This year disrupted the sports world like no other in modern history. First, the COVID-19 pandemic shut sports down almost completely in the spring and early summer; then, it dramatically altered the schedules and formats of most leagues when they did return. The NBA and WNBA played their postseasons in neutral-site bubbles, for instance, while […]
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of six pieces that show how professional sports owners in America contribute to political campaigns, why they spend millions in the space and what that financial power means as athletes across sports continue to embrace activism of their own. American professional sports owners have contributed nearly […]
As Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly sat in the penalty box during a game at Chicago’s United Center in February 2018, he listened as a group of white fans chanted “basketball, basketball, basketball” in his direction. The Blackhawks fans taunting Smith-Pelly, who is Black, were making their position clear: Hockey isn’t for everyone, and it’s […]
A year after an epic unraveling, the Tampa Bay Lightning have completed their redemption arc. The Bolts hoisted their second ever Stanley Cup on Monday night after dispatching the Dallas Stars 2-0, bringing to an end a hard-fought but ultimately comfortable series after six games. In doing so, Tampa exorcised any demons that may have […]
The Stanley Cup isn’t often won by the team that played the best hockey during the regular season. Since the introduction of the Presidents’ Trophy in 1986, only eight teams that finished the season with the most points have gone on to lift the Cup at the end of the playoffs. That said, the Stanley […]