2026 MLB Season Preview

The time has arrived. Spring training has wrapped up and now the games count for real. Thirty teams. All with the same goal in mind. Winning a World Series come October. There’s quite a few faces that are in new places come this season, which is leading to a lot of shake ups for teams. And quite a few big storylines for this 2026 season.

Aaron Judge looking for 400 Home Runs. Paul Skenes trying to get the Pirates into a playoff spot. Tarik Skubal going for a 3rd straight Cy Young. From a team perspective, can the Dodgers hit the 115 win mark? Did all that re-tooling really help Baltimore? Can the Mets rebound from last years collapse with all the changes made this offseason? All of those questions, and so much more, will be answered over the next five to six months.

So let’s not waste anymore time. Here’s how we see the 2026 Major League Baseball Season taking place.

American League:
AL East:
1. Toronto Blue Jays 88-74*
2. Baltimore Orioles 87-75 (WC)*
3. New York Yankees 87-75 (WC)*
4. Boston Red Sox 84-78
5. Tampa Bay Rays 80-82

Taking away this division is going to be the Blue Jays. This is a team that bounced back from an under .500 season to not only win the division last year but come within one game of winning the series. Toronto took a bit of a hit losing Bo Bichette, but they did upgrade the pitching staff with the additions of Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers. Toronto can push runs across the plate and keep the opposition off the board well enough to come out on top of this division. Right behind them are going to be the Orioles, who get into the playoffs as a wild card team. Baltimore had one hell of a re tooling in the offseason. The biggest one being adding Pete Alonso to the heart of an already solid lineup. Shane Baz was also brought on board to help with a big improvement to an already good pitching staff. There’s enough talent on the field in Baltimore to get them not only back into the playoffs, but back to a winning record again. Now we have another team right in the mix, that being the Yankees. What hurts the chances of the boys from the Bronx is the health of the pitching staff. Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt are all going to start the year off the field. Had they Yankees had all three healthy from opening day onward, this would be a bit of a different prediction. The offense will be there to put runs on the board. The only thing that could hold them back is that pitching staff.

Next we have a team that’s going to come up short in the form of the Red Sox. For as banged up as the pitching staff is in New York, the complete opposite is what we’re seeing in Boston. The Red Sox may very well have, on paper, the best pitching staff in the entire league. It’s the offense in Boston that could be very well holding them back this season. You just don’t know what you’re going to get out of guys like Marcelo Mayer, Ceddanne Rafaela, Caleb Durbin and Trevor Story. It leaves quite a few question marks. The same thing can be said for what’s going on with the Rays. Tampa Bay has traded away a lot of big names that give this team it’s identity. If everything falls right this summer back at Tropicana Field, the pitching staff MIGHT be able to keep them floating around the .500 mark. Even with the new ownership in Tampa, there isn’t enough firepower here to keep them in the race for a playoff spot.

AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers 90-72*
2. Kansas City Royals 82-80
3. Cleveland Guardians 81-81
4. Minnesota Twins 75-87
5. Chicago White Sox 65-97 

What’s going to make things great for the Tigers is going to be that pitching staff. Not only do they have Tarik Skubal, they brought in Framber Valdez. You got Verlander, Flaherty and Mize as well to round out that staff. Oh, and Detroit can hit too. Greene and Torkelson can knock in the runs with Meadows and Torres setting the table. Sure, they hit a slide at the end of last season that cost them a division title, but they still managed to make the playoffs. This year, with the arms that were added, Detroit is hoping to make sure that last year doesn’t happen again. Behind them are going to be the Royals, a team that’s going to be hanging around as a team on the verge of contention. There’s no doubt in Kansas City that Bobby Whitt is the face of the franchise. Vinnie Pasquantino has some big upside to him so long as he can stay consistent. Starting pitching leaves a little hanging for the Royals. They have serviceable starters sure. But not well enough to really put the team back into playoff contention just yet. Same argument can be said for the Guardians, even with them winning the division a season ago. Cleveland was under .500 at the end of last August and got hot down the final stretch. It was great that they did what they did to win the division, but the downside is they didn’t do much f anything to really improve this team. It seems, at least on paper, like it’s the exact same club. And with the talent that’s here, its still below the bar set by the two teams that are going to finish ahead of them this year.

