With the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rocky opening to the 2017-18 season looking like growing pains at best and an all-out free fall at worst, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue called his team’s latest loss — a 114-95 rout at the hands of the New York Knicks — “unacceptable.”
The Patriots are averaging only 21.8 points per game over their past four. All were wins, but if there’s any cause for concern in New England right now, it’s the red zone offense. The Patriots have turned just 50 percent of red zone drives into touchdowns (63 percent last season).
The Chiefs are winning, but their defense hasn’t been helping the cause. They’ve allowed 392.3 yards per game, the third-most in the NFL. Eventually, Alex Smith will throw some interceptions, and when he does, the defense might not be able to hold.
But expansion is very different from relocation. One day there are 30 NHL teams and then the next—poof—there are 31. Hockey has expanded south and west, fully conquering the Sun Belt, putting sheets of ice in any climate it chooses. And so the longstanding dream of a professional team in Vegas is finally realized.
“I think fans need a day off, we need a day off and the media needs a day off,” Astros pitcher Collin McHugh said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun in L.A.”
It’s instructive to exhale for a moment and reflect on what has transpired since the series shifted from Los Angeles to Houston late last week. After Clayton Kershaw conducted a pitching clinic in the opener and the Astros went homer-happy in extra innings to steal Game 2 in L.A., the Astros returned home and took two of three while dealing with their fair share of weirdness.