Two M-A grads make the news in sad ways

Two Menlo-Atherton High School grads, both of whom excelled in their professions, made the news the in the last few days.

Craig Rockhold (photo right) was identified as the man who was killed in a Caltrain collision on Saturday night, which Caltrain spokeswoman Tasha Bartholomew said appeared to be an intentional act.

Craig, who played water polo at M-A and UCLA, was a very well respected referee of that sport at the collegiate level. He also coached swimming for the Stanford Masters Swimming Team and was a Pilates instructor at a number of local studios.

Another former M-A water polo player rose to fame strumming a guitar. Lindsey Buckingham (photo top) was fired by the band Fleetwood Mac prior to their next tour. Lindsey joined the band in 1974 along with fellow M-A grad Stevie Nicks.

Wrote Rob Sheffield in Rolling Stone: “Now this is Peak Mac. Could this happen to any other band? Fleetwood Mac, the crew that loves breakup drama more than any other six or seven bands combined, topped their own standards on Monday, with the announcement that they’d fired Lindsey Buckingham. This split is more than one of the year’s strangest headlines – it’s a new dysfunctional chapter for the fivesome who wrote the book on packing up and shacking up. This is the most quintessential Fleetwood Mac move they’ve ever made. Any band can explode a time or three, but only these guys could break up continuously for 40 years, putting each other through untold agonies and then always coming back together for more punishment. The Mac is dead; long live the Mac.”