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After the first round of the 125th U.S. Open Golf championship last week, the leader was a 34-year old Los Angeles native, J.J. Spaun, who had only one PGA Tour win and had lost his Tour status after dropping outside the top 500 in the world back in 2021.

Nothing unusual. In any tournament, even the majors, there is an early leader who plays well enough to jump ahead of everyone, before the cream rises to the top.

But it became apparent early on, that the fabled Oakmont Country Club just outside Pittsburgh, hosting the Open for a record 10th time, was going to be a monster to handle, even for the stars on the Tour.

Who wouldn’t have picked Scottie Scheffler to win it all? A knee-jerk selection if there ever was one and rightly so, having won three of his last four tournaments including the PGA Championship. He’s been the most dominant golfer, ranked #1 in the world for over 100 weeks.

However it wasn’t Scottie’s week nor Masters champ Rory McIlroy’s either, or defending titleholder Bryson DeChambeau, or any of the so-called prominent names in the sport.

Oakmont ate them up. Between the narrow fairways, the deep and punishing bunkers, the undulating greens where a seemingly good shot would run off in every direction and then the mostly thick, unforgiving rough that made the  seasoned pros look like weekend duffers at times, the course made golf unlike anything we’ve seen.

In the first round, not one of the top 10 players in the world broke par. They were 32 shots over.

But someone had to end the day in front, and that was J.J. Spaun at 4-under, the only player in the field who was bogey free. There was a hero in the second round of the Championship who edged into the lead. Sam Burns, a 28-year old five time Tour winner from LSU shot an impressive 65, one of the best ever at Oakmont, and at 3-under par had a one-shot advantage over Spaun and two shots over Norwegian Viktor Hovland. They were the only players under par at the halfway mark.

The frustration, even bordering on anger for many of the top players was clear for everyone to see. Scheffler had a meltdown when he returned to the practice tee after his round. He was visibly upset, swatting golf balls on the ground, practically shouting at his swing coach Randy Brown who was trying his best to calm the golfer down.

Scheffler, who hung in deep into the final round, only a few shots behind, but trailing a bunch of players, can blame his putting for his downfall. He missed a shocking amount of short putts for birdies. In retrospect, had he made half of them, he might have just won the thing.

Going into the final round, the final two groups appeared to separate themselves from the rest. The so-called Final Four: Burns the leader at 4-under, one shot over 44-year old Adam Scott, the popular Australian who won the Masters 12 years ago, tied for second with Spaun, wouldn’t go away, and Hovland three off the lead.

Would it be Burns, who like Hovland had never won a major, Scott, the “old man” in the group, or Spaun? Or maybe someone else who would come on strong.

The final round was a dizzying display of shots that found the rough, the bunker, or rolled off the green. It was a struggle for everyone and it was clear that it was a matter of survival.

Spaun began in nightmarish fashion, scoring bogeys on five of the first six holes and at the turn was four shots down. Forget him?  Not so fast, sailor.

No one could tame Oakmont enough to take any kind of control.

Meanwhile, a 28-year old Scot named, Robert MacIntyre, who honestly no one noticed throughout the four days, was one of those slightly over par hanging around in the top ten.

MacIntyre became the leader in the clubhouse at 1-over, with plenty of time for those above to falter and hand him the title. What a scenario that would be. An invisible golfer becomes US Open champ.

Now is the time to bring in the story of the weather conditions which played a role in the ultimate outcome. Over the final two days, thunderstorms and heavy rain plagued this western Pennsylvania area. Near the end of the front nine for the leaders, there was an hour and a half delay due to the thunderstorms. Even when they passed, the rain, often severe, with raindrops almost the size of golf balls (not hail, mind you), played havoc with the contest at hand.

That, plus the grueling course lay-out, caused a few players to lose their cool.

One was Sam Burns, the one who was doing his best to keep the other contenders at bay.

At one point Burns wanted a ruling concerning water on the fairway. He wanted to move his ball, but it since there was no standing water involved, he had to play the ball where it was.

He swiped the area with his club in disgust. This wasn’t going to help him and Burns finished 8-over par.

The rain delay, however, did wonders for J.J. Spaun. It revived his faltering start to the day and there he was in position to take the crown.

Tied with MacIntryle, already finished and watching from the scoring table inside, Spaun, with two holes remaining, would either play himself into or out of the title, or settle for a playoff the next day.

Outsiders always assume that professional athletes they see are firmly confident in their ability to succeed. But that isn’t always the case. And not for J.J. Spaun who until recently didn’t believe he was good enough to be a winner.

Imagine his thoughts when he shot a 40 on the front nine of the final round.

But on the 17th hole of the final day with a major championship at stake on a brutal golf course amid severe rain and thunderstorms, Spaun unleashed a powerful and accurate drive to reach the green on the short par four and birdied it to grab the lead by a stroke.

Then, on the last, all he needed was par to become champion. There he was, 64-feet away and a two-putt for the title. But  J.J. Spaun sank the longest putt by anyone all week. A birdie, to cap a dramatic, unpredictable comeback by an unlikely competitor under so many adverse circumstances.

Maybe all that transpired is no surprise when you consider that his mother, Dollie, born in the Phillipines, and an avid golfer, once received permission to continue to play while carrying her son until she was eight months pregnant.

