Month: July 2026

PATRICK KANE COULD GO HOME OR GO HOME AGAIN

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I feel like Patrick Kane is like the alien E.T. ready to phone home after three seasons of playing in Detroit with the Red Wings. However where is home for the 37 year old right winger? Is it where he was born and raised in Buffalo, New York? Could he be the missing piece wearing the Sabres sweater to get Buffalo even deeper into the post-season? Perhaps even the Stanley Cup finals. Kane could also go home to the team that drafted him in Chicago in 2007, number 1 overall. Kane wore the Blackhawks sweater for 16 seasons and helped Chicago win three Stanley Cups. The last three seasons in Motor City, Kane has been productive, but the Red Wings still did not make the post-season. Now as a free agent he has some interesting choices for his 20th season in the NHL.

Patrick Kane last season with the Red Wings only scored 16 goals after two previous seasons in Detroit notching at least 20 or more goals. Kane did dish out 41 assists to give him 57 points for the season, so he is still a productive player. He also played in 67 games last year for the Red Wings, so he also has been durable. Kane’s hockey resume is impressive overall throughout his 19 year career. He has lit the lamp 508 times. He has racked up 892 assists for 1,400 points in 1,389 regular season games in the NHL. He could hang up the skates for good right now and still be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Could he still be hanging on for another Stanley Cup? He may be seeking the goal record for the most goals ever by a player in the NHL born in the U.S.A. Kane’s 504 goals is 4th all-time in the NHL for a U.S. born player. Another former Blackhawk, Jeremy Roenick, is 3rd all-time with 513 goals.

Then in second is Keith Tkachuk with 538 goals. If Kane has a great season coming up, he could be in the number two slot by the end of the 2026-27 season. Mike Modano is number 1 with 561 goals. This record Kane could get if he plays three more seasons, by my estimate.

The Buffalo Sabres broke a 14 season post-season drought this season. They eliminated the Boston Bruins in round 1 of the Stanley Cup post-season. In round two they fell to the Montreal Canadiens in a series that went all the way to game 7. The Sabres have a ton of talent on their roster. However once again money was the issue in keeping one of their most important cogs that helped this Sabres machine run smoothly on the ice, in right winger Alex Tuch. The Sabres had to trade Tuch to the Washington Capitals to get something for him. Tuch got his pay day with the Capitals and will team up with the NHL’s all-time scorer Alex Ovechin for one more run at the cup for the Russian who getting up there in age. The Sabres almost had a deal with the Jets for their star goalie Connor Hellebuyck. Both sides could not agree on a deal right before the NHL draft. Rumors have it that a deal could still happen between these two franchises. If the Sabres do land the services of Hellebuyck, with the core they have they for sure are a team that could go once again deep into the post-season. With a homecoming for Kane he would be a nice replacement for Tuch and could give this Sabres machine the juice it needs to get to the finals. Kane could come cheaper. Kane’s post-season experience and magic certainly would be the X-factor. Playing in front of the home crowd where you grew up has to be something special.

The other homecoming would be in Chicago where Patrick Kane is treated like a rock star in the Windy City. The last time the Blackhawks made the post-season was the 2019-20 season. During the pandemic, the NHL expanded the post-season and Chicago qualified to the final sixteen after making the 24 team format. They dispatched the Edmonton Oilers in the qualifying round. The Blackhawks are trying to build something around their new superstar Connor Bedard. Adding Kane to the mix in Chicago does not get this franchise an automatic bid to the post-season. Right now the Blackhawks are making some solid improvements building around Bedard but not enough to bring in Kane. Coming back to Chicago would equal out to playing the last three seasons in Detroit. Close, but they still missed the post-season by a handful of games. Kane ranks 2nd in points and assists on the Blackhawks franchise all-time lists. He ranks 3rd in franchise in goals as well. Heading back to Chicago he could certainly move his name up those charts.

The Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin wants out of Detroit. Larkin is even a Michigan native and wants to be traded to a few contenders he has handpicked. Knowing that news, the chances are very good that Kane will no longer be wearing a Red Wings sweater. I’m sure Kane will have other NHL teams besides Chicago or Buffalo interested in his services for next season. He may not want to go home again. He has that legendary status in Chicago already. Being an older player, you don’t want to taint your play and your name at the end of your career where you had all your success. Perhaps not signing with the Sabres prevents the hometown team fans seeing the aging process right in front of their eyes. If you go home again, you want to show them that you can contribute and help your team win games. I honestly think Kane has some gas left in the tank and could help the Sabres and the Blackhawks. He also could help another team as well. If the Hurricanes, or the Stars, or some of the other powerhouses come calling for Kane’s services, a homecoming will not happen.

COULD LEBRON JAMES JOIN FORCES WITH SETH CURRY AND THE WARRIORS?

