Riker’s Block

  • My 2016 Pro Bowl Ballot

    My 2016 Pro Bowl Ballot

    With only four weeks left in the season, the playoff race is intensifying. Today, I took the chance to look back at the previous 12 weeks and submitted a Pro Bowl ballot for the best players this year. Below are my selections.     Quarterbacks: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints; Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys; Matt

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  • Week 12 Read Option: Surges and Streaks

    Happy Thanksgiving! The Thanksgiving slate was filling this year, with thrilling games between archrivals in the NFC East and North. On Sunday, the action continued. With so much parity around the league, the best teams from last year are out of the playoff picture and teams that haven’t been in the conversation for a while

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  • Week 11 Read Option: Great QBs on Mediocre Teams

    Aside from the stellar performances from Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, quarterback play has been incredibly unpredictable the first eleven weeks of the NFL season. Quarterback play has caused the playoff picture to shake up, too. Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, and Dak Prescott are some of the names that are being

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  • State of the Union: Baltimore Ravens

    My favorite two teams, the Cowboys and Ravens, play each other for the first time in four years and are going in totally different directions. In this article, I’ll tackle the Ravens and their recent downturn. Since winning the Super Bowl in 2013, the Ravens have been on a downturn. Gone are the days of

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  • State of the Union: Dallas Cowboys

    My favorite two teams, the Cowboys and Ravens, play each other for the first time in four years and are going in totally different directions. In this article, I’ll tackle the Cowboys and their stunning breakout performance to start the season. Ten weeks into the NFL season, and the team with the best record in

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  • Memoir: My First Experience at States

    On my calendar, there is one week that carries an unmistakable stench- the second weekend in November. Some of my most vivid, memorable experiences as a teenager have all come in the same week. In both seventh and eighth grade, it was the week that I’d been cut from the basketball team. Getting cut was

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  • NFL Midseason Ranks

    NFL Midseason Ranks

    The 2016 NFL regular season is at its 50 yard line. Surprisingly, the league has taken a backseat, both to the MLB playoffs (Go Cubs!) and polarizing presidential election. Why? Many factors, including the lack of dominant teams and the quality of play. At the halfway mark, here’s where each team ranks. 1)New England Patriots

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  • The Curse is over! Zobrist’s double lifts Cubs to championship

    I’ve never had more fun watching a sports team than the Chicago Cubs this year. When my favorite player and second cousin Jon Lester joined the previously moribund Cubs, the first thing anybody, myself included, thought about was World Series. Lester, a part of the Red Sox organization when they broke the Curse of the

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  • Six Mediocre Movies I Loved as a Kid

    I’m a big movie fan, as evidenced by my list of my fifty favorite movies (which will soon be updated to reflect the new year). Obviously, my taste in movies has changed over time. These are some of my childhood favorites that make me look back and laugh. Note: To make this list, each movie

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