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Columns

Love To Hate: The gameday experience

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Ask anyone who has been to a professional sports game in this country and they’re bound to give you a strongly worded opinion on the sights and sounds that occur within both the stadium and arena experience. Many diehards will be quick to scold the ...


full court press
Columns

The Full Court Press: Kevin Durant is a trumpeter, Miles Davis is a small forward

Making an appearance on the “Hot Ones” YouTube series back in October 2024, Jaylen Brown elucidated one of the best insights on the game of basketball I’ve ever heard. “I look at basketball as like poetry in motion, which is music, and everybody is playing their own song,” Brown commented to host Sean Evans. “Everybody samples from different artists, and they’re playing their own song and if you wanna stop them you gotta study their rhythm.”


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Column

Through Indigenous Eyes: Side by side

As my mom and I crossed out of the Southwest into Arkansas, we came face-to-face with Fort Smith. For those who don’t know, Fort Smith is widely considered the last stop on the Trail of Tears, a genocidal displacement of southeastern Indigenous people. At Fort Smith, Indigenous people were sent into what is now known as Oklahoma, which the U.S. government deemed “Indian” territory at the time. While I was nervous to explore this site, my Mom and I thought it was important to sit with the pain of this place.


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Columns

The Intangibles: Selling the Integrity of the Sport

In 2014, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver advocated for the legalization of sports betting in a New York Times op-ed. His main argument was one similar to one made for cannabis legalization: “Sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated.” In that same op-ed, Silver stated, “one of my biggest responsibilities [as commissioner] is to protect the integrity of professional basketball.” It is clear Silver views his role as juggling the ideals of maximum profit and total sporting integrity.  


Almaty
Columns

Almaty: The city of believers

To be blessed just once is a rarity, a singular act of divine deliverance. And yet, as I sat hunched over my laptop stewing over this very column, I set to counting my blessings and discovered that they numbered a staggering two over just this last week.


column graphic for Max Druckman's "Munching with Max" column
Columns

Munching with Max: The midnight ride

Once the clocks “fall back” during the first weekend in November, there are very few things that can get me out of the house at night. Darkness descends at 4 p.m., and a dreary, frigid air engulfs Medford, greatly diminishing my aptitude for external munching.



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Columns

High Fidelity: Geese takes on Boston

Something is happening here. The crowd knows it too. Many of them paid exorbitant ticket prices to be at the venue of just over 900 people, packed wall to wall. It seemed everyone felt as if they were early to the party for something special. Take the guy next to me, who turned to his friend and said “this must be what it was like to see the Pixies in the ’80s.”



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Columns

Love to Hate: Kai Havertz

It is quite a rare occurrence for a player to be hated by their own club for so long. The tale of Kai Havertz is certainly interesting, but it just makes sense. When you score a club defining goal, you become a club defining player, regardless of what happened before the moment. Havertz turned contenders into champions and anxious fans into content ones.


A Jumbo’s Journey
Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: All of this, and here we are

If you have been keeping up to date with my column publications, you would know (based on my last column) that I was recently in the trenches and in the midst of midterms. As of this past Wednesday, I finished all my midterms for the fall 2025 season — just in time for finals!





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Columns

Worth Going Broke?: Butter chicken for breakfast? Yes, please!

When I was making my Parents’ Weekend restaurant lineup, one task felt particularly daunting: finding the perfect brunch spot. I wanted something cozy and classic but still interesting, somewhere that I could force someone to share a sweet and a savory dish with me so I could get the best of both worlds. After scrolling through enough Google reviews to qualify as research, I landed on Rosebud Bar & Kitchen, a Davis Square classic that was reborn in recent years to have a new twist.


Through Indigenous Eyes.jpg
Column

Through Indigenous Eyes: Our American responsibility

My mom and I share a love of Indigenous history and a good hike. Thus, when my grandmother recommended Bandelier National Monument as a stop on our road trip, we both jumped at the chance. Located near Los Alamos, N.M., Bandelier is home to ancient Pueblo ruins. When we arrived, we were both ready to get our hiking boots on. However, the second we got to the park, I knew something was wrong.



Almaty
Columns

Astana: The city that is not Almaty

Besides its claim to the title of second coldest capital city in the world, Astana, Kazakhstan is renowned for its architecture — in fact, mentions of the city are always accompanied by reference to its futuristic architectural style. After 17 hours of pacing, playing cards, intermittent sleep on a stiff fold-down bed and watching the low hills of the Kazakh Steppe race by the train window, I was prepared to be unimpressed by the city of Astana. Yet, even bleary-eyed and weakly shuffling after our tour guide, the sleek, fantastical skyline of Astana throttled me into amazement.