The Yankees are Hot

 

The New York Yankees are on an absolute roll right now after capping off a sweep of the Texas Rangers at home. They have now won 12 of their last 14 games, including four wins in a row as well. 

It has been an all around effort from the Yankees contributing to their constant success. The pitching staff has yet to allow over three runs in a game in their last 8 games. Despite the injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Marcus Stroman, the Yankees starting rotation has been lethal. 

Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough were guys that were unsure of their role in Spring Training, but currently are cemented in the rotation and are doing a fine job. In addition, the guys that headline the staff in Carlos Rodon, Max Fried, and Clarke Schmidt have been absolutely dealing as well. 

Good pitching is great, but it needs to be accompanied by a productive offense as well and it sure is. Currently the Yankees have two of the top five leaders in batting average in Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt.

Judge is putting up numbers the baseball world hasn't seen since the great Ted Williams almost a century ago. Along with his league-leading batting average, Judge leads the league in hits and RBIs and is a home run shy of leading that category as well. 

Despite having his 38th birthday this upcoming September, Paul Goldschmidt is turning back the clock and playing some great baseball. The Yanks intended to sign him as a rental, but the pace that he is playing at could hint at a longer career than imagined for Goldschmidt. 

Along with Goldschmidt and Judge, the Yankees have seen outstanding production from their outfield. Cody Bellinger is the main headline as he has been scorching hot after coming off a 15 game hitting streak as well. 

The Martian, otherwise known as Jasson Dominguez, is starting to take off after an outstanding last ten games and he capped it off with a walk off home run last night. And finally a guy who flew under everyone's radar, Trent Grisham. 

Grisham was known as the "other" piece of the Juan Soto deal and for the Yankees he is the last piece of that deal currently with the team. Comparing Grisham and Soto this season, Grisham is playing like the guy that the Mets were envisioning when they handed Juan Soto a check for $765 million. 

Through his time with the Padres and short stint with the Yankees, Grisham was always a key and trusted defensive outfielder. We are now seeing for the first time how effective he can be with the bat in his hands. 

In addition, the Yankees are producing offensively with a couple of key players on the IL. Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm currently find themselves on the injured list and when they see the field again they make the Yankees so much deeper. 

All the critics expected a huge offensive fall off in production after the departure of Juan Soto, but it has just been the complete opposite. The Yankees are cruising and will look to continue to do so as they head to Denver to take on the Colorado Rockies. 

The Juan Soto Return and Reinforcements

The return to the Bronx for Juan Soto was not a pleasant one to say the least. Combined with his struggles at the plate, the reception he received from the home crowd was pretty loud, but not in the enthusiastic way. 

In the three game series over the weekend, Soto went a combined 1-10 against his former club. Not the type of return you want to silence the boisterous crowd around you. His teammates couldn't get the job done either as the Mets dropped 2 out of 3 games to their crosstown rivals.

On the other hand, when the Yankees were unable to re-sign Soto to a lucrative deal he was expecting, they were awarded flexibility and used this to sign multiple players with the money that could've went to Soto.

There were multiple players who headlined this offseason for the Yanks including: Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt. These acquisitions from this previous offseason for the Yanks are making a big impact on their 2025 success.

To start, let's talk about Max Fried. Fried had always been one of the top pitchers in the league with Atlanta, but since coming over to New York, he has posted a 1.29 ERA in his first 10 starts. Throughout every starting pitcher in the history of the Yankees, no one has ever posted this low of an ERA. 

Fried recorded six dominant innings last night in the series finale against the Mets, including two strikeouts of Juan Soto as well. With Gerrit Cole out for the season, Max Fried has stepped up as the ace that the Yankees ever so needed this season.

Let's move on to Cody Bellinger. Currently he holds the longest hitting streak in the MLB at 13 games and has hit over .370 during this stretch. To cap off last night's game, Bellinger hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th over Juan Soto's head to pad the Yanks lead. 

Not too long ago did Bellinger win the NL MVP during his tenure with the Dodgers. During this great stretch, Bellinger has started to look like his old self and exactly who the Yankees thought he was when they acquired him. 

Another former NL MVP in Paul Goldschmidt is the current Yankees starting 1st baseman. After a couple of rough seasons with Anthony Rizzo, the Yankees felt it was best to move on. Acquiring Goldschmidt kind of got lost in the mix with all of the other big headlines surrounding the team. 

However, what shouldn't get lost in the mix is his scorching hot start to the season. Goldschmidt has been absolutely raking to start the campaign with the third best average in all of baseball. He has been a flexible bat with his placement in the lineup and has provided New York with great production so far. 

