Sixteen-year-old Don Mattingly watched on television as the Philadelphia 76ers’ Darryl Dawkins and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Bob Gross clawed for a rebound during Game 2 of the 1977 NBA Finals.
The 6-foot-11, 250-pound Dawkins used his sizeable height and weight advantage to muscle the ball from Gross and fling him to the floor.
Gross bounced up, and Dawkins swung at him. He punched his Philadelphia teammate Doug Collins instead. Then, as Dawkins backpedaled away from the scrum, the Blazers’ Maurice Lucas clocked the center from behind.
“Somebody do something!” broadcaster Brent Musberger yelled.
Everyone on either side, as well as fans, appeared to be involved, until Mattingly saw TV cameras capture the Sixers’ Julius Erving. Dr. J was sitting on the floor, observing everything from afar, not getting involved.
His almost serene manner at that moment, which potentially could have been one of the most tense of his career, stuck with the boy from Evansville, Indiana.
“There’s times when the game’s going fast and things are going bad,” Mattingly said in a 2007 interview. “You gotta be able to keep your sense about you and just stay focused and calm down, get quiet. Instead of having to get all emotional about it, you can stay calm and it’s easier to get through things like that.”
The cool of “Donnie Baseball,” as he became known as the most beloved New York Yankee of a generation and widely respected along his journey that continues in Toronto, has been unmistakable.
You could see it when he first became a professional more than 45 years ago.
“I could tell he was raised right,” recalled Buck Showalter, an early minor league teammate who went on to manage Mattingly with the Yankees. “Many times you’re at the mercy of the mothers and fathers of the world because by the time you get somebody at this level, they’ve pretty much formulated the way they’re gonna treat people.
“You look at their ability, but you also would like to spend a little time with the mom and dad. He was always gonna keep a grip on reality. And I think that’s why New York liked him. It came across every time he opened his mouth.”
Here’s what young athletes can learn from Mattingly, 64, and his patience through the ups and downs of a standout yet gut-wrenching career that has finally landed him in the World Series as Blue Jays bench coach:
As we get better, we don’t have to change what makes us a good person, player or teammate
This year’s World Series began in Toronto, where 30 years ago this month, Mattingly went down to his knee near first base and pounded the turf. The Yankees had just beaten the Blue Jays on the final day of the 1995 regular season, securing the first postseason berth of his 14-year major league career.
“I still remember that like it was yesterday,” David Cone, the former All-Star pitcher and a Yankees teammate of Mattingly that year, would recall decades later, “that emotion on his face, how much that meant to him. …
“The way he prepared, the way he talked to the young players, the way he kind of led by example, he was sort of like the guy everybody looked to in the clubhouse. Every day, you’d look at his locker, watch him get ready for a game, and just the look in his eyes and how professional he was to me was just remarkable.”
Showalter, the Yankees manager from 1992-1995, has observed how jealousy often permeates players pitted against one another in their quest to make the team, or a better team or league. But even in competing with him for time at first base as a player, Showalter could only respect Mattingly. It was impossible to dislike him.
“People trusted talking to him because he just had a pure heart about everything,” Showalter says. “There wasn’t some agenda.
“Donnie didn’t change a bit. He didn’t need to. And I think players fed off that persona. He was just, ‘What’s best for the club?’ Well, our minor league team needs us to play this exhibition game, shut up and go play the game. It was, ‘Yep, we’re getting ready for a championship season. Get on the bus.’ ”
When you watched how his teammates congregated around Mattingly in 1995, you realized the moment wouldn’t have meant anything to him unless he could share it with them.
If you were a Yankees fan in 1995, you still remember the close of that season like it was yesterday. If you were a Yankee, you remember how Mattingly handled its crushing end.
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The picture of our lives is larger than what we accomplish on the field
Mattingly made his case as the top player in the game from the mid-to-late 1980s. He appeared at the top of the Elias Sports Bureau’s statistical rankings, while a New York Times player poll in 1986 rated him as the best among them.
