March 26 saw the start of the CAA swimming and diving championships in Newark, Delaware, with Drexel diving straight into the action. The event started with the men’s one-meter dive, with Will Seely and Jack Patton up first. The preliminary round saw a fourth-place finish for Seely, closely followed by a fifth-place Patton. The finals saw Seely place sixth with a score of 218.60, and Patton finishes two places ahead in fourth with a score of 224.90. The second and final day of action for the divers once again featured Seely and Patton, this time in the men’s three-meter dive. The Dragons finished the preliminary round with scores of 194.95 and 189.40, respectively. In the finals, the Dragons could hardly be separated. Patton scored 183.35 and finished sixth, with Seely finishing just ahead in fifth place with a score of 210.25.

After the women’s swimming CAA Championships in Christiansburg, Virginia, the men’s team headed into the pool on April 1. Drexel began their campaign with the 200 free relay and a group consisting of Kacper Karnik, Alex Flynn, T.J. Given and John Scully. The team finished fifth with a time of 1:22.06. Up next was the 500 free, featuring Xabier Carneiro, Will Soleo and Jake McBride. Carneiro earned himself a spot in the B-Finals with a time of 4:39.29 in the preliminary swim. He went on to race a time of 4:37.86 and placed tenth. Soleo and McBride both earned themselves spots in the A-Finals with times of 4:37.35 and 4:37.26, respectively. McBride placed sixth in the finals with a time of 4:35.34, just beaten by teammate Soleo with a fifth-place finish and a time of 4:33.60. Another special event for the Dragons was the 200 IM, with Paris Raptis reaching the B-Finals with his time of 1:51.62, followed by Zachary Valenzuela’s time of 1:53.58. Valenzuela went on to finish seventh with a time of 1:53.59. Teammate Raptis won the B-Finals with a time of 1:48.95. In the A-Finals, Karnik won a bronze medal with his impressive time of 1:47.29. The 50 free saw both Given and Flynn make the B-Finals, finishing eighth and seventh with times of 21.21 and 21.19. Scully made the A-Finals, eventually finishing sixth place with a time of 20.41. John Klein, Karnik, Raptis and Given teamed up for the night’s last event at the 400 medley relay. They swam a time of 3:20.60 to place fifth.

The second day of competition for the swimmers began with the 200 medley relay. Carson Huff, Karnik, Raptis and Scully swam a time of 1:27.97, earning them a bronze medal to begin the night. Special mention to Karnik whose split time of 53.83 for the breaststroke set a program record. Next up was the 400 IM, featuring Klein, Carneiro, and Soleo. All three Dragons made the B-Finals, with finishing positions of three, fifth and sixth. Third place was earned by Carneiro’s time of 4:02.36. Raptis swam next in the 100 fly, finishing the preliminaries with a time of 47.42 and a place in the finals. He won the 11th medal of his career with his first-place finish and a time of 47.10. Kevin Spear then made it to the B-Finals of the 200 free, placing second with a time of 1:41.41. The 100 breast saw five swimmers in the finals. Brendan Houle and Patrick Cunningham finished the B-Finals in seventh and eighth with times of 1:00.39 and 1:00.62, respectively. In the 100 back, Nikita Timoshenko and Carson Huff earned themselves spots in the B-Finals. Timoshenko finished sixth with a time of 51.73. Huff finished second in the B-Finals with a time of 50.70. The night’s final event was the 800 free relay, with a team consisting of Carneiro, Given, Soleo and Spear. The Dragons swam a time of 6:51.74 and finished fifth.

The final day of competition was yet again jam-packed for the Dragons. Up first was Soleo in the 1650 free, who swam a great time of 15:46.82, which won him the first medal of his career, gold. This was also the program’s first medal in the event since 1994. McBride and Carneiro also swam the event, coming in at fifth and eighth places with times of 16:00.74 and 16:15.86, respectively. In the 200 back, Timoshenko made it to the B-Finals and finished sixth with a time of 1:54.90. Klein and Huff both made the A-Finals. Klein placed eighth with a time of 1:53.56, closely beaten by teammate Huff who swam a time of 1:53.33 and placed seventh. The 100 free saw Spear, Flynn, Scully, and Given all back in action. Flynn and Spear made the B-Finals, placing fourth and eighth. The A-Finals featured both Given, who finished seventh with a time of 45.11, and Scully, who finished eighth with a time of 45.58. Valenzuela and Karnik both swam the 200 breast, with Valenzuela making the B-Finals and consequently winning the B-Final with a time of 2:02.24. Karnik made the A-Finals and went on to earn his third medal of the championships with a winning time of 1:57.61. Up next in the 200 fly were Will Resweber, Klein and Raptis. Resweber made the B-Finals and placed seventh with a time of 1:54.02. Klein and Raptis both made the A-Finals. Klein finished eighth with a time of 1:53.81. Raptis won the silver medal with a time of 1:46.81, the 12th medal of his career. The 400 free relay was the final event of the championship, which saw Given, Spear, Flynn and Scully place third with a time of 2:59.46. The Dragons finished the event in third place with 531 points, beaten by UNCW and Towson.

As you can tell from the title, this is a little bit of a hot take. Baseball is filled with many great pitchers: Gerrit Cole, Walker Buehler, Trevor Bauer, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Yu Darvish and many more. At the top is Jacob deGrom, followed by Shane Bieber. Those two righties have been on a level by themselves. But after that, Lance Lynn is the third-best pitcher in Major League Baseball right now.

The amount of innings a starting pitcher throws has been decreasing as the game continues to evolve. To show the trend starting pitching is on, take a look at the innings pitched leaders from 2010 compared to 2019. Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez led the National League, and American League in innings pitched back in 2010 by throwing 250.2 and 249.2 innings. In 2019, Stephen Strasburg and Justin Verlander led the senior and junior circuit but only had to pitch in 209 innings and 223 innings.

Lynn, however, has been a workhorse and hasn’t fallen to the trend. When looking at Fan Graphs, has led baseball from 2019 to 2020 in innings pitched. That can cause many good things to happen for a baseball team.

First of all, this means Lynn is being effective, which is obvious. A starting pitcher will not pitch that many innings if he can’t be effective at preventing runs, which is a pitcher’s job. Lynn owns a 3.40 earned run average since the start of 2019, which is 11th among qualifying pitchers. He is right there with the game’s best. Since 2019, he has the 4th highest wins above replacement, a statistic to estimate how many wins a player contributes among pitchers. The exciting part is that he is effective by using different variants of a fastball.

