It’s Number One Michigan against Number Two UConn — Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, tip-off set for eight-fifty Eastern on TBS.

The Wolverines got here in style, blowing out Arizona in the semis nine-one to seventy-three, with junior center Aday Mara going for a career-high twenty-six points. Michigan became the first team in tournament history to score ninety or more points five straight games — they have been absolutely on fire.

UConn is the battle-tested veteran on the other side — back in the title game for the third time in four years, after beating Illinois in the other semi. The Huskies are chasing back-to-back championships. Freshman Braylon Mullins has been a revelation, and Dan Hurley is building a dynasty in Storrs.

Michigan is a six-and-a-half-point favorite tonight, but UConn doesn’t care about spreads in April.

One game. One trophy. Tonight, in Indianapolis — it’s Michigan and UConn for all of it.

The radio pre-game coverage begins at 7:00pm EDT on WESB Sports, B107.5FM.

Pittsburgh hosted the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game home series at PNC Park, and the Bucs didn’t drop a single game. Friday, the Pirates edged Baltimore five-to-four. Saturday, another close one — Pittsburgh wins it three-to-two. And then Sunday, the Pirates put it all together and blew the doors off the Orioles, eight-to-two, to complete the sweep.

Three games, three wins. That’s how you open a homestand.

The pitching has been sharp, the offense has shown some teeth, and Pittsburgh looks like a team that means business early in this young season.

Now they don’t get any time to breathe — the San Diego Padres are already in town. Pittsburgh and San Diego get things started tonight at PNC Park, first pitch at five-forty. It’s the beginning of a three-game set, with games also Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Pirates are rolling right now — and tonight they’ll try to keep that momentum going against one of the National League’s tougher clubs.

It didn’t happen on the ice in Buffalo — it happened in New York, where the Rangers did the Sabres a big favor Saturday morning, knocking off the Detroit Red Wings four-to-one. That loss eliminated Detroit from the wild card race and officially punched Buffalo’s ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2011.

Fifteen years. That’s how long Sabres fans have been waiting for this moment — and it finally arrived.

Now the celebrating is over, because tonight Buffalo gets right back to work. The Sabres host the Tampa Bay Lightning at KeyBank Center, 6 o’clock puck drop. Tampa comes in as a slight favorite, but this is a Buffalo team that’s been playing with edge and energy down the stretch — and they’ll be riding a wave of emotion in front of their home crowd tonight.

The Sabres are in. The drought is done. And in Buffalo — it is a very good Monday.

Pittsburgh hosted the Florida Panthers for a back-to-back at PPG Paints Arena — and the Pens took care of business both nights. Saturday, they lit up the Panthers nine to four. Then Sunday, they kept the foot on the gas and won again, five to two, for the sweep.

That’s a huge two points — actually four points — coming at exactly the right time. The Penguins sit second in the Metropolitan Division with a 40 and 22 record, right in the thick of a crowded Eastern Conference playoff race. With the postseason approaching, every game from here on out carries serious weight.

Up next for Pittsburgh — they hit the road Thursday to face the New Jersey Devils, then come back home for a back-to-back against Washington on Saturday and Sunday. Crunch time is here, and right now the Pens are playing their best hockey of the stretch run.

Let’s start with Bonnies baseball, which hosted George Washington in an Atlantic 10 series at Handler Park. Bona came out swinging Thursday, blanking the Colonials eleven to nothing in a dominant series opener. Friday was a tough one — the Bonnies fell behind four-zip, rallied with a Manuel Castro three-run home run to make it close, but couldn’t push across the tying run and dropped game two, four to three. Then came Saturday’s rubber match — and the Bonnies delivered, taking the series finale five to three to claim the series win over GW and pick up another notch in the conference standings.

On the softball side, the Lady Bonnies hosted George Mason in a three-game A-10 series at Joyce Field. It was a tough Friday doubleheader — the Patriots shut out St. Bonaventure six-to-nothing in game one, then took game two six to two, using strong pitching and nineteen combined hits to sweep the twinbill and clinch the series before Saturday’s finale.

