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Royals First Impressions: What the Braves Series Revealed

The season is underway — and the Royals are already giving fans plenty to talk about.

In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco break down the Kansas City Royals’ season-opening series against the Atlanta Braves, including a detailed look at the series finale win and what it reveals about the team’s early trajectory. From lineup performance to pitching execution, the hosts provide a comprehensive analysis of how the Royals stack up coming out of their first test of the season.

A major focus is the bullpen, where emerging roles, injury updates — including Carlos Estevez’s status — and potential closer options take center stage. The discussion also examines how participation in the World Baseball Classic may have impacted player readiness, conditioning, and early-season performance.

Beyond the field, Jacob and Jeremy explore some of MLB’s newest innovations, including the ABS challenge system, its early effectiveness, and how it could reshape game strategy. They also dive into evolving broadcast technology, from wire cams to drone footage, and evaluate how these changes are enhancing — or complicating — the viewing experience for fans.

The episode wraps with insights into young contributors like Carter Jensen and Isaac Collins, updates on positional battles and roster depth, and a preview of the Royals’ upcoming matchup against the Twins. With a blend of analysis, perspective, and personality, this episode offers Royals fans a clear-eyed look at where the team stands after Opening Weekend.

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Three up, three down – week of March 23-30

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 26: Trea Turner #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies is introduced against the Texas Rangers on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park on March 26, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The beginning of a baseball season is one that is full of unknown. How are all of the changes made over the offseason going to take? How will those new players take to their new surroundings in Philadelphia? Then the games are played and all of that goes out the window. Who made good impressions, who didn’t?

Three up

Cristopher Sanchez – Could it have gone better for Sanchez this past week? He gets the big money extension added to the end of his current contract (which is still a bargain), then he twirls a gem on Opening Day for the Phillies.

We have talked about his ascension into the pantheon of pitchers in the game today, but this should have clinched it for whatever person still may have had a doubt in their mind: he’s an Ace.

Justin Crawford – Listen, there were other rookies this weekend that probably had better weekends from the stat perspective. Kevin McGonigle, Chase DeLauter and J.J. Wetherholt are just to name a few. Yet from the Phillies’ perspective, Crawford’s weekend was a pretty good success. He did pretty much what he has done his whole minor league career: he hit and got on base. Three for nine isn’t the craziest stat line, but if he can do that in a few more series this year, while also playing a good defense like he did, the Phillies will be more than pleased with that effort.

ABS system – It’s just so much better knowing that when it’s needed, the ABS system can make sure the umpires are getting it right. There wasn’t anything as game changing or entertaining as what happened in Cincinnati, but knowing that there is a system in place to make sure calls are right when they are called upon helps the game.

Three down

Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper – It’s always the stars of the lineup that receive the brunt of frustration when a series doesn’t go well and this one was no different. The trio, outside of Schwarber’s home run on Opening Day, just kind of stunk this weekend.

Again, it’s nothing really to worry about no matter what sports radio wants you to believe. It’s the first series of the season and there will be plenty more times this year when this trio flips that script and has fifteen hits in 37 at bats instead of five.

It just made for a rough weekend.

Zach Pop – Middle relief is not a glorious position. The more competent relievers have been rewarded better in the past decade or so, but it’s fungible guys that are still an issue. Pop is a fungible reliever that is already being looked at as the first to go when the injured pitchers return soon, this weekend a perfect example. He wasn’t able to keep a game scoreless on Thursday, he allowed the Rangers to scrape back the two runs the Phillies were able to get on Sunday, killing any momentum the team had.

He’s just not that good.

John Middleton – It’s arguable that the only multimillionaire in the sports world that had a worse week was Tiger Woods. First came the news that “Harry the K’s” had its name changed to something about ghosts and energy. Then came Middleton’s response to questions about the removal of the analog clock this season in favor of the huge sign for the upcoming All-Star Game.

Listen, sometimes, the owners just shouldn’t speak on topics.

Middleton has been a good owner for the Phillies. He’s opened up his wallet when needed, he’s been forthcoming about the team when needed.

But c’mon, man. Just pay the $20K and end this whole Harry Kalas thing. We can survive without napkins for a little bit.

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Braves begin to end first homestand before heading out West

TORONTO, CANADA - MARCH 28: Shea Langeliers #23 of the Athletics hits a grand slam home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on March 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It’s March 30 and the Braves are 2-1. That may not seem like the most impressive thing until you consider that it took the Braves until April 8 of last season to pick up their second win of the season and April 10 was when they finally picked up their first series win. Folks, we will gladly take this start to the season.

