2022 NFL MOCK DRAFT

By : Mike Rifkin

Draft season is upon us and here is how I see the first round going down.

  1. Jaguars – Aidan Hutchinson – DE Michigan : Hutchinson is the best player in this draft according to everyone. Pairing him with Josh Allen can give the Jags a dynamic duo rushing the passer.
  2. Lions –  Kayvon Thibodeaux – DE – Oregon : Lions could go a lot of different directions here including trade down but they get the Oregon defensive end with high upside
  3. Texans – Ickey Ekwonu – OT NC ST – Houston like Detroit could go in a lot of different directions. Here they take Ekwonu and protect Davis Mills. 
  4. Jets – Ahmad Gardener -CB – Cincinnati – fills a need for the first of two Jets top 10 picks. 
  5. Giants Evan Neal – OT – Alabama – Things could change if Gardener were to be here. But the Giants have a lot of questions along the offensive line. 
  6. Panthers Charles Cross – OT – Mississippi ST – YES the Panthers need a QB but trading for either Jimmy Garropolo or Baker Mayfield makes more sense. Cross gives them a tackle they could really use.
  7. Giants – Jermaine Johnson – EDGE – FSU – A lot depends on what the Giants do at 5, but at some point the Giants need to address the pass rush that had 34 sacks last season.
  8. TRADE : Commanders : Kyle Hamilton Safety – Notre Dame – Atlanta gets multiple picks for their rebuild (which was desperately needed) Washington takes the best safety in the draft to replace Landon Collins who they released earlier this offseason. Also could be a spot where a team looking to add a receiver could move up into this pick.
  9. Seahawks : Malik Willis : QB : Liberty – Willis is a dual threat quarterback who could be the long term solution after Seattle traded Russel Wilson.
  10.  Jets : Garrett Wilson : WR : Ohio State – good speed and good route runner should help the development of Zach Wilson.
  11.  Falcons : Travon Walker : DL : Georgia – Falcons need to address pass rusher after finishing last in the NFL in sacks with 18 a year ago. Walker didn’t have great numbers at Georgia but was heavily involved on the best defense in the country.
  12.  Vikings : Derek Stingley Jr.: CB LSU: When LSU won the National Championship Stingley was sensational. The past couple of years he hasn’t but pairing him with another LSU alumni Patrick Peterson could be what the doctor ordered.
  13.  Texans : Trent Mcduffie : CB : Washington : Mcduffie isn’t a long cornerback but he is very good at everything and can help that Lovie Smith Defense.
  14.  Ravens : Jordan Davis : DT Georgia: Not going to lie this would be my favorite pick of the first round. Watch Davis highlights from the combine and he was in the middle of that great Georgia defense.
  15.  Eagles : Drake London – WR USC : Jalen Hurts was inconsistent at times last year but he definitely needs more weapons London gives him a target with size.
  16. Saints : Trevor Penning : OT : Northern Iowa : Terron Armstead left for Miami. Penning has high upside and played both tackle spots on the offensive line.
  17.  Chargers : Chris Olave – WR -Ohio ST: Keenan Allen will be 30 soon and Olave is very similar to Allen, great footwork and excellent route runner and gives Justin Herbert another weapon.
  18.  Eagles – Andrew Booth – CB – Clemson – Booth is a very good corner who will learn a lot playing with All Pro Darius Slay on an Eagles secondary that needs help.
  19.  Saints – Desmond Ridder – QB -Cincinnati : The Saints usher in their next franchise qb they hope. All Ridder did at Cincinnati was win. Once Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton are ready to pass the torch Ridder will be ready.
  20.  Steelers – Matt Corral – QB – Ole Miss – Steelers signed Mitch Trubisky this offseason but they should draft any QB remaining here. All of them give them mobility which is something Mike Tomlin said he wanted. 
  21.  Trade : Lions : Kenny Pickett : QB : Pittsburgh: The Lions want in on the quarterback fun and trade with New England to acquire Pickett. Pickett could give Jared Goff a run for his money as starting qb.
  22. Packers : Treylon Burks – WR- Arkansas : Packers need to address receiver after trading Davante Adams and losing Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency. Burks is big and fast and possess great hands. Just watch the Alabama game.
  23.  Cardinals – Zion Johnson – OL – Boston College : If the Cardinals are going to pay Kyler Murray the money they want him, Johnson can be very helpful in protecting Murray, on the interior of the Offensive line.
  24. Cowboys  –  Kenyon Green – OL – Texas A&M – Tyron Smith is getting older and hasn’t played a full season since 2015. Connor Williams left for Miami so Dallas bolsters their offensive line.
  25.  Bills – Kyler Gordon – CB – Washington – The Bills have a need at corner right now and Gordon possesses great athletic ability and is versatile enough to play outside or nickel.
  26.  Titans- Tyler Linderbaum – Center – Iowa : Ben Jones has an out in his contract after the season and is 33 years old. Linderbaum is the best center in the draft and is extremely effective in run blocking which would help Derrick Henry. 
  27.  Bucs – Kaiir Elam – CB – Florida –  Tom Brady is back for the Bucs. Elam gives the Bucs depth at corner they need with three corners up after the season and Todd Bowles can get the most out of Elam who is extremely talented.
  28.  Packers : George Karlaftis – Edge – Purdue : The Packers need to replace Za’darius Smith who left for Minnesota. Karlaftis has a great motor but needs to work on his run defense. 
  29. Chiefs – Jahan Dotson WR- Penn State –  This is the pick the Chiefs got when they traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins ( couldn’t help myself). I am not saying Dotson will be Hill but he is fast and has great catch and run ability for the Chiefs offense.
  30. Chiefs – Daxton Hill – Safety – Michigan : Hill can play either Safety or corner and the Chiefs need bodies in their secondary. 
  31. Bengals – Perrion Winfrey – DT – Oklahoma – Larry Ogunjobi is still unsigned. Winfrey can create chaos in the middle of a Bengal defense that almost won the Super Bowl. 
  32. Patriots – Devin Lloyd – Linebacker – Utah – This is the pick Detroit moved up to get Kenny Pickett. Lloyd can play multiple linebacker positions. He is a very good tackler who can also rush the passer. Kind of feels like a Patriot.

