Yahoo Sports AM: Happy Opening Day!

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🚨 Headlines

🏀 LeBron is inevitable: LeBron James lifted the Lakers past the Pacers, 120-119, on a tip-in at the buzzer to snap L.A.’s three-game losing streak. He also saved a streak of his own, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter for his 1,283rd consecutive game with at least 10 points.

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🎾 Stunner in Miami: Alexandra Eala, ranked 140th in the world and just 19 years old, stunned No. 2 Iga Świątek at the Miami Open to become the first Filipino player ever to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal.

⚽️ Boston Legacy: Boston’s 2026 NWSL expansion team, which first announced its name last fall as the widely-criticized BOS Nation FC, has rebranded as Boston Legacy Football Club.

🏀 From legend to coach: Ali Farokhmanesh, the former Northern Iowa guard whose late three helped beat top-seeded Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament, has been promoted from assistant to head coach at Colorado State.

⛳️ Hello, friends: Don’t worry, golf fans: Jim Nantz isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The longtime CBS broadcaster plans to call the Masters until 2036, which would be his 51st edition and the 100th overall. Thanks for the heads up, Jim!

⚾️ MLB 2025: Meet the main characters

It’s Opening Day! To get you ready for the action, here are the top 50 people who will impact the 2025 MLB season, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz.

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Top 10:

1. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers DH/SP: There are endless avenues to explain the scope and scale of Ohtani’s influence, but let’s keep it simple. Here is a human being whose athletic greatness has energized nations, reshaped local economies and rewritten the rules of the sport itself.

2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Blue Jays 1B: The will-they, won’t-they extension talks have officially reached opening day of Vlad’s walk year. Even if he reaches free agency, he won’t get Soto money ($765M); but $500 million is certainly in play.

3. Juan Soto, Mets RF: The $765 million man is the key to Steve Cohen’s dream of biting into the Yankees’ Big Apple stranglehold. Soto reached the World Series after spending just one year in the Bronx; imagine what he can accomplish with 15 years in Queens.

4. Aaron Judge, Yankees RF: For all the home runs and individual accolades, Judge’s career will ultimately feel incomplete if he fails to win a championship in pinstripes. He can still rectify that, but a month shy of his 33rd birthday, he might have less time than you think.

5. Bryce Harper, Phillies 1B: Like Judge, Harper’s a two-time MVP turning 33 this year whose only missing piece is a ring. It’s incredible to think that by season’s end he’ll have spent as much time in Philly as in Washington, and that he’s firmly in the veteran stage of his career.

6. Paul Skenes, Pirates SP: The reigning ROY looks a lot like the clear-cut best pitcher in baseball. That alone won’t make the Pirates competitive; but as last year showed us, even if the Buccos stink, every Skenes start is relevant.

7. Spencer Strider, Braves SP: The 2023 strikeout king, who missed nearly all of last season after undergoing elbow surgery, should return sometime in April to form one of the best 1-2 punches in the majors alongside reigning Cy Young Chris Sale.

8. Ronald Acuña Jr, Braves RF: Like his teammate, the 2023 MVP also missed most of last season after tearing his ACL for the second time in four years. How he and Strider play upon their returns (he’s expected back in May) will have an enormous impact on the Braves.

9. Rōki Sasaki, Dodgers SP: Few prospects have Sasaki’s talent, but at this point he’s significantly less polished than teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto was upon joining L.A. last winter. He’s going to be great eventually, but what happens in Year One is a total mystery.

10. Bobby Witt Jr, Royals SS: Since the beginning of the Integration Era, here’s the list of players Witt’s age (24) or younger to post an fWAR higher than the 10.4 he delivered last year: Mickey Mantle. That’s it. That’s the list.

11-50:

• 11-20: Elly de la Cruz (Reds SS), Gunnar Henderson (Orioles SS), Rafael Devers (Red Sox 3B), Alex Cora (Red Sox manager), Alex Bregman (Red Sox 3B), Tarik Skubal (Tigers SP), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers SP), Jacob deGrom (Rangers SP), Jimmy Pitaro (ESPN president), Rob Manfred (MLB commissioner)

• 21-30: Kyle Tucker (Cubs RF), Jose Altuve (Astros LF), Cam Smith (Astros RF), Freddie Freeman (Dodgers 1B), Mookie Betts (Dodgers SS), Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres RF), Jackson Merrill (Padres CF), Jackson Chourio (Brewers RF), Jackson Jobe (Tigers SP), Jackson Holliday (Orioles 2B)

