The Major League Baseball season is right around the corner, and the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training camp is underway.
The Jays have many holes to fill in their opening day rosters and many new faces are putting on the blue and white jersey. Edwin Encarnacion is gone to the Cleveland Indians and Kendrys Morales is now in Toronto to fill the first base position.
Steve Pearce, Dalton Pompey and Melvin Upton are in a battle to win the left field position and start most games. José Bautista has also returned on a one-year deal and will be looking to improve on his home run ability.
This should be an interesting season and the countdown is on until the opener, which is April 3 for the Jays.
The National Basketball Association 2017 All-Star Game was Sunday, Feb. 19 in New Orleans. The trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 23, so all the lineups will be set and the stretch run for the post-season will be upon us.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are without Kevin Love for four to six weeks, so they are likely to make a move to improve their power forward position.
These same Cavaliers will return to action Thursday to host the New York Knicks. The Knicks’ biggest star, Carmelo Anthony, is on the trading block. He is likely to be traded before the deadline.
It is also a real possibility Anthony will be in a Cavaliers jersey.
In a late game with an 11:30 p.m. start time, the Los Angeles Clippers will host the league-leading Golden State Warriors.
The rivalry between these two teams has grown into a personal relationship that’s been one-sided over the past couple years.
The past two matchups have been lopsided without star point guard Chris Paul in the Clippers’ lineup, as Golden State downed Los Angeles 144-98 on Jan. 28 and 133-120 on Feb. 2.
On Friday night, the Toronto Raptors go to battle for the fourth time this season against their divisional rivals, the Boston Celtics.
The Raptors won the first two matchups of the season.
Earlier this month, the Celtics got some revenge with a come-from-behind 109-104 victory led by all-star point guard Isiah Thomas after the Raptors took a 114-106 decision against Boston on Jan. 10.
This week’s NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC has the Chicago Bulls heading to Cleveland to face forward Lebron James and the Cavaliers. This is also a rivalry game, with many matchups in the post-season between these two squads, plus shooting guard Dwayne Wade facing James has the two best friends squaring off, as well.
In the National Hockey League, the slumping Montreal Canadiens made a splash on Valentine’s Day when they fired head coach Michel Therrien and replaced him with recently dismissed Boston Bruins bench boss Claude Julien.
This is the second time in franchise history that Therrien has been fired and Julien has been his replacement. The first time was during the 2002-03 season.
Just nine days after the coaching change, the Canadiens have a pair of tough matchups with points at a premium this late in the season. The New York Islanders head to the Bell Centre on Thursday as two teams with new head coaches square off with both teams currently in playoff positions.
On Saturday evening on CBC, the biggest rivalry in hockey will come head-to-head again with the Toronto Maple Leafs facing the Canadiens at the Air Canada Centre on Hockey Night in Canada. This is the fourth time two of the NHL’s most storied franchises have met have met this season, with the Canadiens winning the first three matchups.
