State of Sports

It's been a minute since I've done one of these. 

CHIEFS

Since the last one of these, the Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes, he won MVP, they've hosted four straight AFC Championship games, appeared in two Super Bowls, and raised the Lombardi. The road ahead is only getting tougher with a stacked AFC: Wilson, Herbert, Burrow, Allen and Jackson are all competing with Mahomes for one Super Bowl spot every year. Still though.

ILLINI BASKETBALL

Last year, Illinois went 16-4 in the Big Ten while Michigan went 14-3. Michigan got the regular season title but Illinois went out and won the tournament championship. They earned an NCAA 1-seed but flamed out in the second round. Ayo left but Kofi stayed and this year Illinois went out and won the Big Ten regular season title. They're the 1-seed in the Big Ten Tournament and won't play until Friday in Indianapolis. It remains to be seen where they get placed in the NCAA bracket, but a Chicago regional is a possibility. 

AVALANCHE

Speaking of flaming out in the 2nd round, that's what the Avs have done in 2019, 2020 and 2021. They're currently the best team in the NHL. Will that still be the case in June?

ILLINI FOOTBALL

Last year they finished 4-5 in the Big Ten but only 1-2 in their nonconference games, so they didn't get a bowl game. But 4-5 in the Big Ten for Illinois is about as good as you can hope for. 

BULLS

Speaking of Ayo, just a few weeks ago it was a storybook season for Ayo and the Bulls. They were the best team in the East and Ayo was putting up big performances as a rookie. At the moment, Chicago is on a 5-game losing streak and can't seem to beat any good team. Still a chance to go on a playoff run if they get healthy but likely need some more pieces in play to be a serious contender. 

USMNT

The US won the 2021 Gold Cup and should qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Also, Kansas City is in the running to be a host city in the 2026 World Cup. 

Pretty wild that there's either success or optimism for all my teams, a stark contrast to some previous state of sports entries.