That season, he hit .352 and led the American League with 238 hits, while the year before, at 24, he had 145 RBIs and won AL MVP.
There was a rare level of intensity about Mattingly as he worked between games. It didn’t matter if he had three hits the day before off a tough lefty. He’d still be out there the next day with a batting tee and a bucket of balls, by himself with sweat pouring off of him.
It was a scene Butch Wynegar, Mattingly’s Yankees teammate from 1983 to 1986, recalled years later, after Wynegar had become a coach and talent evaluator in the organization.
“‘You’re hitting .350,’ ” Wynegar recalls saying. “He goes, ‘Yeah, but if I can find just one little thing I’m trying to feel’ … Man, what an admiration I had just because of that.”
Mattingly’s back eventually began to wear down from the rigors of his routine. He couldn’t drive the ball with his left-handed swing as explosively by the early 1990s, and his stats suffered.
Finally, around 1995, he found a routine with his back where he could remain relatively healthy, he told Dan Patrick this week.
He batted .321 over the final month of the ’95 season, as the Yankees closed with a 22-6 record, then .417 with a .708 slugging percentage in his five career postseason games.
To Yankees fans, the series was an excruciating five-game loss to the Mariners after winning the first two in New York. To Mattingly, the end was, too, but being in the midst of it all was so much fun: the back-and-forth, the electric playoff atmosphere, the discovery that he belonged in it.
He flew home to New York sad, but walked the aisle of the plane to tell his teammates how appreciative he was.
“He thanked everybody when we all were down in the dumps,” Cone recalled. “He was so gracious and just a class act all the way.
“He waited so long to have that experience and he saw the extra intensity level in the postseason and came through. That shows you what kind of man he is: just that one little taste was enough.”
The players weren’t entirely sure he was about to stop playing but this seemed like the end. It was really just a beginning.
If you love a sport, it really never leaves you
Mattingly missed the start of the next Yankees dynasty, and four World Series titles, to step away and be with his three school-aged sons at his home in Evansville.
He wanted to be present, to have the face-to-face conversations with his kids, about sports or otherwise, we sometimes take for granted.
It was painful to miss out in New York but he says the decision wasn’t hard.
“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, your back …’ ” he told me in 2007. “It was all about my family. I wanted – and not needed – wanted to be there. And I could feel it the year before – when you’re on the road, the kids are getting old enough where they’re in Little League and you’re wanting to be at games and wonder what’s happening and it seems like they weren’t coming to New York as much ’cause they were playing in the summer.
“I look back and don’t have any regrets at all because, again, things you do for your family and kids are years I would never have gotten back.”
After about nine years, his son, Preston, was one of the ones who told him he needed to return to baseball. It’s a part of who he is.
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Our playing career can propel us – and other people – forward, long after it ends
I came upon Mattingly in the spring of 2007, in the batting cages at the Yankees’ spring training stadium in Tampa, Florida.
He was in his fourth season on Joe Torre’s coaching staff, and was placing a baseball on a tee for a young player.
“That’s it – that’s the spot,” Mattingly said as the player connected solidly.
Perhaps you could hear a little bit of the spirit of Bill and Mary Mattingly, Don’s parents, in his voice.
“I always get emotional when I talk about my dad because he just showed up,” Mattingly said, his voice getting choked up during a 2022 MLB Network documentary about his life. “My mom and dad (would) come to every game that I played, and my brothers played, and I don’t ever remember getting criticized by my dad for a game, for a bad play. But nothing on the other side, either. So it was never like, ‘Hey, you were really good today.’
“It was really more just they were there, and I had zero fear of screwing up because I never got criticized. Really, that lack of fear of screwing up allows you to just grow and get better, take chances, not be afraid to make a mistake. It doesn’t work, learn from it and move on.”
Preston, who played in the minor leagues and is now the Philadelphia Phillies general manager, says his dad never pushed him to do anything. He let his son carve his own path.
