buzzworthy
PETER KING INTERVIEWS PATRICK MAHOMES
Montclair
PETERKINGANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Coverage of the National Football League will no longer be the same .
Longtime sportswriter PETER KING announced that he is retiring from writing full-timeonthe league in hisweekly NBCSportscolumn Football Morning in America .
King , who spent part of his writing career while living in Montclair , is a three-time winner of theNational Sportswriterofthe Year Award . He wroteinone of hisfinal columns that he will no longer be covering the NFLafter being one of the most well-known writers over the last four decades .
Prior to moving to Boston 15 years ago , King had talked in depth about his love for Montclair , and 10 things he ’ ll miss about living inthe town .
Also in the column , King listed multiplereasons , including wanting to try somethingnew , spending more time with hisfamily , andother motivesfor stepping awayat66years old .
King prefaced inthis entry about the direneed for there to still be storytellers ofthe league in the nextgeneration of those thatwillcover sports .
“ One fear I have is that enough strong young writers and imaginative media people won ’ t have the entrée into this business that I had . The business that was once majority reporter has now shifted to majority analyst / opinionista . We need more storytellers to emerge ,” King wrote .
King noted that he won ’ t be completely done with writing and kept the possibility of something more down the line if he ’ s up for it at that time .
“ And who knows — I may find myself jonesing to do something inthe mediawhen I ’ m bored inthreemonths .”
The Springfield , Massachusetts , native covered each of the last 40Super Bowls and had been doing the weekly column for almostthree decades , asit first beganat Sports
Illustrated titled “ MondayMorningQuarterback ” before transitioning toNBC Sports . — ALBERTBAINBRIDGE
Montclair
CONALL GORMAN SINGS ON ‘ AMERICAN IDOL ’
CONALL GORMAN , 19 , of Montclair , wowed the American Idol judges with hisoriginalsong “ Backseat .”
He earned threeyeses from Lionel Richie , LukeBryan andKatyPerry , who told him ,“ Youare on theroadto being a pro ,” and said he has a very “ interesting ” and “ identifiable ” voice .
“ I ’ m going to be honest . I wasbeyond nervous in that room ,” Gormantold NorthJersey . combefore performing inthenext round of thecompetition .“ Hearingthree yeses was probably the most relieving thing I ’ ve ever heard .”
Gorman , a graduate of Seton Hall Prep in West Orange and now astudent at Belmont University in Nashville , says his musical journey has been an interesting one .
“ I first pickedupaguitarwhenI wasvery littlebut putit down for a number of years , later picking it up again and learningfromYouTube videos . Istruggled with learningdisabilities throughoutmylifeand found a safety net within songwriting andsinging ,” he says .
Gorman wasbornin New York City but grew up inMontclair , which he described asa “ very fun , artsytownjust outside the city .” He wouldplayat open micsand coffeeshops whenever he could around town . Now , expressingthat he feelsbehindalot of his peers in termsofwherehe is in his musical career , Gorman decided to take his talents to American Idol .
Asinger , guitarplayer andsongwriter who writes most of hisownsongs , Gormandescribes his style asindie folk with a brush of Americana . He says his biggest inspiration comes from storytellers .
“ Ifanartistisabletotellmeastory with theirlyrics , Iam hooked forlife ,” hesays . “ I grew up on alot of Irish folk and singer-songwriter-stylemusic and aim to convey that in my playing . If Iamable to providesomeone with asimilar feelingthatI get when listeningtoone of my heroes , I am happy . Not sure that ’ shappened yet , but I amstillhopeful .”
“ I just feel so beyond privileged to bepart of thisshow in anyway . I ’ ve met some of thekindest , most supportive and talented humanbeings in the world and hopethat I can continue to grow and evolve as a performer ,” Gorman says . “ I think Ihavealot of work left to do on all accounts as an artist , and being on Idol has shown me that more than anything .”
Gorman was eliminatedduring “ Hollywood Week ” after
playing another original song . You can stream his music on Spotify and Apple Music . — AMANDAWALLACE
PETER KING : ALEX GRIMM / GETTY IMAGES ; CONALL GORMAN : ERIC MCCANDLESS , DISNEY
6 MAY 2024 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE