It’s the time of the year when some sports are FINISHING while others are STARTING. Here we go…

…NHL Hockey is much closer to FINISHING the regular season (April 17). Of course STARTING almost immediately (April 19) will be the playoffs. But..this week provided lots of excitement as the NHL allowed their players to participate in the 4 NATIONS Tournament. Of course it came down to Canada vs USA. I caught some of the game last night. The energy in the building was phenomenal. From the National Anthems throughout the entire game, you could feel the excitement constantly as fans were highly engaged in the match! The speed & skill of the players was terrific. It was noticeable even to guys like me who aren’t hockey “guys”.  It went overtime until Connor McDavid scored the game-winner goal for Canada in a 3-2 OT win.

…I might add the oft-maligned GK in St Louis, Jordan Bennington, was in goal for all 3 Canadian wins. No one denied that McDavid was a good choice for player of the game. But, some thought that Binnington deserved votes also.” Those OT saves were amazing.” Said one respected Canadian hockey writers. The manner that Most (maybe all) of  the hockey commentators were pre-tournament “roasting the Canadian goaltending” was completely off track according to a quote of one of the key hockey writers after the game. From the Blues point of view….maybe it isn’t Bennington, maybe it’s the defense in front of him?

…Up next in the USA Sports world will be the START of the NCAA Basketball tournament. Selection Sunday, March 16 is a bit over 3 weeks away. The Conference Tournaments will temporarily take over the “main stage” prior to Selection Sunday. At this moment, Auburn is expected to be seeded #1 overall(as they have been for most of the 24-25 season). Other regional champs predicted are Florida, Alabama & Duke. Mizzou is predicted as a #5 seed. (Congrats to the Tigers for a tremendous year!!) Probably many of you, and me, will be glued to the TV for those exciting NCAA games.

…There are some teams that seem to always play each other in the NCAA Tournament. Here’s a few…Kentucky v Marquette have faced each other 10 times.  Marquette leads the series 6-4. Their last final 4 game was in 2008. Duke v Michigan State as occurred 7 times in the NCAA Tourney. The Duke-Michigan State match-up continued in the 2022 NCAA tournament, marking the teams’ 7th March Madness meeting in 30 years — the first tournament meeting was in 1994. Duke leads the series 5-2 in the NCAA tournament. Duke has twice beaten the Spartans in the Final Four (1999 and 2015), though the Spartans stopped the Blue Devils’ run at the 2019 Elite Eight.

….On the NCAA Womens’ side of the NCAA basketball is STARTING. Teams to follow are UCLA, Texas, S.Carolina & Notre Dame. They are expected to be the #1 regional seeds. The only local teams that earned an automatic qualifier for the tournament were Illinois & Missouri State.

…One of the biggest days in the NFL is draft day. It’s looming on the horizon. Most of the pre-draft work has FINISHED while the expected “pecking order” is being formed by each team. Soo what trend will be followed as the round 1 of the Draft STARTS on April 24? According to experts in the drafting field,   6 of the 1^st round picks will be “edge rushers”. These are the guys who sack, pressure, harass the QB in his throws.  At his moment, the #1 choice is Mason Graham (DT) from Michigan. 13 of the top 25 projected players are defensive players!  Only 2 QB are projected in the 1^st round w/Shedeur Sanders (son of Deion Sanders) as the highest in the mid-teens range.

…Hopefully FINISHING… The Dragging on & on is the Nolan Arenado situation. I’m tired of it. Maybe this will be a lesson for the Redbirds about “no trade” clauses. This guy isn’t going to be a HOF’er….he’s good…but,  not that good. He’s past his prime.  In 2024, let’s compare Arenado   to other 3B in the NL. He was a daily player as he played in 152 games and was paid handsomely. This is his “best” stat in my mind- his reliability.  He was the 2^nd highest paid 3b in NL only behind Anthony Rendon in 2024. Being fare, Arenado does have excellent range as 3b (rated as 3^rd best in the entire MLB. That’s a very important stat when comparing his production to his pay. Now, look & compare him in other stats to other NL 3b. He was 9^th in the NL-3b in HR (there are 15 NL teams);  5^th in 3b in Rbi’s (34 rbi’s behind #1Manny Machado); in NL 3b he was 7^th in OPS- .078;  he was 3^rd best 3b in batting average but his batting average of .272 was 39th in the NL. With an additional year of aging, I don’t see these numbers increasing or maybe even “holding”.

…Unfortunately, he reflects the “modern” star who feel like that they make all the decisions about their career.  And…I guess that they really do in some ways with these no-trade, multi year contracts. However, the Cardinals have no obligation to play him 7 days a week. When he slumps, sit him. His salary, alone, should not dictate his automatic appearance in the starting lineup. I’ll guarantee that he won’t have the same level of support from the StL fans this year after this off-season. His production & overall contribution, alone, not his salary,  should dictate his starting role.  I don’t have any 1^st hand info but.. I haven’t heard in the past that he’s a “leader”. Maybe he is…maybe he isn’t!  But, it looks to me like the only person that he really cares about is the one that he sees in the mirror.

…Staying in the baseball word, it appears that robotic umpires are “on the way” this spring. They will be used in some spring training games. It could be the START of an entirely new world in the MLB. Arrival dates are undetermined for use in regular season games. Some speculate that it’ll be 2026. WOW!  That’s next year. I don’t see it happening that quick. I’m guessing 2028.

…As I FINISH OFF…don’t worry, the Buzz won’t ever be robotic 😊 YOUR thoughts are ALWAYS invited. Thanks for your read!  Bob