Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Monday, March 31.

BREAKING NEWS

A story as wild as we’ve ever seen while writing the Remix broke the internet late last night– rumors of NBA expansion have swirled for months, and now that the sale of the Boston Celtics has been finalized, the league is going through with their plans to grow. Say hello to British Stars BallClub and London Bangers and Mash, two new organizations joining the storied National Basketball Association. “Basketball is a global game, and we’ve always been interested in expanding our league,” said high-ranking league executive Neb Simer, “This was the perfect opportunity to combine those two goals. The chance to add these new teams in London was something the league truly could not be more excited about. We are proud to welcome both BS BallClub and the Bangers to the NBA!” Although there is no information yet on what players will be sent to the new London expansion teams, we can assume they will form an epic crosstown rivalry. 

WOMEN’S MARCH MADNESS

Once again, Texas leaned on their impressive defense to shut down an opponent. The Longhorns held Sedona Prince to just four points and limited Hailey Van Lith to 3-15 shooting, advancing to the Final Four with a 58-47 victory over TCU. Texas gets a fourth meeting against SEC rival South Carolina– while the Longhorns won 66-62 in February, they lost the other two games by a combined 36 points, including the SEC championship

Credit to USC, who played tenaciously and fought until the bitter end last night, even with JuJu Watkins. However, the Trojans didn’t have enough firepower to contend with UConn, who are back in the Final Four after 78-64 win. Paige Bueckers led the way with 31 points and national freshman of the year Sarah Strong added 22 points and 17 rebounds. The Huskies will take on another Los Angeles Big 10 school, the UCLA Bruins, on Friday.

MLB

Two big moments from the baseball diamond yesterday:

• Elly De La Cruz was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle… instead, he blasted his second home run. The electrifying Reds shortstop had 7 RBIs and Cincinnati defeated Texas 14-3.

• But wait! Another member of the NL Central did achieve the rare feat of hitting for the cycle: Cubs catcher Carson Kelly. The statline was 3-3 with a home run and walk before Kelly legged out a triple in the eighth inning of an 18-3 victory over the Athletics. It’s the first Cubs cycle since 1993.

• Besides the loss to the Cubs, the A’s “home” opener in Sacramento was a bit strange, due to the circumstances of the move and the minor league ballpark. However, the A’s paid a wonderful tribute to the late Rickey Henderson– every player on the roster wore his number 24.

UPDATE ON THE BREAKING NEWS

April Fools! Sadly, I don’t believe BS BallClub and the London Bangers will ever be real basketball teams. Rumors about NBA expansion are very real, but I doubt they are considering a team in London, much less two. “High-ranking league executive” neB simeR was last seen laughing at his own joke…

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

This one sounds like another April Fool’s joke but I promise you that it’s real: Freddie Freeman missed last night’s game is considered day-to-day after tweaking his ankle getting into the shower. It’s the same ankle Freeman had surgery on this offseason.

Again, I promise this is real, even though it doesn’t sound like it: Coastal Carolina announced all concessions at football games this year will be free. I don’t think any sports team in the history of the world has ever done this. Pretty awesome move by the Chanticleers.

Jurickson Profar has been suspended 80 games for PEDs. Profar signed a big free-agent deal with Atlanta this offseason after a career-best year at the plate in 2024. You can read Profar’s statement here.

Stanford football is hiring Frank Reich as their interim head coach. This comes after Troy Taylor was fired last week under less than ideal circumstances.

Like Steph Curry a few weeks ago, Trae Young is going back to school. Young will be the new assistant GM of Oklahoma basketball, his alma mater.

Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles has surprised many around the game of basketball by entering the transfer portal. The number two prospect in the upcoming WNBA draft, it was expected that Miles would either return to Notre Dame to finish out her collegiate career or go pro.

The Boston Red Sox have reached a massive contract extension with young starter Garrett Crochet. Acquired from the White Sox this winter, Crochet signed a six-year, $170 million deal.

Welcome to “NFL owners saying stuff”! This is a new segment where NFL owners, notorious for their measured statement and reflective demeanors, speak with the media during the offseason. We have two entries today:

• “We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun. We thought we had the quarterback, we didn’t, and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole,” says Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. A fair assessment… but Deshaun Watson is still on the roster in Cleveland. Haslam had the following insight when asked about picking a new QB in the upcoming NFL Draft: “I think the message is if the right person’s there, we’re going to take him. If not, we’ll figure it out for a year or two until we get the right person. And I just keep (saying) we need good football players. There are good football players in this draft, and we got to make sure we get the right ones for us.” Good football players. Now that’s a strategy I hadn’t thought of before!

• And Jets owner Woody Johnson had this to say in response to a recent survey among NFL players that ranked the Jets near the bottom of categories such as player facilities and owner’s willingness to invest: “My first read is I think it’s totally bogus.” You tell ‘em Woody.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MLB: Diamondbacks @ Yankees, 7:05 PM on TBS/Max

NBA:

• Suns @ Bucks, 7:30 PM on TNT/Max

• Timberwolves @ Nuggets, 10 PM on TNT/Max

NHL: Capitals @ Bruins, 7 PM on ESPN+

Five brackets are still alive in our Remix Bracket Challenge! Pup Pup Picks wins if Duke takes home the title, John M. is the champion with Houston, Sami R. is rooting for Auburn, and either Will F. or Jack T. is the winner if Florida wins it all! Good luck and well done to each of you!