Obviously not a huge deal to clinch the playoffs in the NBA, in which 16 teams do but realistically only 2 or 3 have a chance to actually win the whole damn thing. Regardless, the Jazz were sitting at 19-28 before ripping off this huge run to clinch the fourth spot (with a chance to grab the 3 seed) at 47-33. Gotta be one of the best mid-season turnarounds in sports in a long time.
Another crazy stat? They started 5-19 on the road — they are now 20-20 with the one loss being away at San Antonio in overtime. Nobody outside of a few Jazz fanatics (is that a thing? I’m really not sure what they do out in Utah) thought they had a chance at making the playoffs when they sputtered into a 19-28 record. Led by rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell, who would win the ROY any other year that Ben Simmons was not a rookie, the hype train for the Jazz is at full speed. All this without their star player from last year.
Who they’ll be playing is a different story as the West playoffs are literally all up for grabs coming down to the last game here:
Crazy stuff — too bad the WCF is already set as the Warriors – Rockets otherwise we could pretend that we have a fun race here. Still, hats off to Utah and I hope to see them make some sort of run.
Towards the end of last week, the Patriots announced the signing of Jordan Matthews — the former Eagles & Bills WR. Take a quick look at his stats and you may think this is not a bad signing.
If you’ve actually watched Jordan Matthews — you’d know he drops the ball A LOT. He cleaned up his act in Buffalo a bit but posted very low numbers for the minimum amount of games that he played. I do not like this signing but the contract details came out today:
Detail in Patriots' deal with WR Jordan Matthews shows the bargain: one-year, $1 million, plus $700K in incentives. Only $170K is guaranteed.
I really can’t hate on that. This is the ultimate low-risk, low-reward that we have come to see in the Belichick era. Essentially getting a decent WR for 1/6 the cost Amendola was. Sure, ‘Dola was loved here and has 100x the chemistry with Brady but he was going to get paid way more anywhere else. This is essentially the minimum for a guy who’s only going on his 5th season in the NFL, a couple removed from a near 1000 yard season. I’m not expecting big things out of Matthews but he has shown some bright spots and was a stud at Vanderbilt. That being said, signings of Jeremy Hill & Jordan Matthews aren’t exactly the thrilling offseason moves we were hoping for.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Trevor Davis was arrested at LAX on Sunday morning after cops say he joked about smuggling a bomb into the airport … TMZ Sports has learned. Yeah, they DON’T PLAY about that at LAX!!!
Law enforcement sources tell us the 24-year-old — a 5th round draft pick out of Cal in 2016 — was at the Hawaiian Airlines ticket counter with a female companion to check into a flight when the attendant asked the usual security questions about their luggage.
Instead of playing it straight — we’re told Davis turned to the other woman and said, “Did you remember to pack the explosives?”
She apparently said, “No” and tried to get him to stop. He then said, “Just kidding” — but it was too late.
We’re told cops were called and Davis was immediately taken into custody for misdemeanor criminal threats. He was booked — mug shot and all — and then released.
Trevor Davis — take a bow for being the biggest moron of the day. Has a bomb joke ever been funny? Probably not — so let’s give it a try at the airport! I’ve never heard of Trevor Davis, so I’m gonna take a quick assumption and say he isn’t worth too much to the Packers.
Obviously, he doesn’t have a bomb but to make that joke going through TSA and at LAX no less? Bro — be better. So much for your Hawaii trip. Gotta be a Top 5 embarrassing moment getting arrested trying to make a bomb joke in an airport. Way to go buddy.
Ronaldo scored a brace yesterday to bring his scoring record to 10 consecutive CL games (15 goals) — capitalized by this bicycle kick that brought even Juventus fans to cheer for him.
Class moment from the Juve fans especially after realizing they’re going to lose the tie to Madrid, who knocked them out in the final last year. Ronaldo with the thankful reaction too and went on the praise the Juve fans in his post-game presser. Awesome goal, awesome moment all around. If you don’t believe me, let’s take a look at everybody’s favorite athlete’s reaction:
Patriots are trading WR Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick to LA Rams for the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and a sixth-round pick, league sources told ESPN.
Nice little bombshell dropped by Schefty on a fine Tuesday night — The Patriots’ trade their #1 (maybe?) WR for the Rams’ first round pick.
