Sports n Stuff

3/28/22

So I took spring break and didn’t write diddly squat. I played lacrosse, watched the peacocks shock the world, and celebrated my 21st birthday in the best way possible, bowling with the fellas the day before a big game. With all that said, here are some of my takes with shit going on.

Villa-no-fun is still dancing. Shoutout mama for going to Villanova so I can root for their basketball team. They are just so consistent it isn’t fair. They have the best free throw percentage in the country and they’re pretty lethal from the 3. Their one big flaw though is that they are small across the floor, and after Kansas beat the crap out of Miami, I think that they’re gonna beat the Wildcats. They’re just bigger everywhere and unless ‘Nova can knock down threes consistently, I don’t see them really having a chance.

College lacrosse has been nuts. Maryland might be the best team of all time. They’re so deep all over the field and they are just crushing teams day in and day out. Shoutout my boy Connor Shellenberger for just having another crazy season also. He just casually racks up 5 or more points every weekend and it isn’t really fair. Last but not least, Duke might be the biggest frauds in the nation. After losing to Syracuse, who is struggling heavily in the Gary Gait era, it is evident something is wrong in Durham. Danowski needs to figure it out because quite honestly it’s embarrassing.

The Frozen Four is upon us. I’ll go more into detail about this one in a blog post later in the week, but it’s very fun to watch. Out of FIVE NCHC teams only one remains, Denver, and I hope they lose. They get the matchup of Michigan this weekend, and I really hope they do well. Michigan is a fun team to watch with a ton of first round NHL draft picks and it’s easy to get behind them having a good year for the first time in a bit. On the other hand, Minnesota State against Minnesota, the battle of the north in the Frozen Four for a trip to the championship. I love State’s uniforms so I’m rooting for them, plus they haven’t won the title before so I am rooting hard for them to go all the way.

And finally, Will Smith slapped the shit out of Chris Rock. I have no clue what to say about it. I was playing fortnite with my buddies and checked my phone to find a video of Will Smith hitting Chris Rock. I think it was 100% real and 100% uncalled for. Yes, Chris Rock chirped Jada Pinkett Smith but to have the response he had after winning best actor is so immature. I didn’t really like Will Smith beforehand but now I am not a fan at all. Shoutout Chris Rock for handling it with some maturity, even though he looked extremely shocked that it just happened.

3/9/22

Warning: I will be playing tummy sticks with Alex Ovechkin. If you don’t like Alex Ovechkin, don’t read this article.

Ovi’s done it yet again. The 35 year old is playing like a 25 year old up-in-comer in the league. Last night, Ovi tied Jaromir Jagr for the third most career goals in NHL history at 766. The Great 8 scored twice in a win against the stout defensive Calgary Flames.

The caps have been on a tear as of late, riding a 3 game win streak where Alex Ovechkin has scored at least one goal in each game, along with a total of 6 points during this span. The Caps are staying in Alberta tonight with a date with the Oilers and the two best players in the world, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. If you’re a betting man (or woman) take Ovi scoring a goal tonight as a lock.

Back to the Gr8 one and his race against the Great One. At the beginning of the year the race was set for the next five years, the length of Ovi’s latest contract extension. In that span, he needs to average 33 goals a season in order to pass Wayne Gretzky’s intimidating 894 goals. This being the first of those 5 years, Ovi is at 36 goals heading into the final stretch of the season. He needs 35 goals to get to Mr. Hockey’s record at 801, and 128 to get to Gretzky in the remainder of this year plus 4 more years.

For all you Ovi haters out there, 99 has said he thinks that Ovi is going to beat his record, and if you don’t think so anymore your insane. He’s got 4 years left and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down in scoring or flat out playing hockey. He’s fourth in a tight race in league leader for goals and eighth in league leading points (Crosby isn’t close in either race lol). Ovi is playing some of his best hockey ever at such an old age and he’s defying time.

3/7/22

Sports betting in the past few years has taken off, and it’s made watching sports for most a lot more exciting, even when the games may not be the best. Apparently, betting on the games may even be more exciting then playing in them.

Today, Calvin Ridley from the Hotlanta Falcons was suspended at least all of next year for betting on NFL games. In a twitter post after the news broke, Ridley said, “I bet 1500 total I don’t have a gambling problem.” Ridley played only a total of 5 games last year, after leaving the team for mental health reasons.

Well I guess the world knows what the mental health problems are now, and personally, I think the punishment is absurd. I understand the NFL is very extreme in weird illegal action, like gambling while your in the NFL, but it feels like a lot for the crime.

