— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 15, 2018
In maybe the greatest sports story since James Naismith spread the word on his ol’ Peach Basket Ball game, the Vegas Golden Knights are even at 1-1 in the Western Conference Finals. Like, how the hell aren’t people more excited about this? When they win the Cup and Disney makes the movie years down the line, kids are going to watch it and say it seems too unrealistic to be believable. A team full of players that were told by their former team that they didn’t want to protect them. A goalie who helped his team win three Stanley Cups during his time there was told that he wasn’t wanted. A head coach that was screwed by his old team down in Florida after a historic season with the Panthers was shipped off. All of these rejects came together to form an absolute wagon.
Every step along the way people, myself included, kept saying, “Oh they can’t keep this up. Good for them. Thats cute.” But these boys just keep proving all of us wrong. They are now three wins away from bring in the Stanley Cup Final. Can you imagine being a fan of teams like the Maple Leafs (50 seasons since their last Final appearance), Blues (47 seasons), Islanders (33 seasons) and the Canadians (24 seasons) and watching the new kid on the block come on and play for the greatest trophy in sports in their first season? And in a city like Las Vegas, that must really piss off old hockey guys.
You bet your ass I’m rooting for a Golden Knights Stanley Cup. To be watching that movie with my kids and say, “Yeah I remember I was at this bar when that happened” is some stuff straight out of my dad’s mouth. I always thought my dad was so cool for that, so if I can gain some cool points with my kids in the future I will take it.
Remember like two weeks ago when everyone was freaking out? The Cubs fell to 7-8, mother nature didn’t seem like she wanted the sport of baseball to be played and the some offseason moves looked like they could be huge mistakes.
But as the weather heats up, so do your Chicago Cubs. Holy shit are these guys hot. Since their last weather delay on April 18, the boys are 9-2 and don’t look now… but the North Siders are in sole first place of the Central. But how did we get here you ask? Pitching. The answer is pitching.
The starting rotation is unconscious right now. In their sweep of the joke of a team called “The Brewers”, the Cubs only scored 10 runs in four games. They were literally and figuratively on the back of their starting pitching. Just look at this Cubs porn:
That makes me as nervous as High School Colton talking to any girl with a pulse. Those are video game numbers, folks. And not even from our #1 guy. I’ve been saying since the offseason that the fact that Yu and Q are our 3 and 4 is unfair to the league and the rest of humankind.
As you can see, the bullpen has been lights out as well. Theo put together quite the goddamn pitching staff and holy shit does it have me excited. Not only has Brandon Morrow not blown a save as a Cub, but he hasn’t even given up a single run. Morrow. Edwards. Cishek. Duensing. These guys are getting it done and I know its clearly not too early to say this, but they are starting to look like the kind of bullpen that can go deep into October.
So to wrap this up, lets just talk about how bad Anthony Rizzo is playing.
After an Opening Day home run, Rizzo is on an all time drought. Some fans may start to look at the panic button on Rizzo but not I. Nuh-uh. Rizz will figure it out, get hot and end up batting .270 with 30 HR and 100 RBIs by the end of the season. If the Cubs can get into first place, ahead of hot starts from the Cards, Brewers and Pirates, all while Jason Hayward is more of an offensive threat than Anthony has been, then just wait until he gets hot… Oh baby…
PS: The Brewers stink. Nobody has been less of a threat in the history of sports. We have them in our back pocket.
Tonight is the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and the Bears hold the 8th pick. This is a GREAT draft to hold the 8th pick, especially since we don’t need a quarterback. The Mitch Trubisky era began last year after the Bears traded up to pick the QB with the 2nd overall pick of the draft. Now, the Bears’ agenda is to surround Trubisky with a team that puts him in the best opportunity to succeed. We have already made a splash in free agency by signing Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton. Those three along with Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen give the Bears offense some serious potential in the new Matt Nagy offense. Very, very exciting stuff folks.
I recapped the past few drafts and previewed last season’s draft HERE.
