MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 27: A detailed view of the MLB debut jersey patch worn TJ Rumfield #7 of the Colorado Rockies in the first inning against the Miami Marlins by at loanDepot park on March 27, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Rockies played their last two spring training games and their first two regular season games this week. So far in the regular season, they’re 0-2 but there have been some moments of brightness. TJ Rumfield made his MLB debut, knocked his first MLB hit and launched his first MLB home run in his first two games. Ezequiel Tovar hit his first home run in 2025, and there were some excellent defensive plays made throughout the games. The baserunning game, though, still needs some work.
Additionally, on the farm, Charlie Condon hit two home runs (likely revenge homers for starting the year in Triple-A). Maybe we’ll see him sooner than we thought…
That all said, here’s what our staff had to write about during this busy week!
For the second time in as many days, Syracuse scored three runs, but this time, they surrendered five and suffered their first loss of the 2026 campaign. Joander Suarez gave up the first couple of those runs in his first start of the year, and Jonathan Pintaro and Alex Carrillo—both of whom made appearances for the big league Mets last year—gave up two runs and one run, respectively, to swing the game in Worcester’s favor.
Suns guard Jalen Green (4) celebrates a three pointer against the Jazz during a game at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on March 28, 2026. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Sometimes you need a slump buster, and there is no shame in that. The Phoenix Suns came in 1–6 over their last seven, searching for something to steady them, and the Utah Jazz provided that opportunity. Utah is deep in tank mode, and on Saturday night in downtown Phoenix, it showed early and often as the Suns easily dispatched them, 134-109.
Watching from the stands, the first thing that jumped out was the defensive intensity from Phoenix. There was purpose to it, a level of connection that made everything look clean. When one team is moving in sync and the other is not, it becomes obvious quickly. The Suns were rotating, communicating, and turning defense into offense. The Jazz were stuck in isolation, one pass, one move, one shot, the kind of possessions that stall before they ever really start.
It felt familiar in a different way. Watching so much college basketball this time of year, you see those same empty possessions from teams that are not connected, where everything leans on one player and the result is rushed and inefficient. That is where Utah is right now, limping toward the finish line, eyes on the lottery. Phoenix is in a different space, trying to build rhythm, trying to sharpen habits, trying to turn effort into execution.
One moment in the third quarter stuck with me. Jordan Ott pulled Rasheer Fleming aside after a substitution and spent two possessions talking him through a previous sequence. Teaching, correcting, reinforcing. It was not loud, it was not dramatic, but it mattered. Those are the moments that define a season like this one. A transition year is built on those exchanges, on the small adjustments that turn into growth over time.
There is still plenty to appreciate in the present. Wins like this serve a purpose. They restore a little confidence, they remind you what it looks like when things click. At the same time, it is hard not to glance ahead, to think about what this team could become as these lessons stack. It is a small takeaway from a comfortable win, but it is one that lingers.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
He wasn’t the highest scorer against the Nuggets, but having Royce O’Neale back and seeing him hit 5-of-8 from deep got into your feels. He joins Jordan Goodwin and Jalen Green with 4 Bright Side Baller’s on the year.
Saturday could not have gone better for the New York Islanders amid their playoff push.
After knocking off the Florida Panthers 5-2, scoring five unanswered goals in the second period, the Islanders moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points.
However, waking up in second would depend on the out-of-town scoreboard.
And, for the first time in quite a while, the results went the Islanders' way:
The Pittsburgh Penguins (88 points) fell 6-3 to the Dallas Stars.
The Columbus Blue Jackets (87 points) lost 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks.
The Detroit Red Wings (86 points) fell 5-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Ottawa Senators (86 points) lost 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Islanders' next game is critical as they host the Penguins at UBS Arena on Monday night, the first of a back-to-back. They travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Tuesday.
In the last two games, the Montreal Canadiens had weak starts and needed goaltender Jakub Dobes to be phenomenal in the first frame to keep them in it before they found their footing. On Saturday night against the Nashville Predators, rookie Jacob Fowler wasn’t put in the same predicament. Quite to the contrary, Martin St-Louis’ team was very strong out of the gate. So strong in fact that the Tennessee outfit only managed to test Fowler three times in the first 20 minutes, while Montreal put nine shots on Juuse Saros’ net.
