Weekly Update April 7, 2025

Baseball: The first full week of season. NO undefeated and winless teams left. Pirates messed up a sign.

Basketball – NBA: This week’s games. Final week of season. HoF.

Basketball – NCAAM: Final Four. Set up for the final.

Basketball – NCAAW: Final Four and Final! UConn gets the dozen natty.

Golf: Valero’s crazy weather. MIA LIV event.

Hockey: The Great 8 tops the Great One.

Olympic Sports: Grand Slam Track debuts. Fencer DQ’d.

Quick Headlines: NFL new rules. Jones retiring. F1 Verstappen is back on top.

Coming Up This Month: April

NCAA Basketball Final Four April 5-7, Masters April 10-13, NCAA Hockey Frozen Four April 10-12, NBA Post Season April 15 – June 22, NHL Playoffs April 19 – June 23, Boston Marathon April 21, NFL Draft April 24-26,

Baseball – MLB:

• It was the first full week of the MLB season. Some headlines:
  • White Sox P Perez threw 6 hitless innings in his debut and they would beat the Twins 9-0. Pete Alonso hit a grand slam for the Mets as they beat the Marlins 10-4. Elly De La Cruz got 4 hits and 7 RBIs in the Reds 14-3 win over the Rangers. That is a career high for him.
  • The Rangers Eovaldi threw the first complete game of the season in their narrow win over the Reds by 1. Another grand slam on Tuesday for the Diamondbacks in the 8^th inning rallied for AZ to beat the Yankees. Kyle Tucker hit a HR in his 4^th straight game as the Cubs win over the A’s 7-4.
  • Two games went to the 11^th inning on Wed. The Mets beat the Marlins in a close one. Alonso hit a 3-run HR to tie it up and then continued that momentum in the 11^th to take the W. The Brewers used a bunt to get their winning run across the base line, beating the Royals.
  • Two more games went into the 11^th on Fri! You cant make this up. The A’s and Rockies both had 11 hits and took til the 11^th inning to get this game decided. The A’s would get a 2-run RBI to win by 3. It looked like the Mariners were going to take the W, up a run in the 11^th with 2 outs. But then Adames’ hit went into right field, getting the tying run in. The winning runner slide across home to be safe and give the W to the Giants.

• • The Braves finally got their first win of the season on Friday as they shutout the Marlins 10-0. Sounds like they used all their scoring in one night. They are 1-8 on the season so far. They thought they had a win on wed against the Dodgers who were undefeated at the time. But Ohtani hit a walkoff HR in the 9^th to have LA win by 1.
  • The Dodgers took their first loss on Saturday and another on Sunday. Both to the Phillies who take 2 of 3 in the series. Sunday’s was a close one even with Phili getting a GS in the 3^rd.
  • The Padres were undefeated on the season winning their first 7 games… until they ran into the Cubs. The Cubs won the last two games by a score of 10-2. The Padres would win the final game of the 3-game series 8-7 though.
• There are no undefeated teams and no winless teams left in the league.
• The Pirates accidently removed a sign honoring one of their previous players for an alcoholic beverage ad. Oops! It has been corrected.

Basketball-NBA:

• This week’s games:
  • The Nets upset the Mavs in Dallas 113-109. The Lakers got a nice win over the Rockets 104-98 after beating them in 3 of 4Qs. The Thunder put up 145 points over the Bulls. Not an upset just a ton of points and SGA was only 27 of them.
  • Steph went off on Tuesday putting up 12 3-pointers and scored 52 points which you would think would be the highest scorer of the week but it wasn’t even the highest of the day! Later that night the Timberwolves/Nuggets game went into 2OT. MN was consistent scoring in every Q but the Nuggets had higher Qs. Jokic scored 61 points in that game but the Timberwolves still get the win by 1!
  • After the big loss in 2OT, the Nuggets lost again to the Spurs by 7. The Wizards got their 8^th home win over the Kings by 5. A huge upset of the day, the Heat beat the Celtics by 21 points! In a post-season preview, the Cavs and Knicks squared off. The Knicks took the 1H leading by 7. But the Cavs came back big time in the 3Q to wipe away all of the deficit and take the lead by 6. They added onto that in the 4Q to win by 19.

• • The Warriors and Lakers was a great game and a close one. the 4Q was particularly high scoring but the Warriors got the better of LeBron and Luka. The next night the Warriors beat the Nuggets despite DEN putting up 44 in the 1Q. Rough week for the Nuggets who lost 3 in a row. Another great matchup was the Rockets/Thunder game on Friday. Houston put on a show with a big lead by halftime by 15. The Thunder tried to mount a come back by would fall short.
  • There were only 5 games on Saturday. The Bucks and Heat traded off Qly wins and ended up in OT. Milwaukee owned OT.

