| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Apr 05, 2021 | | 👋 Good morning! Let's sports. 🏆 Title game: Tonight's national championship between Gonzaga and Baylor is the game we've wanted all season long. Check your bracket. - Tip-off: 9:20pm ET (CBS)
- Lines: GONZ -4.5 | O/U 159.5
Today's word count: 1,568 words (6 minutes). | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏆 Stanford wins it all |  | | | Photo: Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images | | | | Stanford spent 86 days on the road this season due to Santa Clara County's restrictive health measures. Now, the Cardinal will return home as champions for the first time in 29 years, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Final score: Stanford 54, Arizona 53 - Sophomore guard Haley Jones (17 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one block) was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
- Wild stat: Stanford is the first team in men's or women's NCAA Tournament history to win both Final Four games by just one point.
Between the lines: Despite significantly outshooting the ice-cold Wildcats (42.1% > 28.8%), Stanford could never quite pull away, as Arizona's tenacious defense forced a season-high 21 turnovers. - But in the end, Stanford's defense forced Wildcat star Aari McDonald to throw up a prayer at the buzzer that clanged off the back iron.
- Head coach Tara VanDerveer's 29-year gap between titles is an NCAA D-I record across all sports, men's or women's.
By the numbers: Stanford has made the tournament every year since 1988, but after winning twice in the early '90s, they returned to the finals just two more times in the interim, losing in 2008 and 2010. - This is the Pac-12's first title since Stanford won in 1992, and it's also the fifth straight year a different conference cut down the nets (AAC, SEC, ACC, Big 12).
- A No. 1 seed won the title for a ninth straight season and 30th time overall. Two-seeds have won seven times and three-seeds just twice.
- Stanford extended its own record for most threes hit in a single tournament, with 59 (five more than 2015 UConn).
The big picture: After UConn won four straight titles behind Breanna Stewart (2013–2016) to push their total to 11 championships in 22 years, some wondered if their comical dominance might be bad for the sport. - Instead, the rest of the country has stepped up to the task, and women's college hoops is in the best place it's been maybe ever.
- The current streak of four years without a repeat winner marks the longest such run since 1995 — UConn's first championship.
🎥 Watch: Tournament recap (Twitter) |     | | | | | | 2. 🏀 The game of the century | | Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images Sports. Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images Are. Photo: Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images The. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images Greatest. Go deeper: | | | | | | | | 3. ⚾️ Opening Weekend: Yermín Mercedes stars |  | | | Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images | | | | Yermín Mercedes woke up Friday morning a 28-year-old rookie with zero career hits. By Saturday night, he'd etched his name in the record books, Jeff writes. What happened: The White Sox DH became the first player since 1900 to start a season with eight consecutive hits, and they happened to be the first eight hits of his career. - They weren't cheap, either. He crushed two doubles and a homer, and through Saturday's games he led the majors in both hits and RBI (six).
The backdrop: The Dominican slugger's circuitous route to the majors began as an international signee in 2011 and included a 2014 stint in the Pecos League. - The independent Pecos League is often called baseball's "Wild West," where the best players earn $50 a week while the majority pay thousands just to be on the taxi squad, hoping to get some exposure.
- Mercedes was a star there, compiling 17 HR and 70 RBI in 55 games, good enough for the Orioles to give him a minor league shot in 2015 ahead of the White Sox selecting him in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft.
- After just one MLB at-bat in 2020, opportunity knocked this spring when Eloy Jiménez got injured, and Mercedes answered with the greatest start to a career in MLB history.
Photo: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Elsewhere ... Shohei Ohtani pitched and hit in the same game for the first time on Sunday. Results: He threw the season's fastest pitch (101.1 MPH) and had the hardest-hit HR (115.2 MPH exit velocity). Is that good?! - Undefeated: Astros (4-0), Orioles (3-0), Phillies (3-0)
- Winless: Athletics (0-4), Red Sox (0-3), Braves (0-3)
- Nats update: The Nationals have 11 players in quarantine, but they hope to begin their season Tuesday at home against the Braves.
Go deeper: Immediate reactions from Opening Weekend (The Ringer) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Your afternoon briefing | | |  | | | | The Axios Re:Cap podcast takes just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the day's big business story, and why it matters to the country, the economy and your job. Hear from Dan Primack and his guests — newsmakers and breakers — every weekday afternoon. Listen for free. | | | | | | 4. 🏈 Update: Watson saga |  | | | Photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images | | | | Deshaun Watson, already facing 21 civil lawsuits from massage therapists accusing him of sexual misconduct, is also now under criminal investigation by the Houston Police Department, Jeff writes. Catch up quick: The first lawsuit was brought against Watson on March 16. By March 31, the number had grown to 21, with all accusers seeking monetary damages for alleged incidents that took place between March 2020 and March 2021. - Watson's only public statement came on March 16, when he said on Twitter he has "never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect." Through his lawyer, Watson has continually denied any wrongdoing.
- On March 31, Watson's attorney released a joint statement from 18 women defending Watson; all massage therapists claiming to have treated him over the past five years.
What they're saying: Another therapist — uninvolved in the current lawsuits — told SI (subscription) about her experience treating Watson in the fall of 2019, which she described as sexually inappropriate and unlike anything she'd experienced with other clients. - "The one thing I keep thinking about is, he's about to get traded to another place. ... He would have a whole new community of massage therapists to target."
