The Sport Superlatives - Issue No. 15

April 12, 2024

Do you love sports? Want to find a way to fit more sports into your week? We’ve got you. From keeping up with your work colleagues to impressing hot dates, our newsletter aims to keep you in the know regardless of your fandom level or the reason. That’s your business, sis!

🏆 The Superlatives 🏆

The Most Watched: NCAAW

There is no doubt that women have a massive impact on sports, and would you look… now it’s finally being noticed. Everyone is taking note of the 18.7M viewers the NCAAW national championship drew. The women on the South Carolina and Iowa basketball teams gave us an incredible tournament and game. With players like Angel, JuJu, Paige, Caitlin & Kamilla, it’s easy to understand why all eyes were on these ladies all season. We cannot wait to continue following these players throughout their careers, and we’re glad the television networks are finally letting us do just that.

The Least Attended: Oakland A’s

Oakland Athletics, also known as Oakland A’s, currently have the worst attendance record in the MLB. The team’s attendance for games this season averages about 6,438, in contrast to the LA Dodgers’ attendance average of 44,163 (which is pretty close to the total number of attendees at Oakland’s games this entire season since the season started). 

Oakland fans haven’t exactly been fanning since the owners began talks about relocating. Post-2020, the team felt the lack of local love with the sharp decline in attendance. Maybe their attendance numbers will go up after moving to Sacramento for the next three years while they continue to work on their plan to move to Vegas, where they hope to hit the jackpot. 

🏀 The Champ is Here: The South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 and took home the women’s trophy in a record-shattering game watched by 18.7 million people. According to Sophomore guard Raven Johnson, the Gamecocks completed an undefeated season and a revenge tour.

Some of y’all may not have watched the women’s tourney last year, but if you did, you might remember there’s a bit of history there. Raven was left open at the 3-point line and disrespectfully waved off by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark in their final-four defeat last year. To many, it seemed like Clark did not deem her a threat worth guarding, and Raven took that personally. We love a good lick back around here, and Coach Dawn Staley and her amazing team definitely got theirs. 

While the Hawkeyes came out swinging, the defense of Raven Johnson, combined with the scoring of Te-Hina Pau Pau, Tessa Johnson, and Kamilla Cardoso, was just too much for Iowa to handle. And let’s not forget the depth: South Carolina’s bench outscored Iowa’s 37-0.

And while many have said the REAL winner was women’s basketball, we think that sounds like an excuse not to acknowledge that there was an actual game-winner. So we’d like to say it loud and proud. Congrats to the REAL winners of the Women’s NCAA tournament: the South Carolina Gamecocks!

🏀 Winner’s Circle: Oh, y'all forgot the men played too? That’s right; the UConn Huskies defeated the Purdue Boilermakers (whatever that is) 75-60 in a less exciting, more sleep-inducing game on Monday night (whose idea was the 9 pm start time?) 

While the game was close at halftime, the Huskies pulled away in the second half to take home the trophy and win back-to-back titles. UConn was definitely favored to win, but there were still some people who thought the Boilermakers (again, what is that?) might have something to say about it. They must have been whispering because Zach Edey’s 37 points were not enough to win them a trophy, real or participatory. All in all, congrats to the UConn Men’s team!

⛳ Going After that Green…Jacket: The 88th edition of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club kicked off Thursday, April 11th. About 106 golfers received invitations to go down to Augusta, Georgia, with about 89 participants RSVP'ing yes. Guess the other 17 didn't like who all was going to be there (IYKYK).

We know what you're thinking. You've been working on your swing at Top Golf all year, so where is your invite? Here is how players qualify. You've got it next year! We believe in you. Here are a few of the Americans who did get an invite to the Masters that you should keep an eye on:

• Scottie Scheffler (No. 1)

• Brooks Koepka (No.33)

• Wyndham Clark (No.4)

• Tiger Woods (No. 959)

No, that’s not a typo. Tiger Woods is currently ranked at No. 959. But Tiger said don’t count him out yet, because he’s still coming for that number one spot. The 48-year-old reportedly said that he believes he has one more Masters in him. 

Tune into the Master’s this weekend on CBS and ESPN on Saturday from 3-5 pm ET, with coverage on Sunday starting an hour earlier at 2 pm ET.

🏈 You Think You Got It: Apparently, Tom Brady said having more rings than MJ is not enough…he also wants more retirement announcements. That’s right, folks; Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (what a mouthful…it’s giving Dumbledore vibes) has announced that he’s not against coming out of retirement again!

While making an appearance on Deepcut with Vicblends, Brady said he was “not opposed to it” when asked if he’d answer the hypothetical call. He also questioned whether the NFL would allow him to play and be an owner, but if they’re game, apparently, so is he. Now, Tom, don’t you think it’s time to get off the playground and let the kids have a go at the swings??? Go enjoy your family.

🎾 Oh She Got Moneyyy: Serena Williams went on TikTok to do a slight flex and let the girlies know that she’s not just a GOAT in tennis, but also one in investments. The tennis legend founded Serena Ventures back in 2014. Over the last ten years, Serena Ventures has funded 85 companies. Serena said she wanted to raise this fund after learning that women and minority founders receive less than 2% of all venture capital funds. 

@serena

My mission after tennis is investing in us! Women, people of color and diversity. But it did not start after tennis. It started during. I ... See more

Serena felt that not only could she help jumpstart change but that it would be a smart investment that yielded great results too… and yield it did. Reportedly, 14 of those 85 start-ups in the fund’s portfolio have reached unicorn status, meaning that they have reached a value of $1B or more. One of her most notable investments is MasterClass, currently valued at $2.75B. While most people think of her husband, Alexis Ohanian, as the tech and VC mogul in the family, it’s clear to us that we should all be taking a few lessons from the Mrs. 

🏀 Your sports term of the week is: Play-In Tournament 🏀

Since it’s coming up next week,  April 16-19, let’s get to the bottom of this “play-in tournament” the NBA keeps going on about. So, this little tourney is a pre-playoff tournament for the 7-10 seed teams in each conference to see who gets the final two spots in the NBA playoffs. 

How does it work? 

TL;DR: the 7 and 8 seeds only have to win one game to get in, and the 9 and 10 seeds have to win two games to secure a spot. 

The extended version: 7 plays 8, and whoever wins gets the 7 seed. Whoever loses has to play the winner of 9 vs. 10 and must win to get the 8 seed. Meanwhile, 9 plays 10, and whoever wins plays the loser of 7 vs. 8 and must win to get the 8 seed. Get it? Got it? Good.

Yep, In Their White Tee!

Who doesn’t love a crisp, classic white T-shirt? A few of our favs are showing us why this wardrobe staple is always a hit. 

Dwight Powell showed a relaxed & slightly risque (peep the amount of skin 👀)  with a scoop neck tee. 

Or what about the more tailored look that his Dallas Mavericks’ teammate Tim Hardaway Jr. rocked:

What’s your go-to for this classic? Pick this crew neck up on your next Target run!

Prefer a scoop neck instead? Express has a good option here:

If you’re into a men’s cut for your t-shirts, check out this article about The 11 Very Best White T-shirts for Men.

Share The Sport Superlatives with hardcore sports fans or anyone who just likes to keep a little sports knowledge on hand. See you next week!