With two games on tap this weekend, it wasn’t surprising that St-Louis elected to give Fowler a game and rest Jakub Dobes for a second game against the Carolina Hurricanes in the span of six days. There was, however, one surprising thing about Fowler on the night: the Florida native had replaced the back plate of his mask, which normally depicts a Sunshine State licence plate, with one that featured a Quebec licence plate. He had used that on the mask he had made for the AHL All-Star Classic earlier this year and had said then that he decided to do it because Quebec was now his new home. A touch that will no doubt be appreciated by Canadiens’ fans.
For the second game in a row, the opponents ran into the Habs’ goaltender, and the Sainte-Flanelle was having none of it. On each occasion, the Canadiens stood up for their masked man. That’s great because you don’t go far in this league if you do not have a pack mentality, but the problem was that on both occurrences, it was diminutive defenseman Lane Hutson who came to the rescue.
On Thursday, against a 6-foot-2, 204-pound forward, Boone Jenner, and on Saturday, against a 6-foot, 183-pound forward, Luke Evangelista. While it’s good that someone was willing to stand up for the goalies, it never should be Hutson. Firstly, because that’s not his job, and secondly, because the Canadiens absolutely cannot afford an injury to their star blueliner.
Of course, the first name that comes to mind in that situation is Arber Xhekaj, but the gritty blueliner has been a healthy scratch for the last five games, and so he wasn’t on the ice or on the bench. It’s hard to imagine St-Louis putting him back in the lineup at this stage, since Jayden Struble has been playing great hockey of late. My one criticism is that he should have been the one to defend the goalies, not Hutson.
What’s the solution then? Playing seven defensemen? St-Louis has repeatedly said he doesn’t like doing that, as it’s hard to manage everyone’s ice time in that situation. Would it be worth inserting Xhekaj as a fourth-line forward? The idea could be interesting to explore, especially when St-Louis only played his fourth liners for an average of roughly eight minutes on Thursday. Still, the time for experiments has long gone. The Canadiens are involved in one of the tightest playoff races in recent memory. The stakes are just too high; you can’t play a player out of position now. Furthermore, it’s unlikely that the coach would be willing to scratch an offensive player to make way for protection; it’s just not the way he thinks.
Still, however things play out, this issue has to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed in a hurry.
No Jealousy On The Second Line
In the Canadiens 4-1 win, Montreal’s second line scored three of the Sainte-Flanelle’s four goals, and the three linemates each got a goal. Ivan Demidov opened the score with a spectacular shot off the post and in.
Rookie Oliver Kapanen scored the Canadiens’ second goal, on which Hutson got his 60th assist on the season, tying his total from last season. With 10 games to go, he needs six assists to tie Larry Robinson’s record of 66 assists.
Lane Hutson became just the third player and first defenseman in @CanadiensMTL history to record consecutive 60-assist seasons. #NHLStats
Later in the second frame, Alex Newhook joined the party when Demidov fed him for a one-timer in the high slot, a fantastic pass. With two points tonight, the Russian rookie now has 16 goals and 40 assists on the season for 56 points in 62 games.
Suzuki Keeps On Impressing
With an assist on Demidov’s goal, Nick Suzuki picked up the 300th assist of his career and added another one on Cole Caufield’s 45th goal of the season, meaning the captain now has 88 points this season—just one short of the career-high he set last season with 10 games left to play.
Needless to say, he will set a new mark before the end of the regular season, and it’s looking increasingly likely that he will hit the 100-point mark. As things stand, he’s on pace for exactly 100 points. The last Hab to hit the century mark in a season was Mats Naslund back in 1985-86, remember that year? It was a fantastic year in Montreal, and it ended with a parade.
