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Davis Sports Deli's Meet The Cooks Contact Page We are very fortunate to have a number of terrific writers here at the Davis Sports Deli. Each brings his own writing style and opinion, but we're all inextricably linked by an enthusiasm for sports and a penchant for writing about athletic endeavor. Below you will find a small profile for each of our Deli "cooks". Aaron Fischman has loved sports since he was introduced to it as a young boy. He treats it like one of the great disciplines; studying sports as closely as others examine science, history, mathematics and language. Aaron also loves to write about sports, he prides himself on being as unbiased as possible. According to Aaron: "It is impossible to be completely unbiased, but I will try my best." When he talks about avoiding bias, he is referring to situations in which he must cover one of his favorite teams. He loves the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, USC Trojan basketball & football and the UC Davis Aggies. Statistics intrigue this writer to a great extent. He is fascinated by the stories that numbers can tell. Aaron's favorite feature, by far, is the Top 25 NBA Players Under Age 25, because numbers are essential to the rankings. Not only does he like ranking the players every other week, he also enjoys tracking the players' progression from one list to the next. Aaron wonders who the NBA All-Stars will be in 8-10 years. This unique feature allows him to take a glimpse into the future. Aaron also brags about the interviews he conducts with first-class athletes. For the most part, the athletes have very interesting stories to tell. Without athletes, he acknowledges that his job would not even exist. It is the athletes who give him material to write about and, for this reason, he is very thankful. On another note, he absolutely despises the Designated Hitter in baseball because it takes away from the strategy of the game. This writer can be reached by e-mail at: usclippersox519@aol.com. Profiles are listed in alphabetical order. Aaron Fischman Collin Kilpatrick a.k.a. "Kool-Aid" Joshua Fischman Patrick Crawley Joshua Fischman is a college student in Washington, D.C. who is passionate about sports and writing. He has dedicated his life to both passions, having written about, played and followed sports for as long as he can remember. Joshua has played basketball, baseball, football and soccer competitively for years. He enjoys watching games on television and in person. Joshua loves writing in many different forms, including: poems, songs, essays, short stories and novels. His future lies in both sports and writing, as he sees himself immersed in both for the rest of his life. Joshua sees a potential future for himself in the career of sports journalism but maintains that "writing novels will always remain my hustle." In addition to writing for the Davis Sports Deli, Joshua is currently seeking publication in a scholarly sports/sociological journal for his well-researched piece entitled "The Intellectual Property of Pro Baseball: Dissemination, Stats, Fantasy and Video Games". Well aware of the long and arduous process that journalistic submission entails, Joshua says, "I am in it for the long haul." Of working for The Deli, Joshua says, "This job is the perfect marriage of sports and writing for me. I am also truly blessed to be able to work with the wonderful athletes with whom I have conversed. Each athlete has a unique and fascinating story to tell and I want our readers to hear as many of these stories as possible. But my work is not entirely selfless...I love hearing their stories too!" Joshua is looking forward to an upcoming feature called "30 Days of Spring Training". For 30 days, Davis Sports Deli.com will deliver extensive coverage of a different Major League Baseball organization. Each preview will include a special section written by a player in that team's organization. Joshua loves truly loves following Minor League Baseball, which is why enjoys working with top minor league prospects. He is also anxiously awaiting March Madness, at which time The Deli will serve plates and plates of hot interviews and analysis. Davis Sports Deli's loyal fan base has been increasing exponentially and Joshua expects this trend to continue as the website adds bells and whistles like message boards and other interactive tools. Joshua enjoys hearing from fans and critics about his writing and encourages feedback from YOU, the reader, on current features and ideas for future articles (you can contact him at SportWrite01@aol.com). Thanks to all of you for reading. In the hot summer of 1987, a beautiful, intelligent woman from Sacramento gave birth to a son who would unfortunately be neither of those things. Collin, as the child came to be known, may not have been a model or a valedictorian, but he lives his life with a passion that drives him like a steam engine. Growing up in Davis and Sacramento, Collin has always had a strong affinity for the Sacramento Kings, SF Giants and SF 49ers. But it wasn't until he started playing fantasy sports that he found a way to channel his passion into something (somewhat) productive. After