This season, several NHL rookies have shown signs they are the next superstars of hockey.

NHL rookies this season include Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, who were chosen with the first two picks of this past NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres, respectively. McDavid already has six points in seven games and Eichel has four points in seven games.

Other rookies from this past draft that are playing in the NHL are Carolina Hurricanes’ Noah Hanifin and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Daniel Sprong, who each have a point through six games. Hanifin was drafted in the first round and Sprong was drafted in the second round.

Dylan Larkin is a rookie that plays for the Detroit Red Wings. He was a 2014 first round selection. He played one year at the University of Michigan before signing with the Red Wings last May. He made the team out of training camp and is having a spectacular start to the season. The teenager has scored several highlight reel goals and looks like a veteran at times during games. He has six points through six games and it looks as if he’s going to stay on the team the rest of the year.

The Arizona Coyotes have two rookies that are impressing a lot of people. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair have already provided several highlight reel goals this season and show no signs of stopping. Domi was a first round pick in 2013 and Duclair was a third round pick by the Rangers the same year. The Coyotes acquired Duclair in a trade with the Rangers at the trade deadline last season. Both have scored seven points in six games.

Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks was a free agent signing over the summer. The rookie went undrafted after playing the last couple seasons in the KHL. He entered this week as the point leader of all rookies in the NHL, scoring seven points in six games.

The NHL is in a good place right now. This is the first season of the Coaches Challenge and the new 3 on 3 overtime format, making games more exciting. The skill level has never been higher, and the young players that are starting to emerge in the league are only going to make things better.

Last night the Cubs lost to the Mets 5-2. The loss gave the Mets a 3-0 series lead in the NLCS and put the Cubs one loss away from elimination.

The way this series has unfolded for the Cubs after the run they had to begin this postseason has made many Cubs fans angry. The Cubs finished the regular season with a record of 97-65, the third best record in the majors. They had to play in the National League Wild Card Game because the three teams that finished ahead of them in their division, the Cardinals and the Pirates, finished with the two best records in the regular season. The Cubs went to Pittsburgh and were able to manhandle the Pirates in front of their own fans and set up a date with their most hated rival, the Cardinals, in the NLDS. The Cubs won that series three games to one to eliminate their arch rival and advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2003. They’ve lost the first three games to the Mets and are facing possible elimination tonight.

I understand how dissapointed Cubs fans are feeling right now, especially because they want to see a championship sometime soon after a 107 years without one. But I want to make something clear to Cubs fans…….this team isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

First off, they haven’t even been eliminated yet, and Theo Epstein teams have had some history with overcoming 3-0 series deficits against New York baseball teams. How perfect would it be if the Cubs ended up coming back to win this series and went on to win it all, just like how the Red Sox ended their championship drought?

And secondly, even if the Cubs end up losing this series, they’re going to be a force in the MLB for years to come. This team is built to get better and better as the years go by. They have a bunch of young talent that has gained valuable experience this year and are only going to get better. They’re also going to try to improve their roster this offseason by signing key free agents, especially free agent pitchers.

This team reminds me of the Chicago Bulls teams in 1989-1990 and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009. Those teams had a lot of young talent that gained a lot of playoff experience in those years, but ultimately came up short of a championship against older, much more experienced and better teams. However, the Bulls went on to win 6 out of the next 8 NBA Championships and the Blackhawks went on to win 3 out of the next 6 Stanley Cup Championships.

Nothing in life is guaranteed. There isn’t any certainty this Cubs team will become like those teams. But Cub fans have reason for optimism.

Last night the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants by a score of 27-7. The highlight of the game was at halftime when ESPN showed the new Star Wars trailer. Oh and the end of the game……….when the game ended.

It was a horribly played football game by both teams, marred by penalties, turnovers, and overall poor play. It was painful to watch.

More and more NFL games are being played like this. It’s becoming a disturbing trend. Most of these games happen on Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football. Teams have less time to practice and prepare and it shows during the game. Too many penalties, short runs, incomplete passes, not enough scores, and just overall bad football.

But this also happens on Sunday’s too, when teams have all week to prepare for games. The problem is much bigger than just not enough time to prepare. It’s how teams are preparing.

It’s been well documented how the NFL keeps getting sued by ex-players who suffer brain problems from their playing days. As a result, the NFL has made several rule changes over the years to limit the number of concussions players suffer. These rule changes have eliminated things like two-a-days, contact in practice, and how long practices can last. These rule changes are designed to protect players from injuries, but they might be having the opposite affect.

