The Best of the Sports Shop

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss how Venezuela claimed its first-ever World Baseball Classic title with a 3-2 win over the United States in the championship game, discuss how they would explain the sport of baseball for someone unfamiliar with the sport and preview tonight’s matchups between Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh and Miami vs. SMU as they look ahead to who will advance in March Madness.

The United States national baseball team fell 3-2 to the Venezuela national baseball team last night in the World Baseball Classic championship, a game decided in the final inning. The victory gives Venezuela its first-ever World Baseball Classic title, while Team USA finishes as runner-up for the second consecutive tournament, following their loss in the 2023 final. How would you explain baseball to someone who has never seen or heard of it?

The NCAA First Four begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. Two games were playd last night and two will be played tonight. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Last night, the UMBC Retrievers lost to the Howard Bison and now Howard will move on to face the Michigan Wolverines. Then later, the Texas Longhorns defeated the NC State Wolfpack. Tonight, the Prairie View A&M Panthers will face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Then later, the Miami RedHawks will face the SMU Mustangs, with the winner advancing to play the Tennessee Volunteers in the next round. How will Howard fare against Michigan? Who wins in the two First Four games tonight?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss the outcomes of last night’s First Four games, preview tonight’s matchups between Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh and Miami vs. SMU, debate Howard’s chances against Michigan in the main bracket, and break down Maxx Crosby’s frustrating near-trade to the Baltimore Ravens.

The NCAA First Four begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. Two games were playd last night and two will be played tonight. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Last night, the UMBC Retrievers lost to the Howard Bison and now Howard will move on to face the Michigan Wolverines. Then later, the Texas Longhorns defeated the NC State Wolfpack. Tonight, the Prairie View A&M Panthers will face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Then later, the Miami RedHawks will face the SMU Mustangs, with the winner advancing to play the Tennessee Volunteers in the next round. How will Howard fare against Michigan? Who wins in the two First Four games tonight?

Maxx Crosby recently opened up about his near-trade to the Baltimore Ravens, describing a confusing and frustrating process that ultimately fell apart. Crosby said he fully believed the deal was going through and even traveled to Baltimore to finalize it, but quickly felt something was off due to a lack of clear communication from the organization. The situation unraveled when the Ravens raised concerns about his knee during the physical, despite Crosby believing he was on track in his recovery from meniscus surgery. What happened?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss NC State’s narrow tournament loss to Texas, evaluate Will Wade’s coaching and postgame comments, break down Darrion Williams’ season performance—including whether he lived up to his preseason Player of the Year expectations—and debate whether NC State can realistically move past a third-place spot in the Triangle behind UNC and Duke.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. Texas guard Tramon Mark led the way with 17 points and knocked down a go-ahead jumper with about one second remaining, while NC State was paced by Darrion Williams, who finished with 21 points. Although NC State made a push with timely three-point shooting to get back into the game, Texas executed better down the stretch with clutch shot-making and free throws and the Wolfpack were unable to generate a clean look on their final possession. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Back in October, Darrion Williams was named the 2025-26 ACC Preseason Player of the Year and Reese was one of the voters. What do we think of Darrion Williams' season? Will NC State always be third place in the triangle behind UNC and Duke?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss Will Wade's comments following NC State's loss to Texas in the First Four.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. Texas guard Tramon Mark led the way with 17 points and knocked down a go-ahead jumper with about one second remaining, while NC State was paced by Darrion Williams, who finished with 21 points. Although NC State made a push with timely three-point shooting to get back into the game, Texas executed better down the stretch with clutch shot-making and free throws and the Wolfpack were unable to generate a clean look on their final possession. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Did Will Wade handle the loss well?

Reese, Pam and Alex discuss NC State’s close tournament loss, evaluate Will Wade’s coaching and Darrion Williams’ performance and break down Maxx Crosby’s frustrating near-trade to the Baltimore Ravens and what it reveals about the NFL trade process.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Back in October, Darrion Williams was named the 2025-26 ACC Preseason Player of the Year. What do we think of Darrion Williams' season?

Maxx Crosby recently opened up about his near-trade to the Baltimore Ravens, describing a confusing and frustrating process that ultimately fell apart. Crosby said he fully believed the deal was going through and even traveled to Baltimore to finalize it, but quickly felt something was off due to a lack of clear communication from the organization. The situation unraveled when the Ravens raised concerns about his knee during the physical, despite Crosby believing he was on track in his recovery from meniscus surgery. What happened?

