Tag: Seattle

Seattle Just Got an NHL Franchise

By on • ( Leave a comment )

We all knew the day was coming to get the NHL to 32 teams. Vegas joined the league last year in what wound up being the most successful run by an expansion franchise in their inaugural season ever. Seattle will begin play in the 2021-2022 season, the same year my Islanders get their new arena in Belmont. Seattle’s arena situation is a bit different though. They would be playing in a newly renovated KeyArena, which is going under a $700 million overall. When construction is finished, the rink will seat 17,400 for hockey and 18,600 for basketball (pending they’re able to convince the NBA to bring home the Sonics).

Bringing the NHL to a total of 32 teams comes with some obvious changes. First of all, it would require a bit of realignment in the pacific division. The Western Conference currently sits at eight teams in the Pacific with seven in the Central, and if you’ve recently seen where Seattle lines up on a map, you’ll know that they’d have to be placed in the Pacific for this to make any sense. This will require movement from one of the existing Pacific teams, which most experts are pinning on the Arizona Coyotes to make the jump to the Central.

The expansion of a Seattle franchise also will require another expansion draft, a process that seemingly worked out very well for the Vegas Golden Knights last time around. All teams will be able to protect a certain combination of players like in the previous Vegas expansion draft. Bill Daly has confirmed June 2021 for Seattle’s draft. All I can say is if the Seattle franchise can select half as decent as the Golden Knights did, we’ll be in for a competitive team right off the bat.

Finally, the team will need to settle on a name. The Seattle Metropolitans is one I keep seeing thrown around, based on the history the name has with the city.

Over 100 years ago, the Seattle Metropolitans were the first American franchise to ever win the Stanley Cup, before the NHL was even formed. Some are pushing to reinstate that name for the incoming team, but as a lifelong New York Mets fan team, I do not wish that bad juju on anyone.

Top 5 Moments from Week 12 in the NFL

By on • ( Leave a comment )

In case you were too hungover to watch anything else after the Patriots game yesterday, we’ve compiled the Top 5 moments from Week 12. A lot of wild plays were made yesterday so here’s what you need to see.

Christian McCaffrey had a downright Madden kind of game on Sunday rushing for 125 yards and a TD while also catching 11 balls for 112 yards and another TD through the air. Incredible performance from the Stanford product as he continues to prove he’s more than just the “receiving” back many projected him to be in the NFL.

Speaking of Madden type plays, this one from Browns tight end David Njoku for a TD is the exact type of play in Madden that would have made me fire my controller off the wall in college. Glitch city.

We’ve got Seattle runningback Chris Carson doing Matrix type flips on the field. Usually leaving your feet NEVER ends well, somehow Carson ends up right back where he started unharmed and ready to run.

If we’re being honest, that flip and that landing really reminded me more of this than anything else:

Baker Mayfield continues to live dangerously going off for four TDs in a win over the Bengals. After the game he took ex-head coach Hue Jackson, who is now an assistant with division rival Cincinnati, behind the shed after the game.

Ben Roethlisberger just gift wrapped the No. 2 seed for the Patriots with one of the worst interceptions you will ever see. In a game where he threw for 462 yards and a TD, Big Ben completely submarined the entire day with one awful throw.

Richard Sherman is Launching His Own Daily Fantasy Sports Site

By on • ( Leave a comment )

ESPN – San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman is entering the daily fantasy sports business. Sherman announced Thursday that his new fantasy site, Daily Number, will be launching paid contests in 23 states. Sherman is the co-founder, along with CEO Tom McAuley, and will be the chief brand ambassador, appearing in an upcoming video ad campaign.

While many NFL stars have endorsed fantasy sites, Sherman is believed to be one of the first, if not the first, to have a founding stake in a fantasy game.

I don’t know if now is the best time to just be getting into the daily fantasy business if you’re a competitor, but Richard Sherman’s a smart dude so I’ll give his new venture, Daily Number, a shot.

I try not to shoot down these equity based deals athletes sign and give it a chance first. Not because of how great or not their company is, but because of the power of branding.

