Wayne looking sharp at the Coliseum in Rome
Jacob Wayne
For as long as I can remember, sports have been a crucial part of my life. I’ve never been a big athlete - the extent of my athletic career was a couple of years of tennis in high school. Instead, I’ve become a massive sports nerd - reading books, watching videos, listening to podcasts, and researching stats are all a part of my daily life. Pro Football Focus, Basketball Reference, NBA Advanced Stats, Football Outsiders, Transfermrkt - these are the websites I’m on every day. I just graduated from the University of Michigan with a major in sport management - the perfect degree for me as I’ve furthered my sports business knowledge in classes while being exposed to the industry.
My sports fandom started as a kid when I would wake up early in the morning to watch Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin Van Persie, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes suit up for Manchester United. I later became a Broncos fan as I fell in love with Peyton Manning’s injury comeback story - the Sheriff started my love for the game. I’m also a lifelong Clippers fan, something that has produced lots of sadness but more recently some incredible joy. Oh, and of course I’m a huge Michigan sports fan too, as trying as that may be. Sports are my biggest passion in life and I love sharing my thoughts with my friends on this platform. I hope you enjoy reading my articles as much as I enjoyed writing them!
Email: jacobnwayne@gmail.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-wayne
William Schwartz
I’m a washed-up high school athlete, having competed in varsity football, baseball, and wrestling. So now, I use sports writing to fill the void left behind by competing. Playing and watching sports have always been an important part of my life, ever since I was a six year old standing in the now-demolished original Yankee Stadium cheering the Bronx Bombers.
I’m a split fan due to my personal allegiance to two cities, as I also support the New Jersey Devils, but the Boston Celtics and New England Patriots as well, so I’ve always felt a need to strongly defend and articulate my convictions, which you’ll certainly see come out in my writing.
I’m also a Liverpool fan, and of course love to root for the University of Michigan in NCAA football, hockey, baseball, basketball and everything else, but I’ll always have a soft spot for Boston College and Stanford, the teams I grew up rooting for. These articles are my heart and soul put into words, and I hope the variety and breadth of my sports experience comes to light through them, because I truly love writing them for you.
Email: wilschwa@umich.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/williamschwartz13
Schwartz in his full-beard, full-suit, can’t-lose Ross mentality
Daniel Gillman
Gillman is always looking his best and dressing for success
Baseball and sports in general has been a huge part of my life since I was 11 years old. Playing for my high school baseball team was one of my best experiences in those four years of my life. Knowing that I was not good enough to play at the college level, I joined the University of Southern California Baseball team as a Student Manager and had the opportunity to help with video and data analysis for the program. Having just graduated from USC with Bachelor of Science in Applied and Computational Mathematics in only 3 years, I am looking to combine my quantitative/analytical skills with my knowledge of sports to deliver a different perspective on the games and athletes which I hope you see through my work.
When I am not busy writing articles or doing school work, I will probably be listening to the Rich Eisen Show, Stephen A’s World, or Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel as these are the people who I look up to. I’m also an Angels fan, and of course will always root for USC despite the issues that have plagued the athletic department this past decade. These articles are a reflection of thousands of games watched along with multiple years of experience as a player and working within a college baseball program. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy gathering the “data” and thinking about the best way to present the information.