Baseball: Pujols to Dodgers. Bieber’s 8KO streak ended. Replay trouble. Jeter sells Brady’s rental home. Marlins honor Sugar Kings
Basketball: 2020 HoF class inducted. 2021 class named. Irving in 50/40/90 club. Curry highest scorer. Playoff set to begin!
Football: Sam Houston wins FCS. Kansas new HC. Eagles sign Kerrigan.
Golf: KH Lee wins first PGA Tour title. PGA Championship this weekend.
Hockey: NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are here!
Horse Racing: Rombauer wins Preakness.
Olympic Sports: Team GBR undecided on vaccines. Tokyo expands state of emergency. Biles back this weekend in US Classic. Alaphilippe to skip Tokyo to become a dad. TJer Craddock banned.
Soccer: Mewis and Lavelle go back to NWSL.
Tennis: Serena wins 1st match since Feb.
Baseball:
- HoF 1B Albert Pujols doesn’t have to move very far as he has reportedly signed with the Dodgers less than a week after being released from the Angels after 10 years. No financial info has been released. 10 years seems to be the sweet spot for Pujols; he spent his first 10 years in the league with the Cardinals (2001-2011) before moving to the Angels (2011-2021). Not sure we will get another 10 years as he is 41 already but one can hope!
- Mariner’s P Shane Bieber’s streak is over. The Indians managed to only have 7 KOs against the pitcher, snapping Bieber’s 20 game streak with at least 8 strike outs.
- Replay officials are again catching some heat after the Royals/White Sox game on Sunday. The game ended on a controversial call. 1B Jose Abreu slid into home plate where he was called safe, however the replay in slow motion reveals he may have been tagged prior to hitting home. The play stood which means the White Sox won 4-3. What do you think?
- A little football and baseball for you. Derek Jeter is selling his house in Tampa which means Bucs QB Tom Brady will have to move as Brady was renting the house since April 2020 when he signed with the Tampa Bay team. The 7 BD 8 BA house was listed at $29MM although the final selling price was not disclosed. Don’t worry Brady did buy land on a private island off of Miami to build a house there. TBD what his current plans will be though.
- The Marlins are unveiling their Cuban Triple A Havana Sugar Kings uniforms on Friday against the Mets. Cuban Independence Day is Thursday and the Mets are hosting a Cuban Heritage Night this weekend. The Sugar Kings played in the International League from 1954-1960
- Conference Championships in softball were this weekend and here are the winners. NCAA tournament begins this weekend!
- Big 12: Oklahoma wins 4th straight
- SEC: Alabama wins 1st SEC tourney since 2012
- ACC: Duke wins the ACC
Basketball:
- The 2020 Class was inducted into the HoF this weekend. In a touching moment, Michael Jordan escorted Vanessa Bryant to the stage as late Kobe Bryant was honored. The class also included Kevin Garnet and Tim Duncan.
- The 2021 class has now been announced for voting. The headliners are Paul Peirce, Chris Bosh, Chris Webber and Ben Wallace. For the full list, click here.
- Kyrie Irving has officially joined the 50/40/90 club which is shooting 50% or better from the field, 40% or better from the 3 point range and 90% on free throws for the season. The player also has to have 25 points/game while averaging those percentages. The only players in the club are Larry Bird, Steph Curry and KD.
- This weekend also locked up Steph Curry as the highest scorer in the league. Curry scored 46 points in their game against the Grizzlies on Sunday to clinch the title away from Wizards’ Beal, who if you remember from last week missed 2 games and was averaging 31.4 points/game. Even after missing 5 games, Curry averages 32 points/game. This is a new PR for Curry whose previous record was 30.1 points. The Warriors will play their California rivals, the Lakers for their spot in the playoffs.
- Longtime announcer for TNT, Marv Albert will retire at the end of the Eastern Conference Finals. He has announced for almost 60 years and has been an NBA announced for 19 years. He turns 8- in June. He has called 13 NBA finals, 25 All-Star games and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
- Playoffs are set to begin this weekend and the teams are set.