If there was more money being bet I would understand the suspension to be more severe, but it was only $1500. At what point does the NFL say ‘x amount of money bet means your missing a whole season’?

I think every other player in the NFL understands that betting on the NFL while playing in the league is wrong, but making Calvin an example of the punishment is crazy. I’m sure there is something in the rules in the NFL or the NFLPA saying the betting is wrong, so why suspend the guy for a whole season? I think the punishment should of been a fine and, at most, 4 game suspension, but what do I know, I’m just some guy.

3/4/22

This was for the week before and going into this week, but these past 2 weeks GOATs of the Weeks are Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko.

Look, I’m not going to begin to describe the Klitschko brothers’ boxing careers because I have never heard of them, but they have to be pretty badass to be boxers. What’s even more badass is the fact that they are retired and are now on the front lines in Ukraine in defense of their country. I first heard of this last week and thought it was crazy, and earlier this week I saw that one of them had killed about 6 Russians in defense of Ukraine.

I know what’s going on in Eastern Europe is very serious, and a lot of people are dying, but this is just a cool sports/life story. The fact that hardcore retired boxers are able to stand up in defense for their country is crazy badass. I think it’s also interesting that they are boxers too. To me, boxing has a lot of storylines where its a guy from one country versus a guy from a rival country, so there seems to be a lot of patriotism ion boxing. I’m not sure if that originated with Rocky Balboa fighting Ivan Drago but the level of patriotism boxers have is very impressive.

My heart goes out to the people in Ukraine and all others severely affected by the current events.

2/21/22

Slim Shady may of been back in 2002, but after a week of being busy as shit so is your boy. I’ve been up to a ton. I had to finish up the block here at CC which was a grind and I’ve been busy with lacrosse. I took some time away from the blogging to find new perspective on my following of sports, especially since football is gone. So, without further adieu, here is the new me.

Football is all gone, which sucks so hard. with that said now on the weekends I get to see my buddies on TV playing lacrosse. I also have to play the Creator’s Game which makes things so much more hectic but I try and catch as many lacrosse games as possible. Collegatly I gotta ride with my Commonwealth team and root for UVA, but I love rooting for the teams that some of my boys are on, like Jacksonville, Hopkins and Maryland. I still love watching all the other teams play and it really puts it into perspective the level of play I used to compete with in high school. I played with and against many of the guys at different schools at the D1 level and to watch them play for these teams we watched when we were in middle school is still surreal.

NHL is still going on thank GOD. The Caps haven’t played in about a week which is a damn good thing. They’ve been banged up and a new report is showing that TJ Oshie is back to playing and Anthony Mantha is repping the non-contact jersey. This is huge especially for how old the Caps are as they make the final push for the playoffs. Right now, they hold the number 1 wild card position, which is fine in my book. At the end of the day, I just want Alex Ovechkin to score is six more goals to pass Jaromir Jagr for the third all time in goals.

The Olympics ended yesterday. I had no clue they were over until I saw ESPN post the final medal counts. Not to be a debby downer, but 5th place America, really? I mean Norway winning it all, I can understand, they need to cross country ski to get groceries 7 months out of the year, and the ROC is doping so I guess they would do well, but Germany beating us, come on now. I just assume the Canadiens would sneaky be close to us but those maple syrup loving northmen beat us to. Congratulations to those countries for doing well but I was just a little disappointed. Speaking of disappointment how about the way China dealt with the Olympics. I hope they don’t come for me but it was a disgrace of a setup. The facilities looked abysmal and shame on them. Lastly, shoutout Shaun White for a hell of a career.

And finally, the time has come, to be fired up that the MLB is still in a lockout. we’re coming up on the time everyone goes to Florida and Arizona for spring training and we all hear nothing but how great baseball is for the next 8 months, but it hasn’t happened. Baseball is a dying sport, and a boring one at that too, and the fact that it isn’t getting all the attention all over the sports world makes me very happy.

2/9/22

Los Angeles. The City of Angels. Hollywood, one of the most electrifying cities in the world, and home to some of the most famous people in the world. It’s a place that most want to call home for many reasons, but is one of them sports?

It seems like ages ago when Magic took over the sports world in LA. He started the beginning of great sports in Los Angeles. Followed by the late great Kobe Bryant, there was always at least a great superstar in LA to make some sport in town famous. The, USC decided to join the party, for a brief moment, along with the Kings Dynasty in the 2010s for the NHL. Now a days, the Dodgers won the MLB title 2 years ago, but with the MLB lockout going on, nobody really gives a damn about baseball right now. The Lake Show won the NBA title 2 years ago too, but with Lebron, AD, and Russell Westbrook, they actually suck bad. There’s one final team that has the potential to bring LA back from the dead as a solid sports town, buts that’s up to the fans of the LA Rams.

