Remember the 2011 National League Division Series between the Phillies and Cardinals and the epic pitchers’ duel between the late Roy Halladay and Chris Carpenter? The Cards won that game 1-0 behind Carpenter and ended the Phillies’ 102-win season. Turns it out that was the last happy moment for the Phils. They haven’t had a […]
The NBA offseason is still almost a month away, but the Milwaukee Bucks have already won it. The Bucks secured their future when they signed Mike Budenholzer to a four-year contract to be their new head coach. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. This was as significant a hire as the Bucks have ever made. […]
The Atlanta Braves have been in the baseball wilderness since their 2013 run to the NL East title. The Braves haven’t had so much as a winning record since then and the last three years have been particularly bad, with an average record of 69-93. But 2018 has been different and after yesterday’s stunning six-run […]
The second leg of the Triple Crown is the biggest event of the sports world, as the Preakness Stakes runs from Baltimore early Saturday evening (6:45 PM ET, NBC). Justify validated his standing as Kentucky Derby favorite and is an even more decisive 1-2 favorite at Pimlico tomorrow. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. The […]
I like horse racing. I’m not an diehard who reads The Daily Racing Form or goes to the data available at Equibase.com every day, but I think the excitement value provided by a horse race is as good as any in sports. One of the things I appreciate the most of my three years working […]
The Boston Celtics were supposed to be dead in the water when the NBA playoffs began. Yes, they’d enjoyed a nice regular season, earning the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference in spite of an Opening Night injury to Gordon Heyward. But when Kyrie Irving went down…well, any reasonable person would have concluded that was a […]
The Toronto Blue Jays occupy a unique status in the MLB landscape right now and not one that other teams would admire. Of the teams playing .500 or better, and thus viable playoff hopefuls, Toronto is the only one with zero shot at a division title and reduced to playing for a one-game wild-card shot […]
The Los Angeles Angels have been one of baseball’s good stories in the early part of this season. They’re narrowly leading a tight three-team race in the AL West with the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners. The Angels’ Shohei Otahni has electrified the game with his dual role as starting pitcher & designated hitter. Mike […]
I’ve had occasion to see some Chicago White Sox games, as they hosted Pittsburgh last week and then went across town to play the Cubs over the weekend and I was interested in seeing some NL Central contenders play. Instead, my main impression was just how awful this White Sox team really is. It doesn’t […]
The conference finals have arrived in both the NHL & NBA. The hockey starts tonight and basketball will resume on Sunday. For our weekend report, we’ll take a look at all four series—Celts-Cavs and Rockets-Warriors in the NBA, along with Lightning-Capitals and Jets-Golden Knights in the NHL. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. CELTICS-CAVLIERS I’m […]
The best postseason award in sports is the Conn Smythe Award in the NHL. It goes to the player who is best for the entire four-round playoff run, not just a single series. With the bracket now narrowed to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights, here’s a look at […]
As I watched the Toronto Raptors dream season unravel against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a four-game sweep, I was thinking what a long offseason it would be for this Raptors franchise. After the 59 wins in the regular season, the Cavs’ seeming vulnerability and the Celtics injuries, it looked like the path was clear for […]