The Sportsletter - The Spring Sports Boom 💥

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BY JEFF YODER

MAR. 12, 2025 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

After 4-point plays, penalty-kick shootouts, and a crazy 48 hours of NFL free agency, we’ve reached the mid-week mix. I’d need a full magazine to catch everything during the spring sports boom. Bullet points, it is.

Countdown to Brackets: 4 Days ⌛️

🎥 Play of the Night

Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Hits Wild 4-Point Play to Beat Bucks (115-114)

Letter Rip!

  TEAM NEWS  

The Spring Sports Boom 💥

We’re still on the load management schedule (M-W-F), but this next week brings the biggest boom of the spring sports schedule. We'll soon have more newsletter space to cover everything during these chaotic stretches. For now, here’s what’s on the way:

🏀 Conference Tournaments (Ongoing)

🏈 NFL Free Agency (Ongoing)

🎾 Indian Wells (Ongoing)

⚽️ UEFA Champions League (Ongoing)

⛳️ The Players Championship (Tomorrow)

⚽️ NWSL Kickoff (Friday)

🏎️ Formula 1 Restart (Sunday)

🏀 NCAA Brackets (Sunday)

⚾️ MLB Opening Day (Tuesday)

Next Sportsletter: Friday, March 14

Crazy hours. Speaking of booming...

  NFL   

NFL Free Agent Fireworks 🎇

Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images

Winners & Losers of NFL Free Agency After 200+ Early Transactions

The new NFL league year doesn’t officially kick off until 4:00 pm ET today, but you wouldn’t know that based on this week's free agent fireworks. By our count, more than 200 new deals were made in the last week, including more than 150 in the past 48 hours. Zero chance we can try to list them in today's edition. We’ll focus on the winners and losers (so far) and some of the most notable names in the QB carousel.

Winners: 1. Bears, 2. Patriots, 3. Commanders

(1) It’s safe to say Bears GM Ryan Poles is all in. Chicago revamped their offensive line with three big moves to protect QB Caleb Williams. He was sacked a league-high 68 times last year. (2) The Patriots signed eight players (six defense) to launch the Mike Vrabel era. Four of their defensive signings were top-tier players — LB Harold Landry III, DT Milton Williams, CB Carlton Davis and LB Robert Spillane. (3) The Commanders get the No. 3 spot due to big trades for WR Deebo Samuel and OT Laremy Tunsil. 

Losers: 1. Eagles, 2. 49ers, 3. Cowboys

(1) I hesitate to call them losers before GM Howie Roseman gets to the draft, but the Eagles had six defensive players fly the coop in the last 48 hours — Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Darius Slay, and others. They have some rookies to rely on, but that’s a large exodus. (2) The 49ers were also picked clean with 13 losses this week. The most notable was the trade that sent WR Deebo Samuel to the Commanders, but Dre Greenlaw, Charvarius Ward and a lot of defensive players are gone. (3) I couldn't tell you what the Cowboys are doing. Sleeping?

Notable Quarterback Deals

QB Sam Darnold (Vikings) → Seahawks

Contract: 3 Years, $100.5 Million

QB Justin Fields (Steelers) → Jets

Contract: 2 Years, $40 Million

Other Notable Additions

QB Daniel Jones → Colts

DE Joey Bosa → Bills

WR DeAndre Hopkins → Ravens

RB Najee Harris → Chargers

DT Jonathan Allen → Vikings

DE Leonard Floyd → Falcons

All 200+ NFL Transactions

NFL Free Agency Tracker (Team-By-Team)

  MLB   

Nightmare in the Bronx

Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images

Yankees’ Ace Gerrit Cole to Undergo Tommy John Surgery & Miss 2025 MLB Season

Over before it began. The Yankees had a lot to be excited about entering 2025. They were World Series runner-ups last October, and the additions of Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and others helped rejuvenate the Bronx after losing Juan Soto to the crosstown rival Mets. Now this — Gerrit Cole will miss the entire 2025 season to undergo Tommy John surgery. Cole felt an “alarming” amount of pain in his elbow last Thursday night after a spring training game. The Yankees also lost Luis Gil from the starting rotation (for at least three months) after a lat strain. It’s a nightmare preseason in the Bronx.

