
Nebraska journalist. “24th & Glory” author. Springsteen fanatic. Send ideas/tips to [email protected].
Omaha, NE
Joined July 2009
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Dirk Chatelain retweeted
I saw so many terrific courses for the first time this year, and Lost Rail still stands out among them.
We were only on property for two nights, but the golf course is the kind that gets its hooks into you and won’t let go easily, and the kind that, even sitting here now months later, I can still remember every hole and how I played each of them.
Those kinds of places are rare, and you know it when you find yourself at one.
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
This might be the greatest Who he play for of all time lmao
a must watch!
please don't retire Chuck!
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
Gretna senior Kylee Thompson had a dream to play college softball.
But the summer before her sophomore year, her dream took a hit.
@MikeSautter_ has more on the servant leader and player-coach.
hurrdatsports.com/nebpreps/s…
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
2015 second-round pick Ameer Abdullah helping win NFL games in the year 2026 on his seventh team.
What a world.
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
Big Ten West football is alive and well
Iowa won at Michigan
Wisconsin won at Penn State
Nebraska won at Michigan State
Minnesota won at Washington
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
Seventy-seven years.
From a little boy growing up in Freehold, to a teenager who picked up a guitar, made it talk to all of us in such a profound way, and found the thing that would change his life, to a young man chasing an impossible dream up and down the Jersey Shore.
From tiny clubs to the world’s biggest stadiums.
From Growin’ Up to Born to Run. From The Promised Land to Glory Days. From Kingdom of Days to Last Man Standing and Letter to You.
The face has changed. The years have passed. Friends have been gained and some painfully lost. There have been triumphs, heartbreaks, beginnings, endings, reunions and goodbyes.
But through every era, one thing has remained.
The music.
And somehow, as #springsteen grew older, those songs grew older right alongside us.
Songs we first heard as kids suddenly meant something completely different when we became adults. Songs about parents became songs about our parents. Songs about children became songs about our children. Songs about friendship, love, loss, mortality and hope began hitting places in us we couldn’t possibly have understood when we first heard them.
Maybe that’s one of Bruce's greatest gifts.
He didn’t just provide the soundtrack to our youth.
He gave us a soundtrack for growing older, too.
And now, at 77, he’s still here. Still creating. Still performing. Still believing in the power of music to bring people together. And we’re still fortunate enough to be along for the ride.
For more than five decades, your songs have somehow found us exactly where we are.
They’ve been there for the first loves and the broken hearts. The weddings and the funerals. The celebrations and the struggles. The long drives with nowhere in particular to go and the nights when we needed the music turned up just a little louder.
You wrote about the people who work hard, dream big, fall down, get back up, lose faith and somehow find it again. You taught us about hope and redemption, friendship and loyalty, love and loss, second chances and the promise that somewhere down the road there just might be something better waiting for us.
But speaking for the Spring-Nuts community, what you help us create through your music, became about something even bigger than the songs.
It became about each other.
Eleven years ago, this community began because of a shared love for your music. What none of us could have imagined was where that music would eventually take us.
Strangers became friends.
Friends became family.
People traveled thousands of miles together.
We stood beside one another at shows, celebrated marriages and births, mourned losses, helped people through some incredibly difficult times, and tried our best to live by one of the simplest and most important lessons we found in your music:
To take care of our own.
And somehow, through all of it, your music was always there. That may ultimately be one of the greatest gifts an artist can give. Not simply songs that people listen to, but songs that connect people to one another.
There are people in this community who would never have met if you hadn't picked up a guitar and started telling stories all those years ago. Friendships, relationships, memories and experiences exist today because somewhere along the way, your music brought our paths together.
At 77, you continue to remind us that rock and roll isn't measured by a number on a birth certificate. It's measured by the passion you bring to the stage, the truth you put into a song, and the connection that happens when thousands of people become one for a few unforgettable hours.
So today, from this crazy family we call the Spring-Nuts, we simply say:
Thank you, @springsteen .
Thank you for the words.
Thank you for the music.
Thank you for the concerts, the memories, the friendships and the miles.
