Riker’s Block

  • 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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  • Newspaper Article: XCellent Coaches

    In high school cross country, team performances can ebb and flow year-to-year as varsity runners enter the spotlight and then graduate. The elite programs are the ones that stay constant and are contenders annually, even as the names change, and the only way to build an elite program isn’t through any one runner but through…

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  • Jon Lester for NL Cy Young

    This should come as no surprise, but the Cubs are really, really good this year. They lead the majors with triple-digit wins and clinched home-field advantage in the playoffs before any other team came close to a playoff berth. The National League infield was composed of four Cubs players and the awards ballot will be…

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  • Excerpt: Track and Trail, My Welcome-to-the-Big-Leagues Race

    This excerpt is taken from my memoir about my freshman cross country season and is about my first invitational meet, the Track’n’Trail Invitational. Though it was technically the  second race I ran in, this was the one that gave me the welcome-to-the-big -leagues moment.  Being in the top ten for Wootton opened another door later…

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  • Vikes, Boys Down But Not Out

    Nothing deflates an NFL team more than losing their starting quarterback. This preseason, two Super Bowl hopefuls were hit hard by the injury bug and both injuries will affect the teams in the long term. For the Dallas Cowboys, 36-year-old quarterback Tony Romo was viewed as an injury risk, especially after missing 12 games last…

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  • Top Sports, Moments from Rio Olympics

    Sadly, the Summer Olympics are over and are on break for another four years. On the bright side, this year’s Olympics were nothing short of excellent. Despite pre-Olympic controversy surrounding the host city, Rio de Janeiro, the Games provided tons of moments that made me proud to be an American, or even more, a Marylander…

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  • Read Option Column: HOF Game and Preseason Week 1

    This upcoming NFL season, I’ll be tracking the action from around the league in a weekly column called Read Option. Every week I’ll tackle three or four topics and provide my thoughts on different storylines. It isn’t all football- I’ve already talked about TV and rugby! This column will be published on the website NFL…

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  • NFL Preview: Best, Worst Case Scenarios for NFC Teams

    NFC East Dallas Cowboys Best-Case Scenario: 12-4. Ezekiel Elliott lives up to the hype, rushing for over 1,500 yards while Tony Romo stays healthy and at Pro Bowl level. With the rushing attack keeping opposing defenses on the field, Dallas’ defense stays off the field. Worst-Case Scenario: 4-12. Romo goes down with injury and the…

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