Some Game Bibs Championship Predictions

Photo credit: skysports.com

The final rounds of the NHL and NBA playoffs are nearly set, with just a few games left to decide whether the Toronto Raptors or the Milwaukee Bucks will take on the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. On the hockey side of things, the Boston Bruins cruised into the Stanley Cup Finals and waited for a back-and-forth fight between the St. Lous Blues and San Jose Sharks to be decided before prepping for the Blues.

While this marks the Warriors fifth straight chance at a title, it will be either the Raptors’ first appearance ever or the Bucks’ first since 1974. As for hockey, the Bruins will be making their first championship appearance since the 2012-13 season, while the Blues will be making their first ever appearance. That all said, it’s time for us to give our expert opinion on these matchups the only way we know how: by uniforms and colors!

NBA - Warriors vs. ?
Since Golden State reverted back to their familiar blue-and-yellow color scheme after many years of wearing a weird blend of navy blue, orange and yellow, they’ve been a uniform darling of the league. Royal blue and standard yellow are an underappreciated pairing, and it’s great to see a great team rocking those colors on the court. Their uniform logo is a bit on the large side, but it’s uniquely styled so we give them a pass.

Photo credit: tmj4.com

The Bucks have played around with their uniforms and color combinations over the decades (let’s all try to forget those dreaded green-and-purple years), but have always retained green as part of their uniforms. The team underwent a uniform redesign a few years ago after sporting a red-and-green Christmas getup that resembled their first ever uniforms, and now their secondary color is a cream gold that resembles the lagers Milwaukee is known for brewing.

The Raptors have also toyed with their uniforms and color schemes since coming into the league at the height of 1990s fashion, sporting bright purple as their main color. They’ve since dropped purple entirely for a blend of black, red, white and gold, and their uniforms look pretty slick even if they are a bit uninspired.

Our Prediction - The redesign of the Bucks looks clean with just enough unique elements to elevate them above the competition. They might not win on the court, but they’re our pick for NBA champions based on their uniforms.

NHL - Bruins vs. Blues
You have to appreciate teams that don’t mess with a good thing. While other black-and-yellow hockey teams flirted with shiny gold for a few years, the Bruins have always stuck to their traditional look since serving as one of the founding members of the NHL (even if they had brown for a few years in the 1920s and 30s).

Photo credit: nhl.com

The Blues have always been blue, but they’ve thrown in different shades of blue and even some red as recently as the 1990s. We wish they’d take a page from the Warriors’ book and return to a simple blue-and-yellow set, and maybe a league championship will encourage team ownership to make the full switch.

Our Prediction - Tradition trumps all in this one. It’s a bit of a toss-up how the games will turn out on the ice, but we like the Bruins to take the win based on those classic uniforms.

Which uniforms/colors do you like in this year’s crop of championship teams, or do uniforms not matter so much to you? Let us know in the comments below and enjoy the finals!

Draftees Get Jerseys in Record Time

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Baseball Fast & Slow Starts: Celebrate or Pack It In?

We’re now a little more than a week into the baseball season, and every team has had a chance to play through a few series, see which players got off to a hot start, send a few players to the injured list and start to take inventory of how their season will shake out. A few teams are performing as expected, while some are performing well above or below expectations. Let’s break down three teams doing well and three teams doing poorly, and whether or not you fans should celebrate or hit the panic button.

FAST STARTS

Seattle Mariners
Taking three out of four against the Red Sox to open the season was impressive, but rolling over the Angels, White Sox and Royals was expected. The Mariners will play Houston in a few days and go on the road in May to the Indians, Yankees and Red Sox. A fast start was important for a team that shed large contracts, but their pitching has allowed more than 60 runs to this point, and the best pitching staffs are averaging less than half of that through the first few weeks. We hate to say it, but this start is no reason to celebrate in Seattle unless they can control the Astros all season.

Milwaukee Brewers

Photo credit: Chris Kohley / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Christian Yelich picked up exactly where he left off and crushed plenty of home runs to start the season, and the Brewers dominated NL Central rivals in the Cardinals and Cubs. They are more or less even in runs allowed and runs scored, but the real test is the teams that can grind out the close wins. Milwaukee has the clutch hitting and pitching to do just that. Brewer fans, go ahead and celebrate this start. You’re on your way to the postseason again.

