If you listened to Mashburn’s postgame studio monologue, you would have thought Kentucky lost to Santa Clara. It didn’t. Thanks to Oweh’s 35 points, including a buzzer-beating bucket to send the game to overtime, the Wildcats prevailed against the 10th-seeded Broncos. But, Mashburn spoke for Big Blue Nation when he said Kentucky is supposed to beat Santa Clara, especially with its pricey roster. Merely advancing to the second round won’t be enough to meet Kentucky’s standard.
“It's not an expectation to get to the tournament,” Mashburn said in the TNT studio. “It's about Final Fours and championships.”
The ‘Cats survived a first-round upset in a tournament filled with chalk, but now they’ll have their hands full with No. 2 Iowa State.
If the officials had granted Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek the timeout he wanted, this game might have ended differently. Up three points with a couple of seconds remaining, Sendek probably would have instructed his team to foul Kentucky to prevent a 3-point shot.
But, the officials didn’t see Sendek signaling timeout, Santa Clara didn’t foul, and Oweh banked in a bomb to stave off an upset.
Meanwhile, Pope’s predecessor John Calipari cruised into the second round with a red-hot Arkansas team. Pope’s not going to get that Final Four Mashburn talked about, but better go as far as Cal’s Hogs go, or face the heat.
“Coach (Rick) Pitino often refers to Kentucky as Camelot, and there’s a lot of truth to that,” Sendek said. “It is not like that everywhere else, you know. … I assure you, Big Blue Nation is one of a kind.”
By one of a kind, he means they’re more demanding than any other fan base in college basketball.
No wonder Calipari looks like he’s got the weight of the world off his shoulders.
Cinderella snoozes in 2026 NCAA Tournament
Blame NIL and the transfer portal if you must, or perhaps the Cinderellas are just enjoying a brief hibernation, but for the second straight year, the underdog napped in the first round of the tournament.
Tradition dictates we get a 12 vs. 5 upset, and so High Point delivered. Siena put a scare into Duke, but the Blue Devils rallied to fend off embarrassment. Otherwise, the biggest upsets were a pair of 11-seeds knocking out a couple of 6-seeds. That doesn’t count for madness, especially when you consider No. 6 North Carolina was playing without its best player, Caleb Wilson, and No. 6 Brigham Young was without one of its top scorers, Richie Saunders.
The good news about so much chalk prevailing? It heightens the chance for some epic Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four matchups.
Final Four still intact
Before the tournament, I uncorked a Final Four of Michigan State, Houston, Arizona and Michigan. No reason to modify those picks. All four cruised in Round 1, while No. 1 overall seed Duke threatened to join Virginia and Purdue in the Hall of Shame.
Head to the Missouri Valley
If you’re in need of a new coach, you might try the Missouri Valley Conference. A couple of ex-Valley coaches are wearing their promotion well.
Josh Schertz has Saint Louis in the second round after the Billikens trounced Georgia. Two years ago, Schertz took Indiana State to the NIT finals. At Iowa, Ben McCollum passed the test in Year 1 after getting a call-up from Drake. McCollum’s Hawkeyes beat Clemson in the first round.
NCAA Tournament expansion? Please, no
The first round won’t kill off tournament expansion dialogue, but it should. Did anyone watch those first-round games and think, “You know what we need? We need the 69th-best team in the bracket!”
The bubble was as weak as ever, and the favorites served a barrage of blowouts in Round 1. Please, leave the field at 68. Nothing about this first round made a worthy argument for tournament expansion.
March Madness second-round upsets
Who’s on upset alert in the second round? Here are three to watch:
∎ Few gave Tennessee much chance to reach the Sweet 16 before the tournament began, but the Vols looked better in the first round than No. 3 Virginia did against Wright State. Tennessee plays the type of nasty defense that Rick Barnes loves, and a Vols team that beat Houston and Louisville is good enough to topple Virginia, which would be a fourth straight Sweet 16 for Tennessee.
∎ Miami aced its hire of 37-year-old Jai Lucas. The Hurricanes torched Missouri in St. Louis, and they’re good enough to threaten No. 2 Purdue in the second round. Three of the four 7-seeds won in the first round. If you judge Miami by the way it played against Missouri, it should have been a 6- or even a 5-seed.
∎ Now, for my boldest second-round upset: Kentucky can beat Iowa State if the Cyclones are without Joshua Jefferson, who injured his ankle in the first round. Never mind Mashburn's groaning, a second straight Sweet 16 for Pope would alleviate some heat. Just get the ball into Oweh’s hands, and let him cook.
Coventry win 3-0 at Swansea, Boro held by Blackburn
QPR put six past Portsmouth, Wrexham see off Blades
Kieran McKenna was left rueing missed chances after Ipswich’s promotion-rivals Millwall took a point home from a 1-1 draw at Portman Road.
Their opener came in the first half from Jack Clarke, with Millwall responding early in the second period through Josh Coburn. The result means Ipswich remain third, level on 69 points with their opponents in fourth, but Town have a game in hand.
Dodger Stadium used to suffocate offense, now it invites it.
For decades, Dodger Stadium lived on the reputation of a pitcher’s park. A place where fly balls went to die under the Southern California night, where the marine layer rolled in like a silent accomplice.
