Jameson's Sport Writing Portfolio

It may only be July, but hockey season is only three months away. First puck drop is October 2nd, but the drama has already begun as the summer progresses. The Draft and Award Show were some of the biggest highlights; now as free agency starts, the league is going to be way different. Many of the current rosters won't be together as the trade wars and free agency bids begin. So let's take a look around the league at some of the biggest stories. 1) Hughes and Kakko go #1 and #2 It shouldn't be a surprise that Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko got picked first and second overall in the Draft. They had been hyped up for months going into the Draft and they are easily the best players in the prospect pool. The Devils and Rangers struck gold with their new forwards, especially when they are two teams in need of an extreme offensive upgrade. Hughes will give the Devils a legitimate two-line center arsenal. He and Nico Hischier will provide excellent playmaking and scoring in th...

I don't watch a ton of MLB or any baseball for that matter. I keep up with the Yankees just because I'm from New York and my family has rooted for the Pinstripes since before I can remember. I've been lucky enough to be alive for most of the Yankees World Series wins in the 1990s and the 2000s (mostly the 2000s because I was a baby in the late 90s lol). Now the new generation of Yankees has come with talents like  Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ Lamehieu, Arolids Chapman, and Masahiro Tanaka.   This season has been an interesting one for the Yanks: the roster has plagued by injuries to the big players like Stanton and Judge, but the guys who sub in are playing just as well and crushing home runs like it's mundane. The Yankees are good for first place in the AL East, and I'm hopeful they win another World Series title soon. Baseball is a weird position in America right now. It has lost some of its appeal to the public for a multitude of reasons. One is the ris...

This summer is rife with transfer rumors as soccer fans everywhere pay close attention to blogs, articles, and the news to hear about major signings for big clubs. There is a lot of fixation right now about which major superstars will be next season. We have already seen huge spending on Real Madrid's part for Eden Hazard of Chelsea, Luka Jovic of Frankfurt, Ferland Mendy of Lyon, and Rodrygo of Santos.  While the Spanish superclubs (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid) and the English Top 6 (Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool) look to get strong in hope of contending for domestic trophies and continental glory, there seems to be more rumors going around about players making switches from other leagues. One of the biggest names that nobody is talking about anymore in Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan. The Argentine striker was once a highly-pursued player, but now he is undesirable by all clubs, including his current one. What happened?...

Never in this lifetime would I say that US Soccer is actually performing like a world-class team on two huge international stages. It is hard to imagine the US being successful in a sport that Americans regard as foreign. This summer is proving that American soccer is changing for the best, and we as a country should be supporting them. Let's start with the Women's team, possibly the best women's international team in the world and the most successful since the Women's World Cup started in 1991. Since the formation of this tournament, the USWNT has captured three World Cups, most recently in 2015. They have produced exemplarily talent such as Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath, and of course, Alex Morgan. Ever since the US girls won their first title in 1991, they have been a major force in women's football and have done wonders for promoting US soccer across the country and bringing recognition to the sport. The USWNT has rarely had a worse finish ...

In their first game of the group stage in the Gold Cup tournament, the US Men's National Team put on a great display of the talent they have compiled. With players coming from European leagues like the Premier League and the Bundesliga, along with homegrown ones found throughout the MLS and USL. It's fair to say the US team has started to figure themselves out as they came out swinging in the opening match against Guyana. There was a major gap in talent between the two nations: the US looked solid and composed, while Guyana looked lucky to be on the same pitch as the Star and Stripes. This match proved a lot about the US Men's team, especially after missing out on the World Cup. Instead of looking like chickens running around with their heads cut off, the American boys looked composed, professional, and everything you could ask of a national team. The 4-0 rout of Guyana was a chance for less-known US players to showcase their skills. We had the chance to see players like ...

First off, let me say congratulations to the St. Louis Blues for that insane season! It's hard to believe they were in last place at one point in the season, but I have to give them so much credit. They battled through a head coaching change, multiple goalie changes until Jordan Binnington got the full starting job, and had to fight through the wicked-tough Central Division and Western Conference. The Blues showed that anything is possible with determination, the right group of players and coaches, and the drive to win. I doubt anyone pictured St. Louis to be in the Stanley Cup Final after being in last place. What a way to cap off an unimaginable season! The Blues' corp really got it done when it mattered most. Ryan O'Reilly really proved to be the difference maker for them when hope seemed to dwindle. Vladimir Tarasenko also had a great playoff run and probably could have won the Conn Smythe if he had notched more goals. But he had some great assists along with linemate...

