The World of Sports

TheWORLD Lebron James has done it again. In the NBA bubble playoffs, Lebron and the Lakers secure the 2020 championship. By: Cosme Lozano Staff Writer OfSportsThis is another milestone in Lebron’s already hall of fame resume. Lebron's championship total is now at four. He played like a man on a mission this series, almost averaging a triple double. Marc Stein of the New York Times said, “The Lakers won their 17th championship — and their first with LeBron James as their centerpiece — with a victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday night in game six of the N.B.A. finals. It was only a mere 355 days after the Lakers played their season opener before a packed crowd at Staples Center in Los Angeles.” This championship is even more special, as the franchise mourns and celebrates the life of perhaps the greatest Laker of all time, Kobe Bryant, who unexpectedly passed away earlier in 2020. It will truly be remembered because of this, as well as the irregularities of the season. Congratulations, Laker fans!

WORLD OfSports

Photo courtesy of www.newyorker.com The NHL resumed their season on August 1 and did not conclude until September 28. The Tampa Bay Lightning would emerge victorious from this year's playoffs, winning the Stanley Cup Trophy against the Dallas Stars. Talking to fellow USF student and host of the Sport Matchup, Jordan Missig states, “I am happy for the Tampa Bay Lightning on winning their second Stanley Cup. It has been 16 years since they won their last cup back in 2004 and it was nice to see them back in the finals since 2015 against the eventual Stanley Cup champs, the Chicago Blackhawks. Yet the Lightning found themselves versing another central division team in the Dallas Stars, so it was nice to see the Lightning kind of redeem themselves from the loss in 2015.” This championship comes as a hard earned victory as the team has faced adversity over the years. The Lightning was always a good, competitive team but they could never put it all together. This reached a boiling point last year, when they were the top seed in the playoffs and were knocked out by the eighth seeded Columbus Blue Jackets. Carol Schram of the New York Times commented, “This season, the Lightning came back mentally tougher, in part thanks to the addition of some other veterans who felt they had something to prove.” It is nice to see Tampa Bay having the championship after it has eluded them for most of the last decade. Going into a new decade now, the Lightning is victorious.

This year's MLB playoffs have not disappointed despite the unusual times. This was the first time in 12 years that both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox would be in the playoffs at the same time. There was a lot of hype and buzz about both teams being in the playoffs this year. Many expected the experience of the Cubs to help guide them on a potential run. However, this would not be the case. The Cubs would be swept by the Miami Marlins 2-0. This was very disappointing to see; in both games, the Cubs would only generate one run. The teams wildly inconsistent offense this season would be their achilles heel in this series. Looking at the White Sox, their talent alone made them a dark horse world series candidate. Oakland Athletics reminded everyone that they were still far away from competing for a championship. The White Sox would win game one but would lose the next two, ultimately losing the series. While the loss is disappointing, this is still a very young team and the expectation is that they will be frequents in the playoffs for years to come. Speaking of their postseason, Missig explains, “For the Cubs, I would point towards their execution and consistency on what hurt them the most. As for the Sox, their inexperience and questionable calls from the bull pen would cost them. Just some interesting moves that you normally would not see in a regular playoff series.”

The nature of football is violent. This is what makes it so polarizing for most Americans. Injuries are a natural part of any sport but when injuries occur at an excessive rate, concerns start to pop up. This season has seen some of the NFL’s best go down with season ending injuries. Players like Von Miller of the Denver Broncos never even got a chance to play a game, as he was injured in camp. Once the season opened, in the first few weeks alone, we saw names like Nick Bosa, Christian Mccaffrey, Solomon Thomas, Drew Locke, Saquon Barkley, Tarik Cohen, Nick Chubb, Cortland Sutton, Derwin James, Marlon Mack and many more all go down with serious injuries or season-ending injuries. Most of the blame is put on the sudden start of high intensity work. Much of the off season activities we usually see are cancelled this year, only giving teams a couple of weeks to prepare for week one of the season. Apart from injury, the league has also been dealing with COVID outbreaks, most notably with Tennessee. The Titans have had 23 positive tests and the number is likely to go up still. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated said, “Yes, some are furious with the Titans over their alleged handling of the protocols, which, the thinking goes, opened the door for all of this. But others saw what the NFL did the other day as, in the words of one executive, ‘shaming’ Tennessee in an effort to distance the league office from the outbreak.” The NFL season is still young and they have a ways to go until the Super Bowl. Many are left with the question of whether we will even get there.