Then we have the Twins. There are low expectations going into this season in Minnesota. Sure they have talent in the forms of Josh Bell and Byron Bbuxtoin, but how much more can you really get out of these guys if you going into a full rebuild. Pitching you got something with Joe Ryan, but he doesn’t really have another strong arm to support him. Taj Bradley might be able to but that’s a big ask. Finally, there’s the team that seems like its stuck in a permanent rebuild, that being the White Sox. Chicago has some pluses from this offseason in they shed payroll and signed the likes of Munetaka Murakami and Seranthony Dominguez. They have a little bit of talent that could be really worth building around, and should be a lot of fun to watch this season. But as far as them being a competitive baseball team this year, that’s not really in the cards this season for Chicago.

AL West:
1. Seattle Mariners 88-74*
2. Texas Rangers 85-77 (WC)*
3. Houston Astros 83-79
4. Athletics 74-88
5. Los Angeles Angels 69-93

For the second year in a row, the American League West is going to have to go through the Mariners. Seattle brought back Josh Naylor on a long deal after getting him in the middle of last year, and they brought in utility guy Brendan Donovan via trade. Both of those moves bolster an already good Seattle lineup. With the arms in the Mariners staff, this team very much has the potential to go very deep in the postseason again this year. Now you look at a team like the Rangers, injuries cost them a season ago. They had a great pitching staff in Texas last year, which has come back in full force again this season. Eovaldi and deGrom could both be solid again this season on the hill. What’s going to be a big test is the Rangers bats. Seager and Burger can produce. Its just a question of how well the rest of the guys around them can get on for the heart of their lineup. The only reason I haven’t put the Astros as possibly having a better record is because they aren’t getting any younger. Sure, Houston still has their stars, but Altuve, Walker and Correa don’t have many good years left. You could get some decent run production out of this Houston lineup, but at the same time, one has to wonder if that pitching staff is going to be able to keep up. They have some decent arms, sure, but not like what you looking at in the top tier of the division.

A team that could be on the rise soon would be the Athletics. The A’s have a guy in the heart of the lineup in Nick Kurtz who has all the talent in the world to be a big star and the best player on this team. He’s got solid talent around him in the form of guys like Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers. The A’s shouldn’t have a problem putting runs on the board. What’s going to be an issue is keeping runs off the board. Not from a defensive perspective, but it’s the pitching staff. Outside of Springs and Severino (if that) there’s not much to go off of. Bringing up the rear is going to be the Angels again this season. Mike Trout is on the back side of his career and he doesn’t have much help around him in said lineup. He’s got Soler, Lowe and Adell. But what else really is there for support. Same thing with pitching, there’s not much to go off of yet.

National League:
NL East:
1. Philadelphia Phillies 87-75*
\2. New York Mets 86-76 (WC)*
3. Atlanta Braves 86-76 (WC)*
4. Miami Marlins 75-87
5. Washington Nationals 66-96

For the third year in a row the NL East title will go through the Phillies, but it will be close. Philadelphia still has a solid lineup with Harper, Schwarber and Bohm right in the middle of it. It’s running it back with the same crew from last year, and hoping that Adolis Garcia can get some of his mojo back. The team isn’t getting any younger, but they still have enough talent to make it at least one more good run left in them, both at the plate and on the hill. Behind them is a Mets team that’s going to try and get the sour taste out of it’s mouth from a season ago. Alonso, McNeil, Diaz and Nimmo all gone from last year. New York Replaced them with Polanco, Bichette, Robert Jr and Semien. New York is hoping that Soto and Lindor can also keep up their pace as place setters to get the Mets back on the right track. What’s going to be a big help is adding Freddy Peralta to that starting rotation, which if all goes well, could be one of the best staffs in the game. Another team that’s going to make noise again this year is going to be the Braves. Atlanta is going to have a hiccup with Profar being out for the year cause of the suspension and the injury to start the year for Kim. On paper, the rest of the Atlanta lineup can put runs on the board, and they have good pitching with Sale and Streider. But not having Schwellembach at the start of the year is going to hurt them a little.

