Good Morning, Stumpers!

One would think that NATURALLY our main story of today’s edition would be the Sweet 16 results from yesterday. You’d be wrong. We talk about it, sure. But today I wanted to focus on some Ice Skating, specifically, the 19-year old who put America on her back and brought home a Gold at the World Championship. Don’t worry, we have that and SO much more in today’s edition. Enjoy your Saturday!

Today’s Rundown

What’s in today’s edition?

• ⛸️ A 19-year old who ended a United States ice skating drought

• 🔥 Sweet 16 results from yesterday

• 👋 Paige to the W after hopeful UConn natty run

• 😴 A song of the day meant for use after a good nights rest

On This Day

On This Day…

🏀 Huskies Reign For First Time

In terms of recency, you may think UConn Men’s Basketball is a historic powerhouse that spans to the very beginning of basketball history. Despite being just 50 minutes from where the game was created, it wasn’t until the late 90’s that UConn became a basketball school.

On this day in 1999, Jim Calhoun and the UConn Huskies win their first National Championship with their defeat of Duke, 77-74. Duke’s starting lineup featured FIVE 1999 consensus First Team All-American’s, but it was the Huskies who prevailed in the end despite being 9.5 point underdogs. UConn now has six total National Championships, but it was the one in 1999 that finally broke it open.

Today’s Trivia

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: Another day, another round with NO stumpsets. It’s coming, I promise. It always does.

Before We Dive In…

👀 Yesterday’s Must See’s

• 🤯 Nikola Jokic are you KIDDING ME?

• 🔨 Coen Carr sends Ole Miss PACKING

• 😢 This Mark Pope postgame presser»»»

• 🔥 First MLB hit? How bout a HOME RUN

🔍️ Stump Spotlight

Opening Day

⛸️ Liu Caps Epic Comeback ; Breaks USA Worlds Drought

The United States has been in a drought. Not a literal drought (at least I don’t think), but a women’s figure skating world champion drought. It had been nearly two decades since a US women had taken home first, but then a 19-year old came along.

What were you doing at 19? I’ll tell you what I was doing: sitting in a college dorm, probably drinking mountain dews, and trying to figure out if I needed to go to class tomorrow or not. But not all 19-year olds are built the same. Alysa Liu, a women’s figure skating prodigy from Clovis, CA, is not your typical college student at the University of California, Los Angeles. And after last nights performance, her life will never be the same.

When Liu took the ice last night, it wasn’t like she was unknown to the figure skating community. Liu was the youngest-ever US champ when she took home gold at age 13 in 2019, and then won again the next year. She qualified for the Olympics in 2022, finishing sixth, and earned a bronze medal at the world championships that same year. But the United States was waiting for her to take the next step and end the drought that haunted them for almost the last 20 years. The last time a US Women won the gold a the World Championships? 2006. Last night, she finally got the monkey off of the back. A gold medal for her and the United States in the 2025 World Championships.

When Liu’s score was announced at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, the crowd erupted. Liu and her coaching staff were ecstatic, finally, a US gold. But if you turned back the clock to just late 2022, there were large doubts that this would ever happen. Following her bronze at the 2022 World Championships, Liu stepped away from the sport. She lost the joy for competing, she felt like it was a job. She wanted to be a normal student, live like a regular young women.

On a skiing trip last year, Liu felt the rush of competition once again. It was time for the comeback. After nearly two years away from the sport, she went back to training. And boy oh boy, did she make the right decision. Liu dethroned three-time defending worlds champion Kaori Sakamoto last night by putting up 222.97 points to put an exclamation mark on an unbelievable comeback story.

This isn’t the end of the Liu story, I have a feeling her story is just beginning.

The Hot Stove

🏀 Sweet 16 Day Two

I’d rather talk action instead of putting any fluff in here, lets get into the ball games baby!

Michigan State def. Ole Miss, 73-70: In a world of nail biting ball games, this one was a nail bitter. It took three straight late buckets for Michigan State to take the win. Ole Miss was firmly in control of this game for most of the middle 20 minutes, even taking a 9-point lead with about 12 minutes to go. MSU went on a 8 point run and brought the game within one, and from that point forward, it was a battle of attrition. Down the stretch, it was back and forth, with both teams holding the lead with less than four minutes left. In the end, Tom Izzo and his experienced squad brought home the W and survived and advanced.

