The first round of the NCAA Tournament has arrived, the Golden State Warriors won their 50th straight home game in a row, and Adam LaRoche retired from baseball for a very unusual reason. Hopefully you don’t have to work and can drink heavily while watching hoops and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Cheers…
The NCAA Tournament starts today
THE NCAA TOURNAMENT’S HERE, THE NCAA TOURNAMENT’S HERE!
Okay, so technically the First Four started the tournament already, but the real fun starts today, and early. The first game of Round One begins at 12:15 PM ET with Duke (4) taking on UNC-Wilmington (13). You can see the rest of the first round (Thursday and Friday) schedule, along with announcer pairings, here.
Here’s some more reading material to get you ready for the tournament:
In First Four action on Wednesday, Michigan (11) took down Tulsa (11). This means we’re getting a Michigan-Notre Dame game on Friday!
President Obama filled out his final presidential bracket… and of course morons got mad at him about it.
Yaron Weitzman has The Idiot’s Guide to Picking a Winning March Madness Bracket.
SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell writes about the 50 players you need to know to be a March Madness expert.
SB Nation’s Mike Rutherford has 68 reasons this NCAA Tournament is going to be fantastic.
Michael Grant writes how the 5-12 history has favorites on notice.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander previews every NCAA Tournament game in Haiku form.
Who will survive and advance in the East region, the West region, the Midwest region, and the South region?
The Warriors have now won 50 straight home games
The Warriors blew out the Knicks 121-85 on Wednesday night, to bring their record to 61-6, and get their 50th consecutive win at Oracle Arena. Just ridiculous.
See how the #Warriors became the first team in American professional sports history to win 50 straight home games » https://t.co/KO4bdqYBwo
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) March 17, 2016
Here are the Steph Curry highlights (34 points in 28 minutes):
12-3 is all the Warriors have to go now to top the Bulls’ 72-10 record in 1995-96. However, three of those games come against the Spurs, who are an incredible 57-10 themselves.
Adam LaRoche chose to retire from MLB because the White Sox told him his 14-year-old son couldn’t be around the team all the time
In an incredibly weird story, the reason Adam LaRoche retired from MLB is because the White Sox won’t let him have his son in the clubhouse anymore. Oh, and this is a FOURTEEN-year-old son we’re talking about, not like a six-year-old… and he was apparently around the team — even on the road — ALL THE TIME.
Sources: LaRoche chose to retire after #WhiteSox prez Ken Williams told him that he no longer could bring 14-year-old son into clubhouse. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 16, 2016
LaRoche’s son, Drake, 14, has traveled with him for several years. Adam, in a Chicago Tribune story last year, called him team’s “26th man.” — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 16, 2016
I have to side 100% with the White Sox on this one. It’s surely been uncomfortable for the rest of the team and front office to have to be around this kid all the time. Making this request to Adam really isn’t the biggest thing to ask. I mean, I’m sure the White Sox would’ve been okay with the kid being around some batting practice sessions and stuff, but a 14-year-old with them everywhere? That’s a bit ridiculous.
As Liam McGuire explains, perhaps White Sox president Kenny Williams wanted LaRoche to retire, and thought this request may make LaRoche do so:
The White Sox don’t necessarily lose in the situation, as they clear LaRoche’s $13 million salary with the announcement. The 36-year-old was awful in 2015, hitting .204 with just 12 home runs in 127 games. Perhaps Williams knew he’d be forcing LaRoche’s hand by blocking access for his son.
Quick Hits
– The Patriots acquired tight end Martellus Bennett from the Bears. Bennett and Gronk are going to make quite a tight end duo for Tom Brady. Say, whatever happened to that other New England tight end that used to make big plays in the same lineup as Gro… oh, yeah. Nevermind.
Since Aaron Hernandez killed a dude. https://t.co/1VXm8l8a8k — Joe Lucia (@Joe_TOC) March 16, 2016
– The Saints signed James Laurinaitis. He’s not what he used to be, but is still a solid veteran linebacker and a nice move on the surface for New Orleans.
– Probably the best news of the NFL offseason: Tony Siragusa will no longer be doing games for Fox.
– That awkward moment when you’re an NFL executive talking shit about the Cleveland Browns and one of their main front office members is standing right behind you.
And more about the Browns… Johnny Manziel was sleeping off hangovers in the team equipment room. I know, that’s like the least surprising thing you’ve ever read on this site.
– Barry Bonds is now 51 years old, and the Miami Marlins’ hitting coach. Well, having some fun on the backfields on Wednesday, Bonds won a Home Run Derby with the Marlins. Yes, Giancarlo Stanton — arguably the best home run hitter in baseball right now — was a part of the competition as well, and Bonds still won.
– Celtics fans serenade Kevin Durant with ‘Come to Boston’ chant.
– This fan from the Clippers/Spurs game two nights ago is the worst heckler I’ve ever heard.
– FIFA admits bribes on World Cup bidding, asking for cash back.
– NIKE IS GOING TO RELEASE POWER-LACING SHOES!
– Playstation Vue goes nationwide, introducing new alternative for sports fans.
– A Willy Wonka-inspired chocolate factory is coming to Universal Studios.
– 30 GIFs showing how you and George Costanza are the same person.
– IGN reviews that Tom Clancy game ‘The Division’ which you’ve probably seen a lot of ads for. Spoiler alert: IGN wasn’t very impressed.
One last breath of gratuitous procrastination
Where the hell did this woman go?!
That may make you immediately think of the video where a hockey ref appears out of nowhere:
