It's finally back. College football has returned, which means that the pursuit of the national title is underway. It may have not been a bang, but there are some noteworthy headlines to go around. Who stole the opening week of the season and who flopped?
Other Losers: Miami-Florida, Western Kentucky Playoff Four:
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Next up, we have the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that many pundits thought would make the playoffs with LeBron James in tow. However, injuries and a lack of scoring depth hurt the Lakers as they missed the playoffs. What are the story lines heading into this season for Los Angeles?
I'm going to be doing something a little bit different. With the NBA season less than two months away, I will be highlighting ten teams in a preview of what is to come in the upcoming NBA season. I will be starting off with the Houston Rockets. What should you expect from the Rockets this season with a facelift of the team?
Welcome to another edition of Nostalgia Game Review! In this edition, I will be talking about Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury for the Game Boy Advance. This action/RPG game was published by Atari and developed by Webfoot Technologies in 2004 and is the sequel to The Legacy of Goku II.
The game's mechanics are straightforward. You press A to fight, B for energy attacks, L to switch energy attacks, and R to guard. Strangely enough, Goku and his friends start off at rather high levels (I believe it's 65 in this game?), an unorthodox approach compared to traditional RPGs. In case you haven't seen Dragon Ball Z, the mission for this game is to defeat Majin Buu before the ghastly creature destroys the earth. You also collect Z-Fighter exhibits, Hercule exhibits, and can play as Goten, Trunks, Gohan, and Vegeta. The game's fighting style is... straightforward. You just pound your enemies with melee attacks, melee attacks, and melee attacks. Energy attacks are nice for holding enemies off at a distance, but melee attacks deal the most damage. I was a little put off by this since it made the game fairly easy to deal with up to the fight with Kid Buu. Still, the game does do a good job of following the story line for the most part. I felt like I was watching the show and felt everything play out right before me. The dialogue had me compelled and even made me laugh. If you're interested in action RPGs, you can give this game a shot. Hardcore RPG fans may be put off by how easy the fighting system is. However, it is a fun RPG that is meant for even the average person. Yes, I know it's only three weeks into the Premier League season. However, I am inclined to give you my thoughts on what has transpired in the first three weeks of the English Premier League. I have honestly loved covering this league, especially since I get to wake up in the morning and... INSTANT SPORTS (I'm from the states, I know). Still, I have to give you my thoughts on what has gone on in the EPL.
In the wake of Andrew Luck's abrupt retirement, there has been not one, but two, comparisons to Pro Bowl NFL stars that retired early. Those two happened to be Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson. Both players came from the Detroit Lions, an organization notorious for its sheer ineptitude.
Barry Sanders retired because he was fed up with being on a team that had no intention of winning. Calvin Johnson was also fed up with football, saying that "he wasn't treated the way he should have been" by the Lions. In fact, Johnson repaid $1 million of his signing bonus to the Lions, which shows how disingenuous the organization is. Fast forward to August 2019, where Luck retires. The Colts decide they will not recoup the $24.8 million owed to Luck, essentially telling him to keep it all. The Lions could learn a thing or two from the Colts here. Both Sanders and Johnson were world-class athletes and people, not getting into much trouble on the field and off. Andrew Luck was the same thing, keeping out of the limelight for most of his career and even being a humble guy on the field. If the Lions are to make a change in their organization, it isn't just through emulating the New England Patriots. It's also treating their former players and current players alike with dignity. Otherwise, it'll be the "same old Lions". The past few years, it's been a war for college football supremacy between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers. Dabo Swinney has resurrected the Tigers football program through strong recruiting cycles and an overwhelming coaching style. Nick Saban has turned Alabama into a powerhouse ever since he arrived in the early 2010's.
It's safe to say that one of these two teams will be the winner of the college football championship again. After all, there are plenty of questions about the other contenders. Does Georgia have enough offensive firepower? Can Notre Dame overcome losing some key offensive players that includes running back Dexter Williams? Can Oklahoma stop anybody? How will Ryan Day do in his first season at Ohio State? These are the lingering questions that face some of the contenders looking to break through in the playoff. With that being said, I believe that it will be Alabama's time to shine this season. Nick Saban usually rebounds strongly the year after failing to win a championship. This Alabama team's also fast and hits hard, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see them on top once again. I wouldn't be surprised if Clemson won, especially since Trevor Lawrence looks legit. But I feel Alabama will reign supreme. Many Crimson Tide fans are hoping for the same thing this year. Winners of the last five games, the New York Mets have suddenly catapulted themselves into playoff contention. Practically everyone (myself included) wrote them off and thought they were crazy when they acquired Marcus Stroman from Toronto and nearly traded Noah Syndergaard away. But Pete Alonso (40 homers, 97 RBIs, .967 OPS), Syndergaard (five earned runs in his five starts), and Jacob DeGrom (11.3 K/9, 1.05 WHIP, 2.61 ERA) have launched the Mets into contention.
It's not like the wild card competition has been on fire for the National League. Until recent hot streaks by the Cardinals, Cubs, and Nationals, the second wild card spot was occupied by teams that were five games over .500. This makes the Mets' recent run a little less farfetched. However, New York wasn't expected to do much considering Syndergaard's early struggles along with a milquetoast bullpen that has blown leads and underachieved. Yet, here they are, fighting for a wild card spot. Taking advantage of an easy second half schedule consisting of the likes of Miami, Pittsburgh, and the Chicago White Sox, it's less surprising to see the Mets in this spot. However, they have to contend with a tough remaining schedule featuring the likes of Washington, Atlanta, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Chicago Cubs. Can the Miracle Mets do it? Miracles were born to be made. We're kicking off college football in a couple days, so I'm going back to putting my "Playoff Four" up. You know the two usual suspects in the ordeal, but who will be the other two to make it?
They're okay, I guess. I do like the St. Louis Battle Hawks. That's a pretty badass name, not to mention the fact that the logo looks pretty cold and welded. But everything else just seems... generic. The Los Angeles Wildcats sounds like a typical MMA team (like a squad for the International Fighting League). As for the D.C. Defenders, they should've just named the MLS team in Washington, D.C. that instead of D.C. United. Everything else just seems like nicknames and logos for a D-list league. I remember when the original XFL kicked off in 2001 and there were team names like the Memphis Maniax, New York/New Jersey Hitmen, Los Angeles Xtreme, and the Orlando Rage. I mean, just look at this logo. I get the XFL's second incarnation is trying to go for a more patriotic approach as opposed to the NFL. But the XFL was so stupid in its "Attitude Era"-style football that it was good. The least the XFL can do is have the championship game be the "Million Dollar Game".
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February 2021
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