Hopefully the Braves will keep going in the right direction as they wrap up their first homestand of the season before going out West for seven games. The first four games of that seven-game West Coast swing will take place out in the desert, as Ketel Marte and the Diamondbacks will be looking to continue their first homestand of the season in winning fashion against our Braves.

Here’s a quick look at the week ahead as the Braves endeavor to get off to a much better start in 2026 than they did in 2025.

March 30-April 1: Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas Athletics

Current Record: 0-3 Projected Record: 78-84

The A’s certainly drew the short end of the stick when they ended up having to start their season North of the border against the reigning American League champions. It’s extremely early days but the Blue Jays have shown an indication that they’re serious about defending that crown and the A’s ended up suffering a three-game sweep during their time at the ol’ Skydome.

With that being said, it wasn’t as if the Blue Jays just completely rolled over the A’s in this one. Indeed, the green-and-gold gang led through the first four innings of the series opener and they pushed Toronto to 12 innings in the second game. A lot of that competitiveness was provided by old friend Shea Langeliers, who has gotten off to a scalding-hot start to begin this season. He’s currently got six hits (three of which are homers), three RBI and three runs scored so far. He did most of his damage during the first game of the series when he clubbed two solo dingers but he added a grand slam during the second game and also picked up another hit in the series finale on Sunday. Hopefully Atlanta’s pitching staff will be able to help cool him off once he comes down South to play his former organization.

The Braves could be in for some tough competition in terms of the starting pitching. Jacob Lopez will be starting Monday’s game and any time you see a guy getting compared to Chris Sale, it’s enough to make you pay attention to what he’s got going on. Aaron Civale ended spring training by exploding for 11 strikeouts against Seattle and while Reynaldo López may have just given everybody a reminder of how seriously you should take spring training results, that type of performance is also something to pay attention to heading into this season. Finally, the Wednesday pitching matchup figures to be Chris Sale vs. Luis Severino and that’s a matchup that could turn into a pitchers’ duel as well.

The Braves still figure to be the better team here but with guys Nick Kurtz, Lawrence Butler and old nemesis Jeff McNeil lurking, this is a team that figures to be a lot trickier to deal with than their current or projected record would indicate. I like the Braves to win this series but it’ll certainly be tough.

Game 1: Monday, March 30 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Game 2: Tuesday, March 31 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)
Game 3: Wednesday, April 1 at 12:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

April 2-5: Arizona Diamondbacks

Current Record: 0-3 Projected Record: 82-80

The Braves once again have an early-season West Coast swing but I suppose that a trip through Phoenix and Anaheim surely beats having to visit Petco Park and Dodger Stadium to kick off the season like they did last year, right? Anyways, once the Braves hopefully leave town with two series wins under their belt, they’ll be flying for to the desert to square off with the Diamondbacks for four games.

This won’t be the home opener for the Diamondbacks, so the Braves won’t have to worry about an intense Postseason-like atmosphere in the regular season like they did when they started last season on the road in San Diego. With that being said, the Braves haven’t had too many issues out in the desert lately. They won the series last year and then split a four-game series back in 2024. Arizona will be happy not to see Chris Sale this time, though, as they had to deal with him in each of the past two seasons at Chase Field.

Arizona will be hosting the Tigers before the Braves come into town and they’ll also be looking to bounce back after getting swept by the Dodgers to start the season. As usual with any four-game series on the road, the Braves will be probably happy to get out of town with a split while focusing on trying to pick up a series win in Anaheim. For now, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll will be looking to trip up the Braves.

Game 1: Thursday, April 2 at 9:40 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Game 2: Friday, April 3 at 9:45 p.m. ET (Apple TV)
Game 3: Saturday, April 4 at 7:15 p.m. ET (FOX)
Game 4: Sunday, April 5 at 4:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

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2026 Texas Rangers Recap: Week One

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 29: Texas Rangers designated hitter Andrew McCutchen celebrates his three run home run during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers on March 29th, 2025 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Season Record: 2-1

Week Record: 2-1

Series Record: 1-0

GAME One: 3-5 Loss @ Philadelphia Phillies
GAME Two: 5-4 Win @ Philadelphia Phillies
GAME Three: 8-3 Win (10) @ Philadelphia Phillies

It’s once again baseball time in Texas!

With a new manager, pitching coach, and a few important lineup pieces, this could be an interesting season.

Especially getting their first series win in a relatively hostile stadium to start the season. Everyone wants to win game one but even with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound, but with a really strong Phillies team and a very vocal crowd, a loss wasn’t all that surprising.

