The NFL Draft is the Super Bowl of the offseason calendar, and there's no better way to get in the mood than with mock drafts. Obviously there's never going to be a perfect mock draft, but for the third consecutive year, our crew of NFL Draft experts went at it, splitting up selection duties for … Continue reading 2022 NFL Mock Draft 1.0 – Edge rushers dominate top five picks
Rooting for the Orlando Magic has its downsides. The irrelevance. The lack of household names and All-Stars. The losing. But as an impassioned Magic fan for the past 15 years or so, there’s a lot I’ve come to love about this team, even when they aren’t the best. And they certainly weren’t the best in … Continue reading Slam Dunk Sesame: Why rooting for the Magic, the East’s worst team, was a ton of fun in 2021-22
Note: This is a spoiler-free review. It’s hard to beat a great mystery movie. With a special emphasis on intrigue and surprise and limitless permutations of structure — and plenty of room for stylistic flourishes — mysteries are well-built for the medium of the cinema and ensure the intellect is up to par with a … Continue reading Review: The box office gives us a pair of must-watch murder mysteries in Death on the Nile and The Batman
NOTE: This review contains spoilers for Book of Boba Fett “Cool” is the first word that comes to mind when the name of the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett is mentioned. Fett was the Darth Maul before Darth Maul, a silent killer whose mere presence spoke volumes. His vertically flying spacecraft, Slave II, is one … Continue reading Review: Book of Boba Fett is a seismic blast of a good time
We’re entering the biggest football weekend of the year, and all signs point to an all-time classic Super Bowl LVI. After divisional and conference championship rounds that had all six games decided by a field goal, the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals survived and will have the opportunity to win their first Super Bowl … Continue reading Read Option: Super Bowl LVI Edition
This week has been one of the busiest on the sports calendar, from the Georgia Bulldogs knocking off perennial power Alabama in the College Football Playoff title game in college football to Black Monday and the start of playoff football in the NFL to some marquee matchups in the NBA and college basketball. In comparison, … Continue reading Baseball won’t be the same without Jon Lester
NOTE: This is a spoiler-filled review. Read at your own discretion! I’m not a huge Marvel guy. Whenever I review or watch a Marvel movie, I come in with an outsider’s perspective. Sure, I saw Endgame and Infinity War in the theater, but the series doesn’t capture my imagination the same way that, say, Star … Continue reading Spoiler Review: No Way Home is every bit the precious tritium Spider-Man fans are clamoring for
This personal essay was my final assignment for my storytelling structures journalism class at Northwestern University this fall. The prompt was simple -- describe one distinct moment in your life. Enjoy! On the evening of December 17, 2015, there was only one place for a Star Wars fan to be — the movie theater. The … Continue reading Personal Essay: On “The Force Awakens”, generational storytelling and movie magic
Last spring, I penned a reported personal essay about my experience training for the Chicago Marathon, from the moment I got the fateful acceptance email to the end of my training in June. Plenty has happened since then — not least of which, the marathon itself — and it’s about time for an update. My … Continue reading Fight Till The Finish: My Experience Running the 2021 Chicago Marathon
I’ve had a good time at the movie theater this fall, having thoroughly enjoyed Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings in September and No Time to Die on its opening weekend on October 10. Two more flicks captured my attention and promised to do the same, science-fiction adaptation Dune and drama House of Gucci. As of … Continue reading Reviews: Dune and House of Gucci make for a memorable November in the box office, and for different reasons
Riker's Block 