Not anymore.
According to a RotoWire MLB study built on Statcast data from 2020 through 2025, Dodger Stadium has quietly — and now unmistakably — become Major League Baseball’s most prolific home run haven. Not Coors Field. Not Cincinnati’s bandbox. Not the Bronx. Los Angeles. With 1,241 home runs launched into its bleachers and beyond, it sits atop the sport, narrowly ahead of Great American Ball Park (1,221) and Yankee Stadium (1,216).
Dodger Stadium stands alone as baseball’s most prolific home run haven. Getty Images
Part of the shift in Dodger Stadium going from a pitcher’s park to the most home run-friendly park in baseball is hitting philosophy. The Dodgers hired Robert Van Scoyoc as their hitting coach ahead of the 2019 season, reinforcing a commitment to modern, launch-angle-oriented hitting philosophies.
Another part is roster construction. You’ve heard of the Bronx Bombers, right? Well, what about the Dodger Destroyers. Los Angeles has been in the top five in total home runs every season going back to 2020, and they hammered 244 home runs alone in 2025, 142 of them at home. When you consistently trot a lineup full of former MVPs who love the long ball, your home run totals are going to rise.
At the center of this power surge stands Shohei Ohtani, the game’s gravitational force, who has already launched 57 of his 109 Dodgers home runs within these same once-pitcher-friendly walls.
“I think that our team is a big part of hitting them,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts when told that the most home runs launched in baseball since 2020 have been at Dodger Stadium. “We play 81 games at home. So offensively, we’ve done a good job of hitting homers in our ballpark. And when you get Shohei (Ohtani) it skews that number a little bit, too.”
Coors Field, home of the Rockies, tied for sixth. Getty ImagesGreat American Ball Park in Cincinnati came in second, 20 long balls behind Blue Heaven on Earth. Getty Images
But Roberts also pointed to something that isn’t talked about enough. The weather.
The marine layer still lingers, and the physics of flight for a baseball have remained the same.
But over the last decade, due in large part to climate change and global warming, the average temperature in Los Angeles from April to September has risen by 3 degrees Fahrenheit, with five of the warmest years in California history having occurred since 2020.
“I think there’s something to the air in the summertime,” Roberts said. “The air gets light, and the ball flies. But it is a surprising stat of all the ballparks in the big leagues Dodger Stadium leads the league in home runs.”
Yankee Stadium is third on the list. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
It is surprising that Chavez Ravine was once known as a park that punished imperfection and now it rewards precision — and modern hitters are nothing if not precise.
Even Angel Stadium, another venue long held hostage by dense coastal air, ranks fourth with 1,150 home runs. The narrative that weather alone dictates offense is cracking, just like bats meeting 98 at the top of the zone.
Another surprising twist? Coors Field — baseball’s mile-high launching pad — didn’t even crack the top five, tying for sixth. Oracle Park, once feared for its cavernous dimensions, sits near the bottom. Meanwhile, Dodger Stadium — baseball’s old soul — has become its loudest amplifier.
The Dodgers have won three World Series since 2020, but Dodger Stadium didn’t change its identity overnight.
It got rewritten by the recent history of success.
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PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 10: Jorge Polanco #11 of the New York Mets runs onto the field prior to the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets at Clover Park on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Phebe Grosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
When the Mets signed Jorge Polanco to a two-year, $40 million contract to be their first baseman just days after Pete Alonso got five years from the Baltimore Orioles, it was, to put it lightly, a surprise. Polanco has been a good offensive player for a number of years, with a standout 2025 for the Seattle Mariners. However, he had never played more than an inning of first base professionally and, entering his age 33 season, isn’t exactly at the stage of his career where a positional change this extreme is likely.
Now, let’s get both extremes out of the way. Polanco was a not-great middle infielder for most of his career, but based on all available data, playing second base or shortstop is much higher on the defensive difficulty spectrum than playing first is. He is downshifting positional difficulty, which is the better approach for someone learning the position during spring training. So this isn’t like asking Juan Soto to learn shortstop.
But playing first isn’t, as Brad Pitt as Billy Beane once said, “not that hard.” First base is a very different position than any of the other infield positions because of the footwork, the stretching, and the picking, all of which don’t really resemble play at the other positions. While, yes, the worst defenders on the field usually play first, they usually know how to play first base. So this isn’t as simple as just giving Polanco a new glove and suddenly getting Lou Gherig out there. Plus, he’s going to be catching throws from a brand new third baseman in Bo Bichette, which adds to the difficulty.
The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, and while Polanco has played a few games at first this spring, it isn’t as if his performance has sparked gobsmacked reactions on either extreme. This is likely going to be an open question until Polanco shows one way or the other what his first base defense looks like.
That is only half of Polanco’s game and, frankly, the half that could change at the drop of a hat. If the first twenty games are an unmitigated disaster, Polanco could wind up the (close to) full-time designated hitter and put this question of first base behind us. So let’s look at who Polanco the hitter is.
Actually, that is harder to do than you may think.