My first reaction was of course why the hell would the Patriots do that? Cooks was that deep threat that the Patriots always seemed to lack since the Randy Moss days and had a pretty solid season. But then on a closer look, Cooks was still on his rookie contract. If there’s anything I’ve learned from Bill Belichick, it’s that players will rarely get that big second contract with him unless they absolutely deserve it. Was Cooks good? Absolutely. Good enough for 14 million a year potentially? Hell no.
The Patriots shipped him off to LA for a higher draft pick than they traded for him essentially making him a rental and an upgrade in the next draft. Not a bad piece of business. Though after dealing Amendola, the Pats look to be heavily relying upon Edelman returning from an ACL tear and Gronk — who god knows what is going through his head these days.
The real question is if Cooks has even woke up from this yet. All jokes aside, Cooks was a fun addition to the 2017 Patriots team and a guy you wanted to pair up with Brady to win a Super Bowl. I’m sure he’ll slot in right as that DeSean Jackson type mold that McVay was looking for and it’ll be interesting to see if the Rams can take that next step into winning a playoff game. Thanks for the ride Cooks.
Well this morning I got some unfortunate news regarding the Browns choice of Quarterback.
Draft rumor alert! A friend of Cleveland GM John Dorsey believes that Cleveland will pick Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley with the first and fourth picks. @SI_PeterKing's MMQB: https://t.co/yiGwdz7oM1
Oh boy! A guy who knows a guy says the Browns are going to pick Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley in round one of the 2018 NFL draft. I guess I am not surprised rumors of this nature are spreading like wildfire. With there being 4-5 Quarterback Options, and the Browns picking 1st overall it was bound to happen. While I don’t love this news, because I hate the player, I am not too surprised to be hearing it. From now until draft day I am sure there will be a tweet, story, or media clip that has the Browns leaning on picking the Browns with each of the top 5 QB’s (Mayfield, Rosen, Darnold, Allen, Jackson).
Honestly, I do not even really care who they pick. After years and years of trading down, settling for the 4th or 5th guy, or picking project guys in the middle rounds, I just want them to identify a guy and pick him #1 overall. If that is Josh Allen then so be it. I do not love the player overall, but he does have positive qualities.
Obviously, you have the large frame and a rocket arm. Those things make any fan, coach, and wide receiver droll. The problem is, he has issues with his feet within the pocket, and he has horrid accuracy. At the 2:27 mark of the video Allen misses his a wide receiver deep down the field in single coverage. Josh slings it so far he couldn’t put it within 5 yards of his target. With his arm he should be throwing guys open, especially when they are in single coverage. Good example of positive footwork however. Allen avoided pressure in the pocket, and stepped up to give himself more time to hurl it. Not good, but not great.
The throw at the 2:31 mark is more alarming. Allen couldn’t hit his Wideout on a simple swing pass. Not only was his ball inaccurate, but he threw the poor kid right into the Linebacker. Put that ball on his back shoulder, the Receiver should be able make that linebacker miss for a big gain, or at the very least a first down.
1:36 Mark, Allen has two receivers bunched to his right, the outside receiver on the hash mark runs a 5 yard out. The receiver has the corner beat, but Allen throws a jump pass off his back foot. The ball was picked off easily by the Iowa Corner. You’d think a guy who can supposedly throw the ball 90 yards from his knee’s would try setting his feet? If he sets his feet, squares the shoulder, and fires the fucking thing his receiver probably has a catch there. Sometimes with this kid, it looks like he has absolutely no clue with his feet sometimes, and sometimes he looks like a tap dancer moving throughout the pocket. The first throw I highlighted is an example of Allen using his feet to buy time within the pocket, stepping up, and hurling it deep. Problem was he overthrew his receiver. Still, it was a good example of his footwork looking good.
The great part of being a Browns fan is, I can talk myself into ANY QB at ANY time. Problem is, I can talk myself out of them as well. None of the Quarterbacks this year are slam dunks, but Allen has the most questions. That scares me. The good news is Baker Mayfield has his visit in Cleveland today, and would bet that there will be a report of Baker Mayfield being the leading QB in the Clubhouse by my morning shit. While I don’t take this report 100% seriously, it was written by as credible source as they come (MMQB/Peter King). Josh Allen will get a serious look from Dorsey and Co. It’s a matter of whether or not he can pass Darnold and Mayfield. We’ll see where that rocket arm takes him.
