BY J.A. SCHWARTZ As the 2023 season draws near, a bit of reflection about the relative state of the conferences may be required to fully understand the challenges and opportunities presented to each franchise as they seek to become Super Bowl champions in February of 2024. Ironically, the crowning contest …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ Of the four major North American sports leagues, the NFL is the only one that does NOT have fully guaranteed contracts. Every contract signed by an MLB, NBA or NHL player is fully guaranteed the moment it is signed. Those players know they’ll receive the money their …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The Dodgers had the best record in the Majors last season but only played four games in October after getting knocked off by San Diego in the opening round of the playoffs. Change is in the air in the NL West as the two Southern California rivals …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ Thirty seasons after making his managerial debut with the Giants, Dusty Baker finally lifted his first World Series trophy in 2022. All roads to a championship will continue to go thru Houston, but after breaking a 21 year postseason drought the Mariners are poised to stake their …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The 2022 season saw the heavyweight Braves and Mets both win 100 games and battle for the NL East title until the final day of the season, only to watch as the upstart Phillies surpassed them both in the postseason to capture the NL pennant and a …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The NL Central has been a two team race between the Cardinals and Brewers in recent seasons and will likely be again in 2023, with the rebuilding Cubs probably still a year away and the frugal Reds and Cubs barely competitive. This is the third of six …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The AL East has long been one of Baseball’s heavyweight divisions, with the Yankees and Red Sox consistently near the top of the sports highest payrolls. With the powerful Blue Jays poised to compete for a title, the always overachieving Rays, and the resurgence of the young …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ 2023 is a World Baseball Classic year, the first since the 2017 version that saw the United States win the tournament. The pandemic cancelled the 2020 edition, which means the US have been defending champions for the past six years. Superstars Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Pete Alonso, …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ It’s the second week of January, and now that the college football title game has been decided, fans of the sport will be riveted to their televisions to track which NFL team will emerge from a group of 14 hopefuls to lay claim to the Super Bowl …
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BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The Kansas City Chiefs secured the top overall seed in the AFC with their 14-3 record, but they’re not assured of home field advantage through the AFC Championship Game due to the the cancellation of the game between Cincinnati and Buffalo after Damar Hamiln’s tragic, near fatal …
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