April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
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- Ernie Calverley
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April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Sixteen years ago today the Jim Harrick soap opera took place.
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/APRIL+FOO ... a083607999
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/APRIL+FOO ... a083607999
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- Ernie Calverley
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
It still sucks to look at now...but at least we're back. Makes it easier to take.
If you say you’re a Rhody fan, I know you are my brother. For you have suffered as I have suffered.
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Give to the Athletic Director's Fund
Give to Rhody's NIL
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
No it doesn't. Look at the rot that happened in all
the years after that, which could have been avoided,
if Petro didn't rescind his offer after Harrick got off
Tom Ryan's plane.
Just a shameful day for URI.
Almost equally shameful was Petro and Carothers bucking under
to Sonny Vaccaro and some big mouthed boosters and
hiring Jerry D.
All under the pretense of keeping Lamar, who, if
they bothered to look, stopped going to classes, and wouldn't have
been eligible anyway.
All this calamity, lead to the subsequent hiring and extension of CFL,
who was considered "safe".
Thank you Ron Petro.
the years after that, which could have been avoided,
if Petro didn't rescind his offer after Harrick got off
Tom Ryan's plane.
Just a shameful day for URI.
Almost equally shameful was Petro and Carothers bucking under
to Sonny Vaccaro and some big mouthed boosters and
hiring Jerry D.
All under the pretense of keeping Lamar, who, if
they bothered to look, stopped going to classes, and wouldn't have
been eligible anyway.
All this calamity, lead to the subsequent hiring and extension of CFL,
who was considered "safe".
Thank you Ron Petro.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Sly Williams
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Horrible horrible day. So many things in between 4/1/99 and the following weeks could have prevented years of misery. Even if Harrick doesn't come back, the right hire instead of Jerry Duh and we are still solid!
But the past is now past and better days are ahead!
But the past is now past and better days are ahead!
Bleed Keaney Blue!
”I'm not coming there to be in the top 3 of the Atlantic 10. I'm coming to win the damn thing!”
”I'm not coming there to be in the top 3 of the Atlantic 10. I'm coming to win the damn thing!”
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- Art Stephenson
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
UUUGGGGHHHHHH !!!! This day still sucks. I remember talking with KMac on and off all day. The emotional toll that day took will never be forgotten. Then to make it worse was the cheers of Jerry Jerry at the banquet. two weeks of puking.
"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special" - Jim Valvano
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- Art Stephenson
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Horrible roller coaster ride of emotions
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- Ernie Calverley
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
It truly was a bizarre day with many twists and turns.
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- Sly Williams
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Well we got our shiny new building out of the deal.....while I would have liked a few more years of glory after "99 is there any doubt really that a mess like what occurred in Athens would have been inevitable?
Our print media friends would have followed JH and Junior around like flies on poop had they stayed until they dug up dirt.
The Jerry D part, well that is a completely different train wreck...
Our print media friends would have followed JH and Junior around like flies on poop had they stayed until they dug up dirt.
The Jerry D part, well that is a completely different train wreck...
We're gonna run the picket fence at "em.....now boys don't get caught watchin' the paint dry!
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
I doubt URI would have had his idiot son teaching a fake class.
Tony Cole was refused admittance, so that wouldn't have happened.
However, we may have won a shitload of games and had a roster
full of the great recruiting class Harrick was building, before Petro scuttled the
whole thing.
Tony Cole was refused admittance, so that wouldn't have happened.
However, we may have won a shitload of games and had a roster
full of the great recruiting class Harrick was building, before Petro scuttled the
whole thing.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Sly Williams
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
crazy day indeed
i remember trying to follow on the old projo board and the emotions this day brought
i gotta get my buddy at espn to do a 30 for 30 on this story..
<salt on wounds>
i remember trying to follow on the old projo board and the emotions this day brought
i gotta get my buddy at espn to do a 30 for 30 on this story..
<salt on wounds>
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Honestly, that might not be a good full 30 for 30 episode, might not be enough material, but would make for an absolutely amazing 10-15 minute version that they do for some smaller stories.ElmCityRhody wrote:crazy day indeed
i remember trying to follow on the old projo board and the emotions this day brought
i gotta get my buddy at espn to do a 30 for 30 on this story..
<salt on wounds>
Take down the Robert Carothers banner and fix the concession stand lines
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- Carlton Owens
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
they have 30 for 30 shorts
NOT IN OUR HOUSE
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- Cuttino Mobley
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Not to get off topic but if you are a Sox or Yankees fan you should definitely check out the 30 for 30 short on the A-Rod trade saga and the back and forth between Red Sox and Yankees.
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- Abdul Fox
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
I drive down to URI hoping to catch the press conference. What an awful day.
Rod, I never heard the inside details of what exactly happened. Do you have more details? Would love to hear them.