TWIW – This Week In Wrestling (4/18 – 4/22)

By Jeff Knapp

Tony Khan’s Big Announcement on Wednesday during Dynamite, to me was the biggest story of the week. Although Tony and the NJPW’s President, Takami Ohbari were out there to make the announcement, Adam Cole interrupted and made the announcement for them.

On June 26, 2022, AEW and NJPW will co-promote a show named “The Forbidden Door.” This brings out the current leader of the Bullet Club leader, “Switchblade” Jay White who boasts about selling out Madison Square Garden by himself and that the Bullet Club is ready for a new era.

Speaking of AEW, Tony Khan mentioned that the upcoming AEW video game coming to Playstation and Xbox will be called AEW: Fight Forever

It appears that Kushida is no longer with NXT & WWE. No word on the reason, but his pushed came to a stop once NXT transitioned to 2.0

Jack Evan’s AEW contract is set to expire at the end of April and all signs point to the fact that he will not be re-signed. He formed a fun and excited tag team with Angelico back as far as Lucha Underground. Best of luck to Jack

Lately there has been some IWC uproar over the name changes to current roster member, including Pete Dunne to Butch, Raquel Gonzalez to Raquel Rodriguez, Austin Theory to Theory and WALTER to Gunther. It looks like VKM sent out a memo stating that he doesn’t want talent using their real names or using the names that they used in the indies. With that said, Walter, Austin, Pete and Gonzalez were all their real names. This rule isn’t enforced entirely, with the likes of Brock, Rhonda, Randy and Cody for instance. We will see about Gable Steveson.

Speaking of name changes, Kacy Catanzaro will now be known as Katana Chance I’m guessing for the reason above.

D’Lo Brown made a hysterical comment this week saying, “From the Knockouts World Champ to even people we bring in to get looked at, the absolute talent level that we have in that Knockouts division is better than any out there.” “They’re all willing to go out there and prove they’re the best and help each other become the best. So that’s what I mean. It’s awesome.”

“I mean, you can put their names in a hat, pick two of them, and they’re going to have a great match. You can’t do that anywhere else in the world with a woman’s division. So, I think top to bottom, just talent describes everyone, and that’s what makes us far superior, and they all want to be the best.”

No offense to the women of Impact, but the depth of the roster isn’t deep at all.

This weekend is the Impact Rebellion PPV and with some of the shortcomings of Impact, the Main Event of the show should be a really great one. Josh Alexander will face Moose for the World title in what is one of the best long-standing feuds in all of pro wrestling.

WWE – RAW

This week we saw the wedding of Akira Tozawa to Tamina and Dana Brooke to Reggie. Thankfully R-Truth was there to save the segment.

