The Washington Nationals Win the 2019 World Series!

For the first time in franchise history, the Washington Nationals are World Series Champions after defeating the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game Seven. After being in last place in the American League earlier in the season, the Nationals went on a historic run for the rest of the year and are now world champs. The best way to describe this team is resilient; they faced elimination five different times this postseason and managed to avoid it all five times. It was a tough journey to get to this point and here’s how it happened:

Wild Card vs. Milwaukee Brewers

What looked like to be the end of the road for the Nats early on in this game after going down by three after just two innings, the up-hill battle had begun. With two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the third, Trea Turner cut the Milwaukee’s lead to two with a solo home run to left-center field. Now down 3-1, Washington’s offense wouldn’t get going again for another five innings. The bottom of the eighth inning began with Victor Robles striking out swinging and then Michael Taylor would reach first after being hit by a pitch. With one man on and one out, Trea Turner came up to bat once again, but this time he would strike out swinging, bringing Mr. National Ryan Zimmerman up to bat with a man on first and two outs. Zimmerman hit a fly ball single that moved Taylor to third base.

Nats manager Dave Martinez would sub-in Andrew Stevenson for Zimmerman as a pinch-runner while Anthony Rendon prepared to face Brewers All-Star relief pitcher Josh Hader. Rendon would be walked, loading the bases for left fielder Juan Soto. The pressure was on for Soto, two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the eighth inning. He delivered. Soto hit a line drive to right field bringing in three runs as Taylor, Rendon, and Stevenson all scored to put Washington up by one run in the National League Wild Card Game. While Soto did drive in three runs, he was thrown out at third base to end the inning. Now up 4-3 in the top of the ninth inning, Martinez replaced starter Stephen Strasburg with closer Daniel Hudson to try and seal the victory. Hudson would strike out Eric Thames to start the inning and then gave up a single to Lorenzo Cain. Brewers catcher Orlando Arcia was up to bat next with one on and one out, but he wouldn’t do anything as he popped out, leaving the Nationals one out away from advancing to the National League Division Series. Ben Gamel stepped up to bat for the Brewers, and that would be the last man to do it as he flew out to center fielder Victor Robles, sealing a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.

NLDS vs. LA Dodgers

Again, an underdog, Washington traveled to LA to take on the Dodgers. Game One didn’t go quite as planned as LA would put a beating on the Nationals with a 6-0 victory to take game one at home. Unlike Game One, Game Two actually featured the Nationals offense. They jumped out to an early 3-0 after two innings but gave up one run in both the sixth and seventh innings, to bring the Dodgers within a run. Now only leading by a score of 3-2 in the eighth inning, Zimmerman hit a leadoff double and would end up scoring later in the inning after a sac bunt by Robles moved him to third and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a line drive to right field to bring him in and make it a 4-3 game. That would do it for Game Two as the bullpen shut down LA’s batters the rest of the game, the series would head to our Washington D.C. for Game Three all tied at one.

Much like Game One, Game Three did not go the way the Nats hoped it would. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning, it looked like Washington was well on its way to taking the series lead, but then LA cut the lead in half in the fifth and then scored a whopping seven runs in the sixth inning to completely take over the game. Although Washington responded with two runs that same inning to make it a five-run game, it wouldn’t be enough to spark a comeback. After adding to more runs in the ninth, the Dodgers stole Game Three on the road 10-4 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Facing elimination for the second time in the postseason already, Washington responded once again by defeating Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw for the second time in the series and sending the series back to LA tied at two after a dominating 6-1 victory at home. Game Five, do-or-die for both teams, winner advances to the National League Championship Series. It looked as if LA was headed to its third straight NLCS after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. It would stay this way until the sixth inning after Rendon’s leadoff double put him in scoring position and Soto brought him home after a single of his own. Unfortunately for the Nats, one run is all that would be allowed by Walker Buehler, keeping LA up by two runs headed into the seventh. Neither team could muster any runs in this inning, but then the action picked up in the eighth after Kershaw gave up back-to-back homers to Rendon and Soto to tie the game at three apiece. After only 0.1 innings pitched, Kershaw’s night was over, and the game would end up going to extras after neither team could score in the ninth.