Thank you for reminding us that dreams will not be thwarted and faith will be rewarded.
And through your music, may we all continue to find some reason to believe.
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
Steve Kerr says Roger Federer taught his Warriors team the secret to sustained success wasn’t outworking everyone, it was building a life around your craft you never want to escape from
“I’ll tell you a great story about Roger Federer. We were playing in China with the Warriors in 2017. Roger was in Shanghai for the Masters tournament, so we invited him to come speak to the team.”
“Draymond Green asked him, ‘How do you sustain success? How have you managed to win majors 20 years after you first won one?’ Everyone was expecting him to say, ‘I work harder than everybody,’ the will, all the clichés.”
“Roger Federer says, ‘I get up every morning and I make breakfast for my kids. Then I take them to school and drop them off. Then I go practice tennis for about two hours, and I’ve figured out a really good routine where I don’t destroy my body, but I can get all the work in I need.”
“‘Then I go have lunch with my wife. In the evening, we cook dinner together. The kids are all home from school. We ask them about school. There’s so much joy in the house. We put them to bed, and then I put my head on the pillow and go, “Man, that was just a great day.” And I’ve been doing that for 20 years.’”
“And it was like, yes. That’s it. That’s the formula. That’s what leads to sustained success. He loves tennis. He loves his family. He loves life. It’s not outworking everybody and banging your head against the wall, ‘I’m going to be better than everybody.’ It’s allowing your natural talent to shine through with a work ethic, with a great family life, with perspective, with peace, with mindfulness.”
“It’s perspective. It’s joy. It’s passion. It’s mindfulness. It’s an awareness that we are truly lucky. To get the most out of ourselves, it’s our daily rituals and experiences and love and joy.”
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
It's not even an exaggeration when I say that this remains the absolute greatest shot I've ever seen.
All-time. This is number 1.
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
In Nebraska I was told a number. I did not believe it. I have since checked it, and I still do not believe it.
The football stadium in Lincoln has sold every seat, for every home game, since November 3, 1962.
Every game. Not the good years. Every game. Through seasons the state would rather not discuss. Through blizzards. Through years when leaving early would have been reasonable, and nobody left.
I asked a man named Gary how two million people keep a promise for that long.
He said, "You buy the ticket."
I asked what if the team is bad.
"You buy the ticket."
I asked what if it is snowing.
He looked at me with real patience. "You buy the ticket."
Here is the part that undid me. The first game of the streak, in 1962, they lost. Thirty-six thousand people came out the week after the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, watched their team lose to Missouri, and came back for the next one anyway. And the next. It has not stopped.
The streak began with a loss. Nobody in Nebraska finds this ironic. They find it obvious.
This summer there was worry. Ticket sales were slow. People wrote articles asking whether it would finally end. I read them in a diner over a slice of pie I did not finish, and I confess I was afraid for a state I do not live in.
Then this week they announced the opener is sold out. Four hundred and eleven in a row.
In my land, a lord who kept his word for sixty years was written into the temple records.
Nebraska has kept its word since the Cuban Missile Crisis. There is no temple. There are eighty-five thousand people who bought the ticket.
Gary is going Saturday. It is not snowing. He would go if it were.
A promise is easy in a winning season.
Nebraska has kept one through every other kind.
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
“I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle” is a line for the ages
Kawhi Leonard, through his new agent, Harrison Gaines, issues statement:
“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.
I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone's part to circumvent the salary cap.
For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate."
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
The tally for the Clippers getting Kawhi is now 10 first-round picks, two-swaps and SGA
Per NBA: The Clippers shall forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each of the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year for knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, for approving a business deal that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with Mr. Leonard, and for his failure to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules.
Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year for being primarily and directly culpable for the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for providing false and misleading statements to investigators.
Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months for his involvement with the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for approving impermissible expenses incurred by Mr. Leonard and his family.
The Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for a period of five years.
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
Filmed yesterday at Animal Shelter in Tucson, Arizona. The woman is Sarah Chen. The dog is Bailey, a 6-year-old Australian Shepherd. Three years ago in Portland, Oregon, Sarah's car was stolen from a grocery store parking lot.
