| | | | | | | Presented By IBM | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Apr 05, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Congrats to the Kansas City Jayhawks! And a shoutout to Hubert Davis and UNC: Thanks for taking us on this ride. 📆 Join us: Today is Axios' inaugural What's Next Summit! Register here to attend virtually. Today's word count: 1,902 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏀 Rock Chalk, Jayhawk |  | | | Photo: Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images | | | | Basketball is a game of runs. Monday's grand finale was a game of punches — and counterpunches. ICYMI: Kansas erased a 15-point halftime deficit to beat UNC, 72-69, and claim its fourth national title and first since 2008. - It's the largest comeback in national championship game history and makes Bill Self the 16th D-I men's basketball coach with multiple titles.
- UNC had been 46-0 in the NCAA tournament when leading by double digits at the half, the longest streak in history. They're now 46-1.
Game recap: Kansas had trailed at halftime just once in the tournament. And just like they did against Miami in the Elite Eight, the Jayhawks came out of halftime firing, outscoring the battered Tar Heels, 47-29. Flashback: In 2020, the Kansas men and South Carolina women would have been No. 1 seeds and among the title favorites — but March Madness was canceled. Two years later, they're both champs. Take that, COVID. Ochai Agbaji and Bill Self celebrate. Photo: Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images What they said: "Would you rather be down 15 with 20 left or down nine with two left?" Self asked his team at halftime, alluding to KU's comeback in the 2008 title game — and giving his players the belief that the night could still be theirs. The other side: Tar Heel Nation just went through "an unprecedented emotional science experiment," writes Slate's Alex Kirschner: "No sports fan base has ever taken such a hard bit of whiplash in such a short time. It's like if Team USA had won the 'Miracle on Ice' and topped it off by losing to Finland." Parting thoughts: In college basketball, March Madness is everything. Sure, we watch the big regular-season games and follow the AP poll movement. But more than perhaps any other sport, we're always looking ahead to the postseason. - March is when America really starts tuning in, our eyes glued to the screen for conference tournaments and opening weekend chaos, all the way through the ceremonial rendition of "One Shining Moment."
- On paper, there's some risk in banking an entire sport's brand and success on the final month of the season fulfilling its potential and delivering on its promise. But here's the thing: it always does.
The bottom line: The last three weeks reminded us why we love sports. From Cinderella stories, to bitter rivalries, to thrilling comebacks, to the electricity of a jam-packed Superdome (we are so back!!!), it was everything everywhere all at once. 🎶 Watch: "One Shining Moment" (Twitter) |     | | | | | | 2. 🍿 The nostalgia of "Winning Time" |  | | | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson in 1981; LeBron James and Anthony Davis in 2022. Photos: Manny Millan/SI via Getty Images; Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" is currently airing on HBO. Meanwhile, the present-day Lakers are writing a script of their own: Call it "Losing Time." Why it matters: This dichotomy has turned the series — which uses Ikegami cameras to teleport viewers back to 1979 — into a form of escape for Lakers fans. And that could be great news for HBO. What they're saying: "People have asked me if the Lakers being terrible is bad for the show, and I tell them it's actually the opposite," says Jeff Pearlman, whose 2014 book, "Showtime," is the basis for the series. - "I learned this from books: People get very nostalgic when their team sucks. So I feel like the Lakers being awful is actually great for the show," he tells me.
- "The power of sports, more than anything, is reminding you of how you felt and what it was like living in a certain time period, or being in a certain place."
The backstory: That nostalgia Pearlman describes is a big reason why this show got made in the first place. - On Easter Sunday in 2014, down-on-his-luck screenwriter Jim Hecht showed up at Pearlman's door with a simple pitch: He loved the book and wanted to turn it into a series.
- "I grew up in Orange County, and to me, the greatest days in the world were going to see the Lakers play at The Forum," Hecht tells me. "I was the kid that would wait outside after games for autographs."
