How about that weather? It goes from freezing cold and dumping snow to spring-like in a matter of a few hours. This can only mean one thing, right? If you said that baseball season is around the corner then you are most certainly correct and deserve a high-five!
But, as much as I would like to, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In this installment of Clinger’s Corner, let’s take a look a few other places first…shall we?
NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
If you read this weekly bit then you are aware that I have been somewhat documenting the University of Connecticut Women’s basketball program and their march to 100 consecutive wins. Well, guess what?!
After defeating No. 6 ranked South Carolina on Monday by a final of 66-55, they have done it! The first and probably one team to win 100 games in a row in any NCAA sport!
Just to put this even more into perspective, the last time that the Huskies lost was November of 2014…what?!
Congratulations to the Lady Huskies and head coach a.k.a. legend, Geno Auriemma!
On the men’s side of things, teams are still continuing to be upset by weaker opponents which shall make for an interesting run come tournament time. Texas Tech continues to ruin top 10 teams and the Kansas Jayhawks broke a world record for arena noise at Allen Fieldhouse.
That will conclude my bit on college basketball so, let’s move on to the professionals…
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
I am not going to bore everyone with the records and league leaders but I will touch base on a few happenings throughout the last week.
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors earned himself a spot in the record books with a triple-double against the Memphis Grizzlies Friday Feb. 10. A trip-dub is not all that uncommon of a thing, I mean Russell Westbrook is averaging one and has like a million this season. Green’s was quite different you see…With 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals, 5 blocks and 4 points, he became the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double with single-digit scoring. The guy almost messed around and hit double figures in all statistical categories!
Blake Griffin and LeBron James, two of my favorite NBA players were named Players of the Week and their respective conferences.
Charles Oakley, a long-time New York Knicks player, was banned from Madison Square Garden and everyone is throwing a fit about it.
Ben Simmons, the Philadelphia 76ers first-round draft pick in 2016 and first overall pick, will most likely not play at all this season. Simmons played just one year at LSU and decided to go pro…how is that working out so far?
The All-Star break is right around the corner and there are just a few months left in the season…blah, blah, blah.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Pitchers, catchers and the overly ambitious have reported to Spring Training a.k.a. the start of it all for us baseball fans!
The “experts” will start making their picks for preseason favorites and all that jazz. If you read this column, you should know that I am a diehard Boston Red Sox fan. Well, I had seen something online last night amidst my insomnia that predicted the Red Sox to win the AL East, again and have the second best record in baseball behind the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs. Oh, and don’t worry Indians fans…they (whoever they are) predicted that The Tribe would win the AL Central, again haha.
With all of the offseason moves and the departure from the game of one of my all-time favorite players (I’ll miss you David Ortiz), this year is sure to provide joy, excitement, pain and everything that baseball brings for (at least) 162 games!
As for how I see the season going? It is too early to tell honestly. As a fan, I want to say Red Sox all the way in 2017 but as a fan of the game in general, who knows? That’s the thrill of it all! On any given day, any team, good or otherwise, can defeat a powerhouse.
