‘She’s must see TV’: NBA and WNBA on Caitlin Clark’s blistering talent
‘She’s must see TV’: NBA and WNBA on Caitlin Clark’s blistering talent

There is no bigger name in college basketball than Caitlin Clark at the moment. The Iowa star is becoming a brand unto herself having recently broken both the NCAA women’s and men’s scoring marks, held previously by Lynette Woodard and Pete Maravich, respectively. She already boasts a net worth estimated to be in the millions.

Clark, who started playing in boys’ leagues when she was five, is the surefire top pick in the upcoming WNBA draft. Standing 6ft, she is a big guard for the women’s game, with her passing drawing comparisons to Magic Johnson and her shooting to Steph Curry.

With the women’s NCAA Tournament starting this week, we reached out to a handful of hoops luminaries for their takes on Clark’s talent and how it may translate to the next level.

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EssayJake UittiThe Guardian
Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Serves Up Iconic Sounds
Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Serves Up Iconic Sounds

When you’re a rock legend, chances are you have some harrowing experiences to share. Pearl Jam’s lead guitarist Mike McCready not only has stories to tell but also is ready to tell them in a new way. The Seattle-born artist has been playing his instrument since he was 12 years old, starting around 1979. From there, he saw the rise of the Pacific Northwest grunge rock scene and witnessed some of his closest friends and musical cohorts die as the result of fame and drug abuse. He’s since come out the other side, surviving his own health issues and struggles with addiction, to become a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. Now, McCready says, he’s working on a script and soundtrack for a new rock opera that will tell the stories of his city and display the range of emotions many encountered on their paths to fame.  

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ProfilesJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
Hoop Dreams at 30: Arthur Agee, William Gates and the ties that bind
Hoop Dreams at 30: Arthur Agee, William Gates and the ties that bind

America has long obsessed over celebrity and the quest for fame. Thirty years ago, millions of moviegoers got to see that desire up close thanks to the groundbreaking documentary Hoop Dreams, which focused on two teenage basketball players, Arthur Agee and William Gates. The pair never fulfilled their dream of making the NBA, but Agee and Gates ended up making more of an impact than many who did.

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EssayJake UittiThe Guardian
Rising star: Kevin Durant's rookie year through the eyes of Seattle's basketball figures
Rising star: Kevin Durant's rookie year through the eyes of Seattle's basketball figures

Every chance he gets, Kevin Durant talks glowingly about Seattle. He said recently that he wants to be part of the franchise in the future. (And Seattle’s mayor hinted that the team could be back soon.) Many in the city would welcome Durant back with open arms. Maybe the team would even retire his jersey, even though he only played for it for a single season in 2007-08.

Below, we talked with a number of Seattle basketball figures to get their take on Durant’s rookie year, from the promise of his early career to the devastation from his departure months later.

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EssayJake UittiHoops Hype
Wemby is a boss and Pop is legend. So why are the San Antonio Spurs so bad?
Wemby is a boss and Pop is legend. So why are the San Antonio Spurs so bad?

Let’s get this out of the way at the beginning: Everyone loves Gregg Popovich. He’s a five-time NBA champion, the league’s all-time winningest coach and he led the US men’s national team to a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Furthermore, if some tragic world event occurs, Pop is the person in the NBA most would want to hear from (Doc Rivers and Steve Kerr being next). But affection can’t get in the way of a difficult question. So here goes: Why are the San Antonio Spurs so bad?

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EssayJake UittiThe Guardian
The life of an NBA beat writer
The life of an NBA beat writer

It’s 4 am somewhere and James Edwards’ alarm begins to shriek. Bleary-eyed, he tries to remember where he is: What city, what hotel and what time does his plane take off? Can he take a shower, and get a quick breakfast? And where is he headed next – Toronto, Atlanta, L.A.?

Edwards, who is the beat reporter for the Detroit Pistons, employed by The Athletic, has been covering the team for seven years and it’s another losing season. It’s an epic poem of a losing season. Detroit is the worst team in the league and it recently endured a 28-game losing streak. Yet, Edwards dutifully tracks the team, coming up with stories and wondering both aloud and in print if there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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EssayJake UittiHoops Hype
6 Artists Discuss How They Recovered From COVID—”Once I Stopped Thinking About Thriving and Moving Into Surviving, Everything Changed”
6 Artists Discuss How They Recovered From COVID—”Once I Stopped Thinking About Thriving and Moving Into Surviving, Everything Changed”

COVID-19 ravaged the music industry. Venues shut down, tours stopped, vinyl plants went on hiatus. It was mass-confusion, mass-worry and potentially the end of many a livelihood. Thankfully, in the several years since, things have come back to life. Some order has been restored amidst the concern over disease, loss of life and the pandemic shutdown.

But how did artists come back after some two or even three years away from their fans and even each other? To find out, we asked six artists one question: “How did COVID-19 affect your music and how have you since recovered?” Here below are their answers.

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EssayJake UittiMSN
Top Interactive Video Games
Top Interactive Video Games

Video games sometimes get a bad rap, despite being one of the most popular forms of entertainment on the planet. Seen by some as fodder for a lazy lifestyle, it can be tempting to imagine a couch potato sunken into the sofa with a glazed look over his eyes as he plays the dozenth hour of a war game, moving only his thumbs.

