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.
by Nick Brower | Mar 13, 2018 | SPORTS
News broke this morning that Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints agreed to terms on a new two year deal to keep the future hall of famer in the Big Easy. The deal will be worth $50 million, with the second year coming with a team option and $27 million guaranteed. Brees has long said that he wants to finish his career in New Orleans and this deal all but solidifies that. Brees is 39 now but still would have received long-term looks around the league as he is still one of the most productive QBs in the game. He was willing to stay home on a short deal to allow the Saints some flexibility in free agency and their long term plans moving forward. The Saints also gave Brees a reason to stay be rebuilding that defense and running game to become serious contenders again. A lot of the pressure was taken off of Brees this year as he set new lows for passing yards, touchdowns, and interceptions during his Saint’s tenure this season while setting the NFL record for completion percentage at 72%. The Saints have a great roster again this season and with Brees at the helm they will right in the mix for another Super Bowl run.
by Nick Brower | Mar 12, 2018 | SPORTS
Baseball is always described as a game for older fans. The numbers back it up. The MLB has the oldest average fan out of the major four sports at the age of 57 according to a Sports Business Journal article from 2016. The Baltimore Orioles are doing their part to change that. A new promotion was announced that will allow fans of 9 years old or younger to see games for free. The “Kids Cheer Free” program will give parents two free tickets for their kids with an upper-deck ticket purchase. I think this is amazing. There is nothing like going to the ballpark with your parents and enjoying a game of baseball. This experience will help develop the next generation of baseball fans and hopefully will go a long way to bringing that average fan age down. I am part of the minority of young people that loves baseball and I’m thrilled that the league is taking steps to make the game more appealing to a younger viewer. The new focus on pace of play is clearly designed to capture a younger viewer with a much shorter attention span. This program by the Orioles takes a much more direct program. This will allow families to take their kids with them to the park which will make a new generation fall in love with the great game. This a great move by Baltimore and I would love to see something like this adopted league-wide. No one wants to pay $100+ to take their young kids to a game. But who wouldn’t do it if it was free? I can’t wait to see Camden Yards packed with youngsters this season.
by Nick Brower | Mar 12, 2018 | SPORTS
Tiger Woods completed a successful weekend and finished tied for second with a -9 overall at the Valspar Championship. This is the first time we’ve seen Tiger play well in awhile and it comes at a great time. Tiger seems to be fine-tuning his game for the Master’s coming up next month. He looks like he’s in better physical shape, hitting the ball better and has cleaned up his short game tremendously. Perhaps more importantly, he seems to be on track mentally as well. He has been happy with his progress and seems to be himself again both on the course and while talking to reporters. Maybe his back is finally starting to feel better or maybe something finally clicked in his swing mechanics. Or maybe, and more likely, Tiger is finally getting laid again. Wood’s golf game and life all began to spiral out of control when the world found out he was a freak. Judge him however you will, but his sexual life clearly helped him keep his head clear and had his golf game on point. Once his sex life was made public he lost an outlet that he had been dependent on for years and it threw him out of whack both on and off the course. He needed that balance in his life and the world has seen him struggle without it. Now he’s back on the scene, chipping in birdie shots and smiling on camera again. He must be getting his thang on again. And if you ask me, the sporting world is much better off. Tiger is an international superstar. Few names have the recognition power that Tiger’s does. Everyone wants him in the spotlight one way or another, and if he needs to be getting some to be making positive headlines instead of bad ones, I’m all for it. Get your groove on Tiger, just try to keep it a little quieter this time.
by Nick Brower | Mar 12, 2018 | SPORTS
Selection Sunday has came and went and the brackets are out. If you’re still old school like me then get your pencils are highlighters ready. If not, start clicking. Virginia, Villanova, Xavier, and Kansas received the four #1 seeds this year with Duke, UNC, Cincinnati, and Purdue pulling in the #2 seeds. I was surprised to see Kentucky at all after a pretty bad season but they come in with a #5 seed. Oklahoma and Trae Young also sneaked in with a #10 seed after a terrible end to their season. I’m predicting that we won’t see a single #1 seed in the Final Four this year. It would be the first time that happens since 2006, and it hadn’t happened since 1980 before that year. There is parity all around the nation this year. More importantly, there are lower-seeded teams that are coming in to the tourney on fire. Michigan comes in as a #3 seed after winning the Big 10 tournament and I have them staying hot and headed to the Final Four. I also see Arizona and DeAndre Ayton using all of the turmoil surrounding them to upset Virginia in the Sweet 16 and continue to the Final Four. Villanova will face a tough test in the Sweet 16 against West Virginia and that press spells trouble for them. I think that press carries West Virginia all the way to the Final Four. My fourth Final Four team will be Duke even though they have a brutal draw. They will most likely have to beat Oklahoma, Michigan State and Kansas, but if anyone can do it its Coach K. I also look for a rare senior superstar Grayson Allen to use his experience in the tournament to lead a talented team to the promised land. In the end I’ve got Michigan beating Duke in the Championship. And yes I’m picking my personal favorite team, get over it. They’re playing their best basketball at the right time. Moritz Wagner looks like the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki and stellar guard play is always a key in March and their backcourt has been great as of late. No matter how you fill your bracket (or brackets) out, this tournament will be filled will close games and excitement. The play-in games will be happening tomorrow and Wednesday with the first seeded games on Thursday. It’s the most wonderful time of the year for basketball fans, so get your snacks and get ready for some great ball.
