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The impact of e-sports on UNLV

E-Sports Competitors from Las Vegas Share Their Experiences in Competitive Gaming

The inside of the HyperX E-Sports Arena in the Luxor in Las Vegas. (Courtesy: HyperX E-Sports Arena)

Video games are designed as a hobby to pass the time and provide an escape from the real world. However, video games are more than that for professional players; for them, playing games is a passion. These players work hard to become the best in their favorite games and, recently, bigger opportunities have further stoked the competitive fire these people possess.

Over the last few years, e-sports and competitive gaming have evolved into an international enterprise attracting millions of people worldwide. Different games from different genres have dedicated leagues and tournaments, and top e-sports players have the chance to land huge cash prizes and brand endorsements. Las Vegas has become one of the United States’ hubs for e-sports, and UNLV has experienced this firsthand.

“There are two types of gamers,” said Julian Lugod, the team manager of the Runnin’ Reinhardts, UNLV’s collegiate team for the popular multiplayer shooter game Overwatch. “[There are] those that play story mode, and those that play competitively.”

Runnin’ Reinhardts logo (Courtesy: Facebook)

In 2016, 8-Bit, UNLV’s e-sports club, wanted to start up an Overwatch club. Lugod would end up managing the team, transitioning over from another big e-sports game in the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game League of Legends. The Runnin’ Reinhardts functions as a sports club, travelling to different locations in order to compete in collegiate Overwatch matches.

“Scholarships are probably the biggest goal,” Lugod said. He mentioned that this is because schools with bigger Overwatch clubs such as the University of California-Irvine, Harrisburg University and Maryville University in St. Louis give scholarships to players in order for them to play for their programs. Lugod also hopes for the team to travel to compete in bigger collegiate e-sports tournaments.

The Runnin’ Reinhardts and 8-Bit have been able to develop a decent following so far. This is exemplified in UNLV Night at the Luxor’s HyperX E-Sports Arena, where people can watch UNLV teams compete against other collegiate teams in different games. The event occurs monthly and usually attracts around a hundred people each time.

Attracting decent crowds should not come as much of a surprise, though. E-sports events are viewed by an estimated 380 million people, bringing in revenue that is estimated to be over $1 billion. An example of these numbers is the 2017 League of Legends World Championship in Beijing. The event drew over 80 million viewers, as well as generating $5.5 million in ticket sales.

Las Vegas has embraced the clear potential of e-sports as both an economic and tourist attraction. Over the last few years, Las Vegas has been home to several e-sports tournaments, invested in the HyperX E-Sports Arena, and has a dedicated e-sports lounge at Topgolf by the MGM Grand. The city has also legalized betting on e-sports events, an industry that is expected to make $1.5 billion by the next decade.

This newfound attention for e-sports will only help the Las Vegas scene, Lugod said. Las Vegas is still a grassroots function in regards to e-sports, but the new focus on it will help expand a tight-knit community.

Antonio “Grandmaster” Johnston-Schock (Courtesy: SmashWiki)

Antonio Johnston-Schock, a senior at UNLV, is currently the No. 2 ranked player in Las Vegas for the fighting game Super Smash Bros. He said that exposure to e-sports is critical, as it will only help exposure to local scenes. As the spotlight on e-sports grows, so will the community.

Johnston-Schock had been watching Super Smash Bros tournaments since 2016, but it was not until he came to UNLV that he was able to participate. Even now, he is trying to juggle school, work, and competitive gaming.

“It’s nothing but discipline,” Johnston-Schock said about being able to prioritize his life as a student and competitive gamer. “That’s what I feel most proud of.”

Johnston-Schock has been able to enjoy several opportunities in e-sports. Last year, he participated in EVO, an e-sports event that holds multiple fighting game tournaments in Las Vegas. He has plans to participate in EVO again this year. He also competed at Genesis 7 in Oakland in January, and plans to go to Denver and Houston to compete in tournaments there. Johnston-Schock said these tournaments outside of Las Vegas help him get better, as well as build his relationships.

“What deters people most is losing,” Johnston-Schock says for people who want to get into e-sports in some capacity. “My advice is to directly combat this.”

Johnston-Schock mentions that e-sports is an investment that takes a good amount of time. The fear of losing is what serves as a barrier to people joining. If the focus is shifted more towards personal growth and being part of a community, according to Johnston-Schock, the experience is more enjoyable.

Johnston-Schock points to his own experience as proof that this way of thinking is correct. When he started out, he admitted that he did not feel fully integrated into the community, often showing up only to compete in the tournaments. However, that changed when he went to Smash Fest, a now-defunct congregation of Smash players who got together to play casually. It was there that he began to have meaningful conversations with other players, leading him to feel as though he was becoming part of the larger Smash Bros community.

The Runnin’ Reinhardts can be found on their team Facebook page, 8-Bit UNLV E-sports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and Johnston-Schock can be found on Twitter.

#esports #Overwatch #SuperSmashBros #LasVegas #UNLV

James Dolan’s War with Spike Lee Means Bad News for the Knicks

Image Credit: Bobby Bank/Getty Images

$10 million spent on courtside tickets over 28 years. Those figures are what famous movie director and New York Knicks superfan Spike Lee says he has dedicated to watching his favorite basketball team play. And all it took to put that investment of time, money, and patience at risk was an entranceway.

On March 2, during the Knicks’ home game against the Houston Rockets, a video was put on Twitter catching Lee arguing with security at Madison Square Garden (the video contains NSFW language.) The argument stemmed from Lee being told not to enter through the employee entrance which, according to Lee, he has used to enter the Garden for the last 28 years. However, on this night, he was told to leave and re-enter through the VIP entrance two blocks down.

“I’m being harassed,” said Lee on ESPN’s First Take the following day regarding his treatment. “I’m done for this year. I’m done.”

Once Lee went public with his discontent, the Knicks needed to release a PR statement about the incident. The goal sounded simple enough: give the team’s side of the story, smooth things over with Lee at least a little bit, and keep some semblance of goodwill. Of course, nothing with the Knicks the last few years has even been simple.

“The idea that Spike Lee is a victim because we have repeatedly asked him to not use our employee entrance and instead use a dedicated VIP entrance…is laughable,” said the Knicks in their PR statement. “It’s disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama.”

The statement read more like a regime-wide reaction to Lee calling them out on national television than anything. It stands as either a master class in trolling, or a shameful act of hubris and immaturity. Either way, it creates a greater disservice to a team already dealing with multiple black marks on its reputation.

What’s even more concerning is that Lee isn’t even the first famous fan of the team to fall out with Dolan and the Knicks. Just a little over three years ago, former Knicks power forward Charles Oakley was arrested and charged with three counts of assault at a Knicks game. Once again, Dolan found himself at the heart of the controversy as he was directly involved in a verbal altercation with Oakley. Shortly after the incident, Dolan not only banned Oakley from Madison Square Garden, but accused Oakley of alcoholism, anger issues, and speaking in negative racial and sexual overtones.

The ban has since been lifted, but Oakley has been at odds with Dolan since the incident. Unsurprisingly, he had no problem speaking about the current feud between the Knicks owner and Lee. “It’s a plantation over there,” he said on Golic and Wingo about Lee’s treatment, which has drawn parallels to Oakley’s own incident.

If Dolan treats his team’s celebrity fans and former stars with such disrespect, how do you think he treats the everyday Knicks fan? Somehow, the results are even worse. In 2015, Dolan responded to a self-proclaimed lifelong fan’s email urging him to sell the team by accusing the fan of being an alcoholic and telling him to “start rooting for the [Brooklyn] Nets because the Knicks don’t want you.” In 2017, he got in the face of another fan wanting Dolan to sell the team, shouting and proceeding to call the fan an a**hole. Last year, another fan that confronted Dolan was banned from Madison Square Garden for life, claiming that the fan ambushed him. Most recently, in the Knicks’ first game since the incident, four more fans were ejected for starting a “sell the team” chant and were interrogated by security for fifteen minutes. Seeing the pattern yet?

