By Mel Greenberg
Erin, hopefully, is back in Boston. Acacia, after being transported to Scranton, Pa., for a bus connection, is hopefully back in Syracuse. We are back in Philadelphia, and by now so should Jonathan, who had a late afternoon flight.
We did manage to experience a one-hour delay in our connecting flight in Washington, which was also the route traveled by Atlantic Ten commissioner Linda Bruno, who graciously served as a late substitute to escort the Guru down the grand staircase at the start of Saturday night's induction ceremony. Her participating was made necessary when Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer worked intensely to overcome the plane difficulties to get to Knoxville, but to no avail. She did send some nice words, flowers and candy after being stranded up North.
We will withhold other public thank you shoutouts, for now, since one major event remains -- the Inquirer-hosted Philadelphia party at a date soon to be announced. Those interested serving on committees to help the internal folks, here, should email the Guru.
However, we cannot offer enough thanks to William Ewart in Knoxville for following the Guru's team around exclusively during the events to add photographs to the coverage by team Guru, whose names are atop this report.
The same goes for Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who hosted the Thursday party at her place.
Here is more of ``Willbill's" work from the Guru's Saturday. This time, the captions will be under the photos to get into the same format as used by the Guru's blogging team.
The first shots are from the breakfast brunch for the inductees, where the Guru was joined by former Texas star Andrea Lloyd Curry, former Tennessee stars Daedra Charles-Furlow, Bridgette Gordon, former Louisiana Tech star Pam Kelly-Flowers, and Georgia coach Andy Landers in receiving commemorative pins.
The inductees arrived at the WBHOF building to find their faces placed upon a box of cereal,also known as "The Breakfast of Champions."
At the entrance throughout the weekend was a picture of each inductee and a tablet to sign congratulations.
Here, the Guru reads the special front-page salute by the Knoxville News Sentinel, replicas of which were later used for visitors to have for autograph signatures by the inductees.
The Guru is with his niece Neena Swartz, a Spanish teacher at Upper Merion High in King of Prussia, after receving his pin. She and sister Allison later served as the Guru's escorts to the podium at Saturday night's ceremonies for his Eastman Award presentation and induction speech.
After rehearsals at the Historic Tennessee Theatre for the ceremony, it was time to return to the WBHOF for the public autograph signing section.
Saturday Night Ceremony
Then it was time to don the tux, which Erin and Acacia made sure the Guru achieved properly,and arrive at the induction ceremony, other photos of which appear in the blogs below this one, including a text,with a very slight variation or two, of the Guru's speech.
After descending the grand staircase, the Guru is joined by Drexel sports information director Mike Tuberosa (on left) and Temple sports information director Larry Dougherty. The duo, who drove down Friday from Baltimore after the ECAC-SIDA convention, later transported the Guru's new Tux and suit back to Philadelphia.
Pictured above, left to right, are brother-in-law Perry Swartz, sister Annette,the Guru, Neena, and her sister Allison.
Former Kentucky coach Mickey DeMoss and Women's Basketball Coaches Association executive Beth Bass, who is a member of the WBHOF board, get personal with the Guru.
State Farm Insurance exective Jack North,Linda Bruno and Beth Bass join the Guru for a celebrity shot.
Texas women's athletic director Chris Plonsky, who did the Guru's video introduction,,joins Bruno, Bass, and longtime Tennessee women's sports informaton director Debbie Jennings.
Plonsky and recently-retired Texas coach Jody Conradt, the president of the WBHOF board, join the Guru.
And then join the action executed previously by others in the theatre.
The Guru receives the 35-pound Eastman Award that goes to each inductee -- the WBHOF folks ship it home afterwards -- prior to making his acceptance speech.
Afterwards, at the close of the ceremony,the entire 2007 induction class was re-introduced.
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt joins the Guru immediate family.
And so, as a former Inquirer newsroom executive used to say -- More to Come.
-- Mel
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