- The 76ers have won the East.
- The Nets, Bucks, Knicks, Hawks and Heat are in the playoffs
- The Celtics, Wizards, Pacers and Hornets will play for their spot tomorrow night
- The Jazz have the best record in the league (52-20)
- The Suns, Nuggets, Clippers, Mavericks and Trail Blazers are in the playoffs
- The Lakers, Warriors, Grizzlies and Spurs will play for the final spots on Wednesday night.
- The 76ers have won the East.
Football:
- Sam Houston scored a last minute (the last 16 seconds to be exact) TD to win their first FCS natty title. The Bearkats beat South Dakota St 23-21 in the weather delayed game with 2 4th-down conversions on their final drive. Congrats Bearkats! This picture was too funny not to share!
- Kansas has hired Lance Leipold away from Buffalo to be their new HC to replace Les Miles, who is under investigation for inappropriate behavior with female students during his time at LSU. Kansas did not get a win in the 2020 season and their last win was in October 2019. Leipold has a mix of Kansas and Buffalo coaching staff under him during this transition.
- The Eagles have added DE Ryan Kerrigan, 4x Pro Bowler and all time sacks leader for the WFT, to their roster this week. Kerrigan played 10 years in Washington, hitting the QB 147xs and responsible for 95.5 sacks.
Golf:
- KH Lee won his first PGA Tour title at the Byron Nelson this weekend! With a 2 hour weather delay during the final round where only 9 players were still out on course, Lee waited patiently and in the lead by 3. When play resumed, Lee missed a par putt to cut his lead to 2 and looked like Sam Burns would have a chance but Lee answered with 2 birdies to solidify his victory. Lee won by 3 with a final score of -25. Needless to say he will be celebrating. He and his wife are expecting their first child and Lee will now play in the PGA Championship this week!
- The 2nd major of the year is this weekend in Kiawah SC. Tune in to watch!
- The NCAA is still catching some heat after cancelling the women’s regional golf tournament in Louisiana. The NCAA committee deemed the course playable but not championship level after the course in Baton Rouge took on 7 inches of rain over a 3 day span. Monday and Tuesday both started out raining but later in the day had sunshine when play could’ve resumed. Wednesday, the start was delayed but with still no word from the committee. They did call the tournament later that day. There is a NCAA rule that said tournament play had to be finished before Thursday so they canceled the tournament. Coaches and their athletes are annoyed and deservedly so because they said nothing was done to fix the standing water that led to the cancellation. No pumps were brought out to help with drainage. The top 6 teams seeded into the tournament advance: LSU, Ole Miss, Baylor, Oregon, Maryland and Alabama and the 3 top individuals not on those teams would also advance with a golfer from each Miami, Houston and San Houston. Still a terrible way to end some of these ladies careers.
Hockey:
- Stanley Cup playoffs are underway!
Horse Racing:
- The Preakness ran this weekend and there was no controversy. Rombauer passed Medina Spirit and never looked back, shocking the horseracing world with being an 11-1 winner. This is only the 2nd time a horse longer than 10-1 odds has won since 1950. Medina Spirit went out quick but could not hold on and got 3rd. Rombauer was in a distant 3rd coming off the final corner before sprinting to the front and running away with the victory.
Olympic Sports:
- Team GBR has yet to decide if they will fast track the Pfizer vaccine to their Olympians. Right now in Britain, people 35 years or older are getting vaccinated. Team BEL, FRA, GER, ITA and ESP will offer the vaccines to their athletes and others traveling to the Olympics.
- Tokyo has expanded their state of emergency for COVID from 6 areas to 9. Although Tokyo was already covered, the Tokyo government is hoping this will calm down rising cases prior to the games which are now only 10 weeks away. One of the new areas does include where the marathon will be held for the Games. So far the state of emergency is set to expire on May 31 but can certainly be extended if needed. Less than 2% of the population has been vaccinated.
