Another Big Night In The Bay

It seems like every time we turn around, Nikita Kucherov adds another milestone number to his career totals. Yesterday afternoon, in the Lightning 4-1 win over the Devils, Kucherov had a hand in all four goals. He scored once and added three assists. The point totals pushed him to over 100 on the season. He sits at 102 as of this writing.

It's the 4th time in his ten year career that he's hit the century mark in points in a season. He hit 100 in 2018, lead the league with 128 in 2019 and had 113 last year.

With hitting the century mark, he becomes the 5th active player in the league to have hit the 100 point mark in a season at least four times. The other guys are Sidney Crosby (six times) Conor McDavid (six times), Leon Draisaitl (four times) and Alex Ovechkin (four times).

He's the first player to hit the 100 point mark this season. He also did that in his Art Ross year in 2019. He joins a pretty elite list of guys who became the first player to hit the century mark multiple times in their career. The other guys are kind of good. The list includes Wayne Gretzky (nine times), Mario Lemieux (six times), Phil Esposito (six times), Conor McDavid (five times), Jaromir Jagr (four times), Guy Lafleur (three times), Sidney Crosby (twice) and Evgeni Malkin (twice).

Yes, we realize that's a lot of numbers to be throwing at you at once. But, believe me, it's helping to build a case here. As of this writing, the Lightning sit 5th in the Atlantic division with 69 points, just one back of Detroit. That's good enough to get them the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference as the last wild card spot. It's a seven point lead on the New Jersey Devils, the next closest team to them.

You take Nikita Kucherov out of the Tampa lineup, they aren't close to sniffing that last playoff spot. That's my point. The guy is the frontrunner for the Hart as league MVP this year (which would be the 2nd time in his career he's won it should he be able to snag the award). Sure you can also make an argument for Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche as well. Take MacKinnon out the Avs lineup, they fall well out of 3rd place in the Central division (where they currently sit). You can even make a case for Conor McDavid in Edmonton, has his play as of late has helped get the Oilers back into the playoff race in the West.

The biggest reason this sticks in my craw so much is that there are some people in the national hockey media that are pushing hard for Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs to take MVP. Not to take anything away from what Matthews is doing this year, as of now he's the leagues only 50 goal scorer. But you take hi m out of the Leafs lineup, they are still a talent heavy team and can still be a playoff team with him not there. You take Kucherov out in Tampa., the Bolts go nowhere.

Milestone Moment For Kane

Yes it feels weird to us too. Seeing Patrick Kane wearing anything other than a Blackhawks sweater. He spent a little time on Broadway last year, but now seems to have found himself comfortable in his new home in Detroit. Last night, in Detroit's overtime win over the Seattle Kraken, Kane recorded his 800th NHL assist. By doing so, Kane has added his name to some pretty rare company.

He becomes the 4th right wing in league history to record 800 or more assists. He joins Mark Recchi (956), Gordie Howe (1,049) and Jaromir Jagr (1,155). He also becomes just the 3rd American Born player to hit such a milestone, joining Phil Housley (894) and Mike Modano (813).

It's worth noting that when you look at the list of all time American scorers Brett Hull's name is at the top of the list. Hull played for the US on the international stage but is Canadian by birth.

So with Kane hitting 800 assists, its pretty obvious to all watching he's further cementing his place in the hall of fame. Both the US Hockey and the Hockey Hall of fame in Toronto. Kane has had a career that most players could only dream of. As of this article, he's 7th all time in goals at 460,3rd in assists with now 800, and 2nd in points (behind only Mike Modano) at 1,260.

If there was any doubt as to the greatness of the former Blackhawk, they have been put to bed in Detroit. He still has something left in the tank. It wasn't anywhere near as good as it was while in Chicago, but there are still some flashes of the talent here in Detroit. By the time all is said and done in Kane's career, he will come close to taking over Mike Modano as the greatest American  scorer to play in the NHL.

Congrats to Patrick Kane on hitting 800 career assists

Rivals Take It Outside

Lets take this outside. That's what the NHL is doing over the next two nights. And they doing it with two of its more fierce rivals. Coming to a nationwide audience from MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, we get the two Stadium Series games for this year. First up its the New Jersey Devils playing host to the Philadelphia Flyers. Then tomorrow afternoon the New York Islanders serve as the home team as they take on the New York Rangers.

Last time the event was held in the New York, Metro area was at Yankee Stadium in 2014. It was just between the three teams, the Islanders Rangers and Devils. Now we throwing the Flyers into this mix. So with that being said, lets take a look back at these two rivalries.

