As we look back on the highs and lows of 2021’s sports calendar, it’s tempting to crown certain teams as the best — or worst — in all of sports, not just their sport. That’s been difficult to do across the pro sports landscape … until now. We here at FiveThirtyEight made a concerted effort […]
The NHL drops the puck on its 2021-22 regular season on Tuesday, and we couldn’t be more excited for a new year of hockey to get underway. We already told you about our brand-new NHL Elo forecast model last week — so check that out if you haven’t yet — but now it’s time to […]
Like starting your own orchard, launching a franchise in Tampa is an exercise in delayed gratification. Before tasting the sweet fruits of your labor, you must have the patience to endure long, painful periods of no fruit whatsoever. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their Creamsicle jerseys managed only three winning seasons in their first 20 […]
neil (Neil Paine, senior sportswriter): After one of the weirdest seasons in NHL history, we finally have a champion! With a 1-0 victory Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning finished off the upstart Montreal Canadiens to win their second straight Stanley Cup and continue Tampa Bay’s run of sports dominance. It’s been an undeniably impressive […]
neil (Neil Paine, senior sportswriter): It wouldn’t be the Stanley Cup playoffs without some wild results, and the semifinal round has certainly delivered in that department. On Wednesday night, the New York Islanders overcame a 2-0 deficit (and an 8-0 loss the game before) to force Game 7 against the defending-champion Tampa Bay Lightning before […]