QB Injuries Pile Up

If there's any professional sport out there that is powered by one player at one position right now, its the National Football League. It's really started to show over the last five or so years that the NFL truly has become a Quarterback driven league. QB's are throwing the ball a lot more now then they have in the past, and maybe that's just the way the offensive game plan is leaning towards now a days. With that being said, two teams are really being hit hard by it heading into the start of the season. Both the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings are hit with QB injuries and will have to find a way to make up for some of that this year.

The biggest story of late is Teddy Bridgwater, the Minnesota Vikings QB. He suffered a dislocated knee and a torn ACL when he went down during a noncontact drill at practice Tuesday, ending his 2016 season. He was getting ready to start his 3rd year under center in the NFL, this coming a year after leading the Vikings to an NFC North title and almost pulling off a major upset in the Wild Card game against Seattle. Last year he threw for 3,231 yards and 14 TD's to go with only nine picks. It was a pro bowl year for Teddy. Him and the vikings were expected to have a monster year this year, but that went right down the drain when he's knee gave out on him. Now it looks like Saun Hill might be the starting option for the Vikings under center. He's 36 years old and only played sparingly over the last few years.

An injury like this could be deadly for the Vikings because they have no stability at the QB position behind Teddy. This is afterall the NFL a very pass happy league and now its up in the air as to how well Shaun Hill or whoever is under center in Minnesota. Can they perform well with such big expectations in Minnesota? And can Adrian Peterson still put up great numbers running the ball when a lot is expected of him? Only time will tell.

You can make the same argument with the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas has yet to announce who is going to be the opening week starter. Why? Because Tony Romo is out for six to ten weeks with a broken bone in his back. So now it falls on Dak Prescott to take over the duties Now its not set that Dak will start, but that's where the signs are pointing. Dallas was supposed to be one of the favorites to win the NFC East, but with Romo hurt, that kinda puts that plan in jepordy. Dallas has a good team, but much like Minnesota, if they don't have a solid Quarterback, then they may miss out on the playoffs. This also brings to light another issue in Dallas, that being the health of Tony Romo. Between dealing with his back, collar bones, shoulder and other various injuries, he's been a constent question mark.

Don't get me wrong, Romo is a great quarterback when he's healthy and on the field, the Cowboys are a very very good team. They were 3-1 with him last year before he got hurt, but ended up missing the playoffs. I'm sure that the running back combo of Ezekiel Elliott, Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris can handle the load, while Dez Bryant, Jason Whitten, Cole Beasley and company will have to be counted on to help out Dak as he gets adjusted to life in the NFL. Dallas could be OK and may end up in better shape then the Vikings are at the end of the year so who knows.

Bu this will really be a tell tale sign of things for the National Football League. Its been well documented that the NFL really is a QB driven league, so we will see how well both Minnesota and Dallas handle things without their two regular gun slingers under center

Dominant Sports Teams

Domination. Something that is so big or high its easy to notice. The US Women's basketball team has been doing that so far at the Olympics in Rio. Heading into the game against France on Thursday, Team USA was 5-0, winning by margins of 46, 30, 26, 40 and 65 points. Those are numbers that are mind numbing in terms of how dominating the team has been so far in the Olympics. So ESPN came up with a list of teams that dominated in the same way that Team USA has done. So what we're going to do is we're going to take that ESPN list and split it in two (and maybe add to it more). With that list, they combined single season dominance and dominance over a number of years. What we're going to do here is split that list in two. We're making not one but two top eight lists, one showing single season dominance and teams that dominate over multiple years. Some teams have dominated and not won a championship in their sport, so that does play a factor into where they may possibly fall on this list (at least as far as single season dominance goes).

So with that in mind, here we go. First up is eight dominating teams over the course of multiple years.

1963-75 UCLA Bruins Men's Basketball
John Wooden had his team playing at a level that most people never thought to really be attainable. Over the course of twelve years, the Bruins of UCLA won ten national championships. The only years during that stretch that the Bruins couldn't claim a title were 1966 (Texas Western won beating Kentucky) and 1974 (North Carolina State won beating Marquette). Oh and there was that little 88 game winning streak that the team had from 1971 to 1974. During that twelve year stretch, UCLA managed to help produce future Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich and Jamaal Wilkes. Yeah, they were kinda good.

1953-57 Oklahoma Sooners Football
The Sooners did in College Football for a time what UCLA did in Basketball, before it was cool. Bud Wilkinson had Oklahoma primed and ready to go during this four year stretch. IN that time span, the Sooners won 47 consecutive games. Think about that. Oklahoma won 47 straight football games, something that has never been done before or since in major college football. Oklahoma won the Orange Bowl twice during that streak, but it also had to sit out the postseason twice during an era when many conferences didn't allow teams to play in bowl games in consecutive seasons. They started setting a mark for teams in any sport to try and match.

