Sports Banter

  (image is owned by medium.com, we do not own the rights) 2016 seems like a distant memory. When the Chicago Cubs entered spring training that year the expectation was clear, World Series or bust. 7 years later the only remaining player from that team is now the teams' manager, David Ross. That itself speaks volumes to how this team has been put together and how the expectations surrounding this team are much different. With owner Tom Ricketts promising to all Cub fans that we would not be rebuilding, but rather revamping, the trust within the fan base still existed. But as we've watched the previous 2 years, the Cubs were obviously not trying to compete with the elite teams in the MLB. It became apparent that the focus was on payroll efficiency and not fielding the best team we could. Along with that, the lack of respect to the great players who wore the jersey was obvious i.e. Wilson Contreras who now wears the disgusting Cardinal red we all hate. BUT ALAS. The beauty of spr...

(Reinhold Matay/USA Today Sports)     Last week Netflix released their series "Full Swing", which was watched and completed by myself in 3 days. Although I am not a binge watcher by any means, I was enamored by the authenticity of this series. The platform was similar to Netflix's F1 series "Drive to Survive", but let me tell you "Full Swing" is exceptional. But let me get back to what I really want to talk about, Tiger Woods and his impact on the game of golf. This weekend was the Genesis  tournament, which started on Thursday and ran through Sunday with Tiger Woods as the host of the event. I am a pretty big golf fan, maybe not as much as Doc Downing but I am pretty close. This weekend there was so much coverage of the tournament and the reason for that is because of Tiger. Tiger was able to get through the weekend, and I was watching every single day. On Friday he birdied the last three holes of the tournament on a bum leg, bad back, and noneth...

  (photo is owned by Porter Binks/Getty Images, we do not own the rights) Less than 10 months removed from Jay Wright's abrupt retirement, Villanova basketball is at a crossroads. Adapt or die. When Wright announced his retirement following his 3rd Final 4 run in 7 years, winning National Championships in both '16 & '18, he blindsided College Basketball, Nova Nation, and most importantly, his program. A legend and architect of arguably the most dominant basketball program of the 2012 - 2022 era, Wright was done. The fire and passion that had propelled the miraculous run had fizzled out and Wright had "lost his edge", as he put it. Months before the announcement, Wright notified Mark Jackson and Father Peter of his decision. Seemingly to both save the heralded incoming recruiting class and "keep it in the family", the trio allegedly chose to forgo a quiet national coaching search for a top 10 job in college basketball, and instead appointed former ass...