- Simone Biles will be back in action this weekend at the US Classic in Indianapolis for the first time since October 2019. National Championships are set for the first weekend in June in Ft Worth TX and the Olympic trials in St. Louis at the end of June. Be sure to tune in to the Classic this weekend to see Laurie Hernandez, Morgan Hurd and 2008 silver medalist Chellsie Memmel, who retired in 2012 but has now made a comeback at the age of 32.
- Medal favorite, Julian Alaphilippe, will not be racing the road race in Tokyo. No COVID is not his reason. He is set to become a dad the day before his competition. He was 4th in Rio and will be 32 years old for his native games in 2024 in Paris. This will open up a spot on the podium most likely.
- Stanford is facing a lawsuit (technically 2) in federal court claiming that the university knowingly deceived athletes with its plan to eliminate varsity teams just to get those students to attend and remain at Stanford. There are 11 programs that will potentially be canceled and they are: M&W fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, M rowing, Coed and W sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, M volleyball and wrestling. Stanford currently has 36 varsity programs (this is an extremely high number) and is struggling to maintain all of these while still remaining profitable and competitive. TBD what happens here but I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of this.
- Omar Craddock, US triple jumper, has been banned for the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Championships in Oregon due to missing 3 doping tests in 12 months. Sound familiar? Because this is the same thing 100m favorite Christian Coleman has been banned for. Craddock is currently the world 3rd best jumper behind Olympic gold and silver medalists Christian Taylor and Will Claye.
- UNC is the #1 seed for both the women and men’s lacrosse tournaments. The men’s final four will be on 5/29-31 and the women’s will be 5/28-30.
Soccer:
- More bad news for Super League fans, Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle have said that they are coming back to the NWSL in the US after playing for Manchester City and finishing 2nd in the WSL. The WSL season ended last week on May 9 and the NWSL started this weekend.
Tennis:
- Serena Williams got her first win in over 3 months after beating 17 year old Lisa Pigato in straight sets in the opening round of the Emilia-Romagna Open. This was her first win since the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in February. She lost to Naomi Osaka in that tournament and then lost in the opening round of the Italian Open last week. The French Open will start in 2 weeks!
What to watch this week
Baseball-MLB:
- Mon 5/17
- Mets at Braves @ 6pm on ESPN
- Walker vs Fried
- Mets at Braves @ 6pm on ESPN
- Tues 5/18
- Yankees at Rangers @ 7pm on ESPN
- Taillon vs Foltynewicz
- Yankees at Rangers @ 7pm on ESPN
- Fri 5/21
- Brewers at Reds @ 6:10pm on FS1
- Houser vs Hoffman
- Brewers at Reds @ 6:10pm on FS1
- Sat 5/22
- Depends on your location @ 6:15pm on FOX
- Red Sox at Phillies
- Cubs at Cardinals
- Dodgers at Giants
- Depends on your location @ 6:15pm on FOX
- Sun 5/23
- Cubs at Cardinals @ 6pm on ESPN
- Davies vs Kim
- Cubs at Cardinals @ 6pm on ESPN
Baseball/Softball–NCAA: (ranked vs ranked only)
- Mon 5/17
- Softball: SEC Final – Bama s Florida Replay @ 9pm on SEC
