Hoping your Thanksgiving is as good as John Madden’s.
Evan and Jim fire some coaches, kill some NFL teams’ playoff hopes, chat about the Bills and Giants and everything in between. Happy Thanksgiving from Hard Foul Sports, enjoy the show!
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If you have an Android device and don’t want to use SoundCloud there are several apps on the Play Store that our show is available on. We recommend Podcast and Radio Addict. Continue reading
Posted in evansally, jimbearor, NFL
Tagged Buffalo Bills, evan sally, Jim Bearor, new york giants, nfl, playoffs, podcast
The selection of Shaq Lawson highlighted an important weekend for the Bills at the NFL Draft. (Getty Images)
Steve Stich and Evan Sally teamed up on this week’s Hard Foul Podcast. The guys spoke about what the Bills did at the NFL Draft, what the selection of Cardale Jones says for Tyrod Taylor. The guys then took a look at the NBA Playoffs. What’s wrong with Toronto? Can the Thunder shock the Spurs? We talk all that and more on the latest edition of the podcast.
Two Ways to Listen:
If you have an Android device and don’t want to use SoundCloud there are several apps on the Play Store that our show is available on. We recommend Podcast and Radio Addict. Continue reading
San Jose’s Joe Pavelski has been dominant in their first round series against Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
NFL, NBA, NHL. We talked about it all on this episode of the podcast. In our first segment, Jim Bearor joined Evan Sally and Steve Stich to talk about the Eagles trading to the #2 pick. We then took a look at the NBA Playoffs, the pathetic (Houston), the surprising (Miami) and the head scratching (Oklahoma City).
Evan and Stich were then joined by Matthew Coller (@MatthewWGR) of WGR550 and ESPN’s NHL coverage about 32 mins into the show. The guys dug deep into the Sabres season and take a look at what the future may look like. Hint: A lot of Eichel and Reinhart. We then took a look at the NHL Playoffs where Matt has an interesting pick as to who he likes to win the Cup and he makes the case for Alex Ovechkin being the greatest goal scorer of all time. We also briefly touched on the Bills, should they draft a QB? And if so, what round?
Two Ways to Listen:
If you have an Android device and don’t want to use SoundCloud there are several apps on the Play Store that our show is available on. We recommend Podcast and Radio Addict.
Feedback is always appreciated! Tweet us @HardFoulSports, message us on Facebook or email us at hardfoulsports@gmail.com.
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– Evan Sally
LeBron James is looking to make the NBA Finals for 6th consecutive time. Step 1: Beat Detroit. (Getty Images)
What an incredible NBA season this was. Golden State sets the record for most wins in a season. Steph Curry shatters his own record for 3s in a season and set a new, probably unreachable standard for shooting in the NBA. We saw the end of Kobe, who despite suffering through the most miserable Lakers season in history, ended his career in the most Kobe-way possible, a 60 point, 50 shot stunner. Russell Westbrook had an incredible 18 triple doubles and Kevin Durant scored 20+ points in a ridiculous 64 games in a row. These feats along with so many other amazing performances came together to shape a uniquely special 2015-16 season. After many months and 1230 games, we’ve finally reached the playoffs, how could you not be excited? While some of the 1st round matchups are bound to be mismatches, it’s always interesting to see which players and teams can rise to another level in the postseason. The Eastern Conference Playoffs will be undoubtedly dominated by the spectre of LeBron James; the living legend has won the conference 5 years in a row, and his Cavaliers are poised to do it again. However, unlike years past, the Eastern playoffs will feature 8 teams all with winning records and I’d argue 8 teams that have hope for the future if not the present. For each series I’ll take a look at which narrative interests me the most.
Kobe Bryant left the NBA in the most Kobe Bryant way possible. (Getty Images)
This week on the podcast Evan Sally and Steve Stich were joined by guest host Jim Bearor. The guys talked about the Rams trading with the Titans for the #1 pick in the draft and if the Bills should think about potentially moving Tyrod Taylor and pick for the #2 pick.
