Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
800 and Counting: The Legendary Career of Alex Ovechkin
One of the major storylines in the NHL in the last few seasons has been Alex Ovechkin's road to goal-scoring immortality. Throughout his career, Ovechkin's received a pair of notable nicknames: "The Great Eight" and "Alexander the Great," both with plenty of merit. Ovechkin's stellar career began in the 2005 NHL Draft, yes, that draft. He was drafted by the Washington Capitals on the same year that some kid named Sidney Crosby was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins. That, alone, is epic.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing Roxanne Perez's Monumental Week
The end of the December 13, 2022 episode of WWE's NXT program cemented a spectacular year for Roxanne Perez. After competing in Reality of Wrestling and Ring of Honor (and winning titles in both), Roxanne Perez signed with WWE in March of 2022. Fast forward nine months, and Roxanne stands on top of NXT's Women's Division, doing so at the tender age of 21. Let's take a look at how Roxanne's amazing week progressed.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
The Plot Thickens (Week 15)
Well, here it is. The last week before the holidays, and as usual, the scenarios are starting to pile up. I also love that Week 15 gives us the first Saturday games of the season; a long time ago, the NFL gave us four straight weeks of Saturday football: Week 16, Week 17, Wild Card Weekend, and the Divisional Playoff. Week 17 stopped doing the Saturday thing over a decade ago, and when the 18-week season began in 2021, the Saturday games now take place during three of the final four weeks of the regular season, as well as the aforementioned playoff rounds.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
NFL Week 14 Recap: Mr. Irrelevant's Wild Ride
The San Francisco 49ers pulled off an amazing win last week, but it came at a high cost: losing Jimmy Garoppolo. Jimmy G ended up leaving the game early in the first quarter due to a foot injury, and the news broke that week that it was season ending. An update stated that Jimmy G could return for the playoffs, but now even that is doubtful. So with Jimmy G and Trey Lance out, who did the Niners turn to last week, and again this week? None other than Brock Purdy.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
From Rags to Riches: A Look at the Rising NFC East
We all remember the 2020 NFL season very well, don't we? So many things stood out about that year, the main thing being that it was being played in the midst of a terrible pandemic. As for on the field, the most memorable thing about the 2020 NFL season? The NFC Least, I mean East. The National Football Conference's Eastern Division, which was a beastly division during my childhood, was an outright joke in 2020. The crazy thing, it seemed to be heading that way in 2019, but we did see .500 or better records that year. 2020 was a mess, as all four of the division's teams--the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the then-named Washington Football Team--all sucked.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
And You Thought YOUR Owner Was Bad!: The Twisted Tale of Harold Ballard
Oh boy. You know, a decade ago, I joined Twitter, and a few of my first followers were wrestling fans and fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I remember when the Leafs clinched a playoff spot during that lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, and how happy those fans were on Twitter, because it had been nine years since the Leafs qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I also remember one or two of them telling me about the Leafs under the ownership of Harold Ballard. All I knew back then was that Ballard wasn't a good owner. If only that was all.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
A Look at the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge Match and the Participants
One of WWE's many modifications to their Premium Live Event calendar includes NXT's newest event, Deadline. The event will take place on Saturday, December 10, and will serve as the last overall PLE in the calendar year. In addition, it was announced by WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels that the event will feature the debut of the Iron Survivor Challenge, the latest in a long list of WWE's innovative gimmick matches. So how, exactly, does this match work? Here are the rules.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Simple Tasks (Week 14)
One thing I've learned in the many years that I've tracked the NFL's playoff races: it's always fun to control your own destiny. Nothing makes a team sleep better at night than the feeling that all they have to do to get in is, as the late, great Al Davis once said, "just win, baby." Football fans love that scenario, too, because just winning is easy. You don't want to have to rely on any outside help; even if it's only one team standing in the way. You also don't want to back in as well, because while you did get what you played for, someone else got it for you.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
NFL Week 13 Recap: Ownership
It's December 2022. The Green Bay Packers are having a terrible season. The team's playoff chances are hanging by a thread. There is turmoil all over; from the front office to the team, to even the fanbase. It is not your typical season for the Green Bay Packers and the faithful fans, such as myself, and it leaves us wondering about the following year and beyond. Despite all of this, there's still one thing that remains very true:
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
3 Things This Week's SmackDown Possibly Told Us Could Happen in Their Women's Division
This week's SmackDown completed the fallout from this year's Survivor Series event, which featured WarGames on the main stage for the first time in WWE history. Like every WWE fan, I was quite excited for the continuous fallout from the event, but being a hardcore women's wrestling fan, I couldn't help but be elated and curious over what I saw develop regarding the blue brand's female superstars. Keep in mind, what I'm about to state isn't definite--rather, it's a belief of what I think could occur as a result of what I and other WWE fans watched this week. That being said, here are three things that (IMO) could occur as a result of what we saw in the women's division.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
NHL November 2022 Review
This November was quite amazing during the 2022-23 season. As I watched during the past 30 days, I was planning on what teams to feature in this review for the month of November, and the reason for that is simple. As I stated in my October review, the monthly review will contain a story from each of the NHL's four divisions: Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, and Pacific, and each story centers on a team who I believe made the most noise from each of the divisions, either positively or negatively. The teams are as follows:
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Now The Real Fun Begins (Week 13)
It's here! The NFL's home stretch of the regular season is finally here! The season will enter the month of December, which is the pivotal month of the season, as that's when the playoff spots can be punched in, while teams can be thinned out. 2022 marks the third year of the NFL's current playoff format, which allows seven playoff teams per conference, totalling 14 in all. It is also the second year of the NFL's current 17-game, 18-week season, and with 12 weeks in the books, that leaves the final one-third left to play out. For those who are still trying to get used to this current playoff format, here's how it goes.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
