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May 13, 2021

2021 NHL Playoffs: The Storylines That Will Shape the Postseason

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , — admin @ 7:53 pm

The 2021 NHL Playoffs will start May 15, and for the most part, the schedule of games has been finalized. When the playoffs begin, they’ll mark a return to normal after last summer’s bubble setup in Toronto and Edmonton. Teams will be back in their home arenas, and many will have at least some fans in attendance—a welcome change from the empty seats we’ve seen over the past year.


 

But these playoffs will be unusual in other ways, most notably because the NHL is using a different structure for the 2021 season. To mitigate travel during the pandemic, the league realigned into four divisions: the Central, East, West, and North, the latter of which is made up of the league’s six Canadian teams. The realignment creates the potential for unusual matchups. For instance, the Montreal Canadiens are normally in the Eastern Conference, and the Edmonton Oilers are in the Western Conference, so they could typically only meet in the Stanley Cup Final. But this year, they could face each other much earlier in the postseason, which would be a lot of fun to watch.

Though the divisions look different, the playoff format is similar to past years’ playoffs. A total of 16 teams will make the field, and the first two rounds will be devoted to sorting out a champion from each of the four divisions. Then, out of these “final four” (similar to NCAA March Madness), two teams will advance to the Stanley Cup Final, which should begin in late June or early July.

Here are four storylines that will shape this unique playoff season.

Is it finally Canada’s moment?

Seven of the NHL’s 31 franchises are based in Canada. Six have been around for decades, and a seventh, the Winnipeg Jets, joined in 2011. But no Canadian club has lifted the Stanley Cup since the Canadiens did it in 1993.

If that streak ends this year, there’s a good chance it will be thanks to players who weren’t even alive in 1993. Edmonton OIlers center Connor McDavid (born in 1997) has emerged as the best player in the world, and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (also born in 1997) isn’t far behind him. The Oilers and Leafs are Canada’s best shots to hoist Lord Stanley again.

Do the Pittsburgh Penguins’ aging superstars have another run in them?

With three Stanley Cups since 2009 and a repeat in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins are the closest thing to a dominant franchise in the current era of the NHL. Their success has largely rested on the contributions of two of the best centers of all time—Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin—and one of the league’s most talented (if less consistent) defenders, Kris Letang.

Those three have played together since 2006. They’re all 33 to 34 years old now, which is around the age where star players usually begin to fade. Crosby has been brilliant this season, while Letang has come on lately and Malkin is set to play in the postseason after missing much of the year with a lower-body injury. If they’re going to win a fourth Cup together, it will probably happen this year. (Or perhaps it’s time for McDavid or Matthews to take over.)

Who will emerge from a two-team power struggle in the West?

Two of the best teams in hockey this year have been the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche. They couldn’t have been built more differently. The Knights are largely the product of an expansion draft (Vegas joined the league in 2017), but they’ve found quick success—making the Stanley Cup Final in 2018 and a conference final in 2020—by smartly adding big scorers like Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone to the roster.

On the other hand, the Avalanche got great the old-fashioned way: losing a lot and then using high draft picks to select incredible players. Left wing Gabriel Landeskog (second overall in 2011), center Nathan MacKinnon (first overall in 2013), right wing Mikko Rantanen (10th overall in 2015), and defenseman Cale Makar (fourth overall in 2017) give the Avs what might be the most talented core in the league.

Will Connor McDavid define the playoffs, or someone else?

It feels like McDavid’s time. He’s now in his sixth year in the league, and he has already won an MVP award and led the league in points multiple times. But he’s only appeared in the playoffs twice. The Oilers generally have failed to surround him with high-caliber teammates, and it has been difficult for McDavid to drag the team into the postseason.

Everything’s clicked this year, though. The Oilers are dominant, and they’ve finally found enough help for McDavid and fellow elite scorer Leon Draisaitl. Goaltender Mike Smith, at 39 years old, has emerged as a contender for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the league’s top netminder. All of that to say: The Oilers have the pieces in place for a Stanley Cup win, and McDavid could be looking at his first Conn Smythe Trophy (awarded to the playoff MVP) this year.

Even so, hockey is a cruel game. The Oilers could run into trouble at any time, and a dream season for McDavid could go up in smoke. He has plenty of competition: Matthews and the Maple Leafs, Crosby and the Penguins, even MacKinnon and the star-studded Avalanche. Regardless of how this postseason goes, it’ll be fun to see such talented players and teams battle it out on the ice.

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May 12, 2021

Mike Trout’s 2021 Season Will Go Down in History

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , — admin @ 7:22 pm

It has been clear for years: Mike Trout will go down as one of the best baseball players who ever lived. Since 2013, when he was in his second full year in the major leagues, the players with the closest statistical match to him (according to Baseball Reference’s similarity scores by age) are Mickey Mantle and Frank Robinson, two of the most iconic Hall of Famers and all-time greats. Even early in his career, Trout established himself as a player of similar caliber.