My biggest take away from game one is the Rangers being able to score late in the game. We saw over the last few seasons, the Rangers get into a tendency of looking more complacent at the end of games. Not necessarily intentional, but if they weren’t score early, they weren’t going to score.

Game two? Game two felt like the bullpen we were used to and once again the nostalgia of a Joe Nathan closer spiked once again.

I must admit, I was over the Robert Garcia Closer Experience last season and thought maybe we would see something different with Skip Schumaker calling the shots, alas, we did not. However, color me impressed when he got Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper out pretty quickly. But he did not have the same luck with the next two batters.

And so the way of baseball.

But thanks to another new Ranger in Andrew McCutchen, the Rangers did not fully Ranger and they continued to battle through to win the game.

Sunday’s rubber game included another new Ranger, MacKenzie Gore. Gore looked great in his Ranger debut, going 5.1 innings giving up two runs on two hits, three walks, and seven strikeouts. In fact, it wasn’t until the first batter of the sixth inning that. he gave up a hit to the Phillies.

The Rangers held the lead the entire game and while it did get a little shaky in the 7th inning for rookie Carter Baumler who walked the first two batters he face, he managed to get out unscathed.

Next the Rangers will go to Baltimore where hopefully Jacob deGrom will make his season debut after being scratched for a stiff neck in Philly.

And while we may just be three games into the season, we never miss an opportunity to celebrate a first place Texas Rangers team.

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Sean Manaea’s velocity gives the Mets a tough early problem to solve

Sean Manaea prepares to throw a pitch in a Mets home white uniform with blue pinstripes, a blue undershirt, and a blue Mets hat
Sean Manaea | / Photo by Brad Penner-Imagn Images

In watching Sean Manaea’s 2026 debut from the stands at Citi Field, it looked like the likable lefty was getting away with something against the Pirates. Velocity isn’t everything when it comes to pitching, but it definitely matters. Manaea averaged 89 miles per hour with his fastball yesterday afternoon, and his sweeper averaged just 75 miles per hour. His changeup averaged 84.

For context, all three of those pitches are down two miles per hour from their 2025 averages. And Manaea was in the 14th percentile of pitchers with an average fastball of 91.7 miles per hour last year. If his current averages were to continue, he’d certainly rank even lower.

In one-and-one-third innings against the Pirates’ best available hitters, Manaea gets credit for making it work. He struck out two, walked two, and gave up a hit, but he didn’t allow any runs. But you got the feeling that everyone in the stands and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza knew that the team couldn’t stick with him for too much longer in a tight game.

It’s still very early, and for what it’s worth, both Manaea and Mendoza downplayed concerns about the lefty’s velocity when the topic arose in spring training. But if things don’t improve, it’s hard not to be alarmed by the current reality. Even with the two extra miles per hour that he had last year, Manaea gave up a staggering 1.93 home runs per nine innings, the primary reason he finished the injury-shortened year with a 5.64 ERA.

Right now, it’s not easy to figure out which game the Mets can get him into next. It’s for the best that the team doesn’t face a division rival until late April, as Manaea’s current stuff doesn’t look like it’ll play well against more formidable teams like the Phillies and Braves. But the Mets are set to play four games in San Francisco immediately after their three-game series with the Cardinals that begins tonight.

St. Louis might be an afterthought in the projected standings, but the Giants very much are not. And coming off a season that saw the Mets miss the postseason by one game, it’s tough to go into a series like that with one of the pitchers in your bullpen looking like he needs to get work in extremely low-leverage situations to see if he can regain his past stuff.

Manaea dealt with a loose body in his elbow last year and opted to avoid surgery over the offseason. If things don’t improve with his velocity, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that an elbow issue like that could be used to justify an injured list stint. A rehab assignment that allowed him to get more work would certainly be appealing from our perspective as fans.

We’ll certainly be rooting or Manaea to get some velocity back or figure out a way to be effective in spite of the decline he’s seeing right now. If that doesn’t happen or it goes poorly, though, the Mets will be in a bit of a predicament with this season and next remaining on his three-year, $75 million deal.

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Islanders Anxiety – Episode 367 – Little Bit of Everything

Mike and Dan recap a week in which the Islanders made us mad, then happy, then both in the same day before celebrating the Rangers elimination with a new Ranger Piece Theatre.

The pendulum swung every way possible last week for the Islanders. An inexcusable loss to the lowly Blackhawks made the season look over. A gritty win over Dallas wasn’t perfect, but it was a relief. And a Saturday matinee that started in the pit of despair rose to euphoric heights, as the out-of-town scoreboard broke their way after a huge win over the Panthers. The week was nerve-wracking and encouraging at the same time, and it felt good to be an Islander, which can happen from time to time.

