Matt Gajtka joined December 2008

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Matt Gajtka

About Matt »

A graduate of Marshall University's School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Matt earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism in December of 2007. While at Marshall, Matt served as reporter, columnist and sports editor of MU's student newspaper, The Parthenon. Matt was the A/V intern and No. 2 radio broadcaster in the summer of 2007 for the West Virginia Power, the one-time Class A affiliate of MLB's Milwaukee Brewers. He was married in September 2008, moved to Michigan and is now a PR/game night intern for the Kalamazoo Wings of the International Hockey League.

Matt is an avid fan of the NHL and the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers. You can reach him at matt.gajtka@gmail.com. Visit his Polish Prodigy blog at http://polishprodigy.blogspot.com.

Matt's Website »

The Polish Prodigy

The Shortlist »

  • Favorite Athletes

    Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Max Talbot, Sergei Gonchar, Jaromir Jagr, Nate McLouth, Jason Bay, Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison

  • Favorite Sports Teams

    Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers, Marshall University Thundering Herd

  • Favorite Coaches

    "Badger" Bob Johnson, Michel Therrien, Mike Tomlin, Bill Cowher, Herb Brooks, Jim Leyland, Phil Jackson, Lloyd McClendon

  • All Time Sports Moment

    Either the Steelers' Super Bowl XL win or the Penguins beating the Flyers on the way to the Cup final in '08

  • Most Memorable Game Attended

    Penguins 7-6 OT win in Detroit on November 11, 2008

  • Most Unbreakable Sports Record

    Cal Ripken's consecutive games streak

  • Ruth or Mays?

    Clemente

  • Unitas or Montana?

    Bradshaw

  • Jordan or Russell?

    Two very different players

  • Gretzky or Orr?

    Le Magnifique, No. 66 Mario Lemieux

  • Pele or Maradona?

    Pele

  • Federer or Sampras?

    Federer probably the best all-around player ever, but I can't stand him

  • Tiger or Nicklaus?

    Tiger all the way

  • Petty or Earnhardt?

    Not a NASCAR fan

  • Schumacher or Senna?

    Don't know Senna, so Schumacher

  • Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, or Big East?

    Big 10

to post this comment

Farid Rushdi said...

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Great story about Nyjer Morgan. The Nationals are lucky to have him. He's not nearly as talented as our previous '09 center fielders (Lastings Milledge & Elijah Dukes) but he's producing at a major league level now.

Are you enjoying Michigan? I moved from D.C. to Ann Arbor 20 years ago, but never felt entirely comfortable.

Love your work.

Farid Rushdi

141 days ago

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Eric Naughton said...

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Check out my new article: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/188710-mama-malkins-home-cookin

179 days ago

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Scott Brown said...

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/158300-are-we-watching-the-end-of-the-flyers-organization-as-we-know-it?just_published=1

Are the Penguins making the Broad Street Bully Mentality irrelevant....

220 days ago

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Christian Karcole said...

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It's that time of year again. It's the best postseason in all of sports. It's the NHL playoffs. I decided to try my hand at my first hockey article in a while with my Eastern Conference preview. If you have time, take a look.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/156188-nhl-eastern-conference-playoffs-preview-round-one

Thanks, Christian Karcole

224 days ago

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Scott Brown said...

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/155258-why-evgeni-malkin-should-win-the-hart-trophy-but-wont

Have a look at my newest article, I would love to hear what you think.

225 days ago

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Christian Karcole said...

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I was recently inspired to write this piece about "America's Pastime". If you have time to take a look at this, it would be great.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/150616-the-inconvenient-truth-about-americas-pastime

Thanks, Christian

BTW. Go Flyers!

235 days ago

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Scott Brown said...

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/148692-the-5-greatest-seasons-of-mario-lemieux

Matt,

Thought this might interest you.

Scott.

237 days ago

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Eric Naughton said...

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I thought you might be interested in reading this. I'm pre-empting the NHL's announcement, scheduled for sometime next week.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/142800-press-release-nhl-to-air-new-reality-show

Thanks!

248 days ago

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Andrew Cahill said...

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Hey,

Can you check this out? I think you'll enjoy it! It means a lot to me.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/140660-confessions-of-a-boston-sports-fan

251 days ago

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Eric Naughton said...

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Thanks for becoming a fan and for the nice comment. Playing hockey was something I always wanted to do, but it was too expensive so I played soccer.

I live in Studio City just over the hill from Hollywood.

I think it's awesome that you're working in hockey! I'm going to the LA Kings job fair in March and hope to make some contacts.

I might visit Saugatuck this summer! Just around the corner from you.

Take care...

284 days ago

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Todd Whitehouse said...

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I lived there for most of my life growing up (was an Army brat) and it's a GREAT place to visit. I moved 14 years ago, for several reasons, and wish I could go back to see it again. For the most part, it's a superb city with great people. Enjoy the reason of the hockey season, it should be interesting to see who can dig themselves a playoff spot. ;)

308 days ago

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Todd Whitehouse said...

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At least you've got more class than your buddy Eric K, Matt. Thanks for a level headed response.

309 days ago

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Todd Whitehouse said...

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Hey Matt,

1. Ovechkin is the best all-around player in the league right now. He plays hard all the time, has a great shot, oozes enthusiasm and is great to the fans. He's better than Geno and he's better than Crosby, period.
2. When Pens ask "What has Ovechkin won?" or "Who has he beaten?" He won a Calder (Crosby didn't) and your team's season ended just like the Caps season did last year: NO CUP TITLE.
3. Malkin is superior to Crosby and without Geno, the Pens would be absolutely horrible. Crosby's numbers look good because he's feeding Malkin and without him, he'd be a 40 point player on a team that might be as bad as the Isles.
4. Now that the Caps are up and your Pens stink, I'll relish every minute of it after suffering at the hands of your beloved Lemieux for long enough. I'm praying we meet you dorks in the playoffs so we can expose your team for the frauds they've been this season.

GO CAPS!

309 days ago

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Wooooo said...

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I checked out your blog, nice job there. I've added to my links section at Experiencing the Evolution (www.pensevolution.blogspot.com).

Keep up the good work representing Pittsburgh up there in Grand Rapids!

309 days ago

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Wooooo said...

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So very true about the Verizon center. The Caps are a joke, as is their fan base. Ovechkin is a big time player, you can't really argue that, but he has the class of a San Fransiscan whore on a Friday night.

I'll take the quiet leadership of Malkin over AO's over the top antics and showmanship any day.

The Pens are looking good as of late, finally playing with that passion that was missing for the last month or so. Hopefully the all-star break doesn't serve as too much of a buzz kill.

309 days ago

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View more »

Matt's Achievements & Awards (3) »

  • Hot Read [article title]

    Hot Read: Silver Medal

    Alex the Grating: Ovechkin Needs To Act…

    Received 2,000 Reads • January 15, 2009

  • Great Debate [article title]

    Great Debate: Silver Medal

    Alex the Grating: Ovechkin Needs To Act…

    Received 50 comments • January 15, 2009

  • Hot Read [article title]

    Hot Read: Bronze Medal

    National Hatred League: Animosity at Al…

    Received 1,000 Reads • January 29, 2009

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