Dollie was persistent to say the least, and so was J.J., who never changed expression for the four days of the 2025 U.S. Open Golf Championship, but inside had the ability to survive, and to finally know he is, indeed, good enough.

Whenever the name J.J. Spaun comes up in future discussions about the sport of golf, everyone will know why. No explanation necessary.

The post The 125th U.S. Open appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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It has been called everything from an epic tennis match, to a championship duel for the ages, to the best Grand Slam ever played, to one of the greatest championship matches in the history of the sport.

All of these descriptions and more may just be right on the mark.

The war staged on the red clay at Roland Garros in Paris for the French Open crown actually defies words of what it all meant. It was that remarkable.

I’ve always shied away from the current practice of always rating players, games, whatever, as to where everything stacks up in history.

The Greatest Of All Time only stands till the next thing comes along.

And it always does.

But you had to have the unmistakable feeling that what you saw in the five and a half hour exhausting, mano-a-mano struggle between the top two men’s tennis players in the world,

Jannik Sinner of Italy, and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz was something we have rarely witnessed. And you don’t have to be a tennis aficionado to appreciate and understand its impact.

So, what makes an event as special as this one? What are the elements that comprise a sporting contest that can stand the test of time? What does it take to declare the 2025 French Open championship match the greatest in any or all categories?

While stunning upsets bring observers out of their seats when a David overcomes a Goliath, you can’t beat the confrontation of two heavyweights meeting face-to-face to decide who is the best for that day, anyway.

When the trio of the most brilliant players gathered in Paris to basically signal an end of a 20-plus year domination, the natural question as to what’s next in tennis emerged.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were responsible for tennis thrills for so long to the delight of the sporting public.

But what now?  We now know.  It’s a rivalry that should carry the sport for the next decade and more.

So the rivalry was established. Alcaraz at 22, Sinner at 23.

Both had already won major championships and the specific circumstances of their past records and other statistics won’t be enumerated here and delay our quest for what makes for the question of what makes for a truly memorable moment.

Sinner recently resumed his career, coming in with a blemish on his tennis life when he was suspended for three months regarding a doping case from last season.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, regained his exciting form after experiencing nearly a year of inconsistent and erratic play.

Thus, the setting was in place.

Then, there was the match itself. For awhile it appeared as though it would fail to deliver on its promise. Sinner captured the first two sets in the best-of-five, winning by close scores, 6-4, and 7-6 in a tiebreak. They were closely fought, but all you need to do is win the sets and that’s what Sinner accomplished.

My feeling has always been that the term momentum at the outset of any contest is foolhardy. That all that counts is what transpires on that particular day.

But in tennis there is a great deal of momentum within the match, and that is a significant factor. The taller Sinner, with his powerful serve and groundstrokes are what make him so difficult to beat.

The Italian had it going and needed to win only one more set to achieve his first French Open title.

Alcaraz was in a tough spot. He had never rallied from a 2-set deficit to come back and win. He had lost in all 8 of his previous encounters down 0-2.

Previously, Alcaraz on occasion, suffered physical breakdowns, mostly due to stress, so how would he respond in this situation?

This time he summoned his incredible determination to battle on. And did he ever.

The in-match momentum shifted, and Carlos won the third set to stay alive.

In all events considered a cut above and worthy of distinction, there is a segment that is especially riveting to the audience. This one had a beauty.

Sinner led the fourth set, 5-3, needed one game to close it out.

But the desperate Alcaraz proceeded to win 13 of the next 14 points to take a 6-5 lead, eventually won by the Spaniard in the second tiebreak of the match.

Most significant in that run was the fact Sinner needed only ONE point to end it, with three chances against Alcaraz’ serve.  But Carlos rallied to win the game and then break Sinner in the next game.

Now it was Sinner on the hot seat with a deciding set to play.

Could he possibly hang in against a revived Alcaraz who clearly had the physical advantage with his proven stamina? Sinner seemed to be weakening, experiencing cramps at one point. However, the Italian refused to wilt, and challenged Alcaraz and the fifth and deciding set wound up as the third tiebreak in the final.

Alcaraz was too much for Sinner in the extra games and the longest French Open in history, and second-longest Gram Slam ever was history.

It was a breathtaking marathon where both warriors refused to be counted out when it seemed clear their chances were slim.

Alcaraz excels on the clay surface he grew up playing. It is difficult to deal with. It takes extra effort to handle its unpredictability. Sinner’s specialty is on the hard courts.

But the greats have to be able to play and win on them all, and the great ones do.

The one major takeaway from the classic French Open championship is that the sport of tennis is alive and well and then some. We are blessed with several young stars-to-be.

But not only do we have the two who stand head and shoulders above the rest, but a style we have never seen. The incredible athleticism displayed by both Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner last week in Paris, is unprecedented. What was astounding was the power of the groundstrokes, and the ability to reach those shots and turn them into winners.

The agility all over the court was mind-boggling. And then there were those deft drop shots, when executed to perfection, that changed the pace and won a point.

Imagine, two youngsters performing at a fevered pitch for five sets over five-plus hours, head-to-head, with momentum changes and fatigue always in the mix.

All things being equal we will be treated to a long spell of a rivalry, full of intensity, of two athletically superior tennis players who still have to prove their greatness over time.

