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🚨 Headlines
🏀 Jokić makes history, Nuggets lose: Nikola Jokić posted a 61-point triple-double (the most points ever scored as part of a triple-double)… in the Nuggets’ 140-139 (2OT) loss to the Timberwolves. Denver is now 0-3 when he scores 50+ points.
🏈 New rules for 2025: NFL owners approved a variety of rule changes on Tuesday. Among them: Hawk-Eye cameras will measure first downs, both teams will possess the ball in OT during the regular season, and touchbacks will be spotted on the 35-yard line (as opposed to the 30).
🏀 Wooden Award finalists: Cooper Flagg (Duke), Johni Broome (Auburn) and Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida) headline the men’s finalists, while fellow Final Four participants Paige Bueckers (UConn), Lauren Betts (UCLA) and Madison Booker (Texas) headline the women’s finalists.
🏒 Four goals away: Alex Ovechkin scored his 891st career goal in the Capitals’ 4-3 win over the Bruins. He’s now four goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky with eight games left in the regular season.
🏀 Maryland hires Williams: Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams is leaving College Station for College Park, where he’ll replace Kevin Willard (now at Villanova). Williams went 120-73 in six seasons with the Aggies and was twice named SEC Coach of the Year.
🏒 Ryan Leonard’s whirlwind week
It’s that time of year again, when the NCAA hockey season comes to a close and elite college players join the NHL for the stretch run. Few are as good as Ryan Leonard, and perhaps none get to start their careers under circumstances quite as exciting as his.
Homecoming debut: Leonard, a Massachusetts native who spent the last two seasons at Boston College, made his Capitals debut on Tuesday night against his hometown Bruins, registering 14:14 of ice time in Washington’s 4-3 win.
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That was the culmination of a wild three days for the 20-year-old left winger, who played his final college game on Sunday, signed his entry-level contract (and ostensibly attended classes) on Monday and played his first NHL game on Tuesday.
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As if joining a contender weren’t exciting enough, Leonard also has a front row seat as Alex Ovechkin closes in on the NHL’s most famous record. His whirlwind week continues tonight when the first-place Caps face the Hurricanes on national TV. Welcome to the league, kid!
A super prospect: The Capitals drafted Leonard eighth overall in 2023 after he helped the U.S. win silver and gold medals in successive U18 World Championships. He hasn’t slowed down since, putting up historic numbers at Boston College (61 goals in 78 games) and leading Team USA to back-to-back golds at the Junior World Championships.
How cool is this? Leonard signed his contract surrounded by his teammates in their college locker room. Right around that time, he received a text from Alex Ovechkin asking if he wanted to get sushi once the Capitals landed in Boston. An hour later, he was singing and dancing with the Great Eight. Then came another surreal moment: “Ovi wanted to see where I went to school, so [we] went there for an hour just to show him, and he loved it,” Leonard said.
Looking ahead: Leonard could make an instant impact for the Capitals when the playoffs begin later this month, where he’ll hope to join the ranks of other top prospects like Chris Kreider* and Cale Makar who jumped directly from college into the postseason with great success.
*Kreider, also a BC alum, joined the Rangers three days after winning the 2012 NCAA championship and scored five goals in the playoffs (including multiple game-winners) before playing a single regular-season game.
⚾️ NYC and LA: The two centers of the baseball world
It’s no secret that many of MLB’s biggest stars are in New York and Los Angeles, but this stat really crystallizes it: The six most popular jerseys* belong to players in those two cities:
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Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)
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Freddie Freeman (Dodgers)
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Juan Soto (Mets)
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Mookie Betts (Dodgers)
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Aaron Judge (Yankees)
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Francisco Lindor (Mets)
Rounding out the top 20: 7. Bryce Harper (Phillies), 8. Jose Altuve (Astros), 9. Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves), 10. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers), 11. Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), 12. Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres), 13. Elly De La Cruz (Reds), 14. Gunnar Henderson (Orioles), 15. Paul Skenes (Pirates), 16. Kiké Hernandez (Dodgers), 17. Corey Seager (Rangers), 18. Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals), 19. Anthony Volpe (Yankees), 20. Manny Machado (Padres)
*Methodology: These rankings are based on sales of Nike jerseys from the Fanatics network of sites, including MLB Shop, since the culmination of the 2024 World Series.
