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NBA, Tanner Horelick

Wednesday’s NBA Matchup to Watch

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Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings

(11-3)                           (9-5)

Preview: Both of these teams are completely different in their style of play so far this season. For the Kings, they primarily rely on their offense as they score a respectable 103.1 PPG which is good for 9th in the NBA. On the defensive side though, they allow 100 PPG for 17th in the NBA. The Rockets, however, are a heavy defensive team and give up only 91.7 PPG which is 2nd in the league only below the defending champs San Antonio. On the other hand, just like Sacramento, they are weak on the other side of their game and score only 96.7 PPG for 21st in the league. Houston right now is tied for 3rd in the Western Conference and a win right here would put them ahead of the Trailblazers and in good position just 15 games into the season. Sacramento is in 7th place right now and would love to gain some ground as they are still just 3 games out of 1st. This conference right now is very tight and the winner of this matchup could help propel the team to a big win streak as we approach the quarter mark of the season.

Prediction: I think that the Kings will pull out a big win here as they are already on a 3 game win streak and have really looked good on the boards which could help lead them to victory as they grab the 3rd most rebounds per game with 45.8.

Points Per Game Leaders:

SAC – DeMarcus Cousins (23.1 PPG) HOU – James Harden (25.2 PPG)

Rebounds Per Game Leaders:

SAC – DeMarcus Cousins (12.3 RPG) HOU – Dwight Howard (11.3 RPG)

Assists Per Game Leaders:

SAC – Darren Collison (7.0 APG) HOU – James Harden (6.6 APG)

NBA, Tanner Horelick

Monday’s NBA Matchup to Watch

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Toronto Raptors vs Phoenix Suns

(11-2)                                (9-5)

Preview: These teams are both coming into this game on a four-game win streak and look to improve that as they face off in Toronto. The Raptors are up 1.5 games in the East for 1st place, ahead of the Wizards, while the Suns are 3 games out of first sitting in 7th place in a tough Western Conference. This is going to be a primarily offensive minded game as the Raptors score the 2nd most points per game and the Suns score the 4th most. DeMar DeRozan has looked really strong this year on the offensive end, 20 PPG, and if he is able to take over this game, it could be over really quick. However, the Phoenix bench has looked very strong and could outlast Toronto as the Suns tend to take Gerald Green and Isaiah Thomas, who combined for 39 points last game, off the bench and use them for their own advantage against the other teams’ reserves.

Prediction: I think that the Raptors will end up winning this game in a very high-scoring one, solely because the Suns allow the 23rd most points per game and their defense will be no match for a very strong Toronto offense.

Points Per Game Leaders:

TOR – DeMar DeRozan (20.0 PPG) PHX – Isaiah Thomas (15.4 PPG)

Rebounds Per Game Leaders:

TOR – Jonas Valanciunas (7.8 RPG) PHX – Miles Plumlee (6.5 RPG)

Assists Per Game Leaders:

TOR – Kyle Lowry (6.0 APG) PHX – Eric Bledsoe (5.5 APG)

NFL, Zachary D.

