Weekly Update May 19, 2025

Baseball-MLB: This week’s headlines.

Baseball/Softball-NCAA: Softball conference championships.

Basketball – NBA: Wrapping up the semifinals. Only 1 was a game 7.

Golf: Scheffler dominates the final 9 to claim 3rd major.

Olympic Sports: T&F Conference Championships.

Quick Headlines: NFL. F1. Preakness. WNBA. Tennis.

Baseball – MLB:

• This week’s headlines:
  • The Angels hit a grand slam (and some others) to score 6 runs in the 9^th inning to beat the Padres 9-5. The Cardinals started off well adding to their winning streak at 9 straight. However that would end the next game (1 was postponed) they would lose to the Phillies by 1. That would be their only blemish with 3 more straight wins after that (SUN UPDATE).
  • Tuesday was the day of 3-run HRs all in extra innings. First, the Tigers Javier Baez hit 2 3-run HRs which the 2^nd one was in the 11^th inning to win by one over the Red Sox. Then the White Sox did the same thing in the 10^th inning to beat the Reds 5-1. The Rays hits a grand slam in the 9^th inning to beat the Jays 11-9.
  • The Nationals won their game on Wed by the skin of their teeth (1 run) over the Braves. That ended their losing streak at 7 games. They would then win 3 of the next 4! Talk about a turnaround. Their game on Sat, they would put up 6 runs in the 1^st inning to beat the Orioles 10-6.
  • The Dodgers put up 19 runs on the A’s in their game Thursday and that was only with 5 HRs.
  • The Twins have won 13 in a row including their 3^rd straight shutout. Two of their wins were on Wed.
• Phillies Jose Alvardo has been suspended for 80 games! Extra testosterone was found in his blood. He will also be ineligible for postseason.

• Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson have been removed from the HoF ineligible list!

Baseball/Softball – NCAA:

• Softball: there weren’t too many upsets from the Regional round but we did have some. There were 40 games that got cut short by a run-rule. On the other hand, 10 went into extra innings.
  • #10 LSU got upset day 1 to SE Louisiana by 1 run. They then met up again in an elimination game Sat night and the same result – SE LA won by 1. The #10 LSU Tigers are out! Nebraska advances from the Baton Rouge Regional.
  • Georgia upset #14 Duke on Sat 8-2. But the other games, the Lady Blue Devils crushed their other opponents. But Sunday the two met up again. Duke won the first one 8-1 and forced a winner take all game 7. Georgia managed to complete the upset 5-2
  • #1 Texas A&M had a scare, losing to Liberty in their game on Sat. They met up again on Sunday. The Aggies had to win to continue. That game was a close one, 14-11 but the Aggies took it. But because it’s a double elimination, that means the Aggies had to win again over Liberty twice in the same day. The Aggies started 3-0 through the 4^th inning and frankly, I turned off the TV. Boy did I miss a game! In the 6^th inning, the Flames put up 5 runs to take the lead over the top seed. The Aggies put 2 more on the board to make the score 6-5 Liberty. And that would end up being the final score! For the first time since this format began (20 years ago), the #1 seed fails to get out of Regionals.

• • #16 Oregon lost to Stanford on day 2 of their regional and they got crushed! The score was 14-1. But they won the rest of the way. So we would have a potential double header on Sunday. Oregon’s bats came alive in Game 6 (1 of the day) to win 15-5. But then Game 2 was super close. Stanford put up 4 in the 1^st, Oregon clawed back scoring 5 over the next two but the Cardinal added 3 more to be up 7-5. We would be tied in the final inning. One out, 2 on base (one an intentional walk) and Oregon hits a HR to walk it off in the 7^th to advance!

Basketball-NBA:

• The conference finals are set. The final 4 teams remaining have not won a NBA Championships since 1979!

• Round 2 East:
  • Jason Tatum went off for the Celtics in Game 4 putting up 42 points. But so did Jalen Brunson for the Knicks with 39. Knicks take Game 4 121-113. Jason Tatum tore his Achilles and will be out for rest of the season and next. Boston rallied behind the loss though and crushed the Knicks in Game 5 by 25. But Game 6 was horrible for Boston. They only put up 81. The Knicks take the series in Game 6, 119-81.
  • The Pacers wrapped up their series in Game 5 with a huge upset of the Cavaliers. And they would not have the luxury of using injuries as an excuse as they got most of their players back. The Pacers won Game 5 and the series 114-105.

• Round 2 West:
  • Steph is out and the Warriors could’ve used it. The Timberwolves pulled away in the 3Q outscoring the Warriors by 22 in that Q alone. The Warriors made up some ground in the 4^th but not enough. There is a 95% chance of teams winning the series once they go up 3-1. Minnesota put them away in Game 5, beating them in every Q except the final one.
  • OKC took the lead for the first time in the series after taking Game 5. They were trailing all game until the final Q (and until about 4:30 left). The Thunder picked it up with some 3-pointers and the Nuggets wouldn’t score 20 to let them take the lead. But then we headed back to Denver and the Nuggets enjoyed being home. It was a back and forth game but the Nuggets pulled away in the 3Q to avoid elimination. SGA also had 4 fouls by haltime so that never helps. Now we head to a winner-take-all Game 7! The game started off back and forth but the Thunder went off in the middle Qs. OKC nearly doubled the Nuggets score in the 2Q. That was enough to crush the life out of Denver and the Thunder advance 125-93.

