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Good morning! Hold that halftime lead today.
Draft Day Mea Culpa: Trades, snubs and general chaos reign in Green Bay
I need to confess something this morning: Each year, as Round 1 of the NFL Draft approaches, I get fatigued.
The entire apparatus of the draft can become a little too much. There is as much hype for the draft as there is for any major sport’s championship event, with none of the direct gratification. Wow, my team picked a guy! I have no idea if he’ll be good or not!
And then, hours later, I watch someone like Matthew Golden walk across the stage, realizing his lifelong dream in front of the fans who will soon buy his jersey. Golden could be a bust, but that moment? Very, very cool. And 32 players crossed that same emotional threshold last night.
Three other flashbulb moments that reignited my interest:
- Cam Ward, as we all expected, went No. 1 to the Titans. Ward is another example of how this time of year can become a mental grind — we got bored of Ward’s clear candidacy as the best prospect in this draft and forgot about his incredible journey from Incarnate Word to No. 1 pick. Good for Ward.
- We also had two eye-opening trades. The Jaguars traded a haul to go from No. 5 to No. 2, giving the Browns plenty of assets for a rebuild in exchange for two-way star Travis Hunter. It’s a real what-if moment for both franchises already. Later in the night, the Giants — who already employ Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston — traded back into the first round to select Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart after grabbing Abdul Carter at No. 3.
- Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders did not hear his name called. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler predicted this yesterday, but I’m still surprised no one went for it. Expect Sanders to move off the board quickly tonight. (Also, shoutout to Dane for correctly predicting New York trading back into the first for Dart.)
We have grades on every pick here. Dane also has his list of best available players, including three he had in the top 20 of his overall rankings. And listen to “The Athletic Football Show” name their biggest surprises from night one and what’s ahead on day two.
‘Tis the Postseason: How to lose a series in 20 minutes
We had another full slate of both NBA and NHL playoff action last night, but nothing was more surprising than what went down in Memphis. Quickly:
- Down 2-0, the Grizzlies were doing everything against the top-seeded Thunder. Memphis held a 26-point lead at halftime, but lost Ja Morant to a hip injury late in the second quarter. Some things happened, Oklahoma City showed why it’s the best team in the NBA and the Thunder are now up 3-0 after the largest halftime comeback in NBA playoff history. That’s a wrap.
- Elsewhere on the hardwood, the gritty Knicks outmuscled a tough Pistons team, 118-116, to take a 2-1 lead in that first-round series. And extreme kudos must go to the Clippers, who shocked us not by just beating the Nuggets last night, but by blowing them out: a 117-83 beatdown to grab their own 2-1 lead.
To the ice:
- The surprises were in St. Louis and Minnesota, where the Blues (7-2 win over the Jets) and the Wild (5-2 win over the Golden Knights) made hefty impressions. St. Louis staved off a 3-0 deficit to stay alive against the NHL’s best team, while Minnesota took a solid 2-1 lead in that series.
- Oppositely, the Leafs (!) snatched a 3-0 lead against the Senators with an overtime stunner in Ottawa. Our James Mirtle noted that Toronto has not swept a series since 2001, an incredible stat in its own right, but moreover, that sweep came against the Senators, too.
In the more ho-hum result of the night, the defending champion Panthers are up 2-0 against the Lightning after a nice win. But there is worry: Team captain Aleksander Barkov could miss time after taking a nasty hit in last night’s game.
Let’s move on:
News to Know
Arenas in coma
Alijah Arenas, current USC recruit and son of NBA great Gilbert, is reportedly in a medically induced coma after being involved in a serious car crash yesterday. Both police and fire officials confirmed an 18-year-old was involved in a one-car crash at 4:55 a.m. PT on Thursday, but would not specify whether it was the younger Arenas. Read more details.
Sharpe steps away
Shannon Sharpe is taking time off from ESPN, the embattled TV personality said yesterday, as he responds to rape allegations that emerged earlier this week. A Nevada woman who dated Sharpe for two years filed suit against the NFL Hall of Famer, alleging Sharpe raped her multiple times.
More news
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What to Watch
📺 NHL: Hurricanes at Devils
8 p.m. ET on TBS/Max
Carolina can sort of close this out on the road here, up 2-0 right now. Nerves. Peter Baugh has what’s at stake for New Jersey.
📺 NBA: Lakers at Timberwolves
9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
We’re back with the most interesting NBA series of the night, a 1-1 tie here with the round’s most interesting players. John Hollinger has some thoughts on possible adjustments.
📺 MLB: Pirates at Dodgers
10:10 p.m. ET on MLB Network
Taking a break from playoff action to watch Paul Skenes against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Both teams have been pretty mediocre, but the pitchers tonight have been excellent.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
Maybe the best story of these NHL playoffs: the return of Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, who spent three years away from the game trying to heal his body. He re-enters at the most important time, too. Go inside his journey back.
I loved this peek into the zen brain of Steven Kwan, whose quiet leadership has helped him become one of MLB’s best players.
We’re out of the Masters haze, so it’s time to talk about the U.S. Ryder Cup team. It doesn’t look great right now. The Europeans, on the other hand, are stacked.
Back to the NFL Draft for one second: David Betancourt has a fun story on how draft hats became such a popular thing. Did you see the hat station last night? Highbrow stuff.
I’m a couple days late, but I greatly enjoyed our UK crew picking their Premier League all-time XIs and arguing about it. See the discussion.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Austin Mock’s analytics-based … mock.
Most-read on the website yesterday: NFL Draft live blog, duh.
Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Top photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