According to Baseball Savant, he used his four-seam fastball, cutter or sinker 90.5 percent of the time. That differs from today’s norm as many pitchers are throwing offspeed pitches at a higher rate. It works for Lynn, though — in 2020, Lynn kept opponents at a .211 batting average on at-bats that ended with one of his fastballs. His fastball usage is a key reason he can work deep into games, as it means he is attacking the strike zone with command, which leads to Lynn being efficient with his pitch count.

Being effective for a more extended period throughout the game does the bullpen a grand gesture. Bullpens are so critical to today’s game, and relievers these days are seeing more work than ever. But they are human and need rest too. When Lynn starts every fifth day, it rests the bullpen heavily by only requiring maybe a couple of arms out of the pen. That pays high dividends the next game when the pen is needed more and keeps the relievers more durable throughout a long 162-game season.

Lynn’s workhorse mentality and ability to pitch long into games is what makes him so valuable to a team. That’s why the White Sox traded for him this past off-season as they look to make a World Series run. If they are going to make the run, Lynn will be a crucial reason why.

In 2009, then-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger warned us all about a “European Super League” coming in the next decade; nobody knew how incredibly accurate his prediction would be. Over the past few years, there has been scattered talk about a Super League, in which the biggest clubs in Europe would just create their own “elite-only” league. Most of it seemed like just talk at the time—nothing more than a doomsday prophecy in the footballing world.

Last Sunday, that prophecy almost became a reality, with the administrations behind 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs all signing off to join the newly-formed official European Super League. In a sport that is, admittedly, becoming more and more diluted with greed by the year, the Super League was simply a step too far, and the world of football made their voices heard.

The negative backlash against this new proposition was astronomical. Never before had football players, fans, managers, owners, background staff and all others been so united in opposition. While this situation is still unfolding and far from over, it looks as if the European Super League is dead on arrival as of this article’s writing. But what exactly was the European Super League, and what would it mean for football if it goes through?

Overall, the European Super League would operate as a footballing competition in a tournament format consisting of 20 teams, with 15 permanent teams and five to be relegated. There would be two groups of 10 teams, with each team playing each home and away. Then, the top-ranked teams would advance to a knockout stage. This new competition would be scheduled on midweek nights, in between domestic league matches and other competitions like the Champions League and the Europa League.

On Sunday, 12 teams signed off as founding members. Six were from England: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Three were from Spain: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Three were from Italy: AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus. The remaining three spots were reserved for the French club Paris Saint-Germain and German clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but all three teams rejected the invite. Porto of Portugal and RB Leipzig, also of Germany, have been said to have declined invitations to participate shortly after. As the promotion for this competition described itself: “The best clubs. The best players. Every week.”

With the infamous Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, as the Chairman of this new Super League and Juventus’ head executive, Andrea Agnelli, as the Vice-Chairman, this is a complete split from FIFA and UEFA, (the world football and European governing bodies respectively).

Suppose one were to compare sport and economics. In that case, the European Super League is nothing more than a monopoly, a permanent class of elite teams, destroying any semblance of a free market. This is no different than a few corporations consolidating their power and crushing all small businesses. If football can be seen as a free market, sure, there is a hierarchy. There will always be teams better than others; that is the nature of the sport. But that hierarchy changes.

For example, Atletico Madrid was an average mid-table to bottom table team in Spain during the late 1990s into the 2000s. However, by the mid-2010s, they were one of the best teams in the entire world. Or conversely, Ajax went from being one of the greatest teams of all time in the 1970s to being just a regional power in the Netherlands by the current day. A European Super League would remove all of that change and keep 15 powerful teams in power, especially since the 15 initial clubs would not be able to get relegated.

Like any sport, football is based on merit; it’s fair. For example, the Champions League–the most prestigious club competition in Europe since the 1950s and the same tournament that would effectively become obsolete if the Super League comes to fruition–is completely based on merit. To qualify for the Champions League, you either have to win your domestic league or finish in a high spot. Yes, it is often populated with familiar faces, but all those big teams earned their spots. Even still, because it is an open competition, it is never a perpetual pyramid. Look at AC Milan for example. Only Real Madrid has won more Champions Leagues than Milan, yet due to mismanagement, poor managers and an aging squad, Milan heavily regressed in quality and has not played Champions League football since 2013-14. On the other hand, a small club like Atalanta handled their business expertly, going from a team struggling to stay in the Italian top-flight, to one challenging for the title, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in their history and making it as far as the quarterfinals last year.

None of this would be possible in a European Super League. Arsene Wenger shared the sentiment of the majority of football fans when he said back in 2009, “I believe only in sporting merit.”

If it isn’t apparent already, the motivating factor behind the European Super League is money. The bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., reportedly invested $4.2 billion into this project, and the winner of the league would receive 400 million euros. In comparison, the prize money for winning the Champions League is 120 million euros, just over a quarter of the Super League’s promised prize. In fact, each of the clubs who agreed to join would be given 300 million euros just for accepting their invitation.

Now, it goes without saying that the whole world runs on money and transaction of goods, so money involved in football is not a bad thing by any means. What is bad is when money becomes the sole focus, and the quality of football and fans’ enjoyment deeply depreciates. That is what the European Super League would do.

It makes sense that these clubs prioritized money over football and their fans when you consider the recent history of their budgets, though. Over the past decade, the amount of money in football has ballooned exponentially, and one only needs to look at the transfer market for evidence of that. Out of the Top 10 most expensive transfers in football history, nine have occurred between 2016 to now. As a result of all this cash, the biggest clubs massively overspent and gambled their profits, and not just in the transfer market either. The debts for these teams started growing larger, and when the pandemic hit and government-imposed lockdowns meant no fans in stadiums, the debt increase went into overdrive.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are historic rivals who compete over every single thing—Messi vs Ronaldo, whose team has more representatives in the Spain squad, who has the better stadium. Well, now they can add debt to that list, as Barcelona just edged their foes with 1.2 billion euros in gross debt, compared to Real Madrid’s 901 million. Ultimately, these poor business decisions, which span years back, were the spark that led to the European Super League’s commencement at this point in time.

So, how has the world of football responded? Not kindly, to put it lightly. UEFA and FIFA have dropped the hammer on the Super League, and understandably so, as these 12 clubs are effectively leaving UEFA and FIFA to start their own cartel.

Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, publicly stated the confederation’s position Tuesday. Ceferin reiterated that there would be massive punishments. Among them would be the complete removal of these 12 clubs from their domestic leagues and bans on them participating in international competitions like the Champions League or Europa League, which is an extremely bold statement. The idea of Real Madrid and Barcelona getting kicked out of La Liga, or Manchester United and Liverpool out of the Premier League, is ridiculous, but it’s a seemingly justifiable threat given the current situation.