In the NFC championship, 49ers fans absolutely bum rushed SoFi Stadium and decided that it belongs to San Francisco now. With the Super Bowl at that same stadium, the expectation is that it will be filled with Rams fans, but most aren’t certain that’ll happen. The Rams are going to need the support of their home field and their fans, especially with a dawg like Joe Shiesty coming to town. This dude was built for big games. He has the potential to be the first QB ever to have a Heisman, National Championship, Super Bowl, and be drafted first overall. Joey B has all except for the Super Bowl. He’s joined by a lot of offensive pieces from that 2019 LSU team that won the Natty, including sensational Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They’re going into LA playing with house money since most of their team is so young. They have the motivation to win for the late sweet Harambe, and they have the support of the entire country with their swag and the fact that they knocked out Jackson Mahomes from doing TikToks at the Super Bowl.

The Rams, on the other hand, have star power everywhere. Matt Stafford. Cooper Kupp. OBJ. Jalen Ramsey, and last but not least, Aaron Donald. All over the place, there is a chance for a big play everywhere. Stafford can throw bombs to his 2 star wide receivers, Jalen Ramsey can lock up wide receivers to a point that it looks like they didn’t even show up, and Aaron Donald is the biggest game wrecker in the NFL since prime JJ Watt. I think the game is going to be a shootout with neither defense really showing up to play. I do think AD is going to have another crazy game, but Shiesty is going to pick apart the Rams defense. If LA fans don’t show up to this game in a similar way that Tampa fans showed up to last year, I think that the Bengals win AND LA has to be taken into serious question as to weather or not it is a true sports town, or just a city for movie stars.

2/3/22

So the Giants coaching problems seem like they’re fixed, but I’m writing this because I know that, as a Giants fan, whenever I think it’s getting better it never does. This time though, it feels a little different.

As I explained in an earlier blog post (Giant Things to Come), the hiring of Joe Schoen was something that all Giants fans should be happy about. Coming from Buffalo and being in the league for as long as he’s been, it’s the best hire the franchise could of done. Now Schoen is under the microscope for how well of a job he will do.

He started with what he knew, hiring Brian Daboll. Daboll, again as I had said, was a solid choice that I would of been very happy with. I also would of been happy with Brian Flores, who is now suing the Giants as well as other teams in the NFL for racist actions in the hiring process, but I’m not getting into that now. Daboll will be able to help bolster the offense, especially and hopefully at the Quarterback position. Daniel Jones is a big mobile QB with a strong arm, sort of like a poor man’s Josh Allen.

To stay consistent with the offense, Schoen just hired Kansas City’s former QB coach Mike Kafka as the new Offensive Coordinator. Giants fans, don’t freak out, but it’s a kick ass hire. Kafka helped develop Kermit, I mean Patrick Mahomes, into what he is now, plus he’s been in the offensive meeting rooms and knows their playbook. If you look at the Chiefs offense and the Giants offense, there are a lot of similarities. Kadarius Toney can become a player very similar to Tyreek Hill, and Even Engram, when healthy, has been a formidable Tight End, not nearly as much of a force as Travis Kelce, but who else really is? The two big problems that Daboll and Kafka need to figure out are what to do with the highly paid Wide Receiver Kenny Golladay and how to get SaQUAD the ball consistently. The Giants have pieces, they just need to use them effectively.

From the defensive side of the ball, we’re looking at a very similar D from last year. Starting with the coordinators, I think keeping Patrick Graham was the right choice. The argument can be made that the Giants defense last year was much better than the stats showed because they were on the field for so damn long every Sunday. Keeping the defense consistent with hopefully a dramatic change on offense could allow for a chance to let the D flourish.

Look, as a diehard Giants fan, I’m very happy with how things have started with the State of Schoen, but I don’t want to get too optimistic. Yes, so far so good, and all of the coaching problems are fixed. Next thing I’m interested to see is what he does in free agency early on. Will he trade one or two of the top ten first rounders that the Giants have or just draft well and stay away from free agency? Giants fans, besides the Flores lawsuit, be excited for the future.

2/3/22

This week’s GOAT of the Week might be a crazy one, but my GOAT of the Week is Tom.

