Welcome to Screen Shots! This is where I tell you what sporting events you should watch on TV every week! Make sure you subscribe so it comes straight to your inbox! Have your own suggestions? Shoot me an email at [email protected]!

The WNBA Draft was Monday night! Not only did I live blog it, but I let those thoughts marinate and then shared them the next day! Check it out!

Also, there’s some overlap with the NBA Playoffs starting up, just in case the first round isn’t your thing! Now, to the sports!

I’m not just paying lip service when I say it’s time to watch college baseball. This past Saturday, I actually went to the College of Charleston’s game against NC A&T. It was fun! I still am not sure what the nacho cheese I had actually was, but that’s okay! The Bulldogs are trying to bounce back from dropping their series against Florida. Georgia is 4th in the nation in runs, but managed just 14 over those 3 games. Meanwhile, Arkansas is riding high after sweeping then-#8 Alabama on the road. Get your nacho cheese-like product ready!

An 8th-seed showdown! The Hornets beat the Heat for the chance to play for their first postseason appearance since 2016, thanks to the most LaMelo Ball game ever. To kick things off, Ball somehow avoided being ejected despite hitting the 83-point man, Bam Adebayo, with the leg sweep of the century. Bam limped to the locker room with a back injury and didn’t return.

Then, LaMelo closed out the game with a sequence of plays that I only believe happened because A) I saw it with my own two eyes and B) it’s LaMelo Ball. Up by 2 with 12.8 seconds left, Ball through the ball away. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he chased down Tyler Herro, fouling him on a 3-point attempt. Herro knocked down all 3 free throws, and just when you’re ready to call Ball a certified ding dong, he hits a high degree of difficulty lay-up to give the Hornets the lead again with 4.7 seconds left. Miami’s Davion Mitchell’s game-winning lay-up attempt was blocked off the backboard as time expired to end the Heat’s season. Now, we wait and see who the Hornets will face and if any disciplinary action will come from the league office for LaMelo’s Big Baller Brand Jiu-Jitsu moves.

An 8th-seed showdown: Western Conference Edition! Doesn’t it feel like we hallucinated that Suns’ finals trip in 2021? They were up by 9 early in the 4th quarter in game 4 with a 2-1 series lead! Now, they’re on their 4th coach in 4 years, and only Devin Booker remains from that finals team. Booker just wrapped up his 8th straight season averaging at least 25 ppg. You'd better watch him now because it feels like he’s going to be one of those great scorers we lose to history because of his lack of postseason success.

Look, it’s been a minute, but you know the drill. We do breakfast soccer when we can. Need more? Fulham has a Brazilian who goes by "Kevin.” That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Raptors are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022. There’s a history against the Cavs, but the man behind it isn’t there…for now. The Brandon Ingram trade worked out well for them as he led Toronto in scoring while appearing in 77 games, the most since his rookie season. Speaking of trades, Cleveland was 19-7 in games James Harden appeared in after trading for him in early February. Probably has something to do with him shooting a scorching 44% from 3 in those games. What does that percentage look like with the exchange rate?

I pray that every game is like their absurd Christmas Day matchup that the Nuggets won 142-138 in overtime. In that one, Nikola Jokic had a 56-point triple-double, and Anthony Edwards dropped 44 for the T’Wolves. Ant has been struggling with a knee issue for the past month or so, and obviously, this will be a very quick series if he’s not at full capacity.

What a season of growth for the Hawks. Jalen Johnson, in his healthiest season as a pro, has emerged as a triple-double threat while putting up career-highs across the board. And we knew about Nickeil Walker-Alexander as a perimeter defender, but he’s expanded his offensive arsenal so much that he’s nearly doubled his previous career-high in points per game. This is not their first postseason action, but it is their first postseason action in these particular roles. Will they be able to keep it up? They face off against a Knicks team that won its most regular-season games since 2013.

Perhaps the grumpiest series of all time. I’m counting down the days until Kevin Durant leaves Houston, because I imagine that’s when we’ll get the full story on how Burner Gate 2.0 affected the Rockets’ season. His grumpiness is matched by his head coach, Ime Udoka, who handles things a little less passive-aggressively than KD. Here’s Ime confronting a fan who heckled him after a game. And here he is calling LeBron a “bitch”. I gotta say, I like this energy.

Speaking of LeBron, he recently found himself in a beef with the city of Memphis after complaining about how he hates going there. God forbid a 41-year-old man grumbles about a work trip. His coach, JJ Redick, famously said, “I don’t fucking care if people think I’m condescending,” which, I mean, yeah, we can tell. Both should be extra ornery in this series, as the Lakers will be without both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves due to injury. That’s roughly 56 ppg, 14 apg, and 12 rpg they’ll be missing. Tough! Welp, let’s see what’s left in LeBron’s tank, and whose fuse is the shortest!