We also witnessed Rhea Ripley turning on Liv Morgan after Liv gets pinned in a tag match against Sasha and Naomi,

Austin Theory, now just going by Theory, won the WWE United States Championship when he pinned Finn Balor and the main event saw Cody get a count out win over Kevin Owen when he walked out after Seth Rollins called him fat.

NXT

Former ROH Women’s Champion Roc-C made here debut at Roxanne Perez and defeated Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attraction when Wendy Choo distracted Jacy

In the main event, Pretty Deadly retained their NXT Tag Team Titles when they defeated Dexter Lumis & Duke Hudson.

It also appears that Tony D’Angelo has wise guys joining his new stable. No name yet, but what about the gabagools?

AEW – DYNAMITE

CM Punk continues his undefeated streak continue by defeating Dustin Rhodes

Wheeler Yuta tags for the 1st time with Moxley and Danielson and pick up a victory over Lee Moriarty, Brock Anderson and Dante Martin. Yuta is on his way. I was impressed with him when I 1st saw him a while back in MLW

We witness Kyle O’Reilly qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament when he defeated Jungle Boy Jack Perry

Hook made his Dynamite debut and finished off Anthony Henry in quick fashion

Danhausen requests a match with Hook when his curses have no effect on him. Funny stuff

Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Qualifier

Britt Baker qualifies for the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament when she submits Danielle Kamela quickly

IMPACT

This is the go home show for the upcoming Impact PPV, Rebellion in Poughkeepise, NY.

This week’s show was at the 2300 Arena in Philly, but known to older guys like me, as the ECW Arena, and speaking of ECW, Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke made an appearance against the Major Players, Cardona, Myers and Greene. The FBI get attacked, but W. Morrisey and Jordynne Grace make the save.

In what was a 1st for Impact, we had an 8-man tag between the Bullet Club (Good Brothers, Chris Bey and “Switchblade” Jay White) and Honor No More (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Vincent and Kenny King) in which Bennett fell victim to the Magic Killer.

WWE – SMACKDOWN

There was a contract signing for the “I Quit” match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship between Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey which, like all contract signings ends in bedlam.

Pete Dunne, I mean Butch continues to lose his cool, this time after a loss to King Woods.

In leading up the tag title unification match at Backlash, Jey Uso loses to Riddle, which doesn’t sit well with Roman Reigns.

Angel Garza is another wrestler who loses his name and is just Angel, and not only loses his name, but he also loses to Madcap Moss, who looks like they are starting to give a push to, and to an eventual match against Corbin

Sami Zayn was about to face Drew in a Lumberjack match, but runs away. He doesn’t get too far when WWE official Adam Pierce announces that they will wrestle in a steel cage next week.

AEW – RAMPAGE

In an Owen Hart Foundation Tournament qualifying match Adam Cole defeated NJPW’s Tomohiro Ishii after some distraction from “Switchblade” Jay White.

Danhausen gets Hook’s attention, while Danhausen tries to pass as a vendor salesman

In the main event the 29-0 TBS Women’s Champion, Jade Cargill retained her championship in her hardest matchup to date when she defeated Marina Shafir to go to 30-0.

Will Marina get a rematch sooner rather than later? Who will be the one to humble the champion? Could Jade go undefeated in 2022?

The Great Eight Hits 50 Again

By: Mike Rifkin

In Wednesday’s loss to the Golden Knights, Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin scored twice giving him 50 on the season. It is the ninth time in Ovechkin’s career that he has reached the 50 goal mark, the only other two players in NHL history to have achieved this were Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy.  With Ovechkin hitting 50 he is now 114 goals behind Wayne Gretzky’s all time mark of 894 and 21 behind Gordie Howe. Outside of last season where he had 24 Ovechkin had hit the 30 goal mark since he came into the NHL in 2005-06 season. It is truly remarkable the season Ovechkin is having at age 36. If Ovechkin can stay healthy which he has for most of his career he will break Gretzky’s record but appreciate the greatness while it is still going strong. Ovechkin and his Capitals will be looking to capture their second Stanley Cup. 

New Faces Shining Bright In Queens

By : Mike Rifkin

Currently the New York Mets own the best record in MLB at 9-3. Yesterday the Mets swept a doubleheader from the San Francisco Giants and a big reason why is the new guys they brought in during the offseason. 

In game two of the doubleheader Max Scherzer made his Citi Field debut and it was as advertised. Scherzer, who signed a three year 130 million dollar contract, had a no-hitter into the sixth inning and wound up giving up one run in seven innings with 10 strikeouts. Scherzer is now 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA and has 23 strikeouts in 18 innings of work. 

The Mets other big addition to the rotation Chris Bassitt will get the start tonight against San Francisco. Bassitt so far is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and has 14 strikeouts in 12 innings. But the biggest thing about Scherzer and Bassitt is that they are talking to the other starting pitchers and showing them how to pitch. So far the rotation has been really good even though Jacob deGrom has not pitched yet. 

The Mets offense also got revamped this offseason. Starling Marte was given the longest contract by the team this offseason at four years and 78 million dollars. Early on Marte is hitting .239 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Marte does have a .300 on base percentage, .391 slugging percentage, and .691 OPS. Marte gives the Mets the element of speed as he already has three stolen bases and if you watch the first inning of game one yesterday he manufactures the Mets first run by hitting a single, stealing second, advancing to third on a bad throw and scoring on a wild pitch. The Mets haven’t had that element at the top of the lineup since Jose Reyes. Marte also has played a good right field. Eduardo Escobar signed a two year 20 million dollar contract to play third base. Escobar who had a key two run double in the game two victory yesterday is hitting .289 and has 4 RBI. Escobar has .438 on base percentage, .500 slugging percentage and a .938 OPS. Escobar has already drawn 10 walks in 11 games played, his career high for walks is 50. Mark Canha who is currently on the Covid list was off to a good start as well. Canha is hitting .381 with three RBI and has .500 On base percentage, .381 slugging percentage, and .881 OPS. The Mets offense has come up big with two outs and runners in scoring position posting a slash line of .362/.474/.575. The offense also leads the league in stolen bases on base percentage and tied with the Dodgers in runs scored. 

But the biggest addition the Mets made this offseason was manager Buck Showalter. Showalter leads by example every time a Met player has been hit by a pitch (feels like one per game) Buck is on the top step of the dugout ready to go. Buck has been around the game a long time and is very smart just watch the play on Sunday having JD Davis steal second base on an appeal play. 

I know we are only 12 games into the season and a lot can happen between now and October but the Mets look really good and a big reason why are the new additions that they made during the offseason.

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 team to make a run during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Metropolitan

Hurricanes : Frederik Andersen : The Hurricanes signed Andersen to a one year contract and Andersen has rewarded them with a tremendous season. Andersen is top ten in wins, goals against average, save percentage and shutouts. With the Leafs Andersen never made it out of the first round and he at times was criticized whether right or wrong for not coming up with a key save. This year there are no excuses. This is a very good and deep Hurricanes team and they need their goalie who has had a Vezina finalist season to be very good. If Andersen has a good playoff run two things could happen first could get a massive payday this offseason and two the notion of what happened in Toronto will no longer be addressed. Note Andersen is week to week with a lower body injury. 

Rangers :  Alexis Lafreniere : I could go with a number of players here as there are many Rangers who have not played in a playoff series. The Rangers additions of Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano have solidified the top two lines. If Lafreniere, who has really had a nice second season can give the Rangers a third line that can also produce offensively the Rangers can be a tough out. 

Penguins : Rickard Rakell : The Pittsburgh Penguins have not won a playoff series since 2018. Rakell was acquired at the trade deadline to boost the Penguins offense and since being acquired he has three goals and 10 points in 14 games played. Rakell in the playoffs has 11 goals and 19 points in 46 games. 

Capitals : Ilya Samsonov/ Vitek Vanecek: Good goaltending is very important in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The duo of Samsonov and Vanecek in DC has been inconsistent to say the least. Samsonov is 23-10-4 with a 2.97 goals against average and an .898 save percentage. Vanecek is 19-11-5 with a 2.67 goals against average and .909 save percentage and both goalies have produced three shutouts. Samsonov in last year’s playoffs went 0-3-0 with a 2.99 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. This could be a real prove it moment for both goalies, if they struggle expect GM Brian MacLellan to address goaltending this offseason.

Atlantic 

Panthers : Sergei Bobrovsky : I don’t believe there is a player under more pressure this playoff than Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky so far this season has a record of 33-6-3 with a 2.64 goals against average a.914 save percentage and three shutouts. Bobrovsky, a two time Vezina Trophy winner has struggled in the playoffs with a 13-23 record, 3.24 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. In his two playoffs with the Panthers Bobrovsky has a 2-5 record 3.80 goals against average and .880 save percentage. With Spencer Knight ready to take over the net it is very important for Bob to have a good playoff run not only for himself but because the Panthers are good enough to win the Stanley Cup. 

