4:03 am | April 16, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
HOW THE AB TRADE WENT DOWN
Anatomy of a blockbuster: Star players of Antonio Brown’s caliber are rarely traded, even when they aren’t getting along with their teams. The fact that AB will start the 2019 season in a Raiders uniform with a whole heap of new contract money is unthinkable. Here’s how a ruined Vegas getaway and several “never close” calls led to one of the biggest trades in NFL history. Read More
THINGS TO CARE ABOUT
The arcane math of the NFL schedule … Consult any fan who has ever groaned after seeing an away game at New England on their team’s docket — strength of schedule matters quite a bit. How, then, can NFL schedulers make the process as fair as possible? Considering that there are more potential NFL schedules than there are [i]atoms in the universe[/i], the NFL is employing mathematicians to pull it off. Read More
What does your team really need? We’re so close to the NFL draft — April 25, mark your calendars — and teams are getting ready to make picks that could define their franchises for the next decade or more. Football Outsiders have their ESPN+ guide to what every NFL team — including yours, shockingly! — will be looking to accomplish. Read More
The dark art of the NBA’s toughest position … Point guard is a tough gig. You have to manage an offense, break down a defense and look for your own scoring opportunities, all at a million miles an hour. For some NBA rookies, the education is coming fast and furious — and it’s continuing in the playoffs. Read More
THINGS TO WATCH
0:25
Alex Ovechkin gets into it with 19-year-old rookie Andrei Svechnikov and knocks him out in the first period.
Kobe on Kawhi in “Detail”: No team has truly solved the conundrum of how to contain Kawhi Leonard. In the latest episode of Detail on ESPN+, Kobe Bryant breaks down just what makes the Raptors forward so dominant. Watch
OVERHEARD
“Short goes away when you see what he can do.”
— Former NFL quarterback and coach Jim Zorn on Kyler Murray. Read More
REMEMBER WHEN?
On this date in 2000, the New England Patriots selected a relatively unheralded quarterback in the sixth round of the draft. Nineteen years later, Tom Brady has won them a few games.
WHAT’S ON TONIGHT?
You’ve Got Mel and Todd SportsCenter Special (7 p.m. ET, ESPN): The clock is ticking. ESPN draft analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay go back and forth with their picks, give their thoughts on top prospects and talk team needs ahead of next week’s NFL draft.
Magic at Pacers (8 p.m. ET, TNT), Spurs at Nuggets (9:00 p.m. ET, NBATV), Thunder at Trail Blazers (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT): Both the Magic and Spurs won their Game 1 as the lower seed, a situation that can put a higher seed into a state of semi-panic. Even the one higher seed on Tuesday’s schedule that won Game 1 (the Blazers) did it by withstanding a furious comeback by the Thunder. Sounds like the early rounds of the NBA playoffs are going to be pretty exciting!
Astros at A’s (10:07 p.m. ET, ESPN+): Khris Davis has hit .247 four seasons in a row. Isn’t that odd? Just a few hits one way or the other and he doesn’t hit .247, yet he somehow managed to land on that percentage four straight times. Anyway, he also is mashing right now, leading MLB with 10 home runs … and hitting a cool .264.
Powered by WPeMatico