• 31-40: Jasson Domínguez (Yankees LF), Sandy Alcántara (Marlins SP), Luis Robert Jr. (White Sox CF), Nolan Arenado (Cardinals 3B), Jed Hoyer (Cubs president), Pete Alonso (Mets 1B), Francisco Lindor (Mets SS), Mike Trout (Angels RF), Buster Posey (Giants president), Justin Verlander (Giants SP)

• 41-50: Max Scherzer (Blue Jays SP), Munetaka Murakami (NPB slugger), Stu Sternberg (Rays owner), Corbin Burnes (D-Backs SP), Corbin Carroll (D-Backs OF), Lawrence Butler (A’s OF), Clay Holmes (Mets SP), Junior Caminero (Rays IF), James Wood (Nats OF), Chandler Simpson (Future Rays OF)

Opening Day snapshot:

• Roster continuity rankings: For the second year in a row, the Phillies lead the majors in continuity, returning a whopping 93% of last year’s plate appearances and 80% of innings pitched. The Tigers, Royals, Mariners and Twins round out the top five.

• Rays game postponed: 28 of 30 teams are playing today, but the Rays and Rockies have to wait until tomorrow to start their season to give Tampa Bay an extra day to prepare Steinbrenner Field — their temporary, minor league home — for major league action.

• Title favorites (via BetMGM): The Dodgers (+240) have by far the best odds to win the World Series, followed by the Braves (+900), Yankees (+900), Phillies (+1100), Mets (+1200), Orioles (+1600), Red Sox (+1800), Astros (+1800) and Rangers (+2200).

Division previews: AL East | NL East | AL Central | NL Central | AL West | NL West

🏀 The road to San Antonio

The men’s Sweet 16 begins today, and by the end of the weekend just four teams will be heading to San Antonio. But the 256 potential Final Four combinations are not all created equal.

Here are 10 of our favorites, courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg:

1. All chalk: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston … Only once has the Final Four comprised entirely No. 1 seeds (2008) since the tournament expanded in 1985.

2. All chaos: Ole Miss, Arkansas, BYU, Purdue … Every Final Four since 2012 has featured at least one team seeded 5 or lower. In a tournament defined by the favorites so far, how funny would it be to see each region’s lowest seed emerge victorious?

3. New blood: Ole Miss, Texas Tech, BYU, Tennessee … The Rebels have never been past the Sweet 16, the Cougars (31) and Vols (26) have the most tournament appearances without a Final Four and the Red Raiders are the only West Region team left without a title.

4. First-year coaches: Michigan, Arkansas, Kentucky, BYU … Dusty May (Wolverines), John Calipari (Razorbacks), Mark Pope (Wildcats) and Kevin Young (Cougars) are all in their first year at the helm of their current programs.

5. All-SEC: Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee … Just once have three teams from the same conference made the Final Four (Big East, 1985). The mighty SEC, with seven teams* still alive, could be the first to send four.

6. Defense wins championships: Michigan State, Maryland, Duke, Houston … Five of the nation’s top six defenses are still alive (those four plus Tennessee). Only St. John’s was eliminated.

7. NBA prospects abound: Michigan State, Maryland, Duke, Houston … Three of these teams have at least one potential lottery pick (Michigan State’s Jase Richardson, Maryland’s Derik Queen and the Duke trio of Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach).

8. The gridiron gang: Michigan, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee … This would make for quite the CFP semifinals.

9. The brainiacs: Michigan, Florida, Duke, Purdue … According to U.S. News and World Report, Duke (6), Michigan (21), Florida (30) and Purdue (46) are the highest-rated academic institutions in their regions.

10. The mascot melee: Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Houston … What if every mascot came to life and had an epic brawl? Far too much time was wasted trying to figure out how an Elephant would fare against a Blue Devil.

Ranking the contenders: All 16 teams ranked, from most to least likely to win the title

*Other all-SEC permutations: Auburn could be replaced by Ole Miss (South), Florida could be replaced by Arkansas (West) and Tennessee could be replaced by Kentucky (Midwest).

🏀 NBA mock draft 1.0

With the Sweet 16 tipping off today, it’s a perfect time to break out our first mock of the 2025 NBA draft, courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor.

