| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Mar 15, 2021 | | 👋 Happy Monday! Let's dance. Today's word count: 2,227 words (8 minutes). | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏀 Bring on the Madness |  | | | Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios | | | | It's been two years since I could say this, so trust me when I tell you I'm shouting it through the screen, with a huge smile on face: Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to fill out your bracket. Driving the news: 68 teams have been invited to the men's NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis — a bubbled basketball extravaganza unlike anything college sports has ever seen. - No. 1 seeds: Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois, Michigan
- Last four in: Michigan State, UCLA, Wichita State, Drake
- First four out: Louisville, Colorado State, St. Louis, Ole Miss
- Bids by conference: Big Ten (9), SEC (6), Big 12 (7), ACC (7), Pac-12 (5), Big East (4), American (2), Atlantic 10 (2), West Coast (2), Missouri Valley (2), Mountain West (2), 20 conferences (1)
Sister Jean and Loyola Chicago are back and ready to make some noise once again. Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Best matchups: - No. 11 Michigan State vs. No. 11 UCLA: The Spartans and Bruins will play in Purdue's Mackey Arena to conclude Thursday night' play-in games. Safe to say this is one of the best "First Four" matchups ever.
- No. 5 Villanova vs. No. 12 Winthrop: This will be a popular upset pick — for good reason. The Wildcats are without star point guard Colin Gillespie and the Eagles are an impressive 23-1.
- No. 8 Loyola Chicago vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech: The Ramblers have the nation's best defensive rating, while the Yellow Jackets have lots of momentum after winning the ACC Tournament.
- No. 12 UCSB vs. No. 5 Creighton: The Gauchos are one of the most talented mid-majors, and the Blue Jays may still be licking their wounds after losing big to Georgetown in the Big East title game.
- No. 13 Ohio vs. No. 4 Virginia: The Bobcats have a stud point guard and nearly beat Illinois. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers won't arrive in Indy until Friday, with most of the roster in quarantine.
Source: @sportingnews (Twitter) By the numbers: - 6 shades of orange: Six teams in the Midwest Region have orange as their primary color: No. 1 Illinois, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 7 Clemson, No. 11 Syracuse and No. 12 Oregon State.
- 4 top-two seeds: The Big Ten has a pair of No. 1 seeds (Illinois, Michigan) and No. 2 seeds (Ohio State, Iowa), marking the first time a conference has ever earned four top-two seeds.
- 72-68: No. 9 seeds are 72-68 (.514) all-time against No. 8 seeds in the Round of 64, the only lower seed with a winning record. By comparison, No. 10 seeds are just 55-85 (.393) against No. 7 seeds.
- 44 schools: With Hartford and Grand Canyon making their debuts, there are now just 44 Division I programs (out of 357) that have never gone dancing.
- 3rd coach: Iona's Rick Pitino is the third coach to lead five programs to the tournament, joining Lon Kruger and Tubby Smith.
Printable bracket. |     | | | | | | Bonus: 🏀 Official seed list |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | 1–10: 1. Gonzaga, 2. Baylor, 3. Illinois, 4. Michigan, 5. Alabama, 6. Ohio State, 7. Iowa, 8. Houston, 9. Arkansas, 10. West Virginia 11–20: 11. Texas, 12. Kansas, 13. FSU, 14. Purdue, 15. Oklahoma State, 16. Virginia, 17. Creighton, 18. Villanova, 19. Tennessee, 20. Colorado 21–30: 21. USC, 22. Texas Tech, 23. BYU, 24. San Diego State, 25. Oregon, 26. UConn, 27. Clemson, 28. Florida, 29. LSU, 30. Loyola Chicago 31–40: 31. UNC, 32. Oklahoma, 33. Missouri, 34. Georgia Tech, 35. Wisconsin, 36. Maryland, 37. Virginia Tech, 38. VCU, 39. St. Bonaventure, 40. Rutgers 41–50: 41. Syracuse, 42. Utah State, 43. Michigan State, 44. UCLA, 45. Wichita State, 46. Oregon State, 47. Georgetown, 48. Drake, 49. Winthrop, 50. UC Santa Barbara 51–60: 51. Ohio, 52. North Texas, 53. Liberty, 54. UNC Greensboro, 55. Abilene Christian, 56. Morehead State, 57. Colgate, 58. Eastern Washington, 59. Grand Canyon, 60. Cleveland State 61–68: 61. Oral Roberts, 62. Iona, 63. Drexel, 64. Hartford, 65. Mount St. Mary's, 66. Texas Southern, 67. Norfolk State, 68. Appalachian State Go deeper: | | | | | | | | 2. ⚾️ MLB to experiment with banning shifts |  | | | The Boston Red Sox employing a defensive shift. Photo: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images | | | | MLB will experiment with several rule changes in the minor leagues this season, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. The rule changes: - No defensive shifts: In Double-A, all four infielders must have their cleats on the infield dirt when the pitch is thrown. That means no "rover" in shallow right field taking singles away from lefties.