Now we go down to the lower half of the division with the Marlins. Kyle Stowers show some promise as to being the heart of this Miami club on offense. If the team can get a few more pieces to really be able to build around him they could have something. Behind Sandy Alcantra, the arms in the Miami rotation leave something to be desired. Finally there’s the Nationals, who once again will be at the bottom of the division. C.J Abrams maybe out before the summer is over and Washington is staring at another at least 90 loss season this year. Just looking at what the team has, at least on paper, there’s not much if at all to start getting excited about.

NL Central:
1. Chicago Cubs 88-74*
2. Milwaukee Brewers 84-78 (WC)*
3. Pittsburgh Pirates 81-81
4. Cincinnati Reds 81-81
5. St. Louis Cardinals 74-88

This is the year Cubs rip away the central division title for themselves for the first time since 2020. Chicago got better adding Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrerra in the offseason. Those guys join a lineup that has guys like Crow-Armstrong, Happ and Suzuki among others. Starting pitching seems decent, but at least on paper doesn’t seem like they are going to blow anybody out of the water here. Looking at this Chicago team, they are good enough for a solid playoff run, but it won’t be good enough to go all the way. Right behind them are going to be the Brewers, who’ve won three in a row and four of the last five division titles. Milwaukee took a bit of a hit with Freddy Peralta no longer on that staff. Jacob Misiorowski has potential to take over that void, but there’s no promise of that. Milwaukee still has the bats to be able to push runs across the plate. Yelich, Contrreras and Vaugh are going to power the heart of this lineup. The team is good enough to get back into the playoffs as a wild card team, but it won’t go on that deep a run. A team to watch out for in this division is going to be the Pirates. Pittsburgh has a fantastic star on the hill in the form of Paul Skenes, and a hot prospect in Bubba Chandler. Pitching could be really something to build around for some time in the steel city. And the Pittsburgh offense got a good boost adding guys like O’Hearn, Ozuna and Lowe. Having those guys helping out Bryan Reynolds in the middle of that lineup means that the Pirates could make some noise.

A team that could take a step back from last year would be the Reds. Sure, Cincinnati went on a surprise run last year, but lightning won’t strike twice this year. Sure they got talent in the lineup to build around with Elly De La Cruz and a returning Eugenio Suarez. But there still seems to be a few gaps in that lineup. Same thing for the Reds pitching staff. Doesn’t leave much to be desired. Bringing up the rear in this division is going to be the Cardinals. St Louis has one of the youngest teams in the game, and with names like JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Masyn Winn, and Matthew Liberatore that could be good down the line. It leaves hope for the future in St Louis, but it’s not for a deep run this year.

NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers 100-62*
2. Arizona Diamondbacks 83-79
3. San Diego Padres 82-80
4. San Francisco Giants 81-81
5. Colorado Rockies 60-102

Another year of dominance out of the West for the Dodgers. There’s not much to really dive into details with Los Angeles, because they are the defending world champions and have the most balanced lineup in baseball. When you have the best player in the game in Ohtani there, you going to be tough to beat. Oh yeah, and Ohtani is going to be back on the hill this year after coming off Tommy John. Nobody in the West, or most of baseball for that matter, is really going to be able to touch the Dodgers. The closest team that is going to come into contention in the West would be the Diamondbacks. Injuries to Corbin Burnes and Merrill Kelly are holding Arizona back from really being a threat in the West. The pitching staff and bats are still decent for Arizona. Bringing Arenado into the mix adds some leadership t the lineup that have Marte and Carroll in it means they could make some noise. But given how top heavy this division is, its going to be tough. Then there’s the Padres, who have the potential to finally get a winning record. San Diego is going to be powered by the heart of it’s lineup with Tatis and Machado. They got some solid hitters, for sure. But it’s the pitching that leaves me wondering. Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove can give you solid outings, but that’s about it.

Now we got a team that will be lucky to finish around .500 in the form of the Giants. San Francisco has the best overall hitter in the game at the top of their lineup in Luis Arraez. And they have guys who can drive in runs in the form of Adames and Chapman. But there’s still a bit of depth issues for the Giants that could hold them back. The same goes for the pitching staff. Right behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, there isn’t much to really go behind in the Giants staff. Finally, we have the worst team in baseball in the Rockies. Outside of Mickey Moniak and Hunter Goodman, there’s no solid hitters in the Colorado lineup. They did nothing really to try and improve itself from a season ago and that was one of the worst in baseball history. Colorado may get a couple more wins this year than last, but its not going to be much. It’s going to be a long summer in the mile high city.