• • The Lakers dominated the Thunder 120-109 which honestly sounds better than it was. LA led by 22 at halftime. That is only the Thunder’s 6^th loss at home all season. It was a bad day for both teams at the top. The Cavs also lost to the Kings although it was closer – only by 7 points. For the 2^nd time in a week, Jokic put up a monster triple-double and it wasn’t enough. The Nuggets would lose to the Pacers on Sunday even with Jokic scoring 41.

• The 2025 Hall of Fame class has been named. Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles will all be added. So will the 2008 US Men’s Olympic Team aka the Redeem Team which includes two current players of LeBron and Chris Paul.

• It’s the final full week of season this week. The East is decided. The Cavs and Celtics have clinched their division titles. The Knicks, Pacers, Bucks and Pistons are in the playoffs. Play-ins will be the Magic, Hawks, Bulls and Heat. The Raptors, Nets, 76ers, Hornets and Wizards are eliminated. The West is too close. We literally have no updates there!

Basketball – NCAAM:

• Final Four: The match ups of all #1s. Unlike the women’s side, the games were phenomial to watch.
  • The first game was the SEC matchup for the 2^nd time this season. And fun fact both teams fell in the first round of last year’s tournament. Auburn was the only team of the 4 remaining that had played all 4 Final Four teams. Florida’s Martin was the first player to play in the Final Four for 2 different teams (he played for FAU in their last run). Auburn owned the 1H, leading only by 8 but man things looked easy for the Tigers and hard for the Gators. Florida started their comeback immediately after the locker-room (must’ve been a good speech). It only took them 2:32 to tie it up after an 11-0 run. We were tied at 10 different times in this game, the last of which was at 61 apiece with 7 min to go. Auburn turned the ball over 14xs in this game (12 in the 2H) and Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr went off scoring 34 points with some fancy shots. It was enough for Florida to take the win by 6.

• • The next game was also great. Duke started off strong and looked like they would walk into the final, taking the lead 5 min into the game til the final 20 seconds. The ending was nuts! UH took away Duke’s 14 point lead in the final 8 minutes. The Blue Devils were up 14 with 8 min to go and 9 with 2 min to go. But Duke would score their final point at the 1:14 mark. Houston continued to score with a 3-pointer, a steal, a tip shot (2), duke missed a free throw (of which they only had 3 opportunities in the final 3 min), UH did not miss theirs to take the lead by 1 with 19 seconds left. Cooper Flagg would miss his final jump shot for the win, UH rebounded, Duke fouled and Cryer (of course) made his free throws and secures Houston’s spot in the final 70-67! Love this stat (from CBS’ Eye on College Basketball podcast): it took Houston 8:09 to score their first 9 points of the game. It only took them 33 seconds to score their final 9 points.

• Preview for tonight’s’ game: This is only the 11^th time it is 1v1 seed in the final. Both teams have a top 10 defense and top 10 offense in KenPom. Houston’s #1 defense is 10^th in offensive efficiency. Both teams topped out as being ranked #2 in different weeks this season. Florida is top in offense and 9^th in defense. Despite the impressive win by UH and their basically home field advantage, Florida is favored by 1.5. This is the Cougs first trip to the final since 1984 when they had the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Florida won the whole thing back in 2007 when they successfully defended their 2006 title.
• Cooper Flagg and Juju Watkins have a consolation prize despite both their teams being knocked out. They are this year’s Wooden award recipients.

Basketball – NCAAW:

• Final Four: The women’s games were super boring with 2 blow outs on Friday night.
  • #1 Texas had been #1 for the longest time of any team all season but they were squandered against the reigning champs, South Carolina. The 3Q was particularly bad for the Longhorns who didn’t even put up double digits. That was enough to lose by 17. #2 UConn was the only seed to make the Final Four that wasn’t a #1 seed. They dominated early. The Huskies had a 20 point lead the half. It only got worse for the Bruins who took their 3^rd loss of the season. 85-51 was the final score.

• It looked like it was going to a great showdown. But alas it was not. UConn had a 10 point lead at the half but South Carolina just didn’t look like their championship selves. The 2H it got out of control. The Huskies added 10 more points in the 3Q and it was enough. The UConn won its 12 title after beating 3 #1 seeds (4^th team to do so in NCAAW tournament history). Final score 82-59. 2016 was the last time they won the title before yesterday. Paige had 477 career tournament points which is a UConn record and 2^nd in NCAAW history. Sarah Strong finished the tournament with a D1 record with the most points in a single tournament by a freshman ever.

