The Sportsletter - It's Hard To Be Blue 🔵

BY JEFF YODER

FEB. 25, 2025 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

It's hard to be blue today... 🔵

I love when multiple stories come together for a singular theme like today’s edition. The MLB’s new ABS system is a game-changer for old blue behind home plate, and almost all of the NCAA blue bloods have fallen into the abyss. UConn? Kansas? Carolina? Get ready for a red March.

Letter Rip!

  MLB   

The ABS Strike Revolution is Here

Photo: Diamond Images / Getty Images

MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System is Absolutely Incredible... Unless You're an Umpire

NFL coaches throw red challenge flags. NBA coaches spin the finger to signal a review. VAR (video assistant referee) has helped soccer get it right in critical moments. Coming soon to a ballpark near you, MLB dust-ups behind home plate will get a taste of sweet video replay justice. Introducing the MLB’s ABS system (automated ball-strike). If you ask me, it’s amazing — a win for everyone! — unless you’re ol’ blue behind home plate. The strike-zone judgment call has been part of baseball since forever (1860s?), but ABS is shaking things up. 

How It Works

The ABS system effectively tracks pitches in each batter’s defined zone, determined by the player's height. The ump’s ball-strike call is followed as usual until a player taps their head to signal a challenge. Each team gets two ABS challenges per game, but they don’t lose the challenge if it’s successful. Win a challenge, get it back.

The Early Results? Correct calls and umpire embarrassment. Umps now have to rewatch their missed calls in front of everyone, and fans love it. There may be some baseball purists who have a different view, too. Does part of the game's beauty lie in an umpire's subjective error? I don't know. It is a major change, after all, similar to the pitch clock and extra-inning rule changes in recent years (which appear to have worked).

We’ve already seen a few dozens successful, game-changing ABS challenges in just the first week of spring training. The new rule is only a test-run in the Cactus & Grapefruit Leagues, but early returns are in — put it in the Majors! Sorry, Blue.

Read More

SBJ: ABS Challenge System Latest MLB Wrinkle After Years of Tests

FOX Sports: What is ABS? MLB Begins Spring Training Test of Ball-Strike System

  NCAA   

🔵 Blue Bloods vs. Red Rivals 🔴

Photo: Brandon Sumrall / Getty Images

No UConn? Kansas? Carolina? #2 Duke is the Only Blue Blood Left Standing Amid a Gang of Red March Monsters

It’s a tale as old as time — err, maybe circa 1999? In the famous scene from the movie The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo the red pill or the blue pill. 🔵 Blue: blissful ignorance. 🔴 Red: unsettling new reality. Frankly, I’m not a pill-taking kind of guy, but I’m all-in on red when the brackets come out.

As March approaches, blue bloods are in dire straights. Shades of red and orange dominate the top of the basketball world. A whopping 10 red or orange teams fill out the top 13 in the latest AP Poll, and they represent a shift from our normal blue-blooded NCAA reality. Just in the last week, St. John's hammered UConn and 'Bama blasted Kentucky. Houston is about to get a shot at limping Kansas. These red teams have supplanted the usual suspects from top to bottom... Except Duke.

Where Have the Blue Bloods Gone? The last two title-winners — UConn and Kansas — have plummeted out of the top-25. North Carolina is bubble bound. Villanova isn’t the same. Kentucky (#17) is fighting to stay relevant in a loaded SEC. Duke (#2) is the lone hope for blue blood nation, and maybe we’re due for a change.

🔵 vs. 🔴 in March: These are fun stats. 13 of the last 16 NCAA titles have been won by six “blue blood” programs — UConn (4), Kansas (2), Villanova (2), North Carolina (2), Duke (2) and Kentucky (1). If you put Florida in that blue-man group (back-to-back winners in 2007-08), that number becomes 18 of the last 23 (78%) since the year 2000. Only three red/orange teams have won a title in the 21st century, and it hasn’t happened in over a decade; Louisville (2013), Syracuse (2003) and Maryland (2002).

Red March is around the corner...

