Happy Friday! Here’s where we are at. After a late start yesterday in Round 1 of The Masters, the play was suspended for some golfers around hole 13. Tiger and STUMP HERO Sahith Theegala are part of the groups who didn’t finish, so a lot of golf today! We are also 8 days away from the NBA Playoffs and 13 days away from the NFL Draft, and yeah you guessed it, SGS will be covering it all!

LETS. GET. INTO. IT.

THE DAILY STUMPED🔮 

STUMP STORY OF THE DAY✍️ 

So You’re Telling Me, the Royals are Red Hot?

That’s what we’re telling you. The Royals have won 7 straight, including putting the final touches on a 3 game sweep of the Houston Astros last night. The Royals outscored the Astors 28-9 in those 3 games, including starting last night’s victory with a 9-run first inning.

In that first inning, Hunter Brown only recorded 2 outs for the Astros, while allowing 11 hits. Brown became the first pitcher in MLB history to allow 11 hits and not pitch a full inning. Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Bobby Witt Jr. each had two hits in the first inning, and Witt ended the scoring by hitting a two-run bomb.

Their starting pitchers have been phenomenal and currently hold a collective 1.97 ERA, second to only the Boston Red Sox. They currently hold a 9-4 record, third best in the American League behind the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians.

This is the Royals’ best start since 2016, and they are a half-game behind the Guardians for first in the AL Central. But where the hell did this all come from? The Royals were slated to be one of the worst teams in baseball this year.

It starts with belief. This team believes they can win, and they’re winning in a variety of ways. They have the offense, the pitching, and the bullpen to figure out games late and win. They’re young, they’re having fun, and they don’t have any expectations. What can go wrong?

This team reminds me a lot of the squad the Diamondbacks rolled out last year, they had good pitching and young position players with a lot of talent, along with key veterans sprinkled throughout the lineup. That’s the makeup of this Royals team.

This Royals team is fun, too. They have Bobby Witt Jr., who is one of the most exciting players in all of baseball, and he’s only 23. Their key offseason acquisitions to bring depth to the pitching staff have been success stories, while the young bucks show they are settling into full-time roles in the MLB.

This team looks much different than the 2023 squad who lost 100+ games and I know the season is young, but I don’t see this Royals team leaving anytime soon.

🎙️SONG OF THE DAY

Build Me Up Buttercup - The Foundations

Talk about a head-bopper! Rain, shine, or snow. Summer, Winter, or Spring. A little Foundations never hurt anybody! 3:00 minutes on the dot, a perfect amount of song! If you put this on at some point on this fine Friday it’ll pick up the mood even if you’re already on Cloud 9!

Link to enjoy: LINK

WHAT’D YOU MISS⁉️📰 

• ⛳️ Bryson DeChambeau leads after day one at the Masters, he’s using his custom 3D PRINTED irons… this guy🤣 

• 🏀 Karl-Anthony Towns is set to return in Friday’s matchup against the Hawks

• 🏈 O.J. Simpson, former NFL Superstar famously known for being acquitted of the murder of two people, has died at the age of 76 due to cancer

• 🏈 Tom Brady in an interview has said…..(you can probably guess what it is going to be)….that he is not opposed to a return to the NFL if the right team came calling

• 🏀 Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew passes up on Kentucky vacancy, stays at Baylor

• 🏈 Nick Chubb agrees to take a pay cut for the betterment of the team! Need guys like that on the roster if you want to go the distance!

• ⚾️ The newest development in the Ohtani sitch is that translator Ippei Mizuhara stole a grand total of $16 million from Ohtani!

• 🏒Austin Matthews nets 67th and 68th goal of the season against the Devils

• 🏒 (3) Denver will take on (1) Boston College in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Finals tomorrow at 6pm ET on ESPN

• 🏀 Kentucky finally makes a hire after a dramatic coaching change, they bring in former Wildcat player and alumni Mark Pope, who was previously leading the BYU Cougars’ program