Tennessee def. Kentucky, 78-65: Kentucky had beaten Tennessee twice this season, but it was the Volunteers who were able to flip the script in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee only trailed once all game, when it was 3-2 Kentucky. After that, it was all UT. The lead ballooned to as much as 18 points in the first half, and stayed over 10 points for the rest of the game. Kentucky could never make the run it needed to to bring the game close, this Tennessee team would not let it happen. A Volunteer victory.

Auburn def. Michigan, 78-65: This was a great game for a long-time! Michigan was not only leading but asserting their dominance even into the second half. This was until a younf man Tahaad Pettiford went absolutely SICKO MODE down the stretch, ending with 20 points. He is their X-Factor, and they can win the whole thing if he plays lights out! Johni Broome tacked on 22 and 16 as well! Tigers ROLL!

Houston def. Purdue 62-60: The last defense of Four 1-seeds in the Elite Eight was last year’s 1-Seed Purdue! They also put up one of the best fights out of anyone. They were down laste but somehow even when it looked over, were able to tie the game at 60 a piece with under 30 seconds to go. Madness ensued. An absolute BLUNDER by Purdue leaving an inbounder open on a inbounds play with under four seconds to go led to an easy Houston layup, and a Houston win! Heartbreak for Purdue!

🏀 Bueckers is Headed to the W

It’s not like this really came as a surprise to anyone, but it seems like Paige Bueckers is ready to move on from UConn following the conclusion of their NCAA Tournament run. The lady Huskies will take on Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 today, but it was Paige’s announce2ment yesterday that she would not be coming back to UConn is what really caught the medias attention. It’s not like we expected anyone else, but when she basically confirmed it, it was big news. Bueckers, no matter what happens at the end of the tournament, will leave UConn as one of the greats in Husky history, but a National Championship would surely cement her as one of the GOATs. Paige is the very very very heavy betting favorite to be the number one overall pick in the draft to the Dallas Wings.

🤯 Grizzlies Part Ways with Head Man

If I was the winningest coach in franchise history, I don’t know how pleased I would be to get fired in the middle of a season. I don’t care how poorly we were playing, I’d be pissed. But that’s the business side, and the business of basketball does NOT care about your feelings. The Grizzlies have been struggling as of late, and it was the opinion of Memphis’ top brass that head coach Taylor Jenkins had officially lost the locker room and there was no recovery. The Grizzlies currently sit at 44-29, and are tied for 3rd in the Western Conference. The offense has not been the problem, but the defense has struggled mightily since the all-star break. Jenkins leaves the Grizzlies as not only their winningest coach, but also the franchise leader in total games coached. Assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Quick Hitters

• 🦬 Sanders reaches contract extension with Colorado

• 😡 UConn’s Geno Auriemma sounds OFF on women’s tourney structure

• 🤝 Ravens and John Harbaugh reach extension through 2028

• 💍 Dodgers get World Series rings

What To Watch

🏀 The NCAA Tournament is SO back:

• Men’s Elite 8: Texas Tech vs Florida (6:09 PM on TBS), Alabama vs Duke (8:49 PM on TBS)

• Women’s Sweet 16: Notre Dame vs TCU (1:00 PM on ABC), Tennessee vs Texas (3:30 PM on ABC), Oklahoma vs UConn (5:30 PM on ESPN), Kansas State vs USC (8:00 PM on ESPN)

🏀 NBA Basketball - One televised game!

• NBAtv: Celtics vs Spurs (8:00 PM)

• More to watch: Kings @ Magic (5:00 PM), Mavs vs Bulls (8:00 PM), Lakers @ Grizzlies (8:00 PM), Pacers @ Thunder (8:00 PM)

⚾️ Weekend baseball!

• Twins vs Cardinals (2:15 PM on FS1), Mets vs Astros (7:15 PM on FOX) OR Braves vs Padres (7:15 PM on FOX), full Saturday schedule 

🏒 NHL on assorted networks

• NHL Network: Sabres vs Flyers (1:00 PM)

• ABC: Bruins vs Red Wings (8:00 PM)

• ESPN+: Islanders vs Lightning (2:00 PM), Blues vs Avalanche (4:30 PM), Devils vs Wild (6:00 PM), Maples Leafs vs Kings (7:00 PM), Flames vs Oilers (10:00 PM), Stars vs Kraken (10:30 PM)

🏌️ Texas Children’s Houston Open is on to DAY THREE in Houston, Texas. It’s moving day folks, who’s going to surge to the top? Here’s day three’s leaderboard

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

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