They’re going to need some more of that energy this week as, once again, the season hangs in the balance. Two sets of back-to-backs, all featuring Eastern Conference foes that are either chasing them or could stand in their way later. Monday’s game against the Penguins is the most massive, but the Sabres remain a threat, the Flyers have inserted themselves in the conversation again and the Hurricanes could be a playoff opponent for the millionth time in a row. There is no room for letdowns, mistakes or periods playing like assholes.

After all that, we find the time to sneak in a quick Ranger Piece Theater that examines the wearing off of some once-powerful nostalgia and how Rangers fans see their almost-great seasons and cult favorite players. It’s a good way to kick one final mound of dirt on their most recent miserable season.

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Cavaliers vs Jazz Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s NBA Game

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Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers hit the road tonight to visit his former team, the Utah Jazz, at the Delta Center. 

My Cavs vs. Jazz predictions are targeting Spida to bounce back after a quiet game in his last appearance. 

Read more in my NBA picks for Monday, March 30. 

Cavaliers vs Jazz prediction

Cavaliers vs Jazz best bet: Donovan Mitchell Over 26.5 points (-115)

Donovan Mitchell is having another stellar campaign for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 27.9 PPG. Mitchell is a walking bucket, and his ability to score from all three levels is usually present on a nightly basis. 

While Spida was held to just six points in 31 minutes of action on Friday against the Heat, the Louisville product did cash the Over in three straight appearances before that, dropping 28, 42, and 27 points. 

It’s very rare for Mitchell to be held to just single digits, and tonight is a prime opportunity for him to respond as he faces his former team in the Utah Jazz. Utah is an easy matchup for opposing shooting guards, and they’re one of the worst defensive clubs in the Association. 

Mitchell is averaging 27.4 points per contest on the road, and he scored 27 in his last road game in New Orleans. 

He’ll cook tonight in Salt Lake City.

Cavaliers vs Jazz same-game parlay

James Harden is averaging 8.1 dimes per game this season, which ranks fifth in the NBA. The guard has cashed the Over in assists in three of his last five, and he just dished out 14 on Friday against the Heat. Utah is allowing over nine assists per game to point guards. 

Mitchell scores a decent amount of his points from downtown, averaging 3.3 makes on 9.0 attempts per game. He’s cashed the Over in treys in three of his last four, and the Jazz are allowing 3.8 triples per contest to opposing shooting guards. 

Evan Mobley is a physical presence down low, averaging 8.9 rebounds per game. Coming off a 10-board performance, the big man is averaging 9.2 rebounds on the road, and he’s cashed the Over in two of his last three away from home. Utah is allowing nearly 15 boards per contest to opposing centers.

Cavaliers vs Jazz SGP

  • James Harden Over 8.5 assists
  • Donovan Mitchell Over 2.5 made threes
  • Evan Mobley Over 9.5 rebounds

Our "from downtown" SGP: Web-slinging goodness

Mitchell has averaged 5.8 assists this season to go along with his 27.9 points, and he’s hit the Over in points+assists in two of his last three games. The Jazz are weak on the perimeter, so he could truly thrive as a passer tonight as well. 

Sam Merrill is averaging 13 PPG, and he’s cashed the Over in two of his last three appearances. Before a 10-point performance on Friday, he had posted 18 and 19 points in back-to-back games.

Cavaliers vs Jazz SGP

  • James Harden Over 8.5 assists
  • Donovan Mitchell Over 31.5 points+assists
  • Evan Mobley Over 9.5 rebounds
  • Sam Merrill Over 14.5 points

Cavaliers vs Jazz odds

  • Spread: Cavaliers -17 (-110) | Jazz +17 (-110)
  • Moneyline: Cavaliers -2000 | Jazz +1000
  • Over/Under: Over 242.5 (-110) | Under 242.5 (-110)

Cavaliers vs Jazz betting trend to know

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit the 4Q Moneyline in 28 of their last 40 away games (+13.40 Units / 24% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Cavaliers vs. Jazz.

How to watch Cavaliers vs Jazz

LocationDelta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
DateMonday, March 30, 2026
Tip-off9:00 p.m. ET
TVFDSN Ohio, KJZZ

Cavaliers vs Jazz latest injuries

Not intended for use in MA.
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76ers at Heat Prediction: Odds, recent stats, trends, and best bets for March 30

The Miami Heat (39-36) and Philadelphia 76ers (41-33) meet on Peacock at 7 PM Eastern in the first of a doubleheader. The two teams have met twice this season, with the Heat winning by 10 points and the 76ers winning by seven. Both matchups were in Philadelphia. This is the final meeting, which will take place in Miami.

