Baseball is Back
After what seemed like an eternity, baseball is back! Thursday marked Opening Day for Major League Baseball with new rules to make the game a little speedier and a little more exciting. In with the pitch clock, out with the shift, the bases are bigger and the pitchers can disengage no more than twice (aka pickoff throws and stepping off the rubber on the mound) per plate appearance.
So, did it work? Per The Athletic, it did! The 15 games played on Opening Day averaged 2 hours and 45 min, as opposed to last season’s Opening Day average of 3 hours and 11 minutes. I went to Opening Night at Dodger Stadium and the game was about 2 hours and 45 min. And there was a marriage proposal from a fan who got on the field – though not for long – but I don’t think that was related to the new rules 😂.
The sample size is small, but we got 161 of these to go, so play ball!
NCAA Women’s Final Four
Here we go! The NCAA Women’s Final Four is taking place on Friday deep in the heart of Texas – aka Dallas.
The action starts at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT when the LSU Tigers take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. Then, it’s the Iowa Hawkeyes taking on the South Carolina Gamecocks at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. Both games take place from American Airlines Arena and will be broadcast on ESPN/ESPNU/ESPN+.
The winners will meet in the National Championship on Sunday. May the odds be ever in your favor, ladies! Though I’m rooting for LSU and Iowa, so may the odds be even more in their favor.
NCAA Men’s Final Four
While the women take the court in Dallas, the Men’s Final Four happens Saturday in Houston. Texas is really on its college basketball game this weekend.
It all starts at 6:09 pm ET/3:09 PT with the Florida Atlantic Owls taking on the San Diego State Aztecs. GO AZTECS!!! (But I’m not biased or anything.) Then, it’s the Miami Hurricanes and the UConn Huskies at 8:49 pm ET/5:49 pm PT. Both games are on CBS and take place from NRG Stadium.
The winners will meet Monday night for the Championship. Once again, GO AZTECS!
Willson Contreras
Welcome to St. Louis.
New Cardinals’ catcher Willson Contreras had a tough Opening Day when a 103-mph pitch from Jordan Hicks bounced off his knee. Ouch. X-rays and a Friday MRI came back negative and the Cardinals say their new catcher suffered a right knee contusion.
The injury took place in the top of the eighth inning of the Cardinals 10-9 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. Contreras left the Chicago Cubs for the Cardinals, signing a five-year, $87.5 million deal in December. Get well soon, Willson!
Anthony Rendon
Thursday’s Opening Day saw an unfortunate incident between Angels’ third baseman Anthony Rendon and an Oakland A’s fan. A video on social media shows Rendon grabbing the fan’s shirt, calling him more than one expletive and attempting a punch. Major League Baseball is looking into the incident, and the Angels said Rendon would address the situation with the media on Saturday.
The Angels fell 2-1 to the A’s in Thursday’s game, with Rendon going 0-for-3.