The Canadiens headed to Carolina after the game, where they’ll take on the Hurricanes on Sunday at 5:00 PM. It will be interesting to see if Josh Anderson will be well enough to play. He left the game in the first frame, and the Habs later announced he was ill. If he’s not good to gp, what will Montreal do? Alexandre Texier is not on the trip according to La Presse and the Habs didn’t call up anyone. Can Patrik Laine become an option? That appears unlikely, Perhaps St-Louis could be forced to use seven blueliners…
ST. LOUIS — The Toronto Maple Leafs played their first game without their mentors present since rattling off back-to-back wins against the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, and their effort on the ice made it look like they needed them back.
The Maple Leafs fell 5-1 to the St. Louis Blues. It looked like it was going to be one of those nights for the Leafs early on, when a four-minute power play for Toronto midway through the first period generated no shots on goal for the man-advantage. From there, things snowballed.
Justin Holl, playing in just his sixth NHL game this season, scored his second goal since 2024 when he departed the Leafs; notably, both of those goals occurred against Toronto. Although Jake McCabe scored early in the third period to cut St. Louis’s lead to 2-1, Pius Suter scored a shorthanded goal shortly after, deflating any hopes of a Toronto comeback.
It was a listless effort by Toronto’s skaters. "We had one player show up tonight, and that was our goalie. That's really what it boils down to," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after the game. The Blues outshot the Maple Leafs in all three periods, demonstrating Toronto’s lack of urgency.
Playing in their 74th game of 82, Toronto’s playoff hopes are now all but mathematically dashed. The urgency just isn't there, and the Leafs are having a hard time manufacturing it given what lies ahead: a summer with no postseason hockey.
“We didn't check. We had no pressure. We let them come at us all night. We had the puck all night, but we didn't check it off them,” Berube said. “Checking is a will, a want, and an urgency, right? And, you know, we let them do whatever they want with the puck tonight”.
Perhaps most disappointing is that the Leafs didn’t put forth a better effort in front of Joseph Woll. The St. Louis native made 33 saves on 38 shots, but the save percentage doesn’t tell the whole story. The goaltender had to make several high-danger stops throughout the evening.
McCabe was asked if it’s hard to generate urgency given where the team sits in the standings. He paused to contemplate his response. “It shouldn’t be,” he responded. “It’s a privilege to play in this league and play on this team. If you lack urgency as a player, you’re going to find yourself out of this league”.
Craig Berube following tonight's 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues: "We had one player show up tonight, and that was our goalie. That's really what it boils down to."
The Leafs need to change the dynamic. It may or may not be the players; it might require a tweak in management, or perhaps both. While there have been occasions this season when the Leafs dominated in all three periods, there is now a complacency that comes with knowing the season is nearly over. This feels like a resignation, unlike the 4-0 loss to the Washington Capitals where the team was in full crisis mode.
Are the Leafs this bad? Is this just a bad year that can be flipped around with a retool? There aren’t many answers right now, and there won’t be until mid-April when their season comes to an end. Until then, the Leafs will be searching for urgency and motivation. The mentors aren’t around—but maybe they need to be.
BALTIMORE, MD - MARCH 26: Shane Baz #34 of the Baltimore Orioles takes the floor before the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Hello, friends.
The Orioles just can’t let us feel good about them for long, huh? The vibes were great yesterday afternoon around the Shane Baz contract extension, with excitement for the near future of the team from the front office and from a good number of the players. If only they could have sustained those good vibes through even one more game after that. Instead, the Orioles turned in a stinker of a 4-1 loss to the Twins to fall to 1-1 on the year. Check out my recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.
Anybody who is my age or younger has been prepared for this kind of thing by a lifetime of being Orioles fans. Nothing good lasts for long and plenty of times things have come along within 24 hours to squash fun vibes. This is only the latest example. Baz has the opportunity to bring the good vibes back here this afternoon, if he can turn in a good outing in his first game in an Orioles uniform.
It’s still kind of wild for me to think about, but Baz got that contract extension before ever throwing a pitch for the team. Mike Elias really likes this guy. This is not a guarantee of success. Sometimes Elias likes guys based on thinking they’ll be better than they have been and it doesn’t work out that way. Sometimes he likes guys based on thinking they’ll be about what they have been in the past and that doesn’t work out either. The guy has a solid track record overall, but there are glaring gaps and one of those is building a quality starting rotation.
