The Best of the Sports Shop

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex speak with Cassius Grimsley.

Cassius Grimsley is a 2026 outfielder and right-handed pitcher from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, where he plays for Fuquay-Varina High School. Grimsley has developed into a strong two-way player, contributing both at the plate and on the mound. Grimsley has emerged as one of the most productive hitters in the state, highlighted by a standout junior season in which he posted a .567 batting average and a .649 on-base percentage, ranking among North Carolina’s top performers. In addition to his offensive production, he has shown effectiveness as a pitcher, pairing his hitting with strong results on the mound, including a sub-1.00 ERA during his breakout campaign. His performance has earned him multiple honors, including All-Conference and All-State recognition, and he is committed to continue his baseball career at UNC Wilmington, where he projects as a key future contributor.

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss UNC's loss to VCU, UNC's season-ending collapse, how a 19-point lead turned into a season-ending collapse, what went wrong in crunch time and whether Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels should stay together.

The North Carolina Tar Heels delivered one of the more painful collapses of the tournament, blowing a massive second-half lead in an 82-78 overtime loss to the VCU Rams. Once it reached overtime, it got even worse, UNC scored just three points while VCU completed the comeback, one of the largest in tournament history. The loss also puts a harsh spotlight on head coach Hubert Davis. After guiding UNC to the national title game in his first season and later winning ACC Coach of the Year, his tenure has become increasingly uneven, with a missed tournament in 2023 and now back-to-back early exits. Following this collapse, Davis faced questions about his late-game decisions, rotation, and the team’s inability to adjust as VCU surged. His postgame responses drew attention as well, as he appeared frustrated and somewhat at a loss to explain how the game slipped away.

Zooming out, this is the kind of loss that lingers. UNC came in with some expectations of making somehting of a run, but instead exits immediately after blowing a 19-point lead—raising real questions about the program’s direction under Davis. Should Hubert Davis and UNC stay together or should they part ways?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss UNC's loss to VCU, UNC's season-ending collapse, how a 19-point lead turned into a season-ending collapse, what went wrong in crunch time and whether Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels should stay together.

The North Carolina Tar Heels delivered one of the more painful collapses of the tournament, blowing a massive second-half lead in an 82-78 overtime loss to the VCU Rams. Once it reached overtime, it got even worse, UNC scored just three points while VCU completed the comeback, one of the largest in tournament history. The loss also puts a harsh spotlight on head coach Hubert Davis. After guiding UNC to the national title game in his first season and later winning ACC Coach of the Year, his tenure has become increasingly uneven, with a missed tournament in 2023 and now back-to-back early exits. Following this collapse, Davis faced questions about his late-game decisions, rotation, and the team’s inability to adjust as VCU surged. His postgame responses drew attention as well, as he appeared frustrated and somewhat at a loss to explain how the game slipped away.

Zooming out, this is the kind of loss that lingers. UNC came in with some expectations of making somehting of a run, but instead exits immediately after blowing a 19-point lead—raising real questions about the program’s direction under Davis. Should Hubert Davis and UNC stay together or should they part ways?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex speak with Ian Parks to discuss his NCAA Tournament picks.

Ian Parks from Always Bet On Black w/ Ian Parks joins the Sports Shop to share his picks in the NBA. Who will win this weekend: Texas Tech Red Raiders or Akron Zips? Alabama Crimson Tide or Hofstra Pride? Kansas Jayhawks or Cal Baptist?

Reese, Pam and Alex discuss Hubert Davis' comments after UNC's loss to VCU, UNC's season-ending collapse, how a 19-point lead turned into a season-ending collapse, what went wrong in crunch time and whether Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels should stay together.

Reese, Pam and Alex discuss UNC's loss to VCU, UNC's season-ending collapse, how a 19-point lead turned into a season-ending collapse, what went wrong in crunch time and whether Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels should stay together.

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss some first round matchups occurring today in the men's NCAA Tournament.

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex speak with Dr. Deborah Stroman.

Dr. Stroman discusses alleged gross misconduct from Kevin Mays, the importance of building a strong ethical culture and how leadership, accountability, and clear standards are essential to creating safe and professional athletic programs, while also touching on the historic WNBA CBA negotiations.

