NFL Preview & Predictions

The new NFL season is finally here, and I cannot remember the last time I have been this excited. This is new ground for someone like me, a Patriots fan, who after so many years of dominance, excellence, and legendary levels of greatness, suffered one of the harshest of NFL seasons a year ago. Does that sound too dramatic? Well look, I am not used to having a sub .500 season, and not making the playoffs. After 20 odd years of it always being a foregone conclusion, it’s not easy getting used to being terrible…

I’m not a Jet fan, so I don’t know what this is like! But now there is reason for hope, and for Patriots fans you can’t spell hope with M-A-C. 

College Football Weekly Review: Week 1

 Game of the Week: Tulane- 35 @ Oklahoma- 40

The first couple of weeks of the college football season always has some surprises. Just the week alone, 20th ranked Washington lost at home to Montana, Duke lost to Charlotte, and Michigan’s offense looked like a real offense! It was incredible! But there were some close calls for legit contenders in week one. Oregon narrowly defeated Fresno State and Iowa State just hung on to beat Northern Iowa. But the closest, of close calls, came on Saturday when Tulane almost shocked the country by going into Norman and fought the Sooners to the bitter end. Considering what the players and coaches must have gone through with Hurricane Ida raging havoc in Louisiana, it's incredible that Tulane was able to even play in the game, nevertheless take one of the best teams in the country down to the final minute. 

Player of the Week: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama, 27-38, 344, 4 TDs

Alabama has another elite quarterback...what else is new? What is truly incredible, however, is that Bryce Young could be the best to ever walk through the doors of Alabama. It could be a bit of an overreaction, but for Young to put up those numbers, with a poise of junior or senior in college was truly remarkable. Young seems to possess the athleticism of Jalen Hurts, the accuracy of Mac Jones and the deep ball threat of Tua Tagovailoa. While it should be borderline dull for Alabama to be great once again, Bryce Young is going to be must-see TV. 

College Football Preview

         

Another College Football season is upon us (unless you are counting Week 0, then it has already started) and it promises to be like any other. The off-field storylines which center around Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 for the SEC has created such a domino effect on the rest of the college landscape. The Big 10, Pac 12, and ACC have formed ‘An Alliance’ which promises to do...something...at some point...but nobody really knows. 

A Baseball Story: Chapter 4: The Cubs Set the Standard

Getty Images 

As America steamrolled through the 20th century, the country became immersed in the ideals of modernization and progressive reform. In the 19th century, as America became more and more industrialized, and cities grew well beyond their means, there was an increase in wealth and opportunity; but also increased poverty, and hazardous means of living. Whereas prior to the 20th century, when America was a predominantly rural, agricultural based society, the 20th century became all about urban life. The real America, lies in its cities. 

Where New York, Boston, and Philadelphia had been the predominant cities of the country since its colonial days, America had grown even beyond what those megaplexes could handle. As America grew, west it went, forming new large cities, like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, and the grandest of all, Chicago. Up until the 1950s, there was no major league baseball on the west coast, and for the cities of St. Louis and Chicago, they were the west. But Chicago was the biggest of them all, rivaling the industrial growth of New York and Pittsburgh, as well ushering in the new waves of immigrantion like New York and Boston did. Chicago was booming, and both leagues knew a successful club in Chicago could bring about great financial success to their respective organizations. After the Giants won the 1905 World Series, New York became the center of the baseball world, attracting more and more fans, at record numbers. Success in a major American city, would lead to the sustained health of the sport. Whereas New York would become the heart of the baseball world, Chicago became the backbone that would stabilize the sport, by bringing the game to the far reaches of the country. 

Baseball's Monthly Review

Ok, so we are a little past the first month. But after the first six weeks of the baseball season, and now minor league ball is underway, now is just as good as any to review and gather some takeaways from the baseball season. But before we get going, I have to ask, how are we doing? The baseball season has been perplexing to say the least, the Dodgers can’t figure out how to win series anymore, the Royals were really good at one point, now they are really bad, the Angels are doing their best Royals impression, and the Twins, no matter how well Byron Buxton is playing, can’t win period, as they are 8 games below .500. But what have we always been told about ‘April Baseball’? 

What’s the lesson? Don’t panic right?

The Ten Most Exciting Players In Baseball

"Getty Images: Christian Petersen: August 2015" (No copyright infringement intended)

 

The baseball season has begun!

And even though we are not quite at complete normalcy, it does finally have that feeling that we are inching closer and closer to our pre-COVID world. Teams are in their home ballparks (all apologies to Blue Jays fans), and fans are in the stands, even though it is still partial, but now our attention has shifted from, what was going on outside of baseball to what is actually going on, on the field. And there is a lot to talk about! 

A Baseball Story: Chapter 3: The 1905 World Series

Episode 3: The 1905 World Series 

Entering the 20th century, baseball was poised to make a giant leap in popularity, unlike any other sport. Horse racing was still popular, but still a sport only the rich could partake in, football was still in its primitive stages and while boxing was immensely popular and it resonated with all different groups, heavyweight championship bouts did not occur on a regular basis, so there was no day to day following of the sport. But for baseball fans or those who would soon become baseball fans, at the turn of the 20th century, the stars perfectly aligned. Because Baseball occupied nearly half of the calendar year, and games occurred nearly every day, the nature of the sport created an easy avenue for fans to follow the game. But technology would also play a huge role in developing its popularity. 

2021 NFL Mock Draft

The NFL Draft is less than a week away, and the 2021 draft promises to be one of the most memorable drafts in history. With a projected four quarterbacks to come off the board in the first 10 picks (if my mock picks are accurate, it will be even more historic), the NFL landscape could change in a very dramatic way. 

The last five years has created a change in the conventional thinking, in which teams that draft first round quarterbacks, are no longer looking for their selections to develop over years, but to be an instant impact. With the likes of Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and of course, Patrick Mahomes, a first round quarterback could equate to immediate success for a franchise.