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Top 10:

1. Wizards: Cooper Flagg (F, Duke)

2. Jazz: Dylan Harper (G, Rutgers)

3. Hornets: Ace Bailey (F, Rutgers)

4. Pelicans: VJ Edgecombe (G, Baylor)

5. 76ers: Derik Queen (C, Maryland)

6. Nets: Kasparas Jakučionis (G, Illinois)

7. Raptors: Jeremiah Fears (G, Oklahoma)

8. Heat: Tre Johnson (G, Texas)

9. Spurs: Collin Murray-Boyles (F, South Carolina)

10. Trail Blazers: Kon Knueppel (G/F, Duke)

Keep reading: Picks 11-30 | Full draft guide

📚 Good reads

🏀 Ben Rohrbach: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the ‘free-throw merchant’ debate

Some argue that the Thunder superstar is a “free-throw merchant” — someone who games the game, baiting defenders into contact and, more importantly, officials into blowing a whistle when the contact was his own doing. Is there any merit to that argument?

🏈 Charles McDonald: Travis Hunter is both CB1 and a 1st-round WR — and maxing his potential is a tricky but welcome challenge

The term “generational” gets overused when it comes to draft prospects, but if Travis Hunter doesn’t fit the bill, then no one does.

🏀 Jeff Eisenberg: Cinderellas are still alive in March Madness. Case in point — Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier

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Stories like Lanier’s are a reminder that this year’s heavyweight Sweet 16 isn’t as devoid of charming underdogs as it’s been made out to be. The teams still competing for a title may each hail from power conferences, but Cinderella stories still exist, if you know where to look for them.

📺 Watchlist: Baseketball

It’s no Sports Equinox, but Opening Day and the Sweet 16 falling on the same day is a treat nonetheless.

⚾️ Opening Day: The 14-game slate includes two on national television: Brewers at Yankees (3pm ET, ESPN) and Tigers at Dodgers (7pm, ESPN), which features last year’s AL Cy Young (Tarik Skubal) squaring off against a two-time winner (Blake Snell).

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🏀 Sweet 16: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 6 BYU (7:09pm, CBS); No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 Maryland (7:39pm, TBS); No. 1 Duke vs. No. 4 Arizona (9:39pm, CBS); No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 Arkansas (10:09pm, TBS)

More to watch:

• 🏀 NBA: Mavericks at Magic (7pm, NBA)

• 🏒 NHL: Kings at Avalanche (10pm, ESPN)

• 🏒 NCAA Men’s Hockey: Regionals (2pm-8:30pm, ESPNU/ESPN2) … The 16-team* NCAA tournament begins today with the first four regional games.

• ⛳️ LPGA: Ford Championship (7pm, Golf) … 19 of the world’s top 20 golfers tee it up in Arizona, including No. 1 and defending champion Nelly Korda.

• ⛳️ PGA: Houston Open (8:15am, ESPN+; 4pm, Golf) … The first of two straight tournaments in Texas before the Masters tees off on April 10.

• ⛸️ World Figure Skating Championships: Day 2 (11am, Peacock; 3pm, USA)

• ⚽️ Women’s Champions League: Barcelona (4-1) vs. Wolfsburg (1:45pm, YouTube); Chelsea (0-2) vs. Man City (4pm, YouTube) … Quarterfinals, second leg.

• 🎾 Tennis: Miami Open (1pm, Tennis) … No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 6 Jasmine Paolini and No. 4 Jessica Pegula vs. Alexandra Eala in the women’s semifinals.

*Top seeds: The four seeded teams leading each regional are No. 1 Boston College, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Maine and No. 4 Western Michigan.

⚾️ MLB trivia

Luis Arráez, who’s won three straight batting titles, leads all MLB hitters with a .321 batting average in the 2020s (min. 1,500 at-bats).

Question: Who are the only other two players with a .300+ BA this decade?

Hint: They were teammates for one season.

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Answer at the bottom.

⚾️ Need an Opening Day homer? Just call Tyler

When Tyler O’Neill takes the field for the Orioles this afternoon, it’ll be his third straight Opening Day with a new club. But no matter the team, you can always count on him to go yard when the season begins.

Five in a row: The former Cardinal and Red Sox has hit a home run on an MLB record five straight Opening Days. He’ll go for six in a row today on the road against the Blue Jays.

What are his chances? Streak aside, Toronto’s Rogers Centre has been the ninth-most homer-friendly ballpark for righties over the past three seasons, per Statcast. And it’s not as if O’Neill saves all his power for the first day of the year, hitting 31 long balls in just 113 games last season.

Trivia answer: Freddie Freeman (.313) and Trea Turner (.300)

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