BASEBALL

To honor the anniversary of 9/11, Mets’ rookie Pete Alonso supplied all the players with special commemorative 9/11-themed cleats. In the running for National League rookie of the year, Alonso recorded the players’ shoe sizes and ordered and paid for the cleats. In the 9-0 win (9 runs and 11 hits) at home over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mets also honored the first responders and had them on the field for the National Anthem.

HORSE RACING

According to a report from the New York Times, 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug weeks before the Kentucky Derby (the first leg of the Triple Crown).  Apparently, the California Horse Racing Board took months to confirm the results of a test (taken after the Santa Anita Derby which qualified Justify for the Kentuck Derby) and made some decisions in secret for horses testing positive to the substance scopolamine.

BASKETBALL

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied LeBron James’ attempt to trademark “Taco Tuesday”. The USPTO explained, “The applied-for mark is a commonplace term, message, or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment message.” According to LeBron, the application accomplished what he intended, which is to ensure HE won’t be sued for using the phrase.

BASKETBALL

Kawhi Leonard is in the midst of suing Nike for what he claims is his “Klaw” design. Kawhi said he provided the design to Nike so he owns it. Nike has now countersued stating “In this action, Kawhi Leonard seeks to re-write history by asserting that he created the ‘Claw Design’ logo, but it was not Leonard who created that logo. In his Complaint, Leonard alleges he provided a design to NIKE. That is true. What is false is that the design he provided was the Claw Design. Not once in his Complaint does Leonard display or attach either the design that he provided or the Claw Design. Instead, he conflates the two, making it appear as though those discrete works are one and the same. They are not.” After ending his contract with Nike, Kawhi has signed a shoe deal with New Balance.

Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has a new hobby. He recently purchased a minority stake in Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Houston Dash. He also has a stake in BBVA Stadium where both teams play. He commented, “Houston is my home now, and I saw this as a way to invest in my city and expand my business interests at the same time. Soccer in general, and especially MLS, have exploded in this country throughout my lifetime. I’ve been a fan of the game for several years, and I know that Houston has a massive soccer fanbase, so it was an easy decision for me when this opportunity arose.”

In other NBA news, Toronto Raptors Kyle Lowry underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left thumb. Lowry is planning to spend his off-season participating in USA Basketball training camp and FIBA World Cup later in the summer

FOOTBALL

Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh took a swipe at his former rival, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer. Meyer retired last year after a winning season but one filled with controversy. Meyer was suspended for the first three games of the year due to a domestic violence allegation against one of his assistant coaches, then led his team to a 13-1 season and a Big Ten title. Meyer’s Ohio State also has a 4-0 winning record over Harbaugh. In an interview with The Athletic, Harbaugh said, “Urban Meyer’s had a winning record. A really phenomenal record everywhere he’s been. But also, controversy follows everywhere he’s been.”

BASKETBALL

According to NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, the #1 pick in the NBA draft Zion Williamson is out of shape. Zion’s former coach, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, also stated Williamson wasn’t in physical or mental shape and should have skipped playing in the NBA summer league. Williamson played nine minutes in the summer league for the New Orleans Pelicans then was pulled due to a minor injury. Barkeley told ESPN’s Get Up, “I was fat so I needed to lose weight. I don’t know what Zion’s perfect playing weight is going to be. I thought 300 was my perfect playing weight in college. I had to lose 50 pounds to become a Hall of Famer. I hear he weighs 280. He can’t play at 280 in the NBA. He can’t play at that weight, it’s too much stress on his knees. He’s so big and he’s so strong, but everybody in the NBA is big and strong.”

GOLF

Rory McIlroy was the fan-favorite to win the British Open this week, but after a quadruple-bogey 8 on the first hole, he’s likely out of contention.

BASKETBALL

Three people were arrested at the Toronto Raptors celebration on Monday. Four people were shot and wounded at the rally, but no motive was announced, and the investigation is ongoing. The shooting took place at City Hall square where a crowd of thousands gathered to celebrate the Raptors NBA title.