Just look at Kobe Bryant and the sports drink he invested in, BodyArmor. If you asked me what BodyArmor was a few years ago I would have had no idea. If you showed me a bottle I would have said “oh right its that bootleg sports drink they sell at gas stations.”

Well Kobe’s magic branding powers touched BodyArmor, along with his $6 million investment, and less than 5 years later that investment is worth $200 MILLION. Good for him, Kobe really needed it.

So my point is, it doesn’t matter how big the competition is, there’s always room for the new guy on the block.

“Daily Number features a unique twist on traditional fantasy, with entrants creating seven-player rosters that attempt to eclipse a predetermined total amount of fantasy points, set by the site and known as the “daily number.” Each roster is given a rating. The more superstars on a roster the lower the payout is for teams that score more points than the daily number.”

The idea behind Sherman’s daily fantasy site is that instead of picking players based on monetary values like you do with DraftKings or Fan Duel, you pick a team of 7 players. Its like a middle ground between daily fantasy and regular fantasy football leagues, which is actually kind of smart. I don’t really mess with DK too much because I feel like I’m just getting hustled by algorithms and MIT math nerds. Sherman’s venture could provide the best of both worlds and help dummies like me feel, probably incorrectly, that they have a shot at winning some cash on daily fantasy.

I can’t imagine the NFL is thrilled with one of its most prominent players being a founding member of a company thats sole purpose is to gamble on games he is actively playing in. It would be hard for a cornerback to have a huge effect on someone’s fantasy day with thousands of different lineups running all at the same time, but it sure as shit won’t be hard for someone to poke holes in it.

Either way you know the commercials for this thing is gonna be dynamite with an older Richard Sherman who gives even less of a fuck what the NFL thinks about what he says or does. So you got me Richard, I’ll try it.

The Yet to Exist Seattle NHL Team Just Sold 25K Season Tickets. In an Hour

By on • ( Leave a comment )

ESPN – Seattle fans have spoken: They want hockey. The Oak View Group, the prospective owners of a potential NHL franchise in Seattle, say they reached 25,000 deposits within the first hour of their season-ticket drive Thursday. That exceeds the goal of 10,000 deposits — which was reached in the first 12 minutes. The group says its website has slowed down because of the influx in traffic, though deposits are still being accepted. The OVG reached a deal with the city of Seattle for $600 million to renovate KeyArena downtown. As a hockey venue, it is expected to seat about 17,000. In February, the OVG submitted paperwork, including a $10 million down payment, to the NHL to be its 32nd franchise. The league is likely to accept the bid pending the results of the season-ticket drive. The Vegas Golden Knights ran a season-ticket drive in 2015; that campaign received 5,000 deposits in the first two days.

What a genius marketing ploy by the NHL. Oh you want an NHL team, Seattle? Well we’re gonna need you to sell all of your season tickets for a team that doesn’t technically exist yet. Its a win-win move for both sides. The NHL gets a resounding Yes to the question “does this city really want an NHL team?” Seattle gets to actually justify the renovations to KeyArena in the HOPE a professional sports league blesses them with a team.

This should be the way expansion cities are selected in every major sport moving forward. Why would you go through all the work of putting an expansion team (or relocating a team) to a city if you’re not 100% sure its going to work? Thats how we got stuck with the Arizona Coyotes for the past 20 years.

I know oftentimes these deals are wink wink behind closed doors, but now cities don’t have to build an entire arena with a surrounding complex and pray a pro team wants to move there. Thats how it worked in Ballers on HBO anyway and thats all the research I intend to do on the matter.

But holy shit does Seattle want a hockey team. Or I guess any team really. You’d be the same way too if the best young player in the game and his entire team up and moved to OKLAHOMA CITY on you.