On top of that, all the players who participate in the Super League would be barred from representing their national teams at the Euros and the World Cup, an equally audacious warning with potential effects so devastating, it would be nearly impossible to imagine some of these players choose money over their nation. The World Cup is the most prestigious sporting event in human history, so one would expect a player’s national pride to outweigh his salary. Not only that, think about how each nation’s team would look at the World Cup or Euros. 17 of England’s 23-man squad at the 2018 World Cup played for one of the English clubs that signed off for the Super League. Just imagine Italy’s squad without players from Juventus, Inter and Milan as well. Or simply, Argentina without Messi. From an American perspective, can you imagine our team without Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Zack Steffen, who are arguably our three most reliable players?

Some people looking for the bright side of this proposition may conclude that, while the Super League would uproot the current football landscape, it would equal the playing field in Europe’s top leagues and allow opportunities for many other teams to win silverware. And while it would be nice to see Napoli finally win another Scudetto, or for Real Betis to win La Liga for the first time since 1935, or see West Ham win their first-ever league title, these successes would come at such a high cost that it outweighs the positives.

The Super League monopoly would create a self-imposed circle where all the money would circulate without trickling down. These big clubs, which are already the wealthiest in the world, would permanently stay powerful. Do you think South America has turned into a player-farm for European clubs, given the wealth gap? Well, the entire world of football would become nothing more than a conveyor belt to the European Super League. Anytime a player in England, Spain, Germany and other countries shows a shred of potential talent, he would be immediately snapped up by a Super League team.

The TV broadcasters would also be massively affected too, as they already have deals with all these leagues to broadcast their games, which include these hugely popular teams. How could NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, be able to sell a Premier League package to fans of Manchester United, who can no longer watch their favorite team on the streaming service?

Speaking of the fans, they would, unfortunately, suffer the most in this predicament. Imagine being a lifelong Arsenal fan and season ticket-holder whose father was an Arsenal fan and his father before him. Forget traveling up and down England every weekend; now you have to travel to Madrid one week, Milan the next, then Turn afterward.

As was said before, the football world has been almost unanimous in its response to the Super League. Pep Guardiola, James Milner, Gary Neville and Ramon Calderon all have spoken out against it. All the backlash has worked; by Tuesday afternoon, Chelsea stated that they plan to leave the Super League. A few hours later, Manchester City joined them, and by the end of the day, the Premier League announced all six of their teams would not be participating, followed by Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, who pulled out as well. The pipe dream seems to be falling apart as we speak, but that does not mean it’s done and dusted. On Wednesday, Chairman Florentino Perez stated that the Super League is simply on standby, and all the clubs have signed binding contracts, meaning they cannot completely sever ties. By the time you are reading this, there will probably be even more updates to this ongoing drama.

Overall, I think the idea of a Super League is terrible for football, as it attacks the foundation upon which all sport is built upon. That does not mean that supporters of the Super League should have their voices silenced, though. It is only fair to allow the fans and administrators who support this plan, however few there are, to express their opinions. There is credence to their arguments, namely the corruption and ineffectiveness of both UEFA and FIFA, which often goes without consequence. But in my opinion, a European Super League is not the solution.

On March 26, the Drexel Women’s diving team headed to Newark, Delaware to begin the College Athletic Association Championships for the 2020-21 season.

The first day of the competition saw only the three-meter preliminaries. Junior Katie Caputo placed 19th in the three-meter dive, closely followed by freshman teammate Cora Hochsteller in 20th place for the preliminary round.

The one-meter dives occurred on March 27. Caputo scored 203.80 in the women’s one-meter, earning her a 16th place finish. She was followed by Hochsteller with the 20th position and a score of 183.05, which she later turned into an eighth place finish in the consolation round with a score of 172.30.

On March 29 in Christiansburg, Virginia, the women’s swimming team began their competition. Junior Lera Nasedkina took home the first medal for the Dragons with a bronze in the 50 free. She was back in action alongside teammates Victoria Palochik, Lauren DiCamillo and Ryann Styer in the 200 free relay. The Dragons’ time of 1:33.48 earned them a fourth place finish.

Sophomore Maddie Riley began her night with the preliminary round of the 500 free, earning herself a place in the B-finals with a 16th place finish. In the B-finals, Riley swam a time of 5:01.11, earning herself an eighth place finish.

The 50 free proved to be a successful event for the Dragons, with two swimmers in the A-finals. Styer swam a time of 23.43, earning herself a sixth place finish. Nasedkina impressed with a time of 22.96 and a bronze medal, the third of her career and the first of an individual event. The night ended with the 400 medley relay with a team consisting of DiCamillo, Nasedkina, Palochik and Styer, who placed sixth with a time of 3:49.53.

The team returned to the pool on March 30. Freshman Molly Watts made her debut at the competition in the 400 IM preliminaries, placing 16th and earning herself a spot in the B-finals. She swam the finals with a time of 4:41.11, earning herself an eight place finish.

The 100 fly saw Palochik and Nasedkina back in action, both in the B-final, placing 11th and 13th respectively in the preliminary rounds. Palochik narrowly missed out on ninth place by a tenth of a second and a time of 56.11. She was followed three places behind by Nasedkina, her time being 56.79.

The women finished their final day of competition on March 31, after a few challenging days at the pool. Styer and Nasedkina swam the 100 free, both advancing to the heats. Styer swam the B-finals after a 14th place finish in the preliminaries. She swam the finals with a time of 51.90, once again placing her in the 14th position. Nasedkina advanced into the A-finals, after a time of 50.42 in the preliminaries. She finished the finals with a time of 50.71 and a fifth place finish.

To wrap up the competition, Nasedkina, Styer, DiCamillo and Palochik swam in the 400 free relays. The Dragons placed sixth with a time of 3:28.04. The Dragons finished the event in sixth position with 158 points overall.

On April 29, the 2021 NFL Draft is set to take place in Cleveland, Ohio with a limited group of fans in attendance. As with most drafts, the first two picks are pretty much set in stone. Even before the College Football season concluded, it has long been known that the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, now owned by the Jacksonville Jaguars, will be quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson. The second pick of the NFL draft is inevitable as well, with the New York Jets selecting Zach Wilson out of BYU.

