Unbalanced
The Unbalanced explores the world of sports and the culture surrounding it; from basketball to baseball, football, hockey, wrestling, and more.
Stats
Stories
- 5,168
Creators
- 1,508
Top Stories
Stories in Unbalanced that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Lovin’ the PWHL
The inaugural season for professional women’s hockey is well underway and I, like many North American sports enthusiasts, have cottoned on to the excitement of the games and the fanfare. Most of the women playing are relatively well-known through previous media exposure during Olympic games, World Championships and Rivalry matches between Canada and the United States. Yesterday, March 8, being International Women’s Day, I decided that I would pay tribute to the women of the world in my own little sports-minded way, and watch a PWHL game between the teams from Toronto and Montreal. Casually observing the new teams since the start of the season, I had suspected that the Women’s league was somehow different from the NHL and other men’s hockey leagues around the world. Sometimes these differences don’t show up during the Olympic games or World Championships because of the media focus on winning gold medals and the like. However, during a regular season hockey game, be it a men’s game or a women’s game, one gets a chance to really notice what the respective games are all about. I would therefore like to weigh in on what have formerly been suspicions but now are being seen as true differences between men’s and women’s professional hockey.
John Oliver SmithPublished 2 months ago in UnbalancedA Spirit That Fears Nothing
There are many sound reasons to repudiate professional sport in general and NHL hockey in particular. After all, the game has been as utterly defiled by cynical, avaricious late-stage capitalism as every other aspect of contemporary existence. The ordinary fan is incessantly encouraged by marketers and advertisers to gamble, guzzle alcoholic beverages and devour kilograms of fast food, which is a bald oxymoron if you contemplate it for a moment. Salaries are stratospherically inflated, as are ticket prices, and what passes for discourse generated by the participants in, and commentators upon, the game is so full of cliches and verbal false limbs that Orwell’s ghost will never stop screaming.
D. J. ReddallPublished 4 months ago in UnbalancedThe History of the Adams Division
I've followed the NHL in some form for 30 years, but I'm still learning about the league I enjoy watching. A long time ago, I did learn about the old divisions: Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe. These divisions predated the geographical ones that we've known for the last 30 years, and the rivalries were immensely intense during that period. This will be the first of four stories focusing on those classic divisions, and I'll start geographically, even though the names had nothing to do with location. First off, the Adams Division.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 4 months ago in UnbalancedA Look Ahead to Week 18 of the 2023 NFL Season
Week 17 kicks off tonight, but I want to take a look ahead to Week 18, the final week of the regular season. We all love the final week, don't we? We've really loved it since they changed the final week's schedule back in 2010. The final week always completes the league's playoff puzzle, it's do or die for a lot of teams looking to get in and even clinch divisions. However, a lot of games lacked a lot of drama, and even saw teams not give their all when they know that they can't move up in the standings. So in 2010, the NFL decided to make all of the final week's games divisional, because regardless of where a team is in the standings, that team wants to give their all to defeat a division rival.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 5 months ago in Unbalanced63 Strikes, You're Out!
They did it, folks. They finally did it. The Los Angeles Chargers actually fired Brandon Staley as their head coach, with the firing coming after the Chargers suffered a very embarrassing loss on national television. The Chargers were on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders, and it was a game that saw the Raiders absolutely pour it on. 63 points. Nine touchdowns--seven of them by the offense. The 63 points fell just 10 short of the long-standing record set by the Chicago Bears, who scored 73 points in the 1940 NFL Championship Game over Washington. However, the Raiders' 63 points are the most in team history, and marked the second time this season that a team scored 60+ points--the Miami Dolphins scored 70 points in Week 3.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 5 months ago in UnbalancedNFL Week 9 Recap: Nine Months
January 2, 2023. We all remember that Monday evening. The Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals faced each other in what was the final Monday night game of the season. Regarding the game and the storyline, it was two teams jockeying for position in the AFC, as they were both in position to possibly take the AFC's #1 seed. This was an important game for both teams, but before the 1st quarter ended, there was suddenly something much, much more important than the game of football.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 6 months ago in UnbalancedFantasy Football is BACK!
Despite being English, I have found myself becoming more and more enamoured with the sport that the Americans call “football”. Watching American Football in the UK used to be a most difficult proposition, aside from the Superbowl the only way to watch any action was a highlights show at 1am on a Wednesday morning. During the nineties and early 2000’s I was school aged, but after that coverage started to improve. In recent years Sky Sports have added the Thursday and Monday night games, as well as three Sunday matches. Even then, the absolutely baffling decision to host games only on nights when most people have work confuse me no end. But as my interest has grown, I’ve put additional effort into trying to keep up with the games when I can. My wife has since joined me in this interest, but unlike me she is a reasonable person, who goes to bed at a sensible time rather than staying up into the night watching foreign sports and typing up nonsense for strangers to read (4th wall break! Hi, thanks for reading).
