Baseball: Baseball is back on TV. NBD but Mancini also back from cancer. Royals extended Dozier deal. Pham back from stabbing.
Basketball-NBA: All Star Game this weekend! Hawks fire HC Pierce. Oladipo rejects Rocket’s extension. Green out. Raptors/Bulls game ppd.
Basketball-NCAAM: Indy bars and restaurants increased capacity before March madness. #2 Baylor losses to Kansas. Kansas’ first black bball player dies. UNC Williams makes 900 Ws. Iowa Nunge out. FSU extends deal with HC Hamilton.
Football: JJ Watt to Cardinals. Cross, 1st black analyst, dies. Seahawks parting with Russell? NDSt loses first game since 11/2017. TT QB to Michigan. ND DT found dead.
Golf: Tiger in accident. Morikawa wins WGC. Grace wins PR.
Olympic Sports: Tokyo 2020 not requiring vaccines for athletes.
Soccer: Barcelona CEO, Pres, Head of Legal and advisor arrested in social media scandal.
Tennis: Djokovic ties Federer’s World #1 week record.
Baseball:
- Baseball is back! Well some games are anyway. Games are now on TV but regular season is set to start April 1.
- Here’s a feel good story for you on a Monday. Orioles 1B Trey Mancini got a standing ovation from both dugouts for his first at-bat back since battling (and beating) stage 3 colon cancer. The opposing pitcher even stepped off the mound. To make it better, at his first at bat, he hit a single to get on base.
- The Royals have signed an extension with 3B Hunter Dozier for 4 years for $25MM with a 5th year option. The Royals are in good shape to make a run for the AL Central this year.
- Padres OF Tommy Pham is back to the field 4.5 months after being stabbed in the back in a strip club parking lot. Just 3 nights after the Padres lost in the playoffs, Pham was rushed to the hospital where doctors told him he could’ve been paralyzed or dead if he weren’t so muscular. The stab wound needed 200 stitches. Pham knows how lucky he is to be playing.
Basketball-NBA:
- The All Star Game is this weekend! Tune in on Sunday @ 5pm on TNT
- The Dunk contest will take place at halftime
- The Hawks have fired their HC Lloyd Pierce after a record of 63-120 in 2+ seasons with the team. The team started well but has lost 11 of their last 15 games. Pierce was one of only 4 black coaches in the NBA, a league that is over 75% black. Make it 3 now…
- G Victor Oladipo turned down the Rocket’s 2 year extension for $45.2MM as he really wants a long term deal. The Rockets cannot offer him one until the offseason due to the CBA. He is in the final year of his 4year $85MM deal with the Houston team. The Rockets better watch out though as the Heat and Knicks are circling ready to pounce.
- Warriors F Draymond Green went out of Sunday’s game against the Lakers with an ankle sprain on this leg ankle. No word yet on how long he will be out. The Warriors lost 117-91.
- The Raptors game vs the Bulls that was originally scheduled for last night was postponed. The team does not have the 8 players required to play the game due to COVID issues. So far their other 2 games scheduled for this week are still on.
Basketball – NCAAM:
- Some good news for people wanting to attend the March Madness tournament. Indianapolis will relax its COVID restrictions on its bars and restaurants (capacity at bars will go from 25% to 50% and restaurants can go to 75% from 50%) before the tournament comes to town. The city actually hosts the Big 10 tournament first and the restrictions will be lifted before that tournament. Bars and restaurants can also close at 2am instead of the current 12am closing time. Of course the mayor says this is due to the decline in COVID cases but we know its for the NCAA tournament.
- #2 and undefeated Baylor no longer has one of those identifiers. The Bears lost to Kansas 71-58 on Saturday. HC Scott Drew said their 21 days of COVID protocol is their kryptonite. The team had had 6 games postponed due to protocol and had their first practice in 3 weeks a week ago. Gonzaga is now the only undefeated team left as we are 2 weeks away from Selection Sunday.
- Kansas’ first Black bball player, LaVannes Squires, has died at the age of 90. He helped Kansas win their first NCAA Championship in 30 years as a part of the 1952 team.
- UNC’s HC Roy Williams has reached 900 wins after the Tar Heels beat #11 Florida St. Williams is only the 4th coach to reach the 900 mark in D1. He did it in the fastest amount of time in just 1,161 games. The other coaches include Coach K (Duke), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Jim Calhoun (UConn) and Bob Knight (Indiana).
- Iowa has lost F Jack Nunge to a season ending knee injury. He averages 7 points and 5 rebounds a game. Nunge got injured in the Hawkeyes loss to Michigan on Thursday.
- Florida St has extended a 5 year deal for $2.5mm/yr contract to HC Leonard Hamilton, which would have him coaching the Seminoles through 2025. Although at the age of 72, Hamilton is looking to take Florida St to back-to-back ACC Championships and is the winningest coach in school history. This is his 19th season with the team.
Football:
- JJ Watt maybe a Freudian slip? Posting potential teams on his Peloton account…
- Update: while typing this post, it was announced that JJ Watt has signed a 2 year deal with the Cardinals for $31MM ($23MM guaranteed). This will reunite him with WR Hopkins.
- Irv Cross has passed away at the age of 81 after battling dementia. Cross spent 9 seasons in the NFL, 2x pro bowler and then became the first Black man to be a full time sports analyst on TV at CBS. He may be gone but his legacy continues.
- Let the rumor mill keep rolling… Could the Seahawks be parting ways with QB Russell Wilson? The QB has said he wants to stay and has not asked or a trade but he has a list of teams he would go to (they are: the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders and Bears). He has expressed his frustration with all the hits he took last year and that he wants to be more involved in the team’s decisions. Wilson is 32 and does not need to be taking that many hits. Wilson has 3 years left on his current contract and if the team trades him prior to June 1, they will lose $39MM.
- Southern Illinois has wrecked North Dakota St’s 39 game winning streak as they top the Bison 38-14. NDSt had won the last 3 FCS championships and their lost last was on 11/4/2017! It was their worst defeat since 2005.
- Former Texas Tech QB Alan Bowman has decided to transfer to Michigan.
- Sticking with college football, former Notre Dame DT Louis Nix was found dead on Saturday after he was reported missing since Wednesday. It def smells fishy as he was injured in a shooting back in December.
Golf:
- #ICYMI (and I don’t know how) Tiger Woods was in a car accident on Tuesday after the Genesis tournament. Only his car was involved in the incident and he was immediately taken to a hospital and into surgery. His leg and ankle was shattered so the doctors put a rod and pins in it. He is recovering and his injuries are not life threatening. The question many people are wondering is are they career ending? We’re very lucky this wasn’t another Kobe incident!
- A lot of golfers wore Tiger’s signature red polo with black pants on Sunday to honor the golf GOAT.
- If you didn’t recognize the tournament name this week (WGC-Concession) that’s because its usually the Mexico Championship but it was relocated to FL due to COVID concerns. Colin Morikawa took the title. He is now the only golfer to win a major and a WGC event before the age of 25 since well Tiger Woods.
- There was another PGA Tour tournament this weekend but in Puerto Rico. Just 5 weeks after his dad lost his month long battle with COVID< Branden Grace from RSA won by one shot over Jhonattan Vegas. Grace shot eagle-birdie to finish his round and clinch his first PGA Tour title in 5 years and only his 2nd total. Vegas, from VEN, got 2nd while PR native Rafael Campos placed third in a diverse podium.