More of a brunch match than breakfast, but let’s make an exception since it’s the two clubs atop the EPL table. We’ve got a month and a half worth of matches left for Manchester City to close a 6-point gap with the opportunity to cut it in half here. Arsenal finds itself in first place thanks in large part to allowing the fewest goals in the EPL. Can that defense hold up against the league’s top-goal scorer, Erling Haaland?

Remember when the Celtics were going to tank this season after star Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon in last year’s postseason? Well, they’re the 2-seed in the East. I personally hate it, but an impressive showing by them. Tatum is back, and while he doesn’t look as sharp as he did pre-injury, Boston went 13-3 in games he played. I imagine he’ll continue to work himself back into a rhythm while I boo vociferously.

You have to beat the champ to be the champ, and OKC still looks like the best team in the NBA. They’re the first team to have back-to-back 64+ win seasons since the Warriors did it in 3 seasons in a row from 2014 through 2017. Golden State won 2 titles in that span, and, interestingly enough, the Thunder played a big role in the Warriors taking the hardest road. How tough is OKC’s road going to be?

The Pistons won 60 regular-season games for the first time in 20 years. That team made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, which would be a huge leap for this young Detroit team. But first, they must defeat whoever earns the 8th seed. This core lost a competitive first-round series last season. What’d they learn from that experience, and how far will it take them?

Playoff Big Vic! And he’s coming in hot with 3 of his 5 40-point games coming in the final 5 games he played. Interestingly enough, this will be his first time facing off with Portland this year. The Spurs went 2-1 against the Trail Blazers without Wembanyama. Probably not a great sign for Portland.

The perfect matchup to be hidden on a streaming service that you probably don’t have!

Will the Royals ever let another player participate in the World Baseball Classic? The 5 players who played seemed to have left their bats there, as they are currently hitting a combined .218. This is especially bad when you consider American Bobby Witt Jr. and Venezuelan Maikel Garcia are lifting that up with their averages of .270 and .288, respectively. The good news is that the O’s are in the bottom 25% in hits allowed. If KC’s bats don’t wake up against Baltimore, perhaps a little espresso is in order.

Now, this feels like an NBC weeknight game! Dikembe Mutombo, Steve Smith, and the Hawks head to MSG to take on Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, and the Knicks! At least, that’s how this would read if I wrote this newsletter back in 1999. I’d probably have more references to Wishbone, too.

Remember when Minnesota ended Denver’s hopes of a repeat back in 2024? The rare 7-game series with no close games.

Don’t look now, but Jarren Duran is flipping off fans again. Honestly, this is progress for him. Look, mental health is a serious thing, but perhaps you should choose a career that doesn’t require you to work a very public job in front of a lot of assholes if this kind of thing triggers you. Also, I’d love to hear a reporter ask Jarren how he squares his desire not to have disrespectful words hurled his way with his very public support of a president who says all kinds of vile things about the country Duran represented in the World Baseball Classic.

Some quick storylines on the 76ers and Magic. Philly finds itself in the familiar position of waiting to see how healthy Joel Embiid will be, but he did manage to switch things up and go with appendicitis this time around! As for the Magic, I’m not sure how much of an insider this guy really is, but I do think the Jamahl Mosley Era comes to an end unless they blow up every other team and win the most improbable title ever. They’ve essentially been stuck in neutral the past two seasons.

Wonder who Chauncey Billups is betting on?

I’m over 2000 words at this point. Do you really need more Lakers talk?

Alright, it’s time for Inside The NBA to prove it isn’t completely washed. I will say, it is funny that ESPN spent all of those years trying to compete with the TNT product to finally bring them over, just to find out they were in their Shaq playing for the Celtics years. As we see other networks’ pregame shows get rave reviews, perhaps it’s time for ESPN to look in the mirror.

It’s early, but Atlanta United needs to turn things around quickly if it doesn’t want to miss the postseason for a 2nd consecutive year. In the team’s short history, which includes winning the MLS Cup in its 2nd season in existence, it’s never missed the playoffs in back-to-back years. On the bright side, I’m pretty sure they’re playing on real grass inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium now!

The Thunder were so much better than everyone this season that they actually let Buddy Boeheim play in 4 games.

As always, thank you for reading! Make sure you’re subscribed so you get this in your inbox first thing Thursday mornings! Also, share with your friends! See you next week!