Most analysts and fans have no issue with Trevor Lawrence being the number one pick. Lawrence is listed at 6-foot-6, with elite arm strength and excellent speed for his position and size. He was one of the most hyped players coming out of high school in the last few years and went on to become a three-year starter at one of the top football programs in the country in Clemson, including winning the national championship as a freshman. Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer all but assured that Lawrence would be the number one pick when appearing on “Football Morning in America,” saying, “I’d have to say that’s the direction we’re going”.

Zach Wilson going to the Jets with the second pick is also assumed across the league and in the media. However, it does not make nearly as much sense as the Lawrence pick. While Wilson has the intangibles, being 6-foot-3 with decent quickness for a quarterback, he hasn’t shown enough to be the number 2 pick. After two unspectacular seasons, he put up 33 touchdowns against just three interceptions this year, but that was against FBS independent competition, which is not nearly as challenging as the competition in conferences like the SEC (where Trevor Lawrence played).

With such limited experience against the best programs, it’s surprising that Wilson is projected to be the second quarterback off the board. After all, over in the Big Ten, a certain Ohio State quarterback has built an impressive resume that should justify getting selected before Wilson. His name is Justin Fields.

Coming out of high school, Fields was a five-star quarterback prospect and was ranked the number two quarterback overall nationally, only behind Trevor Lawrence in the 2018 recruiting class. Fields spent a year at the University of Georgia before transferring to Ohio State University, where he had an outstanding sophomore campaign, compiling 41 touchdown passes to only three interceptions along with 10 rushing touchdowns. He led Ohio State to the semifinal game, only to lose to Trevor Lawrence and Clemson after throwing a critical interception late in the fourth quarter. Fields responded to the adversity of losing, leading his team to a 7-1 record while compiling 22 touchdown passes and six interceptions.

The College Football Playoff semifinal was where Fields showed why he should be the number two pick behind Lawrence. Facing Lawrence again in the semifinals, Fields was spectacular, despite dealing with what appeared to be broken ribs after suffering an illegal hit by a Clemson player. The pain did not distract Fields, as he finished the game with 385 yards and a remarkable six touchdown passes, which is now a Sugar Bowl record. Leading up to the draft, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky heard that some teams questioned Fields “work ethic and desire to be great.”

“Laughable” is what Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day said in response. What exactly does Fields need to do to demonstrate his love for the game? Is breaking his ribs and still leading his team to a National Championship appearance not enough?

What’s even more ridiculous is the notion that the San Francisco 49ers, who hold the third overall pick, may be looking to pick quarterback Mac Jones out of Alabama, who is not nearly as talented or as highly-rated by most scouts as Fields is. If the 49ers were to make the Jones choice with the third pick, it could end up costing them just as severely as it did the Bears, who in the 2017 draft decided to draft Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick over the likes of Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes.

If the 49ers or the Jets are paying attention, they will draft the guy who lit up his pro day and ran a 4.44 40-yard sprint, which would be the fastest ever for a quarterback participating at the combine. Fields also has a height of 6-foot-3 and tremendous arm strength. Where does it make sense to pass on him? It doesn’t.

It is the best division in Major League Baseball right now: the National League East.

The Atlanta Braves are a powerhouse team with loads of young talent in the lineup and rotation, and they have a dependable bullpen. The Miami Marlins have become relevant in the playoff picture after unexpectedly making the postseason in 2020 as they still develop their young players, who showed they are ready to compete. Under new management, the New York Mets bolstered their roster with offseason pickups, such as Francisco Lindor and James McCann, to go along with their young rising stars. The Philadelphia Phillies are dealing without any distractions this year, with no high expectations for a revamped team like in 2019 and no sign J.T. and COVID-19 distractions like in 2020. They heavily upgraded their bullpen, which was critical for their success. Lastly, the Washington Nationals are only two years removed from winning the World Series and still have a strong rotation to go along with superstar right fielder Juan Soto.

The division is a toss-up for who will represent the NL East in the postseason. Here are five factors, one for each team, that could be a critical component in each team’s fate:

Atlanta Braves: Can Ronald Acuna Jr. put together an MVP season?

Ronald Acuna Jr. is off to a scorching hot start. Through 38 at-bats in 10 games, he has 17 hits giving him a .447 batting average. Through 10 games, he is leading the national league in batting average and slugging percentage, along with four home runs. If the season ended today, Acuna Jr. would be the runaway winner for MVP, which is why he is going to be a deciding factor in the NL East race. If Acuna Jr. can put together an MVP season, it will give the Braves a serious boost. That lineup is already scary with Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman, Marcell Ozuna, Ozzie Albies and Travis d’Arnaud, just to name a few of their big bats. If Acuna Jr. gets even better and becomes an MVP—which he fully has the potential to be—pitching to the Braves lineup turns from scary to horrific.

Miami Marlins: Will Sixto Sanchez have a sophomore slump?

Something that gives the Marlins’ fanbase hope for the future is their young rotation. Sandy Alcantara is on his way to becoming a top starter in all of baseball. Pablo Lopez also shows a lot of potential at the age of 25. He had a 3.61 ERA in 2019 and has put together two solid starts so far this season, only allowing two unearned runs in 11.2 innings of work. 

Then there’s Sixto Sanchez. He showed so much promise in his rookie season of 2020, finishing with a 3.46 ERA through seven starts last year. He is starting the 2021 season at Marlins’ alternate site, but it’s only a matter of time before he returns to the Marlins rotation. However, it is common for players to struggle in their second season—something the Marlins might not be able to afford if they are to make a run for the postseason. If Sanchez picks up where he left off, the Marlins rotation upgrades another level.

New York Mets: Can they win behind Jacob DeGrom?

DeGrom is the best pitcher in baseball. His career ERA is 2.69, and his career WHIP is 1.04. Combine his numbers with two Cy Young awards, and he is on track to hall of fame.

The problem is that the Mets can’t win the ball games he starts. His highest winning percentage in decisions is from 2020, where he only went 4-2 in a shortened season. The next highest is 2015, where he went 14-8.  In his two starts this season, DeGrom is 0-1 despite having a 0.64 ERA and 0.71 WHIP through those two starts. The past is the past, as the Mets were rebuilding, but they’re finished now. They have a roster ready to win now; if they are going to win, they have to do it behind the best pitcher in the game.

Philadelphia Phillies: Can Zach Eflin establish himself as a consistent third starter?

Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler are anchoring the top of the Phillies rotation, but they need a solid number three to be successful. The Phillies named Eflin as that third starter in the rotation, and he has a lot to prove for a team trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Eflin has always shown promise; the problem is that he hasn’t shown it consistently. This season has already been a perfect example of that.

