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🚨 Headlines
⚾️ Black gets the boot: The Rockies fired manager Bud Black on Sunday amid an atrocious 7-33 start to the season (and one day after an embarrassing 21-0 loss at home). Third base coach Warren Schaeffer will take over on an interim basis.
⚽️ Barça sweep Madrid: Barcelona beat Real Madrid, 4-3, in Sunday’s thrilling El Clásico to complete the season sweep (4-0) over their bitter rivals and take a seven-point lead atop La Liga, all but locking up their 28th league title.
🏈 Carr retires: Saints QB Derek Carr is retiring at age 34 due to a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Rookie Tyler Shough is now the frontrunner to start Week 1, though second-year QB Spencer Rattler could challenge him for the job.
🥎 The field is set: The 64-team bracket for the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament was revealed on Sunday. The biggest winner? The SEC, which will send a record 14 teams to the tournament, including seven of the top eight national seeds.
⚾️ Mother’s Day to remember: Mary Jung threw out the first pitch at Comerica Park on Sunday before watching her two sons, Josh (Rangers) and Jace (Tigers), play against each other. To make the day even better, Josh hit a two-run homer for mom.
✝️ A pope from the South Side
For centuries, the papacy has carried an aura of majesty and mystery — an ancient office cloaked in solemn tradition, a holy figure who was more symbol than human. Now? The pope’s name is Bob. He’s from the South Side of Chicago. And he loves the White Sox.
Welcome to the era of Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost), the first American pontiff and perhaps the most relatable spiritual leader in modern history. He plays Wordle. He was a math major at Villanova. He’s also a lifelong Chicago sports fan, which instantly sent his relatability score through the roof.
What we’ve learned so far:
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Within hours of his election, Chicago was debating Prevost’s baseball allegiance. The Cubs proudly claimed him following a report that he was a North Siders fan, but the pope’s brother shot that down, confirming his affinity for the Sox.
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Right around that time, a photo surfaced of Prevost donning White Sox gear at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series alongside friends. He even made a brief appearance on the broadcast.
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The pope is also a hoophead: One longtime friend said they used to watch Bulls games together and discuss Villanova basketball, and old tweets showed Prevost cheering on the Wildcats.
As word of Leo’s sports fandom spread, it became a cultural phenomenon, birthing a million memes and his own signature Topps card. His election even moved betting markets: In the 24 hours after Prevost was elected, Villanova had the most bets to win the 2026 men’s basketball title and received more action than all other teams combined.
What they’re saying: “In Chicago, we’re so obsessed. We want to know everything about the Pope. Is he gonna bless the Bears?” ESPN’s Michael Wilbon wondered aloud on Friday. “Forget the Bears! The Bulls on Monday in the lottery,” responded Brian Windhorst, suggesting that a true miracle would be Chicago defying the odds in tonight’s NBA draft lottery (which is being held in Chicago) and winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
The big picture: Leo isn’t the first pope with a sports connection — John Paul II (1978-2005) was an avid athlete and Francis (2013-25) was passionate about soccer — but Prevost’s fandom is uniquely accessible, and it makes the whole institution feel a little more human. Because if the pope’s just a Sox fan from the suburbs… maybe holiness isn’t so far away after all.
🏒 NHL playoffs: Where it stands
The Maple Leafs, Capitals, Jets and Golden Knights entered the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the higher-seeded teams. None of them currently lead their respective series.
East
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Maple Leafs 2, Panthers 2: Toronto won both games at home, then Florida returned the favor, setting up a pivotal Game 5 this week in Canada.
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Hurricanes 2, Capitals 1: Carolina has scored seven goals in this series, and they’ve come from seven different players. How’s that for scoring depth?
West
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Stars 2, Jets 1: Dallas cruised to a 5-2 victory on Sunday behind playoff points leader Mikko Rantanen, who recorded his fifth 3-point outing in his past six games.
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Oilers 2, Golden Knights 1: Reilly Smith scored the game-winner with 0.4 seconds left* to lift Vegas to victory in Saturday’s must-win Game 3.
