Mark Bechtel

Jan 7, 2025 | si.com | Mark Bechtel

SportspersonThrough the charity he started and runs, the California teen is using the power of sports to uplift underserved students in his community. At the playground outside Perkins Elementary in San Diego there’s a mural featuring an oversized kid sitting on a small planet Earth, staring off into space. On the mural are the words sueña grande, and right above that is the English translation: dream big.

Dec 18, 2024 | ledger-enquirer.com | Mark Bechtel

You'd think a true Vanderbilt superfan-words you don't hear together every day-would be glued to the TV as the Commodores tried to close out their win over top-ranked Alabama on Oct. 5. Nate Bargatze, though, saw only bits and pieces on a phone screen. He had a good excuse: He was hosting Saturday Night Live. The game wound down just as dress rehearsal was taking place.

Dec 18, 2024 | fresnobee.com | Mark Bechtel

You'd think a true Vanderbilt superfan-words you don't hear together every day-would be glued to the TV as the Commodores tried to close out their win over top-ranked Alabama on Oct. 5. Nate Bargatze, though, saw only bits and pieces on a phone screen. He had a good excuse: He was hosting Saturday Night Live. The game wound down just as dress rehearsal was taking place.

Jul 10, 2024 | si.com | Mark Bechtel

While some celebrate its inclusion in this summer’s Games, others in the community say a corporate competItion isn’t staying true to the art form’s hip-hop roots. Unless you lived through it—ideally while wearing parachute pants—you might have a hard time fully grasping just how omnipresent breaking was in 1980s pop culture.

Jun 5, 2024 | si.com | Mark Bechtel

In 2014, audio recordings emerged of Clippers owner Donald Sterling saying various unsavory things to his girlfriend about Blacks, including that she shouldn’t bring them to his team’s games. The fallout was swift; five days later Sterling was banned for life by the NBA, and a month later he sold the team. Interesting, yes, but is there enough meat there for a six-part limited TV series? It turns out there is.