| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Mar 14, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Mondays are rough for everyone, but at least you're not the guy who paid $518,628 for what was supposedly Tom Brady's final TD pass. Today's word count: 1,612 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏈 The return of the king |  | | | Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images | | | | Tom Brady is back. The 44-year-old announced his return to the Buccaneers on Sunday, ending his "retirement" after just 40 days. "These past two months I've realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it's not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible." The backdrop: Since retiring in early February, Brady has made numerous comments indicating a potential return. Heck, just days after calling it quits, he said "you never say never" in regards to un-retiring. - Brady was at Old Trafford on Saturday, where he witnessed 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo score a hat trick and break the all-time FIFA record with his 806th goal.
- The two met on the field, where Brady appeared to acknowledge his uncertainty about retiring, leading to speculation that Ronaldo's performance may have contributed to Brady's decision to return.
- Or perhaps it was 37-year-old LeBron James having another historic weekend. Or 38-year-old Aaron Rodgers making headlines last week. Plenty of "old guys still dominating" motivation to go around.
What's next: Brady's reversal puts the Buccaneers in a much better position today, when teams can begin talking to and signing free agents. - Tampa Bay won't have to find a new QB and will have a better chance of re-signing its own free agents, including Rob Gronkowski and Ndamukong Suh.
- Brady is set to earn $25 million next season, but has a history of reworking contracts to help his teams sign key players and contend for a Super Bowl.
- The Bucs have gone from +1000 to win the NFC to +350, tied with the Packers. Their Super Bowl odds improved from +1900 to +700. Congrats to anyone who bet on Tampa before everything changed.
The bottom line: Just over a month ago, the greatest QB of all time appeared content to ride off into the sunset without a farewell tour. Now that he's back for at least one more season, perhaps he'll get one after all. |     | | | | | | 2. 🏀 Men's bracket: Zags on top |  | | | L to R: Drew Timme, Chet Holmgren, Andrew Nembhard, Julian Strawther, Rasir Bolton. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images | | | | Gonzaga was the preseason title favorite. Months later, the Bulldogs are the No. 1 overall seed entering the NCAA Tournament and have the best odds to win it all (7-2). - No. 1 seeds: Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor, Kansas
- No. 2 seeds: Auburn, Duke, Kentucky, Villanova
- No. 3 seeds: Purdue, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Wisconsin
- No. 4 seeds: Arkansas, Illinois, Providence, UCLA
- First four out: Dayton, Oklahoma, SMU, Texas A&M
- Regionals: San Antonio (South), San Francisco (West), Chicago (Midwest), Philadelphia (East)
Notes: - Multiple bids: Big Ten (9), Big 12 (6), SEC (6), Big East (6), ACC (5), Pac-12 (3), West Coast (3), American (2), Atlantic 10 (2).
- Year of the mid-major: "When Saint Mary's is a five-seed, Murray State a seven-seed and San Francisco and Davidson both get 10-seeds despite losing in their conference tournaments, it displays a much higher regard for said programs than we've seen over the years." — Joe Lunardi
- LSU déjà vu: No. 8 seed LSU enters the tournament just days after head coach Will Wade was fired for NCAA violations. Allegations also prevented Wade from coaching the 2019 tournament.
What's next: The action begins Tuesday and Wednesday with the "First Four" in Dayton, Ohio. - Tuesday: No. 16 Texas Southern vs. No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; No. 12 Wyoming vs. No. 12 Indiana
- Wednesday: No. 16 Wright State vs. No. 16 Bryant; No. 11 Rutgers vs. No. 11 Notre Dame
Go deeper: | | | | | | | | 3. 🏀 Women's bracket: Gamecocks on top |  | | | Aliyah Boston and the Gamecocks are the favorites. Photo: John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | | | | South Carolina dominated all season en route to earning the No. 1 overall seed in the first-ever women's tournament to feature 68 teams. - No. 1 seeds: South Carolina, Stanford, NC State, Louisville
- No. 2 seeds: Baylor, UConn, Iowa, Texas
- No. 3 seeds: Indiana, Iowa State, LSU, Michigan
- No. 4 seeds: Arizona, Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee
- First four out: Boston College, Missouri, South Dakota State, UCLA
- Regionals: Bridgeport (Connecticut), Greensboro (North Carolina), Spokane (Washington), Wichita (Kansas)
Notes: - Multiple bids: ACC (8), SEC (8), Big Ten (6), Big 12 (6), Pac-12 (6), Big East (4), American (2), Atlantic 10 (2), Missouri Valley (2), West Coast (2).
- Region of death: NC State's reward for earning a No. 1 seed is a spot in the Bridgeport region, where a surging UConn is the No. 2 seed and will be playing in its own backyard. Brutal.
- Dream matchup: Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, the two best players in the country, could meet in the Elite Eight if No. 1 South Carolina and No. 2 Iowa make it there.
What's next: The action begins Wednesday and Thursday with the "First Four," which will be played at campus sites. - Wednesday: No. 16 Howard vs. No. 16 Incarnate Word; No. 11 Dayton vs. No. 11 DePaul
- Thursday: No. 16 Longwood vs. No. 16 Mount Saint Mary's; No. 11 Missouri State vs. No. 11 Florida State
Go deeper: | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Advertise in Axios Sports | | |  | | | | Are you a marketer looking to reach decision makers who care about sports? Consider advertising with us: - Reach hundreds of thousands of people daily.