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Is another dream team being formed right in front of our own eyes this off-season in the NBA? It did not take Lebron James very long to make a decision this go around as he informed the Lakers he’s taking his talents elsewhere. The King James is a free agent so we are expecting an hour long show on ESPN to tell us where he will be playing basketball next year. Some of the NBA experts think he should go back home and suit up for his third stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers have done fine without James. Could he be the final piece of the pie of Cleveland to get them back in the NBA finals? The biggest rumor out there is the Golden State Warriors have interest in signing Lebron James’ services. Once upon a time ago sworn enemies of Seth Curry teams were facing James teams in the NBA finals & that has happened 4 times. Now pairing Curry and James together sounds like the Warriors are bringing King Kong and Godzilla together to retake the NBA from the youth gone wild on the hardwood floors.

Lebron James is 41 years of age and will be returning for his 24th NBA season which is Tom Brady-like on the football field in his career. Lebron played with son Bronny James last year as they were teammates in the NBA playing as father and son on the Lakers. You can cross that off the bucket list. Lebron has all kinds of NBA records to himself. Most games played. He became the all-time leading scorer breaking Kareem Addul-Jabar’s record of most points all-time. He broke a pair of Michael Jordan’s records of most post-season wins and post-season scoring record. However he does not have Air Jordan’s six pack of championships. Lebron has played in 10 total championships and has won 4 of them. He won a pair with the Miami Heat in 2012 & ’13. That’s when he left Cleveland the first time and took his talents to South Beach. Then in his second stint with Cleveland in a wild NBA final, Lebron rallied his team against Seth Curry and the Warriors being down in that championship series in 2016. Then he helped the Lakers win another championship during the pandemic year of 2020. He has 4 championships and Curry has 4. It would be a long shot for James to get three more to break Jordan’s record of six. Two would be very hard as well. Going to Golden State maybe he has a shot for one more title at his age.

The last time the Golden State Warriors were in the NBA finals was in 2022 when they won their 4th championship. Seth Curry’s Golden State Warriors have been to 6 NBA finals as they won 4 titles in a group that is a legit dynasty. The Warriors have beaten Lebron-lead teams three times out of four in the NBA finals. Steve Kerr is still the head coach of the Warriors. Draymond Green is still the Warriors power forward. Green is still playing at a high level with his long tenured teammate, Curry. The splash brothers have been split up as Klay Thompson just finished his second season with the Mavericks. Has Jimmy Buckets, aka Jimmy Butler, wore out the welcome of another franchise? Butler has had some injuries in the last two seasons with the Warriors. It seems like Butler did not have the best finish to last regular season as the Warriors missed the post-season. In 2025 the Curry Butler dynamic duo went all the way to the Western Conference finals to end up losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves. What will happen to Butler if Lebron joins the team? Does he stay or does he go?

When Lebron James had his hour special and made the decision to take his talents to South Beach, he also persuaded free agent Chris Bosh to join him. Bosh played for the Raptors and signed with Miami to play for the Heat and Dwayne Wade to form the big three in their line up. It was a master plan that won two championships. For the Warriors, the plan may be to sign James and trade away Jimmy Butler. Then contact the Washington Wizards to pry away Lebron’s former Lakers teammate, Anthony Davis, who was traded there from the Mavericks. Rumor has it Davis does not want to play for the Wizards. As you remember, Davis won a title with Lebron in the 2020 season playing in LA for the Lakers. Lots of dominoes have to fall to get all this aging talents to the Bay.

Think about if the Golden State starting line up next year is Seth Curry, Lebron James, Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, and the 5th player right now is unknown. My first thought is ratings, ratings, and then ratings. Like location, location, location they say for starting your own business. This line up is an aging dream team line up. Maybe five years ago this line up would rule the NBA. A few injuries and lack of bench play because you invested too much money into this line up could easily derail your season. Imagine fitting James and Davis on the Warriors roster; you have to get rid of Jimmy Butler and perhaps a few other guys. Your depth on your roster will dwindle as you have to pick up cheap alternatives to help the roster. Which may be guys also on their last legs. Curry and James helped the U.S. team win the gold medal playing together in 2024. That seems like a long time ago in basketball years which equals to dog years.You may not find a quick chemistry with all these guys. Sure Davis and James have played together. So has Curry and Green. Not all 4 of these guys and the player named later in the starting line up have. The Warriors will gobble up television ratings with this group. I think this group could make the post-season as well. I think the day of getting all these aging superstars together are over in the NBA. The red rover game calling, “Let Jimmy come over.” Which is a good thing. You are seeing more teams build through the draft and become very successful doing so. If only the NBA could add defense into their game. Maybe play the game of basketball instead of chucking up threes every possession. Not calling a foul if a player sneezes would be better entertainment than getting the retirement home on one roster expecting them to pull off the miracle in beating the younger talent of the NBA half their age group.

