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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! |
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Xs & Os: Catching the Ball |
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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.
Read More ESPN: Stars vs. Balance: USWNT Overcomes Perpetual Problem to Lift SheBelieves Cup
USA Today: USWNT Wins SheBelieves Cup After Penalty Shootout vs. Canada |
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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. Read More AP News: Tara VanDerveer Retires After Setting NCAA Wins Record This Year
CBS Sports: Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer, College Basketball’s All-Time Wins Leader, Steps Away After 38 Seasons |
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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? Read More
NBA: Power Rankings: 1 Thing to Watch for Every Team in Final Week
CBS Sports: 2024 NBA Playoffs: 16 Games This Week Will Help Determine Almost Every Postseason Seed |
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🏈 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) |
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Tonight's Must-Watch List |
⚽️ Champions League (Quarterfinals) PSG vs. Barcelona (3:00 pm ET, CBS/Par+) Atletico Madrid vs. Dortmund (3:00 pm ET, CBS/Par+)
🏀 NBA Mavericks at Heat (7:30 pm ET, ESPN) Magic at Bucks (8:00 pm ET, NBALP)
Timberwolves at Nuggets (10:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Suns at Clippers (10:30 pm ET, NBALP) ⚾️ MLB
Brewers at Reds (6:40 pm ET, MLBTV) Marlins at Yankees (7:05 pm ET, MLBTV) Orioles at Red Sox (7:10 pm ET, NESN)
🏒 NHL Golden Knights at Oilers (8:30 pm ET, TNT) Coyotes at Canucks (10:30 pm ET, ESPN+) |
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