There's finally hope for the Commanders, plus previewing the NBA and NHL playoffs

USA Today

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It's a new day for one of the NFL's historic franchises tarnished by its recent past. Commanders owner Dan Snyder has reached a preliminary, nonexclusive deal to sell the team for $6 billion to Josh Harris and his group of buyers.

It's the largest American sports franchise sale ever, surpassing the Broncos' $4.65 billion price tag last offseason.
The deal still needs to be signed and finalized and, eventually, agreed to by three-quarters of the NFL owners. That could happen as soon as the spring meetings in May, reports our Jonathan Jones.
Harris also owns the NBA's 76ers, the NHL's Devils and the Premier League's Crystal Palace.

It's hard to understate how big of a deal this is. Snyder bought the Commanders in 1999 for $800 million and proceeded to run a once-proud organization into the ground.

The team has as many playoff wins as name changes (two) under Snyder, who grew up a fan of the team. Only the Browns and Lions have fewer postseason wins over that span.
Snyder often intervened in the team's operations, which led to splashy but unproductive player acquisitions and coach hirings. Former coach Jay Gruden said Snyder "would come in off his yacht and make the pick" during the NFL Draft, overruling the team's personnel department.

The team's failures on the field, though, pale in comparison to the off-field issues, which range from embarrassing to damning to horrifying. Here are some recent controversies:

The team is still under investigation from the NFL for allegations against Snyder, and the FBI and IRS are also investigating alleged financial improprieties.
In July 2020, 15 women alleged sexual harassment during their time with the team. More women came forward later. The team was fined $10 million. The results of the report were not made public, a controversial decision.
Snyder allegedly interfered with that investigation and tried to bribe a woman who accused him of sexual misconduct (from a 2009 incident) to not talk to investigator Beth Wilkinson. The team paid the accuser, a female former employee, $1.6 million in a 2020 settlement.
He has reportedly defied previous punishment from the league and attempted to dig up "dirt" on other owners.

Long story short, the Commanders went from flagship franchise to laughingstock under Snyder. It will take a while to get things on track, but this is a necessary step forward.

Honorable mentions

Adama Sanogo is headed to the NBA.
Mike Brown won NBCA Coach of the Year.
Here are the prospects attending the NFL Draft.

Not so honorable mentions

Rory McIlroy is losing $3 million by withdrawing from RBC Heritage.

NBA playoff field is nearly finalized 🏀

NBA: Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder — USATSI

Tomorrow, we begin the wonderful, exhilarating ride that is the NBA playoffs. Fourteen of the 16 seeds are locked in, and the 8 seeds in each conference will join them tonight.

Here are the matchups:

Bulls at Heat
Thunder at Timberwolves (Minnesota has injury issues)

No one was a bigger winner Thursday than the Warriors, though: Andrew Wiggins is back and will be available for tomorrow's Game 1 against the Kings.

Wiggins has not played since Feb. 13 while dealing with a family matter.
He averaged 17.1 points this season while shooting a career-high 39.6% from 3.
Wiggins will likely come off the bench and play 20-25 minutes in Game 1, per reports.

I wrote about Wiggins' potential return last week, but here's how important he is: The Stephen Curry/Klay Thompson/Wiggins/Draymond Green/Kevon Looney lineup has a +21.9 net rating, by far the best of any NBA lineup that's played at least 300 minutes this season.

Speaking of lineups, our Sam Quinn took a look at the six most important lineups in the Western Conference. For the 1 seed Nuggets, it could come down to their bench.

Quinn: "The Nuggets don't need to win these minutes. They need to survive them. There are a number of ways to do that, but this group will hopefully do so through hustle and Jamal Murray's individual brilliance. That can't carry them for 40 minutes. It can keep them afloat for four or five at a time."

I also really loved James Herbert's feature on a member of the Grizzlies bench, John Konchar.

In the East, Joel Embiid and James Harden have a ton of pressure to perform, writes our Michael Kaskey-Blomain.

With a wide-open West and three dominant teams in the East, this postseason will be awesome. Be sure to keep up with expert predictions, analysis and more here. In the meantime, here's the playoff schedule.

Stanley Cup Playoffs preview: Can anyone in the East beat the Bruins? 🏒

New York Rangers v Boston Bruins — Getty Images

After 30 of the 32 teams were in action Thursday and just two games tonight, the matchups for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are nearly set.

All season long, everyone has been looking up at the record-setting Bruins. Is there anyone in the East who can stop Boston? Our Chris Bengel took a look at three teams with the best chance to do so, including...

Bengel: "Maple Leafs -- You all know the story, but it has to be repeated here: yes, it's been the same song and dance when it comes to the Maple Leafs over the past several seasons. If they actually -- finally -- can make it out of the first round, anything is possible. ... Ryan O'Reilly has a boatload of postseason experience and even won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. ... If Auston Matthews and company can produce offensively and Toronto gets solid goaltending, they certainly have a decent chance to take down their Atlantic Division rivals."

Easier said than done, of course, but the postseason is often an entirely different animal, full of surprises. It all starts Monday.

Rays tie MLB record with 13-0 start but Springs leaves with injury ⚾

The Rays tied the 1987 Brewers and 1982 Braves for the modern MLB record with their 13th consecutive wins to open the season, but they paid a major price for it.

Starter Jeffrey Springs left the game in the fourth inning of an eventual 9-3 win over the Red Sox and was diagnosed with left ulnar neuritis.

The hope for Springs is that it's just irritation of the ulnar nerve and nothing more. The ulnar collateral ligament is what is reconstructed during Tommy John surgery, so it's a concerning area to have issues with.
Springs will undergo more testing today. After a breakout 2022 season, he has been even better early this season: 2-0 record with an 0.56 ERA, 24 strikeouts and just four walks in 16 innings pitched.
The Rays used a seven-run fifth inning to surge past Boston for the series sweep. Harold Ramirez -- who led off the inning with a double and later scored -- had a three-run double to bust things open. He's the first Rays player with multiple doubles in one inning since 2011.

The Rays' 13-game winning streak is longest in franchise history, and they're not scraping by in nail-biters. They've outscored opponents 101-30 (+71 run differential). For reference, the 1987 Brewers were +38 through 13 games, and the 1982 Braves were +32. Here's everything to know about Tampa Bay's incredible start.

Elsewhere in baseball...