The Sportsletter - Rahm's Green Jacket ⛳️

BY JEFF YODER

APR. 10, 2023 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 🙌

The weather broke enough to complete The Masters before nightfall on Sunday, and there’s a first-time wearer of the famous green jacket. Plus, the NBA regular season wrapped up to set the stage for this week’s play-in round, and the Boston Bruins are officially the owners of the best season in NHL history. If you blinked this weekend, you missed a moment worth celebrating. Let's run it back in today’s weekend rewind.

Letter Rip!

THE MASTERS ⛳️

Rahm's Green Jacket

Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Jon Rahm (-12) Wins The Masters With Two-Stroke Comeback on Sunday

No storm or cold weather could keep The Masters from reaching a Sunday finish, and what a finish it was. Jon Rahm (-12) rallied from two strokes down to claim his first green jacket on Sunday, The 28-year-old Spaniard now adds a second major to his 2021 U.S. Open victory, and he’s well on his way to an illustrious career. The No. 3 player in the world is now No. 1 after dominating Augusta. Here’s how Sunday at The Masters played out:

Rahm Rises: It was a three-horse race entering Round 4 at Augusta with Rahm (-9) bookended by leader Brooks Koepka (-11) and Viktor Hovland (-8). Rahm was the only one of the trio to dominate Sunday’s pin locations, carding two birdies on the front before bogeying the 9th hole and watching other leaders slide. He put together back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th to create some distance and cruise to the 18th green with the green jacket secured.

Koepka Collapses: Koepka (-8) was the outright leader through three rounds at Augusta, but a Sunday meltdown took away his first green jacket opportunity. Koepka carded three bogeys on the front while watching Rahm take the lead, and his chances began to evaporate with two more bogeys on holes 12 and 14.

Mickelson Makes Magic: Phil Mickelsn also made headlines on Sunday with a final round surge for the ages. The 52-year-old wasn’t even on the radar after entering the final day 1-under and ten shots back of the leader. He fired eight birdies and one bogey in his final round to jump from a top-30 finish to a tie for second.

At the end of a frenetic four-day weekend at Augusta full of drama and storylines, it’s Jon Rahm at the top of the golf world.

The Masters Leaderboard

1. J. Rahm (-12)

T2. B. Koepka (-8)

T2. P. Mickelson (-8)

T4. R. Henley (-7)

T4. P. Reed (-7)

T4. J. Spieth (-7)

T7. V. Hovland (-6)

T7. C. Young (-6)

9. S. Theegala (-5)

T10. X. Schauffele (-4)

T10. C. Morikawa (-4)

T10. M. Fitzpatrick (-4)

T10. S. Scheffler (-4)

Other Notable Scorecards: P. Cantlay (-3), G. Woodland (-3), S. Im (-2), S. Lowry (-2), H. Matsuyama (-2), S. Bennett (-2), J. Rose (-2), J. Niemann (-2), T. Finau (E), H. Varner III (+1), C. Smith (+4), A. Scott (+5), D. Johnson (+8), Tiger Woods (WD) | Full Leaderboard

Watch: Jon Rahm Wins The Masters

Additional Storylines

SI: Jon Rahm Proves He's Best Golfer of His Generation

CBS Sports: Jon Rahm Completes Comeback to Win Green Jacket Over Brooks Koepka

USA Today: Thank You, Jon Rahm, for Keeping Green Jacket Away From LIV Golfer

Yahoo! Sports: Jon Rahm Roars From Behind to Win The 2023 Masters

NBA

The Playoffs Are Set

Photo: David Berding / Getty Images

Play-In Schedule, Postseason Format & More as NBA Regular Season Ends

The NBA’s pre-playoff weekend was full of highlights and postseason movement. And while one G-League call-up popped off for 42 points to set the social media world on fire, all eyes are on the play-in games coming up this week. The Mavericks and Jazz got bounced down the stretch, and we’ve got the Lakers-Timberwolves in the play-in after that mid-season blockbuster trade. Too many weekend games to unpack means we’ll focus on what’s to come. Here’s a look at the playoff picture with play-in games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Play-In Format: The 7-8 seeds and 9-10 seeds will face off in the play-in round to determine the final bracket of 16 teams. The 9 and 10 seeds will have to win two games to get in while the 7-8 seeds need to win one out of two. The winner of each 7-8 matchup will earn the 7-seed while the loser will play the winner of the 9-10 matchup to determine the 8-seed.