several winning seasons, Collin had a chance meeting with editor/writer Patrick Crawley while working at a Davis summer camp and was lucky enough to talk his way into a position at The Deli. True to his passion, he created a feature called Fantasy Falafel, which focuses on fantasy sports. He chose to keep his camp name of Kool-Aid just in case any of the kids from camp were reading (also, any nickname that starts with "Kool" just kinda makes you feel good on the inside. Currently Collin is in his third year at UC San Diego. He continues his love/obsession with sports and the stat sheet. Collin has been a member of The Deli staff since the summer of 2006. He works from the beginning of football season to the end of basketball season and can be reached at fantasyfalafel@gmail.com. Hey, my name is Patrick Crawley and I'm a 24-year-old sports-a-holic from Davis, California. About two and a half years ago I created this website as an outlet for independent sports thought. In naming the site Davis Sports Deli.com I decided to combine two elements of my life that are very important: sports and sandwiches. If given a second chance, I would change the name to RogerClemensIsaCheaterWuTangForeverSports.com; mostly because it is convenient and speaks to our audience. Also, that name would double as our mission statement; which is an added bonus. At first the site was very, very small and I was the only writer. But over time more and more writers found their way to The Deli and we have steadily increased our readership as well as the quantity/quality of our work. I like to think of our growth as analagous to the birth and maturation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm Splinter, The Deli is my glass container full of baby turtles and the writers are the green mutant gel that makes everything grow bigger. Together we form a supernatural crime-fighting team known as The Davis Sports Deli. All joking aside, I am fortunate to work with such a great team of writers day-in and day-out. They are tireless and talented and amazing. Also, I feel like we would do pretty well in a street fight with other independent websites and that makes me happy. In terms of sports allegiances, I am unbelievably cursed as a fan of the San Francisco Giants, the Sacramento Kings and the Buffalo Bills. None of these teams have won a championship in my lifetime and that fact has caused a fair amount of frustration to well inside of me. I entertain that frustration from time to time in a feature called Ed's Weekly Beef. Growing up I idolized Will Clark, Matt Williams, Michael Jordan, Mitch Richmond and (embarrassingly enough) Jason "White Chocolate" Williams. For better or worse, these athletes shaped who I am today. In addition to editing, designing, managing, promoting and writing for The Deli, I hold down a full-time job as a facility manager on the UC Davis campus and coach youth soccer (U14 boys). This makes me both amazingly tired and amazingly happy; I'm like Bruce Wayne without the identity crisis. Let me know what you think of the site or just say hey at pecrawley@gmail.com. Paul Topchyan My name is Paul Topchyan. I am 18 years old. I go to school at Cal State Northridge. I have been a sports fanatic as long as I can remember. I watch -- and know -- almost every sport, starting from basketball, football, baseball, futbol, hockey, golf, tennis, rugby and cricket. Ok, I am just joking around about rugby and cricket. My favorite professional teams, the ones I root for, are: Los Angeles Lakers, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Dodgers. I have experienced every high and low of these franchises and I am sure those hard times have taken a few years away from my life. The high points started with the Lakers winning three consecutive championships and carried on to Al Harris' interception for a touchdown in overtime against the Seahawks in the playoffs in 2003. The lows include Los Angeles' struggles in the playoffs (they haven't won a playoff series since 1996) and Donovan McNabb's 4th-and-26 pass to help the Eagles beat the Packers in the NFC championship game (also in 2003). I had never thought about writing about sports until a fellow Deli writer introduced me to this sports website and offered me a job to write about sports and give my opinions. I thought this website could be good for me because I have watched and studied sports and this will give me the opportunity to express my knowledge to the sports world. You can e-mail me at PAULT2189@yahoo.com. Ryan Ong Ryan was born in Sacramento, CA and is a diehard Bay Area sports fan. That's right, he even roots for the Golden State Warriors. Ryan played organized baseball for 13 years, but couldn't hack it in college because he's vertically challenged. Now this sports fanatic has nothing better to do than watch, listen and talk sports. His all-time favorite sports talk show host is Pete "The King" Franklin for his hilarious toilet bowl flushes and machine gun antics. Franklin would use these sound effects on callers when they asked stupid questions. Ryan wishes KNBR 680 would bring back those antics to use on Dodger fans and Tommy Lasorda. Ryan can be reached by e-mail at rsong@sbcglobal.net.

