The Student News Site of Manchester Township High School

The Talon

Recent Scores
  • Apr 17 / GolfManchester Township High School - 172, Lacey - 194
  • Apr 15 / BaseballManchester Township High School - 0, Barnegat - 7
  • Apr 15 / Boys TennisManchester Township High School - 1, Lacey - 4
  • Apr 15 / SoftballManchester Township High School - 10, Keyport - 0
  • Apr 15 / LacrosseManchester Township High School - 7, Donovan Catholic - 10
  • Apr 13 / SoftballManchester Township High School - 4, Toms River North - 14
  • Apr 12 / GolfManchester Township High School - 166, Toms River East - 186
  • Apr 11 / LacrosseManchester Township High School - 1, Long Branch - 11
  • Apr 11 / Boys VolleyballManchester Township High School - 2, Donovan Catholic - 0
  • Apr 10 / BaseballManchester Township High School - 1, Point Pleasant Boro - 7

The Talon

The Talon

The 10 Best Cities For Pro Sports

The+10+Best+Cities+For+Pro+Sports

Sports have changed a lot in the past few years. It has gone from supporting the local team no matter what, to supporting whichever team you like. Even then, some people support teams from a variety of different cities depending on the sport (I myself am guilty of this, but they’re all local except the Browns.) However, for the old heads out there who still support the same city for every sport, here are the top ten best sports cities and states in the current day.

 

10: Charlotte, North Carolina

Teams: Hornets, Panthers, Hurricanes

While the Hurricanes aren’t technically in Charlotte, Raleigh is definitely close enough to consider it a Charlotte team. Now you may be thinking: Wait, the Panthers are 0-4 right now, and the Hornets finished 27-55. How could they be one of the best with two of the most bummy teams in America right now? Well, let me introduce you to The Hurricanes. Last season, they finished at the top of the Metropolitan division, with 52-21-9. They would also have a decent playoff run, before getting swept by the Panthers in the conference finals. While the Hornets and the Panthers could definitely be better right now, the Hurricanes will probably get sore backs from carrying Charlotte to number 10.

 

9: Chicago, Illinois

Teams: Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks, Cubs

Let me remind you for a second you’re not a farm, though you may think otherwise with all these NFL goose eggs. I promise though, that it will get good for the NFL soon. The Bears are mismanaged so badly it is unfathomable that they cannot simply let Justin Fields do his Justin Fields things, with awful management causing a trash O line for the Bears, resulting in 7 Touchdowns and 5 interceptions for Fields. The Blackhawks ended with 26-49-7 at the bottom of the central division and the Cubs are just alright. But again, this city is carried by one singular team: The Bulls. While they finished with 40-42 last season, let me predict that Coby White will become a 75th-anniversary team tier point guard, leading to a four-seed and a conference semifinals appearance for the Bulls.

 

8: Washington DC, Maryland

Teams: Wizards, Commanders, Capitals, Nationals

Starting off with the Wizards, they are definitely not the reason that DC is what it is sports-wise, with only 35-47 last season. The Commanders, however, have a bright future as they came into this past Eagles game as severe underdogs, and most fans expected the Eagles to make it a closed-casket funeral for the Commanders. This did not happen, as the Commanders held on long enough for the game to go to overtime, with the Eagles winning by a mere field goal. If they improve on what they have done thus far, they could very easily be a playoff threat. Then there’s the Capitals, who are in the same boat as the Wizards with 35-37-10, and then the Nationals with 71-91. While in other sports it may look bleak, the Commanders can become truly great in the NFL.

 

7: Phoenix, Arizona

Teams: Suns, Cardinals, Coyotes, Diamondbacks

Now we get into the cities with multiple truly great teams, starting with the Suns. Getting the obvious out of the way, yes they just traded Deandre Ayton, and yes Jusuf Nurkic is almost guaranteed to not nearly play to the caliber that Ayton was at the time of his departure. But that does not mean that Dev and Kev won’t pick it up, as between them they have 16 all-star appearances, an MVP, and two rings. Then there’s the Cardinals, whose struggle of 1 and 3 will most likely end when they get Kyler Murray back. The Coyotes aren’t that great, as they ended last season with 28-40-14, and the Diamondbacks are currently in the playoffs, deservedly so with 84-78.