- Softball: Big 12 Final – Oklahoma vs Oklahoma St Replay @ 9:30pm on ESPNU
- Tues 5/18
- Baseball: 17. Gonzaga at 6. Oregon @ 8pm
- Thurs 5/20
- Baseball: 16. Florida St at 23. NC St @ 5:30pm
- Baseball: 9. Florida at 1. Arkansas @ 6pm on SEC
- Baseball: 4. Tennessee at 21. South Carolina @ 6pm on SEC+
- Fri 5/21
- Softball: Northwestern vs 14. Kentucky @ 11am on ESPN2
- Softball: 22. James Madison vs 25. Liberty @ 11am on ESPNU
- Softball: Manhattan vs 6. Arkansas @ 12pm on SEC
- Softball: South Florida vs 4. Florida @ 1pm on ESPNU
- Softball: Auburn vs UCF @ 1pm on ESPN2
- Softball: 7. LSU vs McNeese @ 3pm on ESPNU
- Softball: Saint Francis vs 12. Texas @ 4pm on LGHN
- Softball: Texas A&M vs Wichita St @ 5pm on ESPN2
- Softball: 3. Alabama vs Alabama St @ 5pm on SEC
- Softball: Villanova vs Ole Miss @ 5pm on ESPNU
- Baseball: 16. Florida St at 23. NC St @ 5:30pm on ACCNX
- Baseball: 4. Tennessee at 21. South Carolina @ 6pm on SEC+
- Softball: Minnesota vs Fresno St @ 7pm on ESPNU
- Softball: Michigan vs Seattle U @ 7pm on ESPN2
- Baseball: 9. Florida at 1. Arkansas @ 7pm on SEC
- Baseball: 15. Stanford at 6. Oregon @ 8pm
- Softball: Long Beach St vs 2. UCLA @ 9:30pm on ESPN2
- Sat 5/22
- Baseball: 4. Tennessee at 21. South Carolina @ 11am on SEC
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 11am on ESPNEWS
- Baseball: 16. Florida St at 23. NC St @ 12pm
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 1pm on ESPN2
- Baseball: 9. Florida at 1. Arkansas @ 2pm on SEC+
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 3pm on ESPN2
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 3pm on ESPNEWS
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 3:30pm on ESPNU
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 4pm on SEC
- Baseball: 15. Stanford at 6. Oregon @ 5pm
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 5pm on ESPNEWS
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 5pm on ESPN2
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 6pm on SEC
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 7pm on ESPNEWS
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 7pm on ESPN2
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 9pm on ESPNU
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 9pm on ESPN2
- Sun 5/23
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 12pm on SEC
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 1pm on ESPN2
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 2pm on SEC
- Baseball: 15. Stanford at 6. Oregon @ 2pm
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 3pm on ESPN
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 3pm on ESPN2
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 3:30pm on ESPNU
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 4pm on SEC
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 5pm on ESPN2
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 5:30pm on ESPNU
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 7pm on ESPN2
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 7:30pm on ESPNU
- Softball: NCAA Regionals Teams TBD @ 9pm on ESPNU
Basketball-NBA:
- Tues 5/18
- Playoff Play In Game: Hornets at Pacers @ 5:30pm on TNT
- Playoff Play In Game: Wizards at Celtics @ 8pm on TNT
- Wed 5/19
- Playoff Play In Game: Spurs at Grizzlies @ 6:30pm on ESPN
- Playoff Play In Game: Warriors at Lakers @ 9pm on ESPN
- Thurs 5/20
- TBD vs TBD @ 7pm on TNT
- Fri 5/21