- Annika Sorenstam made the cut in her first LPGA tournament since 2008. The HoFer has been retired or more than 12 years before making the cut on the line at 74th She finished 29 shots behind the leader but was happy to play and make the cut. The winner of the Gainbridge LPGA was Nelly Korda by 3 shots. Her sister, Jessica, won the opener to the LPGA season last week at the Tournament of Champions. That’s back-to-back Korda sister wins. Now all the analysts are hoping for a sister-sister final pairing in their first major coming up. *Cue Tia and Tamara Mowry*
Olympic Sports:
- Tokyo 2020 will not make its athletes take the COVID 19 vaccine although it is highly encouraged.
- This weekend was the Winter Cup which saw some serious star power as Laurie Hernandez was back in action for the first time since Rio. Although Jordan Chiles, who trains with Simone Biles in TX, took the All Around title. She won by 1.95 points over Shilese Jones.
- Lots of gymnastics news today. Former USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert committed suicide after he was accused of 20 felonies (20 human trafficking, 1 1st degree sexual assault, 1 2nd degree sexual assault, racketeering and lying to a police officer). Basically he knew that Larry Nassar was sexually abusing athletes and lied to the cops about it. Geddert and Nassar worked together for 25 years and Geddert is considered one of Nassar’s main enablers.
- British Gymnastics is being sued by several former gymnasts and 3 Olympians for decades of physical and psychological abuse. They claim there was a ‘win at all cost’ attitude as young as 6. More are expected to join as word gets out. The claimants range from 15 years old to 43 and are so far all female.
- The Americas Cup is postponed due to the lockdown in Auckland for 7 days. Travel in and out of the largest cities have been banned along with public gatherings and
Soccer:
- Hold onto your hats on this one folks. The Barcelona club CEO, head of legal services, former president and his advisor have all been arrested in a social media scandal. Allegedly they paid a 3rd party company to smear former and current players and presidential candidates on social media. The club was originally cleared of the allegations (after a PWC audit) but after further digging by the police who did their own investigation, arrests have been made.
Tennis:
- Novak Djokovic has tied Roger Federer’s record of the number of weeks at World #1 with 310 as of this week. Djokovic’s win at the Aussi Open guarantees that he will break the record next week as no change in the rankings is possible between now and then. His next goal… passing Federer and Nadal’s 19 Grand Slam title record which he now sits even. The next Grand Slam event is the French Open which is still on (so far) for 5/23/21.
What to watch this week
Baseball:
- Tues 3/2 – Rays at Red Sox @ 12:05pm on ESPN
- Wed 3/3 – Mariners at Cubs @ 2:05pm on ESPN
- Thurs 3/4 – Nationals at Giants @ 12pm on ESPN
- Fri 3/5 – Dodgers at Royals @ 2pm on ESPN
Basketball-NBA:
- Tues 3/2
- Clippers at Celtics @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Suns at Lakers @ 9pm on TNT
- Wed 3/3
- Nets at Rockets @ 6:30pm on ESPN
- Warriors at Trail Blazers @ 9pm on ESPN
- Thurs 3/4
- Heat at Pelicans @ 7:30pm on TNT
- Sun 3/7
- All Star Game: Team Durant vs Team LeBron @ 7pm on TNT
- All other games are on NBATV
Basketball – NCAA:
- Mon 3/1
- Miami at 15. UVA @ 5pm on ACC
- Oklahoma at Oklahoma St @ 8pm on ESPN
- Tues 3/2
- Baylor at 6. West Virginia @ 4pm on ESPN
