JOHN HAND

WRITTEN WORK

Writing Portfolio

The following is a collection of my written work. My work has been featured in the Boston Globe, Milwaukee Magazine, Washingtonpost.com, WEEI.com, OnMilwaukee.com, Marquettewire.org and the Marquette Tribune.

A LOOK BACK AT THE COACH WHO HELPED REVIVE THE MARQUETTE BASKETBALL TEAM

MARCH, 2019

I heard stories about Tom Crean's relentless coaching style, so I wanted to learn what it was like to play for him. Further inquisition into this subject led me to find hilarious stories about how Crean coached. I also discovered that Crean brought the Marquette basketball into the modern age of college basketball. This is story took over a year to put together, but the final product included tales from a plethora of players and coaches, including Dwyane Wade, Steve Novak, and Tom Crean, himself.

THE NWHL’S BOSTON PRIDE ARE GOOD. LIKE, 20-1 GOOD. WHAT’S THE SECRET TO THE SUCCESS?

FEBRUARY 2020

The Boston Pride were having unprecedented success in the National Women's Hockey League. I set out to learn what made them successful.

EXCLUSIVE: SANDY COHEN HEADS IN A NEW DIRECTION

DECEMBER, 2016

Sandy Cohen caught most people by surprise when he decided to leave the Marquette basketball team in 2016. I got an exclusive interview with Cohen where he discussed his reasoning for leaving Marquette's program. 

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ONE FINGER SALUTE: VULGAR IMAGE CAPTURES PEAK OF MARQUETTE-WISCONSIN RIVALRY

DECEMBER, 2017

2017 was the 100th year of the annual Marquette and the University of Wisconsin basketball game. Through all the battles these two teams have fought, one image resonates from the rest: Al McGuire standing on the scorer's table, while a fan in the stands gives him the middle finger. Along with fellow Marquette Wire reporters Brian Boyle and Brendan Ploen, I found the story behind one of Wisconsin sport's most famous images.

FOR MILLIS'S SYDNEY BAILEN, ALL THE HARD WORK FINALLY PAYS OFF

NOVEMBER, 2019

I wanted to write a story about the Millis girls' soccer team because they were headed to their third straight state finals. On top of their constant success, I thought the story would be interesting because the head coach's daughter was a senior captain and his son was an assistant coach. I thought the story would be about a family working together on the soccer pitch, but what I found was a deeper connection between family members because of the injuries Sydney Bailen, the coach's daughter, overcame in her soccer career.

BREWERS' BRAUN CHANGING SWING, FOCUSED ON BEING A FORCE

JANUARY, 2019

I had the opportunity to report on the Brewers' winter fan festival for the Associated Press. My assignment was to write a feature on Ryan Braun. During his press conference, Braun said he had made adjustments during the offseason. I asked him what the specific adjustments were and he said he was changing his swing. My story on Braun's new approach at the plate was picked up by several national outlets including the Washington Post and ESPN.

THE BREWERS ARE THE MOST FUN TEAM IN BASEBALL: A RED SOX FAN'S TAKE

OCTOBER, 2018

The Brewers just won the NL Central and were poised to make a great run in the playoffs. The city was swept up in the excitement, so my editor asked me to write something about the Brewers. We came up with the idea of my giving my thoughts on what was happening in the city based on my viewpoint as someone who grew up in Boston as a Red Sox fan.

FORMER CUBS PLAYER, COACH PURSUING MU LAW DEGREE

DECEMBER, 2015

Casey Koptizke always had talent on the baseball field, but there was more to Koptizke than just being a baseball player.

SOCIAL MEDIA NEVER SLEEPS: THE BREWERS' TEAM BEHIND THE TEAM BRINGS FANS EACH MOMENT

JULY, 2018

The Brewers' social media team gained national attention during Spring Training for putting out a video of several Brewers' players recreating a scene from Sandlot. As the season progressed, they continued generating entertaining content, so I wanted to learn more about the team capturing every moment of Brewers' season.

RED SOX MINOR LEAGUER NATE FREIMAN’S LOVE FOR BASEBALL HAS YET TO GO AWAY

JULY, 2016

Nate Freiman's career has taken him all over the country, but nothing has stopped him from playing the game he loves.

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