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 …
Read More »Wide open AFC playoffs begin with serious challenges to Chiefs
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 …
Read More »Giants loss of Correa is Steve Cohen and the Mets Christmas gain
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The San Francisco Giants had called a press conference. They were set to introduce the new face of their franchise, Carlos Correa. After agreeing to a 13-year, $350 million deal with the shortstop, the Giants front office invited Correa and his agent, Scott Boras, out to San …
Read More »Dodgers, Braves and Mets lead stacked NL pennant hopefuls
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The 2021 World Series Champion Atlanta Braves have staged another second half rally, overtaking the New York Mets in the final week of the season to win the National League East after trailing the Mets by 10.5 games on June 1st, and by 6.5 games as recently …
Read More »Path to American League Pennant still goes through Houston
BY J.A.SCHWARTZ Despite a delayed start to the season (remember the lockout?), the 2022 Major League Baseball Playoffs will start on Friday. The Dodgers won a league best 111 games, setting a franchise record in the process, and would seem to be the prohibitive favorites to claim this year’s championship. …
Read More »Twins hoping to reverse history as season enters homestretch
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The Minnesota Twins made the playoffs in three of the past five seasons, and won the American League Central in both 2019 and 2020 before their nightmarish 2021 campaign. During that ill-fated season, the Twins finished last, 20 games back of the division winning White Sox. This …
Read More »Ex-A’s manager Melvin digging other side of Billy Ball with Pads
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ In his first season as manager of the Padres, Bob Melvin recently had the very delicate task of navigating a major league locker room full of players fraught with anxiety as the trade deadline approached. General Manager A. J. Preller, who is among the most driven and …
Read More »Browns signing of QB Watson highlights NFL’s moral dilemma
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ Even though the narrative around Deshaun Watson in the context of a possible trade has focused on how women would react to his acquisition, why should men feel differently about his alleged behavior? Each of the franchises in the league has female fans. Most NFL owners, coaches, …
Read More »A’s losing streak now nine straight after sweep by Twins
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The A’s lost their ninth straight game Sunday, losing 4-3 to the red-hot Twins who captured their ninth consecutive victory at Target Field in front of 14,295 on a damp Mother’s Day in Minneapolis. Many players from both teams featured pink highlights to their uniforms (socks, gloves, …
Read More »Giants and Pads resume chase to pass Dodgers when it counts
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The National League West was home to the two best teams in the majors last year during the regular season. The San Francisco Giants set a franchise record with 107 wins, and won the division by a single game over the Dodgers. The Giants finally wrested the …
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