AJ’s Blog

In an unprecedented era of no sports Purdue sports stayed the same with some annual bad news. This week Matt Painter’s squad lost a senior for the 2020 season when West Lafayette was shocked with the announcement of Matt Haarms entering the trans...

We're staying inside to stay safe, to keep all the bad out right?

There's no denying things are different with the Coronavirus but why? A lot have seemingly come and gone but AJ goes back to the only pandemic that has personally touched his family to dive in.

Complacency is natural for everyone but what about self-destruction? AJ always described all his down periods as ruts and would eventually shake them off, but some times they were worse than that. The last few weeks has been more than a rut but identifying that was start to reversing the spiral and something he'd never do when he was younger.

The saying is AJ's family is "If you do your job well you get rewarded by doing other people's jobs." It has played out to be true multiple times but clashes out with what his first mentor told him. So is the family motto actually a punishment?

AJ's father learned a lesson the hard way when it came to making your favorite athlete a hero, and it was a lesson he repeated time and time again to AJ. Despite that, there's just something different about Kobe's death. Kobe Bryant wasn't AJ's favorite player nor were the Lakers his favorite team but this one sticks with AJ and hurts more.

When it comes to the work environment you find yourself in, different things will work for different people. For AJ, the environments in his radio career have been all very similar. AJ explores what the pros and cons of a freedom or structured environment provide and what he thinks he needs as he continues to push forward. No matter what environment you're in though, there's one common key to everyone's success.

With it being a new decade, let alone a new year, there just seems to be so much more energy and juice to harness to make changes. It's a new decade for AJ as well. His 20's were about self-finding and answering the important questions, so his 30's will be about self-improving and building on that foundation.

Most of us have vacation time but very rarely take it, why? Even if you love what you do it's important to find breaks and to unplug for a bit so you can recharge. Some times we make the mistake of thinking 'just get this done and then I can relax' but in life there's always something else.

There’s no arguing that quarterback is the most important position in the NFL. If you don’t have it right then it doesn’t matter, just look at the Bears and their extremely talented roster. That being said, a lot of teams acknowledge ...

College basketball is underway and there have already been some upsets, see Kentucky losing at home to Evansville. While you don’t want to see your team lose any of those games but in college basketball it’s important to remember there are ...

The Golden State Warriors opened a new stadium with a lot of new faces though were expected to compete for a playoff spot while they wait for Klay Thompson to come back. Instead Steph Curry and Draymond Green got hurt and a ton of journey man and young...

No one would ever say at the first sign of trouble to just give up and walk away, but don't be blinded or bind by loyalty and trust. Those are very powerful words but are misused to push through an obviously bad situation. One of the biggest criticisms of being a Millennial is no loyalty, but that's not the case. It's about understanding and knowing that it's reciprocated.

AJ had a reminder recently about the impact words can have and it made him re-think how important they are to him. From hobbies, to interests, to his career, words are very essential to a lot of things he does, but that doesn't mean his words are any more powerful or important than anyone else's.

Football is the most popular sport in American, making billions of dollars of every year and dominating the American sports landscape but needs to learn something from baseball. There is plenty of parody in the NFL with about 50% of the playoff teams t...

If you’re a Chicago Bears fan you’re probably already sick of the season. This team came in as as a Super Bowl contender and looks far from it. After the double doink sent coach Nagy’s squad home early last season another year in the ...

Now in the family the saying is there is no such thing as a good loss, wins are wins and losses are losses but that doesn’t mean you can’t take away positives. The Boilermakers lost at Iowa 26-20 but an extremely young team looks like the c...

Being in radio means you're always going to ask 'How do I get a job in radio?' The same day a veteran in the building gave AJ their tips and tricks to surviving a career AJ's sister decided she wanted to switch to communications. AJ has some advice but the best way to show you want you're in for is to follow along his journey.

Now let’s be real, this Fantasy Football season is far from over, but you’ve always got to keep an eye on the future. Whether you’re in the championship hunt this year or, already have an eye for next season, the name of the game is a...

Just this week a study revealed the average American hasn't made a new friend in 5 years. Luckily, AJ hasn't been that bad but that's more due to special people than his ability to make friends. Life is lived out loud on radio and social media but really a quiet guy struggles to maintain friendships, despite being desperately afraid of ending up alone.

Everyone wants more money, but if you don't practice good habits it doesn't matter how much you get because you'll always be putting yourself in bad situations. You have to practice good saving habits but really it just comes down to realizing your situation and being smart about it.

You play to win the game. That’s the truth in sports and it sure as heck is the case in Fantasy Football, but some times it’s the long game you have to win. I don’t take losing lightly and that’s why a team that finised 11 out o...

This week came with the unsurprising announcement that Joe Maddon will no longer lead the Chicago Cubs. It seemed fairly predetermined after the Chicago collapse last season that it was going to take another World Series to even consider having him bac...

Of course you want the best for those close to you and those you care for, but you can only do so much. For change to happen you have to want change. Selfishness is seen as a bad word but that's not always true.

When AJ was a teenager he didn't want unsolicited advice, like most teenagers, so instead he writes a letter to his past self. What advice could he have for the him of over 10 years ago? A little self-doubt, some laziness and a perceived lack (and also not realizing how much there actually is) of time left some things untried, undone and challenges not met.

Week 1 has come and gone and it’s quite possible you had a rough week. You could have had Devonta Freeman or Aaron Jones who massively underperformed or gotten hit by the injury bug. Tyreek Hill, Tevin Coleman, Joe Mixon and Hunter Henry all got ...

