The Sportsletter - Road Trips, Rematch & Restarts

BY JEFF YODER

FEB. 20, 2025 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

Wednesday gave us an early finish, but not tonight. We’ve got some interesting news about the athlete home burglaries that have clouded sports. The Champions League Round of 16 is set. The NBA restarts its stretch run to the postseason. But tonight, it's the rematch. USA vs. Canada (8:00 pm ET, ESPN) is as must-see as can be.

In Today’s Edition

🚨 The Road-Trip Robbers

⚽️ Mbappe’s UCL Hat Trick

🏒 The USA-Canada Rematch

🏀 The NBA Playoff Sprint

Letter Rip!

SPORTS

The Road-Trip Robbers 🚨

Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images

Seven Men Charged in Connection to String of Athlete-Targeted Home Burglaries — How Did We Get Here?

What happens to the home of a pro athlete — whose sports schedule and net worth are available online for all to see — when they leave for a road trip?

Seven Charged in Connection to String of Athlete Home Burglaries

We've seen a run on news stories about the break-ins of famous athletes' homes over the past few months, particularly star players participating in prime time road games.

These haven't been smash-and-grab jobs, either. The FBI found that, in most cases, advanced technical surveillance and Wi-Fi jammers were used to circumvent security measures. Millions worth of personal items were stolen from pro athletes in recent months. The uptick had many sports stars ramping up security and insurance in fear of being next. The NFL, NBA and NHL all sent memos to players in the last 90 days.

Here are just a few of the notable athletes who’ve been victims of recent home robberies: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Joe Burrow (Bengals), Luka Doncic (Mavs/Lakers), Bobby Portis (Bucks), Mike Conley Jr. (Timberwolves), Tyler Seguin (Stars) + Many Others

The rise in home attacks spiked for the NFL towards the end of the regular season with Mahomes, Kelce and Burrow ending up in the headlines. The seven men who were arrested are tied to a Chilean theft group, and they could face up to 10 years in prison. This story is far from over.

ESPN: FBI Details How Selfie Helped Nab Chilean Gang Allegedly Targeting Pro Athletes

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

KO Playoffs: Tres Para Mbappe! 👌

Photo: Europa Press Sports / Getty Images

Kylian Mbappe Nukes Man City (3-1) With Hat Trick — PSG, PSV (Stunner!) & Dortmund Advance

Kylian the Great! A ridiculous afternoon of Champions League knockout action was one for the books. Real Madrid sent Manchester City packing with an overwhelming hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe. City needed a huge performance to advance, but Mbappe erased all hope early. Elsewhere across Europe, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ran roughshod over Brest with seven goals from seven different players. Dortmund parked the bus and locked up Sporting to secure their spot in the next round.

The stunner of the day? PSV Eindhoven was trailing Italian giants Juventus on aggregate score with 20 minutes left. Ismael Saibari brought it even. Ryan Flamingo won it in extra time. Juve, out! The action continues March 4.

Champions League KO Playoffs

Real Madrid def. Man. City (3-1) | Agg: 6-3

Kylian Mbappe Nets Hat Trick (4’, 33’, 61’)

PSG def. Brest (7-0) | Agg: 10-0

20 Shots & 7 Different Scorers for PSG

PSV def. Juventus (3-1) | Agg: 4-3

Ryan Flamingo Scores Extra-Time Shocker (98’)

Dortmund def. Sporting (0-0) | Agg: 3-0

Dortmund Park the Bus With Aggregate in Hand

Champions League (Next Up)

Round of 16 Draw: Friday (7:00 am ET)

Action: Round of 16, Leg 1 (March 4)

Champions League Bracket

NHL

How 'Bout Hockey Night, Eh? 👀

Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images

4 Nations Face-Off: Boos, Brawls, Blood & Boston — 🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇨🇦 Canada (Tonight, 8:00 pm ET, ESPN)

Okay. Sold. I’ll watch. If you haven’t caught the energy surrounding tonight’s mid-season hockey feud between the USA and Canada, check your pulse. What better place to host a North American classic than the shores of Boston and TD Garden? New England, where the Pilgrims first landed. This is America and its great northeast hockey hub. It’s a rematch of last Saturday’s puck-punching party that saw three fights in nine seconds and board checks with extra sauce. I’m in. All in. You should be, too.

