Congratulations to Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. He held on to win by one stroke to become the first Japanese player to win a golf major.
It was a great week for Baylor, cutting downtime nets in Indianapolis, beating Gonzaga in the college basketball championship. The Bears raced out to a 29-10 lead by raining threes. The 86-70 was led by Jerald Butler’s 22 points. The Bears finished with 10 trifectas.
There were a number of great NBA performances this week. Jason Tatum of the Celtics scored 53 in a game. Zach LaVine put up 50 points, while Enes Kanter had a 30-rebound performance.
Gonzaga and Baylor were ranked 1-2 in the preseason and they made the title game The Zags edged UCLA on Jalen Suggs incredible game-winner. UCLA fought to the very end.
Stanford edged Arizona by one to win the women’s title.
The Phillies and Orioles got off to fast starts.
Yermin Mercedes became the first player in the modern era to go 5-for-5 in his first career start.
The Elite Eight is set in men’s hoops. UCLA as an 11th seed and Oregon State as a 12 are surprises still playing. Gonzaga, Michigan and Baylor are 1-seeds still going.
The Women’s tourney has a nice Elite 8 matchup featuring Baylor and UConn.
MLB is coming and I am excited to see the Rays!
The big dance got underway and there were plenty of upsets. Oral Roberts stunned Ohio State behind Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas. Abilene Christian forced 23 turnovers in a stunner over Texas. North Texas sent Purdue packing while Jason Preston just missed a triple-double as Ohio shocked Virginia.
The Pac-12 got off to a good start, while the ACC struggled.
The NFL had a very busy week with more player signings. Patrick Peterson, Kenny Golladay, AJ Green and Mitch Trubisky were among the players on the move.
The field of 68 for the big dance was announced. Gonzaga is trying to be the first team since Indiana in 1976 to finish a perfect season.
Louisville, Colorado State, Belmont and Saint Louis fell short of the dance. I felt for them.
There was lots of NFL off-season news. Veterans being cut, others re-signing. Cam Newton decided to return to the Patriots.
The Brooklyn Nets remained on fire, going 12-1 in their last 13 games.
We pushed tickets to the big dance. Morehead State, Liberty, Loyola-Chicago and Winthrop will be in the field of 68.
Michigan State improved its chances with a win over Michigan.
There was lots of NFL news with several veterans cut. Ben Roethlisberger re-signed with the Steelers.
I saw the best individual performance of the season. Cade Cunningham had 40 points and 11 rebounds as Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma in the Bedlam Series.
Baylor fell from the unbeaten ranks as David McCormack and Marcus Garrett came up big vs. the Bears. Gonzaga is the lone remaining unbeaten.
Michigan continued to shine, beating Iowa and Indiana. Ohio State lost its third straight, falling to Iowa.
The first major of the tennis season is in the books. Novak Djokovic captured his 18th Slam event, moving to within two of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. Djoker dominated Danil Medvedev in straight sets to win the Australian Open. Congrats to Naomi Osaka on her fourth slam title.
The Michigan-Ohio State game was the college contest of the weekend. The Wolverines scored a use road W to stay in the top three.
Pitchers and catchers reported. Baseball is back, baby!
The NCAA Tournament selection committee announced their midseason top 16 teams. The Big 12 and Big Ten combined for nine of the 16 slots.
Gonzaga remained unbeaten with a blowout win at San Francisco. That gave the Zags a 24th consecutive 20-win season.
Daniel Berger eagled the 18th hole to win at Pebble Beach.
Congrats to Maryland women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese, who earned her 500th victory at the school.
Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl, easily beating Kansas City, 31-9. Tom Brady got his seventh ring and Super Bowl MVP.
College basketball saw a number of upsets. East Carolina earned its first win over a top 25 team, stunning Houston. Creighton lost to a Georgetown team that came in 4-8. Florida lost at home to South Carolina. Villanova fell to St. John’s. Virginia Tech lost to Pittsburgh.
The Dodgers signed NL Cy Young award winner Trevor Bauer. It was a three-year deal worth $102 million.
