Welcome to Snyder’s Soapbox! Here, I pontificate about matters related to Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. Some of the topics will be pressing matters, some might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and most will be somewhere in between. The good thing about this website is that it’s free, and you are allowed to click away. If you stay, you’ll get smarter, though. That’s a money-back guarantee. Let’s get to it.

I wrote this before Game 7 of the NBA Finals. I wanted the message of gratitude to resonate through in case my favorite team ends up losing (editor’s note: sorry, Matt, they did). And if they won, I didn’t need to be writing this column instead of just enjoying it. 

I just wanted to say thank you for existing, sports. 

The amount of fun and joy sports teams can provide us is truly remarkable and it goes beyond just rooting for a team. I’ve watched all but one NBA playoff game with my wife and we’ve had tons of fun in doing it. I went to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals with my dad to see the Pacers clinch the East at home for the first time ever. He started taking me to games in Market Square Arena when I was 7 years old and the big names were Steve Stipanovich and Herb Williams. 

I had a similarly spiritual sports experience in 2016 with my beloved Cubs. 

And I just want every single sports fan out there to experience similar things. So many of us have. Most of us have. 

You know who doesn’t get to feel like this? People who don’t like sports. I’m grateful that I’m not on that list. 

Look, I’m a huge to each his/her/their own guy. That is to say, if you don’t like something that I like or vice versa, that’s perfectly fine with me. People have their own tastes and that’s a good thing. Diversity in taste and opinions, to me, is something that’s important in society. There is, of course, a segment of the population that doesn’t care about sports. That’s fine. There’s also a small segment of that group who actively mock those of us who do care about sports. 

Not only does this not bother me, but I actually feel sorry for those people. Man, they are missing out in such a major way. 

Being a sports fan is so much more than any negative label the naysayers want to throw on it. There are relationships enhanced by the common love of certain teams. We’ve all had so many experiences with friends and family members tied to sports. How many conversations have revolved around your favorite team’s success and heartbreak? 

One of my favorite things about my job is being able to witness the joy that sports brings to so many people. 

I will never forget walking around the concourse in Chase Field immediately after the Rangers won the 2023 World Series. Remember, this was the first Rangers championship ever. They lost back-to-back World Series in 2010-11. I walked by a Rangers fan who had tears running down his face. That’s the good stuff. I’ll never tire of seeing moments like that. 

I remember the raucous Phillies crowd in 2022, especially after Bryce Harper’s first-inning home run in Game 3. This was a wild-card team that was nearly dead in the first round and now on the cusp of taking a 2-1 World Series lead. Of course, later that series the Astros won it all at home. Finally. I had seen seven straight champions clinch the World Series on the road and it was nice to finally see a home crowd get to experience it in person. 

I still look back in joy at the 2018 NLCS in Milwaukee. I sometimes walk around the concourse during the middle innings of games just to get a feel for the crowd (again, I’m a sucker for seeing sports fans experiencing joy). It was Game 2 and Travis Shaw hit a home run to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead. I saw a guy running back toward what appeared to be his group of friends, yelling “this is so much f—ing fun!” 

Yes, gimme all of that! 

The Nationals run in 2019 was particularly absurd. We all remember the record, right? They were — repeat it with me — 19-31 at one point. They were nearly done in the wild-card game, but staged a late comeback. They then trailed in Game 7, but Howie Kendrick hit a home run off the foul pole. Generations of Nationals fans are going to talk about that team and that home run. 

We could even dive deeper. There are always stories from the runs of great teams passed down from older generations to their kids and grandkids. If you’re reading this right now, the goal is for you to be thinking back at some of your fondest memories of sports fandom. What was that team? What was that run? Who did you enjoy watching with? Who did you talk to about all the games and plays? 

Aren’t you smiling right now, almost giddy? 

That’s what sports does for us. 

It doesn’t even have to be the big championship. I mentioned the Brewers. Rockies fans have the miracle 2007 run to the World Series. The Rays have had several huge moments and runs. How about the Edgar Martinez double for the Mariners? The Padres have been very fun this decade and what about the 1984 NLCS (I can talk about that now even though my 6-year-old self was devastated)? 

We could run through every team and a list of all the amazing runs of success that brought family and friends together to elaborate on “how about those [insert any team in any sport]?!?!” I know that every time IU basketball wins a big game, I’m going get a text full of excitement from my mom and it just makes the joy that much better. How about all the group text chains about sports and how much more frantic those get during amazing team runs?  

