Option 1, 2020’s Burning Question: Which 10-win team is left out in the AFC? The NFL voted to expand the playoffs from six to seven teams per conference during the offseason. Yet entering Week 17, one double-digit team was guaranteed to miss the playoffs, a rarity even in a six-per-conference year. Baltimore left little doubt … Continue reading Week 17 Read Option: The Final Column
March 11, 2020 will go down as one of the most important days in the history of America. And of all aspects of American life to serve as an announcement of the arrival of the coronavirus to American shores, it was sports that took center stage. In the early evening hours, news broke that Utah … Continue reading 10 Burning Questions for the sports New Year
Option 1, Week 16’s Burning Question: Who clinches a trip to the playoffs? The penultimate week of the season presented a couple teams the opportunity to punch their ticket to the playoffs. The Browns and Bucs looked to end playoff droughts of over a decade, while a couple of division leaders, including Washington and Pittsburgh, … Continue reading Week 16 Read Option: Miami survives thanks to Mack Hollins, Fitzmagic
2020 has been a strange year for movies. The future of the theater, already in question with the rise of streaming services (and movie ticket costs) and recent developments such as MoviePass, became even murkier in a global pandemic. Many movie theaters closed in March and haven't opened since, including those in my home state … Continue reading Pixar installment Soul is worthy of holiday cheer
When I was in middle and high school, I’d typically go to one NBA regular season and watch another on TV. I’d follow the league for sure, but I didn’t set aside time to watch NBA basketball. College has been an entirely different experience, whether because of my friends’ devotion to the league, my fantasy … Continue reading Remote Drop Guide to the 2020-21 NBA Season
Option 1, Week 15’s Burning Question: Will Drew Brees return to Pro Bowl form? Drew Brees has earned his reputation as a generational quarterback, but with his team reeling off four straight wins with Taysom Hill at quarterback after Brees went down with an injury, his absence didn’t seem to be the worst thing in … Continue reading Week 15 Read Option: Josh Allen lifts Buffalo to first AFC East title since 1995
Option 1, Week 14’s Burning Question: How will the AFC Wild Card race shake out? The addition of a seventh playoff team for each conference has made one of the best parts of the NFL season, the playoff hunt, even better. And with multiple games between playoff contenders on the slate, Week 14 promised to … Continue reading Week 14 Read Option: Lamar’s return helps Ravens edge Browns
Option 1, Week 13’s Burning Question: How does the weekend shake up the MVP race? I don’t believe the MVP award means all that much. I was thrilled when Lamar Jackson became the first Raven to take home the honor last year, but I would trade it in a heartbeat for playoff wins. And it’s … Continue reading Week 13 Read Option: Mayfield downs Titans with near-perfect performance
Option 1, Week 12’s Burning Question: What does a post-quarterback NFL look like? The marquee afternoon matchup pitted the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks, all-time legend Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against MVP favorite Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs. The lesser afternoon matchup pitted two teams who weren’t starting quarterbacks. A couple years … Continue reading Week 12 Read Option: Denver Welcomes Fans to a Post-Quarterback NFL
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
Riker's Block 