Let The Madness Begin!

It's here, the time is now. March Madness! The NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament has arrived. Thirty-One conferences are represented by sixty-eight schools. All fighting for the right to be called the best team in college basketball for the 2025-26 season. The next three weeks are turning into the craziest three weeks on the sports calendar. It’s time to determine a national champion in college hoops!

There’s a lot to take in for the teams in this year’s tournament. All thirty-one conferences in the NCAA are represented here. Eight of those conferences have more than one school in the dance: MAC (2), Atlantic 10 (2), WCC (3), Big East (3), Big 12 (8), ACC (8), Big Ten (9) and the SEC (10). We have two schools this year that are making their first ever appearance in the tournament, that being California Baptist and Queens. We’ve got Tennessee State (1994), Santa Clara (1996), and Idaho (1990) making their first tournament appearances in this century. And then there’s Hofstra (2001) and Miami of Ohio (2007), the only other schools who haven’t played in the dance in the last 15 years.

The four top seeds in this year’s dance are Duke, Michigan, Florida and Arizona. If history is any indication, there’s a good chance we are going to see at least one of these schools in the final four. There’s only been four instances in the history of the tournament where we’ve had none of the top seeds there: 1980, 2006, 2011 and 2023. And in two instances have all four top seeds reached the final four: 2025 (Auburn, Florida, Duke and Houston) and 2008 (North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA).

The big question is who’s going to be the big Cinderella team this year? Keep an eye on a few teams. Like the Miami RedHawks. They sit as an 11 seed in the Midwest and come into the tournament at a 31-1 record on the year. The only team to beat them this year was an upset loss at the start of the MAC tournament to UMASS. They are one of the six schools in the dance that have 30 or more wins on the year, and are the 2nd lowest ranked school in the tournament. Only team ranked lower is High Point at 12 in the West (they went 30-4 on the year).

Another team I’d consider a “Cinderella” team this year would be UCLA. Yes, it may seem a bit odd to have UCLA listed that way, considering that they are a big name basketball school. But as a seven seed this year, they come into the dance at 23-11. They lost to Purdue in the finals of the Big Ten tournament, and they have struggled during the year against ranked opponents as the year went along. I don’t know I just have this feeling that if they can find a groove they are going to be a tough team to play against.

Lets go dancing shall we!

Thank You Mike

In the fifty one year history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they had quite a few good offensive players. Mike Allstott, Warrick Dunn, James Wilder, Kevin House, Brad Johnson, Tom Brady. We could go on and on. There’s one name, however, that will always and forever be at the top of that offensive player list. Mike Evans. Ever since he was taken with the 7th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Evans has been an impact player on this team. That is sadly no more.

Mike hasn’t retired. He just no longer plays here in Tampa Bay. He hit free agency and signed a deal with the San Francisco 49ers yesterday. The deal is for three years and $60.4 million, $16.3 million of which is guaranteed.

Why Evans decided to leave Tampa is up to interpretation. A small part of me wants to believe he wanted to stay here in Tampa. I don’t think money was an issue. I think the Bucs made him a solid offer that was close to, or grater than, what he ended up signing for with the 49ers. Don’t know exactly what was offered by the Bucs to Mike, so I don’t think it was the money that kept him away. There’s more to it and its been floating around as to why.

Tampa has changed offensive coordinators (again). Josh Gizzard is out and Zac Robinson is in calling the plays. Having changed coordinators that many times the last few years has got to be frustrating. Plus it might not have helped the fact that the team collapsed as badly as it did as last season went along. Mike wanted another shot at a title, and he must have felt that he wasn’t going to get that kind of shot in Tampa this season. San Francisco has gone on good playoff runs in five of the last seven seasons.

No matter what happens the rest of his career, Mike will go down as the best offensive player that has ever worn a Buccaneer uniform. Mike’s name is all over the Bucs offensive record books, including most yards in a season (1,524) touchdowns in a season (14), yards in a career (13,052), touchdowns in a career (108), catches (866). Oh, and Mike is one of just 10 players in league history with at least 13,000 receiving yards and 100 receiving touchdowns, along with Pro Football Hall of Famers Rice, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Tony Gonzalez, Marvin Harrison Sr., Steve Largent, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Larry Fitzgerald. We could keep going.