Polanco battled a lot of leg injuries, has an 80-game suspension for performance enhancing drugs on his record, and has had a lot of ups and downs in his MLB career. Using Baseball Reference’s 162 game average, Polanco has been a .263/.330/.442 hitter with 23 home runs, good for a 112 OPS+. While those aren’t exactly Pete Alonso numbers, given the mix of players the Mets brought in this season, that’s probably a passable performance.
But those career numbers are not really who 2026 Polanco is. After a disastrous 2024 season, Polanco remade his swing and came out a very different hitter. Our Lukas Vlahos discussed this while grading his signing:
Under the hood, there are clear changes supporting the offensive jump. Polanco increased his bat speed by more than a full mile per hour and nearly doubled his fast swing rate without lengthening his swing at all. He also flattened his attack angle, a change that did result in more ground balls but which also improved the quality of his pulled air contact. All of this drove significant improvements to Polanco’s Z-contact and exit velocity metrics without harming his approach significantly or batted ball distribution in a meaningful way…Polanco had a 92nd percentile ISO and a 13th percentile strikeout rate…Among players with 100 PA last year, Ketel Marte is the only batter better than Polanco in both of these metrics. Jose Ramirez is the only other player somewhat close. That’s impressive company no matter how you slice it.
If the Mets believe that the changes he made are real and sustainable, then let’s use his 2025 as a more accurate comparison for this season: .265/.326/.495 with 26 home runs. That’s a 134 OPS+, which is much more palatable for a first baseman. For context, Alonso’s OPS+ was 144 in 2025.
I use Alonso purposely, as that is who Polanco is going to be compared to for his entire Mets tenure. I don’t think anyone, from David Stearns to Polanco, expects Polanco to put up Alonso’s power numbers in 2026. Alonso is, at this moment, one of the elite power hitters in the game, and over the course of Polanco’s two-year deal, he will likely always be the inferior power hitter to Alonso.
But signing to Polanco for two years is very different than signing Alonso for five. Polanco at first is a roll of the dice, but Alonso at first is a known quantity. And what’s known more than many of us want to believe is that Alonso is declining defensively, and doing so at a fairly steep rate. It is understandable to want Alonso, who you know what to expect from, versus Polanco, a total unknown at first base. But even if Polanco is a disaster at first base and at the plate, he’s a more affordable and short term disaster than Alonso may wind up being.
But if Polanco can be a passable first baseman – a big if – and he can keep his changes from 2025 going – another big if – the overall performance between the two may be closer than we think.
Of course, that doesn’t erase the many fantastic memories we have of Alonso as a Met, nor does it lessen the sting of his departure for those that wanted to root for him in blue and orange for the rest of his career. But what it may do is help the team win baseball games. And that is why we are all here, isn’t it?
LAKELAND, FLORIDA - MARCH 12, 2026: Will Warren #98 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch during the sixth inning of a game against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on March 12, 2026 in Lakeland, Florida. The Yankees beat the Tigers, 4-3. (Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Going into 2026, the Yankees have quite a number of interesting rotation options at their disposal. Some of those — the likes of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt — will miss some time to start the season, but are expected back at some point. In the meantime, the team will be relying on Max Fried at the top of the rotation, and hoping that Cam Schlittler is as good as his tantalizing rookie season made him look.
There are also another couple young players who, at least to start the year, will be tasked with rounding out the rotation. Two of them we’ve seen plenty of in recent years: Will Warren and 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil. Another is Ryan Weathers, who the Yankees picked up in a trade with the Marlins this offseason. With those three hoping to impress and get a longer run in the rotation, even when the Yankees start to get some guys back from injury, we wanted to know which of them you think will have the best 2026.
As you can see, Warren was the runaway winner in the voting. That’s understandable, as we have seen several flashes of being a good pitcher in his time in the majors. With a career 5.16 ERA and a 4.44 one last year — 92 ERA+, for reference — he hasn’t been able to find consistency at the big league level. However even when he has struggled, signs like his strikeout numbers point to there being something there.
Of the three, Gil has probably shown the most at the big league level, having won the AL ROTY, as mentioned. While he dealt with injuries of his own last season, keeping him out a while, he didn’t totally replicate that in 2025. His ERA was actually better than 2024, but some of his peripherals were worse, as he continued to struggle with control and walking batters. He’s also a bit older than a ROTY win might suggest, as he’ll be 28 in June.
Weathers is quite low on this post, probably because he has really struggled in spring training. Of course, you can’t always just copy and paste spring numbers into the regular season, as players use this time of year to work on stuff, trying things they might not in a regular season game. However, there’s only so much you can write off from a 8.68 ERA in 9.1 innings. His spring debut was very impressive, and he’s struck out a ton of batters, but it’s easy to understand why people are skeptical at this stage, when we’ve mostly only seen him struggle in a Yankees’ uniform.
Whether you voted in the poll or not, who of those three do you think will have the best 2026 and why?
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza cleared up any confusion Saturday morning, announcing the team will go with a five-man starting rotation to begin the regular season.
Freddy Peralta was already announced as the Opening Day starter against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 26, but it was unclear the order of pitchers who will follow him.