 

By now, Trout’s consistency has become so mind-numbing that it’s easy to forget he’s the perpetual best player in the world. He made the All-Star game every year since 2012 (his first full year in the bigs), he has won the American League MVP title three times, and he has finished in the top five in MVP voting every single year of his career.

Trout is 29 now. In his career, he has generated 76 wins above replacement (basically, how many wins he has earned for his team compared to what an ordinary minor league fill-in would net), which puts him in the top 75 of all time before his 30th birthday. Even if he never picked up a bat again, he deserves a spot in Cooperstown.

But something astonishing has happened in 2021: Mike Trout has become even better.

His 2021 offensive numbers are beating his career averages across the board.

In his first 32 games, Mike Trout is hitting .355 with a .477 on-base percentage and an outrageous .673 slugging percentage. He has hit eight home runs in his 132 plate appearances so far, which puts him on pace for around 36 homers this season. Although he’s striking out in 28 percent of his plate appearances, the highest rate of his career, he’s crushing the ball whenever he makes contact. Across nearly all of his stat line, Trout is doing better than before.

He’s hitting significantly harder in 2021.

Despite having the most impressive numbers in the sport for years, Mike Trout isn’t the hardest-hitting slugger in the world. Since 2012, the average ball has come off his bat with an exit velocity of slightly more than 91 mph, which puts him just outside the top 30 among qualified hitters in that time, according to Statcast data at Fangraphs. He has hit the ball on the barrel of the bat––the sweet spot––15 percent of the time, which is sixth in the same span. Trout hits the ball hard, but not quite like a rocket.

That has changed in 2021. Trout is hitting the ball on the barrel 20 percent of the time, a career best, and better than 55 percent of the balls that come off his bat qualify as “hard-hit,” also a career high. (A hard-hit ball has an exit velocity off the bat of 95 mph or more.) He’s near the very top of the league in a whole suite of batted-ball stats. The numbers don’t lie: Trout has really started hitting the laces off the ball this year.

He’s on pace to break records.

Buoyed by hitting the ball that hard, Trout’s batting average on balls in play––that is, his average when he doesn’t strike out, doesn’t hit a home run, and puts the ball in play for the defense to field––stands at .484. In the history of baseball, nobody has ever finished a season with a figure higher than .480. In the current century, only three players have had an average better than .400 over a 162-game-long season.

Trout will certainly come back to Earth a bit as more of his batted balls find their way into defenders’ gloves and get turned into outs. Even so, when we’re talking about Trout, “coming back to Earth” means he can still be the best player in baseball.

Trout’s career average on balls in play is .349, and the league average usually comes in around .300. Add in that he’s hitting for more power than just about anybody, and you get a picture of a player who, even in a reduced form, will keep putting up eye-popping numbers.

The only question: Will the Angels continue to waste his talents?

Mike Trout’s team has made just one playoff appearance in his tenure: the 2014 AL Division Series, which resulted in a sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals. Owner Arte Moreno has given the team the funds to make a handful of splashy free agent signings, but most of those have failed spectacularly (Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton), fallen short of expectations (C.J. Wilson), or not yet had time to help the team get over the hump (Anthony Rendon).

The Angels cut Pujols last week in the final year of a 10-year, $240 million contract that worked out miserably. The sour deal defined the team’s last decade—even while the Angels had one of the best players ever on their roster.

This year’s team is hovering just below .500 but should be pretty good. Fellow stars Shohei Ohtani and Rendon lead what should be a strong offense, and the club has a couple of useful starting pitchers in Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney. The projection systems at Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus give the Angels around a one-in-three chance to make the playoffs.

If they squander yet another year of Trout’s brilliance––and this arguably his most brilliant season yet––it’s not just a crime against Trout. It’s a crime against all baseball fans, who’d like nothing more than to watch the best player of this era play in games that matter in October.

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April 30, 2021

Start Your Engines: Formula DRIFT Kicks Off Its Season in Atlanta

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

Formula DRIFT—America’s fastest-growing motorsport—kicks off its 2021 season next weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on May 7-8 with the Royal Purple Road to the Championship presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.

For those unfamiliar with the sport, drivers run in pairs through a series of turns. They’re judged on speed, line through the turns, proximity to the clipping points, and how close they can get to the other car. It’s a tire-burning, high-speed elimination sport using 1,200 horsepower cars that take no prisoners if mistakes are made.


The sport of drifting originated in Japan and was introduced at a professional level in 2003 by Formula DRIFT. The opening round of its first full season in 2004 was held at the famous Road Atlanta course, which remains a favorite for fans and drivers alike. In fact, it’s remained on the FD calendar every year, with the exception of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

The track has a number of unique characteristics. For example, it’s the only of the eight venues visited this year that has an elevation change equivalent to a six-story climb—something that forces drivers to adapt their drift style to accommodate as it rises and falls. At 650 feet, it also has the longest entry to the first turn, which means it has the highest entry speed. And with cars accelerating at full throttle, the drivers must be totally committed to initiate the first drift by throwing the car sideways at well over 100 mph.

