THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE, June, 7, 2015

At first, I wasn't sure I wanted American Pharoah to end that 37-year drought between Triple Crowns in horse racing.

The memory of Secretariat capping his Triple Crown in 1973 with a dominating victory in the Belmont Stakes. Back then, we had a dog - a dachshund, of course - who used to chase us along the fenceline as we rode our bikes down the street, Casey thundering down the stretch "like a tremendous machine."

Then, four years later, I rooted for Seattle Slew - even though I'm a Portland Trail Blazers fan.

And, just one year later, there was Affirmed beating Alydar in three neck-and-neck races.

Three Triple Crowns in six years, etched in my then-teenaged mind ever since - what's the big deal?

THEN I noticed the glee from the "younger" crowd after the four-legged athlete also known as "A.P." won the Belmont on Saturday.

Good for them, I realized.

Unless they were crawling around in front of the TV in their diapers, likely no one younger than 40 has experienced a Triple Crown winner in their lifetime. People of that age have only seen it through the magic of ESPN Classic or YouTube, but never got to experience it as it happened.

Well, now they have, and congrats on the memory. Back in the '70s, there was still just the three network channels, and maybe another rogue channel or two on the dial (yes, the dial).

But times have changed. Now, there's hundreds of channels fighting for your attention, in addition to the ability to "watch" things online. Horse racing and the Triple Crown are not as popular now as back then, and dilution is just one reason why.

Whether the "youngsters" will be able to remember the name American Pharoah 37 years from now - heck, even a week from now - well, that might not even matter anymore.

FOR JUST about success story, it seems, there's a story behind the story.

In this case, the story is Lakeland High senior Preston Roth, who took over as the Hawks' No. 1 golfer this spring and made his friend and mentor - not to mention Lakeland's No. 1 golfer the past three seasons, Derek Bayley - proud.

Roth was in contention to win a state title at last month's state 4A golf tournament, before finishing fourth. Still, he helped the Lakeland boys finish fourth - the first golf trophy brought home by the school.

The story behind the story is Michelle Grafos, Roth's swing coach, and former assistant pro at The Links Golf Course - Lakeland's home course. The story is told by Preston's mother, Rhonda Roth:

"Michelle was the most influential person in getting Preston interested in golf," Rhonda said. "Preston got a job at The Links at the age of 14. He was a baseball player. Michelle convinced him after his freshman year of baseball that he should make the switch. It became her goal to take the baseball swing out of him Preston had played baseball since he was 5 so this was a big decision and boy are we glad he did.

"When Michelle moved to Indian Canyon (in Spokane), Preston didn't think twice about keeping her as his coach," Rhonda added. "Preston drove there for lessons on a regular basis. He'd at times even call and get a lesson over the phone between tournaments if he needed it. She worked really hard in helping Preston get noticed at the college level - making lots of phone calls to coaches, helping him with his resume, and giving him lists of colleges to look at.

"We feel lucky to have her invest so much into Preston," Rhonda concluded. "We realize every kid does not get that opportunity."

SPEAKING OF Bayley, the former Hawk who recently completed his freshman season with Washington State men's golf team will tee it up Monday at a one-day, 36-hole U.S. Open sectional qualifier at the Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum, Wash.

A total of 50 players will vie for three berths at the U.S. Open, which visits the Pacific Northwest for the first time in the event's 115-year history June 18-21 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.

Bayley tees off at 8:40 a.m. in Round 1. Round 2 is in the afternoon.

Bidding to qualify for the U.S. Open for the first time, Bayley finished second in a recent local qualifier in Wasilla, Alaska, but advanced when the winner declined the sectional bid.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.