The Goal Line

I wish it were easier to get excited about the 2022 World Cup. It’s truly a shame that the corrupt and immoral rewarding of Qatar as the host country tainted the quadrennial showcase of the beautiful game. Some would argue it was already the case long before FIFA named Qatar host in 2010, and they’d be right. But FIFA’s decision epitomizes the troubling influence of money and political power on the modern football landscape.  I wholeheartedly understand the moral dilemmas at play here. The World Cup is supposed to be a month-long celebration of the beautiful game. Instead, it will be a month-long reminder that bribery and blackmail are the easiest means to hosting a World Cup. This preview is not an endorsement of the Qatar-hosted World Cup, rather a preliminary look at the 32 countries competing for the most iconic trophy in sports. Without further ado, let’s dive into our eight-part preview, starting with group A.  The Netherlands Embed from Getty Images

Photo via NHL.com We’ve reached the midway mark of the 2021-22 NHL season, an unusual one at that. In a normal, non-pandemic world, the league would gear up for a month-long Olympic hiatus right about now. Alas, COVID spoiled the party and ruined a special event for both players and fans. On the bright side, the NHL will return with a congested schedule after the All-Star break, making up for the 105 games that were postponed for COVID protocols this year. The All-Star break feels like as good a time as ever to look at some of the best performers this season, and who projects to take home the game’s most prestigious awards.  All stats via EvolvingHockey unless noted otherwise. Hart Trophy 1. Connor McDavid 2. Alex Ovechkin 3. Igor Shesterkin 4. Auston Matthews 5. Kirill Kaprizov 6. Jonathan Huberdeau 7. Mikko Rantanen 8. Johnny Gaudreau 9. Timo Meier 10. Leo

By Aaron Propson Photo via Bob Frid- USA Today Sports The Seattle Kraken are dominating NHL discourse this week and for all the wrong reasons. The franchise's inaugural season has been tumultuous at best. With just 10 wins through 33 games this season, the Kraken is comfortably basement dwellers in the Pacific Division. The question for analysts and reporters alike is, What went wrong for the Kraken? EP Rinkside writer and one of the most prominent analytics voices in the sport, JFresh, investigated it . As did ESPN's Greg Wyshynski , who sat down with Kraken GM Ron Francis to get his thoughts on his team's underachieving start. The answer to the question is that: Pretty much everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.  Let's start even before the NHL expansion draft in July, where the Kraken could steal at least one semi-valuable player from 30 other NHL teams. It should be said that comparisons to the Vegas Golden Knights and their succ

It has been a chaotic few weeks in the NHL. COVID-19 reared its ugly head and forced league-wide postponements, resulting in a suspension of play until after the holiday break.   On Tuesday, it was reported that NHL players will not attend the Olympics this coming February in Beijing. This is a massive disappointment, but it had to happen for many reasons.  We are all sick of COVID discussion by now, and it will not be going away anytime soon. Nonetheless, we will lighten the mood and take a look at what each NHL franchise is asking for this holiday season.  Anaheim Ducks: John Gibson to return to his old ways Arguably the most compelling story of this young season, Anaheim sits atop the Pacific Division at Christmas. Who had that on their bingo card? Keep in mind this is a team that won just 17 of 56 games last season. Troy Terry is having a fantastic breakout year, Trevor Zegras is a legit superstar, and veterans like Kevin Shattenkirk and Ryan Getzlaf have been reliable presences. T

As if we needed more reasons to love college football, folks. Rivalry week did not disappoint, far from it. From "The Game" to Bedlam, chaos reigned supreme in the final week of the 2021 regular season. The College Football Playoff picture is far from set in stone, and with a season like this one, anything is possible heading into conference championship week. Let's recap a weekend for the record books and look ahead to an ever-so-important championship weekend.  ACC Championship We'll start in the ACC, where there will be a championship game that doesn't feature Clemson or Florida State for the first time since 2008. Pitt clinched the Coastal Division en route to a 10-2 regular season, Pat Narduzzi's best season with the Panthers. It'll be Pitt's second-ever ACC championship game and their first since 2018 when they got blown out by Clemson.  The Coastal Division had their champion, but the Atlantic Div