The coronavirus pandemic has had a major affect on our lives recently. It has prohibited us from doing a lot of the things that we may have wanted to do this summer and is still affecting us today. As an off-campus student at Marist college it is hard to find stories to write about since I am usually not on campus almost ever anymore. Therefore, in my house most of the activities that we do include our schoolwork, and exercise. One positive that has come from the coronavirus pandemic is that for the 1st time we are able to watch all of the major sports at one time. Hockey just concluded while the NBA is in its final series. The playoffs for the MLB has just begun and the NFL season is currently approaching week 5. This is an exciting time for all of my housemates as we are all huge sports fans. One of my housemates who wishes that their name remains anonymous said “We went from having nothing to watch to being blessed with being able to watch all of the sports at one time. I couldn’t be happier.”
Last night my housemates and I watched game 4 of the AL Division Series between the New York Yankees and The Tampa Bay Rays. This game was extremely important since it was an elimination game with the Rays being up 2-1 of the best of 5 series. As the game went on, we watched as our team, The Yankees went on to win 5-1. This was extremely important for The Yankees as they get their ace, and one of the best pitchers in baseball in Gerrit Cole on the mound for the closeout game 5. Gerrit Cole said “just give me the ball” when Yankees manager Mike Boone asked him about pitching on short rest. The Yankees signed Cole this offseason with this exact situation in mind which is a close out game against the best team in the American League with the ball in Gerrit Cole’s hands. The 1st inning of game 4 had no runs scored. In the second inning the Yankees bats began to heat up a little bit. Luke Voit started it off with a solo homerun which traveled 453 feet. The Yanks then got bases loaded with no outs but were only able to drive in one run from a sacrifice fly to right field with Brett Gardner scoring. In the next inning the Yankees would give up the only run of the game. The Yankees pitching staff pitched a great game using Jacob Montgomery, Chad Green, Zack Britton, and Aroldis Chapman. Montgomery let up the only run but pitched well through the rest of the time he was in striking out 4 batters. Gleyber Torres hit a homerun later in the game and Giancarlo Stanton hit a ground rule double to keep up his hot streak of this playoffs. Stanton has been one of the hottest players in these playoffs hitting 6 homeruns in 6 games. One of my fellow housemates and Yankees fan said during the game “Whoever wins this series will be World Series champion.” Game 5 will be a great matchup featuring another great pitcher for the Rays in Taylor Glasnow. Glasnow is a young and up and coming pitcher for the Rays. He has a boatload of potential and some good stuff when his game is on. The Yankees will have to rattle the young pitcher early and get runs on the board early to try and throw Glasnow off his game. A key component to the Yankees success will be their star player Aaron Judge. It seems that whenever Judge is hot the Yankees follow. Recently he has not been at the top of his game which is concerning to Yankee fans like myself. Looking at the bright side though the Yanks have gotten to this position without Judge at the top of his game. We can say thanks to our pitching staff as well as Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu. Game five of this series will be sensational playoff baseball. Me and my off-campus housemates hope that this will not be the last time we watch the Yankees play this season.
Usually, I would not be able to write this kind of story but like I said earlier these unprecedented times allow me to write about NBA playoff basketball, and playoff baseball being played at the same time. Tonight, is game 5 of the NBA finals between the Miami Heat and the LA Lakers will take place. The Lakers are currently leading the Heat 3-1 in the series. The Lakers will try and close out Heat. Earlier in the week the Lakers announced that they will be wearing their Black Mamba edition jerseys to honor Kobe Bryant. In these playoffs the Lakers are current 3-0 when wearing these jerseys. Tonight, they will try and get their fourth and final win. The world was stunned by the sudden death of Kobe Bryant earlier in this year. The Lakers say that they never want to lose in the jerseys to honor the life of the great Kobe Bryant. The Lakers go into tonight’s game as seven-point favorites but that does not mean the Heat should be counted out. The Heat have been counted out all season long and have made it this far. They opened the season as 75-1 odds to make the finals and made it there. This team embraces the underdog mentality led by their Star player Jimmy Butler. I believe that the Lakers will prevail in this game and become 2020 NBA champions. This will add to the great LeBron James legacy giving him four championships. This will be Anthony Davis’ 1st championship. This could lead to the beginning of another Lakers Dynasty.
With nothing to really do as an off-campus student during the coronavirus my housemates and I found our excitement through sports. These playoffs have been different but exciting. I am excited to see the outcomes of the games tonight.
WJM Inc. 