In his first start of the season, Eflin went seven innings strong, only giving up one run while striking out eight against the Braves. Against the same Braves team his second time out, he gave up four runs on seven hits through six innings. That’s been the story throughout his career. If the Phillies are going to make the postseason, Eflin has to be more consistent in that third slot. If not, the Phillies need someone who will be at the trade deadline.

Washington Nationals: Can their top three starters return to form?

As good as Juan Soto and Trea Turner are, the Nationals are going as far as their rotation takes them. That’s how they won in 2019, and that’s what will most likely drive their success this year—if they are to have success.

Max Scherzer is 36 years old, and in 2020 he posted the highest ERA of his career since 2012 and the highest WHIP of his career, showing signs that he might not be the same pitcher he once was. Stephen Strasburg battled injuries and pitched a total of five innings in 2020. And Patrick Corbin flat out struggled in 2020, as he had a 4.66 ERA, allowed the most hits in the majors and had the highest WHIP in the majors. All this after Corbin finished in the top 11 of Cy Young voting in 2018 and 2019. If the Nationals are going to contend this, three things have to happen. Scherzer has to show he has enough left in the tank to be an ace this season; Strasburg has to offer he is fully healthy; and Corbin has to find his old self on the mound. If these three things happen, the Nationals are as good as anybody else in the division.

Every team in the NL East is on the brink of success and has key pieces that could propel them to the finish line first. It’s a long season, and a lot could happen before this race is finished, so don’t be surprised if it comes down to the last few days of September or even game 162.

And then there were four. By Wednesday night of this week, each Champions League Quarterfinal matchup will have concluded, setting up the final four for the semifinals as we march closer and closer to crowning the King of Europe in what has been an exciting, unorthodox season thus far.

Paris Saint-Germain (France) 0-1 Bayern Munich (Germany) – PSG advance on away goals after 3-3 aggregate score

Last week, PSG traveled to Bavaria in Bayern’s home stadium and took the match to them, winning 3-2 after playing some textbook shock-and-awe football. Heading back to Paris, Bayern were tasked with overturning their home defeat, needing to score at least two goals. Unfortunately for Bayern, their top striker and best player, Robert Lewandowski, was still out with injury, adding to a list of other injured Bayern attackers who also missed the match. PSG was not without their injury problems either, as their captain and strongest defender, Marquinhos, picked up a knock playing Bayern last week and could not return to fitness in time.

The run of play was very similar to the first leg, seeing Bayern dominate possession and shots on goal while PSG waited for their chances on the counter. However, Bayern were missing much of the ferocity of the last match. PSG were able to comfortably play through Bayern’s high-press, as evident in the first half when the home team outplayed their opponents, creating numerous close opportunities. Neymar, in particular, had five extremely close chances, four of them coming in the first half. Unfortunately for him, one shot clipped the crossbar, another hit the post and the other two were saved by Manuel Neuer (who redeemed himself with a world-class performance today).

Ironically, it would be Bayern who took the lead with a counterattack of their own after David Alaba’s powerful low shot was saved by Keylor Navas, but Lewandowski’s replacement, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, was able to bundle the rebound into the net.

Going into the second half, Bayern continued to push for the elusive second goal, but their efforts proved futile as PSG stood firm. By the referee’s final whistle, PSG had enacted revenge on Bayern, who beat them in last year’s Champions League Final. Bayern Munich, the reigning champions, have been eliminated.

Overall, Bayern fans will hard done because of the injury to Lewandowski, but truthfully, the Bavarian club created several excellent chances to score. Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman, in particular, were very wasteful on the wings. But ultimately, Bayern’s biggest weakness was their defensive frailties in the first leg, which PSG exposed expertly.

As for PSG, this was a massive match for them. While they did not play beautiful-swashbuckling football, they played exceptionally smart—defending well and attacking at the correct times all while exposing Bayern’s weak underbelly. Their star players, such as Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Keylor Navas, stood up for their team when they were needed most. 

Finally, PSG has proved their Champions League pedigree. Despite spending millions of Euros in the transfer market, PSG had habitually failed in the Champions League knockout rounds. While they made the semifinals last season for the first time since 1995, it was under unforeseen circumstances following the pandemic, which forced the Champions League to move to single match knockout rounds. Even in that one-off match, PSG was almost eliminated by Atalanta, a team who is highly punching above their weight, before losing the final to Bayern. But now, PSG silenced the naysayers by professionally sending the reigning champions packing, and as it stands, PSG are the favorites to win the whole competition for the first time in their history.

Chelsea (England) 0-1 Porto (Portugal) – Chelsea advance 2-1 on aggregate

After losing 2-0 in what was technically their home leg, Porto had their work cut out for them, needing to find two goals to at least tie the score. On the other hand, Chelsea were already in an excellent position to advance. In totality, the second leg of this matchup was virtually a mirror image of the first. Both teams played well, were very organized, and defended strongly but still carving out a few good chances.

From the match’s beginning, Porto and Chelsea pushed each other to the brink, with neither team able to fully dominate. Following a back-and-forth run of play, the game started to get a bit choppy as tensions rose and there were numerous fouls. Then, with only a minute left, Porto snatched the win with a goal from Mehdi Taremi. However, it was too little too late, as there was no time left for Porto to score another. While it was only a consolation goal, it was a beautiful one, as a deep cross from Nanu found Taremi, who whipped the ball into the corner of the net with an outrageous bicycle kick.

While Chelsea lost on the day, they now find themselves in the Champions League semifinals, which is a considerable achievement for a team that was in such terrible form only five months ago. Problems persist up top with their summer signings, Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. However, manager Thomas Tuchel will find solstice in the fact that both Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic, who can operate as forwards, played wonderfully over these two legs.

Porto, on the other hand, ends their Champions League campaign here. While Porto fans will be upset it has come to a close, they will also be immensely proud of their team, who played some great football throughout the year and finished with their star striker scoring arguably the best goal of the Champions League this season so far.

Liverpool (England) 0-0 Real Madrid (Spain) – Real Madrid advance 3-1 on aggregate

In the other heavyweight matchup of this round, Real Madrid traveled to Liverpool, looking to defend their ephaptic 3-1 lead and fully aware that Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool has a record of historical comebacks.

Right from kick-off, Real Madrid found themselves with their backs against the wall as Liverpool besieged their goal. But given their lead, Real Madrid knew all they had to do was batten down the hatches and absorb the pressure while waiting for a counter opportunity if necessary.

