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Jeff Mezydlo

A Chicago native, Jeff Mezydlo has professionally written about sports, entertainment and pop culture for parts of four decades. He was an integral member of award-winning sports sections at The Times of Northwest Indiana (Munster, Ind.) and Champaign (Ill.) News-Gazette, where he covered the NFL, PGA, LPGA, NCAA basketball, football and golf, Olympics and high school athletics. Jeff most recently spent 12 years in the editorial department at STATSPerform, where he also oversaw coverage of the English Premier League. A graduate of Northern Illinois University, Jeff's work has also appeared on such sites at Yahoo!, ESPN, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated and NBA.com. However, if Jeff could do it again, he'd attend Degrassi Junior High, Ampipe High School and Grand Lakes University

EXPERTISE:

NCAA football, NCAA basketball, PGA/LPGA, international soccer, sports history, rock music, film history

The 25 greatest characters from Quentin Tarantino films

More than 25 years ago, moviegoers were introduced to Pulp Fiction. With that in mind, we've ranked the 25 best characters from films directed by Quentin Tarantino.

The biggest flaw of every top 25 college football team

Here's a look at one glaring shortcoming, area of improvement or question mark for each team currently ranked in The Associated Press Top 25. 

Mike Ditka: Career retrospective

Here's a look at the life  — on and off the football field — of the legendary Mike Ditka.

10 storylines to follow heading down college football's home stretch

Seven weeks down; seven to go. We've hit the halfway mark of the college football regular season. It's been entertaining thus far — not too many surprises — with enough intrigue to keep us going back each week.

10 college football coaches on the hot seat

It's October. The college football season is chugging along. Why not talk about those FBS coaches whose seats are getting warm or even a little hot? Some big names from the preseason who were feeling the heat are still sweating it out, while new ones have been thrown into the fire.

The 25 best presidents from film and TV

The role of the President of the United States, whether on the big screen or on television, is not always easy to pull off. Countless have tried, either in a lead or supporting role. Here are 25 notable presidential performances in movies and TV.

The 25 best guilty pleasure TV shows

There are television shows, past and present, that we as viewers can't stop watching, even if it means being ridiculed by family and friends. Still, such shows — or guilty pleasures — offer a break from reality, and often times, prove that our lives aren't as bad as we think.

The 25 most iconic TV sidekicks and second bananas

Whether real-life or animated, a comedy or drama, a good television sidekick can make a show better. Here are our top 25 memorable all-time TV sidekicks.

Musicians who were influenced by Bruce Springsteen

Bruce has influenced many of the world's best and brightest artists through the decades. Here are 20 of the musicians who owe their own debt of gratitude to "The Boss."

The 25 best game-ending plays in college football history

Whether a field goal as time expires, an improbable Hail Mary pass or a stellar defensive stand or play, we can't get enough of those fantastic finishes.

College football week 3: Picks and preview

Week 3 doesn't offer marquee matchups, but there's still plenty of intrigue. Here are game previews and predictions for teams in the Associated Press Top 25. 

The best siblings from TV shows

Whether biological, blended, or adopted, sibling love and rivalry can be quite dynamic. That's certainly the case when it comes to television. Here are our rankings of the 25 most notable siblings in television history.

The 10 best assistant coaches in college football

A college football head coach gets the big bucks, the praise and certainly the scrutiny. However, at some of the more prominent programs across the country, it's an assistant — or two — who might actually be the brains of the outfit.

College football Week 2: Picks and preview

It was an interesting first full week of the college football season, with no major surprises within The Associated Press Top 25. Will that change in Week 2?

The 20 most iconic hair metal bands

The hair, or glam, metal bands of the 1980s remain one of the true guilty pleasures in the history of music. The hair spray, makeup and catchy pop tunes touched up with distortion were made for MTV. Though there really wasn't much substance to the music, the scene was popular to the mainstream nonetheless...

Musical acts from the '80s who are still playing today

While there are plenty of bands or artists from that decade re-forming to make a little money off this retro obsession, other prominent groups from the '80s are still going strong...

A closer look: The 2018-19 PGA Tour awards

The finalists for both the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year (Arnold Palmer Award) and Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Award) have been announced. We've broke them all down in order leading up to our predicted winner.

The best photo from every NFL season

As the NFL celebrates its 100th season, this is a chance to look back at some of the lasting and more memorable images of the game. Here's one special photo from each of the previous 99 seasons of the NFL.

College football Week 1: Preview and picks

Here's a preview of this week's games featuring Top 25 teams and two other prominent contests to keep an eye on.

The best TV shows that lasted only one season

Some television shows will see a decent shelf life, while others will disappear before the first commercial. As we concentrate on the latter, here are our picks (in chronological order) for the top TV shows, whether sitcoms or dramas, that lasted one season — or in some cases, even less.