If there‘s one thing I took from the Athletic Business show last month in Orlando, it‘s that people love football.

It wasn‘t just the fact that former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann was the keynote speaker at the show. (Although the attendees did respond in full force when he mentioned their hometown teams.) What really blew me away was how many people walked over from the welcome reception at the Hark Rock Cafe next door to the NBA City Restaurant, which had the Packers-Cowboys game on in the lobby. I was worried that I wasn‘t going to see this game since it was on the NFL Network, which wasn‘t on the hotel‘s cable package.

Before heading over to NBA City, I was checking my cell phone for updates of my fantasy football team, Gold‘s Gems (catchy, huh?). I had one player on my team in that game, and my opponent that week had three guys. I‘m glad I followed my instincts and found the game on TV.

Looking back at the year, I can trace my most memorable fantasy football moments through the shows I attended. The night I got back from the Las Vegas Planet Fitness/World Gym summit was the opening night of the NFL season. I had two guys playing in that game, and I ended up losing that week by 22 points.

You might recall my dilemma before the Club Industry show in Chicago when I went for a walk the morning of my trip, only to find that another team had picked up a running back I really needed during my walk. That was a tough lesson learned.

Then came that Thursday night in Orlando. I fell behind by 18 points that night, but I ended up winning that week, which earned me a first-round bye in my fantasy football league‘s playoffs. I went on to win the semifinal game, and just last week, I won the whole she-bang in a Super Bowl rout. Not bad for a first-year owner.

I hope it will please my boss to know that the fantasy football league season is finally over. I don‘t have the heart to tell her that there‘s a playoff fantasy football contest, too.

I also don‘t have the heart to tell her that I already signed up for it. –Stuart

Hopefully by the time the IHRSA show rolls around in March in sunny San Diego, ESPN‘s Dick Vitale will still be a featured speaker there. According to reports, he should be back on the airwaves by February after undergoing throat surgery today to remove ulcers on his left vocal cord.

Last month, I was really looking forward to hearing Rick Reilly speak at the Athletic Business show in Orlando, but he bailed after announcing he was leaving Sports Illustrated for ESPN. When I heard the news of Vitale today, I was thinking I was going to be disappointed again.

Fortunately, it appears Vitale will be back to full strength or close to full strength. Of all the ailments a person could have, how cruel is it to have someone like Vitale, who yells and screams through your TV during college basketball season at rock concert decibels, be silenced for a period of time?

Say what you want about Dickie V., but he puts on a great show with an impassioned speech when he‘s on the public speaking circuit. Jennipher Shaver has heard him live at the AB show before, and I‘ve seen only a sample of his work on TV as he addressed a group of high school All-American basketball players. He puts his heart and soul into every word he says.

Vitale‘s voice has been noticeably weaker over the last year and a half. On the few times when I‘ve heard him on TV, you can barely hear him over the crowd at the game.

I took in a Missouri basketball game last month at the new Sprint Center in Kansas City, and Vitale was there as a commentator. Even sitting way up in the nosebleed seats (hey, they were $5 a pop), you could see how immensely popular Vitale still is, almost 30 years after he called his first game for ESPN. As time was winding down during halftime, Vitale came back on the court, but not before signing and posing for every picture he could. The guard next to Vitale was helpless as he tried to escort him to his seat before tip-off.

Vitale made it back just in time. Let‘s hope he still makes it to the IHRSA show, too. Even at below full strength, it‘s still worth it to hear him give it everything he‘s got. -Stuart

The other day, I was rummaging through the seemingly thousands of Bally stories we published this year for a magazine contest we‘re entering when I came across a name that looked familiar. And when I put two and two together, I realized I should have written this a long time ago.

Until this week, I never realized that fitness veteran Jim Booker, who passed away in October and whose death we reported in our magazine, was the same Jim Booker I had interviewed for a story we did on Bally during the summer. My predecessor, Amy Fischbach, had also interviewed him for this magazine and left his contact information with me.

Booker, best known as the founder of American Fitness Centers, died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Alpharetta, GA, a suburb of Atlanta, at the age of 76. I interviewed him because he was a Bally investor, and I wanted some insight into the company‘s possible bankruptcy proceedings. Jim was one of the few people I talked to who supported Bally, even though he acknowledged it had made mistakes in recent years.

Jim grew up in Kansas City, where we are based, and talked about being a member of Brookridge Golf and Country Club, where I had been earlier that day for a journalism summit. Jim launched his first gym in Kansas City in 1954 after putting together a few pieces of exercise equipment in his parents‘ garage.

Jim was ahead of his time. He was into protein shakes before anyone else was and shunned white bread from the dinner table. A few years ago, I lost a few pounds using the South Beach diet, and until then, I didn‘t realize how much sugar and carbs white bread has.

Before we got off the phone, Jim and I talked about Kansas City some more, then he asked about Amy.

“Has she had that baby yet?” he asked me.

Yes, I told him, and that baby was kind of the reason I got this position.