What Dolan is doing with these fan interactions is exhibiting one of the hallmarks of a failing owner: an inability to take criticism and learn from their mistakes. Telling Dolan to sell the team or pointing out his failures will lead fans to being treated as personae non gratae. The truth is, however, that the team has struggled since Dolan took the reins. Since Dolan took full control of the Knicks in 2000 and the team went to the Eastern Conference Finals that season, they have been stuck in a never-ending free fall. The team has only made the playoffs five times, winning a series only once. Only two draft picks in the Dolan era (David Lee in 2005, Kristaps Porzingis in 2015) have been All-Stars. Meanwhile, they have made several free agent mistakes with the likes of Eddy Curry, Jerome James, and Joakim Noah all declining during their time in the Big Apple. The team is now on its 13th coach and ninth general manager in that span, a sign of zero front office stability. Sure, he’s helped create one of the more diverse working environments in the NBA, but that’s a small kernel of hope buried deep under an avalanche of despair.

Adding all of these factors to Lee’s story, and it’s not wonder why fans appear to be turning on Dolan and the Knicks. On March 4, in the team’s first game since the incident, Madison Square Garden hosted 16,588 fans as the Knicks faced the Utah Jazz. It was the lowest recorded attendance for a Knicks game since December 2006, which speaks to the significance of this latest act of egotism and petulance.

What makes this whole situation that much worse isn’t the fact that fans and media have made Lee out as a sympathetic figure and painted Dolan as the bad guy, but the fact this it is so easy to do. It feels a little unfair to Dolan and the Knicks, but when your reputation has been sullied by a multitude of PR disasters like this, it always feels like there’s more to the story. Regardless of what the fallout from this whole incident is, this battle between team owner and celebrity fan is the latest chapter in a series of miscues that Knicks fans have had to endure for the last two decades. The fanbase is turning apathetic. The media is censored. Coveted free agents like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving chose to go to the other New York City team in the Nets. First Take host Max Kellerman even went as far as to tweet that the Knicks were now going to have to directly compete with the Nets for territorial supremacy. For a once-proud organization like the Knicks, that is unacceptable.

Dolan has tried his best to block out the cries from fans to sell the Knicks. With this Spike Lee saga now hanging over his head, they will only get louder.

The Winners and Losers of the NHL Trade Deadline

As of February 24 at 12:00 PST, the NHL’s busiest time of the year came to an end.

As expected, this trade deadline season was completely chaotic. All 31 teams got in on the action in some way, with the day of the deadline having a record 32 total transactions. Some teams were getting the final pieces for a potential Stanley Cup run. Others were trying to build for the future by selling off established assets. Regardless of the reasons, teams are hoping that what they came out of the deadline with will help them with their current goals.

While we won’t know the results of these trades until years down the road for the most part, it can be apparent right off the bat that some teams got exactly what they needed. There are teams that came in with a plan and executed it to perfection, and there are others that seemed to have no idea what they were doing. With this in mind, today’s post is dedicated to determining the immediate reactions to this year’s deadline activity.

First, I elected to skip players and primarily focus on teams. The reason for this is because it’s pretty easy to determine which players won and lost, so explaining their situations feels redundant to me. Secondly, my criteria on what makes a winner or loser is twofold: did the team get what they need, and whether they got it without sacrificing too much. Keep that in mind as you read through this post.

With that said, let’s get started

Loser #5-Colorado Avalanche

Is it wrong to say that I expected more out of the Avalanche this deadline? They were connected to every major trade chip on the market. They had the cap space to keep them around for a long time, and the assets necessary to pull off a trade. For a team with serious Cup aspirations, that sounds like a recipe for success at the deadline.

Instead, GM Joe Sakic didn’t go for the big fish. That doesn’t exactly mean he sat on his hands, mind you. He picked up Vladislav Namestnikov from Ottawa for a fourth-round pick, and gave back Calle Rosen to Toronto for a depth goaltender in Michael Hutchinson. Colorado’s dealing with a fair share of injuries, as contributors like Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, Matt Calvert, and Philipp Grubauer are all on the shelf. It appears Sakic is fine with those being his additions instead.

Sakic has done a great job building up a potential juggernaut in the Western Conference. But for a team fighting to claim home-ice advantage in an extremely difficult division, this feels like a missed opportunity.

Winner #5-Washington Capitals

Washington’s trade deadline was a case of the rich getting richer. Already one of the odds-on favorites to win the Stanley Cup this year, one would assume that the Capitals would stand pat and rely on their current roster to bring the championship back to the nation’s capital. Instead, GM Brian MacLellan chose to be bold and further solidify his team’s case.

Their first move was grabbing Brenden Dillon from San Jose for a couple of draft picks. Dillon shores up an already strong back end and will ensure that Tom Wilson is not the only pure source of physicality on the team. Secondly, the Capitals brought along Ilya Kovalchuk from Montreal for a third-round pick. It’s a risky play for the Caps, but if Kovalchuk can continue his solid form from Montreal, it gives the team another quality scoring option.

Dillon and Kovalchuk are adding to a loaded roster, and it’s evident from the wheeling and dealing that the Capitals fancy themselves as legitimate Cup contenders. They look the part of a much better team than before, and that can only mean trouble for the rest of the East.

Loser #4-Buffalo Sabres

Let’s do a little roleplaying, shall we? You’re the GM of the Buffalo Sabres. Your team’s playoff chances are on life support, with little chance that they can control their destiny. Even if you do make the playoffs, you are virtually guaranteed to get smashed by the class of your conference. The fanbase is growing more apathetic by the day, and ownership is disappointed about the team’s efforts.

Sounds like a situation where it’s best to rebuild and count on some incoming prospects, right? If your answer is yes, you are clearly not Jason Botterill.

His idea of what to do for this team is to get one of those wild card spots, no matter the cost. First, he trades a conditional fifth-rounder to New Jersey for an aging power forward in Wayne Simmonds. He will almost certainly be done with this team by the end of the season. Second, a reclamation project in Evan Rodrigues and rental in Conor Sheary turned into an intriguing young player from Pittsburgh in Dominik Kahun. Sounds good, but seriously? No draft picks? No interesting younger prospects? Refusing to trade assets like Michael Frolik and Colin Miller, all while watching Montreal get a better price for Marco Scandella than what you traded him away for?

This team and situation has turned into a cluster this year, and an ill-advised trade deadline only added to the mess that Botterill’s successor will be tasked to clean up. You really don’t think he’s coming back, do you?

Winner #4-Ottawa Senators

If you want to see a rebuilding team approach the deadline correctly, look no further than the Ottawa Senators. Sure, the on-ice results haven’t been good, but between the positive development of Anthony Duclair and keeping owner Eugene Melnyk away from any hot mics, this season hasn’t been a disaster for the Sens. For this, GM Pierre Dorion needs to be given his dues, and this deadline gave more hope for the future.

Trading Dylan DeMelo, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Tyler Ennis for mid-round picks between this year and next were basic moves. Nothing too fancy. But the biggest trade chip of all finally came down, and the price was better than Ottawa fans could have hoped. Jean-Gabriel Pageau was cashed in for a first-round pick, second-round pick, and a conditional third-round pick next year. With these trades, the Ottawa Senators have nine picks in the first three rounds of the draft this year, with two of them almost guaranteed to be lottery selections (that Erik Karlsson trade is still paying dividends for them).

Dorion tends to be fairly criticized from time to time, but the devil must be given his due some time. If these moves lead to a strong farm system that can carry the Senators back to relevance in a few years’ time, he may get a little bit of goodwill back.

Loser #3-Chicago Blackhawks

To be fair, Chicago’s trade deadline wasn’t as bad as it could have been. While the team was straddling the line between playoff hopeful and lottery team, I was worried Stan Bowman was going to go for it again and sell off future assets to win now. It didn’t come to that, but I still ended up feeling underwhelmed.

Erik Gustafsson should have been traded last year is the moral of this story. They could have convinced a team that they could net a strong offensive-minded defenseman and get a possible first-round pick out of the deal. Instead, a rough season capped his trade value, and the Calgary Flames managed to get him for only a third-round pick. Then there’s the Robin Lehner deal. It was evident that the Blackhawks were going to need to choose one goalie to keep into next season, and Lehner’s trade value was much higher than that of Corey Crawford. The issue I have is this: they could have gotten a lot more out of Vegas. A second round pick, a strictly backup goaltender in Malcolm Subban, and a project defenseman in Slava Demin might be a good haul for another player, but for a goaltender in his prime? The value seems to be a bit off there. Also, why didn’t Bowman decide to go after a Brandon Saad deal after seeing what Jason Zucker got for Minnesota?

Stan Bowman gave his trade partners sure things, and they gave him dart throws in return. It isn’t a good look for a GM whose goodwill with the fans has run out. Isn’t there a certain ex-player and quality GM who might have his services available this offseason?

