📰🏟️ National Fútbol League
Plus: Ted Lasso star turns pro…
Good afternoon. Today’s edition brings you the top news from around the sports world. Just keep scrolling.
—Kyle
1) Playoffs recap (NBA + NHL)
The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs took a 3-2 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, with star Victor Wembanyama filling up the stat sheet in another historic night (27 pts, 17 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk).
In the NHL:
- The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens to even the series at 2-2, with winger Zach Benson scoring the winning goal on his 21st birthday.
- The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks in an OT thriller to take a 3-2 series lead.
2) Ted Lasso star signs pro soccer contract
Ted Lasso star Cristo Fernández—who plays the character Dani Rojas—signed with El Paso Locomotive FC of the United Soccer League (USL) this week following a 2-month trial.
- He had also been on trial with the MLS club Chicago Fire’s second team over the winter.
- Before becoming an actor, Fernández, 35, played at youth level with Mexican pro team Tecos FC, but walked away at 15 due to an injury.
- Like his character on Ted Lasso, Fernández is a forward.
“Fútbol is life!” says Fernández
3) NFL unveils record 9-game international slate
The NFL revealed the matchups for its international slate this coming season, featuring a record-high 9 games as the league looks to ramp up to 16 eventually.
- Notable matchups include the 49ers vs. Rams in the NFL’s first-ever game in Melbourne, Australia (Week 1), and the Steelers vs. Saints for the league’s debut in Paris, France (Week 7).
- There are three games in London, the NFL’s most common international site, with the Jaguars hosting consecutive games there in Weeks 5-6.
- The complete 2026 NFL regular-season schedule will be announced Thursday evening.
4) NBA experiences pair of tragic deaths
Memphis Grizzlies F Brandon Clarke’s death was announced yesterday by his agency and the NBA. Multiple news reports say Los Angeles police found the 29-year-old dead of a suspected overdose.
- Clarke made the NBA's All-Rookie team during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, and spent all 7 years of his career on the Grizzlies.
- Separately, Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player who served as a global ambassador for the sport for the past decade, died of brain cancer at 47.
- Collins came out in a 2013 Sports Illustrated cover story, and was the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the 4 major North American sports leagues.
5) NCAA warns baseball teams about canceling to boost stats
The NCAA’s D1 baseball committee sent a letter to coaches warning that canceling games to boost their RPI metrics could end up harming their resume ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
- In the past 2 weeks, at least 7 schools ranked in the top-50 RPI have canceled mid-week baseball games against programs ranked #175 and up.
- While no program has outright said it, such cancellations are typically because the games barely boost (or even hurt) their RPI with a win, and could significantly tank it with a loss.
- A similar incident played out in 2024, when an identical letter was mailed to all NCAA coaches ahead of the tournament.
College baseball plays schedule shenanigans
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