| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Mar 29, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! UConn is inevitable. Today's word count: 1,844 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏀 The streak continues |  | | | Graphic: Axios Visuals | | | | UConn is in the women's Final Four for the 14th consecutive time, and the Huskies will be joined in Minneapolis by three No. 1 seeds: South Carolina, Stanford and Louisville. ICYMI: UConn beat NC State, 91-87 (2OT), in an instant classic on Monday that featured 13 lead changes, nine ties, a buzzer-beater and a game-high 27 points from reigning National POY Paige Bueckers. - "I said win or go home and I'm still going home," said Minnesota native Bueckers, who scored 23 of her 27 points in the second half and overtime just over a month after returning from knee surgery.
- 84% of the crowd in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was cheering for the Huskies, per Vivid Seats, a brutal draw for the top-seeded Wolfpack. Is NC State cursed?
Louisville's Hailey Van Lith celebrates with teammate Chelsie Hall. Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images Elsewhere: Louisville beat Michigan, 62-50, behind 22 points from Hailey Van Lith, her fourth straight 20-point game. The Cardinals held the Wolverines scoreless for the final 5:40 to make their fourth Final Four. Notes: - 15 long years: The last time UConn missed the Final Four (March 2007) was a few months before the first iPhone was released.
- Winners winning: The three winningest D-I coaches have all reached the Final Four: Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (1,202 wins), Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (1,157) and UConn's Geno Auriemma (1,148).
- Social media stars: Bueckers (973,000 Instagram followers) and Van Lith (696,000) are two of the most-followed athletes in college sports, and both are now able to cash in on their fame.
- Singular vs. plural: If Louisville beats South Carolina (Fri. 7pm ET, ESPN) and Stanford beats UConn (Fri. 9pm, ESPN), the national championship will be the Cardinals vs. the Cardinal.
Go deeper: Analysis of all four teams (ESPN) |     | | | | | | 2. ⚾️ Why baseball is moving second base | | Graphic: Official Rules of Baseball The experimental era will continue this season in the minors, with one change altering an infield layout that's been in place since 1887, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Driving the news: In the second half of 2022, second base will move slightly inward on minor league fields, yielding a shorter distance between first and second, and second and third, The Athletic reports (subscription). Why it matters: MLB teams stole just 0.46 bases per game in 2021, the lowest since 1971. The league hopes this experiment will increase attempts in the minors, with an eye towards bringing it to the majors. The backdrop: When organized baseball began, all three bases straddled the intersection of their baselines like second base does in the diagram above. - Then in 1887, first and third were moved so they nestled into the corner of those lines to help umpires call fair or foul (if it hits the base, it's fair).
- But second base never moved, because it was already entirely in fair territory. 135 years later, all three bases will be in harmony again.
The big picture: The minors will also experiment with larger bases this season, a combination that will decrease the distance between bases by 13.5 inches. - The Pacific Coast League (Triple-A) quietly utilized both rule changes last season, leading to a slight increase in stolen base percentage, but a negligible change in attempts.
- Attempts should rise this year as teams dig deeper into the math and determine just how advantageous these new dimensions could be for their speedsters.
Go deeper: Wait, second base has been where this whole time? (Defector) | | | | | | | | 3. 🥍 ESPN: The home of lacrosse |  | | | Courtesy: Premier Lacrosse League | | | | The Premier Lacrosse League has signed a four-year deal with ESPN that will see all 47 PLL games, including playoffs, air across ESPN, ESPN+, ABC and ESPN2 from June through September. Why it matters: This deal, reportedly in the eight-figure range, makes ESPN the official home of lacrosse. It already carries college and international games, plus the National Lacrosse League (indoor). - "We would like to really put our shoulder behind connecting the sport at all levels," Burke Magnus, president of ESPN programming and original content, told Deadline. "[T]he young demo is significant."
- This deal also takes content away from a competitor: The PLL had been with NBCUniversal since its 2019 debut, with most games on NBCSN (which no longer exists) and Peacock.
The big picture: This partnership is reflective of two trends: The rise of streaming and the rise of lacrosse. - Rise of streaming: Even traditional broadcasters like ESPN are in the customer acquisition game now. This deal gives ESPN+ nine months of lacrosse to sell to a young, streaming-friendly fanbase (the average PLL fan has three household streaming services, per league research).
- Rise of lacrosse: Lacrosse is among the fastest growing sports in high school and college, and the PLL's early success has provided additional momentum. At no point in history has "full-time pro lacrosse player" felt closer to becoming the norm, rather than the exception.
What they're saying: I spoke with PLL co-founder and president Paul Rabil about the deal. Some highlights from our conversation: - How it happened: "We spoke to four groups in depth. There were two major tech platforms that were interested and kind of in the red zone with us — then there was NBC and Disney."
- Lacrosse's new home: "ESPN carrying lacrosse for nine months of the year will drive a deeper understanding of and fandom for the game. It will also lead to larger buy-in from ESPN — that's 'SportsCenter,' that's social media — because they're invested in lacrosse and have more reason to figure this out with us."