Look, sports don’t replace great family relationships or social interactions or professional successes or anything else that is real in life, but it’s an enhancer. Being a sports fan is an escape from real-life responsibilities. No other “escape from reality” entertainment can give us what sports do. My family and I love roller coasters. I took my son to see Metallica twice for his 18th birthday and it was an amazing weekend. Books, TV shows and movies are excellent escapes. 

I just don’t think any of this stuff can give you the highs of sports and that’s because they don’t break you with the lows. And, really, the X-factor here is that of the unknown. When I went into Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, there was a chance the Cubs were still never going to win the World Series in my lifetime. You don’t get that elsewhere. I knew Metallica was gonna show up and kick ass when my son and I were there. But the Cubs could’ve lost Game 7.

It isn’t just sports fandom, either. Sports employ people. So many people. Not just athletes and executives, but the chefs and the trainers and the ticket salesmen and the concession stand attendants. How about going all the way down to youth sports? Sports can do wonders in helping kids build self-esteem while also teaching them to to deal with failure at a young age. Some of the moments I’ve been most proud of my kids happened in sports and it wasn’t due to performance, but instead good sportsmanship. I don’t think anything better equipped me for being a good teammate as an adult than playing high school football and baseball. 

Don’t ever let anyone tell you sports are anything but great. 

It was after Game 1 of the NBA Finals when my brother texted me and said something along the lines of, “stuff like this is why we feel sorry for people who aren’t sports fans.” He’s right. You just can’t get this stuff elsewhere. 

Here’s to you, sports. I salute you. You are so awesome. Thank you for existing. I’m so very, eternally grateful for you, even when you break my heart.

HAMPTON, Va. — On a steamy summer day in Hampton’s Wythe neighborhood, young players hit the court for a few lively games of basketball—all part of a program meant to keep kids active and engaged during the summer.

The event was organized by Stop and Pop Youth Sports Charities Incorporated, a nonprofit that has been serving the community for more than two decades.

Organizer Jamen Mainor said it’s personal for him.

“I grew up here, and it’s just something that I can just take pride in giving back to—things that we probably didn’t have when I was a kid,” Mainor told News 3’s Jay Greene.

The organization’s work goes beyond basketball.

“It include[s] auto maintenance, includes different things like theatrical. We have a stage in there for them to do different activities and things,” Mainor added.

Despite Monday’s hot and humid weather, the games continued—alongside precautions to protect kids from the heat.

“We have water in our, you know, buckets here for them, and they can have that to hydrate and keep going,” said Mainor. “And then after a while, if we start seeing indications of heat fatigue, we pull them off to the side, have them sit down and cool off.”

Those steps align with advice from medical professionals. Dr. Michael Poirier, chief of emergency medicine at CHKD in Norfolk, said staying hydrated is key.

“You need to be really, really careful to make sure that they maintain their hydration,” Poirier said.

He added that symptoms like vomiting, flushed skin, unresponsiveness, or altered mental status are signs a child needs to get out of the heat immediately.

The Virginia High School League also sets heat safety guidelines for student athletes. When the heat index is below 89 degrees, practices can continue as normal with regular water breaks. But when it rises to 105 degrees or more, all outdoor activities should be canceled.

As the sun began to set and temperatures eased, the games at the shaded neighborhood court continued—right where the kids wanted to be.

“So this is a unique court. And of course, with us having the trees right next to it, we have great shade,” Mainor said.

Even in the middle of an intense game, Mainor said his volunteers are there to step in when kids need to rest.

“So you got to be the one that tells them, ‘Hey, you know, time to sit down for a second, take a little break, get some water in you, you know, and then come back out to play,’” he said. “The court ain’t going nowhere. You’ll be able to play again.”

The Broken Bow Youth Sports Club will host a fundraiser on Friday June 27th in downtown Broken Bow on the north side of the square just outside Legends Neighborhood Bar and Grill.  The fundraiser is part of the Give 4 Custer County fundraising event currently in progress.  The group was formed last summer in an effort to help cover some of the personal expenses that youth and their families encounter when they want to participate in youth sports.  Group members Ryan Wetovick and Skylar Morris visited with KCNI/KBBN sports about the upcoming fundraiser and shared the organization’s vision.

“Yeah, so we’ve kind of been thinking about how we really want to keep our participation up and help increase our participation for youth sports, and hopefully that trickles into high school sports and middle school sports. But we started this organization with the thought that we will fund kids if they need anything from shoes to cost of camps, anything like that, jerseys, anything, we are there to help them. So basically, we just kind of had the idea and got a group of us together and it took off.