But 25K tix in an HOUR?! Thats bananas. It took the Las Vegas Golden Knights two days to reach 5K. So this is a done deal now. The NHL is going to Seattle. I for one and fired up because I’ve always wanted to go to Seattle and eat sushi in the bleachers at Safeco, but this gives me one more reason to fly out there. Package it with a Seahawks game to see the 12s to see Russell Wilson by day and the TBD Seattle NHL team by night.
Plus you just know this team’s jersey will be bright as fuck obnoxious lime green and I am here for it. Love the neon colorway, need more of it in my life.

 

Seattle Approves $660 Million Stadium in the HOPE an NHL Team Will Come

By on • ( 1 Comment )

SI – The Seattle City Council approved a plan Monday to renovate the aging Key Arena with the goal of attracting an NHL or NBA team. The $660 million project and any cost overruns will be covered entirely by the Los Angeles-based Oak View Group. The company claims it can reopen the arena by the fall of 2020. Seattle has tried numerous times to build a new arena for a potential pro sports franchise but previous efforts have been unsuccessful.

Holy shit, I know people on the west coast are a lot more optimistic than my brethren here in the Northeast, but even this is wild. I’m sure there have been some wink, wink agreements, but I ain’t putting a goddamn dollar down unless I have something in writing about a pro team coming to town. Otherwise you’re going to have the nicest facility in the country that Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran can play at once a year. Props to the city for getting a private equity group to cover the costs. As Miami will tell you, saddling a city with the bill for an entire arena is a goddamn disaster that residents end up paying off for 30 years. If the Boston Red Sox themselves threatened to leave town unless the city paid for a new stadium with the public’s tax dollars, I’d drive them to the airport myself.

The Supersonics leaving Seattle remains one of the all-time great screwjobs in sports history. Especially because they had JUST drafted Kevin Durant and you saw how great he was going to be.

Then they up and moved to OKC and formed the Thunder. I would be so goddamn bitter if that happened to me. Like if the Celtics just moved to Milwaukee, I’d probably never watch the NBA again. Which is probably why they’re shooting for an NHL franchise. If you get dumped you don’t go crawling back to your ex asking them to take you back. No, you find a chick thats twice as hot and flaunt that shit. AKA a shiny new stadium with a new NHL team for a ravenous fanbase.

I hope it works out for ya Seattle, I truly do, because there is nothing I want more than to eat sushi in the bleachers at Safeco Field. Combine that with a little Starbucks brewery tour and an NHL game? Now thats a pretty sweet little trip.

I Am Offended at the Lack of Patriots Fans That Want to Go for 19-0

By on • ( 1 Comment )

It seems like the topic du jour around the local sports media is whether the Patriots can realistically (or should even attempt it) go a perfect 19-0. Except there seems to be less people talking about if they can do it and more people just straight up refusing to talk about it and saying its stupid to do so. USA Today thinks its doable. But basically every other media personality wants no part of it.

As a Patriots fan, the lack of people that want to go for 19-0 personally offends me.

Guys, I know it brings up bad memories. We almost had it in 2007. It was in the palms of our hands, less than 2 minutes to go and the 07 Patriots would be crowned the greatest team of all time.

If Asante Samuel makes that interception. If David Tyree plays like the insurance salesman he really is, if Rodney Harrison somehow jars that ball lose from his fucking helmet, if the refs actually called holding on the Giants offensive line on that play. The list goes on and on.

That shit used to kill me. Used to. But I noticed something recently. The 07 Super Bowl highlights come on….and I watch them. It doesn’t make me physically ill anymore. I can watch those clips and say ah man that sucked, without smashing a pint glass off my wall like I would have done a few years ago. Winning two Super Bowls since then goes a looong way in healing that pain. Brady’s 5-2 in the SB for christ’s sake. That will always be the most painful loss of my life. I was a freshman in college and my direct roommate was a Giants fan, not to mention half my hallway. So losing in that fashion, surrounded by that many Giants fans in neutral territory as a young, inebriated boyish man, that was a tough pill to swallow.

But like I said, one of the greatest Super Bowls EVER against Seattle with the Malcolm Butler pick to seal the W was cathartic; the greatest comeback of all time against the Falcons in 2016 gave us all our swagger back. You can’t say shit to us. You can’t hurt us.

