Virginia Living Magazine: A League of Their Own

Sometimes you turn in a story that you think is good, that has some lasting power, but it disappears into the ether, never becomes available online and it seems lost forever. It's one of the downsides of writing for magazines.

Thank goodness for the big Virginia Squires reunion that will happen in Virginia Beach on May 1 & 2. Because of that event, the fine folks at Virginia Living Magazine have posted my 2008 feature article, "A League of Their Own," about the Squires and the crazy world of the long-defunct American Basketball Association.

This was one of my favorite assignments ever so I'm overjoyed. "A League of Their Own" begins:

When the City of Norfolk purchased the former Jewish Community Center complex near Wards Corner in 2005, it acquired an ideal space for a city-owned recreational facility … and a piece of professional sports history. This was where Virginia’s first—and still only—professional sports team once practiced, and where two future superstars honed their skills with a strange red, white and blue basketball.

Julius Erving—who revolutionized pro ball by introducing the high-flying style that is prevalent in today’s National Basketball Association—was one of them. Fans called him “Dr. J,” or simply “the Doctor,” for his miraculous skills on a basketball court. The other player was George Gervin, one of the greatest shooters of all time. Each got his start on a now-forgotten team known as the Virginia Squires, which barnstormed across the commonwealth for six roller coaster seasons in the 1970s as one of a dozen clubs in the now-defunct American Basketball Association, or ABA.

“To this day, people don’t know that we had Julius Erving and George Gervin on the same team,” the coach of the Squires, Al Bianchi, once recalled. “That sounds like the foundation for a championship team, doesn’t it?”

Read "A League of their Own" by clicking right here. 

And for more on the big Virginia Squires event, which will bring the likes of Julius Erving, George Gervin, Dave Twardzik and Roland "Fatty" Taylor (pictured) back together again, click right here.

Basketball card courtesy of the Tenth Inning!

WTJU Rock Marathon 4/13/14: The Classic Crock Show

Can you help me occupy my brain...? 

The only rockin' way to conclude the awesome 2014 WTJU Rock 'n' Roll Marathon fundraiser is to flick those rockin' bics and roll with your hosts Don Arlo, "Cozy" Powell and -- if he doesn't have to MC the Chili Cauldron Crawl at Buddmuckers on the Mall -- our own U-Zoo Morning Crew wildman, Turd Dog.

Yes, it's the return of "The Classic Crock Show." And it's turning up to 11 on Sunday, April 13th at 11PM on WTJU 91.1.

For two hours, this rockin' crew will present our own special take on FM Radio "Classic Rock." That means you'll hear stompin' album tracks and deep cuts from Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult, AC-DC, Rush, The Steve Miller Band, the Who, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Styx and many more classic crockin' legends!

So get on the WTJU Rockin' Blues Cruise and ride shotgun on this special air guitar-inducing onslaught of riffs and shreds. And remember: Your donation to WTJU during our annual Rock Marathon will help to ensure that we only have to play this stuff if we want to. The WTJU Rock 'n' Roll Marathon concludes with "The Classic Crock Show" on April 13th at 11PM,

Now, would anyone care for just a little more cowbell?

To give a generous pledge to WTJU (The Sound Choice in Central Virginia), during our pledge drive or anytime, call 434-924-3959, or give securely online right here.

Listen to the WTJU Rock Marathon in progress at http://wtju.net/stream

Listen to some of the incredible past WTJU Rock Marathon shows (for up to two weeks) by going here: http://wtju.net/vault

WTJU Rock Marathon 4/13/14: O Brother

"Mother always liked you best!"

Tune into WTJU 91.1 FM for an exploration of brothers (and sisters) in rock 'n' roll. This WTJU Rock 'n' Roll Marathon fundraising program will showcase bands with siblings. And that means you'll hear classics by the Kinks, the Beach Boys (pictured), Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sparks, the Everly Brothers, the Bee Gees, Oasis, The Replacements, the Breeders, the Proclaimers, and many more.

Get with the brotherly love. Join Don Harrison and the Radio Wowsville crew for "O Brother Where Art Thou" on April 13 at 7PM.

And don't forget to give generously to WTJU during the all-volunteer station's fundraising extravaganza, which is happening right now. Call 434-924-3959 or donate securely online by clicking right here.

To hear a live stream of the marathon in progress, go to http://wtju.net/stream.

To listen to past shows featured on this year's WTJU Rock marathon (for up to two weeks), go to http://wtju.net/vault.

Coastal Virginia Magazine: The Chrysler Comeback

You'll want to get the print edition (on greater magazine racks now) because of the gorgeous  photos, but you can read my cover feature on the expansion of Norfolk's Chrysler Museum of Art at the Coastal Virginia Magazine website. It begins:

The older man loved to wander around the Chrysler Museum galleries. Lurking among the early modernist paintings and Tiffany glassware, the modestly-dressed septuagenarian would approach random visitors and ask, “‘What do you think about this piece?’ or ‘Do you like that sculpture?’”

“He’d chat with them for awhile,” Jeff Harrison recalls, “and he’d laugh and wander off. The visitor would invariably ask, ‘Who was that?’

‘That’s Walter Chrysler.’”

Harrison, the Chrysler Museum’s head curator, belts out a huge laugh, reveling in the 30-year-old memory. “Mr. Chrysler really didn’t stand on ceremony.”

In 1971, when the son of the founder of the Chrysler car company left his voluminous and ever-evolving art collection to the museum that now bears his name, he put Norfolk on the art world map. But the man who was once called an “art tycoon” was unpretentious, Harrison recalls. “He drove an old Plymouth station wagon. Like a lot of collectors, he sunk every dime into his collection.”

Read "Art Unveiled" by Clicking right here.

For more on The Chrysler Museum of Art, which reopens on May 10th, go to http://chrysler.org.