Sport S O’side sailor to document Super Bowl

By Staff OCEANSIDE — Petty Officer 1st Class Veronica Scott, a native of Oceanside, will document Sunday’s Super Bowl as part of the first-ever Navy Social Media Ambassador initiative to increase Navy awareness and audience engagement.

Scott, a lifestyle influencer, will create and share content throughout game day with her already-established audiences through personal social media accounts.

Scott shares motivational content that educates and informs followers about the Navy. The program was also used during the Na-

Sports Talk

CONTINUED FROM 9 would make such an offer.

It’s hard enough to get an NFL general manager to return a call — the salty A.J. Smith certainly didn’t do so often — and here’s Beathard, one of the most decorated NFL executives, inviting me to share a halfhour with him, uninterrupted, twice a day and five times a week.

It was the beginning of friendship that I cherished, even if Beathard was using me to access the I-5 car pool on-ramp. He got a kick out of zooming past the solo drivers, his hair still wet from his dawn surf session.

We would meet at the Java Hut on Highway 101, where he often opted for tea while I went espresso. We both got our jolt, and soon, of course, we were yapping about the Bolts over a car radio usually tuned to a sports-talk show.

Often I had my notebook filled with juicy details of the team and its players before we reached our destination. Beathard would jabber about this and that, giving me a head start on the other writers with a few nuggets that they might be hard-pressed to get.

The flip side was, on occasion, he would me leave me at the facility, his mind occupied with a personnel move instead of his passen- vy-Army football game in December.

Scott grew up in Oceanside and graduat- ger. He would call, circle back and we both enjoyed a good laugh.

I was far from Beathard’s favorite or, maybe, tied for first with everyone else. Beathard was extremely gracious, accessible and, for the most part, truthful. Those are traits seldom found in an NFL GM, although it was more common then than it is now.

The norm was Beathard doing something head-scratching on draft days. With his wife Christine’s homemade brownies within arm’s reach, Beathard would wheel-anddeal with no fear, always focused on the positive of what could happen, instead of the downside of a maneuver that could lay an egg.

Some NFL GMs are afraid to be bold, knowing if their calculation blows up, their job is on the line. Beathard didn’t let the naysayers get in his head, often seeing something in players that others didn't, and he was never shy to act on his instincts.

Did Beathard bat 1.000? Absolutely not. One of the worst draft busts in NFL history, quarterback Ryan Leaf, was among Beathard’s picks.

But the Leaf debacle couldn’t overshadow a lifetime of excellence, in and out of the water. While Beathard carved up colleagues in trades, he was ed from El Camino High School in 1996.

“Growing up in a military town (Camp Pendleton), I had an understanding and appreciation for the military culture and a strong sense of community,” said Scott, who joined the Navy 17 years ago. “I also had access to resources through volunteering at the Naval Hospital with the Red Cross and role models like my father who served in the Marine Corps.

“Additionally, my hometown instilled in me a strong work ethic, the importance of having attention to detail and a strong sense of patriotism.” just as keen shredding waves or winning his agegroup category five times at the annual World Bodysurfing Championships in Oceanside.

Beathard was the Chargers’, but he also pledged allegiance to North County. He was crestfallen when he moved years ago to be closer to his grandchildren, but he fought to keep his North County roots.

“His offer isn’t the first one, but I’m hoping Shaun White buys our home,” Beathard said of his house on Neptune Avenue. “Because he said I could keep my boards in the garage.”

That aspiration didn’t happen, just like another one Beathard often envisioned.

The Chargers never won a Super Bowl, but if they had, Beathard already had the venue for the victory celebration: Leucadia's La Especial Norte on Highway 101.

“Have you ever tried their cabbage soup?” he asked.

I hadn’t, and so wish now I would have, digging in with Beathard while he's telling yet another tale.

Rest easy, Bobby. Every time I go by Java Hut, I still look for your car, with the surfboard rack on top.

Contact Jay Paris at jparis8@aol.com and follow him @jparis_sports

Bed Bath & Beyond closing Carlsbad, San Marcos stores

By City News Service REGION — Retailer

Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close an additional 87 stores across the United States, including three in San Diego County, as the company faces likely bankruptcy proceedings.

The following San Diego County locations are slated for closure:

— Carlsbad, 1905 Calle Barcelona, suite 100;

— San Diego, 10537 4S Commons Drive, suite 170; and

— San Marcos, 165 S. Las Posas Road.

The latest round of closings — announced by the company on Jan. 30 — comes on the heels of last August’s announcement of

150 store closings. “As we work with our advisers to consider multiple paths, we are implementing actions to manage our business as efficiently as possible,” the company said in a statement provided to City News Service last week.

Bed Bath & Beyond reported last month that it received a notice of default from lender JPMorgan Chase.

“At this time, the company does not have sufficient resources to repay the amounts under the credit facilities and this will lead the company to consider all strategic alternatives, including restructuring its debt under the U.S. Bank-