Located in the green hills of Braselton, GA, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is renowned for its relaxed atmosphere, while the Formula DRIFT event has become legendary for its tailgating parties and festival atmosphere. It’s also one of the loudest crowds at any of the year’s venues, so fans always enjoy a great atmosphere. COVID-19 restrictions have limited crowd sizes somewhat, and social distancing is required, but it’ll be awesome to see fans back in the grandstands cheering for their favorite drivers again. And visitors will enjoy the incredible night-time atmosphere, which can only be described as “electrifying.” Visit the Formula DRIFT website for event details, ticket purchases, COVID requirements, and more.


Unlike some domestic motorsports, Formula DRIFT is an all-weather event—rain or shine, we send it! A wet track won’t stop the drivers, but it does add another variable to keep everybody guessing about who the winner will be.

Last time the teams visited, Fredric Aasbo (Norway) was the winner, putting his skills learned on frozen lakes to good use. As the runner-up for three consecutive years, the 2015 FD Champion is always a serious contender. This will be his first ATL outing in the 1,100 horsepower Rockstar Energy Drink/Toyota GR Supra he debuted last year and he always means business.

Another man to watch is the newly crowned 2020 Formula DRIFT Champion, Vaughn Gittin Jr (USA) in the Monster Energy/Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D. His battles with Aasbo have been legendary but Gittin never pulls his punches, even against teammate Chelsea DeNofa (USA) in the almost identical BC Racing / Nitto Tire / Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D. DeNofa finished 2020 in second place but not until they’d both received bloody noses in battles throughout the season.

With three other former FD Champions in the mix, there’s no such thing as an easy heat as the top 32 PRO category drivers are eliminated in head-to-head battles until the round winner is crowned.

Formula DRIFT fans can watch the opening round in person over the weekend of May 7-8 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA. Those who can’t attend can enjoy the free-to-view livestream broadcast, available on both days for qualifying and the elimination heats. With hundreds of thousands of spectators tuning in around the world, there’s always plenty of action and catch.

The livestream is available via the Formula DRIFT website, the FD YouTube page or FD Facebook page. Check out the schedule on the homepage and we’ll join you online for the season kick off party!

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April 28, 2021

The 2021 NFL Draft Will Revolve Around These 4 Questions

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:46 pm

The 2021 NFL Draft runs from this Thursday to Saturday in Cleveland—the first round on Thursday night, the second two rounds on Friday, and the last four on Saturday—and will be televised on ESPN. This year will have a slightly more normal feel than last year, as the draft is once happening in person rather than remotely. More importantly, it’s shaping up to be an exciting one.


 

The first pick is not in doubt (former Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence is expected to be No. 1 overall), but there’s still potential for plenty of surprises in the slots immediately afterward. The draft has a generous handful of top quarterback prospects—more than in most years—and it’s also loaded with wide receivers. Wondering what to look for this year? These are the four questions that will define much of how the draft unfolds.

1. Who will be the next quarterbacks taken after No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence?

Clemson’s Lawrence will be the first overall pick—that has been obvious for months. He had a dominant three-year career at Clemson, and he has one of the best arms the draft has ever seen. You don’t have to watch Lawrence long to understand why he’ll go first:


The Jets appear poised to draft BYU’s Zach Wilson at No. 2 overall. Then things get very interesting. The 49ers traded up from the 12th pick to No. 3, ostensibly to draft a new quarterback of their own to replace Jimmy Garoppolo. Coach Kyle Shanahan has said he likes a whole handful of QBs at that spot. The tea leaves say the 49ers will take Alabama’s Mac Jones—a fairly surprising decision given the superior talent of Ohio State’s Justin Fields and, arguably, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.

This draft is notable for its incredibly talented quarterbacks. If Fields falls beyond the No. 3 pick, some team much lower on the draft order might get lucky and scoop up a phenomenal talent at that critical position. Some are predicting that Fields will probably last until the middle or bottom of the top 10.

2. Will a team shake up the draft by trading up for one of those QBs?

Perhaps the most chaotic possible scenario in this year’s draft involves Fields or Lance falling lower in the first round and a team that isn’t at the top of the draft order making a trade to snatch them up. To do that, the team would sacrifice extra picks later to get an early selection spot in the first round.

A number of reports and mock drafts expect one team to do just that: Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Belichick won six Super Bowls alongside Tom Brady, but he’s now clearly on the tail end of his coaching career. He’d probably like to find the franchise a long-term answer at QB, both so he can compete in 2021 and so he can leave the Pats in good shape when he passes the reins to a successor. The Patriots currently have the 15th pick. If Fields or Lance falls outside the top five, keep an eye on New England.

A few other teams lower in the draft order need quarterbacks and might be tempted to try a big trade up. The Steelers, for example, will need to replace Ben Roethlisberger within a year, and the Bears don’t have anything resembling a long-term solution at the position.

3. Who will land the top three wide receivers in this year’s draft?

As the analysts at The Draft Network put it, “The wide receiver position is experiencing a boom period right now.” There are many elite wideout prospects in the 2021 draft, but three in particular will almost certainly get picked in the top half of the first round.