Within the first few minutes, Mohamed Salah scuffed a shot in the box directly towards Thibaut Courtois in goal. Shortly after, James Milner’s floated shot forced Courtois into an excellent acrobatic save, conjuring flashbacks of his similar save against Neymar in the World Cup. Before the half ended, Liverpool had two golden chances on the right flank only a few minutes apart with shots from Georginio Wijnaldum and Salah again. But unfortunately for the Reds, Wijnaldum and Salah sent their shots flying over the bar. Real Madrid was not without their chances either, as a defensive mistake from Liverpool led Karim Benzema with a clear path to goal, but his low shot smacked off the post.

Into the second half, Liverpool was unable to match the energy of the first 45, and their confidence waned as Real Madrid’s lead became more and more content. And despite having 15 shots and 11 corners, Liverpool had nothing to show for it when the referee blew the final whistle, ending the match 0-0. Liverpool did not have a whole host of clear chances, but (similar to Bayern in the other match) they had more than enough to reverse the tie, yet the lack of clinical touch among their forwards let them down. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah were uncharacteristically hesitant in front of the goal, which ultimately was Liverpool’s issue today. While Liverpool has staged huge comebacks on the European stage against Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and even against Milan all those years ago, they were unable to repeat the feat today. Unlike PSG, who got revenge against Bayern, Liverpool could not avenge their loss to Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League Final.

Real Madrid did not play that great, but they did not need to as they did all the work in the first leg when they blew Liverpool away. While Real Madrid have experienced some inconsistent form this season and have not been all that memorable in terms of quality, they have a battle-hardened and fearless spine of the team, with players like Thibaut Courtois, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Casemiro and Karim Benzema, which can win you games nine times out of 10. Coming off their narrow win over Barcelona in El Clasico, Real Madrid are in the best form they have been in all season going into the Champions League semifinals.

Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 1-2 Manchester City (England) – Manchester City advance 4-2 on aggregate

While the 4-2 aggregate score may look like a straightforward win on paper, it was anything but in reality. In England, Man City came away with the win, but it was by the skin of their teeth, as an injury-time minute goal from Phil Foden was required to seal the win in match that saw Borussia Dortmund score a valuable away goal through Marco Reus. The return leg was more of the same.

Dormund is struggling to even remain in fifth place in the Bundesliga and will most likely not even qualify for the Champions League next season, yet they completely dominated Manchester City for the opening 20 minutes of the match. That was the same Man City who are top of the Premier League with an 11-point lead.

The keeper, Ederson, was forced into numerous saves. Still, after a striking run from Erling Haaland and a deflected shot from Mahmoud Dahoud, 17-year-old Englishman Jude Bellingham was able to curl the ball past the fingertips of Ederson and into the net, sending Dortmund up 1-0 and 2-2 on aggregate.

However, Dortmund had the away goals advantage. As it stood, Man City was on their way to yet another quarterfinal elimination. Shortly after, though, City were able to regain their shape and take control of the match, even though they were still in panic mode. From then on, the Citizens flexed their attacking muscles, bombarding the Dortmund net with shot after shot. But Dortmund keeper Marwin Hitz was having an outstanding performance, and nothing was going in. The first half ended 1-0, leaving Pep Guardiola a very nervous man.

Quickly after the restart, Man City were handed a lifeline after the referee ruled that the ball touched Emre Can’s arm in the box, meaning a penalty for the English side. While City have struggled with penalties in the past, there was no slip-up today as Riyad Mahrez cannoned the ball into the net, leaving Hitz no chance. From there on, City fans were able to slightly relax as they now held the lead again. Dortmund still did not back down, having a few close chances afterwards. With 15 minutes to go, Man City’s victory would be completely ensured, though, following a pinpoint near-post strike from Phil Foden—who once again stole victory away from Borussia Dortmund.

As Borussia Dortmund end their Champions League campaign, they hold their heads high knowing that they gave their all. For a team that experienced a managerial change midseason and have been subpar domestically, they played some exciting attacking football on the European stage with the likes of the Marco Reus, Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland (the latter of whom will definitely be the focus of endless transfer window drama this summer, as Dortmund will most likely not be playing in Champions League next season.)

Manchester City and Pep Guardiola have finally broke their quarterfinal curse, qualifying for the semifinals for the first time since 2016 and for the first time with Pep as their manager. Despite utterly dominating the English Premier League in the past few seasons, Man City have fallen short at this stage and failed even to make the semis, four seasons in a row. Their round of 16 elimination to Monaco in 2017 was somewhat excusable, given it was Pep’s first season and he was still sorting out the squad; Man City’s quarterfinals elimination at the hands of Liverpool and Tottenham in 2018 and 2019 respectively can be chalked up to unlucky VAR decisions. However, last season’s quarterfinals, when Man City were undone by Lyon (a much weaker opponent) raised some serious questions about both Pep and his players, which no doubt was in the back of their minds this time around, possibly explaining why Man City had such a hard time overcoming Borussia Dortmund.

Prior to this match, Man City were favorites to win the entire Champions League, and while they still obviously might, one has question the manner in which they just barely defeated Dortmund. But if Pep and the whole squad stay focused, there’s virtually nothing holding them back from winning everything in their path, including the first European crown in the club’s history.

The top tier club competition in European football, the UEFA Champions League is finally back yet again, this time with the much-anticipated Quarterfinals. With only eight teams left, this is usually the most exciting part of the season as we get closer and closer to crowning the king of Europe. Although this season seems to be particularly interesting as there appears to be no clear favorite. This midweek, all four matchups started off with their first leg, with the return match scheduled for next week.

Real Madrid (Spain) 3-1 Liverpool (England)

A rematch of the 2018 Champions League Final, Real Madrid welcomed Liverpool to the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, given that their normal venue, the Santiago Bernabeu, is currently being renovated. Both teams went into this game not at full strength; so far both sides have had subpar seasons by their high standards and they each had their own major injury crisis, specifically in defense. For example, both Real Madrid and Liverpool are arguably without their best players and most reliable center backs, Sergio Ramos and Virgil van Dijk, respectively. These two major absences at the back were evident in the match as both sides struggled defensively at moments. However, while Real Madrid looked vulnerable on occasion, they were by far the better team and they proficiently blew away Liverpool after yet another tactical masterclass from manager Zinedine Zidane.

Straight off from the referee’s whistle, Los Blancos dominated the match, especially in the midfield as the trustworthy trio of Luka Modric, Casemiro and Toni Kroos absolutely bossed their Liverpool counterparts. Kroos in particular had a match to remember, starting with his wonderful ball over the top which found Vinicius Junior in the first half. With expert ball control, Vini Jr. was able to slot the ball home, sending Real Madrid up 1-0. Shortly after, another long ball from Kroos and a terrible miss-pass from Liverpool’s fullback, Trent Alexander-Arnold, left Marco Asensio with a clear path to goal, to which he lightly dinked the ball over Liverpool’s keeper, Alisson.