David Peterson will start the second game of the season on March 28 with Nolan McLean going on March 29 to round out the opening series. Clay Holmes will then take the mound on March 30 against the St. Louis Cardinals, followed by Kodai Senga in fifth game of the season on March 31. The manager also said that if Senga needs to pitch on regular rest this year, he will.
Mendoza then clarified that Sean Manaea will be used out of the bullpen and piggyback one of the starters, but did not say which game.
"We are going to use him in a piggyback tandem, but we're not necessarily going to announce which game he's going to be pitching," Mendoza said.
Mendoza gave some more insight into what went into the decision to go with a five-man rotation over a six-man rotation, noting that plan will likely be used for two turns through the rotation.
"Six guys throwing the ball really well," Mendoza said. "And we were pretty honest with all of them at the beginning of camp. If everyone was healthy, we were going to have to make some tough decisions and one of them were going to be pitching in that type of role.
"The way we see it is, he's taking that turn right now, probably two times through the rotation because of the schedule and the off days, we don't feel like we need that sixth starter yet. He's going to make starts for us. Couple times through, making sure guys go through their routine. We'll revisit when we have to and maybe there's somebody else's turn at the time. But for now, that's the decision there."
Mendoza added that Manaea was "not happy" about the choice, but was "very respectful" and "understood" the move. The manager also said Manaea's velocity dip in spring training did not impact the decision.
"He's a professional and he'll be ready to go," Mendoza said.
Manaea later spoke with reporters after the announcement, saying he is ready to step up in the different role. The left-hander also said he's built up to 60 pitches and is hoping to reach 65-70 pitches next game (Monday in an intrasquad scrimmage).
"For me, I just want to go out and pitch and help this team win. Whatever capacity that is, I know I'm going to be the best at that," Manaea said.
He added: "I consider myself a starter. To not be that is frustrating. At the end of the day, I'm just going to let my pitching do the work, whatever capacity that is, and we'll go from there."
Carlos Mendoza announces the Mets' rotation to begin the season
🔸 Thursday, March 26 : Freddy Peralta 🔸 Saturday, March 28: David Peterson 🔸 Sunday, March 29: Nolan McLean 🔸 Monday, March 30: Clay Holmes 🔸 Tuesday, March 31: Kodai Senga pic.twitter.com/6HIwzCYTqe
Sep 13, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays first round draft pick JoJo Parker takes batting practice before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
I have a busy Saturday, in front of leaving for Japan on Sunday, so getting this together Friday night.
The Jays are in Bradenton, Florida, which is a very pretty town. But the game isn’t going to be on TV.
Also the Jays Prospect are playing the Phillies prospects in Clearwater. And this game is on Sportsnet. MLB is running these games to let us see some of the top prospect on our favorite teams. I like the idea. Apparently, the teams are using their MLB Pipeline top 30, plus others picked by their teams.
The Jays team will be players from this list:
Pitchers
Austin Cates, RHP Javen Coleman, LHP Daniel Guerra, RHP Adam Macko, LHP Landen Maroudis, RHP Carson Messina, RHP Nolan Perry, RHP Grant Rogers, RHP Gage Stanifer, RHP
Catchers
Edward Duran, C Aaron Parker, C Brandon Valenzuela, C
Infielders
Cutter Coffey, 3B Josh Kasevich, SS Sean Keys, 3B/1B Charles McAdoo, 3B/1B Arjun Nimmala, SS JoJo Parker, SS Tim Piasentin, 3B Josh Rivera, SS Juan Sanchez, 3B
We have seen many of these guys in spring games this year, but I’d love to see JoJo Parker play.
The Vegas Golden Knights enter Saturday’s matchup against the Nashville Predators with a pressing need to reverse recent setbacks. A disappointing performance against the Utah Mammoth highlighted multiple areas of concern, leaving the team’s coaching staff and players with little margin for error as the regular season approaches its critical final stretch.
Vegas has now experienced consecutive shutouts, and the past seven periods have yielded no goals. The lack of offensive execution has drawn pointed attention from head coach Bruce Cassidy, who has emphasized the importance of structural adjustments, crisp passing, and sustained pressure in the offensive zone. With time limited to implement significant changes, the Golden Knights must address both systemic and individual performance issues to regain competitiveness.
The recent struggles in net have compounded the team’s challenges. Adin Hill, who showed promise in earlier appearances, saw his performance undermined in Utah, recording no saves in a brief span that erased prior goodwill. Akira Schmid, meanwhile, maintained momentum with strong work in relief. Both goalies now face critical opportunities to reestablish confidence in the back-to-back games against Nashville and the Dallas Stars, with each performance likely to influence goaltending decisions moving forward.
Despite these difficulties, the Golden Knights retain a path to the postseason. The Pacific Division remains highly competitive yet underperforming, with the Anaheim Ducks leading with a point total that would place them outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
For Vegas, strategic victories and timely offensive execution could shift the team from a position of preservation to a meaningful playoff contender. A focused road effort against Nashville represents a pivotal opportunity to stabilize performance and set a foundation for the final weeks of the season.
We have 10 games scheduled across the Association this evening. My NBA player props for all the action will include Luka Doncic, Evan Mobley, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The reigning MVP is doing his thing again this season for the defending NBA champions, averaging 31.5 PPG. That ranks second in the Association behind only Doncic. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has cashed the Over in points in three of his last five.
