Russell Wilson joins Giants; Damian Lillard out indefinitely with blood clot; MLB best bets for the season

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🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to …

RUSSELL WILSON AND THE NEW YORK GIANTS

The Giants have their starting quarterback. Russell Wilson signed a one-year, $21 million deal with Big Blue that includes $10.5 million guaranteed. He joins a quarterback room whose meme-ability exceeds its on-field ability — free-agent signee Jameis Winston and holdover Tommy DeVito — and one that could grow further in the NFL Draft.

• Wilson, 36, has the accolades — 10 Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl — but has been on a roller coaster the last three years after being traded from the Seahawks to the Broncos. He had two rough years in Denver before a mini bounce back with the Steelers last season.
• Wilson missed the start of the 2024 campaign due to injury but put up solid if unspectacular baseline numbers (16 passing touchdowns, five interceptions, 226 passing yards per game).
• It was clear, however, that there was an average-at-best ceiling. From Week 7 onward, Pittsburgh ranked 23rd in yards per play and 25th in passing success rate. The Steelers lost each of their final five games, including the playoffs.

So, why is Wilson the presumed starter? Well, he provides much, much more stability than Winston. And while $21 million sounds like a lot, it’s a reasonable bet he actually makes closer to $10.5 million. That’s less than what old friend Daniel Jones is making, for reference.

Furthermore, this doesn’t preclude the Giants from drafting a quarterback, whether it’s at the top of the draft — they have the No. 3 pick and have explored moving up — or later on, when they can take a flyer.

Long story short, it’s a stabilizing move with a low ceiling but a reasonable floor.

👍 Honorable mentions

🏀 And not such a good morning for …

DAMIAN LILLARD AND THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS

Damian Lillard is out indefinitely with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. It’s the same ailment that ended Victor Wembanyama‘s season back in February, though Wembanyama’s was in his shoulder.

• Deep vein thrombosis is the development of a blood clot in veins deep in your body because the vein is injured or the blood flowing through it is “too sluggish,” per the Cleveland Clinic. Possible causes include long periods of inactivity — NBA players take long plane rides, for example — or dehydration. Here’s our full explanation.
• Lillard, 34, missed the Bucks‘ previous three games with a “right calf strain,” but further testing revealed the full extent of the injury.
• Unlike Wembanyama’s situation, there is cautious optimism Lillard could return this season, league sources told CBS Sports NBA insider Bill Reiter.
• The Bucks are tied with the Pistons for the five seed in the East. The playoffs begin April 19.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 Andrew Luck, Stanford fire Troy Taylor

The first big call Andrew Luck had to make as Stanford football general manager isn’t the one he was hoping for. Stanford fired coach Troy Taylor a few days after reports of a pair of investigations revealing Taylor mistreated female staffers and tried to have an NCAA compliance officer removed after being warned of rule violations.

• Stanford first looked into Taylor’s behavior in May 2023, when a staffer mentioned potential gender discrimination issues to athletic director Bernard Muir.
• In February 2024, Taylor received and signed a warning letter from the first investigation. The second investigation cited “an ongoing pattern of concerning behavior by Coach Taylor.”
• One of the investigators called Taylor’s treatment towards the compliance officer “discriminatory on the basis of her sex.” Taylor also made several “inappropriate” comments about another female’s appearance.
• Taylor went 6-18 in two seasons at Stanford.

ESPN reported Luck stood by Taylor less than a week ago. Now, he’s fired him. It’s notable Luck — appointed GM in late 2024 — was the one making that choice, Richard Johnson writes.

• Johnson: “Luck putting his name to the statement ushers in a new paradigm in Stanford football — and college football as a whole. It’s one where the general manager can, and did, fire the coach. It means the role he was hired to do has much more executive function than simply stocking the roster. It also should bring with it more scrutiny about Luck’s role in Stanford football’s future. He is the one in charge of the program, and because of that, he should also be on the hook for explaining how the program will be cleaned up …”

🏀 Men’s Sweet 16: Ranking coaches, reasons to root for each team

And then there were 16. The men’s Sweet 16 begins tomorrow, and it’s full of the big boys: all four No. 1 seeds, three No. 2 seeds, two No. 3 seeds and three No. 4 seeds.

When the margins are as small as these, every little advantage helps, and that includes along the sideline. Kyle Boone ranked the 16 coaches left, and No. 1 is …

• Boone: “1. Tom Izzo, Michigan State — Judging by the talent on this Michigan State team (zero players on the All-Big Ten First and Second Teams) and its many accomplishments — a Big Ten title, 29 wins and a top-five defense to boot — Izzo’s No. 1 ranking isn’t just coasting on his career longevity and previous accomplishments. Although, he’s probably No. 1 in those departments, too. The Spartans have punched above their weight all season behind depth and development.”

The Big Ten has four teams in the Sweet 16, tied with the Big 12 for second-most behind the SEC’s record-setting seven. And of the many talking points, the Big Ten’s title drought is a big one: Izzo’s 1999-2000 Spartans are still the last Big Ten team to win it all. Jason Richardson starred on that team. Twenty-five years later, his son, Jase Richardson, is starring on this one.

That’s one reason to root for Sparty. As for the other teams? Cameron Salerno has reasons to root for all 16 teams.

⚾ MLB bold predictions, best bets, division previews

Opening Day is tomorrow, and it’ll be a fun one, with big-name pitchers on the bump and enticing matchups like Brewers-Yankees, Red Sox-Rangers, Mets-Astros, Braves-Padres and Tigers-Dodgers on the docket.

Big names require big calls. Mike Axisa has bold predictions for every team, and that includes one of the game’s star pitchers.

• Axisa: “Skenes will set an MLB strikeout record — I say Paul Skenes will strike out 300 batters this season. That in and of itself would not be a record. There have been 69 300-strikeout seasons in MLB history, most recently Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander with the 2019 Astros. The record Skenes will set is fewest innings in a 300-strikeout season. … I’ll even ratchet up the boldness here and say Skenes gets to 300 strikeouts in fewer than 200 innings.”

Unfortunately, Skenes is one of few highlights for the Pirates, who have MLB’s eighth-lowest win total (77.5). Matt Snyder made best bets on win totals, and one team he likes more than the sportsbooks is …

• Snyder: “Rangers over 83.5 wins — The Rangers offense in 2023 was one of the best in baseball and even if it was due a correction, so much stuff just completely fell apart in 2024. They are better than that. They’ve made some offensive additions like Joc Pederson and Jake Burger, but also should expect more production from youngsters Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter in addition to veterans like Marcus Semien, who had his worst full offensive season since 2018.”

Matt also likes the Rangers to win the AL West. Here’s our preview for that division as well as the others:

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

🏀 Lakers at Pacers, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Devils at Blackhawks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Celtics at Suns, 10 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Stars at Oilers, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV