The weekly Butterfield breakdown
Bringing major league news to you.
Hey all, I hope the first week or so back hasn’t been too difficult with the new socially distanced learning that’s taking place across the University. I understand that some people don’t have the same lax schedule that other individuals do, so as a new series (who knows how long it’ll last) I’m going to help you keep up with the latest and greatest in the world of sports. I’m throwing together a quick and effective “what’s what” as to what’s happening in the national and international areas of various major leagues. Those interested can check out the news below:
NHL:
We’re getting down to the Stanley Cup Finalists now, although both Conference Final series haven’t ended yet. The Dallas Stars and The Tampa Bay Lightning are now in prime position to move on to the final best of 7, but as any big hockey fan will tell you, it ain’t over until it’s over.
In other news, the free agency (set to start October 9) is also on the back of everyone’s minds as we get closer to a Cup champion. There’s a couple of big names up for grabs right now, with Taylor Hall, Torey Krug, Ilya Kovalchuk and Corey Crawford making up just a few that people should look out for.
NFL:
It was a big opening week for a lot of teams out there in the National Football League. As per my last sports article, there were a couple of interesting match-ups that actually ended up being interesting (see, not just throwing darts and seeing what sticks). The Arizona Cardinals and 49ers was one of the bigger upsets, showing that either the Cardinals have something special with the addition of DeAndre Hopkins (who recently received a two-year contract extension) or that the 49ers still haven’t shaken off that Super Bowl upset.
Cam Newton also had a successful debut as quarterback (QB) for the New England Patriots, defeating an abysmal-looking Dolphins. Ol’ Ryan Fitzpatrick certainly didn’t make the case to keep his position as starter in that game, throwing just under 200 yards and three interceptions.
In some other rapid-fire updates, Tom Brady lost his first game as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB, losing to Drew Brees and that stacked Saints team. The Chicago Bears had an impressive comeback win, showing that the Lions just continue to find new ways to lose. Joe Burrow lost his debut game with the Cincinnati Bengals after field goal kicker Randy Bullock missed a tying kick in the final seconds. And, finally, the Las Vegas Raiders got their first win as a franchise.
MLB:
The Major League Baseball playoffs inch ever closer, with the Wild Card Series (best of the three format) starting on September 29. The standings as of right now have some really interesting match-ups with regards to overall standings. Canada’s own Toronto Blue Jays are currently ranked number five and are being placed against the Minnesota Twins, who come in at number four.
Another series I’m personally excited for (assuming it pans out that way) will be the number three Oakland A’s versus the number six Houston Astros. I just feel that it has a lot of potential for some really great moments there.
NBA:
Unfortunately, The Toronto Raptors have seen an end to their playoff run, losing a Game 7 ‘winner takes all’ match-up against the Boston Celtics 92 to 87 despite the best efforts of Fred VanFleet and Kyle Lowery, who both ended up scoring over 30 points.
Moving forward to the conference finals, the current set match-up for the Eastern final will be the the Celtics and the Miami Heat. While in the West, we have the Los Angeles Lakers patiently waiting for their next opponent. This will either come in the form of the Denver Nuggets, who were able to extend their lifespan to a Game Seven with a 111 point victory, or the Los Angeles Clippers who, despite starting out a strong three games to one, have metaphorically dropped the ball. Personally, I’d like to see an LA versus LA match-up if only for the inter-city bragging rights.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this rundown, fingers crossed that there was enough in it to hold your attention. I do my best to keep the news as relevant or ‘up and coming’ as possible but sometimes there can be things that end up being a bit stale. Regardless, I look forward to bringing you the major news of the major leagues from week to week.
