Good Morning! Today is Monday, February 24th. Here’s what happened over the weekend in the world of sports.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Get ready for another new number one team in women’s basketball... (13) NC State upset (1) Notre Dame 104-95 in double overtime yesterday. An impressive win for the Wolfpack, who took advantage of a poor shooting night by the Fighting Irish. Also, this–

It’s a new Monday morning tradition– after a chaotic weekend, where should we begin on the men’s side? Too much happened to recap all of it, so here are three teams that won the weekend:

• (3) Duke absolutely destroyed Illinois 110-67 at Madison Square Garden. The Illini have struggled lately, but that’s an impressive result at a neutral site game. Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils are the real deal.

• Rick Pitino and (10) St. John’s also established themselves as one of the best teams in the country. The Red Storm beat UConn 89-75 yesterday and lead the Big East by 2.5 games.

• Finally, how about Indiana? The Hoosiers were so bad earlier this year that their coach announced he was stepping down at the end of the season. After upsetting Michigan State last week and taking down rival (13) Purdue 73-58 yesterday, IU has played their way onto the bubble.

NHL

I liked that section, let’s do it again– here are three performances that stood out from the first weekend back after the 4 Nations Face-Off:

• Alexander Ovechkin is on a mission. The Capitals forward scored a hat trick, moving just 13 goals away from the all-time scoring record. We are officially on Ovi watch the rest of the year.

• The Robertson brothers combined for five goals yesterday! Jason had a hat trick and led Dallas to a win, while Nicholas scored two goals in a victory for Toronto.

• Justin Bieber– that’s right, I said Justin Bieber– fought retired NHLer Jeremy Roenick on the ice yesterday. The playful exchange was one of many highlights from a fundraiser put on by the LA Kings to support recovery efforts from the fires.

NBA

Continuing today’s theme, we’re highlighting three teams from the weekend:

• Luka Doncic had 32 points and more awesome assists to LeBron James as the Lakers took down the Nuggets 123-100 on Saturday.

• Draymond Green stated that the Warriors would win a championship this season. There’s still a ways to go, but Golden State looked pretty awesome yesterday against the Dallas Mavericks. Steph Curry said “night-night” after only three quarters and Andre Igoudala’s jersey retirement ceremony was celebrated with a win.

• The New York Knicks are struggling to beat the top teams. They were blown out on Friday against the Cavaliers 142-105 and lost again on Sunday to the Boston Celtics 118-105. New York is 0-7 this season against Cleveland, Boston, and OKC.

GOLF

Teeing off in a sudden death playoff, Brian Campbell got the lucky bounce of a lifetime yesterday. I hit trees with my drives all the time, and I’ve never been that fortunate… what a fantastic way to secure your first-ever PGA Tour victory!

PICKLEBALL!

They call it the fastest growing sport in America! Pro Pickleball had quite a weekend in Arizona as the top pros on the tour competed in the Mesa Cup. If you haven’t checked out the PPA (Pro Pickleball Association) yet, I recommend it– take it from someone who was in Mesa watching the matches all weekend long. From rivalries and big personalities to feats of athleticism and fierce competition, all the bases of top-tier sports competition are on display. And if you like playing pickleball, you’ll learn a thing or two from watching the best in the world:

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Congratulations to San Diego FC, the newest expansion team in the MLS. The season began this weekend, and San Diego recorded their first win, an upset over the defending champion LA Galaxy.

For the first time since 2003, three American women are ranked in the top five in the world in tennis. Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Madison Keys are the 2025 trio– Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, and Jennifer Capriati were the ones leading the way back in ‘03.

The Washington Mystics have traded shooting guard Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky for the third overall pick in this year’s draft, plus future pick swaps. A pretty big overpay by the Sky for a player who’s never been named to the all-star team.

Still recovering from a mild stroke last fall, Gregg Popovich is not expected to return to the Spurs sideline this season. One of the greatest coaches in all of sports, we’re wishing Pop our best, no matter if he retires or comes back next year.

Finally, traditions are changing in New York. The Yankees will no longer play Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” following all home games. Now, the song will be reserved for victories (a selection of other Sinatra tunes have been chosen for losses). Even more shocking, players in pinstripes will now be allowed to grow beards. Is this the end of the Evil Empire? You can read the full statement from Hal Steinbrenner below:

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

• WOMEN: (19) Baylor @ (12) Kansas State, 7 PM on ESPN2

• MEN: (12) Michigan @ Nebraska, 8 PM on FS1

• MEN: (5) Houston @ (9) Texas Tech, 9 PM on ESPN

NBA: Timberwolves @ Thunder, 8 PM on NBA TV

“Last but not least, I would like to thank me… I know what I have been dealing with, and I just want to thank me for always believing in me,” –17-year old Mirra Andreeva with a lovely reminder about self-love after winning yesterday’s final in Dubai