Miami has now lost seven of the past eight games with a lone victory over Cleveland. The Heat’s losing streak has gotten so bad that they lost to the Pacers yesterday by double digits. Miami is tied with Charlotte for the 10th and final spot in the play-in tournament, trailing Orlando by half a game and Philadelphia by two games. During the Heat’s 1-7 skid, Miami ranks 18th in offensive rating and 25th in defensive rating, while playing at the fifth-quickest pace. The 76ers play at the third-quickest pace in that same span, so this should be a fun matchup with plenty of points.

Philadelphia has won two-straight games, four of the past five, and six of the previous eight as they are starting to find their footing. The 76ers rank eighth in defensive rating over the past eight games and 16th in offensive rating. However, if you look at the last six teams that the 76ers have beaten, the Nets, Trail Blazers, Kings, Jazz, Bulls, and Hornets, well, it’s not exactly the most impressive list of teams. Philadelphia is 5-5 in its last 10 road games and will be in Miami for the first time all season.

Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

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Game Details and How to Watch Live: 76ers at Heat

  • Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
  • Time: 7:00 PM EST
  • Site: Kaseya Center
  • City: Miami, FL
  • Network/Streaming: Peacock

Rotoworld has you covered with all the latest NBA Player News for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!

Game Odds: 76ers at Heat

The latest odds as of Monday, courtesy of DraftKings:

  • Moneyline: Miami Heat (+110), Philadelphia 76ers (-130)
  • Spread: Philadelphia -2.5
  • Total: O/U 247.5 points

This game opened Philadelphia -1.5 with the Total set at 240.5.

Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!

Expected Starting Lineups: 76ers at Heat

Philadelphia 76ers

  • PG Tyrese Maxey
  • SG VJ Edgecombe
  • SF Kelly Oubre Jr.
  • PF Paul George
  • C Joel Embiid

Miami Heat

  • PG Daivon Mitchell
  • SG Tyler Herro
  • SF Norman Powell (questionable)
  • PF Andrew Wiggins
  • C Bam Adebayo

Injury Report: 76ers at Heat

Philadelphia 76ers

  • None

Miami Heat

  • Norman Powell (illness) is listed as QUESTIONABLE for tonight’s game

Important stats, trends and insights: 76ers at Heat

  • Miami is 45-32-1 ATS, ranking 3rd-best and 21-16 ATS at home, ranking 7th-best
  • Miami is 14-13 ATS as a home favorite and 14-13 to the Under
  • Miami is 40-35 to the Under, ranking 6th-best
  • Miami is 0-3 in the last three home games
  • Philadelphia is 39-34 ATS, ranking 8th-best and 22-13 ATS on the road, ranking 2nd-best
  • Philadelphia is 10-10 ATS as a road underdog and 10-10 to the Under
  • Philadelphia is 38-35 to the Under, ranking 8th-best
  • Philadelphia is 5-5 in the last 10 road games

Rotoworld Best Bet

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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s 76ers and Heat game:

  • Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the 76ers’ Moneyline
  • Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the 76ers -2.5 ATS
  • Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 247.5

Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

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Astros Fans, Take a Breath, It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 10: Bryan Abreu #52 of the Houston Astros pitches during a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 10, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Astros fans, consider this your reminder to take a deep breath, step back, and relax. Opening Day and Opening Weekend in Major League Baseball have a way of magnifying everything. Every win feels monumental and every loss feels catastrophic. The reality is far less dramatic in the grand scheme of things.

The pomp and circumstance surrounding the start of a new season tends to distort perspective. Emotions run high, expectations are sky-high, and reactions often swing wildly based on just a couple of games. What gets lost in all of it is the simple truth: teams are fresh out of spring training. Pitchers are still building rhythm. Hitters are still finding timing. Fielders are still settling into form.

If this same series against the Angels had taken place in mid-June, the reaction would be entirely different. There would be frustration, sure, maybe even some concern, but not the widespread panic that seems to grip everyone during opening weekend. That’s the difference a calendar can make.

This Astros team is too talented to play consistently at the level they showed in the first two games. Over the course of a 162-game season, things have a way of evening out. That’s not just optimism, it’s baseball reality.

Saturday night provided the perfect example. A 6–0 deficit quickly turned into an 11–5 lead, likely after many fans had already turned off their TVs and written the game off as a loss. That single game serves as a microcosm of how quickly fortunes can change and how quickly reactions can look premature.

History backs this up. In years past, the Astros have been swept by some of the worst teams in baseball. At the time, it felt alarming. In the big picture, it proved meaningless. The team still found its footing, still played to expectations, and still reached its goals.

