7 minute read
SPORTS
NHL Creates New COVID-19 Protocols
Sofia Jenkins Red & Black Staff
Advertisement
During the last few weeks of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, there have been some major changes to all of the teams’ schedules. On Feb. 8, the Philadelphia Flyers became the fifth team in the past two weeks to have their games put on pause due to COVID-19 outbreaks on their team and/or staff. The other four teams on pause are the Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and the New Jersey Devils.
Now, what does this mean for the teams who were supposed to play these five teams? Well, the NHL is working overtime to try and fit games into the schedule later to make up for the games that these teams are missing. Also, since these outbreaks have caused a dozen different games to be postponed this week, the NHLPA has established more safety protocols to decrease this spreading of the virus. Some of these new protocols include point of care (POC) rapid testing that will be performed on game days in effort to prevent on-ice transmission of the Coronavirus.
They included this new protocol because in the cases of the Devils and the Sabres, the virus may have been transmitted during the game. On-ice officials who officiated the games tested positive as well as multiple players from each of the teams.
Another new protocol is that the NHL is reconfiguring seating for previously infected players on each of the teams. The NHL thinks that seating previously infected players with never-before infected players will reduce the outbreak because of the information that a person cannot contract the virus again before 90-days after testing positive for the virus.
These rules as of now are in effect until Feb. 28 and are only being enforced in the United States. This means that the teams who are playing in Canada will not have to adhere to these rules because they have not had any COVID-19 outbreaks in any of their teams.
The NHL realigned its divisions, just for the 2021 season, with the divisions for teams based in the United States being geographically determined and the Canadian teams comprising one division. The teams play only their divisional opponents which is meant to limit travel and in the case of Canadian teams, avoid traveling between Canada and the United States and allows those teams to comply with Canadian rules and regulations with respect to Coronavirus social distancing. This concept has worked very well for Canadian teams as those teams have done a more effective job at eliminating outbreaks in their organizations. One will have to see how many more games get postponed and how many more teams suffer outbreaks in the upcoming weeks to see if the NHL will have to make impactful and season-shortening changes to the balance of the 2021 season.
Courtesy NHL.com
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Win Super Bowl LV
Rob Gronkowski scores two touchdowns in Super Bowl LV.
Courtesy Action Rush
Sofia Jenkins Red & Black Staff
On Feb. 7, history was made. In Super Bowl LV, Tom Brady became the only player in the history of the 101-yearold National Football League (NFL) to win seven Super Bowls, but that is not even the most incredible thing about having seven Super Bowl rings under his belt.
Not only is Brady the only player to have seven Super Bowl rings, but now he also has the distinction of having more championship rings than any single franchise in the NFL. The closest franchises to his seven rings are the New England Patriots and the Pittsburg Steelers with six rings each. The NFL initiated the Super Bowl championship game format in 1967. Out of the 55 Super Bowls played, Brady has won 7 of them, that is 12.5 percent of Super Bowls ever.
While Brady was in his element of winning, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs was not used to losing.
This was Mahomes’ first loss in a playoff game since 2016 when he was playing in college for Texas Tech and lost to Iowa in a bowl game.
Now let’s break down what led to this 31-9 Super Bowl blowout. Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski twice, Antonio Brown once, and Leonard Fournette ran for another touchdown for a total of four touchdowns for the Buccaneers, plus one field goal. Brady was firing on all cylinders and hitting his favorite guys in the endzone.
Mahomes and the Chiefs, on the other hand, were not playing up to the level that we all have accustomed seeing them play over the last 2+ seasons.
As much as Mahomes was throwing quality passes to receivers like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, his passes were not being completed.
The main aspect that the Chiefs struggled with was how they could not hold on to the ball. There were countless times where Mahomes threw an almost perfect pass, but the ball would then bounce off a receiver’s head, chest or hands and would either be intercepted or incomplete. These errors resulted in one interception and many missed opportunities in the midfield and the endzone, especially on third down.
At the middle of the third quarter, Mahomes completed zero passes in seven attempts on third down, a statistic that is very unlike Mahomes.
Overall, this Super Bowl was the least competitive we have seen over the last few years. Fans and reporters expected more passing yards from both teams and expected more from Mahomes and the Chiefs defense.
While this game was riveting in terms of Brady breaking records, we can all now turn our focus to next year’s season and wonder if Brady will win an eighth NFL Championship or if Mahomes and the Chiefs will be able to bounce back and make the Super Bowl for a third consecutive season.
19 Sports Tom Brady Ranked Among the GOATs
With his latest Super Bowl LV win and seventh Super Bowl ring, Tom Brady is considered one of the greatest football players of all time.
Courtesy The Spun
John Kiebler Red & Black Staff
Michael Jordan. Wayne Gretzky. Serena Williams. Tiger Woods. Barry Bonds. Michael Phelps. Simone Biles. All these athletes spent, in some cases still spend, their entire athletic career dominating their sports, hoisting them to ‘GOAT,’ or “Greatest of All Time,” status. When thinking of the best hockey, basketball, or tennis player ever, there is only one answer that will not raise an argument. Two Sundays ago, not only did Tom Brady prove he belonged in this elite group, but he also proved his name would be in this discussion forever.
Drafted 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady has been playing with a chip on his shoulder since he entered the league. Brady was on nobody’s radar. Not only was he the 7th quarterback taken in his class, but the Patriots had just signed quarterback Drew Bledsoe to the biggest contract in NFL history.
So, what did Tom do? He walked up to Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft and said drafting him was the best decision the organization has ever made. Since then? Tom is a 14x ProBowler, 2x Offensive Player of the Year, 3x League MVP, NFL Comeback Player of the Year Winner (2009), 7x Superbowl Champion, 5x Super Bowl MVP, and has been named to 2 All – Decade Teams (2000s & 2010s). As if a resume this extensive does not already put him at ‘GOAT’ status, Brady still only sees himself as the 199th pick, constantly proving doubters wrong and refusing to be complacent. Although he has taken his talent, leadership, and immense work ethic to Tampa Bay, it is safe to say what he said to Kraft was right. In his first season at Tampa Bay, and more importantly, first season away from Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, Tom Brady did the unthinkable. At age 43, in a new system with new coaches and players, Tom transformed the Buccaneers organization from a 7-9, middle-of-the-pack team to Super Bowl Champions in one season. To make matters worse for everyone who is tired of seeing him win, he already confirmed that he will return for his 22nd season, looking to distance himself and his legacy even further from the competition.
Last Week’s Scores
Feb. 12
Men’s basketball at Westminster: 64-63 W
Women’s basketball vs. Westminster: 72-53 W
Men’s water polo vs. McKendree: 6-24 L Men’s water polo vs. Mount St. Mary’s: 17-10 L Feb. 16
Next Week’s Games
Feb. 19
Women’s basketball at Thiel: 6:00 PM
Men’s water polo vs. Gannon: 1:00 PM Men’s basketball vs. Franciscan: 1:00 PM
Men’s water polo at Mercyhurst: 4:00 PM Women’s basketball at Franciscan: 5:00 PM Feb. 23
Men’s swimming and diving at St. Vincent: 6:00 PM Men’s basketball at Bethany: 6:00 PM
Courtesy GoPresidents.com
