For the first time since 1968, all 30 MLB teams played their first game on the same day. And for the first time ever, they were on the clock.

• ⏱️ Pitch clock effect: Opening Day games lasted an average of 2 hours, 45 minutes. That's 18 minutes shorter than last year's nine-inning average of 3 hours, 3 minutes.
• 💨 Steals way up: Baserunners stole 21 bases (on 23 attempts), taking full advantage of new pickoff rules and bigger bases. Last season, teams combined for just six steals in their opening games.

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🍿 Top play: Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe's casual no-look grab may end up being the catch of the year. It also reminded me of a great line from "Major League" ... "Nice catch, Hayes. Don't ever f--king do it again."

⭐️ Top performer: Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman became the first player in MLB history to go 5-for-5 with at least 4 RBI on Opening Day. He also reached base in his other at-bat, drawing a walk.

Scoreboard: Orioles 10, Red Sox 9 | Blue Jays 10, Cardinals 9 | Pirates 5, Reds 4 | Mets 5, Marlins 3 | White Sox 3, Astros 2 | Rangers 11, Phillies 7 | Braves 7, Nationals 2 | Yankees 5, Giants 0 | Cubs 4, Brewers 0 | Rays 4, Tigers 0 | Twins 2, Royals 0 | Mariners 3, Guardians 0 | Dodgers 8, D-backs 2 | A's 2, Angels 1 | Rockies 7, Padres 2

Around the horn:

• Historic firsts: Cubs starter Marcus Stroman will forever be the first pitcher to get called for a pitch clock violation, and Boston's Rafael Devers will forever be the first hitter to strike out due to a pitch clock violation.
• Angels gonna Angel: Shohei Ohtani recorded the 26th Opening Day start since 1901 with 10+ strikeouts and no runs allowed ... and the Angels lost. In every other instance, that pitcher's team won.
• Under 21 club: Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker became the 16th player since 1995 to start on Opening Day at age 20 or younger, joining the likes of Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Miguel Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez.
• Proposal gone wrong: A fan ran onto the field at Dodger Stadium to propose to someone in the stands, only to get demolished by a security guard.
• Umpire cam: The "UmpCam" is back on ESPN, and it's awesome. The broadcast cut to the feed multiple times during the Astros-White Sox game, giving viewers a close-up view of the action.

📆 55 years ago today: On March 31, 1968, the American League's new Seattle franchise chose the Pilots as its nickname. The team would last just one season before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers.

Quick links:

• Every home run (Twitter)
• Daily leaders (NBC Sports)
• Opening Day takeaways (ESPN)

The men's Final Four tips off tomorrow in Houston. The action begins with No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 9 Florida Atlantic, followed by No. 4 UConn vs. No. 5 Miami, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

23

The combined seed total for this year's Final Four four is 23, the second-highest ever. In 2011, No. 3 UConn, No. 4 Kentucky, No. 8 Butler and No. 11 VCU had a seed total of 26.

$234

The average ticket price for this weekend's slate at NRG Arena is $234, per SI. That's a 92% decrease from last year's Blue Blood-rich Final Four at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans ($2,885).

0

There are no true freshmen starters in the Final Four, and UConn's Alex Karaban and FAU's Nick Boyd are the only redshirt freshmen starters. In an era of one-and-dones, this weekend belongs to the upperclassmen.

52

The campuses of Miami (Coral Gables) and FAU (Boca Raton) are separated by just 52 miles. This is the first time two Florida teams have made the same Final Four, and an all-Sunshine State title game is in play.

The women's Final Four tips off tonight in Dallas. The action begins with No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 3 LSU, followed by No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Iowa, Jeff writes.

10

South Carolina (36-0) has a chance to become the 10th undefeated champion in women's basketball history. The Gamecocks can also join UConn, Tennessee and USC as the only back-to-back champions.

2.2 million

Caitlin Clark's 40-point triple-double on Sunday drew 2.2 million viewers on ESPN, which is more than any NBA game on ESPN this season. Tonight's Iowa-South Carolina game is expected to put up huge TV ratings.

0-5

This is LSU's sixth Final Four, but they've yet to win a title — or even reach the title game. If they come up short again, they'll break a tie with Georgia for the most Final Four appearances without a championship.

100,000+

There are seven players in the women's Final Four with 100,000+ Instagram followers. There are zero such players in the men's Final Four.

⛳️ Mastering Augusta: On Wednesday, Stanford sophomore Rose Zhang broke the scoring record at the Augusta National Women's Amateur with a 66. On Thursday, the reigning NCAA champion one-upped herself with a 65 to take a five-shot lead into today's final round.

🏒 58th win: The Bruins won their franchise-record 58th game on Thursday to clinch the Presidents' Trophy (regular-season points leader). Boston needs four wins in its final eight games to tie the NHL record of 62.

