Problem In Queens

If you're a fan of the New York Mets, now might be a good time to start showing some level of concern. Following last nights 4-0 shutout loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles, the Mets have been shut out for the 2nd day in a row and currently sit at a 7-10 record in this early season. But that’s where we are starting to see some signs and reason for showing concern with this ball club.

This Mets team is one of flux and frustration. It was a team last year who had one of the biggest collapse in not only baseball history, but sports history. By late July last year, they were 18 games above .500 and well secure in a playoff spot. By the last weekend in September, they had fallen out of the playoffs, finishing just four games above .500. Reason for the fault and falling from grace a season ago was bad pitching the second half of the year. Due to this, there were a lot of offseason moves that were made to try and improve the pitching staff, and retool the batting order.

Well, at least at the start of the season, the pitching staff has looked decent. Now we aren’t saying that this pitching staff has set the world on fire at the beginning of this season. At the same time, they do look like they have, at least at the time of this writing, that they have settled in and could be a solid staff as the year goes along. Sure, David Peterson is getting lit up in his first four starts, having an ERA at 6.41. Kodai Senga is also struggling to start the year, with an ERA over 7. The other starters, mostly Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes, have pitched very well. The pitching staff has shown some signs of not doing very well, but for the most part, the staff has been solid. What really worries me is the offense with this team. Through the first 17 games, the team is hitting .230, which is 17th in baseball, they’ve scored 62 runs which is 25th in baseball, and their 13 home runs is tied for 22nd. Of their everyday regulars, not including Juan Soto who’s out hurt as of this writing, two guys are hitting about .275. That being Francisco Alvarez and Luis Robert Jr who are both hitting over .300. Nobody else is hitting above .250, which is getting frustrating.

Yes, we know its still early in the season. We are only three weeks, almost, into the year, so there’s still a lot of baseball left. But there is a problem that’s starting to grow more and more. Currently, they’re riding a six game losing streak, one in which they’ve been outscored 29-9. It’s like they might have left their bats in San Francisco. Nothing seems to be going right. A lot of the issues fall right now on the offense going AWOL. And the team needs to get it figured out quickly. Again, sure there’s still a lot of baseball left to be played. But if the team doesn’t start finding its game and fast, they could bury themselves too deep into a hole to dig out for a playoff run late in the year. No, you can’t clinch a playoff spot in April. At the same time you could also play yourself right out of contention early on as well.

There is still reason to hold out optimism for this baseball team as we near the heart of April. But the way things have gone the last week in New York, things aren’t looking all that good and its starting to cause quite a bit of worry.

Big Changes On Long Island

You know things are getting bad for the New York Islanders when they have to make a change this late in the season. At one point the Islanders were riding high and looked like they’d be sitting comfortably to make the playoffs. Now, they have hit the skids. A four game losing streak and losing seven of the last ten games has caused a major change. Patrick Roy was relieved of his duties as the team head coach, being replaced by longtime NHL coach Peter DeBoer.

There’s a lot to unpack with all of this. This isn’t the first time that a coaching change has been made this late in the season for a team that could be bound for the playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights already did that this year, replacing Bruce Cassidy with John Tortorella. Vegas is sitting in 3rd in the Pacific Division at the time of the move and this writing. It happened in 2000 with the New Jersey Devils when they fired Robbie Ftorek with nine games remaining, replacing him with Larry Robinson. The Devils went on to win the Cup that year, and that’s a very different situation and team than what both the Islanders and Vegas have right now.

Now then, as for the Islanders with Roy out and DeBoer coming in. Roy came in mid season in 2024, replacing Lane Lambert as the Isles head coach. He lasted on Long Island parts of three seasons. When he took over in 2024 he helped guide the Islanders into the playoffs, where they got bounced by Carolina in the first round. Then last year, in a full season, the Islanders finished at .500, with a 35-35-12 record and missed the playoffs. This year, at the time of his firing, he was 42-31-5 and in 4th in the Metropolitan Division and outside of the playoffs at the time of this writing. He finished his tenure with the Islanders having a record of 97-78-22 in 197 games coached.

Now the big question, why make the move this late? The eye test tells you everything you need to know. Sure, injuries have taken their tole this late in the year. Kyle Palmari and Alex Ramonav being out for most of the year has played a factor. And we can add in some of the questionable moves by new GM Mathieu Darche late in the year as a factor as well. Let’s be realistic Brayden Schenn and Ondrej Palat haven’t really been living up to expectations up from and Carson Soucy hasn’t been as good on the back end, but that’s another argument for another time. The last couple of games, the entire Islanders team has looked lost and played uninspired hockey. They are playing flat, missing assignments in their defensive end and getting no real offensive pressure at the other end of the ice. It’s tough to watch. Now sure, you can’t replace the players, that’s not possible. But Roy seemed to lose the team in that no matter what he did, he wasn’t able to get them motivated to play better and actually show up on the ice.

