Posts

Showing posts from July, 2019

Premier Lacrosse League: The Future of Pro Lax?

Image
I've played lacrosse my whole life. I was introduced to the sport when I was six years old, and what turned into casual catches and throws with my dad in the backyard turned into a deep love for the game. To this day, I still love watching college lacrosse. The best Division 1 players are any young lacrosse player's idol. They are arguably the most skilled players in their sport, but sadly, college lacrosse is about the peak of any player's lacrosse career. I wondered when lacrosse would finally get its chance to be one of the big professional sports in the US. I think I can confidently say that with the new Premier Lacrosse League starting up this summer, professional lacrosse might finally be on the rise in popularity, media coverage, and (the best part in my opinion) actually competitive lacrosse. For those who do not follow professional lacrosse (and I don't know many people who do, myself included), there have been multiple attempts to establish a legitimate ...

De Ligt to Juventus Broken Down

Image
On July 18, Ajax FC center-back Matthijs De Ligt chose to sign with the reigning Serie A champions Juventus for a deal worth $95.5 million. The 19-year old Dutch defender was arguably the most coveted prospect in all of European club football. After having a breakout campaign at Ajax in which he became the youngest captain of the club at age 19, secured a domestic double with wins in the Dutch Ervidersie and Dutch Cup, beat Real Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League knockout rounds, and made it all the way to UCL semi-finals before falling to Tottenham. De Ligt’s skill on the ball and in set pieces is only matched by his countryman, Virgil Van Djik of Liverpool, the favorite for this year's Ballon D’or. After the speculation that De Ligt would follow his Ajax teammate and fellow young Dutch prospect, Frenkie De Jong , to Barcelona and after rumors that De Ligt would be the cornerstone of Manchester United’s rebuild, he chose the Italian giants. Out of all the clubs t...

NHL Summer Update #2

Image
A lot has happened since the first blog about all the free agency and trades in the NHL. There have been a bunch of roster shake-ups, as seasoned veterans are now finding themselves in different colors, in different cities, and with different teams. Let's dive in: 1) Perry; Pavelski Sign Deals with Stars The Dallas Stars added some goal-scoring when they inked former Anaheim Ducks winger Corey Perry to a one-year contract and former San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski to a three-year deal. With a roster that now includes scoring threats such as Tyler Seguin, Jaime Benn, Miro Heiskenan, Alexander Radulov, John Klingberg, and breakout rookie Roope Hintz, Dallas is gearing for another deep playoff run while Seguin and Benn are still in their primes and while goalie Ben Bishop is still in good form. Some might say the Stars are taking a bit of a risk, signing two aging former elite talents. Dallas has a reputation for buying names to win now rather than develop talent. They curren...

Nets vs. Knicks: A Tale of Two Teams

Image
Imagine you are Kevin Durant, arguably the second-best player in basketball at this very moment. You're in the last year of your contract with the Golden State Warriors, the team that has been to four straight NBA Finals, three of which you have a been a major focal point in, and a two-time Finals MVP winner. Now, though, you've ruptured your Achilles, your team is currently losing to Kawhi Leonard's Toronto Raptors, and the team that is equipped with two, perhaps even three, legitimate All-Star players in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Throughout your whole Warriors career, you have been mocked, triggered, and poked at for joining them because it seemed like the easy way out. Now you're probably going to be out for the rest of next season; the Warriors don't seem intent on signing you to a max deal; and it looks like the Golden State Dynasty is ending. Would you have left for Brooklyn? Now picture Kyrie Irving, the Boston Celtic point guard ...

The USA Ladies Are World Cup Champions Once Again

Image
On Sunday, US and Netherlands Women's National Teams graced the pitch at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, France, for the final match of the Women's World Cup. The US was hoping to win back-to-back World Cups for the first time in their history, while the Netherlands was looking to end the US Women's Team's dominance over international soccer. The game, however, turned out exactly the way the US team hoped for: domination in possession, plenty of shots on goal, and of course, outstanding play from some the team's mega-stars. The US Women's Team are champions of the world once again; now it is time they get the respect they deserve. The final match played out well. The US commanded the game with 54% possession against the Netherlands' 46%. The real action came in the second half, after the US was awarded a penalty by VAR. Megan Rapinoe opened the scoring at the 61st minute, followed by Rose Lavelle's goal at the 69th minute. The Netherlands only had f...

Panarin to the Rangers!!!

Image
Image from  https://www.nhl.com/rangers Well, here we are... after almost a full season of speculation on where the NHL's Breadman would end up, he ended up right in my home state. I AM SO HAPPY!!!!! This is one of the best free agent signings the Rangers have done and for the first time in a long time, I can confidently say the GMs and front office are doing a great job at rebuilding the Rangers. LW  Artemi Panarin signed a seven-year, $81.5 million contract with the New York Rangers!  Let's put this into perspective: after the dismal 2016-17 season, the Rangers start offloading money to open up the cap space for better free agents. I was kind of critical about the Derek Stepan trade that gave the Rangers the #6 pick in that year's draft. It didn't seem smart to get rid of one of our best players at the time. Then came next season, when the fire sale started. When the Rangers sold big by offloading Rick Nash, JT Miller, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Grabner, a...