The Patriots have 5 Super Bowl rings, Tom Brady is a 2x MVP, a 4x Super Bowl MVP, he had one of his greatest seasons ever during the Deflategate saga, and then was suspended the following year only to come back, tear it up and win another fucking Super Bowl. Belichick and Brady are the. Greatest. Of. All. Time. So…what do you get the men who have everything? The only thing left. Perfection

Its the ultimate. Its the only thing left that the Patriots don’t have. And there will always be the Felgers of the world saying we as Patriots fans all have a persecution complex (is it paranoid if its true though?) and theres nothing left to prove. But, tell someone they can’t do something or don’t need something and what do they want? Exactly. We’ve conquered the AFC East, we’ve conquered fan bases in St. Louis, Carolina, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Atlanta, we’ve taken on the league and the commissioner himself and come out with one for the thumb. TB12 is 40 years old and playing better than anyone has ever played the position. Minneaposix™ is the goal, but 19-0 will always be the ultimate.

PS – Plus if the Pats do go 19-0 I can get my fucking t-shirts back stateside.

Conspiracy Theory Alert: Did the Patriots Host Adrian Peterson to Grease the Wheels on a Richard Sherman Trade?

By on • ( Leave a comment )

CBS Sports – The Patriots’ whirlwind of big offseason moves may not be over yet. After being mentioned in recent trade rumors involving Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, it appears that the team’s interest in his services is still alive. The Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe tweeted on Wednesday that the Patriots still have “some” interest in trading for Sherman. Howe was following up on candid comments made by Seahawks GM John Schneider regarding Seattle’s own interest in moving the super-talented (three-time All-Pro) but expensive ($11 million base salary) 29-year-old cornerback.

As everyone knows, there have been rumors floating around that the Patriots are interested in acquiring the Seahawks shutdown corner Richard Sherman. I would love to have a guy like Sherman on this Pats team, especially if they are debating dealing Malcolm Butler. Now lets unpack this conspiracy theory with everything else thats been happening the past week.

The Patriots hosted free agent Adrian Peterson on Monday, which was Peterson’s FIRST free agent visit of the offseason. Peterson obviously has his own baggage after abusing his toddler and getting suspended by the Vikings. So not surprisingly the free agent market has been a bit slow for a 32 year old RB coming off knee surgery with that kind of shit going on.

When news broke of Peterson’s visit to the Patriots pretty much everyone asked why? Runningback isn’t exactly at the top of the Pats list of needs, especially not one embroiled in a case like his. Even more so after Jonathan Kraft ripped the dude on the radio. So what could it be? As some have speculated, were the Patriots maybe doing his agent Ben Dogra a solid? Bring in AP for a visit to get the ball rolling and drum up some interest in the RB around the rest of the league? Sure, maybe, but still doesn’t quite explain it.

Then the Sherman rumors come out that he might be available via trade and the Patriots were one of the teams inquiring. And as Scott Zolack mentioned on the air today; who is Richard Sherman’s agent? Ben Dogra. Yes, the same Dogra that represents Adrian Peterson.

So sure its still an NFL trade for a superstar and the Pats would need to give up something to get something, but maybe Dogra helps steer a potential Sherman trade to the Pats after Belichick helped drum up interest on Peterson.

Its called quid pro quo guys.

Rating Yahoo’s Rankings of the Best Possible Patriots Super Bowl Matchups

By on • ( Leave a comment )

sblilogo

So I’ll save you the pain of imagining a Texans-Cowboys Super Bowl matchup, which Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner had ranked as the worst possible game. Four of the top 5 and 5 of the top 7 potential matchups are all Patriots games too. Who says people don’t wanna see another Pats SB? To the ratings!