Jim was still on top of his game, even though I didn‘t realize how sick he was at the time. His wife, Ruth JoAnn–people just call her Jo, she told me today–said that Jim kept the illness to himself and that the cancer had gotten really bad leading up to the day he died. He also left behind four daughters and two grandchildren.

Jennipher Shaver and I attended one of the best seminars we‘ve been to this year at the Athletic Business conference last week in Orlando. The seminar was all about the history of the fitness industry, and that gave us a lot of ideas as we prepare to celebrate the magazine‘s 25th anniversary next year.

I wish Jim was still around to help us with our celebration. I also wish this was written a couple of months ago. -Stuart

It’s a snowy day here in Kansas City, but that didn’t stop me from making a visit this morning to Woodside Health & Tennis Club in Westwood, KS (a suburb of Kansas City). Ten years ago, I lived near the facility, but when I drove by, I always thought of it as a country club with tennis courts. Boy was I wrong!

Christopher Bell, general manager, was kind enough to take more than an hour out of his day to show me around. The facility is a bit unusual in that it is housed in two buildings that are across the street from each other. The north building has been renovated into what reminded me of a zen-like ski lodge. Lots of windows, natural wood and stone with a gorgeous stone fireplace in the restaurant/cafe area near the front desk. Maybe it was the snow outside, but as we sat near the fireplace at the end of the visit, I felt like I should have been carrying skis and drinking a hot chocolate.

The north building not only houses the restaurant, but it also includes a cardio area that used to be a Pilates room, a weight area, a spa, a chiropractic service, locker rooms with lounges and flat-screen TVs, a small indoor pool, a sauna, a steam room and three outdoor pools plus several outdoor tennis courts.

The south building is still being renovated. It houses the spin room, some group fitness rooms, a Pilates area, a walking track and cardio/weight areas, a child care area plus some indoor and outdoor tennis courts.

With the higher-end look of the facility has also come a move into the wellness area (hence, the spa and chiropractic business). They hired a wellness director and offer lectures every month or so on healthy living topics.

My visit was definitely a treat and worth the time. Now, if only I still lived a few blocks away. I’d be tempted to switch my membership–and for more reasons than just being able to sip hot chocolate by that fireplace. - Pam

Many of you have probably heard about Augie‘s Quest to Cure ALS, an organization created by Augie Nieto, who founded Life Fitness (see previous post called Augie Nieto’s Book). Nieto was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2005, and he has devoted much of his life since then to find a cure for the disease. Much of the fitness industry has joined him in this effort through fundraising events at the past two International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) conferences.

Kevin McHugh, COO at The Atlantic Club in Manasquan, NJ, e-mailed me yesterday about a fundraising idea he and Patricia Laus, CEO at The Atlantic Club, have for those who can’t attend the IHRSA conference to help in Augie’s Quest. I thought it was a great idea, and it could go a long way in helping the organization.

The Atlantic Club is encouraging club owners and staff to create a one-day special event between Jan. 1 and March 7, 2008, to raise money for the cause (March 7 is the date of the Beach Bash for Augie‘s Quest at the IHRSA 2008 conference in San Diego). Ideas for an event to hold at your club are on the www.clubsforthecure.com Web site and include indoor (or outdoor) cycling events and other group exercise possibilities.

McHugh and Laus are hoping their effort will raise $3 million for ALS research.

Clubs who want to participate should go to the Web site to find out more, or contact Laus at (732) 292-4379 or patl@theatlanticclub.com. –Pam

It seems like yesterday that I wrote my first blog. Not that I‘ve written very many — I think my last one was back in August, a whole season ago. The point is, I‘m leaving the staff as of next Thursday to continue my journey in my career, whatever that may be. Sadly, my internship is over and it‘s time for me to go. I‘ve enjoyed writing for the magazine and working with Pam, Jenn, Stuart and Jen. It‘s been great.

I learned a lot about the fitness industry, and it‘s a big world out there. There is a lot to know and a lot to think about. I certainly know more about what it takes to run a fitness club than I used to.

I hope those of you who have read my articles in the magazine, in the e-newsletter or online have enjoyed them. I had fun writing them.

As I blogged about before, I continued to run a few races in the latter days of summer and into the fall. Don‘t worry — I got better. I ran my last race in mid-October and did pretty well, although I would like to continue on the downhill slide. I have a race in February and hope to do decently in that, although I haven‘t run in a while. With the holiday season upon us, it‘ll be hard, but the motivation to do well should kick in, and hopefully I‘ll do OK. Apparently, my running group has a goal to run a marathon relay next fall. We‘ll see how that goes.

OK, I‘m done rambling about my running. I need to get back to doing the not-so-big, basically flat, mountains of work I was doing.

It‘s been a good ride, and maybe you‘ll see my name in the magazine again after the first of the year. (Who knows?) But I‘ve enjoyed it, and, like I say at the end of everything, talk to you later. –Kelsey