Maybe management is hoping for something better with Peter DeBoer taking over. This is the 6th coaching job DeBoer has had in the NHL, having coached with the Panthers, Devils, Sharks, Golden Knights and Stars. He’s only missed the playoffs 5 times during his coaching career. But this is coming into a different situation. He’s taking over a team that has four games left, and at time of this writing is sitting a point out of not only the final wild card spot in the East, but 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division. Getting second in the division is a lot harder to be able to catch. But 3rd in the division and the final wild card spot are still a possibility. A lot still has to fall right for the Islanders to even have a chance at playing hockey come playoffs. First things first, they basically have to either win out or get points in every one of their final four games. Last four games are all at home to end the season, hosting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Carolina. They also need help from the Flyers and even a team they play in the Senators losing down the stretch.

There’s a lot of factors in play as to whether or not the Islanders get in. Maybe this coaching change will help get them over the hump. Or maybe its too little too late.

Youth Movement in San Jose

Scoring one hundred points in a season in the NHL isn’t an easy thing to do. In fact, there are a grand total of 127 different players that have hit that mark in a single season. Collectively, those 127 players have done that 318 times. Six times in league history, players have hit that magic number in their teenage years. The latest member of that list is Macklin Celebrini who passed the mark last night in the Sharks 5-4 win over the Blues.

Celebrini now stands at 101 points (and counting), and he joins some pretty elite company in both league and San Jose Sharks history. He joins Sidney Crosby (2006 and 2007), Wayne Gretzky (1980), Jimmy Carson (1988), Mario Lemieux (1985) and Dale Hawerchuk (1982) as the only teenagers to hit the century mark in a single season. Celebrini also Joins Erik Karlsson (101 points in 2022-23) and Joe Thornton (114 points in 2006-07) as the only players to record 100 or more points in a season as member of the Sharks. The numbers that Celebrini has put up this year are eye popping for a couple reasons. One, he’s still a teenager. As of this writing, Celebrini is 19 years and 219 days old. He’s got a LOT of good years ahead of him to go. He put up solid numbers as an 18 year old, scoring 25 goals and 38 assists for 63 points in 70 games his first year. This year in two more games, he’s got as many assists as he did total points last year. At time of writing, he’s played 72 games, scoring 38 goals and 63 assists for those 101 points.

The kid can pretty much do it all for the Sharks, at least offensively. Great skater, excellent vision and quick hands. He sees the ice so well and can get to the open space better than most. He is quickly becoming the face of the franchise out in San Jose. The Sharks have had some pretty good players wearing their sweaters in team history. Owen Nolan, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski all come to mind when people think of Sharks greats. By the time all is said and done with this kids career, Celebrini will not only be up there but he could even pass them.

Now if San Jose can get the right pieces around this kid in the coming years, San Jose could be really, really good

1K For The Great Eight

Over the storied history of the National Hockey League there have been some great goal scorers that have graced its ice. Guys like Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Mike Bossy, Phil Esposito, Brett Hull, Bobby Hull, Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe. The list goes on and on. There will, always and forever, be two names that stand atop the list. Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin. Over the weekend, Ovechkin joined Gretzky as the only two men in the history of the sport to score 1,000 career goals between the regular season and the playoffs.

The record goal for Ovechkin came in typical fashion. It came from his spot late in the 3rd period of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. It was his 26th goal of the year, his 21st in the NHL. It now, as of this writing, gives him 923 goals in the regular season. Throw in his 77 career playoff goals, and he’s at the magical 1,000 career mark. Wayne Gretzky finished his career with 894 regular season goals, and another 122 in the playoffs, giving him 1,016.

Gretzky’s records and legacy will forever speak for itself. What Ovechkin is doing is at a level all by itself. Gretzky is the greatest playmaker and all around offensive player the game of hockey has ever seen. Ovie is the greatest pure goal scorer ever. That’s not to take away from his playmaking abilities. Ovechkin has 753 assists and 1,676 regular seas points as of this writing. He also has 70 assists and 147 points in 151 career playoff games. So his playmaking ability is there, but its not as pronounced as Gretzky’s. What Ovechkin did was score goals. Wayne did too, and he did it very well in the 80s. But that was at times overshadowed by his assist totals and playmaking skills. Ovechkin just buries the puck. And he got the goal totals, and trophies, to prove it.

Ovechkin has won the Rocket Richard trophy, which is given each year to the league’s leading goal scorer, a record nine times. He’s also been runner up for that trophy one other time in his career. He holds the league record for the most 40 goal seasons with thirteen, and he’s tied with Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the most 50 goal seasons with nine. Ovechkin is also the only player in league history to have tallied 200 or more goals in three different decades. He scored 245 goals in the 2000s, 437 in the 2010s and 213 (and counting) in the 2020s. We could keep going on and on with how many goal scoring marks he has, and we probably will when Ovechkin finally hangs up his skates.

There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that Ovechkin will be a total lock for the Hall of Fame when he’s done and it’s a first ballot election at that. He will also go into the books as the greatest goal scorer that this sport has and will ever see. It’s going to take one hell of a hockey player to come along and come close to doing anything close to what The Great Eight has done. Congratulations Alex on hitting the 1,000 career goal mark!

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!