Your Ultimate Stanley Cup Finals Preview

May 30, 2016

  The battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup begins Monday night in Pittsburgh. After upsetting the President’s trophy recipients-the Washington Capitals-and dethroning the reigning Eastern Conference champions-the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Pittsburgh Penguins are back in their first Cup Finals since 2009, when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games. Many thought that Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Pens would have many more opportunities to hoist another Cup….

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Introducing My Weekly MLB Power Rankings, Featuring Comparisons to TV Shows

May 30, 2016

  Alright….so how do I explain how this is going to work……Well does anyone read weekly power rankings? I’m sure you have. They mostly look like this. They’re all pretty boring. The only one that’s any good is Jonah Keri’s “The 30” for SI.com (I’m sure some of you will remember Keri from the ol’days of Grantland; now I’ll be back in a bit while I quietly sob alone for…

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Are the Thunder Dead on Arrival?

May 30, 2016

  That’s it. Call off the dogs. After squandering a chance to close out the Golden State Warriors on their home court Saturday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder must travel back to Oakland in a do-or-die Game Seven. I’m sure many are saying the Thunder are done. They may be right. Having picked Oklahoma City to win this series in seven games, I don’t want to write them off. But…

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Top Four Storylines in Stanley Cup Finals

May 27, 2016

This article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando.  Once again, we have a Stanley Cup Finals matchup that practically no one saw coming. The Penguins being here isn’t much of a surprise. After a slow start to the season, the Penguins turned things around after interim coach Mike Sullivan took over and they have thrived since. Even though the Tampa Bay Lightning gave them all…

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Pressure on Thunder as Series Heads Back to Oklahoma City

May 27, 2016

This article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando.  Facing elimination, the Golden State Warriors regained their swagger in a 120-111 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. In my estimation, it was Golden State’s most complete performance of the series, which should serve them in good stead as the series heads back to Oklahoma City Saturday night. There was a lot to like about the Warriors…

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The Morning Mando- May 27th

May 27, 2016

You’re reading The Morning Mando, a column released on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings about four of the most intriguing stories in sports. In today’s edition, I’ll break down what went right for the Warriors in their win over Oklahoma City last night and discuss why the pressure is firmly on the Thunder heading into Game 6. I’ll also look ahead to the top storylines in this year’s Stanley Cup…

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How to Bet Game 7 Between Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay

May 26, 2016

Over the past five years or so that I have really followed playoff hockey, I have noticed a few things about Game 7’s that I want to share with you today given that the Penguins and Lightning will play in one tonight. I’m really excited about this because of all the betting knowledge I have (or wish I had, lol), I’m very confident with my Game 7 hockey bets because, for…

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Surprise Studs & Duds of MLB Season (so far)

May 25, 2016

The article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando.  We’re roughly a third of the way through the MLB season, which means I think there is a large enough sample size to evaluate who the most surprising and disappointing players have been. So without further ado, here are seven surprising studs followed by seven of the biggest duds. Surprise Studs Jackie Bradley Jr., OF Boston Red…

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There Will Be a Game 7 in Pittsburgh; Will There Be One in St. Louis As Well?

May 25, 2016

This article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando.  The Pittsburgh Penguins held off the Tampa Lightning last night to force a Game 7 back in Pittsburgh. This is the second straight year the Eastern Finals will go to a seventh game, and it could be the third straight year for the Western Finals depending on what happens tonight. The San Jose Sharks hold a 3-2 lead…

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Oklahoma City is Poised to Pull Off One of Greatest Upsets in NBA History

May 25, 2016

With another victory over Golden State, the Thunder will pull off one of the greatest upsets in NBA history. Sure, upsets aren’t the same in the NBA as they are in other sports like the NHL and college basketball, so I get how this might not feel like an unbelievable upset. And after all, how big of an underdog can a team with two of the best players in the…

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