The Sportsletter - Green Light Madness 🚦

BY JEFF YODER

MAR. 10, 2025 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

Madness gets the green light! Shocking buzzer-beaters stole the show in college basketball while champions were crowned in women’s college tournaments throughout the weekend. Plus, the NFL went off the rails with early deals, and we saw the NBA’s first-ever 30-20-20 game (guess who).

Countdown to Brackets: 6 Days ⌛️

Letter Rip!

  NCAA  

Green Light Madness 🚦

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Women’s Conference Champs & Men’s Epic Buzzer-Beaters — The Light Turns Green for March Madness

Early madness is here! Multiple top-10 buzzer-beaters helped finish off the men’s regular season in college basketball over the weekend (#6 St. John’s and #7 Alabama). In women’s hoops, conference tournaments yielded four champions with one more remaining tonight (Big East). The men’s conference tourneys tip off soon. T-minus six days to brackets!

🏆 NCAAW Conference Tournament Champs

ACC: #11 Duke def. #7 NC State (76-62)

Big Ten: #4 UCLA def. #2 USC (72-67)

Big 12: #8 TCU def. #17 Baylor (64-59)

SEC: #5 South Carolina def. #1 Texas (64-45)

🏆 Big East Final (Tonight)

#3 UConn vs. #23 Creighton (7:00 pm ET, FS1)

🚨 NCAAM Buzzer-Beaters

Zuby Ejiofor Saves St. John’s at the Horn

#6 St. John’s def. #20 Marquette (86-84, OT)

Mark Sears Calls Game in Hardcourt Iron Bowl

#7 Alabama def. #1 Auburn (93-91, OT)

Wild Game in South Bend

Matt Allocco Hits Go-Ahead 3 in 4OT

Notre Dame def. California (112-110, 4OT)

Other NCAA Men’s Highlights (Top-10)

#2 Duke def. North Carolina (82-69)

#3 Houston def. Baylor (65-61)

#4 Tennessee def. South Carolina (75-65)

#5 Florida def. Ole Miss (90-71)

#8 Michigan State def. #17 Michigan (79-62)

  NFL   

Deals Before the Deals 💰

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Major Roster Moves Ahead of NFL Free Agency — Garrett Stays, Geno Goes & Much More

The weekend before NFL free agency saw the biggest holdout candidate get a new deal while the quarterback carousel started to spin. Myles Garrett is staying in Cleveland, Geno Smith is heading to Vegas, and veteran pro bowlers are hitting the open market. Free agency begins Tuesday. Here’s the latest:

💰 DEAL: DE Myles Garrett signed a 4-year, $123.5 million extension with the Cleveland Browns that makes him the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history. Garrett had previously requested a trade just a few weeks ago and was pegged as the top holdout candidate this offseason.

💰 DEAL: QB Josh Allen received a record-setting six-year, $330 million contract extension from the Bills. The deal includes $250 million guaranteed — the largest guaranteed total in NFL history. Allen will be in Buffalo through 2030.

🔁 TRADE: WR D.K. Metcalf was acquired by the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade that sent a second-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks. The Steelers are also signing the two-time pro bowler to a $150 million deal, and the Seahawks are having a firesale.

🔁 TRADE: QB Geno Smith was acquired by the Las Vegas Raiders in a trade that sent a third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks. Smith will reunite with Pete Carroll, and he'll be the seventh starting Raiders QB since 2022.

Other NFL News

• Rams Sign WR Davante Adams (2 Years, $46M)
• Chiefs Re-Sign LB Nick Bolton (3 Years, $45M)
• Patriots Sign LB Harold Landry III (3 Years, $43.5M)
• Lions Release 3x Pro Bowl DE Ze’Darius Smith
• Vikings Re-Sign RB Aaron Jones (2 Years, $20M)
• Bills Release 8x Pro Bowl EDGE Von Miller
• Jaguars Release 2x Pro Bowl TE Evan Engram
• Bengals Re-Sign TE Mike Gesicki (3 Years, $25M)

  NBA  

No Joke: A 30-20-20 Game 🤯

Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images

Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (31 pts, 21 rebs, 22 ast) Stats First Ever 30-20-20 Game in NBA History

Logging a triple-double is an accomplishment in itself. Double-digit points, rebounds and assists tells the story of a player who did it all that night. What about two triple-doubles (dare we say a “double triple-double”) in the same game? Nuggets’ workhorse and 3x MVP Nikola Jokic did just that on Friday — a never-before-seen feat in NBA history. Jokic had 31 points, 21 rebounds and 22 assists in Denver’s win over Phoenix (149-141, OT). He had a triple double (13-10-10) with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Overtime minutes helped him get there (sure), but this is a mind-blowing stat.