Although we are roughly 50 games into the 2025 campaign, the Yankees have not missed Juan Soto's presence all too much. The reinforcements they have brought in have made all the difference and look to continue to do so as the season carries on. 

Fix the NBA Regular Season

 

As the NBA playoffs continue, the action has been better than ever and significantly more intense than the regular season. The question now looms, what can the NBA do to improve its struggling regular season?

I believe the NBA should cut down the number of games in a season. Currently each team plays 82 games and with the NBA Cup, some teams could be playing more than this amount. I propose that the NBA should cut the season down to somewhere around 65 games. 

For players, the season is a marathon, not a sprint. With more games in a season, players are more likely to get injured and often star players will sit out games due to this reason. With less games in a season, teams will have more days off, more time to recover, and more. 

With less than 82 games, each game will bring a different meaning. It will make each game much more meaningful to the playoff race. It will give players more of an incentive to compete every game and make the games more enjoyable to watch. 

The NBA playoffs has been unbelievably entertaining with all of the close games going on. Also, I believe that just the simple comparison of the playoffs to the regular season is astronomically different. 

I think that a shortened regular season benefits almost everyone involved. Players benefit and fans enjoy the games more. What more can you ask for? This is the solution that the NBA needs to implement as soon as possible. 

New Face of the NBA?

 

Is Anthony Edwards the new face of the NBA? After taking down the Luka Doncic, Lebron James, and the rest of the Lakers in 5 games, Edwards is putting the rest of the league on notice. 

After a trip to the Western Conference Finals a year ago, Edwards and the Wolves are hungry for more. Edwards has been beating legends one after the other. Last playoffs, the Wolves took down Kevin Durant and the Suns, and Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

This year Edwards is doing more of the same after taking down Lebron James and has the chance to matchup with Steph Curry and the Warriors in the second round. Since entering the league in 2020, Edwards had his best season to date this year.

Averaging a career high 28 points along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Ant-Man has asserted himself along with the best in the NBA. People often forget that Edwards is just 23 years old in his fifth season in the NBA. It's possible that we haven't even seen the best of Ant-Man just yet.

Edwards is definitely one of the most vocal players throughout the NBA. His constant celebrations and trash talking make him a very enjoyable player to watch from a fan's perspective. 

Coming out of college at the University of Georgia and his first couple seasons in the NBA, Edwards was known for his monstrous dunks, but as he has developed in the league he has acquired a much more well-rounded skillset. 

Another thing that Edwards has transitioned into is a leader. After being drafted to a Timberwolves team lead by Karl Anthony-Towns and other veterans, Edwards was the young guy just blossoming into his role. Now with KAT in New York and a lot of experience in the NBA, Ant has certainly acquired the title of being the leader of this squad from Minnesota. 

With the Thunder being the frontrunners in the West throughout the regular season, I believe the Wolves have the best chance of knocking off this powerhouse. Playoff Ant is slowly but surely becoming a real thing and for opposing teams, it is a not a sight they want to run into. 

Recap: NY Jets Draft Class

 

After almost a week since the 2025 NFL Draft, it is time to recap the New York Jets draft class. First year general manager, Darren Mougey, and head coach, Aaron Glenn, made quite a first impression over this past weekend. 

The Jets were rewarded the 7th overall pick after a subpar 2024 season. They addressed their biggest need taking Armand Membou, an offensive tackle from Missouri. New York had one glaring gap in the offensive line, and Membou will fill that gap with his large presence.

Gang Green's last two first round picks will make up the left and right tackle positions of the offensive line this upcoming season. Membou is a huge boost for the success of Justin Fields in New York and takes the run game to a new level as well. 

New York was looking for either a tackle or a tight end at #7, so since they passed on a tight end in Round 1, they made up for it in Round 2. The Jets selected Mason Taylor, tight end out of LSU and the son of NFL legend Jason Taylor. 

Taylor gives the Jets the full package as a tight end as a great pass catcher and blocker as well. Behind the unanimous top 2 tight ends in this draft class, Taylor is the undisputed 3rd best player out of this position class. 

The Jets have been looking for a franchise tight end for some time now and believe Taylor can be that missing guy. He not only gives Justin Fields another weapon, but he is also another big blocker up front for New York. Taylor will enter a tight end room comprised of Jeremy Ruckert and Stone Smartt. 