They are LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase:

Alabama’s DeVonta Smith:

And his Alabama teammate Jaylen Waddle:

All three players are outrageously skilled. Chase is probably the best of the three at going up and catching a jump ball. Smith might be the smoothest route-runner, while Waddle provides the widest range of possible roles, such as the ability to return punts (as you can see in the video above) .

In the draft, these players are rare catches. The teams that nab them will receive immediate game-breakers who can totally change the dynamic of their offenses: They can potentially score on any play from anywhere on the field.

4. Will players who opted out of the 2020 season fall on draft boards?

Because of COVID-19, a significant number of draft prospects decided not to play in the 2020 college football season. Others opted out after the season had already started. How NFL teams treat these players on draft night will be an interesting sign for future generations of draftees. If the NFL still eagerly drafts players who haven’t seen a game for more than a year, other players might view that as a smart business decision. Why risk getting injured and ruining a professional payday if NFL teams don’t care?

Early indications show that the NFL is prepared to embrace players who sat out their last college season. Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell, LSU receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall, Northwestern offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, and Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley all sat out games amid the pandemic. All but Marshall are highly likely to be first-round picks, and there’s a chance Marshall, too, might sneak in before the end of the opening round. If all goes well for those players, expect their successors in future draft years to take note.

The draft starts April 29 at 8 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN.

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April 22, 2021

NFL Draft 2021: These Prospects Could Become Star QBs

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , , — admin @ 6:23 pm

The 2021 NFL Draft begins April 29, and while the draft is always a landmark day for the league and its 32 talent-obsessed franchises, this year’s event has a little extra juice. The reason? The 2021 draft class is loaded with prospects at the most important position in the sport: quarterback.


 

It’s impossible to build a successful NFL team without an above-average quarterback. In the 21st century, Super Bowl victories have almost always gone to teams with one of the top passers in the league. QBs have always been vital, but they’ve only grown more critical as the NFL has shifted from running the ball to throwing it. In 2000, the average NFL team threw for 207 yards per game. In 2020, it threw for 240, and teams also threw more touchdowns and completed a higher percentage of their passes. Put simply, talented QBs are the most valuable assets in today’s NFL—and possibly in all of American sports.

The 2021 draft includes one QB, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, who’s widely believed to be the best draft prospect in a long time (exactly how long is up for discussion). This year’s draft also includes four more stellar passers who are likely to get picked in the first round.

Below, I’ve made a case for why each of them could become NFL stars and listed them in the order in which I would pick them, if I had the chance.

1. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

There’s no need to waste time by pretending Lawrence might not be great. In three years at Clemson, he won a national championship and took the Tigers to the College Football Playoff every year. He has a rifle for an arm and pinpoint accuracy. His footwork is smooth, and he makes throws that seem like they shouldn’t be possible.

The Jaguars are going to pick Lawrence first overall, as they should, and he will go on to a Pro Bowl career if he stays healthy. He’s so talented that even a cursed franchise like Jacksonville can’t mess this up.

2. Justin Fields, Ohio State

Fields is among the most physically impressive QBs to ever enter the NFL Draft. In a pre-draft workout, scouts recorded him running the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds, which places him in the top five among quarterbacks in the 21st century, according to Sports Reference. No quarterback as heavy as Fields (he’s listed at 227 pounds) has ever recorded a 40 time that fast in the pre-draft workout circuit.

The wild thing about all that? Fields doesn’t even run that much. He can roam outside the pocket and torch defenses with his legs, but his most important trait is his cannon arm. Fields throws hard and places the ball accurately. Some evaluators have criticized his ability to see the field (no pun intended), but detailed study of his game tape suggests that criticism is misplaced. His physical talent is immense, and he had a great handle on the Buckeyes’ offense during his time in Columbus. If he stays healthy, he’ll be a great NFL player.

3. Zach Wilson, Brigham Young University

Analysts have knocked Wilson for two things. First, at 6’2” and 214 pounds, he lacks the size of a typical highly drafted NFL QB (remember, the NFL is an insane place where those measurements are considered small.) Second, while he had a brilliant 2020 season at BYU, he did it behind a dominant offensive line that kept pressure away from him and against a schedule that didn’t have many difficult opponents.

Those aren’t unreasonable concerns, but Wilson still has a chance to be an excellent NFL quarterback. His arm is almost shockingly good, and so is his core strength. Wilson can throw on the run, from a position where no QB should be able to get much power on a pass, and fire a laser 60 yards downfield. He’s one of the most exciting throwers to come through the draft in years, and if his new team gives him adequate protection, his talent should shine through.

4. Trey Lance, North Dakota State

Lance played his college career in the FCS, the lower half of Division I, and that adds a little extra uncertainty into calculating how he’ll fare against NFL competition. But he played for the best team in the FCS: His NDSU Bison have won eight of the last nine national championships. And he played in its best conference against many teams with solid defenses.

Lance is a terrific athlete, and unlike Fields, he seems to actively seek out opportunities to run the ball and bowl into defenders. His arm is solid, and an NFL team that uses him correctly—presenting him with chances to tote the ball himself as well as launch it through the air—might find themselves with one of the best players in the league.

