SportsJam

The Director of the U.S. Open Women's Championship next month at Trump National Bedminister has quite a story to tell.  Shannon Rouillard didn't start playing golf until she was 15.  She was a gymnast before that, but her father told her she needed to pursue a sport that could lead to a scholarship in college.  Golf was the choice.

Shannon was driven to succeed at golf.  She was a walk-on star at the University of Oregon and eventually became the head coach at Oregon for eight seasons.

AZ Jackson, who is training with the Toulouse football club in France, is a rising soccer star. AZ, 15, is the son of jazz drummer and composer Ali Jackson, Jr.

Dad spends plenty of time as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra drummer, but he has also found time to go to France and support AZ's dream of becoming a pro soccer player.

The Jacksons, father and son, came into WBGO for a special edition of the award-winning podcast SportsJam with Doug Doyle.

Singer-Songwriter and legendary football star Mike Reid is always looking to what's next in his life.  One of the musicals he's written is running at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ from June 3rd through June 25th. 

Reid wrote the music for The Ballad of Little Jo in 1997, but he thinks this performance of the show will be the best yet.  The book by Reid, Sarah Schlesinger and John Dias was based on the film The Ballad of Little Joe by Maggie Greenwald. 

The 2017 U.S. Women's Open will be the third USGA championship conducted at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.  It will take place July 10th through the 16th.

Matt Sawicki, Director, U.S. Women's and Senior Women's Open Championships, is the latest guest on the podcast SportsJam with Doug Doyle.

Sawicki is thrilled the championship is headed back to New Jersey for the first time since 1987.

The boxing movie, Chuck, is being released this Friday.  Boxing legend Chuck Wepner, known as the "Bayonne Bleeder" and his wife Linda joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle  in April of 2016 when the movie was to be titled The Bleeder. 

Wepner was the man who inspired Sylvester Stallone to write Rocky after Chuck's famous bout with Muhammad Ali in 1975.

Liev Schreiber and his wife Naomi Watts play the Wepners in Chuck.

Wepner also scored notable heavyweight wins over Randy Neumann and Ernie Terrell.

The Third Annual Mike Nichols Charity Hockey Game this Friday, April 21st at Prudential Center will benefit spinal cord research and quality of life initiatives. 

Proceeds from the game featuring many former and current NHL stars will go to the Nichols Family Trust to provide for Mike's medical needs, as well as the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to curing spinal cord injuries by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals living with paralysis.

Author, former Associated Press reporter and New York resident Sally Cook returns to SportsJam with Doug Doyle to talk about her latest book, How to Speak Soccer: From Assist to Woodwork - An Illustrated Guide to Pitch-Perfect Jargon.

Jazz drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts is a 2017 Guggenheim Fellow in the field of music composition. Tain has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane and many others. 

During this Jazz Appreciation Month, SportsJam with Doug Doyle is dipping into the archives to provide you with an opportunity to find out more about your favorite musicians and their connection to the sports world.

Word came this week that St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, NJ was closing at the end of the academic year.  That decision puts an end to one of the country's most successful and revered  high school basketball programs led by Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr. 

The Archdiocese of Newark has determined fundraising efforts would not be able to keep the doors open for another year.

The Berkeley College Men's Basketball team in New York City won 53 games in a row to claim it's third consecutive USCAA Division 2 Championship.  Berkeley defeated Penn State-York 80-76 in overtime to grab the title.

Coach Chris Christensen sat down on the bench when it appeared their opponents only had to make a free throw to win the championship game.  It was the first time the coach had taken a seat the entire contest.  He says divine intervention may have led to another victory:

The Legend of Swee' Pea is Ben May's first film and it's already won several awards at various festivals.  It's officially being released today.

Lloyd Daniels was one of the most sought-after college basketball recruits in the 1980's, but he got busted buying cocaine in a police sting operation and two years later was nearly killed after getting shot three times in the chest while negotiating an expensive crack deal:

Many refer to two-time Olympic silver medalists Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux as just "The Twins."  They seem to be okay with that even though they are both married now.  They realize people will group the Team USA hockey players together for obvious reasons, especially since they've been teammates all their lives.  The twins from Grand Forks, North Dakota joined Hilary Knight and Meghan Duggan on a recent promotional tour of New York City.

MLB Network in Secaucus hosted this month's launch of the 2017 Topps Baseball Card Series.

Through a partnership with the Network, Topps has included a set of cards of several MLB Network personalities and analysts including broadcaster and studio host Greg Amsinger.  Amsinger was thrilled to be included in the new set:

The USA Women’s National Hockey team is now less than a year away from the Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang, South Korea.  The team's goal is clear, WIN THE GOLD MEDAL. Two-time Olympic silver medalists Hilary Knight and twins Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux sat down with me during their media tour of NYC last week…Meghan Duggan was also on the trip.

