San Francisco, CA
Bay Area military veteran chosen for free Super Bowl tickets by USAA
When the Super Bowl kicks off on Sunday, one local fan will be there as an honored guest.
A long-time Army veteran will be getting the VIP treatment, and it won’t cost him a dime. It’s payback for a life spent serving his country and his community.
When Eugene “Rich” Ritchie retired, he began volunteering at the USO Lounge at SFO, welcoming service members traveling to and from the city. But the other day, the USO staff told him that he had been nominated to be in a contest.
That’s when he got the phone call.
“And it’s, ‘Congratulations, we selected you.’ And I was like, what?! Really?” Rich said. “And they said, who’s your favorite player? I said, ‘McCaffrey, right now, is my most favorite current player. Oh yeah, McCaffrey, he’s awesome.’ And they’re like, ‘ho, ho, ho’… I’m like, ‘OK, something’s up.’”
Sponsored by the USAA insurance company, Rich and his wife Alexia, who live in Richmond, will get tickets to the game, a hotel on Union Square, and pretty much an entire weekend of fun for doing something that started clear back when he joined the ROTC program at Cal Berkeley.
Rich was the only one to select “infantry” as his desired duty when everyone else wanted military intelligence.
“So, I was an anomaly at Berkeley,” he said, with a laugh.
In 1981, he was a 20-year-old lieutenant and was eventually sent to Korea to command a security unit at the DMZ, at a time when tensions were running high. After that came 20 years of training and service in Honduras and various bases stateside. Then came 9/11 and the US war on terror, and Rich was sent to Iraq to help the locals become a capable fighting force.
“I lived with the Iraqis,” he said. “My job was to live with the Iraqis. I had a team and we basically trained them in Western tactics.”
Rich said he was impressed with the courage shown by the Iraqi forces he trained. He served for a total of 24 years, from 1981 to 2005, retiring with the rank of Major in the US Army. Later, after getting out of the military, he took a position as a special education teacher at Albany Middle School, a job his wife Alexia said required a bit of courage, as well.
“He didn’t shed a tear in Iraq, but he cried his first couple of days as a teacher at the middle school with a bunch of 6th graders!” she said, laughing. “That was his breaking point. But he survived and he’s a veteran of both occupations, you bet.”
Alexia is also a 49er fan, but she’s an even bigger fan of her husband, saying he put off his retirement to volunteer to serve in Iraq.
“He could have retired, but he actually pulled his retirement paperwork so that he could step up for an eight-month deployment in Iraq,” she said. “And to watch him being again in the spotlight — so well deserved — is what makes my experience here that much sweeter.”
And the sweetness began on Wednesday, when Rich and Alexia got their tickets and a chance to meet their favorite player. Niners running back Christian McCaffrey has his own foundation to support veterans, so this Super Bowl promotion was a natural fit.
“I’m really proud of the work we’ve done, and I’m super excited about the work to come in the future,” McCaffrey said. “We get to play a kid’s game for a living. We play in front of millions of people. And a lot of that is because of the people who have sacrificed for us.”
Rich was surprised that he was selected, but he has spent his entire life in service to others. And now, he’s serving again, this time as a symbol for all the men and women who are part of something much more important than just a “kid’s game.”
Division-leading Dodgers aim to snap home losing trend as they open series against the Giants in a matchup of NL West foes
After dropping their second straight home series over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers head into Monday night’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants sitting atop the National League West Division standings, aiming to avenge a series loss to the Giants from two weeks ago. San Francisco has lost nine of its last 12 games overall and have dropped seven in a row on the road as they begin a 10-game road trip that will keep them away from home until Memorial Day Weekend. The Giants will start Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29 ERA) in his fourth start in the Majors while the Dodgers will counter with second-year Japanese import Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA) who has given up a home run in five consecutive outings.
How to Watch San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers:
Date: May 11, 2026
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV Channel: MLB Network
Location: Dodgers Stadium
Live Stream the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Fubo: Start watching now!
Dodger center fielder Andy Pages, who has helped Los Angeles claim World Series titles in each of his first two years in the Majors, leads the team this season hitting .333, ranking the 25-year-old Cuban third among all hitters in MLB. Pages is hitting .371 so far in May with five extra base hits and 10 RBIs and has successfully reached base in 13 of his last 14 games.
With nine hits in seven games so far this month, Giants second baseman Luis Arraez is hitting a team-leading .310 at the plate in 2026 and is on pace for his eighth career 100-hit campaign. Arraez is one of only two active players with a career batting average above .300, hitting .316 for his career and leads Houston’s Jose Altuve by 15 points.
What time is Giants vs Dodgers?
Coverage of the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers starts Monday, May 11, at 10:00 p.m ET. Tune in to see if the Dodgers can beat the Giants for the fifth time in the last six games at Dodger Stadium or if San Francisco can beat LA for the fourth time in the last five head-to-head matchups.
What channel is the Giants vs Dodgers game on?
Looking to watch the game? Subscribers can tune to MLB Network to catch the action. Make sure you subscribe to Fubo now to watch this matchup at home or on the go with the Fubo TV app.
Watch the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Fubo: Start watching now!
Regional restrictions may apply.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the McCoven who hopefully have better things to do than watch this dreadful baseball team. But if this is your chosen way of spending the day, then welcome, and may the Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the series for you.
Right-hander Tyler Mahle takes the mound for the Giants, as the veteran makes his eighth start of the year. He’s 1-4 on the season, with a 5.00 ERA, a 4.91 FIP, and 34 strikeouts to 18 walks in 36 innings. He was very strong his last time out, pitching 5.1 shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.
For the Pirates, it’s right-hander Bubba Chandler, a 23-year old in his second season. In seven starts this year, Chandler is 1-4 with a 4.76 ERA, a 5.60 FIP, and 31 strikeouts to 26 walks in 34 innings. Chandler gave up two runs in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his last game. He has issued the most walks in the Major Leagues, so he’s probably foaming at the mouth to face the Giants, who apparently believe that drawing walks is a sin on par with murder.
Enjoy the game, everyone. Go Giants! Go moms!
Who: San Francisco Giants (15-24) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (22-18)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
San Francisco, CA
Where to watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 10
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
Baseball is back and finding what channel your favorite team is playing on has become a little bit more confusing since MLB announced plans to produce and distribute broadcasts for nearly a third of the league.
We’re here to help. Here’s everything you need to know Sunday as the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the San Francisco Giants.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants?
First pitch between the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 10.
How to watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants on Sunday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Sunday, May 10, 2026, at 6:33 a.m.
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for May 10 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
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