Robby McKittrick Sports Communications & Journalism Portfolio

As a Freshmen in college last season, Lonzo Ball averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game. In addition, he was 41.2% from 3-point range and shot over 55% from the floor. Those stats earned him a first-team All-American, and he was one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award for the best point guard in America. Lonzo’s stellar play continued into the NBA summer league. This summer, Lonzo scored 16.3 points, 9.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He was awarded the summer league MVP. Any normal fan who takes a look at a 19-year-old kid with those numbers would say that this player is going to be special. However, that is not the collective dialogue for Lonzo Ball this NBA offseason. This offseason, all people care about is the latest drama in the new Kardashian-like family of the sports world. The Ball family leads the news headlines. People care about how many points Lamelo Ball scored in his last high school game. T...

On Friday night, the Red Sox welcomed back Jerry Remy into the booth for the first time since he left on June 12 th to have surgery and chemotherapy treatment for his cancer. What a sight it was to have Remy back in the booth. Interestingly, Remy was joined alongside Dave O’Brien and Dennis Eckersley for a three-man crew. It is hard to remember if NESN has ever done a three-man crew. For a few innings here and there, sports writers will join the booth to offer their analysis. However, for a full game, they normally have only one color analyst. It was a great success. For the first time since Don Orsillo left, the NESN broadcast was actually fun and entertaining to listen to. For the first time in a long time, I felt myself smiling and laughing during a broadcast. O’Brien brilliantly kept himself out of the broadcast all weekend, while he let Eck and Remy talk about their playing days. We all know Eck has a great personality and is a fun guy to listen to in the...

After more than a week of back and forth discussions, the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers finally agreed to send Kyrie Irving to the Celtics and Isaiah Thomas, among others, to the Cavaliers. The news of the trade broke a little more than a week ago. Last week, we learned that the Celtics were going to trade Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the 2018 first round Brooklyn Nets pick to the Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving. But after the Cavaliers gave Thomas a physical, they apparently did not like what they saw with Thomas’ hip. The Cavs put the trade on hold and asked for another piece in the deal. After initially asking for a first-round pick or talented young players like Jaylen Brown or Jason Tatum, the Celtics ultimately agreed to throw the Cavaliers a bone with a meaningless 2020 second round pick. Here was the final trade: Celtics receive: Kyrie Irving Cavaliers receive: Isaiah Thomas Jae Crowder Ante Zizic 2018 Brooklyn Nets first ro...