Sincere Sports

  Connor McDavid's unforgettable winner (Getty Images)     When you're hot, you're hot.      Sincere Sports hasn't been on a roll like this since I started forfeiting technology during the summers and turned my writing abilities to abstract assessments of Hannah Arendt's banality of evil, instead of superficial sports recaps. I can't quite understand the reasons for this newfound writing binge. It certainly isn't the pathetically bad Maple Leafs team that are currently getting caved in by the retooling Boston Bruins as I put the finishing touches on this article. Maybe Montreal's sudden influx of winter weather has put me in a mood for hockey? Perhaps the Toronto Blue Jays' devastating Game 7 World Series loss has caused me to disassociate with MLB free agency? Regardless of the reasons, I hope some people can appreciate this burst of content before I inevitably go on another hiatus until the World Juniors.      Collectively, the hockey world...

  Gavin McKenna (Getty Images)     As all self-respecting hockey nerds tend to do, I've historically been prone to breaking my fast on sports writing to delve back into the world of junior hockey, a source of great passion for me. Mock drafts are, by far, the most exciting exercise that any amateur hockey "analyst" can undertake. At the end of the day, nobody can actually draw a meaningful conclusion from the few minutes of game tape that are available on YouTube. However, draft season consistently lures people like me into the same false sense of self-belief that my reconnaissance work could genuinely rival the competence of those who scout as a full-time job, earning a far heftier salary than I can conceive, thanks to my Stockholm Syndrome-esque relationship with Camp Quin-Mo-Lac and unadvertised sports writing.      Regardless, there's no denying that I've watched an ungodly amount of hockey in my 20 years on this planet, so I reckon that I've picked up ...