My Thoughts & Reflections on Paternity Leave

This spring, I took a few months of baby bonding leave with my youngest daughter, Tierney. In late 2019, I authored a post about the lessons learned during my first experience on paternity leave. This time around, my leave felt quite different. We weren’t living in a pandemic and hadn’t experienced the shift to hybrid […]

Fishing with our Fathers

May 2014 Fishing Trip in New Jersey My Dad was transferred through his job at Prudential Securities in 1996. That September, we moved (my dad, my mom, four kids and our dog) from North Barrington, IL to Fair Haven, NJ. My parents had called Chicagoland home for 33+ years, and were set to start a […]

My Thoughts on Jordan, the 90’s Bulls & The Last Dance

We have had a few weeks to come off the high of the 5-week media event of the year, ‘The Last Dance’ directed by Jason Hehir. I still can’t get enough of the baggy suits, the zillions of cigars Jordan smoked and Rodman’s midseason trip to Vegas (that would have created seismic shockwaves in 2020). […]

My Thoughts on the Tragic Deaths of Kobe & Gianna

I’m still processing the death of Kobe Bryant, his beautiful daughter Gianna (Gigi) and the 7 other individuals that perished on that ill-fated helicopter crash on Sunday. I’m with countless others in that I have never grieved an athlete’s death like I have Kobe’s, until this week. I find myself at quiet times — on […]

Lessons Learned on my Paternity Leave: Two Months with my Daughter

I have been fortunate to spend the last two months with my daughter. I have learned so much about her and will cherish the memories that we have shared forever. At first, I was nervous to take this amount of time off, even though I work for a company that not only grants a long […]

Why Eli Isn’t Average

I posted the below analysis to my fantasy football league email thread. Upon writing up the analysis, I felt Eli’s career (in my words) deserved a post. In lieu of a weekly analysis, I wanted to share my thoughts on Eli. First, take a look at Kevin Clark’s piece on The Ringer, who speaks about this […]

My Journey and Recovery from a Torn Achilles

It’s been nearly 11 months since I tore my achilles tendon. Yup, that injury happened to me (still somewhat difficult to admit and write). I never thought I would be writing those words. You never think of an injury of that severity impacting you at any stage in life, much less at 30 years old, […]

The Characters of Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grill Character: Kelly

Workday Roulette I walked into Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grill at 12:15 in the afternoon, hoping to beat the 1:00 Sunday game day rush. My plan was to sit at the center of the bar and enjoy a panoramic view of the nine NFL games playing simultaneously on the dozen televisions Kelly’s Facebook page claimed […]

NBA Playoff Memories: A Look Back at our Favorite Moments

The NBA playoffs are cranking into high gear. After a tepid start to the first round, most of the match-ups quickly gained steam. Two first round series went the full 7 games (Toronto/Indiana & Miami/Charlotte) while two other series went 6 games (Atlanta/Boston & Los Angeles/Portland). First round teams that lost, combined to win 12 […]

The Silent Opinion: The Case Against Football

When it comes to the NFL and the sport of football, ignorance is bliss. Everyone loves football, right? Check the Nielsen ratings, highlights of Sports Center, or even your local news and you will quickly find out – everyone loves football. The NFL brand, or as Commissioner Roger Goodell likes to say, The Shield has […]