Torre compared Mattingly at work with players to a doctor with a good bedside manner.
“Sometimes a lot of superstars show up and say, ‘Well here I am,’ ” Torre recalled. “Not necessarily saying it, but you can see it. Donnie was a superstar but he didn’t know it. He’d just come in there and roll up his sleeves and did a lot of work.”
As a coach and parent, we can get better with time
Torre became Dodgers manager in 2008, and Mattingly joined his staff.
“The good thing as a coach is that you almost get better with time,” Mattingly told me that year. “You don’t get worse. As a player, you know your clock’s running, you’re gonna start deteriorating, your skills.
“The more things I deal with in life, the more things I see on the field, the more situations that come up, the more I watch Joe deal with this situation, that situation, the more I learn, the better I am prepared if I ever get a chance to make those kind of decisions and have that influence.”
When Torre retired, Mattingly took over managing the team from 2011 to 2015 and went 446-363 with three National League West titles.
He won NL Manager of the Year with the Marlins in 2020. He did an interview with MLB Network after he won with his fourth son, Louie, who is now 10, sitting on his lap.
As a coach, and a father, it’s all about your players.
“Your true success is guys are having success,” he said in the 2022 documentary as he managed Miami. “You want guys to develop, to be the best players they can be. That’s really what I’m after.”
As he did his round of interviews this week, Mattingly was asked by Patrick what was going through his mind when Toronto trailed Seattle in Game 7 of the ALCS.
“Trust,” he told Patrick.
The Blue Jays, he said, had fun being around one another all season and played well as a team. He knew they could win.
There was a quiet confidence in his words, kind of like what he once saw in Dr. J.
Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.
Have a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@usatoday.com
— Youth for Christ in Alexandria has been around for 15 years, but recently moved into its new home – the YFC Youth Center at 911 Highway 29 North, near the north McDonald’s.
A
grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony
will take place on Monday, Jan. 12, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Snacks and refreshments will be served.
Nick Jorgenson, the Alexandria area site director for YFC, said that actually,
Youth for Christ
moved into the building in March. However, the building wasn’t really usable until about two and half months ago, he said.
“We had to renovate the entire place,” said Jorgenson. “There was no flooring in here; we had to rip down some of the old walls and redo the bathroom and kitchen. It was a big project.”
Previously, the YFC program operated out of the building behind the Alexandria City Hall where Nordic Warriors is located. Jorgenson said they had a small space in the basement.
The new location is a much bigger space and includes several tables for participants to sit and play games, eat or visit with each other, along with a video gaming space and a foosball table. It also includes a handmade table with plug-ins and a removable top that can be used to play electronic games in a group setting.
Standing in the middle in front of the Youth for Christ Youth Center in Alexandria is Nick Jorgenson, Alexandria YFC director and Heidi Christensen, Parent Life director. Joining them were Sean Levesque, left, executive director for the Youth For Christ West Central Minnesota chapter in Willmar, and Josh Ottoson, the chapter’s Development and Ministry director.
Contributed photo / Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce
Jorgenson said there are lots of different activities for those who are 11 to 19 years old.
“Our number one goal is to reach students with the Gospel, to present Jesus to them, and offer them a way out of horrible situations and horrible lives in the difficult world we live in,” he explained. “It’s not easy to navigate sometimes and so we’re here to walk alongside them and help them become lifelong followers of Jesus. So that’s our goal. But we do it in a relational way.”
The students who attend Youth for Christ don’t just sit around reading the Bible and singing worship songs, Jorgenson added. He said instead, the team at YFC builds relationships with those who attend so that they can earn the right for the students to listen to them.
YFC offers lots of activities
YFC offers different after-school clubs. On Tuesdays, there is the middle school club and then Thursdays are for the high school club. Jorgenson said it’s a time and space after school for students to hang out, play board games, video games and build relationships with not just the adults, but also the other students.
He said they usually will have snacks and beverages and then he will also do what he calls a “life talk,” which usually takes between 10 and 15 minutes.
