Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
October 21, 2025
October 21, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Sports



COURTESY OF YANA MULANI
Mulani reflects on her experiences with American sports.

A non-American’s review of American sporting events

I’m not a sports person — that is, I don’t regularly attend live matches, follow sports in the news or have a favorite team for quite literally any sport. And all of this, certainly not for American sports. So, what am I doing here? Well, welcome to Yana Mulani’s review of American sports, where I watch traditionally American sports and tell you what I — a non-American — think of them.




COURTESY OF MINGYUAN SONG
Nothing beats the bright blue skies in California, and the food at Oracle Park is better than it looks!

How can you not be romantic about Baseball

I was always skeptical of baseball. The most common score is, like, 3–2, there are so many players on the team, and the rules are impossible to learn. And don’t get me started on all the statistics — ERA, OPS, RBI, SLG. I have to memorize enough acronyms for the MCAT — no need for more. 


COURTESY OF HOPKINSSPORTS.COM
Our athletes had a busy and impressive weekend: Women’s soccer beat Muhlenberg College by a score of 4–0.

Hopkins Sports in Review (Sept. 16–23)

Our women’s soccer athletes had a busy week with two games against The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and Muhlenberg College (Muhlenberg), respectively. Wednesday’s game against TCNJ — held at Homewood Field — started off with an advantage to the Jays as sophomore Ava Venuti scored a header in the 44th minute. The assist was made by graduate student Olivia Redden who now has two goal contributions so far this season.


ALL-PRO REELS / CC BY-SA 2.0
Closer Edwin Diaz and the New York Mets will look to hold to the final National League Wild Card spot with one week left to play in the 2024 MLB season. 

Down to the Wire: The Final Week of the MLB Season

With a week left in the 2024 MLB season, there is drama galore. Who will get into the playoffs? Who will just miss out? Award races, record chases and much more are topics of discussion. Here’s everything you need to know about the final stretch of the MLB season:


MAIZE & BLUE NATION / CC BY-SA 2.0 
Branson takes a close look into the frenzy of attention that Deion Sanders and the Colorado football program have been receiving. 

What is going on in Boulder? The curious hype train around Deion Sanders and the Buffs

Prior to the 2023 season, the University of Colorado Boulder (Colorado) Buffaloes were in a situation lacking any kind of direction. Having finished the season prior with a record of 1–11, the worst record in all of college football, changes were necessary. Colorado’s solution? NFL Hall of Famer and head coach of Jackson State University, Deion Sanders — or as some know him, “Coach Prime.”



COURTESY OF HOPKINSSPORTS.COM
Women’s volleyball earned a three-wins-in-three-games record this weekend.

Hopkins Sports in Review (Sept. 9-15)

Hi everyone, and welcome to the inaugural Hopkins Sports in Review for the 2024–2025 year! Here at the Sports section, we’re proud to be bringing back our coverage of Hopkins sports games. Let’s take a look at the start of our athletes’ seasons! 


ERIK DROST / CC BY-SA 2.0 
Branson recaps the first week of NFL games and dives into his predictions for Week 2 of the action. 

NFL Week 1 roundup: early upsets and the Chiefs are back and even better

The first week of NFL action is now all wrapped up, and it couldn’t have been filled with more excitement, shock and incredible performances across the board. We saw the defending champions return to their dominant ways beating the Baltimore Ravens at home, the Cincinnati Bengals losing in shock fashion to the Jacoby Brissett-led New England Patriots, and Josh Allen leading an incredible comeback against the Arizona Cardinals headlined by his four touchdown performance.



DEFENSE VISUAL INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION SERVICE / PUBLIC DOMAIN
Rainbolt recaps the start of 2024 college football season and discusses the implications of important wins and losses. 

College Football Week 1: A New Era

The 2024 college football season is the start of a new era. Gone is the four-team playoff and the controversy about who can have a chance at becoming National Champions. In its place is a wide-open 12-team playoff. For most major programs, week one brought 50-point wins and hopes of a playoff berth, but the first week was also not without impactful games or serious question marks. With that, here are the biggest takeaways from Week 1 of the college football season:


JOE GLORIOSO / CC BY 2.0 
Freddy Branson highlights the important matchups and headlines ahead of the opening weekend of the 2024 NFL season.

Guide to watching the opening weekend of NFL

We’ve finally made it here! The NFL season is back, and the opening weekend of play is only a couple of days away so it’s the perfect time to take a quick look at some of the events that could transpire over the slate of games, and lay some predictions down.



ALEXANDER JONESI / CC BY-SA 2.0
Branson explores some of the possibilities in the upcoming NFL Draft for all 32 NFL teams picking in the first round.

2024 NFL mock draft: Quarterbacks and tackles dominate the first round

With the NFL Draft beginning this Thursday, we have one last opportunity to look at the possibilities that could unfold and to delve into a bit of the chaos. If previous drafts are anything to go by, there will most certainly be some crazy moves that occur, so I’ll be giving some of my thoughts on the first 15 picks and then going through what I believe will transpire throughout the rest of the first round.


SAM BENSON SMITH / CC BY-ND 2.0
Branson discusses the upcoming NFL Draft and the ideal players for five teams to target in the First Round.

2024 NFL draft: Five of the best first round fits

The 2024 NFL draft is just around the corner, and with that comes a massive amount of predictions and projections — a lot of which will likely turn out incorrect. With this in mind, I will go through a few of my favorite landing spots for some of the top players in this draft class and discuss just how I think they can be implemented in order to flourish at the next level.



ERIK DROST / CC BY 2.0
In what has somehow gotten even harder every season, Josh Felton shares his selections for the 2024 NBA Awards.

2023–2024 NBA awards: It keeps getting tougher

With the NBA regular season ending last week, it’s time to make my annual award selections. This year, the NBA made award selections positionless, which in theory should make it easier for voters to make a decision. But does it? 


EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES IN JAPAN / PUBLIC DOMAIN
Branson highlights how Ohtani is only the biggest and latest name to be connected to the controversial activity of sports gambling.  

Shohei Ohtani: A microcosm of the growing issue with sports betting

On Wednesday, March 20, news broke out of the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse that Ippei Mizuhara, the long-time friend and interpreter of Shohei Ohtani, had been fired.   The situation transpired after questions were raised about wire transactions from Ohtani’s account to a bookmaking operation that amounted to the sum of at least $4.5 million.


News-Letter Magazine