- Benefits of Disney: "We're in the Disney family now. So if we want to, say, build our version of 'Mighty Ducks,' we can work with their teams to try to accomplish that. And if we want to do sports-focused docs or scripted shows, there's clear focus with the ESPN+ team."
- Broadcast innovations: "We will 100% continue innovating in areas like audio, where I thought we really shined — being the first league to have hot mics on field and a direct line from the booth to the players. Every year we approach the production of our games as a blank canvas, and ESPN views us as much as a petri dish as we do."
- 1 new thing: "One thing you might expect this season are multiple crews, which I think is a level up for the league. We want the fan at home to experience each game uniquely like an NFL fan does, and that's one way to do that."
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Let's Chat | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  Data: TIDES; Table: Axios Visuals 🏈 Diversity requirement: The NFL will require every team to hire a minority or female offensive assistant coach for the 2022 season. They will sign one-year deals and be paid by a league-wide fund. 🏀 Two decades later: The Cavaliers (42-33) on Monday clinched their first winning season without LeBron James since 1997-98. 🏈 Motor City news: The Lions will be featured on "Hard Knocks" this summer, and Detroit will host the 2024 NFL draft. 🍿 Good read: Art imitates life: Like Richard Williams, Will Smith thinks it's about him (Sally Jenkins, WashPost) "The actor's ego-driven meltdown recalls what the film missed about the tennis stars' father." | | | | | | | | 5. 🏀 Mind over matter: The Justin Hardy story |  | | | Justin Hardy. Courtesy: ESPN | | | | March Madness unearths stories from smaller schools every year, and perhaps none are better than this, Jeff writes. What's happening: Justin Hardy, 22, was diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer last spring as he neared the end of his junior year at D-III Washington University in St. Louis. Instead of giving up, he played nearly the entire season even as aggressive treatment ravaged his body. - And he absolutely balled, leading the 24th-ranked Bears in scoring (11.1 ppg) and earning first-team all-conference honors in the University Athletic Association.
- Just last month, days after finding out his cancer had spread to his colon, Hardy dropped a career-high-tying 28 points in a pivotal win over Case Western.
- Weeks later on Senior Day, unable to walk without pain, he entered for the final 30 seconds and scored an uncontested layup in a win over the University of Chicago.
What they're saying: "We're our best version of ourselves when he's with us," says coach Pat Juckem. Seeing Hardy on the floor, and hearing him speak about life, makes it easy to understand why. - "There's no piece of me that was gonna half-ass this," Hardy told ESPN. "This is me living my life regardless of the circumstances. If this isn't beating it, I don't know what is."
- Hardy's reason for putting himself through such a grueling season was simple and profound: "Because it's what I love."
🎥 Watch: Mind over Matter (YouTube) | | | | | | | | 6. 📉 Charted: NFTs are past their prime |  Data: NonFungible; Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios Sales of NFTs, one of 2021's biggest investment crazes, are but a fraction of what they were at last year's peak, Axios' Brady Dale writes. The big picture: Despite the present doldrums, the market for non-fungible tokens — digital objects built to be provably unique — is very likely here to stay. But it will probably go through several more rounds of hype and disillusionment. Go deeper: | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 Photos from abroad | | Photo: Kurt Desplenter/AFP via Getty Images WEVELGEM, Belgium — Biniam Girmay of Eritrea won the prestigious Gent Wevelgem on Sunday, becoming the first African cyclist to win a one-day classic. Photo: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images SYDNEY — Fans stormed the field to celebrate Aussie Rules Football legend Lance Franklin's 1,000th goal. "The legend becomes immortal," said the announcer as his kick sailed through the uprights. Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images PETERBOROUGH, England — Awesome shot. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Three levels of basketball |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | With March Madness on pause, tonight features a cornucopia of hoops action across three different levels: high school, college and the pros. More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |  | | | Albert Pujols in 2001. Photo: Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images | | | | Albert Pujols is headed back to St. Louis, where he won NL Rookie of the Year in 2001. - Question: Who was the winner in the AL?
- Hint: He also won MVP.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏀 1 tweet thing: No "L" in LeBron |  | | | Screenshot: @Lakers (Twitter) | | | | The Lakers lose a lot, but a quick scroll through the team's Twitter page might have you convinced that LeBron James only plays in the wins, Jeff writes. By the numbers: NBA vlogger Kenny Beecham reviewed every graphic the Lakers (31-43) have tweeted after a loss this season and discovered that James has never been featured. Neither have Russell Westbrook or Carmelo Anthony. - Wins: James (10 photos); Westbrook (9); Anthony (3); Malik Monk (3); Stanley Johnson (1); Dwight Howard (1); Austin Reaves (1); Talen Horton-Tucker (1); Anthony Davis (1); Isaiah Thomas (1)
- Losses: Monk (10); Horton-Tucker (5); Wayne Ellington (5); Reaves (4); Kent Bazemore (4); Avery Bradley (3); Anthony (3); Trevor Ariza (3); Howard (2); Johnson (2); Wenyen Gabriel (1); Rajon Rondo (1)
| | | | | | | | 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 "Leave Malik Monk alone!" Baker Trivia answer: Ichiro Suzuki 🙏 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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