Spring is just around the corner - meaning many sports leagues are headed into crunch time for the playoffs, while others are just getting their seasons started. With the change of the seasons also comes changes for your favorite newsletter. Stay tuned - No Huddle has a big announcement for you all soon!
Here’s today’s rundown:
MLB Spring Training
MLS Opening Weekend
What else to watch & headlines around the world
Best of the Best & Worst of the Worst, Best Bets, & More
Est. Read Time: 7 Minutes
MLB
Spring Training & Off Season Recap
It’s about that time! All 30 teams across the MLB concentrate into two of the warmest states and climates in the country (AZ & FL) to work out their kinks and showcase next generation talent with spring training.
Last season the Houston Astros, a team all too familiar with lengthy playoff runs, brought home the World Series Trophy for the second time in 5 years (2017 & 2022).
The off-season was chock full of major lineup changes and acquisitions leading up to the trade deadline. Some of the more notable moves:
The New York Yankees locking in Aaron Judge for another 9 seasons worth $360 million.
Jacob DeGrom departed the New York Mets to continue his legacy with the Texas Rangers for another 5 years worth $185 million.
The Mets subsequently signed three-time Cy Young winner, Justin Verlander, to their roster in an $86 million, 2-year deal.
The Philadelphia Phillies, who came so close to bagging their third World Series title last season, upgraded their infield by acquiring Trea Turner from the Los Angeles Dodgers in an 11-year deal worth $300 million.
The San Diego Padres struck a similar deal, locking in Xander Bogarts for $280 million over 11 years.
The Chicago Cubs nabbed shortstop Dansby Swanson for a 7-year deal worth $177 million.
And finally, the San Francisco Giants thought they were getting Carlos Correa before the Minnesota Twins snagged him in a 6-year $200 million contract deal.
Payrolls: The playing field in the MLB isn’t always level, however, especially when it comes to the spending power that each team has. The teams listed above are certainly on the top of the MLB’s Payroll Tracker, but there are other teams that find success in the Moneyball-like approach.
The Mets sit at the top of the list with a $336 million payroll in 2023.
Right behind them you’ll find the Yankees, Padres, Phillies, Dodgers and Blue Jays.
At the bottom of that payroll list, you’ll see team names that are either struggling to put together winning seasons, or struggling to even fill their stadium for games (or both).
The Oakland Athletics carry a 2023 payroll worth just $40 million, and close behind them are the Orioles, Pirates, and Rays.
Regardless of the data around spending power, it truly is anyone’s season this year. Of course that all begins with spring training. Here’s the specific and full schedule for spring training:
February 24th through March 28th
Each time plays 33 games, roughly 20% of the MLB regular season
Select games will be aired on MLB Network, ESPN and local stations
MLS Opening Weekend
Let’s address the elephant in the room… US Major League Soccer isn’t necessarily at the top of everyone’s radar.
However, our friends in Europe and largely around the rest of the world, consider soccer the leader in the professional sports universe. After all, the World Cup, the Women’s World Cup, and the UEFA Champions League all draw in higher global viewership than the Super Bowl alone.
If you’re not convinced, here’s more proof the MLS could be the quickest growing major league sport in America right now.
The average MLS club was worth about $86 million in 2019. Today the average club is valued at $579 million - that’s an 85% increase.
One of the clubs in Los Angeles, LA FC, recently became the first MLS team to hit a $1 billion valuation.
Much like what the NHL is doing with expansion teams, the MLS is also growing the pure number of clubs in the league. Charlotte FC joined as the expansion team for the 2022 season, and this year St. Louis City SC will join the pack.
The MLS has plans of expanding to 30 total teams (29 now) and will likely introduce the last one in 2024. For what it’s worth, it’s also been rumored that they could stretch as many as 32 teams.
The MLS Opening Weekend kicks off on Saturday with 12 matches beginning at 4:30 pm ET. The first match of the season features Nashville SC vs New York City FC, both of whom competed in the playoffs last year. The other big matchup is better known as El Trafico, a cross-town rivalry game between LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC.