After 17 months of negotiations, the WNBA and WNBPA reached a tentative new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in March 2026, pending player ratification and approval by the Board of Governors. The deal is considered “historic,” significantly raising player pay and benefits: a $7M salary cap, average salaries near $600,000, minimums above $300,000, and supermax contracts around $1.4M. Entry-level salaries jump from $66,000 to $300,000, with players receiving roughly 20% of league revenue. Additional benefits include housing support, retirement plans, parental leave, and stronger professional standards.

Reese, Pam and Alex speak with CL Brown and GameDay Charlie.

CL Brown and GameDay Charlie discuss the NCAA Tournament including potential first round upsets, Mikel Brown Jr.'s health, if Hubert Davis is on the hot seat, Duke's Final Four chances and more.

Reese, Pam and Alex discuss last nights 2 First Four NCAA Tournament games and UNC's game against VCU today.

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss how Venezuela claimed its first-ever World Baseball Classic title with a 3-2 win over the United States in the championship game, discuss how they would explain the sport of baseball for someone unfamiliar with the sport and preview tonight’s matchups between Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh and Miami vs. SMU as they look ahead to who will advance in March Madness.

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss the outcomes of last night’s First Four games, preview tonight’s matchups between Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh and Miami vs. SMU, debate Howard’s chances against Michigan in the main bracket, and break down Maxx Crosby’s frustrating near-trade to the Baltimore Ravens.

The NCAA First Four begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. Two games were playd last night and two will be played tonight. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Last night, the UMBC Retrievers lost to the Howard Bison and now Howard will move on to face the Michigan Wolverines. Then later, the Texas Longhorns defeated the NC State Wolfpack. Tonight, the Prairie View A&M Panthers will face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Then later, the Miami RedHawks will face the SMU Mustangs, with the winner advancing to play the Tennessee Volunteers in the next round. How will Howard fare against Michigan? Who wins in the two First Four games tonight?

Maxx Crosby recently opened up about his near-trade to the Baltimore Ravens, describing a confusing and frustrating process that ultimately fell apart. Crosby said he fully believed the deal was going through and even traveled to Baltimore to finalize it, but quickly felt something was off due to a lack of clear communication from the organization. The situation unraveled when the Ravens raised concerns about his knee during the physical, despite Crosby believing he was on track in his recovery from meniscus surgery. What happened?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss NC State’s narrow tournament loss to Texas, evaluate Will Wade’s coaching and postgame comments, break down Darrion Williams’ season performance—including whether he lived up to his preseason Player of the Year expectations—and debate whether NC State can realistically move past a third-place spot in the Triangle behind UNC and Duke.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. Texas guard Tramon Mark led the way with 17 points and knocked down a go-ahead jumper with about one second remaining, while NC State was paced by Darrion Williams, who finished with 21 points. Although NC State made a push with timely three-point shooting to get back into the game, Texas executed better down the stretch with clutch shot-making and free throws and the Wolfpack were unable to generate a clean look on their final possession. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Back in October, Darrion Williams was named the 2025-26 ACC Preseason Player of the Year and Reese was one of the voters. What do we think of Darrion Williams' season? Will NC State always be third place in the triangle behind UNC and Duke?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss Will Wade's comments following NC State's loss to Texas in the First Four.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. Texas guard Tramon Mark led the way with 17 points and knocked down a go-ahead jumper with about one second remaining, while NC State was paced by Darrion Williams, who finished with 21 points. Although NC State made a push with timely three-point shooting to get back into the game, Texas executed better down the stretch with clutch shot-making and free throws and the Wolfpack were unable to generate a clean look on their final possession. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Did Will Wade handle the loss well?

Reese, Pam and Alex discuss NC State’s close tournament loss, evaluate Will Wade’s coaching and Darrion Williams’ performance and break down Maxx Crosby’s frustrating near-trade to the Baltimore Ravens and what it reveals about the NFL trade process.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Back in October, Darrion Williams was named the 2025-26 ACC Preseason Player of the Year. What do we think of Darrion Williams' season?

