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September 16, 2025 September 16, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Sports

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

By FREDDY BRANSON | September 12, 2024

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

By JOSEPH RAINBOLT | September 6, 2024

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

By FREDDY BRANSON | September 5, 2024

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

By FREDDY BRANSON | April 25, 2024

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

By FREDDY BRANSON | April 24, 2024

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

By JOSH FELTON | April 23, 2024

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

By FREDDY BRANSON | April 11, 2024

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.

JOHN MAC / CC BY-SA 2.0 Caitlin Clark is heading the new generation of women’s basketball players that are forever changing the game.

The Class of 2024 has forever changed the trajectory of women's basketball

By JOSH FELTON | April 10, 2024

As the sun sets on yet another remarkable college basketball season, it’s safe to say the landscape of women’s college basketball has changed forever. With the new group of stars entering the WNBA next week, a new set of fans has caught on and become invested. We have just witnessed a seismic shift in the sport's history with how this class of women’s basketball players has captivated fans from across the country in a way we haven’t seen before.

COURTESY OF HOPKINSSPORTS.COM Women’s lacrosse claimed a crucial win against Rutgers this Saturday.

Hopkins sports in review (April 3–7)

By JULIA MENDES QUEIROZ | April 9, 2024

Hey everyone! As we near the end of the semester, competition is ramping up across the board here at Homewood Campus. We had a lot of incredible games this weekend, as our spring season athletes continue to accumulate wins. Let’s take a look at some results!

ERIK DROST / CC BY 2.0 Rainbolt lists some of the most notable observations from the first week of the MLB season as well as predictions for the remainder of the year.

Five overreactions after a week of MLB games

By JOSEPH RAINBOLT | April 8, 2024

The MLB season has 162 games. At this point, most teams have played seven or eight. But why not have some strong reactions? Every year there are surprises, so here are five overreactions from the opening week of the 2024 MLB season.

JOHNNY VULKAN / CC BY 2.0 The UCL quarter-finals draw yielded some of the most interesting line-ups so far this season.

Champions League quarter-final predictions

By JULIA MENDES QUEIROZ | April 3, 2024

Arsenal and Bayern Munich have gone head-to-head twelve times in the UCL; the latter has earned seven wins, while the Gunners have three wins. Although the last edition of this matchup ended in a Bayern sweep, it would be a mistake to underestimate Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. 

CFCUNOFFICIAL (CHELSEA DEBS) / CC BY-SA 2.0 Eight teams will now advance to the quarter-finals and a strong penalty shootout has guaranteed Atlético de Madrid’s spot amongst the best in Europe.  

UCL Round of 16 recap: A mix of expectations and novelty

By JULIA MENDES QUEIROZ | April 3, 2024

Hi, everyone — welcome back from break! As soccer players all around the world come back from their own (international) breaks, let’s start up the UEFA Champions League’s (UCL) discussion. Here’s a recap of everything that happened in the Round of 16. Keep an eye out for our predictions as we draw closer to quarter-final matches.

COURTESY OF HOPKINSSPORTS.COM Women’s lacrosse triumphed over a competitive Stony Brook this past Sunday, March 10.

Hopkins sports in review (March 8–10)

By JULIA MENDES QUEIROZ | March 14, 2024

Competition seasons are well underway for several of our Blue Jay sports teams: Join us as we look at some of this weekend’s results! Women’s track and field takes third at NCAA Championships  Our athletes on the women’s track and field team outpaced the competition this weekend in Virginia Beach, Va., lifting the team to third place in the NCAA Division III Championships and establishing a new record in the program’s history.

CHRIS J / CC BY-SA 2.0 The NBA All-Star game has reached an all-time low. Josh Felton gives his input on how to improve the festivities.

How I would fix the NBA All-Star Game

By JOSH FELTON | March 14, 2024

This year, the NBA returned to the East-West format for the first time since 2017, but the game was over at halftime. As someone who is a huge basketball fan, this was probably the first year I stopped watching the All-Star Game before halftime. I’ve spent the last few weeks mulling over how to fix the All-Star Game, and I’ve come up with some solutions to make the game more competitive.

KENGRIFFEY24FAN / CC BY 4.0  With the MLB season approaching, Freddy Branson shares three of the most under-discussed storylines that could heavily impact the league this year. 

Three under-the-radar storylines for the 2024 MLB season

By FREDDY BRANSON | March 12, 2024

The start of the 2024 MLB season is fast approaching, and with that comes a number of narratives and plots that captivate the minds of all invested in the MLB. From the Dodgers’ tandem blockbuster signing of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the Yankees’ trade for Juan Soto, there have been a number of league-altering moves that are sure to change the landscape of the MLB for the foreseeable future. 

LUKAS RAICH / CC BY 4.0  Abbi Pulling driving for Rodin and Alpine in Spielberg in 2023. 

Women in motorsports month: F1 Academy kicks off its second season

By SHIRLENE JOHN and JULIA MENDES QUEIROZ | March 12, 2024

Hey everyone, and welcome to Women’s History Month! This March, we wanted to give special attention to women taking the motorsport world by storm. We’re kicking this off with Formula 1 (F1) Academy. Formulated as a bridge between karting and single seaters, the female-only Formula 4 (F4)-level championship hopes to build off of a strong debut season and propel more women into single-seater careers. 

COURTESY OF HOPKINSSPORTS.COM Josephine Chang is currently ranked 14th in Hopkins history for career Sabre wins.

Athlete spotlight: Josephine Chang

By JULIA MENDES QUEIROZ | March 1, 2024

Josephine Chang’s love for fencing started with another passion: reading. As a child, the fantasy novels she read were alive with characters who practiced archery, horseback riding and sword fighting. Then, her first club moved into town, just one minute down the street... and the rest is history. I say is history because despite her incredibly impressive achievements — she is currently ranked 14th for career sabre wins in Johns Hopkins History — Chang is still a sophomore.

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