Rod, I never heard the inside details of what exactly happened. Do you have more details? Would love to hear them.
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Well, Jim Harrick came back to RI on Tom Ryan's jet.
Ryan, as luck would have it, was in Atlanta on business.
When Harrick got off the plane, he was told by Ron Petro in the car, that
the deal they'd discussed on the phone, was no longer on the table.
Harrick went to his EG home and stayed there.
Meanwhile we got the word of the 7:00 press conference re-introducing Harrick at
Mackel.
We waited, and waited past the 7:00. Kevin McNamara asked, "So, are you happy, Rod?"
I told him I wouldn't be happy until I saw Jim Harrick at the podium.
Awhile later, Bob Terino said, "He's not coming."
We were shocked.
Meanwhile the URI people met the press that were there and tried to explain what happened.
I went to Harrick's house, and met Gene Valicenti coming out of the house.
He told me Harrick was in bad shape.
On my way home, I called Harrick and left a message telling him that he let
a lot of people down.
I wasn't aware of Petro's actions, obviously.
Months later, he told my now ex-wife, who was friendly with his wife Sally,
that he'd made a big mistake going to Georgia.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Ryan, as luck would have it, was in Atlanta on business.
When Harrick got off the plane, he was told by Ron Petro in the car, that
the deal they'd discussed on the phone, was no longer on the table.
Harrick went to his EG home and stayed there.
Meanwhile we got the word of the 7:00 press conference re-introducing Harrick at
Mackel.
We waited, and waited past the 7:00. Kevin McNamara asked, "So, are you happy, Rod?"
I told him I wouldn't be happy until I saw Jim Harrick at the podium.
Awhile later, Bob Terino said, "He's not coming."
We were shocked.
Meanwhile the URI people met the press that were there and tried to explain what happened.
I went to Harrick's house, and met Gene Valicenti coming out of the house.
He told me Harrick was in bad shape.
On my way home, I called Harrick and left a message telling him that he let
a lot of people down.
I wasn't aware of Petro's actions, obviously.
Months later, he told my now ex-wife, who was friendly with his wife Sally,
that he'd made a big mistake going to Georgia.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Frenchy Tomlin
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
What if I told you, that a program which appeared to be on the rise would never surpass mediocrity for the proceeding decade and beyond?ElmCityRhody wrote:crazy day indeed
i remember trying to follow on the old projo board and the emotions this day brought
i gotta get my buddy at espn to do a 30 for 30 on this story..
<salt on wounds>
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Can we do a 30 for 30 type mini movie on this entire experience? Seems surreal.
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- Art Stephenson
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Rod is one of the few people I know who buy into the revoked extension story. That said, Petro was a lousy AD. I wish we had a Thorr type in power then.
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Well, not telling tales out of school, but the person at URI closest to Jim Harrick was/is
"The Godfather", Bob Terino.
When I posted my recalling the events of April 1, 1999, he called and left a message on my phone.
"You got it all 100% right".
I spoke to him later in the day, and his up close piece of this saga matches what I wrote.
So, take your "one of the few people" shit and shove it!
I'm one of the few who wrote the truth.
"The Godfather", Bob Terino.
When I posted my recalling the events of April 1, 1999, he called and left a message on my phone.
"You got it all 100% right".
I spoke to him later in the day, and his up close piece of this saga matches what I wrote.
So, take your "one of the few people" shit and shove it!
I'm one of the few who wrote the truth.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Carlton Owens
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
No, because we're doing a "30 for 30" deal about Keaney Blue.ATPTourFan wrote:Can we do a 30 for 30 type mini movie on this entire experience? Seems surreal.
P.S. As I'm watching the Red Sox-Yankees on ESPN and see Schilling's puss on the big screen, I realized that most Rhode Islanders are waiting for the so-called "Studio 38 Story," that is of course, after "The Mo Vaughn Leggs an' Eggs" episode is finished, and of course our very own "Taylor Swift Tax Tale" is made.
You'll just have to wait your turn…..
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
The question remains Rod, WHY did Petro rescind the offer to Harrick?
No one has ever elaborated on that key decision......
Was it Petro's call to do that? Or did Carothers tell him to do that?
What were the details of the offer in the first place?
No one has ever elaborated on that key decision......
Was it Petro's call to do that? Or did Carothers tell him to do that?
What were the details of the offer in the first place?
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- Art Stephenson
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Whatever gets you through the night, Rod.
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Yeah, because I just live to make this stuff up, right. Friar Rosie?
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Carlton Owens
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Personally, this is my deduction….rambone 78 wrote:The question remains Rod, WHY did Petro rescind the offer to Harrick?
No one has ever elaborated on that key decision......
Was it Petro's call to do that? Or did Carothers tell him to do that?
What were the details of the offer in the first place?
Everyone has a tolerance level, especially a public one.