When the second half started, Liverpool were motivated to get back in the game. With a series of desperate attacks, they forced the ball into the net after Mohamed Salah was able to steer in a deflected shot from Diogo Jota. Just as the momentum was swinging in Liverpool’s favor, Real Madrid killed the game off after a great build-up saw Modric set up Vinicius Jr. with a low cross, which he passed into the corner of the net. For a player who is often criticized for his poor finishing, Vinicius Jr. had a magnificent night in front of goal.

While the tie looked to be equal heading into this match, Real Madrid have a huge advantage heading into the second leg. However, this leg is by no means over as Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side are historically experienced when it comes to comebacks on the biggest stage.

Manchester City (England) 2-1 Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Billed as the best attack vs the best defense, Manchester City’s match against Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium was much closer than Pep Guardiola would have liked. Based on recent form, both teams are in very different positions as Man City won nine out of their last 10 matches in all competitions while Dortmund have only won five, losing their most recent match to Eintracht Frankfurt. Though the stats all pointed to a thrashing by Man City, Dortmund were definitely up to the task.

After Dortmund had a few close chances early on, Man City swept across their opponents half, carving apart their defense before Kevin De Bruyne easily opened the score with a side-footed shot. With City’s early goal, most thought it was only a matter of time before Man City puts Dortmund to the sword, but credit to them, they held on. Man City still dominated the match but Dortmund were always in it, and with only six minutes left, all their hard work paid off as slick holdup play from Erling Haaland and priceless experience from Marco Reus saw him curl the ball past City’s keeper, Ederson, for what would be only the second goal Manchester City conceded this entire tournament. But ultimately, the immense talent of the Citizens would prove an obstacle too large to overcome as the cross-field connection from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan led Phil Foden to smash home the winner with the clock reading 90 minutes.

While City were able to snatch the win at the 11th hour, Borussia Dortmund were no pushovers even though most expected this matchup to be a mostly straightforward affair. Manchester City are undoubtedly the better team and will likely advance but Dortmund still have the makings for an upset. Especially, when you consider that Man City have fumbled at this stage before, getting eliminated in the quarterfinals in the past three seasons by weaker opponents.

Bayern Munich (Germany) 2-3 Paris Saint-Germain (France)

In what was expected to be the headline matchup of the round, this game, which was a rematch of last year’s final, completely lived up to its expectations as football fans were treated to one of the best matches of the entire season. If Real Madrid vs Liverpool was two wounded giants facing off, Bayern Munich vs PSG was a heavyweight matchup between two superpowers at mostly full force. Going into this match, Bayern are arguably the best team in Europe, even if they aren’t reaching the heights of last season when they won the Champions League. PSG, on the other hand, have not had the most stable season, yet they possess a forward line littered with world-class talent in Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria among others. For PSG to have any chance, they would need a gargantuan performance from one of these players, which is what would ultimately happen.

As the snow came cascading down in Bavaria, Bayern and PSG played out an extremely exciting game, a perfect advertisement for this tournament as the action was truly end-to-end. After Bayern’s striker, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s header smacked off the crossbar, PSG instantly hit Bayern on the counter and a defense-splitting pass from Neymar found Mbappe wide open on the right flank. The Frenchman sent his shot flying straight at Bayern’s keeper, Manuel Neuer, but unfortunately for Neuer, he mishandled the shot and the ball slipped through his legs trickling into the goal. Bayern pushed forward but yet again, PSG were able to exploit their high line as another world-class pass from Neymar found the defender, Marquinhos, who stayed up-field after a set-piece. Failing to play the offside trap, Marquinhos was left one-on-one with Neuer, where the Brazilian defender calmly put his team up 2-0. Bayern were left shellshocked, their defense had crumbled under PSG’s speed and dynamic shock and awe tactics on the counterattack, leaving the manager, Hansi Flick to shuffle his cards and change formations.

The switch in formation and personnel had almost immediate results as a looping cross from Benjamin Pavard found Choupo-Moting who professionally drove the ball into the back of the net with his head, pulling Bayern right back into the game. From there on, the match was anyone’s for the taking; Bayern continued to relentlessly pressure PSG, but the Parisians still looked lethal on the counter. The second half resumed right where the first ended, but with 30 minutes left in the match, a wonderful set-piece delivery from Joshua Kimmich was headed in by Thomas Muller who tied the match 2-2. At this point, Bayern looked dominant and it looked very likely that they would inevitably take the lead. Yet before Bayern could achieve that, Mbappe marauded down the left side after he was released by Di Maria, finding himself running directly at Bayern’s center back, Jerome Boateng. With shades of Lionel Messi’s mortification of Boateng back in the 2015 Champions League, Mbappe faked a shot sending Boateng off-balance before slotting the ball behind his legs and towards goal. Neuer, who was also duped by Mbappe’s trickery, shifted all his weight to his left and had no time to react as he haplessly watched the ball roll past him and into the net. Just like that, PSG took a commanding lead in Bayern’s home stadium, a lead they would hold on to despite many desperate attempts from Bayern to equalize. 

Overall, PSG were able to beat Bayern because they played extremely smart, not to mention they did somewhat benefit from luck as well. PSG utilized their speed to expose Bayern’s defensive drawbacks and were very clinical. By the end of the match, PSG had six shots on goal with five of them being on target and three of them scoring. By comparison, Bayern had 31 shots, 12 on target, yet only two goals to show for it. Bayern as a whole did not play poorly by any means, as on any other day they would have scored many more, but their wingers were not nearly as sharp as usual and their whole defense was woeful at times. Bayern were extremely unlucky though, as their best player, and arguably the best player in the world last season, Robert Lewandowski, was out with injury. His replacement, Choupo-Moting, did an admirable job, but he isn’t Lewandowski; one suspects that the scoreline would have been very different if the Polish striker was in the lineup, especially with all the chances Bayern created.

As for PSG though, their star players showed up when they needed them most as Mbappe was on fire with both Neymar and Di Maria pulling the strings. In goal, Keylor Navas saved a plethora of shots, making save after save and proving why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

With this result, PSG are slight favorites to advance, but Bayern are far from out. One could easily see Bayern score a few goals and turn this tie around in the return leg. Bayern will also be extra motivated after seeing PSG crush Barcelona in the first leg of the Round of 16 in Spain, only for Barcelona to travel to PSG’s home stadium and thoroughly outplay them. If not for Navas, Barcelona would have eliminated PSG last round, and one would expect Bayern to be far more ruthless. So all is to play for next week.

