The Sportsletter - Dog Dynasty 🐺

BY JEFF YODER

APR. 9, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

After a wild three-week ride through March Madness, both tourneys ended with the No. 1 overall seeds winning titles via double digits. Dominant dynasties were on display. The UConn Huskies, in one of the most overwhelming runs in NCAA Tournament history, are back-to-back champs.

📊 Reader Poll: 61% of readers correctly picked UConn over Purdue (39%) in yesterday's poll.

🌤️ Changing Seasons: As we wrap up the NCAA Tournament today, stay tuned for The Masters, Champions League, NBA/NHL Playoffs, and much more on the way.

Letter Rip!

BRACKETS

Bracket Champs

More than 20 percent (1/5) of our bracket challenge participants picked UConn to win it all back in mid-March. That meant the final leaderboard came down to one or two picks. But one champion stands alone. Congrats to the top 3 in this year’s Sportsletter Bracket Challenge. Rewards incoming.

Bracket Challenge Leaderboard

1. Steven Bern: 152 points (UConn)

2. Alison Lloyd: 148 points (UConn)

3. Dave Stone: 147 points (UConn)

Champs: Please reply to team@thesportsletter.com with the email associated with your Sportsletter subscription to confirm your identity.

NCAAM 🏆

Danny's Dog Dynasty 🐺

Photo: Jamie Schwaberow / Getty Images

UConn Pulls Away in 2nd Half to Beat Purdue (75-60) & Win Back-to-Back NCAA Titles in Most Dominant Tournament Run of All-Time

It was the nation’s best player vs. the nation’s best team for all the marbles on Monday night in the desert. And if UConn wasn't officially a blue blood, they are now. Connecticut and Purdue played neck-and-neck with three ties and seven lead changes for the first 15 minutes of last night’s title clash, but the Huskies pulled away just before halftime (36-30) and opened the second half with an 11-4 run (47-34) to gain control. Purdue kept fighting, but this UConn team has zero flaws. The Huskies executed down the stretch to complete the repeat bid (75-60), and Monday’s coronation put Danny Hurley's dogs in elite company — six championships, the first repeat title since 2007, and one of the most dominant tournament runs of all time. Let’s rewind UConn’s epic run with some championship game and tournament notes.

UConn’t Stop This Team: The Huskies finished their six 2024 NCAA Tournament games with a plus-140 point differential, the most of any team in tourney history by more than ten points. They won all six games by double digits (just like last year). That’s 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament games won by 10-plus points.

Extra Blue Blooded: UConn’s sixth national championship puts them in the upper echelon of “blue bloods,” if they weren’t already. That’s tied for third-most with North Carolina (6). Only Kentucky (8) and UCLA (11) have more. Even Duke (5) and Kansas (4) have less than UConn now. They’re the first team in 17 years to repeat as back-to-back champs (Florida, 2006-07), and they're also 6-0 all-time in national championship games and 12-1 in Final Four games. Remarkable...

Enabling Edey: The big-man matchup of Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan was billed as a heavyweight fight, but UConn’s game plan worked to perfection. The Huskies played Edey (mostly) straight up and chose to give him 37 points (10 rebounds) inside while making it a priority to defend the 3-point line instead. Purdue made just one 3 (1-for-7), and they entered the championship averaging nine made 3s per game. Edey finished with the second-most points (177) in a single tourney run (29.5 ppg). Only Glenn Rice (184 pts) had more in 1989.

Danny's Dog Dynasty: To tie a bow on this year’s NCAA Tournament, Hurley’s Huskies solidified their place as one of the greatest tourney teams ever. They had no holes and no flaws with a balanced, full-team attack. The five-man lineup of Tristen Newton (20 pts), Stephon Castle (15 pts), Cam Spencer (11 pts), Donovan Clingan (11 pts), and Alex Karaban (5 pts) were the best team all season long. Tristen Newton won the Final Four MOP (Most Outstanding Player), and Hurley has officially put UConn in dynasty mode.

Credit to the Boilers who powered their way through five games to avenge recent tourney disasters, but they ran into a buzzsaw on Monday. The Huskies are back-to-back champs, and the (dog) dynasty is real.

Watch: UConn Beats Purdue (75-60) to Win 2nd Straight NCAA Title

Watch: ‘One Shining Moment’ (2024 NCAA Tournament)

SI: Dan Hurley Makes Bold Statement After UConn Wins 2nd Straight Championship

Yahoo! Sports: Husky Power! UConn Slams Exclamation Point on Back-to-Back Titles

Sporting News: Purdue's Cam Heide Electrifies Championship Crowd With Dunk of the Tournament

FOX Sports: Way-Too-Early Top 25 for the 2024-25 College Basketball Season

MLB

Get That Man A Statue

Photo: Bettman / Getty Images

Baseball Hall of Fame Announces Statue Plans on 50th Anniversary of Hank Aaron's Iconic 715th Home Run

Yesterday was a special occasion for baseball fans and MLB players nationwide. On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run and broke the longstanding Babe Ruth-held record for the most HRs in MLB history. Fifty years later, baseball players everywhere paid tribute to Aaron and that iconic moment that took place in Atlanta. Fittingly, the Braves’ home game against the Mets featured the largest of the Aaron tributes. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp officially named April 8 "Henry Louis Aaron Day" in the state of Georgia. That No. 715 home run ball still resides at Truist Park in the ‘Hank Aaron Terrace.’