Winner #3-Vegas Golden Knights

Give Vegas credit for always making the trade deadline interesting in their short history. Their deals have been relatively hit (Mark Stone) or miss (Tomas Tatar), but this year, they weren’t expected to make a big splash. Of course, as if paying homage to their home city, GM Kelly McCrimmon once again went gambling.

Their dealing got started by snagging Alec Martinez from a divisional rival in the Los Angeles Kings. The price of two second-round picks was a little steep, but in Martinez, the Knights get a solid two-way defenseman who can eat minutes and has plenty of playoff experience. The deal in itself was good, but the deal for Lehner is what puts Vegas here. The one caveat to a playoff run for Vegas has been if Marc-Andre Fleury, who has been the face of this team’s prior inconsistencies, can maintain a high level of play. With Lehner, that problem has an answer, and the team didn’t even have to give up a first-round pick or top prospect to get him. Adding Nick Cousins to counter a recent string of forward injuries was just the cherry on top.

Vegas had a decent list of needs to fill this trade deadline, and they somehow managed to check them all off without putting themselves in any clear danger. Now imagine if Lehner decides to stick around and be the team’s solution for life after Fleury. It’s not like three of the last four Cup winners changed starting goaltenders during the playoffs or anything. Nope. Not at all.

Loser #2-Tampa Bay Lightning

Really quick disclaimer before we go too far. It was a toss-up to me between the top two losers for who should go where, and there are arguments that each one did worse than the other. Ultimately, the reason why Tampa Bay is number 2 is simply because I don’t think they endangered themselves from losing their playoff spot. That being said…

HOW THE HELL DO YOU TAKE THREE FIRST ROUNDERS AND TURN THEM INTO BLAKE COLEMAN AND BARCLAY {insert your favorite expletive word here} GOODROW?!?

I mean, if this price were for some combination of Chris Kreider, Kyle Palmieri, Matt Dumba, and Jonas Brodin, I would have gotten it somewhat. Instead, the Lightning thought it was a good idea to trade Nolan Foote (their first round pick this season) and their two first-round selections for two forwards who will ultimately be bottom-six fixtures for the team? No disrespect to the two players in question here, but they were valued way too much by a team that was clearly desperate to not have a repeat of last year. Vegas is too, but at least they traded second-round picks for overall better players.

Granted, all of this can be stomached easier with the Lightning raising the Cup, but even then, they need to ask this: Was it really worth it? The team may be better now than it was before, but the bill for these trades may end up biting this team for years to come.

Winner #2-Edmonton Oilers

After a lackluster final few years with Detroit, Ken Holland needed a fresh start in Edmonton. It’s only fair that he helped his former team and protege Steve Yzerman with their rebuild by taking some established assets from them in order to put his stamp on the Oilers.

Mike Green may have lost a step, but it does shore up the back end and frees them from an LTIR contract in Kyle Brodziak. Tyler Ennis also came at a cheap price for a reliable veteran. The real prize, however, came from a former rising star in Andreas Athanasiou. His price tag (Sam Gagner and a couple of second-round picks) was pretty steep, but young talent tends to boost the package. While his -45 rating is an eyesore, that can mostly be attributed to an awful Red Wings team. Whether he plays on a line with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, or both, that line just got even more dangerous.

With these moves, the Oilers are in position for a dogfight with Vegas and possibly Vancouver to see who can claim the Pacific division. Either way, Holland deserves praise for not only bringing two of the world’s best players back to the playoffs, but for making his team a tough out.

Loser #1-Florida Panthers

Ever since returning to the GM position for the Panthers, Dale Tallon has made a fair share of disastrous moves. The most notorious of them being handing Vegas two-thirds of their top line in the expansion draft. The Panthers made one big move this deadline, and while it’s not as bad, it might end up coming pretty close.

It was expected that the Panthers were going to trade a big player this deadline. Eyes were mostly on Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov, both of whom are unrestricted free agents after this season. Instead, Vincent Trocheck was the guy that got sent off from Broward County. He may be coming off a down year, but top-six centers don’t come cheap. The Panthers will fix that awful defense of theirs with this one, right?

The package was as follows: a rental offensive-minded center in Erik Haula, a bottom-six center in Lucas Wallmark, a B+ prospect in Eetu Luostarainen, and a project defenseman in Chase Priskie. That’s it. And that was the only big trade the Panthers pulled off. No one to help keep Sergei Bobrovsky from having to stop quality chances. No impact players that will be with the team past this year. It’s arguably the biggest whiff of the trade deadline, and we haven’t even seen much of the impact yet.

If the Panthers fail to make the playoffs, Tallon is fired, and the fanbase goes back to their apathetic ways, look no further than this move right here as the catalyst. If you excuse me, it’s time to play Sweetness, cry, and prepare my argument for why the Panthers need to get out of Sunrise immediately. But before I do…

Winner #1-Carolina Hurricanes

I could have just listed the Trocheck trade from the Hurricanes’ perspective, end there, and it would be a good argument for the top spot. However, that would dismiss the other moves the team made to help them out.

With Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce both out with long-term injuries, the Canes needed a couple of quality defensemen to take their spots. Needless to say, they did just that. A first-round pick for Brady Skjei is a high price, but for a young defenseman with plenty of term left, it is a necessary cost. Sami Vatanen from New Jersey came at a much more reasonable price, that being a couple of extra prospects and a conditional fourth-round pick. And for those asking about a goaltender, Carolina’s defense is good enough that they don’t need to worry too much about that. They could probably slot a 42-year-old Zamboni driver in their net and still win.

The Hurricanes knew their situation. They will likely be facing some of the best teams in all of hockey this season, and they needed to make preparations. They did just that with their moves without giving up too much in return. It’s the kind of deadline that GMs dream of.

The Houston Astros are Worried About Retaliation

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker (left) and owner Jim Crane speak at a news conference (Photo Credit: Associated Press)

On Saturday, February 15, Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker urged Major League Baseball to protect Astros players from any potential retaliation from opposing players for the team’s sign-stealing scandal.

Since January 13, when the MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred released their statement detailing the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme from their championship-winning 2017 season, the team has become baseball’s new public enemy number one. It’s easily the most high-profile scandal in baseball since the steroid era, dragging the game’s integrity through the mud once again. The punishments revealed by the report were nothing short of staggering: GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended for one year, the team’s first and second round picks for the next two years were forfeited, and the team would pay the maximum fine of $5 million. The punishments didn’t end there, however, as Luhnow and Hinch were both fired by the Astros, undoubtedly to begin the team’s attempt to distance itself from the scandal. Former bench coach Alex Cora and former player Carlos Beltran, both of whom were implicated in the report, were fired from their managerial positions with the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, respectively.

But what about the players outside of Beltran? As the report mentions, 23 current and former Astros players were interviewed to assist the MLB in their investigation. In exchange for their testimony, the players were given immunity in regards to the sign-stealing scandal. While the team has had to deal with further controversy, such as players like Jose Altuve being accused of having a buzzer under his jersey to determine the next pitch, no further punishments have been inflicted. Needless to say, that aspect of the commissioner’s decision has not sat well with some players.

Baker’s statement comes after comments from players indicating that they would not be opposed to purposefully pitching at Astros players. When asked whether he would consider throwing at Astros players, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling, according to a report from ESPN, said “I would lean towards yes. In the right time and the right place.” He is not the only pitcher to express this sentiment, however, as fellow Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood and Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger suggested that players would want to take the issues in their own hands. Other pitchers such as the Los Angeles Angels’ Andrew Heaney and the Cincinnati Reds’ Trevor Bauer went on tirades against the Astros. Even positional players, such as the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger and the Chicago Cubs’ Kris Bryant, have been vocal about their displeasure regarding the scandal.

With retaliation now explicitly being mulled over, Baker’s statement does not come as a surprise. He knew what he was getting into when he took the Astros job, and now he’s been tasked with ensuring that the players don’t use the baseball diamond to hold kangaroo court against the team. It does raise the question: can anyone really blame the players for feeling the way they do? Look at the case of Mike Bolsinger. In his last Major League appearance against the Astros, he was tagged for four runs and only recorded one out before he was pulled. What about Aroldis Chapman? After Altuve hit the home run off of Chapman that sent the Astros to the World Series, he held onto his jersey to prevent teammates from ripping it off, which began the conspiracy theory of Altuve hiding a buzzer. The entire Dodgers team, who the Astros beat in 2017 to win the World Series that year? The Astros should be thankful that they don’t see them in 2020. The list of people and teams with legitimate gripes against the Astros goes on and on, and who knows if we have even seen the end of it yet.