Think back just a couple of seasons ago when the Astros dug themselves into what many called an insurmountable hole. The noise was loud, the anxiety was real, but the outcome? They climbed out of it, regained their form, and kept pushing forward until they were exactly where they needed to be.

That’s why now isn’t the time for overreaction, it’s the time for perspective.

Keep a watchful eye, absolutely. Monitor progress. Evaluate trends. But save the bigger judgments for meaningful checkpoints like the quarter mark of the season or the halfway point. That’s when patterns start to solidify and when real assessments can be made.

There’s still plenty of time for growth. Plenty of time for adjustments. And plenty of opportunities for personnel moves that can strengthen the roster.

Looking ahead, the Red Sox series may appear daunting on paper, especially with pitching matchups that seem to favor the opponent. But baseball isn’t played on paper. Just as easily as the Astros stumbled out of the gate, they can flip the script and rise to the occasion. Winning a series that looks stacked against them wouldn’t be surprising, it would be baseball.

So yes, you can be concerned about how they’ve started. That’s fair. But don’t lose sight of what matters most.

Because as the old saying goes, this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.

And in baseball, it’s not about how you start. It’s about how you finish.

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Preview: Nazem Kadri & Avalanche welcome the Calgary Flames

Nazem Kadri’s return to the Colorado Avalanche was so seamless, it feels like it happened forever ago, but really, it’s only been 24 days since Calgary dealt Naz back to his old club in exchange for Victor Olofsson, Max Curran, a 2028 2nd, and 2027 first. Just a few weeks later, Kadri will face his former teammates and coaches of the Calgary Flames tonight at Ball Arena.

Colorado suffered defeat at the hands of Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets, but were winners of four straight ahead of that contest. The Flames are at the bottom end of a Pacific Division that’s been described as “a pillow fight.”

Can the Avalanche assert its will, or does Calgary rise to the occasion?

Colorado Avalanche: 48-14-10

The Opponent: Calgary Flames (31-34-8)

Time: 6:30 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, ESPN+

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio, 92.5 FM

Colorado Avalanche

I don’t think the Avalanche need to trigger a rebuild after losing to Winnipeg, but the style of play, and the eventual outcome can yield some lessons.

It does appear that, although the hockey landscape has changed over the years, the best approach to beating the Avalanche (albeit the most boring) is to establish an early lead and hunker down/muddy up the neutral zone to limit clean entries and effective possession.

Couple that with stout goaltending, and you just might hang on and beat this Avalanche squad.

The strategy described above isn’t new, but this version of the Avalanche is likely the deepest it’s been since the 2022 team that broke through and captured ultimate glory.

There are subtle differences between the two teams, with the 2022 juggernaut having that same competitive advantage on the back-end with decent net-minding, and the 2026 Avalanche harbouring great net-minding but less of an overarching advantage on the back-end.

Let’s see if Calgary attempts to implement the strategy we saw from Winnipeg, but some teams are much better at executing this approach than others.

The downside to this approach? You risk getting down early and might have to abandon it altogether if things get out of hand.

Projected Lineup:

Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Artturi Lehkonen
Valeri Nichushkin — Brock Nelson — Martin Necas
Ross Colton — Nazem Kadri — Logan O’Connor
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Joel Kiviranta

Brett Kulak — Cale Makar
Devon Toews — Sam Malinski
Josh Manson — Brent Burns

Scott Wedgewood
MacKenzie Blackwood

Calgary Flames

The Flames did Naz a solid with likely plenty of suitors on the open market, and they landed him in Colorado. The mutual interest in having him move on stemmed from the lack of playoff potential in Calgary. Kadri is nearing the end of his career, and the Flames are in no position to fulfill Stanley Cup aspirations any time soon.

That doesn’t mean the Flames aren’t working toward something. They will have 5 picks in the top 3 rounds of this upcoming and next year’s NHL Draft. We know firsthand how that sort of capital can thrust a team into the limelight.

Projected Lineup:

Blake Coleman — Mikael Backlund — Joel Farabee
Matvei Gridin — Morgan Frost — Matt Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich — Ryan Strome — Victor Olofsson
Brennan Othmann — Tyson Gross — Adam Klapka

Kevin Bahl — Zach Whitecloud
Olli Maatta — Hunter Brzustewicz
Brayden Pachal — Zayne Parekh

Dustin Wolf
Devin Cooley

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Bill Simmons Throws Cold Water On Las Vegas, And NBA, Expansion

Imagn Images via Vecteezy.com

On his eponymous podcast Sunday night, Bill Simmons took a bucket of cold water and poured it on the idea of the NBA expansion plans. Then he refilled the bucket and held the NBA expansion plans — including the idea of placing a team in Las Vegas — under the water until it was but a memory.

