| | | | | | | Presented By Global X ETFs | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Apr 15, 2022 | | 🎉 Happy Friday! You made it. ❤️ Great news: Dick Vitale is cancer-free. As Dick would say, "That's awesome, baby!" And as his friend Jimmy V did say: "Don't give up, don't ever give up." Today's word count: 1,578 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⚾️ Jackie Robinson, 75 years later |  | | | Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images | | | | Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier 75 years ago today when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Driving the news: MLB will celebrate the occasion across the country today, with players wearing his No. 42, as has been tradition since 2009. - In New York, part of 42nd Street will be temporarily renamed Jackie Robinson Way and the Empire State Building will glow blue and white with his No. 42.
- In Los Angeles, his nearly 100-year-old widow, Rachel, will attend the Dodgers-Reds game, and the team will pay tribute at his statue.
- In Cairo, Georgia, his birthplace, the Braves' World Series trophy will be on display at the Jackie Robinson Boys & Girls Club.
What they're saying: "I marvel at how much this man did in such a short period of time," former MLB player and current ESPN analyst Doug Glanville told NYT. "He lived, like, five lifetimes." Martin Luther King Jr. (L) and Jackie Robinson, pictured in 1962. Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images The big picture: Here's just some of what those "five lifetimes" comprised during Robinson's 53 years on Earth: - The ballplayer: The 1947 ROY and 1949 MVP was even better than most realize. His MLB ranks across his first seven seasons: stolen bases (1st), runs (2nd), hits (2nd), WAR (2nd), batting average (4th).
- The athlete: Baseball was just one of seven sports Robinson excelled in at UCLA, joining football, basketball, track, golf, swimming and tennis.
- The trailblazer: His courage paved the way for Black athletes across all sports. "What he faced was almost unreal," Oscar Robertson told ESPN. "He took the blow for everybody."
- The activist: Robinson was friends with Martin Luther King Jr., and spent his post-playing career as a civil rights activist. "Jackie Robinson made my success possible," King said shortly before his death in 1968.
The last word: Robinson's legacy is summed up perfectly in his epitaph: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." Go deeper: |     | | | | | | 2. 🏒 Penguins clinch playoffs, per usual |  | | | Sidney Crosby, pictured earlier this season. Photo: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images | | | | The Penguins beat the Islanders, 6-3, on Thursday to clinch their 16th straight playoff berth, the longest active streak in the four major North American sports leagues. Longest active streaks: - NHL: Penguins, 16
- MLB: Dodgers, 9
- NBA: Celtics, 8
- NFL: Chiefs, 7
Longest all-time streaks: - NHL: Bruins, 29 (1967–1996)
- NBA: Spurs, 22 (1998–2019)
- MLB: Braves, 14 (1991–2005)*
- NFL: Patriots, 11 (2009–2019)
*1994 playoffs were canceled | | | | | | | | 3. 🏆 Another all-timer steps away |  | | | Photo: C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images | | | | Boston College's Jerry York, the winningest coach in D-I men's ice hockey history, retired Wednesday, joining Mike Krzyzewski as the second all-time winner to step away this month. Winningest coaches in Division I team sports (*active)... Men: - Baseball: Mike Martin, 2,029 wins — Florida State (1980–2019)
- Volleyball: Al Scates, 1,239 wins — UCLA (1963–2012)
- Basketball: Krzyzewski, 1,202 wins — Army (1975–80), Duke (1980–2022)
- Ice hockey: York, 1,123 wins — Clarkson (1972–79), Bowling Green (1979–94), Boston College (1994–2022)
- Soccer: Jerry Yeagley, 544 wins — Indiana (1973–2003)
- Football: Joe Paterno, 409 wins — Penn State (1966–2011)
- Lacrosse: John Danowski, 405 wins* — Hofstra (1986–2006), Duke (2007–present)
Women: - Softball: Carol Hutchins, 1,692 wins* — Michigan (1985–present)
- Volleyball: Russ Rose, 1,330 wins — Penn State (1979–2021)
- Basketball: Tara VanDerveer, 1,157 wins* — Idaho (1978–80), Ohio State (1980-85), Stanford (1985-present)
