Sincere Sports

  Steven Stamkos (Scott Audette, Getty Images)     February hockey is rarely all that illuminating, but we've had a couple of incredible games recently. The 10-7 Leafs win over Detroit, an Avalanche win in which they came back from 3 goals down to beat the Jets and a high-intensity 8-5 game between the Devils and the Blackhawks.     We've entered the most important stretch of the season and we are about to see a lot of furious games, blockbuster trades and desperate teams.      We are two weeks out from my last power rankings, and the fabric of the NHL has changed dramatically. The team that has been in last place on every single one of my rankings is now on a 5-game winning streak and has finally climbed out of the basement. The second-place team from last fortnight has stuttered as of late and allowed other teams to surpass them.      We're in uncertain times on the political landscape and that is being reflected in the world of h...

  Bunting and Marner (Dave Reginek, Getty Images)     The weirdest game in the NHL this season culminated with a Toronto win that can be perfectly reflected by the boxscore.     Here are my 5 takeaways from one of the most wild Leafs games in years. 

  Matthews and Mrazek celebrate (Kevin Sousa, Getty Images)     The Leafs shattered their three game losing streak with a win in a defensive affair over the stuttering Minnesota Wild.     Here are my 5 takeaways from a Leafs game that reinstalled a bit of calm in this team.

  William Nylander gets stopped (Russell Bounty, USA Today)     The Leafs' first three game losing streak since October indicates that the sky is falling in Leafs Nation. Toronto's lacklustre effort in Columbus showed that their loss to Montreal was not a wake-up call like Sheldon Keefe suggested.     Here are my 5 takeaways from the Leafs' most concerning loss in months.

  Josh Anderson opens the scoring (Vincent Ethier, Getty Images)     An awful showing from the defense and the Leafs' second line marked an embarrassing defeat to the last-place Montreal Canadiens.      Here are my 5 takeaways from an atrocious loss against a suddenly surging Habs squad.

   Lionel Messi (Reuters)      For some, February is a month of love. For us football fans, February means only one thing: Champions League knockout stages.      We have some real corkers this year in the round of 16, including some matches that could go either way. I'll be waiting in anticipation to see how the next few weeks unfold.      For now, I'll be making my predictions for the first leg of every single matchup and simply previewing what I expect from each match. I'll have some minor tactical insights and I'll explain why I think each team will win or lose their match.     Let's begin with the highlight of the round.

Brayden Schenn battles (Vaughn Ridley, Getty Images)     The Leafs' hot streak was doused at home in a crushing defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.     Here are my 5 takeaways from the game as the Leafs' defensive struggles were laid bare (and then promptly resolved a half hour later).

  Jack Campbell (Kevin Sousa, Getty Images)     Jack Campbell's best game in months helped the Leafs manage a win against a red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins team.     Here are my 5 takeaways from a statement victory at Scotiabank Arena.

  The stars celebrate (Christopher Mast, Getty Images)     The Maple Leafs finally got out of their funk with a dominant win against the league's newest team, the Seattle Kraken.      Here are my 5 takeaways from an impressive performance to cap off the Western road trip.

The Flames celebrate (Andy Devlin, Getty Images)     The NHL season is back underway after a short reality check during the All-Star break (which was surprisingly fun, by the way). Like with most years in the NHL, this season's All-Star pause seems to have symbolized a metaphoric shift to a whole new mindset. It truly seems as if playtime is over and every single team has mentally prepared themselves for the grind that is the NHL season.     So far, teams like the Flames and the Panthers are succeeding in the beginning of the season's second half. Other squads, like the Bruins and the Capitals have faltered recently.      The race to the playoffs is often almost as exciting as the postseason itself, so we are getting close to the point where every game is must-watch. I'll continue to try to pay attention to Raptors games and the Olympics, but we've reached the point where I'll be watching an NHL game every single night.     With that being sa...

  Demko stops Nylander (Jeff Vinnick, Getty Images)     The Leafs outshot their opponents heavily, but had nothing to show for it. Sounds familiar, eh?     Here are my 5 takeaways from a frustrating loss against the Vancouver Canucks as a nightmarish Western trip continues.