2008-present Connecticut Women's basketball
What John Wooden was able to do at UCLA, Geno Auriemma is doing right now in the Women's game. For one thing, there's winning six national titles in the last eight years, including the last four in a row. The only time in the last eight years that UCONN hasn't had a say in the National Title game were 2011 (Texas A&M beat Notre Dame) and 2012 (Baylor beat Notre Dame). Oh yeah, lets not forget the fact that the Huskies won a record 90 consecutive games from November 2008 to December 2010 and went 40-0 in 2013-14.

1949-53 New York Yankees
Five years, five world titles. In fact, you could throw in the two years prior to that, 1947 and 1948. In 1947 the Yankees won 97 games and a World Series. Then in 1948, the Yanks won 94 games and missed the playoffs, finishing 3rd in the division. But from 1949-53, the Bronx Bombers were loaded. Casey Stengel had plenty of talent to work with on those teams, when you have guys like Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Phil Rizzuto in the fold. During that five year run, the Yankees won 97, 98, 98, 95 and 99 games during the regular season. Then, the Yanks went 20-8 during those five World Series, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers (1949, '52, '53), Philadelphia Phillies (1950) and New York Giants (1951).

1979-83 New York Islanders
No team since them has dominated the NHL like the Islanders during their glory days. Four straight Stanley Cups and nineteen straight playoff series wins for the Islanders during this run. It ended in 1984 with a five game loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the Finals. They had a team that will never be seen again in the sport of hockey, because since they lost in the 84 finals, no other team has managed to win more than two Cups in a row. Those Islanders teams set a level of excellence in the game of hockey that may never be matched again.

1975-79 Montreal Canadiens
Before the Islanders had their run, the Montreal Canadiens had their last great dynasty team. As good as they Islanders were after them, Montreal helped set the standard for what was to become in the NHL. Montreal won four straight Cups, right before the Islanders had their run of four straight titles. In winning their four consecutive Stanley Cups, Montreal went 48-10 in the playoffs. Les Habs also won five consecutive Stanley Cups from the 1955-56 season through 1959-60, during an era when the NHL had only six member clubs. Montreal is the greatest franchise, at least in terms of championship success, in the history of the game of hockey. This was the last great dynasty and dominating era for the Montreal Canadiens.

1958-66 Boston Celtics
This was a stretch of Pro Basketball that may never be touched again. The run started during the 1958-59 season. Boston begain that year to establish the mark for NBA excellence that almost certainly will never be broken. That year began a run for the Celtics for winning eight consecutive NBA Championships. If you don't really feel convinced yet that the Celtics dominated the sport of Basketball during this eight year stretch, then maybe these numbers will help[ you out. During that championship run, the Celtics went 461-165 in the regular season and compiled a 67-33 postseason record. I don't think anybody will be able to get anywhere close to that level again.

1974-1979 Pittsburgh Steelers
It's hard to keep a dynasty together in sports, the NFL may be one of the hardest to keep one in, with the salary cap and what have you. The last really great dominant run by an NFL team has to go to the Steelers. From 74 to 79 the Steelers won six straight division titles, four of those years they won the Super Bowl (1976 and 1977 were the only years they missed winning the big one). The Steelers were led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, and running back Franco on offense. Mean Joe Greene was the anchor of the Steel Curtain defense, which is considered by many to be one of the greatest defenses to ever be assembled.

Now here's the top eight examples of teams dominating a single season.

1972 Miami Dolphins
How this year isn't really talked about a whole lot is a bit of a shame. Its the only time in the history of the NFL that a team has ran the table during the regular season and the playoffs to capture a Super Bowl. Miami went 14-0 during the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs en rout to beating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. They may not have demolished opponents like some other teams who are going to pop up on this list, but they dominated the rest of the league to run the table. Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, and Larry Csonka were the main pieces on that team that was lead by coach Don Shula to be the only team to run the table in the NFL.

1985 Chicago Bears
Chicago totally steamrolled their opponents during that season. IT was one of the few NFL teams ever to gain and embraced celebrity status on their way to winning Super Bowl XX. Chicago went 15-1 (the only loss was to the Miami Dolphins during week 13) , and its ferocious defense allowed the fewest points and yards in the league. Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton racked up 2,034 yards and 11 touchdowns from scrimmage to anchor the NFL's No. 2 scoring offense. Here's another way to look at how the Bears dominated that year. Chicago won their three postseason games by a combined score of 91-10, including a 46-10 blowout of the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. That my friends is domination if I've ever heard of it.

1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Team
First of all, there's the fact that this Nebraska team ran the table with a 13-0 season in 1971. What gets talked about most when people mention this year in college football was the "Game of The Century," the No. 1 Cornhuskers played No. 2 Oklahoma. Nebraska had the nation’s top-ranked defense, while Oklahoma had its most productive offense. The cover of Sports Illustrated (Nov. 22, 1971) published the week of the game included photographs of Nebraska linebacker Bob Terrio and Oklahoma running back Greg Pruitt, nose-to-nose, beneath the headline: "Irresistible Oklahoma Meets Immovable Nebraska." Nebraska got the win and went on to dominate everybody in their path that year in claiming the National Championship.

