Bound for Sweetness

03/22/2022

By: Jeff Yoder

Welcome Back

One time for the men. Another for the ladies. Hopefully your women’s bracket is still in one piece. These are the women’s teams dancing into the Sweet 16.

Letter Rip!

NCAAW

Women’s Squads Bound for Sweetness

Photo: Kelly Donoho / Getty Images

The Women’s Sweet 16 is Set After Upset Scares Against 3 Powerhouses

Sunday’s Round of 32 brought down two 2-seeds via major upsets, but that wasn’t the case on Monday. 4-seed Tennessee, 3-seed Indiana and 2-seed UConn all had close calls with lower seeds, but they survived and advanced. The only true upset of the day was 6-seed Ohio State knocking off 3-seed LSU. Meanwhile, Notre Dame made their 11th Sweet 16 appearance in 12 years with the beatdown of the tournament — a 44-point thrashing against Oklahoma. Sixty-four teams entered, sixteen remain.

Editor’s Note: Moving forward, The Sportsletter will have game-by-game recaps instead of the library of highlight links as the fields in the men’s and women’s tournaments dwindle to four games per night (or less).

Monday’s 2nd-Round Highlights

#1 NC State def. #9 Kansas State (89-57)

#2 UConn def. #7 UCF (52-47)

#3 Michigan def. #11 Villanova (64-49)

#3 Indiana def. #11 Princeton (56-55)

#4 Tennessee def. #12 Belmont (70-67)

#5 Notre Dame def. #4 Oklahoma (108-64)

#5 North Carolina def. #4 Arizona (63-45)

#6 Ohio State def. #3 LSU (79-64)

Sunday’s 2nd-Round Highlights

#1 South Carolina def. #8 Miami (49-33)

#1 Stanford def. #8 Kansas (91-65)

#1 Louisville def. #9 Gonzaga (68-59)

#2 Texas def. #7 Utah (78-56)

#3 Iowa State def. #6 Georgia (67-44)

#4 Maryland def. #12 FGCU (89-65)

#10 Creighton def. #2 Iowa (64-62)

#10 South Dakota def. #2 Baylor (61-47)

Remaining Teams By Conference

Big Ten: 4

ACC: 4

Big 12: 2

Big East: 2

SEC: 2

Pac-12: 1

Other: South Dakota (Summit)

Full Women’s NCAA Tournament Bracket

Additional Storylines

ESPN: Women’s NCAA Tournament: Reseeding the Sweet 16

Washington Post: Mabrey’s 29 Points Help Notre Dame Roll Oklahoma by 44

MLive: Michigan’s Naz Hillmon Delivers All-American Performance in Final Home Game at Crisler Center as UM Return to Sweet 16

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NFL

Matty Ice Indy

Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images

Colts Acquire QB Matt Ryan From Falcons in Exchange for 3rd-Round Pick

After 14 years in Atlanta, Matt Ryan is on the move. The league’s third-oldest quarterback spent his entire career with the Falcons, leading the team to six playoff appearances and one Super Bowl — the blown 28-3 lead against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Ryan ranks eighth in all-time passing yards (59,735) and ninth in passing touchdowns (367). Now, he’ll become the Colts’ third quarterback in as many season, following Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz as the team attempts to get their Super Bowl-hungry roster over the hump. It’s no secret Indy saw what the Rams did last season by acquiring veteran QB Matthew Stafford, and they’ll hope to replicate that formula in 2022.

Trade Details

Colts Get: QB Matt Ryan

Falcons Get: 2022 3rd-Round Pick

Other NFL News

Saints Re-Sign QB Jameis Winston

Falcons Sign QB Marcus Mariota

Additional Storylines

SI: Matt Ryan’s Contract — Not As Bad As You Think for Colts

CBS Sports: Trade Grades: Colts Get Good Value With Latest QB Rental

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NHL

Trade Deadline: A Fleury of Deals

Photo: Bruce Kluckhohn / Getty Images

NHL Sees Numerous Deals Made in Final Hours of Trade Deadline Day

The NHL saw a flurry of deals come through on the final day of the trade deadline, and Fleury himself was the top ticket. The Minnesota Wild — in the midst of a three-game win streak and high postseason hopes — filled their biggest gap in net with the acquisition of Marc-Andre Fleury from the Blackhawks. The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner (best goaltender) was traded for the second time in a year after the Blackhawks got him from Vegas last offseason. The Wild also swung deals for Tyson Jost, Nicolas Deslauriers and Jacob Middleton all in the last week. Minnesota has made the playoffs eight times in the last nine seasons but they haven’t gotten out of the first round in the last six years. Wild fans hope that changes.

Other NHL Trades

Rickard Rakell (Penguins): Penguins acquire forward Rickard Rakell from Ducks in exchange for forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon and a 2nd-round pick.

Max Domi (Hurricanes): A three-team trade between Carolina, Columbus and Florida landed center Max Domi with the Hurricanes. The Blue Jackets and Panthers gained prospects and picks.

Artturi Lehkonen (Avalanche): Colorado acquired Canadiens’ winger Artturi Lehkonen to bolster their offense just before the deadline. In return, Montreal received a defensive prospect and a 2nd-round pick.

Rangers Add 3 Players: The Rangers were busy at the trade deadline. New York swung deals for Andrew Copp (Jets), Justin Braun (Flyers) Tyler Motte (Canucks) by giving away five draft picks.

Full NHL Trade Deadline Tracker

Additional Storylines

FTW: Fleury Trade: Who Won the Deal Between the Blackhawks and Wild?

Yahoo!: Rangers Get Deeper With Acquisitions of Copp, Motte at Trade Deadline Buzzer

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THE STORYLINES

Mikaela Shiffrin Quiets the Doubts

Her latest overall title, the fourth for those keeping track, is just what Mikaela Shiffrin needed to settle the doubts. Not those of the critics and the trolls ready to write her off after her struggles at the Beijing Olympics. Her own. (USA Today)

NCAA 2nd-Round Winners & Losers

The Peacocks are here to stay. The defending champs are going home. And the most outrageous sequence in NCAA tournament history is ready to be parsed. Let’s break it all down and look at the winners and losers in Round 2 of March Madness. (The Ringer)

Updated MLB Free-Agency Big Board

MLB free agency has been a flurry of activity in the days since the 99-day lockout ended, and after a week that saw some of the biggest names make their decisions, now is a good time to take inventory of who is left on the market. (Bleacher Report)

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THE HEADLINES