Fast-forward: Eight years later, "Winning Time" is a reality, with Hecht serving as co-creator, writer and executive producer. Most importantly, he's finally doing what he loves. - "This all sprang out of a really dark period in my life, where I had this realization that I had to stop trying to make stuff that other people want to see, and make the show that I'd want to watch."
- "I'm the target audience [for this show]," says Hecht, whose prior résumé was almost exclusively animation (he wrote "Ice Age 2"). "I met Magic Johnson when I was six. I still keep that picture by my desk."
The last word: "To be able to walk on The Forum floor that we built [on a soundstage] is incredible," says Hecht. "There's Kareem. There's Magic. There's Dr. Buss. It's like walking into the fantasy of my childhood." ICYMI ... Sunday's episode depicted the Lakers' 1979 opener against the Clippers, who had a player named Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. "Winning Time" used that opportunity to weave in a tribute to his son, Kobe. | | | | | | | | 3. 🏀 NBA snapshot: Six days left |  Data: NBA; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios The NBA's first 82-game regular season since 2019 ends this Sunday, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Where it stands: Eight teams have clinched playoff spots, three have clinched play-in berths and nine have been eliminated, leaving the fate of 10 teams still up in the air. - East: The field of 10 is set and incredibly tight, but there are still two crucial playoff spots up for grabs.
- West: Three through eight is jumbled, but the top two teams are miles ahead of the pack and the bottom three are fighting for their lives. The Lakers are all but dead (0.3% chance).
Awards races: - Scoring title: LeBron James (30.3 ppg), Joel Embiid (30.2) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.1) are nearly tied, and could be the first trio of 30-point scorers since 2006 (James, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson).
- MVP: Nikola Jokić (-310) is the favorite, but Embiid (+250) and Antetokounmpo (+550) are still alive in one of the closest races ever.
- ROY: Cleveland's Evan Mobley (-250) leads Toronto's Scottie Barnes (+220) and Detroit's Cade Cunningham (+750).
- DPOY: Could Marcus Smart (+135) or Mikal Bridges (+390) become just the third non-big man to win since 1996, or will Bam Adebayo (+270) or Rudy Gobert (+500) continue the trend?
- Sixth man: Miami's Tyler Herro (20.6 ppg) has this one in the bag.
- COY: Phoenix's Monty Williams is a virtual lock.
Go deeper: Power rankings (ESPN) | | | | | | | | A message from IBM | | Can artificial intelligence predict the Masters? | | |  | | | | The Masters used IBM Watson to analyze five years of historical data on hundreds of players and more than 100,000 shots, enabling them to predict the scores of every player, in every round of the Tournament. You can check out how they did it here, and see the predictions in the Masters app. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Albert Pujols waves to fans at spring training. Photo courtesy of the Cardinals | | | | ⚾️ Pujols forever: Albert Pujols will be the Cardinals DH for his 22nd consecutive Opening Day start. That ties Hank Aaron and Carl Yastrzemski for second-most behind only Pete Rose (23 straight). 🏈 Back to work: The Dolphins, Giants, Bears and Saints began their offseason workout programs on Monday. Dates for every team. 💵 Three Comma Club: Forbes' 36th annual World's Billionaires List is out today. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer comes in at No. 14 with a net worth of $68.7 billion. Casual! ⚾️ Must-see video: The Mariners announced Monday that top prospect Julio Rodriguez, 21, made the Opening Day roster. Watch him find out. | | | | | | | | 5. ⛳️ Couples: Tiger looks "phenomenal" |  | | | Tiger Woods drew a full crowd during practice on Monday. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images | | | | Tiger Woods looked "phenomenal" in Monday's practice round at Augusta National, according to Fred Couples, who played with Woods and Justin Thomas. "What impressed me the most is he was bombing it. I know JT's not the longest hitter on tour, but I know he's damn long. He was with him, flushing it." "I hope everything keeps going Tuesday and Wednesday, and I'm sure he's going to tee it up Thursday. ... If he can walk around here for 72 holes, he'll contend. He's too good." — Couples The (apparel) intrigue: Woods, who's been with Nike since 1996, caused some commotion when he showed up Sunday in a pair of FootJoy spikes. He appeared to be wearing the same model on Monday. - There's speculation that Woods opted for the FootJoys due to his specific comfort needs post-surgery, and Nike's opaque statement did nothing to counter that narrative.