17-year old LaMelo Ball will play in the Australian National Basketball League for a season in hopes of using his “one-and-done season” between high school and the NBA to get drafted high in the NBA next year. The NBL’s Next Stars program and the G League have become training grounds for high school players who choose not to play in College. Ball told ESPN, “They have a really strong league, with excellent coaches and great players, including former and future NBA players, and great strength and conditioning programs. My goal is to be the top pick in next year’s draft, and I feel they can help me reach that goal. Also, the timing of the season works well with the timing of next year’s draft.”

FOOTBALL

The legendary Green Bay Packers quarterback and coach, Bart Starr, passed away over the weekend at the age of 85. Starr led the Packers to three straight championships (the only quarterback in NFL history to do so) and earned MVP honors at the first two Super Bowls. He also received the NFL’s most valuable player award in 1966. After retiring as a quarterback in 1971, he became Green Bay’s head coach a year later and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

BASKETBALL

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night and will face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Raptors host game 1 of the best of seven series on Thursday night. Golden State’s Kevin Durant is not scheduled to play in game 1, and Center DeMarcus Cousins has been listed as questionable.

BASEBALL

The infamous Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner died at the age of 69 after battling Lewy Body Dementia. Buckner played for five different Major League Baseball teams over the course of 22 years, although he is most remembered for messing up a play (as a member of the Boston Red Sox) in the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets. His error allowed the winning run to score. The Mets then went on to win Game 7, and Buckner had to endure years of death threats and public humiliation. Eighteen years later when the Red Sox finally won the World Series, fans stopped harassing him. And, when the Red Sox won again in 2007, Buckner even threw out the first pitch the next season and received a four-minute standing ovation.

FOOTBALL

The NFL made a few changes to their TV schedule heading into the new season. The most significant for anyone living in two-team markets like New York, LA, Bay Area, and Washington/Baltimore, is the modification to what’s called the single-header. The single-header rule previously only allowed these two-team markets to watch their home teams on a Sunday afternoon. With the new rule, there will three Sunday afternoon games (in addition to a Sunday evening game)  in every market.

BASEBALL

In a scene that could be right out of a movie, 38-year-old Rajai Davis was called up from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday around 5:00 pm to join the NY Mets in the 3rd inning of their game against the Washington Nationals. Davis thought his manager was joking when he got the call, but then realized it was happening and jumped in an Uber which took him 2 hours to get to the stadium. Davis proceeded to hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat to help propel the Mets to a 6-1 win. Davis thanked his Uber driver after the game and said, “Me and Jason, we got to know each other.” According to Mets manager Mickey Callaway, “I think I saw him in the fifth or the sixth for the first time. He got here about the third. He Ubered over, got ready, came out, hit a homer, came inside, didn’t know where the clubhouse was, how to get back in, had to ask some people, ‘Which way do I go to get back in the clubhouse?’ And just slapped high-fives going into the line. Yeah, whirlwind day for Raj; great at-bat.”

BASKETBALL

The University of Michigan hired former star Juwan Howard as their new head coach. Howard was part of the 1991 legendary Michigan Fab Five which included Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. After helping the Wolverines to two national championships, Howard played for 19 seasons in the NBA. In 2013, he joined the Miami Heat as an assistant coach, where he’s been for the past 6 years. Howard replaces John Beilein, who was recently hired as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

GOLF

The Masters is underway and after the first round, 25-year old Bryson DeChambeau (ranked #6 in World Golf) and 28-year old Brooks Koepka (ranked #4 in World Golf) lead the pack. It’s the first time two players in their 20’s, and ranked in the top 6, share the leaderboard after any round in one of the Majors. In other Masters news, at 48 years old, Phil Mickelson shot his best first round since 2010 when he won the tournament for the third time, and Tiger Woods shot a steady 70, which is the same score he shot after the first round all three times he won the tournament.

The one thing you won’t see at the Masters is a cell phone. Fans caught with a cell phone will receive a lifetime ban from the event. That means no tweeting, no selfies, just quiet time to walk around and have conversations with other golf enthusiasts (think, opposite of Happy Gilmore).

