Good Morning, Stumpers!

Is it time to see Gerrit Cole with a beard again, or is that just me dreaming? The Yanks finally (SORT OF) enter the 21st century, while another New York team wished they were back in the 20th century with their poor performance in Cleveland. In other news, the NHL gets back in action just a few days after the world tuned into their version of an All-Star break, we have some storylines for you to pay attention to in the second half of the season. Let’s get Stumpin’!

Today’s Rundown

Everything you’ll get from today’s edition, and more:

• 🏀 There are levels to this in the Eastern Conference!

• ⚾️ Have they groomed the grooming policy in the Bronx?

• 🏒 NHL Storylines to watch in the back half of the season

• ⛳️ On This Day…”America Meets Golf!”

On This Day

On This Day…

⛳️ America Meets Golf

Ever wondered how golf came to America? Well, let us tell you. The year was 1888 and John Reid, a Scot who had moved to America as a young man, heard his close friend and fellow Scot, Robert Lockhart, was returning home for a trip. Reid asked him to return with some golf clubs and balls.

Upon his return, Reid built three holes in his field, and after practicing some, invited some friends over. On this day in 1888, Reid introduced fellow Americans to the game of golf in Yonkers, New York, in a cow pasture. He invited them over for drinks after, the first use of the “19th Hole” in America.

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: (D) Baltimore Orioles! The O’s had the best record last year. Although it doesn’t show much, it gives an indication that you have some good young players who can compete. Who will have the best record this year?

Before We Dive In…

👀 Here’s Yesterday’s MUST-See’s

• 🤣 FAU basketball hosting a SEINFELD NIGHT???

• 🛞 Mac McClung SPIN CYCLE LAYUP OMG

• 🏈 The Saints have hired their DC! Brandon Staley!

• 🏀 This the Cleveland Cavs or Harlem Globetrotters!?

The Hot Stove

NBA

🏀 Cavs Show Major Gap for Knicks

What to know: I’m not one to overreact to a regular season NBA game, because, like many, I know that the regular season does not matter. But if you’re a Knicks fan and you saw what I did last night in their game against the Cavs, I’d be a little worried. Heck, even Stephen A. Smith got on the mic at halftime and said he was a little panicked by their performance, and he’s a Knicks believer.

The Cavs dismantled the Knicks, it was not pretty. They were up almost 30 through the whole second half, and it’s not like it looked all that hard. At the end of the 3rd quarter, when the Cavs started mixing in their bench players and resting their starters, the Cavs were shooting 61% from the field and 54% from three. Sure, the Cavs were hot. But the amount of wide-open looks they had was crazy. Easy dunks, no defense on the perimeter, no contest layups, it was just too easy. That worries me for the Knicks.

There’s a real gap at the top of the Eastern Conference right now, with the Celtics and Cavs being head and shoulders above the rest of the conference right now. The Knicks bench is pretty troublesome, as the depth of the Cavs suffocated New York.

The good news for the Knicks? There’s a lot of basketball left. LOTS! And they have a roster full of veterans, led by a great coach in Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks welcomed back OG Anunoby to the lineup yesterday and it looks like Mitchell Robinson will be back in the coming days. Are better things on the horizon?

Baseball

⚾️ Yankees Enter the 21st Century, Kinda

What to know: Since 1976, three years into George Steinbrenner’s tenure as the owner of the New York Yankees, the organization has enforced a no-facial hair policy. Inspired by military background, Steinbrenner stuck to his guns throughout his tenure and the policy has stayed since his son, Hal, took over. Well that all changed today, but only kinda.

The Yankees announced yesterday that players and uniformed personnel will be able to have beards, but theirs a caveat, they must have “well-groomed beards”. Not very specific, but okay. Not really sure how you plan to enforce this, but I suppose a trimmed beard is better than no beard.

Players in recent years have expressed their distaste for the policy, calling it “outdated and somewhat unreasonable”. Active roster members have privately expressed their gripes on the policy as well. In 2013, San Francisco Giants All-Star closer Brian Wilson famously refused to sign with the team because he wouldn’t shave his beard.

While no player has ever refused to follow the policy while they are actively under contract with the Yankees, some players, like CC Sabathia, frequently pushed the envelope and played with a 5 o’clock shadow.