- In 2019, it was estimated that Nike reaped ~$22.5 million in brand value from Woods marching around Augusta in Nike apparel on a single Sunday of the Masters, notes Axios' Nathan Bomey.
Go deeper: Major storylines at Augusta (CBS) | | | | | | | | 6. ⚾️ College baseball: Vols on fire |  Data: D1Baseball; Table: Axios Visuals Tennessee earned its first-ever No. 1 ranking last week and responded by sweeping perennial juggernaut Vanderbilt on the road, Jeff writes. State of play: Tennessee's only loss this season came a month ago against then-No. 1 Texas. Nobody is hotter than the Volunteers, and the buzz surrounding the program is at an all-time high. - Hitting: The Vols lead the nation in HR (69), and they're top four in batting average (.325), doubles (79) and runs scored (293).
- Pitching: Their 1.80 ERA leads the nation, and redshirt junior Ben Joyce hit 104.1 mph, faster than any pitch thrown in MLB last year.
The big picture: Tennessee and fellow SEC power Arkansas are 1-2, but the ACC leads the way with eight ranked teams, followed by the SEC (6), Big 12 (4) and Pac-12 (3). - In and out: UCLA is No. 15 after sweeping then-No. 20 Oregon, who dropped out. No. 18 Southern Miss and No. 21 NC State are also in, taking Florida and Georgia Tech's spots.
- Biggest riser: Texas State jumped 10 spots to No. 10 for the program's first-ever top-10 ranking.
Go deeper: Vols are bold, brash and on top of the college baseball world (ESPN) | | | | | | | | 7. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Mitch Marner hugs Auston Matthews after his third goal. Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images TAMPA — MVP favorite Auston Matthews scored a hat trick on Monday to lead Toronto past Tampa Bay, 6-2, and tie the Maple Leafs record for goals in a season (54). - Wild stat: Matthews is averaging 0.64 goals per game for his career, the fifth-best mark in NHL history.
Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn/Twins via Getty Images FORT MYERS, Fla. — Carlos Correa in a Twins jersey looks weird! Two more sleeps 'til baseball. Swimmers compete during the TYR Pro Swim Series. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images SAN ANTONIO — Swimming photography should be celebrated more. No idea how you did it, Maddie, but here's to you. So awesome. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Champions League returns |  | | | Etihad Stadium, home of Manchestre City. Photo: Matt McNulty/Manchester City FC via Getty Images | | | | The Champions League quarterfinals kick off today with two first-leg matches — one hosted by a juggernaut and the other by the biggest underdog left in the field. - Manchester City vs. Atlético Madrid (3pm ET, CBS): The reigning Premier League and LaLiga champs square off in England.
- Benfica vs. Liverpool (3pm, Paramount+): The red-hot Reds (one loss in 2022) take their talents to Lisbon.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |  | | | Jackie Robinson, the first Black player to win MVP, poses with his trophies in 1949. Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images | | | | Three MLB teams have never had a player named MVP. - Question: Can you name them?
- Hint: NL East, NL West, AL East.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎙 1 great gig: The life of Jim |  | | | Photo: Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images | | | | There's no way around it: Jim Nantz has had, and will continue to have, a better week than you. - Saturday: Call the Final Four
- Monday: Call the National Championship
- Thursday-Sunday: Call the Masters
| | | | | | | | A message from IBM | | The Masters app is serving up AI insights on every player in the field | | | | | | | | IBM Watson natural language processing capabilities analyzed more than three million articles about every golfer at the Masters. The resulting player insights are then made available on the player profile pages in the Masters app. See how they did it. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Nostalgia is a hell of a drug" Baker Trivia answer: Mets, Diamondbacks, Rays. 🙏 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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