Post 266 – Bull Session 19-06

This is a good time of year for winter sports with basketball playoffs starting, both boys and girls.  But what really gets me excited is state wrestling finals in Atlantic City this coming weekend. It is worth going to nj.com to monitor the latest results or watch the live stream, especially Sunday’s finals…..Now that this year’s Bergen Jamboree is over, if I was a betting man, I would pick Bergen Catholic, Don Bosco, St. Joe’s (Montvale), and Teaneck  to be in the semi-finals next year. It has been nineteen years since those four and Paramus Catholic weren’t the champion.  Furthermore, those five have won 33 of the last 40 and 37 of 45 if one counts the 1976 final Paramus Catholic was disqualified afterward.  Counting that one, PC has won two of those tournaments, leaving the aforementioned four winning 31.  Of the remaining eight, Hackensack won four times, Bogota twice, plus Englewood and Demarest once…..Kids seem to be getting scholarship offers at an earlier age.  If it was up to me, I would not allow anyone to be offered until they complete their sophomore season…..The newly created Alliance of American Football has eight teams with names I like in the Salt Lake Stallions and San Diego Fleet; one I don’t like is the Arizona Hotshots. The reason I like the Fleet is because of the navy’s presence in San Diego…..Now that the NFL schedule is coming out, I shake my head when those speak of how tough or easy a particular team’s will be. Teams go up and down every year in the NFL; after the Giants were 11-5 in 2016, many would have said the they were going to be a tough game, only to end up 3-13. Another example is Jacksonville, who made the AFC final in 2017, only to finish 5-11 this past year…..I know the Knicks have a large amount of cap space this coming year, but what if they don’t sign any of the top free agents this summer?…..I watched a rugby match recently at someone’s house and I do like the game. Wales defeated England and I think Americans would prefer watching this to soccer…..The NHL trading deadline has come and gone, with both the Rangers and Devils trading players whose contracts that expire after this year.  Extra picks in June’s draft are the payment to each team. The Rangers had the emotional losses in Kevin Hayes and mats Zuccarello.  The Flyers traded Wayne Simmonds, a fan favorite…..Exhibition games have begun in spring training, but I barely pay attention.  162-game seasons are long enough for me.…..It’s less than three weeks until the NCAA tournament begins, a.k.a. March Madness…..That’s all for now; I will be back soon for some more bull!