Fortune Favors The Brave ……
With a little over three weeks before the start of the NFL regular season for 2019 , the league’s teams will embrace their preseason schedule with added interest. Newly acquired rookies will be out to prove themselves while seasoned veterans will still be looking to show the fans , that they’re still able to perform at the highest levels possible. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will seek to win an unprecedented seventh Superbowl , all under the helm of their Head Coach Bill Belichick , whose coaching resume’ remains unparalleled .
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With the retirement of Rob Gronkowski from the New England Patriots , there is the common belief that this franchise could very well suffer without the tight end’s presence on the roster. Yet repeatedly , we have seen that the Patriots have always been able to overcome real adversity by simply going about things in their very own way. I have no doubt in mind that Bill Belichick and his
coaching staff will make all of the right moves necessary to make this team truly competitive during the regular season. With a fresh group of rookies , drafted during the 2019 NFL Draft along with their customary upgrades by way of acquisitions , this should prove to be the team to beat not just in the AFC , but also within the league as a whole.
The New England Patriots will open their preseason schedule with a game against the Detroit Lions on the road. This will be part of a four game preseason schedule for the team as well as the rest of the NFL franchises. For Tom Brady and his further pursuit of NFL excellence speaks volumes as to the determination of this franchise and the success attained over the past decade and a half. A seventh Superbowl victory would be an unprecedented feat for the Patriots as an organization . Brady and his teammates will enter the regular season looking to win the AFC East for a record twentieth time . New England will enter their regular season looking to separate themselves from their divisional rivals , of whom their biggest opponent for this season could very well be the New York Jets , if their quarterback Sam Darnold lives up to expectations. The New England Patriots will open their regular season schedule with a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at home , with their two regular season meetings against Darnold and the New York Jets taking place in week’s three and seven of their sixteen-game regular season schedule .
Within the NFC , I would like to think that the New York Giants can rise to the expectations where Eli Manning led the franchise to two Superbowl victories during Manning’s reign with the Giants. In recent years the veteran quarterback has failed to lead the team to once lofty heights. With New York having drafted a quarterback among their crop of rookies , it will be interesting to see if the coaching staff believe that Daniel Jones can be the heir-apparent to Eli Manning. Jones is likely to get some playing time as the Giants begin their preseason , with their opener being against the New York Jets . The New York Giants will begin their regular season with a match-up against the Dallas Cowboys on the road.
Jerry Jones the de-facto GM and owner of the Dallas Cowboys enters the preseason without the team’s running back Ezekiel Elliot , as the player sits out what could be a frustrating preseason , seeking to have his contract renegotiated. Jones for his part seems to be playing coy concerning the current problems with the player, as well as the possible difficulties this team is likely to have within their midst. Starting quarterback Dak Prescott fell off the map last year and the team in it’s current guise is far from impressive. While Prescott looks to regain his form of old , Jerry Jones will be looking to parlay a contract for a player in Ezekiel Elliot that he knows will be vital to the team’s success for this upcoming season. Jason Garrett the Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys , has been the entrusted protege of Jerry Jones , but there appears to be a growing belief that if Garrett cannot take this team into a long postseason run, with the ambition of a Superbowl appearance, then his days could be numbered in his present role.
The NFC East has always been viewed as one of the most competitive divisions within the NFL, because of the class of the divisional occupants , but in recent years other than the success of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017 , there has been little to justify the status of the division as being among the elite. Jason Witten whose retirement from the Dallas Cowboys was short-lived has returned to the franchise , where he will likely add to his already well-chronicled accomplishments as being one of the Cowboys’ best receivers in franchise history. He will undoubtedly add to the team’s offensive potential and presence if Dak Prescott also has a very good season. With four customary preseason games on their schedule before embarking on their regular season opener against the New York Giants, it will be interesting to see how this contest will turn out .
