by Daniel Olsen |
2020 has been a rough year for many, but a good chance for us at The Hive Sports to build our sports coverage. We have grown our team and many aspiring writers have covered teams at the prep, college and pro levels. We selected five articles that we particularly enjoyed for you to look back on.
1. April Fools to Jazz Nation:
BREAKING NEWS: Jazz make three way name trade with the Raptors and Pelicans
This article was once again our opportunity to enjoy the favorite holiday of journalists everywhere. April Fools’ Day is the one day of the year that fake news is accepted. It was a rough time in 2020 with a global pandemic so we decided not to mess around too much. We decided instead to focus on an imaginary name trade scenario that would result in three newly named teams: The New Orleans Jazz, Utah Raptors and Toronto Pelicans. Fear not Jazz nation! The Jazz are here to stay in Utah. This article raised some eyebrows but the response was generally well-received by those who like these kinds of jokes.
2. Chart ‘Em Up Series:
Chart ‘Em Up: Balance leads to best game of the season for Utah offense
While the entire series by Justin Adams is a must for any Ute fan, this is our favorite because this football win over Colorado was arguably one of the best of the season for the Utes. His charts and graphs are visually appealing for those who prefer to visualize their team rather than read about them. Even the articles on the losses are insightful because he breaks down the formations and types of plays that may not have been as successful. This is the type of analysis that coaches love to have and now fans can read this and decide what they as “couch coaches” believe that Utah can do to keep improving.
Make sure to head to our Ute section for a season recap in this series as well as coverage for other Ute sports in 2021. If you like listening to podcasts, Zach Reger has been doing a great job at the #SwoopSaturday weekly episodes. He started this during the summer when the season was in doubt but stuck to it. The future looks bright for Ute coverage here on The Hive Sports.
3. Utah State gets a new football coach
USU Football: Three reasons why Coach Blake Anderson is a good fit
Our Aggie coverage has always been more abundant due to the creator of The Hive Sports (myself) being an Aggie. While Aggie basketball won the Mountain West, it was the roller coaster football season that got the most headlines.
From the hype surrounding the offseason, to the change in the coaching staff we worked on covering it all. We were heart broken with many Aggie fans the way that Coach Gary Andersen’s tenure ended at Utah State. We were thankful for the first and only Aggie win of the season on Thanksgiving Day over the New Mexico Lobos and speculated with many on who the new head coach would be for the Aggies. Blake Anderson was a surprise pick but given the Jon Hartwell’s track record, we hope that he has found the “Craig Smith of Aggie football”.
Be sure to check out our Aggie content on the USU section of this website as well as our weekly #BigBluesday episodes of The Hive Sports podcast!
4. Zach Wilson gets national recognition
5 reasons why BYU QB Zach Wilson is a legitimate Heisman Candidate
While the season didn’t end in getting the invite to the Heisman ceremony, it was great tracking Zach Wilson’s special season for the Cougar football team. Wilson did have the eighth most votes in the Heisman race. Wilson did end the year on a high note while other Heisman hopefuls (mainly anyone in the state of Florida) have struggled during bowl season.
This was one of many articles about BYU football this season. One football junkie on our staff, Rick Istvan, gave us plenty of coverage and puns about the 2020 BYU football team. Whether it’s talking about their Purr-fect season (at that point), the Linebacker U or just breaking down BYU football from A to Zach Wilson, Istvan did a great job at helping with the BYU coverage all the way up to the bowl game. Let’s all give a rise and shout cheer for his efforts!
5. Hype surrounds Jazz offseason
Jazz Notes: Deep Dive into the Jazz Roster and Potential Offseason Upgrades
For the Jazz fans who prefer real content over our aforementioned April Fools article, we had plenty of that! This article written by Harrison Porter was a great way to get over the hangover of the 2020 playoffs. He did an outstanding job at covering the Jazz in the bubble and playoffs.
There were plenty of other ways for Jazz fans to follow their favorite team. We recently started a #TakeNote Thursday episode of The Hive Sports podcast which you can listen to for deeper insight into your Utah Jazz.
In one of our Twitter polls, fans voted John Stockton as the greatest player in the history of Utah sports. In the poll for best jersey in Jazz history, the purple mountain jersey was voted the winner.
There were other offseason articles on rumors, the NBA Draft and the preseason. While 2020 was definitely a year to be remembered, we look forward to 2021 and what it will bring to the world of sports.
Follow @TheHiveSports on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and we will look to give you more game content as well as features on your favorite team in 2021.
(Featured image © Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)