 

6: Portland, Oregon

Teams: Trailblazers

While at first, the Trailblazers look like a dumpster fire after the Damian Lillard trade, if you look further into it, this could be the perfect opportunity to build a superteam out of many young and old stars. Lillard was traded to Milwaukee in a 3-team trade that got the Trailblazers Deandre Ayton and Jrue Holiday, and they later sent the latter to Boston for Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, and a 2024 and 2029 first-round pick. Even without Dame Dolla, the Trailblazers could be truly dangerous.

 

5: Cleveland, Ohio

Teams: Cavaliers, Browns, Guardians

Even though I am wearing a Nick Chubb jersey while writing this, I promise to remain unbiased, even though the truth hurts. The Browns are currently 2 and 2, most likely due to Nick Chubb’s injury, Deshaun Watson getting into various controversial situations, David Njoku blowing himself up, and a variety of other things that could someday make for one of the most insane football movies ever made. Due to all of this, the Browns are most likely going nowhere fast, But the same cannot be said for the 51-31 Donovan Mitchell-led Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers may have finally found their post-Lebron era star, and they carry Cleveland, as the Guardians aren’t doing that good either with 76-86.

 

4: New York

Teams: Knicks, Nets, Bills, Giants, Jets, Islanders, Rangers, Mets, Yankees

There is no truly just OK New York team, as all of them are either car crash bad or Michael Jackson bad, so let’s designate them. The Knicks are Michael Jackson bad, due to Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett both being absolutely great playmakers. The Nets are car crash bad, as they have not been able to do anything with their roster after the failed experiment that was the superteam they tried to make (The second attempt, not the Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce one.) The Bills are Michael Jackson bad, as Josh Allen is slowly becoming one of the best QBs in the NFL, as well as having Stefon Diggs still being a decent Wide Receiver. The Giants are car crash bad, as the week 1 blowout from the Cowboys still seems to be on their mind, as well as having Daniel Jones still not yet hitting his full potential. The Jets are Michael Jackson bad, as they were able to hold their own pretty well against the Chiefs, before losing in the final moments of their week 4 failure. The Islanders are Michael Jackson bad, as Mathew Barzal has the potential to lead them to the Stanley Cup, The Rangers are Michael Jackson bad, as they are in the same boat as the Islanders, only with Artemi Panarin instead of Barzal, The Mets are car crash bad, although this could be turned around as there are rumors of them trading for Pete Alonso, and the Yankees are Michael Jackson bad, and with some slight improvements to their roster, they could become one of the best teams in the MLB.

 

3: Detroit, Michigan

Teams: Pistons, Lions, Red Wings, Tigers

Getting the teams that aren’t reasons they’re here out of the way, the Pistons are coming off the second-worst season in franchise history, with 17 and 65. The Red Wings also weren’t that great this past season, with 35-37-10. The Tigers aren’t that great either, with 78-84. Moving on from that, the Lions are working overtime this season, as not a lot was expected of them going into it, but so far they have gone 3 and 1, even beating the reigning Super Bowl champ Chiefs. If they keep hitting way above their weight as they’ve been demonstrating so far, they could very easily end up in the Super Bowl.

 

2: St. Louis, Missouri

Teams: Blues, Cardinals

The Blues are definitely not the reason that St. Louis takes silver, as they finished this past season with 37-38-7. So that leaves only the Cardinals, but wait, they were only 71-91, they were trash too. So how is St. Louis in second place for best cities and states for sports right now? Well, let’s look at the Blues again for a second, as they made some great picks in this past draft, such as Dalibor Dvorsky and Otto Stenberg, who could very easily bring the Blues far this season and potentially be the future of the team.

 

1: San Jose, California

Teams: Sharks

Somehow, someway a city with only one team has made it to number 1, and that only team went negative last year. However, similar to the Blues, the Sharks drafted extremely well this year. They picked up Will Smith with a steal, getting him one pick later than he was projected going at, and Quentin Musty with another steal, getting him a whopping 12 picks after he was projected. If their staff can simply develop these young talents into stars, then the San Jose Sharks’ future is brighter than Albert Einstein having a campfire on the sun.

More to Discover
About the Contributor
DJ Staples
DJ Staples, NBA Columnist
DJ Staples is a second-year communications and journalism student and a member of the Class of 2026. He enjoys playing video games and collecting shoes.