by Nick Brower | Apr 12, 2018 | SPORTS
The NHL playoffs got off to a hot start last night with three great games. The Penguins put the smackdown on Philly, starting their series off with a huge 7-0 win. Sidney Crosby showed the world once again why he’s the best as he turned his third career postseason hat trick. Four other Penguins chipped in with a goal a piece as the Pittsburgh offense dominated the game, scoring 5 goals in the first half hour worth of game time. Philly pulled Brain Elliot and couldn’t get it going at all. Pens goaltender Matt Murray stopped all 24 shots he faced. The Flyers looked completely overmatched, this series might be over quicker than most thought. The defending champs are back firing on all cylinders after a slow finish in the regular season, and the rest of the league should be on notice.
Winnipeg outlasted Minnesota in their first game to take the early series lead. Minnesota scored twice early in the third to take a 2-1 lead but Patrick Laine scored just one minute later off a turnover to tie it up and Joe Morrow delivered the deciding goal halfway through the final period. This is the first playoff win in Winnipeg’s franchise history (entered the league in Atlanta in 1999). The Jets will look to capitalize on the momentum they built following the Laine goal which seemed to really demoralize the Wild.
In the final game of the night, Las Vegas took home the win in their series opener against the Kings. Shea Theodore turned in the game’s only goal just three minutes into the first and Marc Andre Fleury carried the Knights from that point on, stopping all 30 shots he saw. Vegas was able to control the pace of the game most of the night through a great forecheck. The Kings will have to find a way to break through if they want to compete in the rest of the series.
We’ve got another 5 Game 1’s to look forward to tonight. The Devils and Lighting will get under way in Tampa at 7PM ET. As will the Maple Leafs and Bruins from Boston. Washington will host Columbus for their series opener at 7:30PM. The Preds and Blue Jackets will get started in Nashville at 9:30PM and San Jose and Anaheim will round out the night, starting at 10:30PM. Enjoy another action-packed night and make sure to check back here tomorrow for more coverage.
by Nick Brower | Apr 12, 2018 | FEATURED POST, MUSIC, NEW RELEASES
Stay tuned for The Doughboy Project Anticipation! Newark’s finest, DJ Doughboy is dropping his second project, which is a DJ compilation album that featuring Pop and Hip Hop artists. The six song EP will hit the streets this summer and will feature great local talent. You won’t want to miss this one.
by Nick Brower | Apr 10, 2018 | MUSIC, ON THIS DAY IN HIPHOP
Welcome back to the hip hop history classroom ladies and gentlemen. We’ve got a lot of exciting news for today. Now, you already know that this is best class you’ve ever taken. But I also promised that it would be the easiest. And now, we’re making it even easier. Starting today, my brother Kennedy Hart and I will be making a Spotify playlist to go along with my classes. So all the songs and artists I discuss will be in one, easy place for you. Check the URL at the bottom of the article for the playlist. We’ll be updating this playlist with every article, so make sure you follow it to keep up. Now who’s better than me?
Our first playlist is guaranteed to be fire cause we’ve got a busy one in hip hop history today. Public Enemy released their third album, Fear of A Black Planet on this date in 1990 (Go check out my article about April 1st for more and Public Enemy).Dr. Dre released his first solo single “Deep Cover” in 1992 and introduced the world to Snoop Dogg. The two would go on to become the faces of the West for a generation. But I’m going to be selfish and take some more time to shoutout one of my personal favorites.
Today I want to send a big happy birthday to Q-Tip. Kamaal Ibn John Fareed (born Jonathan William Davis) was born on this date in 1970, making him 48 today. Q-Tip will go down as one of the best to ever do it along with his brothers from A Tribe Called Quest. Made up of four Queens natives, A Tribe Called Quest had some of the dopest sound coming out of New York throughout the late 80’s and 90’s. Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Jerobi, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad make up my favorite rap group of all time. Tip and Ali Shaheed cooked up an insane amount of dope beats for the group throughout their career while Tip, Phife and Jerobi handled the mic.The blend of jazz into hip hop will always be their trademark, and no one has ever done it better. Phife Dawg was the rawest lyricist of the group and always brought hard punchlines to a slick flow. Phife, Malik Izaac Taylor passed away in March of 2016 while he and Tribe were finishing up their last album. The rest of the group finished the album and it had great success, bringing that 90’s Tribe we all loved to the current hip hop vibe and immortalizing The Five Foot Assasin.
Q-Tip knew his way around a mic too. He had a ridiculous amount of flows and was always able to play off of Phife. The balance they brought to tracks is what makes their music so dope. It is all so simple. The beats are contagious and get you bopping. The rhyme schemes are simple enough to hear, but the lyrical content is sharp enough to make it hard to understand the first listen. I will never get tired of listening to some Tribe. Tip has also had some success as a solo act. He’s released solo albums and has production credits all over the game. He’s a true legend in the game, so it’s only right we show respect here.