1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team
After settling for bronze at Seoul in 1988, the U.S. took advantage of professional eligibility for the subsequent Olympics to assemble the greatest team in basketball history. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson headlined a roster that included 11 future Hall of Famers. The Dream Team went 8-0 in Barcelona, with a 43.8-point average victory margin, to capture the gold medal and restore the U.S. as the world's top basketball power. To really put this into perspective as to how good this Dream Team was, U.S. coach Chuck Daly called exactly zero timeouts during those '92 Olympic games.

1995-96 Chicago Bulls
Behind Michael Jordan on the floor and Phil Jackson on the bench, the Bulls ran roughshod through the league. They set the league record (at that time) with 72 regular-season wins. The discussion of the Bulls' dominance could extend to much of the 1990s, but the team truly reached its zenith in 1995-96. That year, Chicago was leading the league with 105.2 points per game and ranking No. 3 defensively by allowing only 92.9 points per game. Most importantly, Chicago won its fourth championship in six seasons.

1927 New York Yankees
The legendary Murderers' Row lineup started with four Hall of Famers: Earle Combs (.356 with 231 hits), Tony Lazzeri (102 RBI), Babe Ruth (.356 batting average, 60 Home Runs, 164 RBIs, 158 runs scored, walked 137 times, and slugged .772) and Lou Gehrig (.373, with 218 hits, 52 doubles, 18 triples, 47 home runs, and 175 RBIs). The '27 Yankees went 110-44 and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. They also combined to hit 158 home runs, which led the majors by 49 and the AL by 102.

1998 New York Yankees
Its a bit of a surprise to think that this Yankees team lost four of their first five games. Owner George Steinbrenner was growing impatient, and manager Joe Torre was being questioned about his job security. Then history happened, as the Yankees stormed to a 114-48 regular-season record and went 11-2 in the postseason on their way to a World Series championship. Those 125 combined victories stand as an MLB record. IT helps that the Yankees led the majors with 965 runs. Now this comes as a bit of a surprise considering that the Yankees were one of the oldest teams in the league that year, with an average age of 30.5.

1987-88 Edmonton Oilers Season
The Edmonton Oilers made quick work of the Boston Bruins capturing their fourth Stanley Cup in five years. During the regular season, Edmonton was good going 44-25-11, good enough for 2nd in the Division behind the Calgary Flames. But what really makes this Oilers team so dominant is what they did in the playoffs. Edmonton only lost two games due to the stellar play of Vezina-winner Grant Fuhr and the unbelievable 43 points from the great Wayne Gretzky. This would be Gretzky's last season as an Oiler, as he would be traded to the Kings in the off-season. In a rare occurrence, game four of the Stanley Cup Finals ended in a tie. The game was suspended at 16:37 of the second period due to a power failure in the Boston Arena. As NHL rules stated, the game was suspended at a 3-3 tie. The series shifted back to Edmonton where the Oilers won the deciding game 6-3. Gretzky was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy after amassing 43 playoff points.

Honorable Mention (teams that dominated during the season but came up short in the playoffs)

1995-96 Detroit Red Wings
Talk about domination. Sergei Federov lead the way in scoring with 107 points (39 goals 68 assists) and Chris Osgood picked up 39 victories in goal during the regular season. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the Red Wings finished the regular season with a record of 62–13–7. It happens to be the best record ever in the history of the NHL. You'd think that with a record like that the Wings would have walked right through the playoffs to win the Cup. Wrong. They were knocked off in the 2nd round by the eventual champions the Colorado Avalanche. Close but no cigar.

2001 Seattle Mariners
Two reasons why this year was so memorable. First was the arrival of Ichiro Suzuki to play in America. Second, the Mariners equaled a 95-year-old MLB record for regular-season victories by going 116-46. But the Yankees ended Seattle's dream season by winning the AL Championship Series in five games, thus protecting the 1998 Yankees' record of 125 combined regular-season and postseason victories. So despite their best efforts, Seattle came up just short.

2007 New England Patriots
New England had the best regular season in NFL history, going 16-0. To show their dominance, they outscored their opponents by a gaudy 315 points. Then came the helmet catch and one of the biggest upsets in sports history when the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII.

2015-16 Golden State Warriors
Nobody thought that the Bulls 1996 season record of 72 wins would be toppled. Then the Warriors came along. Golden State came out and set an NBA record with a 73-9 regular-season record and led the league in scoring. But they also ranked 19th of 30 teams in scoring defense and lost the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers after leading the series 3-1.

NBA Schedule Announced

Well, well, well, here we are once again. Its time to start marking off your fall calenders. The National Basketball Association announced its schedule for the 2016-17 season. According to reports, the 76wers and Nets have the two toughest schedules in the entire NBA, while Boston and Utah are projected to have the two easiest schedules this season. Some of the bigtime games to keep an eye on this season: KD makes his return to OKC on February 11th, Christmas day will have a rematch of last year's NBA finals between the Warriors and Cavs, and Dwayne Wade plays his first game in Miami as a member of the Bulls on November 10th. Those are just some of the big games to be played on the hardwood this season. Since there's way too mmany games to really look at, lets help take care of some of that now. Below are the schedules for the two local teams the Knicks and Nets.