With the first game up tonight between the Devils and Flyers, there have been some wild nights between these two hockey clubs. Known as the Battle Of The Jersey Turnpike, it started out as a quite rivalry. After the Devils relocated from Denver in 1982, there wasn't much between the two teams other then proximity. New Jersey was still trying to find its footing in those parts. The rivalry with the Flyers didn't really start taking off until they had their first playoff meeting in 1995. New Jersey pulled off what was considered an upset beating the Flyers that year, and that planted the seed. They would go back and forth in the division over the next few years. By 2000, things had started to heat up.

This rivalry really took off during the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000. New Jersey had blown a lead in the division late in the season, with the Flyers passing them. They met in the conference finals and the tide turned there. All thanks to a Scott Stevens hit on Eric Lindros. We all know the hit. It pretty much started the beginning of the end for Lindros career, as he was not even close to the same player again after that hit. That hit took this rivalry to a whole different level.

There have been up and down moments for both of these franchises but they still find a way to be thorn in each other sides during the regular season, no matter where they are in the standings. Now they get to take it outdoors.

Same can be said for the Islanders and Rangers, who are taking this rivalry outside for the second time in history. First was in 2014 when the two teams met outdoors at Yankee Stadium. the Battle of New York all started when the Islanders came into the league with expansion in 1972 and were dropped into the same division as the Rangers. The Isles were looked as the little brother when they came into the league and didn't get respect from the boys from Broadway. But the Islanders found their footing and success quicker than expected and passed the Rangers, in a sense. But the rivalry really seemed to take off thanks to Denis Potvin's check on Ulf Nilsson, resulting in Nilsson breaking his ankle.

There have been many memorable games played between the two, a lot of which happened in the playoffs. The Islanders upset on JP Parise goal to get the Islanders their first playoff win in 1975. 1981 was memorable for the end to end rush made by Bob Bourne. 1984 the series was ended by Kenny Morrow with his overtime winner as the Islanders were making their drive for five. The last time the clubs actually met in the playoffs was 1994, a series which the Rangers swept on their way to a cup championship. 

The difference between the two is that the Flyers and Devils has been more of an equal rivalry over the years, in terms of batteling for playoff spots and division titles and what not. islanders and Rangers has been more of a locational rivalry. There's no denying that the rivalry has been fierce and produced some highly entertaining hockey over the years.

Taking it outside the next two days is going to make for some entertaining and must see TV.

Magic Night For Shaq

When it comes to the Orlando Magic, Shaq is one of the first players thought of with the franchise. Tuesday night, Shaq got one of the highest honors that a player can get. His number 32 was retired in Orlando. It's the first number to be retired by the Magic. Its the third time Shaq has had his number retired by a franchise, having his number retired previously by both the Lakers and Heat.

Shaq has had a number of first for the Orlando Magic. He was the first player to be taken as the number one overall pick by the Magic. He was the first Magic player to play in an All Star Game. He was the first player to win Rookie Of The Year in Orlando. He was also the first big time superstar to leave Orlando. Shaq joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, Elvin Hayes, Bob Lanier, Moses Malone, Earl Monroe, Dikembe Mutombo, Oscar Robertson, Nate Thurmond and Charles Barkley as the only players to have their number retired by multiple franchises.

Given some of the guys that Shaq played with in Orlando, guys like Nick Andersen and Penny Hardaway, it was a bit of a surprise that Shaq was the first one to get his jersey retired. It also took a long time to finally get it done. It was in the 35th season of Magic basketball that it finally happened. Shaq had a brief career in Orlando, playing his first four years in the league in Orlando. He really took off when he went to Los Angeles, but that doesn't diminish what he did here for Orlando. He was the first big superstar that the team had.

Shaq not only made a name for himself in Orlando, he help make the Magic a name brand as well. Him and Penny Hardaway really helped establish the Magic as a major brand in not only the NBA but in sports in general. Here's a perfect example of the kind of impact a guy like Shaq had on this Magic team. Orlando had only won 70 games over its first three seasons before Shaq arrived. His rookie year, the Magic made the playoffs and finished the year with a 41-41 record. They won 50 games and another playoff trip in year two. Year three was 57 wins and a trip to the NBA finals. His last year was a 60 win season, which is still the franchise record. That's the kind of impact Shaq had.

Congratulations to Shaq on having his number retired in Orlando.

NFL Honors

On the eve of the biggest game of the season for the NFL, they honored the best of the best. Right before Super Bow 58, the NFL announced the Hall of Fame class for 2024 as well as handing out the awards for the 2023 regular season. Its the one night on the football schedule where they honor the best in individual achievement in a great team sport.

Before we look at the individual awards, here's the full list of the Hall of Fame Class going in this upcoming August:

Dwight Freeney
Devin Hester
Andre Johnson
Julius Peppers
Patrick Willis
Randy Gradishar (senior)
Steve McMichael (senior)

Now then, here's the hardware that was handed out during NFL Honors.