Golf:

• PGA: It was a rough final day at the Valero Texas Open. Brian Harman went into the final round with a 3-shot lead and would never give it up, despite finishing with a round +3 par. Only 7 rounds were under par! The average was 74.8 for the day. Harman fought the conditions, course and some personal distractions as a close family friend was put in hospice this week. That woman tried to save Harman’s son who got taken away by a rip current on a family vacay in FL. She had been in a coma and is not expected to recover. Harman’s son survived as someone else rescued him.

• LIV: Marc Leishman won the Miami event for the Liv tour. It was a tight tournament with only the top 6 under par for the 3 rounds. Thanks to Leishman’s win, the Ripper GC team took the win as well. Only 1 of their 3 rounds was under par though – quite abormal.

Hockey:

• He finally did it! There is a reason he is called ‘the Great 8’ and now not just because of his number. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL leading scoring record with goal 895 in Sunday’s game. Gretzky set the record back in 1994. He broke the record in his 1,487^th game which was the same number as Gretzky’s total. He tied the record on Friday night in their 5-3 victory over the Blackhawks. He scored twice to tie but refused to score the 3^rd with an empty net. Because of that, rookie Ryan Leonard scored his first NHL goal. A nice moment. Ovechkin is 39 years old and born in RUS. He was the #1 draft pick in the 2004 draft to the Capitals who he has played for his entire career. Not many people know that his mom was a 2x Olympic gold medalist (in basketball).

Olympic Sports:

• It was the debut of the Grand Slam Track League. In the short sprints, Kenny Bednark won the 100 and 200 and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden also won both events. The long hurdlers were dominated by familiar faces: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone also won both of her events as did BRA’s Alison Dos Santos. Gabby Thomas won the 200m and got 2^nd in the 400m over the Gold medalist Paulino and Alexis Holmes who both competed in Paris in this event. Challenger ETH Taye won both of the long distance events so that was a nice upset over her racer competition. The closest event group was the men’s long distance with the winner only getting 18 points and half the field in double digits. The prize money for each slam is $100K per category.

• Stephanie Turner, a USA Fencer, took a knee in protest as she was facing an opponent she said was transgender. She was DQ’d from the event which was a regional USA Fencing sanctioned event. Her opponent’s name has not been mentioned. It has gone viral.

Some quick highlights:

• NFL: the NFL passed rules that both teams will get the ball in OT to start season after next. But each OT will only be 10 minutes each. They are also getting rid of the chain gang. It was originally posted on April 1 so I had to make sure this wasn’t a joke. They will use a camera system similar to soccer and tennis to spot the ball.
• NFL: Julio Jones is set to retire!
• F1: Max Verstappen led from start to finish from pole position. Red Bull dropped Liam Lawson to 2^nd team and promoted Yuki Sinota.

What to watch this week

Baseball – MLB:

• Tues 4/8
  • Phillies at braves @ 6:15pm on TBS
• Wed 4/9
  • Yankees at Tigers @ 12:10pm on Prime
• Fri 4/11
  • Pirates at Reds @ 5:40pm on Apple TV+
  • Tigers at Twins @ 7:10pm on Apple TV+
• Sat 4/12
  • Giants at Yankees @ 2:05pm on FS1
• Sun 4/13
  • Cubs at Dodgers @ 6pm on ESPN

Baseball/Softball – NCAA:

