The Sportsletter - No Sleeping in Sports 💤

BY JEFF YODER

APR. 10, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 🥱 (Yawn)

We hoped for some rest between the NCAA Tournament and the start of The Masters. Sports had other plans. Three NBA players went for 40-plus and three NHL skaters fired hat tricks last night. NCAA basketball's all-time winningest coach retired, and the SheBelieves Cup went to penalty kicks, too. Roughly 50 games were live in pro sports (NBA, NHL & MLB), plus the Champions League. We did our best.

Maybe we'll sleep in May? For now, it's the caffeine machine. Onward to The Masters (tomorrow). Get pumped.

Letter Rip!

PROGRAMMING

Xs & Os: Catching the Ball

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SOCCER

Youth Takeover? Believe It 🇺🇸

Photo: Robin Alam / Getty Images

Behind Dazzling Comeback & Young Stars, USWNT Beats Canada (2-2, 5-4 PKs) for 5th Straight SheBelieves Cup

Don't say we didn't warn you. The next wave is coming… Buried in between March Madness and Masters week was a SheBelieves Cup final in Columbus that may have meant little to sports fans outside of U.S. Soccer diehards. What it highlighted, however, was another step towards stardom for the youngsters on this U.S. Women’s National Team. The trio of Sophia Smith (23), Jaedyn Shaw (19), and Trinity Rodman (21) are ready to take over the world.

SheBelieves Cup Final: The U.S. fell behind 1-0 just before halftime against Canada last night, but two goals from Smith (50’ & 68’) flipped the score to 2-1. The latter came on a beautiful 1-2-3 attack from Shaw to Rodman to Smith. After conceding a penalty to Canada, more spot kicks were needed to find a winner. Goalkeeper extraordi-Naeher (Alyssa Naeher) made three saves before Emily Fox scored the winner from the spot (5-4, PKs). It's the USWNT's fifth consecutive SheBelieves Cup title.

Watch: USWNT Wins 5th Straight SheBelieves Cup (2-2, 5-4 PKs)

Changing of the Guard: Tuesday also marked the last match for interim coach Twila Kilgore before new manager Emma Hayes takes over in May. All eyes will be on Hayes and the USWNT this summer in the 2024 Paris Olympics. For now? She inherits a team of young stars beginning to shine.

USA Today: USWNT Wins SheBelieves Cup After Penalty Shootout vs. Canada

NCAA

VanDerveer Exits On Top

Photo: Erin Chang / Getty Images

Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer, the All-Time Winningest Basketball Coach in NCAA History, Retires After 45 Seasons

One of college basketball’s unsung heroes called it a career on Tuesday. Tara VanDerveer hasn’t always found herself in the headlines, but what she’s done for the game won’t soon be forgotten. Just when we were ready to take a break from college hoops, the Stanford women’s head coach retired last night after 45 seasons and 1,216 wins — the most among all NCAA coaches, men or women. She spent the last 38 of those seasons with the Cardinal after seven years with Idaho and Ohio State, amassing more records than one can count. She leaves Stanford on the brink of the Pac-12 realignment at 70 years old.

Tara VanDerveer (By The Numbers)

Total Wins: 1,216

National Coach of the Year: 5x

Final Four Appearances: 14

National Championships: 3

*Only Geno Auriemma (UConn) and Pat Summit (Tennessee) have more women’s Final Fours.

Win Number 1,203

Earlier this year, VanDerveer won her record-setting 1,203rd game (Jan. 21), passing Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) for the most all-time. Only seven Division I coaches have more than 1,000 victories, and they’re all legends (Auriemma, Coach K, Jim Boeheim, Pat Summit, C. Vivian Stringer, and Sylvia Hatchell). VanDerveer is no different. Her current mark won’t stand for long — Auriemma has 1,213 wins now — but that doesn’t take away from a half-century of greatness.

Assistant coach Kate Paye is expected to take over the program next season.

CBS Sports: Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer, College Basketball’s All-Time Wins Leader, Steps Away After 38 Seasons

NBA

West Mess: The NBA's Final Week

Photo: David Berding / Getty Images

The Playoff Squads Are Already Set, But 11 Games Separate All 10 Teams in the Western Conference Hierarchy

After the NCAA Tournaments came to a close, we got a glimpse of the freshly minted NBA playoff picture. This is the final week of regular-season action in the NBA, and the gap between the 10th and 11th teams — both East and West — is insurmountable. That means we already know who’s in and who’s out when the play-in begins next week (Tuesday, Apr. 16). Where the seeds end up is TBD. Let’s take a look.