It is the end of an era in Tampa Bay. Thanks for the memories Mike and good luck in San Francisco!

Winners & Losers Trade Deadline

When the trade deadline comes around, in any sport, it means one of two things. Either you’re trying to get better for your playoff push, or you’re shedding talent in a fire sale. What happened coming out of the NHL trade deadline is no different. There’s teams that came out of the deadline that got better, while there’s other teams look like they are taking steps backwards. Will the deals actually work out? Only time will really be able to tell. But for now, after taking some time to be able to digest some of the moves, here’s some of the biggest winners and losers out of the trade deadline.

Winner: Colorado Avalanche
Seems like the rich get richer in a sense. The best team in the entire league actually managed to get that much better. Colorado brought back Nazem Kadri and added in more depth down the middle with Nicolas Roy coming into the mix. One of the deepest teams in the game just got deeper. Colorado has the best odds for being the team to take it all this year, and what they did at the deadline helped them get that much better.

Winner: Minnesota Wild
Another team trying to make headlines at the deadline and even slightly before it is Minnesota. A lot of that, let’s be real, started in December, when the Wild added Quinn Hughes in a major deal with Vancouver. Then, as we got closer to the deadline, Vinnie Hinostroza got traded away to Florida. That’s OK, Minnesota added Jeff Petry in a deal, then brought in Nick Foligno. With the moves that the Wild have made, they are putting all their chips in for trying to chase down both Colorado and Dallas.

Winner: Anaheim Ducks 
As of this writing, the Ducks are sitting atop the Pacific Division, trying to hold off Vegas and Edmonton. The Ducks have a very good young team, that actually getting better. Sure, they moved Ryan Strome to Calgary for a pick. But the real bigtime move was sending two picks to Washington for John Carlson. That’s a huge move. Why? Because, even though the Ducks sit on top of the division, they have allowed more goals than they’ve scored (again as of this writing). So by bringing in a guy the talent of Carlson, it will in theory settle things down on that end of the ice and allow the young guys they have to fill the other net while keeping pucks out of theirs.

Losers: Toronto Maple Leafs
The team that was supposed to be good has taken steps backwards. Anybody knew it was going to be a step backward when Marner left for Vegas. It’s Toronto there’s always going to be high expectations, even with him leaving in the summer. But the Leafs have had a total fall off this year, falling to second to last place in the division (as of this writing). Because of that, it has lead to Toronto dumping off talent. Roy to Colorado for picks, Bobbly McMann to Seattle for picks, Scott Laughton to LA for a pick. Sure the Leafs are stocking draft capital but it’s really not helping their cause in the here and now.

Losers: Buffalo Sabres
Yes it seems strange putting Buffalo in this position, considering where they are in the standings. At the time of this writing, they are on a six game winning streak and have a chance at ending the long playoff drought. So why are they here? Because the management wasn’t able to do anything to improve the team. It’s not to say that they didn’t try. They looked at Colton Parayko and Luke Scheen, nothing happened out of either one. Buffalo had a real shot at trying to make improvements, but it never came to pass. This could turn out have been a massive missed opportunity.

Losers: Washington Capitals
This is a team that’s knocking on the door of a playoff spot. They sit six points back as of now and looked like they could be making moves. But then they make the deals they made. John Carlson traded to the Ducks, Nic Dowd sent to Vegas. Sure they got draft picks back in return, but if they wanted to have even a remote chance of making it to the post season, that may have gone right out the window. The team isn’t getting any younger and by the looks of it, management maybe closing the window on a title faster than expected.

As Good As Gold

Forty Six years is a long time to wait. The last time that the United States won an Olympic gold was the Miracle On Ice squad in 1980. Since then, there have been a couple of close calls. 2002 in Salt Lake City, 2010 in Vancouver. That’s as close as America has gotten to gold in Men’s hockey. Until now! Thanks to the heroics of Jack Hughes, the US has won its 3rd ever Gold Medal in Men’s Hockey!