- Electronic strike zone: Select games in Low-A Southeast will use ABS (automated ball-strike system) to continue refining the optimal zone.
- 15-second pitch clock: In Low-A West, pitchers will have just 15 seconds to deliver each offering.
- Limiting pickoffs: Across Low-A, pitchers can step off the rubber only twice per at-bat.
- Bigger bases: In Triple-A, bases will be three inches longer on all sides both as a safety measure and a way to increase infield hits and stolen bases.
The big picture: Each rule has its own merits, but none will be debated as vehemently as the one banning shifts. - Since teams began regularly used shifts a decade ago, the strategy has absolutely exploded — from 2,350 instances in 2011 to 46,758 (!!!) in 2019.
- Advanced analytics can tell teams where a batter is likely to hit the ball against certain pitches. The increase in well-positioned defenders has led to fewer balls being put in play.
What they're saying: Supporters of the shift argue that hitters should have to adapt, rather than get bailed out by rule changes. That's a fair point, but doesn't necessarily put the best product on the field. - "The shift has to be cut down. Let me do me. Let me make the crazy play," says Mets SS Francisco Lindor, arguing that MLB should market elite defense, not well-placed infielders.
- "I was a blind defender of the shift," tweeted Jomboy Media's James O'Brien. "Then we watched a ton of games from the 70s/80s/90s and the game was so much more fun with more action. That action with today's level of athleticism would be amazing."
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | The Week America Changed | | |  | | | | Hear the latest series of Axios Re:Cap on The Week America Changed. Look back at the week of March 9, 2020 — the week high-profile leaders were forced to make choices that upended our lives, such as: - Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg on sending employees home.
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver on suspending the season.
Listen for free. | | | | | | 3. 🏏 Disney's secret weapon: Cricket |  Data: Company filings; Chart: Michelle McGhee/Axios Disney+ last week surpassed 100 million subscribers, meaning its audience is already half the size of Netflix's just 16 months after launch. Between the lines: Roughly 30% of those 100 million subscribers (~$28 million) are from Disney+ Hotstar, an India-based streaming service known for its live cricket coverage. The backdrop: When Disney acquired 21st Century Fox for $71 billion in 2019, it absorbed Fox-owned Star India, which owns the digital broadcast rights for the Indian Premier League until 2022. - Star India's streaming app, Hotstar, was rebranded as Disney+ Hotstar following the acquisition and is currently the only service in India that streams IPL matches.
- In September, Disney+ Hotstar expanded to Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populated country behind China, India and the U.S.
Of note: Disney+ Hotstar users are paying bargain-basement prices for the service, which has dragged down Disney's average earnings per user. "The rapid rise of Disney+ has captivated investor interest, but some analysts think hype about subscriber growth has obscured some troubling economic fundamentals." — Eamon Barrett, Forbes (subscription)The big picture: Disney has lots of competition in the fast-growing Indian market, particularly when it comes to cricket. - Amazon broadcasts New Zealand cricket matches in India and has expressed interest in future IPL rights.
- Facebook, which narrowly lost out to Star India for the IPL rights, broadcsts several major global cricket events.
The bottom line: While domestic sports media negotiations attract most of the attention — whether it's the NHL on ESPN or the NFL on Amazon — international sports rights grow more important every year. | | | | | | | | 4. 💉 China to provide vaccine for Olympians |  | | | Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios | | | | China will provide COVID-19 vaccines for Olympic athletes ahead of this summer's Tokyo Games and next winter's Beijing Games, Jeff writes. - Why it matters: Though vaccinations aren't required for participation, this is encouraging news for Olympians and may help reassure Japanese citizens as the country prepares to welcome the world.
- The backdrop: China has made vaccines a tool for diplomacy in recent months, and this offer could help deflect mounting scrutiny about the country's human rights record ahead of the 2021 Beijing Games.
The state of play: Most athletes won't be eligible for the vaccine in their home countries before July's Opening Ceremony, as only a handful of nations have pushed Olympians to the front of the line.  The big picture: The U.S. and U.K., both devastated by the pandemic, have sprinted far out ahead of other large countries in terms of vaccine rollout, writes Axios' David Lawler. - The EU, Canada, and other wealthy western countries have struggled to ramp up their vaccine supplies.
- Japan and South Korea, two rich countries that were hit less hard, have hardly started their vaccination campaigns due to a combination of lower urgency, cautious governments and skeptical publics.
- Most African countries and many low-income countries in Asia and the Americas have yet to administer a single dose, not due to a lack of urgency, but to a lack of access.