In short: Simmons, who has octopus-like connections throughout the NBA, thinks it ain’t happening.

He broke it down into two parts, with the first — and most pressing — issue being his certainty expansion will not pass muster with the owners. There are 30 NBA franchises, and 23 have to approve any expansion. Simmons is sure NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is going to have problems with nearly half of the owners.

“They don’t have the votes,” Simmons said, in conversation with fellow podcaster/NBA insider Zach Lowe. “I think it got a little testy in the Board of Governors when they were all together last week, with some people like, ‘Why are we doing this? I’m never voting for this. This is stupid. We’re not doing this.’”

Then Simmons went through 13 owners who he believes are either wholly against the idea or would need some serious arm-twisting.

He first broke down the “new” generation of owners, such as the groups that control the Celtics, Jazz, Hornets, Rockets, Suns, and Timberwolves, and how as new (or relatively new) owners, they don’t want to dilute their chances at winning a title.

Then he went into Jim Dolan, the owner of the Knicks who is against it, as well as the new Trail Blazers owner, who Simmons questioned whether he’d want a team two hours away in Seattle.

Then he noted Steve Ballmer, owner of the Clippers, whose net worth is north of $100 billion and couldn’t care less about the proposal for each team to get upward of $500 million if the league expands by two.

“They don’t have the votes. I’m just telling you they don’t,” Simmons said.

New BS Podcast w/ @ZachLowe_NBA
—The UConn Miracle
—The MVP not-a-debate-yet
—Zach’s lottery guard blink text
—Scariest 1-Round Playoff Teams
—Please don’t take NBA “expansion” seriously (yet)
—Is this the weirdest NBA season ever?

Spotify (or Netflix) https://t.co/NdluxDTMHw

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) March 30, 2026

Timing off

Simmons was also put off by the timing of the announcement about the expansion plans, as it was leaked to the press last Monday.

“And when my s**t detector started going off — it was a Monday morning news leak, which as we know, Monday morning is always when you put a story out trying to set the tone for the week, and they put it out in a way that made me think this almost seems like they’re testing this out to see what the reaction is,” he said. “Like they’re either trying to convince the fans this is a good idea or they’re trying to convince the votes that they don’t have that this is a good idea. So I do not think they have the votes.”

Simmons also isn’t sold that Seattle and Vegas are slam dunks to get the teams if expansion did happen.

“This is a two-part process where part one is you get the 30 owners together and they have to vote, you need 23 votes to proceed,” Simmons said. “And basically, Silver is going, ‘I want to see what we can get for these two teams. We’ve decided it’s going to be Seattle and Vegas. We haven’t decided if we’re expanding, but let’s see what kind of price we can get for each of those, and then I’ll bring that back to you and we can vote on it.’”

The number floated was $8 billion per team, a figure Simmons thinks is a fugazi.

“I don’t think the owners are going to necessarily vote for it even if they do get $8 billion a team. And if it’s like $5 to $6 billion, they’re definitely not voting for it,” he said. “And I don’t really understand the point of any of this. Why not just be transparent and say, ‘Hey, we’re just curious to see what we get for these expansion teams, this doesn’t mean we’re gonna have expansion.’”

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Did Dan Hurley deserve a technical after game-winning shot for going face-to-face with ref?

UConn coach Dan Hurley is known for his high-energy antics on the sideline. That unsurprisingly didn't change after true freshman Braylon Mullins buried a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the Huskies' 73-72 win over top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight.

Hurley, a two-time national champion at UConn, came face-to-face with the referee after Mullins' shot, despite there still being 0.4 seconds left on the clock. He wasn't given a technical foul despite coming in contact with the referee, resulting in UConn moving onto the Final Four.

Former Wisconsin star Sam Dekker, who played in the Final Four in 2014 and 2015, was one of many that said Hurley should've been given a technical foul in the moment.

"I have no bias here," Dekker wrote on X. "This is a tech 10/10 times. For multiple reasons… it would have lost the game for his team and he would have tried to fight the officials like he did nothing wrong. I just don’t understand it at all. Also, referees need to grow a spine in instances like this."

Hurley went wild in the aftermath of the shot, just like any personnel would given the intensity of the moment. He threw his arms up in celebration and even had his suit jacket fall halfway off after multiple other staff members swarmed him.

Duke's radio play-by-play announcer also noticed UConn guard Malachi Smith allegedly running off the bench onto the court after Mullins's shot.

“Malachi Smith ran off the bench! That should be a technical!" David Shumate said on the broadcast.

