Stephen Ohlemacher

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Stephen Ohlemacher

Stephen Ohlemacher

@stephenatap

Election Decision Editor for The Associated Press. I tell people who won. Former: @Bagehots, @ThePlainDealer, @hartfordcourant. @OhioState Alum, Go #Browns!

Washington, DC Katılım Haziran 2009
2.7K Takip Edilen4.1K Takipçiler
Scott Van Pelt
Scott Van Pelt@notthefakeSVP·
Been at ESPN a long time - this one was an all timer. Before social media, it was as viral as a story can be. I watched it on a tape in the news room. I couldn’t stop watching his teammates.
Dr. Lemma@DoctorLemma

19 years ago, a high school basketball coach put his team manager into a game for the final four minutes. The kid had never played a single minute of competitive basketball in his life. He scored 20 points. Jason McElwain was diagnosed with severe autism at age two. He didn’t speak until he was five. He couldn’t chew solid food until he was six. He wore a nappy for most of his early childhood. As a baby, he was rigid, wouldn’t make eye contact, and hid in corners away from other children. He tried out for his school basketball team every year and got cut every time. Too small. Too slight. Barely 5’6 and about 54 kilograms. But he loved the game so much that his mum called the school and asked if there was any way he could be involved. The coach created a team manager role for him. For three years, McElwain showed up to every practice and every game. He wore a shirt and tie on match days. He ran drills, handed out water, kept stats, and cheered every basket like he’d scored it himself. On 15 February 2006, the last home game of his final school year, the coach let him suit up in a proper jersey and sit on the bench. With four minutes left and a comfortable lead, the coach sent him in. His first shot missed. His second missed. Then something shifted. He hit a three-pointer. Then another. Then another. His teammates stopped shooting entirely and just kept passing him the ball. He hit six three-pointers and a two-pointer. 20 points in four minutes. The highest scorer in the game. When the final buzzer went, the entire crowd rushed the court and lifted him onto their shoulders. His mum tapped the coach on the shoulder, in tears. “This is the nicest gift you could have ever given my son.” McElwain won the ESPY Award for Best Moment in Sports that year, beating out some of the biggest names in professional sport. He’s 36 now. He works at a local supermarket, coaches basketball, has run 17 marathons including five Boston Marathons, and travels the country speaking about never giving up. When asked about that night, his coach still gets emotional. “For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck.”

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Daryl Ruiter
Daryl Ruiter@RuiterWrongFAN·
#Browns 2025 -–>>2026 HC: Kevin Stefanski —>> Todd Monken OC: Tommy Rees —>> Travis Switzer DC: Jim Schwartz —>>Mike Rutenberg STC: Bubba Ventrone —>> Byron Storer
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Stephen Ohlemacher
Stephen Ohlemacher@stephenatap·
BREAKING: (AP) The Democratic primary in Thursday's special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District is too early to call
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Stephen Ohlemacher
Stephen Ohlemacher@stephenatap·
@EdwardRyder @Cory_Ellis Thanks for posting this. They used to be closed at odd times and now they haven't been on the menu since the first of the year. It's too bad.
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Stephen Ohlemacher
Stephen Ohlemacher@stephenatap·
A fantastic lede on deadline! Credit @AP_Sports reporter Travis Johnson.
Jonathan Martin@jmart

A nice deadline lede in @ap gamer - packs a lot in! STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) Omar Cooper Jr. jumped to catch a pass from Fernando Mendoza in the back of the endzone, sweeping his inside foot within the field of play to save No. 2 Indiana from its first loss of the season Saturday against a downtrodden Penn State team that almost denied the Hoosiers their first Happy Valley win in school history.

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