NFLBy: Greg Rector
Professional sports never slows down, for those of us who love sports this is one of those golden times of the year. MLB season is well underway, and the NHL and NBA playoffs as well are keeping us busy with something to focus on. The Premier League season just ended and the MLS season has the attention of some. The WNBA is in full swing as well. The big boy on the block is also keeping themselves front and center with the start of the OTAs for all NFL teams and mandatory camps coming early in June. So let’s have a look at what the bigger stories are in the sports world.
Premier League
As much as it pains me congratulations to Manchester City for winning the league title over my beloved Liverpool Reds. It all came down to the last game of the season and required a furious comeback by Man City against Aston Villa to deny the possibility for Liverpool of four major titles in a season. All I can do is think that were it not for one ugly game vs Leicester City in February (3-1 loss) the Reds would indeed have the chance at 4 major titles in one season. Instead, I have to take comfort that on May 28th, the Reds will bring home that 3rd major trophy by winning the Champions League final vs Real Madrid in Paris. Still, you can’t ask for a thrilling finale to a season than what the Premier League gave us this year.
NHL
The Stanley Cup playoffs have given us some excellent hockey and some not-so-great. Have to say seeing the Tampa Bay Lightning sweep the Florida Panthers was a big surprise. Yet another President’s Trophy winner fails to get past the 2nd round, this has been ongoing since the 2015 season and the past winners of the President’s Trophy were the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2013. Tampa now rests and will face either N.Y. Rangers or Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, out here in the west, the Battle of Alberta has my Oilers up 2 games to 1 and Connor McDavid is absolutely dominating this series. The Colorado Avalanche should dispatch a gritty St.Louis Blues roster setting up what might be a very good Western Conference showdown.
NBA
I tweeted out a couple of months ago that nothing would surprise me in terms of who would be in the NBA finals. Yes, I had the likes of the Warriors, Heat, and Celtics as possibilities, but I didn’t have the Mavericks getting this far. The biggest stories of these playoffs are the “Blowout,” games, and injuries. I’ll say it flat out, the nights where teams keep jacking up three-point attempts and missing while the other team is making everything makes for very boring viewing. I don’t remember switching to watch baseball as much during the NBA playoffs. The other factor has been the injuries which have been far too numerous and involved far too many stars. I know the league and players association are going to be negotiating the issue of players being rested during the regular season and how that impacts the quality of games and disappoints fans who spend good money to see the best players on the court, not dressed in street clothes, only to see them play the next night. For me since the bubble season, these players are simply exhausted and their bodies cannot take much more. Hope they figure something out because we all lose when Embid, Doncic, Smart, and so many others are not on the court.
MLB
While it’s still early in the marathon that is the baseball season, we are seeing some very good starts by both New York teams, the Brewers and Dodgers are also playing very well. It will be interesting to see if the Mets rotation can hold until they get Max Scherzer (Oblique) back or do they slide back to the pack some? The Yankees hitters are doing their thing and if they stay healthy won’t be easy to catch in the AL East. The pitchers for the most part are still having the better of it versus the hitters. With the hotter days coming hopefully the hitters improve their numbers along with the better weather.
NFL
Jadaveon Clowney re-signed with the Browns, while that was expected the timing wasn’t. Clowney signed before the OTAs and mini camps. He has avoided those for the last couple of seasons. The Browns are also still in limbo with the status of Deshaun Watson, who recently met with league officials over three days. That will be one story many are looking forward to being decided one way or another. The Browns, Watson, and football fans want to see this story conclude. Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that the league’s least favorite owner Daniel Snyder and the Commanders have purchased 200 acres of land in Virginia for a possible new stadium. Remains to be seen what the current home state (Maryland) and the District of Columbia will come up with in terms of stadium deals to either keep the Commanders or bring them into Washington D.C. proper. Kyler Murray and Deebo Samuel are still embroiled in contract disputes with the Cardinals and 49’ers respectively. Still plenty of talk that Samuel is determined to be moved, while Murray is at least in conversations for a new long-term contract. The fun and games never end in the NFL.
All in all, there are plenty of stories to follow in the upcoming weeks.
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregCowboys
