The Extra Point: The Irreverent SportsNut likes to initiate critical analyses of any important sports topic such as sports writing/reporting, sports announcing, coaching, league decisions, network/local stations decisions, player conduct or statements.

In the NHL Eastern Division first round playoffs pitting the Florida Panthers against the record setting Boston Bruins, the oddsmakers had the Bruins winning easily. The Bruins set records for most wins and points in a season and went into this series led by their likely Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Linus Ullmark. But Ullmark, got shakier as the series went along and the team’s defense and puck sloppiness were also factors in losing the series. But Ullmark was dealing with an undisclosed painful and debilitating injury that mayrequire surgery in the off season and he didn’t mention it to his coach or other players. The debate e gone with Swayman but he only pulled Ullmark because of his poor performance not knowing he was playing with a severe injury. Dhere is whether a player should be a courageous “dirt dog” and play through injuries for the good of the team or should he have admitted that he was injured, knowing he wasn’t functioning at 100% for the good of the team. If coach Montgomery knew this before game seven he could havo you praise Ullmark for playing through pain or eriticize him for being selfish and not looking out for the team’s best interest? The fans love the ‘dirt dog” play through pain type of playerss but should they be taken off the mantle as heroes and encouraged to do what’s best for the team?

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Jump Ball: This section will feature the Brainy SportsNut responding to subscriber’s opinions on controversial subjects or issues regarding any of the sports we cover. We will tell you the topic we will discuss in this issue and discuss it in the next bi-weekly blog. Send in your topics and we may select it for the next blog or a future blog.

Send topics and comments to sage@sportsnutsofamerica.com

One of the new changes in Major League Baseball for 2023 is that teams no longer will be allowed to have more than two infielders on one side of second base. The rational behind this move is that by opening the field it puts 2 premium on athleticism and incentivizes hitters to put the ball in play. The baseball purists went crazy when teams started using the shift and batting averages dropped. Now since they’ve taken the shift away there are some fans that are not happy. I always found it frustrating that a hard grounder or line drive going between first and second wasn’t a base hit as it was for all the years I was wtching and playing baseball because the shortstop or second basement was was 10-20 feet in the outfield. What’s your opinion? Send opinions and comments to sage@sportsnutsofamerica.com

Produced by Albert Porter, CEO, SportsNuts of America

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Trivial Matters: Each week there will be a few sports trivia questions and we will give out prizes to those who have the highest scores over a three-month period.

a) In the 1991 World Series what Twins player hit a game winning 11″ inning homer to win the sixth game against Atlanta.

b) What term is used in tennis for a score of 40 to 40?

Send answers to Trivia questions to sage@sportsnutsofamerica.com

Produced by Albert Porter, CEO, SportsNuts of America

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Sports in Rhyme: Avid sports fans will appreciate the castchy phrases, play on words, metaphors, humor, and inuendo employed in this carefully metered rhyming scheme (four lines with the second and fourth lines rhyming and each line has seven meters (syllables). Readers coulod improve tyheir sports knowledge, test their sports acumen, and be challenged to unlock the meaning. Some poems are to figure out but enjoyable to read and others may bedifficult to interpret. If you subscribed already you’ve already had a look at dozens of these poems. There will be new poems in each new blog,

The title here in this poem below is a metaphor for George Steinbrenner who owned the Yankees for years but passed away before a new stadium was built at an astronomical price. So here’s the poem and I’) discuss each element:

WHO YOU GONNA CALL

Ruth’s new house a “mantle” piece

Ghest of George has new haunts

Were pricey signings in vain

Cheers could be turning to taunts.

“Who you gonna call’ is a reference to a famous movie called Ghostbusters.

Ruth refers to Babe Ruth and Yankee Stadium was always referred to as “The house that Ruth built” so Ruth’s “new” house (stadium) is considered a beautiful showroom piece or “mantle” piece which is a reference to another great Yankee player, Mickey Mantle. So George’s ghost (hypothetically) has new haunts or a new place to hang out. Then the subject of money comes up because the stadium cost millions and the team had the highest dollar signings of any other team in Major League Baseball, thus the final comment about the fans is that if the players don’t produce there will be unhappy fans.

Produced by Albert Porter, CEO, SportsNuts of America

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Entertaining Perks We have made arrangements with two major entertainment discount companies that will allow you to get exciting discount opportunities for restaurants throughout the country and booking your vacation travel plans.

This “perk” is free to all subscribers and offers impressive and substantial discounts on dining in over 62,000 restaurants in the United states, discounts on hotel and travel and significant discounts on a variety of entertainment venues in the United States (Disney, Las Vegas, Broadway, and major league sports events, to name a few). An example of a dining discount is that you can purchase a $25 gift certificate for only $10 and print it and use it at one of the 62,000 participating restaurants. These certificates are guaranteed by the nation’s largest and respected dining deals company, founded in 1999.

Produced by Albert Porter, CEO, SportsNuts of America

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