Maple Leafs : John Taveras : Bobrovsky might be the player feeling the most heat, but one of the teams feeling the pressure has to be the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto has not won a playoff series since 2004 and in the process have blown multiple 3-1 series leads. Since signing with the Leafs, Taveras has four goals and eight points. Last year in the playoffs Taveras got hurt. If the Leafs lose in the first round again there will be some changes.

Lightning : Alex Killorn : The real X-factor for the two time defending Stanley Cup Champions is fatigue, they have played a lot of hockey over the past year and a half. But if I am picking a player it’s Killorn who in the two cup runs has 13 goals and 27 points and in his playoff career has 34 goals and 68 points. As skillful as the Lightning are, you need to get to the dirty areas of the ice and Killorn does it as well as anybody. 

Bruins : Erik Haula : When David Krejci returned to the Czech Republic the Bruins didn’t know what to do at their second line center. They tried a lot of different players there and eventually Erik Haula stepped up. Haula has 15 goals and 39 points this season. Haula in his playoff career has 11 goals and 27 points in 54 games played.

Now there are others who are going to have to step up in order for their team to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but these are definitely eight players to keep an eye on once the playoffs begin.

COWBOYS DRAFT THOUGHTS

By Mark Halpern

With less than 2 weeks before the NFL draft begins, the rumors are flying all over. The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a disappointing season that ended in the Wild Card round against the 49ers. The Cowboys didn’t do much of anything during the off-season because of salary cap issues. They have since corrected the salary cap issue by trading wide receiver Amari Cooper to Cleveland for basically nothing to dump his 20-million-dollar contract, reworked Demarcus Lawrence’s contract, Zack Martian’s contract to help free up money. They also didn’t resign a few players from last year that should have been here, such as Keanu Neal. However, you shouldn’t cry over spilled milk and move on.

     The question burning in everyone’s mind is what is going on in the minds of the Joneses. We have seen them have lousy luck with free agents in the past, and could that have something to do with it? Maybe but we have seen this erratic behavior from this family before. The Cowboys need to fill many holes on their team, especially in the offensive line market. The Cowboys have the 24th pick in the first round, and there are significant rumors that Dallas has been in contact with the New York Jets about their #10 pick. Trading up would be a gutsy move as it will cost them extra in the long run. The Jets are said to want a second-round pick and another second-round pick next year, and that’s a lot. If Jerry or Stephen can make a deal to do this, then the offensive lineman that they want will be there.

   If that were the only position Dallas needs to fill, that would be fine, but they need to replace holes on the defensive line that was left vacant by Randy Gregory when he went to Denver, Wide Reciever, and Line Backer. We can feel safe about our secondary because it’s just that good.

   Suppose I am Jones in this situation and haven’t been able to replace anything in free agency. In that case, this rumor of a trade with the Jets is exciting, and they would be targeting an Offensive Lineman if a trade can get done.

METS LINEUP FULL OF SURPRISES

By Mark Halpern

The New York Mets have had a great rotation to start the season (Please Read Mike Rifken’s recent post on our blogs that covers this), but the Mets lineup has been burning and turning. Usually throughout the first two weeks of the season you see lopsided stats cause some teams take longer to get going. So batting averages usually favor mostly all-stars, and then the rest of the team is everywhere. In the case of the New York Mets every player that has had a chance to start has produced.

    Last year the Mets made a massive splash by trading for Francisco Lindor and signing him to a vast 10-year contract. In his first year in New York, we saw a shell of the player he was in Cleveland. He dealt with injuries and other adjustment problems that caused his offensive output to be below subpar. However, this year you can see he is a much different player. He has started very hot, batting .273 with 3HR 7RBI’s and 2SB.  His defense last year was the one thing that was constant from when he came to the Mets. This year he seems to have more energy and looks healthier and is starting to look like the player Steve Cohen wanted in New York.

   Pete “Polar Bear” Alonso is off to the hottest starts of any Mets player. With Pete either playing first base (which he prefers) or he is the designated hitter, his bat is doing the talking. He currently leads the major leagues with 14RBI’s in the first two weeks. His glove has been impeccable and definitely improved from last year. Anytime the ball hits his bat, you can hear the polar bear growl.

   The Mets weren’t playing around in Free Agency and got one of the most coveted outfielders out there in Starling Marte. He has had no problem adjusting to New York Baseball as he has come out hot, batting .270 2HR and 10RBI’s. He is fearless in the outfield and has proved that no ball is uncatchable.

