Life's Too Sports

After being massacred at Quicken Loans Arena in Game Three of the NBA Finals on Wednesday evening, the Golden State Warriors strolled into enemy territory once more on Friday, seeking a confidence-renewing victory. With a win tonight, the Western Conference Champion Warriors could propel themselves to a nearly insurmountable 3-1 series advantage, while pushing the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink of elimination. As the game progressed, however, it became clear that Cleveland's aforementioned victory had done wonders for their confidence, whilst Golden State was poised to rebound and shut the door on a rather animated Cavalier rally. Game Four would quickly become the most tightly-contested game of the 2016 NBA Finals thus far. With tempers aflame and the stakes ever-increasing, both the Warriors and Cavaliers would come out firing, in relentless pursuit of a momentum-shifting victory. At the conclusion of the first quarter, Golden State would hold ...

Following a decisive Game One victory which was backed by limited production from the duo fondly known as the "Splash Brothers", the Golden State Warriors entered Oracle Arena on Sunday night in hopes of earning a second victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, thus seizing a rather intimidating 2-0 series advantage. As the first-quarter progressed, however, this evening's contest seemed designated to be yet another "grind it out" affair. In the early stages of the game, Warriors' center Andrew Bogut recorded 4 monumental blocked shots, whilst at the opposite end of the spectrum, point guard Stephen Curry collected a pair of early fouls. Bogut's productivity would cease as the evening advanced, yet Curry's ongoing foul trouble continued to haunt Golden State. Steph was whistled for his third personal foul in the second-quarter, and picked up his fourth in the early stages of the second-half. Thankfully for Golden State, Cleveland's overall ...

After erasing a daunting 3-1 series deficit to overcome the Oklahoma City Thunder in thrilling "Game Seven" fashion, the Golden State Warriors stepped onto their home court at Oracle Arena on Thursday night backed by the highly-anticipated elation of over 19,000 supporters. Game One of the 2016 NBA Finals had finally arrived. As many had expected, this year's championship would be decided in a rematch of the 2015 edition of the Finals, featuring the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors (victors in 73 historic contests throughout the regular season), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (finally returned to full strength, and in pursuit of their first championship in franchise history). For the Warriors, it had been a quite eventful trip to the Finals, featuring a plethora of injuries to back-to-back NBA MVP Stephen Curry, and a shockingly furious rally to snatch the Western Conference Championship from the clutches of Russell Westbrook and company. In contrast, the C...

Generally inspired by an unpleasant Chemistry instructor whom J.K. Rowling was forced to endure during her time in secondary school, Professor Severus Snape is amongst the most intriguing of characters in the Harry Potter world. In many ways, Severus Snape acts as the catalyst for the entire series, as it is he who initially informs Lord Voldemort of the prophecy involving a boy who is to become the Dark Lord's downfall (which consequently leads to the death of Lily and James Potter, as well as the first disappearance of “You-Know-Who” himself). However, Snape's impact is much more widespread than on this specific occasion -- rather, the reader spends essentially the entire duration of the series struggling to decipher where his loyalties truly remain. In essence, as the reader becomes more familiar with Snape's character, they also become more confused in regards to his allegiance.  From the onset, J.K. Rowling places Snape in a quite shady role. The reader can...

O n November 15, 2002, almost a full year after the release of the first Harry Potter film, hardcore Potter fans across the globe would finally receive what they had spent four agonizing years awaiting: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was coming to the Big Screen. Much as the first film was quite similar to the novel, the film for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets remained very faithful to J.K. Rowling’s second masterpiece. However, there were (of course) still quite a few omissions, and general liberties taken by the filmmakers, which is why I have dedicated my time to analyzing the differences and creating yet another blog post (I’m sorry . . . or perhaps, you’re welcome). As this novel seems to have even more differences of greater significance than its predecessor, I shall attempt to refrain from stressing the utterly pointless, minor details. (No promises . . .) Once again, I will reiterate that I am not suggesting that there is anything necessarily ...

On the highly anticipated day of November 16, 2001, avid fans of the Harry Potter book series busted into theatres across the globe with purpose, in a desperate attempt to finally catch a glimpse of their favorite characters’ Big Screen adaptations. As these fans left the cinema, however, many of them immediately found something (regardless of how miniscule) to complain about. And while Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (or, before many of you exit this tab in sheer disgust – Philosopher’s ) Stone ended up being perhaps the most true to the novel, in comparison with all eight of the “Warner Bros.” productions, the vast majority of hardcore Potter fans still felt strangely disappointed by this movie. In actuality, I am not suggesting that every single minor difference between the novel and the film must be highly scrutinized. I am not suggesting that we should collectively revolt because we do not get to see Professor Snape officiating a Quidditch match in the film. I am not sugg...

Throughout the course of twenty-five hard-fought seasons of NHL Hockey (or twenty-four, if you prefer to exclude the 2004-2005 NHL Lockout), the San Jose Sharks have often been selected as favorites to win the sport's ultimate prize: Lord Stanley's Cup. And while the appealing title of 'Stanley Cup Champions' has somehow managed to elude Team Teal in each and every one of their campaigns, hockey experts and loyal Shark fans alike have frequently resorted to the laughable, clich é murmurings of, "They'll get 'em next year . . ." In reality, this is an indisputable case of a franchise which has enjoyed countless regular season "highs" since its inaugural season in 1991 (such as clinching the 2008-2009 Presidents' Trophy for the NHL's best record), while merely achieving mediocrity in their many fruitless postseason endeavors. Yes, the Sharks battled their way to the Western Conference Finals in 2004. Yes, they did it again in 2010...