Joe Kelly took the mound for the Dodgers to begin the tenth inning and led off with a walk to Adam Eaton. With Eaton on first, Rendon came to the plate and hit a double, putting runners at both second and third. With two on and nobody out, Kelly intentionally walked Soto to load the bases for Howie Kendrick. Bases loaded, no outs in the tenth inning, and the game tied at three, Kendrick smashed a grand slam to center field to put Washington up 7-3 in Game Five of the NLDS. Once LA finally got out of the inning and had its chance to tie or win the game, Nats closer Sean Doolittle came in and got three quick outs to send his team to its first NLCS to face the St. Louis Cardinals.

NLCS vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Unlike the previous two opponents Washington faced, St. Louis did not seem to put up as much of a fight. The Nationals took Game one on the road 2-0 after Anibal Sánchez pitched a near-perfect game to give his team a 1-0 series lead. Sánchez went 7.2 innings with one walk and giving up a single hit to the Cardinals, a mighty impressive performance and a great way to start a series. Similar to the first game, Washington received yet another stellar performance from its starting pitching as Max Scherzer pitched seven shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks. Although the shutout wouldn’t be completed as St. Louis scored its first run of the series in the eighth inning off of Doolittle, the Nats still stole a 3-1 victory on the road to send the series to D.C. up two games to none.

A change of scenery didn’t seem to do any good for the Cardinals as the Nationals completely dominated them with the help of an offensive explosion and an outstanding start by Stephen Strasburg, who only gave up one run in seven innings pitched. Now up 3-0 in the NLCS and a chance to clinch a spot in the World Series at home, Washington didn’t disappoint. Another offensive outburst, this time in the first inning alone, sent the Nationals to its first World Series in franchise history after, once again, dominating St. Louis with a 7-4 victory. After not trailing a single time throughout the entire NLCS, the Nats were red hot and ready to face either the New York Yankees or Houston Astros. Four days later, the stage was set, the Washington Nationals would face the Houston Astros in the 2019 World Series.

World Series vs. Houston Astros

What looked to be a lopsided affair due to the filthy pitching staff and destructive offensive lineup the Astros brought to the table, turned out to be an outstanding series. Game One featured Gerrit Cole of the Astros dueling against Max Scherzer of the Nationals, both delivered. While Houston did score two runs in the first, Washington quickly cut the lead in half after a Ryan Zimmerman solo shot in the second. The score would remain 2-1 Astros until the fourth inning after Soto hit a solo shot of his to tie the game up at two. The fifth inning was all Nationals as well as they took 5-2 lead after bringing three runners home. Unfortunately for Houston, the offense couldn’t score more than two runs the rest of the game which led to Washington winning the game 5-4 and taking a 1-0 World Series Lead.

Game Two got off to a wild start as both teams scored two runs in the first inning, but that was all the offense fans would see for a while as Houston’s Justin Verlander and Washington’s Stephen Strasburg settled in nicely. Then came the final three innings and the implosion of the Astros in this game. Washington scored six runs in the seventh, three in the eighth, and one in the ninth to take a 12-2 lead. Houston would get a run as well in the ninth to make it a 12-3 game, but it wasn’t nearly enough of what they needed. The Nationals now had a 2-0 series lead heading home for three games.

All three games played at Nationals Park were dominated by the visiting Houston Astros. A 4-1 win in Game Three, an 8-1 win in Game Four, and a 7-1 win in Game Five gave the Astros 3-2 series lead with a chance to win the World Series at Minute Maid Park. Up to this point in the series, the road team had won every single game, but Houston looked to end that trend with Verlander on the mound while Washington looked to continue it with Strasburg pitching for them, a rematch of Game Two. The Astros led 2-1 after the first inning and up until the fifth inning when Eaton tied the game on a solo homer and Soto gave the Nats the lead with a solo shot of his own. Now trailing 3-2, Verlander’s night was done and so was the Astros’ as the Nationals would add four more runs, two in the seventh and two in the ninth, to force a Game Seven with a commanding 7-2 victory.

