Good Morning, Stumpers!

Happy Final Four Saturday. Today we’ve got four 1-seeds in action in possibly the most CHALK Final Four in tournament history. That being said, it should be fireworks. Speaking of fireworks, both UConn and South Carolina dominated in their Final Four matchups to setup a dat ewith destiny on Sunday! Will Paige and the Huskies get their revenge? Exciting weekend ahead!

Today’s Rundown

What’s in today’s edition?

• 🏀 Final Four Saturday

• 🏈 Julio Jones: A Look Back

• 🏒 OVI ALERT! OVI ALERT! RECORD TIED!

• 🪑 The step stool. That is all.

On This Day

On This Day…

🏉 Great Britain’s First Rugby Grudge Match

International rugby is one of the most electric and rivalry filled sports in the world that most Americans don’t really pay attention to. International play dates back to the early 1900s, in fact, the first game was played on this day!

On this day in 1903, the first international rugby match took place England and Other Nationalities Team (Scotland and Wales) in Central Park, Wigan, England. I find it rather funny that it was England versus the rest of Great Britain.

Today’s Trivia

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: UCONN and South Carolina MOVE ON! We’ve got fireworks set up for Sunday!

Before We Dive In…

👀 Yesterday’s Must See’s

• 🏒 OVI!

• 🏒 OVI AGAIN! RECORD TIED!

• 🏀 Jokic passes are absolute comedy!

🔍️ Stump Spotlight

People Forget…

👽️ Julio Jones in His Prime

The former Atlanta Falcons and Alabama Crimson Tide Wide Receiver announced yesterday that he would be officially hanging up his cleats. Although the last few years of his career were relatively quiet, don’t you dare forget how much of an unstoppable force he was during his prime.

Jones saw the most success during his time in Atlanta with the Falcons, his 60 receiving touchdowns ranks second in franchise history, only behind his former teammate Roddy White. He had three games with more than 250 receiving yards in his career, the most in NFL History. His five consecutive seasons of 1,400 receiving yards or more is also an NFL record.

But that’s just stats. That stuff, while important, is just a piece of Jones’s career. When he was with Atlanta, he was a matchup nightmare. Nobody could cover him one-on-one. Nobody! His unique combination of speed, power, strength, and size was the perfect recipe for a high-powered WR. He was a dominant force since his days at Alabama, where he was taken 6th overall in the 2011 draft.

From the day he stepped into the NFL, up until about 2021, he was a menace. One of the most dangerous down-field receivers in the history of the game. He was the type of player that could wreck a whole defensive scheme in the matter of seconds, a true gamechanger. He was dangerous in the way that Calvin Johnson was dangerous. He could do whatever he wanted on the field.

Following some injuries at the end of his career, he settled in Tennessee, Tampa Bay, and then Philadelphia, not playing in 2024. That puts Jones in an interesting place. He’s surely a Falcons Ring of Honor inductee, but is he a Hall of Famer? There’s something to be said about a guy who dominated the league for a 5 year stretch, holds multiple records, and sits in the top 20 of career yards. But his stars are eerily similar to those of Anquan Boldin and Torry Holt, who currently are not members of the hall. In fact, Jones has less career touchdowns than both.

Either way, Hall of Fame or not, Julio Jones was THE mid-2010s WR. Once Megatron retired, the league was Julio’s, and he held it down. Don’t you ever forget how much of a force Jones was during his prime in Atlanta.

The Hot Stove

4️⃣ Women’s Final Four Madness

UConn def. UCLA, 85-51. Yes, this is a Final Four score. While I’m at it, South Carolina def. Texas, 74-57. Popcorn, snacks, sweets, treats, GET IT ALL READY FOR SUNDAY! We’ve got another clash of the TITANS in the sport of Women’s Basketball! It will be Paige Bueckers’ final college game before being the Number 1 overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft. She has a chance to bring one home, and go down in the book of legends for the Huskies. The team standing in her way is the same team that snatched the souls of the Huskies 3 years ago. Fireworks. Cinema. All of the above! WOW!

⛳️ Harman Takes Big Lead into Weekend

Since his win at The Open in 2023, Brian Harman has yet to win another event. His putting has been atrocious thus far this season, but the rest of his game has been solid. Prior to this weeks action at the Texas Open, Harman made a switch in putters and form, and it’s paid off. Harmen has put together back to back days of 6-under golf, including some of the best putting he has seen all year. Putts are falling, the tempo is tempoing, and he’s walking around with that little strut we’re used to seeing from the 38-year-old from Georgia. Heading into Saturday, he holds a 4-shot lead over Keith Mitchell, who currently sits at -8. If it weren’t for Harman, this would be a wild top of the leaderboard. There’s 36 golfers within 4-shots of second, but that’s too bad for them, because Harman is hot and his lead is real.

🏈 Ovi Again! 2 Goals From NHL Record

If you HAVEN’T been paying attention to the Stump or maybe missed a few editions this week, that’s okay. If you’re a hockey buff, history nerd, or just overall love the idea of watching greatness, I highly recommend you start watching some Washington Capitals hockey. With Wayne Gretzky on hand for, Alex Ovechkin put another goal into the back of the net. This puts him just one off of Gretzky’s NHL record, and two away from becoming the solo leader for the most career goals in NHL history. The goal came 3:52 into their matchup with the Blackhawks, making it the fourth game that Ovi has scored. The Capitals have six games left in the regular season, with a visit to the New York Islanders up next on Sunday.

⬇️ Quick Links

• 🍀 Celtics set 3-point season record!

• 🏀 The rise of the Detroit Pistons!

• ⛳️ A golfer put tape on his what???

What To Watch

🏀 The NCAA Tournament…

• Men’s Final Four: Auburn vs Florida (6:09 PM on CBS), Houston vs Duke (8:49 PM on CBS)

• Women’s Final Four: National Championship Tomorrow!

🏀 NBA Basketball - NBAtv Single Feature!

• NBAtv: Grizzlies vs Pistons (7:00 PM)

• More to watch: Knicks @ Hawks (3:00 PM), Timberwolves @ 76ers (7:00 PM), Bucks @ Heat (8:00 PM), Mavericks @ Clippers (10:30 PM)

⚾️ Major League Baseball

• Schedule: Astros @ Twins (2:10 PM), Padres @ Cubs (2:20 PM) Dodgers @ Phillies (4:05 PM on FS1), Yankees @ Pirates (4:05 PM), Cardinals vs Red Sox (4:10 PM), Blue Jays @ Mets (7:10 PM), Reds @ Brewers (7:10 PM), full schedule

🏒 The NHL on ABC!

• ABC: Rangers @ Devils (12:30 PM), Penguins @ Stars (3:00 PM)

• NHL Network: Jets @ Utah Hockey Club (7:00 PM)

• ESPN+: Panthers @ Senators (2:00 PM), Oilers @ Kings (4:00 PM), Avs @ Blues (7:00 PM)

⚽️ International Soccer

• Premier League: Everton @ Arsenal (7:30 AM on USA), Ipswich vs Wolves (10:00 AM on USA), Aston Villa vs Nottingham (12:30 PM)

• LALIGA: Real Madrid vs Valencia (10:15 AM), Barcelona vs Real Betis (3:00 PM)

• Bundesliga: Heidenheim vs Leverkusen (9:30 AM)

• Women’s International Friendly: United States vs Brazil (5:00 PM on TNT)

⛳️ The tournament BEFORE the Masters! The Valero Texas Open is on to MOVING DAY! Live starting this morning from TPC San Antonio in, you guessed it, San Antonio, Texas. Here’s the leaderboard…

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

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