WOODBURY — Rumors and news are always surrounding sports, and between the future of the NBA and new events in the NFL, Nonnewaug students and staff share their opinions about the big headlines in the major sports.

One of the rumors being discussed is the addition of two NBA expansion teams. While there are many deserving cities, the NHS community holds strong opinions on which city is most deserving. 

Culinary teacher John Dominello wants to see a pro hoops team back in Seattle.

“Whenever I watched a Sonics game, it seemed the stadium was always rocking and a fun team to watch,” Dominello said. “They deserve the first nod.”

Another option is Las Vegas, which has been a pro sports hotspot in the last few years.

“Vegas has a great market,” sophomore Zach Cordova said. “There is tons of money there; and the Raiders and Golden Knights have had a lot of success in Vegas so far.”

Seattle has three teams in the big four leagues, and they all place nicely in attendance. The highest ranked team was the Seahawks at ninth in the NFL last season, and lowest was the Mariners, but they still finished 15th in MLB.

Something that also helps a franchise coming to Seattle is that the Kraken, the newest expansion team in the NHL, is off to a great start and have a great future ahead of them

Vegas only has two teams. The Raiders in 2021-22, while having a successful season winning-wise, didn’t make the money with the hype Vegas lives up to, placing 26th in attendance in the league. On the other side, the Golden Knights ranked sixth in the NHL, a complete turn from the Raiders.

Sticking with the NBA, the league recently announced the return of an old rule that allows for high schoolers to enter the NBA draft. Since the rule has been on and off, there are a lot of pros and cons to be discussed. 

“I think you’ll get a lot more young talent and will make the draft more fun,” says John Paul Cuccia, a senior at Nonnewaug. “It’ll also make the draft more interesting to see, where maybe they draft younger players with potential over someone who’s older and more ready.”

The NBA moved the age requirement up to 19 in 2005, and with the new rule coming into effect in the 2024 season, this will create a monster draft class, where some are calling it the ‘‘double draft’’ because it will be combining the one-and-done college players and the players coming straight out of high school. 

While the NBA works to add new talent in the league, the NFL tries a new way to showcase the proven talent they already have. 

The NFL recently announced that it will change the Pro Bowl game into a flag football game. The Pro Bowl as of late has been under fire by fans with the fact that the game is too boring. Players try to protect themselves by not putting 100% of their effort into the game to try and avoid any major injuries to cause setbacks in their career. 

While the league does notice it needs to be changed, flag football may not be the solution.

“Changing it to a flag football game makes it feel less like football,” says Nonnewaug senior Sam Scott. “You’re going to be taking away the main concept of football with no tackling and no blocking, so I feel like it’s not going to show the talent of the NFL in a fun way.”

The NFL will also keep some mini-games that they’ve tried over the past few years, and will keep using it as a main part of the Pro Bowl week.