- TBD vs TBD @ TBD on ESPN
Golf:
- Thurs 5/20
- PGA Championship – Round 1 @ 12pm on ESPN
- Fri 5/21
- PGA Championship – Round 2 @ 12pm on ESPN
- Sat 5/22
- PGA Championship – Round 3
- @ 9am on ESPN
- @ 12pm on CBS
- PGA Championship – Round 3
- Sun 5/23
- PGA Championship – Round 4
- @ 9am on ESPN
- @ 12pm on CBS
- PGA Championship – Round 4
Hockey:
- Mon 5/17
- Bruins at Capitals @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- Washington leads 1-0
- Predators at Hurricanes @ 7pm on CNBC
- Blues at Avalanche @ 9pm on NBCSN
- Bruins at Capitals @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- Tues 5/18
- Islanders at Penguins @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- NYI lead 1-0
- Lightning at Panthers @ 7pm on CNBC
- TB lead 1-0
- Wild at Golden Knights @ 9pm on NBCSN
- MN lead 1-0
- Islanders at Penguins @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- Wed 5/19
- Capitals at Bruins @ 5:30pm on NBCSN
- Predators at Hurricanes @ 7pm on CNBC
- Jets at Oilers @ 8pm on NBCSN
- Blues at Avalanche @ 9:30pm on CNBC
- Thurs 5/20
- Panthers at Lightning @ 5:30pm on USA
- Penguins at Islanders @ 6pm on NBCSN
- Canadiens at Maple Leafs @ 6:30pm on CBC
- Golden Knights at Wild @ 8:30pm on NBCSN
- Fri 5/21
- Capitals at Bruins @ 5:30pm on NBCSN
- Hurricanes at Predators @ 6pm on USA
- Jets at Oilers @ 8pm on NBCSN
- Avalanche at Blues @ 8:30pm on USA
- Sat 5/22
- Panthers at Lightning @ 11:30am on CNBC
- Penguins at Islanders @ 2pm on NBC
- Canadiens at Maple Leafs @ 6pm on CNBC
- Golden Knights at Wild @ 7pm on NBC
- Bruins at Capitals @ TBD
- Hurricanes at Predators @ TBD
- Oilers at Jets @ TBD
- Avalanche at Blues @ TBD
- First Round: Teams TBA @ 10pm on NBCSN
- Sun 5/23
- First Round: Teams TBA @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- First Round: Teams TBA @ 9pm on NBCSN
Motorsports:
- Fri 5/21
- NASCAR: Whelen Series: Riverhead @ 4pm on NBCSN
- Sat 5/22
- IndyCar: Indianapolis 500 Qualifying @ 2pm on NBCSN
- Sun 5/23
- F1 – Monaco GP @ 8am on ESPN2
- IndyCar: Indianapolis 500 Qualifying @ 12pm on NBCSN
Olympic Sports:
- Sat 5/22
- NCAA Lacrosse: 5. Georgetown vs 4. UVA @ 11am on ESPNU
- NCAA Lacrosse: Rutgers vs 1. UNC @ 1:30pm on ESPNU
- Gymnastics: US Classic @ 6pm on NBCSN
- Curling: Mixed Doubles World Championship: Semifinal – Teams TBA @ 8pm on NBCSN
- Sun 5/23
- NCAA Lacrosse: Loyola vs 2. Duke @ 11am on ESPNU
- NCAA Lacrosse: 6. Notre Dame vs 3. Maryland @ 1:30pm on ESPNU
- Curling: Mixed Doubles World Championship: Final – Teams TBA @ 4pm on NBCSN
Soccer:
- Mon 5/17
- NCAAW: Florida St vs Santa Clara @ 4:30pm on ESPN2
- NCAAM: Indiana vs Marshall @ 7pm on ESPN2
- Tues 5/19
- Italian Coppa Italia: Atalanta vs Juventus @ 2pm on ESPN2
- Premier League: Chelsea vs Leicester City @ 2 :10pm on NBCSN
- Wed 5/20
- Premier League: Burnley vs Liverpool @ 2:10pm on NBCSN
- Sat 5/22
- MLS: Portland Timbers vs LA Galaxy @ 2:30pm on ABC
- Sun 5/23
- Premier League: Teams TBA @ 9:55am on NBCSN
Tennis:
- Wed 5/19
- D1 Women’s Quarterfinal @ 4:30pm on Tennis Channel
- D1 Women’s Quarterfinal @ 6:30pm on Tennis Channel
- Thurs 5/20
- D1 Men’s Quarterfinal @ 4:30pm on Tennis Channel
- D1 Men’s Quarterfinal @ 6:30pm on Tennis Channel
- Fri 5/21
- D1 Women’s Semifinal @ 4:30pm on Tennis Channel
- D1 Men’s Semifinal @ 6:30pm on Tennis Channel
- Sat 5/22
- D1 Women’s Final @ 4:30pm on Tennis Channel
- D1 Men’s Final @ 6:30pm on Tennis Channel
