Boston Bruins

It’s back! The air is cold, the ice is fresh and the fans are pumped. Yes, it’s hockey season!

The Boston Bruins are 5-6 so far this season, most recently losing to the Minnesota Wild, 4-3. The Bruins had a 2 goal lead but lost their edge in the 3rd period as the Wild made their comeback, scoring 3 goals. Bruins forward Seth Griffin scored twice in the game but it wasn’t enough.

Boston’s team captain, defense-man Zdeno Chara is currently out for at least a month due to a knee injury he recently suffered. The Bruins were able to win their 1st game without him against Toronto, defeating the Maple Leafs 4-1. In addition to losing Chara in their lineup, the B’s must adjust to fill his void as their great leader. It has been reported that Chara is still showing his quality character to teammates off the ice despite this recent injury. Chara has been with the B’s since 2006 but has played in the league since 1997. He is the tallest player in the NHL, standing at 6’9”.

In 2011 the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games to win the coveted championship. This was the Bruins’ 1st Stanley Cup victory since 1972. In 2012, the team made it to the 1st round of playoffs, but was defeated by the Washington Capitals in a 7-game series, 4-3. Each of the 7 games was decided by just 1 goal and 4 of the games went into overtime!

Last season, the Bruins advanced to the playoffs defeating the Maple Leafs 4-3 in the 1st series followed by their victory over the New York Rangers, 4-1. The B’s then moved on to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins, sweeping the series 4-0 and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals where they faced the Chicago Blackhawks, who had most recently won a Stanley Cup in 2010. Last year was the 1st Stanley Cup meeting between these 2 teams and the Blackhawks came away victorious, winning the series 4-2.

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys, the NFL’s most valuable team, are 6-1 this season. Their only loss has been their season opener against the San Francisco Giants, losing 17-28. Since then, the team appears to have found it’s stride, winning the next 6 games which included defeating last year’s Super Bowl Champs, the Seattle Seahawks as well as their division rivals, the NY Giants.

The Cowboys play in the largest domed stadium in the world, which opened in 2009 and seats 80,000. Team owner Jerry Jones funded the new stadium along with the City of Arlington for $1.3 billion dollars.

The subject of heavy scrutiny for several years, quarterback Tony Romo has been with the Cowboys since 2003 and secured his starting position in 2006. Critics have often questioned if he is cut out for high pressure, late game situations but Romo continues to prove he is. Romo currently holds NFL records for most passing yards through 100 starts and most consecutive road games with at least 1 touchdown pass. Romo has also been selected for the Pro Bowl 3 times in his career.

In addition to Romo, the Cowboys roster boasts WR Dez Bryant, RB DeMarco Murray and TE Jason Witten who have meshed well together for more than 3 seasons. While Murray has publicly stated it is not his top goal to break records and achieve milestones, his recent performance suggests this is a likely possibility this season for both franchise and league records.

In 4 of their last 6 games of this season, America’s team will face off against their NFC East division rivals: the Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. This division’s rivalries are some of the most well known across the league. 4 of these games are also on the road and 3 of the games will be played in prime time. This is a lot of additional pressure for a team, especially late in the season as squads look to secure positions for playoffs, however, Dallas has thus far shown they can be a top competitor and opposing teams should prepare accordingly.

The Dallas Cowboys’ next game is Monday night, at home against the Washington Redskins. The Cowboys have won 2 of the 3 most recent matchups against Washington.

World Series

The hunt for October has come and gone. The World Series is in full swing and currently tied, with the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants tied at 2-2.

In the initial series faceoff, the Giants defeated the Royals 7-1 in Kansas City. The Giants had 11 hits, 7 of which were runs and the Royals’ only run occurred in the 6th inning. The Giants held a 3-run lead before the 1st inning was over. This was the Giants’ 16th win in their past 18 post season games.

Game 2 was a different story, as the Royals defeated the Giants 7-2. Each team scored a run in the 1st inning but Kansas City went on to dominate, scoring 1 in the 2nd and 5 more in the 6th inning. The Giants’ only other run came in the 4th inning. Giants pitcher Hunter Strickland struggled and after the game acknowledged he let his emotions get the best of him.

Kansas City managed to win Game 3 although it was closer than the previous 2 games with a final score of 3-2. The Royals scored 1 run in the 1st inning and 2 in the 6th.  The Giants scored both of their runs in the 6th inning as well. Royals shortstop Eric Hosmer’s 6th inning RBI proved to be the deal sealer for the team’s Game 3 victory, giving the Royals a 2-1 lead in the series.

In Game 4, the Giants came back to crush Kansas City, 11-4. Six different Giants had RBIs in this game. Giants outfielder Hunter Pence had 3 RBIs, while second baseman Joe Panik and third baseman Pablo Sandoval each had 2. San Francisco was able to come back, obtaining a 7-4 lead, which they were then able to extend to 11-4, to win the game. Giants relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit threw 3 shutout innings following starter Ryan Vogelsong.

Game 5 will take place Sunday night at 8:00pm EST in Kansas City. The teams’ pitchers will be the same as in Game 1, James Shields starting for the Royals and Madison Bumgarner for the Giants. Whichever team is victorious will have an advantage for Game 6, heading in with a 3-2 lead.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are 3-3 after Thursday night’s 33-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Houston’s defense allowed 24 points in the 1st quarter. The Texans scored 2 touchdowns within 2 minutes in the 2nd quarter but it wasn’t enough to recover from the Colts’ earlier lead. Despite the loss, defensive end J.J. Watt played well, sacking Colts quarterback Andrew Luck twice and scoring a touchdown, his 3rd of the season so far.