Frankly, the idea of beaning Astros hitters isn’t exactly as black and white as it sounds. Under normal circumstances, most fans would criticize pitchers like Stripling for even thinking about purposefully hitting players. It would end up like baseball’s version of Bountygate, except one team is the victim of many in this case. However, these are far from normal circumstances. For Dodgers fans, in particular, the scandal calls for open season on any player in an Astros uniform. For others, actions that would normally be met with disgust are instead looked on with indifference. The idea of vigilante justice being carried out on the diamond sounds off-putting, but depending on how much karma someone thinks the Astros deserve, it might be tolerated just this once. People get angry, and angry people lash out from time to time. With everything that the Astros have done, the anger is pretty well-justified.

The Astros should be hoping that the anger dies down just in time for the regular season to begin. A clean slate for them is impossible at this stage, but it certainly beats being subject to heckling from hostile crowds during road games. It beats wondering if the opposing pitcher is thinking about throwing a fastball directly at whoever’s at bat. It beats wondering if the base runner is a little more willing to land a takeout slide on Altuve.

The Houston Astros have become must-see TV for at least the beginning of baseball season. But it won’t be just for the talent on the field that bring in the viewers.

The Golden Knights Have Entered Bizarro World

It’s been a little over a day since I woke up to this news and I still have no clue how to properly react to it. Anyone who knows me has probably been waiting on this one for a while, so let’s just get into it.

On January 15, 2020, the Vegas Golden Knights decided on the most shocking move of both the season and of their short history. Gerard Gallant, the coach who guided the team to the Stanley Cup Final its inaugural season and led them to unprecedented success for expansion teams, became the seventh coach fired this season. It’s easily the biggest shock firing in recent memory, perhaps more shocking than Chicago sacking Joel Quenneville in the middle of last season.

Backlash across the hockey world was immediate. Vegas fans were confused and convinced that rookie GM Kelly McCrimmon pushed the panic button. Hockey pundits bashed the move considerably, although not as much as Gallant’s previous ouster from the Florida Panthers (at least Vegas didn’t force him to leave the arena via taxi.) Rivals licked their lips and relished at the thought of the new kid on the block having his first major slip-up.

I have to admit that I am like-minded with these people. Sure, Gallant had a penchant for being stubborn at times and trying a little too hard to outsmart his competition, but solid coaches like him don’t just fall off of trees. What he did for a sink-or-swim franchise in its infancy was nothing short of phenomenal. He was going to be the coach of the Pacific Division at the All-Star Game, an honor that has been passed on to Arizona coach Rick Tocchet. Even with Vegas going on a four-game losing streak and falling from first in the division to barely hanging in the playoff race, several other teams have endured similar rough patches without sacking their coaches. It’s a bad look for Vegas, and it stands to be the first real PR nightmare the team has to face.

Maybe this is speculation on my end, but there has to be more to this story than McCrimmon let on in his press conference to announce the move. For this, let’s look at the other coach Vegas got rid of. Honestly, assistant coach Mike Kelly’s fate felt more like writing on the wall. With special teams failing over the last few weeks and the inconsistent play from last season coming back with a vengeance, Kelly had one foot out the door. Vegas did need a shake-up, and with the team not performing up to standard, someone had to take the fall. Of course, guess who Kelly coached under back in Florida? Gerard Gallant. I have to guess that Gallant and Kelly became a package deal, where if one goes, the other heads out with them. With the goodwill from the inaugural season running out and recent struggles pushing the team to the edge of the playoff picture, McCrimmon had no choice but to cut bait. It probably ended up a lot less heinous than it sounds here, but it’s a plausible premise, at the very least.

No matter the rationale behind Gallant’s firing, there is no question he’ll end up landing an NHL job again. Maybe he tries his luck with another expansion team in Seattle (on an unrelated note, please let the team name be Kraken.) Perhaps he rejoins a former team in the Detroit Red Wings and serve as the right hand of Steve Yzerman. Maybe he goes a different route and fills a job opening somewhere else. When and where Gallant is heard from next is unclear, but it’s safe to say he’s going to get another crack at the NHL.

And as if the situation couldn’t get any more exasperated for Vegas fans, it proceeded to do just that. Who will be replacing Gallant in Vegas? None other than Peter DeBoer, the same coach who helped the rival San Jose Sharks rally back from a 3-1 series deficit and 3-0 Game 7 score to send the Golden Knights out of the playoffs. The same coach that Gallant himself called a clown just nine months earlier.

It’s one of those rare cases where the hire is even more surprising than the firing. And if social media is any indication, Vegas fans are not exactly pleased with DeBoer becoming the new bench boss.

As for me, on the odd chance DeBoer is reading this, I wish to say a few things to him here. One, welcome to Vegas. Hope you have some success here. Two, apologies if your new job comes across as a bit thankless for the first week or so. They’ll come around eventually. Three, nothing will endear you more to the Vegas fans than stringing some victories together and helping this team play closer to its potential. Could you imagine winning the Stanley Cup as coach of the same team you eliminated in controversial and heartbreaking fashion the previous year? Your face turn in the eyes of the Vegas faithful will be more than complete.

While the jury is still out on this whole saga, there is one thing to realize out of this: Vegas is no longer the new guy. They’ve taken their first true lumps as a franchise, something that all teams must have. The baby bird has left the nest, and now, all Vegas can do is hope there isn’t a predator waiting to snatch it up.

The Golden Knights got the shock to the system they needed. Now they hope they didn’t short-circuit the whole thing.

The Texans Have No Choice But to Fire Bill O’Brien

There are no words that can accurately describe the complete and utter collapse that Houston fans witnessed this past weekend. Not even 24 hours after the Baltimore Ravens were considered to be the most shocking exit in the playoffs, the Texans decided to counter with…whatever they did.

It all started out so well. The Texans were heading into the second quarter with a 21-0 lead on the Kansas City Chiefs, setting up a divisional matchup against the Tennessee Titans for the AFC Championship that no one saw coming. Instead, what the Texans got was a second quarter from hell. The most damning decision made was electing to kick a field goal on 4th and 1 on the Chiefs’ side of the field, then choosing to fake punt in order to land a fourth-down conversion on their own side. A 24-point lead blown in the span of a little under eleven minutes en route to a 51-31 embarrassment.

Head coach Bill O’Brien and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel both deserve all the flak they’re currently getting for this disaster. Crennel will almost certainly be gone, but let’s be honest here. These types of games are enough to get coaching staffs fired, especially if they don’t have some goodwill currently built up (see: Oklahoma City Thunder, Atlanta Falcons, Vegas Golden Knights, etc.). Considering the Texans’ recent history, O’Brien has no such luck, and it is finally time for the team to consider moving on once and for all.

Now I know what the common complaint about this is going to be. You can’t fire someone simply off of one bad game. Believe me, I can understand that. If every coach was fired after a bad game, every sports team ever would be caught in a never-ending coaching carousel. Here is the problem with that defense: this is not simply one game. With O’Brien, this exercise in futility has become habitual.

In 2015, O’Brien rode a strong second half of the season to his first divisional title as coach, only to be shut out by (guess who?) the Chiefs. 2016 saw a similar record (9-7) and placement in the division. They would win a playoff game, although it was against a Raiders squad forced to start Connor Cook after injuries ended the seasons of their top two quarterbacks. They would then get crushed by the New England Patriots war machine. After a rough year in 2017 highlighted by a season-ending injury to Watson, they would recover and win their division again the following year only to be embarrassed at home by the Indianapolis Colts. If it was just this previous game, then it can simply be excused as bad luck and a poor gameplan. When it’s just the latest in a line of postseason struggles, then it may simply be that O’Brien just isn’t the right coach to push a talented team over the hump.

In fact, let’s review this season for the Texans as well. Remember that fantastic Week 1 matchup against the New Orleans Saints? Watson had bailed out the team with a touchdown drive to give Houston the lead with 37 seconds left. Unfortunately, O’Brien and Crennel had no answer for Drew Brees setting up the game-winning field goal. The sad part is, the losses became a lot more glaring from there. The offense being shut down against an admittedly mediocre Carolina Panthers defense. Being outright embarrassed by the Ravens. Being picked apart by Drew Lock in his second career start. I should also mention the Wild Card win against Buffalo. I do not believe the Texans truly won this game. The Bills (or rather, Josh Allen) did everything to hand the Texans the game and O’Brien did the bare minimum to take the initiative (i.e. relied on Watson to bail him out once again).