NFL Week 12

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This Sunday in the NFL there are a lot of good match-ups. Starting with the Lions (7-3) vs. Patriots (8-2). Both teams are in first place in their divisions and a win on Sunday will be important to sustain that position. Detroit has Green Bay closing in with a relaxed Packers team and for the Patriots they have a bigger cushion in the division, but it is very possible for Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins to jump close to the number 1 spot before the season ends. With one of the best defenses in the league, the Lions need to stop Gronk and the explosive Pats offense. As for the Pats defense, they have one mega problem in stopping Megatron. But they do have to be careful as Golden Tate can do a good amount of damage in the Lions offensive scheme. Next up Arizona (9-1) is facing off against Seattle (6-4). Division game. If the Seahawks can grab a W, then they can gain some ground on Bruce Arians’ red hot Cards. At 9-1 they are off to their best start in franchise history. The Cardinals have a very good defense and a good offense too. Even though Drew Stanton is new to the offense, he can still provide the team with a win as he has shown in the past. The Seahawks defense is going to have to make stops in order for them to win the game. And then they have to make it happen on the flip side. If Russell Wilson can hit targets and beast mode can do his thing, then the Seahawks are in business. For the last big matchup of the day we have is the Dolphins (6-4) vs. the Broncos (7-3). Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins are in good shape right now. In second place behind the Pats they have a shot. Ryan needs to throw for good yards and Lamar Miller needs to do some work on the ground, but it is very possible. With their top 5 defense, they stand a real chance against a banged up Broncos offense. With Emmanuel Sanders (concussion) and Julius Thomas (ankle) both probable, Peyton will have to utilize Jacob Tamme and Wes Welker. Demaryius is always a threat and Anderson is a threat in the backfield, so Brent Grimes and the Dolphins D will have to contain Peyton if they want to gain ground on the 8-2 Patriots. Honorable mention- Packers (7-3) going head-to-head with the Vikings (4-6). Division game for these teams. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers could easily get a win if their offense keeps putting up 50 points, but let’s be real, against a weak Vikings offense and defense, they’ll only need to put up maybe 28. But if the Vikings defense can step up and make Rodgers score more and force turnovers on D, then the Vikings could pull off the win.
Justin Galus, NHL

Saturday’s Hockey Matchup to Watch

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Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders

(13-3-2)                                  (13-6-0)

Preview: Penguins currently lead the Metropolitan Division and the Islanders are in second. Only 2 points behind, the Islanders have a chance to take the lead in the Division. By having a tie in the points column, it goes to the next category, Head to Head record. This category currently is 1-0, Islanders advantage after last night’s 5-4 shootout win. In the first round of the shootout Evgeni Malkin missed and John Tavares shot was saved. In the second round Sidney Crosby and Frans Nielsen both scored. In the third and final round, Brandon Sutter’s(Penguins) shot was saved and Kyle Okposo (Islanders) scored ending the shootout. Both teams will start their backup goalies to give their starters a break. Thomas Greiss will start for the Penguins and Jaroslav Halak will start for the Islanders. Halak was acquired from the Washington Capitals this offseason and has won his past five starts. According to an interview with Jack Capuano, Islanders Head Coach, conducted by NHL.com, Capuano said, “We want to play a little bit more ‘in your face.’ ”  In another interview with defensemen, Nick Leddy for the Islanders, conducted by NHL.com, he stated “We had the lead and gave that up”. Based on these two quotes, expect to see a hard fought physical game by the Islanders who want to close the game out and not let the Penguins have a chance to catch up. However, the Penguins are a well built team consisting of great players who will definitely give the Islanders a run for their money. This game will be a very exciting one to watch.

My Prediction: I predict that the Islanders will win because I feel they have more motivation and are more determined to take the lead in the Division from the long-lasting leaders of the Metropolitan, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Point Leaders:

PIT- Sidney Crosby (26) NYI- Brock Nelson (18)

Goal Leaders:

PIT- Patric Hornqvist (10) NYI- Brock Nelson (9)

Plus/Minus Leaders:

PIT- Christian Erhoff (12) NYI- Ryan Strome (8)

NFL, Zachary D.

Thursday’s Football Matchup

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Chiefs vs. Raiders Preview

The Kansas City Chiefs (7-3) are facing off against a terrible Oakland Raiders team (0-10). The Raiders have had a horrendous season with the worst start in franchise history. The loss against the  Chargers handed the Raiders their 16th straight loss. This team really needs more than an early first round pick if they want to start winning games. Anyways, they are matched up with a red hot Kansas City Chiefs team who are coming off their 5th straight win. After starting the year 0-2 they have bounced back to lose only one game since then. The Chiefs have one of, if not the best, pass rushing defenses in the league. With a big bodied Dontari Poe charging the QB and a solid linebacker corps, the Chiefs defense is nearly unstoppable. They don’t only have defense, the Chiefs have a decently good offense too. Alex Smith has been playing up to par, and Jamaal Charles is carrying the team. Charles has 7 TDs in the last 5 games, and has been one of the best RB in the league as of late. So to beat this hot Chiefs team, the Raiders will have to put on more than just their ‘A’ game.

