About Michael

I graduated from the University of Miami last May with a business degree, but quickly realized that while I could earn a lot of money sitting in a cubicle all day, I was going to be happier doing something else. That something else is writing so I enrolled in the University of Miami's graduate print journalism program with the hopes of one day becoming a sports journalist. Already, I have covered the inauguration in D.C., the unveiling of Barack Obama Ave. in Opa-locka, and I have rubbed shoulders with MC Hammer, Jo Marie Payton from "Family Matters" and soon, the most elite tennis players in the world at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

I enjoy writing and this career decision feels right, even if there is little money waiting for me. But who knows? Maybe I can get a book deal sometime soon...

Soccer popular in the US? The (lack of) numbers don’t lie

By Michael North United States

Soccer isn't too complex. Far from it. The sport's simplicity is what's turning off American viewers.(Read)

Published November 25, 2009

The UM (or U.N.) Swim Team

By Michael North United States

The University of Miami swim team has a cosmopolitan roster featuring girls from all over the world.(Read)

Published May 07, 2009

Brian Hartline: Latest Buckeye wide receiver to turn pro

By Michael North United States

(Read)

Published May 03, 2009

A lot of work and some play makes Coach Shefchunas a great role model

By Michael North United States

(Read)

Published March 31, 2009

American Man: Where are you?

By Michael North United States

(Read)

Published March 31, 2009

Recent comments on Michael's stories

b muhl commented on "Soccer popular in the US? The (lack of) numbers don’t lie" (2 months ago)

You might have been born in Brasil and lived in England but you obviously do not understand soccer and I would argue based on your article you do not understand sports in general (calling boxing -the sweet science or soccer -the beautiful game simple?? Laughable) So called sport fans who cannot see (and refuse to see) the beauty of a sport should not call themselves fans. Stats are boring and largely meaningless for the vast majority of people. You might as well be watching the S&P500 or the Weather Channel second by second and call it a sport. Yes there are plenty of stats there but where is the beauty in it? Stats can not tell about the beauty of a superb pass, about how exciting, frustrating and incredible tense soccer games can be neither can stats reveal much about the imaginative play and dynamics of a great team or the stunning reflexes of a goalie saving his team. More and more Americans understand soccer, obviously not everyone. The losers are 'fans' such as you having trapped yourselves in a tiny minority getting excited not by a sport and the game but by statistics and managers looking at their matchup cards. Have fun calculating metrics and checking numbers on your website! I will be out playing and watching soccer with hundeds of thousands of people from around the World!

Ted Iliff commented on "Soccer popular in the US? The (lack of) numbers don’t lie" (9 months ago)

The piece is well written and flows nicely. I have two overall comments. First, you wrote more than 300 words before mentioning soccer. Your setup would have worked fine by making your points with less statistical clutter. You establish the role of statistics quite clearly later in the piece. Second, if you're just kidding with soccer, that's OK, but your tone sounds seriously analytical. If so, you might want to look at http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/PR/overview.html. And that's just one of several statistics sites for the English Premier League alone. There are dozens of such sites for European leagues and many more worldwide. Some soccer coaches dress like Bill Belichik and some American coaches dress like Ralph Lauren. So from a journalism perspective, your commentary, as presented here, has factual and perception flaws that a soccer fan with American eyes could legitimately challenge as ill-informed stereotyping.

SarahMarie Harman commented on "Barack Obama: Bringing 'Change' to the Streets" (about 1 year ago)

Interesting story, Michael. I'm from Florida too, but I hadn't heard anything about this. Glad to see you cover it for UPIU!

Harumi Gondo commented on "The UM (or U.N.) Swim Team" (about 1 year ago)

You certainly did your research digging into the life stories of each of the swim team members but the story dragged a bit with too many details, especially if you are writing the story for an online news site.

Harumi Gondo commented on "The UM (or U.N.) Swim Team" (about 1 year ago)

The one question I had, as a non-athlete, is how did Shefchunas create this chemistry. You referred to the in-fighting but how did she build this "family"?