Nick Jorgenson
“We talk about things going on in their world today and I apply biblical principles without just quoting biblical scriptures to them,” said Jorgenson. “And obviously, it’s in our name – Youth for Christ – so they’re not surprised when I tell them about God or Jesus.”
There are also groups, like the gaming group, which meets every other Thursday night. A volunteer will come in and the group plays games together. Another activity is the Girls Art Night where just the girls come in and do some kind of arts and crafts project, hang out with one another and build relationships with their peers. This group is led by YFC female volunteers.
And now that they have the space, Jorgenson said they have started Friday Night Life, where one Friday a month they do an activity, like Bingo or recently, they had a Christmas party.
Students can come and go as they please these during all the activities at the youth center. They are not made to stay until a program is done.
Students have snacks at a table inside the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center.
Contributed photo / Nick Jorgensen
Jorgenson said the students, as well as the parents, are informed that the students can come and go as they please and that there is not a membership to join. He added that he does collect contact information for both the students and their parents and/or guardians, providing the students give him their parent information. He said it doesn’t always happen, especially with the high school students.
The contact info is for mass messaging that is sent out regularly to students, parents, counselors, etc. to let them know about upcoming activities.
For instance, Jorgenson will let everyone know about an upcoming event called Winter Ignite 2026, which will take place Feb. 27 through March 1 at the Lake Geneva Christian Center in Alexandria. It will feature guest speaker, Brandon Farris, and also Christian hip-hop artist 808 Beezy. For more information, send an email to josh@yfcminnesota.com.
Besides a new location, a new program offering at YFC will be starting in January 2026. Alexandria Parent Life, a ministry for pregnant and parenting teens, will be led by Parent Life Director Heidi Christensen.
This program was originally started in Willmar, which is where the main office for Youth For Christ West Central Minnesota is located. This is the chapter that the Alexandria YFC belongs to. Parent Life is also offered at the Hutchinson YFC.
Heidi Christensen
“This is a new launch for us here in Alexandria,” Christensen said. “We’ll start meeting with pregnant and parenting teens in January on Tuesday nights from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.”
Parent Life is also offered to those ages 11 to 19, but Christensen said the program is a little bit different than the program Jorgensen runs.
She said there will be mentors and that they will be walking alongside the students in a kind-of pivotal point in their life. But, those who are attending are either pregnant or are already a parent.
“We are not a pregnancy center,” said Christensen. “When they come to us, they will have already either made the choice themselves to raise a child or carry the pregnancy to term but have an adoption plan in place. We do not do counseling of any kind. We’re here to walk alongside them and to have mentors.”
She added that parenting or being pregnant while still a teen is challenging and girls often find themselves ostracized from others. Parent Life will be a place where they can all get together and support one another.
Inside the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center there is an open space with tables and chairs for students to play games, hang with their friends or enjoy a snack.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
“They may be from different schools or come from different walks of life, but together they have something in common,” said Christensen.
The mentors in the Parent Life program are able to go with the teen moms to appointments and help them to get back on the path if they’ve dropped out of school, which Christensen said happens often.
Mentors will help them graduate from school, go to college if that was originally planned or go into the workforce.
“Oftentimes, girls who find themselves pregnant think that it is the end of their story and that is just not the case,” Christensen said. “We’re here to provide hope and get them back on track and provide them with parenting tips or even educational tips.”
Like in Jorgenson’s program, Christensen said there will be faith-based discussions, but really, the whole goal is to walk alongside the teens and that if it ends up they make a decision on their own to follow Jesus, that is great. But she stated it is not the sole purpose of the program.
The nursery, which isn’t quite finished, inside the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
In the new YFC Youth Center, there is also a nursery that will be staffed for those attending the Parent Life program who have children. Christensen also noted that there will be free diapers and wipes available to those attending the program.
For more information on the program send an email to heidi@yfcminnesota.com.