Porto (Portugal) 0-2 Chelsea (England)

In the last matchup of this week, Chelsea traveled to Portugal to face Porto, the clear underdog in this round. Many expected Chelsea to eventually overcome Porto but everyone also knew that this would be no easy task as Porto are a well-drilled and resolute team. Underestimating them could be detrimental, just as Juventus found out last round. However, Chelsea entered this match coming off a surprise 5-2 loss to West Brom, and as Chelsea’s attackers continue to underperform, the idea of Porto being a potential banana skin loomed larger and larger.

With possibly some fear of capitulation in their minds, Chelsea started the match off with their backs against the wall as Porto took the game to their English opponents. With several dangerous set-pieces and shots from far, Porto really troubled Chelsea. However, towards the end of the first half, Jorginho found Mason Mount on the edge of the box, and with a beautiful turn and shot, Mount put Chelsea up 1-0 against the run of play. With this goal though, Chelsea slowly started to grow in power as the match went on. By the second half, Chelsea looked comfortable in their win, even as Porto still worked tirelessly to grab something from this match. Unfortunately for Porto, all their hard work would be for naught as Tecatito Corona feebly gave the ball away to Chelsea’s full-back, Ben Chilwell who was able to gallop towards goal, evade the sprawling hands of Porto’s keeper, Agustin Marchesin, and stab the ball into the net, finishing off the match in Chelsea’s favor.

While it was not easy, Chelsea got the job done and they welcome Porto to London next week, already one foot in the door of the semifinals. Although unlikely, it is still possible for Porto to make a comeback, so Chelsea would be wise to give their opponent the respect they deserve and keep their foot on the gas. Going forward, however, it should be concerning to manager, Thomas Tuchel, that in yet another game, his star attackers were very lackluster in front of goal. If Tuchel can get Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech in some consistent form while giving Christian Pulisic the game time he needs, Chelsea could be serious contenders for the Champions League this year.

It’s officially Sho Time in Anaheim, California, and for Angels fans. Native Japanese superstar, Shohei Ohtani, now in his fourth Major League season, has taken center stage to begin the 2021 season. In Game 4 of the season for the Angels, Ohtani made history by becoming the first pitcher to bat second in the lineup in 118 years. The Angels hope to use the 2018 Rookie of the Year as a two-way player this season, letting him start on the mound and hit at the top of the order. But will this experiment work?

I’m buying in on Angels manager Joe Maddon’s decision to implement this role for Ohtani. If game one of Sho Time was any indication, Ohtani can handle it. In just the first inning, he was showing every bit of potential. Even though it was only four games into the season, Ohtani let it loose on the first pitch he saw at the plate and promptly hit a home run at an exit velocity of 115.2 mph, the hardest-hit ball of the year, traveling 451 feet. Later, he threw the hardest pitch by a starting pitcher this season at 101.1 mph. Joe Maddon said it best when discussing how talented Ohtani is.

“That’s the complete baseball player — throws 100, hits it well over 100, hits it well over 400 feet. I mean that’s what we’ve been talking about. He just needed the opportunity to do it. …I think he felt liberated, he felt free. He was out there playing baseball,” Maddon said according to ESPN.

He may not have earned the win, but he had a solid outing before an error on a pickoff to first, a wild pitch, and an error on the throw down on a drop third strike tied the game. Ohtani still only allowed one earned run and two hits. That’ll do the job as a starting pitcher along with seven strikeouts. What won’t do the job is five walks, which he will have to reduce. A lot changes if he walked fewer batters. He threw 92 pitches through four and two-thirds innings; if he didn’t walk five batters, he probably could have lasted through five innings, maybe even six.

Of course, it’s only his first start of the season on the bump, there was going to be a little rust. The longer Ohtani can pitch throughout a game, the more successful this experiment will be. It means more at-bats for a solid big league hitter, fewer pinch-hitters that need to be used, and of course a more rested bullpen. It’s always important for pitchers to be efficient with how many pitches they throw, but it is even more critical for Ohtani and the Angels because of the role he serves.

Maddon by all indications has a lot of faith in Ohtani, and for an Angels club that is trying to return to the playoffs with Mike Trout, Ohtani’s two-way play will be essential. It’s no secret Ohtani is becoming a star in this league as he adds his name to the history books and his play will be an interesting watch throughout the season.

Drexel Women’s Lacrosse team currently stands at 9-1 for the current season, sporting their dominance in the CAA league. With just one loss to Loyola 12-17, the women have boasted nine wins against Leigh 19-17, Saint Joseph’s 13-12, Georgetown 21-9, Temple 19-11, Villanova 17-7, La Salle 17-9, UAlbany 15-10, Hofstra 19-8 and most recently a win against Navy 17-8. With just three of these matches being played at home on the Vidas Field, it is clear that the Dragons are not afraid to bring their game strong whether they are at home or away.

April 11’s match against Delaware has been canceled, so the Dragons will wrap up their season against Hofstra and Towson. Both of these matches will be played home at Vidas Field, on April 18 and 23. The ladies will be hoping to make the CAA semifinals held at Harrisonburg, Virginia on May 7, and the CAA finals on May 9. The Dragons are prepped and ready for the challenge with such a successful season already behind them.

The team’s successful season so far has already earned them recognition by the CAA. Sophomore midfielder Corrine Bednarik was named CAA Rookie of the Week for the week beginning April 5. She impressed the CAA on the field, scoring four goals and making two assists, leading to a career-high 6 points in the Dragons’ successful 19-8 campaign against Hofstra. On four occasions so far this season, she has scored three or more goals, making her a worthy recipient of CAA Rookie of the Week. Earlier in the season on March 30 Colleen Grady was named CAA Player of the Week. The senior from New Jersey was awarded for her performance against UAlbany, which the Dragons won 15-10. Her four goals and five assists made her fall just one point short of the Drexel record for points scored in a game. At the time of her award, she led the CAA points per game at 6.50. These impressive players come as no surprise when we look at such an already impressive season.

A final notable mention for the women’s lacrosse is their current ranking. As of March 8, the women’s team moved into the National Rankings. Their 5-0 season record at the time propelled them into the National Rankings where they currently stand at 16 with 69 points, just above Navy with 63 points. Three Dragons are ranked in the top five for goals and points: Colleen Grady, Karson Harris, and Lucy Schneidereith are proving themselves to be strong members of the team. Zoe Bennett leads the CAA ranks with an average of 10 saves per game. We are excited to see the Dragons back in action, so keep an eye out for their upcoming matches.