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NHL EXPANSION DRAFT AND AWARDS NIGHT By: Matthew Blittner Tonight was finally the night. After a year of waiting and speculation, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, revealed their inaugural season roster. On the night where NHL stars were presented with awards for their hard work last season, it is the new guys who stole the show. Every year, the NHL makes a big deal out of the Awards Ceremony, but this year, that red carpet may as well have been gold because all the hype was regarding the big announcement of the Golden Knights' roster. Throughout the Awards Ceremony there were periodic points where portions of the Golden Knights' roster were revealed. The big names for Vegas turned out to be: James Neal, Jonathan  Marchessault, and David Perron on offense, while they loaded up with Dmen, lead by Marc Methot, Trevor Van Riemsdyk, and David Schlemko. And, of course, the player everybody had been talking about, their number one goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury....

PREEMINENT COLLEGE BOWL GAME: THE DREAM BOWL & HBCU SPIRIT OF AMERICA BOWL By: Matthew Blittner From mid-December to mid-January, the sports world turns its attention to college football bowl season and for many, there's nothing more exciting, than watching the pageantry and spectacle of those games. The rich tradition that is bowl games has been a part of the American sports landscape for generations. Games such as the Rose Bowl and the Orange Bowl have become a piece of Americana as much as apple pie on Fourth of July. In an interview with HBCU-Dream Bowl Weekend founder Neil Malvone, 47, yours truly gets the scoop on how the preeminent HBCU and FCS, Division II, and III collegiate bowl games came to be. GETTING STARTED: "Six years ago I was working for another company that was hosting a Division III college football all-star game. In my role as Vice President , I had the opportunity to see the entire operation and what I saw was not to my l...

END OF AN ERA -- RANGERS BUYOUT DAN GIRARDI By: Matthew Blittner WEDNESDAY: June 14, New York. Today was the long-awaited day. The day that defensive stalwart Dan Girardi had his time with the NY Rangers terminated.  The second most tenured member of the Blueshirts -- behind only Henrik Lundqvist -- Girardi had the remaining three years and $16.5 million of his contract bought out by the Rangers' brass.  The buyout will spread Girardi's remaining salary out over the next six years at cap hits of: $2.61M, $3.61M, $3.61M, $1.11M, $1.11M, and $1.11M, until the end of the 2022-'23 season. He ends his Rangers' career as the franchise leader in playoff games (122), as well as having played in 788 regular season games, and blocked 2,038 shots over the course of his 11 seasons on 7th Avenue. Girardi accumulated 230 points (46 G, 184 A) and a plus 54 rating. He appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs 10 times in his 11 seasons, and was voted to the 2012 A...

BASEBALL'S MOST REMARKABLE: FEATS, EVENTS, AND MOMENTS By: Matthew Blittner In the long history of Major League Baseball, there have been countless memorable moments that have tantalized, dramatized, and excited the fans and ballplayers alike. For the sake of this article, I will only be considering occurrences from the past 30-years. This isn't a be all to end all list, so without further ado here we go: 1. "I AM THE GREATEST OF ALL-TIME!" Ricky Henderson was Mr. Stolen Base, and on May 1, 1991, he surpassed Lou Brock as the all-time career leader in stolen bases. The milestone swipe was a straight steal of third base against the New York Yankees. Upon being declared safe, and officially passing Brock in the record book, Henderson stood up and lifted third base above his head in celebration. Given a microphone, Henderson spoke to the crowd and then uttered the declaration that he was, "the greatest of all-time!" 2. ONE-HANDED ...