Here's the 2016-17 schedule for the New York Knicks:

OCTOBER
Tue, Oct 25 @ Cleveland 8:00 PM
Sat, Oct 29 vs Memphis 7:30 PM

NOVEMBER
Tue, Nov 1 @ Detroit 7:30 PM
Wed, Nov 2 vs Houston 7:30 PM
Fri, Nov 4 @ Chicago 8:00 PM
Sun, Nov 6 vs Utah 12:00 PM
Wed, Nov 9 vs Brooklyn 7:00 PM
Fri, Nov 11 @ Boston 7:30 PM
Sat, Nov 12 @ Toronto 7:30 PM
Mon, Nov 14 vs Dallas 7:30 PM
Wed, Nov 16 vs Detroit 7:30 PM
Thu, Nov 17 @ Washington 7:00 PM
Sun, Nov 20 vs Atlanta 12:00 PM
Tue, Nov 22 vs Portland 7:30 PM
Fri, Nov 25 vs Charlotte 7:30 PM
Sat, Nov 26 @ Charlotte 7:00 PM
Mon, Nov 28 vs Oklahoma City 7:30 PM
Wed, Nov 30 @ Minnesota 8:00 PM

DECEMBER
Dec 2 vs Minnesota 7:30 PM
Dec 4 vs Sacramento 7:30 PM
Tue, Dec 6 @ Miami 7:30 PM
Wed, Dec 7 vs Cleveland 8:00 PM
Fri, Dec 9 @ Sacramento 10:30 PM
Sun, Dec 11 @ Los Angeles 9:30 PM
Tue, Dec 13 @ Phoenix 9:00 PM
Thu, Dec 15 @ Golden State 10:30 PM
Sat, Dec 17 @ Denver 9:00 PM
Tue, Dec 20 vs Indiana 7:30 PM
Thu, Dec 22 vs Orlando 7:30 PM
Sun, Dec 25 vs Boston 12:00 PM
Wed, Dec 28 @ Atlanta 7:30 PM
Fri, Dec 30 @ New Orleans 8:00 PM
Sat, Dec 31 @ Houston 8:00 PM

JANUARY
Mon, Jan 2 vs Orlando 7:30 PM
Wed, Jan 4 vs Milwaukee 7:30 PM
Fri, Jan 6 @ Milwaukee 8:00 PM
Sat, Jan 7 @ Indiana 7:00 PM
Mon, Jan 9 vs New Orleans 7:30 PM
Wed, Jan 11 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Thu, Jan 12 vs Chicago 8:00 PM
Sun, Jan 15 @ Toronto 3:00 PM
Mon, Jan 16 vs Atlanta 1:00 PM
Wed, Jan 18 @ Boston 7:30 PM
Sat, Jan 21 vs Phoenix 7:30 PM
Mon, Jan 23 @ Indiana 8:00 PM
Wed, Jan 25 @ Dallas 8:30 PM
Fri, Jan 27 vs Charlotte 7:30 PM
Sun, Jan 29 @ Atlanta 3:00 PM
Tue, Jan 31 @ Washington 7:00 PM

FEBRUARY
Wed, Feb 1 @ Brooklyn
Sat, Feb 4 vs Cleveland 8:30 PM
Mon, Feb 6 vs Los Angeles 7:00 PM
Wed, Feb 8 vs LA 8:00 PM
Feb 10 vs Denver 7:30 PM
Sun, Feb 12 vs San Antonio 3:30 PM
Wed, Feb 15 @ Oklahoma City 9:30 PM
Thu, Feb 23 @ Cleveland 8:00 PM
Sat, Feb 25 vs Philadelphia 7:30 PM
Mon, Feb 27 vs Toronto 7:00 PM

MARCH
Wed, Mar 1 @ Orlando 7:00 PM
Fri, Mar 3 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Sun, Mar 5 vs Golden State 3:30 PM
Mon, Mar 6 @ Orlando 7:00 PM
Wed, Mar 8 @ Milwaukee 8:00 PM
Sat, Mar 11 @ Detroit 5:00 PM
Sun, Mar 12 @ Brooklyn 6:00 PM
Tue, Mar 14 vs Indiana 7:30 PM
Thu, Mar 16 vs Brooklyn 7:30 PM
Mon, Mar 20 @ LA 10:30 PM
Wed, Mar 22 @ Utah 10:30 PM
Thu, Mar 23 @ Portland 10:00 PM
Sat, Mar 25 @ San Antonio 9:30 PM
Mon, Mar 27 vs Detroit 7:30 PM
Wed, Mar 29 vs Miami 7:30 PM
Fri, Mar 31 @ Miami 8:00 PM

APRI
Sun, Apr 2 vs Boston 1:00 PM
Tue, Apr 4 vs Chicago 8:00 PM
Thu, Apr 6 vs Washington 7:30 PM
Fri, Apr 7 @ Memphis 8:00 PM
Sun, Apr 9 vs Toronto 12:00 PM
Wed, Apr 12 vs Philadelphia 8:00 PM

Here's the schedule for the 2016-17 Brooklyn Nets:

OCTOBER
Wed, Oct 26 @ Boston 7:30 PM
Fri, Oct 28 vs Indiana 7:30 PM
Sat, Oct 29 @ Milwaukee 8:00 PM
Mon, Oct 31 vs Chicago 7:30 PM

NOVEMBER
Wed, Nov 2 vs Detroit 7:30 PM
Fri, Nov 4 vs Charlotte 7:30 PM
Tue, Nov 8 vs Minnesota 7:30 PM
Wed, Nov 9 @ NY Knicks 7:00 PM
Sat, Nov 12 @ Phoenix 9:00 PM
Mon, Nov 14 @ LA 10:30 PM
Tue, Nov 15 @ Los Angeles 10:30 PM
Fri, Nov 18 @ Oklahoma City 8:00 PM
Sun, Nov 20 vs Portland 3:30 PM
Wed, Nov 23 vs Boston 7:30 PM
Fri, Nov 25 @ Indiana 8:00 PM
Sun, Nov 27 vs Sacramento 6:00 PM
Tue, Nov 29 vs LA 7:30 PM

DECEMBER
Thu, Dec 1 vs Milwaukee 7:30 PM
Sat, Dec 3 @ Milwaukee 5:00 PM
Mon, Dec 5 vs Washington 7:30 PM
Wed, Dec 7 vs Denver 7:30 PM
Sat, Dec 10 @ San Antonio 8:30 PM
Mon, Dec 12 @ Houston 8:00 PM
Wed, Dec 14 vs Los Angeles 7:30 PM
Fri, Dec 16 @ Orlando 7:00 PM
Sun, Dec 18 @ Philadelphia 6:00 PM
Tue, Dec 20 @ Toronto 7:30 PM
Thu, Dec 22 vs Golden State 7:30 PM
Fri, Dec 23 @ Cleveland 7:30 PM
Dec 26 vs Charlotte 7:30 PM
Wed, Dec 28 @ Chicago 8:00 PM
Fri, Dec 30 @ Washington 7:00 PM

JANUARY
Mon, Jan 2 vs Utah 7:30 PM
Thu, Jan 5 @ Indiana 7:00 PM
Jan 6 vs Cleveland 7:30 PM
Sun, Jan 8 vs Philadelphia 12:00 PM
Tue, Jan 10 vs Atlanta 7:30 PM
Thu, Jan 12 vs New Orleans 7:30 PM
Fri, Jan 13 @ Toronto 7:30 PM
Sun, Jan 15 vs Houston 6:00 PM
Tue, Jan 17 vs Toronto 7:30 PM\
Fri, Jan 20 @ New Orleans 8:00 PM
Sat, Jan 21 @ Charlotte 7:00 PM
Mon, Jan 23 vs San Antonio 7:30 PM
Wed, Jan 25 vs Miami 7:30 PM
Fri, Jan 27 @ Cleveland 7:30 PM
Sat, Jan 28 @ Minnesota 9:00 PM
Mon, Jan 30 @ Miami 7:30 PM

FEBRUARY
Wed, Feb 1 vs NY Knicks 7:30 PM
Fri, Feb 3 vs Indiana 7:30 PM
Feb 5 vs Toronto 12:00 PM
Tue, Feb 7 @ Charlotte 7:00 PM
Wed, Feb 8 vs Washington 7:30 PM
Fri, Feb 10 vs Miami 7:30 PM
Mon, Feb 13 vs Memphis 7:30 PM
Wed, Feb 15 vs Milwaukee 7:30 PM
Fri, Feb 24 @ Denver 9:00 PM
Sat, Feb 25 @ Golden State 10:30 PM

MARCH
Wed, Mar 1 @ Sacramento 10:30 PM
Fri, Mar 3 @ Utah 9:00 PM
Sat, Mar 4 @ Portland 10:00 PM
Mon, Mar 6 @ Memphis 8:00 PM
Wed, Mar 8 @ Atlanta 7:30 PM
Fri, Mar 10 @ Dallas 9:00 PM
Sun, Mar 12 vs NY Knicks 6:00 PM
Tue, Mar 14 vs Oklahoma City 7:30 PM
Thu, Mar 16 @ NY Knicks 7:30 PM
Fri, Mar 17 vs Boston 7:30 PM
Sun, Mar 19 vs Dallas 12:00 PM
Tue, Mar 21 vs Detroit 7:30 PM
Thu, Mar 23 vs Phoenix 7:30 PM
Fri, Mar 24 @ Washington 7:00 PM
Sun, Mar 26 @ Atlanta 1:00 PM
Tue, Mar 28 vs Philadelphia 7:30 PM
Thu, Mar 30 @ Detroit 7:30 PM

APRIL
Sat, Apr 1 vs Orlando 6:00 PM
Sun, Apr 2 vs Atlanta 6:00 PM
Tue, Apr 4 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Thu, Apr 6 @ Orlando 7:00 PM
Sat, Apr 8 vs Chicago 5:00 PM
Mon, Apr 10 @ Boston 7:30 PM
Wed, Apr 12 @ Chicago 8:00 PM

So there you have it the NBA schedule for New York basketball this season!