There’s a lot to unpack from this game, from both sides. From the American side, there was a lot of emotion pouring out from this one. For one, the US has always been kind of seen as the little brother compared to Canada when it comes to hockey. Always seem like the potential is there, but the results against their neighbors to the north have never panned out. This game just felt different as it wore on. It felt like the US had something else to prove. Sure, there was times during the game where Canada dominated the play. The Americans had the answer, thanks to the brilliant play between the pipes of Conor Hellebuyck. He had to stand on his head multiple times, including a massive save on Conor McDavid, who had a breakaway that was stoned.

Then there’s the hero of the day in Jack Hughes. He took a stick up in the face late in the game, that cost him a couple teeth. Didn’t matter to Jack, who came back and scored the OT winner. All of this went down with two big points of emotion flowing out. First was the date of the game, February 22nd. The reason that date is so important, at least in hockey circles, is that on that date in 1980, the miracle happened. The US knocked off the mighty Soviet Union in the Lake Placid Olympics, which is widely considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game of hockey.

The other point of emotion for this contest was that the Americans were playing for Johnny. Johnny Gaudreau was a big star in the NHL, playing for the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets. Two years ago, during the prime of his career, he was killed by a drunk driver. Many believed that had he still be alive, he would have been a big star for this Olympic squad. When the game ended, a lot of the US players skated around the rink with Johnny’s jersey, symbolizing that he was there with them. It really was something to tug at the heart strings.

There’s also going to be quite a few questions from the other side of this coin as well. And they are kind of connected to each other. The injury to Sidney Crosby was a factor for Canada. It’s no secret Sid is the best player in the world, although both Conor McDavid and Nathan MacKinninon are catching him quickly for that title. So having that kind of impact player be absent is for sure a factor. And that ties into the other factor, which was line juggling. Coach Jon Cooper was and is known for doing that here in Tampa when the Lightning offense is sputtering. He did that with his Canadian squad, trying to find the right mix to jumpstart his team. Didn’t quite work.

Of course, this begs the question, is this a full blown rivalry? There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind now. With the great battle they had during last years four nations tournament and now this, there’s never a doubt. This was also a way of the US for kind of getting back at Canada. They have met twice before in gold medal games. 2002 in Salt Lake, and 2010 in Vancouver. 2002 was Canada’s year, breaking a fifty year medal drought. 2010 was Canada winning on their home ice in Vancouver. Now it was the US’s chance at redemption, which they got in the most dramatic way possible. There’s always talk about it during the NHL regular season which country puts out the best players. This tournament shows that the balance of power on the international scale is starting to even out.

Between the Men’s and Women’s tournaments at these Olympic Winter Games, we hockey fans have gotten royally spoiled by the high level of play. Both USA vs Canada games with gold on the line, both going to overtime, could not have been scripted any better!

Rivalry Renewed For Gold

Here we go again. Thursday Afternoon, with the biggest prize in international hockey on the line between the two biggest powers in the women's ice hockey game. It's USA and Canada once again for Gold.

It's no surprise that the two biggest power in international hockey are the United State and Canada. They have been the biggest powers in hockey for as long as anybody can remember. It was shown to the whole wide world once women's hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998. And these two nations have won every gold medal at the Olympics since 98. There was one year when it wasn't USA-Canada for gold and that was in 2006, when Sweden upset the US in the semifinals.

This year has a different vibe going into the gold medal game. Canada went 3-0-0-1 in the tournament. The only loss was a 5-0 shutout loss to the Americans in the preliminary round. More on that in a second.  Canada scored 14 goals in the tourney, giving up just 6. It was a 4-0 over Switzerland, a 5-1 win over Czechia, a 5-0 win over Finland and that 5-0 loss to the US. Once the medal round started it was a 5-1 win over Germany and a 2-1 win over Switzerland.

As for the Americans, they rolled through this tournament with a perfect record, going 4-0 and outscoring opponents 20-1. The only goal the US gave up was one late in the 2nd period in their opener against Czechia. They won that game 5-1. America followed it up with a 5-0 win over Finland, another 5-0 win over Switzerland, a 5-0 win over Canada. Then in the medal round it was a 6-0 win over Italy and a 5-0 win over Sweden. 