📸 Through the lens
Memphis — Stephen Curry had himself a night against the Grizzlies, scoring 52 points and hitting 12 three-pointers (two shy of the NBA record) in the Warriors’ 134-125 win. Oh yeah, he also added 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Is that good?
Tampa — Geno Auriemma has arrived at the Women’s Final Four. Digging the shades, coach! As a reminder: This is UConn’s 16th Final Four appearance in the last 17 seasons. Utterly absurd.
Indianapolis — UC Irvine shook off an early 15-point deficit to beat North Texas, 69-67, and advance to the NIT championship game. UCI (32-6) will face Chattanooga (28-9), which beat Loyola-Chicago, 80-73, in the other semifinal.
Madrid — Real Madrid kept their treble* hopes alive in spectacular fashion when Antonio Rudiger headed home an extra-time winner to beat Real Sociedad in an eight-goal thriller and book their spot in the Copa del Rey final. They’ll play the winner of Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona.
*Chasing history: Madrid and Barcelona are chasing the elusive treble (three major trophies in the same season). They’re 1-2 in the La Liga standings and both are still alive in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League quarterfinals (Madrid vs. Arsenal, Barcelona vs. Dortmund).
🏀 Meechie Johnson: A transfer portal story
It has become the norm in recent years for college basketball players to switch schools multiple times, but we’ve never seen anything quite like Meechie Johnson’s journey.
There and back again (and again): The former four-star recruit began his career at Ohio State before transferring to South Carolina. He then transferred back to Ohio State — and now he’s transferring back to South Carolina.
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Year 1: Ohio State
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Year 2: Ohio State
-
Year 3: South Carolina
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Year 4: South Carolina
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Year 5: Ohio State
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Year 6*: South Carolina
Portal Madness: Roughly 1,700 D-I men’s players and 1,100 D-I women’s players have entered the basketball transfer portal since it opened on March 24. That’s nearly five per team for the men and four per team for the women, and there’s still three weeks to go.
*Waiver required: Johnson was a freshman during the 2020-21 pandemic season, so he was granted a fifth year like everyone else. That was supposed to be this past season, but he only played 10 games before leaving the team for personal reasons. Now, he plans to apply for a mental health medical hardship waiver and a sixth year of eligibility.
📺 Watchlist: A prelude to the Masters
The sixth edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateurtees off today in Georgia(1:30pm ET, Golf), where 72 golfers from 23 countries — including 49 of the world’s top 50 amateurs — will compete at the storied club* a week before the Masters.
What’s at stake: The winner earns a spot in four of the five LPGA majors this year, and there’s precedent for them to do well there: 2023 ANWA champion Rose Zhang finished top 10 at three majors that year, and she’s now the 19th-ranked golfer in the world.
More to watch:
-
🏀 NBA: Knicks at Cavaliers (7pm, ESPN); Pistons at Thunder (9:30pm, ESPN) … Four playoff teams take the court.
-
🏒 NHL: Capitals at Hurricanes (7pm, TNT); Avalanche at Blackhawks (9:30pm, TNT) … Alex Ovechkin is four goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky.
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⚾️ MLB: Diamondbacks at Yankees (7:05pm, Prime); Braves at Dodgers (8:38pm, MLB) … Los Angeles is the first reigning champion to start 7-0 since the 1933 Yankees.
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⚽️ Copa del Rey: Atlético Madrid (4-4) vs. Barcelona (3:30pm, ESPN+) … Semifinals, second leg; Real Madrid awaits.
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⚽️ Coppa Italia: AC Milan vs. Inter Milan (3pm, Paramount+) … Semifinals, first leg.
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⚽️ Champions Cup: LAFC vs. Inter Miami (11:30pm, FS1) … Quarterfinals, first leg.
*How it works: The first two rounds of the 54-hole tournament are held at nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club. The top 30 players (plus ties) then advance to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National.
🏀 NBA trivia
For the first time in NBA history, a team has tripled its win total from the previous season. Can you name that team?
Answer at the bottom.
⚾️ Way-too-early MLB power rankings
Our first MLB power rankings have arrived, courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Jordan Shusterman.