- Soccer: Anson Dorrance, 1,061 wins* — UNC (1979–present)
- Field hockey: Karen Shelton, 724 wins* — UNC (1981–present)
- Ice hockey: Mark Johnson, 565 wins* — Wisconsin (2003–present)
- Lacrosse: Cindy Timchal, 527 wins* — Northwestern (1982–90), Maryland (1991–2006), Navy (2008–present)
Go deeper: York retires in his own way, with little fanfare and a nod to history (The Athletic) | | | | | | | | A message from Global X ETFs | | The rise of cyber threats is not just a news story, it's a reality | | |  | | | | If we're lucky, cybersecurity can feel like an afterthought. But as the world continues to digitalize, more of our data and devices are potentially at risk. Explore the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) for exposure to companies preventing intrusions and attacks — all in single trade. Explore BUG. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Screenshot: @TomBrady (Twitter) | | | | 💬 Tweet du jour: I am choosing to believe that Tom writes his own tweets, because this is hilarious. Here's the photo in question. 🏀 The NBA and China: Nets owner and Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai reportedly tried to get Daryl Morey fired to appease the Chinese, per an ESPN report examining the NBA's uneasy China relationship. 🏈 Kings stay kings: Six schools have made multiple CFP appearances, and all six are in the top eight of ESPN's preseason Football Power Index: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Clemson, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 8 Oklahoma. ⚽️ Down goes Barça: Eintracht Frankfurt marched into Barcelona and knocked off the Spanish power, 4-3 on aggregate, to advance to the Europa League semifinals. ⚾️ If you build it: The new owners of the "Field of Dreams" movie site are building an $80 million youth baseball and softball complex, complete with dorms and a hotel. | | | | | | | | 5. 🏈 Here we go again: Spring football's back |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | A great American tradition returns Saturday as yet another spring football league attempts to carve out the part of the calendar not already dominated by the NFL, Jeff writes. Driving the news: The rebooted USFL kicks off tomorrow with a historic simulcast on Fox and NBC (7:30pm ET) — the first scheduled sports event to air on competing broadcast networks since Super Bowl I in 1967. How it works: Eight teams play a 10-week regular season that takes place entirely in Birmingham, Alabama, with the top two teams in each division advancing to the semifinals. - Teams: Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers, Tampa Bay Bandits (South); Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars, Pittsburgh Maulers (North).
- New rules: In an effort to ramp up excitement, the league introduced new rules such as three-point conversions, an overtime shootout and an onside kick alternative.
- Tech innovations: First downs will be determined by electronic chips in the footballs, and there are plans to eventually use footballs that "glow" on the broadcast when they cross the goal line.
The big picture: Spring leagues have popped up like clockwork through the years, and despite little success, they keep on coming. If the USFL's reboot lasts until 2023, it will compete against the XFL — a reboot of a reboot launching next spring. On a related note ... The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach has an interesting proposal for college football: Move each FBS team's annual "guarantee game" against an FCS opponent to the spring (subscription). Go deeper: Players to watch (USA Today) | | | | | | | | 6. ⚽️ From carpet capital to "Soccer Town USA" |  | | | Screenshot: Google Maps | | | | "Dalton, Georgia, has not always welcomed the Mexican immigrants who came to work in its carpet mills. But the community is united behind its powerhouse high school soccer teams," writes NYT's Joe Drape. - The town of 35,000 in the Appalachian foothills has long been known as "the carpet capital of the world." Now, it calls itself "Soccer Town USA."
- Two county rivals — Dalton and Southeast Whitfield — are ranked in the top 10 nationally for boys soccer, and they went head-to-head last month in their own "El Clásico."