Men's Basketball AP Poll

1. Auburn (25-2) | —

2. Duke (24-3) | ↑1

3. Florida (24-3) | ↓1

4. Houston (23-4) | ↑1

5. Tennessee (22-5) | ↑1

6. Alabama (22-5) | ↓2

7. St. John’s (24-4) | ↑1

8. Michigan State (22-5) | ↑6

9. Iowa State (21-6) | ↓1

10. Texas Tech (21-6) | ↓1

Full Men’s AP Top 25

Bracketology (Joe Lunardi, ESPN)

Women's Basketball AP Poll

1. Texas (26-2) | ↑1

2. UCLA (26-1) | ↑1

3. Notre Dame (24-3) | ↓2

4. USC (25-2) | —

5. UConn (26-3) | —

6. South Carolina (25-3) | —

7. LSU (27-2) | —

8. North Carolina (25-4) | ↑1

9. NC State (22-5) | ↑4

10. TCU (26-3) | —

Full Women’s AP Top 25

Texas No. 1 for 1st Time in 21 Years (ESPN)

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

🏀 NBA

Pistons def. Clippers (106-97)

Detroit Wins 7th Straight Game

Timberwolves def. Thunder (131-128, OT)

Minnesota Overcomes 24-Point 4Q Deficit

Bulls def. 76ers (142-110)

Philly’s 8th Straight Loss, Trailed by 50

Full NBA Scoreboard

🏒 NHL

Kings def. Golden Knights (5-2)

Trevor Moore (2G), Kings Erupt in 4-Goal 3rd

Jets def. Sharks (2-1, OT)

Mark Scheifele Scores Backhand Winner

🏀 NCAA

M: #4 Houston def. #10 Texas Tech (69-61)

M: #15 Michigan def. Nebraska (49-46)

W: #1 Texas def. Georgia (57-26)

W: #17 Baylor def. #14 Kansas State (79-62)

⛳️ TGL (Indoor Golf)

Atlanta Drive def. Boston Common (6-3)

Cantlay, JT & Horschel Clinch TGL Playoff Berth

⚾️ MLB Spring Training

Reds’ Austin Hays Logs Best MLB Day

3 Hits, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs

Full MLB Scoreboard

  STORYLINES  

🏈 Trade Fits for Matthew Stafford

Would the Rams really trade QB Matthew Stafford? He’s 37, and the Rams just granted him permission to speak with other teams. L.A. reportedly wants a first-round pick. (FOX Sports)

⚾️ 8 Pitchers With Newfound Stuff

It’s a dangerous time for pitchers in spring training, but these hurlers could be due for breakout seasons after showing up to camp with some better arsenals. (Sports Illustrated)

🏀 NBA Postseason Timelines

After a chaotic trade deadline, a monotone All-Star Weekend and some shocking injuries, we canvassed the league on the 10 most important questions for the stretch run. (ESPN+)

  NEWS   📰 

🏀 76ers, Joel Embiid Exploring Options for Knee Injury (ESPN)

🏈 Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders Won’t Throw at NFL Combine (SI)

🏀 Mystics Trade Ariel Atkins to Sky for No. 3 WNBA Draft Pick (Yahoo! Sports)

💰 Adrian Wojnarowski to Auction Off ‘Woj Bomb’ Phones for NIL Money (B/R)

⚾️ Guardians Owner Lawrence Dolan Dies at Age 94 (AP)

🏈 Unidentified NFL Team Submits New Proposal to Ban the ‘Tush Push’ (ESPN)

🏈 Broncos Linebacker Coach Michael Wilhoite Arrested on Suspicion of Assaulting Police Officer (CBS Sports)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

🏀 NBA

Cavaliers at Magic (7:30 pm, TNT)

Mavericks at Lakers (10:00 pm, TNT)

NBA Schedule

🏒 NHL

Maple Leafs at Bruins (7:00 pm, ESPN+)

Rangers at Islanders (7:30 pm, ESPN+)

Red Wings at Wild (8:00 pm, ESPN+)

NHL Schedule

⚽️ Copa Del Rey

Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid (3:30 pm, ESPN+)

⚽️ Concacaf Champions Cup

Inter Miami vs. Sporting KC (8:00 pm, FOX)

LAFC vs. Colorado Rapids (10:00 pm, FOX)

⛳️ TGL (Indoor Golf)

The Bay GC vs. Jupiter Links (9:00 pm, ESPN)

⚾️ MLB

Spring Training Schedule (All 30 Teams)

*All Times ET

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Message From The Team: New updates are coming soon. You might only see us 2-3x per week in March until we release a new look and some new features. Stay tuned...

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