In a new column called ‘Where Are They Now,’ our sports editors spoke to St. John’s alumni who are thriving in the sports world. From World Series champions to legendary head coaches to media personalities, some of St. John’s most successful sports alumni were featured throughout the 2016-17 academic year. As the editors close out their final issue of the Torch, we take a look back at some of their best interviews over the past year.
“Playing baseball in the northeast, you kind of get overlooked and people doubt you. I kind of learned at St. John’s to use that as fire and fuel to play hungry.”
“When you’re in the minor leagues there’s a lot of talented kids, so you kind of have to have that mental edge and a little fire. If you talk to any of the St. John’s boys…that’s something that all of those guys have.”
–Joe Panik, San Francisco Giants Second Baseman
“I’m not afraid to work. You cannot be afraid to work. You got to grind, you got to hustle. And I think that’s a New York thing. Most people in that part of the country get it. That’s a St. John’s thing. You’re not going sit back and be lazy. You’re going to get after it. You do what you got to do. I worked my tail off and I enjoy doing it.”
–C.J. Nitkowski, former MLB Pitcher and media personality
“Don’t try to be a journalist if your goal is to make a lot of money. Don’t try to be a journalist if your goal is to become well known and famous. The only way you’re going to succeed in journalism is if you don’t care much about those things and what you care about is the journalism…Don’t give up and don’t listen to people who tell you that journalism is a dying industry and that you can’t make money working for news organizations.”
–Joe Schad, former ESPN reporter and Miami Dolphins beat writer
“In today’s day and age, everyone knows that law enforcement isn’t exactly the safest job, so you’ve just got to make sure that you make it home safe every night, that’s the first thing. And then the second thing is just to do my job, and to try to go to work every day to do what I took this job for, which is to help people.”
-Anthony Varvaro, former MLB Pitcher and Port Authority Police Officer
“The bad thing about now is that it’s such a ‘me’ generation instead of a ‘we’ generation…There’s money to be made in the game that was not around when I started as an assistant. I’m very demanding, when I see selfishness I hit it hard. The kids really don’t want to box with me, because I’m all about winning. Everything you want in life starts from winning.”
–Ron Naclerio, Benjamin N. Cardozo Boys Basketball Coach
“You can’t fool the audience, they know what’s real and what’s fake, they know the difference. And they’re the ones that count; in essence, they are the ones who decide. The best thing about what I do is, you get a report card, you get judged, you know if you’re doing a good job or not because your job is to get ratings… if you don’t get ratings, and you don’t provide revenue, you’re not gonna be there.”
-Mike Francesa, WFAN Sports Radio Personality
