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Turn Up the Mike

About Turn Up the Mike

My name is Michael Shapiro and I’m a junior in the Joint Program between Columbia and JTS majoring in American history and modern Jewish studies. I arrived at Columbia in the fall of 2008 anxious to dive into the underappreciated world of Ivy League sports. Having served as a Spec Sports staff writer and associate editor over the past two years, I’m ready to take my writing to a whole new level. "Turn Up the Mike" is the culmination of every sports-related thought and experience I have encountered both before and throughout college. With the tenacity of a true Lions fan, I hope to bring you columns that are witty, grounded, provocative, and relevant. Go Blue!

Michael Shapiro is a List College senior majoring in history and modern Jewish studies.

Articles

SENIOR COLUMN: SHAPIRO: Time to turn off the Mike

By Michael Shapiro
Apr 24 08:50 pm ET

Improving the image of Columbia sports has always been my focus.

SHAPIRO: Overlapping seasons, school work, call for plan of action

By Michael Shapiro
Apr 17 06:59 pm ET

Making time for sports fandom and academics is possible with the right game plan.

SHAPIRO: The number of penalties is too damn high

By Michael Shapiro
Apr 3 11:22 pm ET

Pro and college sports leagues need to re-evaluate their penalty systems.

SHAPIRO: March Madness reminds us why we love the underdog

By Michael Shapiro
Mar 20 08:51 pm ET

As a Columbia sports fan, cheering for the underdog is easy, and watching the top seeds like No. 2 Duke and No. 2 Missouri fall is even easier.

SHAPIRO: Cursed sports cause Lions' teams' struggles

By Michael Shapiro
Feb 24 01:28 am ET

The Lions' athletic incompetence is due more to being cursed, rather than a lack of skill or adequate facilities.

Archery worthy of big-time coverage

By Michael Shapiro
Feb 8 11:47 pm ET

It's time for Columbia to embrace its most successful teams, which are often those competing in the lowest-profile sports.

SHAPIRO: Save the stress, avoid the buzzer-beater

By Michael Shapiro
Jan 25 11:10 pm ET

Close games remain up for grabs as teams become desperate towards the end. The Columbia men's basketball team needs to establish an early lead to avoid leaving games up to luck.

Football progam is integral part of Columbia

By Michael Shapiro
Dec 2 01:24 am ET

Columbia’s football team was a founding father of collegiate football. Cutting it would be like taking down Alma Mater because it’s just some old sentimental relic.

SHAPIRO: Heckling acceptable from sports fans

By Michael Shapiro
Nov 16 10:05 pm ET

Especially for Columbia athletics, appropriate showings of fan spirit should not be stifled.

SHAPIRO: Integrity of Ivy League sports

By Michael Shapiro
Nov 2 09:26 pm ET

Times are tough for sports fans. No more baseball, no basketball, and an uneventful football season have left fans longing for more. The Ivy Leagues are not the answer to these problems.

SHAPIRO: Jobs changed sports world as much as tech

By Michael Shapiro
Oct 21 02:37 am ET

Steve Jobs leaves behind a legacy of expert entrepreneurship, showmanship, and innovation. But to the world of sports, he leaves an indelible mark, which we are reminded of on a daily basis by those iconic white earbuds and the apple with a bite out of it.

In sports world, finding fault is all too easy

By Michael Shapiro
Oct 7 01:39 am ET

But before acceptance is reached, there tends to be another stage, one in which most fans and pundits partake but often overlook—blame. It’s a phenomenon most easily described as the “blame game,” and it can be seen throughout the sporting world at most levels of play.

CU has more sporting history than you’d think

By Michael Shapiro
Sep 23 02:46 am ET

Our teams might not fill 40,000-seat stadiums or warrant prime time coverage on ESPN, but our athletics program does have a rather intriguing history.

New outlook on Ivy sports for veteran writer

By Michael Shapiro
Sep 14 11:24 pm ET

Damn, it’s good to be back. It’s good to see my friends, shop at Morton Williams, and start my last year of college. Hell, it’s even good to be writing my biweekly column again. If you’ve read Turn Up the Mike with any sort of regularity (bless your soul), then you may have gleaned a few things about my take on Ivy League sports, and sports in general for that matter. You probably know that I’m a die-hard Chicago sports fan (minus that one baseball team that plays at Wrigley Field). You may know that I’m not particularly fond of archery, but that I have a strong affinity for baseball.

Big Red provide blueprint for national success

By Michael Shapiro
Apr 19 11:00 pm ET

Columbia has the prestige, money, and location that one would think make it at least as attractive for athletes choosing between it and another Ivy like Cornell. While Columbia has the world to offer high school athletes, another type of recruiting may be luring these students to Cornell.

In Ivy League, perfection is elusive feat

By Michael Shapiro
Apr 6 07:38 pm ET

There has only been one perfect game in Ivy League history, and it was in a seven inning game.

Why I rooted for Princeton to win

By Michael Shapiro
Mar 22 01:20 am ET

Despite the rivalry and the ill-will between Columbia and Princeton, I was able to set my differences aside for a few hours and root for Princeton to beat Kentucky last week as they represented the Ivy League in March Madness.

Baseball season counts before Ivy League play

By Michael Shapiro
Feb 23 10:16 pm ET

Ivy League baseball teams may not be in it to win it during non-conference play, but there's still plenty reason to watch.

Archery not worthy of big-time coverage

By Michael Shapiro
Feb 9 12:37 am ET

The fact that the Spectator regularly covers literally all men’s and women’s varsity sports except for archery is no accident.

Columbia can have a Cornell moment too

By Michael Shapiro
Jan 27 12:40 am ET

What could make Columbia's basketball team create a Cornell moment.

Norries Wilson is only part of the problem

By Michael Shapiro
Nov 30 07:48 pm ET

Coaches will come and go, but fans must realize that lasting change does not occur overnight.

We all love football but at what cost?

By Michael Shapiro
Nov 15 02:51 am ET

Players need to take more responsibility for their own health on the field. Every Saturday in the NCAA and every Sunday in the NFL we see an abundance of exceptionally big hits, which both fans and players often write off with a simple, “He got his bell rung.” This is the wrong attitude. Players who suffer these hits should not always shrug them off as part of the game.

Why we should take the Lions to the ice

By Michael Shapiro
Oct 27 07:24 pm ET

Hockey fans certainly exist on campus and it just takes looking at a map of where teams are located to see why. Three NHL hockey teams—the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, and New York Islanders—are located just a train ride away. If there is one Ivy League school at which a hockey team could be successful, it’s Columbia.

Commencement 2012 May 16 2012	Barnard commencement May 15 2012	May Day 2012 May 7 2012
Oprah Viewing April 16 2012	Holi 2012! April 15 2012	Hindu Classical Night April 15 2012
Tamasha 2012 April 8 2012	Picnic on the roof of SIPA March 27 2012	Dominican American Art Exhibit March 25 2012