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Let's Chat | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Kevin Durant high-fives Nicolas Claxton. Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | 🏀 50-point outbursts: Kevin Durant (53 on Sunday), LeBron James (50 on Friday and 56 last Saturday), Kyrie Irving (50 last Tuesday), and Jayson Tatum (54 last Sunday) have all scored 50+ points in the past nine days. ⚾️ Yankees-Twins trade: The Yankees traded catcher Gary Sanchez and infielder Gio Urshela to the Twins for third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt. ⚽️ Ballon d'Or changes: The Ballon d'Or award is undergoing major changes. Most notably, the award period will now fall in line with the main European season rather than the calendar year. 🏀 Good read: An oral history of LeBron James' only loss to an Ohio team in his legendary high school career (Josh Kramer, ESPN) "20 years ago, a small Catholic school outside Cincinnati defeated LeBron James and St. Vincent-St. Mary for the Division II state championship." | | | | | | | | 5. ⚾️ The "Cohen Tax" |  Data: USA Today; Table: Jared Whalen/Axios On the heels of the lockout, and with free agency back in full swing, here's a look at the net worth of MLB's 30 owners, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. By the numbers: The Blue Jays, Mets and Braves are the only teams whose owners' net worth exceeds $6 billion, per USA Today. - Yes, but: The Blue Jays and Braves are owned by media corporations, while the Mets are owned by Steve Cohen — the 48th-richest person in America.
Between the lines: The CBA features a new $290 million luxury-tax tier, which has been dubbed the "Cohen Tax." Cohen says the Mets will "probably" exceed the threshold and pay the higher taxes regardless. "I know there's a name for it. They call it the 'Cohen Tax' or whatever. ... It's better than a bridge being named after you." — Cohen Go deeper: Free agency tracker (ESPN) | | | | | | | | 6. 🥇 Paralympics: China, Ukraine top medal table |  Data: IPC; Chart: Jared Whalen/Axios The Paralympics ended Sunday in Beijing after nine days of intense competition that left no doubt of one immutable truth: Ukraine is alive, Jeff writes. Driving the news: Ukraine finished second in gold (11) and overall medals (29) despite "difficulties escaping the bombs" just to arrive in Beijing, as Ukrainian Paralympic committee president Valeriy Sushkevych put it. "Our presence here at the Paralympic Games, it's not just a presence. It's a sign that Ukraine was, is, and will remain a country. ... It's a symbol to show that Ukraine is alive." — Sushkevych More Paralympics: - China's dominance: Four years after winning its first-ever Winter Paralympics medal, China lapped the field with 61.
- Masters on top: Oksana Masters, Team USA's Ukrainian-born star, won seven medals to give her 14 in her Winter Paralympics career — an American record.
- Canadian legend: Cross-country skier Brian McKeever, 42, won three more golds, giving him 16 for his career. That ties Germany's Gerd Schönfelder for the most ever.
- American dynasty: Team USA beat Canada, 5-0, to win its fourth consecutive sled hockey gold medal. In the past two Paralympics, the U.S. is 9-0 with a combined score of 70-3.
- 1 dog thing: Austria's vision-impaired cross-country skier Carina Edlinger, who medaled twice, presented her guide dog, Riley, with his own medal.
🎥 Watch: Closing Ceremony highlights (YouTube) | | | | | | | | 7. 🌍 The world in photos | | Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images LONDON — Ukrainian Andriy Yarmolenko scored in his first game back from leave on Sunday, leading West Ham to a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa. - What he's saying: "I just want to say thank you to my teammates ... to West Ham fans ... and to all British people, because we feel you support us," said Yarmolenko.
Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce hug each other. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images BOSTON — The Celtics retired Kevin Garnett's No. 5 jersey during a ceremony that saw Garnett bury his beef with Ray Allen after years of acrimony. You love to see it. Photo: Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images HAMILTON, Ontario — The Sabres beat the Maples Leafs, 5-2, in Sunday's Heritage Classic outdoor game. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Monday finish |  | | | Anirban Lahiri of India is seeking his first PGA Tour win. Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images | | | | Weather delayed The Players Championship, which will have a Monday finish (8am ET, Golf Channel) for the first time since 2005. Anirban Lahiri, ranked 322nd in the world, has a one-shot lead. More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 College hoops trivia |  | | | Kansas Jayhawks shorts logo. Photo: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | | | | Kansas will appear in its 32nd straight men's NCAA Tournament, the longest-active streak. - Question: Which school has the second-longest active streak?
- Hint: Won a title during the streak.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Top plays: Weekend edition |  | | | Shane Lowry celebrates his ace. Photo: David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | | | | The infamous 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass wreaked havoc this weekend, which made Shane Lowry's hole-in-one on Sunday that much better. - ⛳️ Lowry ace
- 🏀 Ochai takes flight
- ⚽️ Gorgeous finish
- 🏀 Jaylen Brown!
- ⚽️ Ronaldo rocket
- 🏀 Block of the year?
- 🥎 What a catch
- 🏀 Circus shot
- 🥍 Behind-the-back
- 🏀 Giannis is a beast
Watch all 10. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Advertise in Axios Sports | | | | | | | | Are you a marketer looking to reach decision makers who care about sports? Consider advertising with us: - Reach hundreds of thousands of people daily.
- Achieve your KPIs around business development, awareness, and product sales.
- Over 60% of our audience earns six figures per year and makes business purchasing decisions.
Let's Chat | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Can't get rid of him" Baker Trivia answer: Michigan State (24 straight appearances) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us at @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy, and tell friends to sign up for Axios Sports. |  | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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