The best words in sports, Game Seven, the winner becomes the 2019 World Series Champion, loser goes home with thoughts of what could have been. Max Scherzer versus Zack Greinke was the pitching matchup, two former Cy Young winners set to go to war to help their team become World Champions. Houston took a 1-0 lead in the second and then added another run in fifth to double the lead. It was 2-0 Astros heading into the seventh inning with Greinke still on the mound and throwing heat. He was able to get Eaton to ground out, but then made his first mistake of the game, giving up a solo home run to Rendon to give the Nationals life and make it a one-run game. The next batter, Soto, was walked and then Greinke was pulled from the game a replaced by Will Harris. The first batter Harris faced was Howie Kendrick and it did not end well for him as Kendrick blasted a two-run shot to right field to give Washington a 3-2 lead.

Harris was replaced by Roberto Osuna after giving up a base hit to Cabrera, but the damage was done. Osuna got out of the inning without giving up any more runs in the inning, but he would give one up himself in eighth and then eventually be replaced by Ryan Pressly, who finished the inning. The Nats would drive in two more runs in the top of the ninth inning to take a 6-2 lead heading into the bottom half of the inning. Houston had three of their best hitters to look forward to, but Daniel Hudson pitched a 1,2,3 inning to crush the Astros championship dreams, win the game, and clinch the first-ever World Series Championship in Washington Nationals history.

After staving off elimination five times throughout the postseason as well as being an underdog in every series played, they still found a way to win. Stephen Strasburg, who went 5-0 throughout the postseason and 2-0 in the World Series, was named the MVP. Congratulations to the 2019 World Series Champion Washington Nationals, you deserve it!

Pro Wrestling: A Great Time To Be A Fan

If you aren’t a fan of pro wrestling, now is the perfect time to start becoming one. This is the best time to be a fan of professional wrestling in a long time due to the fact that the juggernaut known as the WWE finally has legitimate competition for the first time in 20 years. WWE is the biggest pro wrestling company in the world and has not had any real competition since WCW was around, but when that folded WWE stood alone at the top until now. All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is a brand-new wrestling company owned by the Khan family (the same family that owns the Jacksonville Jaguars) and they are quickly becoming an actual threat to the WWE.

Though AEW will never topple the WWE as the greatest wrestling company of all time, as nobody ever will, they do have the chance to be the company that produces the best product currently. AEW made its weekly television debut on October 2, 2019, and it was an immediate hit with wrestling fans. Ironically enough, WWE NXT made its weekly television debut that same night which began the first of many Wednesday Night Wars between the two companies. If you are unsure what NXT is, it has been known as WWE’s developmental show where superstars who are not yet ready for the main roster or are new to WWE can establish themselves before making the move to Raw or Smackdown. Now that it is live on television each week rather than on the WWE Network, it is seen more like a third main roster brand rather than a developmental brand.

NXT is WWE’s hottest product and once the company learned that AEW Dynamite was going to be airing every Wednesday as well, they made the announcement that NXT would move to live television as well as gain an extra hour. So far through four weeks of the Wednesday Night Wars, Dynamite has beaten NXT in viewers every time. One reason this could be happening is simply out of curiosity by fans to see what AEW is all about, another could be that fans are watching Dynamite live and then watching NXT on the WWE Network. Whatever the reason may be, I don’t believe that WWE should worry too much about NXT viewership being down because it is still overly popular amongst fans.

People can choose sides between AEW and WWE, but the best thing to do right now is just enjoy both and be excited about the future of pro wrestling. Although Smackdown and Raw have not been very good as of late, I would expect to see that change as AEW becomes more and more popular and because Smackdown is now on FOX, which means that the product put out should become better.

One thing that WWE has on AEW currently is the Fiend Bray Wyatt. For those who don’t know who he is, then you are missing out. His old character was a cult leader who never really got the chance to shine, but after being away from the action for quite some time he completely reinvented himself into a Mr. Rogers with a twist character. He hosts a segment called the Firefly Fun House which is outstanding, and the twist of his kid’s show host character is that he is a total sociopath and his alter ego, “the Fiend”, is a demon-like character who seems to be unstoppable. Even though Vince McMahon almost ruined the character by creating a horrible finish between him and Seth Rollins inside Hell in A Cell, he is still completely over with the fans who desperately want to see him as champion.

