Baseball: Reds worst start ever. Yankees fined for sign stealing in 2015. JMU cancels softball season.
Basketball-NBA: Conference Semis are set!
Football: NFL Draft results. Jags pick UGA DE Travon Walker. Blockbuster trades.
Golf: Rahm wins 7th PGA title at the Mexico Open. Points for Ko’s honesty.
Hockey: NHL playoffs are set and begin tonight. Brown retires.
Horse Racing: Kentucky Derby this weekend.
Olympic Sports: Armstrong breaks WR in 50m Back. New female marathon record.
Tennis: RUS and BLR barred from Wimbledon.
Baseball:
- Hug your Cincinnati friends because the Reds are off to their worst start in franchise history with a 3-19 record. The team just lost to the Rockies on Sunday to continue their 6 game slide. This is also the 2nd worse start ever in MLB history only behind the 1988 Orioles who went 1-21.
- Yankees were fined $100k in 2017 for signing stealing using their dugout phone in 2015. The letter was just unsealed. The Yankees also filed a complaint against the Red Sox claiming that they were using smartwatches to communicate sign stealing. The Yankees used their dugout phone which is not qualified as electronics so the fine is much less.
- Well Softball: James Madison has canceled their softball season after the death of C Lauren Bernett. Bernett died on April 25th and her death was ruled a suicide. James Madison had that amazing college series run last year and Bernett was a big part of that.
Basketball-NBA:
- Playoffs are heating up!
- Advancements: Gong back to last Monday night after the weekly podcast dropped, Celtics was the first team to make the second round of playoffs, winning their series over the Nets in a sweep 4-0. The Heat quickly joined the next day beating the Hawks 4-1.
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- Wednesday saw both games as decisive with the Bucks and Warriors both putting away their series 4-1.
- The 76ers and the Mavericks won their series 4-2 over the Raptors and Jazz respectively. This is the 1st series win for the Mavericks in 11 years. The Suns did the same but the huge headline from that game was that CP3 (aka Chris Paul) went a perfect 14/14 in the comeback game to put away the series over the Pelicans. Only Wilt Chamberlin has gone perfect with more shots going 18/18 and 16/16 in regular season games.
- The Grizzlies came back in the 4th quarter scoring 40 points to put away the series over the Timberwolves.
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- The first 2 games of the conference semifinals started Sunday after a brief pause Saturday. The Bucks and Warriors take the first Ws. Apparently that break for the Celtics was not ideal. The Warriors still won despite having Draymond Green ejected in 2Q.
- Ben Simmons has still not made an appearance after he woke up with back soreness and was ruled out for his rumored start for Game 4. People have lost their patience. Stephen A Smith and fellow player Reggie Smith were 2 of those. TBD on when we will see him but hopefully for Game 1 of the conference semis.
Football:
- NFL draft did not disappoint after being live on the Vegas strip. First pick was by the Jacksonville Jaguars (for the 2nd year in a row) and they chose GA DE Travon Walker. They also took Utah LB Devin Lloyd in the first round after trading with the Bucs for the pick. This is now the 3rd year in a row that the Jags have had 2 picks in the first round after losing 10 or more games in 10/11 seasons. Georgia broke a NFL draft record with 5 defensive players going in the first round.
- #2 draft pick was Michigan Aidan Hutchinson and he was the first one to walk across the stage after Walker took the call from home. Hutchinson grew up in Michigan, went to Michigan and fittingly got draft to the Detroit Lions.
- No QBs were ranked in the Top 20 before the draft and the first and only QB to go in the first round was Pitt QB Kenny Pickett to the Steelers. Not super surprising as the top 3 picks last year were all QBs. 9 teams had 2 picks in the first round. 10 teams had none. The Dolphins, Steelers and Rams had no pick in round 1 & 2.
- One of the other major headlines from the draft was the blockbuster trade between the Eagles who acquired WR AJ Brown from the Titans for the 18th and 101st Brown got a 4-year $100MM deal with the Phili team.
- Another trade that gained some media attention was Hollywood Brown from the Ravens to the Cardinals. That makes a lethal combination of QB Kyler Murray to WR Hollywood Brown, who have already played together at Oklahoma… Ravens QB Lamar Jackson was not happy to say the least as Brown was his favorite target. The Ravens got the 23rd pick in exchange.
- Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins suspended for 6 games after failing the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing drugs. So Hollywood might get some playing time right off the bat.
Golf:
- Jon Rahm secured his first win since the 2021 US Open with a W at the Mexico Open. It came down to the 14th hole to break out of a 4-way tie for first with Rahm’s 12 foot birdie. This is Rahm’s 7th PGA Tour title and he has won at least 1 win per year for the last 6 years. He was easily the favorite in a lighter field this week but his son, Kepa was there to see it and another baby on the way.