The NHL draft is only a week away. The top three picks are owned by the New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers, and the Chicago Blackhawks. The media's attention is centered heavily around the first two picks though. The hype around American forward Jack Hughes and Finnish phenom Kaapo Kakko is real; just look at their respected highlight tapes. However, as a Rangers fan, I'm less concerned about who the Devils take. They can take either of them; both forwards would be good. I am more concerned about who the Rangers would take and how it will affect the ongoing rebuild. The Rangers have a history of drafting poorly. Going back to the 2010 Draft, they had the chance to pick Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz (two players currently in the Stanley Cup Final) or Cam Fowler, three elite talents. Instead, they chose Dylan McIlrath, a player who didn't break into the NHL until 2016 and was benched, scratched, and ultimately traded for a sixth-round pick in the 2017 draft. Gle...

Real Madrid right winger Gareth Bale has been lighting up soccer news headlines for the past few weeks as speculation continues on which club he will be with come August. Bale, 29, has been involved in Madrid’s dominance in the Champions League from 2013-2018, where he won four Champions League titles, one La Liga title, three UEFA Super Cups, three FIFA Club World Cups, one Copa Del Rey, and one Spanish Suercopa.  Yet, the Madrid front office and manager Zinedine Zidane want to offload Bale after a dismal 2018-19 season. He no longer fits the style of play despite all the efforts he gave to secure Madrid these trophies. Bale has been notoriously injury-prone the last few seasons. It shouldn’t be surprising that Zidane sees the winger as deadweight. He doesn’t want a player that makes £480,000 per week always being out and not contributing in crucial moments. Now it has become a game of Player vs. Manager; Bale has made it clear he will not leave Madrid. Yet he may not have a choic...

On Saturday June 1, I watched as Tottenham lost in a lackluster Champions League to a Liverpool team that was at best average. I don't really like how this game went down, and not just because Spurs lost, but for how the game was officiated and played out. From the start, it seemed like this game was going to go in favor of Liverpool, but that first minute was not called correctly. Perhaps Moussa Sissoko did point to tell one of his teammates to get behind in the box to block Sadio Mane's cross, but it did seem like Mane kicked the ball intentionally into his arm. I thought that wasn't even considered when the ref went to check VAR. Tottenham could've bounced back, but that killed the entire mentality of the team. It was demoralizing to concede a controversial penalty in the first two minutes. Spurs did dominate most of that game; they had 61% of possession in the game  and had two more attempts on goal than Liverpool (16 to their 14). But early concedes are the worst ...

The Blues Need to Win the Stanley Cup and  Here's Why The St. Louis Blues have been to the Stanley Cup Finals on three separate occasions, in 1968, 1969, and 1970, and have been the runner-up each time. Last time, the Blues faced Bobby Orr's Boston Bruins team where they lost the series 4-0 and were subjected to the infamous Orr dive after the overtime-winning goal.  Last night, the Blues got a taste of what losing really feels like when they got demolished by the Bruins 7-2 at their first Stanley Cup Final game in the Enterprise Center. In this iconic rematch between the Bruins and Blues, it is difficult to determine who the favorite is in the series. They are evenly matched in terms of players: Boston has David Pastrnak, St. Louis has Vladimir Tarasenko. Boston has Zdeno Chara; St. Louis has Alex Pietrangelo. They should be equally matched, yet last night Boston proved that sometimes experience can go a long way when it comes to getting significant wins. Blues fan shou...

Where Should Dybala Go? Being of Italian heritage and a fan of soccer, I admire the club Juventus, better known as the "Old Lady" of Italian soccer. Everyone in Italy knows the club and their reign of dominance over the rest of Serie A the last nine years. A lot of Juve's success in Italy and the Champions League has come from the tactics of former manager Massimilano Allegri and the current group of players. But with Allegri moving on from Juventus following their eighth consecutive Scudetto win, changes are coming. Last summer, Juventus broke the bank when they paid the £105 million transfer fee for elite Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo . The whole culture around Juve has changed: the team has found a prolific goal scorer who has four Champions League titles under his belt and holds the record for most Champions League goals scored.  Yet, Ronaldo's first season in black and white didn't meet Juve's expectations.  They were knocked out of Coppa Ita...