Joseph Rizzi

My Recent Work

Stadium Rant •

The 49ers Hit The Jackpot With This Emerging Star — Now It's Time To Cash In

In a year full of blowouts and parity across the NFL, one team has remained consistent. Despite a forgetful October—losing three consecutive games, have remained the most dominant.

After the Dallas Cowboys offense forgot to get off the bus in Buffalo, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has emerged as the to win the NFL MVP.

While Purdy has been nearly perfect in countless games this year, the 49ers are a team former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler would be proud of. "The team, the team, the team" he
Fantom Sports Industries •

Celtics collapse in the closing minutes of game five

The Boston Celtics collapse in game five of their best-of-seven series with the Atlanta Hawks was their own fault, Tuesday night.

The Celtics got off to a relatively ugly start, as has been typical in this series. Atlanta led by three points at the end of the first quarter. They then dominated the second quarter, taking a comfortable 66-58 lead into the halftime break.

Jayson Tatum didn’t have his best effort, finishing with just 19 points. Jaylen Brown picked up the slack, as he was 15-23 fro
Fantom Sports Industries •

Robbie Ray set to undergo season-ending surgery

Left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray will reportedly undergo season-ending surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow. The 31-year-old former Cy Young winner only started one game this year for the Seattle Mariners, allowing three earned runs in 3.1 innings of work. He’s been very durable in his career, but hasn’t pitched much this year as a result of this injury.

Ray was drafted by the Detroit Tigers before spending the bulk of his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ray then was traded
Fantom Sports Industries •

Home teams look for revenge on Thursday Night in the NHL

The NHL playoff slate brings a thrilling quartet of game twos with so much on the line for the home teams, Thursday. Every road team succeeded in these respective series, Tuesday, so there’s immense pressure on the home teams to win to even the series before hitting the road.

The first game on the Thursday NHL slate is arguably the most appealing. Tampa Bay had a brutal ending to the season, but they seemed to turn that around in game one as they throttled the Maple Leafs 7-3. The Lightning fin
Fantom Sports Industries •

Jon Rahm wins Masters amidst chaos at Augusta

Jon Rahm solidified his place among the top golfers in the world in an impressively steady final two rounds at the Masters. A chaotic couple of days due to weather resulted in varying scoreboard combinations. Some of the best players in the field struggled, while others like amateur Sam Bennett made a name for themselves on one of golf’s greatest stages.

The rest of the field

The Masters is one of the greatest traditions in golf, showcasing the world’s best, but making many of them look like a
Fantom Sports Industries •

Oscar Tshiebwe declares for the NBA Draft

Oscar Tshiebwe has officially declared for the 2023 NBA draft, after earning All-America honors for the second consecutive season with the Kentucky Wildcats. He will maintain his college eligibility.

Tshiebwe began his collegiate basketball career at West Virginia, where he was never at his best. Averaging 11.2 points per game (ppg) his freshman season, he followed that with 8.5 ppg as a sophomore. He’s always been a rebounding machine, averaging over 14 per game in his four years in college, b
Fantom Sports Industries •

The Big East is the best conference in college basketball

There’s been some shuffling in what is already a stacked Big East conference this offseason, as nearly every school has a reason for optimism. For every school that lost a good coach, they hired a strong replacement. Many of the best players are also returning for another season. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned this year, it’s that veteran teams will find success in college basketball.

This has been one of the most controversial moves of the offseason. Ed Cooley left for Georgetown after
Fantom Sports Industries •

Dan Hurley has proven his value in the revival of UConn Basketball

Dan Hurley, head coach of the final four University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies, has officially restored the reality of National Championship aspirations for their fans.

UConn Men’s basketball was once a powerhouse program, winning National Championships against teams like Duke and Kentucky, among others. They’ve won four titles since 1999, the most of any school in the country during that timespan. But since their last title in 2014, they’ve been nothing short of abysmal. Following the reti
Fantom Sports Industries •

Ohtani closes a thriller as Japan wins the WBC Championship

The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) championship saw some of the world’s best players compete against each other in a thrilling tournament. The tournament was held in several countries, with the final match taking place in front of a packed stadium in Miami, Tuesday.

