NCAAF

• Five-star WR Mylan Graham commits to Ohio State
  • Ohio State doesn’t miss when it comes to wide receiver recruiting. Graham, the No. 27 prospect in the class of 2024, will, along with Jeremiah Smith, help continue the trend of Columbus being home to the nation’s best receiving group.

NBA

• Cavaliers 117, Magic 113
  • Donovan Mitchell is phenomenal. 40 or more points in four consecutive games for Cleveland’s best player. It would be a significant boost for the Cavaliers in the playoffs if the good version of Caris LeVert shows up more often that not. Cleveland’s sixth man scored 19 points on 5-6 from deep yesterday.
  • The Magic are going to end up finishing outside the East’s top 10 yet again this season, but there’s plenty of hope moving forward. Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter, Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz, and Cole Anthony all have promise.
• Raptors 120, Hornets 100
  • The Raptors are winning games that they should win, which is a good sign. A bad sign? Scottie Barnes scored zero points in this game. Barnes, who was handed Rookie of the Year a season ago, needs to become more of a consistent force for Toronto to have a realistic shot of pulling a first round upset.
  • Keep an eye on Theo Maledon. The eye test still doesn’t benefit the French point guard, but Maldeon is averaging 12.3 assists per game over his last four.
• Heat 118, Pistons 105
  • Miami played just eight guys, but still struggled for the duration of this contest. The Heat may be feared in a first round matchup because of its name and history, but Miami isn’t that strong of a team, as it’s quite small, and was even outrebounded by Detroit last night.
• Bucks 140, Wizards 128
  • Milwaukee is capable of putting together some very explosive performances when its role players are connecting from long range. In this game, Jae Crowder, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Joe Ingles, and Wes Matthews combined to shoot 20-31 from three. Good luck beating Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks when that happens.
• Timberwolves 107, Nets 102
  • It felt like the Timberwolves needed this one to get back on track and solidify their positioning for the play-in tournament. Chris Finch must have agreed, as Minnesota’s head coach played just eight players in this contest. Jaden McDaniels becomes more and more of a problem for opponents on the defensive end by the game.
• 76ers 103, Celtics 101
  • This season’s MVP race is coming down to the wire, and it’s hard to ignore what Joel Embiid has been doing. Philadelphia’s center scored 52 points in this game on 20-25 from the floor, cementing his obvious spot in the voting’s top three. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic certainly deserve consideration, as well.
  • Contrary to Embiid, Jayson Tatum does not deserve consideration for MVP. The Celtics forward required 20 shots to score 19 points in this game, and lacks the overwhelming talent required to win MVP. Tatum is a fine player, though.
• Hawks 123, Bulls 105
  • He’s been receiving an adequate number of minutes, but it’s bit mysterious as to why Patrick Williams isn’t starting for the Bulls. The 21-year-old should be in Chicago’s main lineup over either Patrick Beverley or Alex Caruso. The talented Williams shot 6-9 for 15 points in this affair.
• Rockets 124, Nuggets 103
  • This is how you want games to look if you’re the Rockets. Jalen Green filled up the scoring column, Alperen Sengun flirted with a triple-double, Jabari Smith Jr. and Kevin Porter were solid, and Tari Eason played well off the bench.
  • Off the top of my head, these Nuggets are the least inspiring No. 1 seed since at least the 2018 Raptors. Nikola Jokic’s return couldn’t even save Denver in this game, as the two-time MVP scored just 14 points.
• Kings 121, Pelicans 103
  • Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox can almost always be counted on to be good, which helps make rookie Keegan Murray a huge swing guy for Sacramento. Last night, the pendulum swung in a positive direction, as Murray shot 7-10 from three-point range, scoring 21 points.
  • The Pelicans have zero chance of advancing past the first round without Zion Williamson. The talent just isn’t there. CJ McCollum was a mess in this game, shooting 6-19 for just 12 points.
• Lakers 135, Jazz 133
  • The Lakers are one of the best teams in the Western Conference right now. We got something close to vintage LeBron James in this tilt, as the 38-year-old scored 37 points. Austin Reaves leveling up has been huge for Los Angeles. Reaves scored 28 of his own yesterday.
  • What a killer loss for Utah. The Jazz rolled out a bunch of NBA nobodies for this game, but that clearly didn’t stop it from competing. Collin Sexton played just 16 minutes in this contest, but I’d like to see him in the low-30s in that department next season.
• Warriors 136, Thunder 125
  • Oklahoma City is far too small to be taken seriously. Starting Jaylin Williams at center is embarrassing, and to make matters perhaps even worse, the size the Thunder bring off the bench is beyond unimposing. Dario Daric, Ousmane Dieng, and Olivier Sarr don’t cut it, as evidenced by the Warriors outrebounding the Thunder last night, 54-38.
• Suns 115, Spurs 94
  • There’s certainly a scoring hierarchy among Phoenix’s four best players, but Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton all dropped at least 18 points last night in a balanced effort. That’s not a bad formula.
  • GREAT tank job by the Spurs. San Antonio did a lot of the little things in this game to lose: start three guys under 6’5″, shoot under 40 percent, and play Julian Champagnie and Dominick Barlow nearly 50 combined minutes off the bench. Nice. The Spurs are now tied with the Rockets in the win column.

