Axios Sports

March 06, 2023
👋 Good morning! One week from today, you'll be filling out your bracket.
Today's word count: 1,509 words (6 minutes).
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1 big thing: 🏀 The Caitlin Clark show
Photo: David Berding/Getty Images
Caitlin Clark is ridiculous.
Driving the news: The National Player of the Year favorite exploded for 30 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds on Sunday as Iowa beat Ohio State, 105-72, to win its second straight Big Ten Tournament title.
- It was the 10th triple-double of Clark's career, the third-most in D-I history among both men and women.
- She's the only player over the last 20 seasons (man or woman) with 25 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a game, per ESPN. And she's now done it twice.
By the numbers: Eye-popping stat lines have become routine for Clark, who's been filling up box scores with shocking consistency since arriving at Iowa.
- Freshman: 26.6 pts, 5.9 reb, 7.0 ast
- Sophomore: 27.0 pts, 8.0 reb, 8.0 ast
- Junior: 27.0 pts, 7.5 reb, 8.3 ast
The big picture: Women's college basketball has had its fair share of superstars, but few — if any — have transcended the sport like Clark does.
- Her Steph Curry-like range and elite passing skills are tailor-made for social media, helping her highlight reels routinely go viral.
- Her scoring outbursts and triple-doubles keep her name in the news, ensuring that even people who aren't fans of her sport know her name.
- With Iowa all but locking up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Clark will have a chance to become an even bigger name nationally as the Hawkeyes chase their first national title.
Looking ahead: Clark will return to Iowa next year — and says she may even come back for her extra COVID year. If that happens, the all-time women's D-I scoring mark would likely be hers for the taking.
- Kelsey Plum, the current record holder (3,527 points), averaged 25.4 ppg in 139 games at Washington.
- Clark has averaged 26.9 ppg in 94 games at Iowa.
The bottom line: Caitlin Clark is one of the most recognizable basketball players in America, regardless of gender or age. And her career has only just begun.
Go deeper: Clark is the consummate point guard, on and off the court (The Athletic)
2. ⚾️ Testing the limits of the pitch clock
Photo: Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images
MLB pitchers are using spring training to test the limits of the new pitch clock rules as they look to gain an edge over hitters, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.
Driving the news: Max Scherzer pushed the boundaries in his Friday start against the Nationals, with the pitch clock playing a role in consecutive third-inning at-bats.
- Scherzer was called for a balk after trying to quick-pitch Victor Robles, with the ump signaling that he didn't give Robles enough time to get set.
- In the next at-bat, Scherzer had a double play wiped away after the ump ruled he'd delivered his pitch after the clock ran out.
- Later in that same at-bat, he successfully pulled off the quick-pitch by ensuring the batter was set this time.
What they're saying: "Everybody up here is looking for a competitive edge ... and it's a good time to be testing those things," said Mets manager Buck Showalter.
The big picture: The pitch clock has done much more than speed up pace of play; it's also altered the dynamics of every at-bat.
- For generations, pitchers and hitters have been on relatively equal ground.
- But under these new rules, pitchers "can totally dictate pace" — or at least, they'll be able to once they learn the new rules' limits.
In related news ... The Cubs threw the first spring training no-hitter since 2017 on Friday. And, thanks in part to the pitch clock, the game lasted just two hours, 14 minutes.
Go deeper: Rule changes are going great, but could use some small tweaks (USA Today)
3. 🏀 The double "Bang!" club
Photo: Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
Julius Randle joined an exclusive club on Friday, becoming just the fifth player to earn a double "Bang!" call from Hall of Fame announcer Mike Breen, Jeff writes.
The backdrop: Breen, 61, has spent decades punctuating big shots with a single "Bang!" On five occasions, his excitement has been so great it required two.
- March 3, 2023: Randle's game-winning three with 0.7 seconds left gives the Knicks the 122-120 win over the Heat.
- Oct. 20, 2021: Marcus Smart's game-tying three sends the Celtics to OT against the Knicks. Boston would ultimately lose, 138-134, in double OT.
- Aug. 23, 2020: Luka Dončić's buzzer-beating three in OT gives the Mavericks a 135-133 win over the Clippers in their first-round series in the bubble.
- Jan. 19, 2019: Eric Gordon's game-tying three in the waning seconds sends the Rockets to OT against the Lakers in Houston's eventual 138-134 win.
- Feb. 27, 2016: Steph Curry drains a deep three with 0.6 seconds left in OT to give the Warriors a 121-118 win over the Thunder.
4. ⚡️ Lightning round
Photo: Justin Ford/Getty Images
🏀 Ja steps away: Ja Morant will be away from the Grizzlies for at least two games as the NBA investigates the video he posted Saturday, in which he displayed what appeared to be a gun while at a nightclub.
🏊♀️ Down goes Ledecky: Canada's Summer McIntosh beat Katie Ledecky in the 200-meter freestyle on Friday, ending Ledecky's nine-year winning streak in the U.S.
🎾 Djoker withdraws: Novak Djokovic withdrew from Indian Wells on Sunday, an indication that his application for a COVID-19 vaccine waiver to enter the U.S. might have failed.
🏒 Bro for bro: Nick and Brett Ritchie swapped sides on Friday in the first brother-for-brother trade in NHL history.
📺 Kelce hosts SNL: Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce became the 34th athlete to host "Saturday Night Live." Here are some highlights.
5. 🇺🇸 Photos across America