The Bloomfield College men's and women's basketball teams are rolling, both on top of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.  The captains of the Bears men's team got here via different paths.  6-foot-6 junior forward Nick Davidson had a brilliant senior season at Rancocas Valley High School and has emerged as this year's leading scorer on the Bears.  Rakwan Kelly, a 6-4 junior forward, transferred to Bloomfield after playing at Division 1 Mississippi Valley State.  Davidson, Kelly and women's 6-1 sophomore forward Bobbi Floyd are all pursuing degrees in the communications field. 

Franco Harris was MVP of Super Bowl IX.  His Super Bowl career totals of 101 carries for 354 yards are records and his 4 career rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most in Super Bowl history. 

Franco Harris, who starred at Rancocas Valley High School in New Jersey, went on to play for Joe Paterno at Penn State.  Harris was inducted in Pro Football's Hall of Fame in 1990. 

With quarterback Terry Bradshaw and running back Rocky Bleier by his side, the fullback won four Super Bowl titles with the Steelers. 

Former New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur was no surprise to make the NHL's 100 Greatest Players List released this past Friday night.  Brodeur is a certain hall of famer and is the assistant general manager of the St. Louis Blues.

In his 21-season tenure with the New Jersey Devils, he won three Stanley Cup championships and five Eastern Conference titles in 17 postseason campaigns. He finished up his career in St. Louis.  Brodeur also won two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games. 

UCLA  honored basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at this past Saturday’s game at Pauley Pavilion, the famed court where the center dominated at the college level.  The Bruins won three national championships with his amazing scoring touch.

This past weekend's honor is just one of many accolades the Bruins alumnus has received lately.  Abdul-Jabbar was among 21 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House Ceremony in November of last year.  The hall of famer also received the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award in December in Brooklyn.

Former Montreal Expos and New York Yankees outfielder Tim Raines got the word this week he had hoped to hear for many years.  He will be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in July.  Raines will be joined by former Houston Astros star Jeff Bagwell and former Texas Rangers' catcher Ivan Rodriguez who also spent time with the Yankees. 

Many analysts consider Raines to be the second-best leadoff hitter in baseball history behind Rickey Henderson who played for the now defunct Newark Bears in 2003.  Raines, meanwhile, managed the Bears from 2009 to 2011. 

Scott Pioli's 25th NFL season has been another magical one.  He's the Assistant General Manager of the Atlanta Falcons, a team that has advanced to the NFC Championship Game this Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

Success is nothing new for Pioli.  He has been named NFL Executive of the Year by various national media outlets five different seasons during his career, including honors from the Sporting News, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Weekly. 

NHL Executive Vice President Steve Mayer lives in West Caldwell, New Jersey and is also the league's executive producer of programming and creative development. Mayer talks to SportsJam host Doug Doyle about the EPIX Series highlighting two of the outdoor classic games as well as the future of the NHL.

Mayer had a 20-year career with IMG and excelled asa producer at various Olympic Games and the New York City Marathon.

In this edition of SportsJam, Mayer also talks about the newest stars in the NHL and the expansion of the league into Las Vegas.

Gene McCarthy is the guru of athletic footwear and is currently the President and CEO of ASICS America Corporation. McCarthy is a former All-American at Fordham University and semi-finalist at the 1980 Olympic Trials. McCarthy talks about his brand, his career and his business philosophy.

McCarthy credits the legendary runner, broadcaster and now jazz guitarist Marty Liquori for his business success.  Liquori was a guest on SportsJam in 2012.

Dan Silna and his brother Ozzie made mega millions in a deal they made as their Spirits of St. Louis ABA franchise was left out of the NBA merger in 1976. The philanthropist talks about his ownership days, the deal and his passions including a panel discussion called "Lessons From the Munich Olympics" moderated by his former play-by-play man Bob Costas.

Silna rarely gives interviews, but he opens up in this SportsJam segment especially when talking about his family and his days as an owner in the ABA.

2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi overcame tremendous odds to become a champion marathoner. Keflezighi, who won the NYC Marathon in 2009, says his most satisfying run was his victory at the Boston Marathon in 2014. The San Diego resident competed in the Rio Games this past summer at the age of 41.

In this edition of SportsJam with Doug Doyle, Keflezighi, who is also an author, talks about his journey, his family and his amazing running career.

Actor Jim Caviezel is best known for portraying Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ and from 2011 until 2016, as John Reese on the CBS science-fiction crime drama series Person of Interest. 

In a 2014 edition of SportsJam with Doug Doyle, Caviezel talked about his role in the movie When the Game Stands Tall, his acting career and his basketball days.