Carothers ultimately had saved both Harrick and Odom, and for that, to be publicly humiliated, the back-and-forth, Carothers probably said -- very poetically to Petro -- Enough of this soap opera drama. This is a University.. Tell him to go fuck himself.
I WILL DEFER TO ROD'S HISTORY OF THE EVENT AS FACT.
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- Art Stephenson
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
If anything about that time is correct then it was Carothers' decision. He had final say in all decisions by then. Ron, for all his faults, had his hands tied the last few years he was here by Carothers.
"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special" - Jim Valvano
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Share your detailed account of events, if you're going to crap on Rod's.Ramblinrose wrote:Whatever gets you through the night, Rod.
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- Art Stephenson
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
HBob Terino? He's am objective source?
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Terino knows more about URI basketball and its backstories than
anyone on earth.
Best source I know.
anyone on earth.
Best source I know.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- ARD
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
What is your sourse Rosey?
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- Steve Chubin
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
I was there too and spoke with the same people that Rod did...his account is accurate.
"What happens next is going to be big and it's going to be beautiful "
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
C'mon, Rosie. Let's hear your detailed timeline.
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- Ernie Calverley
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Rosie paying homage to 72 and Seanie in this discourse.
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- Tyson Wheeler
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Everyone has a story on this affair. What I had heard was that when Harrick changed his mind on the Georgia offer, it was his son who worked him over saying he was nuts to turn down Georgia.
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
That was the story the school kited, and it was ironic
because, idiot boy remained here under Jerry Duh,
as an assistant.
Junior was not in the car with Petro, when Harrick was picked up at the airport.
Harrick went home after Petro rescinded the offer they'd spoken about
prior to Harrick's return from Georgia.
because, idiot boy remained here under Jerry Duh,
as an assistant.
Junior was not in the car with Petro, when Harrick was picked up at the airport.
Harrick went home after Petro rescinded the offer they'd spoken about
prior to Harrick's return from Georgia.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Art Stephenson
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Why didn't Harrick go public with this story? Why would he give Petro the upper hand?
Why would Harrick take another PR hit. I recall Junior saying money wqs his father's god.
Why would Harrick take another PR hit. I recall Junior saying money wqs his father's god.
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Like anyone cares what Junior said?
The real bad part of all this was, Harrick's other son and
his family had just relocated to RI, and he had a new job
and all, to be closer to his mother and father.
When father went to Georgia, more than URI basketball
got hurt.
Also, Junior stayed here on Jerry D's staff.
The real bad part of all this was, Harrick's other son and
his family had just relocated to RI, and he had a new job
and all, to be closer to his mother and father.
When father went to Georgia, more than URI basketball
got hurt.
Also, Junior stayed here on Jerry D's staff.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Ernie Calverley
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
I cant vouch for the details of the story, I vaguely remember getting some of the play by play via phone.
But I did see Jim years later in Los Angeles and he reiterated that he should have never left.
But I did see Jim years later in Los Angeles and he reiterated that he should have never left.
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- Jimmy Baron
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
My father did marketing for the athletic department at that time and mentioned to me that the AD told him Harrick called back later that day or the next day and asked to come back again! Interested to see if anyone else has heard this story.
I was only 13 but i recall it very clearly. hearing on the radio that afternoon that Harrick was coming back... Going out and going on ESPN.com that night looking for the article only to click on it and see he was gone..
I was only 13 but i recall it very clearly. hearing on the radio that afternoon that Harrick was coming back... Going out and going on ESPN.com that night looking for the article only to click on it and see he was gone..
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- Abdul Fox
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
rodfromcranston must have been the fly on the wall during the whole incident because it was as he says.
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
I had Petro bugged.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
He needed more than a bug, Rod.
A little electro shock therapy might have been needed too.
A little electro shock therapy might have been needed too.
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- Carlton Owens
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
That explains why he walked like he had something stuck up his ass.rodfromcranston wrote:I had Petro bugged.
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- Carlton Owens
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Yeah, it was a keepsake totem pole he couldn't give up from Alaska…...ramfan85 wrote:That explains why he walked like he had something stuck up his ass.rodfromcranston wrote:I had Petro bugged.
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- Frank Keaney
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
I remember being on bus trips on the road.
Petro would sit in the front of the bus with his
assistant, and never bother talking or interacting
with anyone else on the entire trip, coming and going.
What a difference from Thorr, who is so people
friendly.
Petro would sit in the front of the bus with his
assistant, and never bother talking or interacting
with anyone else on the entire trip, coming and going.
What a difference from Thorr, who is so people
friendly.
< Arthur is my spirit animal.
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- Art Stephenson
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
Petro personified aloof.
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- Ernie Calverley
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Re: April 1st, 1999 - A day which will live in URI infamy
It is once again the anniversary of that infamous day in URI hoops history.