Baseball is back in action Tuesday at home against VCU, first pitch at three o’clock at Handler Park.

Let’s go Bonnies.

New York opened the homestand Friday at Yankee Stadium against the Miami Marlins and made it look easy, rolling to an eight to two win. Saturday was a different story — a wild, back-and-forth affair that saw the Yankees scratch out a nine to seven victory to go up two-nothing in the series. Two wins, plenty of offense, things were looking good in the Bronx.

Then came Sunday. The Marlins had other ideas, rallying to hand the Yankees a seven to six loss and steal the series finale. New York takes the series two games to one, but let the door open a little at the end.

The Yankees stay home and get right back at it — the Athletics come to town starting Tuesday night for a three-game set, with first pitch at six-oh-five Eastern. After that it’s a road trip to Tampa Bay this weekend.

]]> https://wesb.com/2026/04/05/yankees-take-opening-series-at-yankee-stadium/feed/ 0 https://wesb.com/2026/04/02/april-3-a-pirates-home-opener-and-a-phenom/ https://wesb.com/2026/04/02/april-3-a-pirates-home-opener-and-a-phenom/#respond Fri, 03 Apr 2026 03:51:14 +0000 Jay Harper 2026-04-03T03:51:45+00:00 https://d2213.cms.socastsrm.com/?p=348140 Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images It is a big day in Pittsburgh on Friday — and we mean big.

The Pirates open their home schedule today at PNC Park, welcoming the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game series. But the story going into this weekend isn’t just baseball — it’s the arrival of a generational talent.

The Pirates are calling up 19-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin — the number one prospect in all of baseball — and he will make his MLB debut today in the home opener. And to make the day even more electric, the Pirates and Griffin are finalizing a nine-year, 140-million-dollar contract extension — the largest deal ever given to a player before his first major league appearance. Welcome to Pittsburgh, Konnor.

As for the series itself — Mitch Keller gets the ball today in game one against Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish, with first pitch at 4:12 — a nod to the 412 area code. Saturday it’s Carmen Mlodzinski versus Shane Baz at 4:05, and Sunday Braxton Ashcraft squares off against Chris Bassitt at 1:35.

Pittsburgh comes in riding a series sweep of Cincinnati. The bats are hot, the pitching is solid, and now the most talked-about prospect in baseball is suiting up at PNC Park.

What a day to be a Pirates fan.

The Sabres had a chance to end a 14-year playoff drought last night in Ottawa — and the Senators had other ideas. Ottawa dominated the third period, scoring three unanswered goals to pull away for a 4 to 1 win. Buffalo managed just 22 shots, couldn’t solve Linus Ullmark, and Tage Thompson was held off the scoresheet all night. Peyton Krebs had the lone Sabres goal. Dylan Cozens — a name Sabres fans know well — led Ottawa with a goal and the first star of the game.

But here’s the thing — Buffalo’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now down to just one. Just. One. Any point in their next game gets the job done and ends the longest playoff drought in NHL history.

That next chance comes tomorrow night — the Sabres travel to Washington to face the Capitals at 6 o’clock. A win officially punches Buffalo’s ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Fifteen years of waiting. One point to go. Let’s get it done, Sabres.

Both games tip off Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Here’s what we’ve got.

Game one gets going at 6:09 Eastern — number two seed UConn takes on number three seed Illinois. The Huskies are the underdogs here, with Illinois favored by two and a half. Illinois has won all four of its tournament games by double digits and looks like the most complete team remaining — but don’t count out Dan Hurley. UConn trailed Duke by 15 at halftime in the Elite Eight before pulling off one of the tournament’s most stunning comebacks, capped by a 35-foot buzzer beater from Braylon Mullins.

Then at 8:49 Eastern — it’s a battle of number one seeds — Michigan versus Arizona Michigan is a slight one-and-a-half-point favorite. The Wolverines are the overall favorite to win the national title, with Arizona right behind them. Michigan has scored at least 90 points in every tournament game so far— this one could be a track meet.

Radio coverage on Saturday begins at 4:00pm on WESB Sports, B107.5 FM.