SGA dropped 40 on Tuesday against Orlando, and he’s up against the lowly Wizards tonight, one of the worst teams around. He’s hit the Over in two of his last three road contests, and Gilgeous-Alexander averages 31.6 PPG on the road.
After scoring only 20 points on Wednesday, expect the well-rested SGA to come in and show out here.
Time: 5:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: FDSN OK, MNMT
Prop #2: Evan Mobley Over 19.5 points
-125 at bet365
Evan Mobley is having a nice campaign for the title-chasing Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 18.3 points per night. The big man is killing the competition lately, hitting the Over in three of his last four. Mobley just scored 26 against the Bulls, and 27 against the Bucks.
Both of those games were on the road, and the Cavs are in the Big Easy tonight to take on the Pelicans. The Pels are one of the worst teams in the league, and they’re allowing 22.6 PPG to centers.
Mobley will keep it rolling at Smoothie King Center.
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: FDSN OH, GCSEN
Prop #3: Luka Doncic Over 33.5 points
-105 at bet365
Luka Doncic has been the talk of the NBA this season, and he looks set to potentially win MVP. The Lakers superstar leads the league in scoring with 33.4 PPG, and he’s been on a different level lately.
The Slovenian just scored 100 points across his last two games. Dropping 40 against the Rockets before pouring in 60 against the Heat. He also scored 36 against Houston last weekend.
Doncic is averaging 37.2 points per contest in March, and he’s cashed the Over in three straight road outings. The Lakers visit the Magic tonight.
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ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 08: Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. looks on during the MLB and the Dominican Baseball Federation announcement at the 2025 Winter Meetings at The Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek on Monday, December 8, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mary Holt/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
In 2022, the “It’s not my Moneyball” series was created in response to the lockout imposed by the owners that disrupted Spring Training and arguably cost Clayton Kershaw a perfect game in Minneapolis (I had fun). As the season starts, the World Baseball Classic concludes, we must revive this series as trouble looms in the distance, hanging in the air, exactly in the way a brick does not.
The current consensus among MLB pundits is that the sport will slam to a grinding halt in December 2026; to which I respond: Where were you lot literally three years ago, when I pointed out the clear writing on the wall?
The owners are going to lock out the players (again) in December 2026 when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.
[emphasis as in original.]
The following point needs to be repeated loudly because most owners are counting on everyone in the media and the fans to ignore the following immutable truth: there is absolutely no reason for a lockout to occur; if the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) were to expire, the players and owners could proceed under the current system until a deal for a new CBA is struck. The only reason owners impose a lockout is to pressure the Players’ Union into accepting a salary cap, which the Union is hellbent on rejecting.
Back in 2023, the baseball world quivered in fear of Steve Cohen bullying the league with his seemingly limitless financial resources for the Mets, and looked at the efforts of Peter Seidler doing his best Mike Ilitch (Mr. I) of the Detroit Tigers impersonation as Exhibit B of why the sport would grind to a screeching halt in December 2026.
The fears were misguided as the Mets continued to find entertaining ways to set money on fire, and like Mr. I, Peter Seidler passed away all too soon, leaving a wake of family trauma, which rippled outwards to the organization and is only now reaching a conclusion.
A juggernaut did arise on the horizon, but it was not the (LOL)Mets, but our very own Los Angeles Dodgers.
If anything, if you want a starting point to the villain arc (apart from the league’s failure to punish the 2017 Houston Astros for cheating — just a piece of metal, huh? — and the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks whipping the mostly-busted 2023 Dodgers out of the playoffs), one need only look at the Dodgers after one particular signing: Shohei Ohtani in the 2023 offseason.
Lest anyone forget, Ohtani devised the structure of his massively deferred deal and presented it to the Dodgers (who clearly accepted), the San Francisco Giants (who probably should have offered more money), the Toronto Blue Jays (it is a sore subject still), and the Anaheim Angels (who declined).
Far too many people forget that Ohtani proposed the structure, likely in part because on a team with eventual-first ballot Hall of Famer Mike Trout, the closest the Angels could get to the playoffs was buying a ticket to see it with the rest of the hoi polloi.
The Dodgers largely operated with a standard deviation in spending during the first part of the current CBA until Ohtani. However, when presented with the opportunity to win with a unicorn like Ohtani, one would be an absolute fool not to try to leverage both the maximum results on the balance sheet and in the trophy room.
Unlike the Angels, the Dodgers read the room, read their hand, and shoved their chips into the middle.
2022 – $293,330,382, including $32.4 million luxury tax bill
2023 – $268,198,867, including $19.4 million luxury tax bill
2024 – $353,015,360, including $103 million luxury tax bill
2025 – $417,341,608, including $169.4 million luxury tax bill
2026 – $538.7 million, including ~$142.6 million luxury tax bill (projected)
Half a billion dollars on a team’s payroll is the fever dream of those playing MLB: The Show. In essence, the argument about the Dodgers is really three parts of the same conversation, which will be separated below:
The Dodgers have more revenue than anyone in baseball; therefore, the season is over before the first pitch is thrown! And thus baseball needs to have a lockout in 2027 to stop the madness!
