Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
A Look at the 2017-18 Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals entered the 2017-18 season as one of the most hard luck teams in the NHL, and it all started with their historically hideous inaugural season. Eight wins. 21 points. That's how the 1974-75 season went for the debuting Capitals. It would take them nine seasons to finally reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, and they needed Year 10 to finally win a series. The Caps' first trip to the Final Four didn't come until the 1989-90 season, and it was in the 1997-98 season that the Capitals finally reached the Stanley Cup Final, but they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing Taya Valkyrie's AEW Debut
I started to notice something as I was still leagues above Cloud Nine over what I watched on AEW Dynamite: AEW's best moments seem to happen either on my birthday, or days before it. It was on my birthday (March 18) in 2020 that the late, great Brodie Lee made his AEW debut. On March 16, 2022--two days before my birthday, Thunder Rosa captured the AEW Women's World Championship in a thrilling main event against Britt Baker. The trend continued on the evening of March 15, 2023--three days before my 38th birthday, as one of my all-time favorites in women's wrestling made her All Elite debut.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Sharks Miss Playoffs for 4th Straight Year
16 teams will participate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but there are 16 teams that won't get that luxury. Every year, there has to be a first, and in spite of the immense ineptitude of the Anaheim Ducks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Chicago Blackhawks, this season's first elimination ended up going to the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are 31st overall in the NHL, yet it was their overtime loss to the only team with a worse record--the Blue Jackets--that did them in. San Jose lost, 6-5, thanks to Johnny Gaudreau going beast mode with five points (two goals, including the OT winner, and three assists).
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
XFL Week 4 Recap: Home Sweet Home
Hard to believe that four weeks of this XFL season have come and gone, but that is the case. Week 4 of this 10-week regular season began with the Orlando Guardians hosting the Houston Roughnecks, with the Guardians still searching for their first win of this season. They wouldn't come close. It was 20-0 Roughnecks after the first quarter! Yikes! Guardians managed to make some noise in the second quarter, but let's face facts, they were not winning this game. Roughnecks ended up winning, 44-16, maintaining their stranglehold over the league.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Back-to-Back: A Look at the 2015-17 Pittsburgh Penguins
As a fan of Sidney Crosby, I was very elated when he and the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009. It was a payback moment; they defeated the very team who bested them a year prior: the Detroit Red Wings. Also, it was inevitable; Crosby was already proving that the hype surrounding him prior to being drafted was immensely justified. However, as seasons passed, the Penguins wouldn't come close to retutning to that very pinnacle, and that led to some doubt from talking heads regarding Crosby's ability to win a second Cup. Even I started to wonder if 2009 would be his only hit.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Bruins Become 1st Team to Clinch in 2023, but What's Next?
I am a huge fan of sports takes aging horrendously, and yes, ladies and gentlemen, that includes my own. During the last offseason, I looked up and down at the league, and when it came to the Boston Bruins, I flatly said that this team was not making the playoffs. Why? Because I felt that the team was relying solely on the Perfection Line. Because I thought their goaltending was reliable. Because I thought they had absolutely nothing behind the blue line. Also, they fired Bruce Cassidy as head coach, the very coach who took the Bruins to the Cup Final in 2019. I actually had the Bruins finishing in sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
XFL Week 3 Recap: Bet On It
Whether it's the NFL, the CFL, the USFL, or in this case, the XFL, Week 3 is usually the week that determines who the real contenders are. It's especially true in the 10-week XFL, as it has much less room for error than the 18-week NFL and the 21-week CFL. Two teams who definitely knew that for sure entering Week 3: the Seattle Sea Dragons and the Vegas Vipers. Both teams were 0-2, which meant somebody had to win this one--a factual statement, as the XFL has no ties.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
NHL March Madness 2023: A Look at the Stanley Cup Playoff Picture
I love the month of March, obviously because I was born on this month, but also because it's the best month in the sports calendar. For us hockey fans, March is the home stretch; it's the final full month of the NHL season, and it begins a period in the season where the numbers get thinned out and the playoff picture becomes complete at last. Right now, it's quite fuzzy. Logjams are all over the place, but such is life in the chaotic NHL.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing Becky Lynch and Lita's Epic Night on Raw
What a night! The latest edition of Raw ended with a huge main event pitting Damage CTRL's Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky against Becky Lynch and WWE Hall of Famer Lita, with the Women's Tag Team Championship up for grabs. This bout was the latest chapter in the rivalry between Becky Lynch and Bayley, which started all the way back at SummerSlam last July. So with all of this, how did a four-time Women's Champion and a Hall of Famer get involved in this main event? And how did a second Hall of Famer get involved? To properly tell this, we have to go back a few weeks.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
XFL Week 2 Recap: You Always Remember Your First
My anticipation for the Week 2 of the 2023 XFL season began as soon as the last game of Week 1 ended. Again, even when the incoming pandemic resulted in the 2020 season being cut short and paused, I knew we'd see this league back again. After one week of the league's latest return, my good feeling about the XFL increased. The league definitely has staying power now, especially with The Rock and Dany Garcia running things.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
The Extraordinary Career of P.K. Subban
In an earlier story, I wrote about Willie O'Ree, who broke the NHL's color barrier back in 1958, when he debuted for the Boston Bruins. O'Ree's influence led to a plethora of Black players making their mark in the NHL in the decades that passed. Notable Black players include Grant Fuhr, who was in net during the Edmonton Oilers' monstrous dynasty in the 1980s, Jarome Iginla, who set all sorts of high numbers in his amazing career, and the subject of this story, P.K. Subban, one of the best defensemen in the league during his career.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
The History of the Quebec Nordiques
My name is Clyde E. Dawkins, and I am a Quebec Nordiques fan. That was my team when I started following hockey at the age of seven. I was fascinated by the team names when I read them in the sports section. Whalers, North Stars, Flames, Islanders. I would see team names I saw in other sports: Rangers, Oilers, Jets. But the name that stood out the most to me was "Nordiques." At the time, I knew very little about hockey. Also, this was the early 1990s. As I would find out, I wouldn't have time to enjoy the Nordiques, as the team moved away in 1995. I would learn about hockey history and each team's history as I got older and after I got cable, making it easier to actually watch hockey. Because of this, I can properly detail the history of the Quebec Nordiques, as shaky as it is.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