5. Mac Jones, Alabama

Jones has the best stats of anyone on this list, and he also went 15-0 while guiding Alabama to a national championship in 2020. His 4,500 yards led the country, as did his 11.2 yards per throw and his passer rating of 203. Anyone could look at his last year and quickly reach the conclusion that he’ll be a sturdy NFL starter.

The reason he’s last on this list: It’s unclear what Jones will do when he’s not part of an unstoppable offense with a major talent advantage on every opponent. At Bama, he could throw the ball to Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith and hand it off to potential first-round running back Najee Harris. He could stand comfortably behind a dominant offensive line. Jones is a competent and capable QB, but he nonetheless feels like a bit of a dice roll in the first round.

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April 15, 2021

Coyotes Captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson on Cancer Research, Custom Sneakers, and More

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , — admin @ 3:18 pm

On April 19, Arizona Coyotes Captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson and three of his teammates will arrive for their game against the Minnesota Wild with some very unique footwear: Custom sneakers designed by J. Pierce, a local artist who’s also designed items for other high-wattage stars, including LeBron James and Samuel L. Jackson. It’s all part of Hockey Fights Cancer Night, and the shoes will be auctioned to raise money for cancer research. A famously stylish guy off the ice (check out his patterned suits) Ekman-Larsson is a natural fit for the event, and we recently caught up with him virtually to talk about his style and why Hockey Fights Cancer Night is so important to him and the rest of the team.

“It’s a special night for all of us,” he tells Men’s Journal.


As an organization, the Coyotes have a track record of raising awareness around cancer research. As part of that effort, the team signed Leighton Accardo, an eight-year-old girl battling cancer, to a contract in 2019. Although she passed away in 2020, her strength and resilience continue to have a strong impact on the team.

“She’s such a big part of what we do,” says Ekman-Larsson. “I learned a lot just being around her.”

Cancer hits particularly close to home for the 29-year-old defenseman: His mother also passed away from the disease. Hockey Fights Cancer Night is a chance for him to honor her memory as well.

Although Ekman-Larsson couldn’t reveal exactly what his custom-designed sneakers will look like, the combination of a talented artist and a style-savvy player should make for some eye-catching kicks. When we talked about his style, though, Ekman-Larsson was surprisingly modest.


“I don’t really focus on it,” he says, “I’m pretty simple when it comes to clothes.”

One fashion accessory you won’t see him wearing outside the locker room: The coyote pelt that goes to the Coyotes player who makes the biggest impact on the ice. It’s been passed around for years, says Ekman-Larsson, and it reportedly carries quite the stench.

“It’s pretty bad,” he says.

In another virtual interview, we also spoke with Ekman-Larsson about his biggest tattoo (a tribute to his mom), the best-dressed player in the NHL, and more.

One thing we learned: Save your Swedish meatball jokes for someone else. If he hears one more, he might just burst into tears.

Check out both interviews in the videos above, and don’t miss Ekman-Larsson (and his shoes) at Hockey Fights Cancer Night on April 19.

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April 8, 2021

2021 NFL Draft: The College Prospects With the Most Impressive Pro Day Workouts

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , — admin @ 6:05 pm

The NFL Draft is nearly upon us, and hundreds of prospects are getting themselves ready for the three-day event that runs April 29 to May 1. The draft isn’t just a chance for teams to pick players; it’s a full-blown cultural phenomenon and an in-depth (and somewhat bizarre) test for players. Athletes are treated like commodities and have their bodies examined with a fine-toothed comb, all in hopes of being rewarded with a high draft pick—and a contract worth millions of dollars.


 

For the first time since the early 1980s, there is no centralized NFL Scouting Combine. In normal years, 300-some prospects descend on one city to go through rigorous, standardized physical testing. Instead, all of those workouts are happening at universities’ “pro days.” The schools host coaching and scouting staffs from the 32 NFL teams, and the players perform workouts on their former college campuses.

The lack of a central combine has not meant a lack of eye-popping athletic achievements, however, and a few players have put up outrageous numbers. Here are six of those standout efforts, along with analysis of how these workout warriors will translate their physical talents to the field next fall.

Pitt defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman’s 40 bench press reps


Twyman benched 225 pounds 40 times before an audience of NFL scouts and coaches, then stood up and made sure everyone knew it. (Ohio State DT Tommy Togiai also hit 40 reps on the bench.) Twyman was a force in the middle of the defensive line for the Panthers. He’s somewhat small for the position and measured just 6’1” and 301 pounds at his pro day, but he bears some similarities to Aaron Donald, another undersized Pitt defensive tackle who has since gone on to become the best player in the NFL.

The 40 reps on the bench are a high mark for the 2021 draft class, according to data from Sports Reference, and not too far from the all-time Combine record of 49, set in 2011 by Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea. On the bench and on the field, Twyman is a monster.

Illinois receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe’s 46.5-inch vertical leap

Imatorbhebhe’s vert was higher than any other player on the pro day circuit this year. He’s a big, physical wideout who can line up on the outside and win contested catches against cornerbacks. For proof, just check out his highlight reel.