At what point do the Texans just say enough is enough? Look at the Green Bay Packers, for instance. Mike McCarthy was a good coach who had just hit his expiration date, and the Packers decided to swap him for a younger offensive mind. Some people may say they’re the weakest 13-3 team in the history of the league, but 13-3 is still leaps and bounds ahead of the last couple years for the team. Good coaches with franchise-defining talents enhance their teams and build around them; O’Brien has struggled to do so over the last few years. With everything that’s happened, it appears that the only way this team gets over the hump is to find a coach willing to unleash Watson, and a general manager who can build a roster around their star players.

The Texans owe it to themselves and their fans to finally pull this move off. While the team had some success under the likes of Matt Schaub and Case Keenum, Watson is the team’s first true franchise quarterback since their creation in 2002. The team has made it clear that they want him to stay in Houston for his entire career. They also have some strong pieces like DeAndre Hopkins, J.J. Watt, Laremy Tunsil, and a solid linebacker corps. However, the once-weak AFC South is starting to look a lot better. The Titans seem to finally be getting their act together with Derrick Henry and the resurrected Ryan Tannehill leading the charge. The Colts are a new franchise QB away from being competitive again, and I have full faith in GM Chris Ballard to pull the move off. Even the Jaguars got a jolt of excitement from the real-life Uncle Rico in Gardner Minshew. If the Texans keep O’Brien and embrace the status quo, they run the risk of falling behind the curve and slump back into mediocrity. For a team with a young franchise QB, that is an unacceptable result.

The final piece of evidence to support O’Brien’s firing is the overall quality of the coaching candidates still remaining. Thanks to a relatively bloodless Black Monday and a couple surprise hirings (looking at you, Joe Judge,) some hot commodities are still on the board. The Texans could go for one of the men who thoroughly embarrassed them in Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. They could look for a defensive-minded coach like San Francisco’s Robert Saleh. Josh McDaniels from New England might also be an option, assuming he wants to cash out of New England and seamlessly go from working with one franchise QB to another. It ends up as a rare instance where firing a coach who made the playoffs comes across as an idea that isn’t too crazy.

Now I know that this piece sounds vitriolic towards O’Brien, and it may sound like I have an ax to grind. It’s definitely more venomous than my piece on Jeff Blashill of the Red Wings, and possibly more so than the piece on the Browns. If you need a reason why it sounds like this, it’s because nothing is more infuriating to me than wasted potential. I have called the Texans the NFL’s used car salesman, and it’s for good reason. They clearly have the pieces to be more successful than they are, but they are being held back for a variety of reasons. With the Divisional Playoff debacle, O’Brien and Crennel strike me as two of those reasons. The Texans need to finally take control of their own destiny and do the right thing. If there is any silver lining to this pitch-black cloud, it is the hope that the team is ready to learn from their mistakes.

It’s Time For the Red Wings to Move On From Jeff Blashill

When the Detroit Red Wings let go of four unanswered goals to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on January 5, 2020, Jeff Blashill once again had to see his name appear on the chopping block. It’s been a familiar refrain for the last year and a half, and with each subsequent time Detroit fans have called for his dismissal, the arguments for keeping him have gotten weaker and weaker.

All you have to do is look at the standings for this year to see what a disaster it’s been for the Red Wings. They have won only 10 games and gotten 23 points in the first half and change of this campaign. They are fourteen points behind the second-to-last team in the Atlantic Division (Ottawa) and thirteen points behind the second-to-last team in the league (New Jersey). Their goal differential is almost double that of the second-worst team. They are on pace to be the second team behind the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche in the salary cap era to have a point percentage under .300, and they would still finish around two points worse than the Avalanche’s 48. There are not enough superlatives to really explain just how consistently bad the Red Wings have been, which honestly sucks for what was once one of the proudest franchises in the NHL.

Everyone knew that Steve Yzerman’s first year as general manager of his former team was going to be rough. He was saddled with some of the awful contracts left behind by Ken Holland and a roster consisting of very few quality players. In a league where the top teams all have at least ten impact players on their regular roster, the Red Wings had about four players who could be considered sure things. With little to work with and limited cap space to really improve the team, the Red Wings had little choice but to rely on the prospects and fringe players and hunker down for an invariably rough season. Even then, no one was expecting…whatever this is. When even Detroit’s own color commentator Mickey Redmond sounds disappointed, that’s a sign of a problem.

To be fair to Yzerman, however, he’s only just begin to put his stamp on the team. A trade to land a reclamation project in Robby Fabbri has seen moderate success so far. Exiling career Red Wing Jonathan Ericsson to the AHL has shown that Yzerman will not reward loyalty, unlike Holland. Moves like this show that there is promise with Yzerman’s vision of the team, but it will take quite a bit of fat-trimming to really be able to put it into practice. The question is whether Blashill has a place in that vision or not.

Blashill’s first year as coach of the Red Wings was fine enough. They snuck into the playoffs by claiming the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division over the Boston Bruins. The Red Wings were eventually blown out of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning, but there was hope that the early optimism Blashill had going for him would carry over to reality. Since then, however, the Red Wings have not been able to get more than 80 points in any of Blashill’s other three seasons. After making the playoffs for 25 straight seasons, Detroit has not seen playoff hockey for the last three years and are all but mathematically guaranteed to make it four. With Yzerman not being blinded by loyalty to the organization, Blashill’s job status has never been on shakier footing.

The odd part is that Blashill hasn’t been a victim of a trend yet. As if following the trend of the Blues and Craig Berube last year, teams looking for a shake-up have looked to change up their coaching staff. With the firing of Peter Laviolette from Nashville on January 6, six coaches have been fired mid-season. While Bill Peters (Calgary) and Jim Montgomery (Dallas) were fired for off-ice incidents, the others (Mike Babcock from Toronto, John Hynes from New Jersey, Peter DeBoer from San Jose, and Laviolette) have all been based on disappointing performances from their respective teams. No one was expecting Blashill to outlast any of those guys, but he has while claiming the spot of the NHL’s hottest seat.

So what keeps Blashill around? Perhaps it’s for the purpose of keeping some sort of continuity within the team. Perhaps it’s a reward for helping to develop some of the team’s younger stars like Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha. Perhaps it’s an omen that 2020-21 will provide more of the same issues and there’s no real point in forcing a new coach to endure a lost season. Whatever the case, this season has provided a litany of excuses to give Blashill his walking papers, and it would not be overly surprising to see him shipped out either later on in the season or during the offseason.

With all of these firings, the Red Wings would certainly not be lacking for options if they do decide to look at a new coach. Even with the team’s recent struggles, helping to rebuild a team with as high a profile as the Red Wings would look good on any coach’s resume. Perhaps Babcock decides to return to Detroit for one last run. Laviolette or DeBoer could be options in order to get redemption for how their strong stints ended. An assistant like Dan Bylsma or Guy Boucher could come back into the fold, or maybe Yzerman decides to reach into the mystery box and give an opportunity to someone currently outside of the NHL. Regardless of what route the Red Wings choose to go, they would be tasked with restoring the team to its former glory. Much easier said than done.

Either way, it’s become painfully apparent that Blashill is not the guy to get the job done. With failures in almost every aspect of play and a lack of effort shown by the Red Wings almost every night, the fault has to lie with Blashill in some capacity. If Yzerman wants to start making his mark on this team, he will soon have to make tough decisions like this. Needless to say, with the way this season has gone for the Red Wings, voting no confidence on Blashill would not come as a big surprise.

The Season of Giving: NHL Trade Deadline Hopes

On December 16, 2019, just a week and a half before Christmas, the Arizona Coyotes got their present early. Taylor Hall, the 2018 Hart Trophy winner who propelled the New Jersey Devils to the playoffs a couple years ago, was coming to the desert in exchange for a few prospects and draft picks. It was a risky move, but for Arizona, it was the right one to make. With the Pacific Division heating up, the Coyotes needed to figure out a way to break through, and acquiring Hall should help to give Arizona at least a spot in the playoffs.