Tampa Bay Rays
They may be tops in the division, but they’re not scoring a lot of runs against inferior pitching staffs. Always a feel-good story in baseball, the Rays likely won’t be able to maintain this momentum once they face potent offenses in the heart of the season. Unless some major injuries befall the Red Sox and Yankees, we can’t say the Rays should go ahead and celebrate their fast start.

SLOW STARTS

Chicago Cubs 
You can’t win baseball games if your pitching staff can’t hold leads. After an Opening Day slugfest, the Cubs lost six straight games despite scoring the third most runs in both leagues. Granted, three of those losses were to the postseason-contending Atlanta Braves, but another two came to the lowly Texas Rangers that don’t expect to contend this year. If Chicago can’t get seven or eight innings out of every starter this year (and they won’t), then the middle relievers need to be trusted in tight situations. We say there’s slight reason to be worried, especially considering the danger lingering in the Brewers and Cardinals. The Cubs could be in for a rude awakening this year.

Boston Red Sox
Maybe it’s the hangover from winning another championship, but the boys from Beantown just don’t look like themselves. Their pitching staff has been hit hard to the tune of 72 runs allowed through 11 games. That’s tops in the league. On the plus side, the Tampa Bay Rays can’t possibly continue their fast start once they get into the bulk of divisional play. We say no reason to throw in the towel. The Sox will be fine and back in contention in short order.

Colorado Rockies

Photo credit: milehighsports.com

Back-to-back years in the postseason have fans believing the Rockies’ core can get it done, but giving up lots of runs to the always-dangerous Los Angeles Dodgers and following it up with series against the Braves, resurgent Padres, Phillies, Nationals and Brewers spells a very tough stretch for the Rockies before the bulk of the May calendar. It’ll depend heavily on how they fare in those close games, but we think there’s a bit of a reason to worry if the Rockies don’t come out of this April gauntlet intact.

The beauty of baseball is the season is long and full of ups and downs, so there are plenty of chances for teams to rebound from rough patches. What do you think of our expert analysis of these six overachievers and underachievers? Share your comments below, and enjoy the rest of the season. Play ball!

The Next Possible College Basketball Cinderella Teams

Upset secured, from Kinfay Moroti at news-press.com

The calendar has turned to March, which means college basketball is entering its final month of regular season competition before 68 of the best teams in the country battle it out for the ultimate crown. Every year, it seems there are a number of small teams that unexpectedly make it deep into the tournament. Last year, 11th seeded Loyola-Chicago made it all the way to the national semifinals in the men’s tournament, while 11th seeded Buffalo made it to the regional quarterfinals in the women’s bracket. Which will be this year’s surprise teams? We have a few predictions.

Ja Morant, courtesy of si.com

Murray State
The men’s team has been a low-seeded regular in the national tournament, but they’ve been taking their Ohio Valley Conference by storm. Smaller teams usually need to go on a near-perfect regular season run to be able to tango with the bigger schools, and Murray State could be just that team. They also have Ja Morant on their team, who’s been one of the more complete, under-the-radar players in the men’s game this year.

Florida Gulf Coast
The women’s team pulled a huge first-round upset last year as a 15th seed, and they could very well do it again this year. The team is performing better than it did in 2018 and is projected to slot in at a 14th seed, giving it a slightly more favorable matchup. A 3rd-seeded team is no slouch, but FGCU is a basketball program known for working its magic when the cards are stacked against it.

Dukes celebrating, from jmu.edu

South Dakota State
The men’s Jackrabbit squad is no stranger to the postseason, having been in the tournament five of the past seven years. They’ve faced very tough competition in every round but put up good fights against some of the best in men’s college basketball. Could this be the year they finally break through into the second round?

James Madison
The Dukes have appeared in the women’s tournament or just missed being included seemingly every year for the last few decades. Having made the National Invitational Tournament the last few years after back-to-back-to-back appearances in the national title postseason, we think 2019 is the year JMU breaks through. They’re first in their conference and are beating most of the competition by wide, convincing margins. Look for the Dukes to be around 11 in the seeding, giving them a favorable matchup with a 6th-seeded squad.

The great thing about postseason college basketball is you can never plan for the impossible, last-second plays that swing a game one way or another. However it happens, we’re bound to see a couple surprise teams ride a wave of nail-biting wins into the national conversation. Which teams do you think will be this year’s Cinderella squads? Let us know in the comments below, and enjoy the rest of the regular season!

The Use of Brown in Sports Uniforms

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