Justin Galus, NHL

Thursday’s Hockey Matchup to Watch

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St. Louis Blues vs. Montreal Canadiens

(12-5-1)                    (14-5-1)

Preview: The St. Louis Blues have totaled 25 points so far this season and the Canadiens have totaled 29 points. The Canadiens lead the Eastern Conference and for the Blues, if they will this game they will be tied for first in the Western Conference with Anaheim. Carey Price struggled on Tuesday night against the Penguins and allowed 4 goals but Price has made a name for himself in this league and rarely disappoints. He will face a tough offense of the Blues who play a very physical game and are very good on the faceoff dot.  In the end, this game is going to come down to whoever can control the puck possession which will likely decide the winner.

Point Leaders:

STL- Vladimir Tarasenko (21) Mon- Max Pacioretty (16)

Goal Leaders:

STL- Vladimir Tarasenko (11) Mon- Max Pacioretty (8)

Plus/Minus Leaders:

STL- Vladimir Tarasenko (9) Mon- Max Pacioretty (11)

Justin Galus, NHL

Wednesday’s Hockey Matchup to Watch

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New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

(7-7-4)                        (7-7-2)

Preview: These two teams both are in the Metropolitan Division, therefore making this a crucial battle. Philadelphia is 2 points behind the Rangers, so if they win they will be tied with New York for 4th place. During the Rangers last game, against the Lightning, Henrik Lundqvist allowed 5 goals in their 5-1 loss. Due to Lundqvist’s poor start to the season, Cam Talbot will start. Cam Talbot played his first year in the NHL last season with the Rangers. He played 19 games with 12 wins, 6 losses, and 1 overtime loss. If Cam Talbot manages his part of the ice, then the Rangers have a strong squad with Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, and Martin St. Louis on offense who have all made names for themselves in this league. Although the Rangers have a strong offense, Steve Mason, goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers, has proven himself worthy as a starting goalie and will put up a strong fight.

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Tyler Englander

Females in Male Sports

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She captured our hearts this summer. She became one of the greatest stories in recent memory. That story was the remarkable story of Philadelphia teenager Mo’ne Davis. Davis and the rest of her Taney Dragons teammates took the world by storm when they played in this years edition of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It wasn’t just that Mo’ne Davis was a girl, it was what she was able to do against her male counterparts. What she did was dominate; in the regional final as well as her first start in the LLWS she combined for 15 strikeouts while only allowing 5 hits to the boys from Newark, Delaware and Nashville, Tennessee respectively. She became so popular that athletes such as Mike Trout and Kevin Durant began to recognize her accomplishments. With Davis announcing yesterday that she would release a memoir coming out next march, we decided to take a look at how close we are to having females in male sports.

I know what some people are thinking; there is no way that Mo’ne Davis can keep this up at a higher level. While that is a good point; I would argue that is is a realistic possibility that we could  be seeing Davis down the road on a professional baseball diamond. Davis, 13, is already further developed than most boys her age, with her 70MPH fastball and her knee buckling curveball. In addition to her skills, baseball is not the type of sport where it would be highly unlikely. Unlike Football; it’s not hard hitting, and if Mo’ne can throw heat and be a solid Major League pitcher it would be foolish for a team not to take a chance on her. Obviously, these next few years are critical for Mo’ne Davis and it will be very interesting to see in the future if Mo’ne Davis’ name will be called in the years to come.