Several players suffered season ending injuries during training camp this season, including star players like Kelvin Benjamin and Jordy Nelson. Players are changing the way they practice, and once it gets time to play a game, they might find out that they’re not actually prepared to play. You can’t go 60% in practice and expect to play the same way at 100% during a game. Players are pushing themselves harder and harder during games and as a result, the rate of season ending injuries seems to be increasing. Not only that, the quality of play during games is steadily decreasing.

There aren’t that many good teams this season either. There are five undefeated teams remaining, but only the Patriots, Broncos, and Packers have shown that they are truly great teams so far this season. The other teams with good records have been inconsistent and have yet to prove that they can compete with those three teams, and the remaining teams are just bad.

Although I’m glad the NFL is taking steps to help keep players healthy after their playing career is over, they might want to look into how they can keep the game quality from becoming laughable. Don’t get me wrong, people are going to watch the NFL no matter what. They could have arena football players on the field and people would watch. But it would be nice if they could do something to keep games from playing out like last nights game. I’m not saying that they need to get rid of all the new concussion rules, but they might want to think about getting rid of the horrible Thursday Night Football game that happens every week. Anything to keep games watchable.

Week 6 of the NFL season is ending and this is the time of the season where we start to see a seperation between the teams that are actually good and the teams that just get off to a good start. Although there have been a number of teams that have looked impressive so far this season, five teams in particular have set themselves apart with their play, and they have the records to prove it.

Five teams have not lost a game so far this season, the New England Patriots, the Green Bay Packers, the Carolina Panthers, the Denver Broncos, and the Cincinnati Bengals. 5 teams in week 6 is the highest number of undefeated teams this late in the season since the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970.

Lets be honest…..is anyone surprised that the Patriots are 5-0? After all that happened this past offseason with Deflategate and Tom Brady being suspended and fighting to be reinstated, you knew the Patriots would come into this season pissed off. And they’re taking their anger out on the poor teams that have the misfortune of playing them. They’ve completely dominated so far this season and show no signs of stopping. Remember what happened after Spygate in 2007? The Patriots became the first team in history to go 16-0 in the regular season and went to the Super Bowl. I’m not gonna say they’re gonna do it again this season, but………………..

The Packers are another team that has looked unbeatable so far this season. Aaron Rodgers has once again established himself as the best quarterback in the league and looks like he’s gonna win the league MVP award yet again. After Jordy Nelson went down, everyone thought they would be in trouble. But the offense hasn’t missed a beat and the defense has looked great, including a goal line stand at the end of the game yesterday to keep their perfect record in tact. Kills me to say this as a Bears fan, but they look like the clear cut favorite to come out of the NFC and play in the Super Bowl.

A team that might give them trouble is the Carolina Panthers. After two straight playoff appearances. The Panthers look like they are finally reaching their potential with Cam Newton at quarterback. Newton has looked superb so far this season, which includes orchestrating a last minute game winning drive yesterday to defeat the Seattle Seahawks at home. Even though the Seahawks have struggled so far this season, beating them in Seattle has been almost impossible the past couple of years. The next couple of weeks will tell us what this Panthers team really is made of, but it so far they have looked like a team worthy of their current undefeated record.

The Broncos were a little bit of a wildcard coming into this season. The Broncos brought in new head coach Gary Kubiak after John Fox left after a couple of great seasons, and many people wondered if Peyton Manning’s age will finally start to catch up with him. Although Manning has shown signs of aging, the Broncos have looked the same as they’ve looked the past couple of years, if not better. Their defense is the best in the league and have carried them so far far this season. The Broncos are not winning a lot of blowout games like they have in the past, but they’re still getting the job done. Most of their wins this season have come in close games, which had been a problem for them the past few years. They look like the team most likely to compete against the Patriots for the AFC title.

The Bengals start has been a bit of a surprise to some. Sure they’ve been a good regular season team the past four years, but they werent anything special, barely getting into the playoffs. Some figured that would be the same story this season. But the Bengals still have an undefeated record and have beaten some pretty quality competition. Quarterback Andy Dalton, running back Giovani Bernard, and wide receiver AJ Green have played unbelievable so far and have the Bengals firing on all cylinders. However, the problem with the Bengals has always been the playoffs. The Bengals lost in the first round the past four years. We’ll see if this team is different.

Although I think the Packers and Patriots will play each other in the Super Bowl (puke), there are a number of teams that have shown they are capable of making a run at the title.