Getting Baz locked up could be the first sign of starting to bring some stability into that group. Getting way ahead of ourselves, just based on who has major league experience and will still be available to the Orioles next year, they’ve got Kyle Bradish, Baz, and Dean Kremer. That’s potentially not a bad 60% of a rotation. If one of the team’s pitching prospects can fill a spot better than the previous wave’s guys like Cade Povich and Brandon Young did, then there’s only one hole to fill. That’s a whole lot better than having to sign two guys and trade for a third guy every winter.
Of course, two games into this 2026 season, there hasn’t been too much cause for worrying about the rotation yet. It’s an offense that’s not looking like much has changed from the last season and a half worth of Orioles baseball that feels like a problem. You can make excuses for this if you want, particularly yesterday when it was the 10th-coldest game start temperature in Oriole Park at Camden Yards history. Warmer weather is coming as soon as today, so this excuse pretty much expired already. Until they do enough to change the story, it’s the same story.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
You know who wants to talk some about the Shane Baz press conference? Everybody whose job it is to cover the Orioles on a regular basis.
There really is a lot to digest about it. Yes, it’s a further sign that something different is happening now than we got accustomed to with contracts before Rubenstein took over. It shows that the Orioles might actually invest in their rotation. There is hope for extensions for any non-Boras client who the O’s deem worth it. It seems like there is excitement both in the Orioles clubhouse and front office for these things happening. That’s all cool. It would just be a lot more cool if they built on these good feelings with how they played on the field yesterday.
Joseph Dzierwa headlines the Orioles next wave of pitching prospects (Baseball America) Subscription required for this one. The pitcher had a phenomenal appearance in the Spring Breakout game and if he carries that forward into the minor league season, that’s going to get mighty interesting in a hurry.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
The Orioles last won a game on this day just last year, when they beat the Blue Jays, 9-5, to improve to 2-1 for the season. Just four of the seventeen players who appeared for the Orioles that day are on the 26-man roster right now. Jordan Westburg had four hits, including a pair of homers.
One lone former Oriole was born on this day: 1989-91 infielder Juan Bell. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 48.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: 10th president John Tyler (1790), baseball Hall of Famer Cy Young (1867), actress Amy Sedaris (1961), model Elle Macpherson (1964), and actress Lucy Lawless (1968).
On this day in history…
In 1461, the two sides of England’s Wars of the Roses fought the Battle of Towton. The York contingent, led by Edward, defeated the Lancastrian force of Queen Margaret, leading to Edward being crowned as Edward IV and the wars being interrupted for nine years.
In 1847, during the Mexican-American War, American military forces captured the city of Veracruz following a siege.
In 1961, upon ratification by the state of Ohio, the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution, which grants electoral votes to the District of Columbia, took effect. Maryland was seventh to ratify, about two months earlier.
In 1971, Lt. William Calley was convicted of 22 counts of premeditated murder for his role in the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam three years earlier. He served three days in prison before being released to house arrest under order of President Nixon, and ultimately served three years of house arrest for these murders.
In 1984, the Mayflower vans pulled out from the Baltimore Colts facility, marking the end of the Baltimore Colts and the beginning of the Indianapolis team that bears the same name.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a random book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. I’ll ask a question each time it’s my turn in this space until I run out of questions or forget. It’s probably going to be run out of questions. Since I’m skipping stupid questions, repeat questions, and questions about the St. Louis Browns (it’s not a good book of trivia), we’re already up to 77, which is this:
Who had the lowest earned run average on the 1970 Orioles staff?
I will add the hint that this is inclusive of relievers.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 29. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!
Mar 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch against the Texas Rangers in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Somewhere, at some point, Bob Uecker would have been proud of that game yesterday.