NBA Playoff Picture

Eastern Conference

1. Celtics (62-17)

2. Bucks (48-31)

3. Knicks (47-32)

4. Magic (46-33)

5. Cavaliers (46-33)

6. Pacers (46-34)

————————— (Play-In)

7. 76ers (45-35)

8. Heat (44-35)

9. Bulls (37-42)

10. Hawks (36-43)

East Review: The Hawks and Bulls are locked into the play-in rounds, but the 76ers and Heat still have a fighting chance to break into the top six. The line separating teams seeded 3-8 is just three games with three to play. The Celtics (1) are in cruise control.

Western Conference

1. Timberwolves (55-24)

2. Nuggets (55-24)

3. Thunder (54-25)

4. Clippers (51-28)

5. Mavericks (49-30)

6. Pelicans (47-32)

————————— (Play-In)

7. Suns (46-33)

8. Kings (45-34)

9. Lakers (45-35)

10. Warriors (44-35)

West Review: It’s crowded out west, as it’s been all year. The top three teams — Nuggets, T-Wolves, and Thunder — are in a three-team heat for home-court advantage that'll come down to the final weekend. The Clippers and Mavs are expected to slot in the 4-5 spots, but teams 6-10 are in a wild final push. A losing streak knocked the Rockets out and put the Warriors in last week. Could we see LeBron vs. Steph for the 9-10 play-in?

CBS Sports: 2024 NBA Playoffs: 16 Games This Week Will Help Determine Almost Every Postseason Seed

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

🏀 NBA

Bucks def. Celtics (104-91)

Boston 1st Team in History to Shoot Zero FTs

Knicks def. Bulls (128-117)

Jalen Brunson (45 pts) Shines Again

Timberwolves def. Wizards (130-121)

Anthony Edwards Notches Career-High 51 Points

Thunder def. Kings (112-105)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Drops 40-Piece

Warriors def. Lakers (134-120)

Steph Curry (23-8-7) & LeBron James (33-11-7) Put on a Show

Full NBA Scoreboard

🏒 NHL

Canadiens def. Flyers (9-3)

Juraj Slafkovsky Fires Hat Trick for Montreal

Hurricanes def. Bruins (4-1)

Andrei Svechnikov Nets Unreal Michigan Goal

Lightning def. Blue Jackets (5-2)

Steven Stamkos’ Hat Trick Fuels Tampa Runaway

Maple Leafs def. Devils (5-2)

Auston Matthews Tracker: 66 Goals

Avalanche def. Wild (5-2)

Nathan MacKinnon Completes Hat Trick

Full NHL Scoreboard

⚾️ MLB

A’s def. Rangers (4-3)

A’s Catcher Shea Langeliers Has 3-HR Night

Yankees def. Marlins (3-2)

New York Improves to League-Best 10-2 Start

Dodgers def. Twins (6-3)

Tyler Glasnow Ties Career-High With 14 Ks

Full MLB Scoreboard

⚽️ Champions League

Real Madrid Draw Man. City (3-3)

Arsenal Draw Bayern Munich (2-2)

*Quarterfinals (Leg 1)

STORYLINES

🏈 Every Team, Every Angle, Every Pick

We’ve made it past the NFL scouting combine. Free agency has opened and (mostly) petered out. That means draft needs are set. So what does your team need? What pick does it have? (Yahoo! Sports)

⚾️ Pitching Injuries on the Rise

Everyone has rushed to pinpoint one cause of the rash of injuries to MLB pitchers, but it’s likely a mix of problems. Four possible causes, from pitch clock to amateur specialization, could be the cause. (CBS Sports)

🏀 Silver Linings for NBA’s Eliminated

A few games remain in the NBA regular season, but we know which teams have been eliminated. Before the NBA playoffs commence, let’s bid a proper farewell to the non-postseason squads. See you at the draft in June! (The Ringer)

NEWS 📰

🏈 NFL Position-Specific Helmet Options to Double in 2024 (ESPN)

⚾️ Red Sox SS Trevor Story Out for Season With Shoulder Surgery (CBS Sports)

🏀 Dan Hurley Laughs Off Question About Leaving UConn for Kentucky (Yahoo! Sports)

⚽️ Champions League Venues to Increase Security Measures After Alleged Terror Threats (SI)

🏀 Judge Rules Grizzlies’ Ja Morant Acted in Self-Defense When He Punched Teenager (ABC News)

⚾️ Orioles Call Up Top Prospect Jackson Holiday After Torrid Start in Triple-A (ESPN)

🏀 Indiana State Cult Hero Robbie Avila Enters the Transfer Portal (Yahoo! Sports)

SCHEDULE 🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

⚽️ Champions League (Quarterfinals)

PSG vs. Barcelona (3:00 pm ET, CBS/Par+)