Davis Sports Deli's
Meet The Cooks Contact Page

We are very fortunate to have a number of terrific writers here at the Davis Sports Deli. Each brings his own writing style and opinion, but we're all inextricably linked by an enthusiasm for sports and a penchant for writing about athletic endeavor. Below you will find a small profile for each of our Deli "cooks".

Aaron Fischman has loved sports since he was introduced to it as a young boy. He treats it like one of the great disciplines; studying sports as closely as others examine science, history, mathematics and language. Aaron also loves to write about sports, he prides himself on being as unbiased as possible. According to Aaron: "It is impossible to be completely unbiased, but I will try my best." When he talks about avoiding bias, he is referring to situations in which he must cover one of his favorite teams. He loves the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, USC Trojan basketball & football and the UC Davis Aggies.

Statistics intrigue this writer to a great extent. He is fascinated by the stories that numbers can tell. Aaron's favorite feature, by far, is the Top 25 NBA Players Under Age 25, because numbers are essential to the rankings. Not only does he like ranking the players every other week, he also enjoys tracking the players' progression from one list to the next. Aaron wonders who the NBA All-Stars will be in 8-10 years. This unique feature allows him to take a glimpse into the future.

Aaron also brags about the interviews he conducts with first-class athletes. For the most part, the athletes have very interesting stories to tell. Without athletes, he acknowledges that his job would not even exist. It is the athletes who give him material to write about and, for this reason, he is very thankful. On another note, he absolutely despises the Designated Hitter in baseball because it takes away from the strategy of the game.

This writer can be reached by e-mail at: usclippersox519@aol.com.

Profiles are listed in alphabetical order.

Aaron Fischman

Collin Kilpatrick a.k.a. "Kool-Aid"

Joshua Fischman

Patrick Crawley

Joshua Fischman is a college student in Washington, D.C. who is passionate about sports and writing. He has dedicated his life to both passions, having written about, played and followed sports for as long as he can remember. Joshua has played basketball, baseball, football and soccer competitively for years. He enjoys watching games on television and in person. Joshua loves writing in many different forms, including: poems, songs, essays, short stories and novels. His future lies in both sports and writing, as he sees himself immersed in both for the rest of his life. Joshua sees a potential future for himself in the career of sports journalism but maintains that "writing novels will always remain my hustle."

In addition to writing for the Davis Sports Deli, Joshua is currently seeking publication in a scholarly sports/sociological journal for his well-researched piece entitled "The Intellectual Property of Pro Baseball: Dissemination, Stats, Fantasy and Video Games". Well aware of the long and arduous process that journalistic submission entails, Joshua says, "I am in it for the long haul."

Of working for The Deli, Joshua says, "This job is the perfect marriage of sports and writing for me. I am also truly blessed to be able to work with the wonderful athletes with whom I have conversed. Each athlete has a unique and fascinating story to tell and I want our readers to hear as many of these stories as possible. But my work is not entirely selfless...I love hearing their stories too!"

Joshua is looking forward to an upcoming feature called "30 Days of Spring Training". For 30 days, Davis Sports Deli.com will deliver extensive coverage of a different Major League Baseball organization. Each preview will include a special section written by a player in that team's organization. Joshua loves truly loves following Minor League Baseball, which is why enjoys working with top minor league prospects. He is also anxiously awaiting March Madness, at which time The Deli will serve plates and plates of hot interviews and analysis.

Davis Sports Deli's loyal fan base has been increasing exponentially and Joshua expects this trend to continue as the website adds bells and whistles like message boards and other interactive tools. Joshua enjoys hearing from fans and critics about his writing and encourages feedback from YOU, the reader, on current features and ideas for future articles (you can contact him at SportWrite01@aol.com).

Thanks to all of you for reading.

In the hot summer of 1987, a beautiful, intelligent woman from Sacramento gave birth to a son who would unfortunately be neither of those things. Collin, as the child came to be known, may not have been a model or a valedictorian, but he lives his life with a passion that drives him like a steam engine. Growing up in Davis and Sacramento, Collin has always had a strong affinity for the Sacramento Kings, SF Giants and SF 49ers. But it wasn't until he started playing fantasy sports that he found a way to channel his passion into something (somewhat) productive.

