I was lucky enough to join the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis on October 7, 2009 for their pre-season game against the Chicago Bulls. Although the game left much to be desired (ie: the Pacers didn't win) there were some opportunities that presented themselves for autographs.

TJ Ford, a 2003 1st round draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks, is coming into his 2nd season with the Pacers. Last year he shared playing time with Jarrett Jack, but with Jarrett gone to the Toronto Raptors TJ looks to be the starter at Point Guard for Indiana. It seems that he is taking over the role of fan interaction too as he came off the court after warm-ups and signed for a ton of people. He was the first player autograph from the Pacers I've gotten this year. He signed my NBA basketball in blue paint pen. My goal is to get the entire Pacers team to sign the ball this year.

After the game I was able to join an invite only opportunity for a meet-n-greet with Tyler Hansbrough. There are too many awards earned by Tyler to go into detail without writing a book, but most recently Tyler was named the Sporting News' College Basketball Player of the Decade. You may remember him from the 2009 NCAA National Champion North Carolina basketball team. It was a great experience to meet Tyler; he signed my NBA basketball signed earlier in the night by TJ. He also signed an NBA basketball for my son. Mine in Pacers blue, my son's in silver paint pen.

All in all it was a decent night for autographs. The only player I saw before or after the game which I did not get an autograph from was Danny Granger. He's hit or miss coming off the court after warm ups. This night he signed for zero fans. He'll be around again though.

Next game is October 16th against the Houston Rockets. If I make it, I'll let you know who was signing and who was denying.

Eric