As a rabid basketball fan, John McNamara embraced the Veterans Classic.
McNamara wholeheartedly supported the event created by Navy head coach Ed DeChellis because it brought big-time basketball to Annapolis.
To further support the Veterans Classic, McNamara covered the opening game in 2015, 2016 and 2017 even though he was no longer working as a sportswriter for Capital Gazette. McNamara, who worked in The Capital sports department for 24 years, had been named editor of the Bowie Blade newspaper in 2015.
“John loved basketball so much that, outside of his normal hours and outside his normal duties, he stepped up and covered the opening game of the Veterans Classic every year,” former Capital Gazette sports editor Gerry Jackson said.