Author Archives: j4804laird

For most college athletes, getting drafted into a professional league is something they have dreamed about from the time they started playing sports. And in the NFL where the careers of players so often last no longer than a few years, the moment a player is drafted and there name is broadcast to the worldContinue reading “Blog 13: The NFL Draft”

For many people, myself included, sports have often served as a way to get away from the things that are troubling us in real life. Whether it’s actively participating in a sport so that for even the briefest of times you are solely focused on the game at hand, or watching a sport so yourContinue reading “Blog 12: The Last Dance”

As people try to adjust to the new normal during this period of global disarray and social distancing due to the coronavirus, many are having to do so without their biggest comforts in life. Whether it’s the ability to spend time with friends, family or a significant other, not being able exercise properly, or evenContinue reading “Blog Post 10: The Last Soccer League on Earth”

This past weekend, there was a round of protests at soccer matches in the German top tier with multiple games being paused to deal with the protests. The basis for the protests was the belief that the owner of one of the German teams is not acting in compliance with the unwritten rules of theContinue reading “Blog 6: Protests in Sports”

The NFL has a problem with off the field violence. Ever since the Ray Rice incident in 2014, which was horribly bungled by the league, the NFL has tried, rather unsuccessfully, to adapt a stronger stance against domestic violence. An attempt to institute a policy against domestic violence was meant to create a strict baselineContinue reading “Blog 4: Covering Athletes with Troubled Pasts”

Racism isn’t some novel concept in sports, it is in the fabric of every single game and is often tied into the very foundation of every league. Yet in many parts of the world it at least seems like progress is being made to at least somewhat combat the racist behavior of fans, organizations andContinue reading “Blog 3: Coverage of Racism in European Soccer”

Anyone who watches sports can see the futility of the halftime interview with coaches and players. The time frame for such interviews is often limited to a matter of seconds, a practically useless amount of time to glean anything intriguing. Making the job even more difficult is the unwillingness of the subjects on most occasionsContinue reading “Blog 2: The Singular Dimension of Sideline Reporting”

Sports have been the thing that my life has revolved around ever since I was young. Sports, and soccer in particular, are what eventually turned my attention towards journalism as a career path, and even as I have expanded my view to encompass other possibilities, it is still at the root of nearly everything IContinue reading “Blog 1: Assigning Value to Athletes”