- Arkansas at South Carolina @ 5:30pm on SEC
- Illinois at 3. Michigan @ 6pm on ESPN
- Auburn at 6. Alabama @ 6pm on ESPN2
- Texas at Iowa ST @ 6pm on ESPN+
- TCU at 18. Texas Tech @ 6pm on ESPN+
- Wisconsin at 23. Purdue @ 8pm on ESPN3
- Wed 3/3
- Louisville at 22. VTech @ 6pm on ESPN2
- Creighton at 8. Villanova @ 7:30pm on FS1
- Boston College at 11. Florida St @ 8pm on ACC
- San Diego St at UNLV @ 8pm
- Thurs 3/4
- Michigan ST at 2. Michigan @ 6pm on ESPN
- Oklahoma St at 3. Baylor @ 6pm on ESPN2
- TCU at 6. West Virginia @ 6pm on ESPN+
- Iowa St at 18. Texas Tech @ 6pm on ESPN+
- UTEP at 13. Kansas @ 7pm on ESPN+
- Nebraska at 5. Iowa @ 8pm
- Texas at 16. Oklahoma @ 8pm
- Arizona St at 24. Colorado @ 8pm
- Fri 3/5
- TBD at 21. Loyola Chicago @ 11am on ESPN+
- Sat 3/6
- LSU at Mizzou @ TBD
- Florida St at Notre Dame @ 11am on ESPN2
- Alabama at Georgia @ 1pm on CBS
- VTech at NC St @ 1pm on ACCX
- Oklahoma St at 6. West Virginia @ 1pm
- Villanova at Providence @ 1:30pm
- Illinois at 7. Ohio St @ 3pm on ESPN
- Butler at 14. Creighton @ 3pm
- UVA at Louisville @ 3pm
- USC at UCLA @ 3pm on CBS
- Texas A&M at 12. Arkansas @ 4pm
- Sun 3/7
- Houston at Memphis @ 11am on CBS
- Wisconsin at 5. Iowa @ 11:30am
- Texas Tech at 3. Baylor @ 3pm on ESPN
- Michigan at Michigan St @ 3:30pm on CBS
- Texas at TCU @ 6pm on ESPN+
Golf:
- Thurs 3/4
- Arnold Palmer – Round 1 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 3/5
- Arnold Palmer – Round 2 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 3/6
- Arnold Palmer – Round 3
- @ 11:30am on Golf Channel
- @ 1:30pm on NBC
- Arnold Palmer – Round 3
- Sun 3/7
- Arnold Palmer – Round 4
- @ 11:30am on Golf Channel
- @ 1:30pm on NBC
- Arnold Palmer – Round 4
Hockey:
- Tues 3/2
- Flyers at Penguins @ 6pm on NBCSN
- Wed 3/3
- Capitals at Bruins @ 6pm on NBCSN
- Blues at Ducks @ 8:30pm on NBCSN
- Sat 3/6
- Flyers at Penguins @ 12pm on NBCSN
- Sun 3/7
- Sabres at Islanders @ 11am on NBC
- Lightning at Blackhawks @ 1:30pm on NBCSN
- Rangers at Penguins @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
Olympic Sports:
- Tues 3/2
- CC Skiing: Women’s 10Km Freestyle @ 12pm on NBCSN
- Thurs 3/4
- Swimming: TYR Pro Swim Series Day 1 @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Fri 3/5
- Sailing: America’s Cup @ 9pm on NBCSN
- Swimming: TYR Pro Swim Series Day 2 @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Sat 3/6
- CC Skiing: Men’s 4x10km Relay @ 12:30am on NBCSN
- Sailing: America’s Cup @ 9pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: Men’s Downhill @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Sun 3/7
- Skiing: Women’s Giant Slalom @ 12am on NBCSN
- CC Skiing: Ski Jumping Team Men, Large Hill @ 1pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: Women’s Slalom @ 10pm on NBCSN
- Speed Skating: Short Track Championships Day 3 @ 11pm on NBCSN
Soccer:
- Mon 3/1
- Premier League: Everton vs Southampton @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
- Tues 3/2
- Premier League: Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
- Wed 3/3
- Premier League: Burnley vs Leicester City @ 11:55am on NBCSN
- Sat 3/6
- Premier League: Burnley vs Arsenal @ 6:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Sheffield United vs Southampton @ 8:55am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton @ 11 :25am on NBCSN
- Sun 3/7
- Premier League: West Brom vs Newcastle @ 6am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Liverpool vs Fulham @ 7:55am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Manchester City vs ManU @ 10:25am on NBCSN