Information about the Alexandria Area Youth for Christ program can be found on Facebook at
facebook.com/AlexandriaYFC
or
yfcminnesota.com/ministries.
The video gaming station inside the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
A cozy corner for students to hang out at in the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center.
Montgomery County based ballet schools perform holiday favorite to hundreds of fans.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without ballet performances of The Nutcracker. The Maryland Youth Ballet, based in Silver Spring, is currently in the midst of its marathon run of the holiday production.
“I really have seen the full circle of many students going from Gingersnaps all the way up to our Sugar Plum Fairies,” explained Deidre Byrne, Artistic Director and Principal for the Maryland Youth Ballet.
Rehearsals of the production began in the fall with frequent rehearsals and even individual coaching for those artists performing leading roles. More than 100 students are participating in the production, and there’s even a large group of dedicated parents who volunteer to help the young artists, school officials tell WUSA9.
“I think this experience has really encouraged dancers to be the best they could be,” said Byrne, when asked about how the impact of the performance schedule and preparation has been on the students.
The school’s production features some new costumes this season. MYB’s production of The Nutcracker includes several shows through Dec. 27. For Byrne, who was once a student at MYB, watching the students learn and rise to the challenge is something she enjoys most from the annual experience.
“It really is special for me to watch these kids grow into their artform and love what they’re doing,” she said.
It’s the season of giving. Since our sports friends celebrate all of the holidays, it’s time to hand out some gifts.
Cleveland Browns fans, I am gifting you at least three more years of patience. You have been so good at this. It’s like being a parent. Sure, you’re great at spending money on all of your kids. You, too, know that feeling of how great it was to get a present when you were a child. Well, guess what? I don’t see you getting anything until the team moves into the new dome. So, keep smiling when your kids get you another pair of socks.
Cincinnati Bengals fans, you get the gift of a happy and healthy Joe Burrow. I know he might sound a little frustrated right now. Just get him an offensive line, and that frown will turn upside down. I still think a healthy Burrow gets the Bengals to the top of the AFC North.
The Ohio State University football fans, you get a punching bag. I can’t think of a better gift to explain why the Buckeyes’ offense has fallen asleep in big games like Michigan last year and Indiana this year. I know Indiana was the No. 2 team in the country. But these games are like having money in the bank and then using an ATM from another bank. It’s like the $4 fee. You know you have to pay extra to get what you want.
Cleveland Cavaliers fans, you get a free pass to the trade deadline. I know the injuries are making things difficult. Things are not going as smoothly as they did last year. Head coach Kenny Atkinson is trying to figure things out. But, I think we are at the point where one of the guards has to go, and the team needs to stop chucking up three-pointers at the end of a game like they are playing recreation basketball. It’s hard to watch. Oops, the NBA Grinch is all over this one. He’s taking back the trade deadline gift. He just remembered that he bought not one, but two aprons for Cindy Lou Who. The second apron will cost them a move at the deadline. Here’s a bottle of Advil for this holiday headache.
Cleveland Guardians fans, for you, it’s simple. Bats. Could you imagine the surprise this spring to have a few hitters that could hit .240 to .250 all season? That would be awesome to have just one or two guys with a little pop next year, even if these players come from within the system. Looking at lineups with legit two hitters every game is as much fun as watching the Cavs take 100 three-pointers every night to end games.
Hockey fans. I see you. In Columbus, you are putting almost 16,700 in the stands every Blue Jackets game despite battling for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Be proud.
Cleveland Monsters fans, you have a tradition of leading the AHL in attendance, and you are doing a great job again this season. I give the gift of being strong through the good times and the bad.
Youth sports’ parents, you get the gift of time. You need to realize that time moves so fast, and your wallet empties so quickly. Your gift is a deep breath. To have the moment when you realize this is not going to last forever. It’s not worth trying to keep up with the Joneses. You may think your kid is going pro only to realize that they hit puberty before all the other kids. I say it all the time. Stop yelling at the officials. They didn’t wake up in the morning trying to figure out how to stop your kid from getting name, image, likeness money. We are really struggling to find refs and umps. Let’s give them a break this holiday season.