   One of the players I was pulling for has come out and has proved that last year’s injury is behind him, and that is Jeff McNeil. Currently, McNeil is batting .344 with 1HR and 4RBI’s. His start is far better than his out-put last year, and I understood the rumors to trade him over the offseason with an entire team, but I am so happy they decided to keep him, and he has been a pleasant surprise. My expectations for him are .285 15HR 65RBI’s would be beautiful. His play in the field, whether it is in the outfield or at second, is doing better than anticipated.

   Other players who have been a pleasant surprise to this powerful lineup are.

    Mark Canha, who is batting .381 with 3RBI but is currently on Covid protocols and they can’t wait his return.

    Brandon Nimmo, whose smile and energy lights up Citi Field, is batting .333 2HR 2RBI, but his key stat is 4BB. I love watching him track pitches as they come in, and when he walks, he sprints to first.

    Eduardo Escobar, who has gotten off to a slow start but has been picking it up lately, has 5 doubles on the season and his speed on the base paths has been a significant upgrade for this Mets lineup.

    Travis Jankowski has proved that his glove is not the only reason they got him. He has only had 12 at-bats this year but has 5 hits. He runs well on the base paths, and if I were to compare him to a player, he reminds me of Juan Lagares a little, with his determination to take every chance given to him and make the best of it.

    I think this Mets lineup is not only scary but is the best lineup in baseball.  This Mets lineup is not going to break records but rather shatter them and that’s how the old man sees it.

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 to make a rehab start sometime this week. 

The Mets have yet to receive a start from ace Jacob deGrom who is dealing with a stress reaction in his right scapula. deGrom said before Friday’s home opener that he expects to get an MRI in the next 10 days. In 2021 deGrom only made 15 starts due to various injuries to his back and forearm. Prior to the injury deGrom was dominating with a 1.08 ERA and in 92.0 innings deGrom had 146 strikeouts and 11 walks, which made his strikeout to walk ratio 13.3. 

In deGrom’s absence somebody had to step up and through two starts Tylor Megill has stepped up massively. Megill, who got the opening day start for the Mets and will start Monday against the Giants, has not given up a run in his first two starts. Megill made 18 starts last season and went 4-6 with a 4.52 ERA in 18 starts. Megill last year had 99 strikeouts and 27 walks in 89.2 innings. Through two starts this season Megill has 11 strikeouts through 10.1 innings and has not walked a single hitter yet. 

With deGrom’s health a question mark, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman leaving in free agency the Mets front office had to go out and get some starting pitching. The first move they made was signing three time CY Young award winner Max Scherzer to a three year contract. Scherzer is 2-0 so far on the season with a 3.27 ERA, which is the highest on the Mets staff so far. Scherzer has 13 strikeouts and four walks in 11 innings. 

The Mets also made a trade with the Athletics to acquire 2021 All Star Chris Bassitt for two minor leaguers. Bassitt so far is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA. Bassitt has 14 strikeouts and three walks in 12.0 innings. But both Bassitt and Scherzer have been showed in the dugout showing other starters’ things on the IPad. But both also bring an old school mentality especially Scherzer who hasn’t had his best stuff in his first two starts but he knows how to pitch and that is what both of these guys have shown through two starts. 

But the most welcome surprise from the rotation has to be what the Mets have gotten so far from Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco, who was acquired in the Francisco Lindor trade, struggled in his first season in Flushing. Carrasco had a hamstring injury that kept him out most of the first half of the season,  Carrasco went 1-5 with a 6.04 ERA in 12 starts last season. He had work done on his Elbow and has really been good in his first two starts. In my opinion Carrasco is the key to this rotation. You expect Scherzer to be Scherzer and hope eventually deGrom can come back healthy. But to have a top four of deGrom, Scherzer, Bassitt and Carrasco would be something for a team with high expectations.

Do I think the Mets will pitch to a 1.07 starter’s ERA all season? No, but if they stay healthy they can give the Mets a chance to win any game. This staff will get better with the returns of deGrom and Walker but right now the Mets starting rotation has been sensational for a team that has some lofty expectations.

TWIW – This Week In Wrestling (4/11/22 – 4/15/22)

By : Jeff Knapp

WWE – RAW

Cody had his 1st match on Raw in 6 years. It was against The Miz. Now before the match, Cody was a guest on MizTV. I’m not sure if the Miz was told to correct Cody when he used the terms “Wrestler” and Championship “Belt” or if that was Miz thinking on his feet as a heel and having to correct him. I applaud the Miz if he corrected Cody due to being a heel and thinking on his feet like that. 