Except for that whole getting a second hit thing in the ninth inning. Thanks, Alec, for ruining my joke for today. And, you know, the rest of the team for making it a ballgame.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - FEBRUARY 7: San Antonio Spurs center court logo during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 7, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Per a Spurs press release:
The San Antonio Spurs announced the launch of Spurs AI Studio, a new innovation platform designed to create AI-powered fan experiences in collaboration with leading brand partners. The platform allows the Spurs to deliver premium AI-driven experiences to their fans with interactive, personalized activations in-game and digitally. Spurs AI Studio will debut its first production, “ULTRA Arrivals,” alongside Michelob ULTRA, offering fans the ability to transform themselves into personalized player-style arrival moments. The experience is now live at UltraArrivals.SpursAIStudio.com.
Through the platform, fans can personalize fan content.
Jordan Kolosey, VP of Business Strategy, Innovation & Data Operations at Spurs Sports & Entertainment stated,
“Spurs AI Studio is about breaking down barriers and creating unforgettable experiences for our fans. This represents the future of fan engagement, and by working alongside innovative partners like Michelob ULTRA, we’re unlocking moments that were once impossible and bringing fans closer to the game than ever before.”
The first experience powered by Spurs AI Studio, ULTRA Arrivals, invites fans to snap a photo of themselves and instantly generate a cinematic “arrival” video inspired by the iconic tunnel walks typically reserved for NBA players.
Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.
Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 04: Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks reacts during the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Madison Square Garden on March 04, 2026 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tonight, the New York Knicks (48*-26) visit the Oklahoma City Thunder (58-16) at Paycom Center. This matchup tests whether New York can hang with the reigning champs or are just part-time sluggers. The Knicks dropped their seven-game win streak Thursday night in Charlotte, falling 114-103, while the Thunder keeps rolling at home with the best record in basketball.
The teams last met on March 4 in New York, where the Thunder won 103-100. Chet Holmgren dropped 28 points with eight rebounds and six threes, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 points and eight assists. Jalen Brunson (15 assists) and Karl-Anthony Towns (17-17 double-double) kept the Knicks close, but Oklahoma City’s timely stops and spacing made the difference in the final minutes.
The Okies have the league’s best defensive rating and seventh offensive. They’re fifth for points per game with 118.8. OKC is an average shooting team beyond the perimeter, but they clean up inside the arc. This is a switch-heavy, multi-positional team that plays fast when it wants and grinds when needed.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 31.3 points and 6.6 assists, getting to his spots with crafty mid-range play and leading the league in phantom fouls. Chet Holmgren puts up 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds while stretching the floor at 35%from three and anchoring the paint. Jalen Williams delivers two-way production as a 17 PPG scorer and sticky defender. Luguentz Dort brings physical wing defense and spot-up shooting, and Cason Wallace adds elite perimeter D and secondary playmaking.
Holmgren is a game-time decision with a hip issue. If he sits, expect OAKAAKUYOAK Isaiah Hartenstein to get the starting nod. The Knicks’ injury report still lists Landry Shamet (right knee contusion) as OUT, but Miles McBride has been upgraded to questionable.
Prediction
ESPN gives the Knicks roughly a 37% win probability here. We thought so. In the last matchup, the Hicks were in the driver’s seat for most of the game, but the Knicks hung in there despite falling behind by 15. Tonight, the Thunder could pull away in the second half if they exploit switches and get out in transition. For the Knicks to stay competitive, Brunson needs to draw fouls and create for his teammates, their bigs have to win the rebounding battle, and their defense must contest threes and mid-range buckets from Gilgeous-Alexander. Force half-court play, protect the paint, and make the home team work for everything…still lose by two, but do it with dignity!
Game Details
Who: New York Knicks (48*-26) at Oklahoma City Thunder (58-16) Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026 Time: 7:30 PM ET Place: Paycom Center, OKC, OK TV: NBC Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky
* Should be one more, but NBA Cups don’t believe the hype.
Wembanyama has been a key figure for the Spurs this season [Getty Images]
The Milwaukee Bucks will miss the NBA play-offs for the first time in 10 years following a 127-95 defeat by the San Antonio Spurs.
The Bucks have lost nine of their past 11 games and were without their star Giannis Antetokounmpo for the sixth game in a row as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.
It was an eighth consecutive win for the Spurs as they remain hot on the heels of defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder for both the top seed in the Western Conference and the best record in the league.
