🔥 Gloves are off

MLB fight night and Masters mayhem

Happy Friday. Since the NBA has no interest in fixing its tanking problem, fans have started to float their own theories on how to put an end to it. One Reddit user's proposal went viral for good reason: It could actually work. 

The idea is to raise or lower beer prices at each team's stadiums based on their wins and losses. All beers start the season at $10 across the NBA. For every win, teams can raise prices by $0.35, but for every loss, they have to drop them by $0.20. With some teams raking in $500,000 per home game just from beers, they might think twice about throwing games (or entire seasons).

As much as I love the idea, I can’t imagine the debauchery that would take place in Washington if the Wizards were forced to pay their fans 10 cents per beer they drank. There would be a streaker on the court every 40 seconds. 

In today’s letter:

  • A brawl in Braves country

  • Buffalo ends its playoff drought

  • A tennis court meltdown for the ages

⛳️ The Masters is officially underway. Golf’s biggest tournament kicked off yesterday, and so did our four-day marathon to see how much time we can spend on our couch watching dudes hit golf balls (over/unders set at 16.5 hours). 

  • The highlights (and lowlights) from day one included Bryson DeChambeau flubbing back-to-back bunker shots for a triple bogey, 66-year-old Fred Couples outplaying every single LIV player, and Max Homa hitting a tee shot directly into a spectator's beer.

  • Bryson, being the weirdo he is, apparently 3D-printed a new 5-iron just for the tournament. Doesn’t look like it did the trick. 

🥊 There was an actual MLB brawl this week. Most of the time, baseball fights are just a bunch of guys pushing and shoving, yapping about how badly they’re gonna beat each other up (and then never do). This Braves-Angels brawl this week was not that. We got an old-school mound charge, haymakers getting thrown, and a perfectly executed form tackle by the Braves' 62-year-old manager, Walt Weiss. 

  • This Jomboy breakdown sums up the whole saga perfectly.

🏒 The longest playoff drought in NHL history is officially over. The Buffalo Sabres punched their ticket to the playoffs, ending a record-breaking 14-year playoff drought. The last time the Sabres found themselves in a playoff game, the team’s current captain, Rasmus Dahlin, was 11 years old. If they get some Bills mafia-level tailgates going for that series, the Sabres could make a run.  

🤬 Blue Jays manager John Schneider gave us an all-time ejection this week. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a manager red in the face, going nose-to-nose with an umpire (if it wasn’t for all the yelling, you’d think they were about to kiss). 

  • The ejection was technically over a bad balk call, but after the Jays lost 5 of 6 games to the Rockies and White Sox, this tirade felt like it may as well have been directed at his own players.

🏀 Cooper Flagg became the first-ever teenager to drop a 50-point game. It was against the Orlando Magic, but still. Now imagine if Flagg had an MVP-level player to team up with (I don’t know, like a Luka Doncic type). That would be scary. 

🎾 It’s not every day you see a tennis player throw their racket six times, but when you’re about to lose 6-0, 6-0 for the first time in your career, it’s fair to take out some frustration. What world No. 10 Daniil Medvedev did in Monte Carlo this week felt more like a temper tantrum than healthy venting, but you’ve gotta respect his commitment to sending his racket to the grave.

⚾️ Jo Adell somehow robbed three home runs in a single game. It’s hard to put into words how impossible this felt. He not only made three home run-robbing catches, but the Angels ended up winning the game 1-0. Jo Adell quite literally won the game single-handedly. This would be like a cornerback in football having three pick-sixes in a game that his team won 21-14. 

🤯 Connor McDavid gave us our weekly reminder that he’s one of the best athletes in the world. The Oilers captain decided he didn’t really need the rest of his team this week, putting up 5 points and a hat trick in just two periods on Wednesday night. He’s made NHL players look like beer leaguers his whole career. This end-to-end goal is Exhibit A.  

We’ve got MLB, NBA, and NHL action in this week’s Pick Six. As always, we’re putting $50 gift cards up for grabs for the winners. Once you’re locked in your picks, take a run at the trivia games.

Alright, that’s enough for one Friday.

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