Author Archives: Gio Damico

Brandon Clarke: NBA Draft Preview

Givanni Damico | June 18th, 2019

 

Brandon Clarke, PF (Gonzaga)

Height: 6’8”
Weight: 207 LBs
Class: Junior
2018-19 Stats: 16.9 PPG, 1.9 APG, 8.6 RPG, 3.2 BPG, 1.2 SPG

Background:

Brandon Clarke is a Canadian basketball player who attended the University of Gonzaga. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to Whitney Triplett and Steve Clarke. He moved to the United States when he was three years old. Clarke attended Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Arizona where he was named an All-Arizona Division 1 honoree. He attended San Jose State for his freshman and sophomore year where he put up 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference play during his freshman year. He was named the Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year. During his sophomore campaign, he averaged 17.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. He was named to the All-Mountain West First Team and the Mountain West All-Defensive Team. After his sophomore campaign, he transferred to Gonzaga where he would sit out the 2017-18 season. During his junior year, he played three fewer minutes per game for the Zags. He averaged 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game en route being named the West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year. He was also a member of the All-WCC First Team. Clarke was just the third player in NCAA Tournament history to record 35+ points and five blocks, joining Shaquille O’Neal and David Robinson. Now that is some legendary company. Continue reading →

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Three “Openers” That Are Worth A Look In Fantasy Leagues

Givanni Damico | June 18th, 2019

 

The “opener” has slowly begun to take over baseball. Its purpose is to start a high-leverage reliever and let him throw for an inning or two so that your starter doesn’t have to face the opposing lineup more than twice. Let’s get into it.

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Starting Pitchers That Need An Opener (Part One)

Givanni Damico | June 17th, 2019

Some pitchers are absolutely dominant to begin a game. Many even carry it into the middle and later innings. Unfortunately, there are those guys who just can’t get through the opposing batting order more than two times. Today, we will focus on these players who specifically can’t get through the order for the third time. You won’t see names like Edwin Jackson on here who is bad no matter how many times he has gone through the order.

For those who don’t know, the opener is a pitcher, usually a reliever, who starts the game and pitches an inning or two to allow for the starter to only have to face the lineup two times. Let’s get into it.

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Jordan Binnington: The Savior of St. Louis

Givanni Damico | June 16th, 2019

After getting off to a 9-13-4 start through 26 games, there were not high hopes for the Blues to make a postseason run. The offense was struggling to put the puck in the net, and Jake Allen was an inconsistent nightmare in the crease. Vladimir Tarasenko uncharacteristically recorded just 24 points in the first 40 games of the season. The Blues had high hopes going into the season after acquiring Ryan O’Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres as well as signing veteran winger Tyler Bozak. They had the pieces for a great season, but it all started at the top.

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The Most Deserving AL All-Star Starters

Givanni Damico | June 14th, 2019

The statistics used in this article are accurate as of the morning of June 13th.

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Fuel to the Fire: Kevin Durant’s fight for recognition

Givanni Damico | June 11th, 2019

If you missed game five of the NBA Finals, you missed what could potentially be the end of Kevin Durant’s “prime”. To backtrack a little bit, Durant was initially injured in game five of the Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Houston Rockets when he was diagnosed with a calf strain. At the time, many, including Durant, believed it could have been an injury to his Achilles tendon. Everybody was relieved to find out that it was a calf strain instead. The Warriors’ had missed his presence in the NBA Finals so far, as they were down 3-1 to the Toronto Raptors going into game five on Monday night. To the relief of Warriors’ fans everywhere, doctors cleared Durant to play in game five of the Finals. There was plenty of speculation about him possibly re-injuring his calf and that it was a risk for him to be playing. Well, those people were right. Continue reading →