Tom Sabbatelli on Wheel of Fortune

One of my good friends from Penn State, Tom Sabbatelli, was on Wheel of Fortune on May 25, 2009 (Memorial Day). The show had been taped way back in February and finally aired three months later. Tom was not allowed to divulge how the event went but Kelly and I had a sneaky suspicion he'd do well. That was an understatement. Here is the full show (minus commercials!) split over three parts from my YouTube account.







Here are some screen grabs of Tom's illustrious journey...

The Wheel of Fortune title card on May 25, 2009.

Tom shoots out of the gate, answering the first toss-up correctly.

Tom being introduced by Pat Sajak.

Tom told a story about how he use to imitate Vanna White as a toddler in his high chair. He did the pose and then Pat asked Vanna to do it too. Separated at birth?

Tom correctly answers toss-up #2.

Tom correctly answered the first puzzle. Funny, that's what people will be doing to relive this adventure of his.

Puzzle #2 was the only thing Tom didn't get.

Mystery prize round!

Yep, the prize could be $10,000 (sponsored by IHOP).

And it's a prize puzzle. Where will the winner be going?

Suspense! Tom lands on the mystery prize spot.

Tom reaches down to remove the mystery prize. Bankrupt or $10,000???

Tom chose wisely. The mystery prize was $10,000! Thanks IHOP!

The third puzzle gives a hint of where the prize vacation may be. Where is Tom headed?

Before we find out, Tom headbutts the set on national television after he solved the third puzzle.

Tom is ecstatic about winning a trip to beautiful New Orleans. Value? $5,000.

Tom is up to $22,400 after solving the puzzle assuring him the $10,000 mystery prize as well as a trip to New Orleans.

I have no idea how he got "RUNNER-UP" so fast. This was the third and final toss-up.

The fourth and final puzzle was cut short but Tom still came out on top.

Tom knows he has a chance to add a lot more to the money and trip he already won.

Tom finished the regular part of the game with $29,900.

Tom ready to spin the final wheel full of prizes.

Tom spins the wheel of prizes, landing on M. We'll find out what he will (or won't) win soon.

The default letters are helpful. Tom added D, C, M and A to get even closer.

Tom guesses "GIANT SQUID" and is correct! What did he win?

Tom celebrates earning $25,000 for getting the final puzzle correct.

Tom hugs his mom after winning a total of $54,900!

Tom did absolutely amazing! You can check out his Wheel blog here. Congratulations, Tom! Some other links below...

'Wheel' spins just right for new PSU graduate | Centre Daily Times
Memorial Day 2009 Game Recap & Discussion | Sony Pictures Boards
PSU Grad Wins Big On Wheel Of Fortune | Onward State
10 Questions With Tom, PSU "Wheel" Rep | Onward State
Recent PSU grad wins almost $50,000 on Wheel of Fortune | The Daily Collegian

UPDATE: I am sort of mentioned in The Daily Collegian article about Tom.

Friends of Sabbatelli have loaded the episode to YouTube so it can be viewed. A search for "Tom Sabbatelli" will bring up the three-part video.

"Friends" should be "Joseph Mays". Haha.

After Thanksgiving Round-Up

Well things have been quite busy recently. Kelly and I made the trek from West Lafayette, IN to Eighty Four, PA on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The following day I made the last leg of my journey to be with my family and friends in Sinking Spring, PA. Thanksgiving was busy as usual and soon enough I was making the return trip. After watching my high school win the PIAA District III AAAA football championship, I left the stadium in Hershey, PA bound for Eighty Four to pick up Kelly. On Sunday we made the 7 hour drive back to Purdue University. It was a nice little reprieve (Kelly hadn't been to her house since January) and a great preview of things to come for the Christmas break.

I've done more than traveling over the last 10 days however. Recently a lot of things I preordered and paid for months ago started shipping. Among them were The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection on DVD from Time Life and the Airborne Trooper and Galactic Marine mini-busts from Gentle Giant.

Image from The Real Ghostbusters.

While I was home I was able to hit up Target and Toys R Us with Brent for some Star Wars goodies. I picked up the Shield Generator Assault battle pack and the Clone Trooper Officer (Yellow, Commander) figure from The Legacy Collection and the Toys R Us exclusive Clone Wars bust-ups, mentioned in the previous post (w00t! Christmas gifts!).

While I was home I was able to organize, sort, and store some of my collection. I can actually walk in my room now! There's still a slight mess but that should be fixed over Christmas. Some extra figures I had lying around I decided to open and create a diorama with one of my opened Republic Gunships. I didn't get to snap any pictures but the Gunship (with nose art from The Clone Wars collection) has 4 TCW Clone Pilots ("Odd Ball") flying the ship and manning the guns plus Captain Rex giving orders to 3 501st Legion Troopers (Wal-Mart exclusive) and 2 regular Clone Troopers. It looks pretty sweet!

In developing life stories, some big news was dropped on our family and friends recently. Kelly and I have decided to move to Sinking Spring, PA (my original hometown) once Kelly finishes her atmospheric science master's degree at Purdue! I will be working for my father with a future goal of succeeding him as owner & president of the sandwich shop. I'll be his apprentice for the next 10 or so years until he wants to partially retire.

My family and friends couldn't be happier; they are REALLY excited for us to return! And we can't wait...

High School Teammate, Friend Engaged ... Did I Mention He is a NFL Quarterback?

