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Weekend winners
> SEC sports: A record 79 NFL draft picks — including 13 from Kirby Smart’s Georgia program and 12 from league newcomer Texas — over the weekend. In softball, the SEC has the top four teams in the USA Today poll and eight of the top 11 in the country. In college baseball, the SEC has five of the top seven team in the country and eight of the top 14.
> Texas baseball: The Longhorns are the best team in the best league in the country. They completed a three-game sweep of Texas A&M — one of five SEC teams to be ranked No. 1 in the country this season — Sunday and appear to be the class of the sport.
> Cleveland sports: Yes, you read that correctly. Hello, Cleveland. The Cavs are pointed toward a first-round sweep. And the Browns — yes, the Browns — crushed in the draft, and all the noise about a certain superstar’s son’s precipitous fall into round five clouds the fact that Shedeur Sanders was a steal in round five. And they got a first-round pick from Jacksonville in 2026.
> Playoff hockey: Look, I confuse icing with frosting. Shut it, Spy. But the drama of the postseason chase for Lord Stanley’s chalice never disappoints. And did you know that that at least one NHL playoff game in each of the last seven days has gone to overtime?
> Tyler Shough: Among all the rookies who had their dreams realized in the NFL draft over the weekend, Shough may have the best overall fit. The experienced — he’s 26 — and physically gifted for Louisville QB landed in New Orleans in round two. The Saints have a rookie head coach in offensive whiz Kellen Moore and a wide-open QB depth chart.
Weekend losers
> NBA officiating: Not since feeding time in the jungle has a collection of zebras had a worse afternoon. First, the crew missed a clear foul on a last-second heave from the Pistons, who lost to the Knicks by a point. Then the confusion of an out-of-bounds review led to a foul call on LeBron James that led to game-sealing free throws. Minnesota leads Los Angeles 3-1 in that first-round series.
> Lakers: Let’s stay there. Is this the closing of James’ championship window? Could this hinder the Lakers’ ability to sign Luka Doncic long-term? Is this the passing of the torch to Anthony Edwards, who was the best player on the floor Sunday amid those two one-name stars in purple and gold? Wow. T-Wolves v OKC in the Western Conference Finals with the winner of Paces-Cavs out of the East is not going to make Adam Silver real happy.
> The Ulbrich dinner table for the next few family meals. Yes, another Shedeur reference — he was truly the talk of the weekend everywhere I went — since the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has admitted to making the prank call to Sanders pretending to be an NFL GM. Jax Ulbrich, 21, got the number from his father’s iPad. Yikes.
> This Cleveland fan, who was ejected for “saying something inappropriate” to Boston outfielder Jarren Duran, who has been open about his mental health struggles and his suicide attempt. Hey, heckling is part of the sports experience. But there have to be some lines, right?
> “60 Minutes:” The longstanding Sunday night news show ended this weekend’s broadcast with a revelation about its executive producer Bill Owens’ departure last week. “Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways. None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires,” Scott Pelley said to close the show. “No one here is happy about it.” Here’s more.
> Bonus: Man, that was a forgettable final round of the PGA Tour no?
NFL draft rewind
It was somewhat fitting that Shedeur Sanders was the post-draft story of the weekend NFL theater.
Fitting, because Shedeur Sanders — a star quarterback from Colorado who also happens to be the son of superstar corner back/self-promoter Deion Sanders — was the story before and during the weekend draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Shedsuperduper star among the top overall prospects and fell to 144 overall. Heck, Shedeur was the No. 1 QB of ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper’s board.
He was the second QB selected by the Cleveland Browns, who took Oregon signal caller Dillon Gabriel.
It has been reported that Shedeur was terrible in the pre-draft process, and that makes sense. What right-thinking NFL operation wants to hand the keys to a multi-billion-dollar operation to someone who refused to throw multiple times and apparently was among the worst interviews multiple executives have experienced?
The crank call aside, the assertions of Sanders’ fall being about outside factors of all sorts of -isms seems preposterous. I have frequently maintained that the locker room — especially in the NFL — is among the last bastions of meritocracies in the world.
If you are polka-dotted and help teams win, you will be welcomed with open arms.
But the real concerns about his attitude and the fact that he has only played for his dad since middle school are real.
It left him to the humbling tumble, which could be a win-win for both player and franchise.
And in round five, the reward far outweighs the risk, especially when you consider that if the Browns had traded first-round picks and taken Shedeur Sanders with pick 5 rather than round 5, no one would have batted an eye.
Man, not sure which was the biggest surprise over this draft: Shedeur Sanders from the top of Mel Kiper’s board or the misfit toys that have been the Cleveland Browns completely changing its fanbase’s mood in a weekend.
Discuss.
This and that
› How long until the NBA draft? I love the draft. It’s in the middle of the summer, of course, but a very interesting draft lottery is two weeks from today when one lucky franchise gets the chance to pick Cooper Flagg.
› Puzzling story on CCS soccer Coach Tyler Robertson resigning. CCS is nationally ranked and 15-0. Hmmm. Feels like there is more to this one, right?
› You know the rules. Here’s Paschall catching up with UT star-to-be Boo Carter, who says he was stunned by the Nico Iamaleava scenario.
› Speaking of the PGA, shoutout to Luke List, who partnered with Henrik Norlander to finish T-4th in the PGA team event over the weekend. They split $484,150. Keith Mitchell and J.T. Poston finished T-18th and split more than $77K.
› Braves lost Sunday but took two of three from Arizona, which is a good lick for a team that has won seven of its last 10.
Today’s questions
Weekend winners and losers. Go.
As for Multiple Choice Monday, which NFL team had the best draft haul over the weekend?
As for today, April 28, let’s review:
Jessica Alba is 44 today. She’s worth way more than you would ever guess. (Hint: Her net worth starts with a ‘B,’ friends.)
John Daly is 59.
Harper Lee would have been 99 today.
Does she make the Rushmore of “Harper,” friends? Go.