This week’s draft is a very important one for Ryan Pace and the future of the Chicago Bears. It is full of talent outside of the quarterback position and like I brought up earlier, those talented players will slide in the draft as teams reach on quarterbacks early in the draft. The Bears hold the 8th pick, and there are 4 quarterbacks expected to go in the top 7 picks. Then, Penn State running back Sequon Barkley is a lock to go top 5. That means that the best non-quarterbacks are going to start going around pick #6. That being said, here are the few players that should be the Bears radar:
Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame
A guard in the first round is the most un-sexy pick in the history of the NFL Draft but this guy is an absolute monster. Draft experts consider Nelson as the only guy who challenges Barkley as the best football player in the draft. People are talking him up to be the biggest home run in this draft and they already sent his jacket size to Canton. Here is a highlight tape of him just BODY BAGGING people during his tenure with Notre Dame. You only need to watch a few minutes to get the idea.
Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
Smith is one of the two best pass rushers in the draft. In a quarterback-heavy class, he wouldn’t get out of the top 5. He was a problem for offenses in college, including 13 tackles and a sack in the National Championship Game. He was a force and the focal point of offensive line game-planning all season. Adding a pass rushing threat like this would take more eyes off of former first round pick Leonard Floyd and frees up Floyd to be more of a presence. The pass rush will always keep your team in games, disrupt every good quarterback and is so much fun to watch. Having some badasses rushing the quarterback every play gives a fan so much confidence watching games. Here is a little Roquan porn before the draft.
Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State
A very physical and athletic corner would help bring the Monsters of the Midway back in no time. Ward’s monster hits at Ohio State will pump up any football fan with a pulse. They are the kinds of hits that get people on their feet and can send a message. Any sort of badass defensive player would make me feel good.
Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State
This might be the best case scenario for the Bears. The experts say that Chubb or Sequon Barkley would be a no doubt #1 overall pick in a draft without quarterbacks. Chubb is already physically ready for the NFL and could be an immediate factor in the pass rush this season. Like I said with Smith, adding Chubb and having a plus pass rush would be so much fun to watch. But as the draft has gone in recent years, like Aaron Donald in 2014 and Leonard Williams in 2015, Chubb will probably go to the Bucs at 7 and break my heart. Chubb going to the Bears is by far the biggest stretch of the four.
It seems like the Bears can’t miss in this draft. There are four legitimate players and only three spots before the Bears pick. Any of these four guys would make my night and get me HYPED for the 2018-19 season.
My power rankings of how much I want these guys is as follows:
A good weekend trip to Colorado for the boys. While the rest of the state was flying higher than the Rocky Mountains, the Cubs were smoking a little themselves. After taking two of three from the Rockies, they have now won 3 of 4 and could be putting together some momentum that could turn into the 10-game stretch needed to shut the critics’ mouths.
Game 1
We are aware of the weather forecast in Denver and we'll do an adequate job of keeping you updated on the status of tonight's game.
Joe Maddon has been searching for the lineup that will jump start this Cubs’ offense and I think we are looking at just that, folks. This lineup is what will be moving the needle for Cubs fans all summer long. Almora is the only option we have right now to lead off games and the fact that this was the first time Almora/Baez led off a game this season is incredibly frustrating. And oh look… it worked…
The #Cubs today placed Ben Zobrist on the 10-day DL (retroactive to April 18) with back tightness and recalled David Bote from @IowaCubs. pic.twitter.com/9BntQ5CtBv
Very cool story here. David Bote gets his chance at the show after Ben Zobrist lands on the DL. With his family in attendance, Bote comes up and fulfills his dream by driving one in the gap and ends up with his first major league hit in his home state of Colorado. The shot of his family, and specifically his dad, while they watch David’s first hit is just a classic feel-good baseball story that shows the pageantry of the game. Little stories like this aren’t seen as common in other sports, but you see about 10 of them a season in baseball.
Get used to seeing this. Almora might have won a 2018 Gold Glove over the weekend. Yes, I know its April but all you have to do is get on the voters’ radar with a few highlight reel plays in a short span and after that, every time you make a play for the rest of the season people will say, “Wow, Almora is making ANOTHER amazing catch?” Even though you haven’t made one in months.
I’m telling you, I will get on my knees for Javy and Almora right now. Javy’s bat would melt steal beams and Almora could cover as much as an entire secondary in the NFL. These aren’t me over exaggerating, these are just facts.
Some good wins this weekend. Like I said before, the Cubs have won 3 of 4 and now have a two game series in Cleveland followed by a four game set with the Brewers in Wrigley. We could make a big splash or poop the bed. Only one way to find out.
