Who To Watch (April 19 – April 25)

(Credit: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

WELCOME BACK!

If we’re being honest, we may have just witnessed one of the best weeks in sports in a LONG time since we last met. Tiger Woods stayed in competition all weekend, and he FINALLY WON A MAJOR, over a decade since his last major championship. Congrats on number 15, Tiger! In the NBA, we have seen some great games thus far. Kyrie Irving had a great performance in Game 2 to help the Celtics take a 2-0 series lead. Damian Lillard has been phenomenal as the Trail Blazers have gone ahead 2-0 on OKC. The Clippers completed the biggest comeback in playoff history to tie their series going into Game 3, but the Warriors won last night to regain the lead. The Sixers lead Brooklyn 2 to 1, the Spurs lead Denver 2 to 1, the Rockets and Bucks are ahead 2 games to none in their respective series, and Toronto and Orlando are tied.

In the NHL, we saw one of the greatest upsets in sports history, as the Columbus Blue Jackets won their first playoff series EVER, sweeping the President Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning, the same team that tied the record for the most wins in NHL history this season. The New York Islanders advanced as well, sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins. Colorado leads Calgary three games to one (shout out to UMass defenseman Cale Makar, who joined the Avalanche this week after the Minutemen reached the NCAA championship game). The rest of the series in the league are currently competitive, with St. Louis and Las Vegas leading theirs 3 games to 2, and the remaining two series tied at 2 games apiece.

In baseball, the reigning World Series champs look awful (more on that later), and Tampa Bay seems to be taking the league by storm this season, as the currently stand at 14-5.

Enough recaping, lets look ahead now.

Who To Watch (April 12 – April 18)

It’s been almost 11 years since Tiger Woods won his last major? Can he end that drought this weekend at Augusta? (Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports)

This is the most wonderful time of year folks.

At the time of writing this, Tiger Woods is -2 at the Masters, and we all know we want to see Tiger win another Masters. The NHL playoffs are off to a bang with plenty of road teams winning Game 1s (even if this is at the expense of the Bruins). The NBA season wrapped up with plenty of funky games, as well as some awesome farewells for Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. We know who’s playing who in the NBA Playoffs, and starting Saturday, it’s going to be heaven on Earth once the games begin. Hopefully the weather comes around and we can soak in some sun, but for now, you have an excuse from us at Hold My Drink Sports to sit inside and watch ALL of these great sporting events.

Before we start, congratulations to Virginia and Baylor for winning the championship in men’s and women’s college basketball, respectively… AND SHOUT OUT TO UMASS FOR MAKING IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN HOCKEY! GO MINUTEMEN!

Lets Rock n’ Roll.

Who To Watch (April 5 – April 11)

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Who to Watch.

Here’s our recap: in baseball, Bryce Haper made Nick look like an idiot, looking like a bona fide superstar last week; the Red Sox look… not good, Christian Yelich is hitting lots of dingers, Daniel Hess of the Orioles was pulled during a PERFECT GAME, and somehow, the SEATTLE MARINERS are the best team in the league at 7-1. In college hoops, the Men’s Final Four will feature Virginia, Auburn, Michigan State, and Texas Tech, and we will see a champion crowned on Monday night. On the women’s side, Oregon will face Baylor, while UCONN will face Notre Dame, that championship game will be Sunday. In NBA news, we saw Russell Westbrook have a historic triple-double (more on that from Kerm), Anthony Davis get fined for giving a fan the finger (have to figure they’ll all flip him the bird during the last home game of the season), and Giannis had a casual 45/13/6 performance last night. OKC and the Spurs clinched playoff spots, and seeding is still shaking itself out in the West. In the East, there is still a seeds 3 through 5 are still not set, but much more interesting is the battle for seeds 6 through 8, which essentially looks like a four-team battle between Detroit, Brooklyn, Orlando and Miami; those teams are separated by just one game.

Before we give everyone the rundown for the next week, we at Hold My Drink Sports just want to take a moment to give our respects to Nipsey Hussle, who was killed last Sunday. Our thoughts go out to his loved ones during this difficult time.

Who To Watch (March 29 – April 4)

James Harden (left) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (right), the top MVP candidates in the NBA, faced off on Tuesday; Milwaukee beat Houston 108-94 (Credit: Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Welcome back to Who to Watch!

We have officially entered baseball season (last week did not count), and we’ve got some early season results. The Dodgers broke the record for the most Opening Day home runs (8), Jacob deGrom had a great first start, which continued an MLB-record streak of starts (30) in which he has allowed 3 or fewer runs, oh, and Bryce Harper has ALREADY been boo’d in Philly. In the basketball world, we saw Devin Booker score 50+ points in back-to-back games, Lance Stephenson with a great crossover (yeah yeah, he stepped on Jeff Green’s shoe), and Jeremy Lamb hit the craziest buzzer-beater of all-time.  In playoff news, 5 playoff spots have been clinched in the East (MIL, TOR, PHI, IND, BOS), and 6 have been clinched in the West (GS, DEN, POR, HOU, UTA, LAC); with the Sacramento Kings 6.5 GB from the 8th seed, the two remaining teams in the West who are in the playoff picture (UTA, OKC, SA) are all but guaranteed to make the postseason. In the East, Brooklyn, Detroit, Miami, Orlando, and Charlotte are battling for seeds 6-8 (2.5 games separate these teams).

Alright, enough playoff talk, lets talk about the games that ARE happening!

Who To Watch (March 22 – March 28)

Mike Trout agreed to a 12-year, $430 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Angels this past week. Add in his last deal, and that’s 18 years, $574 million (Credit: Elaine Thompson/AP)

We interrupt your March Madness viewing experience to give you our weekly update of Who to Watch

Welcome Back!  Another great week in sports, no?  Yesterday we saw Ichiro play his final game of baseball, as he retired following a two game series in his native Japan; cheers to a wonderful career.  Mike Trout signed a contract extension that was worth exactly $100 million more than the one Bryce Harper signed just weeks ago, and his deal will run one less season than Harper’s (for you math wizards, Trout will make over $35.8 million per season between 2021 and 2032).  In basketball, we saw another matchup between the Sixers and Celtics, with Philly beating Boston for the first time since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.  Isaiah Thomas played his first game in the TD Garden since he was traded by the Celtics in August 2017. Standings in the NBA remain very fluid, as battles for seeding are still occurring with less than 3 weeks remaining in the season. James Harden had another 50-point game (57 to be exact), and Giannis had one as well on Sunday.  In football, we saw longtime Packer Clay Matthews sign with the Los Angeles Rams, and Blake Bortles joined the Super Bowl runner-ups as well.  Ryan Fitzpatrick signed with the Miami Dolphins, continuing his journeyman career, and TE Jared Cook joined the New Orleans Saints.

And finally: if your brackets are not perfect, that’s okay!  You won’t see a college player below, but we as a staff recommend Mr. Zion Williamson (tonight at 7:10 PM) and Mr. Ja Morant (Saturday) for your college basketball viewing pleasure this weekend.