BY JEFF YODER

MAR. 29, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Happy Friday 🙌

A new season begins alongside Sweet 16 weekend to help us close out the month of March. We saw some big upsets in the NCAA Tournament last night and some magical moments from MLB Opening Day. Plus, the NBA and NHL playoff races are heating up. Today’s edition is a fun one with some weird headlines, must-see highlights and a huge weekend watch-list on the horizon.

Spring. Sports. Are. Cooking. 🔥

Letter Rip!

NCAA

Bracket-Busters: Sweet ☞ Elite

Photo: Harry How / Getty Images

(6) Clemson, (4) Alabama & (3) Illinois Knock Off 1s and 2s to Join (1) UConn in Elite 8

There was chaos in the first round and chalk in the second, but three teams flipped the Men’s NCAA Tournament upside down on Thursday in a trio of nail-biters to reach the Elite Eight. The 6-seed Clemson stunned 2-seed Arizona with defense (77-72). 4-seed Alabama rallied in the second half to upend 1-seed North Carolina in a high-scoring dogfight (89-87) thanks to a huge night from Grant Nelson (24 pts, 12 rebs, 5 blks). Those were both West Region upsets. Clemson and ‘Bama will meet for a Final Four spot on Saturday. Up in the East Region, 3-seed Illinois and 2-seed Iowa State played a thrilling offense vs. defense barn-burner. The Illini came out victorious (72-69) thanks to Terrence Shannon Jr.’s 29-point performance. Last, the No. 1 overall seed, UConn, flexed their muscles and throttled San Diego State by 30 (82-52) in a rematch of last year's title game. The Huskies aren’t fooling around. Four more Sweet 16 games tonight? Sign us up.

Sweet 16 Highlights

#1 UConn def. #5 San Diego State (82-52)

#6 Clemson def. #2 Arizona (77-72)

#4 Alabama def. #1 North Carolina (89-87)

#3 Illinois def. #2 Iowa State (72-69)

Each Program’s Last Trip to the Elite 8

(1) UConn: 2023

(3) Illinois: 2005

(4) Alabama: 2004

(6) Clemson: 1980

Tonight’s Sweet 16 Schedule

#2 Marquette vs. #11 NC State (7:09 pm, CBS)

#1 Purdue vs. #5 Gonzaga (7:39 pm, TBS)

#1 Houston vs. #4 Duke (9:39 pm, CBS)
#2 Tennessee vs. #3 Creighton (10:09 pm, TBS)

Elite 8 Schedule: Saturday & Sunday

Updated NCAA Tournament Bracket

B/R: No. 1 UConn Routs San Diego State in NCAA Title Game Rematch

Yahoo! Sports: Clemson Shuts Down Arizona to Reach 1st Elite Eight Since 1980

AP News: Terrence Shannon Jr. Leads Illinois Past Iowa State for 1st Elite Eight Trip Since 2005

MLB

An Opening Day to Remember

Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images

All the Best Moments From MLB Opening Day 2024, Including a Rangers Walk-Off on Banner Night

Unless you were sleepwalking yesterday, you saw a barrage of baseball highlights for the first time in a long time. The MLB threw out the first pitch of the 2024 season (on American soil) with a 13-game slate on Opening Day. Highlight moments were everywhere. The Rangers celebrated their World Series banner night with a walk-off win over the Cubs (4-3) on Jonah Heim’s RBI single. The Yankees rallied from down 4-0 to beat the Astros (5-4) thanks to newcomer Juan Soto and his epic throw to tag the game-tying run at the plate. It was the Yankees’ largest comeback win on Opening Day since 1950 (vs. Red Sox). Speaking of the Red Sox, Tyler O'Neill became the first player in MLB history with five (yes, 5!) career home runs on Opening Day. To top things off out West, the Diamondbacks had a 14-run 3rd inning! Wild stuff. Here are those top moments.

Top Moments From Opening Day

NBA

Boston's Kryptonite?

Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Hawks Beat Celtics (123-122, OT) for 2nd Time This Week Behind Dejounte Murray’s Historic 44 Points & Game-Winner

The Boston Celtics entered this week head and shoulders above the rest of the NBA and riding a nine-game win streak (20-2 in their last 22). Enter the Hawks. You might remember how Atlanta rallied for a 30-point comeback to beat Boston on Monday night. The Hawks took down the Celtics AGAIN on Thursday thanks to a career-high 44 points from Dejounte Murray. Murray caught fire in the OT, scoring all 11 of Atlanta’s points, including a step-back jumper with 0.1 seconds left. To keep things in perspective, he did take 44 shots (in the absence of Trae Young) to get his 44 points (7 rebs, 7 asts). "Kobe would've been proud," Murray said.

Boston’s Kryptonite: The Hawks (34-39) are the only team to beat the Celtics (57-16) twice this season. Boston has a winning record against every team in the league except Atlanta (2-2). And as the NBA regular season draws to a close, a Hawks-Celtics first-round playoff matchup isn’t that far-fetched. The Celtics are the No. 1 seed in the East and the Hawks are essentially locked for the play-in.

Watch: Hawks, Dejounte Murray (44 Points) Slay Celtics Again (123-122, OT)

🏀 Other NBA Highlights

Pelicans def. Bucks (107-100)

*Zion Williamson (28 pts) Bullies His Way to FT Line

NHL

Rangers, Rinse, Repeat

Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images

Rangers Win 3rd Straight OT Game, Extend NHL’s Best Record in Chase for Top Overall Seed

As the NHL season nears its end, five teams have already clinched playoff berths. All five are neck-and-neck in a race for the top spot with roughly 10 games to play. One in particular is showing its moxie in close games. The Rangers outlasted the Avalanche in a shootout last night (3-2, S/O) thanks to Vincent Trocheck’s game-sealing goal. New York (102 pts) holds a slight advantage over the rest of the top teams (see below). They’re also on a four-game win streak that includes three consecutive overtime or shootout victories. The Rangers are 11-4 in overtime games this season, and those four extra-time losses are the fewest in the NHL. Moral of the story? If you want to beat the Rangers, do it in regulation. There are still question marks about the "team to beat" in the NHL, but New York is making a statement down the stretch.

Race for Top Seed (Clinched Playoffs)

Rangers (102 pts) — 49-20-4

Stars (101 pts) — 46-19-9

Bruins (99 pts) — 42-17-15

Hurricanes (99 pts) — 46-21-7

Panthers (98 pts) —46-22-5

Watch: Rangers Rally Past Avs (3-2, S/O) for 3rd Straight OT Win

🏒 Other NHL Highlights

Maple Leafs def. Capitals (5-1)

Islanders def. Panthers (3-2)

Hurricanes def. Red Wings (4-0)

Golden Knights def. Jets (4-1)

Oilers def. Kings (4-1)

Stars def. Canucks (3-1)

Coyotes def. Predators (8-4)

*Logan Cooley Nets Hat Trick

STORYLINES

🏈 UFL Players You Might Know

Spring football is back. The UFL — a combination of the USFL and XFL merger — kicks off on Saturday. There are a lot of reasons to watch, but some of these familiar names are worth keeping an eye on. (CBS Sports)

⚾️ 2024 MLB Predictions

The smell of fresh-cut grass. The pop of the mitt. The roar of the crowd. With the start of the 2024 MLB season, the familiar sights and sounds of baseball are once again upon us. To celebrate, our staff made their picks for the 2024 season. (The Ringer)

NEWS 📰

⚾️ Deal for Alex Rodriguez Group to Buy Minnesota Timberwolves Expires (SI)

🏈 Chiefs Sign Rugby Star Louis Rees-Zammit to Play Skill Position (B/R)

🏀 Caitlin Clark Invited to Olympic Camp Before Upcoming Final Four (ESPN)

⛳️ Golfers Worried LIV Riches May Not Be Sustainable (Yahoo! Sports)

⚾️ Rays’ Wander Franco Placed on Leave, Removed from Roster as Investigation Continues (CBS Sports)

🏈 LSU Coach Brian Kelly Appears to Reveal That Commanders Will Draft QB Jayden Daniels No. 2 in NFL Draft (NBC Sports)

⚾️ Athletics Fans Protest Team Move by Watching Opener in the Parking Lot (ESPN)

⛳️ Scottie Scheffler Posts PGA Tour-Record 28th Consecutive Round Under Par (CBS Sports)

WEEKEND SCHEDULE 🗓️

The Weekend Must-Watch List

Brace for sports! The convergence of MLB, NBA, NHL, ample soccer and the NCAA Tournaments make the next few weekends some of the most loaded on the spring calendar. We’ll know the Final Fours by Monday, and we’ll catch up then. Enjoy!

🏀 Men’s NCAA Tournament (Sweet 16)

#2 Marquette vs. #11 NC State (Fri. 7:09 pm, CBS)

#1 Purdue vs. #5 Gonzaga (Fri. 7:39 pm, TBS)

#1 Houston vs. #4 Duke (Fri. 9:39 pm, CBS)
#2 Tennessee vs. #3 Creighton (Fri. 10:09 pm, TBS)

Elite 8 Schedule: Saturday & Sunday

🏀 Women’s NCAA Tournament

Sweet 16 Schedule: Friday & Saturday

(Elite 8 TBD)

🏒 Men’s NCAA Hockey Tournament

First Round Schedule (Regional Semifinals)

🏀 NBA

Timberwolves at Nuggets (Fri. 9:00 pm, NBALP)