That segment also leads us into finding out that Backlash will give us Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins 2, which will be another amazing match

Bianca Belair found out that her next opponent will be WWE “official” Sonya Deville. I’m a huge fan of Sonya and with this power trip she’s on, I’m curious to where this goes. Bianca is one of the greatest athletes, male or female the WWE has and think this could be a great match.

We learned that former NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa is now an official member of Raw. I’m happy that his name hasn’t changed like the last few NXT wrestler’s name have IE: “Butch”. I’ve been a fan of his since his ROH days, and since we all know how things can go on the Raw and Smackdown rosters, I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. His official introduction to Raw with Ezekial and Owens, was kind of a comedy bit, so we will see.

We also learned the reason why MVP turned on The Almighty Bobby Lashley, and it seems like there will be a rematch between Lashley and Omos at Backlash.

Austin Theory will now be known as Theory. 

Finally, after the Usos defeated the Street Profits, that they will take on RK-Bro (at Backlash I would guess) to unify the 2 Tag Team titles. It also sounds like the main championship will be called the WWE unified universal title, or something like that. 

NXT 2.0

It appears that after Grimes defeated solo to retain the NXT North American Championship that Carmelo Hayes has his sights set on regaining the title. When that happens will Grimes take it to the moon or willHayes not miss when he takes his shot?

We see that Gacy is continuing to goat Breakker and burn his father’s HOF ring. Gacy seems to change his character a little. Going from a “woke” style of character to more of a cult leader type. I’m actually interested in the transformation and where it’s going.

Von Wagner and Ikemen Jiro had a match and I could care less. Von threw Ikemen into the crowd, but Bam Bam did it better in ECW to Spike Dudley. 

We see an escalation in the feud between Nakkita Lyons and Lash Legend. Not sure how this will go, but when Lyons is on the screen, she has my full attention. 

Mandy Rose had another successful title defense against Dakota Kai. Toxic Attraction is doing anything they can to keep the gold. Mandy has been getting better than ever since going to NXT. It’s just a matter of time before she goes back to Raw or Smackdown and becomes another Finn Balor.

Finally, the night ended with a NXT Tag Team Championship Gauntlet Match featuring Grayson Waller & Sanga vs Legado Del Fantasma vs the Creed Brothers vs Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen vs Pretty Deadly, who just arrived from NXT-UK. The titles were on the line due to MSK having to vacate the championship. The newly arrived Pretty Deadly picked up the victory when Prince pinned Brutus.

AEW – DYNAMITE

Once again AEW starts the show off with a great match. This week was CM Punk vs Penta Oscuro (spanish for dark). Solid match that saw Punk connect with the GTS for the 1-2-3.

After seeing 2pointO getting taken out on sight by Eddie Kingston, we go back to the ring for an amazing tag team title match between reDRagon and Jurrasic Express. Although Perry got the pin on Fish, RD attacked them from behind with chairs and left until FTR came out and showed off their gold. Will we see FTR vs reDRagon or J.E. ?

Although the brackets for the Owen Hart Foundation tournament hasn’t been formed yet, we do find out that Jamie Hayter will face Toni Storm in the opening round.

I just can’t go a week without saying how much I appreciate MJF

During MJF’s match Wardlow comes out and is attacked by every member of the security staff, but during this MJF is counted out and loses to Shawn Dean again.

Maliki Black has a cryptic message for the AEW

We got the 1st in ring confrontation between Ediie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz vs the JAS which saw Daniel Garcia get the pin on Kingston after Jericho nailed Kingston in the back with a pipe.

We also get MJF to use Wardlow’s contract to set up a match between him and the Butcher for next week.

I’m excited to see when and where Marina Shafir gets her hands on the undefeated Jade Gargill after her quick match against Skye Blue

In what was a great tag team match between Swerve & Keith Lee and Starks & Hobbs, Team Taz picks up the win when Taz gets involved allowing Hobbs to pin Lee. I still can’t get over how big Hobbs is, but when Lee gets in there, you see just how massive Keith Lee really is. 

We also see the set up for Thunder Rosa vs Nyla Rose at Battle of the Belts. I’m a huge Thunder Rosa fan, so I’m hoping she retain the championship and keeps it for a long time.

The main event gave us Minoru Suzuki defending is ROH Television title vs Samoa Joe. After 20 minutes of chops, they get things going and give us the best match of the week so far. Joe nails the Muscle Buster and get the 1-2-3 and is the NEW ROH television champion, but the celebration doesn’t last when Satnam Singh attacked him from behind. Satnam was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2015 draft.