Another impressive vertical leap from this cycle came from Purdue receiver Rondale Moore, who pulled off a 42.5-inch leap and paired it with a stunning 4.29-second 40-yard dash. (Imatorbhebhe’s time was 4.48 seconds.)

Penn State defensive end Jayson Oweh’s 4.36-second 40-yard dash

Oweh is a 6’5”, 257-pound defensive end. He is not supposed to be able to move this fast. Although pro day 40 times are unofficial—they’re timed with stopwatches and not the lasers that are typically used at the central Combine—it’s clear Oweh was booking it.

Setting aside wide receivers and defensive backs, his time is the fastest in this year’s draft. And if you believe the unofficial numbers, it’s the fastest dash time a defensive end or linebacker has run this century. Oweh only had seven sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss in three seasons at Penn State, and it’ll be interesting to see if his physical gifts translate to playing time and production in the NFL.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields making this incredible throw (and running a 4.44)

Fields’ 4.44-second 40 time was eye-catching. It was the second-fastest recorded time for a draft QB prospect since 2000, falling behind Robert Griffin III’s 4.33 in 2012. But if you really want to see why Fields is such a unique player (and why he might go in the top five picks), all you really need to see is his pass in the video above. There’s no substitute for arm talent, and Fields’ ability to throw on the run is special.

South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn’s 11-foot, 1-inch broad jump

The son of longtime NFL receiver Joe Horn, Jaycee is one of the best defensive backs in the draft class. His athleticism is one of his strongest traits, and you can see it here. Horn also ran the 40 in a reported 4.39 seconds—he weighs 205 pounds, and that’s tremendous speed for someone his size. In addition, his 41.5-inch vertical is in the top 50 of all players since 2000. On the field, Horn can use both physicality and speed to cause real problems for any receiver lined up against him.

Florida cornerback Marco Wilson’s entire workout

Wilson’s recorded pro day numbers: At 5’11” and 191 pounds, he ran the 40 in 4.37 seconds, achieved a 43.5-inch vert, performed 26 bench press reps, and naild a broad jump of 11 feet, 4 inches. All of those performances are in the top 50 among all draft prospects since 2000. Wilson really put on a show for the NFL.

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March 25, 2021

Red Sox Star Kiké Hernandez on Spring Training, Slushees, and More

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:23 pm

Take a gander at your local newspaper (if it’s still around) between now and April 1, and there’s an excellent chance you’ll spot a sports columnist extolling the arrival of Major League Baseball. They’ll likely use lots of flowery phrases about men getting a chance to act like boys and sun-kissed summer days that stir the soul. Then the next paragraph starts. If you’re a professional baseball player like new Boston Red Sox utility man Kiké Hernandez, baseball isn’t all sunshine and roses; it’s a job that requires tons of physical and mental preparation.


 

That’s especially true this year: After a six-season run with the Dodgers that ended in a World Series win last year, the 29-year-old veteran is working to prove himself with a new club. Hernandez cut through the gossamer and talked to Men’s Journal about his workout routine, why spring training is a drag, and when he realized social media was affecting his game.

Men’s Journal: The days of players using spring training to get in shape ended years ago. What did you do to stay in shape during the offseason?

Kiké Hernandez: I work out Monday through Friday, and then on the weekends, I try to be a husband and a dad. I probably start working out around 9:00 a.m. and I am done by like 1 p.m. I’ve got a full offseason workout program and we divide it by phases: strength training and then explosiveness and agility stuff.

It’s not just a bicep, triceps, meathead workout. It’s a very specific baseball workout with functional exercises. We have some very good strength coaches and they’re in charge of writing our programs. Even though I’ve been doing this for a few years now, I’m not great at remembering exercises and doing them on my own. I’m pretty dependent on coaches when it comes to that.

Do you like working out or is it just another item on the checklist?


I can think of a lot of things that I enjoy more than working out. I have to; it’s part of the job. I’ve got to stay in shape and all that, but you find ways to enjoy it and find things to think about when you’re pretty exhausted and are pretty close to throwing up.

How do you get through the low points to finish strong?

I always try to go back to big moments in my career—the postseason and stuff like that. The big moments get you through it. They trick your mind into thinking that finishing the extra set is what’s going to help you have a good season.

What’s your diet like?

I’m dairy-free. I like a pretty good breakfast in the morning. For the most part, it’s three eggs over medium, breakfast potatoes, tater tots, two or three slices of bacon, and coffee. Once I’m done working out I’ll do a protein shake and in the middle of the workout I either do water or Vita Coco. I don’t really like the sugary drinks because I feel like they kind of stay in my throat and make me more thirsty. Once I get home, I have a little lunch, and then we tend to do dinner around six or 6:30.

Do you have any indulgences that avoid, or that you reward yourself with after a workout?

I love candy, man, so I’m trying to stay away from candy as much as I can. Sometimes our pantry looks like we have a few kids just because there’s so many sour candies and stuff, but it’s all mine. I try to stay away from it because it never makes me feel good. Even though my stomach is pretty happy after, I try to stay away because I know it’s not great for me. At the same time, I can’t help myself. When I’m trying to reward myself, I try to do it just like once a week. I like a Coca-Cola Slushee. That’s pretty tough to beat.