For most teams, however, the holiday roster freeze gives way to the real Christmas Day: the trade deadline. Buyers put together their wish lists in order to find that piece or two that will lead them to a Stanley Cup. Sellers look to trade their top assets now in hopes of landing pieces to ensure a brighter future. In a couple months, the NHL landscape will change dramatically as some of hockey’s best players are introduced as the newest members of contending teams.

What this article will have are what teams are hoping for at the deadline or before then. There won’t be many specific destinations for players (those don’t usually come up until next month,) but the needs for certain teams are apparent at this point. So with the holidays coming up, let’s take a look at what tops the gift lists.

Anaheim Ducks: A rebuild could be on the horizon for the once-Mighty Ducks. The deadline should give fans a good idea of where GM Bob Murray stands on the issue. Backup goaltender Ryan Miller is the obvious trade chip, but who else could Anaheim send off? Jakob Silfverberg could be an interesting sell-high candidate. Adam Henrique, Cam Fowler, and Josh Manson could also be in play. If one of them ends up going, it’ll be an indication that Anaheim wants to build for the future.

Arizona Coyotes: They got their man already. Now strapped to the salary cap ceiling, they’re likely finished making moves until the summer. Someone will probably call about Antti Raanta or Adin Hill, though.

Boston Bruins: The one thing that concerns everyone about the Bruins is depth. The Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line is arguably the best in hockey right now, but teams don’t win it all by living and dying on one line. The Bruins have the draft capital and financial wiggle room to make a deal work, and top wing players should be available for the taking. They were linked to new free agent Ilya Kovalchuk for a reason.

Buffalo Sabres: Buffalo has more than a few extra defensemen laying around. Zach Bogosian, Marco Scandella, and Colin Miller should all be treated as potential trade chips. One of them, a prospect, and a draft pick or two should be enough to give Buffalo some much-needed scoring depth. Hope they don’t mind retaining a bit of Bogosian’s salary though.

Calgary Flames: The Johnny Gaudreau trade talks seem to have finally died down, but the wheel is still spinning in Calgary. Michael Frolik, TJ Brodie, and Travis Hamonic are all on expiring deals with little chance of re-signing. With Calgary still in contention for a top-3 spot in the Pacific, expect them to make a hockey trade to better their chances and get a good return on value.

Carolina Hurricanes: Sure, the Hurricanes will likely land a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but why stop there? With the strongest group of contenders out of all the divisions, any team from the Metropolitan might be seeking to make a move. With substantial draft capital and a good financial situation, the Hurricanes have the best chance at pulling a deadline acquisition.

Chicago Blackhawks: Unfortunately, Blackhawks fans, Brent Seabrook is not getting traded. Erik Gustafsson may be having a down year from last season’s 60-point outburst, but Stan Bowman may as well take what he can get. Even more interesting, however, is what happens to the goaltending tandem of Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner. Both are free agents at the year, and there’s little chance Chicago keeps both of them around. Decisions, decisions.

Colorado Avalanche: The once-favorite to land Taylor Hall came up short, but that won’t stop the Avalanche from trying again. They are arguably the favorite to represent the West in the Stanley Cup Final, but they could use that big piece to push them over the top. Expect them to be connected to all of the top forward rentals come deadline time.

Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets infamously went all-in last season at the deadline, and this is the result. They don’t have much to sell, so at this point, they won’t really do anything. It’s time for them to look at free agency. Getting involved in the goalie market is the expectation.

Dallas Stars: The Stars haven’t gone under from the Jim Montgomery saga, at least not yet. They went big on Mats Zuccarello last season, and with the general lack of resources they have, it’s likely they choose to stand pat and hope for a Blues-style hot streak to end the season. Getting Jamie Benn going will help.

Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings are eliminated from the postseason every way but mathematically. Steve Yzerman should be selling everything he can, but what is there to sell? The best pending UFA they have at the moment is Mike Green, and even he’s 34 and his best years are behind him. No wonder the Red Wings have looked to their RFAs to get some value, and it looks like Andreas Athanasiou is the play. He’s having a down year, though, so teams might not be willing to buy at the initial asking price.

Edmonton Oilers: Edmonton has the chance to get some serious financial flexibility next offseason, meaning they might just leave the team alone for now. If the Oilers find themselves barely hanging on to a playoff spot, though, those plans might change. Chances are they’ll try to find a complement to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but anything is on the table.

Florida Panthers: After Joel Quenneville and Sergei Bobrovsky were brought into the fold, Florida was expected to be competing for a spot in the playoffs. They are, but they could certainly use that one piece for stability purposes. Pending UFA Mike Hoffman is no guarantee to come back to the Panthers, so maybe a hockey trade can be engineered with him as the centerpiece. A defenseman could be of interest to them.

Los Angeles Kings: Even in the competitive Pacific, the Kings look ready to rebuild one piece at a time. Tyler Toffoli is a near-certainty to be gone. Kyle Clifford and Trevor Lewis are options to shore up a contender’s bottom six. Even veteran and 2014 Stanley Cup hero Alec Martinez is a name that will be thrown around. The Kings have one of the best prospect groups in the entire NHL, and they will have plenty of chances to build on that at the deadline.

Minnesota Wild: Out of all of the teams, the Wild might be the hardest team to predict. Part of me thinks they’ll flame out and sink back to sell status again. Another part believes the Wild have what it takes to sneak into the final wild card spot. Where the Wild are by the end of January should be indicative of what they plan to do. Question: does Mikko Koivu decide to try his luck at a Cup elsewhere if the former happens?

Montreal Canadiens: No team looks to be more in buying contention than Les Canadiens. They have all the assets that sellers want to claim, and Marc Bergevin could find himself without a job if Montreal misses the postseason again. He didn’t go far in the Hall saga, but he could go for a couple of pieces at the deadline to help his case. Like Colorado, expect them to be an automatic connection for big names.

Nashville Predators: The power play is still bad, the goaltending has fallen apart, and Peter Laviolette’s job is in jeopardy. They would love to sell Kyle Turris and be free of most of his contract, but it could end up with a deal similar to Patrick Marleau getting out of Toronto. The long-tenured Laviolette could also be the sixth coach fired during the season, barring any other changes. At least the PK Subban trade looks better than it did a few months ago?

New Jersey Devils: The big domino has fallen, but there’s a chance for another one at the deadline. There are rumblings that the aforementioned Subban is quickly finding himself on the outs in New Jersey, which isn’t a surprise given his struggles this season. That said, I’m not convinced he’s on his way out, but New Jersey has plenty of pieces to ship out for future returns. At least two of Wayne Simmonds, Miles Wood, Sami Vatanen, and Andy Greene will be on new teams come mid-February.

New York Islanders: The Islanders are as close to a complete team as it gets, which is amazing after they lost John Tavares last summer. While defense and goaltending are set, Barry Trotz could use a premier scoring threat to get the offense to be more than respectable. Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle are prime “change of scenery” material, so expect them to be dangled on the block for a team wanting any reclamation projects. Expect them to be tied to the top forwards, or at least the second tier.

New York Rangers: Barring a sudden leap into the playoff picture, the Rangers will likely embrace the final stages of their rebuild. Chris Kreider is almost certainly gone, and Jeff Gorton should get quite the deal out of him. Maybe more interesting of a name on the block is Ryan Strome, who has shown he can center a second line at the NHL level. Do the Rangers view him as a part of their long-term future, or do they feel they can sell higher on him now than later? His status is a coin flip at the moment.

Ottawa Senators: Ottawa has only eight players locked up beyond this season, so there are plenty of expiring contracts that can be moved. Chief among them is Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Duclair, who have broken out and helped Ottawa be better that most experts believed. The Senators would love to keep them around, but would the packages they can get in exchange for them end up giving them equal value? Other useful players who could end up on the block are Vladislav Namestnikov, Connor Brown, Dylan DeMelo, and Ron Hainsey.

Philadelphia Flyers: If there’s one name to watch from the Flyers in this situation, it’s Shayne Gostisbehere. The offensive-minded rearguard has talent and a proven track record, but he is clearly not jelling in Alain Vigneault’s system. With three more years on his deal, Gostisbehere will not be a rental, meaning he can fetch a higher return than normal. Expect him to be part of a hockey trade for a top-six wing, where the Flyers have been ravaged by injury.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins have been surprisingly resilient, surviving injuries to the likes of Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Justin Schultz, and Brian Dumoulin to enjoy the season they’re having. Alex Galchenyuk seems to be the name brought up in trade talks the most, but will anyone be interested in giving anything up for him again? They’re as likely to pull off a move as they are to stand pat and rely on their current roster. It just depends on what they can get for Galchenyuk.

