20 years later, Matt Cassel is still in the sports spotlight

Twenty years ago, Matt Cassel was playing in the Little League World Series for Northridge Little League as a 12-year-old on national TV.

On Monday, he was named the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.

Life has been incredibly good to him. From Chatsworth High to USC to the NFL, he keeps finding ways to stay relevant in the sports world.

It’s been exciting for all the friends he’s made and the people who have stayed in touch or cheered from afar to come along for the ride.

I’ve never seen anyone who’s ever said anything bad about Cassel _ except for an NFL fan from the Chiefs or the Patriots not satisfied after one of his performances. Hey, it happens.

He’s still beloved at USC, at Chatsworth and in the San Fernando Valley.

He was one of the funnest high school athletes to cover, because he was always trying to have fun.

Here’s the link to a story from 2011 when Chatsworth retired his football jersey that explains all you need to know about Cassel.

Twitter:@LATSondheimer