The Flag Fued: 🇺🇸 vs. 🇨🇦 — This friction with the neighbors to the north feels almost silly, though I won’t discredit the feelings from some Canadians. The boos and dissent for the American national anthem, likely stemming from political rhetoric, have nothing to do with the sport of hockey. But I get it. Our president said some stuff (he does that), and we all got beef right now. But hey, Canadians might be the nicest people on Earth. If you could measure "niceness" per capita, give me Canada over everybody. This game? No one's gonna be nice tonight.

Who you got? (click to vote)

🇺🇸 USA | 🇨🇦 Canada

🏆 4 Nations Face-Off Final

🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇨🇦 Canada (8:00 pm ET, ESPN)

The Athletic: Canada, U.S. Ready for 'Dream Scenario’ Rematch in 4 Nations Final

NBA

The NBA Playoff Sprint

Photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images

After the Trade Deadline & the All-Star Break, Who's Ready for the NBA’s Final Stretch?

Looking back, the last 30 days of NBA drama have been bizarre. From blockbuster trades to lackluster All-Star shows, it's been some of the biggest ups and downs in recent NBA memory. It feels like a new season as the league restarts tonight for the stretch run. Who’s hot and ready to pop in the playoffs? Who’s cold and struggling to see the finish line? Let’s prepare for the 50-day playoff sprint with a playoff overview:

Western Conference: 1. Thunder (44-10), 2. Grizzlies (36-18), 3. Nuggets (36-19), 4. Rockets (34-21), 5. Lakers (32-21), 6. Clippers (31-23), 7. Timberwolves (31-25), 8. Mavericks (30-26), 9. Kings (28-27), 10. Warriors (28-27)

Eastern Conference: 1. Cavaliers (44-10), 2. Celtics (39-16), 3. Knicks (36-18), 4. Pacers (30-23), 5. Bucks (29-24), 6. Pistons (29-26), 7. Magic (27-29), 8. Hawks (26-29), 9. Heat (25-28), 10. Bulls (22-33)

Full NBA Standings

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

🏀 NBA

Hornets def. Lakers (100-97)

LeBron Misses Two 3s in Last 5 Seconds

🏀 NCAA Basketball

M: #1 Auburn def. Arkansas (67-60)

M: #15 Missouri def. #4 Alabama (110-98)

W: #4 USC def. #22 Michigan State (83-75)

W: #5 UConn def. Seton Hall (91-49)

⚽️ Concacaf Champions Cup

Inter Miami def. Sporting KC (1-0)

Lionel Messi Scores Only Goal (56’)

Full Concacaf Champions Cup Scores

STORYLINES 📰

🏈 The NFL Salary Cap Increase

The NFL sent a memo to teams on Wednesday informing them that the cap for 2025 will be between $277.5 and $281.5 million. That’s up from $255 million in 2024 and $224.8 million in 2023. In short, the NFL’s rapid growth shows it’s still the king of sports. (NBC Sports)

⚾️ Joe Buck’s Return to Baseball

ESPN will have Joe Buck call the Brewers-Yankees game on MLB Opening Day (March 27). The broadcast legend stepped away from MLB back in 2022 after calling 24 World Series for FOX. Don’t get too excited. Buck insists this is just a “one-off” gig. (SI)

🏀 Rock Bottom for Jayhawks

The NIL war chest doesn’t guarantee success. This season, by Kansas’ towering standards, has been extremely disappointing. After suffering a 34-point loss to BYU, the worst of the Bill Self era, they're about to be unranked for just the second time in 16 years. (Yahoo! Sports)

NEWS 📰

🏒 Research Finds Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull Had CTE (ESPN)

🎾 Novak Djokovic Cries ‘Favoritism’ as World No. 1 Jannik Sinner Serves 3-Month Ban (CBS Sports)

🏀 Group Led by Donnie Wahlberg Bidding for WNBA Expansion Team in Boston (SI)

🎾 Emma Raducanu Breaks Down in Tears Mid-Match After ‘Fixated’ Man Ejected by WTA (Yahoo! Sports)

🏈 Los Angeles Chargers to Play 2025 Season Opener in Brazil (FOX Sports)

🏀 Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Parts Ways With Agent, Will Represent Himself (B/R)