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Articles by John Doyle
The "Whalers" win again
The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup on Sunday night, which was not surprising, because they had the second-best record in the NHL. What was surprising was that there seems to have been very little chatter over the last 48 hours that the Hurricanes used to be the Hartford Whalers. Jackson Blake of the Hartford Whalers… sorry, I meant the Carolina Hurricanes, wearing a Whalers throwback jersey while warming up for a home game vs. Utah in January.
G'ville golfers headed to state
The Guntersville High School boys golf team responded in impressive fashion Tuesday by capturing the AHSAA Class 5A North Sub-State Championship at Gunters Landing Golf Club with a team score of 314. This victory came just one week after the Wildcats narrowly survived sectional play to earn a berth in the tournament. The Wildcats were led by sophomore Ty Hester, who earned low medalist honors with an outstanding one-under-par 71.
Golf - GHS boys are the county champs
The 2026 Marshall County Golf Tournament showcased the talent of local high school golfers as teams competed for top honors at Eagles Nest Golf Course at Lake Guntersville State Park. Boys Highlights The GHS varsity boys team shone brightly, finishing with an impressive score of 293. Leading the charge was Ty Hester, who fired a four under par round of 68 and earned low medalist honors. Caleb Gilmore, who shot 72 and Will McElrath, who carded a 76, also earned spots on the All Tournament team.
Golf - Wildcats 2nd at Hewitt-Trussville
The Guntersville Wildcats golf team played in the Hewitt Trussville Invitational Tournament at Limestone Springs Golf Course on Thursday, April 16, 2026. The Wildcats finished in 2nd place overall in a field of 13 teams. Ty Hester carded a three under par round of 69 and finished as the low medalist of the tournament. Dee Tully shot an even par round of 72 and Will McElrath posted a 74. Caleb Gilmore and Karson Teague both shot 77.
Golf - GHS dominates to win Wildcat Cup
The Guntersville Wildcats captured the championship at the annual “Wildcat Cup” golf tournament held Monday and Tuesday, April 6–7, 2026, showcasing consistency and depth across a competitive 11-team field. The Wildcat Cup is an annual tournament that started 4 years ago as an 18-hole event. Last year GHS partnered with Scottsboro High School to host the tournament. The tournament is now a 36-hole event.
Hester earns Medalist honors
The Guntersville Wildcats golf team continued its strong spring season with an impressive performance at the Coosa River Invitational Golf Tournament, finishing second out of 15 teams in the highly competitive two-day event hosted by Alexandria High School and Weaver High School. The tournament tested players on two respected courses in northeast Alabama.
GHS golfers capture Hornet Cup
The Guntersville High School golf team turned in an impressive performance on Thursday, March 26, 2026, capturing the team title at the Hornet Cup hosted by Hokes Bluff High School. The tournament was played at Limestone Springs Golf Course in Oneonta, where the Wildcats posted a team score of 309 to take top honors. Leading the way for Guntersville was sophomore Ty Hester, who fired a spectacular 4-under-par 68 to earn Low Medalist honors.
Golf - Wildcats battle cold conditions
The Guntersville High School Golf Team faced frigid temperatures and tough competition last week at the Bradley Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament, held March 16–17 at Greystone’s Founders Course in Birmingham, AL. The opening round on Monday was cancelled due to cold weather; excessive rain the night before, and snow flurries, leaving teams with just one round to post their scores.
Golf - Wildcats capture A'ville tourney
The Guntersville Wildcats golf team delivered an impressive performance Thursday, March 19, capturing the team championship at the Albertville Invitational held at Big Spring Lake Golf Club. The Wildcats posted a team score of 326 to secure 1st place overall in a 14 team field. The highlight of the day came in the race for individual medalist honors. Guntersville’s Will McElrath and Camp Green finished regulation play tied for the lead after both players carded rounds of 79.
Golf - Wildcats dompete in elite field
One of the most competitive high school golf tournaments in the Southeast took place last week at the renowned Steelwood Country Club, as 16 elite programs gathered for the annual Dumbwaiter Invitational. The event featured an exceptionally strong field that included multiple schools that are reigning state champions from Alabama’s 4A, 6A, and 7A classifications, along with powerhouse programs and state title winners from neighboring Georgia and Louisiana.
Golf - Sponsorships open for county tourney
The 2026 Marshall County Golf tournament is scheduled for April 14, 2026. The 2025 tournament was sponsored by Peggy Bishop in honor of her late son, Matthew Bishop. Matthew played golf at Albertville High School where he made the golf team as a freshman and went on to compete in the state tournament his senior year. Matthew passed away after having pancreatic surgery in the spring of 2022. Mrs. Bishop wanted to support golf in Marshall County in honor of her son.
