April 30 - May 3, 1998 - Roger Staubach FIRSTPLUS FINANCIAL Celebrity Invitational, Prestonwood Country Club, Dallas, Texas. Troy, Bill Bates, Danny Chambers, Dave Johnson, Efren Herrera, Jim Covert, John Kruk, Rick Neuheisel, Richie Cunningham, Billy Joe Tolliver, Bobby Anderson, Bobby Grich, Bobby Murcer, Brian Kinchen, Bryant Gumbel, Chris Miller, Chris Mohr, Clark Gillies, Cliff Richey, Dale Tallon, Dan Quinn, Danny Kannell, Darren Veitch, Daryl Johnston, Dick Anderson, Donny Anderson, Emmitt Smith, Glen Wilson, Gorman Thomas, Jeff Feagles, June Jones, John Kidd, Jack Marin, Jan Stenerud, Jim McMahon, John Brodie, Johnny Bench, Mario Lemieux, Mike Schmidt, Nat Moore, Neil Lomax, Pierre Larouche, Ralph Terry, Richie Cunningham, Rudy Gatlin, Scooter McGruder, Shane Rawley, Stan Humphries, Steve Bartkowski, Steve Gatlin, Steve Spurrier, Tom Dreesen, Truck Robinson, and former Vice President Dan Quayle are geared up to play golf in a tournament benefitting the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and the Children's Cancer Fund. The pro-am will be on Thursday and Friday, and the tournament for the money will be Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $3 for adults. Children under 12 are admitted free. For more information on the tournament, call the tournament hotline at 214-583-3979.

April 27, 1998 - Sports Day Corporate Golf Championship, Dallas Athletic Club, Dallas, Texas. The golfing foursome of head coach Chan Gailey, quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and trainer Jim Mauer tore up the golf courses at the DAC to win the Dallas Morning News' Sports Day Corporate Golf Championship. Troy, whose handicap is currently listed at 15, shot a career best 73, one shot over par, to lead his fellow Cowboys to victory. Their team had a score of 262 (based on a two best-ball format), three shots ahead of the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company of Texas. The tournament was first organized in 1995 to determine which business or corporation has the best golfers in the Dallas area. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit The Dallas Morning News' Charities. Troy, wearing a big grin, but keeping his golf score close to the vest, joked with the media during his round. Max Morgan, from the Dallas FOX affiliate, talked to Troy briefly about his golf game:

  Max: how's the game improved in the last few years?

  Troy: well first I need to know if you're gonna get footage of any of my shots.

  Max: we're going to try.

  Troy: (with a great big playful grin) then the game's not goin' real good right now.

  Max: if the guys don't play well as a team is it Coach Gailey's fault?

  Troy: As a team?....GOLF? It's always the head coach's fault, right? He'll learn!

April 26, 1998 - Cowboys practice facility at Valley Ranch, Irving, Texas. Mini-camp, day 3.

April 25, 1998 - Cowboys practice facility at Valley Ranch, Irving, Texas. Mini-camp, day 2.

April 24, 1998 - Cowboys practice facility at Valley Ranch, Irving, Texas. Mini-camp, day 1. I got to see the guys on the local news this evening for their first day of mini-camp...nothing really substantive to report about practice, other than they have new practice jerseys. The locker room interviews haven't changed: Emmitt messing with the media, and Troy answering questions with amused patience. Emmitt apparently was answering a question about the new offense, and said that Troy was going to be the tailback, he was going to be the fullback, and DJ was going to be quarterback. Troy got to answer questions about how comfortable the new practice jerseys are and gosh but if you look good won't you play good? LOL...this early in the preseason and the media has already run out of questions. After practice, Troy, Emmitt, and Michael Irvin spent some time with the kids who created last season's home game tickets.

April 22, 1998 - The Nashville Network. TNN has scheduled a rebroadcast of the Wrangler City of Hope Celebrity Softball Tournament from last June (Troy played 1st base). It is scheduled to air at 10:00 p.m. eastern time.

April 20, 1998 - Dallas, Texas. Newspaper Association of America's (NAA) Annual Convention, Wyndham-Anatole Hotel. Troy Aikman, Dallas Stars center Mike Modano and Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes spoke as a panel on the topic "How do sports stars handle celebrity status, and how do they view the press?" Pat Summerall was the moderator for the 60-minute discussion. Much of the discussion focused on athletes as roll models for children. Another topic explored was the invasion of athletes' privacy by the press. Troy was very candid and outspoken on both subjects. Read the Fort Worth Star-Telegram story for more information.

April 18, 1998 - Southfork Ranch, Parker, Texas. Troy served as the honorary chairman for the 20th Anniversary of the Gunslingers' Ball benefitting the American Cancer Society, Collin County Unit. The theme of this year's ball was "Roaring Into the 20s," and guests were encouraged to dress in costumes of the era. The event included a dinner, silent and live auctions, big band music in the speakeasy, casino games, and antique cars.

Most of the people at the Ball were dressed in their 1920s finery. Troy looked phenomenal in his pinstripe suit, black Fedora, black shirt, white tie, and two-tone shoes (he looks great in hats!). I caught a glimpse of his mom too before dinner. She was across the room from me....she looked BEAUTIFUL!

