Hey, Hey we're the Monkees!

I've been kind of dwelling on this topic for a little while and was thinking of a good time to unleash it.

Of course you are probably wondering what the hell I am talking about. Well, really it is pretty simple, though it may not make sense to everyone. I'm talking about a group of my friends in Atlanta, the guys that I worked closely with for 9 of my 10 years in Atlanta, I'm talking about the Sports Photographers.

((Pictured Back

Row L-R; Blaine, Kenny, Me and Eric. Front; Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith and Mike Thomas-the 5th Beatle))

The obvious question is "So what?". Yeah, I know, I just wanted to write about Eric Hager, Kenny Price and Blaine Kummet because I kind of miss those guys. Mind you, they didn't work at the same TV station that I did in Atlanta, but we were close. We didn't necessarily talk every day or every other day. Sometimes we didn't see each other for a couple of weeks at a time, but when we did, we were inseparable. We called ourselves "The Monkeys", which was also the source of a rather lengthy comedy routine. Once we broke into it, the whole room started laughing.

We covered every big event im

aginable. Georgia and Georgia Tech Football, the Falcons, the Braves, the Thrashers and the Hawks. We all had a great relationship with the teams and even some of the players started to get to know us and share in the laughter. Mostly because we were always laughing. Laughing and trying to make everyone else laugh. We were having fun because we were doing the job that every guy wants, covering all of the major sports.

((Pictured: The Falcons Video Crew, Eric, Kenny, Me and Mr. and Mrs. Bootsy Collins))

I think the most fun that we had was

every year in February. Late February was when Spring Training started and we all would head down to the Disney Sports Complex for a couple of days to cover the first few days. I would have to say it was my favorite trip out of all of them...and we went a lot of places during that time period.

((Pictured: Intrepid Sports Anchor Mark Harmon and I interviewing Jeff Francoeur//Courtesy: Eric Hager))

It was my favorite for the little things. The best was always "Family Night" which meant dinner at the Columbia restaurant in the Disney Celebration complex. We would go, reporters in tow and share laughs, a little sangria and some good Cuban food. Inevitably, some of the Braves players would come in, see us and get a laugh saying "You guys are all friends?, What's with that?" We would say hi, talk to them a bit and continue laughing.

My other favorite thing, mascot photos. The other guys wouldn't do it, but Eric and I always did. It was actually his idea, he had been doing it long before we met, but when we did, he found his partner in crime. We always at some point during the game would find the other teams mascot and get a photo. Those who have seen my gallery, know that I have a pretty good collection. Eric's collection dwarfs mine.

It's funny now to thing back and realize how much that we fed off of each other. Of course we weren't always there together, Eric always missed the Georgia/Georgia Tech game for vacation. Kenny didn't do much Georgia Football, his station kept him busy with the Falcons during football season. Blaine was always busy with High School stuff. Me, I tried to do them all and maybe that was my problem. During that stretch, I worked...pretty much all of the time, but it was the only way we could keep up with everyone else.

((Photo: Me with Albert and Alberta Gator//Courtesy: Eric Hager))

I'm not really sure what is prompting me to write this. Maybe because of where I am at the moment. I don't know.

I do know that even had I stayed in Atlanta, we weren't going to get to work together any more. The last few months before I left, I had been phased out of Sports. In fact after I left, the station phased out the Sports department, completely.

What I do know is that I am forever in those guys debt. They left me with memories of a lifetime. They left me knowing that I really did accomplish one of my biggest goals in life which was to run a Sports Department in Atlanta. I didn't get to do it for very long, but I did get to do it.

I left Atlanta, probably for good in September of 2009. The Monkees got back together, one last time the day before I left. Well, Kenny couldn't make it, but everyone else did including the Anchors from two of the other Sports Departments in town. I never really got a chance to tell Eric and Blaine...and even Kenny who wasn't there how much that meant to me. It really let me know that I did make an impression and that I would be remembered for doing some good things. The most important thing...is I left with some friends that I will always remember.

This is what I always think of when I think of these guys...of course...the Monkees Theme: the song fits. Thanks You Tube: