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Showing posts from March, 2019

The end of an era for the Blue Devils

The 2019 Final Four will go on next Saturday, but without Duke and Zion Williamson. It was not the sensational freshman, who had taken the country by storm at the free throw line to save the Blue Devils versus Michigan State, it was RJ Barrett. After Duke's last two games, everyone knew it would come down to one last shot, because the last matchups had a favorable bounce for the Blue Devils. Unfortunately, it was Duke's shot that would bounce out against the Spartans in the Elite Eight.  As of today, everyone will watch as the greatest college player in this generation, Zion Williamson, leaves Duke and heads for the NBA. Williamson will not be the only one, as several other players have been projected to be high draft picks as well. Will a Duke team ever be this phenomenal again? Can the Blue Devil's take home another NCAA Championship? One fact is for sure. It will be a long time before a player like Zion Williamson will step foot on an NCAA court again.  The bigge

2020 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule Released with Big Changes

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Late Tuesday afternoon, NASCAR unveiled the 2020 schedule for the Cup Series. The racing schedule for the 2020 season features a lot of major changes, more than many expected to see. The Playoff schedule has been shuffled; with more emphasis now placed on short tracks. There’s a new track hosting the regular season finale, as Indianapolis moves up in the year. A doubleheader weekend will also be introduced in late June. These are just a few of the many alterations to the Cup Series. Let’s take a further look at the schedule in-depth. The entire 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule can be seen below. The season kicks off in similar fashion, with Daytona Speedweeks. The February tradition will conclude with the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. The first green flag of the 2020 championship will fall on Sunday, February 16 at Daytona International Speedway. West Coast Swing Moves Forward After Daytona however is when the changes begin, as Atlanta is no longer race 2 of the se

March Madness ??

It's upset season, a time when anything is possible, there are no underdogs. Or so we thought. This tournament may be the most predictable tournament of all time. With the Sweet 16 starting on Friday, the tournament currently has all four number one seeds, all four number two seeds, all four number three seeds, two four seeds, one five seed and one 12 seed. That means 14 of the 16 teams are exactly where they have been projected to be. Thats boring. The only real cinderella left in the entire tournament is Oregon, but they are also the conference tournament champion of the Pac-12.. since when did cinderella get so ordinary? Dominant programs are dominating this tournament with no sign of slowing down and we may be in store for an all one seed final four.

Let The Madness Begin

The 2019 NCAA Tournament tips off this Thursday and as always I expect a fun, exciting tournament. Duke is the clear favorite to win it this year but the number 1 overall seed has had troubles reaching the final four since the 64+ team set up. This Duke squad hasn't played at full strength for a decent part of the season so it will interesting to see how they do. According to ESPN, the Blue Devils are shooting 30.2% from three this year which ranks last in the country. No team shooting that poorly from three has ever reached the final four. But Duke has players that are capable of going off and Zion Williamson is a beast in the paint. From all of the upsets, bracket busters, or wild finishes, March is the best time for college basketball. Sure people might think this tournament is just a huge money grab for the NCAA, but it's much more than that. The entertainment provided in this tournament is unmatched. Let the Cinderella story begin. 

Are we watching the decline of LeBron James?

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When LeBron James went down with a groin injury back in December, the Los Angeles Lakers were placed 4th in the western conference. Due to LeBron's absence and injuries to an already lackluster roster, the Lakers found themselves losing 4 of their last 5 games going into the all-star break and placed 10th in the west.  LeBron James has not missed the playoffs in thirteen seasons and with his team performing as poorly as they have, it was looking like that streak was coming to an end. LeBron understood what he had to do after the all-star break. When asked if his play on the court would mirror that of playoff LeBron, he said that his playoff intensity has been "activated" a little earlier than usual, due to his team being out of the playoff picture. Typically LeBron does not play his hardest during the regular season because he likes to conserve his energy for the playoffs now that he is getting up there in age. Everyone became so excited to see LeBron James at his best. U

Will Hailie Deegan be NASCAR's First Female Winner?

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Will Hailie Deegan Be NASCAR's First Female Winner? Many casual sports fans or people not familiar with NASCAR may think Danica Patrick was the first female racer. She was far from the first female to compete in the Cup Series, but she built a following, had more popularity, and had a larger sponsorship than any previous female driver. Now that Patrick is retired, who will be the next female racing star? One name is making headlines in the lower divisions, Hailie Deegan. Daughter of X-Games and Motocross legend Brian Deegan, Hailie is a 17-year-old racer from Temecula, California. She grew up racing on dirt and in off road trucks, but since 2016 has been pavement racing, with aspirations of making it to the top levels of NASCAR. In 2018, Deegan raced for Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The K&N Pro Series is a NASCAR developmental series split into the East and West divisions, where teenagers race on short tracks and road courses aroun

Does NASCAR Have a Greatest of All Time?

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Does NASCAR Have a GOAT? It's a topic of debate in every professional sport, who is the best all time? In NASCAR racing, there are many legendary drivers in the sport's seven decade history, but is there one who's career accomplishments trump the others?  With the radical changes in technology, venues, championship formats, and safety between 1948 and now, I do not believe there is one all time great in NASCAR. It's not practical or really possible to compare drivers across separate eras of NASCAR, because each decade has seen an entirely different form of stock car racing with different cars, rules, and other factors. However, there is certainly a 'Mount Rushmore' of legends who fans have put on a pedestal. Let's examine some of these icons of the sport, past and present, and compare some of their stats. The following list of drivers is in no particular order. Richard Petty 'The King' of stock car racing, Richard Petty set records t

Shift in the balance of power in the NFL

Antonio Brown got traded to the Oakland Raiders after a season long dysfunctional term with the Steelers last season. It as a term filled with frustration, bickering ,with players and coaches at odds with each other  and players not playing because of money, ala Le'veon Bell, but with all the dissention and turmoil that Antonio Brown went through with his team, somehow won. At the end of all the problems that he complained about and in essence fought against the Steelers organization because of, he came out with what he wanted. this is a major thing not just because a major star has left to a new team, but it shows a sign that the balance of power has officially shifted from owners to players. We saw this similar thing happen in the NBA when Lebron James Left Cleveland  for Miami in free agency and created his own team in a place of his choosing. While Antonio Brown was not a free agent, he got traded after voicing his dislike for a team and essentially forced the Steelers hand in

BE SCARED OF THE CLEAVLAND BROWS!

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Everyone in the NFL, ignore this warning at your own peril. BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID! THE DOG JUST GOT SET LOOS AND ARE COMMING FOR BLOOD! The Cleveland browns just went from a team that has been abysmal for decades and were just beginning their rebuilding process to getting Jarvis Landry in the offseason then when we thought that the browns could not do any better they pickup Kareem Hunt to pair with a promising Nick Chub at the running back position,. Then when everything seemed like the Browns had gotten everything they could and thinking there was no way they would get another good player because, lets face it, we're talking about the Browns, they ramp up their defense with Oliver Vernon, and then proceed to get, to every owner and fans disbelief the one of the best wide receivers NFL today in Odell Beckham Jr, for a third and first round draft pick and Strong Safety Jabrill Peppers. All this talent lead by up and coming QB star Baker Mayfield, who has a great arm, is acc

Is Kyrie the Problem for the Celtics?

With all the problems the Celtics have had this season as compared to last season, even with a much more talented and experienced roster, its hard not to look for problems within a team that at the beginning of the season, was projected to be one of the teams to beat in the east, if not THE team to beat. Now sitting at 40-26 and 5th in the east, the team has clearly not lived up to the standards of being one of the top teams beside the Raptors, 76ers, and Bucks. Given the teams success last year, going 55-27, without stars Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, the team looked incredibly primed to be a team with over 60 wins this season with those two back in the lineup. One could initially look at Gordon Hayward to be the problem, who after signing a 4 year $128 million contract, who after only playing 5 minutes in his debut game due to a leg injury, has come back not looking like the same Gordon Hayward from the Utah Jazz, where he averaged nearly 20 points a game, where now with the Cel

Should College Athletes be Paid to Play?

I think this argument is ridiculous and there's an easy solution. Short answer is no, no they should not be paid to play. Mainly because they are already gaining a college education, for free! This is such a forgotten thing. I'm sorry that most of these kids don't go to class. That's their own loss. A standard college expense with everything included is about $30,000 per year. So that's roughly a $30,000 per year salary they are paid. The whole argument about these student athletes not having money to buy food is absolute crap. Why do many have gold chains and luxury cars? At bigger schools, there are dining halls specifically for athletes. Plus they receive food vouchers when the campus is shut down. Now I understand that the student athletes are pumping in millions of dollars for their school. But there's an easy solution. The first step is to never give them a salary because they are gaining an education out of it all. It's their choice to finish it a

Is Kyle Busch One of NASCAR's Best Ever?

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One of the most controversial and polarizing drivers in NASCAR history, Kyle Busch has certainly made his mark in the world of stock car racing. Busch is a driver who every fan either loves or loathes, due to his brash attitude and his winning record. As he closes in on 200 NASCAR National Series wins across all 3 series, is it right to consider him one of NASCAR's all-time greatest talents? As of the time I am writing this (March 5, 2019) Kyle Busch is 33 years old, and has 197 wins across all 3 NASCAR National touring series. Broken down, Busch currently has 53 Truck Series wins, 93 Xfinity Series wins, and 51 victories in the premier division Cup Series.  Busch's win totals in both Trucks and Xfinity competiton are the all-time win records for each of those series. But where Busch's lower-seris domination is truly evident is in his winning percentage.  Kyle has 53 Truck wins in 147 starts, or a 36% winning percentage. The next winningest Truck Series racer, Ron

Is Bryce Harper Worth It?

Its all baseball has heard about for the last three months, where is Bryce Harper going? He rejected a contract with the Nationals at the end of last season that would of paid him well into retirement, but that wasn't enough for the 27 year old from the Sin City. ESPN has ignored all of the prospects making a name for themselves in Spring Training in order to focus on Bryce Harper. Eventually Bryce Harper landed where everyone expected him to land, Philadelphia. The Phillies locked Harper down with a massive 13 year, 330 million dollar contract. No trade clause, no opt out, no safety net. The Phillies are all in on Bryce Harper. The 26 year old has been relatively healthy, playing in an average of 132 games a season over the span of his seven year career. But health can change drastically, in an instant, especially in a period spanning as long as 13 years. This enormous contract would have Harper on the field until the age of 39. There are currently only 9 players in Major League

Zion Williamson and His Return

On Wednesday February 20th, Duke forward Zion Williamson hurt his knee in a game between rival UNC. He is listed as out for the game on March 5th against Wake Forest. Smart move by Coach K and his squad to rest him for a lower half ACC match up. What better time to come back? Against your biggest rival school, after they beat you on your home court with one of your best players going down very early in the first half. I think Zion will play on Saturday at UNC and blow them out of their own gym. They want revenge, badly. For those who think Zion should have been shut down, shut up. His NBA draft stock isn't going to get any better if he sits out the rest of the season. What kind of player do you want to play for you when he quits for his previous team? This kid is at Duke for a reason, he wants to play and he wants to win. Not sit down on the bench and watch his teammates play after he got hurt. Williamson is the most talked about player in all of college basketball, he wants to pr