After several winning seasons, Collin had a chance meeting with editor/writer Patrick Crawley while working at a Davis summer camp and was lucky enough to talk his way into a position at The Deli. True to his passion, he created a feature called Fantasy Falafel, which focuses on fantasy sports. He chose to keep his camp name of Kool-Aid just in case any of the kids from camp were reading (also, any nickname that starts with "Kool" just kinda makes you feel good on the inside.

Currently Collin is in his third year at UC San Diego. He continues his love/obsession with sports and the stat sheet. Collin has been a member of The Deli staff since the summer of 2006. He works from the beginning of football season to the end of basketball season and can be reached at fantasyfalafel@gmail.com.

Hey, my name is Patrick Crawley and I'm a 24-year-old sports-a-holic from Davis, California. About two and a half years ago I created this website as an outlet for independent sports thought. In naming the site Davis Sports Deli.com I decided to combine two elements of my life that are very important: sports and sandwiches. If given a second chance, I would change the name to RogerClemensIsaCheaterWuTangForeverSports.com; mostly because it is convenient and speaks to our audience. Also, that name would double as our mission statement; which is an added bonus.

At first the site was very, very small and I was the only writer. But over time more and more writers found their way to The Deli and we have steadily increased our readership as well as the quantity/quality of our work. I like to think of our growth as analagous to the birth and maturation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm Splinter, The Deli is my glass container full of baby turtles and the writers are the green mutant gel that makes everything grow bigger. Together we form a supernatural crime-fighting team known as The Davis Sports Deli.

All joking aside, I am fortunate to work with such a great team of writers day-in and day-out. They are tireless and talented and amazing. Also, I feel like we would do pretty well in a street fight with other independent websites and that makes me happy.

In terms of sports allegiances, I am unbelievably cursed as a fan of the San Francisco Giants, the Sacramento Kings and the Buffalo Bills. None of these teams have won a championship in my lifetime and that fact has caused a fair amount of frustration to well inside of me. I entertain that frustration from time to time in a feature called Ed's Weekly Beef. Growing up I idolized Will Clark, Matt Williams, Michael Jordan, Mitch Richmond and (embarrassingly enough) Jason "White Chocolate" Williams. For better or worse, these athletes shaped who I am today.

In addition to editing, designing, managing, promoting and writing for The Deli, I hold down a full-time job as a facility manager on the UC Davis campus and coach youth soccer (U14 boys). This makes me both amazingly tired and amazingly happy; I'm like Bruce Wayne without the identity crisis.

Let me know what you think of the site or just say hey at pecrawley@gmail.com.

Paul Topchyan

My name is Paul Topchyan. I am 18 years old. I go to school at Cal State Northridge. I have been a sports fanatic as long as I can remember. I watch -- and know -- almost every sport, starting from basketball, football, baseball, futbol, hockey, golf, tennis, rugby and cricket. Ok, I am just joking around about rugby and cricket.

My favorite professional teams, the ones I root for, are: Los Angeles Lakers, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Dodgers. I have experienced every high and low of these franchises and I am sure those hard times have taken a few years away from my life. The high points started with the Lakers winning three consecutive championships and carried on to Al Harris' interception for a touchdown in overtime against the Seahawks in the playoffs in 2003. The lows include Los Angeles' struggles in the playoffs (they haven't won a playoff series since 1996) and Donovan McNabb's 4th-and-26 pass to help the Eagles beat the Packers in the NFC championship game (also in 2003).

I had never thought about writing about sports until a fellow Deli writer introduced me to this sports website and offered me a job to write about sports and give my opinions. I thought this website could be good for me because I have watched and studied sports and this will give me the opportunity to express my knowledge to the sports world.

You can e-mail me at PAULT2189@yahoo.com.

Ryan Ong

Ryan was born in Sacramento, CA and is a diehard Bay Area sports fan. That's right, he even roots for the Golden State Warriors. Ryan played organized baseball for 13 years, but couldn't hack it in college because he's vertically challenged. Now this sports fanatic has nothing better to do than watch, listen and talk sports. His all-time favorite sports talk show host is Pete "The King" Franklin for his hilarious toilet bowl flushes and machine gun antics. Franklin would use these sound effects on callers when they asked stupid questions. Ryan wishes KNBR 680 would bring back those antics to use on Dodger fans and Tommy Lasorda.

Ryan can be reached by e-mail at rsong@sbcglobal.net.