The past week was a busy, yet promising one for Red Sox Nation. With each Spring that comes around, a new fresh breath of hope drifts over Boston and their beloved Red Sox, that this will finally be the year they climb the hump and topple the arch-rival Yankees.
Here's the scoop as we get closer to the games that really count. 1. Signing of JD Martinez This is the biggest, most obvious splash the Sox made this week. After many fans were ecstatic about the signing of the former D-Backs slugger, there was reason for fans to hold their collective breaths, as a reported "medical issue" held up the signing for quite some time. It was not a physical problem, perhaps more along the lines of something the Red Sox were just looking to protect themselves from that could be a potential problem a few years down the line. Head of Baseball operations, Dave Dombrowki, ultimately inked Martinez to a 5yr/$110M contract. The move serves Boston very well, and fills the desperate need of a power bat they've been missing ever since the retirement of franchise cornerstone, David Ortiz. Also, it allows much more flexibility within the lineup for first year skipper, Alex Cora. With Hanley Ramirez coming off a down year, and a log jam in the outfield, it will be interesting to see just how Cora elects to play his cards. Overall, this move certainly serves Boston well, and has the Yankees looking over their shoulder a little bit. 2. A healthy pack of arms One of the biggest storylines of the spring is the health of the Red Sox bullpen, as well as David Price, who finished 2017 on a tear coming in from the pen. Seeing where Boston is paying the southpaw $30M, it's incredibly unlikely they keep him in the bullpen. Now that Price should be back to full force, and Eduardo Rodriguez is back after blowing out his knee in Baltimore last May, Boston should have the fire power to match the monster bats in the Bronx. Tyler Thornburg (received in trade for Travis Shaw) and Carson Smith, will add depth to the Sox's already deep bullpen with Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel. If Boston has the ability to get a solid 5-6 innings out of their 3-5 starters, and Sale and Price can give them 7-8 the next two days when the rotation flips, look out. That's a scary combination. A winning combination, at that. 3. Bench depth Another thing that teams around the league should take notice of is just how deep Boston's bench is. Let's go down this list, shall we? Blake Swihart Tzu Wei-Lin Mitch Moreland Eduardo Nunez (when Pedroia is healthy) Brock Holt Sandy Leon Deven Marrero That is an unbelievably deep bench, and most, if not all of those guys, can provide a spark off the bench when an injury arises, or someone is gassed in the dog days of summer and just needs a rest. That alone, can provide Boston with critical wins down the stretch, that just might be enough in deciding who heads into October with the AL East crown. Keep your eyes peeled for more breaking news with the Red Sox as spring training rolls on. Keep up with all the latest news and follow, @bhowesports on Twitter.
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(Photo Courtesy of NJ.com)
In one of the wackiest, craziest games you thought you'd never see, a game that started on February 21st, ended on February 22nd. The game between the Seton Hall and Providence was stopped with 13:03 to go in the second half as Seton Hall led 56-47, due to the court being determined as unplayable due to condensation. The game would resume the following day on the campus of the Friars at Alumni Hall, in which Seton Hall would continue control over the game, and eventually come out the victors, 89-77. Pirates G Khadeem Carrington was tied for the games' leading scorer with Friars senior G Kyron Cartwright, with 25 points. Friars G Myles Powell also contributed 20 points in the loss. Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard had this to say about the conditions: "As big a game as this is, the kids' careers are more important," Due to the small capacity of the Alumni Hall, the fans that were unable to attend the conclusion of the game will be able to get tickets to select Big East games for next season when the schedule is made available. Providence will play their next game Saturday in Washington when they take on Georgetown. Tip-off for that game is at 12 p.m ET. Dean Bulldogs wide receiver Teylor Gordy has had a long road to get to where he is, both on and off the field. It extends beyond just football.