The Spurs are two games behind the Thunder with eight games left to play.
The play-in tournament begins on 14 April, with the playoffs starting four days later.
Stephon Castle had his fourth triple-double of the season - 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists - and was among seven Spurs players who scored in double figures led by Victor Wembanyama, who had 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Last week, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers rejected a claim by the National Basketball Players Association that his side were keeping a healthy Antetokounmpo out of games against the wishes of the 10-time All-Star and two-time league MVP.
"He's not [healthy]," Rivers said when asked about the NBPA's assertion that the 31-year-old is healthy and not being allowed to play so the Bucks can improve their NBA Draft lottery positioning by tanking.
(Original Caption) St. Louis: Bill Walton, UCLA, shooting a foul shot during NCAA Finals against Memphis State.
The late Bill Walton occupies a unique place in basketball history. He ranks with the greatest centers – Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon, among others – but injuries greatly limited his career.
But when he was healthy, he was indisputably great.
Boston Celtics teammate Robert Parish was speaking to former Celtic Cedric Maxwell recently and said as much. He talked about how much Walton pushed him in practice, how he made him a better player.
Keep in mind that this was quite late in his career. Walton won the title as a Portland Trail Blazer in 1977, but played in just 65 games.
He only topped 60 games three times in his NBA career, but made 80 in 1986 with Boston, where he helped the Celtics win the championship for his second ring.
In college, Walton was a massive success. He was probably the most fundamentally sound big man who ever played the game, and his best game came in the 1972 championship game against Memphis State.
In a legendary performance, Walton scored 44 points while shooting 21-22 from the floor. That’s 95.5%. He also had four shots waved off as offensive goaltending.
Toss in 13 rebounds, two assists, and a block, and it was the greatest performance in the Final Four, and it’s not particularly close.
The great shame about Walton’s career is that his bones just proved too fragile for him to play much. He had dozens of surgeries and at one point, seriously considered suicide to escape the constant pain. He found joy again and was a lively, if eccentric, presence on basketball broadcasts.
He found answers, though, and lived until 2024, passing away from colorectal cancer.
Despite becoming a March Madness fixture, the Tennessee Vols have never, in their history, made the Final Four. Despite a pedigree of modest success, including 11 regular season SEC titles and and five conference tournament championships (most recently in 2022), Tennessee has not been able to cross the threshold to college basketball's most coveted weekend.
The Barnes era marks the closest Tennessee has come, with consistency, even though its best shot arguably came before Barnes' time. The Vols' first Elite Eight trip was under Bruce Pearl in 2010, while Barnes was still roaming the Longhorns bench in Texas.
Barnes has taken Tennessee to the 2024, 2025, and 2026 Elite Eights. There's an argument to be made 2026 is his most impressive run yet, as a No. 6 seed in the Midwest bracket.
The Vols went as a No. 2 seed in both 2024 and 2025, ultimately losing to the No. 1 seeds of their respective brackets in the Elite Eight. While it could be easy to think it will be more of the same Sunday against No. 1 Michigan, Tennessee has now taken down No. 3 Virginia and No. 2 Iowa State to get to this point. So perhaps one more upset is in store.
Has Tennessee basketball ever made a Final Four?
Tennessee has not made a Final Four in its history, making it one of five SEC schools to not get to the national semifinal round.
The others are Missouri, Mississippi, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. Alabama basketball made its first Final Four in 2024.
Tennessee basketball Elite Eight record
The Vols are 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with losses in 2010, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Here's a look at their full history in the fourth full round of the tournament.