Alex Rodriguez Done As A Yankee

Th writing has been on the wall for quite some time now with A-Rod. It was announced on Sunday that he will be playing his final game in a Yankees uniform Friday August 12th at Yankee Stadium and will then become a special adviser to the team until December 2017. So the question now remains what does the future hold for the slugging star? This is being viewed as a fitting end to a career filled with what could have been. Alex Rodriguez is going out on Friday.

When the announcement came down Sunday morning, nobody knew what was going to happen. Then it was announced that this week will be the last week of A-Rod as a player with the New York Yankees. His final game will be as a DH against the Tampa Bay Rays. He then will be released, collecting the balance of his guaranteed $20 million salary this season and his entire guaranteed $20 million salary next season. After that, the Yankees will keep him on staff as a special adviser to the team. There is still a chance that he could be picked up by another MLB team, but with the way things have gone over the last couple of years with Alex, his playing career will be done on Friday. This isn't exactly the way he wanted to go out I'm sure, but then again I don't think this is the way his career seemed to pan out when this wild ride began.

Sure he is sitting at 696 home runs and would have wanted to become just the 4th player in baseball history every to hit 700 or more home runs in the Major Leagues. He had all the talent in the world when he was playing in Seattle. During his seven year stretch in the great Northwest, he averaged 38 home runs a year, and this was all before steroids. He didn't start using the banned substance until he joined the Texas Rangers in 2001, the year his numbers really started to take off. He's been mired in controversy ever since, especially over his last few seasons with the New York Yankees. Lets put it like this. Alex just turned 41 years old, his production is starting to go downhill and the Yankees are right now paying him a lot of money to pretty much sit on the bench and take up space. Now if he had been able to put up any kind of offensive production like he had last year, then things might be a little bit different. When you consider those low offensive numbers, he's hitting .204 with just nine home runs in 62 games this year.

A-Rod had a great career but it will always have the steroids stigma attached to it. The fact that he lied and dragged out this entire saga with steroids really tarnished his record and image and it's something that he will never be able to get back. Had he just admitted it taken his punishment like a man and moved on I think this would have been a little less painful for Alex. This is also coming as a changing of the guard for the Yankees as well. Trading away Miller, Chapman and Beltran. Seeing the retirement of Teixeira at the end of the year and now with A-Rod heading out the door, its signaling the end of an era and the start of a new one in the storied history of the New York Yankees.

Facts are that yes Alex Rodriguez has done a lot to help this Yankees team out in his twelve years with the organization. The last few haven't been that great. Sure he's had a fantastic career, there's no argument about it. At the same time, Alex career is over and he's the one responsable for it because of his actions. A great career will end in disapointment.

Ichiro Hits Milestone

Its a magical number for a baseball player to try and reach. In fact it 29 players before have reached the magic number. Now the club has a newest member. Coming into Sunday's game against the Rockies, Ichiro Suzuki was still two hits shy. After smacking a triple against Colorado's Chris Rusin in the seventh inning of the Marlins' 10-7 win at Coors Field, he became the 30th player ever to reach 3,000 hits. After 16 years in the Majors, that's a tough thing to do, especially when you consider he spent his first nine years of pro baseball (all in his prime mind you) playing in his native Japan. Getting into that club is pretty rare, only 30 guys have ever done it. Lets take a look at a few numbers that going along with Ichiro and other guys in the 3,000 hit club.

Most folks know that Ichiro started his Major League career at 27 years old, which is the oldest debut for a player with 3,000 hits, passing Boggs, who was about two months shy of his 24th birthday when he played his first game with the Red Sox in 1982. If you look at the numbers from age 27 and on in the Majors, Pete Rose is the only guy to have more hits than Ichiro from 27 and on. Ichiro has 3,000, while Pete rose collected 3,357 hits (to be fare Pete Rose played till he was 45 years old). Ichiro is the second-oldest player to reach 3,000 hits. Ichiro reached the mark at 42 years, nine months and 16 days old. Only Cap Anson (45 years, three months, one day) was older when he reached the hallowed number. Ichiro joins the 3,000-hit club 119 years after its charter member, Cap Anson, got there with a single in 1897. Of the 30 players on the list, Suzuki is just the fourth born outside the US. He joins Rafael Palmeiro (Cuba) and Hall of Famers Rod Carew (Panama) and Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico). Alex Rodriguez is the only active player that has more hits than Suzuki. Ichiro is also the 13th member of the club to do so as a left handed hitter. Oh and Ichiro is just the fourth player with 3,000 hits and 10 Gold Glove awards, joining Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente and Al Kaline. Ichiro is the sixth player to have 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases, joining Lou Brock, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Ricky Henderson and Paul Molitor.