NO JUICE WILL BE SERVED AT THE BILLS’ NEW STADIUM

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The Buffalo Bills will be playing at a brand new spanking facility this upcoming season. The new Bills stadium will still be named Highmark stadium which cost 2.1 billion dollars to construct this new facility that is across the street from the old building. The Old Highmark stadium is being bulldozed which is already underway. Left under the rubble will be one of the Bills most famous running backs not named Thurman Thomas. All the Bills greats from the old stadium will be honored at the new stadium like nothing ever happened except one name. The Juice. OJ Simpson will be a ghost of the past when it comes to his old team moving into a new home. You can’t erase the past. However you could erase him from your new building which many thought they should have done a long time ago when the Bronco was in motion and the gloves did not fit in the 1990’s. When Juice was suddenly not a healthy choice in Western New York anymore. The Bills X running back created more black clouds above their skies which lingered for decades. Now the Bills leaders have finally got rid of a stain on the franchise that Simpson caused murdering two people and getting away with it.

OJ Simpson was the oil and gasoline of the Buffalo Bills on the field during the 1970’s. Simpson was drafted by the Buffalo Bills number 1 overall in the 1969 NFL draft from USC. He played 11 seasons in the NFL of which his first 9 came in wearing a Bills uniform. His last two seasons he went back home to the west coast and suited up with the 49ers. From 1969-1977 he made a name for himself on the gridiron playing professional football after a very solid college career. In 1973 he became the first running back in the NFL to rush for over 2,000 yards in one season. He was a 6 x Pro-Bowler. He made 5 first All-Pro squads in his 11 year career. He played in 135 games and ran the ball 2,404 times and tallied up 11,236 rushing yards. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry and scored 61 rushing touchdowns. He was a 3x AFC MVP. He was the first inducted member of the Bills Wall of Fame at the old stadium. They called it the Wall of Fame and his name was there for a reason. His play on the field eventually earned himself a trip to Canton as he made the NFL Hall of Fame.

Then in 1994 Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found stabbed to death. OJ Simpson now became a person of interest. Everyone was glued to their television set when OJ tried to make a run for it in his white Bronco with his best friend. Which set up one of the slowest ever police chases of all-time. Then in 1995 Simpson was charged with murder for what he did to his X-wife Nicole and Mr. Goldman. When you have money you can hire the dream team table of lawyers which the Juice did. His trial drew a larger audience than he ever saw on the football field. It was a world wide trial of people wanting to know what would happen next. What happened was Simpson was acquitted of all charges & that put plenty of dark clouds on America’s justice system. A trial that prosecutors botched big time. Simpson was a free man. But two years later his bank account all of a sudden dried up as he lost the civil court case that cost him 33.5 million dollars. The civil court claimed he was liable for wrongful death. In 2007 Simpson would be arrested in an arm robbery along with kidnapping charges with several accomplices. He claimed he was trying to get back his sports memorabilia that was stolon from him as he broke into a hotel in Las Vegas. In 2008 he was locked up. He served only 9 years in prison as he was once again a free man in 2017. Simpson would die of cancer in 2024 at the age of 76.

The Bills President of Business Operations, Pete Guelli, said, “We have an organizational decision that he is not fit to display inside our new stadium and family circle.”

The family circle will be all the Bills legends outside with three gigantic bison statues that will be open all year round.

Inside, other players on the Wall of Fame will be in the new stadium except OJ Simpson. No Juice. Just tall boys of Labatt Blue. Inside the new stadium will have history of all those great teams in the 1990’s with the 4 Superbowls in a row in that decade. Then other seasons that were memorable.

OJ Simpson had it all. He was a side line reporter for the NFL after his playing career concluded. He was a pitchman for Hertz car rental. He was a Hollywood movie star starring in all three of the Naked Guns.

Simpson was a guy that was liked on those commercials and movies. The fans in the NFL liked his insight on the sidelines of games he covered. He had a dark side and that is what came out years later.

OJ Simpson will always be one of the Best Buffalo Bills running backs of all-time. When he played the game on the gridiron, he did not have that dark side. He had a knack and the athleticism to run the football well on the field. He may have played with an edge. He had that friendly personality that fans loved after the games. Those were dark days of your franchise because the team did not win a ton of games like they do now in present day. He was a bright spot in those dark days that turned into a problem when he stabbed his X-wife and Ronald Goldman. Murderers should only be on the walls of the post office as a wanted person dead or live by the law. You have to protect the youth and not glamorize an athlete who committed double homicide. If you call something Family Circle, no way you should have OJ’s face on that. The Bills should have removed OJ from the old stadium . They let it linger. It’s better to leave OJ’s memories there. The Bills did not win any Superbowls in the old facility that had OJ on the wall. It’s a new beginning. The Bills are making the smart decisions to hopefully create more sunshine above Highmark stadium and disburse those dark clouds to New England.