Rifkin’s Rift Tide – Page 37 – The Sports Insanity Network

Players To Watch/Under Pressure Eastern Conference Teams

By: Mike Rifkin As we enter the final two weeks of the NHL regular season we know the eight teams in the Eastern Conference. We do not know who will be playing who (Preview will be up before the playoffs begin) but here are players who need to have a good playoffs for their teamContinue reading “Players To Watch/Under Pressure Eastern Conference Teams”

Starting Strong

By: Mike Rifkin On Sunday David Peterson gave the Mets 4.1 innings of shutout baseball. The 4.1 shutout innings lowered the Mets starters ERA to a staggering 1.07 through 10 games. Peterson was making the start for Taijuan Walker who got hurt in his last start and manager Buck Showalter said he expects Walker toContinue reading “Starting Strong”

Quest For Perfection

By : Mike Rifkin Wednesday afternoon future Hall Of Famer Clayton Kershaw was pulled from his first start of the season after seven perfect innings and only threw 80 pitches against the Minnesota Twins. There have been 23 perfect games in the history of Major League Baseball with the last one by Felix Hernandez ofContinue reading “Quest For Perfection”

Tom Terrific

By : Mike Rifkin On Friday prior to the Mets home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks the Mets will unveil a statue of “The Franchise” Tom Seaver in front of Citi Field. Seaver was a member of the 1969 World Series Champion and 1973 National League Champion Mets teams. Seaver is the Mets all timeContinue reading “Tom Terrific”

Frank Vogel : Easy Scapegoat

By: Mike Rifkin The Lakers fired Frank Vogel on Monday after three seasons. The Lakers missed the playoffs and playin tournament this season with a record of 33-49. Vogel in his three seasons as the Lakers coach went 127-98 and won an NBA Championship in 2019-2020. Now Vogel was the easiest person to blame forContinue reading “Frank Vogel : Easy Scapegoat”

Back In The Playoffs

By : Mike Rifkin With their 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators the New York Rangers have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017. On February 8th 2018 the Rangers front office wrote a letter to the fan base explaining that the team was going to go through a full rebuild. Continue reading “Back In The Playoffs”

Huberdeau For The Hart

By : Mike Rifkin As we come down the stretch of the NHL season one of the most interesting debates is who should win the Hart Trophy as league MVP. There are cases to be made for a lot of players including Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers, Auston Matthews of the MapleContinue reading “Huberdeau For The Hart”

National League Preview

By : Mike Rifkin With the Baseball season getting started this week here is my preview for the National League. NL EAST 5) Nationals – The Nationals offensively have Juan Soto and signed Nelson Cruz this offseason but outside of that it’s not a great lineup. Pitching wise they need Stephen Strausburg to stay healthyContinue reading “National League Preview”

American League Preview

By : Mike Rifkin With Major League Baseball ready to get started on Thursday here is my preview and predictions on each division in the American League. AL EAST 5) Orioles – Baseball America ranks the Orioles with the fourth best farm system in MLB. Once they get to the big leagues they would joinContinue reading “American League Preview”

Pressure On Bob

By : Mike Rifkin With their victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday the Florida Panthers were the first team in the NHL to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Panthers have made the playoffs for the third consecutive season, but the team has not won a playoff series since 1996 whereContinue reading “Pressure On Bob”