Half of the above statement is true and an ironclad fact, which we shall break down and examine over the next two essays.
No one can credibly argue that the Dodgers do not lead baseball in raking in the money. One need only look at “probable Law and Order”-extra Kyle Tucker and the literal king’s ransom he will be paid over at least the next two seasons. So goes the cry before the impending lockout: the Dodgers broke baseball through wanton spending, and no other team has a chance to compete. In fact, reporters like Jeff Passan are starting to carry water for this position.
Fans are angry. At growing payroll disparity. At a Dodgers team that cracked the system. At others unwilling to do the same. And particularly at the threat of no baseball in 2027. Free at ESPN: Where the game stands — and how there's still time to fix it. https://t.co/uZrXarDx7C
Yes, the Dodgers have arguably perfected an imperfect system, much to the annoyance of the 29 other fanbases. Yes, the Dodgers are the first repeat champions in 25 years. But it’s not as if the team has slapped the league with impunity over the past 24 months.
The San Diego Padres led the best-of-five 2024 National League Division Series, two games to one (which some goober predicted that the Padres would win), before literally getting shut out for the rest of the year.
The 2024 Dodgers’ playoff rotation included “rookie” Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty (who literally alternated from good and bad between starts), Walker Buehler (who was awful in 2024), and Landon Knack (bar trivia personified)
Tommy Edman (’24 NLCS) and Freddie Freeman (‘24 WS) had the literal series of their lives to drag themselves to glory.
The ‘24 New York Yankees managed to outmanage themselves (Game 1) and blow their legs off in historic fashion (Game 5) to ensure the Dodgers’ first full-season title since 1988.
Orion Kerkering. That’s the bullet point. (Seriously, though, the Philadelphia Phillies were pretty good in 2025.)
If any one of these bullet points zigs instead of zags, the Dodgers are not the kings of the league. Dave Roberts would not be a surefire lock for induction in Cooperstown, etc., etc. Lex Pryor of The Ringerpublished an essay that largely covers these financial points from the position of a scold, rather than my position as a Dodgers fan and writer.
The Dodgers are not interested in winning 120 games in the regular season, only to lay an egg in the Division Series. They took that terrible route in 2022, which was arguably the last time that the Padres were relevant. Even in situations where things are relatively equal (say, the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes), the Dodgers still prevailed over the league. The Dodgers won 93 games in 2025, good enough for the three-seed, and, as a bonus, just about everyone was in peak form.
Did those facts stop the offense from being largely absent after the Wild Card round? Not really, but from the way people carry on, one would have thought the Dodgers went 13-0 rather than being pushed to the brink against the Blue Jays. If the Dodgers romp to 120 victories (they won’t) and sweep the postseason (inshallah), I will revisit whether the payroll disparity is truly bad for baseball.
What baseball does have in spades right now is a perception problem, one that threatens to engulf the sport in quick order.
Are the Dodgers bad for baseball? Maybe. More accurately, though, they’re becoming a bad look for baseball. And they don’t seem to care what they look like, as long as they win.
The sport is having a renaissance with steady upticks in attendance and ratings. Game 7 of the 2025 World Series was the most-watched baseball game in over 30 years, drawing in about 24.3 million viewers in the United States and Canada. When Japan is included, that figure rises to 51 million viewers.
In contrast, the 2026 World Baseball Classic Final drew 10.784 million viewers, a record for the tournament but still barely a fifth of what Game 7 pulled in. Baseball should be basking in this era of success, but, like an illness that has been ignored for too long, things are less than 260 days away from slamming to a dead halt.
Like a dog that catches a chased car, nothing good will come from the perception that the Dodgers somehow broke baseball. It takes eight owners to scuttle a deal, and I see at least a dozen owners would rather burn the sport to the ground in the name of short-term thinking rather than refine the system that currently exists.
Accordingly, ownership is on the precipice of unleashing a Pandora’s Box of self-inflicted harm and stupidity by catering to the perception of inequality rather than the roots of inequality. I would encourage everyone to savor every last drop of the 2026 season, because while colleagues like Eric Stephen believe that no games will be lost in 2027, I do not share their optimism.
The stupidity and greed run thick, and I would genuinely be shocked if we get even half of a season next year. I have not lost a single case or a single night’s sleep by underestimating people’s greed and stupidity. Next essay, we introduce the twelve franchises that will likely run the sport aground in nine months’ time. I would dearly love to be wrong, but after all, it’s not my money(ball).
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 12: Kristian Robinson #62 of the Arizona Diamondbacks runs to first base during a Spring Training game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 12, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Diamondbacks News
Soroka Sharp Against Sox Michael Soroka looked to be in mid-season form in his final spring outing. The bounce back candidate had a strong outing against the lowly White Sox as he made his case for a place in the rotation.
Diamondbacks Game Pushed Back At this point, it is mostly a reminder that all mid-day Cactus League games have been rescheduled due to the continuing heat wave hammering the Valley.
Gallen Discusses Final Start of Spring Zac Gallen’s Friday start was the last outing he will have before the games start to count. The next time he takes the bump will be against Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers in the season opener.