Of course Purdue fans had hope coming in to this season. Two seasons in for Jeff Brohm after starting with a dumpster fire of a roster he went 13-13 and 1-1 in bowl games including last season’s 3-0 against ranked opponents. Facing one of the tou...

I wasn’t old enough to remember Barry Sanders retiring in his prime or even Michael Jordan from the Bulls the first time, but I’ll always remember the moment when it was announced Andrew Luck retired unexpectedly from the Indianapolis Colts...

You would think those that want to be better and improve things would be lifted up, but it isn't always the case. Work will try and beat you down and, if you let it, then you become a road block. That's not going to stop the people who want success as they'll butt heads over and over until they find a way to make it happen.

With the Fantasy Football marathon going and preseason football started, football season is back. For Dynasty and Keeper leagues it’s starting to get down to the selection process and figuring out which players you’re going to keep as the ...

Two mantras I picked up with my radio career are 'Do it better or do it differently.' and 'Outwork everyone.' but they apply to so many things. A conversation about ESports and my hobby of playing and blogging about Fantasy Football made me realize how that first saying is true everywhere. Work ethic is something I've always defined myself by and has gotten me to where I am.

Staying home for most of his life and then a bad job that didn't let him leave work lit a fire for AJ. Never again was he going to not be able to travel and see the world. Travel was his new hobby and nothing was going to stop him. It was made even better when he found someone to do it with. It all becomes that much more special and meaningful with someone to share all the memories and adventures with.

After seasons of super teams that dominated NBA seasons, just waiting to get to the Finals to see the obvious match ups play out, there is finally parity. How basketball got to parity was not by the usual way. There were star team ups but no super team...

We deny it while we're young but the older we get the faster time really does move. There's several theories as to why, but what if it simply is because we tune out, our brain goes on auto-pilot and skips over the mundane, normal routine we put ourselves in?

When a new fantasy football season starts of course it’s easy to reset your mind to go for the championship. However, while it’s obvious, only one team can win each season. That doesn’t mean just one person is competing for a champion...

With the NBA Draft come and gone free agency will soon be upon us and it’ll be a big summer once again with so many stars potentially on the move. One of the biggest moves of this free agency period already happened with Anthony Davis leaving New...

Trader Dan has been a busy man at the helm of the Boston Celtics and has some great trades on his General Manager resume. The Brooklyn Nets heist, moving Jeff Green, moving on from Rajon Rondo, stealing Isaiah Thomas, stealing Kyrie Irving, Ainge made ...

The older AJ gets the more important the small things become. Yes, you can't judge a book by its cover but you can start to see the outline. The question isn't "What's the harm if I ignore this small thing?" it should be "How long or how much effort does it really take to do that?" If things like saying please, thank you or cleaning up after yourself aren't important then what does it say about the bigger things in life?

The last memory Boilermaker fans have of their football team on the field was a drubbing against Auburn 63-14 in the Music City Bowl. It was a very big reminder of how far Purdue still had to go even with the huge recruiting get of Rondale Moore who su...

The big story for MLB off-seasons the last few years has been a possible owner/GM collusion to drive down the prices of some of the top free agents. Money has still been thrown around but it takes quite awhile for the bank to open up. Chicago ‘b...

After spending the first 26 plus years at home AJ wanted nothing more than to get away and never come back. He learned a lot the first time he moved away but that ended with a very humbling move home. The resolve was just made fiercer about never wanting to go back home but that was wrong. You can't ignore or change where your from and just being back home AJ channeled an energy and inspiration he was desperately searching for.

AJ is very much a world traveler but this time all the road trips caught up to him. The accident could have been a whole lot worse but luckily it was just some bumps and bruises. The really important thing was that just things were lost and those can be replaced, but even more so was the perspective gained from a kind stranger.

Pour your soul in, don't get so complainy are all things AJ has said but that doesn't mean just do everything and don't evaluate the situation and what you're worth. There's true value in knowing what your value is and knowing how to build it and use it.

Life is going to be tough, that is just a fact. Yes, we all need to vent some times but that doesn't solve the problem. Complaining does nothing but bum everyone out around you. If you want change you have to make change happen.

The end of the Fantasy Football season was summarized with ‘Ride It Out’ because of how my season fell flat because of injuries and suspensions. So ride it out and try again with a fresh year after swinging some big trades that fell apart w...

Radio is a blast and a creative expression of the soul but that can be a double-edged sword. It's fun but it isn't easy, but for some reason those creative careers get looked down on like they're not real jobs and just hobbies. So how do you avoid the rut and getting crushed?

What and why? What is AJ doing and why is he doing it? For a long time radio was just a fun way to pay the bills that didn't feel like work. Eventually it took on more meaning as it became a career and not just a job, but there was something that didn't really crystallize until he took over mornings on VFX.

We all have spurts of laziness or get stuck in ruts but one thing AJ will never understand and putting your name next to crappy work. That just doesn't work in his brain and it's always his goal to smash through the ceiling no matter where he is working. He wants the pressure and wants the eyes on him.

Is it complacency, laziness or just general not caring that leads to big gaps of conversation among people? For AJ it's not that he doesn't like to talk or afraid of new people, but something has always made him bad at watering the seeds with people. How does that match up with a career that you're so open about all the time?

As the oldest of four National Sibling Day means a lot to AJ, but how has he done as a brother? Is it easier as the kids grow up and and start and continue to move away from home? Two sets of siblings and two different divorces, how have the kids dealt with that?