It's all nothing new for one of college basketball's most successful coaches of the past few years. Hurley was fined $25,000 by the Big East after UConn's final loss of the regular season to Marquette after he appeared to come in contact with the referee. He was called for a double-technical ejection in the moment, which sealed the win for the Golden Eagles on March 7.

Hurley even offered his glasses to an official during UConn's eventual 67-63 win over No. 3 Michigan State in the Sweet 16, due to UConn winning a challenge.

Prior to the Sweet 16 against Michigan State, Hurley told Pat McAfee he'd done a decent job this year with his behavior. Apparently, all bets were off come UConn's biggest two games of the season, though.

"For the most part, I think I've been a pretty good boy this year," Hurley said. "My behavior's been pretty good. Even in that situation, I didn't touch him. I never made contact with the official. There was actually never contact made, the official said that. Again, that was quite a long time ago."

UConn trailed by as many as 19 points late in the first half and faced its largest halftime deficit of the season when behind 44-29 at the break. It started 1-of-18 from 3-point range, before ending the game 4-of-5 from distance, all of which makes came in the final few minutes of regulation.

Hurley and UConn are still alive, looking for their third national championship of the last four seasons. And UConn and college basketball fans alike won't have to worry about Hurley not bringing the energy down the stretch as he reaches another Final Four.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dan Hurley comes face-to-face with official in UConn's historic win

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Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Red-Hot Forward From AHL

The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a roster move ahead of their Monday night contest against the New York Islanders.

The Penguins have announced that they have recalled forward Avery Hayes from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 

Hayes has played in his first 11 career NHL games this season with Pittsburgh, where he has recorded two goals and 12 penalty minutes. Now, he will be aiming to impress after getting this latest call-up to Pittsburgh's roster. 

Down in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Hayes has posted 22 goals, 13 assists, 35 points, 48 penalty minutes, and a plus-8 rating. This included him recording three goals and five points in his last two games alone for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

With this, there is no question that Hayes has earned this latest chance on Pittsburgh's roster. It will be interesting to see how much of an impact he can make with the NHL club from here. 

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Game 4 Preview: Verlander to make 2026 debut for Tigers at Diamondbacks

The Detroit Tigers won their first series of the season against the San Diego Padres and now move on to the next leg of the 2026 campaign-opening road trip at the Arizona Diamondbacks this week, starting on Monday night.

So far, in an obviously limited sample size, AJ Hinch’s team is in the lower half of the MLB offensive standings, ranking 23rd in batting average (.202), 16th in on-base percentage (.319), 29th in slugging (.263) and 23rd in OPS (.582).

On the flip side, the Motor City Kitties are among the best when it comes to pitching, ranking second in ERA (1.38), eighth in WHIP (1.12) and ninth in batting average against (.204). The team’s performance on the mound is not too surprising, given that it was clearly a strength coming in.

The fourth man in the rotation this year for the Tigers is none other than future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, who takes the mound on Monday wearing the Olde English D for the first time since 2017. Opposite him is Michael Soroka, who left the Chicago Cubs for the desert as a free agent this past offseason.

Here is a look at how they match up in Game 1 of the series.

Detroit Tigers (2-1) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (0-3)

Time (ET): 10:10 p.m. ET
Place: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
SB Nation Site:AZ Snake Pit
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 4: RHP Justin Verlander (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Soroka (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

* Note: Stats in the table below are Fangraphs’ 2026 projections

PlayerGIPK%BB%ERAFIPfWAR
Verlander26140.019.7%7.6%4.494.531.5
Soroka52101.023.5%8.7%4.034.040.7

VERLANDER

SOROKA

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Where to watch New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals: Live stream, start time, TV channel, odds for Monday, March 30

The New York Mets (2-1), tied for second in the NL East, face the St. Louis Cardinals (2-1), also tied for second in the NL Central. The Mets are favored with a moneyline of -155, giving them a 57.8% implied win probability. Clay Holmes starts for the Mets, while Kyle Leahy takes the mound for the Cardinals.

  • New York Mets: 2-1 (#3 in NL East)

  • St. Louis Cardinals: 2-1 (#3 in NL Central)

  • Spread: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5

  • Moneyline: St. Louis Cardinals +125 / New York Mets -155

  • Over/Under: 9.0

  • New York Mets: Clay Holmes (2025 stats: 12-8, ERA: 3.53, K: 129, WHIP: 1.30, BB: 66)

  • St. Louis Cardinals: Kyle Leahy (2025 stats: 4-2, ERA: 3.07, K: 80, WHIP: 1.23, BB: 28)

Weather: 83°F at first pitch