Following dinner there was a live auction. They raised more than $50,000 at the live auction alone -- a record for the Gunslingers' Ball. Numerous individuals and corporations donated items to be auctioned.

The first item up for auction was a Cowboys helmet donated by the Troy Aikman Foundation, which Troy would autograph for the winning bidder. That sold for $2,100. The last item up for auction was a package donated by the Troy Aikman Foundation as well: four tickets to a Cowboys home game, a Troy Aikman jersey, and a football -- both of which he would autograph for the winning bidder. I believe the bidding on that item opened at $1,200. Troy came up on the stage and whispered something in the auctioneer's ear, and the auctioneer announced that the tickets were in fact SIDELINE PASSES to a Cowboys game (I nearly swooned -- can you imagine being on the Cowboys' sideline during a game????). The bidding went wild after that, and the package ending up being sold for $19,500! Troy spoke briefly following the auction - a very heartfelt speech about his mom and about people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and their generosity to charities.

April 17, 1998 - Bear Creek Golf Club. Troy participated in a golf tournament today to benefit Wednesday's Child. He was shown on the news taking a swing at a golf ball (it still tickles me that he sticks his tongue through his teeth when he hits a golf ball, just as he does when he throws a pass!). He was asked about the upcoming draft and the Cowboys' selections. He said, "I think it is a tough proposition any time you're dealing with a guy who's got a lot of talent, but you're questioning what kind of character he has. And this isn't singling out any guy that's available in the draft. I'm a believer that yes, you want some talented players, but at the same time I'd rather have a ball club made up of a bunch of guys with good character that are going to go out and work hard and then you know what you've got when you get into the 4th quarter of some of these games - guys you can depend on."

April 1998 - Cowboys practice facility at Valley Ranch, Irving, Texas. Beginning April 7, every Tuesday and Thursday in April, the Cowboys will hold organized workouts for veteran players. The workouts are voluntary, but you can figure most of the players will be there.

April 4, 1998 - "The Kid's Choice Awards" 8 p.m. (eastern) on Nickelodeon. From UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, the "11th Annual Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards." Rosie O'Donnell will host the awards. The nominees included Favorite Male Athlete: Troy Aikman, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tiger Woods. The coveted orange blimp went to Michael Jordan.

April 1, 1998 - Dime Box, Texas. Troy will be at the Dime Box Dairy Queen from 2:00-2:30 this afternoon autographing Dilly Bars. I also understand that the first seven people in line will get a special 25 cent off coupon on their next purchase of a DQ Dude!!...(APRIL FOOLS!!!!)

March 26, 1998 - Plano, Texas. The Plano Fire Department today determined that the cause of the fire at Troy's house yesterday was faulty wiring.

March 25, 1998 - Plano, Texas. Troy was not at home this morning when his brand new house caught on fire sometime between 7:30 and 7:45. The three-alarm blaze was brought under control within about 40 minutes with the work of 50 firefighters, but not before doing approximately $250,000 worth of damage to his home.

The damage is contained mostly to the garage and the attic. Living areas of the home sustained minor water and smoke damage according to the Plano Fire Department. Troy arrived at his house around 9:00. Deion Sanders, Bill Bates, and Babe Laufenberg showed up to give Troy their support.

The Plano Fire Department took special care to protect all of Troy's trophies and sports memorabilia, which were later removed for safe keeping.

If you are a praying person, remember to thank God tonight for keeping everyone safe (Troy and firefighters alike). And do another thing for our favorite QB: if you happened to hear/see the address of his house on the news, please have the decency not to make a sight seeing trip! (and please do not email me for it because I have conveniently forgotten it)

March 18, 1998 - Athlete Direct, America Online. The four-month "drought" ended tonight when Troy came into the chatroom. He was asked whether he has been to Hawaii yet this year, and he said that he had "a great time in Hawaii with the family." Another person commented that he handled himself well during the "Prime Time Country" interview, and Troy responded, "I wasn't very pleased with the interview on TNN." He said this off-season he has been "keeping busy doing commercials and promotional work." The most exciting comment he made was about his new head coach: "I think Chan is going to be outstanding!"

March 16, 1998 - Nashville, Tennessee. Troy appeared as a guest on TNN's "Prime Time Country." Troy looked great and handled himself well, despite some horrible interview questions including "boxers or briefs?" (which he did not answer by the way)

March 9, 1998 - Newport Beach, California. Troy played in the in the Celebrity Pro/Am of the Toshiba Senior Golf Classic at the Newport Beach Country Club.