The first Grand Slam tennis tournament began. The Australian Open began late, but stars are there. Serena Williams won her first round match.
It was an interesting week in terms of transactions.
The Rams and Lions swapped QBs. The Rams got Matthew Stafford while the Lions added Jared Goff. Detroit added draft picks in the deal.
The Cardinals added third baseman Nolan Arenado from Colorado.
Gonzaga and Baylor rolled on. Kansas fell for the fourth time in five games.
The Super Bowl is set. Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes. The Bucs are the first home team in Super Bowl history.
Tampa Bay takes on Kansas City, which beat a tough Buffalo team in the AFC title game.
College hoops took another hit with Michigan being sidelined for two weeks minimum. Baylor stayed unbeaten with big wins over Kansas and Oklahoma State. Kansas dropped its third straight contest.
The NFL Final Four is set. The NFC Championship features two great QBs, Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady as the Packers host the Bucs. The AFC title game has the Bills against the Chiefs.
College basketball is down four unbeaten left. Gonzaga, Baylor, Winthrop and Drake have a zero in the loss column. Michigan fell from the unbeaten ranks, losing to Minnesota.
The NBA saw big news as the Nets acquired James Harden to go with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The NHL started its season and the Lightning got off to a great start.
The NFL playoffs got underway. Tom Brady threw for 381 yards vs. Washington. The Rams stunned the Seahawks. The Ravens got past the Titans.
Gonzaga and Baylor continue to roll in college basketball.
Jim Harbaugh got a contract extension at Michigan.
The NFL regular season came to an end. The Cleveland Browns made the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Indianapolis Colts earned the final AFC playoff berth, edging Miami.
The Chicago Bears lost to Green Bay but got into the postseason. The Packers and Kansas City Chiefs earned the top seeds in the conference playoffs.
Alabama and Ohio State earned spots in the college football national championship game.
Gonzaga and Baylor continued to shine as the top two college basketball teams. There were upsets as Tennessee, Kansas and Wisconsin were among the teams that fell.
Northwestern climbed to 3-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967-68. The Wildcats only loss came by one point to Pittsburgh.
The NBA got underway with several surprising results. Trae Young got off to a great start.
The Kansas Chiefs locked up the top spot in the AFC. Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes vs. Detroit.
The College Football Playoff is set. Congrats to Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame advanced to the final four!
In college hoops, Gonzaga showed again why they are ranked #1 in the polls, dominating Luka Garza and Iowa. Xavier remained unbeaten with a win over Marquette.
In the NFL, the Buffalo Bills claimed their first AFC East title since 1995, beating the Denver Broncos. The Titans put up 46 points against the Lions.
College news dominated the headlines.
LSU, playing shorthanded, scored a shocking win at Florida. That cost the Gators any shot at a playoff berth.
Sarah Fuller made headlines, becoming the first woman to score for a power five football team. She made two extra points vs. Tennessee.
Michigan and Ohio State was cancelled, but the Big Ten allowed the Buckeyes to qualify for the Big Ten title game.
There were coaching changes announced as several teams saw their season close. Leaving are Gus Malzahn at Auburn, Love Smith at Illinois and Kevin Sumlin at Arizona.
In college, a good week for Missouri (beat Liberty and Illinois), West Virginia (beat Richmond), Clemson (beat Maryland and Alabama) and Florida State (beat Indiana and Florida)
Derrick Henry ran for 215 yards and two TDs for the Titans. The Bears blew out the Texans. The Chiefs got past the Dolphins.
College basketball has been hampered by Covid postponements. Gonzaga-Baylor would have been special. We did have a good one with Villanova edging Texas.
We have also seen some teams struggle. Kentucky fell to 1-3 with a loss to Georgia Tech. The upsets continued as Wisconsin lost to Marquette.
The NFL saw the Saints clinch a playoff berth with a ninth straight win. The Giants stunned the Seahawks. The Jets continued their losing ways and the Bears dropped a sixth straight.