Coach Of The Year: Kevin Stefanski Cleveland Browns
Tight group this year with a number of qualified candidates who could have walked away with the award this year. Look at what Dan Campbell was able to do in Detroit. Hell Stefanski even tied with Demeco Ryans, the head coach with Houston. The only reason Stefanski won it was because he got one more first place vote to be able to snag the award. And why not. He was able to get the Browns into the playoffs and with a winning record using FIVE different starting quarterbacks this season. Sure Ryans beat hom out in the playoffs, but again remember this is the regular season awards.

Offensive Rookie Of The Year: CJ Stroud Quarterback Houston Texans
Stroud is the first player in Texans history to claim offensive rookie of the year honors, and there have been a few good ones. The first year QB out of Ohio State set Texans rookie records for passing yards with 4.108 and touchdowns with 23 while leading them to a playoff spot. He also set an NFL record 1ith 191 consecutive passes to start a career without throwing an interception. The only player who came close to Stroud in the category was Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua.

Defensive Rookie of The Year: Will Anderson Jr, Defensive End Houston Texans.
Anderson becomes the 3rd Texans defensive player to walk away with the defensive Rookie of the Year honors, joining Bryan Cushing and DeMarco Ryans. Anderson just beat out Jalen Carter of the Eagles and Kobie Turner of the Rams, the only other guys to get first place votes. Anderson was a huge threat on the Texans defensive line.

Defensive Player of The Year: Miles Garrett Defensive End Cleveland Browns
Talk about another close race. it was between Garrett and TJ Watt of the Steelers. Yes Watt may have had more tackles and sacks this season, but no other defender struck more fear into the hearts of opposing offenses this year than Garrett did. Garrett caused havoc for the opposition in a way that no other defender did around the league this year

Offensive Player of The Year: Christian McCaffery, Running Back San Francisco 49ers
You could have made an argument for CeeDee Lamb in Dallas or Tyreek Hill in Miami. Sure, Tyreek and Cee Dee both had over 1,700 yards in receiving yards. but nobody was putting up the overall numbers of McCaffery. Ran for 1,459 yards and caught another 546 yards. Nobody had as many yards or had as much of an impact on a game as McCaffery did for the Niners offense.

MVP: Lamar Jackson, Quarterback Baltimore Ravens
For the 2nd time in his career, Jackson came home with MVP. He became the 11th player in league history to win multiple MVP awards. And he beat out some stiff competition to get the award this year. Guys like Dak Prescott, Christian McCaffery, Josh Allen (who got the only other first place vote) and Brock Purdy. Sure Dak and McCaffery may have had the better statistical years than Jackson did. but the eye test sticks out here more than anything and without Jackson in the Baltimore lineup, the Ravens don't finish the year as the top team in the AFC this season.

Title To Kanas City

This is starting to become a habit. For the 2nd year in a row and third time in the last five years, the Kansas City Chiefs are champions of the football world. Kansas City pulled out a thrilling 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers. It's the fourth super bowl win and sixth overall championship for the Chiefs.

And it seems like that's becoming a trend for Mahomes and the Chiefs. Fall behind ten points in the Super Bowl and then wake up and find your game. They were down 10-0 early in the 2nd and 10-3 at the half. They found a way to come back late in the 4th quarter and force overtime. It always seems like Mahomes plays better when he's in a ticked off mood.

Both teams played slightly sloppy football as the game went on. Mahomes threw a couple of bad passes, one of which was picked off. Christian McCaffery, who had 160 total yards for the 49ers, had a big fumble for San Francisco, which is rare for him to cough up a ball like he did. There was also the story of penalties on the day as well. It was a sloppy, penalty filled first half.

This marks just the second OT game in Super Bowl history, with the last one coming at Super Bowl 51 with New England beating Atlanta. This Super Bowl lasted 74 minutes 57 seconds of game time. Its the longest Super Bowl in history and 7th longest playoff game in NFL history.

Now then, this game leads to a couple of big questions. Does this make the Chiefs and Dynasty? Can we put Mahomes in the GOAT conversation?

When you think of great dynasties, there's a few that come to mind right away. New England Patriots from 2001-2018 are the first one people think of. Then there's the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1972-79. You have the Vince Lombardi led Green Bay Packers during the early 60s. You also have the San Francisco 49ers teams that ran from 1981 to 1994. This Kansas City team we've seen over the last five years can challenge these teams for that spot. They may come close to challenging the Cowboys teams from 1991 to 1995 for being a top five team on this dynasty list.

The Chiefs have now gone to and won two straight Super Bowls. They've won three in the last five years, only losing to the Buccaneers in 2020. Oh yeah, and they've also been to now six straight AFC title games as well.