San Jose Sharks: Longtime buyers in this situation, the floundering Sharks might be on the opposite end of the deadline deals this time. They also have only two draft picks in the first three round, and their first-round pick is Ottawa property. GM Doug Wilson will want to keep Brenden Dillon and Melker Karlsson just in case the Sharks finally get the spark they need, but if they can’t find it, they will likely be shipped off. Would they also be willing to let Joe Thornton go so he can get one more chance at a Cup? He deserves so much better than what he’s gotten.

St. Louis Blues: It will take some work to keep the current core of St. Louis intact. Alex Pietrangelo could be playing his final year in a Blues jersey, so they may want to get one more run together. Expect hockey trades for rentals in order to gain cap space for next season, if anything. Even if they whiff, they’ll get Vladimir Tarasenko back for the postseason. Win-win scenario.

Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning, no pun intended, could certainly use a shock to the system. Money will have to be cleared up, so how do they plan to do it? Do they consider moving someone like Ondrej Palat for a rental in order to clear up some more cap space? Put them in the same boat as the Blues.

Toronto Maple Leafs: A team not far removed from a playoff spot can rarely be considered a seller, but a terrible cap situation will do that. If the Leafs want to get a backup goaltender or cheap defensive depth, they’ll have to give something up in return. Expiring contracts of defensemen Tyson Barrie, Jake Muzzin, and Cody Ceci could be on the trade block. Zach Hyman could also be an option as well to bolster another team’s middle six. Isn’t cap hell wonderful?

Vancouver Canucks: The fact no one claimed Sven Baertschi off the waiver wire is telling to his market at the moment. If the Canucks want to push for the playoffs through trades, they’ll have to think of alternative gameplans. Anyone except Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, Bo Horvat, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko could be available for the right price. Travis Green’s job may be counting on it.

Vegas Golden Knights: Only two and a half years old, and Vegas already has a penchant for big deadline moves with Tomas Tatar and Mark Stone. This time, the Golden Knights will want to add a defenseman to the mix. The one problem is that they would have to get rid of a player in order to make the deal work, but they do have a decent number of expiring contracts to ship out. The right move could be what gives them the Pacific Division.

Washington Capitals: The least likely team to do anything at the deadline, and with good reason. The Capitals may be strapped to the cap ceiling, but they are the current favorites to win the Presidents Trophy this year. Why mess with success, is the prevailing theory for the Capitals to follow. Expect minor changes, if anything at all, but nothing too substantial.

Winnipeg Jets: The Jets have gotten a second-line center two straight years, but this year is looking to be different. They could trade someone like Adam Lowry for a rental defenseman, but there’s another name the Jets will be monitoring closely. If Dustin Byfuglien comes back from his season-long hiatus, Winnipeg’s defense goes up a notch or two. It could be the difference between a dark horse run and another first round exit, assuming Winnipeg makes the playoffs at all.

Why the Browns’ 2019 is Worse Than the Hue Jackson era

If there was ever a word to describe the Cleveland Browns, it would be the following: misery.

Since the NFL made its triumphant return to the city of Cleveland in 1999, the Browns have only succeeded in granting their fans eternal torment. They have firmly replaced the Chicago Cubs as the lovable losers of the sports world, with ineptitude being met with pity more than anything. The following video should do more than enough to explain just how depressing this current run for the Browns has been.

All you have to do is Google “Cleveland Browns QB jersey” to see just how long the quarterback carousel has been spinning for the team. As if that wasn’t bad enough, since the return to Cleveland, the team has burned through eleven head coaches and nine general managers. Stability is a foreign concept with the organization. The results of such turmoil have made themselves evident in the quality of play, as the Browns have the lowest winning percentage on any team in the 2000s so far. The fanbase deserves medals for their loyalty, and a psychologist to check for any masochistic tendencies that have arisen during their fandom.

Despite all of the failure and embarrassment that has come from the Browns over the last two decades, one man alone epitomizes such futility. This man steered the ship into yet another iceberg. His name is met by Cleveland fans with apathy at best and pure rage at worst: Hue Jackson.

The litany of failures that plagued Jackson’s run with the Browns is almost comical. Trading the number 2 pick in 2016 for what amounted to Denzel Ward and little else. That pick the Browns traded ended up turning into Carson Wentz. Passing on both Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson the following year (although they got a good consolation prize in Myles Garrett.) Throwing out quarterbacks that were clearly not ready to be long-term starters in the NFL. An offense that was mediocre at best in Jackson’s two full years at the helm. Going 1-31 in that same span of time, and the only reason behind the one win is because the Chargers had Mike McCoy as their coach and zero kicking ability whatsoever.

In the end, Jackson became objectively one of the worst head coaches in NFL history. He earned a reputation as a failed offensive guru who lost the locker room and blamed everyone but himself for the team’s shortcoming. His .205 winning percentage being the second-lowest mark in NFL history, with first place belonging to a coach-owner. His name forever smeared with ridicule and perceived incompetence. It sounds like it can’t possibly be any worse than this, right?

Well, that was what everyone thought.

This season, the Browns had actual expectations placed on them. The team looked to finally have its first-ever franchise quarterback in Baker Mayfield. Freddie Kitchens, the team’s new head coach, looked to be the architect of Mayfield’s strong second half in the previous season. Sophomore sensation Nick Chubb and recently-signed Kareem Hunt looking like the best backfield duo in the league. Odell Beckham Jr. joining a group of young talented pass catchers. A defense spearheaded by emerging young talents like Garrett and Ward. Everything looked in place for the Browns to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The long road of suffering seemed to finally be at an end…

…and then this season turned into yet another twist of the knife. The embarrassing loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 was the first of many setbacks that derailed the Cleveland hype train. Stephen A. Smith ripped Mayfield about having more commercial appearances than touchdowns. OBJ has caught less touchdowns than Saints third-string quarterback Taysom Hill. A mediocre offense matched with a middle-of-the-road defense. The only thing that has been correct about the Browns this season is Chubb, who has unfortunately seen his efforts put to waste. The playoff hopes are all but dead at this stage, and the optimism Browns fans started the season with has mutated into bitter disappointment.

This all leads to the question asked at the beginning: has this season actually been worse than anything Hue Jackson was around for? When looking at the seasons, there are quite a few striking parallels between them. However, in Jackson’s time, the expectations were that the team was going to be bad. Kitchens does not have such an excuse. In fact, Kitchens might have lost the locker room more than Jackson ever did. Look at all of the following transgressions. Garrett getting an indefinite suspension for using Mason Rudolph’s helmet as a weapon. Jordan Whitehead being cut after threatening critics of his play on social media. Beckham, Landry, and others telling other teams to “come get them.” When incidents like this happen simultaneously in such a short time, they are not isolated incidents; it is a representation of a culture that lacks accountability or leadership. After losing a winnable game in Arizona last week, the unmitigated disaster Kitchens would need to have to be fired may be starting to take shape.

Ultimately, the last few years have led people to an epiphany about the Browns: there is still no concrete plan. Ownership has thrown their hands up in the air and have chucked anything they can at the wall in the hope that something sticks. In a year with hopes to finally have some success, such a strategy is indefensible. If Kitchens and GM John Dorsey are both axed this offseason, the Browns will return to the instability and internal strife that has plagued their existence. It is another dimension of despair for a team and fanbase that hasn’t known anything but.

The NFL’s Coaching Carousel: Who’s On, Who’s Off?

Black Monday is coming. When the regular season comes to a close, most teams will be clearing out the locker rooms as they look forward to next year. However, for some of these teams, next year will come with a new face at the helm.

The end of the season is a time of speculation in itself. What’s the playoff field going to look like? What will teams need for next season? Who will claim the number 1 pick? For coaches, however, there is another question that floats over for them: are these last games of the season my last ones here?

Two teams have put an early end to the mystery, as the Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers have already pulled the trigger and will be looking for a new coach next season. For other teams across the league, however, there are varying levels of intrigue. Some seats have gotten so hot that the firing feels more like a formality at this point. Others come as more theoretical options and require a decent amount of thought before coming to a decision. Regardless, for the next few weeks, while some teams are battling for playoff positioning, other coaches are fighting for their jobs.

Who are the lucky candidates on the carousel this year?