Last night something amazing happened in Chicago during the Blackhawks vs. Jets clash. It was one of those moments that make everyone realize why we love sports, it was just the best. The Blackhawks are down a bunch of goalies due to injury this season, so they signed 37 year old Scott Foster to be the teams EBUG (Emergency Backup Goalie)
The #Blackhawks have signed Scott Foster to an ATO today to serve in an emergency backup role.
Foster, 36, played 4 seasons at @WMUHockey (2002-06), posting a record of 20-22-6 with an .875 save percentage and 3.44 GAA.
They were down so many goalies, the starter (Collin Delia) was making his own NHL debut. A little background on Scott, he is an accountant that plays in a Men’s League nightly. It is not uncommon for a Men’s League Goalie to practice almost daily with an NHL team. Sometimes, you’re farm team is too far away to call any one up, and an average Joe gets to step in. Scott has been the teams Emergency Backup before, but watches the games from the Press Box, and leaves right after the game has concluded. Occasionally they have to suit up, and park their ass on the bench to sit there and be the backup.
All these guys look the part, but none of them really get to play. Once in awhile, you’ll see one get in for the last face-off. Last night with about 13 minutes left to go in the third period, Delia had to leave the game with cramps. In Scott Foster, Accountant. With the Hawks leading 6-2 Foster had to come int the game, and close it down. Close it down he did. He stopped all 7 Winnipeg shot attempts keeping the 4 goal Hawk lead in tact. He will retire with the NHL’s best all-time save percentage of 1000. The guy will go down as an all time great EBUG.
I mean this is just fucking awesome. This every single Hockey Goalie’s dream. Stopping shots from beer leaguers they picture themselves shutting down Sidney Crosby. Foster was able to live a dream of millions of hockey players out there. Here’s to average Joe’s out there! The Blackhawk regulars really seemed like they embraced the moment, and really rallied with their new teammate. They even gave him “The Belt” a wrestling belt that the players pass around after each win. In this dark season for Chicago this is a moment I’m sure they will never forget. Again, this is why I love sports. Look at his fucking Men’s League teammates watching him play!
Bruins fans were treated to another win over the Big Bad Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night, at TD Garden. With the 4-2 victory the Bruins move into first place in the Atlantic Division, and Eastern Conference. It is the first time since October 18th that a team not named the Tampa Bay Lightning are in first place. This is the third time the Bruins have beaten the Lightning this season, and they haven’t lost to them since 2016.
Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara were both game time decisions, and Butchy decided to give them both one more day to rest. Neither suited up for this one, but David Backes returned to the lineup after missing about a week due to a cut on his leg. Matt Grzelyck surprisingly suited up for this one after taking the brutal hit from Josh Morrisey just two nights prior.
The first period saw the Bruins come out with major jump in their step. They were all over Tampa, generating turnovers, and quality scoring chances. The Bruins out-shot the Lightning 17-6 in the first period. Finally with less than a minute to go, Tim Schaller buried home a rebound that was sitting behind Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 1-0 Bruins.
Less than 40 seconds later David Pastrnak added another Power Play goal to make it 2-0 Bruins. At the end of the period the Bruins scored two back breaking goals.
The two goals lit a fire under Tampa’s ass, as they picked up their skating in the second period, and the game got physical. Just under 2 minutes into the Second Period J.T. Miller re-directed a gorgeous Nikita Kucherov cross-ice slap pass to make it 2-1.
This is where this one got interesting. Both teams ramped up the physicality in the second period, and this lead to tempers flaring. Bruce Cassidy has had a motto throughout the season which is, “No Passengers” . Everyone must contribute, everyone must be emotionally invested. Boy, did Tuukka Rask every show that he was emotionally invested into this one:
AHL MVP Cory Conacher overstayed his welcome in Rask’s crease, and well, Rask lost it. A mini melee ensued, and Vasilevskiy even tried to get down to the Bruins end of the Ice to challenge Rask, but the officials would not let it happen. There’s an unwritten rule in hockey that when there is a brawl/scrum, there should never be an odd man situation (one guy standing free). That’s generally when the goalie from the opposing team has to skate down and challenge the other goalie. We were robbed of a goalie fight here thanks to the fucking stripes. Although, it is good to see there is a hatred brewing between these two teams. Hell, David Backes challenged Bolt players on their own fucking bench!
