atlantic Page 6 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Lightning keep cashing in on ex-GM Steve Yzerman’s masterfully built roster
The NHL playoffs have been robust, entertaining, competitive, hard-hitting, and full of intrigue. Last night, however, was none of those things. The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning absolutely waxed the New York Islanders 8-0. Although former General Manager Steve Yzerman has retur...

Now the Leafs have the calamity they’ve always wanted
Because everything is outsized with the Leafs, the idea that they’ve been coughing up genuine chances at the Stanley Cup year-after-year has grown at the rate and scale of The Blob. Being the Leafs, everything around them is audibly multiplied by at least 12, so the sheer volume that is emitted from...

If it’s not the Leafs this season, which teams have the best (worst?) shot at passing the Rangers 54-year Cup futility?
The New York Rangers are the historic gold standard for futility in the NHL, having gone 54 years without winning the Stanley Cup until finally getting the job done in 1994 (see Mark Messier with the Cup above) — after decades of being taunted with “1940” chants in enemy arenas....

After 28 years, hockey finally corrects its Habs-Leafs mistake
The NHL has been through so many realignments that sometimes you wonder if it shouldn’t just do a random draw before every season (actually, that’s not a terrible idea). It’s when you get to the real aims of past realignments that things get more interesting. ...

We should have had an Eastern conference battle last night with Nets-Sixers, but got ripped off instead
If ESPN were smart, it would demand a refund....

The NHL trade deadline, and the Maple Leafs in particular, continue to be really weird
There’s nothing like the NHL trade deadline to warp what you thought you knew about teams’ priorities and how players are valued. GMs alternate between desperation to chase the Cup and desperation to get anything for players who can’t wait to high-tail it out of town at the season’s end. The process...

No homers here, as Mets booth calls BS on team's HBP walk-off win
The Mets broadcast crew of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez are the very best at what they do....

Jazz and Suns give us a sensational late-night cookie in a season lacking real drama
I’ve used this space to try and quiet any meaning to NBA regular-season games. It’s been especially acute this season, when teams have rarely been at full-strength, and they seem more intent on just being intact for the playoffs, which they know are what counts and are more likely to have at least s...

TAKE THE QUIZ! Here's an 'Elite Eight' trivia questions for NCAA Tourney's opening day
Welcome, welcome. Come on, sit down — you know you’re not leaving your couch for the next four days. The first game tips off in a few hours, which gives you some time to test your Men’s March Madness knowledge. Are you up for the task? We have assembled an “Elite” list of eight questions that you ma...

Which NCAA conference has cut down the most nets since '85 bracket expansion?
Brace yourselves. For once, Carolina and Duke can celebrate together, because the ACC has been the conference of champions since the tournament expanded in 1985. ...

The Buffalo Sabres are a Joy Division song
Buffalo probably thought it escaped sporting hell this past fall when the Bills finally won their division and got to the AFC Championship game, looking poised to be a competitor for the next couple years. A city that hadn’t even had a relevant team for a couple of decades could finally cheer someth...

Sky-high credit card fees are legal, yet predatory — just like Tom Wilson's game
Tom Wilson barely even took a week to lay another dirty hit after the last time he made headlines for laying a dirty hit....

Kings and Wild star in NHL Color Rush
Sometimes, to the rare and broken people who think about these things, it can drive one to tears how the NHL and the people who run and market the game can’t make better use of just how good the sport can look on TV. Even in person, the NHL really hasn’t made use of it being the best live sport, and...

FAU freshman hits back-to-back grand slams in one inning… in his first two at-bats
Sports fans, meet Caleb Pendleton. We already mentioned him in The Mourning After, but I think he deserves his own story....

What flavor wings should you eat for the Super Bowl? And why is it honey BBQ?
I already know some of you guys’ taste buds are suspect so if you don’t agree with my rankings blame yourself not me....

Has the NHL had its first team-to-team COVD-19 transmission?
If there was going to be a league that went full fuck-up, it was always going to be the NHL. It’s not clear yet if the league is now home to the first team-to-team transmission of COVID-19, but there are some blinking red lights for sure....

The Robot Umpire Is Moving Up In The World
The Atlantic League announced Tuesday that their experiment with an automated strike zone will continue for the remainder of the season, starting Thursday night. The system mostly worked; players and managers were happy with it; even the umpire who gave it its inaugural run at the Atlantic League Al...

Atlantic League Batter Steals First, Makes Baseball History
Around the time that robot umpires were brought in to help officiate the Atlantic League All-Star Game, Major League Baseball and the independent league’s front office decided to tack on a few more rules to experiment with for the second half of the season. Among them included an expansion on the cu...

Robot Umpire Performed About As Well As Human Umpire
Robot umps have finally made their way into pro baseball, and by all accounts they seem primed to make Angel Hernandez just a little less horrible at his job. A system known as TrackMan made its professional debut on Wednesday during the independent Atlantic League’s all-star game....

The Best Way For Jeffrey Goldberg To Help Diverse Journalists Would Be To Quit His Job
On Thursday, Nieman Lab published a friendly discussion with The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg and the magazine’s recently promoted executive editor Adrienne LaFrance, in which they addressed the great progress The Atlantic has made in adding women to its staff. Unfortunately (or fortu...