MLB

• Marlins 1, Twins 0
  • Sandy Alcantara is amazing. The Marlins ace not only shutout the Twins yesterday, but was so efficient that this game ended in under two hours. The smartly created new rules made this possible, but tons of credit should obviously go to Alcantara, who only surrendered three hits.
• Phillies 4, Yankees 1
  • It’s pretty easy for frustration to build up in sports, so it was good for Philadelphia to nab this win after starting 0-4.
  • Aaron Hicks may need a good season after struggling at the plate in 2021 and 2022. It’s early but Hicks is 0-7 at the dish so far.
• Rays 10, Nationals 6
  • The Rays, 5-0, might be really good. How about Luke Raley, Yandy Diaz, and Jose Siri combining for seven home runs so far? Impressive.
• Pirates 4, Red Sox 1
  • The Pirates will probably still be bad in 2023, but steps forward will be taken. Those steps have been a bit noticeable thus far, especially in the win column, where Pittsburgh already has three — all saved by David Bednar.
• Brewers 9, Mets 0
  • I was quite down on Milwaukee entering this season, and definitely didn’t envision its young position players dominating. Garrett Mitchell, Brice Turang, and Joey Wiemer have all played well through five games.
• Blue Jays 4, Royals 1
  • The Royals are going to stink this season — again, but it would at least be halfway enjoyable if Bobby Witt Jr. performed. That hasn’t occurred to this point. Witt Jr.’s OPS is just .368.
• Tigers 6, Astros 3
  • Spencer Torkelson had a miserable rookie season, so he needed a good start to 2023. Yesterday helped, as Detroit’s first baseman went 3-4 with a home run. The Tigers need Javier Baez to get going, though.
  • The Jose Altuve injury was brutal for the 2-4 Astros. Mauricio Dubon isn’t a suitable replacement.
• Mariners 11, Angels 2
  • Seattle’s 1-4 start had to be frustrating to newcomers Teoscar Hernandez and AJ Pollock. The two veterans reversed the team’s (and their own) fortunes in this tilt, as both outfielders smashed two homers. Luis Castillo was an amazing acquisition by the Mariners. He’s allowed zero runs through two starts.
• Athletics 4, Guardians 3
  • It feels every Guardians game this season has ended on a walk-off. Cleveland was on the wrong end of this one — a Shane Bieber start. How many more of those will the Guardians get after this season?
• Dodgers 5, Rockies 2
  • Julio Urias is pretty decent. 2-0, with a 1.50 ERA, and 12 strikeouts for the Dodgers’ young starter.