Posts tagged World Baseball Classic
Sweet 16 Storylines, Princeton's Final 4 Chances? Houston/Texas Home Cooking? Ja's Return, Play-In Race Out West & Willis Reed Dies. NFL Free Agent Leftovers. Will WBC Buzz Carry Into Opening Day?

It's another 'sweet' podcast as I'll have plenty to share when it comes to my thoughts and feelings on all that has to do with the world of sports. On deck:

(2:48) After a brief recap of what lies ahead over the next week (i.e. MLB starting next Thursday. Another lap around the track for your humble little podcast host, April Fools Day, etc.) there's a little calm before the big storm once we turn the calendar to the fourth month of the year where there'll be PLENTY to discuss.

(3:50) In the meantime, we have a Sweet Sixteen to get into as we get to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. I'll have my top storylines with the two #1 seeds left (Alabama & Houston), the Cinderella’s (Princeton & Florida Atlantic) and everything in between from Gonzaga, UCLA, Michigan St., Tennessee, UConn, Creighton and so on as I'll take a look to see which teams will be the last four standing when it's all said and done, as well as, what the best Final Four and worst one could be for the network (TBS) broadcasting the game. There's some coaching news to discuss as Rick Pitino is officially the coach at St. John's. Could he bring them back to relevancy, not just in the Big East but nationwide? And Georgetown has hired Ed Cooley, formerly of Providence to take over for the departed Patrick Ewing.

(29:13) Ja Morant is back with the Grizzlies after an eight game suspension. Is this their time to get themselves on track for a deep playoff run? Karl Anthony Towns has returned after almost four months with a calf strain to keep the Timberwolves in the hunt for the play-in tournament out West. Can they creep into the top six and avoid the semi-do-or-die two game scenario? It's a log jam from the fifth through twelfth seeds in the conference, which is currently the best race in the NBA? Lastly, I cannot forget about the passing of New York Knick legend, Willis Reed at 80 years of age. To this day, him coming out of the tunnel at Madison Square Garden before Game 7 of the NBA Finals back in 1970 on a bad leg is still iconic and a revered moment in the history of sports.

(41:14) The NHL has been status quo since the podcast on Monday. It's hotly contested as we're down to the final ten to twelve games of the season, with three tight division and both wild card races still up for grabs as I'll recap the latest on the ice.

(43:26) I have some NFL free agency leftovers. The Jets have signed former Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman to a one year deal, while trading Elijah Moore to Cleveland. Is Aaron Rodgers far behind?

(45:21) With the baseball season a week away, the WBC just completed to some buzz that was unexpected. All of the talk was about the last at bat in the Championship Game between Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout. Was it theater? Was it overhyped? Does anyone care? Will there be any carryover or influence into Opening Day? Astros 2B Jose Altuve will be out for at least two months after getting hit by a pitch during the Classic as they'll defend their World Series title without their leader.

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Intro/outro music by Cyklonus.