Dying To Ask

Get to know Olympic hopeful gymnast Riley Loos as he tumbles with Fitz through a round of FIVE WITH FITZ.

Five rapid fire questions with a bonus question.

Stanford alum Riley Loos hopes to put some Cardinal red into the red, white and blue for Team USA at the Paris Olympics this summer.

Loos graduated from Stanford in 2023 and has stayed on in Palo Alto to train with his former college team and Stanford head men's gymnastics coach Thom Glielmi.

Nearly half the U.S. Men's National Gymnastics Team has a Stanford connection. The school is known as an unofficial feeder to the National Team.  The school has won the last four NCAA Championships. And Coach Glielmi served as the 2020/1 U.S. Men's Gymnastics coach at the delayed Tokyo Olympics.

Riley was ranked number three on the team after the recent Winter Cup competition. He grew up in El Dorado Hills, California, and has dreamed of being an Olympian since he was a kid. He credits Stanford for supporting his quest.

"Stanford is basically the feeder system to Team USA Men's Gymnastics . We've created this team atmosphere and culture. It's intense but super friendly and brotherly. So we basically have created a culture through the head coach where nothing goes undone and nobody gets away with not doing what has to be done and we lift each other up all the time," says Riley Loos.

• A deep dive into Stanford Gymnastics' culture of tiered accountability and how you can incorporate the concepts into your team

Jason Newton may be a newbie to Olympic coverage. But his hometown already knows how to support someone at the Olympics.

Jason is an evening news anchor at WBAL-TV in Baltimore, hometown of Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps.

Jason is also a native of Baltimore. And while his wingspan isn't as broad as Phelps, his knowledge of all things Olympic will be by this summer's games.

This is the third in our MEET THE TEAM episodes as we get to know members of the Hearst Olympics Team ahead of this summer's coverage at the Paris Olympics.

• What Jason thought he wanted to be when he went to college (spoiler: it wasn't working as an Olympic reporter)

Imagine having a stunt double at work. Fletcher Mackel basically does in his role as a sports anchor at WDSU-TV.

That's because the guy often sitting next to him on the anchoring desk doing the news is his identical twin brother Travers.

The Brothers Mackel have share a lot of experiences together. They grew up playing baseball in New Orleans. Both attended college and played baseball at Loyola University. And they both signed on at WDSU more than 20 years ago where Fletcher jokes "we're now a package deal and you're stuck with both of us." 

Soon, the guys will have something else in common as both will have worked on the Hearst Olympic Team. Fletcher is looking forward to adding Olympic experience to a resume that already includes Super Bowls and college championships. 

Fletcher's family has been in New Orleans for generations and civic pride fuels both his work ethic and passion. His energy is off the charts and if you like an inspirational quote, grab a pen because he drops them like crazy! 

• What it's like to work with an identical twin (should probably ask the staff of WDSU about that)

Team USA will rely on an Olympic Trials process to pick most of its 2024 Summer Olympic Team. But for how much longer?

Some worry it's not sustainable to stage "mini-Olympics" in host cities to select athletes due to rising costs and expectations.

Freelance writer Erin Strout raises the issue in her most recent article for Outside Online where she investigated whether the popular US Olympic Marathon Trials needs a reboot.

You can read the article here.

Americans love Olympic Trials. They're exciting and showcase the depth of underdog talent like marathon record breaker Fiona O'Keeffe. It's like a mini-Olympics with only Americans taking part to determine who will represent Team USA at an Olympics.

But the downside of the Trials process is that they're money losers for a lot of cities.

Most countries rely on selection committees to pick Olympic teams. Would a selection committee have picked Fiona O'Keeffe to represent her country in marathon? Probably not.

• Arguments for and against the Olympic Trials process

Check out FIVE WITH FITZ with Olympic marathoner Fiona O'Keeffe.  

Five rapid fire questions with Team USA's speediest female marathoner. 

If the Olympics gave out a medal for fan geekdom, Mike "Domi" Domalaog would get gold every time.

Domi, as he's known around KCRA 3 and the Hearst Olympic Team, is an encyclopedia of all things Citius, Altius, Fortius, Communiter. (That's the Olympic motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger-Together if you were not blessed with FOUR YEARS of high school Latin as I was.)

In our first MEET THE TEAM episode, I'll explain how the Hearst Olympic Team works and the long history Domi and I have of traipsing the world chasing athletes, telling stories, and testing the limits of sleep deprivation.

Paris will be Domi's 11th Olympic trip. His work history goes back to the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. But, his love of the Olympics started decades ago as a kid growing up in Salinas, CA.

Domi is one of the smartest people I know and his recall for athletes and their achievements is equal parts impressive and frightening. He's a member of the prestigious Emmy Awards "Silver Circle," awarded for 25+ years in television news. And, he's been a photographer at KCRA for 38 years.

• How Domi became an Olympic reporter

Season 11 of the Dying to Ask podcast is here and it's giving us Emily in Paris vibes.

We're heading to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics!

In our Season 11 trailer, Deirdre Fitzpatrick has a look at what to expect over the next few months as we highlight athletes, coaches and all those behind the scenes who support Team USA.

From touchdowns to acquisitions — NFL legend Steve Young's second act may be more exhausting than his former career.

Young was a quarterback for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers.

He's a two-time MVP (1992/1994), and he's a three-time Super Bowl winner.

But Young says he started working on his post-retirement plans long before he left the game.

He earned his law degree from BYU while playing for the 49ers and now runs HGGC, a successful private equity firm in the Bay Area.

Young spent years downplaying his football past in his new career. But he has fully embraced the magic and nuance of his two worlds.

In 2016, Young published his memoir, "QB: My Life Behind the Spiral."

Young is married and the father of four children, two boys and two girls.

His daughters have shown the greatest interest in playing football.

• Advice on crafting a second act