But video games aren’t only meant for the sedentary. Indeed, there are many titles specifically designed to get people out of their seats, to move their bodies and even build up a healthy sweat. Here are 10 games sure to get your blood flowing. Play them and it will be as if you’re in your own personal fitness class!

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
Top Football Video Games
Top Football Video Games

Baseball, basketball and hockey all have their place, but it’s clear that America’s favorite sporting pastime is football. Every weekend, tens of millions of fans tune in to watch modern-day gladiators battle it out between the hashmarks. Whether it’s a long pass, an electrifying run or a bone crunching block, audiences simply can’t get enough of the physical matchups the game entails.

But the popularity of football doesn’t stop there. Millions more enjoy playing football video games, and they have for decades. Here are 10 of the best and most popular titles — the games that have captivated players ever since video arcades and home consoles started to pepper the landscape.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker Talk Growing, Enduring & New LP ‘Little Rope’
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker Talk Growing, Enduring & New LP ‘Little Rope’

For anyone who’s been in a longstanding relationship with someone else, like in a marriage or a band, it can be hard to keep things fresh. That’s why the Pacific Northwest-born rock group Sleater-Kinney, co-founded by Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, is always working, as Brownstein says, to find “new ways of expressing what is essential about the band.” It’s with this approach, she adds, that the duo make their best records. They operate at their peak performance, she says, “when there’s a thread between the early ingredients of the band, the early desperation of the band, with our skills as songwriters today.” With that intention, Sleater-Kinney is poised to release its newest LP, Little Rope, on Friday (January 19).

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EssayJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
Pop Star Kevin Quinn on the Pressures of Being a Celebrity and the Mental Health “Journey” It Took to Find Himself
Pop Star Kevin Quinn on the Pressures of Being a Celebrity and the Mental Health “Journey” It Took to Find Himself

Taking a mental health break in Arizona’s Santa Catalina Mountains a couple years ago may have saved actor/pop star Kevin Quinn’s life. At least, his creative one. For Quinn, 26, who auditioned for American Idol just two weeks after his 15th birthday and rose to fame thanks to his work as an actor on the Disney Channel, it was a chance to get out of the public spotlight and change and reframe his future.

While checked into a facility in Arizona, Quinn says he was able to wake up free of professional responsibility, go for jogs, take in the air and witness the majesty of the mountains. Now, that recent refresh has helped him write his new EP Real Me, which is out Friday (January 19).

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ProfilesJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
Exclusive: Paula Cole Talks Grammy Milestone, New Music and Lasting Forever—”I Had Trauma, and the Trauma Wasn’t Allowing Me to Trust and Evolve”
Exclusive: Paula Cole Talks Grammy Milestone, New Music and Lasting Forever—”I Had Trauma, and the Trauma Wasn’t Allowing Me to Trust and Evolve”

Paula Cole is a songwriter you’ve heard likely hundreds of times over. Whether it’s her songs like “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” or “I Don’t Want to Wait,” both of which were on the airwaves in the 1990s seemingly every hour, or her new work, Cole is an important figure in the music business.

In 1998, Cole won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and that same year she (stunningly) became the first woman to ever be nominated for Producer of the Year at the awards show. A trailblazer and an iconic artist. That’s big time.

But now, Cole has new music coming out, including her newest single, “Green Eyes Crying”, which is out today (January 10), and a new LP, Lo, which is set to drop March 1. So, we caught up with the songwriter and performer to get the scoop behind the new music and her lasting legacy.

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Q&AJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
The best players to sign 10-day contracts in the NBA
The best players to sign 10-day contracts in the NBA

It’s January 5! And do you know what that means? Well, for NBA executives it marks the first day they can officially sign players to their roster on 10-day contracts. For those unaware, a 10-day deal allows a team to sign a player for three games or 10 days, whichever lasts longer. This, in turn, can help a franchise fill a need caused by injury or just bolster its bench depth.

When a player signs a 10-day contract, it’s unlikely he will earn a significant amount of time on the court. But that isn’t always the case. Sometimes a 10-day can showcase a young, developing talent who can then earn a permanent roster spot for the season once coaches are able to see him up close. On other occasions, however, it’s a chance for an aging veteran to earn one last opportunity in the proverbial NBA sun.

Below, as teams seek out which players they might want to sign to 10-day deals for the 2023-24 season, let’s examine the Top 13 players to ever sign one.

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EssayJake UittiHoops Hype
Book excerpt: What it was like to barnstorm with Magic Johnson
Book excerpt: What it was like to barnstorm with Magic Johnson

Below is an excerpt from the new memoir from former NBA player and two-time champion, Earl Cureton, “Earl the Twirl: My Life in Basketball.” The book, which arrives January 5 via McFarland Books, is co-written by Jake Uitti, who also co-wrote a recent memoir with former NBA star Muggsy Bogues. 

In Earl the Twirl, Cureton highlights the stories of a basketball veteran who wasn’t necessarily thought of as a star, someone who had to navigate tryouts, cuts, contracts, international play and the dreaded right of first refusal in the league. In this excerpt below from the chapter, “Playing Everywhere,” Cureton discusses barnstorming, traveling to Alaska and what it was like touring with the Magic Johnson all-star team in the 1990s. 

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EssayJake UittiThe Athletic