Welcome to Edition #3 of Greg’s Garage wherein I have again cleared out my mental sports garage to share with you my thoughts on various topics in the sporting world.
- Does ESPN ever talk about anything besides Lebron, Aaron Rodgers and Tim Tebow? There are other sports & athletes out there to talk about!
- Such as Panthers’ goalie Spencer Knight. It was quite the playoff debut he put on last night in the Cats 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers are still down 2 games to 3, but Knight’s performance gives Panthers fans a reason for hope.
- Speaking of Tebow, can someone explain to me the national media’s fascination with him? A great college quarterback and human being for sure, but he was never projected to be much of an NFL player, and he didn’t do much as a minor league baseball player. He’s now 33 years old and trying to make an NFL comeback as a tight-end 9 years after playing his last down in the NFL. So why all the hoopla?
- The Miami Marlins may only be 23-24, but they can’t blame the starting pitching. Trevor Rogers has an ERA of 1.75 while Pablo Lopez sits at 2.73, Sandy Alcantara at 3.63 and Cody Poteet in his 3 starts has a 1.06 ERA. The offense on the other hand is 15th in on base %, 13th in homeruns and 11th in runs scored.
- Last week I stated that playing quarterback is the toughest position in sports to play considering the required high level of intelligence and athletic skill. Is being a hockey goalie the 2nd toughest as they have to stop pucks travelling at 100 MPH while at the same time trying to locate the puck as it travels through a myriad of bodies?
- Things don’t look good for the Heat after a Game 2 blowout loss in Milwaukee, but I wouldn’t count them out. They are a mentally tough bunch and I expect them to come out strong in game 3.
- The most disappointing team in the NBA this season? Without a doubt it was the Boston Celtics. After a 36-36 regular season record, they are looking at a likely sweep at the hands of the Nets in the 1st round of the playoffs. Changes will be coming to Beantown in the offseason, but GM Danny Ainge and Head Coach Brad Stevens will be around for at least 1 more season.
- The Phoenix Suns had the 2nd best record in the NBA this season. Their reward? A 1st round match-up with the defending NBA champs the Los Angeles Lakers. Well, you have to play them sometime if you want to get to the NBA Finals, so you might as well get them early when Lebron and Antonio Davis may not be 100% healthy.
- June 1st is a key date in the NFL as players who are traded or released can have any dead cap space split between the 2021 and 2022 seasons. I say Rodgers stays put in Green Bay, but look for the Falcons’ Julio Jones to get traded. Expect to see several veterans released for cap purposes.
- Is there a worst contract in hockey than the Panthers 7 year $70 million deal they signed with goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to 2 years ago? He may be a 2-time Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s best goalie, but he has been a major disappointment since joining the Cats. Spencer Knight is the Panthers future in goal and I would expect him to at least split time with Bobrovsky next season.
- I attended the Mets/Marlins game on Sunday at LoanDepot Park. Can anyone tell me why the roof was closed on a glorious sunny & 84-degree day? It was the quintessential weather day for a ball game that the other 29 MLB teams would kill for. There’s a lot to like about the stadium, but when the roof is closed it is like playing inside a shopping mall – dingy, cold and lacking atmosphere.
- I still don’t understand why hockey isn’t a more popular sport. It has a great combination of offense and defense and has the physicality Americans like. Heck, they even allow fighting.
- Mike Trout will be out for about 2 months with a calf injury. Still just 29, he is an 8 time All-Star, a 3-time MVP and the best player in baseball. Yet the injury barely caused a ripple in the sports world. If an NFL or NBA player of his caliber was going to be out for 2 months, it would be a never-ending story for the national media.
- I love the 1st round of the NBA and NHL playoffs as there is 4 games to watch almost every night for both leagues. My clicker finger certainly gets a workout and there is nothing better than NHL overtime playoff hockey!
- Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were reportedly seen kissing at a Miami gym. And I thought the national media was wasting its time writing & talking about Tim Tebow!
