The National Basketball Association’s season is approaching the “great” All-Star Game this coming Sunday, Feb. 19, and the trade deadline is Feb. 23, so the season is heating up quite quickly.
The Toronto Raptors currently sit third in the Eastern Conference, and they are in a dogfight with the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards for the second to fourth positions in the standings. They play a pair of crucial games Tuesday and Wednesday night ahead of the all-star break.
They head to Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 14 to face the Bulls, who are trying to climb into the top tier of the East. This game has an 9 p.m. start time.
On Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, the Charlotte Hornets come to the Air Canada Centre for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff against Toronto.
The team with the best record in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, have a rematch with the Sacramento Kings at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Game time is 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night.
On Saturday, Feb. 4th the Kings upset the Warriors with a narrow 109-106 victory.
Saturday, Feb. 18 is a big day for Canadian hockey, with Hockey Day in Canada on CBC and Sportsnet. Every Canadian team will be in action on this day, while Don Cherry and Ron MacLean from Coach’s Corner will host an event with fans in Kenora, Ont.
The first game is a matinée, with the Winnipeg Jets heading to the Bell Centre in Montreal to face the Canadiens. There are two 8 p.m. games, with forward Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers travelling to Chicago to face the Blackhawks and captain Jonathan Toews.
The other game is the battle of Ontario, when rookie forward Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators. The current standings have only one point separating these two teams, so every game is vital down the stretch.
The day concludes with the Vancouver Canucks taking on the Calgary Flames. Puck drop is at 11 p.m.
The National Football League season concluded Sunday, Feb. 5 with Super Bowl LI (51). Once again, the New England Patriots have added another championship ring to their collection.
Quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots overcame a 28-3 deficit early in the third quarter and stormed back to down the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime with the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Many people thought the game should have been over with four minutes left in the third, when New England failed an onside kick. But the Falcons failed to run the ball effectively, and quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked, which pushed the team out of the field goal range twice in their last two possessions.
Kyle Shanahan, the now-former offensive co-ordinator for Atlanta, decided to throw the ball each play when the goal at the time was to run the clock out and secure the victory.
Brady, the winning quarterback, captured his fifth Super Bowl. He now has the most championships in the history of NFL quarterbacks after passing Terry Bradshaw, who won four times with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974, 1976, 1979 and 1980.
This was ultimately the most satisfying victory because of the “deflategate” drama at the beginning of the season and with Brady being suspended for the first four games of the season after the Patriots allegedly deflated balls on purpose in the 2016 American Football Conference final against the Indianapolis Colts.
Brady, 40, and the Patriots are already early favourites to win Super Bowl LII (52) in Minneapolis, Minn.