What’s the use of spring training for you?

Spring training, if you’re not in shape, it’s too late already. It’s basically getting ready for the season as far as timing. Baseball is a huge timing sport—whether it’s on the offensive side or on the defensive side. You take a week off, and that timing goes back to zero. You’re spending five months without facing pitching and stuff. Sometimes it comes back quickly. Sometimes it takes a little longer. Once you find it, you just need to do the little things to stay there. And that’s basically what we’re doing in spring training.

Right now, for me, I’m getting used to all the new things: being on a new team, all the defensive alignments, and looking at the different ways that the team approaches the offense. I mean, I’m having a blast so far and just using spring training to get to know everybody. It’s a little hard when everybody is new and people are wearing face masks. So I’m trying to learn one name a day. That’s the goal for spring training.

You’ve been batting leadoff during spring training. What’s the challenge of that?

Not a lot changes. It’s just basic: You’re the anchor of the lineup, you’re setting the table up for the rest of the guys. My first few years with the Dodgers, whenever there was a lefty on the mound, I would lead off that game.

For me, it just gives me a little bit of a bigger responsibility. I’m trying to make sure that I’m swinging at strikes and picking up balls because I tend to get a little too aggressive at the plate and swing at pitches out of the strike zone. When I’m in the leadoff spot, I can’t afford to do that. I need to either get a hit or get on base, and I need to make that pitcher work for the guys behind me who bring in the runs. It’s a good challenge because it just keeps me honest. It keeps me on my toes. It’s not a position that I want to lose. I want to do everything that it takes to sustain that leadoff spot and get as many at bats as I can this season.

Who’s your role model as a leadoff hitter?

Myself, honestly. Baseball is way too hard to try to be somebody else. You’ve just got to know your strengths and your weaknesses and adjust according to the pitcher who’s on the mound.

I played last year with Mookie Betts, who I think is not only the best leadoff hitter in the game, but also, I think, the best player in the game. If I had to say somebody that I’m going to look at their approach, it would be him. But at the same time, he’s the best player in baseball. You can’t try to be the best player in baseball. You’ve got stay within yourself and be true to yourself—and that’s what I’m trying to do.

Spring training is always framed as a time of rebirth and optimism. As a player, when you get to spring training, how do you feel?

For me, it’s a new opportunity because I’m on a new team with a whole new scenery. But, to be honest with you, you get excited the day that you’re going into spring training, and once you’re there, after a week, it gets pretty old. Games don’t count, games don’t matter, stuff you do in practice is not stuff that you do during the season. So you know, it can get a little a little heavy, a little slow.

It’s hard to focus at times, but you’ve got to do whatever it takes because the on and off switch doesn’t quite exist in baseball. Once you turn that switch off, it’s pretty hard to turn it back on. So you just have to do whatever it takes to keep it on, just like working out during the offseason: Trick yourself, fool yourself, whatever it takes to stay ready and then stay locked in for the season.

How do you get through spring training?

I just try to do everything game-like. I try to do everything with intent. You don’t want to be that guy that’s dogging stuff, just being too cool for the moment during practice. We’re all trying to tighten everything up so that once the season starts, all the things we’re practicing are not for nothing.

You’ve got to do everything the right way and be respectful toward the game. It’s really easy to get out of sync, and it’s not that easy to get it back. So I try to do everything the right way. If you put your focus into everything, and I feel like you’re going to be fine.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about professional baseball players?

Oh man, that’s a tough one. I have a big personality. I’m pretty outgoing; I have basically no shame. The way I see it, I’m just a regular dude with a really cool job. And people tend to forget that we’re just regular people playing a game. At times, people lose the human side of it.

The attacks on social media—when you play in a big market you either get used to it, don’t pay attention to it, or it eats you alive. And I’ve learned the hard way. I was pretty young when I got to L.A., and at first, those things tended to affect me pretty good.

Was there a moment where you realized you had to ignore that?

There was one time where I caught myself. It was a big situation in the game and I struck out and I’m walking back to the dugout and my first thought was, “What are people going to be saying on my social media now?” That’s not a healthy way to live and not a healthy way to play. You won’t be able to produce if you’re worried about what other people think about you or what other people are going to say about you.

Be you, be happy, and just worry about the things ahead of you instead of what people are saying behind your back.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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March 24, 2021

These Players Are the Stars of March Madness (So Far)

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , — admin @ 6:41 pm

In the first week of games, it felt like the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament was making up for lost time after being canceled last year due to COVID-19. This year’s tournament has been ultra-heavy on upsets. This weekend, the NCAA tournament moves to the regional rounds, with the Sweet 16 kicking off on Saturday and the Elite Eight on Monday. Although it’s still early, a handful of players have already proven themselves to be March Madness heroes.


 

Let’s meet eight of them. From free throw specialists to all-around power players, the athletes below are setting their teams up for success in this year’s NCAA tournament—and putting on a great show in the process.