Optimism high for GHS golf team
The 2026 Guntersville High School golf season is underway, and optimism is high as the Wildcats bring a strong mix of experience, leadership, and numbers to the course. This year’s program features a total of 25 student-athletes, including 20 boys and 5 girls, all aiming to build on the tradition of success established by Guntersville golf.
John Doyle (@sportswritersinc)
⚾ For anyone who cares about sports writing — or is learning the craft: Episode 99 of "Sports Writers Inc." features Ryan Basen, author of "Death of a Childhood: A Memoir of 1989 and the 'Why Not?' Baltimore Orioles". Ryan and I talk about how to turn sports memories into meaningful stories— the kind that say something about growing up, identity, and change. It's a conversation about writing beyond game stories, about finding meaning and context in moments that seem purely nostalgic.
GHS golfers appreciate support
The Guntersville High School boys and girls golf teams would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make our annual fundraiser tournament on Friday, October 3, 2025, such a tremendous success. The day was filled with great golf and generous support from so many who believe in our student-athletes and their programs.
Fred Lynn would’ve caught it? Please
I’ve always admired Dan Shaughnessy (who was on Episode 31 of the Sports Writers Inc. Podcast*, one of my all-time favorite episodes) and defended him against those who criticize what they perceive as cynicism, overused narratives and negativity toward Boston teams in his columns. *—(Where he called me a “great reader”, basically making my year.) But one line from his Oct. 3 piece about the Red Sox’s 4-0 playoff loss to the Yankees the previous night is all-time insufferable.
Different spelling, same d*mn thing
Is it “sports writer” or “sportswriter”? I’m firmly in the camp of the former — it’s two words. Why? Roger Ebert wasn’t a “moviewriter” and Judy Blume isn’t a “teenfictionwriter”. So why smash “sports writer” into one word? (The famous baseball biographer Jane Leavy agrees with me, by the way, when she brought up the subject — unprompted — on Episode 96 of the Sports Writers Inc. Podcast, where she mentioned that Frank Deford always used “sports writer”).
From Notre Dame to newsrooms - the problem with gatekeepers
I must have brushed my knuckle against my phone screen while doomscrolling one of the social media apps, because for the last week I've been seeing nonstop clips of the movie "Rudy". And it got me thinking about sportswriting, dreams, and the gatekeepers. An inspirational sports drama, "Rudy" is based on the true story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who grows up dreaming of playing football for Notre Dame despite lacking one iota of academic or athletic talent.
Five women will be in the Red Sox booth tonight. But there's still a lingering imbalance when it comes to women in sports broadcasting
Tonight’s Boston Red Sox game vs. the Kansas City Royals will be the first television broadcast in baseball history to feature an all-woman crew. Emma Tiedemann, the regular radio voice of the Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs, will do the play-by-play while longtime sports TV journalist Alanna Rizzo will handle color commentary on NESN (7:10 p.m.).
Salt, pepper and a side of shock
Other than the normal anxiety that comes with turning 50 — like, for instance, how much closer I am to, you know, death — I've pretty much accepted it and, in a way, have kind of enjoyed it. Take turning gray, for example. I look back on photos of myself from around 20 years ago (and there are a lot of them because it was the dawn of the age of digital-photo ubiquity and also I had just started having kids, and the camera was constantly clickin') and it strikes me how dark my hair was.
Clark Kent interviews himself and Lois Lane is sleeping with her source - and other newsroom red flags from the latest "Superman" movie
When it comes to summer movie blockbusters, you're not supposed to overthink things — just sit in the dark, shovel popcorn into your mouth, slurp on a soft drink and watch the d*mn movie while your brain turns to mush and things blow up onscreen for two hours. I'm not buying it, because that implies if a movie is nothing more than a delivery system for salty snacks, then it's above criticism — and no creative work in human history is off-limits when it comes to criticism.
Covering high school sports: A list of grievances
Everybody’s got them — things that "grind your gears" or "get your goat" (or any other alliterative cliche). After spending the better part of two decades covering high school sports, here are mine, ranked from mildly irritating to utterly intolerable (or is it the other way around?). 🎓—Senior Night Who invented this?
GHS golfers finish 3rd in state
It was a great golf season for Guntersville High, culminating in a county championship, a runner-up at section and an appearance in the state golf tournament. The Marshall County Tournament was played on Tuesday, April 1, at Eagles Nest Golf Course located at Lake Guntersville State Park. Guntersville shot 301 and was the overall champion of the tournament. Ty Hester was low medalist of the tournament with a score of 71.
