Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
Surprise! Only Substantial Change Will Make Baseball Games Shorter
(Data via Baseball-Reference.com) Yes, baseball games are getting longer. What that means to a non-casual baseball fan like me is nothing, really. But, it matters to MLB and the people who call the shots because they think it will continue to hurt baseball's popularity in the future. The pace of play debate has been around for a few years now and MLB hasn't been afraid to experiment and implement different rules.
By Owen McGrattan8 years ago in Unbalanced
NBA Shows Where Its Target Market Is, and It’s Not You
I’d been suspecting for a while that I’m now in the older demographic of NBA fans, despite not exactly being old. This week, the League confirmed my suspicions, announcing they had made big changes to the All-Star Game format. For the first time in 67 years—the first time ever, actually—the Eastern Conference will not be playing the Western Conference.
By Myles Stedman8 years ago in Unbalanced
Disjointed: Neo Yokio Review
Neo Yokio uses New York City culture to show the hypocrisy of high-class society in a flawed and fizzled animated series. As someone who was born and raised in New York City, hearing about a anime theme story about life in the city had my eyeballs turning to fire emoji's. Would there be fights on top of the Empire State Building? An epic chase down Park Ave? A transformation of a foil character? Yea, issa a no on all three. The fighting on top of the Empire State Building was replaced with an "eligible bachelor board." The epic chase-down in the city turned into a getaway attempt of a known terrorist. And the only thing that transformed was the futuristic robot butler Charles (Jude Law). My idea of New York was completely different from creator Ezra Koenig.
By Justin Richards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Sorry Mets Fans, Firing Ray Ramirez Isn't Going to Fix Things
News broke Monday morning that long-time athletic trainer Ray Ramirez was being let go by the Mets in a host of other personnel moves. If you're at all familiar with #MetsTwitter, the responses of fans on social media shouldn't surprise you in the slightest.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
"Almost 100% Certain" Jagr Won't Be Retiring
Well, it finally happened. After an entire off-season of wondering where Jaromir Jagr would land, he finally signed with the Calgary Flames on Monday on a one-year, $1 million contract. It was a long time coming, and as I wrote back at the beginning of pre-season, the case could be made that Jagr deserved to be signed before most of the over-30 veterans who were signed to similar (or even larger) deals. At age 45, Jagr is coming off a season that is on par with or better than almost any of the veteran players signed this off-season to the same contract. And yet, perhaps because so many teams don't want to be left holding the bag when Jagr finally reaches his end, he remained unsigned until October 2nd, just a few days before the NHL season begins.
By Kyle Vandenberg8 years ago in Unbalanced
Same Thing, New Big 3
Okay, so we are here now. Super teams, while not new, are the new trend and everyone is looking to hook up with another Olympian and pursue a title. Teams are now attempting to jump the line in pursuit of Larry O'Brien. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the newest edition after winning this off-season and acquiring two top 30 players to join Russell Westbrook via trade. The Thunder locked up their MVP for another five years at 233 million dollars and acquired Carmelo Anthony to accompany Paul George rounding out the starting five. On paper, this is a team that should challenge the Warriors and contend for a Western Conference title. The last time the Thunder had a big 3 like this, they made it to the NBA Finals. An interesting fact, since Lebron left Cleveland for Miami in 2010, “super teams” are 3-4 in NBA Finals. What does that say about this phenomenon? Nothing is guaranteed. Injuries happen, players do not gel, etc. You still must play the games.
By Kyle Jordan Ferguson8 years ago in Unbalanced
Going Going... Back Back... To... SD?
They say that hindsight is 20/20, and it turns out that “they” were right. The “Super Chargers” moved from San Diego to Los Angeles this year to what was supposedly the land of opportunity in an NFL market sense. Not only are they losing “the fight for LA," but it turns out that the Chargers were a tad overestimating when considering the likelihood of being able to establish anything resembling an immediate fan base upon relocating, and in fact, really overestimating.
By Kenneth Wilson8 years ago in Unbalanced
The Yankees Struck Gold on Aaron Hicks
While the top prospects from the Yankees farm system quickly matriculate to the majors, one player acquired in General Manager Brian Cashman’s retool has proven himself worthy of a prominent long-term role on the club. With the arrivals of Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez to the Bronx, and hot prospects like Gleyber Torres on the way, it’s easy to forget about just how good of a player Aaron Hicks has developed into. Let’s take a brief stroll down memory lane, to Baseball America’s scouting report on Hicks in 2009:
By Matt Mocarsky8 years ago in Unbalanced
2018 NBA MVP Prediction
Last year we witnessed one of the closest MVP races in the league's 71-year history. Russell Westbrook and James Harden took turns posting historically great numbers night in and night out. In the end, Westbrook took home the hardware after averaging a triple-double over the course of the entire season. With the way the offseason has shaken things around the league, the award is once again up for grabs with many newcomers expected to be in the hunt. Here is how I see the race playing out this season with my top five candidates to win the award.
By Jason Dandy8 years ago in Unbalanced
The Packers and Cowboys Headline NFL Week 4 Picks
Welcome back to the weekly pick’em where, unlike Bill Simmons, we actually pick more than two games each week. Week 3 was a weird one, between the ten road favorites and the litany of team protests, and it feels like we are back to square one after three weeks of games. Half of the Week 4 lines are three points or less, a bunch of coin-games between teams none of us know are good or bad yet.
By Brandon Anderson8 years ago in Unbalanced
