Only one of the four teams still competing for the Super Bowl was predicted to have a shot to win the championship this year. That would be the Los Angeles Rams, who are playing the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship.
The Seahawks have a second-year head coach in Mike McDonald and a new starting quarterback in Sam Darnold. Darnold played for the Minnesota Vikings last year.
The New England Patriots are playing the Denver Broncos in Denver in the AFC Championship. Until this year, the Patriots have struggled ever since Tom Brady left the team. They now have a second-year quarterback in Drake Maye, and a new head coach, Mike Vrabel. The Patriots are the favorite to win the AFC Championship because the Broncos have to play with their backup quarterback, Jarett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass in a game in the past two years.
I will be rooting for the team that wins the NFC Championship to win the Super Bowl because the Patriots have won the Super Bowl a lot in the recent past. It’s time for somebody else to win.
The MLB Hall of Fame announcements were made this week. Reaching the required number of votes were Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves, their centerfielder in their NL East dynasty years, and Carlos Beltran, another centerfielder who played for the Houston Astros and other teams. I think it is interesting that Beltran got in so early after he was a part of the Astros stolen signs scandal in 2017 in his last year in the majors. As a side note, when Jose Altuve retires, I think he will be a first-ballot hall of famer.
The Phillies’ Chase Utley finished third with 59.1% of the vote. He is probably going to get in within the next two years. You have to receive 75% of the vote to be elected. Jimmy Rollins and Cole Hamels were also on the ballot. It’s going to take a while for them to make it if they do. You get 10 years of eligibility on the writer's ballot.
The Australian Open tennis tournament is underway. I will talk about the tennis in the coming weeks. The weather is always very hot in Australia in mid-January. I hope no one has to withdraw because of heat exhaustion. We’ll see what happens. Go USA.
-
A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