After addressing offense in the first two rounds, the Jets transitioned to their secondary and drafted cornerback Azareye'h Thomas out of Florida State. After the loss of DJ Reed this offseason, the Jets needed to find talent to replace one of the top corners in the NFL. 

Thomas had a great career at Florida State and was regarded as a top 10 cornerback in this draft. After falling to the 3rd round, the Jets felt Thomas was a steal of a pick. Thomas will most likely not pair with Sauce Gardner to start the season, but he will provide valuable depth and possibly some help on special teams as well. 

New York made 4 other picks, but the one that stood out the most was safety Malachi Moore out of Alabama. Mougey made his first trade as the Jets general manager after trading up to select Moore. After playing a couple years under Nick Saban, Moore showed a ton of potential during his time in Alabama. 

The Jets have been desperate for safety help and are hoping Moore can eventually help them out. Besides Andre Cisco, the safeties room is wide open and Moore could definitely see himself paired with Cisco throughout the season. 

Overall, the Jets had a pretty solid draft class. With the seven picks the Jets had, the only players selected were from either the SEC or the ACC. The real question is can the talent translate to the field and then translate into wins? 

From 1st to 144th

Just a couple of months ago, highly touted prospect Shedeur Sanders was projected to be selected with the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and at worst in the top 3. Fast forward to present day, Sanders was taken with the 144th pick to the Cleveland Browns in one of the most stunning draft falls of all time.

Out of the University of Colorado and a transfer from Jackson State, Sanders had a great college career while playing under his dad as the head coach all of those years. He was regarded by many as the best quarterback in this draft. 

So why did Sanders wait so long for his name to be called? Five quarterbacks went ahead of him, including Dillon Gabriel who was also selected by Cleveland, making the Sanders pick very questionable for the Browns. 

There is lots of speculation that Sanders was chosen so late because his pre-draft meetings went poorly with multiple teams. He has always had a very high ego, stemming from his dad, so potentially this played a big factor in these meetings. 

Speaking of his dad, many NFL teams don't want to deal with Deion. Deion has coached Shedeur his entire life, from when he was a kid to college. There had been rumors before the draft that Deion may follow his son to whatever team he goes to in the NFL.

The unwanted media and theatrics that Deion brings is not something any NFL team really desires to have, creating another red flag for Shedeur. It will be interesting to see how Shedeur plays without his father watching from the sideline for the first time in his life.

Another thing that makes this selection so interesting is that Sanders becomes the fifth quarterback on the Browns roster. Cleveland's original starter, Deshaun Watson, will most likely not be ready to go come Week 1 due to injury. 

Joe Flacco was just signed by the Browns and Kenny Pickett was an earlier offseason transaction. And like I said before, Dillon Gabriel was selected ahead of Sanders in this draft. Nowadays rarely do any teams carry three quarterbacks during games, so the Browns will have some key decisions to make.

A lot of questions and interest have and will continue to surround Shedeur Sanders. This has officially become the NFL's latest mystery that should begin to unravel shortly.  

The Thunder are Unbelievable

 

Following a 68 win regular season, the Thunder have started the playoffs scorching hot as they are currently sitting on a 3-0 lead in their first round matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies. 

Oklahoma City cruised past almost every team they played this season and they are continuing to dominate in the postseason. The Thunder finished 16 games ahead of the #2 seeded Rockets in the West and had the best overall record in the NBA this season. 

Shai-Gilgeous Alexander is the leader of this team and the frontrunner for his first MVP after leading the league in points per game, shooting over 51% from the field. Accompanied by Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City has arguably the best depth and rotation in the NBA. 

After falling down at one point by 29 points last night to Memphis, OKC stormed back with a controlling second half, outscoring the Grizzlies by 35 points and taking Game 3 on the road. 

No matter the differential, the Thunder can never be counted out. Lots of critics across the association have a main critique about this team: they are too young. Their youth and inexperience hasn't seemed to bother them so far and I don't think it will play a big role for the next rounds to come. 

Disregarding a potential playoff run or exit in the upcoming rounds, the question this offseason for the Thunder will be how they can possibly get any better? OKC has a ton of draft capital and depth to spend this offseason to acquire a superstar that can pair well with SGA. 

Their flexibility is remarkable and has been on the rise for some time now with Sam Presti as the General Manager. Oklahoma City really has the resources to acquire almost any player in the NBA, and even after a trade they will still have other available assets. 

All in all, OKC is in a phenomenal position to be in. Yes, they are going for a championship this year and have a great opportunity to capture the title, but if this year fails, the plan for this offseason is clear: pair Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with another superstar.