Life's Too Sports

Fresh off of Saturday evening's 4-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, the San Jose Sharks (29-20-5) traveled to Western Florida to take on the defending Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning (30-21-4). Backed by starting goaltender Martin Jones, the Sharks entered Amalie Arena on Tuesday night with thoughts of triumphantly avenging their 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on December 5th. As the first period developed, however, it became clear that both Ben Bishop and Martin Jones were on top of their respective games. In fact, it wasn't until there was 2:09 remaining in the opening frame that either squad broke the scoreless tie, as Alex Killorn led a break for Ryan Callahan, who opened the scoring by burying his sixth goal of the season. Thus, San Jose entered the first intermission trailing 9-8 in the shot totals and 1-0 on the scoreboard. Nevertheless, the deficit wouldn't last long, as Joel Ward opened the second frame for his team by blasting his 16th of the se...

With 30 games remaining in the regular season, the 2015-2016 San Jose Sharks sat second in the Pacific Division, posting a record of 28-20-4. After returning from a grueling road trip, head coach Peter DeBoer decided to place reserve goaltender Alex Stalock between the pipes for Team Teal on Thursday night. As the first period raged on, however, this proved to be a rather poor decision. Merely 4:12 into the opening frame, Sam Bennett ripped an unassisted goal past Stalock, propelling the Calgary Flames to an early 1-0 advantage. Only 1:06 later, the Flames capitalized on a Logan Couture penalty to expand their lead to 2-0, as Mark Giordano fired one towards Stalock, which deflected off of Sharks' defenseman Justin Braun and into the back of the net for a power-play goal. The resilient Sharks were quick to bring a rowdy SAP Center crowd back into the action, however, as Joonas Donskoi fed Tommy Wingels in the slot for his 6th goal of the year. Still only 8:45 into the game...

Since their bitter defeat in Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the most highly scrutinized franchises in the NBA. The organization has undergone many changes over the course of the past few years, both in on-the-court personnel, as well as at the helm. After failing to agree on a contract extension in the 2012 off-season, James Harden, NBA Sixth Man of the Year, was shipped to the Houston Rockets in exchange for a plethora of young talent. While the trade quickly thrust Harden firmly into the spotlight, and he has since become a foundational piece in the southeast region of Texas, it left the Oklahoma City franchise with many unanswered questions. Following second and third-round exits in the 2013 and 2014 postseasons respectively, the Thunder missed the playoffs entirely in 2015 for the first time in six seasons. As injuries and frustrations continued to mount, it was 2009-2010 Head Coach of the Year, Scott Brooks...

As the calendar year of 2015 draws nearer to its conclusion, it seems only fitting for one to begin constructing analysis based upon the status of the 2015-2016 NBA Regular Season thus far. U nsurprisingly, the Golden State Warriors are once again leading the way for the National Basketball Association, breaking seemingly insurmountable records in pursuit of repeating as World Champions. The Warriors currently hold a win-loss record of 26-1, and are on pace to finish the season with roughly 78 victories.  Their remarkable journey will continue tomorrow evening as they host the Utah Jazz. Meanwhile, the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs (24-5) continue to flash their athletic prowess.  Led by legends such as Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, and featuring high-end youngsters like Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs pose an enormous threat to the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. These two Western Conference powerhouses will first collide on January 25th at Oracle Arena. In t...

It's official: the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors are back... and better than ever. Kicking off the 2015-2016 regular season with five consecutive victories against playoff-caliber opponents, Golden State seems prime to prove that last season's historic title run was no fluke. Led by reigning MVP Stephen Curry, the Warriors opened their new season with FOUR straight double-digit wins, including two smackdowns of Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans, and an inconceivable 50-point victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. And last evening's thrilling contest against the Los Angeles Clippers saw a resilient Warriors' squad emerge victoriously once more. Already plagued by the ongoing health concerns of center Andrew Bogut and head coach Steve Kerr, Golden State refuses to make any excuses. Rather, Luke Walton leads his team into battle each night with a successful game plan, and regardless of circumstance, the Warriors always seem to pull out "...

In completing their desired roster for the 2015-2016 regular season, the Golden State Warriors were forced to make one final personnel swap. On July 31, the Warriors traded SF Gerald Wallace, cash, and draft considerations to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for PF Jason Thompson. This was an outstanding move for Golden State, as they have essentially traded David Lee in an effort to land Jason Thompson (a younger, cheaper, and arguably more talented player). And while Thompson spent 7 seasons donning a purple jersey in Sacramento, his adjustment to "The Bay's Team" should be rather seamless. "A lot of instability with seven coaches in seven years, 180 teammates and things like that. That doesn't ever lead to winning," Thompson said. "To come to an organization that has [won] and is coming off a championship, that's great for myself." Although Thompson grew up in Philadelphia, being traded from a team that won 18 games last se...

Oftentimes, when a professional sports franchise finally captures a championship, their ensuing off-season features a great amount of free agent shuffling. However, this is certainly not the case for the 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, as they plan on entering the 2015-2016 regular season with a roster that is nearly identical to the one that lifted the Larry O'Brien Trophy this past June (aside from a short list of unavoidable exceptions). The few notable roster changes include names such as Kevon Looney, Justin Holiday, Gerald Wallace, and David Lee. As addressed in a previous blog, with the 30th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Warriors selected PF Kevon Looney, who will seemingly be a quite valuable asset to their franchise moving forward. In a deal featuring slightly less media coverage, SG Justin Holiday has signed a 2-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks. Although Golden State will miss Holiday greatly, it was clearly time for him to pursue an expa...