Brian Giles was an underrated baseball player, amassing 1,897 Hits over his career, 872 as a Padre, the team he played his last six years and change with to close out his career.

Giles was traded in late August 2003 from Pittsburgh, where he was a two-time All-Star.  The Outfielder still had a lot left, and over the next three years, he secured at least 159 Hits, the best season being in 2005, where he led the NL in Walks (119), batted .301, and his .423 OBP was third in the NL.  Notably, he was ninth in MVP voting, his highest finish. Giles still had respectable power, belting 83 Home Runs with San Diego.

Giles' career fell off in 2009, and he signed with the Dodgers as a Free Agent but would not make the team.  He would have a Slash Line of .279/.380/.435 with San Diego.

A star at the University of Tennessee, Chase Headley parlayed his run as a Volunteer to a Second Round Pick in the 2006 Amateur Draft.  Headley would make it briefly to the Majors (with San Diego) the following season.

Headley began 2007 in the Minors, but by June, he was back in San Diego and would become a starter before long.  Headley showed gradual improvement over the next four years, first playing in Leftfield but moving to Third Base, where he played most of his career.  In 2012, Headley would have the season of his life, posting career-bests in Home Runs (31), RBIs (115), and OPS (.875) while winning the Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and the RBI Title.  Headley was also fifth in MVP voting, the only year he ever received a vote.

After slipping back to his regular production in 2013, Headley was traded mid-year in 2014 to the Yankees.  New York would send him back after the 2017 Season, and Headley played back in San Diego briefly before he was released in May.

With the Padres, Headley contributed 87 Home Runs, 879 Hits, and batted .263.

Ed Whitson played eight of his 15 seasons with the San Diego Padres, over two stints, he first a two-year run from 1983 to 1984.

Whitson, who first joined San Diego from a trade from Cleveland, struggled in 1983, with a 4.30 ERA and 5-7 record, but he had a much better season in 1984, winning 14 Games against 8 Losses and reducing his ERA to 3.24 with a 1.180 WHIP.  He signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent the following year but returned midway through the 1986 Season.

Whitson did not have a good return, finishing the year with an abysmal 1-7 record and a ballooned ERA (5.59).  1987 was marginally better, but he had a solid 1988 (13-11, 3.77), and over 1989 and 1990, the junkball Pitcher had ERAs under three, a winning record (30-20), and led the NL in bWAR for Pitchers in 1990 (7.0).  That was Whitson’s last productive year in Baseball, as he regressed in 1991, and at age 36, was out of the sport.

Whitson had a 77-72 Record with a 3.69 ERA with the Padres.

After a couple of disruptive years where Covid made traveling between US and Canada difficult, NHL is finally easing back into the new normal. And if all goes well, we will have our Stanley Cup champion in the spring of 2022. You therefore have plenty of great games to look forward to as we enter the next stage of the season and head towards the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

NHL features the best of American and Canadian hockey. 32 teams competing in around 56 games. With many victories and losses already, 2022 is bound to be a thrilling part of this year’s season, and there are four teams that are looking particularly strong. 

Will Tampa Bay make history?

The last two NHL seasons, Florida Tampa Bay Lightning has won, yet no team has ever won Stanley Cup three times in a row, which means Tampa Bay could make hockey history this year - but they have a long way to go. Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers are all looking dangerous, and many experts believe the winner is to be found among them. If you already have a strong sense of who that might be, then you can bet on them on https://betting.com/us/nhl. In the past year we have seen many US states legalizing the practice, and in Canada it is legal. Sports betting has therefore become hugely popular among hockey fans. It’s simply a fun way to take an active part in the NHL season. 

Will the Beijing Olympics affect the season?

With the winter Olympics fast approaching, there has been a lot of talk about what NHL players might go and what that will mean for their teams. Some people have wondered what will happen to the NHL league, or if they will get to see their favorite stars on the ice, competing for international glory. Sadly, Covid has yet again brought disruptions into the sports world. For this reason, the NHL league has decided not to send any players to the Olympics. But the good news is that there is now a higher chance that regular NHL games of this season will go ahead as planned. No stars will have to leave their teams behind.   

Anticipated upcoming games

There are many thrills in store for hockey fans this year. Avalanche has some great games coming up – from fighting Coyotes to testing their abilities against the Kings. And if you want to see Tampa Bay Lightning in action outdoors, you have a chance to do so on 26 February 2022 when they play against Nashville Predators at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Overall, the winter will be packed with matches on an almost daily basis, so you do not need to worry about getting bored. Now is the time to get geeky about hockey history. Spend some time remembering all the best moments and use that knowledge to predict the legends of the future. It’s a fun way to pass time between games.