In the final, the United States faced off against Japan in a highly anticipated matchup. Both teams had been dominant throughout the tournament, and the final promised to be a close and exciting game.

How the game shook out

Tea
Fantom Sports Industries •

Ohtani closes a thriller as Japan wins the WBC Championship

The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) championship saw some of the world’s best players compete against each other in a thrilling tournament. The tournament was held in several countries, with the final match taking place in front of a packed stadium in Miami, Tuesday.

In the final, the United States faced off against Japan in a highly anticipated matchup. Both teams had been dominant throughout the tournament, and the final promised to be a close and exciting game.

How the game shook out

Tea
Fantom Sports Industries •

Georgetown introduces Ed Cooley as next head coach

Georgetown University Athletics formally announced former Providence Friar’s head coach Ed Cooley as their next head basketball coach.

Cooley, 53, spent 12 years at Providence College before deciding to accept an offer from Big East rival Georgetown. The Friars won a Big East conference championship and a Big East regular season championship during his tenure, while guiding them to seven NCAA tournaments. The Friars ranked as high as No. 8 in the AP poll during those 12 seasons, which occurred
Fantom Sports Industries •

Super Bowl player prop betting preview

Super Bowl LVII is finally here, and fans are heading to the books clamoring for Super Bowl player prop bets. Here are some of the best props available and how they should be bet.

Kansas City led the league by a massive margin in passing yards per game, with 297.8. The next closest is Tampa Bay, with 269.8.

The Eagles haven’t faced many prominent offenses this year, and none nearly as good as the Chiefs. They’ve faced three teams that finished in the top 10 in passing offense. Detroit, Minneso
Fantom Sports Industries •

Kyrie Irving Requests Trade From Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has officially requested a trade from the Nets ahead of the trade deadline on Feb. 9.

This comes to the surprise to many, as the Nets sit in fourth place in the NBA Eastern Conference, but they await the return of Kevin Durant. He missed eleven straight games with an MCL sprain. The Nets are 4-7 in that span, most recently getting blown out in Boston by 43.

Nothing new for Kyrie

It may be a surprise given the winning record for Brooklyn, but Irving has w
Fantom Sports Industries •

Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats Signed Through 2029

The University of Alabama (UA) Crimson Tide have agreed on a $30 million contract extension to keep head basketball coach Nate Oats through the year 2029. The six-year deal includes incentives such as $300,000 for winning a final four game and $500,000 for winning the national championship.

“Coach Oats has done an outstanding job leading our men’s basketball program, and we want him to continue doing so for many years to come,” said UA athletic director Greg Byrne.

Nate Oats became the head co
The New Hampshire •

UNH Men’s Basketball: Wildcats Defeat UAlbany and UMass Lowell

DURHAM, N.H. – It was a great week in Durham as the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (10-10, 5-3) defeated the University at Albany Great Danes (6-17, 1-7), followed by a victory over the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) River Hawks (17-6, 5-4).

The Wildcats have relied on their defense to keep them in challenging games. Despite their poor record, Albany has some very talented pieces that can be tough to defend.

“It’s the key for us when we play good defense and get stops,” s
The New Hampshire •

UNH Men’s Basketball: Wildcats Take On Three Games In One Week

DURHAM, N.H. – It appeared that the sky was falling on the Wildcats’ season as a late-game collapse and a devastating loss for the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (3-5) happened against the surging Sacred Heart University (SHU) Pioneers (5-3) by a final score of 66-61.

Last Wednesday marked the return of Junior guard Nick Johnson who was voted a captain of the team and proved his leadership throughout. He tallied 11 points but typically makes more of an impact in transition and on de
The New Hampshire •

UNH Men’s Basketball: A Poor Night of Shooting Leads to a Wildcat Loss vs. BU

DURHAM, N.H. – Lundholm Gymnasium was packed with excitement on Sunday before the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (2-2, 0-0) were defeated by the Boston University (BU) Terriers (4-1, 0-0) by a final score of 64-57.