ORLANDO — Kurt Kitayama took down a stacked leaderboard on Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational — his first PGA Tour victory.

LAS VEGAS — Jon Jones returned from a three-year UFC absence, moved up to its highest weight class and emphatically won the heavyweight belt on Saturday.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Duke beat UNC, 62-57, on Saturday to complete the season sweep. The Tar Heels are the first preseason No. 1 team to ever lose 12 games.
6. 🌎 Photos around the world

LIVERPOOL — Liverpool destroyed Manchester United, 7-0, on Sunday. The last time United lost that badly? 1931.

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands — Jordan Stolz, an 18-year-old from Wisconsin, won three gold medals at the speed skating world championships. His best finish at last year's Beijing Olympics was 13th.

SAKHIR, Bahrain — Red Bull cruised to a 1-2 finish in the opening race of the F1 season, finishing roughly half a minute ahead of everyone else.
7. 📺 Watchlist: Four more tickets to punch
Photo: M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Two men's and women's teams will punch their tickets to the Big Dance today with wins in their conference tournament finals, joining the other five men's and eight women's teams who've already done so.
- Men: Sun Belt — South Alabama vs. Louisiana (7pm ET, ESPN); SoCon — Chattanooga vs. Furman (7pm, ESPN)
- Women: Sun Belt — Texas State vs. James Madison (2pm ET, ESPNU); Big East — No. 11 Villanova vs. No. 9 UConn (7pm, FS1)
More to watch:
- 🏀 NBA: Hawks at Heat (7:30pm, NBA); Pelicans at Kings (10pm, NBA)
- 🏒 NHL: Oilers at Sabres (7:30pm, ESPN+)
- ⚾️ Spring training: Phillies at Orioles (1pm, MLB)
- ⚽️ Premier League: Brentford vs. Fulham (3pm, USA)
8. 🇳🇱 The Ocho: Korfball
Dutch Korfball League action. Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Plenty of sports hold mixed-gender competitions, but in korfball — a basketball variant — men and women playing side-by-side is baked into the sport's very rules, Jeff writes.
How it works: Teams of eight face off against each other, with rules dictating that exactly four men and four women must be on the court for each team at all times.
- The korf (Dutch for "basket") sits atop an 11.5-foot-high pole and has no net. Each made basket counts for one point.
- Players may not cross half-court, with two men and two women per team playing offense on one half and defense on the other, switching roles after every two made baskets.
- There's no dribbling or running with the ball, and players — who may only defend others of the same gender — can't shoot if they're being closely defended.
- Instead, the game hinges on quick passing and off-ball movement, with set plays aiming to get players open shots.
The backdrop: Korfball was invented in 1902 by a Dutch schoolteacher whose goal was to create a game that boys and girls could play together. The Netherlands dominates the sport internationally.
- Two Dutch club teams squared off in the inaugural Champions League final last month, and the Netherlands has won 10 of 11 World Championships.
- Korfball was a demonstration sport at the 1920 and 1928 Olympics, and the International Korfball Federation is targeting an Olympics return in 2032.
The last word: "We're a well-kept secret," incoming IKF president Gabi Kool told NYT. "A very small sport with very big dreams."
9. 🏀 College hoops trivia
Photo: Courtesy of Kennesaw State Athletics
Kennesaw State is going dancing for the first time ever after winning its conference tournament on Sunday.
- Question: Which conference are they in?
- Hint: Four letters.
Answer at the bottom.
10. 🍿 Top plays: Weekend edition
Jalen Cone (L) and Oakland Fort celebrate Northern Arizona's buzzer-beater. Photo: Tommy Martino/University of Montana/Getty Images
Talk tomorrow,
Kendall "Sounds like me" Baker
Trivia answer: ASUN (formerly Atlantic Sun)
🙏 Thanks for reading! Follow us for more (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy). Friends can sign up here. Thanks to Matt Piper for copy edits.
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