Are the refs gonna address Paquette throwing a punch at David Backes' head while he's on the the bench, or……? pic.twitter.com/ydFwrp8Cnm
The kicker? David Pastrnak dropped the mitts with Lightning Defenseman, Dan Girardi. Girardi leveled Bergeron in the Neutral Zone, and Pasta was willing to go with a much bigger, more experienced fighter in Giradi. It was Pastrnak’s first career fight, and it would top off his Gordie Howe Hat-trick(goal, assist, and fight in same game). Pastrnak had never fought before, and obviously isn’t expected to be good at it. Well he isn’t. It wasn’t much of a fight, but it showed these guys are more than willing to stick up for one another.
With 8 minutes left to play in the third, and the teams playing 4 on 4 hockey, the Bruins completed the sexiest passing play I have seen in my 25 years:
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 30, 2018
Just a beautiful fucking goal, in which the Bruins toyed with the Big Bad Lightning. A beautiful triangle passing play ending in a goal to make it 3-1. First place was within sight late in the third. The Bolts wouldn’t make it easy, as Victor Hedman squeaked home a wrist shot to make is 3-2. This coming mere minute after the Bergeron goal.
Brutal fucking goal to give up. Rask was locked in all game giving up that goal through his armpit is inexcusable. The B’s would hold on to win 4-2 and take over first place in conference and division.
They may not finish the season in first place as they are only 1 point ahead of the Lightning, but the Bruins showed that they are ready for postseason play, and are in the Bolts heads. You could see the frustration as the game went along. The Bruins bullied them, and I cannot wait for the playoffs to start. Initially I had thought the Lightning were a shoe-in to win the Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup. Tampa Bay is fucking soft. The Bruins beat them soundly in each of the three match-ups this season, and haven’t lost since 2016. For whatever reason, the Bruins have always matched up well with Tampa no matter how good or bad they are. Tampa looks like a team that is starting to slowly run out of gas. It will be interesting to see how far they are able to go. They absolutely 100% have the talent to make it to the Cup finals. It’s whether or not they have the balls. The Bruins certainly showed they have the balls to beat you physically and on the scoreboard.
Bruins will take on the Florida Panthers tomorrow at TD Garden. It looks like Cassidy is going to sit Chara and McAvoy again on Saturday, but they will travel to with the team to Philadelphia on Sunday. Jake DeBrusk is slated to return per Butchy:
#NHLBruins coach Bruce Cassidy says it looks like Jake DeBrusk will return to the lineup tomorrow against Florida.
Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy will not play tomorrow, but will travel with the team after the game and it’s possible they play on Sunday in Philly.
Early Wednesday morning the Boston Bruins announced that team Captain, Zdeno Chara re-signed with the team. The deal is a 1 year $5 million dollar deal with incentives.
This move doesn’t come at much of surprise. Many of the beat writers had been hinting all season that the belief was an extension was imminent. It’s great news for Bruins fans, and Zdeno Chara. The captain has had an enormous (pun kind of intended) impact on the Bruins since arriving in 2006-2007. The man has been team captain since Day fucking one.
For most of his Bruins tenure, Zdeno Chara has been a top 10 defenseman in the NHL. His size helps him be one of the best shutdown Defenders out there, and being one of the biggest dudes out there has helped him offensively:
In his prime, Big Z could launch missile’s topping at 108 mph. Up until a few years ago, Z was a regular 40-50 Point getter. He won the Norris Trophy (NHL’s best Defenseman) one time in 2009, and has of been nominated an additional 5 times. Of course, Z’s best achievement is the award he brought us all in 2011:
Big Z isn’t a top 10 Defenseman in the NHL anymore at his young age of 41, but he’s still in the top 30. He’s not going to get 40-50 points, and he doesn’t fire it 108 MPH any more. That all doesn’t mean Big Z isn’t still a fucking monster. He still shuts guys down, kills penalties, and occasionally chips in with a goal or two. The main thing is he averages 23 minutes TOI this season. That’s insanity! Chara biking to work all these years has really paid off
I am so glad they reached this extension. Hopefully, the team will Queue up a 1 year extension every April, until Z decides to hang em up.
He won’t be in the lineup tonight, as he’s still recovering from an Upper-Body Injury. Tune in to catch the Bruins take on the Lightning tonight from TD Garden. First place on the line.
It was a spirited game last night in the Great White North. The Bruins lost a barn burner 5-4 to the surging Winnipeg Jets in a shootout. A lot happened in this game, most of it wasn’t positive either. The Bruins got torched by the league video review center in Toronto, and lost another key player to injury.