MLB’s season is fast approaching the end of the regular season foray, with the Los Angeles Angels having once again under-performed . The team’s best player as well as being whom many consider to be the best player in all of baseball ; Mike Trout is again putting up spectacular numbers, to justify his status as a Hall of Fame bound player once his career comes to a close. The only personal and team accomplishment missing from Trout’s resume’ is that of a World Series’ ring and World Series’ MVP Award . With the Angels not remotely in contention for the AL West divisional title or that of an AL Wildcard Berth , it has to be said this has been another season of missed opportunities. Mike Trout’s teammate Albert Pujols is winding down another on what one might consider to be an illustrious career . Unfortunately, for Pujols , since joining the Angels, he has not been able to lead the ball-club to a postseason appearance. For GM Billy Eppler and team owner Arturo ‘Arte’ Moreno , the justification in having signed Albert Pujols to his contract now seems somewhat perplexing to say the very least. Many may well feel that money could have been better spent elsewhere , but from my own perspective. Albert Pujols has proven to be the consummate leader and a player whose presence has been an invaluable asset in seeing the growth Mike Trout as a player , a two-time ALMVP..
With barely six weeks left in the regular season , it will be interesting to see if the Los Angeles Angels can possibly play themselves into contention for a possible postseason berth within the AL. The team has a plethora of games against divisional opponent and league opponents to round out their regular season schedule, which comes to a culmination at the end of September. Mike Trout is not due to become a free agent until 2031 and it is highly unlikely that the front office will seek to trade the player , while not seeking to gain optimum pieces to build for the ball-club’s long-term future. The farm system of the Angels is highly thought of but the potential for a player to provide immediate impact with the potential of Mike Trout is not likely . The Houston Astros have a healthy lead within the AL West and they are poised to win the division outright while having the best record in the AL, while making another postseason appearance. One of the team’s strengths remains it’s pitching which is among the best within all of baseball , but one should not discount their offense or defensive prowess at all. Those very facets have played a part in the Astros’ success , whereas , we have seen those traits to be among the problems for the Los Angeles Angels over the course of this season. These two teams will face each other as the season winds down, encompassing their regular season schedule of games. The next scheduled meeting between these two teams will take place on the 20th September , 2019
Rich Paul just happens to be one of the most powerful agents in all of professional sports , but it is in the area of the NBA , where his power can be really felt. Paul is the current agent of NBA stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis , the newly acquired teammate of James , who’s currently with the Los Angeles Lakers . The agent’s tentacles are now coming under the microscope of the NCAA , who believe that he might be a threat to the body which encompasses collegiate athletics. It has been the league
itself which played it’s part in the muddying of the waters, as it sought to dictate the terms under which a collegiate basketball player could seek to make himself eligible for the NBA and the NBA Draft .
The triumph of the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals , set about a chain of events leading to trades , new contracts being afforded to players, with their salaries escalating to unprecedented levels , not seen in the NBA , never-mind the cap implications for the NBA’s teams . It would be remiss to suggest that because of the acquisition of Anthony Davis , this now makes the Los Angeles Lakers the best team in the NBA . The Lakers’ divisional rivals the Los Angeles Clippers managed to pull off a coup-de-gras with their pair of signings by inking Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to big deals. Not to be left out of the equation were the Houston Rockets who traded for point guard Russell Westbrook , but the biggest surprise of all was the departure of Kevin Durant from the Golden State Warriors, as he joined the Brooklyn Nets , where he will also play alongside Kyrie Irving . Durant is likely to miss a large portion of the 2019 regular season , as he continues his recuperation process from injury. The team led by Kyrie Irving should be competitive enough to be a legitimate contender within the Eastern Conference for this upcoming season.
This season within the NBA should be one of the more eventful in recent years , with the teams all vying for that title of being called NBA champions .
Within the world of sports there will be some interesting stories coming into focus within the coming weeks and months . What if anything are you most looking forward to seeing as things begin to unfold ?
Tophatal ……..
MLB standings (division) and by league
MLB schedule three days at a glance
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Picture gallery along with accompanying narrative.