  Ferran Torres (FC Barcelona, Twitter.com)         It was a surprisingly exciting January transfer window, with some major moves being made as some teams desperately tossed cash around to improve their squad quality and depth. We had numerous big names find new clubs as well as some transfers for the long-term future that involved lesser-known players.      In this article, I'll be focusing on all of the major transfers in Europe's top 5 leagues and giving a grade as well as my thoughts for both clubs that were involved in the deal.      I'll be starting from January 1 and making my way all the way to Deadline Day. Now that the explanation is complete, I can start the grading.     (All fees are expressed in American dollars)

  The Flames celebrate a goal (Sergei Belski, USA Today)     An absolute dismantling of the Maple Leafs by the red-hot Calgary Flames left Leafs Nation in a panicked state before the fans eventually realized that they've only lost 7 games in regulation since Halloween.     Here are my 5 takeaways from a 5-2 loss against a raucous Flames team. 1. Rock Beats Scissors     Leafs super-fan Steve Dangle had a really good analogy during his game reaction last night. He called Toronto one of the best "scissors" in the league. Their offense is fourth in the league and their formerly stale offense is firing shots at a rate we haven't seen in decades. It's safe to say that the Leafs possess an incredible offense, as evidenced by their 48 shots on goal against Jakob Markstrom.      However, as we all know rock beats scissors. The Calgary Flames are a "rock" of a team. Playoff hockey is the type of game where elite teams need to find that inner "rock...

  Domantas Sabonis (Getty Images)     Two major deals were struck in the National Basketball Association over the course of a few hours on an inauspicious Tuesday afternoon. 4 teams committed to drastic new pathways for their franchises, by either acquiring a top-tier player or trading somebody who was very valuable.     ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a couple of "Woj bombs", announcing CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans and Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings. These were both shocking deals, as we hadn't seen much evidence linking either of those players with the respective teams. Either way, the deals are completed now and NBA fans are excited to see how it could change the fabric of the league itself.     That's where the Sincere Sports blog comes in. In this article, I'll be talking about how each team involved will be impacted, as well as how these deals will affect the current trade market and the entire NBA as a whole.

  Travis Dermott (Toronto Maple Leafs, Twitter.com)     A freak injury to superstar center Auston Matthews overshadowed an impressive Leafs victory over the East's best team, the Carolina Hurricanes.     Here are my 5 takeaways from a thriller in Scotiabank Arena. 

  Carlos Correa (Getty Images)     The frustrating lockout continues in the world of Major League Baseball, as ideas for an expanded playoff format, the universal DH and a lottery-based draft system are being suggested. There does seem to be a feeling that the lockout may be nearing an end, as many high-profile sources have reported some progress in the labour negotiations.           Hopefully, this means that the MLB season will be back on and the many superstar free agents still on the market will finally be able to find their new teams.     Thus, with the expectation that we might see some signings within the next month, I decided to take a look at 15 of the most sought after free agents in all of baseball and simply speculate where I expect them to land.     I will be combining some news I've read with my gut feeling and how the player fits into a certain team.      With that being said, let's get starte...

  Bruno Guimaraes (DAZN Espana, Twitter.com)     The January transfer window has finally come to a close. As usual with transfer windows, some teams performed much better than others. As a Premier League fan, I'll be reviewing each squad's performance in the window and ranking them all compared to each other.      My favourite club, in particular had a nightmare window, but there were some very exciting signings elsewhere in the EPL.     With that being said, I'll be ranking each team's window and talking about what I expect with the majority of big transfers.      Let's begin at the 20th spot.

  Rich Graessle (Getty Images)     A pummeling of the New Jersey Devils helped the Leafs ease into the All-Star break with style.      Here are my 5 takeaways from a 7-1 win in the Garden State.

  Auston Matthews (Kevin Sousa, Getty Images)     Yet another comeback for the Toronto Maple Leafs sealed the two points over the New Jersey Devils. An awful first period set the team back early, but they bounced back in a big way with a scoring barrage in the third period.     Here are my 5 takeaways from the high-scoring game.