Aaron still holds the all-time HR record (755), with the exception of Barry Bonds (762), and the validity of Bonds’ record is up for debate. The Baseball Hall of Fame also announced yesterday that a bronze statue of Aaron will be unveiled on May 23 in the Cooperstown Museum. It may be a long, long time until we see another player flirt with Aaron's record. Giancarlo Stanton is the only active player with more than 400 career home runs (405).

MLB All-Time HR Leaders

Hank Aaron (755 HRs)

Babe Ruth (714 HRs)

Albert Pujols (703 HRs)

Alex Rodriguez (696 HRs)

*Barry Bonds (762 HRs)*

Watch: The Moment Hank Aaron Hit His 715th Home Run (Video)

MLB: The 50th Anniversary of Hank Aaron’s 715th Home Run (Video)

AP: Hank Aaron Rose Above Racist Hate Mail & Threats in Pursuit of Ruth’s Home Run Record

GOLF

Tiger, Augusta & The Cut Record ⛳️

Photo: Warren Little / Getty Images

48-Year-Old Tiger Woods Arrives at Augusta National on a Mission in This Week's Masters

Our coverage of the greatest week in golf will continue all week as we gear up for Round 1 of The Masters on Thursday (check tomorrow’s edition for the full Masters preview). Despite all of golf's stars and recent storylines, there’s one man who moves the needle unlike any other in the sport. Tiger Woods, at 48 years old, with too many surgeries, back fusions, and knee replacements to count, has arrived at Augusta once again. His Monday practice round gathered patrons like a Sunday final pairing, and the internet went up in flames. An entire generation of golf fans can’t help but hope for the impossible. Maybe two rounds will do?

Tiger Tracker & The Masters Cut Record

Woods is a 250-1 long-shot to win this week. And while golf fans are unlikely to see him in contention on Sunday, the ‘Tiger Tracker’ will infiltrate your sports feed on Friday. Woods can make history with his 24th consecutive made cut at Augusta. He currently shares the record (23) with Gary Player and Fred Couples. Even crazier, a victory would give Woods his record-breaking 83rd PGA Tour win.

The seasonal shift from NCAA to The Masters is already a turning point in our spring slate, but a healthy Tiger at Augusta? A tradition unlike any other is ahead.

Read More

Golf Channel: Can Tiger Woods Contend at 2024 Masters? (Video)

AJC: Photos From Tiger Woods’ Practice Round Monday at Augusta

Golfweek: Tiger Woods ‘Played Great’ in Monday Practice Round Ahead of 2024 Masters

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

⚾️ MLB

Padres def. Cubs (9-8)

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s HR Caps 8-Run Comeback

Mets def. Braves (8-7)

NYM Survive Late Rally, Spoil 'Hank Aaron Day'

Reds def. Brewers (10-8)

Elly De La Cruz Hits 450-Foot HR & Inside-the-Park HR

Full MLB Scoreboard

🏒 NHL

Canucks def. Golden Knights (4-3)

Conor Garland (2G) & Vancouver Pad Pacific Lead

Maple Leafs def. Penguins (3-2, OT)

Jake McCabe Hits OT Winner, Auston Matthews Gets 65th Goal of the Season

STORYLINES

⛳️ The Last Decade at The Masters

There is a lot of golf to be played between now and Sunday at The Masters, but perhaps the best indicator of who will play well this week in Augusta, Georgia ... is who has played well there before. (CBS Sports)

⚾️ 5 Burning MLB Questions

The first week of the 2024 MLB season is complete, and there are plenty of early-season questions that need answers. A Shohei Ohtani mini-slump? Do the Cubs need a pitcher? Will Juan Soto command $700M? (FOX Sports)

🏀 Kentucky Coaching Candidates

John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas after 15 seasons, but the Wildcats will be able to pick from a quality pool of candidates. Billy Donovan, Rick Pitino, Nate Oats, and Dan Hurley top the list. Who is most likely? (CBS Sports)

NEWS 📰

🏀 Iowa-South Carolina Women’s NCAA Championship Game Smashes Ratings Record With 18.7 Million Viewers (USA Today)

⛳️ Barring Practice Round Setback, Tiger Woods Expects to Play The Masters (ESPN)

🏈 Texas NFL Draft Prospect DT T’Vondre Sweat Arrested on DWI Charge (B/R)

🏛️ NAIA Bans Transgender Athletes From Women’s Sports (CBS Sports)

🏈 NFL QB Draft Prospects Michael Penix Jr. & J.J. McCarthy Soaring Up Draft Boards (SI)

💰 Chiefs Superfan & Convicted Bank Robber Ordered to Pay $10.8 Million to Ex-Bank Teller (Yahoo! Sports)

SCHEDULE 🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

⚽️ Champions League (Quarterfinals)

Arsenal vs. Bayern (3:00 pm ET, CBS/Par+)

Real Madrid vs. Man. City (3:00 pm ET, CBS/Par+)