NFL: Season heating up
It was a busy weekend for football fans everywhere, and hours of homework had to be sacrificed for the sake of the playoff games Saturday and Sunday. Regardless of their football allegiance, fans gathered to cheer on their hometown or favorite pro team.
NBA: Stars keep shining
In the 11th week of the regular season, the current NBA standings have the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the Western Conference, and the Miami Heat lead in the Eastern Conference. In a look at some of the league’s top players, LeBron James just became the youngest player to reach 20,000 points. Another star this season is Anthony Davis. The 20-year-old New Orleans Hornet was the first draft pick this season. He may be familiar after his impressive performance as the forward/center for Team USA in the Olympics.
NHL’s new season is shorter and busier
Twenty-six hockey teams are taking the ice this Saturday for the opening of the National Hockey League’s 2013 season. After much negotiation amongst players and owners for a new collective bargaining agreement, the NHL released their jam-packed schedule: 48 games for each team from this weekend until April 27, then the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Chicago Blackhawks (2010 Stanley Cup champions) start their season Saturday at the Los Angeles Kings (2012 champions) where the Kings will finally raise their championship banner. Another notable game is the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Philadelphia Flyers for a Pennsylvanian face-off.
MLB league changes
Even though professional baseball won’t begin for at least two months, there have been some off-season tweaks to Major League Baseball that every fan should know about. With the addition of the Houston Astros to the American League (meaning that now all six divisions have five teams) this has been the league’s first growth since 1977. To celebrate the occasion, the Astros get to play the Texas Rangers in the season-opener on March 31.
MLS: Growing, growing, not gone
It’s hard to believe that Major League Soccer only had 10 teams in 1993. Currently there are 19 clubs in the U.S., and MLS Commissioner Don Garber hopes to have 22 by the end of the decade.
What does that mean for the present? Team No. 20 is going to appear this year, most likely in New York City. The NYC Red Bulls have never garnered much attention, plus a new stadium in Queens or another borough would be a great source of revenue for the surrounding area.
Soccer fans hope that a new club and new stadium in New York will cause widespread inspiration amongst clubs all across the country to renovate their stadiums and keep gaining fans.
