant shot that might cause problems.”
In this year’s case, Bloom said it was “mission accomplished,” as he played a steady round of golf with no mishaps.
As a bonus, Bloom enjoyed the opportunity to meet another legendary sports figure – Mike Eruzione, the captain of the 1980 U.S. hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the famous “Miracle on Ice” game.
Eruzione, a left-winger who played for Boston University, scored the winning goal against the Soviets, beating star goalie Vladislav Tretiak in the semifinal game of the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
“He couldn’t have been nicer or more down-to-earth,” Bloom said of Eruzione, who sparked the U.S. squad in its march to the gold medal. “He even joked that if he hadn’t scored that goal, he’d be painting houses for a living.”