“I have a lot left to give, and I’m fully committed to the work ahead... I love this game, I love competing, and I can’t wait to be back on the mound—stronger than ever.” — Gerrit Cole (Instagram)

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  NCAA   

College Hoops Polls 📊

Men’s AP Poll: 1. Duke (28-3), 2. Houston (27-4), 3. Auburn (27-4), 4. Florida (27-4), 5. Alabama (24-7), 6. St. John’s (27-4), 7. Michigan State (26-5), 8. Tennessee (25-6), 9. Texas Tech (24-7), 10. Clemson (26-5)

Women’s AP Poll: 1. UCLA (30-2), 2. South Carolina (30-3), 3. Uconn (31-3), 4. USC (28-3), 5. Texas (31-3), 6. TCU (31-3), 7. Duke (26-7), 8. Notre Dame (26-5), 9. NC State (26-6), 10. LSU (28-5)

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

The Lightning Round ⚡️

🏀 NBA

Pacers def. Bucks (115-114)

Haliburton Hits Game-Winning 4-Point Play

Cavaliers def. Nets (109-104)

Garland (30 pts), Cleveland’s 15th Straight WIn

🏒 NHL

Penguins def. Golden Knights (3-2, OT)

Crosby (2G), Karlsson Hits OT Winner

Wild def. Avalanche (2-1, S/O)

Matt Boldy Hits Shootout Winner

⚽️ Champions League (R-of-16, Leg 2)

PSG def. Liverpool (4-1, PKs)

Donnaruma Saves, Doue Strikes Winner

Barcelona def. Benfica (3-1)

Yamal (1G, 1A), Raphinha (2G)

🎾 Indian Wells

W: #2 Swiatek def. #15 Muchova (6-1, 6-1)

W: #3 Gauff def. #29 M. Sakkari (7-6, 6-2)

W: #23 Svitolina def. #4 Pegula (5-7, 6-1, 6-2)

M: #2 Alcaraz def. #27 Shapovalov (6-2, 6-4)

M: #12 Rune def. #8 Tsitsipas (6-4, 6-4)

  NEWS   📰 

⛳️ Tiger Woods Has Surgery on Ruptured Achilles Tendon (ESPN)

⚾️ Dodgers & Manager Dave Roberts Agree to 4-Year, $32.4 Million Extension (Yahoo! Sports)

🏒 Panthers Defenseman Aaron Ekblad Gets 20-Game Suspension for PEDs (FOX Sports)

🏀 Steph Curry Accepts Assistant GM Role for Davidson Hoops (ESPN)

⚽️ Christian Pulisic Headlines 2025 USMNT Nations League Roster (B/R)

🏈 Philadelphia Eagles Set to Visit White House to Celebrate SBLIX Title (SI)

⚾️ Former MLB Slugger Mo Vaughn Admits to Using HGH in Later Years (CBS Sports)

📱 West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez Bans Players From TikTok Dancing in Locker Room (Yardbarker)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

🏀 NCAAM Conference Tournaments

ACC Tournament

Big East Tournament

Big Ten Tournament

Big 12 Tournament

SEC Tournament

🏀 NBA

Thunder at Celtics (7:30 pm, ESPN)

T-Wolves at Nuggets (10:00 pm, ESPN)

Full NBA Schedule

🏒 NHL

Sabres at Red Wings (7:30 pm, TNT)

Ducks at Utah HC (10:00 pm, TNT)

Full NHL Schedule

⚽️ Champions League

Arsenal vs. PSV Eindhoven (4:00 pm, Par+)

Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid (4:00 pm, Par+)

🎾 Indian Wells (Quarterfinals)

W: #3 C. Gauff vs. B. Bencic (11:00 am)

M: #2 C. Alcaraz vs. #14 G. Dimitrov (6:00 pm)

Full Schedule

*All Times ET

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