Some might of thought that I was going to have Tom Brady as my GOAT of the Week, especially since he retired on Tuesday, but it’s gotta be my guy Top Line Tommy Wilson. Yesterday (2/2) it came out that Alex Ovechkin tested positive for COVID so he wouldn’t be able to make it as the Captain for the Metropolitan Division for the All-Star game this weekend. His replacement? Tom Wilson.

The NHL has some very mixed emotions for the big forward for the Caps. A lot around the league call him a dirty player or even a goon. The reality of it is simple, you love Tom Wilson if he is on your team, but you hate him if he isn’t. Tom Wilson is a force on the ice whenever he starts skating. He’s fast, physical, and smart. He works on lines with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Evgeny Kuznetsov, which means you’ve gotta play fast. His physicality is renown in the NHL, raking up 253 hits before the break (Quanthockey), third in the NHL. Lastly, as of the last few years Tom Wilson has been improving his offensive side of the ice, scoring relentlessly and putting up 44 points before the break.

His stats prove that he deserves to be in the All-Star game, so anyone that disagrees just doesn’t like Tom Wilson. The Great One on TNT last night even said that it was well deserved for Wilson to be in the game. If you disagree with 99 with hockey, then just get out. I cannot wait to see 43 playing with the League’s best this weekend, and hopefully winning in the fastest shot competition.

1/28/22

So last night the Anaheim Ducks played the Montreal Canadians, and it was actually a pretty good game, ending in a Ducks win 5-4. What everyone is talking about, however, is the sensational rookie Trevor Zegras and how he landed the Michigan Goal.

Now I thought at first glance of Trevor that he seemed a little too full of himself, but what the fuck do I know I haven’t even met the guy. He has fun on the Ice whenever he plays, and that’s something that I appreciate a lot. That fun and creativity lead to him even hitting a Michigan assist earlier in the season that I now call the Zegras, along with many others across the country. After hitting the Michigan last night in the second period, and it going absolutely viral, I think it’s a LOCK that he wins the calder cup as the rookie of the year. On top of that, I’d even go so far as to say that the Ducks with the young drive and skill of Trevor Zegras, along with veteran players all along the front and back lines, and a sturdy goalie in net with John Gibson, the Ducks are going to make a lot of noise in the playoffs this year. They feed off of the energy of the 20 year old (fun fact he’s 2 days older than me), and when he goes the team goes. It doesn’t matter what John Tortorella says about the situation, Trevor Zegras and his highlight reel plays are good for the NHL and the sport of Hockey.

1/27/22

My first official movie review on Sports n Stuff is this crazy movie called The Last Duel.

I have to give a shoutout to my boy Makay on this one, because he confirmed that I should 100% watch this movie. I was gonna when it came out on HBO Max but he was like “definitely watch this movie it’s right in your wheelhouse.” So anyways, here’s my review.

I’m not gonna give a summary when I’m writing my reviews but I’ll give a short description each time so none of you are lost. Basically, the story takes place in medieval France where Matt Damon plays a Lord and his wife was raped by Adam Driver, who is an up in coming Lord but not as powerful, but Adam Driver denies it. The wife obviously accuses Adam Driver but in this time the Male voice means more. The case goes through the high Lord, who is Ben Affleck, and up to the King of France. After all the trials the case becomes inconclusive and results in a Duel between Matt Damon and Adam Driver.

Here are my thoughts on the movie. Overall, if you’re into Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones (GOATed) or fantasy type shit like that, this is a movie for you. It is set in a time where Lords and Knights and stuff are a thing and it’s awesome, but let’s be honest here, Matt Damon and Benn Affleck don’t come to mind to play characters like that. All credit to Adam Driver, who I think had a pretty good performance, but Matt Damon is supposed to play a wicked smart janitor at MIT, not a Lord in France. The writing was awesome as well. It was set up as three different stories with three different perspectives, Matt Damon’s Matt Damon’s wife, and Adam Driver’s. I thought that was an awesome way of setting up the movie up until the big scene, which was in everyone’s surprise, the last duel.

The fight scene at the end was fucking awesome. It was intense, in depth, and very personable. you could see the dirt flying from the horses hooves, and the sweat on the brows of both the fighters, and you could tell that both Matt Damon’s and Adam Driver’s characters are in the fight for their lives, where one wrong move means death.

Overall, the writing was great, the acting was not, but the directing, especially of the fight scene at the end, was pretty solid. I give The Last Duel a 6.8/10. I just couldn’t get over the fact that two classic Boston guys were supposed to play high powered Lords in France with French accents.