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Welcome to a brand new episode of I Know Jax, I’m Joe Talentino, and tonight I have a
really cool show lined up for you, if I may say so myself. And I may, because I Know Jax
is an independent TV show, produced right here in Jacksonville, and as such, I can say
and do what I want. Not quite true, I have people. As you can imagine, it takes people
to pull off a show like this, so I have people. People with influence who have opinions, and
others who just have opinions. To me, that’s great. Last week I was telling you about how
I worked back when we actually rolled tape. What’s really amazing to me is how quickly
things are changing. In the past you used to have to have really deep pockets, or get
funding somehow and then pitch your idea to get it on the air and out to people. Not anymore.
Anyone who wants to can share their ideas or their videos online and find an audience
that way. No longer is money and owning equipment a gatekeeper. The important thing nowadays
is good content. If people don’t like what you do, they don’t watch it. You know the
old saying if you build it, they’ll come. No they won’t! Now it’s about having something
people like and want, something that they will share with others. Crowdfunding was born
from this idea, you know like Kickstarter.com for example. Here in Jacksonville we have
a big crowdfunding festival coming up in April for its second year, and I think it’ll be
huge. We’re very excited about this years event, because this year, we’re introducing
the next big I Know Jax project at the festival. I’ll talk more about this later in the show.
But first, I got the pleasure to meet and talk to one of the world famous Harlem Globetrotters.
I got to ask you this. How in the world do you become a Harlem Globetrotter? Everyone
has their own story, but my story is kind of unique. I actually was an assistant video
coordinator and practice player for the Phoenix Sun ABA team. We used to have pick up games
on the weekend. The Globetrotter scouts came to one of those pick up games. I didn't know
they were based out of Phoenix Arizona at the time. The actually were looking at another
guy and saw me play. Who's this guy? That's our video coordinator. He can play! I've been
with the team for nine years now. Awesome. I'm always, I know I'm dating myself now,
but I watched *** Doo and I was like; Man, I want to be those guys. That was the first
time I saw the Globetrotters. Kirby Neal and a cartoon figure. Spinning the ball on his
head and his nose. Yeah… We came full circle. Scooter has the distinction of being world
record holder of spinning the basketball on his head and his nose. I think the head has
been broken, but I'm still holding on to the nose. You're going to have to demonstrate
that. No problem! What is it like traveling all over the world? You get to meet all kinds
of people. We're gone 6-8 months out of the year. I've traveled to 75 different countries.
I never thought in a million years I would do that. I'd never been to Florida when I
first started. Here I am hitting ten countries my rookie year. It's such a blessing. It feels
good to know that when you put the jersey on, no matter where you go in the world…
You'll be recognized. And you're always the home team. Those poor generals. It's OK. I
had the opportunity to play on an aircraft carrier with F16 coming down on the moving
ship. I'm actually bringing the ball across half court, and the ship is moving this way.
Oh no! Probably one of the best experiences I've had. That had to be a little off balance.
I told the guys don't miss, that ball is going to end up in the ocean. It was good. I always
tell people that when you come to a Globetrotter game you never remember the score. You always
remember going home laughing and smiling. We like to call smiling a universal language
because if we go to a different country, we may not be able to speak the language that
well, but we get the message across. You look out in China or Japan, they got that smile
on. I think that's a big appeal of the Globetrotters is that it's not cultural. It's universal.
It is. That's the best part of our job, we get to give that gift of a smile. You see
the parents, they get more excited than the kids sometimes. Only because they remember
how they were as kids. YOu want to bring it to the next generation. Exactly. This is our
88th year. The fans haven't changed at all. Times might have changed, but the fans keep
us going. It's called the 2014 Fans Rule, which means the fans can pick what rule they
want to see. In their city? Yes, what rule they want for each quarter. We never know.
It's a surprise for us every night. We have to adjust the game. Half court shot, it could
be whatever. We go the trick shot challenge. The make or miss rule. The hot hand jersey.
Six on five, the penalty box. You have six on five anyway because you got the guy in
a striped shirt. If he makes a bad call, we got him. The best one that the fans love,
is the trick shot challenge. The opposing teams coach can throw a football flag in the
air, and then challenge anyone of us, coming up with the most outrageous. Take the ball
between your legs, throw it up, pop it off your head, if it goes in we get five points.
If you miss, they get five points. That's something I thought was cool too. I went to
your website where you have the horse challenge. It's mainly kids that have sent in trick shots.
YOu had one off the wall. Yeah… How many times did you have to do that? Tell you what,
I practiced before the recording. He did it all in one take. I did. I practiced and I
kept getting closer and closer, until I saw the spot on the wall. I said if I hit that
spot I'm not turning around. I focused on the spot. I hit the spot and didn't turn around.
You didn't look. I heard it! I had to give it to them, it was fun. The challenges are
a great way to interact with the community. It gets us to interact in a different way
with our fans on the internet. It was fun. Yeah… That’s teamwork!
I can’t release any details about our One Spark project yet. As of this recording, it’s
still top secret. But visit our website at iknowjax.com and I have a blog post up about
it and you can find all the information about it there. Let’s see what Carla Mechele has
up her sleeve this week.
