Fun Facts

Favorite movie: Maybe I'm getting a little old to say "Rudy" here. Yes, I think I am. So, I'll go with "Dumb and Dumber" for the all-time great and "Cinderella Man" for the recent favorite.

Favorite food: A burnt end sandwich from Gates Bar-B-Q for lunch and a steak au poivre from Le Fou Frog for dinner.

First sports memory: Kirk Gibson's home run off Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series.

Greatest sports memory: Seeing Michigan football fans rush the field after 2003 victory over Ohio State to win Big Ten title, or watching the Red Sox win Games 4 and 5 in Fenway in the '04 ALCS to start the greatest comeback in team sports history.

Worst sports memory: Any Michigan loss to Ohio State.

Favorite sports book: "Friday Night Lights."

Favorite non-sports book: "Catcher in the Rye."

Favorite sport to play: Does Texas Hold 'Em count?

Favorite place I've lived : Ann Arbor, Mich. doesn't count because it was college; of course it was the best. I'd say Buffalo, New York, where I finished high school. I enjoyed living in a hard-working, mid-Atlantic steel town that was more bitter about sports than I ever was. Right now, Kansas City is moving up the list (see favorite food).

Favorite bands: The Fray, Keane, Coldplay for popular music, and Citizen Cope, John Butler Trio and Atmosphere for underground.

Journalism Fun Facts

Best place to cover a game: Even after being spoiled by the Big House, covering a game at the Rose Bowl was an unforgettable experience. I have a soft spot in my heart for Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oreg., as well.

Favorite sports cliche: "We just didn't get the bounces," a classic Michigan hockey quote.

Coolest story I've written: It would have to be the fall of 2006's high school football series I did (see Article Archive). I got to write about so many interesting people in a short amount of time, and I think it's the most rewarding thing I've done so far.

Weirdest story I've written: I wrote a story about a couple who decided to be married at a stock car racing speedway.

Coolest coach I've covered: There was never a dull moment covering Lou Piniella, that's for sure.

Coolest athlete I've written about: Kyle Turley was one bad dude.

Thing I won't miss about the Michigan Daily: Spring break ledes - "While YOU were getting drunk on a beach in X Mexican town, the Michigan X team was hard at work ..."

Thing I will miss about the Daily: An army of dedicated journalists who don't have to be there. Without a journalism school, everybody at the Daily was there because they loved the Daily.

Favorite sports section: The Star's, of course! Where else do you get to read Jason Whitlock and Joe Posnanski write about the same game?

Favorite sports writer: My good friend and former colleague at The Star, Wright Thompson, now with ESPN.com. Just type his name in google and prepare to be entertained.

Where I want to be in 20 years: Takeout and enterprise writer at a major metro, magazine or .com, hopefully with a book or two already completed.

Family info

My parents are all musicians. Mom is a pianist, Dad was a minister of music and my step-father is an organist. My step-father is currently the organist at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York.

My dad designs Web sites for a living now and lives in Dallas, Texas, and Bailey, Colo.

My grandfather is 88 years old and is a lifetime Red Sox fan. He was born 8 days after the Sox won the Series in 1918. So 2004 was a special year for us.

My sister, Princess Leia Organna, a white shit-zu, is almost two years old. She lives in New York with my mom and step-dad, and is pursuing a career in doggie modeling.

J. Brady McCollough - jbrady@coveringsports.com (email) - 816-868-2621 (cell)