Priory Press Spring Sports Overview

MLB Opening Week:

With Opening Day being March 28th, all MLB teams have played one series of 3 or 4 games and are in a 2nd series currently (except the Padres and Dodgers). 

There are 2 undefeated teams: The Pirates and the Tigers. The winless teams are the Mets and Marlins. The teams leading their respective divisions are the Yankees, Tigers, Rangers/Angels, Braves, Pirates, and Dodgers. Some major additions during the offseason have already made a massive impact for their team. An example would be Corbin Burnes for the Orioles, who on opening day had 11 strikeouts through 6 innings. Juan Soto has also aided the Yankees’ bats very well, having a .417 BA already. There are some who have not done so well thus far, like Yamamoto who had a rough outing in the Seoul series and let up 5 runs in the first inning. Another example would be Josh Hader with the Astros, who let up 2 runs in the final inning to the Blue Jays for a loss. There are still around 156 games to play for each team so there's still a bright side for everyone, prepare for a long season and play ball!

NHL Playoff Push: With around 7 games left of the regular season for most teams, we have a pretty good idea of what the playoff picture is for the NHL. The Panthers And Bruins have already clinched spots in the Atlantic Division. The Hurricanes and Rangers have also locked in playoff spots in the Metropolitan. The Stars and the Avalanche have both taken spots in the Central, and the last spot clinched is the Canucks in the Pacific. In the Atlantic, The Maple Leafs and Lightning are in the lead for the next playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals and Flyers, both with 82 points, would take the last wildcard spots if the season ended today. Teams who still have a good chance for a playoff spot are the Red Wings, Blues, and Islanders. There are only 4 teams who have mathematically been eliminated from playoff contention: The Sharks, Ducks, Blackhawks, and Blue Jackets. So far, it looks like the Rangers and Stars would get the #1 seed and the Rangers edge out the Stars by 1 point for the president's trophy.

**MLS Opening Month: Everyone in the MLS has played 5 or 6 games after Matchday 6 being March 30th (Inter Miami has 7). There are 2 winless teams out of the 29: The Sounders and the Revolution, and 3 undefeated teams: Cincinnati, Philadelphia Union, and the LA Galaxy.

NFL Free Agency: The NFL has seen significant shifts in recent weeks, with huge roster changes and rule changes, but I'm here to give a personal opinionated grade for each team’s free agency. Starting with the AFC East, the Bills get a B-seeing as they lost a lot of their defense, so to division rivals, and you can just feel that their Super Bowl window is almost gone at this point: they made a lot of signings to replace what they lost, but it just won't be the same. The Dolphins get a B+ since they really tried to hatch down on improving their defense, which went to waste when they lost Christian Wilkins, but taking Jordan Poyer, Shaq Barret, and Kendall Fuller will prove to help out the Dolphins at least a little bit. The Patriots get a B- only because their main free agency move will  be the draft, and they just re-signed a bunch of offensive weapons and restructured some people, so not much. However, they did trade Mac Jones at the horrible price of a 6th rounder to the Jags. The Jets get a B+: they got a wideout for Aaron Rodgers, got an O-line for Aaron Rodgers, and got more pieces on the defense for Aaron Rodgers, just for him to not play and join politics. 

Moving to the AFC North, the Ravens get a A- as they resigned most of their defense but did a King for a Queen exchange. They got Derrick Henry from the Titans, but lost Patrick Queen to the Steelers. The Bengals get a B. They did nothing wrong and ended the whole Tee Higgins drama, but losing DJ Reader is going to hurt that defense. But Geno Stone is a good piece to add, and Zack Moss as a replacement for Joe Mixon isn't really that big of a deal. The Grade stays because they probably won't get Justin Jefferson, but who knows? The Browns get a C+... everyone was surprised they didn't re-sign Joe Flacco and are still stuck in this QB carousel; they signed Jameis and Huntley, but I think the year won't change for them as much. They also paid too much for Jerry Jeudy, but those are the negatives. The positives are signing Devin Bush and Jordan Hicks, but that's about it. The Steelers get an A. They got Justin Fields at a very low-risk trade in addition to Patrick Queen -- their only problem from them being that a better team would include Arthur Smith, but hopefully, this team can play better than a 9-8/10-7 season again.

In the AFC South, the Texans get an A+. It was going to be lower, but I just found out Stefon Diggs got traded there so it's an easy A+. The Texans massively improved their offense and defense massively without losing much at all. What’s more, they re-signed almost everyone and got a lot of new great additions. This is a superstar team, AFC Championship or bust. The Colts get a B… they lost Zack Moss and Gardner Minshew but easily replaced him with Joe Flacco, and they kept Michael Pittman, who's been a heavily underrated player and better than Terry Mclaurin, fight me. The Jags get a C+ after a 1-5 collapse. Their moves make it seem like everything is fine, but their division is getting more competitive than they think, losing Calvin Ridley is a big deal since they were not gonna pay him as much as they got, plus Gabe Davis is pretty much the same. Not much else here, good luck I guess? The Titans get an A- since they fixed most of their problems and got some good additions. The only 2 things that I wonder about is why they paid Calvin Ridley so much and what they are going to do in the draft. QB? Defense?

The last AFC Division is the West, and starting with the Broncos, they get a C-. They let Russel Wilson walk, got nobody who is truly notable, and they really need to give up a lot to move up in the draft, or they are stuck with Jarret Stidham as their starter for the year. The Chiefs get a B+: they finally got a wideout, and they payed Chris Jones the big bucks, which is all they really needed to do, but losing L´jarius sneed might hurt. This should have been an A otherwise. Raiders get a B. They got Gardner Minshew and Christian Wilkins, really good but I just wish they kept Josh Jacobs, there were not any good replacements for him, and the signing came out of nowhere. The Chargers get a C. Ok sure, you got your coach but you lost everything else, your entire offense except Herbert is gone, but at least you have a chance of getting Marvin Harrison.