Something that gives AEW an advantage over WWE is that they are providing a show that seems to let the superstars themselves express more freedom than they would have in the WWE. For example, Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose, seems to be more of the character he wants to be rather than what he was being told to be, which makes him happier and fans happier because they know that his performance will be much better. Also, AEW has a very diverse roster that includes a lot of people that fans have not been exposed to as much due to these superstars not being on American television. One person who seems to be a rising star in the company is “Hangman” Adam Page. In only his fourth match in AEW, he fought wrestling legend Chris Jericho in an attempt to become the first World Heavyweight Champion in company history. Although he lost the match to Jericho, he showcased what he can do in front of a live audience and seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

I know that pro wrestling isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if there was ever a time to start watching it’s now. The product that WWE is outing out is going to get better now that they have real competition, and AEW is going to continue to improve and develop their brand in order to keep their brand alive. All-in-all, it’s an amazing time to be a fan of pro wrestling so just sit back, relax, grab some popcorn, and enjoy both WWE and AEW because it is possible and that’s the bottom line because Joey Huot said so.

 

NFL Officiating: A Major Problem

There have been many storylines so far in the 2019 NFL season such as both the 49ers and Patriots being undefeated, the horrid play of the Miami Dolphins, and the Cleveland Browns not living up to the hype, but the one story that stands above them all is the terrible officiating going on this season. The referees have been absolutely terrible through six weeks and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get any better. Everyone from players (current and former), coaches, analysts, and fans have taken notice of the awful job being done by NFL referees this season. The latest example of this was on the biggest stage of the regular season, Monday Night Football where the Green Bay Packers hosted the Detroit Lions.

A game between two division rivals where the winner would secure first place in the NFC North was supposed to be one of the great games of the week, but that turned into something drastically different due to several bad calls and non-calls by the refs. Lions defensive end Trey Flowers was called for not one, but two illegal hands to the face penalties, both in critical situations. The issue with the call was that it should not have even been called due to the fact Flowers’ hands were NOT in the face of the defender, they were right where they are supposed to be which is in the collar and chest area. In fact, both calls should have been on the Packers due to offensive linemen David Bakhtiari putting his hands in Flowers’s facemask in one instance and the other when another Packers offensive lineman put his hands in the facemask of Lions defensive tackle Kevin Strong.

Another mistake made by the referees in this game was the missed defensive pass interference on the Green Bay Packers. Lions wide receiver Martin Jones was very clearly interfered with by Packers safety Will Redmond before the ball got to him, and no call was made. While pass interference calls are challengeable nowadays, Lions Head Coach Matt Patricia chose not to throw the red flag to get it reviewed. While some may criticize him for that, let it be noted that those calls have not been getting overturned all year, so the belief probably was this one wouldn’t either.

One of the costlier penalties that occurred in that Monday Night Football game was when Detroit defender Tracy Walker was flagged for unnecessary roughness on Green Bay receiver Geronimo Allison after making unintentional contact with the head while trying to make a play on the ball. It was very clear that Walker was going for the football and not targeting Allison’s head, but the refs thought otherwise. All of these “penalties” and non-penalties would end up costing as the Packers picked up a 23-22 win at home over the Lions to score first place in the NFC North. Although the refs cannot fully be blamed due to missed opportunities by Detroit, they can be handed most of it as their decisions heavily influenced the outcome.

Detroit is not the only team to have bad luck with officiating in games this year though, as almost every team has had it happen to them. During the Kansas City Chiefs-Houston Texans game this past Sunday, a pass inference call was made on Texans cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. after he blatantly threw Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to the ground. Everything looked all fine and dandy as the ball was moved and the offensive line was set until everything was not fine and dandy. The officials huddled together and all of a sudden decided that there was no pass interference on the play because the ball was not thrown to Kelce. While this was not a game-deciding call, it was still a horrible call by the refs and it may have costs the Chiefs points on that drive.

Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee came out Monday and said on his show that the NFL has the worst officiating in the history of any sport. “You get a beer pong ref at a local college party, that kid’s going to know the rules better than these NFL refs do,” McAfee said. He isn’t the only former player to chime in on the situation either as Barry Sanders, Stephen Tulloch, and Troy Aikman have all commented on the poor officiating at some point this season. This is becoming a serious problem in the league because it is costing teams wins and the NFL must do something as soon as possible to fix the issue, or this could get ugly in a hurry. We as fans do not want a repeat of what happened in last seasons NFC Championship Game, so NFL, please fix this on behalf of everyone.

