ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Masters Follow-Up

Rory McIlroy became just the 4th Masters champion to win in back-to-back years when

To no one’s surprise, pre-tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler made a late comeback, only to fall one stroke short of forcing a playoff.

Scheffler’s steady hand was on full display as he is the only golfer to play every final two-rounds without a bogey. Think about that as it just might be the most amazing golf stat ever.

With it, McIlroy won $4.5 Million and took home another Green Jacket.

And for what it’s worth, the Masters debuted a new concession stand item: The "Masters Candy Bar," a dark-milk chocolate blend with caramel, rice crisps and a hazelnut crunch. 

Not a very innovative name, for sure. But there were none to found late Sunday as they sold-out, as expected, to all those sweet-toothed fans roaming the course.

It far outsold last year’s new item: Tomato Pie.

Is it any wonder?

With the Playbook Hoops newsletters having concluded for the season, we will utilize this ‘Grinding Out The Profits’ section in the Coffee Club to share exclusive insight into the 2026 College football season directly from the 2026 Playbook Football Preview Guide magazine.

The big news this season if the resurrection of the former PAC-12 where beginning in 2026 the new look will take on this appearance:

• 8 TEAM CONFERENCE

This season, each team will play one conference opponent - home & away.

Included are two original PAC-12 members, Oregon State and Washington State.

Other members from the Mountain West Conference include: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State.

Texas State from the Sun Belt Conference completes the field (for football only; Gonzaga joins in its place for basketball next season).

FYI: Boise State is the highest ranked G6 team by a wide margin, per Bill Connelly of ESPN, with a projected 10-win season, noting that the Broncos' balance, returning QB Maddux Madsen, and RB duo (Dylan Riley, Sire Gaines) stand out.

They are ranked as the 5th-best conference in projections (behind Power 4 and perhaps one other).

Not surprisingly, the Mets lead in payroll for the fourth year in a row. They’ll shell out $352 million, just short of the record $355.4 million they set in 2023. And they’re not the only team that’s blown past the $244 million luxury tax threshold.

The top 10 spending teams are listed below:

• New York Mets, $352 million

• Los Angeles Dodgers, $317 million

• New York Yankees, $297 million

• Philadelphia Phillies, $282 million

• Toronto Blue Jays, $269 million

• Atlanta Braves, $252 million

• Houston Astros, $244 million

• Chicago Cubs, $223 million

• San Diego Padres, $208 million

• Detroit Tigers, $207 million

The bottom 10 spending teams are below listed from lowest to highest:

• Cleveland Guardians, $62 million

• Miami Marlins, $76 million

• Chicago White Sox, $82 million

• Washington Nationals, $84 million

• Tampa Bay Rays, $89 million

• Athletics, $90 million

• Minnesota Twins, $97 million

• Pittsburgh Pirates, $100 million

• St. Louis Cardinals, $100 million

• Colorado Rockies, $117 million

The Guardians have MLB’s lowest payroll, clocking in at $62 million for 2026, which is more than five times less than what the Mets will pay.

Those numbers underscore the growing divide among baseball’s financial haves and have-nots. Yes, players are earning more than ever, but the big market teams at the top are dominating spending.

The 2025-26 season is at its end, as we turn our attention to the playoffs. The NBA’s play-in tournament will be up first, starting tomorrow, as eight teams fight for the final four spots in the postseason.

The play-in round will tip off on Tuesday, April 14, and conclude on Friday, April 17, with two teams from each conference advancing to join the full playoff field.

The Phoenix Suns are locked into the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, while the Golden State Warriors will be the No. 10 seed. The Clippers and Trail Blazers have both locked up spots in the tournament, but have yet to be slotted in.

In the Eastern Conference, the Heat and Hornets have clinched spots in the play-in tournament, but four teams are fighting for positioning from the fifth-seed down as we head into the final games of the regular season on Sunday.

Here’s a look at the schedule for the entire play-in tournament.

Full NBA Play-In Tournament schedule

Tuesday, April 14

East: No. 7 seed* vs. No. 8 seed*, 7:30 p.m. ET

West: Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers/Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. ET

The winners will advance to the playoffs as the No. 7 seeds and will face the No. 2 seeds in their respective conferences.

Wednesday, April 15

East: Charlotte Hornets vs. Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET

West: Los Angeles Clippers/Portland Trail Blazers vs. Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m. ET

The losers of each game are eliminated, while the winners advance to face the losers of the previous night’s games.

Friday, April 17

East: Loser of opening game vs. winner of second game, 7:30 p.m. ET

West: Loser of opening game vs. winner of second game, 10 p.m. ET

Winners advance to the playoffs as No. 8 seeds in their respective conferences and will face No. 1 seeds. Losers are eliminated.

Play-In Tournament team history

KEY: The current format for the play-in tournament was adopted in 2021, and every seven-seed has reached the playoffs. They are 8-2 in the opening round and 2-0 in the game for the No. 8 seed.

Teams with the eight seed are 2-8 in the opening game and 4-4 in the No. 8 seed game. Six of the 10 eight-seed teams have advanced, while four have fallen out of the picture.

Nine seeds have mixed success. They’ve gone 6-4 in the first round, then 3-3 in the second. So, three have advanced to the full bracket, while seven have missed it.

Finally, you don’t want to be in the 10th spot. Nine of the 10 seeds have missed the playoffs, while only one, the Heat in 2025, has advanced.

Only one play-in team has reached the NBA Finals. The Miami Heat accomplished the feat in 2023. They lost to the Nuggets in five games.

Former NFL wide receiver turned football coach Ted Ginn Jr. is facing some pretty serious charges in Texas this weekend. And it comes just one day before he was supposed to coach a game.

Ginn was arrested for a DUI in Tarrant County, Texas on Saturday and booked at around 3:30 p.m. He has since been released on a $1,000 bond.

Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley handled the head coaching duties for the Aviators game on Sunday.

So close yet so far. Meanwhile, Ginn remains winless (0-2) as a head coach in the league.