Weekly Update April 22, 2024

Baseball: This week in the MLB.

Basketball – NBA: Playoffs have begun. Play-in games and game 1s. Team USA announced. Porter banned.

Football: NFL draft this week.

Golf: Scheffler and Korda dominate.

Olympic Sports: NCAA Gym. Wrestling Trials.

Quick Headlines: WNBA. Transfer Portal. Spring Games. NHL.

 

Baseball – MLB:

• This week in the MLB: Just keep adding to the Marlins frustrations. After Monday’s loss to the Giants, they were 3-14 and their manager had had enough. Skip Schumaker got ejected by the plate umpire after the was arguing with him twice. Angels star Mike Trout got a 2-run HR in the 8^th inning, part of their 5 runs scored to beat the Rays 7-3 and take the LA team back to .500. The Yankees lost their game to the Blue Jays Monday to lose their first games back-to-back this season. The Yankees would go on to win on Wednesday to avoid the clean sweep by the Toronto team. the Dbacks lost their game to the Cubs in 11 innings.
• Tuesday, Braves P Reynaldo Lopez pitched a scoreless 6 innings and got the W after the Braves won 6-2 over the Stros. Marlins P Weathers got his career high of 10 Ks in his game over the Giants Tuesday. Makes up for Monday a little bit. 3 games went into extra innings Tuesday.
• Wednesday, the White Sox finally beat the Royals to stop their 6-game losing streak. They are now 3-15 on the season. Red Sox had their first complete game shut out in Fenway since 2017 in the win over the Guardians 2-0 Wed.

• The Rangers brought out rookie Jack Leiter to make his MLB debut against the Tigers. He did not do well but what’s noteworthy is that 4 Lieter men have played in the MLB. Its the first time that two brothers who played in the big leagues have 2 sons now playing in the big leagues. Verlander returned to the mound for the Astros on Thursday and it showed. HOU beat the Nationals 5-3 in his season debut. Same with Cubs P Jameson Taillon who is finally off the IL and wins his game 8-3 over the Marlins. Dbacks P Montgomery won his debut for the AZ team as they win 17-1 over the Giants. Not that this is Montgomery’s first game as a Diamondback but his picture on ESPN is still in a Rangers hat. The Dbacks got 22 hits! The Tigers beat the Twins 5-4 on Friday, with 12 hits making that the 5th straight loss for the MN team. It would end there as they would beat the Tigers the next night.
• Phillies P Wheeler made a valiant effort to a no-hitter but it came to an end in the 8^th. The White Sox would end up with 7 hits but still lost 9-5. Clase was sooooo close to an in-the-park HR but he was tagged out at home. Still the Mariners would beat the Rockies 7-0.

• Shoehei Ohtani broke Hideki Matsui’s major league record of the most HRs by a JPN player with a 423 footer on Sunday. The Dodgers would win that game 10-0, ending their 3-game losing streak and the Met’s 6 game winning streak all in one. There were 21 HRs scored that day to wrap up the week.

• Longest game of the week was the Angels/Rays game on Tuesday which went to 13 innings to be decided. The Angels were winning the entire game until the Rays tied it up by scoring 2 runs in the 9^th to take it to extra innings. Both teams would get a run each in the 10^th and 11^th! The Angels tacked another on in the 13^th but the Rays got a double to get a run up and then continued to roll with another finally ending the game, Rays 7-6.

Basketball – NBA:

• Playoffs have begun!

• Play In: Tues started with big names playing in for their playoff spot, like LeBron and Steph.
  • The Pelicans/Lakers game was a close one. It went back and forth but the Pelicans had a weak 2Q which allowed the Lakers to create an 18-point cushion and even through the NOLA team chipped away at that deficit in the 2H, the Lakers held on to win by 4.
  • It was the opposite for the Warriors who trailed at half by 4 but it got worse and worse after the Kings just piled on. Sacramento wins by 24 points.
  • The Heat dominated 1H but the 76ers clawed their way all the way back to tie it up just 4 minutes into the 4Q. We then had a great game and were tied with 1:30 to go. The Heat would ultimately fall 1 point short.
  • The Bulls came out hot, putting up 40 in 1Q but the Hawks answered with 45 the next Q. Ultimately Coby White was too much for ATL; he scored a career-high 42 points to put the game away for CHI.
• Winner take all play-ins on Friday. The Heat had a weak 2Q only putting up 13 points the entire Q but it didn’t matter. The other 3Qs were enough to put away the Bulls 112-91. The final spot in the playoffs up for grabs in the Kings/Pelicans game. The Pelicans were 5-0 against the Kings this season but they would have to win this one without Zion Williamson. They do just that thanks to a strong 2Q.

• In the East, the Cavaliers easily beat the Magic who had a bad middle 2Qs to take game 1 by 14 points. Then the Knicks/76ers traded the lead so many times in 2H I couldn’t actually count it on the win probability graph. NY wins thanks to 72 points between their top 2 scorers. Speaking of stars, the Bucks had to play without Giannis but still managed to beat the Pacers. They were winning by 27 points by half, thanks in large part to Damian Lillard who had 35 points at halftime! They would coast to an easy win. The Celtics didn’t really sweat against the Heat either although the score looks closer than it was. The Heat put up 35 in the final Q to draw within 20.

• In the West, the Timberwolves put away the Suns after trailing going into the 2Q. They would win easily 120-95. The Nuggets played the Lakers in Game 1 on Saturday in a closer one. Both teams leading scorer put up 32 points but the Nuggets would play a better more well rounded game to win by 11. The Lakers have lost 8 straight games to the Nuggets. Speaking of close, the Thunder/Pelicans game was a tight one! We were tied at the end of 1Q and 2Q – that is kinda crazy! But then the thunder pulled away a little in the 3^rd. The Pelicans would outscore OKC in the 4^th but it wasn’t enough to make up the difference. You know whats not impressive? 8 points in a Q! 8?! That’s what the Mavs put up in 2Q of Game 1 against the Clippers. Do I need to say that they lost? They do 109-97. Home teams are 8-0 after game 1.

• Team USA was announced this week for the Paris Olympics. The team is stacked with 11 Olympic appearances, 10 gold medalists, 12 NBA all-Stars, 4 NBA MVPs and 6 NBA champions. Curry is set to make his Olympic debut. Embiid and Leonard will make their Team USA debut in Paris. Training camps begin in July.
  • Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
  • Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
  • Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
  • Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)
  • Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns)
  • Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)
  • Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
  • Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)
  • Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics)
  • LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
  • Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers)
  • Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)

• Raptors player Jontay Porter has been banned from the NBA after he gambled on basketball games. Not only did he place bets on NBA games but he also shared confidential information with bettors and even worse, limited his own participation in multiple games for betting reasons.

Football – NCAAF:

• NFL Draft is this week. USC QB and Heisman Trophy winner is projected to go first to the Bears. LSU QB Jayden Daniels and UNC QB Drake Maye are the other 2QBs projected in the first round with JJ McCarthy and Michael Penix on the outside looking in.
• Lots of trades are still going on including Broncos trading to get QB Wilson back. JK different Wilson. This time its Jets QB Zach Wilson (not Russell).

Golf:

• Scottie won his 4th PGA Tour title in the last 5 starts, making him the first golfer to do so since Tiger Woods in 2007/2008. This week he won the RBC Heritage by 3 strokes on a rain delayed Monday morning. He was leading by 5 with 3 holes to go when play was called due to darkness (after a rain delay earlier in the day pushed everything). The other golfers knew it was most likely in the bag for Scottie and the only way he wasn’t going to win was if his wife went into labor. The only start in this stretch he didn’t win was a runner up finish at the Houston Open. His 40 rounds of par or better helps make him the best golfer in the world, still sitting at the top #1 spot. That run is from East Lake last year (Tour championship in August).
• We are living in a time of domination in the golf world. LPGA Nelly Korda won her 5^th straight tournament this weekend at the Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the year. She has tied the LPGA record for most consecutive wins.

Olympic Sports:

• Gymnastics:
  • On the men’s side, Stanford won its 10^th team title and now sits tied with ILL for the 3^rd most all-time. Oklahoma and Penn St have the top spot with 12 titles apiece. Stanford won for the 5^th year in a row, something that has not been done since Nebraska in the 1979-1983 era. The Cardinal won by 5.635 points ahead of Michigan. Oklahoma, Nebraska and ILL round out the top 5 in that order. Asher Hong won the vault, parallel bars and rings while teammate Khoi Young won the All-Around for Stanford.

• • On the women’s side, there was more drama. Its started Thursday night during the Semifinals. We take the top 2 teams from the afternoon and evening session. #1 Oklahoma was undefeated and setting records all year but man the Semis was not their day. The Sooners put up their lowest score on Vault, the first rotation, since 2008. They had 3 women ‘fall’ on that apparatus. After 2 more fell on the Beam, that took them out of the national championship hunt. Alabama also had 3 women fall on Beam – something that has never happened in that program’s history. Therefore Florida and Utah advance from the evening session. Cal and LSU advanced from the afternoon. LSU put up the highest of the semi scores.

• • LSU was leading after the 1^st and 2^nd rotations but Utah stole the lead after 3. With Utah, LSU and Cal all within 0.150 points of each other. But Utah had to end on Vault which had taken down some of the best. Their first vaulter fell and their 2^nd only put up a 9.67 so Utah needed the others to mess up to stand a chance. LSU did had a fall on beam during their 2^nd gymnast but the rest of the team had nerves of steel and nailed their routines. That was enough to clinch it over Cal by 0.375! LSU wins their first national title! Senior Haleigh Bryant tied Cal’s eMjae Fraizer for the All-Around title for the Tigers as well on Thursday. Bryant also tied a different Cal gymnast for the Vault title. Not a single 10 was scored in the Semis and Finals.

• US Olympic Trails for Wrestling was this weekend and we had an upset! Aaron brooks beat David Taylor, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 86kg match. That is Taylor’s first loss to a fellow American in 7 years.

Some quick highlights:

• To no one’s surprise, Caitlin Clark went #1 in the WNBA draft to the Indiana Fever. CHI Sky got 2 picks on the first round and chose SC Kamilla Cardoso (#3) and LSU’s Angel Reese (#7).
• The Transfer Portal is back open so if you’re seeing lots of announcement that is why!
• Also football spring games end this weekend. Some were more entertaining than others. They’re notoriously odd with some doing a full game/scrimmage with tackling and others doing a glorified field day.

• Florida batter Jac Caglianone hit a 516 foot HR in their game. That is the longest HR in the stat era.

• The Arizona Coyotes won their last game in Arizona before they officially move to Salt Lake City next year.

What to watch this week

Baseball – MLB:

• Mon 4/22
  • White Sox at Twins @ 6:40pm on FS1
    • Cannon vs Paddack
• Tues 4/23
  • Astros at Cubs @ 6:40pm on TBS
• Sat 4/27
  • Reds at Rangers – or – Cardinals at Mets @ 3:05pm on FOX
  • DBacks at Mariners @ 8:40pm on FS1
• Sun 4/28
  • Astros at Rockies @ 3:05pm on ESPN
    • Brown vs Gomber
  • Cubs at Red Sox @ 6pm on ESPN
    • Wicks vs Houck

Baseball/Softball-NCAA:

• Mon 4/22
  • Baseball: 15. Oklahoma St vs KState @ 4:30pm on ESPNU
  • Softball: 23. Kentucky vs Auburn @ 6pm on SEC
• Tues 4/23
  • Softball: 20. Clemson vs Notre Dame @ 3pm on ESPNU
  • Softball: UVA vs 16. Vtech @ 6pm on ACC
  • Baseball: Houston vs 1. Texas A&M @ 6pm on SEC
  • Baseball: 5. Clemson vs 20. Georgia @ 6pm on ESPNU
• Wed 4/24
  • Softball: 15. Alabama vs 14. Arkansas @ 3pm on ESPNU
  • Softball: 7. LSU vs 4. Tennessee @ 5pm on ESPNU
  • Softball: 11. UCLA vs 5. Stanford @ 7pm on ESPNU
• Thurs 4/25
  • Baseball: 10. UVA vs BC @ 6pm on ACC
  • Baseball: 18. Alabama vs Ole Miss @ 6:30pm on ESPNU
  • Baseball: Mizzou vs 4. Tennessee @ 6:30pm on SEC
• Fri 4/26
  • Baseball: Mizzou vs 4. Tennessee @ 11am on SEC
  • Baseball: 10. UVA vs BC @ 11am on ACC
  • Baseball: Florida vs 2. Arkansas @ 7pm on SEC
• Sat 4/27
  • Softball: 10. Florida vs 9. Georgia @ 10am on ESPN2
  • Baseball: Mizzou vs 3. Tennessee @ 11am on SEC
  • Baseball: Florida vs 2. Arkansas @ 12pm on ESPN2
  • Softball: 3. Duke vs NC St @ 1pm on ACC
  • Baseball: 23. Alabama vs Ole Miss @ 2pm on SEC
  • Baseball: 8. Florida St vs 7. Duke @ 3pm on ACC
  • Softball: UNC vs 18. Florida ST @ 3pm on ESPNU
  • Baseball: 4. Kentucky vs 24. South Carolina @ 5pm on SEC
  • Baseball: 8. Wake Forest vs Notre Dame @ 6pm on ACC
  • Softball: 4. Tennessee vs 15. Alabama @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Softball: 17. Mississippi St vs 13. Mizzou @ 8pm on SEC
  • Baseball: 16. Oregon vs 5. Oregon St @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Sun 4/28
  • Softball: 2. Oklahoma vs UCF @ 10am on ESPNU
  • Softball: 10. Florida vs 9. Georgia @ 11am on ESPN2
  • Softball: 4. Tennessee vs 15. Alabama @ 1pm on ESPN2
  • Baseball: 4. Kentucky vs 24. South Carolina @ 2pm on SEC
  • Softball: 3. Duke vs NC St @ 3pm on ACC
  • Baseball: 5. Clemson vs Louisville @ 3pm on ESPN2
  • Softball: 17. Mississippi St vs 13. Mizzou @ 5pm on SEC

Basketball – NBA:

• Mon 4/22
  • East Game 2: Magic vs Cavaliers @ 6pm
    • CLE leads 1-0
  • East Game 2: 76ers at Knicks @ 6:30pm on TNT
    • NY leads 1-0
  • West Game 2: Lakers at Nuggets @ 9pm on TNT
    • DEN leads 1-0
• Tues 4/23
  • West Game 2: Suns at Timberwolves @ 6:30pm on TNT
    • MIN leads 1-0
  • East Game 2: Pacers at Bucks @ 7:30pm on NBA
    • MIL leads 1-0
  • West Game 2: Mavericks at Clippers @ 9pm on TNT
    • LA leads 1-0
• Wed 4/24
  • East Game 2: Heat at Celtics @ 6pm on TNT
    • BOS leads 1-0
  • West Game 2: Pelicans at Thunder @ 8:30pm on TNT
    • OKC leads 1-0
• Thurs 4/25
  • East Game 3: Cavaliers at Magic @ 6pm on NBA
  • East Game 3: Knicks at 76ers @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • West Game 3: Nuggets at Lakers @ 9pm on TNT
• Fri 4/26
  • East Game 3: Bucks at Pacers @ 4:30pm on ESPN
  • West Game 3: Clippers at Mavericks @ 7pm on ESPN
  • West Game 3: Timberwolves at Suns @ 9:30pm on ESPN
• Sat 4/27
  • East Game 3: Cavaliers at Magic @ 12pm on TNT
  • West Game 3: Thunder at Pelicans @ 2:30pm om TNT
  • East Game 3: Celtics at Heat @ 5pm on TNT
  • West Game 4: Nuggets at Lakers @ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 4/28
  • East Game 4: Knicks at 76ers @ 12pm on ABC
  • West Game 4: Clippers at Mavericks @ 2:30pm on ABC
  • East Game 4: Bucks at Pacers @ 4pm on TNT
  • West Game 4: Timberwolves at Suns @ 8:30pm on TNT

Football – UFL:

• Thurs 4/25
  • NFL Draft – Round 1 @ 7pm on ESPN and ABC
• Fri 4/26
  • NFL Draft – Round 2 & 3 @ 7pm on ESPN2
• Sat 4/27
  • UFL: San Antonio Brahmas at Arlington Renegades @ 6pm on FOX
  • UFL: Birmingham Stallions at Houston Roughnecks @ 6pm on FOX
  • NFL Draft – Round 4-7 @ 7pm on ESPN
• Sun 4/28
  • UFL: St. Louis Battlehawks at DC Defenders @ 11am on ESPN
  • UFL: Michigan Panthers at Memphis Showboats @ 2pm on FOX

Golf:

• Thurs 4/25
  • Zurich Classic – Round 1 @ 2:30pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 4/26
  • Zurich Classic – Round 2 @ 2:30pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 4/27
  • Zurich Classic – Round 3
    • @ 11:45am on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS
  • LIV: AUS Adelaide – Round 2 @ 12pm on CW
• Sun 4/28
  • Zurich Classic – Final Round
    • @ 11:45am on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS
  • LIV: AUS Adelaide – Final Round @ 12pm on CW

Hockey:

• Mon 4/22
  • East – Game 2: Maple Leafs at Bruins @ 6pm on ESPN
    • BOS leads 1-0
  • East – Game 2: Islanders at Hurricanes @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
    • CAR leads 1-0
  • West – Game 1: Golden Knights at Stars @ 8:30pn om ESPN
  • West – Game 1: Kings at Oilers @ 9pm on ESPN2
• Tues 4/23
  • East – Game 2: Capitals at Rangers @ 6pm on ESPN
    • NYR leads 1-0
  • East – Game 2: Lightning at Panthers @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
    • FLA leads 1-0
  • West – Game 2: Avalanche at Jets @ 8:30pm on ESPN
    • WPG leads 1-0
  • West – Game 2: Predators at Canucks @ 9pm on ESPN2
    • VAN leads 1-0
• Wed 4/24
  • East – Game 3: Bruins at Maple Leafs @ 6pm on ESPN
  • West – Game 2: Golden Knights at Stars @ 8:30pm on ESPN
  • West – Game 2: Kings at Oilers @ 9pm on TBS
• Thurs 4/25
  • East – Game 3: Panthers at Lightning @ 6pm on TBS
  • East – Game 3: Hurricanes at Islanders @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
• Fri 4/26
  • East – Game 3: Rangers at Capitals @ 6pm on TNT
  • West – Game 3: Canucks at Predators @ 6:30pm on TBS
  • West – Game 3: Jets at Avalanche @ 9pm on TNT
  • West – Game 3: Oilers at Kings @ 9:30pm on TBS
• Sat 4/27
  • East – Game 4: Hurricanes at Islanders @ 1pm on TBS
  • East – Game 4: Panthers at Lightning @ 4pm on TBS
  • East – Game 4: Bruins at Maple Leafs @ 7pm on TBS
  • West – Game 3: Stars at Golden Knights @ 9:30pm on TBS
• Sun 4/28
  • West – Game 4: Jets at Avalanche @ 1:30pm on TNT
  • West – Game 4: Canucks at Predators @ 4pm on TBS
  • East – Game 4: Rangers at Capitals @ 7pm on TBS
  • West – Game 4: Oilers at Kings @ 9:30pm on TBS

Olympic Sports:

• Sun 4/28
  • Track & Field: Bermuda GP partnership with the Puma American Track League @ 2pm on NBC

Soccer:

• Tues 4/23
  • Premier League: Arsenal vs Chelsea @ 2pm on USA
  • CONCACAF Champions Cup: Club America vs Pachua @ 9pm on FS1
• Wed 4/24
  • Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Newcastle @ 2pm on USA
  • CONCACAF Champions Cup: Columbus Crew vs CF Monterrey @ 7pm on FS1
• Thurs 4/25
  • Premier League: Brighton vs Manchester City @ 2pm on USA
• Sat 4/27
  • Premier League: West Ham vs Liverpool @ 6:30am n USA
  • Premier League: Wolves vs Luton Town @ 9am on USA
  • Premier League: Teams TBA @ 11:30am on NBC
• Sun 4/28
  • Premier League: Tottenham vs Arsenal @ 8am on USA
  • Premier League: Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City @ 10:30am on USA