By “Nunnie” Robinson, Westside Gazette Sports Editor
The Florida Panthers, by virtue of their reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive year, have become the hottest and most popular professional sports franchise in South Florida. Their opponent, the worthy and equally talented New York Rangers, begin a seven game series in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday to determine conference champ and the right to play for the Stanley Cup against Western Conference winner, either the Dallas Stars or the Edmonton Oilers. Both the Panthers and Rangers possess the necessary elements to win:great players, outstanding coaches and superior goaltending. Sergei Bobrovsky, goalie, along with former #1 draft pick Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, Selkirk Award winner (given to the best defensive forward), and Gustav Forsling lead a staunch Panther defense. Offensively, the Panthers, are led by Mathew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. The Rangers counter with Artemi Panarin, 49 goals and Sam Reinhart 57 goals while demonstrating offensive balance in the playoffs with 5 players scoring at least 10 points, led by Mike Zibanejad with 14. The coaches are great motivators who have no problem spewing out a few profanities when needed. Remember the Panthers’ Paul Maurice letting the players know how displeased he was with their play as stunned observers listened intently in the Boston series, a Panthers home loss. Rangers coach Vincent Trocheck was equally animated and verbose in their series clinching victory over Carolina.
While the Panthers have never won the Stanley Cup, the Rangers, aka Blueshirts, are looking to win their first Stanley Cup since 1994.
The competitive balance should make for some outstanding hockey!
The Miami Marlins must have heard that I called them the worst team in MLB. Tongue in cheek, something has ignited their resurgence. You see, the Marlins have won 6 of their last 10 games, including last night’s come from behind, 9th inning 3-2 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers. At one point they won 4 in succession, giving their faithful cause for optimism. Apparently, the pitching has improved dramatically.
The Marlins play in the East Division which includes Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington, and New York, and currently sit in last place with a 16-33 record. Beset with injuries in key positions, especially pitching, the team has shown remarkable resilience and grit. I implore all true Marlins fans and baseball fans to hang in there. I believe better days are ahead.
The Heat and its culture are searching for that game, team changing free agent superstar that can quickly change the team’s fortunes. Players like the Cavs’ Donavan Mitchell and Kevin Durant are names being thrown out there. With all the variables in play, we can be assured that quintessential general manager/president Pat Riley will not rest until he makes something happen.
Like my friend Sam Clear always reminds me: trouble is free; it’s the solutions that cost. Just thinking about the incident involving number one golfer Scottie Schffler, who disobeyed police directions as he attempted to avoid the traffic backup caused by a fatality involved accident. I’m sure he was not aware of the fatality , thinking only about golf preparation for the second major of the year. At least, he has a court date, unlike the airman shot in his own apartment simply because he had possession of a gun lowered and pointed to the floor, and as soon as the cop saw the gun, he instinctively shot him 6 times, killing him instantly. Is the reaction based on fear, race or both. What happened to : police, commanding: drop your weapon immediately? What is the protocol in situations like that? Sorry, I digressed……
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