🏀 The Madness has Begun...

Happy March! Wait, no sorry it’s still February. Just feels like the Madness has already begun with yet another stormed court in college basketball as the No. 1 ranked team in the country falls on the road. It wasn’t the only upset in college hoops last night as “Super Tuesday” did not disappoint. With eight NHL games in action, we were gifted a few more overtime thrillers. The Champions League knockout stage marches on. While football season may be over, we have lots of headlines and a challenging trivia question for you. Let’s go have a humpday!

WTF Stat: Patrick Mahomes’ average air yards per touchdown throw over the past five seasons has significantly dropped each year:

• 2019: 17.3

• 2020: 13.0

• 2021: 8.5

• 2022: 4.5

• 2023: 3.9

Even if defenses take away the big plays, he’ll still carve them up slowly… pick your poison!

🏈 The College Football Playoff Board of Managers voted to revise the format of next year’s 12-team event to include the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids, finalizing an adjustment from the original “6+6” model - the top four conference champions will receive a first-round bye

🏈 Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer has hired Nick Sheridan as offensive coordinator and JaMarcus Shephard as co-offensive coordinator - both coaches were on DeBoer’s Washington staff

🏈 Matthew Slater is retiring from the NFL after 16 seasons with the Patriots in which he made 10 Pro Bowls filling the special teams roster spot, an NFL record for that position - does Slater deserve to be in the Hall of Fame?

🏈 Two adults, Dominic Miller and Lyndell Mays, have been charged with murder in the shooting during the Chiefs Super Bowl parade that left one dead and 22 others injured

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | #15 Creighton 85, #1 UConn 66: The No. 1 ranked team in the country and reigning NCAA champs were dominated by their Big East foes most of the game, but a late 18-5 run by the Huskies brought the game within striking distance. It was ultimately too little, too late with Creighton’s Steven Ashworth (20 PTS) leading the way knocking down five threes as the Bluejay faithful stormed the court in Omaha, Nebraska (yeah, we also just found out Creighton was in Omaha) - no team has repeated as NCAA Champs since the ‘06-’07 Florida Gators

• NCAAM | Utah State 68, #19 San Diego St. 63: Both teams from last year’s National Championship dropped last night as the Aztecs also fell victim on the road thanks to a big night from senior guard Darius Brown II (25 PTS, 5-9 3PT)

• NCAAM | #25 BYU 78, #11 Baylor 71: 14 made threes and 16 offensive rebounds from the Cougars helped lift BYU to the upset win at home - here’s some simple betting advice we’ve learned, bet the home team in college basketball…

• NCAAM | #23 Texas Tech 82, TCU 81: The Horned Frogs led late but the Red Raiders finally grabbed the lead with under two minutes to go and escaped the near upset at home now sitting in fourth place in the Big 12 standings - the Big 12 conference has a plethora of teams that could make a deep run come March Madness

• NCAAM | #5 Tennessee 72, Missouri 67: Mizzou led most of the game as it looked like we may see another college court stormed, but potential Top 10 NBA Draft pick Dalton Knecht (17 PTS, 10 REB) scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half to secure the road win

• NCAAW | #23 Oklahoma 95, Cincinnati 87: The Sooners took care of business on the road as Jillian Hayes (20 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST) led the ladies in the high-scoring affair

See the full NCAAM scoreboard here and the current rankings here. See the full NCAAW scoreboard here and the current rankings here.

NHL - Top Games

• Washington Capitals 6, New Jersey Devils 2: Two goals each from Ovechkin and Connor McMichael helped the Caps to the much-needed win - “The Great 8” has now scored eight goals in eight games and sits 72 off “The Great One’s” career goals record

• New York Rangers 3, Dallas Stars 1: After the shootout thriller in Boston Monday, the Stars looked sluggish down in the Big Apple on a back-to-back roadie as Rangers tender Igor Shesterkin (41 saves) shined including this ridiculous save lifting the Rangers to an eighth straight win

• New York Islanders 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 4 (OT): Despite the Penguins overcoming a two-goal deficit in the third period, Adam Pelech finished the game 57 seconds into OT scoring his first goal since last April - Pittsburgh has lost five of their last six games

• Florida Panthers 3, Ottawa Senators 2 (OT): Senators also forced OT after trailing by two goals in the third, but the Panthers redeemed themselves with an early goal from Anton Lundell - Panthers jump the Bruins for the most points in the East

See the full box scores here and the current NHL standings here.

