March 22, 2016: Sports things not named the NCAA Tournament were allowed to happen

Sign up for daily sports headlines in your inbox! (we promise these will be the only emails you ever receive from us)

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Stat of the Day

Since Syracuse won in 2003, only one team (Connecticut in 2014) has won the NCAA Tournament after winning their opening round game by fewer than 10 points. That’s bad news for Maryland, Miami, Duke, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin.

Los Rays de Tampa Bay están en Cuba para jugar un partido de béisbol contra el equipo nacional.

In world news, The Tampa Bay Rays are playing the Cuban National Team in an exhibition game today. While the hope is that an event like this can help signify easing tensions and normalize relations with the Communist led country, there is a clear divide on the feelings toward such a game being played. If you click on any link in this email, make it this one. Dan Le Batard, whose parents are exiles from Cuba, writes beautifully about what this week in Cuba means for him, his family and the countless number of Cubans and Cuban-Americans like him. It’s really important context to what this trip means to a large number of people in our country.

The Spurs played the Hornets last night and I’m sure they won handily . . .

Nnnnnope! They sure didn’t. The Spurs raced out to a 28-7 lead after one quarter and then immediately forgot how to play basketball. We can let this one slide, because the Spurs probably hadn’t come all the way down yet from the high of crushing the Warriors this weekend.

And surely the Golden State Warriors blew out lowly Minnesota, right?

Not quite. The Warriors struggled on the road, but did enough to eek out a win. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson went a combined 11-31 from the floor, which is not ideal. Fortunately for Golden State, Draymond Green had a big night, going for 24 points to go with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. The Warriors must go 10-2 in their last 12 games to set the all-time wins record. Nine of their final games are at home, where the Warriors are yet to lose this season.

Cavs clinch division title

The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched their second straight division title with a win over Denver last night. This is a really insignificant accomplishment, because NBA playoff spots are determined by best record and the Central division is a tire fire of mediocrity.

The thing we said about all the teams being alive in the NHL? Kind of a lie

While the NHL playoffs may still be a mathematical reality for nearly every team, each conference essentially has nine teams that can make it. In the East, the one team on the outside looking in is Philadelphia, but the Flyers defeated the Islanders Monday night to pull within one point of the Red Wings. The Flyers still have a game in hand. The team that can’t make it, the Maple Leafs, managed to win last night despite re-proving how horrid they really are.

College basketball things happened

The tournament is taking a three-day break, which is good because, as cool as buzzer beaters at midnight are, some of us need to sleep. But now that teams have exited the field, their coaches are finding other opportunities. Jamie Dixon left his longtime post at Pittsburgh for his alma mater, TCU. No, TCU is not good at basketball. Yes, if it’s a windy day, Dixon’s hair can save him a lot of money on airfare. Stephen F. Austin’s Brad Underwood is also out the door, although his move to Oklahoma State is much less surprising, as turning a successful run at a low or mid-major into a Power 5 gig is what’s supposed to happen. Something tells us his 89-14 record in three seasons will be hard to match with the Cowboys, however.

Tweet of the Day

Juxtaposition is a magical thing . . . (as if there were any doubt who would come out on top in this scenario)

Vine of the Day

The last person you’d expect to show up, is the person who shows up.

WHERE IS TIM TEBOW?

I do not know, but he was not signed yesterday and remains a free agent at this time.