Your weekly sports roundup for the week ending March 31st, 2015.
Tanking for McDavid
On Thursday night, March 26, when the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Arizona Coyotes, the Buffalo fans took the idea of “tanking” to a whole new level. The two teams are fighting for last place in the NHL, with the ultimate loser getting the best odds of receiving the first overall pick in the upcoming rookie draft. The prize for being the worst this year: Connor McDavid. McDavid is seen as the next great star as he has swept up every statistical record this season, even outperforming Sidney Crosby’s last season with the Rimouski Oceanics. When the Sabres eventually lost to the Coyotes in overtime, the home crowd mocked their team by cheering as the visiting team skated off in victory. Even when Buffalo did score their three goals in the 4-3 loss, the fans booed their team.
Opening day fast approaching
MLB’s opening day is less than a week away and there are plenty of juicy storylines for fans to get swept up in. For the first time in a decade, the Chicago Cubs look like a threat. Yes, the Cubs. After a bunch of offseason acquisitions, highlighted by the signing of veteran ace Jon Lester, Chicago has the seventh-highest odds to win this year’s World Series, according to Bodog Sportsbook. The Washington Nationals have the deepest starting pitching rotation and seemed to have taken a stranglehold on the National League, even leapfrogging the defending-champion San Francisco Giants. As for the general playoff picture, multiple divisions are seemingly wide open. The Boston Red Sox have retooled to tighten the American League East division race, whereas the Central and West divisions each had three teams with 85 or more wins last season.
Sam does not stand alone
Before last year’s NFL rookie draft, Michael Sam became the first openly gay professional football player. A year later, Sam recently told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that there are “a lot” of current NFL players who are gay and that some have reached out to him. According to TSN, Sam was giving a speech at the Dallas Holocaust Museum last week and clarified that, “I’m just saying there is a lot of us.” Sam is currently a free agent and is still hoping to get signed by a team before training camp begins this summer. If the NFL does not work out, Sam has admitted that he would not shy away from the CFL to continue his football career.