- Nice little moment of women being well honest.. Get it Lydia Ko.
- Paulina Gretzky (yes that Gretzky) and DJ tied the knot last weekend April 24th. Ladies, don’t lose hope with a 9 year engagement.
Hockey:
- Playoffs set. I wont cover these too closely but here’s your bracket and games start tonight!
- Kings RW Dustin Brown announced that he will retire after this season (and post season for the first time for the team in 3 seasons). He joined the team at 18 years old and has played 3,632 games in the NHL which is the most since the NHL adopted the stat in 2005. Brown set a franchise record playing 18 seasons with the Kings. When the LA team loses in the playoffs, his career will end.
Horse Racing:
- The Kentucky Derby is on Saturday. Zandon is the betting favorite so far 3-1 odds wearing #10. 20 horses will compete for the $3MM race of 3 year-olds. The big news for this year’s Derby, there will be no Bob Baffert. He is still serving his 2 year ban after last year’s winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test.
Olympic Sports:
- Follow up story from last week – no more action against Evgeny Rylov. He did compete at RUS national championships but FINA said that event technically wasn’t under their direct oversight.
- Sticking with swimming, American and Ohio St Buckeye Hunter Armstrong broke the 50m backstroke WR with a time of 23.71. The former WR was held by RUS Kliment Kolesnikov in 2021 with a time of 23.80 in the non-Olympic event. Armstrong broke the record at international trials to determine who makes the USA team for Worlds in Budapest in June. You might also recognize Armstrong’s name as he won a gold medal by swimming the backstroke leg in prelims for the 4x100m medley relay in Tokyo.
- Jacky Hunt-Broersma set a new Guinness World Record by completing 102 marathons in 102 days. Jacky is 47 and had her leg amputated due to a rare cancer. The previous record was 95 by a non-disabled runner in 2020 but that was beaten by another non-disabled runner earlier this month raising the record to 101. Jacky knew that meant she had to up her goal which was originally 100 marathons in 100 days. She has run 2,724 miles which is basically the same as from her house in a AZ suburb to Cape Cod in MA.
Tennis:
- Wimbledon has banned athletes from RUS or BLR. But 2 superstars in the sport, Nadal and Djokovic have criticized that decision, claiming that it is not their fault what’s happening there. Some players to miss Wimbledon: US Open Champ, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova whoa re all from RUS. The ATP and WTA, the 2 tennis tours, have also criticized the decision. TBD if it sticks. Wimbledon starts June 26.
What to watch this week
Baseball:
- Tues 5/3
- Braves at Mets @ 2:10pm on FS1
- Morton vs Carrasco
- Giants at Dodgers @ 9:10pm on TBS
- Rodon vs Urias
- Braves at Mets @ 2:10pm on FS1
- Sat 5/7
- Tigers at Astros @ 3:05pm on FS1
- Rodriguez vs Valdez
- Cardinals at Giants @ 6:15pm on FS1
- Matz vs Cobb
- Tigers at Astros @ 3:05pm on FS1
- Sun 5/8
- White Sox at Red Sox @ 10:35am on NBC
- Cease vs Wacha
- Dodgers at Cubs @ 6pm on ESPN
- Buehler vs Smyly
- White Sox at Red Sox @ 10:35am on NBC
Basketball-NBA:
- Mon 5/2
- Game 1: 76ers at Heat @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Game 1:Mavericks at Suns @ 9pm on TNT
- Tues 5/3
- Game 2: Bucks at Celtics @ 6pm on TNT
- Game 2: Warriors at Grizzlies @ 8:30pm on TNT
- Wed 5/4
- Game 2: 76ers at Heat @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Game 2: Mavericks at Suns @ 9pm on TNT
- Thurs 5/5 – break
- Fri 5/6
- Game 3: Heat at 76ers @ 6pm on ESPN
- Game 3: Suns at Mavericks @ 8:30pm on ESPN
- Sat 5/7
- Game 3: Celtics at Bucks @ 2:30pm on ABC
- Game 3: Grizzlies at Warriors @ 7:30pm on ABC
- Sun 5/8
- Game 4: Suns at Mavericks @ 2:30pm on ESPN
- Game 4: Heat at 76ers @ 7pm on TNT
Golf:
- Wed 5/4
- NCAA Men’s Golf Selection @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Thurs 5/5
- Wells Fargo Championship – Round 1 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 5/6
- Wells Fargo Championship – Round 2 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 5/7
- Wells Fargo Championship – Round 3
- @ 12pm on Golf Channel
- @ 2pm on CBS
- Wells Fargo Championship – Round 3
- Sun 5/1
- Wells Fargo Championship – Final Round
- @ 12pm on Golf Channel
- @ 2pm on CBS
- Wells Fargo Championship – Final Round
Hockey:
- Mon 5/2
- Game 1: Bruins at Hurricanes @ 6pm on ESPN
- Game 1: Lightning at Maple Leafs @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
- Game 1: Blues at Wild @ 8:30pm on ESPN
- Game 1: Kings at Oilers @ 9pm on ESPN2
- Tues 5/3
- Game 1: Penguins at Rangers @ 6pm on ESPN
- Game 1: Capitals at Panthers @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
- Game 1: Predators at Avalanche @ 8:30pm on ESPN
- Game 1: Stars at Flames @ 9pm on ESPN2
- Wed 5/4
- Game 2: Bruins at Hurricanes @ 6pm on ESPN
- Game 2: Lightning at Maple Leafs @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
- Game 2: Blues at Wild @ 8:30pm on ESPN
- Game 2: Kings at Oilers @ 9pm on ESPN2
- Thurs 5/5
- Game 2: Penguins at Rangers @ 6pm on TNT
- Game 2: Capitals at Panthers @ 6:30pm on TBS
- Game 2: Predators at Avalanche @ 8:30pm on TNT
- Game 2: Stars at Flames @ 9pm on TBS
- Fri 5/6
- Game 3: Hurricanes at Bruins @ 6pm on TNT
- Game 3: Maple Leafs at Lightning @ 6:30pm on TBS
- Game 3: Wild at Blues @ 8:30pm on TNT
- Game 3: Oilers at Kings @9pm on TBS
- Sat 5/7
- Game 3: Panthers at Capitals @ 12pm on ESPN
- Game 3: Avalanche at Predators @ 3:30pm on TNT
- Game 3: Rangers at Penguins @ 6pm on TNT
- Game 3: Flames at Stars @ 8:30pm on TNT
- Sun 5/8
- Game 4: Hurricanes at Bruins @ 11:30am on ESPN
- Game 4: Wild at Blues @ 3:30pm on TBS
- Game 4: Maple Leafs at Lightning @ 6pm on TBS
- Game 4: Oilers at Kings @ 9pm on TBS
Horse Racing:
- Sat 5/7 – Kentucky Derby
- @ 11am on USA
- @ 1:30pm on NBC
- The race will be at 5:57pm
Motorsports:
- F1 Miami @ 2:30pm on ESPN
Olympic Sports:
- Wed 5/4
- Beach Volleyball: NCAA Women’s Opening Round @ 9am – 4pm on ESPNU
- Sat 5/7
- Volleyball: NCAA Men’s Final @ 7pm on ESPN2
- Sun 5/8
- Water polo: NCAA Women’s Final @ 3pm on ESPNU
- Lacrosse: NCAA Women’s & Men’s Selection Announcement @ 8pm on ESPNU
Soccer:
- Mon 5/2
- Premier League: ManU vs Brentford @ 2pm on USA
- Wed 5/4
- CONCACAF: Seattle Sounders vs Pumas UNAM @ 9pm on FS1
- Sat 5/7
- Premier League: Chelsea vs Wolves @ 9am on USA
- Premier League: Liverpool vs Tottenham @ 1:45pm on USA
- Sun 5/8
- Premier League: Arsenal vs Leeds United @ 8am on USA
- Premier League: Manchester City vs Newcastle United @ 10:30am on USA
- MLS: Austin FC vs LA Galaxy @ 6pm on FS1
Softball:
- Mon 5/2
- Tennessee at Ole Miss @ 6pm on SEC
- Tues 5/3
- Liberty at VTech @ 4pm on ACC
- Florida at Florida St @ 5pm on ESPNU
- Wed 5/4
- Dartmouth at Boston College @ 5pm on ACC
- Thurs 5/5
- Pitt at Duke @ 6pm on ACC
- Oklahoma St at Oklahoma @ 8pm on ESPN2
- Fri 5/6
- Northwestern at Minnesota @ 4pm on ESPN2
- Auburn at Tennessee @ 5pm on SEC
- Oklahoma St at Oklahoma @ 6pm on ESPN2
- Sat 5/7
- Auburn at Tennessee @ 10:30am on SEC
- Pitt at Duke @ 12pm on ACC
- Ole Miss at Georgia @ 12:20pm on SEC
- Baylor at Texas @ 1pm on LGHN
- Arkansas at Texas A&M @ 2:30pm on SEC
- Oklahoma St at Oklahoma @ 4pm on ESPNU
- Sun 5/8
- Kentucky at South Carolina @ 11am on SEC
- Florida St at NC St @ 11am on ACC
- Mizzou at Alabama @ 1pm on ESPNU
- Louisville at Notre Dame @ 1pm on ACC
