New Star, Rematch & TGL’s Moment

02/18/2025

By: Jeff Yoder

Good Morning!

You want to talk about a sneaky Monday in sports news? I had all the space carved out for today’s feature piece (still do), but hockey and the TGL are having a moment in the post-NFL sports window. The transition from Super Bowl to March Madness has been hijacked. I follow the energy, team. Yesterday brought it in places I didn’t expect.

In Today’s Edition

Vandy’s Mikayla Blakes Has Arrived

The Hockey Rematch We All Want

TGL Might Have Changed Golf Forever

Letter Rip!

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NCAA

‘Dores Open: Here Comes Mikayla

*Photo: Vanderbilt Athletics / Getty Images*

Vanderbilt’s Freshman Phenom Mikayla Blakes Put Up 50+ Twice — Time for an Introduction

One of my favorite aspects of writing The Sportsletter is getting to serve as a documentarian — a daily scribe of sports history as each season unfolds. Sometimes, this job is a copy-paste of the usual suspects; Aaron Rodgers, LeBron James. You know? The biggest oranges produce the most juice per squeeze. Sometimes, there’s an athlete feature I never saw coming. Small-market and mid-major teams all over the country rarely get the national TV publicity they deserve. Their players, too.

Middle-of-the-road Vanderbilt women’s basketball wasn’t on my radar until two weeks ago. Now, this fiery guard has the nation’s attention. A star was born, twice. And it’s not even March.

The ‘Dores Open: Introducing Mikayla Blakes

On January 30, Vanderbilt freshman Mikayla Blakes scored 53 points in the Commodores’ win over Florida. Hello! But wait. Two weeks later (Feb. 16), Blakes put up 55 in an overtime win against Auburn — 55 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals. This isn’t normal.

For reference, Caitlin Clark’s career-high at Iowa was 49 points.

The No. 8 high school player out of New Jersey in 2024, Blakes is Vandy’s highest-ranked basketball recruit ever, men or women. The beginning of her freshman campaign was solid, but nothing like this. Her first 30-point game didn’t come until Jan. 2. She completely skipped over 40, notching two 30-plus games before two 50-plus games, all in the last 45 days. Basically, she’s streaky. Once the door is open, a few in a row turns Mikayla to machine. She notched 30 of Vandy’s last 37 points in the 4th quarter and OT on Sunday with a massive comeback from 13 points down.

That performance also broke the Division I freshman women’s scoring record (her own from 16 days earlier). She ranks sixth nationally in scoring, and she just turned 19. Vandy (19-7) hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament in nine years, but they should be a lock. I’d hate to be the team that draws Mikayla Buckets next month. Streaky Guards = Bracket-Busters

HIGHLIGHTS

NCAA Basketball

W: #1 Notre Dame def. #11 Duke (64-49)

M: #3 Duke def. Virginia (80-62)

POLLS

NCAA AP Polls

Men: Auburn Retains No. 1 After Win Over #2 Alabama

Men’s AP Poll

1. Auburn (23-2) | —

2. Florida (22-3) | ↑1

3. Duke (22-3) | —

4. Alabama (21-4) | ↓2

5. Houston (21-4) | ↑1

6. Tennessee (21-5) | ↓1

7. Texas A&M (20-5) | ↑1

8. Iowa State (20-5) | ↑2

9. Texas Tech (20-5) | ↑3

10. St. John’s (22-4) | ↓1

Women: Irish Top the Poll for 1st Time Since 2019

Women’s AP Poll

1. Notre Dame (22-2) | ↑1

2. Texas (26-2) | ↑1

3. UCLA (24-1) | ↓2

4. USC (23-2) | ↑2

5. UConn (24-3) | ↑2

6. South Carolina (23-3) | ↓2

7. LSU (25-2) | ↓2

8. Ohio State (21-3) | ↑1

9. North Carolina (23-4) | ↑3

10. TCU (24-3) | ↑1

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NHL

4 Nations: Rematch Anyone?

Canada Beats Finland (5-3) to Set Up 4 Nations Finals Rematch With USA (Thurs. 8:00 pm ET, ESPN)

Round 2 coming up! Saturday night’s thrilling USA-Canada 4 Nations fight night will get an encore this Thursday. The Canadians beat Finland (5-3) yesterday afternoon to book their spot in the final against the U.S. It was 4-0 in 25 minutes after Connor McDavid (1), Brayden Point (1) and Nathan MacKinnon (2) lit a lamp quartet. Finland rallied with three straight goals before Sidney Crosby slammed the door. In the nightcap, the USA — with a spot in the finals already secured — skated easy in a 2-1 loss to Sweden.