• Mon 4/7
  • Softball: 4. Texas A&M vs 16. UGA @ 5pm on SEC
• Tues 4/8
  • Softball: Charlotte vs 11. Vtech @ 5pm on ACC
  • Baseball: 4. Florida St vs Florida @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Baseball: Arkansas St vs 2. Arkansas @ 6pm on SEC
  • Baseball: Kentucky vs 18. Louisville @ 7pm on ACC
• Wed 4/9
  • Softball: Texas St vs 1. Texas @ 6pm on SEC
  • Softball: 3. Oklahoma vs 18. Oklahoma ST @ 7pm on ESPN2
  • Baseball: Stanford vs 6. Clemson @ 8pm on ACC
• Thurs 4/10
  • Softball: 16. UGA vs Auburn @ 5pm on SEC
  • Baseball: Wake Forest vs 19. UNC @ 6pm on ACC
  • Softball: 25. Clemson vs NC St @ 7pm on ACC
  • Softball: 6. Tennessee vs 1. Texas @ 8pm on ESPNU
• Fri 4/11
  • Softball: 6. Tennessee vs 1. Texas @ 1pm on ESPNU
  • Softball: 7. LSU vs 4. Texas A&M @ 2pm on SEC
  • Softball: 3. Oklahoma vs 23. Alabama @ 3pm on ESPN2
  • Baseball: Stanford vs 6. Clemson @ 5pm on ESPNU
  • Softball: 6. Tennessee vs 1. Texas @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Softball: 9. South Carolina vs 13. Arkansas @ 7pm on SEC
  • Baseball: 23. Vanderbilt vs 10. Oklahoma @ 7pm on SEC
• Sat 4/12
  • Baseball: 5. Texas vs Kentucky @ 11AM on SEC
  • Baseball: Wake Forest vs 19. UNC @ 12pm on ESPN2
  • Softball: 10. UCLA at Washington @ 4pm on FS1
  • Baseball: Stanford vs 6. Clemson @ 5pm on ACC
• Sun 4/13
  • Baseball: 5. Texas vs Kentucky @ 11am on SEC
  • Baseball: Stanford vs 6. Clemson @ 2pm on ACC
  • Baseball: 1. Tennessee vs 9. Ole Miss @ 2pm on SEC
  • Softball: 3. Oklahoma vs 23. Alabama @ 5pm on SEC
  • Softball: Notre Dame vs 11. Vtech @ 5pm on ACC

Basketball – NBA:

• Tues 4/8
  • Celtics at Knicks @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Warriors at Suns @ 9pm on TNT
• Wed 4/9
  • Lakers at Mavs @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Nuggets at Kings @ 9pm on ESPN
• Thurs 4/10
  • Cavaliers at Pacers @ 6pm on TNT
  • Timberwolves at Grizzlies @ 8:30pm on TNT

NCAAM: (only ranked teams and on normal TV)

• Mon 4/7
  • National Championship: Houston vs Florida @ 7:50pm on CBS

Football:

• Fri 4/11
  • Renegades vs Stallions @ 7pm on FOX
• Sat 4/12
  • Roughnecks vs Showboats @ 1:30pm on ESPN
• Sun 4/13
  • Brahmas vs Panthers @ 11am on ABC
  • Defenders vs Battlehawks @ 2pm on ABC

Golf:

• Thurs 4/10
  • Masters – Round 1 @ 2pm on ESPN
• Fri 4/11
  • Masters – Round 2 @ 2pm on ESPN
• Sat 4/12
  • Masters – Round 3 @ 1pm on CBS
• Sun 4/13
  • Masters – Final Round @ 1pm on CBS

Hockey:

• Tues 4/8
  • Maple Leafs vs Panthers @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Golden Knights at Avalanche @ 8:30pm on ESPN
• Wed 4/9
  • Flyers at Rangers @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Blues at Oilers @ 9pm on TNT
• Thurs 4/10
  • Hurricanes at Capitals @ 6:30pm on hulu
  • Frozen Four: Denver vs W Mich @ 4pm on ESPN2
  • Frozen Four: Penn St vs Boston @ 7:30pm on ESPN2
  • Ducks at Kings @ 9pm on hulu
• Sat 4/12
  • Capitals at Blues @ 11:30am on ABC
  • Rangers at Hurricanes @ 2pm on ABC
  • Frozen Four: Championship @ 6pm on ESPN2
• Sun 4/13
  • Islanders at Devils @ 12pm on TNT
  • Bruins at Penguins @ 2:30pm on TNT
  • Avalanche at Ducks @ 9pm on ESPN

Motorsports:

• Sun 4/13
  • F1: Gulf Air Bahrain GP @ 10am on ESPN2

Olympic Sports:

• Sun 4/13
  • Figure Skating: World Championship Recap @ 2pm on NBC

Soccer:

• Mon 4/7
  • Premier League: Leicester City vs Newcastle @ 2pm on USA
• Tues 4/8
  • CONCACAF Quarterfinals: Tigres vs LA Galaxy @ 8pm on FS1
  • CONCACAF Quarterfinals: Cruz Azul vs Club America @ 10:30pm on FS1
• Wed 4/9
  • CONCACAF Quarterfinals: Inter Miami vs LA FC @ 7pm on FS1
  • CONCACAF Quarterfinals: Pumas UNAM vs Vancouver Whitecaps @ 9:30pm on FS1
• Sat 4/12
  • Premier League: Manchester City vs Crystal Palace @ 6:30am on USA
  • Premier League: Nottingham Forest vs Everton @ 9am on USA
  • Premier League: Teams TBD @ 11:30am on NBC
• Sun 4/13
  • Premier League: Liverpool vs West Ham @ 8am on USA
  • Premier League: Newcastle vs ManU @ 10:30am on USA