Jonathan Alfano Articles - Page 4

The New Jersey Devils were one of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season. After missing the playoffs four years in a row, the Devils broke out to finish third in the regular-season standings with 112 points, a 49-point increase from the season before. They then took out the arch-rival New York Rangers in […]

At the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night, the Utah Jazz began to see their decisions pay off. The Jazz tore down their roster last offseason, trading away Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and others. In return, they got a ton of future draft capital for years to come. This year’s draft marked the first time […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning have established themselves as one of the best teams in the NHL in recent years, appearing in three straight Stanley Cup Finals from 2020 to 2022 and winning two of them. However, that run of dominance did not continue this season. The 2022-23 season started well enough, but after the All-Star […]

It’s that time of year again as Madden NFL 24 is just around the corner. The official reveal of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen as the cover athlete came a few weeks ago, and on Wednesday, EA Sports released an official gameplay trailer showing off some new features. Additionally, several gaming outlets have had the […]

After months of rumors and speculation, the Arizona Cardinals released star receiver DeAndre Hopkins on May 26, leaving him free to sign with any team. Since his release, Hopkins has visited with the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots, and some signs are pointing to him signing with the latter team. As nothing is official […]

After months, if not years, of anticipation, the 2023 NBA Draft is finally almost here. With some of the fantastic talent on display, to say that this has been one of the most-anticipated drafts would just be scratching the surface. As the big night is just around the corner, here’s everything you need to know […]

The NHL offseason is officially off and running, and the trade stoves are burning hot. There are many trade candidates on the market, but one who may or may not be available is forward Anthony Duclair of the Florida Panthers. Duclair, 28, was excellent for the President’s Trophy-winning Panthers last season, as he had 31 […]

The NHL offseason is in full swing and the trade market is up and running. Some teams figure to be very active on the trade market, and the Philadelphia Flyers will likely be one of them, with Travis Konecny potentially on the move. The Flyers unveiled “new” uniforms Tuesday morning, but those won’t be the […]

The NHL offseason is now in full swing with the Stanley Cup Playoffs complete, and it’s shaping up to be an exciting time. Even before the entry draft and free agency in just over a week, trade talks have ramped up substantially in recent weeks. One of the most intriguing players in said trade talks […]

Following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL offseason is now in full swing. The 2023 NHL Draft and free agency are just a couple of weeks away, but before that, the trade stoves are burning hot. There are many trade targets on the market this offseason, one of them being Washington Capitals […]

The NHL offseason is officially here, and trade speculation is out in full force. Of all the trade targets around the league, San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson may be the most intriguing. After several injury-plagued seasons, Karlsson, 33, returned to elite form and then some this season. The Sharks star scored 25 goals and […]

With the NHL offseason officially upon us, the trade stoves have been burning hot already. There are many enticing trade targets available, and several of them come from the Winnipeg Jets, including star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Winnipeg’s exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs was ugly to say the least. The Jets lost in five games […]

With the SEC announcing each team’s opponents for the 2024 season on Wednesday night, the Texas Longhorns football team now know who they’ll be playing in their debut season in the conference. One thing is very clear from this schedule- they won’t have it easy as they switch conferences. The Longhorns drew some very tough […]

With the 2022-23 NHL season in the rearview mirror now, the offseason has officially begun. Rev up the stoves for the draft, free agency, and trade speculation, because everything is about to heat up. Many enticing trade targets are out there, with Ottawa Senators winger Alex DeBrincat being one of the most attractive options available. […]

With the Vegas Golden Knights claiming their first Stanley Cup in franchise history on Tuesday night, the 2022-23 NHL offseason has officially begun. As the draft hype, free agency speculation, and trade talks heat up, one of the teams at the center of the offseason will likely be the Winnipeg Jets and star Pierre-Luc Dubois. […]

The 2022-23 NHL season has officially come to a close with the Vegas Golden Knights winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. As the offseason officially begins, 31 other franchises now have the task of getting to Vegas’ level. And there’s no team that’s more true for than the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite Toronto […]

Compared to other teams, the Cleveland Browns were relatively quiet at the 2023 NFL Draft. There’s a good reason for that, though, as the Browns owed their first and second-round picks to the Houston Texans as part of the Deshaun Watson trade last year. Fortunately for the Browns, they didn’t desperately need those picks. Their […]

The New England Patriots haven’t had much success in the NFL Draft as of late, but they’re hoping to turn their fortunes around this time. For the most part, New England’s moves at the 2023 NFL Draft received praise from analysts across the league. The highlight of the draft came in the first round, when […]

For the first time in a long time, the Detroit Lions have serious expectations heading into a new season. Detroit went on an impressive run to close last season, winning eight of its final 10 games and nearly making the playoffs after a disastrous start. That strong stretch, plus some smart offseason acquisitions and other […]

After contending for titles with Tom Brady under center, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back to the drawing board in 2023. OK, maybe that’s not totally accurate. The Buccaneers still have a lot of players from their Super Bowl-winning team in 2020, and many of them are still thriving. On offense, there’s the receiver duo […]

