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Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
The Spectacular Career of Sidney Crosby
It doesn't seem like Sidney Crosby's been in the NHL for 17 years, and about to enter his 18th. It seems like yesterday that he was a high level pick in the NHL draft, but it was so long ago. I still remember the big buzz about Sidney Crosby, mainly this question: "Wayne Gretzky is The Great One. Is Crosby, 'The Next One'?" I figured Crosby would be an amazing player, but I never thought he'd reach Hall of Fame status, and so quickly!
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 8 Recap: All It Takes is One
It seems like yesterday that the Ottawa Redblacks debuted in the CFL, but their first season took place in 2014. Year Two saw them in the Grey Cup, losing to the then-named Edmonton Eskimos, but Year Three would be better for the Redblacks, as they won their first Grey Cup with an overtime victory over the Calgary Stampeders. The Redblacks returned to the Grey Cup in 2018 and came up short, but they would go nowhere else but down since then. Ottawa won a grand total of six games in the two seasons they've played since losing the Grey Cup to the Stampeders, and at the one-third mark of their season, they found themselves winless.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
MLB July 2022 Review
The month of July always sees the first half of the Major League Baseball season come to a close, and it's followed by the Midsummer Classic, aka MLB's All-Star Game. After the festivities take place, the second half begins, and that's when the paces are really set in the pennant races. The room for error decreases once August hits, and with that said, here are the key moments that took place in July.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Many Happy Returns: Reviewing a Spectacular SummerSlam for WWE's Women's Division
When Triple H took over calling the shots in World Wrestling Entertainment, many fans (myself included) saw this as a much needed breath of fresh air. So many stated that Triple H running things would lead to improvements throughout WWE, and the diehard women's wrestling fans (again, myself included) felt that there would be moments that would leave us shocked, amazed, and most importantly, deliriously happy. The feel hadn't arrived yet, but it was believed that it would hit us at SummerSlam.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Black Quarterbacks Continue to be Disrespected
It's 2022, the NFL's existed for over a century, yet the racism against Black quarterbacks continues. It's already documented that Black head coaches get unfairly scrutinized and unjustly fired for no reason, but it's even worse for Black quarterbacks. The first starting Black QB overall in the NFL was Fritz Pollard, who started playing the position all the way back in 1923. In the Super Bowl era, Marlin Briscoe became the first starting Black QB, playing the position for the Denver Broncos. Doug Williams made history as the first Black QB to start and win a Super Bowl, and ironically, this positive achievement was accomplished as part of the then-named Washington Redskins. We have seen so many Black QBs do historic things left and right in the NFL, but in spite of this, and in spite of this modern era, the racial scrutiny and nitpicking still exists.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
A Look Back: The HHH/HBK Rivalry
The timing of this couldn't be anymore perfect. A seismic shift in World Wrestling Entertainment has included Triple H taking over Creative, and the time is definitely right for me to bring up what I consider the best post-Attitude Era rivalry in WWE history: Triple H and Shawn Michaels' amazing feud. Hard to believe that was 20 years ago that this whole thing started, and this rivalry, when it began, was actually about five years in the making.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 7 Recap: Will the Blue Bombers Run the Table?
Usually on these CFL recaps, I describe the games in chronological order, but I have to break that trend now. The reason is simple: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are still undefeated. Week 7 of the 2022 season saw the back-to-back defending Grey Cup Champions defeat the lowly Edmonton Elks, 24-10 to improve to 7-0 in the season. That's right. We are 1/3 through the season and the Bombers haven't lost yet. In fact, they've won nine straight games dating back to the 2021 Grey Cup Playoffs, with their last loss coming against the Calgary Stampeders on November 20, 2021. For their last home loss, you have to go all the way back to September 27, 2019, a 33-13 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who the Bombers would defeat both times in their back-to-back Grey Cup wins.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
A Look at the 1987-88 Edmonton Oilers
As a Colorado Avalanche fan, I'm still amazed by how dominant of a Stanley Cup run that the team had. The Avalanche went 16-4 in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is their best of their three championship runs; going 16-6 in 1996 and 16-7 in 2001. The record tied them with four other championship teams for the 2nd-best since 1987: the 1993 Montréal Canadiens, the 1995 New Jersey Devils, the 1997 Detroit Red Wings, and the 2012 Los Angeles Kings. 1987 was the year that the first round (the Division Semifinals) extended from a best-of-five format to the current best-of-seven format, and in that time, only one team had a better playoff record en route to the Stanley Cup, and that was the Edmonton Oilers in 1988.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 6 Recap: One Stayed Unbeaten, One Stayed Winless
The sixth week of the 2022 CFL season began in Montréal with the Alouettes hosting the Edmonton Elks in what should have been an easy opportunity for the East to defeat the West. After all, the Elks were the only lowly team in the stacked West Division, and they were on the road. Even better for the Als, they had a 31-12 lead during the heart of the 3rd quarter, but the Elks would fight back with 20 unanswered points. The Elks won 32-31, and as for the Alouettes, they blew a big opportunity to put pressure on the Toronto Argonauts.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing Anna Jay's Heel Turn at Fyter Fest Night 2
You know, in the three years that All Elite Wrestling has existed, I've known that they've shown WWE how to properly do the simplest of things. It is not hard to actually elevate talent who deserve it, but WWE doesn't do it. AEW does. It is not hard to actually care about your women's division, yet Vince McMahon is a devout misogynist. Tony Khan isn't. And speaking of the women's division, it is definitely not hard to figure out which heroines should become villainesses, but we saw WWE screw this up not once, but twice in less than a week! As for AEW, well, they nailed it.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
MLB 2022 National League 1st Half Recap
The National League, Major League Baseball's senior circuit, also has its share of intriguing storylines and surprises. Much like the American League, these developments are a result of the new postseason format, which now allows three Wild Cards in each league. The National League picture does look quite interesting entering the break, and the storylines and standings are as follows:
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
MLB 2022 American League 1st Half Recap
The 2022 Major League Baseball season is at the halfway point, and what a first half it has been. It didn't seem like we'd get a season due to the lockout that affected spring training, but we did get one and it's been amazing to this point. The All-Star Break is a pivotal point in three of North America's four main sports leagues (the NFL doesn't have a break, as the Pro Bowl takes place a week before the Super Bowl), but it is immensely emphasized in baseball. It is always important to be in a good place by the All-Star Break, and regarding the American League, it has seen a lot of surprising teams on the verge of breaking through. Here's how things stand in baseball's junior circuit entering the break.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
