Major Loss To Hockey World

These are never easy to write. The hockey world lost one of its most promising young stars late last week. Johnny Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, passed away near the end of the week, as both were killed in a tragic accident in New Jersey. They were riding their bikes just outside of Philadelphia on the eve of their sister's wedding when they were struck and killed by a drunk driver. Johnny was 31, Matthew just 29. 

What makes this even worse is that the driver of the car that took the two lives showed little remorse for what he did. Sean Higgins, the man who was driving the Jeep that killed the Gaudreau boys, said in his statement he was plastered. Worse still, he seemed more put out he had to stay in his holding cell longer on this holiday weekend than usual.

We hope that this somehow, in tragedy, shows as a symbol for things to come, that it could be turned into some kind of positive. Maybe, just maybe, it will be an example for people not to do something stupid like drinking and driving. Hopefully this will be a wakeup call to people who do decide to go out and indulge to make a smart choice and not drive home. Call a cab, uber, lyft, call a friend home. Something other than getting behind the wheel of a car.

As for the hockey world, this is a huge loss of not only an outstanding player, but equally outstanding a person as well. Gaudreau had a fantastic three year career at Boston College. It lead him to be a fourth round draft pick by the Calgary Flames in 2011. He then joined the Flames in 2013 and spent seven fantastic season in Western Canada. After his time in Calgary was done, he signed a big contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played two years in Ohio before the accident happened. He had talent that was off the charts and, even though he had two down years in Columbus by his standards, he still had the skills that could put him as a top 15 player in this game.

Away from he ice he was a devoted family man. Married with two children, Gaudreau has close to his family and loved them beyond words.

Condolences to the Gaudreau family in this dark time/

2024 Florida College Football

The time of year has arrived. Yes its the return of College Football. There are thirteen College programs in the state of Florida. When we think of D1 College Football, there are five that really come to mind out of this fine state. Florida, Florida State, Miami, UCF and USF.

Between the five school, there are sixty games played between the schools. They are playing some big games this season. Fifteen of the sixty games these teams play (including a few against each other) involve teams that are ranked in the AP's top 25 at the beginning of the season.

There's going to be a lot of intrigue and hype surrounding the bigtime teams in the Sunshine State this season. So with that being said, here's how we see the schools finishing up this season.

Miami: 8-4
Florida State: 6-6 
Florida: 7-5
UCF: 7-5
USF: 7-5

That's how we see it going down. What say you?

Legend Last Hurrah

IT'S A POWER PLAY GOAL! That's one of the more famous calls made by longtime New York Rangers television announcer Sam Rosen. Rosen began his career calling Rangers games during the 1984-85 season, taking over for Jim Gordon, and it's a job he's held ever since. That is until this season. The 2024-25 season, it was announced, will be Rosen's last as the voice of the Rangers. It's a good way to go out, as it will be his 40th season covering the club.

For somebody like me, as I'm sure is the case with most not only hockey fans but sports fans, there are few announcers that they closely associate with teams. Joe Bowen with the Leafs, Rick Jeanerette with the Sabres, Doc Emrick with the Devils, Jack Edwards with the Bruins, John Sterling with the Yankees, Gene Deckerhoff with the Buccaneers. The list goes on and on and they are connected to a franchise just as much as the players are. Many great sports moments for a team has that one person who's call is as famous as the play itself. That's what Sam Rosen was with the Rangers.

Its more to it than just his hockey work. Sam has done countless broadcasts on Fox covering the NFL for the network since 1996. So it shows just how much range he really has as a play by play man. He also spent time working for ESPN as well, calling events for that network from 1979 to 1988. The man has seen and done a lot in the broadcasting business. He's had a career that most of us broadcaster can only dream of having.

There's more than just scratching the surface what he's done in calling games, both in the local New York market but nationally as well. Sam has been the voice of a generation of hockey fans and has painted the word picture to what was happening on the field and the ice. His passion for his work was on display every single night over the last 39, soon to be 40, seasons. It can't be really accurately put into words what he's meant to the Rangers and the hockey world as a whole.

