Rosters are finalized, teams are ready, and the Euro 2016 is set to kick off on Friday, June 10th. Just two years removed from their World Cup triumph, Germany looks to continue its dominance. But their quest for European domination will not be easy, as they will have to face off against a number of other top teams, one of them being the host nation, France. Before I give too much away, let’s get…
Winning on the road is vital to playoff success. Not only that, but winning Game 1 is even more so pivotal to winning the series. Thanks to the statistics collected at WhoWins, when a team wins Game 1 of the NBA Finals, they go on to win the series 71% of the time. If a team wins Game 1 of the NBA Finals at home, then the odds jump up to them…
Yankees and tanking are two words you don’t usually hear in the same sentence. Hell, its been decades since the last time the Yankees didn’t think they were playing for a pennant through August. But right now, things need to change. They have won just one championship in the past 15 years and just two playoff series in the past six years. To any other franchise this is fairly normal, but…
We here at Check Down were honored to be able to interview Stuart Sternberg, principal owner of the Tampa Bay Rays. After taking over the Rays in 2005, Stuart’s presence helped usher in an new era of success for the previously downtrodden franchise. Most notably, the Rays won the American League pennant in 2008 in one of the more stunning single-season turnarounds in MLB history. But another impressive feat that…
After being down three games to one with poor performances from their star players, the Warriors seemed to hit rock bottom last week. Or, at least that’s how the media made it seem. Talk about how overrated and un-clutch Steph Curry and the Warriors are was ubiquitous on just about every sports media outlet. Everyone was counting them out. This is the unanimous MVP? This is the team with the best…
Atletico Madrid may have come up short in the Champions League Final, but amidst all the drama Yannick Carrasco exemplified how awesome he really is. In the 79th minute, Carrasco scored the equalizer on a cross from Juanfran. Carrasco’s skill and precision were flaunted as he was able to get his cleat ahead of a sliding Lucas Vazquez and guide the ball into the back of the net. But that’s not…
And after 9 long months, it’s finally here. The UEFA Champions League Final. Through the rigorous international competition, only two clubs have stood the test of time and now play for their spot in history. And these two clubs happen to share a city. This year’s Champions League Final will start the next chapter in what is an already bitter rivalry between Real and Atlético Madrid. Despite playing each other in a number of…
As Italian national coach Antonio Conte was finalizing his Euro 2016 roster, he chose to omit former Juventus and national team players Sebastian Giovinco and Andrea Pirlo. What’s similar between these two players? They both decided to leave Serie A and join the MLS. Conte made it very clear that both Giovinco and Pirlo’s decision to play in the U.S. did hurt their chances for making the national team. Pirlo has had a…
*Record 9-9* And just like that the series is tied up at 2-2. Who would have thought that the Raptors, after looking hopeless in Game 1 and 2, would win the next two to even up the series? I know I didn’t and chances are 90% of you reading this didn’t to. But if your a fan of competitive basketball, you have to love it. Hell, I want this series to go…
Through all the speculation and rumors, word broke today that apparently both Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor have agreed to fight in September. This fight would bring a huge amount publicity for both mixed martial arts and boxing. Both sports, although UFC is still relatively young, lack the popularity to compete with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Maybe a fight of this magnitude, pairing the faces of boxing and UFC against each other, can…