Now to the game itself. The US has beaten Canada twice for gold, in 1998 and then again in 2018. This game is going to be another tight checking affair. The last three meetings for gold, they have been the same 3-2 score, so expect nothing different here. What might make a big difference in this game is Canada's best player, Marie-Philip Poulin, is back in there. She scored both goals for the Canadians to get them into the gold medal game. On the other side of the ice, Caroline Harvey has been powering the ship for the Americans. USA has a very balanced attack and they been getting scoring from every line in this tournament, which is going to make things a lot tougher for the Canadians to handle.

Whatever the final result turns out to be Thursday afternoon, its going to be one hell of a hockey game.

2026 NFL Honors

It was one of the biggest nights on the NFL calendar. NFL Honors! Right before the Super Bowl, the NFL honored the best of the best from the 2025 regular season. It was a collection of the best football players in the world and handing out the hardware of the guys who were head a shoulders above the rest during the regular season this year. So with that being said, here’s the full list of who won what at NFL Honors!

Art Rooney Award (outstanding sportsmanship on the playing field): Budda Baker Safety, Arizona Cardinals

Walter Payton Man of the Year: Bobby Wagner, Linebacker Washington Commanders

Jim Brown Award (NFL leading Rusher): James Cook, Buffalo Bills

Decon Jones Award (NFL Sack Leader): Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

Comeback Player of the Year: Christian McCaffery, Running Back San Francisco 49ers

Coach of the Year: Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots
Nothing against any of the other coaches who were nominated for this award, but lets be realistic here. This was really a one man race as the season went along. What Vrabel was able to do with this Patriots team. He had some level of success in Tennessee, but when he took the job in New England, he had a large task ahead of him. New England was a four win team last season. This year it was a 14-3 record and winning the AFC East. A ten win turnaround and a division title. There’s no way this wasn’t going to go to Vrabel.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Carson Schwesinger, Linebacker Cleveland Browns
Taking a chance on him in the 2nd round seemed to pay off in a big way for the Browns. When the injury bug started to take hold in Cleveland, Schwesinger stepped in and made an impact right away, almost running away with DROY this year. 2.5 sacks and 141 total tackles in 16 games this season. Eye popping numbers for an impact player in his first year. Offensive Rookie of the Year: Tetaiora McMillian, Wide Receiver Carolina Panthers When Carolina had their resurgence late in the year to make the playoffs, something nobody really expected them to do, this guy was a major reason for it. Finishing the year with 70 catches (7 of which went for touchdowns) and 1,014 receiving yards are good numbers. Really good actually, especially for a rookie. He made an impact right away for a young Carolina team that has something they could really work with in the passing game.

Defensive Player of the Year: Miles Garrett, Defensive End Cleveland Browns
There’s dominating seasons. Then there’s what Miles Garrett did for Cleveland this season. Garrett set the NFL single-season record for sacks with 23 this year. And it wasn’t just that. It was 60 total tackles and being such a threat and dominating force on the Browns line that he was a major disruption point for opposing offenses. Opposing teams could have had a game plan in place, and it all went right out the window when having to deal with Garrett this season. He was that dominating and then some this year.

Offensive Player of the Year: Jaxon Smith-Nijgba, Wide Receiver Seattle Seahawks
For the first time since 2005 (Shaun Alexander), a Seattle player won offensive player of the year. It was a close race between Smith-Nijgba and Christian McCaffery of the 49ers. But finishing the year as the NFL top receiver (1,793 yards on 119 catches) pushed him over the edge to win this award. Catches put him 4th in the league this year, but leading the entire league in receiving yards, and getting it done with Sam Darnold at QB is a major statement. Nothing against Sam Darnold who is a fine QB. But Smith-Nijgba was that dominating a force in the Seattle pass attack. No matter what defense was thrown at him, he was able to gain the yards to help that Seattle offense to keep moving forward and walk away with a 14-3 record and an NFC West title.

MVP: Matthew Stafford, Quarterback Los Angeles Rams
In one of the closest MVP races in recent memory, Stafford just barely beat out Drake Maye of the Patriots for the honors. Not to take away anything Maye did in New England, he had an outstanding year and has nothing to be ashamed of. Stafford had just put up slightly better numbers that lead him to walking away with the award. But if we are being honest here, the award could have gone to either guy and there would have been no complaints from anybody.

So what do you think? Did the right guys walk away with the right awards at NFL Honors?