The guys then talked Kobe’s incredible final game. Stich is a massive Kobe fan and shared his feelings watching him for the last time. We compared the careers of Derek Jeter and Kobe.
We then took a look at the first round of the NBA playoffs. Which series stands out? Which team has the most to gain? And why don’t more people hate Golden State?
Two Ways to Listen:
If you have an Android device and don’t want to use SoundCloud there are several apps on the Play Store that our show is available on. We recommend Podcast and Radio Addict. Continue reading
On the latest episode of the podcast Stich and Evan are joined by HardFoulSports.com writer Jim Bearor who fills in for Mike Tolsma. We start the show talking about the Bills recent coaching moves, hiring Rob Ryan and Ed Reed. Steve and Evan then go over their lists of best and most disappointing Bills this season. We wrap up the show with a deep dive into this weekend’s 4 divisional playoff games in the NFL.
Two Ways to Listen:
If you have an Android device and don’t want to use SoundCloud there are several apps on the Play Store that our show is available on. We recommend Podcast and Radio Addict.
Posted in evansally, jimbearor, Miscellaneous, NFL, stevestich
Tagged bills, evansally, football, jimbearor, nfl, playoffs, stevestich
– By Evan Sally and Jim Bearor
Photo: Associated Press/Tony Dejak
The first three games of Warriors vs. Cavs have ranged from unexpected to downright bizarre. We saw back-to-back overtime games for the first time in Finals history. We saw Golden State, the best team in the league statistically, never lead at the end of any quarter except for the end of overtime of Game 1. We saw Matthew Dellavedova become a household name because of his inexplicable ability to frustrate the MVP Steph Curry, and more bizarrely, score a career high 20 points in Game 3. We saw Golden State miss a ton of open shots. We saw the league’s best shooter shoot a career worst 2 for 15 from 3 in Game 2. We saw LeBron James torch the league’s best defense for 41 points per game. And as great as LeBron James is, no one saw that coming.
Then the Warriors woke up.
Game 4 represented a return to normalcy. Finally, we saw the series we expected to see. Role players like Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala finally hit some open shots. Especially in the case of Barnes and Green, who had looked rattled previously, this is a huge development. LeBron finally had an off game, and the rest of the Cavs weren’t able to keep up the scoring slack. Add it all up, and it’s the recipe for a Golden State blowout victory. With the series tied at 2-2 headed back to the Bay Area to start a best of 3 for the championship, Jim Bearor and I try to figure out how we got to this point and examine where the series is going from here. Continue reading
Posted in evansally, jimbearor, NBA
Tagged basketball, cavs, cleveland, clevelandcavaliers, clevelandcavs, evansally, goldenstate, goldenstatewarriors, hardfoulsports, hfs, jimbearor, lebron, lebronjames, nba, nbafinals, nbaplayoffs, playoffs, stephcurry, stephencurry, thefinals, Warriors
By Evan Sally and Jim Bearor
This NBA Finals match up is a weird one. This series is highly anticipated. More people that aren’t big NBA fans are into this series than any Finals series in recent memory. Conventional wisdom says the series that would excite fans the most is the one that features the competitive match up. People hate blowouts. And yet, when you look at the details of this series, the Warriors seem to have a pretty big advantage over the Cavaliers.
The Warriors are the 14th team to reach the Finals with 65 wins or more. The previous 13 teams have all won the title. The Cavaliers are the sixth team since 1978 to reach the NBA Finals with a below-average defense. Four out of the other five all lost in the finals. And that fifth team was the 2001 Lakers that featured Kobe, Shaq and the league’s best offense. Even putting the stats aside for a moment, the Warriors have clearly had the tougher test getting to this point. In beating Houston and Memphis, the Warriors have already beat two teams with better records than Cleveland. In comparison, the Cavaliers have had a relatively easy road to the Finals beating a sub .500 Celtics team, an inconsistent and disappointing Bulls team, and a Hawks team that was battered by injuries. On top of all that, their third best player, Kevin Love, is out for the Finals, and their second best player, Kyrie Irving, is dealing with several injuries. The stage seems to be set for the Warriors to roll to a championship.