Despite the relatively low-scoring affair, it was a fast-paced up-and-down game that had fans flipping their heads back and forth like it was a tennis match. The problem was, scoring came at a premium.

The Wildcats shot an abysmal 30.3% FG shooting while holding the Terr
The New Hampshire •

UNH Men’s Basketball: The Wildcats Dominate In Their First Game of the Season

DURHAM, N.H. – College hoops are back in full swing as the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (1-0, 0-0) defeated division 3 foe, the Brandeis Judges (0-0, 0-0) on Monday night by a score of 79-47.

While this wasn’t division 1 competition, the Wildcats were very happy with this performance and felt they controlled much of the game as they’d hoped. Junior forward Clarence Daniels led the team with a double-double, tallying 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Nine Wildcats saw doubl
The New Hampshire •

UNH Women’s Soccer: Conference Tournament Preview

DURHAM, N.H. – “What’s that? Ah – Playoffs? Don’t talk about – playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs?”

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (8-5-2, 5-1-2) enter the America East semifinals as the two seed. The third-seeded UMaine Black Bears (9-2-5, 4-0-4) will challenge the Wildcats on Thursday and hope to follow a win over sixth-seeded NJIT with an upset at Wildcat Stadium.

The Wildcats are looking for some revenge against the Black Bears. UNH was dominating early in the last renditio
The New Hampshire •

UNH Women’s Soccer: Heartbreaking Draw Against Maine

DURHAM, N.H. – It’s not about how you start, but about how you finish, and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats women’s soccer team (4-5-1, 1-1-1) found that out the hard way. In a tightly contested game they couldn’t close the door on the UMaine Black Bears (6-2-3, 2-0-2) in what would’ve been a second consecutive conference victory.

A strong first half from the Wildcats gave promise that they could knock off a worthy foe with the rival Black Bears. Familiar face Meghan Guarente blas
The New Hampshire •

UNH Women’s Soccer: Guarente’s Hat Trick Boosts ‘Cats Over Terriers

DURHAM, N.H. – Oh what a relief it was, as the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (3-4-0, 0-0-0) found the back of the net a whopping four times against the Boston University (BU) Terriers (3-5-0, 0-0-0) on Sunday. The offensive struggles continued on Thursday when the Wildcats faced the Merrimack Warriors (2-4-2, 0-0-0), but Sunday washed those worries away.

This is the point in the season when people tend to wonder if the team has found its identity and whether there is a sense of com
The New Hampshire •

UNH Women’s Soccer: Wildcats kick their season off in the Big Apple with a win and a loss

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (1-1-0) took a bite out of the Big Apple this weekend as they followed an opening-day loss to Syracuse (1-0-0, 0-0-0) with a 1-0 victory over the St. Francis College Brooklyn Terriers (0-1-1, 0-0-0).

While a 1-1 start is nothing to rave about, UNH proved they belong with the best teams in the Northeast, imposing their fast, defensive-minded style in both games. Despite dropping game 1 of the season, head coach Steve Welham was sati
The New Hampshire •

UNH women’s lacrosse: Wildcats drop two against UAlbany and No. 5 Stony Brook in final stretch of season

DURHAM, N.H. – It was a rock fight in Wildcat Stadium between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (6-6, 1-2) and UAlbany Great Danes (5-6, 3-0) on Wednesday, April 6. Back and forth action yielded the Great Danes a key victory as they strive for upward movement in the America East standings. There was a constant change of pace between these two squads that highlighted a high scoring affair. Familiar faces tallied up the stat sheet for the Wildcats, but it wasn’t enough, as the Great D
The New Hampshire •

UNH women’s lacrosse: Offensive depth propels strong start to conference play

DURHAM, N.H. – Describing the start to conference play as good for the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (6-4, 1-0) would be an understatement. The Wildcats continued their success on Saturday, defeating the UMass Lowell (UML) River Hawks (2-8, 0-2) by a score of 12-7 at Wildcat Stadium.

UNH was ranked sixth out of seven in the America East preseason poll, one spot behind the River Hawks. After failing to reach the playoffs a year ago, UNH enters conference play with a chip on their sh
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