You earned it, Mr. Barkley

Author

Ben Remis
March 05, 2025

Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Tuesday, March 4th.

UPSETS GALORE

Not a good night to be a top-ranked team in college basketball…  

  • (22) Texas A&M took down (1) Auburn 83-72. Even with the loss, the Tigers remain in first place in the SEC and are likely a one-seed in March.

  • (23) BYU beat (10) Iowa State 88-85 in double overtime.

  • Arguably the win of the night, bubble-team Texas was victorious against (25) Mississippi State. The Longhorns won 87-82 in double OT.

ROSTER MOVES

The Edmonton Oilers acquired forward Trent Frederic from the Boston Bruins as part of a three-team trade. The pending free agent brings an added physical presence to last year’s Stanley Cup runner-ups.

Saquan Barkley was rewarded for his fantastic season, agreeing to a two-year extension with the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only is the deal worth a lot of money, it’s also an additional two seasons on top of the three-year deal Barkley signed last summer.

We knew he was hurt when Kyrie Irving left last night’s game against the Kings, but the worst was confirmed this morning: Kyrie will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. It appears the Dallas Mavericks injury wave has another victim.

And the New York Jets have released wide receiver Davante Adams. I’d put my life savings on Adams and Aaron Rodgers as a package deal once again next season.

SO LONG, FAREWELL

Around the Horn will air for the final time on May 23rd. One of ESPN’s original sports-shouting programs, Around the Horn, “has been a staple of ESPN’s weekday programming for more than two decades.” None of the wacky scoring made much sense and the longtime host, Tony Reali, was always a bit of a mystery to me. Nevertheless, ATH leaves behind an impressive legacy and a distinguished list of journalist alumni. Afternoon sports television won’t be the same without it.

We can also say goodbye to the lawsuits brought by Florida State and Clemson against their own conference, the ACC. I won’t get into the details, but as you may imagine, it’s all about the money.

BREAKING RECORDS

George Mason University set the division one record for most runs scored in an inning of baseball. The Patriots put up 23 runs in the second against Holy Cross. After the leadoff man grounded out, 19 consecutive batters reached base safely.

The NHL started tracking blocked shots in the 2005-06 season. Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic just broke the record, blocking shot number 2,165 last night. “Ouch,” I think is what he said afterwards.

WHAT (NOT) TO WATCH

Remember when I said Hard Knocks at North Carolina wasn’t 100% confirmed? Well, now it’s 100% confirmed not happening. Too bad.

TODAY’S NATIONAL GAMES (all times Eastern)

NBA:

  • Heat @ Cavaliers, 7 PM on ESPN

  • Thunder @ Grizzlies, 9:30 PM on ESPN

NHL:

  • Capitals @ Rangers, 7:30 PM on TNT/Max

  • Maple Leafs @ Golden Knights, 10 PM on TNT/Max

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

  • (13) Maryland @ (17) Michigan, 6:30 PM on Big Ten Network

  • (5) Florida @ (7) Alabama, 7 PM on ESPN2

  • (20) Marquette @ UConn, 8:30 PM on FS1

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