Now make your way over to that playlist! We’ll have that Dre track, some Public Enemy and plenty of A Tribe Called Quest. It should have you set for the rest of the night. Check back later for your next lesson in hip hop history.
by Nick Brower | Apr 10, 2018 | SPORTS
The Yankees have traveled north and will face the Red Sox for the first time this season in Fenway tonight. One of the best rivalries in sports will start all over again. And this year is sure to be a great one. Both teams have high expectations for this season after big additions to their rosters and most experts will tell you that they will be battling all year for the division title. The race for the AL East is going to be a close one and it will only add fuel to the fire that is this rivalry. Many fans will tell you it has gotten boring of late. There hasn’t been the pure hatred between the teams like there was in the past. I’m here to tell you it will be back this year. I’m sure Boston fans haven’t forgotten their last encounter with Aaron Boone in a Yankee uniform (I know I haven’t), and both teams being legit World Series picks always helps.
The Yankees and Red Sox come into this series with very different records, but I think they are in about the same spot. The Sox are sitting at 8-1 and are off to a hot start, but I don’t think they are playing all that well. They have played just well enough to beat up on bad teams in the Rays and Marlins. The Yankees have not been playing to their full potential yet either and are currently 5-5. Strikeouts and a shaky performance by most of the bullpen have hurt the Yanks big time. The bullpen isn’t worth stressing over though, there are a bunch of electric arms out there. They’ll figure it out. The strikeouts are a problem though. The big hitters in the middle of the lineup, Stanton especially, have been trying to do too much. They need to shorten up and focus on making good contact. Guys like Stanton, Sanchez, and Judge don’t have to swing their hardest to do damage. They are strong enough to drive the ball even without their A+ swing. They need to dial it down and focus on putting the ball in play and the homers will come. Overall, I think this series will give us a really good look at what these two teams are actually about this year. Both teams will find their toughest opponent of the season so far in this series and it will be a good measuring stick of how the teams are playing.
We’re in for a real treat too as the early season off days have allowed both teams to line up their rotations. We’ll get started tonight with a battle of the aces, Chris Sale and Luis Severino. Let’s see if Sevy can continue his early dominance against the best lineup he has seen this far. It will also be interesting to see how Sale deals with all the right-handed power in the Yanks lineup. Either way, it’s sure to be an interesting game. First pitch is at 7:05PM in Boston, don’t miss it.
by Nick Brower | Apr 10, 2018 | SPORTS
Now I know I don’t cover much hockey here for y’all, but its that time of year again. There aren’t many phrases that get me more excited in sports than “Playoff Hockey”. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are electric every single year. The level of intensity on the ice and in the arenas is unmatched and it makes for one hell of a tournament. Anything can happen, except boredom.
The 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin tomorrow night when Minnesota takes on Winnipeg. Also starting at 7PM ET is the Pennsylvania series, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will do battle once again. Los Angeles and Las Vegas will cap off opening night at 10PM ET. Since we haven’t covered hockey really at all, I’m just gonna jump in and give you my picks for all the first round series and quick reason why. All the home teams will be listed first.
Nashville V. Colorado:
I’ve got Nashville winning this one comfortably. The Predators have been great all season and will overpower a smaller Colorado team. The big boys come out to play in the playoffs, and muscle and defense will prevail.
Winnipeg V. Minnesota:
I’ll take Winnipeg here in a close one. Winnipeg has had a great year on the backs of Patrick Laine and Connor Hellebuyck. Laine is second in the league in goals and Hellebuyck led the league in wins in net while posting a .924 save percentage. Look for them to continue to carry the team.
Las Vegas V. Los Angeles
The Golden Nights have been the story of the season. The expansion team finished 5th in points overall in their first season in the league. I think they continue making history and make a deep run in the playoffs. This roster was built extremely well and they play a great brand of hockey.
Anaheim V. San Jose
Both of these teams have been regulars in the playoffs as of late. Both of them have struggled to meet expectations as well. I think Jon Gibson plays just well enough in an offensive series to carry the Ducks through. This will be one of the more exciting series of the first round for sure.
Tampa Bay V. New Jersey
The Devils had a great season and did well to sneak into the playoffs, but their swinging out of their weight class here. Tampa Bay is just a step above this team and should cruise into the next round after leading the East in points.
Boston V. Toronto
This is sure to be a great series too as the two teams were only separated by 7 points at the end of the regular season. Just like Nashville, I think Boston’s physicality carries them through here, but not as comfortably. These teams will have to grind through this series and I think Boston has enough grit to finish on top.
Washington V. Colombus
Washington has too much firepower here and shouldn’t have many issues with Columbus. But we all know that Ovechkin and the Caps are yet to really put it together in the playoffs. Either way, I think they have enough to get out of the first round this year.
Pittsburgh V. Philadelphia
This matchup has become common in the Eastern playoffs and has delivered some of the best games of recent history. The storyline hasn’t really changed either. Can Philly be scrappy enough to take Crosby and the bunch out of their offensive groove. They sure will try, expect a bunch of huge hits in this series and maybe even a suspension. But in the end, the defending champs move on. The amount of offensive talent on this team is overwhelming.
So there you have it. Get used to seeing some more hockey coverage as the playoffs get rolling. I’ll be keeping you updated all the way up until Lord Stanley’s Cup is raised by the champs.
