Jameson's Sport Writing Portfolio

Wow, what a Euros. What more could we have possibly asked for? Every single match was a nail-biter, even with some of the smaller national teams. Fans were back in the stadiums, there was chanting, jeering, whistling, a lot of high moments, some that we wish we never had to witness (glad Eriksen is doing ok), and last night, the champions were crowned. Italy came into this tournament as a potential winner but nobody seemed to truly rate them as a full-on contender. Yet, what we witnessed over the course of this month-long journey was the return to one of Europe's greatest teams. After that penalty shootout against England, it was very clear to me, and the rest of soccer media: Italy is back. Italy's revival was not by accident. Instead, it was a careful, strategic approach to returning to glory. Italy hadn't won an international tournament since the 2006 World Cup, another match that is forever hallowed into the Italian footballing culture. They missed out on the 2018 World...

Even if you are not an NHL fan, you have probably heard about Alex Ovechkin. He's the caveman-looking Russian phenom who has taken the League by storm since he burst onto the scene in 2004. He has been the leading goalscorer for the league for many years, at times the NHL's MVP, winning scoring titles, and bringing a Stanley Cup to America's capital city for the first time in 2018. Ovechkin has been the heart of the Washington Capitals in the modern era. He has overcome many grueling NHL seasons and postseasons to earn his name on the Cup, but now there is one hump he cannot avoid: the cruel fate of Father Time. The clock is ticking on the Capitals and Ovechkin. Their contention window is closing and Ovechkin's contract is expiring. So, the question remains, how much longer can Ovechkin keep up his elite production, and can the Capitals stay afloat? The 2021 season was by no means a bad one for Ovechkin. He shattered more goal-scoring records as he tied Marcel Dionne wi...

Nine years is a long time. People grow, their personality changes, for better or for worse. In sports, nine years is like a century. It almost feels inevitable to try and overthrow a team that’s been at the very top for such a long stretch of time. However, it only takes a small stroke of good fortune for circumstances to change. Inter Milan were the lucky lads who got that. For the first time in nine years, Italian soccer has a new champion. The evil empire that Juventus has become in Italy has been vanquished. Their chokehold on Serie A and Italian cups has loosened. Everyone is thrilled as the parity that once made the Italian league such a powerhouse in Europe is returning slowly but surely. And Inter winning the Scudetto is just the beginning.  Context is important in this manner. Ever since the Italian match-fixing scandal was uncovered in 2006, Juventus have risen from their relegation punishment as something completely different. They have grown into a massive club, their f...

The soccer world was shaken to its core on Monday when it was announced by twelve of Europe's biggest clubs that they would be breaking away from the traditional Champions League competition and creating a new Super League, one that would completely alter the nature of football entirely. This new league would be closed off to these select twelve clubs in Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Liverpool, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid, would be a mid-week European contest similar to that of the Champions League, but instead of having a group stage where various clubs of different size and stature would compete, only these listed twelve would play each in a sort-of NFL style table. This announcement has been met with massive criticism, anger, and what may soon come, legal action. With so much news coming in day by day of developments of this debacle, I wanted to explain why this Super League could be one ...

The 2021 NHL season has shown how competitive the professional side of hockey is. If anything, this season has shown just how much certain analytics matter in building a contending team. With the new division alignments for travel purposes, there are some clubs that have emerged out of the ashes as your-easy-to-spot favorites, then you have your dark horses, your pretenders-or-contenders, and of course, your fringe teams, and the tank jobs.  The Blue Jackets are one such club that is struggling to find their identity this season. They are definitely a pretender-or-contender. While on paper, the Jackets look like a team that should be running the table with an absolute stellar side. Instead, they have been the equivalent to lukewarm hot cocoa: their play doesn't give that warm feeling that things are going right. Despite some dominant performances, they have been absolutely terrible in others. There is severe inconsistency in the lineup. On paper, this team should a Stanley Cup cont...

Here we are again, another college football season wrapped up. It was not an easy season to complete due to all the COVID spikes that struck down even the game's Socrates in Nick Saban not once but twice; fear not because he recovered swiftly and led his Alabama to another national title, his sixth with the school and seventh overall. This national championship was gassed up like it was going to be a game of epic proportions as we had the college game's version of the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers battle for glory. In the end, it was one of the most one-sided affairs in the national championship game history. It would've felt better if the scoreline was a little bit closer, but it was all Bama. The part that is really funny to me about this Bama win is that nobody is happy unless they are a Tide fan. The reason? The college football playoff and championship have become stagnate.  Each year, the CFB landscape is supposed to change, because a new season offers a ...

It's the greatest time of the year. Hockey season is officially upon us, even though it's like four months overdue. I have been itching for the NHL to return since they completed the 2019-20 season in August-September, respectively. The new season is bringing a whole new batch of fun storylines to the table, in what is sure to be an exciting-yet-shortened season. So what should we be on the lookout for come January 13th? 1) Tampa Bay's Cup Defense Officially Starts With the new season comes the beginning of the quest for the Stanley Cup. 2020 was the year the Tampa Bay Lightning finally shed their demons and triumphed over the Dallas Stars en route to their first Stanley Cup since 2004. To think, the Bolts dominated almost every matchup they had in the playoffs, even though some of their series went to six games. Not to mention, they did it without star center Steven Stamkos. However, Stamkos has had plenty of time to recover from his knee injury and he will be needed now m...