Hello and welcome to the I Know Jax calendar- I’m Carla Mechele, your host, and I keep
you updated every week with fun things to do in Jacksonville. We’ve come up with OUR
top picks, but we want to know YOUR top picks too – so do me a favor … Stop right now
and like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at I Know Jax. Yes,
do it right now- I’ll wait…. OK- now that that’s done, make sure to keep up with us
all week- and we’ll keep you in the loop. I have plenty of great events to tell you
about, but first, let’s check in with Joe for his top pick of the week. My pick of the
week is an event you don’t want to miss this event on Amelia Island. It’s the concourse
d’elegance. More than 250 classic production and race cars from seldom-seen private collections
will be on display at The Golf Club of Amelia Island. The three-day event includes road
rallies, an auction of vintage cars, seminars, a black tie Gala Dinner and silent auction.
The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance takes March 7th - 9th.
Alright, animal lovers unite and bring your furry friends to Mutt March, Northeast Florida’s
largest pet walk and festival. Take your pets out along the St. Johns River at the Landing
for an event packed with vendors, pet adoptions, a kids zone and more. All the money raised
at the event will benefit the Jacksonville Humane Society and their mission to end the
killing of abandoned shelter animals. Mutt March is Saturday, March 8th at the Jacksonville
Landing from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Next up- get away next weekend and take a
drive down to St. Augustine to hit up two great events for St. Patrick’s Day. Starting
Friday, March 7th, explore some culture at the popular Celtic Heritage Music Festival.
Enjoy traditional Irish music from international headliners, Highland Games showcasing skill
and strength- plus great food and plenty of fun for kids. The festival kicks off Friday,
March 7th through Sunday, March 9th at Francis Field.
And for that second event – move over to Downtown St. Augustine to paint the town green
for a St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, March 8th. Dance in the streets, enjoy some
good food & shops- and make sure you wear green! Don’t forget to snap pictures and
share with us! That’s the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, March 8th, in downtown
St. Augustine.
And finally, did you know Jacksonville is home to the largest 15K race in the United
States? That’s right- the Gate River Run brings people from all over - including Olympic
athletes- all competing for 85-thousand dollars in prize money. Let me repeat that- 85-thousand
dollars. That’s somebody’s salary this year. If you think you can take home the prize,
you have about two weeks to train. The Gate River Run is Saturday, March 15th- it starts
at Gator Bowl Boulevard, and ends at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds.
Alright, I hope these events tickled your fancy. Let us know if you go- by Facebook,
Twitter or Instagram at I Know Jax. Post your pictures with the hashtag I Know Jax – and
keep up with us all week for more fun things to do! Peace, Love and Blessings for your
week! I’m with head coach Kevin Waters of the
Jacksonville Giants and you guys just finished a big win and I wanted to talk to you a little
bit about what the fans can look forward to in the last games of the season? Going into
the playoffs we want to concentrate on our defense the guys playing together as a team,
the chemistry on offense and defense. Making the extra pass and establishing our style
of play which is up tempo. Cause going into the playoffs that is the difference between
winning and losing. We set high goals in Jacksonville. Yep threepeat that’s the game plan. How
hard is it when you’ve broken the record and you’re up to 222 points in a game. How
is it to keep people motivated when you are scoring that much over other teams. Believe
it or not we don’t look at the score. The score is the last thing we look at. I’m
going to call B.S. on that! We concentrate on playing hard the entire game working on
offence and defence. Those elements come together plus the pace of the game we play at things
like that happen. Don’t miss the giants last home game at veterans memorial arena
on March 8th.
Gumbo is usually served up with Zeideco music, but not this Saturday at the Jacksonville
Landing. Instead, we were wasting away in Margaritaville. Today we have our Parrothead
club, Phins, Parrot heads in natural settings. We're a Jimmy Buffet fan club. We have a gumbo
festival here at the Jacksonville Landing. This is the 8th year we're having the festival
and it grows every year. One thing Jimmy Buffet said is he didn't just want a fan club, he
wanted a club that would do something for the community, something that helps people.
Today we're having a charity event for Gleaners Dispatch. They get food from different sources,
grocery stores, brokers and such. They redistribute the food to people in need. We have 17 different
cooks. Everyone is cooking their very best gumbo. The people who sample pay $10 for a
wristband and they get a gold coin! Cute, the gumbo testers give the coin to the group
with the best gumbo in town. This is Sandy, who was in booth number three. There gumbo
was tasty. Sandy insisted on serving up dessert. I had tropical mango, the adult version. Besides
the people's choice, there's also a celebrity jury who votes for a winner.There's a lot
of gumbo to taste. If you have one or two bites, that's one thing, but when you have
17 and you have to decide which one is best, I'm glad they're doing rather than myself.
I don’t know what he’s talking about. Trust me, I can chow down some gumbo. Put
me on the jury next time. I'm at the Simply Awesome Gumbo tent talking to Stuart, Stuart
and Sergeant Gathier. What's the story? We are here for Phins annual gumbo cook-off.
We invited the Army to be part of our booth because my brother Chad Gallagher is currently
serving in Afghanistan. We thought it would be a great tribute for them to be here, and
for him to see that he is still missed and loved. We wish he was here, but this is the
best we can do for now. Passing out gumbo, filling up meat, rice and everything. It's
a really good time. I had a great time, meet new friends and had some awesome gumbo too.
This year I am on the jury. Come see me on Saturday at the Gumbo festival at the Landing.
Time flies. We’ve made almost 100 episodes, and that reminds me to remind you. Sign up
for the newsletter. I will be sending out invitations to our big party for I Know Jax
turning 100 shortly, and you need to be on the list. This is going to be an epic party,
with lots of fun stuff and big giveaways. So go to our website, --or if you hang out
on our facebook page, you can find it there too.
I’ll be back next week with a new episode of I Know Jax, until then, I’ll see you
on the internet.