Opinion: The Greatest NHL Team of All Time

A few years ago, the NHL had the fans vote on what they consider to be the greatest team in the history of the league and the winner was the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers, but that is incorrect. The actual GOAT of the NHL was voted as the tenth best team ever, the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings. There is no doubt about, that team was the best there ever will be due to its stacked roster, which included a whopping nine hall of fame players (possibly more to come) and a hall of fame bench boss.

After a disappointing loss to the LA Kings in the first round of the 2000-01 Stanley Cup Playoffs, General Manager Ken Holland and Owner Mike Illitch went on a mission that offseason to build the best team in NHL history, and that they did. Holland traded for All-Star goalie Dominik Hasek and signed both Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull to an already great roster. The big moves shocked the hockey world and put the Red Wings as early favorites to win the next Stanley Cup.

As one might expect from a team that has an abundance of superstars, the regular season got off to an extremely hot start when the team won 22 of its first 27 games and finished the season with the most points in the league at 116, securing the Presidents Trophy along with home-ice advantage throughout the entire playoffs. Forward Brendan Shanahan led the way in the regular season with outstanding numbers, 37 goals and 38 assists for a total of 75 points, which is more points than eight teams finished in the standings with by the end of the year.

Once the regular season concluded and all standings were final, Detroit found out that they would have a date with the eight seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round. Now, one versus eight may seem like an easy victory for the top-seeded Red Wings, but it was anything but easy as the Canucks stunned the Red Wings with two wins in Detroit to start the series to head back to Vancouver up two games to none. With their backs against the wall, it was basically do or die for the Wings in game three because coming back from a three-game deficit would be nearly impossible. Thankfully for Detroit, they were able to save their season by rattling off four straight wins against the Canucks to move on to the next round and keep the Dream Team alive.

Round two would be against the St. Louis Blues who were coming off of a five-game series win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Unlike the Vancouver series, the Red Wings would start fast and finish the series in five games to advance to the Western Conference Finals where they would face their biggest rival over the last several years, the Colorado Avalanche.

This would easily be Detroit’s biggest test thus far in the playoffs and they knew it. They would take game one from the Avs 5-3 to take the early series lead, but that did not last long. The Avalanche responded in game two when Chris Drury would put the puck behind Hasek to win the game 4-3 in overtime and send the series back to Colorado all tied up at one apiece. Similar to the previous game, this one would head to overtime as well, but finished with a different result as defenseman Frederik Olausson was able to beat Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy and win the game 2-1 and give Detroit the series lead once again.

While Detroit looked to take a commanding three games to one series lead, Colorado had other plans and won game four to send the series back to Joe Louis Arena tied at two. Game five turned out to be another overtime thriller as the Avs would steal another one on the road after Peter Forseberg scored the game-winner 6:24 into overtime to win the game 2-1 and set up an elimination game six back in Colorado. With their backs up against the wall once again, the Red Wings were able to keep their season alive with a 2-0 win and shutout an opponent for the fourth time in the playoffs. With the series now tied 3-3 heading to a crucial game seven in Detroit, both teams knew they had to play their absolute best to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, but when it came down to it, only one team did, the Detroit Red Wings. At home in front of a roaring crowd, Detroit would play their best game of the entire playoffs to this point and absolutely destroy the Colorado Avalanche seven to nothing for their fifth shutout of the postseason and a series win.

With the Western Conference won, it was time to face the Eastern Conference Champion Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final. After a magnificent performance in game seven of the Western Conference Final, fans in Detroit were hoping to see much of the same in-game one against the Hurricanes, but what they got was much different. The ‘Canes would take away home-ice advantage when Ron Francis scored an overtime winner to win the game 3-2 and take a 1-0 series lead. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, this would be the only time they would posses a series lead as Detroit would go on a four-game win streak that included a triple-overtime thriller in game three as well as shutout number six of the postseason in game four to clinch the franchises tenth Stanley Cup and third in six seasons.