As far as Mahomes goes, you can safely now put him in the argument for being a top ten QB all time. And he's only o28 years old, there's now doubt that when his careers over he's gonna be a top five all time QB. The performances he's put on in these kind of big games make it hard to bet against him come this time of year, Its also funny that people are getting tired of seeing him here in this kind of game. There's any easy solution to this issue for other teams around the league. Beat him in the playoffs. Easier said than done. But if you tired of seeing Mahomes here? Find a way to get the job done and beat the Chiefs.

Super Bowl 58 Preview

The time has finally arrived. Super Bow 58 is here! We started this back in September with 32 teams all fighting it out for the right to be here in Las Vegas this weekend. Now, we're down to the final two. One team looking to add its name to a new list of Dynasties. The other, trying to get back to a former level of glory, something it hasn't done in thirty years.

The San Francisco 49ers do battle with the Kansas City Chiefs for the biggest prize in all of football. San Francisco won the NFC west with a 12-5 record, which was best in the NFC. It got them a first round bye. They kicked off their playoffs with a divisional round win over the Green Bay Packers. They then followed it up by beating the Detroit Lions in the NFC title game to reach the Super Bowl. San Francisco is 5-2 lifetime in the Super Bow. As for Kansas City, they won the AFC West at 11-6, finishing 3rd in the conference. They opened up the playoffs with a wild card round win over the Miami Dolphins. They then went on to beat the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. They finally closed out the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game to reach the Super Bowl> Kansas City is 3-2 lifetime in the Super Bowl

This is a rematch of the game from 2020, which was won by Kansas City.

This year going to be much of the same as the last time these two teams met in the Super Bowl. its going to be a hard hitting, close affair. There's no doubt that the Niners have the edge in the run game. McCaffery has been better than Isiah Pacheco. So figure the Niners get the edge there. What's going to make the difference here is the play of the Quarterbacks.

Hey, give credit where its due for Brock Purdy. Nobody had him pegged as the one Mr. Irrelevant to be the one to get to the Super Bowl. But here we are. He's going up against a very experienced leader and starter in Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is the man in this matchup, at least among the QB's. No disrespect to Brock Purdy.

What's going to separate the teams on this Super Sunday is going to be the play of the defense. Edge here goes to the Chiefs who are going to be able to get more pressure on Purdy then the Niners will be able to on Mahomes. Even when the Niners can get pressure, Mahomes has the better ability to make plays out of nothing or scrambling around. That's going to be the difference maker in this game.

Pick: Chiefs 35, 49ers 27

Baseball Hall Makes Call

We have reached that time of the year. The Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2024 has been announced. Three guys have gotten the call they've been waiting for and are getting into the hall this year. Catcher Joe Maur, 1st Baseman Todd Helton and third baseman Adrian Beltre are getting induction into Cooperstown later this summer.

Lets start with the guys who got in. Joe Mauer got in on his first year on the ballot, having played his entire 15 year career in Minnesota. .306 lifetime hitter, three batting titles, AL MVP in 2009. Finished his career with 2,123 hits. Was never much in the way of the power department as the other two guys his going in with, but man could this guy hit. Never really drove in a high number of runs, as his career best was 96 the year he won MVP. He finished with 923 RBI in his career and managed to score 1,018 runs. He could do it all pretty much at the plate, and behind it too, for the Twins.

Next we have Todd Helton. Played his entire 17 year career i He also played in four all star games, was a five time gold glove winner and won four silver slugger awards.n Colorado, playing over one hundred games in all but three seasons. He finished his career playing in 2,247 games, collecting 2,519 hits, 369 home runs and 1,406 RBI and a .316 lifetime batting average. He had five straight seasons in the heart of his career with 100 or more RBI, seven straight 20 or more home runs, including six straight of 30 or more. Helton played in five all star games, won three gold gloves and four silver sluggers, as well as the NL batting title in 2000, the year he hit .372. With the exception of triples and steals, Helton holds every major offensive career record for the Rockies. The guy has been the face of the Rockies franchise since coming into the league and carried that team at times. He's going to go down in the books as the best player Colorado ever had. It was Helton's sixth try getting into the Hall.

Finally, getting in on his first year on the ballot, was third baseman Adrian Beltre. Beltre played 21 years in the Majors, split between Texas (8 years), Los Angeles (7 years), Seattle (5 years) and Boston (1 year). He played in 2,933 games, collecting 3,166 hits, 477 home runs and 1,707 RBIs. He finished his career as a .286 lifetime hitter. Beltre is considered one of the great power hitters to ever swing from 3rd base. Man could he hit. In the field, he may not have had the most orthodox playing style, but he was good enough to win five gold gloves in his career.

Of note of guys that are now off the ballot next year is Garry Sheffield, who failed to reach the 75% needed for induction on his final year on there. The only other first year guys to stay on the ballot for next year were Chase Utley and David Wright. The biggest name to headline the first year eligible next year is Ichiro.