2010: No. 5 Michigan State 70, No. 6 Tennessee 69
2024: No. 1 Purdue 72, No. 2 Tennessee 66
2025: No. 1 Houston 69, No. 2 Tennessee 50
2026: TBD, vs. No. 1 Michigan
Rick Barnes Elite Eight record
Barnes is not just defined by his career at Tennessee. He does have a Final Four appearance, winning his first Elite Eight game with Texas in 2003. Since then, though, he is 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with two losses at both Texas and Tennessee.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 25: José Caballero #72 of the New York Yankees embraces Austin Wells #28 and Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 after scoring against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning on Opening Day at Oracle Park on March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Three games, three wins! It’s hard to do much better than that, the Yankees starting off their season with a sweep for the second year in a row. The shape of the sweep was much different this time around though, as this season’s Yankees have used phenomenal pitching to quell the Giants, while the 2025 squad absolutely pummeled the Brewers into submission. The team is in a groove, but the thing about the early season is that it can take a moment for the schedule to get rolling; the Yankees have their second off-day of the year today, and they’ll have three breathers interspersed through the first six days of the season. So rest up, before we head to Seattle for a few late nights with the Mariners.
On the site today, Peter has you handled for the Rivalry Roundup, and he also has the next entry in our Yankees Birthday series, profiling pitcher Herb McQuaid. Also, in the afternoon John spins around opening week on Yankees social media.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 26: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics dribbles the ball to the basket against Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half at the TD Garden on November 26, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Jaylen Brown had some things to say about the NBA’s regular season awards on Wednesday.
In the wake of Cade Cunningham’s lung collapse, robbing him of consideration for All-NBA and MVP awards, Jaylen Brown reminded everyone that back when the 65-game minimum threshold was written into the current CBA—by the NBPA and the league—it was met with largely unalloyed approval from fans and players alike.
We felt that players should be expected to appear in a significant majority of their team’s game in order to qualify for season awards that are, after all, awards for performance over the entire season.
On his Twitch stream, Brown said, “You can’t have dudes playing 45-50 games and winning First-Team All-NBA. You basically came to work half the time and got rewarded for it.”
And that, friends, is the rub.
Consider a pile of sand.
Remove one grain.
Is it still a pile of sand?
Yes?
Remove another grain.
Is it still a pile of sand?
Yes?
Remove another grain.
At some point in time, your pile of sand will stop being a pile of sand.
And so it goes with this notion that there shouldn’t be any game limit for regular season awards. You can say that you don’t think there should be a limit, but common sense dictates that there is, in fact, a limit.
After all, absent any limits, you could make a case for an All-NBA nod for a guy who plays one game, scores 40 points, and then tears his ACL in his next game out. I mean, the guy has a 40 PPG average!
Obviously, no one who wants the games played limit abolished would say that a guy who plays a single game deserves consideration for All-NBA status, which means that they have a games played limit—even if they don’t admit to it.
The only thing this dictated games played limit does is put the limit out there in the open for everyone to apply. It doesn’t establish a limit, it standardizes it.
It stops voters from shading things so that they’ll give LeBron consideration for All-NBA status (played in 53 games so far), while dismissing Victor Wembanyama—who’s been subject to more obvious load management—and who’s appeared in five more games than LeBron thus far.
This way, the arbitrary rule—and it is as arbitrary as most rules of this sort are—is at least universally arbitrary.
The fact that some players are going to be ineligible due to the existence of the rule is hardly a plausible argument against the existence of that rule. The whole point of rules is to set boundaries, to establish limits. Rules define things, and definitions, by their very nature, exclude as well as include.
That some of these players received consideration in the past despite missing a significant number of games is not an argument in favor of abolishing this rule, and the fact that some players have been hampered by injuries is, to be blunt, the nature of the game.
Look, if you play in fifty games and look absolutely amazing in those 50 games, and because of you, your team wins most of those games handily, that’s great. But what are you doing for your team during the 32 games you missed? Nothing. What are you doing as far as performance against your peers in those games? Nothing.
That’s what matters in this debate—and what gets overlooked—when you’re not playing, you’re not contributing, and when you’re not contributing, you shouldn’t be accruing “points” towards regular season awards.
Basketball in the NBA is a mass-produced commodity. In the course of the regular season almost 60,000 minutes of basketball are manufactured and consumed. When you’re playing, you’re putting something out there that can be evaluated, measured, weighed and considered in context. When you’re not, you’re not.
Yes, there’s a laundry list of name brand players who are either ineligible for these awards or are on the cusp of ineligibility this season, but the thing about these awards is that they are supposed to be about what you do, not who you are.