An ode to 1990s writing tech, Part II: Floppy disks and floppier writing
I didn't have much writing talent in college, but I did have two things going for me — hubris, and a buttload of floppy disks. Like every creative writing major, I thought I was Hemingway. The reality was different even if I didn't realize it at the time. But looking back, that youthful overconfidence wasn't such a bad thing. It kept me writing and saving every word on one of the most gloriously clunky pieces of 1990s technology — the floppy disk. "Floppy" was, of course, a misnomer.
An ode to 1990s writing tech, Part I: How a 40-Pound Word Processor Made Me a Writer
As a high school student in the early 1990s, I was convinced I could be a great writer if only I had a computer. It was foolish of me to think lack of technology was an impediment to creativity. History's great writers never used computers, or even typewriters. In the movie "All the President's Men", nary a computer can be found.
In praise (and defense of) the game story, an essential - but dying - aspect of sports journalism
When most people think about sports writing, the game story is probably what first comes to mind — a reporter goes to a game, notebook and laptop in hand, watches it, interviews players and coaches afterwards and writes up a report that appears shortly thereafter on the web or the next morning in print. What used to be a staple of sports journalism really hasn't been for a while.
A solid start to GHS golf seaso
The GHS boys and girls golf teams are off to a solid start this season. The weather and course conditions have been very challenging early. The freezing temperatures and rains have caused Gunters Landing to close for several days. The sub-freezing temperatures resulted in the course covering the greens with tarps to protect them. Heavy rains have also caused course closures.
Let's face it, NESN is just cheap, and Stephen A. Smith's new contract is disgusting given the media landscape
I read with dismay last week that NESN, the regional cable network that broadcasts Red Sox and Bruins games, announced mass layoffs that includes its entire editorial staff. Boston Globe sports-media columnist Chad Finn, in a Bluesky post, said the number of layoffs could be as high as 50. That's terrible news* of course for anybody who worked there. I'm assuming "editorial staff" refers to writers and editors at its website, NESN.com.
Episode 85: Alex Squadron, author, "Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA"
The latest episode of the podcast is out with Alex Squadron, author of "Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA". For this book, Alex embedded himself with the Birmingham (Ala.) Squadron (yeah, I asked him about that!) of the NBA G-League, the NBA's official minor league. We also discussed a recent article he wrote for Hoops HQ about Rich Pitino and the Lobos of the University of New Mexico, a school I know a little something about
Just watch the Super Bowl already
I was talking with a friend recently who told me he wasn't going to watch the Super Bowl this year. Rolling my eyes, I agreed to hear his reasons. "I don't like either the Chiefs or the Eagles," he said. "It was the same matchup two years ago! Too many concussions! The commercials are lame! The halftime show is stupid! It's on too late! "Also," he added, "I have to work." The last reason kind of negated everything else, but I nonetheless gave him a pass.
Avoiding "coach speak" at the Beanpot
The annual Beanpot hockey tournament is a strange little animal. Opening on the first Monday of February, the four big-time college hockey programs in Boston — Northeastern, Harvard, Boston College and Boston University — descend on TD Garden to do semifinal battle in front of thousands of feisty fans... ...only to have to wait for the second Monday of February for the championship round.
This is the best weekend for pro football
If you grew up in the 80s and 90s like me, you remember this about the Super Bowl: It stank. Starting in 1985, when the 49ers beat the Dolphins 38-16, the Super Bowl was a string of blowouts*, won by the NFC each time. Five of the most lopsided outcomes in the game's history came during that stretch.
Sports writing advice to last a lifetime
Reporting on high school and college sports was a give and take. I'd interview athletes about their game, and occasionally, they'd ask me a question back. "Mr. Doyle, how can I get your job?" I got this a lot when I was a high school sports reporter and it made me blush a little bit for two reasons. One, I don't mind being called "J.D.", even by kids. Two, I didn't have a good answer for them. Wait, check that. It's not that I didn't have a good answer, I just didn't have an easy answer.
This "Banned Books Week" I support banning books!
On a recent visit to the library I noticed they were all hyped up in anticipation of "Banned Books Week" which this year is Sept. 22-28. The librarians wore T-shirts with some snappy phrase — "I HATE BOOK BANS" or "BAN THIS" or something supposedly defiant. And of course there was the requisite display of books that have been banned in some form or another during the course of history.
Patrick Sauer, freelance writer and co-host of "Squawkin' Sports" on Apple Podcasts
Patrick Sauer, freelance writer and co-host of "Squawkin' Sports" is our guest this weekVisit Sports Writers Inc on Substack!
No athletic ability? No problem!
