Sports stories through the year
Anton Media Group’s sports features bounced from professional to amateur, with coverage of well-known idols and up-and-coming hopefuls.
In April, just as the baseball season was getting underway, the New York Mets invited a handful of Anton team members to Citi Field to chat with outfielder Curtis Granderson. Aside from discussing the game on the field, Granderson spoke at length about his favorite New York memories as both a Met and a Yankee—this proved timely as he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the postseason. New Yorkers will always remember Granderson’s charitable efforts, affable nature and in-game prowess.
In the world of amateur athletes, Mcgregory Frederique continues his quest for a chance to take the field for a professional football team. The Elmont native, who spoke to Anton Media in August, spent 2017 showcasing his football skills with the upstart Team America. In order to make it onto Team America, Frederique had to send in a highlight video and wait to be called. The team plays many of its games in front of scouts from the NFL, CFL and Indoor Football League, and Frederique sensed it was a golden opportunity to advance his career and land a professional contract. Despite competing with thousands of aspiring players, many of whom had more experience, Frederique was selected for the roster.
In September, legendary New York broadcaster Sam Rosen shared some of his favorite sports memories with Anton. Having grown up a die-hard sports fan in Brooklyn, where he captained and played catcher for his baseball teams at Stuyvesant High School and City College of New York (CCNY), it’s no surprise Rosen’s favorite moments have a decidedly New York tilt. These include the New York Knicks’ championship in 1970, Wayne Gretzky’s final NHL game in 1999 and, of course, the New York Rangers victory over the New Jersey Devils in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals on the way to the team’s first Stanley Cup since 1940.
Finally, Anton editor Joseph Catrone traveled to the Bronx to chat baseball with Yankees’ fan favorite and integral cog to the successful teams of the late 1990s, Paul O’Neill. The ex-right-fielder has remained a fan and ambassador of the game and is currently a broadcaster with the YES Network, but for O’Neill, the greatest memories came when he was on the field, experiencing the roar of the crowd.