As Opening Day Looms Bullpen, Closer Questions Remain It is hard not to believe that this winter’s drastic jump in the cost of pitching did not play a major factor in the roster that Mike Hazen wound up with. Paul Sewald continues to make fans nervous.
Eduardo Rodriguez Returns Eduardo Rodriguez has returned from the Diamondbacks after leading his home nation of Venezuela to the WBC crown.
Other Baseball News
Padres Select Walker Buehler The former Dodgers ace has managed to earn himself another chance to see if there is anything left in the tank after multiple Tommy John surgeries.
Marcelo Mayer Named Red Sox Starting Second Baseman In what has been pretty much a foregone conclusion for a few weeks now, Marcelo Mayer has been named by the Red Sox as their Opening Day starter at second base.
Andrew Painter Makes Phillies’ Rotation The 6’7” right-handed Painter will break camp as a member of the Philadelphia rotation. The young man turns 24 on 10 April.
Brandon Carlo is one of the best shot blockers in the NHL, ranking 29th among all defensemen in shot blocks per 60 minutes.
My Maple Leafs vs. Senators predictions expect Carlo to put his body on the line early and often against a team sitting 6th in attempts over their past 10.
Let’s take a closer look at my NHL picks for Saturday, March 21.
Maple Leafs vs Senators prediction
Maple Leafs vs Senators best bet: Brandon Carlo Over 1.5 blocked shots (-130)
Brandon Carlo has generated blocked shots very efficiently on the road. He’s blocked at least two pucks in 14 of his last 19 away games (74%), averaging 2.3 blocks during that span.
The Unders came against Philadelphia, Vancouver, Seattle, Florida, and Utah – mostly slower pace, lower volume offenses.
The Ottawa Senators rank just outside the Top-10 in shot attempts generated this season and 6th over their last 10 games. There will be plenty of block opportunities for a minute-muncher like Carlo.
Maple Leafs vs Senators same-game parlay
Tim Stutzle has been very productive against Bottom-10 shot suppression teams, averaging 3.6 shots on goal and clearing 2.5 shots in 76% of his games following a day of rest. With every point crucial, the Senators will rely heavily on their star center.
Toronto Maple Leafs games have featured an average of 5.51 goals without Auston Matthews in the lineup. Meanwhile, we’ve seen an average of 5.2 goals over the past 10 Senators games. There isn’t much recipe for fireworks here.
Maple Leafs vs Senators SGP
Brandon Carlo Over 1.5 blocked shots
Tim Stutzle Over 2.5 shots
Under 6.5
Maple Leafs vs Senators odds
Moneyline: Maple Leafs +210 | Senators -260
Puck Line: Maple Leafs +1.5 (-115) | Senators -1.5 (-105)
Over/Under: Over 6.5 (+120) | Under 6.5 (-140)
Maple Leafs vs Senators trend
The Ottawa Senators have hit the Game Total Under in 10 of their last 15 games. Find more NHL betting trends for Maple Leafs vs. Senators.
How to watch Maple Leafs vs Senators
Location
Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
Date
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
CBC, SNO
Maple Leafs vs Senators latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a move, as they have signed goaltender Gabriel D'Aigle to a three-year entry-level contract.
D'Aigle was selected by the Penguins with the 84th overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. This was after the 6-foot-4 goaltender had a 16-33-2 record and a .883 save percentage in 55 games with the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL in 2024-25.
In 39 games this season with Victoriaville, D'Aigle has a 14-21-3 record, a .908 save percentage, and a 3.58 goals-against average.
D'Aigle is an interesting prospect in the Penguins' system. The potential for him to become a solid goaltender at the NHL level later down the road is there, and it will be intriguing to see how the 19-year-old performs from here.
Feb 6, 2025; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski (70) against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images | Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Sam Malinski has been nothing short of outstanding this season, quietly graduating from a fringe seventh defenseman to a bona fide NHL defenseman. Yet beyond that quiet rise, he has emerged as one of Colorado’s most dependable and impactful players in the biggest games since the puck first dropped on the 2025-26 regular season in October.
I like the trend of Sam Malinski having his best performances in the most important contests. #GoAvsGo
Malinski’s remarkable arrival has been widely chronicled across the Avalanche media landscape, and the story is vividly told through both basic and advanced statistics. He leads all NHL defensemen (minimum 500 minutes played) in on-ice goals percentage at 68.2%, while ranking 30th among blueliners in shots on goal. He has already tallied 30 points from the back end — obliterating his previous career high in just his third NHL season. His ceiling continues to climb, and it feels entirely reasonable to dream that one day he could line up alongside Cale Makar, or at the very least become a steadfast fixture in the top-four group.
One of the key ingredients in Malinski’s ascent has been the four-year deal he signed in January — a heartfelt commitment from the Avalanche and a well-deserved tribute to his relentless hard work and steady development.
“So, just really excited and happy to get it done with kind of earlier rather than later. … Any time you’re playing in this business, you don’t really have that stability in knowing where you’re going to play and where you’re going to live each year. Now that I’m kind of signed to a little bit of term, it’s really nice to have that stability.”