Atlanta Falcons: Dan Quinn

The skinny: 28-3 somehow feels like ages ago, but that should tell you how quick time goes by in the sports world. Ever since then, Quinn and the Falcons have trended in the wrong direction, despite all of the talent the team boasts on offense. While the Falcons are making a mad dash towards respectability in order to save Quinn’s job, it’s fair to wonder if the coach is a day late and a dollar short.

Who’s in charge: Eric Bieniemy, offensive coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs. Bieniemy was on the short list of coaching candidates from last season after Patrick Mahomes’s MVP campaign in 2018. He didn’t get a job last time, something that’s sure to change this year. After years of going after defensive-minded coaches, Bieniemy would represent a change of pace that the Falcons could use. Getting to play with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and others should also be a nice incentive.

Carolina Panthers: Vacant

The skinny: It felt like Ron Rivera was on shaky footing for quite a while now. Despite the success Riverboat Ron has had in his tenure in Charlotte, recent history had not been too kind to him. With the search already on, the Panthers will likely search for a candidate who can build an offense around Christian McCaffrey and whichever quarterback is under center in 2020.

Who’s in charge: Kevin Stefanski, offensive coordinator, Minnesota Vikings. There are plenty of options the Panthers can circle for their next coach. Bieniemy, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, and even two college coaches in Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma) and David Shaw (Stanford) deserve at least a look. With Bieniemy out of the running, though, Stefanski takes his spot as the next “rising star” coordinator hire. What he’s done with this Vikings offense this year, and Case Keenum before that, has been nothing short of incredible.

Cleveland Browns: Freddie Kitchens

The skinny: The Browns have been, quite frankly, this season’s biggest disappointment. What was expected to be a playoff contender has looked like largely the same team that slogged through last season. Kitchens has not been the only factor in this failure, but he’s played a significant role in it. Let’s just say that the whole “Pittsburgh Started It” shirt debacle has been the least of his concerns.

Who’s in charge: Kitchens. Regardless of Cleveland’s troubles, they still have a chance to make the playoffs, and they have won four of their last five as of this writing. A strong finish to 2019, even if it does not result in a playoff berth, should be enough to give Kitchens a second year. Pencil him in as a hot seat option for 2020.

Dallas Cowboys: Jason Garrett

The skinny: How many times has Garrett been in this position now? Sure, they’re tied for the division lead, but that’s been more on how bad the NFC East as a whole is rather than how good the Cowboys are. With how the Cowboys have been content to throw the division away, Garrett is one successful sabotage away from being shown the door. The nine lives may finally be up.

Who’s in charge: Lincoln Riley, head coach, Oklahoma Sooners: Let the record show that I vehemently disagree with this move. I think the Cowboys would be wiser to look at internal options like Kris Richard or even Kellen Moore. There are coordinators like Josh McDaniels from New England who pose less risk. Even college coaches like Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) and Urban Meyer (formerly Ohio State) are more sure things than the hotshot offensive wizard Riley. That said, the Cowboys instantly become the highest-profile job opening in the league if Garrett goes, and Jerry Jones will likely waste no expense in trying to land Riley. This may be the only opportunity Riley has to get into the NFL this season, but does he take it?

Detroit Lions: Matt Patricia

The skinny: Patricia is dangerously close to adding his name to the list of former New England coordinators who turned out to be bad NFL head coaches. With the Lions in freefall, last place in the NFC North for the second straight year feels like a given. With GM and fellow New England transplant Bob Quinn also on the hot seat, it makes sense that moving on from one will mean the other is out as well. It feels like being the NFC Patriots has failed to work out.

Who’s in charge: Robert Saleh, defensive coordinator, San Francisco 49ers: There’s a real chance Patricia does survive for another season, but it appears doubtful at the moment. While an offensive coordinator might make sense, Saleh has come up as a hot coaching name for the last couple of months now. A native of Dearborn, Saleh has overseen the rebuild of the San Francisco defense over the last few years. Some of that probably has to do with the influx of talent, but Saleh has some merit. While Atlanta could be in play, the Lions seem to have the best chance to land Saleh.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Doug Marrone

The skinny: You would be forgiven for thinking the Jaguars’ 2017 season was a fluke. Marrone’s goodwill from that year looks to have run out, and with the embarrassing blowouts that have become routine this year, the fire looks to be strong to put out. Of all the coaches yet to be fired, Marrone is one of the safer bets to be out on Black Monday. The only real controversy is if Tom Coughlin ends up joining him.

Who’s in charge: Ron Rivera, former head coach, Carolina Panthers. There’s little doubt in my mind that Rivera will bounce back on his feet somewhere. Another head coaching job this early might be a bit odd, but Jacksonville probably doesn’t have the pull to land an attractive coordinator hire. With Rivera working to restore Jacksonville’s greatness on defense and getting Nick Foles or Gardner Minshew going, he’s probably one of the safer hires in the cycle. Jaguars offensive coordinator John DeFilippo is also an option, and if Coughlin does stick around, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule is a name to watch.

Los Angeles Chargers: Anthony Lynn

The skinny: Lynn’s had an overall alright tenure as the Chargers head coach, leaps and bounds ahead of his predecessor Mike McCoy. However, this season has been one of trials and tribulations for the Chargers, and the seat is starting to heat up. Ken Whisenhunt’s firing might have smoothed things over, and the Chargers look like they’re trying to make up for lost time. If things take a turn for the worst, however, there’s reason to think that Lynn and quarterback Philip Rivers could be in for a power struggle, with the loser leaving town.

Who’s in charge: Lynn. Sure, Rivers has some clout, but the Chargers will probably end up staying the course and keep both around next year, although there’s a real chance the Chargers are in for another draft shock and have Joe Burrow fall in their laps. If Lynn does leave, though, the Chargers have options. Ron Rivera would fit in well here, as would former quarterbacks coach and current Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni.

New York Giants: Pat Shurmur

The skinny: As sure a firing as it gets. With the Giants needing to see progress and failing to get it, Shurmur will need a miracle to stay with Big Blue. Daniel Jones has shown signs of life in the NFL, but even that looks like it won’t be enough. Expect the next coach to be more willing to develop young players, as well as getting the added bonus to work with a hopefully healthier Saquon Barkley.

Who’s in charge: Matt Rhule, head coach, Baylor Bears. Basically take the main candidates mentioned for Jacksonville, add Jason Garrett (for some reason), and there’s the shortlist. After two straight offensive-minded blunders in Shurmur and Ben McAdoo, a more well-rounded option looks like it should be the play. Enter Rhule, a former Giants assistant who has done exemplary work at Baylor and previously Temple. With coaching experience on both sides of the ball, he’d fit the bill for what the Giants should be looking for. College coaches are always gambles, but Rhule looks like one of the better chances to stick.

New York Jets: Adam Gase

The skinny: One-and-dones usually signify serious internal turmoil, but Gase hasn’t exactly done himself any favors. Giving the Dolphins and Bengals their first wins of the season has turned the fanbase against him. The trade rumors of Le’Veon Bell and Jamal Adams haven’t helped matters either. CEO Christopher Johnson has publicly stated Gase is sticking around for 2020, but a string of losses to end the year could put that plan in jeopardy.

Who’s in charge: Gase. While fans may question what the Jets are doing by keeping Gase, there are more questions about what happens if they fire him. Showing Gase the door just a year after hiring him gives off a damning statement about the Jets: they have absolutely zero plan. It just feels less controversial to give Gase another year to right any wrongs he’s made. If he fails, at least an attempt was made?

Washington Redskins: Vacant

The skinny: At this point, it would just be better for Dan Snyder to sell the team, Bruce Allen to get kicked to the curb, and start directly from the ground up. While Snyder won’t happen anytime soon, Allen leaving would at least be a step in the right direction. Needless to say, the next coach of the Redskins will have to be willing to put up with at least a fair amount of controversy in their tenure. The idea of molding Dwayne Haskins into a franchise quarterback can help ease that red flag a bit.

Who’s in charge: Kris Richard, passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach, Dallas Cowboys. Richard’s been closely attached to head coaching jobs for a while now, and this feels like the year he finally breaks through. Richard has been responsible for the development of the likes of Byron Jones, Chidobe Awuzie, and Xavier Woods. He has also become the passing game coordinator just this past season, where he has enjoyed moderate success. That kind of experience is something the Redskins should not pass up on, especially given the fact that it would hurt a division rival in the process.