What made the 2025 French Open championship what it was, had all of the ingredients that make it a memory for all time. This is what it had, the overall setting, the keen rivalry, the non-stop intensity, the amazing hard-hitting, and athleticism never seen before in tennis, the tremendous comeback by the eventual champion, the revival of both players on the verge of downfall, and the one-on-one battle previously only seen in the heyday of boxing.

Unquestionably, the 2025 French Open championship between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, was everything that’s been said, and more.

The post French Open 2025: A Duel For The Ages appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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Are we still talking about Aaron Rodgers?

And what’s my opinion about the ‘tush push’? Boy, do I dislike that term.

Let’s start with Rodgers the Ridiculous.

The guy still hasn’t made up his mind whether he wants to hang ‘em up and retire or still play football. Methinks he still wants to toss the ball and if it’s for anyone, it’ll be with the Pittsburgh Steelers which rubs me the wrong way. I know he’s said that there are serious health issues with some of those close to him and we all have to commiserate on that score, but how long does it really take to make a DECISION.

Of course, it may be that he knows and the Steelers know he’s headed their way.

Maybe both sides have known this for quite some time.

Maybe it’ll all be revealed very soon, like before these words hit the newsstand.

I don’t know the man. I only see and hear what he says and see him play.

He was the wrong man at the wrong time for the Jets two years ago, who were looking to create a buzz. They sure did, but not where it counted, on the playing field.

The Jets gambled on a 39-year old quarterback who had seen his best days trying to lead a team that was not ready for prime time.

It failed miserably. Rodgers was injured on the fourth play of his first game and missed the season. He came back admirably, had some flashes, but there was never a thought the Jets would thrive.

They let him go, and now with a new head coach, Aaron Glenn, and a new plan, they finally appear to have some hope, and maybe more than that.

The likely, and really only spot left is in Pittsburgh and I personally don’t feel comfortable with that.

Here’s why:

I’ve had an affinity for the Steelers organization dating back to the late 60’s.

My first major job in the business was in that city as sports director of KDKA-TV.

It was there that I got to know the patriarch of the franchise, Art Rooney, who founded the team. His son, Dan was closer to my age and we struck up a relationship that lasted decades.

Dan was the General Manager of the Steelers and I was there when Chuck Noll was hired as head coach. The team was mired in years of failure and subpar management, and finally, Dan Rooney was on a mission to reverse the trend and build a reputable organization. He started by hiring Noll, who in turn drafted Hall of Famers Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and the many other greats that ultimately produced four Super Bowl championships under Noll.

What was once a futile franchise became of the league’s perennial powerhouses that continued under head coaches Bill Cowher and the current head man, Mike Tomlin.

Since 1969, the Steelers have had only three head coaches and five General Managers.

Ownership of the club went from Art Rooney, to his son Dan, who passed away in 2017, and now Art Rooney II, Dan’s son, who has been president since 2003.

The Steelers are no longer the dynasty they once were, but they are always difficult opponent for any team they face. They are always a division contender with the threat of being more.

The Steelers have never had a losing season in Tomlin’s 18 years as head coach, but they have not won a playoff game in the last 8 seasons.

They have struggled at quarterback since the days of Ben Roethlisberger, and after not ending their playoff victory drought last year with veteran Russell Wilson at the helm, they are likely to go with Aaron Rodgers to clear that hurdle and perhaps hold the fort till another young QB prospect is ready to get the job done.

They drafted Will Howard of Ohio State in the 5th round in April after several other more highly rated hopefuls were chosen. No one knows if Howard will ever be the answer, but I feel Rodgers, who is a quirky individual to say the least is now 41, not getting better, and is not cut from what I consider the Steelers mold.

The Steelers have been the poster child for toughness and grit.

I’m not saying Aaron Rodgers isn’t tough. He’s had to be to achieve the career he’s enjoyed. But he doesn’t act tough. His words and beliefs are often puzzling and not easy to understand. He doesn’t fit.

Why do the Steelers feel Rodgers at his stage will be capable of challenging the Baltimore Ravens and even the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Central?

What is the upside the Steelers any more than the same question asked of the Jets two years ago.

Aaron Rodgers marches to his own drummer. I know the fans in Pittsburgh are not overjoyed with the probability of his leading their team.

Granted, the quarterback is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, but time has taken its toll on his ability to vault the team to playoff success.

On another football topic, I will use the term, ‘tush push’ for the last time.

That’s the maneuver the Philadelphia Eagles have used to extreme success on short yardage plays and goal line situations. It’s a play where only a few yards, from one to three are needed to gain a first down or score a touchdown.

It’s looks like a rugby scrum, and it is the most unattractive play in the sport.

Several huge linemen get behind the quarterback who is squatting low and on the snap they push and shove the QB with the ball forward until he makes the yards they need.

The Eagles are the only team to employ this maneuver. The Buffalo Bills, with a big, strong quarterback in Josh Allen have tried it with mixed success.

For the Eagles it is an automatic winning play.

So, many teams in the NFL called for its removal from the game, with most citing safety reasons. The league held a vote and it was rejected.

The play will remain.

It isn’t pretty and its success has been a foregone conclusion.  The Eagles, with their personnel know how to make it work. It won’t be that easy for others to follow suit.

You have to have the right technique, timing, and size of the players, including a quarterback who is not especially tall, but strong.

Jalen Hurts, the Eagles quarterback is 6’1”, not as tall as you’d like, but 223 lbs. He’s got strength.