 Another recent advancement with women in sports comes with the story of San Antonio Spurs Assistant Coach Becky Hammon. Hammon a thirteen year WNBA veteran became the first full time female assistant coach in NBA History. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich who is usually ahead of the curve, is once again a leg up on the competition and if history serves us right, Hammon’s hiring could become the first of many roles in which women play in male sports. Finally an example of a female player that almost played in the NBA a year ago. If you remember correctly Dallas Mavericks Owner, Mark Cuban, almost gave Brittney Griner a chance by drafting her in the 2013 draft. That didn’t happen, but what it shows is people are becoming open minded about having a female in a male sport and we might not be that far from that becoming a reality.

Drew Englander, Tanner Horelick

What you Might Have Missed This Past Weekend

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As the NFL and NCAAF enter the final stretch, NCAAB is once again ready for some heart pounding action as it opened up this past weekend. This weekend was a huge one in terms of sports; starting with the defending NCAAB champions, UCONN, playing their first game of the new season. The rest of the first weekend of college basketball was fairly silent except for a few scares, here and there. Next, there were many great college football games that was topped off with #5 Alabama beating #1 Mississippi St. in Tuscaloosa and Melvin Gordon breaking the FBS rushing record with Wisconsin. Then, in the NFL, Week 11 was headlined by SHAUN HILL and ST.LOUIS as they beat Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Lastly, a new face emerged in the Patriots-Colts game who ran for 199 yards with 4 touchdowns!

The defending Men’s Basketball National Champions, UCONN, started the new season on a some-what successful note with a 13 point win over Bryant (66-53). Bryant came out of the gate strong and at the end of the first half had a 6 point lead against the Huskies. In the second half, however, the defending champs shut Bryant down, limiting them to just 19 total points; giving Ryan Boatright and the Huskies a positive end to opening night. This was just the same for the number one team in the nation, Kentucky, who faced Buffalo and actually fell behind by half but were then able to roll the rest of the night and defeat Buffalo by a score of 71-55. The rest of the Top 25 seemed to be on for an undefeated weekend until #25 Harvard faced Holy Cross and were surprisingly upset by a score of 58-57. Other than this upset, the rest of opening weekend from NCAAB went as smooth as we should have imagined as no big matchups took place.

On Saturday there where many interesting games in college football, such as #5 Alabama beating #1 Mississippi St. in a close game that ended up at a tight score of 25-20. Next, #14 Wisconsin faced #21 Nebraska where Wisconsin RB, Melvin Gordon, ran for 408 yards in 3 quarters of play! This outstanding rushing performance gave Melvin the record for most rushing yards in a game in FBS History and also gave Wisconsin the 59-24 win over the Cornhuskers.  Also, #3 Florida State won by 4 points, 30-26, against Miami, which was most definitely too close for Jameis Winston. Then the number four ranked TCU Horned Frogs won by a tight margin verses Kansas, 34-30. Finally, #8 Ohio St beat the #25 ranked Golden Gophers as they race to try and secure one of the final playoff spots.

With only 6 weeks left in the NFL, every game matters. The Broncos were surprisingly not able to get a win from the NOW 4-6 St. Louis Rams. The Bronco’s defense could not stop Shaun Hill as he threw for 220 yards and Tre Mason who ran for another 113. Even with Peyton Manning, who threw for 389 yards, the Broncos were still only able to manage one touchdown as they simply could not get the running game going. The Philadelphia Eagles had a rough week, as well, as they got trampled by Green Bay, with Aaron Rogers who threw for 341 yards and 3 TD. Lastly, possibly the biggest game of the week, the Patriots pounded the Colts defense for 42 points as Brady threw for 257 yards but importantly, Jonas Gray ran for 199 yards and 4 touchdowns! With this win, the Patriots continue their winning ways and increase their win streak to 6 games.

This past weekend was greatly headlined by the NFL and College Football as they are entering their final stretch. As college basketball has once again begun this year, only ONE Top 25 team lost even though some teams were given a scare during some point in their game. Next, the NBA and NHL were basically on mute the entire weekend as they have just begun just a few weeks ago and nothing much is at stakes yet. Lastly, the MLB was headlined by rumors and nothing significantly important was yet announced.