The Sportsletter - Bubble Trouble 🫧

BY JEFF YODER

MAR. 14, 2025 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Happy Friday 🙌

Selection Sunday? Formula 1? The Players Championship? Someone pinch me. One of the best stretches in the sports calendar is upon us with the NWSL, MLB Opening Day and NCAA Tournament on deck.

First thing’s first...

Countdown to Brackets: 2 Days ⌛️

Letter Rip!

  NCAA  

Bubble Trouble 🫧 

Photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images

Who’s In? Who’s Out? — The Bubble Bursts For Tourney Hopefuls & Duke's Freshman Phenom Goes Down

Pop goes the bubble! Conference tournaments are sprinting towards Selection Sunday, and a dozen-or-more teams are hanging in the balance. We’ve already seen 14 automatic bids captured, many via unlikely tournament runs from Saint Francis (15-17) and Wofford (19-15). Bid-stealers! As the bubble shrinks, we gotta know: Who’s in and who’s out? Luckily, our friend Joe Lunardi (ESPN) has answers.

In yesterday’s action, two teams swapped on the cut line — Indiana (now out) and Texas (now in). IU lost by double digits to Oregon while Texas survived in-state rival A&M in double OT. The Longhorns would be the 14th SEC team in the tournament. It's an already-historic Selection Sunday ahead for the SEC. Over in the ACC Tournament, Duke’s star freshman Cooper Flagg went down with an ankle injury. That's a massive blow for viewers and Blue Devils. Flagg was the projected National Player of the Year and No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. The madness has only begun.

🫧 The Bubble

• First 4 In: Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Utah State, West Virginia
• Last 4 In: San Diego State, Xavier, North Carolina, Texas
• First 4 Out: Indiana, Ohio State, Boise State, Colorado State
• Next 4 Out: Dayton, Wake Forest, UC Irvine, Villanova

🗒️ Projected NCAA Tournament (Top Seeds)

• 1s: Auburn, Duke, Florida, Houston
• 2s: Alabama, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Michigan State
• 3s: Iowa State, Texas A&M, St. John’s, Kentucky
• 4s: Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland, Clemson

The Latest: ESPN Bracketology (Joe Lunardi)

Conference Tournament Check-In 🏆

🏀 Yesterday's Top Highlights

Ole Miss’ Sean Pedulla Hits Game-Winning 3

Ole Miss def. Arkansas (83-80)

Texas Thwarts the Bubble in 2OT Thriller

Texas Upsets Texas A&M (94-89, 2OT)

Offensive Outburst in the Big Ten

Illinois def. Iowa (106-94)

Hoosiers Fall Back to First Team Out

Oregon def. Indiana (72-59)

🗓️ Schedule (Men’s Conference Tourneys)

Big 12 Championship (Sat. 6:00 pm, ESPN)

Big East Championship (Sat. 6:30 pm, FOX)

ACC Championship (Sat. 8:30 pm, ESPN)

SEC Championship (Sun. 1:00 pm, ESPN)

Big Ten Championship (Sun. 3:30 pm, CBS)

*All Times ET

🗒️ Selection Sunday (Sun. 6:00 pm, CBS)

  NFL  

Where is A-A-ron Right Now?

Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig / Getty Images

The NFL Offseason Wouldn’t Be Complete Without an Aaron Rodgers Saga

Déjà vu, anyone? It was two years ago when Aaron Rodgers kept the NFL on the hook during his famous darkness retreat. Now, the 41-year-old quarterback is seemingly holding the Steelers and Giants hostage. Hopefully you remember the famous skit from Key & Peele. Ya done messed up A-A-ron!

Sam Darnold (Seahawks), Justin Fields (Jets) and Geno Smith (Raiders) have filled voids on QB-needy teams, but aging veterans like Rodgers and Russell Wilson are the final pieces in the NFL's QB carousel. Wilson left Cleveland without a new deal yesterday. The Steelers, Giants and Vikings are reportedly in play for Rodgers, and Pittsburgh already made an offer. He’s mulling his future again, but this time Aaron’s on a beach somewhere. Fun!

Top Remaining Available Free Agents

QB Aaron Rodgers, QB Russell Wilson, OG Mekhi Becton, OT Cam Robinson, WR Amari Cooper, CB Asante Samuel Jr., CB Rasul Douglas, DE Calais Campbell, DE Azeez Ojulari

  GOLF  

Scenes From Sawgrass ⛳️

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

3 Tied for the Lead After Round 1 at The Players Championship 

One of golf’s sacred shrines welcomed 144 of the best golfers to The Players Championship this week. Round 1 teed off yesterday where the famous Par-3 17th Hole (the Island Green) at TPC Sawgrass serves as the focal point. No aces in Round 1, but Justin Lower made a great hole-in-three save after hitting the water a la 1999 Fred Couples. We also saw Jordan Spieth’s crazy day feature two eagles and a double-bogey. Three players are tied at 6-under, and the “Super Group” of Rory McIlroy (-5), Scottie Scheffler (-3) and Xander Schauffele (E) are all in the mix.

