Matt Gajtka's Sportswriter Profile

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Matt Gajtka

Joined 11 months ago

31 articles written
73 comments posted
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Matt's Bio

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 Recent Articles

NEW YORK - MAY 08: Nyjer Morgan #3 of the Pittsburgh Pirates leads off first base against the New York Mets on May 8, 2009 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Pirates 7-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Trading Nyjer Morgan a Risk Pittsburgh Pirates Had to Take

Published 4 months ago
378 reads 2 comments

BRADENTON, FL - MARCH 8: Infielder Freddy Sanchez #12 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a home run against the Houston Astros March 8, 2009 at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Pirates Striving to Climb Pittsburgh Sports Hierarchy

Published 7 months ago
127 reads 4 comments

PITTSBURGH - MARCH 25: Kris Letang #58, Evgeni Malkin #71 and Chris Kunitz #14 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate Letang's first period power play goal against the Calgary Flames on March 25, 2009 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Slow Week Yields Promising Results

Published 7 months ago
170 reads 4 comments

PITTSBURGH - MARCH 17: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Atlanta Thrashers on March 17, 2009 at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Penguins Finally Return to Earth in Loss to Flyers

Published 7 months ago
123 reads 3 comments

See 27 more of Matt's articles »

Matt Writes About

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The Short List What Matt thinks about sport's most pressing questions

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

Bulletin Board (21) Post a note »

by Farid
4 months ago

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
by Eric
5 months ago

Check out my new article: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/188710-mama-malkins-home-cookin
by Scott
6 months ago

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....
by Christian
7 months ago

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
by Scott
7 months ago

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.
by Christian
7 months ago

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!
by Scott
7 months ago

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

Matt,

Thought this might interest you.

Scott.
by Eric
7 months ago

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!
by Andrew
7 months ago

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
by Eric
9 months ago

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...
by Todd
9 months ago

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. ;)
by Todd
9 months ago

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

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!
by Eric
9 months ago

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!
by Eric
9 months ago

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.

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Matt Gajtka

Matt's Fans (10)

Matt's Lineup

Favorite Tags

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Matt's Bio

Matt's Recent Articles

Trading Nyjer Morgan a Risk Pittsburgh Pirates Had to Take

Pirates Striving to Climb Pittsburgh Sports Hierarchy

Pittsburgh Penguins' Slow Week Yields Promising Results

Penguins Finally Return to Earth in Loss to Flyers

Matt Writes About

The Short List What Matt thinks about sport's most pressing questions

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