My best work of 2014

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It’s list season. Actually I might have missed list season. I’ve spent the last couple weeks reading all sorts of posts sharing the best books, movies, articles, cat photos, etc. of 2014. So I hope I’m not too late, waiting until December 31.

If I am late, it’s because I was a little hesitant at first to do this. It seems like a bit of a narcissistic exercise to put together my best work of the year. But then again what is this whole website for?

And maybe it’s a little less vain if I take this opportunity to point out how thankful I am for all the support I’ve received from friends and family in 2014. I’m fortunate to have many great people in my life who offer constant encouragement and support, not to mention feedback, retweets and pageviews. So thanks so much to all of you.

Here is my best work from 2014:

My story about the Lehigh/Lafayette game on the front page of the New York Times sports section.
My story about the Lehigh/Lafayette game on the front page of the New York Times sports section.

I wrote about Lehigh and Lafayette staging the 150th meeting of the most-played rivalry in college football history at Yankee Stadium. They published it on the front page of the New York Times sports section.

I got a job at Sports illustrated and wrote my first story for SI.com about the symbolism of Jimmy Rollins being the first homegrown Phillies star to leave town.

I also wrote a blog post about Rollins that was much more personal (and probably better than the piece SI ran) about my experience following him for 15 years.

I wrote a piece for Baseball Prospectus about Ruben Amaro and his penchant for giving long-term contracts to pitchers. It was republished by FOX Sports’ Just a Bit Outside, and I was invited to discuss the piece on a radio show on 97.5 the Fanatic, which was my first time being asked to discuss something I’ve written on the radio.

Interviewing Brandon Gibson and Will Davis after Dolphins practice in London.
Interviewing players after Dolphins practice in London.

I finished my master’s in journalism at Northwestern, and for my capstone project I spent two months working on a nine-minute video package about the controversy surrounding Wrigley Field’s 100th anniversary.

I won a contest (partially by making this ridiculous submission video) to cover the NFL International Series in London. While I was in London I filmed another fun video, and a handful of other packages outlined on my blog.

Checking out the NHL rink installation at Soldier Field.
NHL rink installation at Soldier Field.

I got a press credential for the NHL rink installation at Soldier Field and then I went to the Blackhawks/Penguins game and it snowed the whole time.

I wrote a piece for the 700 Level that was half a retrospective 10 years after one of my favorite football games and half an obituary for my beloved car.

I spent three months trying to get an NBA Hall of Famer on the phone, and then once I finally got him we talked about Baywatch.

And finally, I built a website to post all of this stuff in one spot.

As much work as I did writing and editing video, building this site was actually one of my biggest projects of the year.

But I’m really happy to have it, I hope you’ve enjoyed checking it out, and I hope I have as much fun stuff to post on here in 2015. See you then.