Finally in the NFC, starting with the East: The Cowboys get a D. If Jerry Jones just kept his mouth shut I would probably give a B-, but Dak is giving them a lot of problems, and there are rumors of him being traded, really close to failing here. Giants get a C+, you lost the heart of your offense, but you got Brian Burns, but it's not a one man defense especially with losing Xaiver Mckinney, so this grade fits, at least you tried. Eagles get an A, the negatives are quite substantial, Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox retiring hurt, Haason Reddick is gone, but they sure made up for it with a lot of additions. Between Saquon, some WR´s, re-signing Landon Dickerson, Bryce Huff is huge, Devin White and Gardner Johnson, they will be back like they never left (at least they should be). The Commanders get a B, everything they did was pretty good, but their only concern is HC Dan Quinn, they have the roster to get some wins, but how will the coaching staff mess this up?

Next is the NFC North, beginning with the Bears. Bears get a B+, they made their decision, they will be drafting their QB with the #1 overall pick and made sure they got a good team for that QB. Signing Swift was a little confusing to me, but Keenan Allen for cheap, and a more solid defense than before, they should get more than 4th place in the division this time. The Lions got an A-, they knew their objective and they did it well, bolting down that defense so they didn't blow a 24-7 lead. The Packers get a B, they lost a fan favorite but got a RB debatably better, and got some safety help, they can make the Lions run for that division title. The Vikings get a C, losing your QB hurts, getting Sam Darnold hurts more, getting Aaron Jones just to anger  your rivals might make you feel a little better and getting replacements for your lost defensive pieces make you feel solid, but then you remember you have to do everything you can to keep Justin Jefferson, lets see if that works. If he's gone, straight to D-.

NFC South, starting with my Atlanta Falcons, as many sports reporters would agree the Falcons get an A. With no bias, let me explain for them. Yes, we understand the risk with Kirk Cousins, but QB was our problem so how can you blame us for making sure we do our task well? We also got rid of our god-awful head coach by replacing him with another mid-tier coach. I still expect us not to win the division, but the year after is ours. The Panthers get a C+, you guys are lucky that you made so many moves; otherwise, you are very close to an F with how you mismanaged Brian Burns. The Saints get a B-, you guys are just gonna repeat what you did last year let me not waste my page space. The Bucs get a B+ you calmed everyone's mouth down by getting your main pieces resigned, you lost some defensive pieces but it's still solid.

Turning our attention to the NFC West, let's begin with the Cardinals, who earn a solid B-. You made some moves but not any team-changing moves, you guys were barely in the headlines, but with losing Hollywood Brown, it's pretty clear you guys are gonna get Marvin Harrison, since you don´t really need a QB, with Kyler for a full year, 6 wins or more (please for Max Kroloff´s sake). The Rams get a B, you didn't really need to do anything for the most part, but you need a replacement for Aaron Donald at the very least, what a legend. The 49ers also get a B because you didn't lose anyone major (yet). You don't have to do very much, you guys are just cursed. Lastly, the Seahawks saunter in with a C+. Despite missing the playoffs and waving goodbye to their coach, they seem oddly laid-back. Still, they're not one to be counted out easily; expect them to bring the heat when the game is on the line. Take these musings with a grain of salt; they're just one fan's thoughts in a sea of predictions. Let's see who proves us all wrong come game day!

Men's March Madness: If I had all the space in the world, I could pen a 10-paragraph saga about my emotional rollercoaster during this tournament. For an overview of the 1st round, it wasn’t total chaos, but things got crazy. Grand Canyon upsetting St. Mary´s, Duquesne just squeaking by BYU, Auburn choking to Yale, Florida getting screwed over by a no-call, Steph Gohlke and Oakland beating Kentucky, and NC State beating Texas Tech. The 2nd round had all favorites winning except for Gonzaga beating Kansas. The Sweet 16 was wild, UNC lost a game they had against Alabama, Arizona not making it past the 3rd round again, Houston losing to Duke without Jamal Shead, and NC State continuing their run and beating Marquette. They have to lose at some point. Or not, as on Easter Sunday, they beat Duke and are in the final four. Alabama beating Clemson in a close one. Illinois just not showing up against Uconn, and Purdue beating Tennessee. Saturday April 6th, will have NC State against Purdue and Uconn VS Alabama. Though my heart yearns for an Alabama triumph, it's gonna be Uconn and Purdue in the final (I hope I jinx it).          

NBA Playoff Push: The Celtics, Thunder, and Nuggets are the only teams to clinch a playoff spot. If the Mavericks win just 1 game, they will get a playoff spot. The teams that have been eliminated are the Grizzlies, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Jazz, Hornets, Pistons, Raptors, and Wizards. Currently, the playoff picture has the Warriors VS Lakers and Suns Vs Kings in the play-in tournament for the West. The 7th seed would play the Nuggets, and the 8th seed would play the Thunder. The Clippers and Mavericks would play each other as well as the Timberwolves and Pelicans. In the Eastern, The Hawks and Bulls would face each other in the play-in tournament, and the Heat would face the 76ers. The 7th seed would play the Bucks, and the 8th seed would play the Celtics. The Knicks and Magic face each other as the 4th and 5th seed, and the last matchup is the Cavaliers facing the Pacers. The only 2 teams outside the playoffs who have a chance are the Rockets, who are 2 games back from the Warriors, though they have  great momentum right now. The Nets are 6.5 games behind the Hawks and would need a lot of losses from them to make it into the play-in tournament.