Go deeper: U.S. surpasses 100 million vaccine doses (Axios) | | | | | | | | 5. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Photo: David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Justin Thomas (-14) rallied to win The Players Championship, taking home the biggest prize ($2.7 million) from the largest purse ($15 million) in golf history. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images ASPEN, Colo. — The Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships continued through the weekend and will conclude with tomorrow's Big Air finals. Photo: Todd Kirkland/Fan Controlled Football/Getty Images DULUTH, Ga. — The Wild Aces beat Johnny Manziel, Josh Gordon and the Zappers to advance to the Fan Controlled Football championship game against former FSU QB Deondre Francois and the Glacier Boyz. | | | | | | | | 6. 🌎 Photos around the world | | Photo: Sailing Energy/Getty Images AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Day 4 of the 36th America's Cup was postponed due to heavy winds, leaving the best-of-13 match between New Zealand and Italy knotted at three races apiece. Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images BAHRAIN, Bahrain — Formula 1 testing concluded this weekend. All 10 teams had 24 hours of track time to get their new machines in racing shape ahead of the 2021 season, which begins on March 26. Photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — The famous Maracanã Stadium, which opened in 1950 to host the World Cup, will be renamed after Pelé. | | | | | | | | 7. 📊 By the numbers | | Giphy 🏀 49 of 60: Zion Williamson scored 20+ points in 49 of his first 60 career NBA games, the most by any player since Michael Jordan (52 of 60). ⚽️ 770 goals: Cristiano Ronaldo notched a hat trick on Sunday and scored his 770th career goal for club and country, passing Pelé for most all-time in "official matches." ⚾️ 22 pitches: Mets infielder Luis Guillorme saw 22 pitches in a single at-bat on Sunday (two strikes, four balls, 16 fouls), an unofficial MLB record. 🎾 16 years: Daniil Medvedev moved up to No. 2 in the world today, the first player outside of the "Big Four" (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray) to do so since July 2005. 🏒 50 in under 30: Connor McDavid is the first player in the last 30 years to reach 50 points in fewer than 30 team games in consecutive seasons. Clearly the best player in the world, and it's not particularly close. | | | | | | | | 8. 📆 March 15, 1912: Cy Young retires |  Data: Baseball Reference; Table: Axios Visuals 109 years ago today, Cy Young retired from baseball with 511 wins — still 94 more than any other pitcher in MLB history. - By the numbers: Young, whose given name was Denton, is also the all-time leader in games started (815), complete games (749) and innings pitched (7,365).
- Of course, he also lost more games (315) and allowed more hits (7,092) and earned runs (2,147) than anyone else. That's longevity for ya.
Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images The big picture: Young's baseball journey was a bridge from the sport's earliest days to its modern era. - When his career began, pitchers delivered the ball underhand and fouls weren't counted as strikes.
- The pitcher's mound wasn't moved back to its current position until Young's fourth season, and he didn't wear a glove until his sixth.
The Cleveland Spiders. Cy Young is in the middle row, third from the left. Photo: Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images The Spiders, reborn ... Young entered the major leagues in 1890 with the Cleveland Spiders and pitched for them until 1898. With the Indians set to change their name, "Spiders" is a possible replacement. 🎥 Watch: Young at the opening of Cooperstown (YouTube) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 March Madness trivia | | Kentucky beat Duke in the 1978 title game, two years after both programs missed the tournament entirely. Photo: Rich Clarkson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images Duke and Kentucky will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the same year since 1976. - Question: That year's tournament was the last to feature two unbeaten teams. Who were they?
- Hint: Both currently play in the Big Ten.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏈 Drew Brees: 20 years later | | Drew Brees circa 2001. Photo: Joe Robbins/Getty Images Drew Brees has officially retired from the NFL, an organization he joined nearly 20 years ago when he was drafted No. 32 overall on April 21, 2001. Rewind: To appreciate just how long Brees has been slinging footballs, we must travel back to the night he was drafted. - Top movie at the box office: "Spy Kids"
- Top song on the radio: "Angel" by Shaggy feat. Rayvon
- Top show on TV: "Survivor" (Season 2 of 40)
National headlines ... President Bill Clinton served his final days in office that year, while Hillary Clinton was sworn into the Senate. On Sept. 11, two days after the NFL season began, the world changed forever. The sports backdrop ... On the same day Brees was drafted, the NBA playoffs began. League MVP Allen Iverson led the 76ers to the Finals, where they fell to Kobe, Shaq and the Lakers. - The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.
- The Diamondbacks won the World Series.
And most notably, the Patriots went on to win their first Super Bowl behind second-year QB Tom Brady — Brees' rival and friend ever since. What a ride. Congrats, Drew. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | The Week America Changed | | | | | | | | Hear the latest series of Axios Re:Cap on The Week America Changed. Look back at the week of March 9, 2020 — the week high-profile leaders were forced to make choices that upended our lives, such as: - Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg on sending employees home.
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver on suspending the season.
Listen for free. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Nothing like some 2001 Shaggy to get your Monday started" Baker Trivia answer: Indiana (won it all) and Rutgers (lost in the semifinals) | | Invite friends to follow Axios Sports Use your personal link to track how many readers you bring into the community  You currently have 00 referrals. Share with a friend For questions email referralsupport@axios.com. Participation in the Axios Sports Referral Program constitutes your acceptance of the Axios Terms and Conditions of Use, which can be viewed here. | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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