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It’s a longstanding NFL tradition for fans and pundits to overreact to the results of week one. Expectations are constructed during the seven-month offseason, so the result is taken as a reflection of how the team will perform all year. While that may not necessarily the case, there are unexpected results every week in the NFL. Opening weekend is no exception. Continue reading “Wait, What? The Biggest Surprises from Week 1 in the NFL”

For football fans, the longest month of the year is August. Their beloved gridiron is so close they can almost taste it, yet not actually arriving until September. Aside from the draft, which is almost always a disappointment from a viewing standpoint, our minds block out all football thoughts after February as a means of coping with weekends bereft of the greatest sport on earth. But alas, they are not strong enough to do so in August with a new season on the horizon. Training camp is as boring as it sounds and preseason games feel more unbearable to watch every year. That’s where Hard Knocks comes in.  Continue reading “5 Reasons Why Hard Knocks is the Best Reality TV Show of All Time”

It’s finally here. The wait from February to September seemingly feels longer every year for football fans, but the grandeur of opening weekend never loses its sweetness. For the first time ever, the season kicks off with a rematch of the previous Super Bowl. Besides the defending champs replacing their quarterback and Cam Newton’s MVP encore, fascinating storylines pepper the entire NFL landscape. New stadiums, old players, inaugural seasons and farewell tours aren’t talking points every season, yet they’re all over the place as professional football kicks off once again. Continue reading “Storylines to Keep an Eye on During the 2016 NFL Season”

It’s a quiet Sunday morning in Yonkers as Ashling Baker Linehan carefully arranges her mat in front of a large set of blue lockers with painted beer growlers on top. Behind her a mounted flat screen television broadcasts the food network, adjacent to the merchandise counter and bar area where water pitchers and glasses have been set up for the nine patrons— five women and four men. A foosball table and barstools have been moved aside to clear floor space for the yogis.

“If anyone needs any props,” Baker Linehan says, setting down two brick-shaped foam blocks in the middle of the group. Continue reading “It’s a Stretch: New Yorkers Mixing Beer and Yoga”

Group workouts are all the craze these days, but are they really better?

It’s a windy March evening in Manhattan’s East River Park as the setting sun turns the Williamsburg skyline across the river orange. The track is wet and riddled with small puddles. By 7:15, more than twenty people have congregated behind the soccer goal on the south end of the field.

“All right everybody, today’s workout is one I’m very excited about,” begins Samantha Thomas, one of the four group leaders. “We’ll be running a timed mile!” Uniform applause follows and one hand is raised for a question. Continue reading “To Group or Not to Group”

It’s Black Monday in the NFL, the annual day when many head coaches get handed a pink slip. While it’s surely a challenging time for the coaching staffs and their families, many fans are ready for their teams to start fresh. A new head coach offers promise, but more often than not NFL front offices get the wrong guy for their team. With interviews and resumes flying around the rumor mill, finding the right fit for both parties is always easier said than done. Before the dust has even settled on who’s staying and who’s going, here’s an early projection of what candidate should fill the expected vacancies. Continue reading “Matching 2016 NFL Coaching Candidates with Vacancies”

“Mr. Julio, you better be there or you will be in big trouble, do you understand?” The honorable Louis Nock rarely addresses the defendant directly, but after denying the People’s motion for bail, the judge wants to be thorough.

Mr. Julio nods. His crimson underwear stands out from his otherwise all black jeans, boots, leather jacket and dark hair as he adjusts his sagging pants. Mr. Julio was arrested for possession of marijuana and will be expected to return to court November 14^th. Continue reading “Monday Night Arraignments”