UEFA Champions League - Round of 16 (First Leg)

• Internazionale 1, Atletico Madrid 0: A 79th-minute goal from Marko Arnautovic was all Inter Milan needed for advantage in the first leg of their Champions League knockout stage match as Madrid failed to put on a shot on goal all day

• Borussia Dortmund 1, PSV Eindhoven 1: Donyell Malen scored a beautiful goal against his former club, but a 56th-minute penalty shot from Luuk de Jong evened the game to force a draw - reminder: there are two games for the knockout stage and the team with the higher aggregate goals moves on

See the full international scoreboard here and the UCL bracket here.

Source the best podcasts around and stop aimlessly scrolling charts with this newsletter:

Golf season is around the corner, lower your scores this year:

The off-the-field news in college sports is endless these days, understand it better:

How many “special teams first” players (kickers, punters, returners, gunners, etc.) are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? (Note: this isn’t a trick question; the players’ primary position must be on special teams)

A. 2

B. 4

C. 7

D. 12

On February 22, 1980, Team USA defeated the Soviet Union 4-3 in a little hockey game known as the "Miracle on Ice." The Soviet Union entered the Olympic Games held in Lake Placid, NY, as heavy favorites, having won four consecutive gold medals, where they went 27–1–1 while outscoring their opponents 175–44. Known for their creative motion, unparalleled chemistry, and superior conditioning, they were considered among the best hockey teams ever. By contrast, the United States finished second-to-last in the '76 games, including a 15-2 loss to silver medalists Czechoslovakia. Led by head coach Herb Brooks, the 1980 squad was the youngest team in the tournament and in American history, composed entirely of amateur players with an average age of 21. Despite being crushed 10-3 by the Soviets in an exhibition game on Feb. 9, the Americans surprised many in Lake Placid, going unbeaten in group play to set up a highly anticipated rematch against their Cold War rivals. After trailing 3-2 following the 2nd period, Mark Johnson tied the game in the 3rd, and just two minutes later, captain Mike Eruzione gave Team USA a 4–3 lead with exactly 10 minutes remaining. The Americans proceeded to bombard the Soviets with relentless skating and physicality, and, along with a raucous crowd and some incredible saves made by goaltender Jimmy Craig, held on for an unthinkable upset. In the waning seconds, Al Michaels delivered his famous call, "Do you believe in miracles? YES!" And the Miracle on Ice was complete - Team USA went on to defeat Finland 4-2 in the final to win the gold medal.

NHL

• Buffalo Sabres @ Montreal Canadiens 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Philadelphia Flyers @ Chicago Blackhawks 7:30pm ET, TNT

• Boston Bruins @ Edmonton Oilers 10:00pm ET, TNT

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

• NCAAM: #8 Duke @ Miami 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: #24 Florida @ #13 Alabama 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NCAAM: #17 Kentucky @ LSU 9:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: #22 West Virginia @ #10 Kansas State 7:30pm ET, Big 12 / ESPN+

• NCAAW: Kansas @ #5 Texas 8:00pm ET, Longhorn Network

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

UEFA Champions League - Round of 16 (First Legs)

• Barcelona @ Napoli 3:00pm ET

• Arsenal @ FC Porto 3:00pm ET

Trivia Time Answer

B. 4. The only special teams players in the Hall of Fame include Morten Andersen (kicker), Jan Stenerud (kicker), Ray Guy (punter) and Devin Hester (returner). Hester was added as part of the 2024 class after a record 20 punt and kick returns for touchdowns during his career. Kicker Adam Vinatieri will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible next year - my guess is Slater gets inducted, but we won’t know until 2029 when he’s eligible.

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