The greatest team to ever be assembled in NHL history lived up to all the expectations set on them in the offseason and hoisted the best trophy in all of sports by seasons end. Even after going down two games to begin the playoffs, having to stave off elimination on the road in a hostile environment to force a seventh game, and losing the home opener of the Stanley Cup Final, this team was able to conquer all of those adversities and raise the Stanley Cup.

There will never be a team like the 2001-02 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings ever again in the NHL. Currently, nine players from that team are in the Hockey Hall of Fame: Steve Yzerman, Nick Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, Sergei Fedorov, Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Igor Larionov, Dominik Hasek, and Brendan Shanahan. There is also a possibility of a tenth player from that team being added to the list if/when Pavel Datsyuk is inducted. One person that cannot be forgotten about though is, yet another Hall of Famer, Head Coach Scotty Bowman. A current total of ten members from that team are in the Hall of Fame, that will never be replicated, which is why the 2001-02 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings will forever be the greatest team in NHL history.

Slow Starting Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are (0-4-0) to start the 2019-20 NHL season, their worst start since the 1993-94 season when they went (0-8-1) to begin the year. Outscored so far 17-5, things are not looking great for this Sharks team. The offense can’t get going, the defense isn’t playing well, and the goaltending has not been great either. While you can’t fully blame Martin Jones and Aaron Dell for letting in so many goals this season because of the poor play in front of them, you would hope they would be able to at least steal a game with outstanding play, but nonetheless a goalie is only as good as the defense in front of him.

The season began with arguably the biggest and hottest rivalry in all of sports right now, a home-and-home series with the Vegas Golden Knights. The last time these two teams met was Round One, Game Seven of last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs where Vegas blew a 3-1 series lead and a 3-0 third period lead after a highly controversial major penalty call which led to the Sharks winning the game in overtime and the series 4-3. Vegas, clearly still upset with how that series ended, were out to avenge the loss, and that they did. The Golden Knights defeated the Sharks, who were without forward Evander Kane (suspended) and defenseman Erik Karlsson (birth of daughter), by a final score of 4-1 in the Fortress.

The second of the home-and-home series at the Shark Tank was much of the same, Vegas dominated the Sharks and won the game 5-1 this time. At (0-2-0), with very little positives to take from the games, San Jose had to shift their focus to in-state rival Anaheim. Again, the Sharks offense was unable to get anything going as for the third straight game they only scored a single goal and lost to the Ducks 3-1 in Anaheim. With two days until their next game in Nashville against the Predators, Pete DeBoer and the rest of the coaching staff had to try and find a way to get this team going. While it wouldn’t be easy, especially with injuries already starting to pile up, the Sharks would get a glimmer of hope as Evander Kane would return from his suspension and play against the Preds.

Although Kane was back in, Marcus Sorensen would not be available to play due to injury. With Kane back in, it gave the Sharks scoring ability, but losing Sorensen would hurt the depth of the line-up. Hours before the game would even begin, Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson announced that the team had signed veteran forward and former Shark captain Patrick Marleau to a one-year deal. Marleau left San Jose after the 2016 season to play for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs but only played for two years before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, who eventually bought him out of his final contract year, making him a free agent. While it initially looked like a reunion was not in the cards for Patty and San Jose, injuries, scoring woes, and overall poor performance lead to the team making the move.

Marleau would not be in the lineup against Nashville due to him not yet being with the team, so the Sharks went in hoping to end their winless ways without him. Once again, the game would not go their way as they fell 5-2 in the Music City. Now sitting at (0-4-0) and dead last in the NHL, is it time to hit the panic button? The answer to that is absolutely not. Yes, the team is obviously not playing good hockey, but it is much too early to hit the panic button and/or give up on this team. It is only a matter of time before the team hits their stride the wins begin to pile up, they are not going to be this bad all year.

Going into this season, it was very obvious that this team was going to need everyone to elevate their game to be successful due to the loss of Joe Pavelski (signed with the Dallas Stars), Jonas Donskoi (signed with the Colorado Avalanche), and Justin Braun (traded to the Philadelphia Flyers). It was time for a youth movement in San Jose, young guys like Mario Ferraro, Lean Bergmann, Danil Yurtaykin, and Jonny Brodzinski all were asked to transition into the Sharks line-up and make a big impact in games. Although this impact has not happened quite yet, it will soon enough. These kids have great support around them such as Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Brent Burns, and there is no way any of them are giving up on them yet. Their presence will be felt as the season goes on, not everyone can be outstanding right away at this level.