Bailey was in the backseat. Sarah filed police reports. Posted on every lost pet site. Drove to every shelter within 200 miles. Car was found abandoned two days later. Bailey was gone. Sarah didn't stop.
For three years, Sarah called every animal shelter in the Western United States. 1,847 shelters total. Checked their websites daily. Drove to 400+ shelters in person during work trips. Spent over $30,000 in gas, hotels, and time off work. Yesterday morning, Desert Ridge Shelter in Tucson posted a photo of an Australian Shepherd found wandering 60 miles outside city limits. Sarah saw the post. Recognized Bailey's eyes immediately. Drove 12 hours straight from Portland. Phone footage shows Sarah entering the room. Bailey's ears perk up. Sarah says: "Bailey?" Bailey freezes. Completely still for five seconds.
Then EXPLODES-spinning, barking, launching at Sarah, knocking her to the ground. Sarah told us: "I called 1507 shelters. Drove to 400. Spent three years searching. Everyone told me to give up.
That Bailey was probably dead. I never believed them." Sometimes 1507 phone calls and 400 shelter visits end when you finally hear your dog's voice again.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
While the video shows an emotional dog reunion the accompanying story about Sarah Chen searching for Bailey for three years and reuniting at Desert Ridge Shelter in Tucson has no supporting reports from local news or shelters. No shelter by that name is listed in Tucson.
adoptapet.com/animal-shelter… sniffspot.com/dog-rescues/tu…
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
Earlier this year, I proudly nominated David Garcia to the U.S. Naval Academy because of his academic excellence and commitment to service. He began as a midshipman this summer.
Right now, his mother, Maria, is locked away at the Dilley Trailer Prison. ICE took her when she showed up for her green card interview. She was doing everything the right way.
The Trump Administration is targeting military families and leaving a dark stain on our nation.
I am calling for ICE to release David’s mom Maria immediately.
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
I'm sorry we never got a chance to meet, but getting this note from Dolly really had a an impact on me. She definitely didn't have to take the time to do it. Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, she was an icon. A superstar in every sense. Rest easy Dolly. And thank you for the kind words.
Dirk Chatelain retweeted
The doctor who delivered Dolly Parton in a one-room Tennessee cabin in 1946 was paid with a sack of cornmeal. Her father farmed other people's land and could not read or write. Eighty years later, the reading program she built in his name has mailed more than 300 million books.
She wrote "I Will Always Love You" on the same afternoon she wrote "Jolene," as a goodbye to Porter Wagoner, and released it in 1974. Elvis wanted it. The night before the session, Colonel Tom Parker called and said Presley would only record it if they got half the publishing, meaning half of everything the song ever earned. She had been in Nashville ten years by then. She said no, and cried all night. Whitney Houston cut her version in 1992, held number one for fourteen weeks, and Forbes later put Parton's royalties from it near $10 million. She put some of that money into an office complex in Nashville and called the place the house that Whitney built.
Dollywood opened in Pigeon Forge in 1986 because she wanted paychecks in the county she came from. Around 4,000 people work there now. Three million visitors come every year. The University of Tennessee put its economic impact at $1.8 billion, and it is the largest employer in Sevier County. Since 2022 the company has paid tuition, fees, and books in full for every worker from their first day, seasonal hires included.
Wildfires tore through those mountains in November 2016, killing fourteen people and destroying more than 2,400 buildings. Her foundation was handing out money within 48 hours. Every family that lost a home got $1,000 a month for six months, regardless of income. The final check was $5,000. Total delivered: $8.9 million.
In April 2020 she sent $1 million to Vanderbilt for coronavirus research. When Moderna's vaccine results ran in the New England Journal of Medicine that November, her fund appeared in the footnotes.
Carl Dean, her husband of nearly sixty years, died in March 2025. The note she wrote to fans afterward ended with the same five words she wrote for Porter Wagoner back in 1974. She died in Nashville today. Her family asked that instead of flowers, people give to the Imagination Library, which still mails 3.4 million books a month to children who will never get to meet her.


































