Slap Shots, Lay Ups, Five Irons

Hard to believe, but we are turning a new leaf. Barring any potential consequences from protesters and rioters, normalcy could be coming very soon. Or at least, a different form of it. That's why we're seeing multiple sports mark their return, and it doesn't involve baseball.

A while back, the NHL set up a 24 team playoff format. But they are still taking the quarantine matter very seriously. The work to test everyone out every day and plan out the games is a work in progress. There is still the matter of getting the arenas open, not allowing fans in, and a few other things. The playoffs should last a good while and if I had to guess, end in August.

The NBA is still in the process of getting stuff ready, but should have games going this summer. Its plan is to start games at the end of July. They do lose some games (assuming) because of a new season starting at the beginning of December. All but Portland was ready to resume the season via voting. There are 22 teams involved in the restart and they are given eight regular season games. Potential playoff implications could occur. It's all going to be in Orlando, Florida. These guys are ready to finish what they started. Even if it means losing a little bit for next year, anything to end the season and crown a champion.

Golf is slowly coming back. At least some tours are marking their return this month. Obviously, there will be a lot of testing. No fans, of course. But it continues to fill the void that people have wanted for the last three months. All three sports, really. Even if its for a small amount of time, these players are anticipating the time to compete in these tournaments and bring viewers a few hours of entertainment. Anything to turn their mind off of reality.

It's unfortunate the greedy players of the MLB are holding back baseball's season. But no worry. The summer is going to melt away the worry of it with the return of basketball and hockey. And golf is just the tip of the iceberg. It's only a matter of making sure no huge spikes. Otherwise, game on.

Hockey's Support For Each Other

There will always be rivalries. There will always be hate between certain players. However, there will always be a care from each other. With hockey, it has shown the support and love that they have following and since the tragedy of the Humboldt Broncos. It is going to be felt for a long time due to a number of players being very young and the amount of heartbreak from the various families that may have lost loved ones.

For a quick question to what happened, a tractor trailer crosses into an intersection and crashes into the Bronco bus on April 6. The death toll stands at 16 at the moment, which includes players, coaches, statistician, radio person and athletic trainer. The other 13 are left with injuries, with some still in the hospitals. For this Saskatchewan hockey team, the support and thoughts from all over the world is something to be amazed.

It really reflected with the NHL. A number of these players originate from Canada, and hockey is possibly their most popular sport in all their provinces. Some of these players, and coaches probably grew up near where the Broncos played. A lot of the NHL teams, if not all of them, paid tribute to them whether in the playoffs or final games of the season. It's not just families that are devastated. The entire league is upset. These are very young people. Kids in a nut shell. They live on those buses, something players and coaches think about. They spend hours upon hours on a bus and they knit themselves together to have this bond that you don't really see in professional sports, NHL at times included.

As of now, a GoFundMe has made 15 million dollars in support of the families. Whether there will be charges on the truck driver is another story that won't be concluded for a while. It's about as deadly as you can get from a non plane crash tragedy involving a sports team. There will be lots of heavy hearts and whoever wins the cups in Canada and America will certainly be honoring their wins to the Humboldt Broncos.

Hockey may be a sport you see more hits and knockdowns, but their support for each other rivals anything the other sports have.

Another Year, Another Capital Disappointment

When a team does well almost every year, that team's fanbase expects a championship almost all the time. For Washington D.C., they haven't seen anything major since the Redskins 1991 football team win a Super Bowl. Since that time, the Redskins have been putrid for a very long time. The Nationals in baseball have started to pick up as a serious team. However, we are looking at the Capitals, the hockey team that can't get past the hump.

Since 1982, the Capitals have been one of the more stronger teams in the NHL. Starting from 82 until 96, they would make the playoffs every year, often losing in the semi-finals or conference finals. After an off year, the 1997-98 team would make its only Stanley Cup appearance, where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings. For the next six years, they would make the postseason three more times before the 2004-05 lockout. Since 2007, they have been one of the more dominant teams, but have squandered big series against teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins.

In all honesty, this should be a team that could get past the hump and show a bit of energy. They fought back a three to one Penguins lead in the series to tie it up, and then lose once again in a game 7. Alex Ovechkin is one of the biggest names right now in not just the NHL, but hockey in general. Washington had one of the best defenses and set of goalies this year. The main scoring groups are young and can stay together for a long time. How much more disappointment can there be for them?

Time will only tell if they can beat a Pittsburgh or a New York team. This is one of their biggest obstacles. Can they get past a lot of these mental mistakes? Can they get past all the stuff that they hear from the fans, the press, etc.? Blocking it out could work. You would think so. Ultimately, the Capitals have to focus on hockey come September/October. Frustration is going to mount and either they get that championship or they start losing key players to trades, retirements, and or injuries.

Right now, Ovechkin has at the very least five to eight more years left barring any injuries. Washington has a very tough division which include the Rangers and Penguins. Their conference also has the Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and whatever surprise team gets in at times. The time to get serious on being contenders is now. If they don't, time will tell when they have another good era that can get them a Stanley Cup.

The shock of death, Part 3

As far as other sports go, I'm at that age where it will always be a surprise when someone passes away. There is somewhat of a huge shock factor, but it depends on the person and how they did in their sport.

I was pretty young when there was a number of 90s deaths in auto racing and seeing some of the improvements in NASCAR cars following the sudden death of Dale Earnhardt. With all the safety improvements in the cars and tracks, the reduction in fatalities has been very noticeable. The last time I thought was very shocking was Formula 1 racing. While I don't follow it, it was still a surprise to hear about a 2011 race and driver Dan Wheldon passing from injuries he sustained. However, that doesn't mean that the number of deaths in auto racing will be reduced to zero any time soon. Looking up the lists, there is bound to be either something freakish or something that you wouldn't think would end with someone not being able to get out of their car.

Airplane travel is pretty much standard for all sports, no matter what. Similar to auto racing, improvements have been made to ensure safety of all passengers, including any sports team. It doesn't however mean that everything will be perfect. There was the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team in 2011 in which the entire group was killed in a crash. You want extreme shock, there's the 1972 plane crash carrying a Uruguay rugby team. While not everybody passed, some of them resorted to cannibalism just to stay alive in the Andes mountains along with finding any warmth in the cold mountains for over two months. We're a far cry from years past, and hope others make sure pilot error or technical issues decrease more.

American football is an interesting tale of the tape. Some of the stories include what happens to former players and ones when they were on active rosters. The 1994 San Diego Chargers had big sufferings, losing a few of their players from their Super Bowl team in a four year span. The shocking one involved linebacker Junior Seau in 2012. He was only a few years into retirement when he decided to commit suicide. Unfortunately, he was far from the first player to contemplate this. Lots of analysis have looked at concussions and head issues which the NFL has tried to address. While it's a step in the right direction, there are times where their intentions are not executed well. For ones that were active at the time, it's things like Jerome Brown, Derrick Thomas, and a few others that make it hard to believe they were gone and were people that meant something to their teams.

I'll end this by saying we're going to still be shocked by a death, whether we know someone or not. Seeing someone go away will always bring out a wave of emotions. You simply have to live life to the fullest and to enjoy a fruitful one. There will always be ups and downs, but it shouldn't let you down, even in the darkest hours. Make the greatest moments through all of your life and not just through one period of time.