Those are just where he compares to other members of the 3,000 hit club. But there's more to it for Ichiro. Here's a little breakdown of some of those 3,000 hits. Ichiro has notched his greatest number of hits (316) against Oakland. Next on the list are fellow American League West clubs Texas (313) and Los Angeles (276). The top non-AL West team is Toronto (187). In addition, Ichiro's 2,404 hits as a right fielder are the second most in history, behind only the 2,880 from the legendary Tony Gwynn. Ichiro reached the 200-hit mark in each of his first 10 Major League seasons, his best year coming in 2004. That year, he collected 262 hits, which broke George Sisler's single-season record of 257, set in 1920, although Sisler did it over a 154-game schedule. Since Major League Baseball expanded to 162 games, Ichiro is responsible for the top two single-season hit totals, three of the top six and five of the top 18. Ichiro is the seventh member of the 3,000 club to have played for the Yankees, the third to have played with the Mariners and the first to have suited up for the Marlins.

Those are just some of the staggering numbers about Ichiro getting to 3,000 career hits. One of the big questions now is, will this lead to a hall of fame induction? I think most people will follow with a resounding YES! Granted his career numbers have dipped since 2012, his last year in Seattle (he was traded to the Yankees that year). before that, he was a fantastic hitter and was very tough to get out. Case in point, his single season high for strikeouts was 86 in 2010. That year he had 680 at-bats, 2314 hits and finished the year hitting .315. He could do it all at the plate and in the field. At the dish, he wasn't really a power hitter, but that's not what he got paid to do. He was paid to hit the ball and get on base, which he was kinda good at.

So congratulations are indeed in order for Ichiro Suzuki for reaching the 3,000 hit mark!

(Stats and numbers provided by MLB.com and ESPN.com)

Mark Teixeira To Call It A Career

Switch hitters. These guys are a rare breed in the world of baseball. Some guys can do it sure, but there are few that can do it really well. When you think of switch hitters in the game of baseball, Mark Teixeira's name usually comes to the top of the list. The switch hitting 1st baseman has done a lot in his career, winning a World Series is at the top of the list. He's done it all in this game, and it looks like he's getting out. According to reports, Teixeira will be calling it a career today, after 14 years in the Major Leagues. The announcement will come this afternoon that he will retire at the end of the year.

Tex started off his career with the Texas Rangers, the team that drafted him. During his time in Texas, he .283 with 151 homers and 499 RBI. After his time in Texas, he spent a year and a half in Atlanta and a half a season with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. When the 2008 season came to an end, Teixeira hit the free agent market. He then signed an eight year deal worth $180 Million to play with the New York Yankees. I'd say he's had a pretty good time in the Bronx. During that time, he's .249 with 201 homers and 601 RBI, to this point. His best year was with the Yankees came in 2009, where he hit .292 for the year, while smacking 39 home runs and driving in 122 runs. Those 39 Homers were tied with Carlos Pena of Tampa for the most in the AL while the 122 RBI lead the league. He finished 2nd in AL MVP voting that year to Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. Tex got the last laugh as he helped lead the Yankees to a World Series Championship that year.

He's had good years since then, but injuries have cost him dearly the past few seasons. First, he missed almost all of the 2013 season with a wrist injury. Then last year, he fractured his right shin when he fouled off a pitch in the middle of August, which ended his season. He missed a chunk of time this year with a leg injury. He hasn't appeared in more than 123 games in a single season since 2011.

He's a solid defensive first baseman, having won five gold gloves in his career. He's been to the all star game three times and has received votes for MVP on seven occasions over the 14 years. Oh yeah and he's a pretty good hitter too, if you didn't know that already. He's a .269 career hitter, who's belted 404 homers and driven in 1,281 runs. Tex is one of five switch-hitters in baseball history to hit 400 home runs, joining Mickey Mantle (536), Eddie Murray (504), Chipper Jones (468) and Carlos Beltran (415). He's also one of only four switch hitters ever to smack over four hundred home runs and four hundred doubles, joining Eddie Murray, Chipper Jones, and Carlos Beltran.

Injuries, and the fact that his production is way down this season (he is hitting under .200 at the time of this writing) are major factors into why Teixeira may be calling it a career. He's had a good career over the last 14 years and given everything he's had during his playing days in Texas, Atlanta, Anaheim and New York. Thanks Tex for a great career.

Trade Deadline Winners And Losers

Ah yes the trade deadline. A lot can be done on this day, and also leading up to it, that can change the fortunes of a franchise, both short and long term. Look at what happened last year. The Mets got Cespedes from the Tigers, he helped propel them to the World Series. Michael Fulmer, who went to Detroit in that trade, has been pitching pretty well for the Tigers this season. So sometimes it works out and other times it doesn't. One team may get a lot out of the deal while the player that goes the other way doesn't work out. Eighteen trades were made on Monday, and since the beginning of June a total of 48 deals have been struck. It means that teams are retooling for either a playoff push or fore their futures. So with that being said, lets take a look at some of the winners and losers from this year's trade deadline.

