Twins Are Back at Target Field — Plus the 19-Year-Old MLB Phenom Everyone's Talking About
Minnesota Teams
Twins Home Opener 🎉 After 194 days away, baseball is back at Target Field! The Minnesota Twins open their home season on Friday, and the festivities are already underway with a Breakfast on the Plaza event. If you're heading out, check ahead for what to know before you go — it's a great excuse to shake off the winter cobwebs.
Timberwolves The Wolves hosted the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. CBS Sports' predictive model had Minnesota favored — not surprising given that Detroit has been one of the weaker teams in the league this season.
Wild Great news for Minnesota hockey fans: the Wild were among the teams with a chance to clinch a playoff spot on Thursday. Buffalo, Carolina, and Minnesota all had the opportunity to punch their postseason tickets in a busy 14-game NHL slate. Keep an eye out for confirmation they're in!
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NFL
Stephon Gilmore Retires One of the best cornerbacks of his generation, Stephon Gilmore, has officially hung up his cleats. The former New England Patriots star won a Super Bowl, made five Pro Bowls, and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 — he was basically the guy receivers dreaded matching up against.
NFL Draft is Coming The 2026 NFL Draft is about three weeks away, and the buzz is building. One of the most interesting storylines: safety Caleb Downs might get drafted in the top 10, which is almost unheard of for his position — only eight safeties have gone that high since 2000.
Josh Allen + Hailee Steinfeld Have a Baby Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and actress Hailee Steinfeld (you might know her from Hawkeye or Pitch Perfect 2) welcomed their first child, a daughter. The couple hasn't shared the name or birth date yet, but congrats all around!
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NBA
Anthony Edwards Rule Drama This one's a little frustrating if you're a Timberwolves fan. Ant Edwards — one of the most exciting players in the league — has become ineligible for All-NBA honors this season because he didn't play in enough games (the league requires 65). Missing All-NBA isn't just a pride thing; it can affect max contract eligibility, so this has real money implications.
Clippers Investigation The NBA is investigating the Los Angeles Clippers over superstar Kawhi Leonard's contract situation. The details are murky, but the short version is: the league is looking into whether Leonard's deal contained unusual terms that may have violated rules. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is involved in the scrutiny.
Portland Blazers Punished The Portland Trail Blazers were fined and had front office members suspended for having early contact with a player before they were eligible to do so — essentially recruiting a prospect too soon. It's against league rules, and Portland got caught.
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MLB
Konnor Griffin is Here The biggest baseball story of the day: the Pittsburgh Pirates are calling up 19-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin, the #1 prospect in all of baseball, for his MLB debut. He didn't even win the starting job out of spring training, but the Pirates are bringing him up just days into the season anyway — that's how good he's supposed to be. Compare it to when Paul Skenes or Shohei Ohtani debuted: massive hype, must-watch stuff.
Randy Johnson's Bird Pitch Turns 25 A fun anniversary story: 25 years ago, pitcher Randy Johnson accidentally hit and exploded a bird mid-pitch during a spring training game. It became one of baseball's first viral moments, and people who were there are sharing their memories. Truly one of those "you had to see it" sports moments.
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NHL
Playoff Picture Heating Up With fewer than 10 games left in the regular season for all teams, the playoff race is intense. The Philadelphia Flyers need a win Friday and some help from other results just to stay alive. Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes have had a standout season, partly thanks to goalie Brandon Bussi — a 27-year-old who's having a record-breaking debut year and dedicates much of his focus to his brother, who has autism. It's a genuinely lovely story worth a read.
Power Rankings Reshuffling ESPN released updated NHL power rankings this week. The key theme: every remaining game matters enormously for seeding and playoff matchups.
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College Sports
Women's Final Four is Set — All Top Seeds! In a rare feat, all four #1 seeds made it to the Women's Final Four in Phoenix. The matchups are UConn vs. South Carolina and UCLA vs. Texas — basically a murderers' row of college basketball's best programs. If you want to tune in for one college hoops game this year, this weekend's Final Four is it.
Cameron Boozer is the Man Duke freshman Cameron Boozer (yes, son of former NBA player Carlos Boozer) swept the major CBS Sports college basketball awards, winning both Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. He was a unanimous first-team All-American selection — a genuinely special debut season.
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Other Sports
Phil Mickelson Out of the Masters Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson announced he won't play in the 2026 Masters due to a personal health matter. This is only the second time since 1995 he won't tee it up at Augusta — a notable absence for one of golf's biggest events, which starts next week.
Women's Masters Adjacent Event At the Augusta National Women's Amateur (played on the same famous course as the Masters), a golfer with perhaps the best name in sports — Asterisk Talley — jumped to the lead after Round 2. The final round is Saturday at Augusta National itself.
Kentucky Derby Prep With about four weeks until the Kentucky Derby (the most famous horse race in America, held the first Saturday in May), the field of contenders is starting to take shape. No clear favorite has emerged yet, but the prep races this weekend should give us a better picture.