🏀 NIT champs: North Texas beat Conference USA rival UAB, 68-61, to win the NIT. After the game, news broke that head coach Grant McCasland is headed to Texas Tech on a six-year, $18 million deal.

⚽️ Final four: The Women's Champions League semifinals are set, with Chelsea facing Barcelona and Wolfsburg facing Arsenal.

💵 Curry's new deal: Steph Curry has signed a new long-term deal with Under Armour that will extend beyond his playing days. It's believed to be one of the richest sports endorsement deals ever.

The Celtics demolished the Bucks, 140-99, on Thursday behind 40 points from Jayson Tatum and 30 points from Jaylen Brown.

The big picture: This marked the 12th game this season in which Tatum and Brown have each scored 30+ points, the most such games by a pair of teammates since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 2002-03.

The Premier League's title race isn't particularly close, with Arsenal eight points ahead. But the relegation battle is as tight as it gets, Jeff writes.

State of play: With 10 weeks left, the bottom nine teams are separated by just four points. At the end of the season, the three worst clubs will be relegated to the English League Championship (one tier below).

Adam Wainwright swapped his glove for a mic and sang the national anthem ahead of his 17th and final Opening Day.

Final Four weekend has arrived in Texas, with the men playing at Houston's NRG Stadium (home of the Texans) and the women playing at Dallas' American Airlines Center (home of the Mavericks).

• Tonight (women): No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 3 LSU (7pm ET, ESPN); No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Iowa (9pm, ESPN)
• Tomorrow (men): No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 9 FAU (6:09pm, CBS); No. 4 UConn vs. No. 5 Miami (8:49pm, CBS)
• Sunday: Women's National Championship (3:30pm, ABC)

More to watch:

• 🏀 NBA: Lakers at Timberwolves (Fri. 8pm, NBA); Nuggets at Suns (Fri. 10:30pm, NBA); Mavericks at Heat (Sat. 7:30pm, NBA); Warriors at Nuggets (Sun. 8:30pm, NBA)
• 🏒 NHL: Bruins at Penguins (Sat. 3pm, ABC); Devils at Blackhawks (Sat. 8pm, ESPN2); Rangers at Capitals (Sun. 1pm, TNT); Bruins at Blues (Sun. 3:30pm, TNT)
• ⚾️ MLB: D-backs at Dodgers (Fri. 10pm, ESPN+); Giants at Yankees (Sat. 4pm, Fox); Guardians at Mariners (Sat. 9:40pm, FS1); Phillies at Rangers (Sun. 7pm, ESPN)
• 🎾 Tennis: Miami Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis) … Finals this weekend.
• ⚽️ MLS: 14 games (Sat. Apple TV) … Six games are free to watch.
• ⚽️ NWSL: Current vs. Thorns (Sat. 12:50pm, CBS); Five games (Sat-Sun, Paramount+)
• ⚽️ Premier League: Manchester City vs. Liverpool (Sat. 7:30am, Peacock); Newcastle vs. Manchester United (Sun. 11:30am, USA)
• ⛳️ PGA: Valero Texas Open (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/NBC)
• ⛳️ LPGA: LA Open (Fri-Sun, Golf/Peacock)
• ⛳️ LIV: Orlando (Fri-Sun, The CW)
• ⛳️ Women's golf: Augusta National Women's Amateur (Sat. 12pm, NBC) … Final round.
• 🏁 F1: Australian Grand Prix (Sun. 1am, ESPN)
• 🏁 NASCAR: Richmond (Sat. 1pm, FS1)
• 🏈 XFL: Week 7 (Fri-Sun, FX/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN+)
• 🏀 High School Basketball: GEICO Nationals (Fri-Sat, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU)

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The Kings clinched a playoff spot on Wednesday, ending the longest postseason drought in North American major sports (16 years).

• Question: Which team now owns the longest drought at 12 years?
• Hint: NFL

Answer at the bottom.

Here's a fun Final Four exercise, via ESPN: Who wins in a battle of all-time starting lineups?

• UConn: Kemba Walker (2008-11), Ben Gordon (2001-04), Rudy Gay (2004-06), Emeka Okafor (2001-04), Hasheem Thabeet (2006-09)
• Miami: Shane Larkin (2011-13), Lonnie Walker (2017-18), Isaiah Wong (2019-present), Bruce Brown (2016-18), Norchad Omier (2022-present)
• SDSU: Malachi Flynn (2019-20), Matt Bradley (2021-present), Jamaal Franklin (2010-13), Kawhi Leonard (2009-11), Malcolm Thomas (2009-11)
• FAU: Greg Gantt (2009-13), Alijah Martin (2020-present), Johnell Davis (2020-present), Mike Bell (2003-05), Vlad Goldin (2021-present)

ESPN has UConn beating Miami and SDSU beating FAU, then the Huskies beating the Aztecs for the title. Hard to disagree.