Good Morning, Stumpers!

What a day for sports! We had a tie at The Players Championship⛳️, a first time trophy winner in the Premier League ⚽️, the end of a 16-game win streak in the NBA🏀, anything else?? Oh yeah, SELECTION SUNDAY! The Brackets are out and BEGGIN to be made! Make yours now as a part of our Bracket Challenge! DO IT RIGHT HERE!

🏀 SGS Bracket Challenge 🏀 

In the spirit of the Stomping Ground Sports way, $250 will go to the winner, and $250 will be donated to a Club, Charity, or Organization of your choice! A $500 total prize fund!

It’s free to join, and takes less than 30 seconds. Watch March Madness with us!

The goal: 1,000 entries. Send to everyone you know with a pulse. Everybody!

Today’s Rundown

What’s in today’s edition?

• 🏀 BRACKETS ARE OUT! NOBODY PANIC!

• ⛳️ Playoff at The Players! Golf On Monday!

• ⚽️ Newcastle Win First League Cup in 56 Years

• 😥 Cavs Wins Streak Comes to an End at 16!

On This Day

On This Day…

⛳️ Can Rory Repeat History?

Well, well, well. A lot has changed since 2019, but one thing has stayed the same: Rory McIlroy is at the top of the golfing world.

It feels pretty poetic that on this day in 2019, Rory McIlroy defeated Jim Furyk by one stroke to take home the PGA Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Today, after yesterday’s rain, Rory looks to defeat JJ Spaun in a three-hole playoff to win that same tournament, at the same course. Can he do it once more?

Today’s Trivia

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: Either (A) JJ Spaun or (E) Rory! Playoff TODAY!

Before We Dive In…

👀 You GOTTA see these!

• 🤣 Wait… Joey Gallo is a pitcher now?

• 🇺🇸 CAPTAIN AMERICA ACE

• 🦈 EPIC Dorian Finney-Smith quote

• 🔥 SEC breaking records already this tournament

🔍️ Stump Spotlight

Monday Morning Underdogs

🏀 Who’s this Years Cinderella?

The beauty of March Madness is that there always seems to be a Cinderella team who makes a run, think last year’s NC State squad. Here’s a quick dive into a couple of the teams we think may have a chance to be this year’s Cinderella.

Colorado State Rams: The Rams launch into the Big Dance as one of the hottest teams in the nation led by one of the nation’s most dynamic players. The 6’6 Colorado State guard, Nique Clifford, averages just shy of a double-double with 19 points and 9.7 rebounds. The Rams matchup with the Memphis Tigers, who despite winning their conference tourney, looked shaky throughout. If they can sneak by Memphis, a streaky Maryland team waits on the other side.

Akron Zips: Everyone loves the MAC. And the Akron Zips, are possibly America’s team this March. This team is an absolute wagon on the offensive side of the ball and can score with anyone in the country. The Zips are not only high flying and high scoring, but will have a solid matchup against an Arizona team who entered the Big 12 tournament with a 3-5 record in their last 8 regular season games.

Drake Bulldogs: What’s that saying.. guards win basketball games in March? Something like that. Drake has one of the best in the country in Bennett Stirtz, who plays literally every minute of every game for the Bulldogs. He averages 19.1 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds. This team wins basketball games, 6-0 in neutral court games, 9-1 on the road. They matchup with an SEC squad in Missouri who has had their up and downs, but the steady Bulldogs could make some noise.

Grand Canyon Lopes: Lead by head coach Bryce Drew, who himself led Valparaiso to one of the most memorable upsets in March Madness history in his playing days, will lead his team into the tournament for the fourth time in five years. The Lopes play high intensity defense, 11th best in the country, and have seven players on the offensive side of the ball who score 7.8 PPG or more. Spreading the wealth and playing good defense is key in March. Grand Canyon will face off against Maryland in the first round.

There are so many good options that I could honestly go on for a longggg time with this one, so here’s a few rapid fire squads who could make some noise:

Yale Bulldogs, VCU Rams, UC San Diego.

The Hot Stove

🏀 Brackets Revealed

If you haven’t heard with all the ruckus yesterday, congrats. I think it would be a waste of time to sit here and break it all down for you, but I’ll give you the top seeds for both the men’s and women’s tournament.

• Men’s No (1) Seeds: Auburn, Duke, Houston, Florida

• Men’s No (2) Seeds: Michigan St., St. John’s, Alabama, Tennessee

• Women’s No (1) Seeds: UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, USC

• Women’s No (2) Seeds: NC State, UConn, TCU, Duke

Here’s some great articles for you breaking down both tournaments:

• Men’s: https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/ncaa-bracket-predictions-model-releases-surprising-march-madness-2025-tournament-picks/

• Women’s: https://www.axios.com/2025/03/17/march-madness-womens-bracket-tips-how-to-fill-out

⛳️ Playoff at The Players! TODAY!

72 holes weren’t enough to decide the winner at TPC Sawgrass! After a 90 minute LIGHTNING DELAY yesterday, right in the thick of Day 4, it looked all but over with Rory McIlroy holding strong with a 3-stroke lead over the field. One bogey and a couple JJ Spaun darts later we found ourselves knotted up at -12! What does this mean? It means we’ve got a 3-hole STUMPOFF today at 9:00 AM! It’s the 6th Playoff in tournament history and the first since 2015! Golf on Monday! Let’s GO!

😥 Cavs Win Streak Ends at 16

And just like that, it’s over. The Cleveland Cavaliers franchise record-breaking win-streak officially ended at 16 yesterday when the Orlando Magic and Paolo Banchero went into Cleveland and got the win. The Cavs were without one of their stars, Evan Mobley, but some clutch play down the stretch from Orlando and some key missed shots for Cleveland. The Cavs currently sit with a record of 56-11, and are the one seed in the Eastern Conference. If the season were to end today? They’d play the Magic in the first round.

⚽️ NEWCASTLE. MAGPIES.

What a day to be a fan of the Magpies! Yesterday, they faced off against Liverpool in what was an uphill battle to take home the League Cup! This would be the club’s first trophy in 56 years! They were able to get off to a hot 2-0 start and ended the contest with a 2-1 win after a stoppage time goal for Liverpool. The Magpies fed off their traveling TOON ARMY to win their first ever League Cup! Can’t overstate how cool this is for the club! Brighter days ahead for the Pies!

What To Watch

⛳️ The Players Championship, ON A MONDAY

• 72 holes wasn’t enough. Rory vs Spaun, 9:30 AM for The Players Championship. 3-holes, aggregate score. WINNER TAKES IT HOME!

🏀 NBA Basketball, plenty to watch!

• ESPN Double Header: Heat vs Knicks (7:30 PM), Nuggets vs Warriors (10:00 PM)

• More to Watch: Pacers vs Timberwolves (8:00 PM), Grizzlies vs Kings (10:00 PM)

⚾️ Spring Training Full Schedule

🏒 Small NHL Schedule Tonight on ESPN+

• Sabres vs Bruins (7:00 PM), Flyers vs Lightning (7:00 PM), Devils vs Blue Jackets (7:00 PM), Flames vs Maple Leafs (7:30 PM), Kings vs Wild (8:00 PM)

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

Thanks for sticking to the end! Share The Daily Stump using this link, it would go a long way. Appreciate the hell out of you all. Trees may get chopped. Stumps hold strong 🌴