Stanley Cup and NBA Finals review

 The NBA and Stanley Cup Finals are finished, and it's time to do a little recap of them.

In the NBA Finals, the New York Knicks were up 3 games to 1 heading for game 5 in San Antonio. I wrote an article on game 4, if you want to check it out. Long story short, they pulled off the best comeback in NBA Finals history. So you can imagine the momentum they had going into game 5. They fell down 15 in the 3rd quarter, but cut the lead down to 7 at the end of the quarter. The 4th quarter was the Jalen Brunson show. He scored 15 points in the 4th, and 45 in total in that game. With 26 seconds left, the Knicks were up 2 points, and Josh Hart was sent to the free throw line. He made the first free throw, but missed the second. But Mitchell Robinson swooped in and got the rebound, and passed it to OG Anunoby, Game 4's hero. Anunoby was fouled and also made 1 of 2 free throws. The Spurs called a timeout, and Victor Wembanyama shot a 3 pointer and missed, but Stephon Castle got the rebound and the basket to cut the lead to 2. Mikal Bridges then took a turn at the free throw line and HE made 1 of 2 shots. Then it was Dylan Harper's turn. He did NOT make 1 of 2 shots. He made 0 of 2, and Anunoby shot 2 free throws and, you guessed it, made 1. Wembanyama missed another 3, Anunoby got the rebound and the Knicks were champs for the first time since 1973. 

In the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Las Vegas Golden Knights faced off in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Golden Knights fell behind 2-0 in the first 10 minutes of the Finals, but rallied to win game 1 5-4. The Hurricanes returned the favor by falling behind 2-0 in the first 2 periods and winning 4-3 in overtime. Game 3 was an instant classic. Vegas jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and it looked like they were gonna cruise their way to a 2-1 series lead. Not so fast. Carolina scored 4 goals in the 3rd period to send the game to overtime. There was still no winner after overtime, so we went to double overtime. Shea Theodore scored the winner in double overtime to win it for Vegas. In game 4 the Hurricanes got a 5-3 victory to even it up. Then they got a dominant 4-2 win in game 5 before getting a 3-0 shutout to clinch the Cup.

These were 2 incredible championship rounds, and 2 satisfying conclusions. I don't like the Knicks but it was nice to see them end a long drought. I am very happy that the Golden Knights lost because I can't stand John Tortorella. I think he's egotistical and as a Flyers fan, he did a terrible job as their coach. That's my thinking.

And that concludes the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals. They were 2 classics and I can't wait for them next year.

Knicks comeback down 29 points to win NBA Finals game 4

 The New York Knicks came back down 29 points to win game 4 of the NBA Finals and get a win away from their first NBA title in 53 years. They were trailing 76-49 at halftime and 81-52 with 9 minutes in the 3rd quarter to the San Antonio Spurs, but went on a 13-0 run in the next 5 minutes to make it a 16 point game, and eventually cut it down to 90-75 entering the 4th quarter. The Spurs went on a 5-0 run in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the quarter, but then the Knicks went insane and before you knew it, it was a single digit game. The Knicks took a 105-104 lead with 1:22 left in regulation, their first lead of the night. But then the Spurs' Stephon Castle was fouled by Josh Hart and had to shoot 2 free throws. He made them both to give the Spurs a lead. The following sequence was wild. Jalen Brunson, the Knicks' best player tried a floating shot. He missed and the Spurs' De'Aaron Fox got the ball. Instead of dribbling out the ball, he tried to dunk and was blocked by OG Anunoby. The Knicks got the ball with 5 seconds left. Brunson chucked up a 3-pointer from 30 feet out, but he missed. Anunoby swooped in and tipped the ball in to complete the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history and put the Knicks a win away from ending their half-century long drought.

I do not like the Knicks at all as a 76ers fan, but I have to give them credit for this amazing comeback. I thought for sure San Antonio had them by the throat and was ready to finish them off. But the Knicks didn't quit. In front of a bunch of celebrities, including Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, and even Taylor Swift, the Knicks were the ones that shined the brightest. And any Knicks fan that left the game early made the biggest mistake of their lives. 

Will the Knicks finally end their title drought? Or will the Spurs make an incredible comeback of their own down 3 games to 1? We'll see.

2026 World Cup group stage predictions

 The 2026 FIFA World Cup is here, and so I am going to try and predict what is going to happen in the group stage, which starts tomorrow. I'm not the biggest fan of soccer, but I follow it enough to understand it. And I'm so excited for this to begin, especially because this year it's coming to the US. Let's go!

Group A

1. Mexico

2. South Korea

3. South Africa

4. Czechia

Mexico is historically very good in North/Central American play, but in terms of World Cup play, they're not as good. But this isn't the best group, so I think they can win it.

Group B

1. Switzerland

2. Canada

3. Bosnia and Herzegovina 

4. Qatar

Switzerland apparently has rattlesnakes at their training camp. Will that inspire them to play better? I mean, probably not, but I do think they're the best in this group. Maybe Canada or Bosnia win this, but I don't think so.

Group C

1. Brazil

2. Morocco

3. Haiti

4. Scotland

The winner here is pretty easy to predict. Brazil should run away with the group, as they're definitely the most talented. Then Morocco, who shocked everyone by making the semi-finals in 2022 (the last tournament. The World Cup is every 4 years. Should've mentioned this earlier....), should come in 2nd. Then who comes in 3rd? I'm gonna have to go with Haiti, because Scotland is historically pretty bad.

Group D

1. United States of America

2. Turkiye

3. Australia

4. Paraguay

I know we're hopeful the USA does well, and I could be biased, but I do think they'll win the group. Will they do much better? I don't know.

Group E

1. Germany

2. Ecuador

3. C'ote D'ivoire 

4. Curacao

Germany has had a rough past 2 World Cups after winning it all in 2014, but this isn't a very tough group. I think they come away with it easily.

Group F

1. Netherlands

2. Japan

3. Sweden

4. Tunisia

I am Dutch, so I want the Netherlands to do well, and I think they will. They have a ton of talent, especially in defense with Virgil Van Dijk. This is actually a pretty good group, and I'm curious as to who will win it.

Group G

1. Belgium

2. Iran

3. Egypt

4. New Zealand

Belgium is honestly kind of a dark horse to go all the way this year. I mean, everyone knows they're good, but it's almost like, how good are they really? We don't know. But we'll see for sure soon.

Group H

1. Spain

2. Uruguay

3. Saudi Arabia

4. Cape Verde

The top 2 should be pretty straightforward. Spain is a favorite to go all the way, and Uruguay is always a bet to go far. 

Group I

1. France

2. Senegal

3. Norway

4. Iraq

This is an interesting group to predict, honestly. It would be a shock if France didn't come on top, but the real mystery is everyone else. It's kind of wide open. 

Group J

1. Argentina

2. Austria

3. Algeria

4. Jordan

This is honestly pretty easy. The reigning champions, Argentina, in what could be the last ride for the generation-defining Lionel Messi, should crush this group.

Group L

1. Croatia

2. England

3. Ghana

4. Panama

Last but not least, 2 teams that are very hungry for a World Cup and 2 teams that are scrappy and ready to pounce.

Those are my predictions for the group stage of this year's World Cup. I highly doubt I'll be right, but who knows?

(TRIPLE FEATURE) Browns trade Myles Garrett to Rams, Eagles trade AJ Brown to Patriots and NBA Finals Preview

 It's been a long time since I've done a double feature, and I was planning on doing one today.That is until the Browns decided to trade the best defensive player in football away to a championship contender in the LA Rams. We all anticipated AJ Brown heading to New England, and I wanted to do an NBA Finals preview today, so why not combine all 3 into one? I think that's a perfect idea.

Let's start off with the most shocking news of the day. The Cleveland Browns traded 2-time Defensive Player of the Year and the guy with the most single-season sacks in NFL history, Myles Garrett, to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick, a 2028 second round pick, and a 2029 3rd-round pick. Garrett has talked about wanting to leave Cleveland for years now, and it's understandable as he was playing the best football of his career on a team that repeatedly lost 10 or more games. Jimmy Haslam is a terrible owner, and the front office is full of idiots. I'm not a Browns fan, but it's annoying that they had a generational talent and completely wasted his prime.

Mostly, I'm mad the Eagles didn't get him (more on that later). Howie Roseman is a fantastic general manager, but you're telling me he couldn't field a single offer for Myles Garrett? I mean, you could've gotten a few first-round picks for him! Or especially.....AJ Brown.

And that leads into the next part of the article. The Philadelphia Eagles have decided to trade Pro Bowl wide receiver AJ Brown to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick. Brown has been rumored to be in New England pretty much since the off-season began. However, the Eagles couldn't trade him until today because they'd have no cap space if they did it before. Now they have the cap space they need to start making some moves. The thing that annoys me is that we were gaslit into thinking it wasn't a done deal. We all knew it was official, but they kept gaslighting us, and some people fell for it. I understand that it's the media trying to get clicks or keep us on our toes. That doesn't mean I have to like it. As for the trade itself, I will say this. I think Brown is a great receiver and a franchise legend. However, I feel it was time to move on. And here's why. Brown was a bit of a diva, and he was complaining about not getting the ball enough, and it's annoying. I don't care how good you are, that doesn't excuse your attitude. And it would be one thing if he was playing well, which he was, but in the biggest moment of the year, he absolutely crapped the bed. In the wild card round against San Francisco, he dropped the ball 3 times, including one that ended the season. This is a move that needed to be made, but I will miss Brown, as he was one of the best receivers in Eagles history.

Last but not least, my NBA Finals predictions. Normally, I would do a full on breakdown of how each team got to this point, but I feel like you guys have already read enough, and I don't want you to read much more. But I don't want to just give my prediction right to you, so here's what I will do instead.

The Knicks have been absolutely dominant in the playoffs. They only lost 2 games in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, both to the Atlanta Hawks. They are led by Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges, among others. The Villanova championship squad has been stepping up huge, especially Brunson, the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Coach Tom Thibodeau has this team on the right track.

The Spurs have been the NBA's feelgood story this year. In the years following Manu Ginobili's retirement in 2017, the team has failed to win a playoff series after winning 4 championships with Ginobili. This decade, they missed the playoffs every single year, until this year. The Spurs won 62 games, their most in 10 years. Victor Wembanyama went from a solid player to an excellent one, and the post Gregg Popovich era is starting off fantastic. They shocked the world in the conference finals by beating the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in 7 games. Wembanyama, unsurprisingly, took home Western Conference Finals MVP honors. Mitch Johnson has been a fantastic replacement for Popovich and there's no reason to dislike San Antonio.

I'm not gonna waste time here. I think the Spurs will win, but I think the Knicks will make it close. I see the series going 6 games and Wembanyama cements himself as a legend.

I know that was a lot to take in, but thanks for sticking with me through this point. I appreciate you all.