A goodbye from the Co-Founders
It wasn’t supposed to be anything. It was supposed to be a place for a few freshmen to write about sports. We had no editors; Read More
Author: Michael Stern
Michael co-founded The Left Bench in November of 2013. He is the Business Director of the site, and he continues to write feature stories for TLB. Michael is a UMD student Class of 2016 and a New Jersey native. Don't insult Jersey. He will find you.
A Note from TLB Management
It has come to the attention of the Board of Directors that one of our staff writers lifted full sentences and phrases from the Maryland Read More
E-Sports on ESPN: Michael’s Media
Feature photo courtesy of Marco Verch. “They’re gonna get the dragon!” I didn’t think I would ever hear those words spoken on a network devoted Read More
Curt Schilling and Adam Nagel: The incident, apology, and lesson learned
The Incident: Edison, New Jersey, and Medfield, Massachusetts, are 236 miles away from each other; a four-hour car ride to get from one town Read More
March Madness Predictions: West
This year The Left Bench will take a look at each region prior to the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Michael Stern takes a look at the Read More
The Left Bench: One Year Old
On November 18, 2013 we sat in a lounge that smelled like burnt popcorn and ramen and created what we thought would be a blog we would do Read More
Finding that winning moment: There’s no better feeling
There’s nothing better than watching your baseball team in October. It’s a feeling that may only last for a fleeting moment, but it’s a feeling Read More
Winners and losers from conference realignment
A few years ago the college sports landscape changed drastically. It was a domino effect that began in 2011 when Colorado jumped to the PAC and Read More
With something to prove, Banning pushing forward
Barnabas Banning loves being aggressive. He loves getting onto the football field and pushing people to the ground. He loves playing with a mean streak Read More
Kareem McDonald: Moving on and having fun
Update: Kareem McDonald has committed to Monmouth. Update: Kareem McDonald has decommitted from Virginia. Update: Kareem McDonald has committed to Virginia. Kareem McDonald thought he Read More
Ready to play football: Majette nearing decision
Second Update: Mike Majette has decommitted from the University of Maryland and has instead committed to Indiana University. Update: Mike Majette committed to the University Read More
Gary Jennings: Going the distance
Update: Gary Jennings has committed to West Virginia. Update: Gary Jennings told Michael Stern in a text that he is receiving additional strong interest from Read More
Looking past the rankings, finding Assoua
Update: Eric Assoua has committed to Western Michigan. Eric Assoua knows he is underrated and has come to terms with it. He knows he isn’t Read More
Davis playing for the love of the game
UPDATE 7/30: Davis has been offered by Army. Chuck Davis has faced many obstacles in his football career. From being told he was too small Read More
Unknown to highly recruited, Alleyne down to six
Update: Jahque Alleyne has committed to Virginia Tech. Jahque Alleyne started for Ocean Lake High School in Virginia Beach for the first time in his Read More
Confusion and assumptions: Recruiting Derek Wilder
Derek Wilder was born into a football family. He grew up with a football in one hand and a helmet in the other. Football was in Read More
New Skule: Three star OT chooses Vanderbilt
Yesterday was a day that Justin Skule will never forget. Yesterday was the day that the Class of 2015 offensive tackle from Clifton, Virginia took Read More
My day at the NASCAR track
Let me say one thing: I never liked NASCAR. I was one of those people who thought NASCAR was not a sport, and I had Read More
Bullying in Sports: Why Are We Surprised?
November 18, 2013 By Michael Stern @MichaelSStern Last April ESPN’s Outside the Lines outted Rutgers basketball head coach Mike Rice as a player abuser. Because Read More
World Cup 2014: Quarterfinals Preview
Just like last round, The Left Bench World Cup coverage continues with Justin Meyer and Michael Stern’s recap of the Round of 16 and preview Read More
March Madness- Upset Gallery
It’s been an insane conference tournament week already. This post will be a running post of all the upsets that happened so far. Check out Read More
Round of 16 Preview
The Group Stage is finished and the Round of 16 begins today. Left Bench writers Michael Stern and Justin Meyer bring you a preview of Read More
FSU vs Maryland Preview
Well it is finally that time Terps fans… The last ACC tournament ever. No more long trips to North Carolina. No more mistreatment by the Read More
Maryland, Rutgers, Penn State: A Hate Triangle
With Maryland and Rutgers coming into the Big Ten, questions were asked about who would rival who out of the three northeast teams. Could it Read More
Working hard for the scholarship: Ryan Bowles
Update: Ryan Bowles has committed to Towson. It’s tough for Ryan Bowles, starting his senior season of high school football without a scholarship offer. While Read More