Let’s start it off with the guys in Black and White. They worked hard to earn the Jets first goal of the game. Jet fourth liner, Brandon Tanev was banging the puck against Khudobin’s pad on a wrap around attempt. Dobby held strong and the puck NEVER crossed the goal line completely. For some unknown reason the Linesman patrolling the Blueline WAY away from the play, decided to call it a goal. There is 0% chance a linesman standing at the Blueline or even Redline could clearly see if the puck went it. The referee next to Khudobin called it no goal, but he was over ruled. Technically the original call on the ice was a good goal.
To break it down simply: 1-Tanev was banging the puck on Dobby’s pad, and the ref with the best angle waived “No Goal”. 2-A linesman in no mans land overruled the referee, calling it a goal. 3- The play was reviewed, and the goal stood because there is no conclusive evidence that the puck stayed out. It’s also pretty clear it didn’t go in, as the ENTIRE puck has to cross the line. You must see white between the goal line and puck.
Here’s the debacle in Winnipeg. Initially called “no goal” by closest official, then overruled by official outside of the zone. Play challenged, review was inconclusive. Goal call on the ice stands pic.twitter.com/yFfU3gGxvW
The Bruins managed to keep their cool, and continue to play their game despite piss poor officiating. Later in the first period, the Bruins forechecking/tenacity really paid dividends.
What a great play by all of those involved here. Savy David Krejci pressured the Jets defender, won the puck inside the attacking blue line, and tapped the puck to a streaking Ryan Donato. Donato undressed Joe Morrow with a forehand to backhand fake, and fired a backhanded seed top corner. It was 1-1 in the final minute of the first period.
The second period saw the Jets take a 3-1 lead. Brandon Tanev added his second of the game and ex-Bruin, Joe Morrow netted his 6th of season. The story of this period came at the very end of it:
Breaking: brad marchand will have a hearing for josh morrisseys hit on matt grzelcyk https://t.co/GeWqylmMRj
Josh Morrisey slammed Grzelcyk into from behind in a textbook cheap-shot. Not only did he launch himself into the back of Grzelyck , he turtled like a fucking fairy when Kevan Miller wanted to rip his head off. The NHL is so focused on removing fighting from hockey that players never have to worry about standing up for themselves after taking a cheapshot. Morrisey should’ve had the piss beaten out of him by multiple Bruins but the stripes got in the way. Morrisey received a 5 minute major penalty and a game misconduct. This meant the Bruins would start the third period with a 5 minute power play. Josh Morrisey will not receive any sort of discipline for his hit. Why? Who the fuck knows. It was a dirty hit plain and simple. Matt Grzelyck has been diagnosed with an Upper-Body Injury, and there have not been many updates to that diagnosis. It’s a shame he got run like that, because Gryz was having a great season, quietly molding himself into a key defender. He plays power play, penalty kill, and 5 on 5. The kid can skate, and has incredible passing vision. He will be missed.
The Bruins managed to score twice on the 5 minute Power Play to start the third period. Danton Heinen and David Pastrnak each scored to tie the game at 3 with a mere 2 minutes gone in the third.
Then, Nick Holden finally decided to show up. It’s been almost a full month since the trade deadline, and Nick Holden was able to control himself for the most part:
While still on the Power Play from the Morrisey hit, Anton Khudobin was behind his own goal looking to stop a puck that was dumped in behind the net. Dobby fired it around the boards for Nick Holden at the hashmarks, and Nick Holden proceeded to handle the puck like a frag grenade. Winnipeg pounced on the loose puck, and scored short handed. Less than a minute after the tying goal from Pastrnak. The Bruins managed to secure another Power Play with about 13 minutes left to play, when Torey Krug stepped into a howitzer:
The two teams exchanged scoring chances for the remainder of the regulation, and overtime. The game would move on to a shootout.
Mark Schiefele scored on Winnipeg’s second shot attempt, and then Bruins Rookie, Ryan Donato showed he belongs by burying his first NHL shootout attempt:
Overall the Bruins battled hard against a team that’s just as good if not better. It’s a shame the game turned into a yard sale because of the officials, and someone like Matt Grzelcyk got hurt because of it. The officiating is still no excuse for the short handed goal that was given up in the third, or the other two legitimate goals the Jets scored.
Tune in on Thursday to watch the Bruins take on the Tampa Bay Lighting from TD Garden. Tampa has 106 points, and Boston has 105. Can the Bruins continue to slap around the Bolts? Let’s go Bruins! First place on the line!
Office Chatter 