NBA Playoffs

Eastern Conference

1. Bucks (58-24)

2. Celtics (57-25)

3. 76ers (54-28)

4. Cavaliers (51-31)

5. Knicks (47-35)

6. Nets (45-37)

7. Heat (44-38)

8. Hawks (41-41)

9. Raptors (41-41)

10. Bulls (40-42)

East Play-In

#7 Heat vs. #8 Hawks (Tues. 7:30 pm ET)

#9 Raptors vs. #10 Bulls (Wed. 7:00 pm ET)

Western Conference

1. Nuggets (53-29)

2. Grizzlies (51-31)

3. Kings (48-34)

4. Suns (45-37)

5. Clippers (44-38)

6. Warriors (44-38)

7. Lakers (43-39)

8. Timberwolves (42-40)

9. Pelicans (42-40)

10. Thunder (40-42)

West Play-In

#7 Lakers vs. #8 Timberwolves (Tues. 10:00 pm ET)

#9 Pelicans vs. #10 Thunder (Wed. 9:30 pm ET)

Full NBA Playoff Bracket & Schedule

Additional Storylines

HoH: Grizzlies’ G-League Call-Up Kenny Lofton Jr. Scores 42 in NBA Debut (Video)

ESPN: LeBron James Says Lakers Must ‘Stay On Edge’ for Play-In Game

USA Today: NBA Playoffs: Which Teams Made the Postseason & How Did They Get In?

NHL

Boston Breaks Win Record

Photo: Len Redkoles / Getty Images

Bruins Make History With 63rd Win in Historic Season Full of Milestones

Grab a red pen and edit the record books. The Boston Bruins are officially the new holders of hockey’s all-time single-season wins record. With a new coach in Jim Montgomery, the same great captain in Patrice Bergeron and season to remember for David Pastrnak, the Bruins sit atop the NHL’s best all-time seasons. Boston won its 63rd game on Sunday over the Flyers (5-3) thanks to a hat trick by Pastrnak to give him the second 60-goal season in Bruins’ history. In the process, they eclipsed the 62-win record held by the 1995-96 Red Wings and the 2018-19 Lightning. There’s one more record on the horizon with two games to play. The Bruins (131 points) are now tied with those ’96 Red Wings for the second-most points in a season. The 1976-77 Canadiens still hold the all-time single season points record (132), but one win by Boston will see that record crumble, too. Only a few days remain in the NHL regular season.

Watch: Bruins Beat Flyers to Claim Record-Setting 63rd Win

Additional Storylines

B/R: Pastrnak, Bruins Break NHL Record With 63rd Win

SI: Pastrnak Nets Hat Trick on Bruins’ Record-Setting Night

Other NHL Highlights

McDavid Joins 150-Point Club: Connor McDavid scored two goals in the Oilers’ 6-1 rout over the Sharks on Saturday to become the sixth player in NHL history with a 150-point season. He has 64 goals on the year with two games to play.

Kraken Clinch Wild Card: The Kraken are heading to their first postseason in franchise history after a 7-3 blowout against the Blackhawks on Saturday. Seattle has won its last four games, and they’re 7-3 in their last ten games with 43 goals in that span.

🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

⚾️ MLB: The Rays’ Historic, Undefeated Start

The Tampa Bay Rays made more MLB history with another weekend sweep of the Athletics, including back-to-back 11-0 wins. The Rays (9-0) are off to the best start in the Wild Card era, blasting 24 home runs and a 1.89 ERA while winning every game by four-or-more runs.

⚽️ EPL: Liverpool Deny Arsenal With 2-Goal Comeback

Liverpool came back from a 2-0 deficit to force a draw with Arsenal (2-2) in Sunday’s marquee Premier League match, effectively halting the Gunners’ title runaway. Arsenal still leads the EPL race with 73 points, but Man. City (67 points) aren’t out of it yet.

🏒 NCAAH: Quinnipiac Wins 1st Hockey Title in OT

There’s a new champ in college hockey! Quinnipiac came back from down 2-0 to force overtime against top-ranked Minnesota before securing the first title in program history with an OT winner from Jacob Quillian.

🥊 UFC: Adesanya Kos Pereira at UFC 287

UFC 287 gave Israel Adesanya a chance to return the favor against the man who had beaten him three times prior, and he did just that. Adesanya KO’d Alex Pereira with a vicious set of right-hand punches just seconds into Round 2 to recapture the middleweight belt.

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📰 THE HEADLINES

• WR Odell Beckham Jr. Signs 1-Year Contract With Ravens (B/R)

• USWNT’s Star Mallory Swanson Suffers Torn Patella Tendon In Left Knee (USA Today)
• Mavericks Fear Luka Doncic Could Request Trade Next Summer (CBS Sports)
• Pistons Search for New Head Coach After Dwane Casey Moves to Front Office (Yahoo! Sports)
• MLS Investigating Alleged Racist Remarks During New York-San Jose Match (SI)
• Rockets & Head Coach Stephen Silas to Part Ways (ESPN)
• Titans Extend DT Jeffery Simmons With 4-Year, $94 Million Contract (NBC Sports)

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