Dolphins 2nd round pick Chad Henne has been relaxing back home before he starts his first NFL training camp on July 26th in Miami. A friend of mine spotted him at the Wilson High School gymnasium running sprints (good to know he is working out during his time off). He was also in Leesport, PA on Saturday for an autograph session. It seems as though the night before said session, Chad made a huge life decision; he asked his girlfriend of many years (reported as 7, that sounds about right) to marry him. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel picked up on this. Omar Kelly, in his Dolphins blog, had this to say:

Um, thanks for the life lesson? Anyway, the blue text in the excerpt linked to this article from the Reading Eagle. According to the paper, Chad gave Brittany Hartman a 5.2 carat diamond ring. Damn! This leads me to believe that he will be signing his first multi-million dollar contract with Miami any day now. And that is good news for Dolphin fans.

As most of you know, I played football with Chad through much of my schooling at Wilson and followed his career at Michigan with great interest. Having the Dolphins draft him was quite exciting, since Miami has been my favorite team my entire life. I also was friends with Brittany through high school and it makes me happy to know that they are still together and now engaged. Congratulations, Chad and Brittany!

The Weekend Has Come and Gone

Well the weekend that I had been looking forward to for over 6 weeks has arrived and passed. It was a lot of fun but I wish I had another day, mostly because everything felt rushed. I didn't get much time to relax and just sit with my family and friends. Adding that extra day would have smoothed things out. I have already built that extra day into my next trip home (first weekend in August - Macungie Toy Show and Fantasy Football Draft).

With that said, everything was great. The NFL draft was all I could hope for (read my recap here), as was the exchange with Brent and the Franklin Institute trip (more on each of those in the next few hours). Pictures and posts will be coming at a rapid pace over the next day or so.

My Star Wars collection experience was a bit overwhelming. I underestimated both the amount of stuff I had and the amount of time I needed to document and organize everything. Unfortunately all of the documentation was not accomplished so there will be some pictures missing :-(

UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY TODAY! I will post progress reports to let you know when sections and pictures are available. Stay tuned.

The Home Stretch

I have been waiting for this week for a long time. Since March 14th to be precise. On that day I purchased my airline tickets to travel back to Sinking Spring, PA on Friday, April 25th. As much as I hate to leave Kelly, I am very excited for this homecoming of sorts. Here's why:

1. Family - I will get to some so members of my family for the first time since late December/early January. I left the Reading, PA area on January 2nd for the journey back to Indiana and have not been back since. I saw my parents and sister, as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousin at THON at the end of February but no one else since the Christmas break. I am excited to see my grandparents and the rest of my family this coming weekend.
2. Friends - This goes along the same line as family. I have not seen any of them since the Christmas break either. I will most likely see all of them this weekend and we are doing some things that are mentioned below.
3. Star Wars - As my main collection page says, I got back into collecting last August at the "Toy Show" during Das Awkscht Fescht in Macungie, PA. I dug out and dusted off my old collection over Thanksgiving and Christmas and have been adding to it over the last few months (which I have mentioned here numerous times). Well I will finally get to put everything together and organize the collection in my room this coming weekend. It will be a long and sometimes tedious process (a lot of photos need to be taken) but well worth it in the end. Expect a lot of updates next Tuesday and Wednesday.
4. Star Wars Exchange - I have somewhat become Brent Behrenshausen's distributor of Star Wars items. We joined forces to purchase a set of each of the first three waves of 2008 Thirtieth Anniversary Collection. This guarantees that we will have the figures we want from each wave without having to hunt them down in stores or pay egregious prices on the secondary market. I have seen waves one and two in stores but not wave three (the newest Saga Legends). Since I have a weekly toy run to Target and Wal-Mart (bi-weekly to Toys R Us) I have picked up some other figures for Brent as well. The trading and purchasing will happen Saturday morning. I'm glad to be giving these items to Brent as well as getting some money back. Lord knows I need it ;-)
5. NFL Draft - This is my favorite event of the NFL year. Yes, more than the Super Bowl (what can I say, I haven't been around when the Dolphins last played in one). The draft brings hope to all franchises, especially the one at top. That just so happens to be the Dolphins this year. They are drafting first overall for the first time since the 1960's. It could take another 40 years for it to happen again. I am going to bask in the glow since the focus of the NFL world is on Miami. And when they do something shocking and/or surprising I will be even more happy. My dad and I are having friends and family over for a little draft get-together. Corinne (my sister) will be cooking some appetizers and desserts while we order or make some pizza for dinner. I extended the invite to all owners in my fantasy football league (defending champion, holler). The draft starts Saturday at 3pm. It's gonna be crazy!
6. Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination - Bryan, Brent, Greg, Corinne, and I will be traveling to Philadelphia on Sunday morning to go to the Franklin Institute. Currently there is a traveling Star Wars exhibit there. It appears to be quite a masterpiece. It is a collection of items from the Lucas archives that contains actual props and replicas from all six movies. This is an expanded version of an exhibit that was on display at the Smithsonian in the late 1990s. I was at the Air & Space Museum either a few days before the exhibit opened or a few days after the exhibit closed. I could see into the area where it was displayed but that was it. I am extremely excited to see it in all of its glory. And now it has the prequel stuff! Plus, the day we are going the 501st Legion is trooping so you know what that means...pictures with troopers!!!

So that is an overview of my weekend. Any and all time that is available I will be working in my room on my collection. I have a lot to organize, store, and document for the site here. I have to create an updated checklist of what I have now and what I still need.

The weekend will be here before long. I should be in Sinking Spring around 11pm Friday. So excited!