He can squat 600 lbs they say, so he can get down and move with the push.

I’m not surprised teams tried to eliminate it from the game. I’m delighted they couldn’t do it. The play has not been a safety problem.

My advice to them? Learn to execute it. Learn to stop it.

And stay out of goal line and short yardage situations on defense.

People may enjoy the two-word description for the play.

But I used the term sparingly. To me, it’s a short-yardage play with a lot of big folks involved, and leave it at that.

The post Aaron Rodgers / The Most Unattractive Play In The Sport appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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They say the cream rises to the top.

At last week’s PGA Golf Championship, the second major this season’s Grand Slam, the wait lasted until the third round. Then, the world’s #1, lurking three shots back at the halfway mark, did what he has done so often, turn on the jets.

Scottie Scheffler carded a sensational 65 at tricky Quail Hollow in Charlotte, vaulted into the lead and it seemed that the ultimate result was a foregone conclusion.

An eagle and three birdies in the last five holes gave Scheffler a three-stroke advantage and it appeared victory was inevitable for him.

But a combination of a 2-over-par front nine and the on-charging performances of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau instilled a semblance of drama in the championship that had
been missing, and in reality never materialized.

The two challengers failed to make any kind of a run and the world’s best went about his business and won going away by five shots, capturing his third major title.

It was fitting Scheffler came out on top when 12 months ago at the PGA Championship he was in a jail cell after he was arrested the morning before the second round outside the Valhalla golf course grounds for disobeying a police officer’s instructions during a traffic snarl.

What a difference a year makes, for sure.

There was also heightened interest going in for Rory McIlroy, fresh from his ultra-dramatic Masters triumph, but the Irishman never could get it going and wound up tied for 47th. Their biggest noise from McIlroy came when a horn indicating suspension of play due to weather in the third round blared creating displeasure from the golfer.

The news that Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, along with other deceased players, were now eligible to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, revived a story and a question that amazingly has never gone away.

Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame?

Rose is the all-time leader in base hits, and Jackson was involved in the 1919 Black Sox betting scandal. Rose was banned from the Hall in 1989 after an investigation revealed that as manager of the Cincinnati Reds he had bet on MLB games.

Rose at first denied he made a single bet, then admitted he bet on games but never placed one against his team.

No one knows whether he did or not, but the fiery Rose never helped his cause by continuing to make gambling and casino appearances. I don’t believe any one doubts that Pete Rose had a penchant for gambling on sporting events, but I don’t believe it’s a cut and dried matter.

On the field, Rose had a career for the ages. He competed in every game as if it were his last and left the sport as the major league career leader in base hits with 4,256.

He played in the most games, had the most at-bats, and singles. Three times he was on teams that won the World Series. But these are merely statistics, impressive as they are, to his style when he stepped onto a baseball field.

He was brutally competitive, exciting to watch, and performed to the ultimate every single day.

Charlie Hustle was his nickname and that was an understatement to the way he played.

He was the symbol of the way the game should be.

So in returning to the question. “Should Pete Rose be inducted into the Hall of Fame?”  I always felt he should. Here’s why.

If a father took a young boy to Cooperstown, NY and asked his dad who had the most base hits in baseball history, the man who had that honor should be recognized.

He should be saluted with all the mementos, including a plaque telling his story.

But the plaque should indicate that Rose was involved in a gambling scandal as a manager. As a player he was something else. And he should be recognized for his playing achievements.

The same story goes for those who were banned for using performance enhancing drugs during that time. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens and others did amazing things as players. Yes, they broke the rules, but does anyone really think taking PED’s were the REASON they were great players? I don’t.

And I still wonder why those who didn’t need any help to boost their play, like cyclist Lance Armstrong, went in that direction. Perhaps others, but not the superstars.

Puzzling.

By the way, Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado was suspended just last week for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Do we think that era is gone forever?

Great players should be recognized for being distinguished.

But it should be done with the up-front and honest revelation of the “dark side” of their careers. And it should be reflected on their placques that all Hall of Famers have.

On the gambling issue that kept Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame, I have to point to the great hypocrisy that exists. We turn thumbs down on athletes who have been guilty of gambling, but we promote betting now at every turn in every sport.

It is encouraged by teams, leagues and television networks.

Do we not think we are on the precipice of a possible major gambling scandal with the open practice to bet that now is the rule, not the exception?

In wrapping up, we know that Pete Rose passed away last September at the age of 83.

He will now be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in December 2027 when the Hall’s Classic Baseball Era Committee will vote on his candidacy.

To me, honoring deceased players in the Hall of Fame is a good thing for those who failed to garner enough votes earlier but had distinguished careers.

In Pete Rose’s case, this decision to open the doors for him is a hollow triumph.

He won’t be around to see it, and as one of the truly great PLAYERS in baseball history, he should have been inducted long before this.

Just one man’s opinion.

The post PGA Golf Championship / Pete Rose appeared first on Dick Stockton.

Hear it here!

In the never ending cauldron of sports activity ranging from the playing of games to the off-field stories that grab our attention, there is always time for reflection.

This is one of those times.

It’s been four years since my retirement and after over 50 years of being in the center of things, I’m going to pull back and tell the story of how I got my very first on-air job.

Everyone has to start somewhere and it wasn’t a slam dunk when it happened for me.