Winner: 
New York Yankees
You could be looking at this right now and kind of wondering how does this make the Yankees winners? They trade Carlos Beltran (their best hitter this year), Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman (two of their best relievers) and they are winners in all of this? Well to be honest, yes they are winners out of these deals and moves at the deadline. In dealing Chapman, it brought back in pitcher Adam Warren, minor leaguer Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. In sending Miller to the Indians, Clint Frasher, Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller, J.P. Feyereisen came back to New York to bolster the Minor League system. Then in the deal for Beltran, Texas sent back Dillon Tate, Nick Green and Erik Swanson. By adding all of this talent to the system, it sent the Yankees from one of the lower systems to one of the top systems in baseball. The Yankees now have seven of the top 100 prospects in all of baseball in their minor league system. Some may look at it as the Yankees giving up. Well for this year they almost are. But you have to understand that if you want to get something you have to give something. If the Yankees want to win championships and win them a lot, then you need the system to be able to do that. Its helping set the building blocks for the future and gives them a foundation to build around. Fear not Yankees fans, they'll be back in contention once again.

Loser:
Chicago White Sox
All the White Sox did was trade Zach Duke to St. Louis for Charlie Tilson and that's been it. This team has had a chance to take this thing apart and possibly rebuild. I mean if you look at it, Chris Sale and Jose Quintana had started drawing significant interest on the trade market. Also, it was possible David Robertson could have been flipped to a team desperate for bullpen help. The team decided to keep all three, ensuring they’ll remain in baseball limbo for at least the next couple months. The core talent level is here on the South Side of Chicago, they've had a chance to grab talent to that part of town and build around a core that can win. But they haven't really been able to, only really seeming like they want to make half hearted attempts to get over that hump, something they've been trying to do since they won the Division in 2008. It can be a little madening sometimes if you know your team can make the moves but don't really have the heart to pull the trigger.

Winner:
Texas Rangers
One of the best teams in baseball this season may have just gotten better. Sure they lost Prince Fielder again due to a neck injury, but boy did they add major offensive pieces. Adding a guy like Jonathan Lucroy is worth the risk. Last time they pulled off a move like this, they won the pennant. The price was steep, with Lewis Brinson being a top-25 prospect and tools-laden behemoth, but they got a player in return who will be around here for next season as well. He's a true all star who has a big offensive upside and can deliver at the plate. Now throw in Carlos Beltran to the mix. Sure he's 39 but he can still hit, as he's batting .306 heading into the trade. They may still try and rotate Sin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara in right, Beltran can be thrown in there as well. He can DH and will be another big bat in the middle of that lineup for the Rangers, which will provide more support for Beltre, Desmond and Odor in the middle of the lineup. For a team that’s had so much success and disappointment over the last few years, this might be the most talented Rangers team yet. That’s saying something.

Loser:
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
And we thought the minor league system for the Yankees was bad. The Angels have the worst one in all of baseball. It didn't get any better. They added 33 year old Ricky Nolasco from the Twins for Hector Santiago, a young pitcher who has some upside to him. Nolasco has been below average the last few years so have fun with that one Anaheim. To make a long story short, the Angles had a chance to try and bolster that farm system, since they weren't going to make the playoffs this year. They had a chance but let it pass them by on the market.

Winner:
Cleveland Indians
It does suck if your an Indians fan that they lost out on Jonathan Lucroy, who could have been a big piece to add to this puzzle. But by adding a guy like Andrew Miller, who nicely fits a need that Cleveland had at the back end of the Pen, will really help them out. That trade worked out nicely for both the Indians and the Yankees. If you don't believe me that Miller has been good lately, then consider that over the past four seasons, he has a 1.98 ERA over 200 innings. During that period, he’s notched an incredible 328 strikeouts. Cleveland has him locked up until 2018, so that's a good plus for them. They've got the balanced offense now they have a bullpen that can also match the starting staff, so it turned out to be a win for Cleveland.

Loser:
Kansas City Royals
Things didn’t go the Royals’ way at the deadline, and it’s not really their fault. When Wade Davis went down with an arm injury just a few days before the deadline, the club lost its biggest trade chip. Despite the fact that the club is currently in fourth place, the Royals opted to stand pat. Other than the weird Brett Eibner for Billy Burns trade, Kansas City didn’t do anything else. Edinson Volquez stayed despite the fact that there weren’t many starters available. Sure, it’s possible the Royals could still make a second half run, but it seems like they should have traded any piece that wasn’t going to help moving forward and try to retool for next season. They mostly just stood pat.

Winner:
Los Angeles Dodgers
Playing second fiddle in the National League West right now to the San Franciso Giants, and not having Clayton Kershaw at the moment, kind of left the Dodgers in the need to make a move to get better. They didn't have to give up their top four prospects for basically two rental players in Rich Hill and Josh Reddick. Hill is dealing with a blister, but he’s been fantastic when healthy. The 36-year-old has a 2.25 ERA over 76 innings. Reddick has been quietly fantastic this year. He missed time due to a thumb injury, but has hit .296 in 272 plate appearances and can play a very solid right field. Formerly a low-average, high strikeout hitter, Reddick has worked hard to cut whiffs out of his approach in recent seasons. Combine that with his strong walk rate and power potential, and the Dodgers got a pretty solid contributor. The only question now is how the club will find playing time in an already crowded outfield. That kinda worked itself out shortly after the deadline passed. This team may still be able to go for it against the Giants in the West