Luke FosterPublished 8 months ago in UnbalancedNFL Week 1 Recap: A New York Minute
The NFL is back, and this fan was ever so eager for the season to start. My reasons were simple. One, I had a good feeling about Fantasy Football this year, and two, I'm a Yankees fan who wants to forget about this disaster of a season. With every new NFL season comes new storylines and new questions, and one of the biggest new storylines of the debuting 2023 NFL season had to be Aaron Rodgers making his New York Jets debut on Monday Night Football.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 8 months ago in Unbalanced
Collections
Themed story collections curated by the Vocal moderators.
Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
What Went Wrong: Hurricanes' Last Chance?
Losing sucks, but one thing I always praise is when a team doesn't go down without a fight. We saw this with the Carolina Hurricanes in their Metropolitan Division Final series against the New York Rangers. The Canes lost the first three games of the series, leading to the conclusion that the Rangers would literally sweep their way to the Eastern Conference Final. However, the Canes managed to break the brooms in Game Four, and really get to Igor Shesterkin in not only Games Four and Five, but Game Six as well. After winning those two games, the Canes had a 3-1 lead entering the third period, and that had fans thinking that the dreaded reverse sweep would happen.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished about 2 hours ago in UnbalancedJohn Jay Wins Senior Night with 6-2 Victory over Pelham
Senior Night Photos On Wednesday April 24, John Jay hosted Pelham for senior night, and the rain and overcast weather passing by returned the just right front for Emma Klares. “It was nice that the sun came out,” said the senior. “We put the posters out, and it felt like senior night.” Holding up her end in the circle, the starter was still happy to share the spotlight with the kids in the 6-2 victory.
Rich MonettiPublished about 8 hours ago in UnbalancedA Look at the 2024 NFL Schedule
The draft is long over, and now comes the best part of the NFL offseason: the unveiling of the NFL schedule. 272 games will be played in 18 weeks, making for a very thrilling season. The beauty of the NFL's schedule is that it's definitely not like the other three leagues. With Major League Baseball now allowing all 30 teams to run into each other, the NFL stands as the only league that has a pretty exclusive schedule. This increases the intrigue regarding who will play who, and when will these games take place.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished about 22 hours ago in UnbalancedThe Evolution of Sports Telecasts
I am amazed and fascinated over how sports telecasts have changed and grown over the years, and it continues to evolve even at this advanced age. NBA, NHL, and MLB telecasts have all grown a lot, but this evolution is especially true when it comes to the NFL.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished a day ago in UnbalancedTournament Trash Talking
My favorite niece, who is also my only niece is in her Junior year at Dartmouth, one of eight universities in the Ivy League.
Shirley BelkPublished 3 days ago in UnbalancedWhere to Watch the Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat in 2024
Catching the Heat: Where to Watch the Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat in 2024 Basketball fans, get ready for another sizzling NBA season! The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have always been a matchup to watch, and 2024 promises to be no different. Whether you're a die-hard Beantown supporter or bleed Miami orange, here's your ultimate guide to catching all the action between these two Eastern Conference powerhouses.
Anthony MoriyamPublished 4 days ago in UnbalancedHow to Watch Boston Bruins 2024
How to Watch Boston Bruins in 2024 Chasing the Cup: Your Guide to Watching the Boston Bruins in 2024 The roar of the crowd crescendos, a slap shot explodes off the boards, and the iconic black and gold jerseys blur across the ice. For Boston Bruins fans, the NHL season is a symphony of adrenaline-pumping action. But with the ever-evolving landscape of television broadcasts, figuring out where to catch Patrice Bergeron and the boys battle it out can feel like navigating a blizzard blindfolded. Fear not, fellow Bruins devotee! This guide will illuminate the channels and streaming services where you can witness the Boston Bruins chase Lord Stanley's Cup in the 2024 season.
Anthony MoriyamPublished 4 days ago in UnbalancedWatching the Boston Bruins in 2024
Chasing the Stanley Cup: Your Guide to Watching the Boston Bruins in 2024 The roar of the crowd, the flash of a slapshot, the iconic black and gold streaking across the ice – for Boston Bruins fans, the NHL season is a thrilling rollercoaster ride. But with the ever-evolving world of television broadcasts, figuring out where to catch Patrice Bergeron and the boys can feel like navigating a blizzard blindfolded. Fear not, fellow Bruins devotee! This guide will illuminate the channels where you can witness the Boston Bruins battle it out for Lord Stanley's Cup in the 2024 season.
Anthony MoriyamPublished 4 days ago in Unbalanced
Creators We’re Loving
The creative faces behind your favorite stories.