Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
Arizona's Silver Lining
If we are being honest, the Arizona Coyotes are one of the most confusing and enigmatic stories in the NHL. A team that was relocated out of Winnipeg in favor of the desert in 1996 has experienced first place finishes and conference finals appearances right alongside 50-loss seasons and rumors of relocation. The 'yotes moved to Phoenix (or is it Glendale?) and ripped off four straight playoff appearances. Perhaps this justified moving a relatively successful hockey team to an otherwise untested area of the United States. The story since then has not been so bright. Since 2000, the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes have made the playoffs just four times.
By Kyle Vandenberg8 years ago in Unbalanced
Understanding the Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks may be the most unassuming franchise in the NBA. Sharing a city with the NFL’s Cowboys, they are always competing locally for second fiddle, and despite only two seasons without playoffs since the turn of the century, they also garner little national media exposure. In any other state, they would be revered royalty, but General Manager Donnie Nelson’s airtight operation is still only second-best when it comes to Texas basketball. Combine this with 20 years of leadership by a foreign superstar and few-to-no egocentric American headline-grabbing hotdogs, and you have a franchise going about its winning ways without much attention from the public.
By Myles Stedman8 years ago in Unbalanced
How the Kentucky Wildcats Will Fare the Rest of the Season
The University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball team is usually known for winning games and championships. In fact, the Wildcats are the winningest program in the nation with 2,239 wins. But after a close loss to University of Kansas, they still have a long way to go this season. Even in the previous two games, the final scores were too close. This is not anything new though, as Kentucky has faced this kind of uphill battle before in previous seasons.
By Kayla Loy8 years ago in Unbalanced
Qualifying Offer Part Two: Pitchers
The World Series may have been an incredible finish to the 2017 season, but baseball is a 365-day business. All thirty teams had until the afternoon of November 6 to issue a qualifying offer to any of their pending free agents. The qualifying offer is a one-year deal with a value equal to the average of MLB’s top 125 salaries in the most current season. This year, the value is $17.4 million.
By Matt Mocarsky8 years ago in Unbalanced
Sean McVay’s Success Exposing the Biggest Red Flag a Head Coach Can Have
On December 12, 2016, Jeff Fisher informed his coaching and playing staff he’d been fired as Head Coach of the Los Angeles Rams, after a 42-12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the team’s ninth from thirteen games.
By Myles Stedman8 years ago in Unbalanced
J.D. Martinez Would be a Perfect Fit for the Red Sox This Offseason
When the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired J.D. Martinez at the trade deadline, I wrote a short article about how Martinez would thrive playing in the hot, dry weather in Arizona. Coming from Detroit, where he hit 38 home runs in 2015, to a climate where the ball flies. Well, that is exactly what happened: Martinez came to Arizona with 16 homers, and within 62 games with the Diamondbacks, he hit an astounding 29 homers. He was a big reason Arizona even made the postseason in 2017, finishing the season with a .303 average and 45 bombs.
By Quinn Allen8 years ago in Unbalanced
Michigan State is the Best Team in the Nation
Preseason polls are crazy. That’s just a fact of life when it comes to college sports. There are 347 teams in Division 1; it’s unreasonable to expect anyone to be able to rank them with any real accuracy, especially when they haven’t played any games yet. That being said, there is a massive mistake at the top of the table. Duke currently stands at number 1 while Michigan State ranks 2; the truth is exactly the opposite. Let’s get into it.
By Christian LaFontaine8 years ago in Unbalanced
Wake Up Mr. West
Music has changed since the turn of the decade. Projects have replaced albums and mixtapes. CDs have joined their plastic "retro" with the streaming service battle taking almost a year break between projects. Some take the year off to have fans hungry for some more. Others never leave the public eye with multiple project within the same year. When your wife has a multi-million dollar franchise, it's hard for someone like Kanye West to ever leave the spotlight.
By Justin Richards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Is It Time to Rethink Hitter's Counts?
Hitters have always lived by the idea that they will try and work the count in their favor to not only get closer to a walk, but to force the pitcher to be more predictable. Limit the pitcher down to just throwing you a fastball, and give yourself a better chance at guessing correctly. Pitchers do not want to walk people and will throw their fastball much more predictably as they fall down in the count.
By Owen McGrattan8 years ago in Unbalanced
Blake Griffin Dunks on the Kardashian Curse
Click here to listen to the We're Working On It podcast, and subscribe to the podcast for weekly content. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin has missed 83 regular season games. Despite missing time with various low body injuries, the Clippers blessed the 28-year-old with a five-year, $173 million contact extension. With the financial security in hand, along with the unveiling of "Point Blake," things seem to be on the rise for not only Griffin, but the Clippers organization. So, Clippers fans could not have enjoyed learning of Griffin's new relationship with Kendall Jenner.
By Justin Richards8 years ago in Unbalanced
