Yardbarker

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 20 greatest hair metal bands of all time

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.

20 terrific TV shows that only lasted for 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.

20 MLB players who were one-season wonders

The music business has one-hit wonders. On the baseball diamond, we have one-season wonders: players who put together a memorable year and then were either unable to build off that time or were essentially never heard from again.

One-season wonders: NFL players who had one good season

In the spirit of something is better than nothing, here's a look at our picks for some of the better one-year wonders (in chronological order) in NFL history.

College football awards watch season preview

Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is the favorite to win the Heisman. Or should Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa have the inside track? Here's our preseason look at potential award winners.

2019 college football predictions

On the verge of the 2019 college football season, what better time to take our shot at figuring out who is going to win what? From conference champions, to College Football Playoff participants to the biggest surprises and disappointments, all the way up to the national championship, here are our picks for the 2019 season.

Halls of fame: Our 30 favorite fictional schools

Whether it be on television or the big screen, elementary school, high school or college, Hollywood has taken us inside the halls of some of the most famous fake institutions of learning. 

The top 50 players in college football

We're on the cusp of another college football season, and with it will come many special individual performances this fall. There is plenty of proven talent out there and some waiting to break out.

15 storylines heading into FedExCup Final

The PGA Tour 2018-19 season comes down to this weekend's TOUR Championship at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The FedEx Cup champion will be crowned, with a new scoring twist to make things even more interesting.

Predicting first loss of every Top 25 college football team

Trust us. Reigning national champion Clemson will indeed fall this season. Yardbarker pulls out its crystal ball to predict when the Tigers and other Associated Press Top 25 teams will lose their first game this season.

The 25 best TV hangouts

Some of the most legendary television shows — sitcoms or dramas — feature a great hangout. Whether it be a restaurant, bar or coffee house, the right hangout only adds to the impact of the program.

The biggest disappointments of the PGA Tour season

Not all have lived up to expectations this season. For some, that means failing to achieve consistent success. For others, it's not winning enough tournaments or failing to claim a major title when most thought it was more than possible.

The must-watch games of 2019 college football season

This weekend's Miami-Florida matchup heads a list of games we can't wait to see.

25 songs that are synonymous with the films they appeared in

Here's a look at 25 established songs, not those produced specifically for a film's soundtrack, that have become well-known for their place in movie history.  

The 25 best rivalries in college football

Perhaps the best part of each college football season is the collection of rivalries that feature rabid fans, packed stadiums and hot tempers on the field.

The 25 best college QBs for the 2019 season

The preseason Heisman Trophy contenders are nearly all quarterbacks. As the season approaches, here's our look at the best.

The 25 greatest game show hosts

The host has a lot to do with a game show's success. Some of the greats have become even bigger stars than some actors. Here's a look at our rankings of the top 25 game show hosts of all time.

10 most overrated college football teams entering the 2019 season

There are plenty of teams eyeing a spot in the College Football Playoff. Some are filled with lofty expectations while others hope to improve on missed opportunities or an underachieving 2018 season.

The most memorable performances at Woodstock

Legend has it that roughly one million people descended upon on the small town of Bethel, New York, a little less than two hours northwest of New York City. As iconic as the whole festival became, the music was the true star.

15 storylines heading into the FedExCup

The 2018-19 PGA Tour regular season has come to an end. What's left is the three-tournament FedEx Cup playoff. The action begins with The Northern Trust this weekend at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey.