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 […]
About Jim Armstrong
Jim is a life-long sports fan and split his childhood between the ‘burbs of Chicago and central NJ, while throwing in a summer living outside of Boston into the mix. This explains his passion for the 90′s Bulls, late 90′s/early 00′s Knicks and late 00′s Celtics (he will explain in a future post). Jim never played a minute of college basketball or football but did complete a Tough Mudder and completed two half marathons. If this doesn’t make him an expert, then I don’t know what does. Jim crunches numbers for a living and enjoys applying these analytical skills to his sports obsessions. In his free time, Jim enjoys spending time with his family, fishing and writing.
Fishing with our Fathers
September 16, 2021 By 1 Comment
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
June 6, 2020 By 5 Comments
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
January 28, 2020 By 5 Comments
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
December 10, 2019 By 3 Comments
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
September 18, 2019 By 2 Comments
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
March 17, 2019 By 7 Comments
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, […]
NBA Playoff Memories: A Look Back at our Favorite Moments
May 8, 2016 By Leave a Comment
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 […]
Top 5 NFL Playoff Storylines that No One is Talking About
January 5, 2016 By Leave a Comment
I hope the NFL playoffs far surpass the quality of the product that was on display during the regular season. As I documented in October, the regular season was a sloppy mess, highlighted by teams trotting out four different quarterbacks (Houston, Dallas & Baltimore), injuries to innumerable star players on both sides of the ball […]
NFL Midseason Report
November 12, 2015 By Leave a Comment
As we find ourselves already at the halfway point of the 2015-16 NFL season, the Back of the Jersey team looks at some of the most disappointing and surprising teams in the NFL this season. Rory Goulding Most Disappointing AFC – Miami Dolphins It has to be the Dolphins, right? This team was […]
Join our Communities