The soon to be #1 pick in the NBA, Nerlens Noel, lived on the street behind me and grew up as friends with my son. Talked to him a bunch and know him.
Manny Delcarmen, former relief pitcher for the Red Sox is an old family friend.
But where I get a lot of inside info and where I have met a bunch of NFL players are from two of my best friends, one an Assistant Athletic Director of a D1 university and another a Sports Information Director at another D1 university.
Oh, and Ellen Pompeo, the actress, she hung around with my best friends little sister and he tells me I was around here a lot as an early teenager because Pompeo was over his house when I was all the time, but for the life of me, I can't remember her. Then again, what 13-14 year old boy pays attention to 6 year old little girls or can even remember them 35 years later.