Some brief sports thoughts for you here on a Thursday.
MLB
Ah yes baseball, the sport I spend the most time with. Every year I trick myself into thinking I care about major league baseball. Then the NBA and NHL playoffs start and I forget about it until mid July. Nothing against baseball, just isn’t my cup of tea.
It does not help that a majority of my life is now consumed by AAA baseball, which is fine and fun but let’s face it, anyone attached to the minors will tell you it’s not about competitive balance it’s about development. So as someone who likes competitive balance, I am annoyed when the Bees are completely irrelevant by mid July and I have to still commit all of my time to them. That’s just a personal gripe I have with minor league baseball.
In terms of who I have picked to follow in baseball this year, my teams are simple. The Reds, ugh, the Angels, Mariners, Blue Jays and Phillies. Shout out the Yankees who I hope stumble into 85 or so wins and lose in the middle of the playoffs. I chose teams with explosive lineups and at least one or two aces. Cheers to baseball, here come the two weeks I am really into you.
NBA
The Jazz have at this point, proved who they are. A lackluster, sleeping, faux contender that will be swept out of our lives by early May, yawn. To me, the option is clear, neither Donovan Mitchell or Rudy Gobert aren’t good enough to win on their own, and they obviously have a problem playing together, so trade both. Re work the team, actually draft someone and move forward.
The East coast playoffs are where it is at though. Sign me up, that’s where the stars are. Giannis going back for a second straight title. Will Joel Embiid be able to carry James Harden through the playoffs and secure his first title? What about the red hot Boston Celtics? A team that really since February has looked like a no doubt title contender with a tremendous defense and a plethora of scoring options. Not to mention the fact KD and Kyrie are on the same team, healthy and playing great offensive basketball.
NHL
The Colorado Avalanche are playoff bound, AND, they have a hot goaltender. Really that’s all you need. So much of playoff hockey truly is, who has the better goalie. Frankly, it’s why to me the Rangers are a Stanley Cup contender Igor Shesterkin is playing like an absolute god right now. Like have you looked at his save percentage? It is nuts. He currently has a 93% save percentage, 93 percent. And a 96 percent save percentage on unobstructed shots. That is absolutely wild. I’m writing this mainly to let my dad know that this is the next Marc Andre Fleury, this is the next King Henrick, this is arguably the best goalie in the world right now and he’s absolutely thrilling to watch.
Kuemper is only a percentage point behind though in save percentage on unobstructed shots and despite what I think, the stats do not lie that he is an undisputed top five goalie right now. That’s what you need in the playoffs. There is still a month left, but like it feels like it doesn’t even matter for the Avs, they just need to stay in top form. That could be difficult, I would almost like to see them face some adversity in April, a few game losing skid, respond, win some games from behind, just prepare for the toughest two-month stretch in American sports.
That’s all for now folks, back later.