Sports Saturdays

The Baltimore Orioles are off to a terrific start to begin the 2016 season. They squared off against the Minnesota Twins in the first series of the year this week and they certainly took care of business. The O’s defeated them in all three games, holding them to two runs in each game. This was just the start that manager Buck Showalter wanted from his club as they look to get back on top as AL East champions.

The Baltimore Orioles had a relatively quiet offseason as they were unable to sign a big ace for their rotation. However, they did resign a bunch of their own guys who played pivotal roles for the team last season. Most notably, they resigned first basemen Chris Davis to a 7 year $161 million deal this offseason tying the slugger with Baltimore through the 2022 season. Another important bat making his return to Bird Land is catcher Matt Wieters, who accepted the 1 year $15.8 million qualifying offer. Wieters is a three time all-star, but he is coming off two injury riddled seasons. He is in a contract year so look for the former first round pick to bounce back in a big way this season. The last major contributor the O’s brought back was reliever Darren O’Day. O’Day was viewed as one of the top relievers in this years free agency class, but he opted to come back to Baltimore because he likes pitching under coach Buck Showalter and is familiar with the Orioles system.  

2016 March Madness Preview

Bubble Teams: There is no perfect system in figuring out who the top 36 at large bids should go to in the NCAA tournament, but I think that the NCAA got a lot wrong in the selection process. There are three teams that are in the field that have no business being in the tournament. Tulsa, Syracuse, and Vanderbilt should be incredibly appreciative of their bid. Tulsa had a very average season that was not worthy of the NCAA tournament. Tulsa went 20-11 including 12-6 in a mediocre American Athletic Conference. Nothing on their resume really stood out. They were 6-6 on the road, 4-5 vs the RPI top 50, and 8-8 vs the RPI top 100. Syracuse is another team that I did not think deserved a bid. They had a down year for their standards going 19-13. They went 3-8 in games on the road and had an RPI of 70. The last team that got into the tournament that I did not think belongs is Vanderbilt. They also went 19-13 and went 5-11 in games on the road or on a neutral court. They were 2-7 vs RPI top 50 teams. Instead of these teams getting in, I would have given their spots to mid major teams like Monmouth and St. Bonaventure. They did everything they had to do out of conference, but they got punished because their conference is not as strong as the teams who got in.

With five games remaining in the Patriot League regular season, the Loyola Greyhounds are right in the thick of things. They have a record of 8-16 overall, but they are 7-6 in the extremely competitive Patriot League. Loyola is currently tied for fifth place with Colgate, but there is still a lot of basketball to be played over the next several weeks. Second and ninth place is separated by only three games so, the Greyhounds still have an opportunity to climb up the Patriot League standings.

The 50^th edition of the world’s most popular sporting event will take place in Santa Clara, California at Levi’s Stadium on February 7^th. The game will feature two teams with completely different identities.

The Carolina Panthers had the best record in the NFL this season going 17-1, earning the #1 seed in the NFC. They led the NFL in total points thanks to former Heisman Trophy winner, Cam Newton. Many people counted the Panthers out of playoff contention when Newton’s number one target, Kelvin Benjamin, went down with a knee injury before the season started. However, that injury did not deter the Panthers at all. Newton responded with an MVP caliber season and Carolina’s second appearance in the Super Bowl in team history.

It’s not even March yet and we are already seeing our fair share of upsets in college basketball. In fact, this is the first time that five No. 1 teams have lost before February since 1949. The latest No. 1 team to go down was Oklahoma on Monday night as they fell to No. 19 Iowa State, 82-77, at the Hilton Coliseum. Maybe there is something going around in the water in Iowa because this is the third No. 1 team to lose in the state this season. Northern Iowa previously defeated North Carolina and Iowa got the best of Michigan State when these teams squared off earlier in the season. 

“Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”

Saying goodbye to the game that you have loved ever since you were a little boy or girl is never easy. It does not matter if you are a high school athlete or a 5-time NFL MVP, hanging your cleats up for the last time is never an easy task.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing the beginning of the end to two iconic athletes who have been performing at an elite level for the entirety of their careers. Peyton Manning and Kobe Bryant are two of the best to ever play their respective sport.

The Men’s Soccer team plays their final game of the season at the Ridley Athletic Complex on Saturday November 7^th at 1:00 pm against the Holy Cross Crusaders.

The Greyhounds have had a disappointing 2015 campaign as they sit at 2-12-2 overall and 0-7-1 in the Patriot League. Loyola did pull off one of the biggest upsets in school history this year defeating rival UMBC who was ranked 11^th in the country when the teams squared off in September.