Dive in. | | | | | | | | 7. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Photo: C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images FORT WORTH, Texas — Olympic champion Sunisa Lee delivered in Texas, guiding Auburn to the team finals for just the second time since 1993. They'll be joined by Florida, Oklahoma and Utah. Photo: David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images WILMINGTON, Del. — The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets affiliate) swept the Delaware Blue Coats (76ers) to win their record fourth G League championship. Photo: Lance King/Getty Images DURHAM, N.C. — Jon Scheyer and the Duke basketball program gave Mike Krzyzewski a puppy as a retirement gift. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: NBA playoffs arrive |  | | | Jaylen Brown (L) and Kyrie Irving. Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | The NBA playoffs begin Saturday after the No. 8 seeds are determined in tonight's play-in round finale. - Tonight: Hawks at Cavaliers (7:30pm ET, ESPN); Pelicans at Clippers (10pm, TNT)
- Saturday: No. 5 Jazz at No. 4 Mavericks (1pm, ESPN); No. 7 Timberwolves at No. 2 Grizzlies (3:30pm, ESPN); No. 5 Raptors at No. 4 76ers (6pm, ESPN); No. 6 Nuggets at No. 3 Warriors (8:30pm, ABC)
- Sunday: No. 8 Hawks/Cavaliers at No. 1 Heat (1pm, TNT); No. 7 Nets at No. 2 Celtics (3:30pm, ABC); No. 6 Bulls at No. 3 Bucks (6:30pm, TNT); No. 8 Pelicans/Clippers at No. 1 Suns (9pm, TNT)
More to watch: - 🏈 USFL: Generals at Stallions (Sat. 7:30pm, Fox, NBC); Gamblers at Panthers (Sun. 12pm, NBC); Stars at Breakers (Sun. 4pm, USA); Bandits at Maulers (Sun. 8pm, FS1)
- 🤸🏼 Gymnastics: NCAA Championship (Sat. 1pm, ABC)
- 🏒 NHL: Penguins at Bruins (Sat. 12:30pm, NHL); Wild at Blues (Sat. 3pm, ABC); Blues at Predators (Sun. 6pm, NHL)
- ⚾️ MLB: Rays at White Sox (Fri. 7pm, Apple TV+); Reds at Dodgers (Fri. 10pm, Apple TV+); Braves at Padres (Sat. 4pm, FS1; Sun. 7pm ESPN)
- ⛳️ PGA: RBC Heritage (Fri–Sun., Golf, ESPN+, CBS)
- ⛳️ LPGA: Lotte Championship (Fri–Sat., Golf)
- 🎾 ATP: Monte-Carlo Masters (Fri–Sun., Tennis)
- ⚽️ FA Cup semis: Man City vs. Liverpool (Sat. 10:30am, ESPN+); Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace (Sun. 11:30am, ESPN+)
- ⚽️ Women's FA Cup semis: Man City vs. West Ham (Sat. 7:15am, ESPN+); Arsenal vs. Chelsea (Sun. 7:30am, ESPN+)
- ⚽️ European Soccer: Sevilla vs. Real Madrid (Sun. 3pm, ESPN+); Leverkusen vs. RB Leipzig (Sun. 1:30pm, ESPN+); PSG vs. Marseille (Sun. 2:45pm, beIN Sports) ... All top-four in the standings.
- ⚽️ NWSL Challenge Cup: KC Current vs. Houston Dash (Fri. 8pm, CBSSN); OL Reign vs. Angel City (Sun. 6pm, CBSSN)
- ⚽️ MLS: Sounders vs. Inter Miami (Sat. 10pm, FS1); LAFC vs. Sporting KC (Sun. 4pm, ESPN)
- 🏁 NASCAR: Food City Dirt Race (Sun. 7pm, Fox) ... Primetime racing on Easter!
| | | | | | | | 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |  | | | Photo: Quinn Harris/Getty Images | | | | Question: Who plays in the ballpark pictured above? Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏀 1 CP3 thing: The Chris Paul effect | | Source: Giphy As the NBA-best Suns prepare to chase their first title, a fun fact: Chris Paul has now led a record four teams to their most wins ever in a season. - 2007-08: New Orleans Hornets (56-26)
- 2013-14: Clippers (57-25)
- 2017-18: Rockets (65-17)
- 2021-22: Suns (64-18)
| | | | | | | | A message from Global X ETFs | | The rise of cyber threats is not just a news story, it's a reality | | |  | | | | If we're lucky, cybersecurity can feel like an afterthought. But as the world continues to digitalize, more of our data and devices are potentially at risk. Explore the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) for exposure to companies preventing intrusions and attacks — all in single trade. Explore BUG. | | | | Enjoy the weekend, Kendall "Jackie forever" Baker Trivia answer: White Sox 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |  | 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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