2022 MLS Champion: Los Angeles FC (by PKs)
2023 Futures: LA FC +400 | Philadelphia +650 | NYC FC +800 | LA Galaxy +1000
Headlines
Trending
Alabama’s Brandon Miller Scores 41 Points Amidst Fatal Shooting Testimonies: Police found that Brandon Miller of the Alabama basketball team provided the gun to a now-former teammate who was involved in a fatal shooting recently. There have been no official charges filed against Miller, and he scored 41 in Wednesday’s game.
Liverpool Blows Two-Goal Lead Against Real Madrid: The Reds faced Real Madrid in a revenge match from last years Champions League Final (0-1 loss). After going up 2-0 roughly 15 minutes into the match on Wednesday, Liverpool gave up 5 unanswered goals.
LIV Golfers Allowed to Play in All Four Majors: The PGA of America announced on Wednesday that golfers associated with LIV will be able to participate in all four men’s majors in 2023.
Convo Starters
Jake Paul & Tommy Fury Go All-Or-Nothing: In the latest press conference prior to Sunday’s boxing match, Paul offered Fury double his paycheck for the fight if Fury wins, but everything Paul was planning on paying him if he loses. Fury accepted.
Colorado and Deion Sanders Getting Bets to Win CFP: There are just 5 college teams getting more bets to win the College Football Playoff in 2024 - Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and LSU. Colorado’s odds are currently +20,000.
Aaron Rodgers Back from Darkness Retreat: The coveted quarterback is back from his retreat where he spent multiple days and nights isolated in complete darkness. Rodgers said he was doing the retreat to help gain clarity on where his future stands in the NFL.
Lydia Ko Sets Course Record on Honeymoon: The #1 women’s golfer in the world broke a women’s course record while she was on her honeymoon in New Zealand, sinking both an ace and a hole-in-one.
📺 What Else to Watch this Weekend
🏀 NCAAB: UVA lost to ACC foe Boston College in an embarrassing 63-48 final score on Wednesday. While the loss doesn’t cause significant damage, UVA has a good chance of dropping to a #3 seed for the March Madness tournament. You can catch all 22 games this weekend in the top-25, as teams have just a few games left in the regular season.
⚽️ Soccer: In addition to what’s going on domestically, European leagues are back this weekend. Many of the EPL, La Liga and Serie A clubs are probably waning thin on players’ durability after playing in Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League matches on Wednesday and Thursday.
🏀 NBA: Who’s hot and who’s not? That’s an easy one heading into this weekend. The Milwaukee Bucks are sporting a 12-game win streak with two games on their docket this weekend. Meanwhile the Chicago Bulls continue to struggle with a 6-game losing streak. The worst team by record in the league, the Houston Rockets, are on a 7-game losing skid themselves.
🏒 NHL: Not too much has changed in the land of hockey except for the Vegas Golden Knights reclaiming their #1 spot in the Pacific since All-Star break. With the trade deadline of March 3rd quickly approaching, expect more headlines on last-minute deals.
⛳️ Honda Classic: There’s a three-way tie for first place heading into Round 2 of the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Joseph Bramlett, Billy Horschel and Carson Young all sit -5 under par. Catch Rounds 2-4 today, tomorrow and Sunday.
🥊 Boxing: Again, we wouldn’t suggest betting on any fight Jake Paul is involved in, but he’ll face Tommy Fury this weekend in the ring with big money at stake.
Best of the Best
Red Sox legend Johnny Damon made his debut for the Savannah Banana’s baseball team in Daytona Beach. He grounded out to third in his first at-bat, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt seeing he’s 49 years old.
Worst of the Worst
This story isn’t fact-checked, so take it with a grain of salt. But the Ben Simmons saga continues with allegedly one of the worst bets a player, especially Simmons, can possibly make with another player - making free throws.
💰 Best Bets
Record: 25-25
Bad beats for the Man City vs Leipzig match. Onward we push into the weekend - looking for a sweep!
La Liga (2/24): Elche vs Real Betis ML (+100)
Serie A (2/25): Empoli vs Napoli over 2.5 goals (-110)
Serie A (2/25): Empoli vs Napoli - V. Osimhen to score anytime (-160)
🗓 Today in Sports History
1987 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored his 36,000th NBA point in a win against the Phoenix Suns. He’s one of three players in NBA history to cross the threshold, alongside Karl Malone and LeBron James.