IMPACT

From the 2300 Arena in Philly, aka the ECW Arena, W. Morrisey comes out and thanks everybody for their support during his hard times and is clean and sober.

The major players get involved and take out Morrisey. The major players consist on Brian Myers, Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green. The one thing that baffles me is that Impact makes no mention that Matt is the NWA Worlds Champion but talk about the digital media champion, which is the oddest title in my opinion. 

Deonna Purrazzo has another challenge and is answered by Willow Nightingale. She is fairly new to the scene and has been on Impact, AEW and the 1st ROH ppv after the hiatus. She is young and has a good amount of upside. 

Speaking of young, Tasha Steelz will be defending her Knockouts title against Rosemary at Rebellion. I really hope Rosemary wins this, but for some reason Impact pushes Tasha. There has to be something that I don’t see.

Once again ROH Champion Jonathan Greshman gets a win over Rocky Romero. Over the past few years, I haven’t seen a match that he’s been in that I wasn’t entertained. Who else need Gresham vs Danielson very soon?

Impact gave an extremely impressive Josh Alexander promo for his match against Moose at Rebellion for the world title. Moose has been great as champion, but it’s time for Josh to get his comeuppance.

Honor no more came out and gave us some insight into their future and it seems like they are at Impact to stay. I’m really hoping that is true since Impact needs wrestlers like them. Bullet Club comes out and cuts them off leading to mass brawl, which I hope we see BC vs HNM in a 8 man tag in the near future.

WWE – SMACKDOWN

The show starts off with an in-ring showdown between the Usos and RK-Bro. The Usos gave us a 5 star promo during that exchange. 

Setting up the WWE Women’s tag team match this coming Monday, Rhea Ripley goes 1 on 1 vs Naomi. Rhea’s power was just too much for Naomi’s athleticism 

Drew Gulak is now getting the chance to be a backstage interviewer? I remember how much I loved his cruiserweight classic matches. Very talented. I’m happy to see he still has a job. Maybe Impact, AEW/ROH in his future if it doesn’t work out.

We are now in a post madcap Moss / Happy Corbin era, and Moss started things off right with a win over Humberto, who might have also lost his last name as well.

After running from Drew multiple times, Sami Zayn will now face Mcintyire in a Lumberjack match

We are given another reintroduction promo of Lacey Evans. I love her stories and how they come across. This feels so real, and possibly is. It brings us closer to the wrestler. I love these stories and hope to hear a few more before she comes back to the ring. 

Setting up the for the team team unification match at Backlash, Riddle defeated Jimmy Uso. Solid match from both these men.

AEW – Rampage

The real works starts tonight for Wheeler Yuta and he and Danielson & Mox tag against the Gunn Club. and Yuta gets the pinfall over Billy Gunn.

Dustin Rhodes challenges CM Punk to a bucket list match of his for next week on Dynamite. Will he accept? I’m sure he will

It was great to see Ruby Soho back on TV again in a Owen Hart qualifying match against Robyn something??

We get a barn burner in the main event. Texas Death Match Adam Page vs Adam Cole for the AEW world Title. Page wrapped barbed wire around Cole’s head and some people got upset due to something about Christmas.

Great match. These two men have such great matches together.

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 of the Mariners in August of 2012. 

Kershaw said after the game “ Those are selfish goals. We’re trying to win. That’s really all we’re here for. I would have loved to have stayed, but bigger things, man, bigger things.” Kershaw also said it was the right decision to pull him. Kershaw isn’t wrong for calling a perfect game a selfish goal, but it would be another feather on his plaque when he goes to Cooperstown after his career. Kershaw did miss last season’s playoffs due to left forearm discomfort. 

Now I understand both parts of the argument. On one hand he missed the playoffs with a forearm issue and this is his first start of the season, but on the other hand it is a perfect game, how can you pull a guy from a perfect game? If it was a no hitter fine Kershaw has one of those on his resume, but a perfect game is so rare that you have to let him finish what he started and if he gives up a hit or walk pull him then. The other thing is the game being in Minnesota Dave Roberts pulling him in the dugout prevents the fans from showing their appreciation for what is occurring. 

But this just shows how much the game has changed. If we go back even a decade ago Kershaw is still throwing until the perfect game is gone. I understand that the end game is that the Dodgers goal is to win the World Series, but to not let a guy continue with a perfect game seems wrong.