Trivia answer: Pistons (14-68 last season; 42-33 so far this season)
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
Yahoo Sports AM is our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it every weekday morning.
🏀 Jokić makes history, Nuggets lose: Nikola Jokić posted a 61-point triple-double (the most points ever scored as part of a triple-double)… in the Nuggets’ 140-139 (2OT) loss to the Timberwolves. Denver is now 0-3 when he scores 50+ points.
Advertisement
🏈 New rules for 2025: NFL owners approved a variety of rule changes on Tuesday. Among them: Hawk-Eye cameras will measure first downs, both teams will possess the ball in OT during the regular season, and touchbacks will be spotted on the 35-yard line (as opposed to the 30).
🏀 Wooden Award finalists: Cooper Flagg (Duke), Johni Broome (Auburn) and Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida) headline the men’s finalists, while fellow Final Four participants Paige Bueckers (UConn), Lauren Betts (UCLA) and Madison Booker (Texas) headline the women’s finalists.
🏒 Four goals away: Alex Ovechkin scored his 891st career goal in the Capitals’ 4-3 win over the Bruins. He’s now four goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky with eight games left in the regular season.
🏀 Maryland hires Williams: Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams is leaving College Station for College Park, where he’ll replace Kevin Willard (now at Villanova). Williams went 120-73 in six seasons with the Aggies and was twice named SEC Coach of the Year.
It’s that time of year again, when the NCAA hockey season comes to a close and elite college players join the NHL for the stretch run. Few are as good as Ryan Leonard, and perhaps none get to start their careers under circumstances quite as exciting as his.
Advertisement
Homecoming debut: Leonard, a Massachusetts native who spent the last two seasons at Boston College, made his Capitals debut on Tuesday night against his hometown Bruins, registering 14:14 of ice time in Washington’s 4-3 win.
-
That was the culmination of a wild three days for the 20-year-old left winger, who played his final college game on Sunday, signed his entry-level contract (and ostensibly attended classes) on Monday and played his first NHL game on Tuesday.
-
As if joining a contender weren’t exciting enough, Leonard also has a front row seat as Alex Ovechkin closes in on the NHL’s most famous record. His whirlwind week continues tonight when the first-place Caps face the Hurricanes on national TV. Welcome to the league, kid!
A super prospect: The Capitals drafted Leonard eighth overall in 2023 after he helped the U.S. win silver and gold medals in successive U18 World Championships. He hasn’t slowed down since, putting up historic numbers at Boston College (61 goals in 78 games) and leading Team USA to back-to-back golds at the Junior World Championships.
How cool is this? Leonard signed his contract surrounded by his teammates in their college locker room. Right around that time, he received a text from Alex Ovechkin asking if he wanted to get sushi once the Capitals landed in Boston. An hour later, he was singing and dancing with the Great Eight. Then came another surreal moment: “Ovi wanted to see where I went to school, so [we] went there for an hour just to show him, and he loved it,” Leonard said.
Advertisement
Looking ahead: Leonard could make an instant impact for the Capitals when the playoffs begin later this month, where he’ll hope to join the ranks of other top prospects like Chris Kreider* and Cale Makar who jumped directly from college into the postseason with great success.
*Kreider, also a BC alum, joined the Rangers three days after winning the 2012 NCAA championship and scored five goals in the playoffs (including multiple game-winners) before playing a single regular-season game.
It’s no secret that many of MLB’s biggest stars are in New York and Los Angeles, but this stat really crystallizes it: The six most popular jerseys* belong to players in those two cities:
Advertisement
-
Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)
-
Freddie Freeman (Dodgers)
-
Juan Soto (Mets)
-
Mookie Betts (Dodgers)
-
Aaron Judge (Yankees)
-
Francisco Lindor (Mets)
Rounding out the top 20: 7. Bryce Harper (Phillies), 8. Jose Altuve (Astros), 9. Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves), 10. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers), 11. Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), 12. Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres), 13. Elly De La Cruz (Reds), 14. Gunnar Henderson (Orioles), 15. Paul Skenes (Pirates), 16. Kiké Hernandez (Dodgers), 17. Corey Seager (Rangers), 18. Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals), 19. Anthony Volpe (Yankees), 20. Manny Machado (Padres)
*Methodology: These rankings are based on sales of Nike jerseys from the Fanatics network of sites, including MLB Shop, since the culmination of the 2024 World Series.
