Going Broke... Multiple Ways

Good Morning!

We’re one day away from full March Madness tipping off. We’ve got some good sports stuff for you today so grab another coffee.

We’re talking about money, money, and money, some football, and then we’ll run throughs come quick scores.

Vamos!

First Two Out!

The Tuesday games from the first four are a great example of why we love the first four and why we also could totally go without it.

🏀16 seed Wagner beat 16 seed Howard 71–68 in the first game yesterday. Melvin Council Junior was the high scorer for Wagner, scoring 21 points. Wagner had three other players in double digits. Howard was down 38-27 at the end of the first half but wouldn’t go away without a fight. They outscored Wagner by 8 in the 2nd half, but Wagner was able to hold on and get the win and sneak their way into the field of 64.

🏀 On the flip side, the game between the 10 seeds where Colorado State faced Virginia showed us why maybe we don’t need a play-in. After only 41 total points were scored in the first half. Yes, Colorado State had 27, and Virginia had 14. We all questioned whether we were watching a college basketball game or was this high school. The second half looked a little bit different, where Colorado State would put up 40, and Virginia would look like a somewhat normal basketball team and score double their first-half points, which was not hard to do. Still, Colorado beat Virginia by 25. It’s about time for Virginia to file for talent bankruptcy as they need to take a closer look at their “system. “After this ½ round exit. Virginia was at the top of the world just a few years ago when they won the national championship in 2019. What a shame!

🚨 Karma Alert!

The Big East got screwed on selection Sunday. No one likes a committee, but it also wasn’t their fault. There were a few teams that won their conference championship and got the automatic bid that otherwise wouldn’t have made the tourney. That impacted the Big East, as they should’ve had more teams in the field of 64.

But the Big East has its opportunity to show the committee why it was wrong, as it has five teams in the NIT. It’s not going so well, as Providence, Xavier, and Butler all lost in the first round of the NIT last night. Seton Hall and Villanova play tonight and will continue with the Big East redemption tour!

Is Alex Rodriguez Broke?

If we’re talking basketball, and Virginia is metaphorically broke, I think Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lore might actually be broke?

This can’t be true, right?

The two were in the process of buying out Glen Taylor from his ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves. They were doing it in 20% installments, and the team was valued at $1.5 billion. They had already purchased 40% of the team, and their financial support just backed out as they were about to spend $300 million on their next portion of ownership. It’s not clear why the Carlyle Group removed their financial support, but now A-Rod and Lore need to find a way to come up with the $$ to continue on their path to ownership.

Talk about not having any money! Right?

The ACC Might Go Broke

Talk about not having any money.

Dude, the ACC might not have any money soon enough.

That could be a little overdramatic as they are a very talented conference in other sports, but we all know that football drives the revenue.

Well, Clemson is filing a lawsuit against the conference, citing the rules around exit fees and conference withdrawal penalties.

It seems Clemson wants to find a way out of the ACC to join another conference better suited for a powerhouse football school, which they have not been recently. 

Clemson would have to pay an exit fee of $140 million to leave the conference and possibly more to maintain some media rights. If Florida State and Clemson were to leave, I am not sure how the ACC would work out a massive football deal with any TV network. Without a massive football deal, I think the conference's fate is closer to that of the Pac-12 than it is to the SEC or Big Ten.

🤞 Let’s hope not.

Big Blow To Kansas

Kansas’ woes continue as they will not have star Kevin McCullar Jr. for the NCAA Tournament. McCullar missed six of the final 12 games of the season with a bone bruise on his knee and is struggling to have an impact on the floor. McCullar said he’s been spending several hours daily with the Kansas training staff over many weeks trying to get himself ready to play, but the injury is lingering. This is as crappy as stories come because McCullar is a senior, and Kansas, who has been falling apart recently, could use their 6’'7” dude.

Can The Jets Do This?

The NY Jets are adding talent to the receiver core for Aaron Rodgers. While Rodgers isn’t the running mate for RFK, Rodgers is still getting presidential treatment. The Jets made some investments on the offensive line, and now they are bringing in Mike Williams at receiver. Williams is signing a 1-year deal that could be worth up to $15 million. Williams has struggled with injuries since leaving Clemson for the NFL, but he does have two 1,000-yard receiving years. He’s talented, for sure, but can he stay healthy? The Jets better freaking hope so!

Rapid Fire Scoreboard

🏀 Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets had 42 points last night in a win over the Wizards. Final score was 137-114. The Wizards are getting their face pushed in nightly.

🏀 Nikola Jokic scored 35 for the Nuggets in a 115-112 win over the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards had 30, 8 and 8 for the T-Wolves

🏀 Zion is making his way onto the leaderboard as he had 28 points in a 104-91 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

🏀 The Mavs got a 113-107 win over the Spurs last night. Kyrie led the way with 28 points. Luka Doncic had another triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 16 assists.

🏒 The Boston Bruins beat up the Ottawa Senators 6-2 last night. David Pastrnak had a hat trick for the B’s.

🏒 The Pittsburgh Penguins playoff hopes are slipping away on the ice. They lost to the NJ Devils 5-2 as the Devils got two goals from both Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier.

🏒 The NY Rangers fell to the Winnipeg Jets last night. Mark Scheifele had a hat trick for the Winnipeg

🏒 The Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights battled it out in Vegas last night. It took 3 goals in 3rd period for the Lightning to put this away, and Brayden Point had 2 goals for the Tampa.

🏒 The Detroit Red Wings got an OT win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Of course, it was Patrick Kane who snuck the game-winner into the back of the net.

What’s On TV Tonight

NHL

🏒Toronto Maple Leafs @ Washington Capitals, 7:30 pm ET on TNT

🏒 Minnesota Wild @ LA Kings, 10 pm ET on TNT

NBA

🏀 Milwaukee Bucks @ Boston Celtics, 7:30 pm ET on ESPN

🏀 Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors, 10 pm ET on ESPN

NCAA Basketball

🏀 #16 Grambling vs #16 Montana State, 6:30 pm ET on truTV (winner faces 1 seed Purdue)

🏀 #10 Colorado vs #10 Boise State, 9:10 pm ET on truTV (winner faces 7 seed Florida

HAVE A DAY!

-The Daily Breakroom