The Players (Leaderboard)

T1. Lucas Glover (-6)

T1. J.J. Spaun (-6)

T1. Camilo Villegas (-6)

T4. Rory McIlroy (-5)

T4. Min Woo Lee (-5)

T4. Billy Horschel (-5)

Other Notable Scorecards: R. Fowler (-4), S. Scheffler (-3), P. Cantlay (-3), J. Spieth (-2), C. Morikawa (-2), X. Schauffele (E) | Active Leaderboard

Round 1 Highlights | Round 2 Tee Times

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

The Lightning Round ⚡️

🏀 NBA

Steph Curry — 1st Player With 4,000 3s

Mikal Bridges — Buzzer-Beater 3 in OT

Mason Plumlee & Steven Adams — Brawl!

🏒 NHL

Brandon Montour — Fastest OT Goal Ever (4s)

Sam Bennett — 2G in Battle for Atlantic’s Best

⚽️ Soccer

UCL: Real Madrid — Beat Atletico in PKs (4-2)

CON: Lionel Messi — Scores in Miami Return

🎾 Indian Wells (Quarterfinals)

W: #2 Swiatek def. #8 Zheng (6-3, 6-3)

W: #5 Keys def. Bencic (6-1, 6-1)
M: #2 Alcaraz def. #25 Cerundolo. (6-3, 7-6)

M: #5 Medvedev def. #20 Fils (6-4, 2-6, 7-6)

  STORYLINES   

New Season Narratives

⚾️ Every MLB Team’s Opening Day Lineup

The 2025 Major League Baseball season is upon us at long last. Though the Hot Stove flame still flickers while teams look to tweak their roster as Spring Training gets underway, the foundations and expectations for most squads are set. (MLB.com)

🏎️ The Formula 1 2025 Season Preview

After one of the most competitive and enthralling Formula 1 seasons in recent memory, it's almost time to get the show on the road once again for a 2025 campaign that promises wheel-to-wheel action at 24 race tracks across the world. (ESPN)

⚽️ The 2025 NWSL Calendar Collection

At long last, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is here. The 2025 regular season is set to begin on Friday, March 14, and will run until the playoffs in November. Here are the biggest matches to mark on your calendar. (Sports Illustrated)

  NEWS   📰 

🏀 Duke Freshman Phenom Cooper Flagg Leaves ACC Tourney With Ankle Injury (ESPN)

⚾️ Rays Abandon $1.3 Billion Stadium Plan Leaving Tampa Bay Future in Doubt (FOS)

👟 Virginia High School Athlete Charged With Assault After Viral Track Meet Baton Incident (CBS Sports)

⚾️ Vlad Guerrero Jr. & Blue Jays Reportedly $50M Apart in Contract Talks (B/R)

⛷️ Two Olympic Ski Jumping Gold Medalists Suspended Amid Cheating Probe (SI)

🏈 Chiefs Restructure Patrick Mahomes & Chris Jones Contracts to Free Up Cap Space (NBC Sports)

✍️ Sports Columnist & Author John Feinstein Dies at Age 69 (AP)

🗣️ Ex-Cowboys Teammates DeMarcus Lawrence & Micah Parsons Trade Jabs on Social Media (ESPN)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

The Weekend Must-Watch List

It’s champ week, baby! What better way to cement the brackets than hundreds of conference tournament games? Plus, new seasons arrive. The NWSL and Formula 1 are back this week. We’ll catch ya Monday!

🏆 NCAAM Conference Tournaments

ACC Tournament

Big East Tournament

Big Ten Tournament

Big 12 Tournament

SEC Tournament

🗒️ Selection Sunday (Sun. 6:00 pm, CBS)

Professional League Schedules

🏀 NBA | 🏒 NHL | ⚽️ MLS | ⚽️ NWSL

⛳️ PGA Tour

The Players Championship (All Weekend)

🎾 Indian Wells

M&W Semifinals: Today

M&W Finals: Sunday

🏁 Racing

F1: Australian GP (Sun. Midnight, ESPN+)

NAS: Las Vegas (Sun. 3:30 pm, FOX)

*All Times ET

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