- "More than anything, the fact that he's denying all the allegations makes it more of a reason for us to use our voice and say what we have to say."
The big picture: Now that the police are involved in the wake of Friday's complaint, more pertinent information is likely to surface (subpoenas, testimony, etc.). - The NFL is performing its own internal investigation and will assess the situation as it unfolds. Even without criminal charges, the league could choose to suspend Watson under its Personal Conduct Policy.
- The Texans may have grounds to void part of Watson's four-year, $156 million contract if legal proceedings force him to miss time. And if they're entertaining his trade demand, his value could be plummeting in real time.
- Sponsors like Nike and Rolex must also determine if Watson still portrays an image in line with their brand.
| | | | | | | | 5. 📺 Starting tonight: Rodgers hosts "Jeopardy!" | | Giphy Aaron Rodgers begins his two-week run as "Jeopardy!" guest host tonight, returning to the show after he was a celebrity contestant in 2015. What he's saying: Rodgers, who taped the episodes over two days in February, says he prepared for the gig the same way he prepares for NFL games: by watching film. "I watched hours and hours and hours of episodes. ... I took pages and pages and pages of notes. ... I studied for this like no other. I wanted to absolutely just crush it." 🎥 Watch: Rodgers dominating as a contestant (Twitter) | | | | | | | | 6. 📊 By the numbers |  | | | Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images | | | | ⛳️ 12 0f 13: Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit won the ANA Inspiration, becoming the 12th first-time major winner in the past 13 women's majors. 💵 $0.00: Nike is one of at least 55 prominent U.S. companies that paid $0 in federal income tax over the past three years, according to a new study. Over that time, Nike reported $4.1 billion in income. ⛳️ 1,351 days: Jordan Spieth won the Valero Texas Open, his first PGA Tour victory since 2017. He'd gone 83 events and 1,351 days without a win. 🏒 265 goals: Alex Ovechkin netted his 265th power-play goal on Sunday, tying him with Brett Hull for second on the all-time list and leaving him just nine behind all-time leader Dave Andreychuk. ⚾ 7 HR: Augustana's Sam Baier hit seven bombs (!!!) in a doubleheader against Bemidji State. Four in the opener, three in the nightcap. | | | | | | | | 7. ⚡️ Lightning round | | Giphy 🍿 Coming soon: Here's the trailer for "Space Jam: A New Legacy" starring LeBron James, which debuts in theaters/HBO Max on July 16. 🎾 Miami Open: With most big stars absent, the Miami Open served up some chaos. Ashleigh Barty won the women's singles title, while Hubert Hurkacz won the men's. 🏀 Weekend blowouts: The Raptors destroyed the Warriors by 53 points (130-77), the Blazers destroyed the Thunder by 48 (133-85), and the Jazz destroyed the Magic by 46 (137-91). Not a great look for the NBA. 😔 Youth impact: 6 in 10 parents of young athletes say pandemic-related disruptions have had a negative impact on their children's emotional well-being, per a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll. 🏐 Volleyball bracket: The NCAA women's volleyball tournament bracket is out. It's normally a 64-team field in the fall, but this year it's a 48-team field in the spring. Wisconsin is the No. 1 overall seed. | | | | | | | | 8. 📆 April 5, 1989: Hershiser's record streak |  | | | Photo: Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images | | | | 32 years ago today, Orel Hershiser finally allowed a run, snapping his MLB-record, 59-inning scoreless streak. The streak began in the sixth inning of a Dodgers win over the Expos on Aug. 30, 1988, and didn't end until the first inning of Hershiser's first start the following year. - It included five consecutive shutouts that could have been a record-tying six (Don Drysdale), but his final start in 1988 went 16 innings, and he "only" pitched the first 10.
- Hershiser then led the Dodgers to the World Series, winning NLCS and World Series MVP with another 22-inning scoreless streak. He even batted a perfect 3-3 with two doubles in the Fall Classic.
The aftermath: 1988 (Cy Young, Gold Glove) was the best season in the middle of Hershiser's three-year peak, comprising his only three All-Star appearances and innings-pitched titles. - He went on to have an excellent career through 2000, but ultimately never recaptured the magic of his first half-dozen seasons.
- He dropped off the Hall of Fame ballot after just two years despite career statistics that look at least borderline worthy of Cooperstown: 204-150, 3.48 ERA, 2,014 K (79th) and 56 WAR.
Go deeper: The 10 longest scoreless-innings streaks (MLB) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 Championship trivia |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Tonight's title game features two religious universities in Gonzaga (Catholic) and Baylor (Baptist). - Question: Who were the two schools the last time this happened?
- Hint: Both were in this year's field.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Weekend's top plays | | Giphy - 🏀 Suggs at the buzzer
- ⚽️ Gorgeous bicycle kick
- 🏀 KAT over Embiid
- 🏈 Unreal punt return
- ⚾️ Elvis Andrus!
- 🥍 No-look goal
- 🏀 Jaylen Brown!
- ⚾️ Up and over
- 🔟 Perfect vault
- 🏀 Obi Toppin!
Watch all 10. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Your afternoon briefing | | | | | | | | The Axios Re:Cap podcast takes just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the day's big business story, and why it matters to the country, the economy and your job. Hear from Dan Primack and his guests — newsmakers and breakers — every weekday afternoon. Listen for free. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Happy Masters Monday" Baker Trivia answer: Villanova vs. Georgetown (1985) | | 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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