Memphis — Stephen Curry had himself a night against the Grizzlies, scoring 52 points and hitting 12 three-pointers (two shy of the NBA record) in the Warriors’ 134-125 win. Oh yeah, he also added 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Is that good?
Tampa — Geno Auriemma has arrived at the Women’s Final Four. Digging the shades, coach! As a reminder: This is UConn’s 16th Final Four appearance in the last 17 seasons. Utterly absurd.
Indianapolis — UC Irvine shook off an early 15-point deficit to beat North Texas, 69-67, and advance to the NIT championship game. UCI (32-6) will face Chattanooga (28-9), which beat Loyola-Chicago, 80-73, in the other semifinal.
Madrid — Real Madrid kept their treble* hopes alive in spectacular fashion when Antonio Rudiger headed home an extra-time winner to beat Real Sociedad in an eight-goal thriller and book their spot in the Copa del Rey final. They’ll play the winner of Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona.
Advertisement
*Chasing history: Madrid and Barcelona are chasing the elusive treble (three major trophies in the same season). They’re 1-2 in the La Liga standings and both are still alive in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League quarterfinals (Madrid vs. Arsenal, Barcelona vs. Dortmund).
It has become the norm in recent years for college basketball players to switch schools multiple times, but we’ve never seen anything quite like Meechie Johnson’s journey.
There and back again (and again): The former four-star recruit began his career at Ohio State before transferring to South Carolina. He then transferred back to Ohio State — and now he’s transferring back to South Carolina.
Advertisement
-
Year 1: Ohio State
-
Year 2: Ohio State
-
Year 3: South Carolina
-
Year 4: South Carolina
-
Year 5: Ohio State
-
Year 6*: South Carolina
Portal Madness: Roughly 1,700 D-I men’s players and 1,100 D-I women’s players have entered the basketball transfer portal since it opened on March 24. That’s nearly five per team for the men and four per team for the women, and there’s still three weeks to go.
*Waiver required: Johnson was a freshman during the 2020-21 pandemic season, so he was granted a fifth year like everyone else. That was supposed to be this past season, but he only played 10 games before leaving the team for personal reasons. Now, he plans to apply for a mental health medical hardship waiver and a sixth year of eligibility.
The sixth edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur tees off today in Georgia (1:30pm ET, Golf), where 72 golfers from 23 countries — including 49 of the world’s top 50 amateurs — will compete at the storied club* a week before the Masters.
Advertisement
What’s at stake: The winner earns a spot in four of the five LPGA majors this year, and there’s precedent for them to do well there: 2023 ANWA champion Rose Zhang finished top 10 at three majors that year, and she’s now the 19th-ranked golfer in the world.
More to watch:
-
🏀 NBA: Knicks at Cavaliers (7pm, ESPN); Pistons at Thunder (9:30pm, ESPN) … Four playoff teams take the court.
-
🏒 NHL: Capitals at Hurricanes (7pm, TNT); Avalanche at Blackhawks (9:30pm, TNT) … Alex Ovechkin is four goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky.
-
⚾️ MLB: Diamondbacks at Yankees (7:05pm, Prime); Braves at Dodgers (8:38pm, MLB) … Los Angeles is the first reigning champion to start 7-0 since the 1933 Yankees.
-
⚽️ Copa del Rey: Atlético Madrid (4-4) vs. Barcelona (3:30pm, ESPN+) … Semifinals, second leg; Real Madrid awaits.
-
⚽️ Coppa Italia: AC Milan vs. Inter Milan (3pm, Paramount+) … Semifinals, first leg.
-
⚽️ Champions Cup: LAFC vs. Inter Miami (11:30pm, FS1) … Quarterfinals, first leg.
*How it works: The first two rounds of the 54-hole tournament are held at nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club. The top 30 players (plus ties) then advance to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National.
For the first time in NBA history, a team has tripled its win total from the previous season. Can you name that team?
Advertisement
Answer at the bottom.
Our first MLB power rankings have arrived, courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Jordan Shusterman.
Trivia answer: Pistons (14-68 last season; 42-33 so far this season)
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