*Smith’s buzzer-beater (with some help from Leon Draisaitl’s stick) was the third-latest regulation game-winning goal in NHL postseason history, behind only Nazem Kadri’s game-winner in 2010 (0.1 seconds left) and Jussi Jokinen’s in 2009 (0.2 seconds left).
🏀 NBA playoffs: In photos
Indianapolis — The Pacers tied the NBA playoff record for largest halftime lead (41 points) en route to a 129-109 victory and a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Cavaliers. More bad news for Cleveland: Donovan Mitchell exited with an ankle injury.
San Francisco — Anthony Edwards came alive in the second half, Julius Randle posted his first career playoff triple-double and the Timberwolves beat the Warriors, 102-97, on Saturday to seize a 2-1 series advantage.
New York — The Celtics built a 20-point lead over the Knicks on Saturday for the third game in a row. The difference this time? They didn’t blow it, cruising to a 115-93 win to quiet the Madison Square Garden crowd and avoid falling in a 3-0 hole.
Denver — MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was all smiles on Sunday after the Thunder beat the Nuggets, 92-87, to even the series at two games apiece. Game 5 is tomorrow night in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder are 39-7 (.848) this season.
🏒 The magic of mustard packets
Montreal’s playoff victory over Ottawa on Sunday broke the record for the longest PWHL game ever. To fend off dehydration during the 135-minute, four-overtime marathon, players used a hack more common than you might realize: mustard packets.
Why mustard? The salty condiment provides a quick way to replenish electrolytes and prevent cramping. Pickle juice does the trick, too, and that was also on the bench during Sunday’s game.
📺 Watchlist: NBA Draft Lottery
The NBA draft lottery is tonight in Chicago(7pm, ET, ESPN), where the 14 teams who didn’t make the playoffs will learn where they’ll be selecting* in next month’s draft.
Capture the Flagg: The Jazz, Wizards and Hornets have the best shot (14%) at landing the No. 1 pick and winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, followed by the Pelicans (12.5%), 76ers (10.5%), Nets (9%) and Raptors (7.5%).
More to watch:
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🏀 NBA: Celtics (1-2) at Knicks (7:30pm, ESPN); Timberwolves (2-1) at Warriors (10pm, ESPN)
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🏒 NHL: Capitals (1-2) at Hurricanes (7pm, TNT); Golden Knights (1-2) at Oilers (9:30pm, TNT)
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🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (1pm, Tennis) … Men’s Round of 32, Women’s Round of 16.
*How it works: Only the first four picks are determined via lottery. The remaining 10 lottery teams will draft in reverse order of this year’s standings, followed by the 16 playoff teams.
⚾️ MLB trivia
Bud Black was MLB’s fifth-longest tenured active manager before he was fired on Sunday, having served as the Rockies skipper since November 7, 2016.
Question: Who are the four active MLB managers hired before Black?
Hint: Two NL West, one NL East, one AL East.
Answer at the bottom.
🏒 The NHL quarter-century team
The NHL Quarter-Century Team was finalized on Sunday, with six goalies completing the 25-man roster voted on by fans.
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Debuted Before 2000: Zdeno Chara, Jarome Iginla, Nicklas Lidstrom, Joe Sakic, Teemu Selanne, Joe Thornton
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Debuted Between 2000-10: Patrice Bergeron, Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, Patrick Kane, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos
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Debuted After 2010: Leon Draisaitl, Johnny Gaudreau, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid
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Goalies: Martin Brodeur, Marc-Andre Fleury, Henrik Lundqvist, Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, Patrick Roy
Methodology: The Quarter-Century Team was selected via Fan Vote from Feb. 12-April 1, which followed the reveal of all 32 NHL clubs’ first and second teams. The six players named to each club’s First Team were eligible for selection in the Fan Vote.
Editor’s note: You may have noticed that Baker’s Dozen (Top 13 Plays of the Weekend) was missing from the past two Monday editions. Fear not: It will return permanently next week — with some upgrades.
Trivia answer: Rays manager Kevin Cash (since 2014), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (2015), Braves manager Brian Snitker (May 2016), Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (Nov. 4, 2016)
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