MLB Playoff Expansion

Reports have surfaced today that the MLB will be making an announcement that the Playoff format will be changed and it will now feature 10 teams instead of 8. There will be two wild card teams from each League, and they will play a one game winner takes all match to see who plays the top ranked team in the league. I think this is extremely exciting news.

North American Sports and All Star Games

This weekend, it was All-Star weekend for the NBA. That pretty much means a high scoring game on Sunday with very little intensity and a fun atmosphere. I have no problem with the athletes not playing hard, because they do not want to get injured and are still in the middle of the season. My problem is with the all-star events that take place on Saturday, and also the athletes that choose to not attend all-star weekends.

Ryan Braun

Ryan Braun, the National League MVP winner of the 2011 season and outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, won his appeal against a suspension which was the outcome of testing positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). This does not mean that Braun did not use PEDS, however, just that he will be available to play this season. The league is apparently very angry and wants to take this case to the federal court in order to have the decision overturned. 

NHL Trade Deadline 2012

The NHL Trade Deadline is this coming Monday, and there is lots of speculation as to whom will be traded. This is a huge day in Canada that many follow and there is coverage on the two major sports networks, TSN and Rogers Sportsnet. Last year, the number of trades was relatively low at 16, compared to 31 the year before in 2010.

RIP Gary Carter

Gary Carter, MLB Hall of Fame member and former Expo, Met, Giant and Dodger, has passed away at the young age of 57. Carter succumbed to a brain tumour on February 16th. He was the first player to wear a Montreal Expos hat for his plaque at Cooperstown, the site of the Hall of Fame. Nicknamed "the Kid", Carter played with a youthful exuberance and loved the game as much as any.

Linsanity

I don't like doing another blog post on a topic I did last week, but since Jeremy Lin is the biggest story in sports, probably worldwide, I have to cover this again. Lin has been playing like an all-star, and after being named player of the week for leading the New York Knicks to five straight wins and averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists, and two steals over that span.

He is the first player in NBA history to have at least 20 points and 7 assists in his first four starts.

Phil vs. Tiger

Tiger Woods played in his second PGA tour event of the season this past weekend, finishing in 15th place and 9 strokes behind the leader Phil Mickelson. Mickelson won his 40th career PGA tournament, which places him 9th on the all time list, and 31 wins behind Woods. Woods played exceptionally well until the last day, where he shot a 3 over 75, compares to Mickelson's 8 under 64.