In life, as well as sports, you have to pay your dues. Ride the bench. Be the rookie. All of this is necessary in order to get to the top of the mountain. That way, when you're the senior, when you're the experienced worker, you know how to show the ropes to the rookies coming in to eventually take over for you when you're gone. Legends never die. That's true in anything in life. But, in order to be remembered, you must first put in the work. I had an opportunity to sit down with Teylor and pick his brain about how he feels his hard work has payed off to this point, and what he can do to grow as a player in seasons to come. Gordy was very vocal about how he felt like the team could improve, starting with himself. "It [the season] didn't go how I wanted it to. But, as a player, I grew. I learned a lot more about the game, mentally and physically. I'm ready for next season, I'm stronger, I'm faster and I'm better. I'm just ready for next season, only freshman year." The 5'10 wideout certainly could see some playing time next year, with Dean's program made up of a majority of underclassmen. It would certainly be a big boost to the Bulldog offense, with Gordy being both a speed threat, but a red zone threat as well. Gordy feels like he can make an impact on the field as well, I asked him how he thought he could help get Dean back their winning ways and how he can help the team improve, "Just by giving everything I got for all 60 minutes that I'm out on the field. No matter what it is, doing whatever my role is, whatever my job is that I was given by my coaching staff, and my teammates as well." As I mentioned before, hard work goes a long way in life, and in football. Gordy didn't always have it easy, nearly quitting football before even getting to college. He didn't, and it ultimately paid off. I asked him what triggered him to change his mind and keep plugging forward, "What made me change my mind was because I worked so hard all the way up until that point to throw away everything that I had worked towards. It was over a conflict that had nothing to do with the sport itself." It goes to show that athletes, no matter what level, are all working towards something. Big or small, no matter what it is. But sometimes, life happens. It happens to all of us, no matter the profession. Nobody in life wants to throw away hard work, or something they've dedicated basically their entire lives to accomplish, as every athlete does. You don't see anyone stepping onto the field or court without a gameplan, and a scheme to execute that plan. Every athlete has individual goals too, however, and Gordy sets his very high. "My goals for the upcoming season is to be the best athlete I can be. I don't know what that is yet, so, the only way I can stay on track with it is giving my maximum effort when I train so I'm ready for next season. Whatever the results are, is what I'm going to have to live with." It's clear Gordy is certainly willing to put in the work to get to where he wants to be. But, if there's one thing he knows for sure, it's that he has to stay humble. And pay his dues. (Photo from SportingNews.com)
For us here in New England, Super Bowl LII did not end the way we all thought it would. All week we underestimated Nick Foles and the eagles, never giving them a chance to stand up to the almighty Tom Brady. He proved us all wrong. I'm not going to sit here and make excuses as to why the Patriots fell short. The Eagles showed up to play, led by their backup quarterback that was thrust into the spotlight 5 weeks prior. The biggest story of the game, and one that's still a mystery is why Patriots CB Malcolm Butler sat on the bench for the game's entirety. Now, I won't get into all the theories and stories as to why Butler was forced to watch from the sideline, but, I will get into how the broadcast crew of NBC, handled the situation. Poorly. The crew that handled the game this year was NBC's Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michelle Tafoya. The overall commentary of the game was great, both commentators keeping up with the action and giving in depth analysis throughout each play. However, it was clear that the biggest story of the game was Malcolm Butler sitting on the sideline while Nick Foles and the Eagles offense continued to methodically dismantle and shred the hopeless Patriots defense. By the end of the first quarter, Michaels had only mentioned the Butler situation once or twice. With that being the biggest story of the night, I was a little disappointed that they didn't take the time to evaluate how the absence of Butler would impact the rest of the game, or even give their take on why Belichick would make such a game changing decision like that. I thought they handled the situation poorly. As far as the rest of the game goes, being a Patriots fan, having the announcers only focus on how well Nick Foles was playing, coming in as the underdog and outshining Tom Brady, hurt a little. Overshadowing Brady's historic performance just because of a loss is not right. Throwing for 505 yards and 3 touchdowns is simply incredible. Brady shattered his own record from Super Bowl LI a year prior, and in no way should he have received any criticism for his performance. Overall, the game that was put on the field was phenomenal, despite the result. As a Patriots fan, I give all the credit in the world to Nick Foles and the Eagles organization for going toe-to-toe with the greatest quarterback of all-time. Brady tried to put the Patriots on his back, however, Philadelphia was just simply the better team. Congratulations to them on their first Super Bowl Championship. We'll be back. |
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December 2018
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