The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, or Group W as it was known, owned various radio and TV stations throughout the country. The television outlets were affiliated with one of the three networks at the time: CBS, NBC and ABC.  In many of the cities, Group W owned both radio and TV stations. For example, they ran a radio outlet in New York, WINS, Chicago WIND, Los Angeles, KFWB, and radio and television stations in Boston, WBZ and WBZ-TV, Pittsburgh, KDKA and KDKA-TV , and Philadelphia, KYW and KYW-TV.

They had recruited me to be trained for an eventual management post, which was nice, but not what I really wanted.

When WINS became only the second all-news radio station in the country, I was working as a copy boy which was terrific for learning the news business. I learned how the wire services worked, meaning the Associated Press and United Press International, and how they sent out the stories from the US and around the world.

When KYW in Philadelphia also made the decision to become all-news I saw an opening.

I asked my bosses if I could seek an announcing opportunity there and they thankfully agreed.

So, I took off one morning on an Amtrak ride from Penn Station to the station in Center City of my hometown, Philadelphia. I was 22 at the time, fresh from less than a year out of serving my Army Reserve basic training and post training at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

It was a train trip to the unknown for a young hopeful.  Was I nervous?  What do you think?

I took a cab to the station and checked in with the receptionist. Soon I was led to the News Director’s office. His name was Ron Mires, and I couldn’t believe this man, with a world of news experience in broadcasting would take the time to see whether this kid with no commercial on-air experience was worthy of being hired for a new format that was set to be launched in a couple of months.

Philadelphia was the fourth largest market in the nation at the time, and usually someone in my shoes would be starting in a very small market and put in the years to earn a spot in a major city.

So I was fortunate to get my first chance in a major market.

For my audition, I was asked to go into the newsroom and write a 30-minute newscast involving local, national, and world news off the same AP and UPI wires I worked with in New York which I delivered to the various newscasters preparing their own broadcasts.

Only now I was the one going to read it in a private recording. The kicker was, I only had 45 minutes to prepare my script and they told me that off-duty announcers would be talking to me asking questions to distract me in an effort to emulate the noise and atmosphere of a working newsroom. Not easy.

When the 45 minutes elapsed, I went into a studio and recorded what I had written.

When it was over, I thought that was it. But there was more.

I was then instructed to take a tape recorder and visit the iconic Liberty Bell in the city and do a report on why visitors all over flocked to Philadelphia to see this historic landmark.  I returned to the station and prepared what is known as a wrap-around: a report I voiced around voice clips of the best of those describing their impressions of seeing the famed Liberty Bell in person.

When it was all over, having my audition heard by the man who ran the department, I finally met with Ron Mires in his office. It was early evening and I’ll never forget his telling me that he liked what I had done and offered me one of the two all-night newscasting positions. That meant I would work from 10:30pm until 6:30am six nights a week. I would be paid $215 per week. Would I accept?

I couldn’t wait to say yes. Later in my career I would recite those conditions to would-be hopefuls and you would be amazed at how many would have rejected them, saying “no way I would work those hours at that salary”. Keep in mind we’re talking 1965, so the pay was not that terrible, but not that great either. But who cares if you’re getting a foot in the door in a prominent city?  The pay wasn’t important in the least bit.

That’s how I got my first on-air job. It was radio news, reading a 30-minute newscast during the night, six nights a week. I would sleep most of the day, get to work after a late dinner, and finish at dawn, have breakfast on my walk home. I loved it.

My television break was more bizarre.

One night sitting in the newsroom at around 9:30pm, getting ready to prepare my first newscast at midnight, there was a call from the television newsroom downstairs. KYW-TV was launching a new format called Eyewitness News which many readers may remember from years past. They were in the midst of rehearsals for the presentation still weeks away which formed their 6pm and 11pm nightly news shows from the actual newsroom with all the activity and buzz in the background instead of the more traditional studio look with the anchor people sitting behind a desk.

The regular weathercaster was out of town on this particular night and they needed a ‘body” to do a make-believe weather report as part of the show.

Someone asked me to go and fill in.

I did a made-up weather report for three minutes using a map and basically using the terms weathermen use without knowing anything I was talking about.

They thanked me and that was that.

However a year later, the program manager called the radio newsroom and asked who that guy was filling in doing the weather for that long ago rehearsal.

It seems they were now looking for a sportscaster for weekend news . Former football star Irv Cross, who had the role, was traded from the Eagles to the Rams and there was an opening. The program manager, Win Baker remembered what I had done and asked me to audition. Imagine… an entire year later.

I did, won the job, and had a new career.

I followed Win to Pittsburgh and then Boston and the rest, including a move to play-by-play is, as they say, history.

It was 60 years ago when all these events took place.

I am, and always have been grateful for the way it all turned out.

But the many twists and turns still amazes me.

I no longer think about how and why it came to be.

All I do is look skyward and say thank you.

The post A Time For Reflection appeared first on Dick Stockton.

Hear it here!

Raise your hand if you think Bill Belichick’s image has changed?
Okay, you can put them down now.
Wow! Every hand went up!

Once upon a time, not that long ago, the former Patriots head football coaching great, winner of six Super Bowls, was a no nonsense, stern, serious leader whose mantra was, ‘do your job’, nothing more nothing less.

Of course away from the eyes and ears of the media he had no use for, he was much looser, even with a sense of humor most never knew he possessed.