Now in his 4th year of professional play, J.J. Watt is quickly establishing himself as the face of the Texas franchise and garnering great popularity among football fans nationwide. Fantasy football outlets were quick to recognize a popular team name among players this year included “Turn Down For Watt” a play on Lil Jon’s song this past summer “Turn Down for What.” In September, Watt signed a 6-year contract extension with the Texans, with a guarantee of just under $52 million. This is the highest amount for a defensive player in NFL history. Although the expectations are high, Watt continues to deliver.

In Thursday night’s game, wide receiver Andre Johnson also reached a milestone of 13,000 receiving yards after catching a 9-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Johnson is just the 15th player in NFL history to achieve this.

Rookie linebacker Jadeveon Clowney is expected to return to play some time in October or November, after rehabbing his knee injury suffered in the Texans’ season opener on September 8. Clowney, a junior from the University of South Carolina, was the number 1 draft pick this year by Houston.

With Watt, Johnson, running back Arian Foster and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, Houston definitely has the right pieces for success. The Texans’ next game is October 20th where they will face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Monday Night Football. Texans’ head coach Bill O’Brien said last week that as of right now Clowney’s return for this game in 50/50.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have begun the 2014 NFL season with a strong start and are currently 3-1. On Sunday they will face off against Cam Newton and the visiting Carolina Panthers. This is a matchup of 2 first place teams. The Bengals will have to compete without wide receiver A.J. Green, as he aggravated a previously existing injury earlier in the week at practice. Wide receiver Marvin Jones is also expected to sit out due an ankle injury. This will be a challenge the team must prepare for, being down 2 catchers. On Carolina’s side, Newton will play despite battling some injuries so far this season and tight end Greg Olsen is also expected to play even though he has an ankle injury.

The Bengals will look to rebound from last week against the New England Patriots who handed Cincinnati its only loss of the season so far. Cincinnati’s defense gave up 43 points so major adjustments will be needed to avoid this again. The Patriots had more than double the Bengals total yards at halftime.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton will need to identify alternative options with 2 of the teams leading receivers out this week. The team’s defense will need to tighten up after last week’s game and the whole squad must stay healthy in order to continue to establish themselves as a major contender across the league.

In a time where the NFL is being plagued with bad news and player scandals, the Bengals have too have made headlines, but for another reason. Defensive tackle Devon Still shared his story at the start of the season, that his 4-year old daughter, Leah, was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. The Bengals kept Still on the practice squad despite earlier rumors that he was going to be released this season, so he will still receive medical insurance to help pay for Leah’s necessary treatments. Still has shared Leah’s progress with fans and supporters nationwide, and the Bengals agreed to make a donation to pediatric cancer research for all Devon Still jerseys that were purchased. The team’s website states that the donation exceed $1 million due to the generosity and support of fans and other NFL players and staff. Sean Peyton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints purchased 100 jerseys himself.

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are just 1 game away from claiming the AL Division title after a 29 year absence from the MLB playoffs. The Royals beat the LA Angeles 4-1 in Friday’s game, allowing the Royals to claim a 2-0 lead in the series. The Royals pitchers have almost halted the Angels’ high scoring offense, limiting their opponent to just 3 runs in 22 innings in the series so far. In their first game against the Angels, the Royals won 3-2 in 11 innings.

The Royals beat the Oakland Athletics last Tuesday in the American League wildcard game. The 12-inning game resulted in a 9-8 victory for the Royals although the As got off to a 7-3 lead. Salvador Perez’s hit in the 12th inning allowed rookie infielder Christian Colon to reach home plate and score a run, sealing Oakland’s defeat.

Between their victory over Oakland and the most recent 2 games against Los Angeles, the Royals have now won 3 straight postseason games in extra innings. Royals Manager Ned Yost has been highly criticized throughout much of the season, but the team’s postseason play thus far is an indication that it’s clear he knows what he’s doing. With his former teams, Yost has been to the World Series 6 times.

Just 8 teams in MLB’s history have come back to win from a 2-0 deficit so the Angels definitely have their work cut out for them if they plan on claiming victory and advancing. The underdog Royals have certainly been proving they belong here. James Shields is expected to start as pitcher when the Royals host the Angels for Game 3 on Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. CST. A strong start by Shields and an enthusiastic, faithful Kansas City crowd decked out in white and blue, should help the Royals keep up their impressive, and to many, surprising, streak of victory.

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are on the brink of playoff elimination, down 0-2 in the series after being defeated 7-6 by the Baltimore Orioles in last Friday’s game. Pitcher Justin Verlander started for the Tigers in this game. In game 1, Baltimore defeated Detroit 12-3, including 8 runs in the 8th inning. Pitcher Max Scherzer started for the Tigers in game 1.

Sunday’s game 3 is a must-win for Detroit. The Tigers will host the Orioles at home in Comerica Park. Tigers’ pitcher David Price is aware of the high expectations and the pressure to perform well in game 3. The Tigers obtained Price from the Tampa Bay Rays via a 3-team trade just before the league’s deadline on July 31st. They had 1 goal in mind with this move: a World Series championship.

Price is no stranger to pressure. In the Tigers final regular season game, Price assisted the team in defeating the Minnesota Twins by pitching over 7 shutout innings. This victory led Detroit to clinch their 4th consecutive AL Central Division title. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is noted saying Price has unparalleled focus on each of his pitches and there is no lack of concentration here.

Centerfielder Rajai Davis will not start in Sunday’s game as he has been battling an injury over the past week. He played in both games 1 and 2 but was not able to play 9 innings in either. He may be able to assist the Tigers late in game 3 if needed. If the Tigers win on Sunday, Scherzer is expected to start as pitcher in game 4 on Monday, October 6th.

The Orioles have an aggressive swinging lineup and Detroit will need to pull some serious help from the bullpen, even if Price pitches well in game 3. Winning 3 in a row is not impossible for Detroit, but it will be a challenge they must be ready to now face.