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

10 bold predictions for college basketball's second half

The second half of the men's college basketball season is in full swing. Conference races are heating up, and Zion Williamson remains the best — and most exciting — player in the country.

10 players on LPGA Tour to watch in 2019

The 2019 LPGA Tour season is underway. It should be an interesting one with plenty of young stars and a U.S. resurgence hoping to carry over from the 2018 campaign.

10 golfers who can win their first major in 2019

It's a question that's asked annually on the professional golf scene: Will we have a first-time major winner this season?

Best golfer all time from each Power 5 conference school

While collegiate golf doesn't draw the same interest as, say, college football or basketball, from the viewership standpoint, most of golf's biggest names — past and present — have enjoyed success on the university level, especially when it comes to the big-time programs down south or out west.

The 25 most unforgettable punk rock characters

They are some of the most iconic musicians — sometimes in the loosest sense of the word — in the history of entertainment. Whether it's the outlandish lifestyles, disturbing behavior on and off the stage or a unique sense of fashion, punk's characters are hard to forget.

The 25 best games remaining on the college basketball schedule

Conference races are heating up, and Selection Sunday is less than two months away. The intensity of the college basketball season has risen, and all the big names should be on upset watch.

Golfers who are poised for a breakout in 2019

It's never easy trying to predict which golfer will enjoy a career-defining season either on the PGA Tour, European Tour or around the globe, for that matter.

10 contenders for women's college basketball Player of the Year

There is no shortage of talent in the women's game, and it's not just subjected to Connecticut or Notre Dame. As we settle into the second half of the season, here are 10 women's contenders who can take home at least one of the national Player of the Year awards for 2018-19.

One area of improvement for each top 25 golfer

Even the world's best golfers have room for improvement, whether it be physical or mental, off the tee, on the green or in their personalities or attitudes.

The 'College QBs who transferred schools' quiz

How many of these college quarterbacks who transferred from one school to another can you name in five minutes?

Potential candidates for the UCLA men's basketball job

There are plenty of big names being tossed in the ring as potential candidates for the position. Here's a look at 10 who might make sense on some level.

Top successful screen siblings

Brotherly and sisterly love in Hollywood is quite common, going all the way back to the Marx Brothers or Three Stooges. Through the years there have been plenty of memorable sibling entertainers who have enjoyed various levels of success on screen, television and behind the camera or with a pen.

Sports & Politics Intersect: Kanter nixes Knicks London trip due to fear of Turkish reprisals

The Turkish center will not travel with the Knicks out of fear for his life because of a years-long dispute with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Storylines to keep an eye on for the 2019 golf season

From Tiger Woods to a new-look PGA Tour schedule to rules changes and so on, there is plenty of intrigue surrounding the new golf season.

The 10 most surprising college basketball teams in 2018-19

The usual suspects continue to rule the college basketball roost. Duke sits atop The Associated Press Top 25, Gonzaga is loaded with talent and North Carolina is starting to heat up.

Catching up with the top storylines from men's college basketball season

The college football season has officially ended. Clemson routed Alabama for the national championship, and Nick Saban is not happy. So what are college sports fans to do now? Turn their attention to hoops, of course.

Sports & Politics Intersect: Power of NFL's Rooney Rule called into question

“The Rooney Rule has been good for the league, and over the years we’ve seen clubs consider and hire candidates they might not have otherwise, but we’ve also seen clubs pay the rule lip service and go through the motions with no intention of ever considering the candidate of color."

10 most unlikely college basketball national champions

There has been a healthy amount of unlikely college basketball champions — men and women — through the years. Here's a look at 10 of the more notable ones.

Sports & Politics Intersect: MLB goes to bat for Cuban players

For years, Cuban-born athletes with dreams of playing Major League Baseball have literally put their lives in danger trying to reach the United States to make that a reality. That should no longer be the case.