But since his departure from the Patriots he has gone the full 180, perhaps minus the sense of humor. He’s a different guy in so many respects, even alarmingly, that folks are outright shocked at the new Bill Belichick.

It started with his going from a media hater to a media darling, working on as many as four TV football shows last season.

But that was nothing compared to what we see now.

The surprises started when it was revealed he was in a relationship with a woman named Jordon Hudson, who he met on a flight from Boston to Florida.

Belichick is 73, Hudson is 24.  Okay, that’s a 49-year age gap and that got tongues wagging.

People love gossip and they really loved this one.

But everyone has a right to conduct their lives the way they want and be left alone.

Except, it appears BB and Jordon didn’t want to be left alone.

They have relentlessly been public about everything . Bill became the head coach at North Carolina, a college job few thought he would ever accept. He then asked the University to include his girlfriend on all emails sent to him.

Now it’s become apparent that Jordon Hudson is more than the coach’s girl.

She is his representative, PR person, advisor, ‘muse’ as he himself puts it, and authentic co-partner in all his activities.

It all hit the fan when Belichick was interviewed on CBS, presumably to promote his new book about football and his coaching philosophy. But when the host asked him how he met Jordon, she vocally halted the interview calling the question off limits.

The interview was supposed to be strictly about the book. At least that’s what BB and J claimed.

But CBS insisted nothing was off limits.

As an aside, I can say from experience that the audience watching or hearing a book promo interview, even the book’s publishers, relish the sensational more than the subject matter of the actual book. That’s the bread and butter. The draw for people to buy. The rest is superfluous.

The one question I have is why she allowed him to wear a battered Navy sweatshirt with a hole for everyone to see for the interview?

What looked good about that?

Belichick has made it clear he doesn’t care what people think. That’s obvious considering what we’ve seen.

A high school friend of Jordon’s revealed she is acting in the same forceful, hands-on manner she’s always done.

BB’s girl is no shrinking violet and the reality is that the legendary coach has shown he has no problem with any of it.

There are also reports that his family is concerned with the turns the relationship has taken. Who knows if those reports are accurate? However, the worst case scenario would be if the ‘old man’ is being taken for a ride by the ‘young lady’.

So what now?

There’s no question that the image and perception of the iconic coaching legend is not the same as it was.

Okay. Who cares. If Belichick is good with it, nothing else matters.

Rest assured, any new, even dramatic developments be it a departure from North Carolina, a break up of the pair, or more of the same with added fireworks, the story will be revisited with vigor.

In the meantime, what we have are two people living their lives the way they prefer.

Raise your hand if you find anything wrong with that.

The post Who Expected This? appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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No one really had an idea.

No one had an answer.

No one could figure out why.

Everyone had opinions. Some of them could have made sense.

One was so absurd it made you shake your head.

I reached out to some professionals who might know, but no one could put their finger on it.

Why was Shedeur Sanders, one of the very top quarterback prospects ignored until the fifth round of the NFL draft when he easily could have been one of the first three players chosen in the very first round?

What Sanders went through, waiting painfully so long before he was finally picked, created a bizarre story that dominated the annual draft of college players.

Added to the mix were a couple of prank phone calls including one coming from the son of another team’s assistant coach.

Sanders had been the quarterback at Colorado under his father and head coach Deion Sanders, an NFL legend.  The Buffaloes experienced a revival the past few years and Shedeur was one of the major factors.

Now, he was slated to be drafted early by one of the many teams seeking young quarterbacks who would lead them out of the wilderness to victories, triumphs in the playoffs, and even a Super Bowl or two, making his team relevant for years ahead.

There have been many cases of highly-touted prospects who fell dramatically from where they figured to be selected. But no one has ever seen such a precipitous drop as we witnessed with Shedeur Sanders.

The big question became….why?

Not a soul really knew for sure, but they covered considerable territory.

On the eve of the draft there was a report by a team’s assistant coach describing a bad in-person interview with Sanders that put him in a negative light.

The coach accused the player of acting entitled, pointing fingers at his offensive line when the team lost, and generally presenting himself as anything but what teams want in their starter at that critical position, a leader.

Others fell back on his pure ability, insisting he was overrated and not up to the level of a potential quarterback to lead a franchise. Although one expert of note, ex-Alabama head coach Nick Saban says he has all the skills, and actually did have to perform with a sub-par offensive line in front of him.

Then there were those who pointed to his father, who has been a controversial figure wherever he’s been. Deion Sanders, a brilliant player with the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons in his day, nicknamed Prime Time, has also been a polarizing individual known for his brash, sometimes outrageous comments.

Shedeur seemed to carry some of his father’s traits, notably a level of confidence expressed in grandiose ways.

But the young QB also appeared to be strong in his faith, and as the disappointment grew with each empty moment of the draft, Shedeur kept calm, reserved, and in control.

Perhaps teams felt they would rather avoid the circus of choosing him and going through the possibility of dealing with a father and son who might not accept decisions that would prove negative, say, not becoming a starter, or worse, being benched for poor performances.

One outrageous charge, echoed by the loud, look-at-me commentator Stephen A. Smith, brought racism into the picture claiming owners colluded not to draft Sanders because he was black, similar to the failure of Colin Kaepernick, years ago, who would not find a team when he was available. He was deemed not good enough at that point of his career despite good success early on.