To piggyback off of that, a big part of it as well is participation.  We want that three sport athlete. And we felt like over the past handful of years we’ve seen kiddos pick and choose and whether that is a funding issue that parents can’t afford just to do football or just to do wrestling. And so we don’t want that to be something that is keeping kids from doing or trying all athletics and increasing their skills in all areas.”

The organization was extremely thankful for the generosity that was shown by businesses, organizations and individuals in their first year of existence.  Morris shared what the group was able to do in year one.

“The total funding that we did this first year was $6,729 and that funded for 35 different athletes. Some were for multiple things. We had 14 of those 35 who were first year athletes. So they had never done something like wrestling, they had never done a club volleyball, they hadn’t done something. But we like to think that because of us allowing this funding, they were able to participate in these athletics.”

This year’s fundraiser will feature some games for all ages, a beer garden, a hot dog meal deal and a ball drop.  Entries into the ball drop can be purchased for $25 per ball.  First place payout will be $500, $250 for second, $150 for third, $100 for fourth, and $75 for fifth.  Former Broken Bow coach and member of the Broken Bow Athletic Hall of Fame Dan McLaughlin has been announced as the celebrity guest who will drop the balls from high in the sky.

The event will begin at 5:30 with the ball drop scheduled for 8 p.m. on June 27th.

For those who can’t attend the event but would like to support the group, donations can be made through the Custer County Foundation.

“Kids now are made in labs” – John Stockton on the most significant difference in young players’ development in today’s era and during his time originally appeared on Basketball Network.

John Stockton’s path from Spokane gym rat to NBA legend is a story rooted in a very different era of basketball development, one where learning came from pickup games, not private trainers or viral highlight clips. Reflecting on the changing culture of the sport, Stockton is quick to note the stark contrast between his upbringing and the way kids are molded today.

Advertisement

“Now, kids are made in labs. And so it’s kind of hard to teach, you know, just the nuances of the game that you get into playing,” he said on a podcast with Adam Morisson.

How battling older players shaped Stockton

For Stockton, basketball was a nightly adventure, not a scheduled workout.

“Absolutely. No, in my front yard, my brother, if I could talk him into playing, those were always bloody messes and I was always unsuccessful,” Stockton recalls. “And then, sneak in down at Gonzaga and play against college students and did that every night. I’d do that after practices. So we’d practice at prep. Pat Clark was there with Terry Irwin. And after practice, I’d go home and eat dinner and I’d go sneak in with the students down at GU and just play,” he revealed.

Advertisement

Stockton’s basketball education was built on trial, error and the humility of getting his ass kicked by older and stronger players.

The modern game, he observes, is dominated by structured skill sessions, trainers and curated social media moments.

“Kids work out, which is fine, but also, they don’t, you don’t play against older people. You don’t understand what your weaknesses really are, how you get by them. And so, I’m always just like, go find it, go find a run. But then also, there’s not really been as many runs as there used to be,” he explains.

“But it’s the hardest thing to teach kids. You got to go play against older people, get your ass kicked and you figure out kind of like how to survive without a doubt,” he said.

Advertisement

Stockton’s formative years were a tapestry of pickup battles, late-night gym sessions and solo shooting when no one else showed up.

“There are a lot of Friday nights when everybody’s out doing other things, but I would just go down and hope that somebody be down there realistically and end up shooting by myself. So a little bit of a weird kid, maybe in that regard, but I did love it,” he said. For him, the game was more than just a repetition of drills.

Related: Lance Stephenson explains why Carmelo won’t play against Michael Beasley 1-on-1: “Nobody wants to lose their stripes”

What today’s youth basketball is missing

Today’s youth basketball scene, Stockton notes, is missing that raw, unfiltered education. The culture has shifted toward individual skill-building and highlight-chasing, often at the expense of learning how to compete, improvise and lead on the fly.

Advertisement

“It’s kind of hard to teach, you know, the just the nuances of the game that you get into playing,” he says. The result, he worries, is a generation of players who may have polished moves but lack the instincts and adaptability that only come from battling older, smarter opponents.

Stockton’s message is clear – the best development doesn’t happen in a lab or a private gym but in the crucible of real competition. For Stockton, that’s where greatness is forged, not in the spotlight but in the shadows of empty gyms, chasing the next run and learning the game the hard way.

Related: “Come to work, do my job, and go home without anybody fu*king with me” – A Jazz official describes Stockton’s mentality throughout his NBA career

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.