Reese, Pam and Alex discuss NC State’s close loss to Texas, evaluate Will Wade’s coaching, Darrion Williams’ season performance and celebrate Howard Bison’s historic win over UMBC while speculating on their chances against No. 1 seed Michigan.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. Texas guard Tramon Mark led the way with 17 points and knocked down a go-ahead jumper with about one second remaining, while NC State was paced by Darrion Williams, who finished with 21 points. Although NC State made a push with timely three-point shooting to get back into the game, Texas executed better down the stretch with clutch shot-making and free throws and the Wolfpack were unable to generate a clean look on their final possession. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Back in October, Darrion Williams was named the 2025-26 ACC Preseason Player of the Year. What do we think of Darrion Williams' season?

Howard Bison earned a historic 86-83 win over UMBC Retrievers in the NCAA Tournament First Four, a game that came down to the final seconds. The win marks the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history for Howard and sends them into the main bracket to face No. 1 seed Michigan, while UMBC’s season ends at 24-9 after a strong year that included a conference title and a 12-game winning streak entering the tournament. Can Howard compete with Michigan?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex preview tonight’s NCAA First Four matchups, breaking down UMBC vs. Howard, Texas vs. NC State and tomorrow’s Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh and Miami vs. SMU games, while analyzing which teams have the best chance to advance in the main 64-team bracket.

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played tonight and tomorrow night at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Tonight, the UMBC Retrievers will play the Howard Bison men's basketball and the winner will move on to face the Michigan Wolverines. Then later, the Texas Longhorns men's basketball take on the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball. Did NC State earn their positioning in the NCAA Tournament First Four? Will NC State beat Texas tonight? How will NC State vs Texas go tonight? Howard or UMBC?

Tomorrow, the Prairie View A&M Panthers will face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. That same night, the Miami RedHawks will face the SMU Mustangs, with the winner advancing to play the Tennessee Volunteers in the next round The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week.

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss tonight’s Texas vs. NC State game.

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played tonight and tomorrow night at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Tonight, the the Texas Longhorns men's basketball take on the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball. Did NC State earn their positioning in the NCAA Tournament First Four? Will NC State beat Texas tonight?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss Bruce Pearl replacing Jay Wright on the CBS March Madness panel, the First Four matchups including NC State vs. Texas and the affect of Aden Holloway’s arrest on Alabama’s tournament prospects.

Bruce Pearl is apparently replacing Jay Wright on this year’s CBS/NCAA March Madness studio panel for the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Do people want this?

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played tonight and tomorrow night at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Tonight, the the Texas Longhorns men's basketball take on the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball. Did NC State earn their positioning in the NCAA Tournament First Four? Will NC State beat Texas tonight?

Aden Holloway, a guard for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball, was arrested just days before the start of NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. Authorities say a search of a residence uncovered more than a pound of marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia and cash, leading to charges of first-degree marijuana possession and failure to affix a tax stamp, a felony. Holloway was briefly jailed and later released on a $5,000 bond. It remains unclear whether he will face disciplinary action from the team or be available to play in Alabama’s upcoming tournament matchup against Hofstra Pride men's basketball, adding uncertainty as the Crimson Tide enter March Madness as a No. 4 seed.

Reese, Kmac and Alex discuss the impact of Aden Holloway’s arrest on Alabama’s tournament chances, break down Duke’s ACC Championship run and how the potential absence of Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II could affect their NCAA Tournament hopes, debate whether Michigan State is the most dangerous #3 seed and even touch on St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Aden Holloway, a guard for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball, was arrested just days before the start of NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. Authorities say a search of a residence uncovered more than a pound of marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia and cash, leading to charges of first-degree marijuana possession and failure to affix a tax stamp, a felony. Holloway was briefly jailed and later released on a $5,000 bond. Alabama has an upcoming tournament matchup against the Hofstra Pride men's basketball. How does this affect Alabama? Will Holloway be able to play?

The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 74-70 over the weekend to claim the 2026 ACC Men’s Basketball Championship, marking Duke’s second consecutive ACC tournament title. The victory came under head coach Jon Scheyer and adds another championship to the program’s storied history in the conference. Notably, Duke secured the win without two key starters, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II. If both players miss the NCAA Tournament, how significantly could their absence affect Duke’s chances? Is Duke a Final Four team? Is Michigan State the most dangerous #3 seed in the tournament?

Today is St. Patrick's Day. Do you celebrate St. Patty's Day?