For the second consecutive weekend Captain Marvel was #1 at the weekend box office and has grossed over $760 million worldwide in just 12 days. Not a bad two weeks for Marvel and Disney.
Even hard-core movie goers will be shifting focus from the big screen to the little screen as college basketball’s March Madness begins.
TINK Sports Big-3
Here are three things you need to know:
1) The best tournament in sports, NCAA March Madness, starts Tuesday night
2) The NBA season is almost over and the Milwaukee Bucks have the league’s best record
3) The NFL’s version of musical chairs (aka free agency) is making fans nationwide cheer and cry
College Basketball
Stop. Bracket Time! The next few days tens of millions of fans will be filling out “brackets” trying to predict who will win the 2019 NCAA Men’s basketball tournament. “March Madness”, as it is affectionately called, is a 68-team, single elimination tournament that culminates with the crowing of the Division I men’s college basketball national champion on Monday, April 8.
Duke is the #1 overall seed and their 6’7” 280-pound freshman phenom Zion Williamson is the most intriguing college basketball player in a long time.
Source: Yahoo Sports
The top seeds are:
| East | South | Midwest | West |
| #1 Duke | #1 Virginia | #1 North Carolina | # 1 Gonzaga |
| #2 Michigan St. | #2 Tennessee | #2 Kentucky | #2 Michigan |
| #3 LSU | #3 Purdue | #3 Houston | #3 Texas Tech |
| #4 Virginia Tech | #4 Kansas St. | #4 Kansas | #4 Florida St. |
Think March Madness isn’t a big deal? Think again…
1) Roughly 100 million fans will watch the games, according to Forbes
2) An estimated $10 billion will be wagered on the tournament, according to the American Gaming Association
3) Nielsen predicted that 73 million people filled out 170 million brackets last year
A few more interesting facts:
4) The ACC conference has three of the four #1 Seeds (Duke, Virginia and North Carolina), a feat that has only happened once before
5) The Big 10 conference (which actually has 14 members) placed a league-record eight teams into the tournament, topping all conferences
6) Felling lucky? There is a 1 in 9.2 quintillion (a big big number) chance that someone correctly predicts the winner of every game. Has never happened of course.
National Football League (NFL)
The league’s annual game of musical chairs kicked off last week. Some major free agent moves that will shape the fate of teams and the mood of their fans this Fall, include:
Source: Def Pen
Le’Veon Bell to the New York Jets. Regarded as one of the top running backs in the league, Bell sat out the 2018 season seeking long term stability and forgoing his $14 million salary. He ended up with a four-year, $52 million contract (with $25 million fully guaranteed).
Earl Thomas to the Baltimore Ravens. As a veteran star of the Seattle Seahawks but without a long-term contract, Thomas held out and skipped practice last season, only playing in games. He got injured in the team’s fourth game and missed the rest of the season. Thomas did cash in, however, to the tune of a four-year, $55 million contract with Baltimore.
Nick Foles to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Foles came off the bench to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl win in 2017 and then saved the team once more in 2018 guiding them to the playoffs after their starting QB got injured again. So why isn’t he the starter in Philly? That job is reserved for Prince Harry look alike, Carson Wentz.
Anthony Barr stays with the Minnesota Vikings. Ever get cold feet? That’s what happened to Barr who came to terms on a deal with the New York Jets only to renege after a sleepless night and return to the Vikings.
Going out on top…Literally.
Source: Twitter / Haloti Ngata
Meet Haloti Ngata – the 6’4” 340-pound defensive tackle last played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. The five-time Pro Bowler who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in the 2012 season, announced his retirement Monday, where else…at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. #GoBig
National Basketball Association (NBA)
With just a few weeks left in the regular season NBA fans have the playoffs squarely on their minds. Here’s a look at the top four teams:
Eastern Conference
Milwaukee Bucks – to many people’s surprise the Bucks have the league’s best record. Their leader is Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 24-year old “Greek Freak” and MVP front runner.
Source: Slate
Toronto Raptors – Toronto is led by Kawhi Leonard who was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs in the summer and will be a free agent at the end of this season.
Western Conference
Golden State Warriors – the two-time defending champions (and winners of three of the last four titles) have battled injury and in-fighting but are still the prohibitive favorite to win it all again.
Denver Nuggets – Like the Bucks in the East, nobody expected the Nuggets would be this good. The Nuggets are led by 24-year old 7’0” Serbian star Nikola Jokic.
The NBA playoffs start April 13th.
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See you next time…
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