INDIANAPOLIS -- Last week, I published highlights from the first half of my trip to the NFL Scouting Combine. Though defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore's electric combine performance was my favorite part of the week, plenty of great conversations and moments took place over the weekend. In addition to photo and video content, I freelanced a … Continue reading NFL Combine Photo Gallery: Weekend Highlights
Author: jrike10
NFL Combine Photo Gallery: Wednesday and Thursday Highlights
INDIANAPOLIS -- The phrase "NFL offseason" isn't quite a truthful one. Just a couple weeks after the Kansas City Chiefs captured another Super Bowl title in Arizona, the NFL world has converged on Indianapolis as the draft buzz is starting to pick up. Of course, I felt obligated to make the trip and once again … Continue reading NFL Combine Photo Gallery: Wednesday and Thursday Highlights
Mission Impossible: My Super Bowl LVII Week Travel Log
Covering your first Super Bowl is like a Mission Impossible movie. Picturesque locales. Famous people. Impersonators of those famous people (Andy Reid on radio row especially). Stunts to acquire otherwise unthinkable access. Expensive gear. And for journalists, missions that feel in the moment as if they hold life-or-death implications and require tracking down elusive targets. … Continue reading Mission Impossible: My Super Bowl LVII Week Travel Log
From uniform breakdowns to hot-off-the-press profiles, my 15 favorite articles as a Daily Northwestern reporter
My time writing at the Daily Northwestern was like the animals on Noah’s Ark — a whole bunch of pairs of two. Two seasons covering volleyball, my first beat. Two seasons covering men’s basketball, my first multiple-times-a-week and travel beat. Two seasons covering baseball. Two seasons covering my favorite sport, football. And two editorial positions … Continue reading From uniform breakdowns to hot-off-the-press profiles, my 15 favorite articles as a Daily Northwestern reporter
2022 NFL Season Preview: Mahomes, Herbert star in electric football fall
You asked for it, you get it. A 2022 NFL season preview, complete with tiered team rankings and analysis, an awards ballot and playoff predictions. Below, I've predicted each of the 272 regular season games and 13 playoff games and crowned a prospective Super Bowl winner. Whether you agree or disagree with my projections, this … Continue reading 2022 NFL Season Preview: Mahomes, Herbert star in electric football fall
Yankee shortstops, Alabama running backs among most high-profile positions in sports
I’ve been watching ESPN’s eight-part documentary on famed Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter. It’s an interesting watch for me, because I certainly remember Jeter’s Yankees in the back-half of his career and, as a fan of the Red Sox, how much I detested those teams. So far, the documentary is well-paced, has interviews with just about … Continue reading Yankee shortstops, Alabama running backs among most high-profile positions in sports
In Obi-Wan Kenobi show, Star Wars finds the perfect fulcrum to its prequel and original trilogies
Note: This will be a spoiler-filled review (watch it if you haven’t!) There’s no feeling like seeing a Star Wars movie in the theater. The months of anticipation, theorizing and deconstructing trailers leading into an immersive and otherworldly experience. The lightsabers clashing, the John Williams score playing, the plot twists and sweeping planetscapes. For a … Continue reading In Obi-Wan Kenobi show, Star Wars finds the perfect fulcrum to its prequel and original trilogies
Welcome to Atlanta: How my journalism residency at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports desk compared to expectations
ATLANTA — This spring, school looked a lot different. I can’t remember any other year when my day started at 2 p.m., when my homework was circulated to thousands of people I had never met or when watching sports was a welcome obligation, rather than a midday distraction. So I don’t think it’s hyperbole to … Continue reading Welcome to Atlanta: How my journalism residency at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports desk compared to expectations
Short Story: An IKEA Adventure
The following is a short story I turned in as my final project for Northwestern's Intro to Fiction Writing class. As a longtime IKEA fan, it brought me great joy to work on this project, from three rounds of revision all the way to the final product. Enjoy! Cliff didn’t think twice about his sister … Continue reading Short Story: An IKEA Adventure
2022 NFL Mock Draft 1.0 – Edge rushers dominate top five picks
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