Speaking of stability, that very quality is precisely what has made Malinski worthy of a $19 million contract. He has found it in Colorado, and Avalanche management has clearly found it in him.
“I knew right away. I love Colorado. I love all the guys on this team. The way the coaching staff has treated me, management, and just everyone in Colorado. I’ve had nothing but good experiences here. I always knew I wanted to stay here.” Malinski told the Denver Gazette.
Sam has pointed to hard work and accumulated experience when asked how he has elevated his game and discovered this new level of success, “We all come here and try to get better, just a little bit better every day. I’ve just gained so much more confidence from the experience I’ve gotten throughout the 150 games. Just growing a ton as far as poise with the puck and the way I defend, too,” he told Colleen Flynn in an article with Mile High Sports.
Whatever Sam has been doing, it’s clearly working — and it was on display against Dallas in Colorado’s OT loss earlier in the week. Despite the outcome, his usage spoke volumes: Bednar has deep trust in him and believes in his offensive gifts, as evidenced by icing him during the 3-on-3 overtime period.
Sam Malinski just made a sick play to get the puck off the wall and into a scoring position. The #Avs then made two great passes to get the NHL's leading goal scorer a shot from point blank range.
Jake Oettinger robbed him. It's hard to score goals in this league sometimes.
Now, as the playoffs draw near, the tantalizing question remains: how will this rising star show up when the lights burn brightest? He appears to be a player who rises to the occasion — and this season, he will receive more playoff opportunities than ever before.
Let us know what you think of Sam Malinski’s play this season!
Most ardent Senators fans could easily quote their team's position in the NHL wild card standings without even looking.
That's because most fans have been engaged in, since at least the end of the Olympic break, the time-honoured tradition of scoreboard watching.
Those same ardent fans also know that the Sens have gone 7-2-2 in that timeframe yet they've barely put a dent in closing the wild card gap.
Part of the reason for this is the dreaded three-point games, where the overtime winner gets two points, and the loser gets one. It's the foundation for some teams being in a playoff spot. Except for teams like Tampa Bay, which have only lost in overtime or a shootout four times all season, the majority of teams are relying on these “loser points," and it's almost impossible to make the playoffs without them.
In addition to scoreboard watching, Senators fans are also watching opponents' games live, and the Boston Bruins OT loss to the Montreal Canadiens on St. Paddy’s Day gave rise to the need for a solution.
In watching this game, it was hard not to notice how each team played a very passive game where each wanted to win. But they didn't play with a “risk vs reward” approach because there was no incentive to do so. Making sure their respective teams got at least one point was more important than getting two in regulation.
Would the league, and not just the Ottawa Senators, not benefit from adopting the 3-2-1-0 scoring system that is used in the World Championships, World Juniors, Olympics, and the PWHL?
- 3 points for regulation win - 2 points for OT/SO win - 1 point for OT/SO loss - 0 points for regulation loss
Here are a few reasons that the board of governors might want to at least table the discussion, if they haven’t already.
1) Rewards Regulation Winners
Selfishly, this would benefit this year’s version of the Senators as they are ahead of most of their division and conference foes in this tie-breaking stat.
That said, teams that push the envelope are more exciting. Why not reward that?
It also stands to reason that the better teams will succeed more often in the endeavour for the extra point.
2) Keep teams in the hunt longer
In a world which is increasingly dominated by analytics, what would this to do in-game decision making if there was an extra point to be had?
If you were a team on the outside looking in and seemingly out of the race, wouldn't it be easier to bridge the gap?
If you're chasing a team that would be happy to play for the minimum point and then shoot for the extra point, but your team had a chance to take three points, wouldn't teams and their fans want them to go for that in regulation?
Imagine pulling your goalie late in a tie game because two points isn’t going to cut it. Yes, you might lose and get nothing. You also might gain three points instead of one.
Risk vs Reward is a big part of analytics.
3) Television Ratings
Games like the Montreal/Boston clash mentioned earlier are not unique. It is not uncommon for games that are tied in the third period to remain so.
The third period should be the most exciting period of a close game. If teams are going for it more in the first and second periods because there is more time to make up a gap or deficit, then the third period becomes the pre-cursor to the overtime period where teams open up again.
It was this style of play in the former OT format that gave rise to the loser point in the first place as even overtime periods weren’t exciting.
If the league is looking for people to stay up a bit later or watch games where their favourite teams aren’t playing, they need to give them a reason.
4) Health and Safety
Overtime games are great for the fans. They also take a toll on the players. And not just any players, the star players. Reducing the number of overtime games by having more exciting third periods and ending games in regulation could have long-term benefits to teams and their players.
Granted, three on three is not the most physically taxing part of the game. But it's still extra time, playing at high pace, with dead legs and tanks almost empty.
There is always a tipping point.
This would not be an easy decision to make and it would likely require testing the outcome in the AHL and ECHL to see if there's any benefit.
The number of three-point games has been noticed. The way teams play in the last half of the third period has been noticed.
If the NHL can adopt a loser’s point, they can certainly adopt a winner’s point as well.
Pat Maguire The Hockey News
This article was originally published at The Hockey News. For more Senators news, analysis, and features, visit the Ottawa Senators site at The Hockey News.
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