The Washington Commanders seem to be in limbo right now, and not just with their ownership situation. Washington’s overall roster is solid enough, with some very good players on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Commanders have some solid weapons with Pro Bowl receiver Terry McLaurin leading the way. On defense, they boast […]

The Tennessee Titans are likely looking at a rough season in 2023. Last season started out well enough, but the Titans completely collapsed by losing their final seven games to miss the playoffs. This offseason hasn’t been great for them, either, as they arguably got worse on paper. Sporting an anemic offense featuring Derrick Henry […]

The Cincinnati Bengals are entering a huge year for their contending window in 2023. They’ve ascended to being one of the NFL’s elite teams, with deep playoff runs in each of the last two years. It’s just a matter of getting over the hump to finally win that elusive Super Bowl ring. With quarterback Joe […]

After several months, the saga surrounding the Minnesota Vikings and running back Dalvin Cook has finally come to an end. The Vikings released the star running back on Thursday morning, ending his time in Minnesota after six seasons. Now, Cook becomes one of the top players left on the free agent market. It wasn’t too […]

Is it fair to say that the New England Patriots are stuck in No Man’s Land right now? They’ve been… fine since Tom Brady left, even making the playoffs in 2021. However, that’s exactly the problem, they’re just decent. With their current roster, the Patriots are clearly a few steps away from competing for a […]

The Pittsburgh Steelers may be one of the trickiest teams to gauge heading into the 2023 NFL season. They absolutely have some strong talent, especially on defense with All-Pros in edge rusher T.J. Watt and safety Minkah Fitzpartick. They also closed last season on an impressive 7-2 run after the bye week, indicating that they […]

The Miami Dolphins feel like a team on the verge of breaking out. They’ve shown flashes of greatness, and there’s no doubt that they have the talent to make some serious noise this upcoming season. It’s just a matter of putting all the pieces together, which has proved difficult so far. The Dolphins have loads […]

Kelly Oubre Jr. should be an attractive player in NBA free agency this offseason. The former first-round pick is coming off a solid season for the Charlotte Hornets, averaging a career-high 20.4 points while playing 32.3 minutes per game. He played just 48 games due to injury, but aside from that, his season was a […]

In 2021, the Atlanta Hawks made an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Finals before coming up short against the eventual-champion Milwaukee Bucks. That run was impressive, no doubt, but it may have done more harm than good in the long run. It’s not a stretch to say that this run caused the Hawks to […]

The San Francisco 49ers are gearing up for another run at a Super Bowl in 2023. They’ve been very successful as of late, appearing in Super Bowl LIV in 2019 and making the NFC Championship Game in both 2021 and 2022. However, they are still looking to get over the hump and win their first […]

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are coming to an end, with just two teams now remaining. The Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers will face off in the Stanley Cup Final, with both teams looking for their first title. Aside from the Stanley Cup itself, the biggest question left is who will win the Conn Smythe […]

The Florida Panthers have become the NHL’s biggest story this postseason. Much like their NBA neighbors in the Miami Heat, the Panthers have overcome every obstacle in their way after nobody predicted them to do anything. After winning the President’s Trophy last season, Florida struggled throughout much of this season and were in severe danger […]

The basketball world was eagerly awaiting the start of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night when the coaching carousel stopped with a bombshell.  The Detroit Pistons had reportedly hired Money Williams, the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year, as their new head coach. What really blew everyone away was the massive contract Detroit used to […]

The Miami Heat have taken the NBA by storm throughout the 2023 NBA Playoffs. They lost their first Play-In Tournament game against the Atlanta Hawks, and nearly lost their second against the Chicago Bulls, which would’ve knocked them out of the playoffs entirely. They held on to claim the No. 8 seed in the Eastern […]

The last few seasons have been rough for the New England Patriots, and poor drafting has played a huge part in their struggles. They have whiffed on many of their recent picks, and it has led to them being a mediocre team in the post-Tom Brady era. After receiving high marks for their 2023 draft […]

The Florida Panthers have made it to the Stanley Cup Final, and now have a chance to cap off their historic run with a long-awaited championship. Before the playoffs started, no one expected the Panthers to go anywhere near as far as they have. They had an up and down regular season, and barely snuck […]

It’s looking like it’s back to basics for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023. The Bucs struggled immensely throughout much of last season, especially on offense, due to poor blocking and a historically bad running game. Even still, they somehow managed to make the playoffs thanks to how awful their division was. That may have […]

It wasn’t pretty at all,  but the Miami Heat got it done against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami, the eighth seed in the conference, stunned second-seeded Boston by jumping out to a 3-0 series lead. Then disaster struck as the Celtics won three straight, including an improbable buzzer-beater in Game 6, […]

The Chicago Cubs are a very weird team to evaluate this season. Yes, their record is poor at just 22-30, the fourth worst in baseball, but that doesn’t tell the full story. They are above average in most hitting stats, and even most of their pitching stats are just slightly below average or not terrible. […]