March 8, 1998 - Newark Airport, Newark, New Jersey. Claudia, an Athlete Direct Reg from Florida, spent the weekend in New York City with Athlete Direct Reg Carla, who lives in California. Claudia and Carla were having such a good time in NYC that they decided NOT to go to the Triumph Sports Show. But they got a New Jersey surprise anyway:

"We get to the Jersey airport at about 5PM on Sunday. Carla asked to be dropped off at TWA to check out if she could get an earlier flight to LA. My flight was to American Airlines so I had to lug my huge bags (I was away on business for work to other areas of the MidWest and NorthEast) and stood in the SkyCap line. I just stood there and thought.. 'WOW!!! This Trip RULED!!!' Then all of a sudden I see someone standing a foot directly on my RIGHT hand side...I look and without a doubt I see "THE MAN" Troy Aikman...with no hesistation, I KNEW it was him. He looked a little lost and saw how long our line was and decided to walk across me... All I could utter was 'Trrrrrrrooooyyyy?????' He looked back slightly at me and gave me his GORGEOUS crooked smile and said 'HEY!' And walked on (didn't even run away ...LOL!!!) He looked soooo good. Leather jacket...WOO HOOOO! I could have bugged him for an autograph but I figured he was as tired as I was."

March 8, 1998 - Somerset, New Jersey. Triumph Sports Show, New Jersey Garden State Exhibit Center. Three Troy fans offer their memories of the event:

Athlete Direct Reg LouLou took her son to the show and reports that Troy looked great in his "tight blue jeans and a beige sweater with the top buttons opened and sleeves rolled up."

She says, "he sat down and they called the ticket holders 1 thru 25. I was number 6 - my son and I got on the line....oh before I forget the best part.....they put Troy right next to Barry Switzer. I was laughing at that.....Troy walked in and looked and Barry and was saying something to him which I could not make out and both of them were really laughing. My son had a mini cowboy helmet to sign and I had a 16 x 20 photo of Troy to sign. Finally it was my son's and my turn. I immediately said 'hi Troy, how are you?' He said, 'fine and you?' I said 'this is my son Craig, he plays football too.' Troy said, 'wow that's neat.'" She then asked him "how is the new coach?" and Troy said "great."

LouLou says, "then we had to let the next person go so I just said "thanks, Troy". My 'minute of fame' with Troy was over...I always find Troy nice and personable. Again it was so terrific to see Troy in person."

A frequent visitor to my website, Sharyn, emailed this account of her day at the show:

"I just wanted to update you on a Troy sighting at the NJ Autograph Show - today -March 8th. This was my 3rd year going to this show since it is right near my house and I have to say Troy seemed very upbeat and very much at ease at the show today. Having met Troy several times I have discovered how uncomfortable he is at this type of event but today he was joking with the kids coming up to the table and seemed truly upbeat when asked about his feelings for the Cowboys this year!! ( Which puts a big smile on this 'Boys fan's face!!) I was # 345 and even though Troy still had another hour to go he was truly the gracious and caring individual that his fans have come to know of him!! Hope your readers enjoy this!! And Thank You for your wonderful job with your page - you are my 'Boys and Troy lifeline up here in Giants territory!! Keep up the great job!! 8-) "

John, a new Athlete Direct visitor who lives in Pennsylvania, took his sister to the show. He says, "she is not a Cowboy or Aikman fan, but when Troy looked her in the eyes and said, 'You're welcome,' she got a little jittery."

"Most people had the usual [items for Troy to sign]: jerseys, photos, footballs, helmets, etc., but I wanted something different. My mom and sister embroidered a piece of fabric for me that had Troy's name, stats and important achievments on it. I had two copies made. One for me that Troy would sign and I had another framed to give to him for his mother. When I was in line I presented the framed version and said to Troy that it was for his mother. He looked at it admiringly, looked up at me and said, 'Oh, Okay. Thank-you.' I then gave him the other one I had for him to sign. He liked them very much and I told him that I left room to embroider the date he gets into the Football Hall of Fame."

"Thanks again Kathryn, your site is an inspiration and a help to all Troy Aikman fans. John"

(Thankyou LouLou, Sharyn, and John!!!!!)

March 6-7, 1998 - Como Montessori School, Fort Worth, Texas. The Troy Aikman Super 16 Basketball Shootout to benefit Aikman's End Zone at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. (I assume Troy will be there, but I don't know for sure).

March 5, 1998 - Athlete Direct, America Online. Troy got our hopes up last night that his three-month absence from the chatroom was ending. "DCQtrBack" appeared on our buddy lists for about 10 minutes, but AOL was out of sorts, and most folks could not get into the chatroom (apparently Troy was among them).

March 4, 1998 - Chantilly Ballroom, Wyndham Anatole Hotel, Dallas. Troy and Roger Staubach co-chaired the Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon which benefitted the Children's Cancer Fund. At this luncheon local celebrities do a fashion show with young cancer patients. In her Thursday column for the Dallas Morning News Helen Bryant quoted Angela Gordon (who catered food for the children and their parents)as saying, "Troy and Roger have been here since 9:30 this morning in their tuxes, letting the kids crawl all over them."

March 2, 1998 - Cowboys Practice Facility at Valley Ranch, Irving, Texas. Saw Troy and some of the other guys including Dexter Coakley on the news this evening. Chan Gailey called a team meeting for this morning. Troy said that he is reminded of 1991 when Norv Turner came in and completely changed their offense. He said that in the pre-season and in the minicamps that the guys are going to have to have their heads in the books and to keep up as new things are added. He said that the veterans will not have any advantage over the younger players.

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