Category: NCAA

2025 College Football Preview: Predicting the 2025 College Football Playoff, and what makes each entrant dangerous

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Full disclosure: college football has changed so much over the past half-decade that I felt it was necessary to complete a sweeping review of the sport’s recent developments before choosing my champion. Some moves have been overwhelming successes: the return of the EA Sports College Football video game, an expanded College Football playoff and the … Continue reading 2025 College Football Preview: Predicting the 2025 College Football Playoff, and what makes each entrant dangerous

Opinion: April Madness? NCAA tourney saves best for final weekend in shocking and satisfying Final Four

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With 46 seconds left in the NCAA tournament championship game, top seeds Florida and Houston lined up along the key of the Final Four court, deadlocked at 64 points each. The fact that two top seeds survived until the last day of the tournament wasn’t a major surprise. But the path each team took to … Continue reading Opinion: April Madness? NCAA tourney saves best for final weekend in shocking and satisfying Final Four

Opinion: The first weekend of men’s March Madness game eliminated the Cinderella stories. Is NIL the reason?

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For a moment on Sunday evening, the Colorado State Rams reveled in the greatest sensation March Madness has to offer: a clutch three-pointer to take the lead in the final seconds of regulation.  Rams star guard Nique Clifford backed down a Maryland defender, then fired a daring pass across the court to wide-open guard Jalen … Continue reading Opinion: The first weekend of men’s March Madness game eliminated the Cinderella stories. Is NIL the reason?

Opinion: Dan Hurley’s flirtation with the NBA made sense, but passing on the Lakers’ head coaching position was a brilliant move

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One of the fascinating developments in the sports world over the past 12 months has been changing of the guard for some of sports’ most iconic franchises and programs.  Nick Saban’s retirement at Alabama football coming off a College Football Playoff appearance was a shock, while Pete Carroll’s dismissal with the Seattle Seahawks and Bill … Continue reading Opinion: Dan Hurley’s flirtation with the NBA made sense, but passing on the Lakers’ head coaching position was a brilliant move

Opinion: Authentic sports video games are thrilling, but arcade-type features are the key ingredient

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This college football offseason, the hype isn’t focused on Heisman favorites, head coaching changes at three of the four College Football Playoff participants, the seismic changes of conference realignment or another on-the-field storyline. For what I have to imagine is the first time ever, the buzz is all about a video game: EA Sports’ College … Continue reading Opinion: Authentic sports video games are thrilling, but arcade-type features are the key ingredient

From uniform breakdowns to hot-off-the-press profiles, my 15 favorite articles as a Daily Northwestern reporter

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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

Yankee shortstops, Alabama running backs among most high-profile positions in sports

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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

Welcome to Atlanta: How my journalism residency at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports desk compared to expectations

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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

2020-21 College Basketball Preview: Big Ten has its share of contenders, but they’ll have to survive the sport’s deepest conference first

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The last time that March Madness crowned a Big Ten team as champion, I had not even been born. Now, I’m covering the league. Sure, they’ve been close — Michigan as runner-up in 2018, Wisconsin in 2015 and Michigan State in 2009 — but no Big Ten squad has taken it all the way since … Continue reading 2020-21 College Basketball Preview: Big Ten has its share of contenders, but they’ll have to survive the sport’s deepest conference first