Hats off Sam to a great career and here's hoping for one more final great run for you!

Trouble In Paradise

If it's not one thing, it's another. Always seems like there's got to be something going on during Jets training camp. earlier in camp, it was a minor squabble between Garett Wilson and Aaron Rogers. But the bigger story is what's going on over the past few days with Haason Reddick.

Reddick was traded on April 1st by the Philadelphia Eagles to the Jets for a conditional draft pick. Reddick hasn't reported to camp, missing 21 days. He isn't happy with his contract situation and is requesting a trade. The Jets have fired back with the following statement (per ESPN):

"We have informed Haason that we will not trade him, that he is expected to be here with his teammates, and that he will continue to be fined per the CBA if he does not report," general manager Joe Douglas said in the statement. "Since the trade discussions back in March we have been clear, direct, and consistent with our position. Our focus will remain on the guys we have here as we prepare for the regular season."

With him missing time, Reddick has cost him $1.7 Million as of this writing. 

There had been some high expectations for the Jets defense. There's no denying the fact that Gang Green had one of the best defenses in all of football last season. They were expecting to get that much better by adding Reddick to that defensive line. But now that's getting tougher, as Reddick hasn't stepped a foot on the field at all for the Jets. Save for his physical the day he got traded to the team. He hasn't been seen inside the Jets facility since. The Jets have already made it public that they won't negotiate with a player unless he's in camp, and Reddick is nowhere to be found. 

Reddick's reasoning? He wants a new contract, one he feels he deserves after the numbers he's put up during his time in Philly.. He wanted to talk with the Jets when they traded for him, the team told him they were planning on extending him. But the team has said that they would do it either later in camp or at the end of the season.

Coming from a fans point of view, this is getting ridiculous. I know that the man wants to get paid, and there isn't anything wrong with getting paid what you feel you're worth. But at the same time, holding out like this isn't doing you any good. It's doing more harm than good. You want a new deal? Go out there and work your ass off for it, that's going to go a long way to getting you what you want. Holding out is doing the opposite. And its making it worst holding out while requesting a trade. It shows other teams, in my mind, that you gonna throw a bit of a hissy fit if you don't get your way. Things need to get resolved and quickly for all parties involved.

This, once again, feels like something that would happen to the Jets.

New Level Of Futility

In the annals of baseball, there have been some really great teams that have taken the field. At the other end of the spectrum, there are some really bad teams that have taken the field as well. The 1962 New York Mets, the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, the 1932 Boston Red Sox, the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates are just to name a few. We can add a new team to the list that maybe even worse than any of them. That would be the 2024 Chicago White Sox.

At the time of this writing, the White Sox are riding a 21 game losing streak. They haven't won a game since game one of a double header on July 10th. Currently the White Sox sit at 27-88. When the White Sox lost to the Pirates back on July 14th, it gave them their 71st loss of the season an MLB record for the most losses by a team as of the all star break.

The current 21 game losing streak the team is on ties the 1988 Baltimore Orioles for the longest such streak in the American League. The only team in the history of the game that's had a longer losing streak was the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who had a 23 game losing streak that season. Some of the numbers during this streak are really eye popping. Out of the 21 losses by the Sox, 16 of them have come by five or more runs. They are the lowest scoring team in the game, and they've also given up the most runs in the game.

There's been some bad baseball teams in the history of the sport. By the time the season is over, the White Sox could blow all of them right out of the water. Nobody on this team is hitting above .250, the leading hitter is Andrew Vaughn at .235.

This is a team that can't seem to do anything right. You knew it was going to be a bad year when the team won only 3 of its first 25 games. And this is just scratching the surface of bad when it comes to this White Sox club. It doesn't get easier dealing with the Angels, Giants, Mets, Red Sox and Padres still on the schedules over the final two months of the season. By the time all is said and done, they could pass the 1962 Mets for the worst team ever.