Andy Baskin writes about Sports for the Cleveland Jewish News. To read more from him, visit cjn.org/baskin.
If you have a suggestion for a column idea for Andy Baskin, send him an email at columnists@cjn.org. He can be heard on “Baskin & Phelps” weekdays on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland at audacy.com.
BENNINGTON — In a collaboration between Chess on the Hill and the Bennington Free Library, youth in grades K through 8, are invited to register for the December 28 “Frosty Knights Chess Challenge Tournament” at the Bennington Free Library.
The event is free of charge and open to the public.
Youth throughout the area are encouraged to enter and, according to Youth Services Librarian Linda Donigan, there are no geographical limits – “Everyone is welcome, no matter where you live.” This includes youth from Vermont, but also from New York and Massachusetts and, “well – anywhere, really.”
“We are very very excited to sponsor this tournament with area children, especially with kids now coming from as far away as Williamstown and the Manchester area,” said Donigan. “Trever Plizga has spread the love of chess throughout our county, and into the Berkshires.”
Plizga, Donigan said, has created a number of after school chess clubs throughout the region, and has worked with the Bennington Free Library to create multiple tournaments for area youth.
“These Scholastic Tournaments are always fun,” said Donigan, noting that it is an excellent way for youngsters to meet others in the area with similar interests.
“It is very motivating for kids to work on their chess skills, and to prepare for the tournaments, and it’s a way for kids to participate in – well, in sports it would be a playoff, but here, it is like athletics for the mind. And, these types of tournaments are very motivating in terms of kids focusing on building their skills.”
The “Frosty Knights Chess Challenge Tournament” will be run as a Scholastic Chess Tournament, starting at 10 a.m. and concluding around 1 p.m.
Parents are asked to register their children by emailing chessonthehill@gmail.com with the player’s name, age, school, and the parent’s contact information (preferred phone number and email).
Donigan stressed that the “school” is for record-keeping and should not be seen as a barrier – homeschoolers are encouraged to join, as well.
The “Frosty Knights Chess Challenge Tournament” will take place on a Sunday, Donigan noted – a day when the Bennington Free Library is typically closed. However, Donigan added, the Children’s Room will be kept open to allow parents a place to hang out and enjoy the Wi-Fi – should they choose to stay.
More information can be found at benningtonfreelibrary.org/about/youth-services, or by emailing chessonthehill@gmail.com.
Three Edwards County residents has had felony charges filed against them this week by Edwards County State’s Attorney, Eric St. Ledger.
Phillip Walden, 54, of Albion, has been charged with domestic battery with a prior conviction. This charge was also filed on Monday, and a court date is pending.
25-year-old Bradley Cummins of Grayville has been charged with possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, a Class 3 felony. He also faces charges of aggravated assault, a Class A misdemeanor, and possession of an expired FOID card. No court date has been scheduled.
43-year-old Martin A. Williams of Grayville faces aggravated drunk driving charges—his third such offense—as well as aggravated DUI while driving on a revoked license. The charges were filed on Monday, and a court date has not yet been set.
The Myrtle Beach Corvette Club (MBCC) recently presented checks to two local nonprofit charities that the club supports.
Proceeds from their 28th Annual Corvettes at the Beach are used to make these contributions possible. The donations went to Canine Angels, where rescued dogs are trained as service dogs to assist disabled veterans, autistic children and first responders, and Julie’s Kids, which provides for children in foster care.
2025 is a record year for the club donations to charity. Checks were presented in the amount of $15,260 to each charity. Through its annual car show, the club has raised over $240,000 over the past 10 years. Myrtle Beach Corvette Club website is www.myrtlebeachcorvetteclub.com.
The Myrtle Beach Corvette Club covers Brunswick County in North Carolina and Horry and Georgetown counties in South Carolina, with over 300 club members between the three counties.