San Jose’s next game is in Chicago against an also winless Blackhawks team, so that will be a huge chance to get win number one. Marleau will be joining the team there, so hopefully, he can help get this team going in the right direction. There are way too many talented players on the roster to stay winless for too much longer and it is only a matter of time before the offense gets going. All-in-all, the wins will come, the team will improve, and this black cloud will disappear, so don’t hit the panic button.

Hooked on Fishing

The Central Michigan University Bass Fishing Club, like all other clubs, is where people who all share a love for fishing can hang out and do what they love. The club was founded in 2008 by Troy Stokes and has come a long way since being established. Since its founding year, the club has won two awards from Central Michigan University: Rising Club of the Year and Club of the Year.

Members of the club can either be general members or tournament members. The general members are the people who enjoy coming together and fishing for fun, while the tournament members are the ones who go to different competitions and fish. Although the general members typically just fish for fun, they are allowed and welcome to fish in the tournaments if there is a spot open on one of the team’s boats.

Brian Eavey, Vice-President of the Central Michigan University Bass Fishing Club, is one of the tournament members of the club. He goes to different tournaments across the state and country. One tournament that he and the club compete in is the Michigan College Bass Circuit (MCBC). The MCBC is a bass fishing organization that hosts tournaments for collegiate bass anglers to come together and compete against one another.

Before going to a tournament, the anglers typically rig several rods up with different kinds of lures. Brandon Carman, former President of the club, said that one lure that he likes to use in tournaments is the hollow-body frog. “In areas where there is a lot of lily pads or green stuff on top of the water, I like to fish with one of my hollow-body frogs. The bass sees something moving on top of the water and then go after it.”

The Central Michigan University Bass Fishing Club has seen its number of members grow tremendously over the past few years and look to keep adding more and more people who share a love for bass fishing says John Dorosh, president of the Central Michigan Bass Fishing Club.

As the club continues to grow each year, it helps them gain sponsors. They currently have eleven sponsors: Pure Fishing, Lunkerhunt Premium Fishing Products, St. Croix Rod, Tackle Warehouse, The Red Glove, Huk Performance Fishing, Costa, Snack Daddy Lures, Chippewa Lures, Eagle Claw, and Farm Bureau Insurance. The sponsors that they have offer discounts on products and offer free samples of products as well.

The Central Michigan University Bass Fishing Club is one of the university’s most underrated clubs. Although not many people seem to know about them, they have a good size club and continue to grow. After winning Club of the Year for 2016-2017, the Bass Fishing Club continues to be on the rise. With a little more exposure, they have the opportunity to not only grow the club but to be one of the more recognizable clubs on campus.

As it continues to gain members, sponsors, and win tournaments, look for Central Michigan University Bass Fishing Club to become one of the more popular clubs that the school has to offer.

This Strike King Tungsten Red-Eye Shad Crankbait is commonly used by fisherman to catch bass.

A largemouth bass sits calmly as the treble hook is removed from its mouth.

A bait-caster reel on its Abu Garcia fishing pole is full of line and awaits action.

This largemouth came up a few inches short of the 14 inch limit for the tournament.

A common species of lakes in Michigan, the Northern Pike, flops and flips into the anglers net.

Although a nice size fish, this Pike is not what the anglers were hoping to reel in.

The pike has some dental work done a the jerk bait gets removed.

The lure continues to be worked out after the pike swallowed the lure.

Yet another pike is caught, disrupting the bass fishing and forcing a move to a new area.

Wayne Gretzky Retirement Speech

Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky’s retirement speech from his press conference on April 18, 1999.

Most Notable NHL Arenas

The map below shows five of the best NHL arenas in the league according to Bleacher Report.

Top NHL Rookie Goal Scorers

The chart below shows the number of goals scored by the National Hockey League’s top seven rookies during the 2016-2017 regular season.

Poll: Greatest Hockey Player of All Time

Who is the greatest hockey player of all time in your opinion? Vote and comment below to discuss who really is the greatest of all time!