Allow me to start with this: Thank you for inviting me to this event!! For obvious reasons I can’t release the identity of the man who sent me the invite with media access, but I am very appreciative of being given this opportunity to spend some time with two of the most amazing personalities in sports and entertainment.

The day started kind of slow, you know, the usual fourth day of recovery after having your wisdom teeth pulled. Ongoing throbbing pain in your jaw combined with an obnoxious swelling in the cheeks making you look like whats often described as either a Chipmunk, Eddie Murphy in the Nutty Professor, or the new favorite, Adam Sandler in Click when he’s fat.

Either way, my day was all about planning my commute from the West Valley to Downtown LA during rush hour traffic (I know, when isn’t there traffic on the 405) followed by nothing but smiles at the Nokia Plaza of LA Live as I watch one of my favorite all time Lakers, Derek Fisher, and one of my new favorite entertainers (story to come shortly) David Arquette, take shots from the third story of LA Live into a basket on the ground level. Sounds exciting? Yeah, it sounded more exciting than it actually was, until the ball went in the basket that is.

The cameras were lined up to my right, the basket was about twenty feet in front of me, and the players were three stories above me. Fisher put up four shots and missed them all. He came close, but missed. Ronald McDonald took several shots and missed as well. David Arquette missed his first few shots, then stepped up and said, “this one is going in.” Surely enough, it went in. The crowd cheered, he jumped for joy, Fisher gave him a high five, Ronald McDonald gave him a high five, the camera crew continued to film the celebrating, and the SportsCenter cast was thrilled that they got the perfect footage.

After a few minutes, the players came down to the ground level to film a quick commercial for the upcoming basketball tournament, speak with the media, and meet a few fans. The media has their turn with Derek Fisher and I of course listened in, a bit fearful to ask my own questions. After all, these were trained professionals, they know what to ask, and I’m just here to get information to report! The most common topic: Lamar Odom. They must’ve asked the same question thirty two different ways. No wonder so many players are so rude to the media, wow are some of these reporters annoying.

With enough time dedicated to allowing the media to bug Derek Fisher, it was time for SportsCenter to get involved. They needed one more shot. The request came. “Derek, do you have time to head up to the balcony one more time? Take one more shot and film a quick clip for SportsCenter?” Fisher hesitated, looked over at the fans, checked the time, and made it clear that he had to spend a few minutes with the fans before he would film anything else. It was a classy move and the reason Fisher is so respected. As Fisher went over to the fans, David Arquette, the SportsCenter crew, a few lucky guests, and myself, took the elevators up to the third floor and were guided through a never ending set of hallways until we finally reach “The Balcony.”

The journey up to the third floor wasn’t just a walk though. It was an amazing experience. I had the pleasure of walking and talking with David Arquette for an entire five minutes! Now I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a big fan and am not all too familiar with his work besides Scream, but I have seen him on TV and in movies, and learned quickly that he was a genuine person, a Lakers fan, and a giving individual.

My approach was simple, “David.” Yes, I referred to him as David. No, I don’t know him personally, but all the other media folks were calling him David and I thought I’d look like a fool referring to him as Mr. Arquette. Perhaps it was wrong but I got his attention! He looked over and asked how I was doing. He stuck out his hand and introduced himself. I introduced myself, explained my affiliation with the event, and proceeded with conversation. “I run my own Lakers blog and was invited to this event as a part of the media. Everyone has been swallowing up Derek Fisher so I figure this is a great time to ask you for a quote or something for my site and the fans that visit. Anything about this event or what it’s like to work with Fisher would be great”

The response was not what I expected; it was an ecstatic, “of course.” Mr. Arquette proceeded to tell me a short story dating back to 2004 involving his wife Courtney Cox, Derek Fisher, and a TV show that he was a part of at the time. The show was called “Mix It Up” and it was a home improvement show hosted by Arquette and Cox. They visited homes and would perform various improvements (there’s only so much you can do on a home improvement show). Without getting into too much detail about the show, Arquette told me about a woman at one of the homes’ that they visited. She was an avid Lakers fan and especially a Derek Fisher supporter. She was ill and Arquette wanted to try and do something special for her.

The phone call took place amidst a deep playoff run for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004. In case you don’t remember, that was the year the Lakers lost in the Finals to the Detroit Pistons. That was also the year that Derek Fisher hit that game winning shot with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Back to the story: Arquette called Fisher and asked if he would be willing to come by and meet this woman. Without any delay, Fisher agreed and scheduled his appearance for the surprise. Arquette described this as a great moment as a person and a fan to see the amazing qualities of Fisher come out at a time when a fan needed him most.

We’ve all known that Fisher is a great guy because of all the media coverage that has been centered on his character and personality. We are also all aware of another great Lakers personality, Rick Fox. David Arquette is quite familiar with both of them and made sure to compare them to each other more than once. He explained to me that he has been lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend time with Rick Fox and that he and Derek Fisher are very alike. They are both very warm hearted gentlemen, very giving, and all around great individuals.

During our conversation, he mentioned that he was quite lucky to be close to some of his favorite athletes. I decided that it was appropriate to throw out a piece of my own resume and mention that I work with Sasha Vujacic on his site and behind the scenes. Arquette instantly shared another story telling me about an experience with Vujacic which was quite pleasant and that took place recently after the Lakers championship celebrations.

It was nice to hear about these insider stories about how great some of our favorite players really are, but what I learned from this experience wasn’t what most would expect. There was an even greater person present, David Arquette.

When the players first came down to the main plaza where the fans were watching from, Arquette quickly ran over to them all and gave them high fives. He laughed and joked with everyone at the event throughout the afternoon. He was always smiling and excited to be there. He was welcoming to me and talked to me the entire way up the elevator and through the hallways and onto the balcony. The energy that flowed from him was positive and bright. Simply put, he was a great overall man and it was truly a pleasure to meet him.

I wish there was more to say but the points are simple. We must value those athletes and entertainers that are genuine and real; those that take the time out of their crazy lives to attempt and brighten ours once in a while.

The event was a success. A commercial was filmed. A SportsCenter highlight was made. Fans were pleased. The media had fresh content. And I had an incredible experience.

Thank you again for the invitation and thank you Mr. David Arquette for providing me with this memorable experience.