A Recap and Preview of the Year in Sports
By RJ Stacey It’s the one time of the year in sports, where there’s only one of the 4 major leagues in their seasons. The NHL, and the NBA games, the NFL has yet to begin, and the MLB is reaching it’s midseason. That doesn’t make it any less exciting. I will be recapping and previewing these 4 leagues. The NBA just ended with the Miami Heat winning their 2nd NBA championship after beating the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games. It was one of the most exciting series in years as all games were close and came down to the wire James was named the NBA Finals MVP. This is his second straight Finals MVP award. Lebron, and the Heat will look to make it 3 in a row in the 2014 season. The NBA Draft also took place on June 27th. The Cleveland Cavaliers had the #1 overall pick. To mostly everyone’s surprise, the Cavs selected forward Anthony Bennett out of UNLV. Anthony is Canadian and is from Brampton, Canadian in NBA history to be another Canadian, was also drafted in the lottery 13th overall. The Boston Celtics traded up in the very good night for Canadian basketball. Andrew Wiggins hopes to make it 2 straight years a Canadian goes #1 overall next year as he is the projected #1 overall pick in the 2014 draft. The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs were just as exciting as the NBA, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Boston Bruins in 6 games. Dave Bolland scored the game winning goal with under a minute remaining to lead the Blackhawks to victory. Patrick Trophy for the MVP. Just like the NBA, the NHL draft took place recently as well. On June 30th, the Colorado Avalanche selected overall pick. for both the NBA, and the NHL, as many big free agent signings have taken place, as well as the drafts. It’ll be an exciting off season as all teams in both leagues get ready for their upcoming seasons.
The NFL offseason is almost complete, and teams are getting ready for their upcoming season. This year, the Baltimore Ravens look to replicate their 2012-2013 season, and repeat as Super Bowl Champions where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams seem like legitimate contenders again this year. Other possible contenders in my opinion are the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks. The usually contending New England Patriots, seem to be in some trouble this year. New players, injuries, and the Aaron Hernandez story seem like they will give the Patriots some trouble this year. They are still probably the favourites to win the division, but I do not see them as legitimate Super Bowl contenders this year. My picks for division winners this year are the Patriots, Broncos, Ravens and Texans in the AFC, and the Giants, Falcons, Seahawks, and Packers in the NFC. My Super Bowl pick is the Green Bay Packers. It should be an exciting and thrilling NFL season like always. The MLB right now has been very interesting to date. There have been many surprises in both good and bad ways. The Pittsburgh Pirates are the best team in baseball to this point. (I know, weird right?) The LA Angels, and sadly the hometown Toronto Blue Jays have disappointed so far after having high expectations. We’ll see if these 2 talented teams will pick it up in the second half. The All Star game is right around the corner, and there are many new faces, and 2 of which are Blue Jays. Brett Cecil and Edwin Encarnacion will be making their 1st appearances. They will be joining Jose Bautista, who will be making his 4th consecutive trip. Steve Delabar is also hoping to be voted in by the fans,
My MVP picks at the halfway point would be Yadier Molina (St Louis) in the NL, and Chris Davis (Baltimore) in the AL. If I were to make a World Series prediction, it would be Oakland vs St Louis, with Oakland winning. As always, it has been an exciting year in all sports, and it projects to be just as exciting for the rest of the year, with baseball season still underway, as well as the NFL season coming up, and the NBA and NHL will be as good as ever when they come around. As a sports fan, every day of the year is exciting.
PASSION8 MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2013
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