BASKETBALL

Duke freshman Cam Reddish officially announced he will enter the 2019 NBA draft. Reddish and teammate R.J. Barrett (who also announced he was entering the draft) are both considered top picks. Duke’s superstar, Zion Williamson, hasn’t officially declared he’ll enter the draft yet, but he’s widely expected to be the #1 pick.

BASKETBALL

With an 85-77 overtime win over Texas Tech, Virginia becomes the NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion. The win marks a year of redemption for the Cavaliers after last seasons embarrassing loss to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (the first time a #1 seed lost to a #16 seed). After last season’s loss, the team received death threats, and according to UVA’s Kyle Guy, “It was humiliation, embarrassment for ourselves and our families and the program. To be able to redeem all that and get this program something that’s never happened before is all that I could ever want.” Monday’s final started off slowly, but then the teams came alive and battled it out forcing overtime where Virginia surged ahead for the win. Congrats to Virginia for winning their first national championship in school history.

BASEBALL

The Trump administration is rescinding a deal made during the Obama administration allowing Major League Baseball to sign Cuban players without having them defect first (which made them targets for human traffickers). The deal had separated Cuba’s baseball league from the Cuban government, making an agreement with MLB and the Cuban Baseball Federation much easier. According to the Treasury Department, “A payment to the Cuban Baseball Federation is a payment to the Cuban government.”

BASKETBALL

It was an exciting weekend of college basketball with Baylor beating Notre Dame to win its third NCAA women’s basketball championship under current coach Kim Mulkey. With the win, Mulkey joins UConn’s Geno Auriemma (with 11 wins) and Tennessee’s Pat Summitt (with 8 wins) to become the third head coach to win more than two national titles. Baylor 82, Notre Dame 81.

In the men’s division, March Madness is almost over with Monday night featuring Virginia vs Texas Tech in the finals. There was a big controversy over the weekend, however, with Virginia’s win over Auburn. With .6 seconds left in the game and Auburn up by 2, the refs called a foul on Auburn’s Samir Doughty. Kyle Guy went to the line and, under immense pressure, made three free throws to win the game 63-62. In addition to the controversial last-second foul, there was also a missed double-dribble violation on Virginia’s Ty Jerome in the last few seconds which would have prevented Guy from going to the foul line. After the game, Guy reflected on the pressure he felt to make the shots and said, “I just literally told myself that we dream of these moments, and to be able to make one happen was special.” He went on to say, “This is the stuff that kids dream of, and I’m just very thankful to be here.”

Virginia will compete with Texas Tech Monday night at 9:20 pm for the National Championship. Neither team has ever won a National Championship, so Monday’s winner will make history.

In other Auburn news, former head coach Tommy Tuberville tweeted he will be running for the US Senate in Alabama against Democratic Senator Doug Jones. Jones won a special election in 2017 and will be running for a full term next year.

BASKETBALL

In a hard fought game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team to victory with an impressive 45 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks (four of which were on the Sixers big man Joel Embiid) and 0 turnover performance. With the win, the Bucks clinch the best record, (59-20), in the NBA for the third time in franchise history. Bucks 128, Sixers 122

In a 108-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the mighty Steph Curry put on a show at Staples Center with his acrobatic behind the back pass to Kevin Durant. The most intriguing part of the game, occurred at the end of the second quarter when Durant and LeBron huddled together whispering behind towels so no one could lip read what they were saying. Many were wondering if LeBron was trying to convince KD to opt out of his contract and join the Lakers at the end of the season. Durant told reporters, “Everybody wants to know what we’re talking about. It wasn’t even that serious. Just laughing and joking and catching up.”

Enjoy the weekend of NCAA Final Four games

In the women’s bracket, watch Baylor vs Oregon at 7:00 pm and Notre Dame vs UConn at 9:00 pm, Friday, April 5th, with the winners playing for the championship on Sunday, April 7th at 6:00 pm.  And, in the men’s bracket, watch Auburn vs Virginia at 6:09 pm and Texas Tech vs Michigan State at 8:49 pm on Saturday, April 6th. The winners will play for the National Championship on Monday, April 8th at 9:00 pm.