The Yanks also current have a policy that players cannot have hair that goes below their shoulders, but there’s no word on whether that’s changing or not. Hal wasn’t willing to go ALLLLL the way into the 21st century.

NHL

🏒 Strike While it’s Hot: Second Half Storylines

What to know: The NHL is officially back this afternoon when the Wild take on the Red Wings in Detroit at 12:30 PM ET on ABC, and we’re here to feed you some second half of the season storylines. We all know how much of a success the 4 Nations Face-Off was, but can the league keep fans and their momentum going?

Ovechkin’s Glory Chase: Entering the year, Alex Ovechkin began the final push to become the leading goal scorer in NHL history. Ovi was red hot in the beginning of the season, but suffered a fractured leg on November 18th after a collision in a game against Utah. Before that injury, Ovi had scored 15 goals in 18 games. He returned in late December and has 26 total goals this year. He sits just 16 goals behind Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894, one that the Great One has held since 1994. If Ovi can stay healthy, all signs point to the 39-year-old becoming the new record holder.

Playoff Races Get Hot: The Wild Card standings are loaded right now, and will certainly only get tighter as the season winds down. In the Eastern Conference, there are 9 teams within 7 points of the top Wild Card spot. Ottawa currently holds the top spot with 62 points, but any sort of slippage is not possible. In the Western Conference, Colorado holds a firm grip on the top spot with 68 points, followed by Vancouver with 63. Utah currently sits 6 games back of the Canucks in their first year of existence, can they make a run?

Trade Buzz and New Faces in New Places: The trade deadline closes up on March 7th, and teams are gonna be busy. The teams at the bottom of the West have already asserted themselves as sellers, but a stacked Eastern Conference may hold back some teams from selling off players. While some teams have already made moves like the Rangers going out and getting JT Miller and Carolina shocking the hockey world when they traded for Mikko Rantanen from the Avs. Will those moves pay off? Or did they sell the farm a little too soon?

Quick Hitters

• 💸 Michigan extends HC Dusty May, ending Indiana speculation

• 🏈 Jaguars name their new GM, former Rams exec Gladstone

• 😲 Carson Beck and Hanna Cavinder have their luxury cars stolen in Miami

• 👏 4 Nations final marks ESPN’s highest rated hockey game

What We’re Watching

🏀 Welcome back to a FULL NBA slate!

• ABC Primetime: Lakers @ Nuggets (8:30 PM)

• More to Watch: Suns @ Bulls (5:00 PM), Rockets @ Jazz (9:30 PM)

🏒 NHL Back Underway!

• Wild @ Red Wings (12:30 PM on ABC), Capitals @ Red Wings (3:00 PM on ABC), Hurricanes @ Maple Leafs (7:00 PM on NHL Network)

⚾️ SPRING BASEBALL! THAT’S RIGHT! I SAID IT!

• Rays @ Red Sox (1:05 PM), Yankees @ Blue Jays (1:07 PM), Astros @ Mets (1:10 PM), full schedule here

🏀 College Basketball ranked action:

• Men’s: (6) Tennessee @ (7) Texas A&M (12:00 PM on ESPN), Oregon @ (11) Wisconsin (12:00 PM on FOX), (8) Iowa State @ (5) Houston (2:00 PM on ESPN), (17) Kentucky @ (4) Alabama (6:00 PM on ESPN), (3) Duke @ Illinois (8:00 PM on FOX), BYU @ (19) Arizona (10:00 PM)

• Women’s: Iowa State @ (19) Baylor (2:30 PM on FOX), (5) UConn @ Butler (4:30 PM)

⚽️ International Futbol!

• English Premier League: Everton @ Man U (7:30 AM on USA), Arsenal vs West Ham (10:00 AM on Peacock), Aston Villa vs Chelsea (12:30 PM on NBC)

• LALIGA: Valencia vs Atletico (12:30 PM), Las Palmas vs Barcelona (3:00 PM)

• MLS: LAFC vs Minnesota (4:30 PM on FOX)

• Serie A: Inter vs Genoa (2:45 PM)

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

Can’t thank you enough for sticking to the end of this thing we call The Daily Stump. If you know anybody who might want this bit of daily juice in their life, send them this link, it would go a long way. Appreciate the hell out of you all!

Trees may get chopped. Stumps hold strong 🌴