Jokic shot over 50 percent, accounted for 55 percent of Denver's boards and 50 percent of the team's assists. 

Watch: Nikola Jokic Records 30-20-20 Game

The MVP Race: Don’t worry, SGA fans. The Nuggets fell to the Thunder on Sunday (127-103) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points. He’s still the odds-on favorite to win MVP — SGA (-285) / Jokic (+210)

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

The Lightning Round ⚡️

Photo: John McCreary / Getty Images

🏒 NHL

Capitals def. Kraken (4-2)
Ovechkin Scores No. 886 (9 From Record)

Avalanche def. Maple Leafs (7-4)

Nichuskin (3G) & MacKinnon (2G) Tally 5

🏀 NBA

Celtics def. Lakers (111-101)

Tatum (40) & Brown (31) Combine for 71

Cavaliers def. Bucks (112-100)

Cleveland Extends Win Streak to 14

⚽️ Soccer

EPL: Nottingham Forest def. Man. City (1-0)

Callum Hudson-Odoi Strikes Late Winner

MLS: St. Louis City def. LA Galaxy (3-0)

Champs Lose 4th Straight to Open Season

🎾 Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic Suffers Another Early Exit

Upset by Botic van de Zandschulp (6-2, 3-6, 6-1)

🏏 Cricket

🇮🇳 India def. 🇳🇿 New Zealand (254/6-251/7)

⛳️ PGA Tour

Russell Henley (-11) Wins at Bay Hill

Sinks Chip-In Eagle on 16th to Win by 1 Stroke

🥊 UFC 313 (Light Heavyweight)

Ankalaev def. Pereira by Decision

(49-46, 48-47, 48-47)

🏁 NASCAR

Christopher Bell Wins Phoenix Thriller

Captures 3rd Straight Victory in Last-Lap Battle

  NEWS   📰 

🏀 LeBron James Could Miss ‘Weeks’ After Groin Injury on Saturday (SI)

🏒 Mikko Rantanen Traded to Stars & Signs 8-Year, $96 Million Contract Extension (NHL)

🏒 Panthers Acquire Brad Marchand From Bruins at NHL Trade Deadline (Yahoo! Sports)

⚾️ Mets’ Francisco Alvarez Out 6-8 Weeks After Surgery on Hand (B/R)

⛷️ Mikaela Shiffrin Breaks Tie With Ingemar Stenmark for Most Skiing World Cup Podium Finishes (NBC Sports)

🏀 Florida State Hires Luke Loucks as Next Basketball Coach (ESPN)

🏈 Bowling Green Hires Former NFL RB Eddie George as Next Football Coach (CBS Sports)

🏀 NC State Fires Head Coach Kevin Keats One Year After Final Four Run (USA Today)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

🏀 NCAA Conference Tournaments

🏆 Women's Big East Final

#3 UConn vs. #23 Creighton (7:00 pm, FS1)

*Men's Conference Tourneys Begin

🏀 NBA

Suns at Grizzlies (8:00 pm, NBALP)

Nuggets at Thunder (8:00 pm, NBATV)

Full NBA Schedule

🏒 NHL

Red Wings at Senators (7:30 pm, ESPN+)

Blackhawks at Avalanche (9:00 pm, ESPN+)

Full NHL Schedule

🎾 Indian Wells (R-of-32)

W: #3 C. Gauff vs. #29 M. Sakkari (4:00 pm)

W: #1 A. Sabalenka vs. L. Bronzetti (5:10 pm)

M: #3 T. Fritz vs. #30 A. Tabilo (3:10 pm)

M: #2 C. Alcaraz vs. #27 D. Shapovalov (9:00 pm)

*All Times ET

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