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I first conceptualized this post in early June, back when the Orlando Magic were coming off an absolutely abysmal 2020-21 season. Back then, the tenor was unabating gloom, and for good reason: a midseason trade deadline that saw the playoff core jettisoned across the NBA, injuries to the top two long-term prospects and a lowly…
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The following article is a reported personal essay I developed through my Journalism class this spring. Enjoy! The opportunity to run the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon was just too enticing to pass up. Never mind that I hadn’t run seriously for two years and hadn’t completed even a half marathon. The race’s Oct.…
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The following is an essay I wrote as my final paper for my Film Technology class at Northwestern. Enjoy! Directors George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg transformed the cinema industry in the 1970s, sharing both a friendship and status as leaders in the New Hollywood movement. The 70s saw the pair release blockbusters, Spielberg’s Jaws (1975)…
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The Orlando Magic’s 2020-21 season could not have gone much worse. The two franchise building blocks, Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac, missed pretty much all of the season, while starting lineup linchpins Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon were dealt to Chicago and Denver, respectively. The Magic sank to the bottom of the NBA and sent…
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The Riker Block mock draft has officially become a tradition. Last year’s mock draft had no shortage of bold picks, with some (Justin Herbert at 3, Justin Jefferson at 16) making their drafters look like geniuses and a handful of correctly predicted picks. Most of last year’s cast of characters returned for the 2021 iteration,…
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As with most pro sports leagues nowadays, the term “offseason” has become a misnomer in the NFL. The months following the Super Bowl, the most-watched sports event in America, are packed with contract decisions, free agent signings, pro days and combine performances for prospects, and, the highlight of the offseason, the NFL Draft from April…
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Two gloomy, football-less Sundays have passed since the finale of the 2020 NFL season. But the football calendar hasn’t turned to its new year, giving me an excuse to return back to what was a thrilling season and knock out my season in review. In four downs, let’s look back on 21 weeks of madness. …
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When Tom Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I was in absolute shock. The look of 20-year New England Patriot and owner of a record six Super Bowl rings in the red and black of the Buccaneers was jarring, the rare instance of an all-time legend joining a small-market, side note of a team. When…
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Patrick Andres broke the news to me, as he does on many occasions. I was eating my carb-loaded dinner with Patrick, Drew and Davis in Allison Dining Hall when Patrick called across the table: Jon Lester to the Nats. A couple hours later, Lester’s one-year deal was official. This signing doesn’t send shockwaves through the…
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John Harbaugh called Sunday’s Baltimore-Tennessee bout the biggest win of his career. The guy has won a Super Bowl and has the most road playoff wins in league history, but the case makes sense, given where the Ravens were a couple weeks ago, where they were a year ago and where they were a couple…
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Riker's Block 