Friday 5 – March 22, 2024
Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament
The 2024 Women’s NCAA tourney tips off on Friday, and, of course, all eyes are on Caitlin Clark and the one-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes, who take on Holy Cross at 3 pm ET/Noon PT on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
The Friday evening schedule is as follows:
No. 12 Drake at No. 5 Colorado – 7 pm ET/4 pm PT on ESPNEWS
No. Maryland at No. 7 Iowa State – 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT on ESPN2
No. 14 Eastern Washington at No. 3 Oregon State – 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on ESPNU
No. 15 Norfolk State at No. 2 Stanford – 10 pm ET/7 pm PT on ESPN2
No. 11 Texas A&M at No. 6 Nebraska – 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT on ESPNU
Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament
March Madness is underway and it has been madness indeed, with the third-seeded Kentucky Wildcats falling to the 14-seeded Oakland Grizzles, 80-76, on Thursday night. Thursday was a good day for the 11-seeds, with Oregon, NC State and Duquesne all pulling off upsets.
The Friday night schedule is as follows:
No. 9 Texas A&M at No. 8 Nebraska – 6:50 pm ET/3:50 pm PT on TNT
No. 13 Vermont at No. 4 Duke – 7:10 pm ET/4:10 pm PT on CBS
No. 16 Grambling at No. 1 Purdue – 7:25 pm ET/4:25 pm PT on TBS
No. 13 Charleston at No. 4 Alabama – 7:35 pm ET/4:35 pm PT on TruTV
No. 16 Longwood at No. 1 Houston – 9:20 pm ET/6:20 pm PT on TNT
No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Wisconsin – 9:40 pm ET/6:40 pm PT on CBS
No. 9 TCU at No. 8 Utah State – 9:55 pm ET/6:55 pm PT on TBS
No. 12 Grand Canyon at No. 5 St. Mary’s – 10:05 pm ET/7:05 pm PT on TruTV
Michigan Pro Day
Friday was the University of Michigan Pro Day, as representatives from various NFL teams descended upon Ann Arbor – lucky them – to evaluate multiple national champs as they prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.
Per Executive Director of the Senior Bowl Jim Nagy, Jim Harbaugh, Jesse Minter and Ben Herbert were in attendance representing the Chargers. I get it, guys. I miss them too. Nagy also said that the Wolverines had the biggest NFL turnout for its Pro Day…obviously. San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch was also in attendance, which bodes well for Predictable Picks.
Most Combine invites. Biggest turnout. Must be the champs. Go Blue, Pro Blue!
Kristian Fulton and the Los Angeles Chargers
Per multiple reports, the Los Angeles Chargers are signing cornerback Kristian Fulton to a one-year deal. The former Tennessee Titan is coming off a season in which he missed six games with injuries to hamstring and his groin.
Fulton a second-round pick in 2020 who dealt with injuries for much of his tenure in Tennessee. He has appeared in 42 games – started 37 – and has 150 total tackles, a sack, four interceptions and 25 PBUs.
Shohei Ohtani
Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Dodgers fired interpreter Ippei Mizuhara after he has been accused of stealing $4.5 million from Shohei Ohtani to cover gambling debts. At first, Mizuhara told ESPN that he bet with an illegal bookie and money had been knowingly transferred by his close friend and boss, Ohtani, to cover the debts. Later Ohtani’s representatives said the superstar was the victim of “a massive theft” which Mizuhara said was the truth.
On Friday, Major League Baseball released the following statement regarding the matter: “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhari from the news media. Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter.”