Niagara Falls, NY – Happy Monday. Good news. The sun set at 6:00 p.m. on the last day of February, and it will definitely not set any later than 6:00 p.m. for the next six months. So we finally made it to a positive time of year. But enough about the weather. Let’s talk sports. Here’s what’s on the menu: Sports Rain Man: USA Gov vs USA Men’s Hockey, Knicks Update, NY Ranger Review.
USA Gov vs USA Men’s Hockey
I said it’s the US government against the men’s hockey team mainly because it just defines my mood right now. I don’t know what it is about this administration, but it does a lot of things that it thinks are funny or edgy, with no recognition of the awkward position it puts people in.
The President crafted an inappropriate joke about being “forced” to invite the women’s hockey team to the White House, while on the phone with the men’s hockey team, inviting them. The guys laughed, and it offended a lot of people—especially the members of the women’s hockey team. A couple of the guys have since admitted they mishandled the situation. The women seem to take it as par for the course and haven’t forgiven them, and now this is an issue that won’t go away.
And on top of that, the White House released an AI-edited video of USA Captain Brady Tkachuk making fun of Canadians. Tkachuk is the son of Keith Tkachuk, an NHL legend—I’m not sure he’s a full legend, but he’s up there. Played 18 years! His mom is Canadian, and he plays in Canada for the Ottawa Senators. He’s going on record saying that’s not his voice. But again, that’s the White House doing something for clicks, or something they find funny like a bunch of high schoolers. Now Tkachuk is in a situation where he has to go on record saying he didn’t do that. I don’t know how many people are watching or will believe them, but it’s an unnecessary situation to put this young man in because of callous and dumb behavior.
NY Ranger Review
The Rangers came out of their Olympic/college break looking so much better. They won one, lost one, but the first game was at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, and they pushed that to overtime. The second game was on the road in Pittsburgh.
They lost in overtime at home against the Flyers, but then won in a shootout against the Penguins. Against the Penguins, they showed great resilience, coming back from two goals down to tie the game, force overtime, and win in the shootout.
The Rangers are in a space where the season is mostly lost, and most fans feel like myself—just hoping to see progress and fight down the stretch.
Knicks Update
The Knicks had an interesting week. They beat up on the Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks, and also picked up a blowout win against the San Antonio Spurs. The main blemish was a loss to the revamped Cleveland Cavaliers, who now have James Harden.
Again, the Knicks seem to be beating the teams in the East that they should, but the Cavaliers made a big move and Detroit is still out there hanging around, so there’s reason for concern. They’re going to need a lucky draw—maybe have Cleveland take on Detroit and see who knocks the other out—and then they could get a path to the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston, a team they have the potential to beat.
Thanks for reading, enjoy the melting snow and see you tomorrow with Aristotle up to bat.
