WEST BLOOMFIELD (MI) -- This past weekend was a time for yours truly to go a little bit ‘old school’ when it came to the Flyers exhibition game vs. Capital; as to what restaurant to visit while in The Gem City and to David Jablonski’s 3rd Annual Twitter All-Star Pick-Up Extravaganza. 

Friday’s exhibition featured AG vs. his old Flyer teammate Damon Goodwin and the only way for out-of-towners like me to take it in was with Larry and Bucky on the WHIO radio feed.  Now, if I was really gonna go ‘old school’ I would have gotten in my car and found some high ground where I could pull in 1290 on my AM radio like I was forced to do back before the dawn of the internet when I lived in Pittsburgh and later here in Detroit.  Thankfully I can now pull up the stream on the web; access the Live Stats from DaytonFlyers.com; follow the game threads on UD Pride and FlyerHoops and check Jablonski’s Twitter feed -- all at the same time!  Not exactly text book ‘old school’ but lacking in the accustomed-to live video coverage nonetheless.  The tilt was a coming out party for the newcomers, especially JC transfer Jhery Matos and now it’s time for the Flyers to get down to business on Wednesday vs. North Florida. 

My wife and I drove down from Michigan on Saturday afternoon and if you are gonna have a memorable meal in Dayton there is only one place to consider – The Pine Club.  I spent 40+ years in advertising and I am convinced that the aroma of grilled steaks and onion rings wafting out onto Brown Street is the greatest marketing medium ever invented – it drove me nuts when I was an undergrad, that’s for sure.  We both ordered filet mignon and they were perfect.  We opted for the vegetable, which was corn, rather than their famous stewed tomatoes.  Our waitress brought the stewed tomatoes anyway – which was fine because the corn was probably straight out of a can.  We asked her if they still sold the 5-pound bags of ground steak to customers to take home for burgers and they do!  When we lived in Oakwood in the late ‘70s it was $1 a pound or $5 –it’s now up to $35, but will make the best burger you’ve ever had.  The waitress was appreciative that we remembered that The Pine Club was and still is cash-only. 

On Sunday morning, I joined 16 other hardy souls to partake in the 3rd Annual Twitter All-Star Pick-Up Extravaganza at what is now called Bales Arena in Beavercreek. 

I’m one of a handful of guys who has attended all three.  Here’s a recap of the 2017 get together:

Special recognition must go to Chris King who claimed on Twitter afterwards that he scored 17 points when Allaire’s squad thrashed ours.  Seriously, who keeps track of their own stats in a pickup game Chris?