Jalen Suggs, guard, Gonzaga

Suggs is a new kind of Gonzaga superstar. The Bulldogs used to win with a mix of unheralded American recruits (like Adam Morrison) and international prospects (Tobias Harris, Przemek Karnowski, Domantas Sabonis). But Suggs is not an off-the-radar find like those players. He’s a true freshman five-star point guard who could have gone to almost any school in the country. But he picked Gonzaga, and he has quickly become one of the best playmakers and shot creators on a veteran-heavy roster.

Cameron Krutwig, center, Loyola–Chicago


Krutwig, a senior, is an indispensable player for the Ramblers, who are trying to mount their second run to the Final Four in four years. He’s an incredibly efficient scorer around the basket, and Loyola likes to run its offense through him—a rarity in an era when most teams rely heavily on guards to generate open shots. Krutwig can facilitate for others, too. He had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists in an upset of No. 1 seed Illinois in the second round.

Also, as ESPN’s Mina Kimes pointed out, he looks like a character in a Coen Brothers movie.

Max Abmas, guard, Oral Roberts

Along with Colorado, Oral Roberts is making a run at finishing the season with the highest team free throw percentage of all time. The 1984 Harvard team holds the record at 82.2 percent, and No. 15 seed Cinderella ORU is currently leading the league at 82.4 percent. The main reason for that is Abmas, a 6’1” guard who has made 129 of 143 foul shots this season—an incredible 90.2 percent. He shoots better than 40 percent on three-pointers, too.

Buddy Boeheim, guard, Syracuse

Orange head coach Jim Boeheim’s son is also his most vital player. Buddy is a 39.6-percent shooter from three-point land, and he also shoots 87 percent at the foul line. He’s one of the few players on the Syracuse squad who can create his own shot off the dribble. His 18-point, 2.5-rebound, and three-assist average makes him the team’s bellwether—if Buddy is having a good night, there’s a solid chance the No. 11 seed Orange are having a good night, too.

Justin Smith, forward, Arkansas

Smith is averaging an excellent 24.5 points per game in this tournament, which puts him in third among remaining players (behind Boeheim and Oral Roberts forward Kevin Obanor). In what should be a terrific game, Smith will likely be matched up directly against Obanor in the Sweet 16.

Evan Mobley, center, USC

The Trojans are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007. A big reason is Mobley, the seven-footer who leads all remaining players in the tournament with six blocks in two games. Mobley is a prodigious defender around the basket, and he also happens to be USC’s most prolific scorer and rebounder, averaging 17 points and nine rebounds. If USC manages to get to its first Final Four since 1954 (when the tournament had just 24 teams), Mobley will be the driving factor.

Jared Butler, guard, Baylor

Averaging 17 points per game, Butler is the straw that stirs the drink for the Bears, who have one of the scariest offenses in the country. Sure, he makes 41.5 percent of his threes, but he’s also the best playmaker coach Scott Drew has. His 4.8 assists per game are likely to help backcourt mates MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell get buckets, too.

Hunter Dickinson, center, Michigan

The Wolverines’ freshman wunderkind is even more important for the team now that star point guard Isaiah Livers is out with an injury. Dickinson is Michigan’s best rebounder, best interior defender, best shot-blocker, best scoring option in the post, and best player at drawing fouls on the other team. He might turn out to be Michigan’s best big man since head coach Juwan Howard played at the school in the ‘90s.

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February 25, 2021

Brad Marchand on Playing With Patrice Bergeron, the Last Time He Cried, and More

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , — admin @ 6:08 pm

Bruins winger Brad Marchand is an imposing (and productive) presence on the ice. As of Feb. 25, he’s just one goal shy of cracking 300, and he notched two assists during the Bruins’ 7-3 thrashing of the Philadelphia Flyers at the 2021 Honda NHL Outdoor Games at Lake Tahoe on Feb. 21. Off the ice, though, he’s a just a regular guy who tears up at father-daughter scenes in movies and can’t stop leaving his stuff all over the house (much to his wife’s annoyance). We recently caught up with him virtually to learn more about his life at home and with his teammates. He shared a few choice tales from the locker room, like the unique way David Pastrnak celebrates.

“He’s notorious for putting people on his shoulders,” Marchand tells Men’s Journal, “when we’re celebrating any kind of event.”


In our last conversation with Marchand, we dove into his training and preparation for Lake Tahoe, but in this conversation we kept things light. We learned the NHL star definitely has a soft spot for his daughter, Sawyer, and we got him to divulge his favorite canned response for press conferences (listen close during his next post-game interview).

“I think it’s like the typical hockey response,” he says. “‘We had a good night tonight, but we could be better.’”

We also got to the bottom of a little childhood mystery: One night when Marchand was eight or nine years old, his father came home from a rec hockey league game with a sheet of paper full of autographs from NHL stars like Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, and more. Marchand and his brother were ecstatic, and they had the piece of paper framed. Years went by, then one day Marchand asked his dad if those autographs were legit.

Watch the full interview above to find out his answer.

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