Smith has been around long enough, I would suspect, to know that owners do not collude. In the cut-throat business of the NFL, owners would do almost anything to get an edge over their rivals. And to bring up the tired old racism label is a joke considering a black quarterback was the #1 choice in each of the last three drafts, and teams traded up to add top African-American players to their roster.

All 32 NFL teams want to win. End of story.

By the way, the top pick in this year’s draft was Cam Ward, from Miami, by the Tennessee Titans. But no one’s talking about him.

Ultimately, the Cleveland Browns rose up and selected Sanders in the fifth round.

He was the seventh quarterback taken and the 144th player overall.

In fact, the Browns had already gone for another QB, Dillon Gabriel of Oregon in the third round.

Throughout the Shedeur Sanders drama there was an unsettling moment when he received a call earlier in the draft from someone who said he was Mickey Loomis, the General Manager of the New Orleans Saints. The voice indicated that Sanders would be drafted on the next pick, only to hang up. It was a prank. The one who called was the 21-year old son of the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator. A cruel move considering the ongoing shock of what was unfolding for three days.

The NFL launched an investigation and discovered who made the unfortunate call.

Young Sanders handled the incident impressively. He never exhibited anger, instead he leaned on his faith. He even joked that sometimes childish things occur.

Perhaps Sanders matured and grew throughout the ordeal in a way no on anticipated.

Who knows how his father, Deion will handle his son’s new chapter with the Browns?

Will he make demands? Will he interfere in any way? Will it turn into a circus?

It’s now up to the Cleveland Browns to run their team. I know Shedeur will be playing for a good and respected head coach, Kevin Stefanski.

The young man expressed his desire to become a member of the team and work to get to where he wants to go.

If there ever was a case of a high-level player on a mission to prove people wrong, this is the one.

I have a hunch he gained a following, the support and maybe a rooting interest of people he didn’t have before.

I know one person who’s now pulling for him.

The post Shedeur Sanders appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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Have you ever played musical chairs?

That’s when there are a bunch of chairs and one more person than the number of chairs.

The music starts to play and everyone keeps moving until the music stops.

Then the people stop and have to find a chair quickly and sit down.

But for one person there is no chair. That person is out of luck.

The NFL draft of collegians is this week, but the game of musical chairs involving quarterbacks, the most critical position on any football team, has been going on for a couple of months.
I have a feeling the one left standing is named Aaron Rodgers, but I’ll get back to that.

There already have been a ton of blockbuster moves and plenty of cash being thrown around to players of all positions during this free agent season.

But in football, it’s all about the quarterback. If you don’t have a good one, a real good one, you have little chance of success.

Musical chairs.

Sam Darnold, a journeyman who had a fantastic year for the Vikings before he turned into a pumpkin when it counted at the end is now with the Seahawks. He’s 27.

The guy they had, Geno Smith, who didn’t do a bad job with Seattle, but is 34, is now with the Las Vegas Raiders, rejoining head coach Pete Carroll. The Raiders were desperate for a QB and I guess he’s good enough for minority owner Tom Brady.

The Jets, who once had both Darnold and Smith, signed Justin Fields who had yet to prove himself with the Bears and Steelers.

New York’s other team, the Giants, went for Russell Wilson, the diminishing veteran who had his moments in Pittsburgh. But not enough of them, and not enough of them in the playoffs where they went out in the first round which has been their habit.

Those were basically the teams playing the musical chairs game for starting quarterbacks. Actually there have been 10 more NFL clubs who played the same tune for backups.  When you think of the injuries during the long, grueling season, the teams that have someone dependable coming off the bench are the smart ones.

It’s been said that the most important position on a team is the quarterback.

The second most important is the backup quarterback.

So there has been more than the usual movement in that department during this off-season.

The truth is, every one of those moves is a question mark.

There’s a lot of hope. A lot of fingers crossed.

Lately, I’ve seen teams make deals with veterans that are really fooling themselves.

Let’s zero in on the most prominent.

A couple of years ago the New York Jets thought signing 39-year old Aaron Rodgers, unquestionably a future Hall of Famer would bring them to the promised land.

I wrote at the time that Rodgers’ success was starting to wane in Green Bay, and at his age, leading a team that was in no way ready to seriously challenge for the playoffs, was pure folly. Well, we know the history. Rodgers was injured on the first series of the first game and was lost for the year. He came back at 40 last year, had some flashes, but the plan basically fizzled.

What was the upside for the Jets when they brought Rodgers in?

Oh, they got plenty of buzz, but how does that pay off in wins and riding the wave into the post season?

Now, as we return to the game of musical chairs, it appears that Mr. Rodgers is the one left standing as the music comes to a halt.

It appears he has had little interest around the league.  The Vikings, Giants, Raiders, 49ers, the leading possibilities all passed.

However, the Steelers have not. Yet.

Having rid themselves of their two signal callers of a year ago, it looked like the Black and Gold were clearing the decks for King Aaron. But now everything has been frozen in time. Is Rodgers holding the Steelers hostage, by his contract demands?

Are the Steelers not sold on him? We know their hard-core fans, among the greatest in the league, are dead set against his signing. They know.

If there was little upside for the Jets two years ago, what is the upside for any team now?

Then there is the problem of Rodgers himself. The things he says. The way he says them. Space prevents an enumeration, but take my word for it, this is a strange dude.