7. Patriots – Giants: “Third time’s gotta be a charm, right Pats fans?”

Rating: A+ // This game would be the granddaddy of them all. I would be living off adrenaline and anxiety for two weeks straight leading up to this game. I need to beat the Giants in a Super Bowl more than I need oxygen. It’s like acid in my mouth. Buuuttt, Playoffs Eli scares the shit out of me for obvious reasons and I don’t think I can emotionally handle a 3rd straight SB loss to the Giants. But there coach has a mustache and looks like he’s on a list somewhere so maybe things are different this time. Tread carefully.

benmcadoo

5. Patriots – Seahawks: “Seattle isn’t what it’s been in the past, but it beat New England in Foxborough this season and Super Bowl 49 was an absolute classic. We’ll gladly roll the dice on another round.”

Rating: B+ // This would be another great matchup, the rematch of arguably the best Super Bowl ever with (not arguable) the greatest ending ever. Part of me worries the Seahawks get their revenge, but the last 5 times the Pats have played Seattle have gone: Loss (2016 reg season), Win (SB XLIX), Loss (2012 reg season), Win (2008 reg season). Soo science says the Patriots win this one.

butlersbint

shermansb

4. Patriots – Falcons: “This matchup might not be at the front of everyone’s mind, but it has just as much potential for a great game with the league’s top scoring defense (New England) trying to harness the league’s top scoring offense (Atlanta).”

Rating: C+ // I want to rank this higher, but every angle that the media will play to hype this game seem forced. Thomas Dmitroff left NE, built this Atlanta team and is now going against his former boss Bill Belichick, Former Boston College stud Matt Ryan going up against the Boston pro team etc. However it would be pretty interesting to see the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense (ATL) vs the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense (NE) and see who takes the title.

patriotsfalcons

3. Patriots – Packers: “Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers. What more do you need?”

Rating: B- // Yahoo somehow did not mention a SB XXXI rematch?? (Still the best SB logo ever BTW) Belichick was just a young pup in 1996, the assistant coach under Bill Parcells. Think Belichick would love to beat the same franchise his mentor and boss couldn’t? Plus Brady vs Rodgers would indeed be a matchup made in Madden exhibition mode.

sbxxxi

1. Patriots – Cowboys: “Yes, Super Bowl media week would be insane and there’s no way anyone is running out of storylines with Jerry Jones around. But take away the hoopla that would cause TV ratings records to be smashed and we’re still left with a game between two teams that were the best in the NFL from wire to wire this year. If this matchup happens, it’ll be the fourth straight Super Bowl that the No. 1 seeds meet in the Super Bowl.”

Rating: B+ // The two biggest franchises in the NFL. America’s Team vs the Team That Invented America. The parallels are crazy too. A young QB stepping in for the injured veteran, playing so well he keeps the job and leads his team to a Super Bowl title. Shit, no I don’t like the way this is setting up. Luckily the Pats run defense is their strength because Ezekiel Elliot could dominate this game single handedly. In the end though I think Brady and co. make it a track meet and I don’t think Dak Prescott, as well as he’s played, is ready to win that kind of game yet.

Richard Sherman Already Complaining Refs Protect Tom Brady Too Much

By on • ( 1 Comment )

0374960001440085780_filepicker

CSNNE – “They’ve got several rules to protect him in various situations so you’ve got to be careful with how you sack him.”

Here we go again, Richard Sherman firing up the hype machine and making pre-emptive excuses. Look the only reason you say stuff like this is so you have something to point to when you lose. Two years ago when he was really balling out, Sherman would have just said TB12 sucks or is too old to get it done. Not now, he sees the way Brady is playing and wants to hedge his bets before Sunday Night.

Now I actually like Richard Sherman, but he’s definitely overrated. That pick he had last week against Buffalo was practically a fair catch so don’t give me that.

Is he trying to get the refs attention ahead of the game to not coddle Brady? Probably. But hey this is the NFL, it’s absolutely a QB’s league. With that being said Brady has been taking some massive shots in recent weeks, too many for my liking, so Sherman can pipe down with that.

Tom Brady loves going after defensive players talking shit during the week to try and burn them and I think that’s what Rich is setting himself up for here. People don’t forget.

bradysherman2

Patriots 28-21