No matter. Mark your calendar. It’s USA-Canada on Thursday night (8pm ET, ESPN) for a rematch of the game that produced all-world hockey and three fights last weekend with nearly 5 million viewers. Yes, please.

4 Nations Highlights

Canada def. Finland (5-3)

Sweden def. USA (2-1)

NHL 4 Nations Final

Canada at USA (Thurs. 8:00 pm ET, ESPN)

NHL: U.S., Canada Gearing Up for Intense Rematch in 4 Nations Face-Off Final

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GOLF

Have A Moment, TGL!

Hole-Outs, Hammer Drama & Walk-Off Putts — A Triple-Header Just Solidified the TGL’s Place in Sports

You can put TGL Monday night triple-headers under the category of “things I didn’t know I needed.” The first month of Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy’s indoor golf simulator league featured a lot of blowouts while they worked out the kinks, but what I saw last night had me asking: “Can this really catch on?” Each of the three matches came down to the final hole. With competition flourishing, I saw moments that filled a sports void on a wintery Monday afternoon without much else. The TGL is here to stay.

TGL 3-Pack in 20 Seconds

Ludvig Aberg piped the longest drive (360 yards) in TGL history (only a few weeks of history, albeit). We saw clutch hole-outs from Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood. There were overtimes, shouting, celebrities, drama with “The Hammer” (2-point holes) and excitement I was not prepared for. Wyndham Clark won the night with a walk-off putt for The Bay Golf Club, who went 2-0 on the day and lead the league with an undefeated record.

Have a moment, TGL! If you haven’t watched the action yet, you can catch Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links squad tonight (7:00 pm ET, ESPN).

TGL Triple-Header

The Bay def. Boston Common (5-4)

The Bay def. Atlanta Drive (6-5)

Atlanta Drive def. LA Golf Club (6-5)

Best of the TGL Tripleheader

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STORYLINES

USA vs. The World?

In the ongoing search for the right NBA All-Star format, there was plenty of talk this weekend in San Francisco about an idea that has picked up some momentum in recent years: The U.S. on one side, the world on the other side. (ESPN)

MLB’s Top 10 Offenses

Can anyone out-hit the Dodgers? Did you know the Diamondbacks led the majors in runs scored last season? How will baseball’s best offenses shake out this year? Here are the top 10 offenses in MLB for the 2025 season. (CBS Sports)

NASCAR’s Crash Culture

It’s becoming clearer and clearer that NASCAR is completely fine with its most prestigious race being defined by crashes and those who avoid them. William Byron became a two-time Daytona 500 winner Sunday by an act of avoidance. (Yahoo! Sports)

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NEWS

Mike Trout Changing Positions to Right Field for Angels (B/R)

Aaron Rodgers Tells Jets He Intends to Play in 2025 (CBS Sports)

Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton Hasn’t Swung Bat in 3-4 Weeks Due to Tendinitis (ESPN)

Draymond Green Claims Warriors Offered Him Head Coaching Job When He Retires (SI)

FC Cincinnati Shock MLS With Signing of Brazilian Star Evander for Record $12 Million Fee (Yahoo! Sports)

SS Geraldo Perdomo & Diamondbacks Agree to 4-Year, $45 Million Extension (ESPN)

5-Star Receiver Jaxx DeJean, Younger Brother of Eagles DB Cooper DeJean, Gets Offer From Michigan (FOX Sports)

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SCHEDULE

Tonight’s Must-Watch List