by Nick Brower | Mar 2, 2018 | SPORTS
Brock Stewart and Yasmani Grandal got crossed up in the third inning of today’s spring game between the Dodgers and White Sox. Grandal was expecting something soft and low when Brock Stewart buzzed a fastball high in the zone. Grandal was not able to recover and the pitch caught home plate umpire Tony Randazzo in the mask and collarbone. Randazzo immediately hit the ground and was clearly in pain. No one can blame him, a 90+ mph fastball doesn’t feel good hitting you anywhere let alone in the face. The 19 year vet was helped off the field by the stadium paramedics and taken off in a golf cart. Randazzo is one of the league’s best, umpiring 10 playoff series, including two World Series, and two All-Star games. There has been no word on his condition yet, but we’re all wishing him the best.
by Nick Brower | Mar 2, 2018 | SPORTS
Angels’ two way star Shohei Ohtani had his second start of the spring this morning in a “B” game against the Brewers. A “B” game is a common occurrence in the spring as teams split up their rosters and play two games in one day in order to get more players more opportunities. Ohtani was brilliant in his 2 and 2/3 innings. All eight outs he recorded were via the strikeout as he faced 12 batters total and threw 52 pitches. His fastball was in the upper 90s and he had much better command of his secondary stuff then in his first outing. While it is still a small sample size, Ohtani has proved he has dominant stuff and this last appearance shown great improvement as he is adjusting to the MLB. It looks like he’s going to figure it out real soon, and hitters should be on notice.
by Nick Brower | Mar 2, 2018 | SPORTS
JR Smith sat out last night’s game against the Sixers as he served a one game suspension from the team. The reason for the suspension came out this morning. Apparently JR didn’t like the soup being served the other day at team dinner. Coach Tyron Lue told the media that JR threw a bowl of soup at assistant coach Damon Jones. Not much else was said regarding the incident, but Smith has a reputation of being a little bit of a hot head and a lot a bit of a bozo. If a story like this broke about just about any other player I would be shocked. JR Smith? Not so much. Love his game, but he is definitely a clown. Smith will be back in the starting lineup tonight against Denver but he probably won’t be served any soup anytime soon.
by Nick Brower | Mar 1, 2018 | SPORTS
HB 4341, also called the Dave Duerson Act, passed through primary committees and will be debated on the House floor in Illinois. The bill proposes a ban on tackle football for all children under the age of twelve state wide. New York, California, and Maryland have also began drafting legislation that restricts football for youths, but Illinois is the first to get a serious bill to the state’s House floor. The Dave Duerson Act gets its name from the former Bears safety who took his own life in 2011. He left a note instructing for his brain to be studied and he was diagnosed with CTE posthumously. Duerson’s family has been a major driving force behind the bill as it has matured. Other proponents of the bill, including Boston University CTE researcher Dr. Robert Stern, argue that limiting the years of tackle football will help in the fight against CTE and other brain diseases related to the wear and tear of football. These diseases are caused by repeated trauma to the head and brain and this bill looks to postpone the onset of these traumas. A former football player and concussion recipient myself, I believe this is a good first step towards making football a safer sport. I love the game and would never want it to disappear completely, but it does need tweaking. Some kids, like myself, start playing the game at such young ages and continue to play throughout their schooling. Those who play professionally could end up playing 20 years or more of the vicious sport. This is overkill. There are plenty of other ways to play and hone your skills without the contact at young ages. There will be pushback of course, but if and when it becomes the new normal I believe the game, and its players, will be in a much better, safer place.
by Nick Brower | Mar 1, 2018 | SPORTS
February is finally over and you know what that means… March Madness. Conference tournaments are starting all over the country this week and selection Sunday is on the horizon. It’s crunch time for teams on the bubble and teams fighting for higher seeds alike. Winning a conference tournament is an automatic bid to the big dance so many teams will have their eyes set on clinching this week. Overall, this season has shown a lot of parity. There is an overflow of good teams with not that many clear cut favorites. This makes the bubble watch even more intriguing. Depending on who you talk to, there are as many as 20 teams sitting on the bubble this year. I don’t see it being quite that wide open. Look for Arkansas and Creighton to sure up their spots with good showings in their tournaments. Syracuse is right on the verge and a few wins in the loaded ACC tournament would go a long way to pushing them in. Oklahoma and Trae Young are in the same boat, they need to get a few good wins to solidify a spot. Everyone, including myself, wants to keep watching Young ball out so I know I’ll be pulling for them. Kansas State has posted an impressive 20-8 record so far but their strength of schedule will keep them out of the tournament baring a couple of huge upsets in the Big 12 tournament. These are just a few of the teams to keep an eye on. Rejoice college hoops fans, March is finally upon us.
by Nick Brower | Mar 1, 2018 | SPORTS
Miguel Andujar is still set on proving he should be playing third base in the Bronx. The young talent continues to mash the ball this spring as he hit his third and fourth home runs today against Philadelphia. Andujar’s bat has been hot from the start as he’s 6-12 so far with four dingers. The late trade for Brandon Drury led many to believe that the third base question was answered for the Yankees but Andujar is not making it easy on rookie manager Aaron Boone. If he keeps hitting like this there is no way you can keep him off the major league roster for long especially because his defense is already major league ready. Drury, who also homered today, is capable of playing second base as well and that spot is still up for grabs. Right now I would go with Andujar at third and Drury at second, but there’s still plenty of baseball to be played this spring and I don’t expect a decision to be made publicly anytime soon.
