Falling asleep in the press box

I admit it ... I laughed.

 

As a former Rivals.com employee, this is killing me not to know who it was.

 

But no one paid attention to you....

I know of a former basketball writer covering the local Big ten team for the hometown paper who once forayed into his seat at Assembly Hall after a particularly rough night of imbibing while on the road trip, and promptly went to sleep in a vain attempt to feel better from the alcohol the night before.

 

I have seen a local, well-respected (though not good - at least, not anymore) columnist in a drunken stupor hunch over and bury his head into his hands in the press room at a conference basketball tournament. I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and though, "Eh, that's (Johnny)."

Couldn't explain it, really, nor why he would show up. But at least he did it in the corner of the room away from the public eye and not out courtside.

 

The only time I fell asleep during an assignment was at a big wrestling tournament. I went out to my car and took a half-hour nap, and when I came back into the school, I began to doze off outside of the gym. But I met deadline and everyone was happy.

 

I lied. The writer didn't fall asleep during the game. It was a struggle during the first half, one which he showed up late, then as soon as the horn sounded for the half, his head hit the table and he took a power nap.

 

And that, my friends, is a journalist.

 

Finest kind...

 

For the record, this incident occurred during a mid-afternoon game. Although I hear this same person has fallen asleep in the home press box during early games.

 

So dude has a track record?

 

Yeah, a guy who sits next to (or near) this person at home games told me this person has fallen asleep during the early games before. What a professional, eh?

 

Back in the 1980s, I worked in Sebring, Fla., where the 12 Hours of Sebring was (and is) the real big deal every year. But of course, it's 12 hours, ending at 10 p.m. and unless there's a wreck, nobody cares what happens in the middle of the afternoon. Anyway, a guy from one of the metros napped for about 45 minutes on press row. A short time later, among the press notes that were circulated every hour was this:

"(Writer's name) of the (paper's name) awakened from a Sebring press row-record 44 minute, 23 second nap..."

Can't remember the writer's name, but I want to say he was from Fort Lauderdale. Everyone, including him, got a kick out of it.