My teenage son just finished his freshman year of high school where he played two varsity sports — soccer and basketball. He skipped the school baseball season to play in the local youth league, but said he planned to join the varsity next season. "That's if you make the team," I told him, you know, like a good father who doesn't want to see his son's ego get too inflated. I didn't expect his reaction — he laughed. When I was in high school I played exactly zero varsity sports*.
The insular world of sports writing
I turned the corner just after midnight on a Saturday (why I was out driving at that hour is nobody's business) and immediately saw the phalanx of first responders — a fire truck, an ambulance and a police car, all with flashers on, in front of a popular downtown bar, and I knew I had a phone call to make Monday morning. Surely, with all these first responders on the scene, something had gone down.
Hail to the memorizers!
Full disclosure — just the other day in this volume I lamented my history of third-place finishes in every spelling bee I entered as a kid*. So what I'm about to say might come off as sour grapes* but I hate the Scripps National Spelling Bee, scheduled for May 30, 8 p.m. EST, on ION. F*cking hate it.
Hey everybody, it's the "I almost died" guy!
"When you face death, it changes you. And you are never the same again" — Bill Walton Sebastian Junger, the world-famous nonfiction writer of the acclaimed books "The Perfect Storm" and "Tribe" is out with a new one about death.
The myth of the "hard working" journalist
There are a lot of layoffs in the media business, and you might remember a few posts back where I wrote that I don't plan to spend a lot of time on here b*tching about it. But they happen, and when they do, it's usually for one reason: A company looks at its numbers*, sees they're not where the company wants them to be, and takes corrective action by cutting labor costs. There's really nothing much more to it. *—(And by "numbers" I'm referring to "money".) Yet sometimes it can feel that way.
Brad Elliot Schlossman
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Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald on Apple Podcasts
Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald joins JD to talk college hockey and journalism
Joshua Kummins of the New England Hockey Journal and New England Baseball Journal on Apple Podcasts
Joshua Kummins sat down for an impromptu podcast with JD to talk college hockey, college baseball and more! Check us out on Substack! Our cover art was designed by Michael Doyle
Zak Ford, author, "Called Up" on Apple Podcasts
Zak Ford joins JD from Sacramento, Calif., to discuss his new book, "Called Up: Ballplayers Remember Becoming Major Leaguers" Check us out on Substack! Our cover art was designed by Michael Doyle
Rich Cohen, author, "When the Game Was War" on Apple Podcasts
JD catches up with Rich Cohen, who makes his second appearance on the podcast, to discuss his new book "When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season" Check us out on Substack! Our cover art was designed by Michael Doyle
Katie McInerney, senior assistant sports editor of the Boston Globe on Apple Podcasts
Katie McInerney joins JD to talk about her career as a designer, editor and writer and the challenges of covering sports in the digital age Check us out on Substack! Our cover art was designed by Michael Doyle. See his artwork on Instagram here
Doug Haller of The Athletic on Apple Podcasts
Doug Haller, Arizona-based reporter for The Athletic, joins JD from Arizona (naturally) to talk about his career and covering pro and college athletics in the Grand Canyon State Check us out on Substack! Our cover art was designed by Michael Doyle. See his artwork on Instagram here
A Biography" on Apple Podcasts
Timothy Bella, wide-ranging writer for The Washington Post, joins us to chat about his first book, "Barkley: A Biography" about basketball legend Charles Barkley Check us out on Substack! Our cover art was designed by Michael Doyle. See his artwork on Instagram here Top Podcasts In Sports
Christopher Price of the Boston Globe, author, "Bleeding Green" on Apple Podcasts
Christopher Price joins JD to talk about his new book about the Hartford Whalers, "Bleeding Green: A History of the Hartford Whalers" Check us out on Substack! Our cover art was designed by Michael Doyle. See his artwork on Instagram here
Jeff Pearlman, author, "The Last Folk Hero" on Apple Podcasts
Jeff Pearlman appears on the 'cast for the second time to chat with JD about his new book, "The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson". Check us out on Substack! Our cover art was designed by Michael Doyle. See his artwork on Instagram here
Breaking down Canada’s 4-1 loss to Croatia, plus what it’s like on the ground in Qatar on Apple Podcasts
Despite an early goal by Alphonso Davies, Canada lost to Croatia by 4-1, making them the second team to be eliminated from the World Cup. In this episode, Sonja Missio and John Doyle break down the devastating loss and what went wrong, as well as how their final match against Morocco could decide the outcome for the rest of the group. Plus, Sonja speaks to The Globe’s sports columnist Cathal Kelly, who is on the ground in Qatar, about what that experience has been like.
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