So what are we talking about then? If this should be a blowout as all the stats and the eye tests show, then why the hype? Why the excitement? Well, in the NBA, star power reigns over everything else, and the chance to watch the world’s greatest player face off against the league’s MVP with everything on the line is about as tantalizing as it gets. As it’s safe to say the fate of the Cavs and the Warriors rest on the backs of LeBron James and Steph Curry respectively, the most important question for each team is: how the hell do we stop these guys? One of Hardfoulsports.com’s great writers Jim Bearor joins me to discuss this question and many more about the NBA Finals. Continue reading
Posted in evansally, jimbearor, NBA
Tagged basketball, cavs, cleveland, clevelandcavaliers, clevelandcavs, CLEvsGSW, curry, evansally, finals, goldenstate, goldenstatewarriors, hardfoulsports, hfs, jimbearor, lebron, lebronjames, nba, nbafinals, nbaplayoffs, playoffs, stephcurry
– Alex Pickel
Guest columnist Alex Pickel has joined the Hard Foul Team to cover this year’s NHL Stanley Cup final. Be on the lookout for Alex’s column throughout the series.
The final round of the Stanley Cup Finals has arrived, and it is full of top storylines. The Chicago Blackhawks will face the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight in Tampa starting at 8 p.m. on NBC Network. Chicago is going after its’ third Stanley Cup in six years, while Tampa Bay is pursuing their first cup since 2004. Will Tampa’s young stars be able to stop Chicago’s veteran packed lineup? Key players to watch for on the Lightning roster are: Captain Steven Stamkos (91), Tyler Johnson (9), Nikita Kucherov (86) and Victor Hedman (77). Key players on the Blackhawks to watch for are: Captain Johnathan Toews (19), Patrick Kane (88), Marian Hossa (81), Duncan Keith (2), Patrick Sharp (10) and Brent Seabrook (7). Continue reading
Posted in Miscellaneous, NHL
Tagged blackhawks, chicago, chicagoblackhawks, hardfoulsports, hfs, hockey, lightning, NHL, nhlplayoffs, playoffs, tampa, tampabay, tampabaylightning
– The Hard Foul Sports Team
NHL Picks
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Mike Tolsma
This has the potential to steal the show of the two final series in the NHL and NBA. That’s right, the NHL actually may be able to steal the show. Now, granted there won’t be any dueling television nights, but the bottom line is this series will have sports fans buzzing. The Hawks have the star power. We all know what Toews and Kane brings on the front end and what Keith and Seabrook will provide the back end. Look for Patrick Sharp to try and continue to raise his trade stock (the Hawks are in serious cap trouble come this offseason) and Marian Hossa to show he still has gas left in the tank. Tampa is extremely skilled, but if Steven Stamkos doesn’t show up for a game or two, you are now relying on too much youth and inexperience to lead this team.
Who wins: Chicago in 6 Continue reading
Posted in angelanicholas, cruzserrano, evansally, jimbearor, miketolsma, NBA, NHL, stevestich, zachsnyder, zackelsharif
Tagged angelanicholas, basketball, blackhawks, cavs, chicago, chicagoblackhawks, clevelandcavaliers, clevelandcavs, cruzserrano, evansally, goldenstate, goldenstatewarriors, hardfoulsports, hfs, hockey, jimbearor, kane, lebron, lebronjames, miketolsma, nba, nbaplayoffs, NHL, nhlplayoffs, playoffs, stamkos, stephcurry, stevestich, tampa, tampabay, tampabaylightning, toews, zachsnyder, zackelsharif
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