• In other news, Dallas won the lottery (literally) with the #1 draft pick in the NBA draft! This is the first time that a single city has won both the WNBA and NBA #1 draft picks in the same year. Cooper Flagg from Duke is rumored to be the #1 pick. There was lots of scrutiny/shade thrown after Dallas got both.

Golf:

• Last year, Scottie Scheffler was in booking at a different PGA Championship, this year he was lifting the Wannamaker trophy. He won the PGA Championship, his 3^rd major by 5 strokes. At one point, Scheffler and Jon Rahm were tied but then Rahm fell apart on the ‘Green Mile’ which is 3 holes ending. Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau and Davis Riled got 2^nd.

Hockey:

• A playoff update East:
  • The Hurricanes trounced the Capitals in Game 4 with a score 5-2 and to go up 3-1 in the series. There were 5 goals scored in the 3P. Both got goals in the 1P of Game 5 but it was all Carolina in the 3P and they would take the series in 5.
  • The Panthers crushed the Maple Leafs 6-1 on Wed. That game would break the tie in the series. But Toronto wasn’t going to go down without a fight. They would score 2 goals in the 3P to avoid elimination and take the series to a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday. The Panthers struck with vengeance in the 2P, putting up 3 goals. They did give one up in the 3P but FL also piled on. Panthers advance!

•  West:
  • Edmonton was leading the series 2-1 and Monday was nothing different. They would shutout the Golden Knights 3-0. Game 5 was closer. They would need OT before either team would score a goal. It was the Oilers who put away the series in 5.
  • Also in the West, the Stars took a commanding lead in the series with a 3-1 win to lead the series 3-1 over the Jets. But Game 5 was all Jets. Anytime they win a game, its total domination. This was no different. The Jets shutout the Stars 4-0. Game 6 went into OT as each team scored 1 goal. The Stars only needed 1:33 to score and win and advance!

Olympic Sports:

• T&F: It was conference championship week for T&F:
  • The ACC was tight on both fronts. The UVA women won by just 4 points over Louisville. The Duke Blue Devil men won the entire competition at just 86 points! we are 6 teams over 70 points.
  • Texas Tech swept Big 12 winning both the men and women’s titles. They swept outdoor and indoor as well!
  • In the SEC, Georgia dominated the women’s side, unseating the Aggies, Gator and Razorbacks. The Arkansas men took their title over Georgia with a score under 100, which means it was a tight competition.
  • In the Big Ten, the Ducks won the men’s title handily. The Lady Ducks made a good race of the meet but ultimately USC beat them by 8 points.

Some quick highlights:

• F1: Max Verstappen won the Italian GP this weekend by 6 seconds over Lando Norris. The big story here was the Ferrari’s finishing in the top 7 and both starting from outside 10^th position on the grid.
• Horseracing: The odds favorite from the Kentucky Derby, Journalism, won the 2^nd leg of the Triple Crown this weekend at the Preakness. He came from behind to win by a nose.

• NFL: Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant 2022 draft, is finally getting what he deserves. The 49ers is working on a deal for his next contract to be $265MM for 5 years.

• NFL: Schedules were released for the upcoming season.

• WNBA: There was some drama in the season opener of the Indiana Fever vs Chicago Sky and guess who were involved? Cailtin Clark had a flagrant foul on Angel Reese – sound familiar? Fever won by 35 and Clark got a triple-double.
• Tennis: French Open is starting this week but really not on TV that I could find. NBC ended their partnership with the tournamnet and is now replcaed with TNT/TBS.

What to watch this week

Baseball – MLB:

• Mon 5/19
  • Reds at Pirates @ 5:40pm on FS1
    • Lodolo vs Keller
• Tues 5/20
  • Mets at Red Sox @ 5:45pm on TBS
    • Holmes vs Buehler
• Wed 5/21
  • Rangers at Yankees @ 6:05pm on Prime
• Fri 5/23
  • Dodgers at Mets @ 6:10pm on Apple TV+
  • DBacks at Cardinals @ 7:15pm on Apple TV+
• Sat 5/24
  • Orioles at Red Sox @ 3:10pm on FS1
  • Guardians at Tigers – or – Dodgers at Mets @ 6:15pm on FOX
• Sun 5/25
  • Dodgers at Mets @ 6pm on ESPN

Baseball/Softball – NCAA:

• Wed 5/21
  • ACC Tournament @ 8am, 12pm, 4pm and 8pm on ACC
  • SEC Tournament @ 9:30am, 1pm, 4:30pm and 8pm on SEC
  • Big 12 Tournament @ 12pm, 4pm on ESPNU
  • Big 12 Tournament @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Thurs 5/22
  • SEC Tournament @ 11am, 3pm and 6:30pm on SEC
  • ACC Tournament @ 2pm and 6pm on ACC
  • Big 12 Tournament @ 4pm and 7:30pm on ESPNU
• Fri 5/23
  • ACC Tournament @ 2pm, 6pm on ACC
  • SEC Tournament @ 3pm, 6:30pm on SEC
• Sat 5/24
  • SEC Tournament @ 12pm and 3:30pm on SEC
  • ACC Tournament @ 12pm and 4pm on ACC
  • WCC Championship @ 3pm on ESPNU
  • Big 12 Championship @ 6pm on ESPNU
  • Big East Championship – Game 2 @ 7:30pm on FS1
• Sun 5/25
  • ACC Championship @ 11am on ACC and ESPN2
  • American Championship @ 11am on ESPNEWS
  • SEC Championship @ 2pm on ESPN2

Softball:

• Thurs 5/22
  • Game 1: Texas Tech vs Florida St @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Game 1: Clemson vs Texas @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Fri 5/23
  • Game 1: Georgia vs Florida @ 10am on ESPN2
  • Game 1: UCLA vs South Carolina @ 12pm on ESPN
  • Game 2: Florida st vs Texas Tech @ 2pm on ESPN2
  • Game 1: Alabama vs Oklahoma @ 4pm on ESPN2
  • Game 1: Nebraska vs Tennessee @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Game 1: Ole Miss vs Arkansas @ 7pm on ESPNU
  • Game 2: Clemson vs Texas @ 8pm on ESPN2
  • Game 1: Liberty vs Oregon @ 9pm on ESPNU
• Sat 5/24 – channels are TBD but either ESPN2 or ESPN
  • Game 2: Florida vs Georgia @ 10am
  • Game 2: South Carolina vs UCLA @ 12pm
  • Game 2: Oklahoma vs Alabama @ 2pm
  • Game 2: Tennessee vs Nebraska @ 4pm
  • Game 2: Oregon vs Liberty @ 6pm
  • Game 2: Arkansas vs Ole Miss @ 8pm
• Sun 5/25
  • Super Regionals @ 11am, 1pm, 3pm on ESPN2
  • Super Regionals @ 1pm and 3pm on ESPN
  • Super Regionals @ 6pm and 8pm on ESPN2

Basketball – NBA:

• Tues 5/20
  • Game 1: Timberwolves vs Thunder @ 7:30pm on ESPN
• Wed 5/21
  • Game 1: Pacers at Knicks @ 7pm on TNT
• Thurs 5/22
  • Game 2: Timberwolves vs Thunder @ 7:30pm on ESPN
• Fri 5/23
  • Game 2: Pacers at Knicks @ 7pm on TNT
• Sat 5/24
  • Game 3: Thunder vs Timberwolves @ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 5/25
  • Game 3: Knicks at Pacers @ 7pm on TNT

Football:

• Fri 5/23
  • Louis Battlehawks at San Antonio Brahmas @ 7pm on FOX
• Sat 5/24
  • Arlington Renegades at Memphis Showboats @ 11am on ABC
  • Michigan Panthers at Birmingham Stallions @ 2pm on ABC
• Sun 5/25
  • DC Defenders at Houston Roughnecks @ 3pm on FOX

Golf:

• Mon 5/19
  • NCAAW: Women’s D1 Championship @ 5pm on Golf Channel
• Tues 5/20
  • NCAAW: Women’s D1 Championship @ 12pm on Golf Channel
• Wed 5/21
  • NCAAW: Women’s D1 Championship @ 5pm on Golf Channel
• Thurs 5/22
  • PGA: Charles Schwab Challenge – Round 1 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 5/23
  • PGA: Charles Schwab Challenge – Round 2 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 5/24
  • PGA: Charles Schwab Challenge – Round 3
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS
  • Senior PGA: PGA Championship @ 2pm on NBC
• Sun 5/25
  • LPGA: Riveria Maya Open @ 12pm on CBS
  • PGA: Charles Schwab Challenge – Final Round
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS

Hockey:

• Tues 5/20
  • Game 1: Panthers at Hurricnaes @ 7pm on TNT
• Wed 5/21
  • Game 1: Oilers at Stars @ 7pm on ESPN
• Thurs 5/22
  • Game 2: Panthers at Hurricnaes @ 7pm on TNT
• Fri 5/23
  • Game 2: Oilers at Stars @ 7pm on ESPN
• Sat 5/24
  • Game 3: Hurricanes at Panthers @ 7pm on TNT
• Sun 5/25
  • Game 3: Stars at Oilers @ 2pm on ABC

Motor Sports:

• Sat 5/24
  • MotoGP: Great Britian GP Sprint Race @ 9:55am on FS1
• Sun 5/25
  • MotoGP: Great Britain Race @ 6:30am on FS1
  • F1: Monaco GP @ 8am on ABC

Olympic Sports:

• none

Soccer:

• Mon 5/19
  • Premier League: Brighton vs Liverpool @ 2pm on USA
• Tues 5/20
  • Premier League: Manchester City vs Bournemouth @ 2pm on USA
• Sun 5/25
  • Coupe de France: PSG vs Stade de Reims @ 9am on FS1

Tennis:

• Sun 5/25
  • French Open @ 1pm on TNT