ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Expansion on the Horizon

Barring something unforeseen, the NCAA is expected to finalize an expansion of the men's and women's tournaments to 76 teams, which could take effect as soon as next year.

“It will happen," one high-placed source told Yahoo Sports.

The new format: According to a proposal socialized with members last year, both tournaments would add eight at-large selections, most of which are certain to provide the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Big East with more participants.

Eight games would be added to the current "First Four," creating a new "Opening Round" that would feature 24 teams playing 12 games over two days at two different sites (Dayton and another)

Six of those games would likely feature lower-seeded automatic qualifiers, while the other six would pit at-large teams against each other. The 12 winners of the opening-round games would advance to an awaiting 52 teams in the original bracket.

Under this concept, eight teams are extracted from the main bracket, plus the eight new at-large selections from expansion. But plenty of this could change through the course of continuing talks with TV partners Warner Bros. Discovery and CBS.

What they're saying: Leaders at the Big 12 and ACC, perhaps more than others, have aggressively pushed for the expansion of the tournament. But so has NCAA president Charlie Baker, who views it as a way for deserving bubble teams to extend their seasons.

There is also an unsaid reason for expansion… Paving the way for more access for power league programs that likely control the future of the event.

Over the last five years, 15 of the 20 teams that the selection committee deemed as the "last four out" of the tournament have been from the power conference

And that’s the name of that story.

DENVER over Memphis by 16

This has the look and feel of a good, old-fashioned blowout. It starts with the visiting Grizzlies coming to an arena where they’ve been ridden hard and put away wet, 1-13 SU/3-10-1 ATS on their last 14 visits, including 0-4 SU/ATS when entering off a home game. Then there is the Nuggets' golden 21-9 SU/ATS record in this series when looking to avenge a same-season defeat of 3 or more points. With Memphis little more than kids’ fodder at this stage of the season, and Denver riding high off a pair of overtime victories and in a fierce battle with the Lakers, Rockets, and Timberwolves for the 3-6 seed in the Western Conference, you need to lay it if you play it.

From the final issue of the PLAYBOOK NBA Only Hoops Newsletter

Click here to download this week’s issue

Legendary MLB star Darryl Strawberry has issued a “warning” to Tiger Woods. 

Strawberry, who played in the Major Leagues for 17 seasons, making eight All-Star Games, overcame drug and alcohol addiction more than 20 years ago.

Strawberry, who is now an evangelical born-again Christian, makes more than 200 trips per year to speak about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

Woods, 50, was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Florida on Friday. Strawberry is now speaking out, hoping to warn Woods before he goes down too destructive of a path.

“I’m looking at a person that is deeply hurting inside and if he continues to go down the road it’s going to kill him, if he doesn’t surrender his life to God,” Strawberry said.

“It’s a serious addiction problem. Not one to play with anymore. He’s nearly lost his life two times.”

Strawberry is “warning” Tiger Woods: if he continues to go down this path, he will die.

“A lot of times people don’t know what addiction is really like. “It killed Elvis, it killed Prince, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson.

Once you continue to go down those roads, you think to yourself that it’s not going to really affect me like it did them. Yes, it is.”

Strawberry believes Woods needs “more” than just treatment.

“It’s not just about going to treatment,” he said. “It’s that he gives his life to God so he can be free from whatever it is. Because you can have all the money, all the success, all that don’t matter. It don’t make you happy. It’s something different when you get addicted to pills and drugs and stuff like that. It’s some different hurting inside of you that’s making you do that.

“You can’t just turn it off. You got to have a spiritual awakening on the inside to deliver you from it. You can go to every facility, you can go to every program. I went to all the best, Betty Ford, Hanley, Hazelden, but it wasn’t until something different spiritually happened inside of my life to break that bondage off of me.”

Woods announced this week that he will be seeking treatment outside of the country.

The 2026 Masters Tournament (the 90th edition) is taking place this week starting tomorrow at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Perfect forecast: After two straight years of less than ideal weather, the 90th edition of the tournament is set to be graced with beautiful conditions for all four rounds: 73 and sunny, 79 and sunny, 83 and sunny, 85 and sunny.

Golf fans who watch the Masters each year are familiar with the challenging test that is Augusta National Golf Club, even if they’ve never set foot on the grounds to see the sloping fairways and undulating greens in person. 

They know what makes the first tee shot so difficult and the 18th approach so challenging. Amen Corner, the 15th green, and so on. 

Rory McIlroy is the defending champion.

Hole 1 - Tea Olive

Par 4 445 yds
Augusta National's property is defined by a single broad downslope that ends at Rae’s Creek, and this par-4 opener is the only hole on the course that sits completely on top of it. Strategically, No. 1 at Augusta National is one of the most compelling opening holes in professional golf.

Hole 2 - Pink Dogwood

Par 5 585 yds
The second hole at Augusta National produces more off-the-tee variety than most par 5s in professional golf.

Hole 3 - Flowering Peach

Par 4 350 yds
Players face three basic options off the tee: hit a long iron or hybrid near the bunkers at the top of the first ridge, leaving a full wedge in; bash it left, past the bunkers and into the valley short left of the green; or go straight for the green in hopes of at least holding the narrow shelf short right. The most strategically complex hole on the golf course, “Flowering Peach” has stood the test of time, less affected by distance gains than most holes at Augusta National.

Hole 4 - Flowering Crab Apple

Par 3 240 yds
The first — and longest — par 3 at Augusta National has historically required a strong strike with at least a long iron, though club selections in the Masters have shifted as distance gains have spiraled out of control. Can you execute a towering shot with a long iron, hybrid, or fairway wood?

Hole 5 - Magnolia

Par 4 495 yds
“Magnolia” is like Paul Thomas Anderson’s film of the same name: brilliant, probably underrated, but a tad bloated. Nonetheless, the hole presents an honest challenge, and the green is one of the most artfully shaped at Augusta National (or anywhere else)

Hole 6 - Juniper

Par 3 180 yds
“Juniper” is, in our opinion, Augusta National’s second-best par 3. Each pin position presents a different range of challenges and exciting possible outcomes.

Now that we’ve blown by the first week in the 2026 MLB season, here are 4 stats you need to know...

1.01 — Yankees team ERA through six games, best in baseball. New York has three shutouts, and the team’s pitchers have only allowed six runs, a WHIP of 0.84 and an opponents’ batting average of .174.

8.63 — White Sox team ERA through six games. Chicago’s staff has surrendered an incredible 52 runs (47 earned) in 49 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .319 off the squad’s pitchers, and they have a WHIP of 2.00.

0.7 — Joey Wiemer’s MLB-leading fWAR. The journeyman outfielder has found something with the Nationals and is hammering the baseball to open his fourth MLB season.

-0.4 — Bo Bichette’s MLB-worst fWAR. Things have not gone well for Bichette to open his tenure with the Mets. He’s 3-for-27 with three singles, three RBIs, eight strikeouts, one walk and a slash line of .111/.138/.111. That OPS of .249 is depressing. He’s already being booed by Mets fans.