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Good morning! Consider this my petition for Netflix to make its scorebug font bigger. Anyway, coming up:
👋 Actual MLB Opening Day is here
🗣️ Silver talks tanking, more
🏀 The tourney returns tonight
Play Ball: Our Opening Day lineup card
The Yankees are on pace for 162-0 after last night’s Opening Day romp over the Giants. But today is the real Opening Day. Eleven games spanning the entire afternoon and evening. A baseball sensory overload sounds just fine to me.
Which means it’s time for our trot around the metaphorical bases of this season. Here’s a starting lineup of nine links:
Hardcore prediction: The Mariners win the World Series
That’s according to Keith Law’s full dossier of picks today, in which he chose every division winner and every playoff series winner. The Mets were runners-up, while I found it intriguing that Keith has the Guardians finishing third in the AL Central. See all the picks here.
Of course, Vegas favors the Dodgers to complete a three-peat, but history is against them.
Way-too-specific prediction: Tarik Skubal becomes a Met
We sure are perceiving the Mets a lot already, and in a good way. I’m sure Mets fans feel fine about that. In his annual column of wacky picks, Jim Bowden posits that Skubal stays a Tiger through the trade deadline and then signs a $429 million deal with the Mets in free agency. Read his other 25 predictions.
The thing everyone will talk about: ABS
The automatic ball-strike system makes its official MLB debut this year, which feels like a watershed moment for the league. In his preview of the year’s top storylines, Ken Rosenthal expressed hesitation about the robot-ump backstop we’ve created, wondering if the tech will bring unintended consequences that harm the on-field product. It’s worth a worry, though having the system at all still feels like a win. Ken wrote about ABS, the looming lockout, managers on the hot seats and, of course, the Mets, too. Read that here.
We saw one ABS call last night … that went the ump’s way.
The awards: Gunnar Henderson, MVP
A few weeks ago I might’ve scoffed at this, as Henderson and the Orioles cratered last season despite high expectations. Then I watched Henderson excel at the World Baseball Classic and the Orioles make some solid moves this offseason, and the truth shined through. Anyway, this was Keith’s pick in his awards column, published this morning. He has some interesting choices, and I trust no one more about a potential Rookie of the Year than the prospect maven himself. See all of them here.
Before we move on, a few more resources I found super helpful as a primer:
Tim Britton’s analysis of how all 30 teams can make the postseason, using historical analogues. Very interesting.
Preseason Power Rankings, of course. I scrolled to the bottom and almost forgot the Rockies existed, which feels mean but proper given the current situation. Sorry, Rockies fans.
🎧 If you’re in the market for a podcast this year, our revamped “Rates & Barrels” is a great choice. Listen here.
I hope you get some quality time with baseball today. Onward:
News to Know
Ryan Sirius Sun / Getty Images
Silver talks expansion, tanking and more
Commissioner Adam Silver spoke at length with media yesterday about multiple pressing issues in the NBA. A quick thread of the important stuff:
Silver vowed to fix tanking in the league, “full stop.” He also thinks the 65-game rule is working. Hm.
He was noncommittal about WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s future, which is interesting, just days after the league agreed to a historic new CBA with its players.
The board of governors officially voted to “explore” expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas, and Silver emphasized that there are no guarantees. But it sure feels that way. For now, we’ll be debating new team names for the potential Vegas franchise. Also, if Seattle does get a team, Gary Payton II should be its first signing.
Did we mention the playoffs are almost here? Busy, busy.
More news:
Mikaela Shiffrin clinched the overall Alpine skiing World Cup title for the sixth time yesterday. Read our full story.
Pistons owner Tom Gores is among the interested parties bidding to buy the Padres. More details here.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan didn’t exactly deny interest in the North Carolina job.
The Saints signed former Jets quarterback Zach Wilson to a one-year deal. More details here.
Credentialed media for last night’s Lakers-Pacers game: Caitlin Clark, sitting courtside, shooting photos.
World Athletics granted USA Track & Field three extra spots in the upcoming World Road Running Championships after runners were led off course in a qualifying event. Read more.
Watch Guide
📺 MLB: Opening Day
1:15 p.m.-10:10 p.m. ET on various networks
The festivities begin with Pirates-Mets (NBC/Peacock) and end with Guardians-Mariners (MLB TV), with nine games in between. It’s a lovely day. See the full schedule, and keep up all day on our live blog.
📺 NCAAM: Sweet 16
7:10 p.m.-10:05 p.m. ET on CBS and TBS
We get our first four matchups tonight, and I’m zeroing in on Arkansas-Arizona at 9:45 p.m. on CBS. Iowa-Nebraska at 7:30 p.m. (TBS) should also be a delight. That schedule’s here.
📺 NHL: Oilers at Golden Knights
9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Western Conference heavyweights play in a game important to NHL playoff seeding with just 10 games left. An honorable TV adversary to the above programming.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
Bruce Feldman has another incredible story this week about a football prospect. This is one we know, though, and is a tale from the past: Randy Moss and the best NFL Pro Day ever.
Ted Nguyen looked at, in his opinion, the six biggest questions hanging over NFL teams after the first two weeks of free agency. What are the Dolphins doing?
What are the 10 most important sports cards of all time? This ranking took more debate than you’d expect.
As the NBA and NHL regular seasons wind down, there is plenty of awards talk. Chris Johnston explored a smaller niche: Which NHL players are cashing in bonuses down the stretch?
Ilia Malinin and Amber Glenn might’ve faded out of the intense global spotlight with the Olympics past, but it’s not like they’re gone. Both have found peace and new beginnings in Prague.
How much does it cost to become Cinderella? Virginia knows well after a gift from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The possible candidate list for North Carolina’s open men’s basketball job.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Elise Devlin’s story behind that viral moment between Maryland coach Brenda Frese and forward Oluchi Okananwa.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.