by Nick Brower | Mar 16, 2018 | SPORTS
Last night I was able to get to the Barclay’s Center to see the Islanders play the Washington Capitals with my dad. I grew up on Long Island and have always been a loyal fan, too bad they got spanked. The Capitals ended up winning 7-3. The Isles came out hot and scored first early but it didn’t last long. The Caps scored three times after that in the first and never looked back. The Islanders did control the puck well at times but couldn’t finish a lot of their looks where the Caps seemed to cash in on every opportunity. Christopher Gibbons was pulled from net after allowing 5 goals on twelve shots. Well, at least the offense made it an entertaining game. It was also my first time being in Barclay’s. I’m definitely not a fan. It’s just so different from the Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders old home on Long Island. The Coliseum was old and out-dated but it was affordable, easy to get to, and a great environment. Barclay’s is a hike and a half to get to from the Island and its overpriced. I was able to get good seats (I took the cover photo from my seat during the second period), but there are a few sections that have obstructed views during hockey games. Barclay’s is beautifully modern but you can tell it was designed as a concert venue, not as a hockey arena. The experience only made me even more excited for the plans being laid for a stadium at the Belmont Racetrack. There is more than enough space out there and the Islanders need to come home from Brooklyn and back to their fan base. Capitals fans were drowning out the home crowd with their own cheers. That would never happen at the Coliseum. Being in Brooklyn is a disservice to both the fans and the team. The Islanders belong on Long Island and I can’t wait for it to be that way again.
by Nick Brower | Mar 16, 2018 | MUSIC, SPORTS
I’m sure you know by now that March Madness has begun and I bet you filled out at least one bracket. But a friend of mine sent me a tweet the other day with a different bracket that quickly blew up. A Kanye Bracket. Carrington Harrison, a sports radio host, gathered a group of friends and fellow Kanye West fans and created a fully seeded, 64 song tournament of what they decided were the best ‘Ye songs of all time and I couldn’t help but take a break from sports and fill one out. The bracket was divided into four sections, “Donda,” “North West,” “Chicago,” and “Saint”. The seedings alone are enough for debate but I played along and pushed through some brutal early matchups (“All Falls Down” v. “Addiction” and “Power v. “Father Stretch My Hands PT. 1” in the first round to name a few). I made all my picks based on my own personal taste with some weight being put on the songs’ mass popularity. I debated over each song like my life depended on it, listening to them as I went. I’ve always been a huge Kanye fan with an admitted sweet spot for his older stuff but my favorite thing about his music is that every album has a different sound and purpose. He always pushes the genre in new directions, taking stuff that no one is doing and making it dope. And that only makes it harder to stack his hits up next to each other. I finally settled on a Final Four of “Flashing Lights” against “All Of The Lights” and “Say You Will” facing “Gorgeous”. Definitely the toughest choices of all. I have “Flashing Lights” beating “All Of The Lights” and then beating “Gorgeous” as well to win the whole thing. Although honestly I would have picked “All Of The Lights” over “Gorgeous” if the seeding had shook out differently. “Flashing Lights” was a lock to win from the beginning, that has been and always will be my favorite Kanye track. Regardless it was a lot of fun and definitely worth wasting most of my afternoon. So if you’re a big Kanye fan like myself or if you just have nothing to do tonight fill out a bracket. You can click the original tweet below to see the bracket and see where yours stacks up against others submitted earlier. Enjoy, and in Yeezus’ name, amen.
by Nick Brower | Mar 13, 2018 | SPORTS
The Mets announced today that David Wright won’t be participating in baseball activities for another two months. The struggles just won’t seem to end for the Mets captain. Wright has only played in 75 games in the last three seasons. The laundry list on injuries includes hamstring issues, shoulder problems, and most recently spinal stenosis. The most recent setback seems to be concerning both his shoulder and back. Wright is still guaranteed $47 million over the next three years. The Mets recently signed Todd Fraizer as a backup plan and it looks like that will pay off. I’ve been waiting just under three years to see David Wright play again and another setback asks the question if he ever will again. His injury struggles have been a sad story. Once one of the best third basemen in the game, now it’s only a question of what could have been. The only positive part of this story is the Mets loyalty. They have been by Wright’s side through all of this and have not once rushed him or pressured him to get back on the field. The captain is still beloved by Mets’ faithful and everyone around the league hopes to see Wright on the field again.
by Nick Brower | Mar 13, 2018 | SPORTS
Boston announced that Marcus Smart has an injury to a tendon in his right thumb. It is unclear how much time, if any, he’ll miss. He was able to finish the game in which he was first hurt after taping up his thumb. Smart is playing it cool and trying to brush it off but he was clearly in pain Sunday night. It could be a major issue if Smart has to miss significant time. This is crunch time for the NBA as teams are trying to get everything ironed out to head into the postseason. Smart is a huge part of the Celtics rotation backing up Kyrie Irving at point guard. Irving is also dealing with his own injury, tendonitis in his knee, and Coach Brad Stevens has already said that Irving will have scheduled rest days. Losing Smart would make resting Kyrie much more difficult as the Celtics are still fighting with Cleveland and Toronto for the top spot in the East. I’m sure the Celtics want to go into the postseason fully healthy but they also want to lock up a good seed and home court advantage. This injury could put Brad Stevens in a tough situation. Let’s hope Smart’s injury is not severe and the Celtics can end the season strong. I’m not a C’s fan myself but with my Knicks fighting for a lottery pick and not a playoff spot I’m in full, “I want to see the best series’ possible” mode. Healthy teams mean great games and that’s all I want to see.
by Nick Brower | Mar 13, 2018 | SPORTS
Kirk Cousins is all set to sign with the Vikings. The deal is reported to be worth $84 million over three years and is expected to be fully guaranteed. This number would make Cousins the highest paid QB in the league. It is also a landmark deal for players everywhere as it is one of the first to be fully guaranteed. The NFL has always been infamous for its preseason cuts that allow teams to wiggle out of millions of dollars at the end of players’ contracts. This Cousins deal may be a sign that those days are behind us. From a football standpoint this is a great move. That Minnesota defense is still going to be amazing next year and everyone would agree that Cousins is a big upgrade from Case Keenum. Expect the Vikings to make a deep playoff run this season. This move will also spin the quarterback wheel league wide. This move means that the Vikings are free to part ways with two, maybe all three of their other quarterbacks. The Jets have already said that they will turn their focus to bringing in Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenum is expected to sign with Denver, and Sam Bradford is engaged in serious talks with Arizona. The league was waiting for the Cousins deal to drop and now we can sit back and watch the dominoes fall. The next few weeks will go a long way to telling us who will be aiming for the four quarterback prospects come draft day. Stay tuned football fans, its just starting to get interesting.