You can look it up. In his latest public declarations which he does on ESPN, he railed at the Jets for having him fly coast-to-coast just to tell him they were going in another direction (that’s been the easy way to say, “bye bye”).

If they had called, Rodgers would have complained the Jets didn’t have the decency to axe him in person.

To be fair, I’ve never met the man.  But everything I’ve heard from him and seeing everything played out on the field and off, makes me confident in my view.

The last time he spoke, Rodgers talked of personal issues with those close to him as one of the reasons he hasn’t made a decision. Will he retire? It’s a good possibility. But he shouldn’t if he still feels he can play and win. But with whom? And win what?

A Super Bowl?  Doubtful.

So, the Aaron Rodgers saga goes on.

Every team prays for a chance at the brass ring when it comes to quarterbacks.

The best way is usually through the draft. Select the right one who becomes a franchise QB who can lead you to years of winning and Super Bowl opportunities.

The Washington Commanders got it right when all the pieces came together when they snagged Jayden Daniels in last year’s draft. Now they’re just putting the pieces together around him and on the other side of the ball. They have a future, for sure, if Daniels stays healthy.

In this year’s draft, the blue chip quarterbacks were Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

Ward was set to go to the Tennessee Titans. Sanders? Who knows.

Of course, by Thursday night everyone has.

Don’t forget there are always those long-shots who come out of nowhere after being chosen in say, the sixth round. Sometimes those long-shots win seven Super Bowls, but that doesn’t happen very much.

So you either are fortunate enough to pick high in the draft when the real good prospects are there for the taking.

Or you play the game of musical chairs.

And hope.

The post Quarterback Musical Chairs appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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I’ve never seen more raw emotion than when Rory McIlroy, 11 years chasing a dream and falling short, finally won the Masters golf championship.

It had built up for over a decade. Year after year something would happen so that it wouldn’t happen.

And then it did.

It did on a final round with more twists and turns than a tornado.

When it was over, after a birdie on the first playoff hole against Britain’s Justin Rose, the 35-year old from Northern Ireland became only the sixth golfer in history to win golf’s grand slam: The Open (British), the PGA, the US Open, and now the Masters.

The others are named Nicklaus, Woods, Player, Hogan, and Sarazen.

First it looked like it wasn’t in the cards once again for McIlroy, then it appeared he would break through, possibly in a runaway. Then things tightened up again, followed by a pair of heroic shots to the green. A short missed putt on 18 to win made you wonder if he just wasn’t destined to seal the deal.

It took an extra hole before Rory sunk his winning putt, collapsed on the green and sobbed uncontrollably.

The way it ended was a far cry from the anticipated scenario at the start of the final round. In the beginning it was all about a dream matchup between McIlroy and Bryce DeChambeau, who dueled to the finish of the 2024 US Open in Pinehurst, NC, when McIlroy lost to the American in heartbreaking fashion.

The final pairing of the two became a reality when DeChambeau sank a long birdie putt on the 18th to finish the third round.

You couldn’t have scripted a more enticing final round showdown, and it had to cross your mind that this might be McIlroy’s worst nightmare, going head to head with his conqueror at Pinehurst, even with a two stroke lead.

When Rory double-bogeyed the first hole and DeChambeau birdied the second to not only overcome the deficit but take the lead, it had the look of a movie you’d seen before.

Later, during his victorious post-match interview, McIlroy said that double on the first actually calmed him from his jitters at the start.

But it was DeChambeau who began to fall apart.

With the Irishman rallying with birdies on 3 and 4, the animated and outgoing DeChambeau three-putted both holes and lost his lead. Not only could you see McIlroy’s confidence rise, but DeChambeau slowly dropped out of contention, winding up with a 75, and a tie for fifth place.

The man who ended up as the real challenger was 44-year old Justin Rose, who had the early lead as he has so many times, before fading. Rose was in front after 36 holes put him seven strokes behind Rory.

So, while DeChambeau skied to that same 75 in the final round, the veteran Rose came back brilliantly and finished nine shots better than the previous day.

That’s golf.

Those of us who play it at the level we play are fully aware that it’s a day to day adventure, even a shot to shot game.

It’s really no different on the professional stage, only that the ability and skill are light years better.

That’s why it’s amazing how consistent Scotty Scheffler has been in recent years.

But in this Masters, Scheffler never made a serious run, in spite of a fourth place finish, trailing by only three shots.

When we talk about the team sports, we often cite what one side did to succeed or fail to do. That’s the way it is in football, basketball, baseball and hockey.

I’ve often mentioned what Red Auerbach, the legendary coach of the Boston Celtics once told me: “It’s not solitaire out there”, he’d say. He was on the money.

In team sports you go up against an opponent who has a lot to say about how you perform.

But golf is different. Yes, you’re playing the course. That’s your real opponent.

But you’re the one in control of your shots, the clubs you use, and your emotions.

Taking a big picture view of this year’s Masters, how refreshing it was to witness such an event with the drama building as it went along reaching a finish that took your breath away.

In your heart you could feel what McIlroy was feeling, although we all know we really had no idea.

It was live human drama unfolding the way it only does in sports. Most of what we see doesn’t go the distance emotionally the way this one did.

That’s a good thing.

It makes the ones that do special and truly memorable.

That’s what we got from the final round of the 2025 Masters, when Rory McIlroy finally reached the finish line in first place.

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