Reese, Pam and Alex discuss NC State’s close loss to Texas, evaluate Will Wade’s coaching, Darrion Williams’ season performance and celebrate Howard Bison’s historic win over UMBC while speculating on their chances against No. 1 seed Michigan.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. Texas guard Tramon Mark led the way with 17 points and knocked down a go-ahead jumper with about one second remaining, while NC State was paced by Darrion Williams, who finished with 21 points. Although NC State made a push with timely three-point shooting to get back into the game, Texas executed better down the stretch with clutch shot-making and free throws and the Wolfpack were unable to generate a clean look on their final possession. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Back in October, Darrion Williams was named the 2025-26 ACC Preseason Player of the Year. What do we think of Darrion Williams' season?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex preview tonight’s NCAA First Four matchups, breaking down UMBC vs. Howard, Texas vs. NC State and tomorrow’s Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh and Miami vs. SMU games, while analyzing which teams have the best chance to advance in the main 64-team bracket.

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played tonight and tomorrow night at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Tonight, the UMBC Retrievers will play the Howard Bison men's basketball and the winner will move on to face the Michigan Wolverines. Then later, the Texas Longhorns men's basketball take on the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball. Did NC State earn their positioning in the NCAA Tournament First Four? Will NC State beat Texas tonight? How will NC State vs Texas go tonight? Howard or UMBC?

Tomorrow, the Prairie View A&M Panthers will face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. That same night, the Miami RedHawks will face the SMU Mustangs, with the winner advancing to play the Tennessee Volunteers in the next round The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week.

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss tonight’s Texas vs. NC State game.

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played tonight and tomorrow night at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Tonight, the the Texas Longhorns men's basketball take on the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball. Did NC State earn their positioning in the NCAA Tournament First Four? Will NC State beat Texas tonight?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss Bruce Pearl replacing Jay Wright on the CBS March Madness panel, the First Four matchups including NC State vs. Texas and the affect of Aden Holloway’s arrest on Alabama’s tournament prospects.

Bruce Pearl is apparently replacing Jay Wright on this year’s CBS/NCAA March Madness studio panel for the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Do people want this?

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played tonight and tomorrow night at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Tonight, the the Texas Longhorns men's basketball take on the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball. Did NC State earn their positioning in the NCAA Tournament First Four? Will NC State beat Texas tonight?

Aden Holloway, a guard for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball, was arrested just days before the start of NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. Authorities say a search of a residence uncovered more than a pound of marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia and cash, leading to charges of first-degree marijuana possession and failure to affix a tax stamp, a felony. Holloway was briefly jailed and later released on a $5,000 bond. It remains unclear whether he will face disciplinary action from the team or be available to play in Alabama’s upcoming tournament matchup against Hofstra Pride men's basketball, adding uncertainty as the Crimson Tide enter March Madness as a No. 4 seed.

Reese, Kmac and Alex discuss the impact of Aden Holloway’s arrest on Alabama’s tournament chances, break down Duke’s ACC Championship run and how the potential absence of Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II could affect their NCAA Tournament hopes, debate whether Michigan State is the most dangerous #3 seed and even touch on St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Reese and Alex discuss how close the Winston-Salem State Lady Rams came to the Division II Final Four, before turning their attention to the NCAA Division I First Four matchups and the controversy surrounding NC State’s seeding and performance under Will Wade.

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played tonight and tomorrow night at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Tonight, the the Texas Longhorns men's basketball take on the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball. Did NC State earn their positioning in the NCAA Tournament First Four? Should they have been a higher seed or missed the tournament altogether? How does Will Wade feel about the current state of the Wolfpack?

Reese and Alex discuss the NC State asketball, the First Four and more.

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played tonight and tomorrow night at the University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. Tonight, the UMBC Retrievers men's basketball play the Howard Bison men's basketball, and the winner will move on to face the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball. Then the Texas Longhorns men's basketball take on the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball. Tomorrow night, the Prairie View A&M Panthers men's basketball face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's basketball then later that night, the Miami RedHawks men's basketball face the SMU Mustangs men's basketball, with the winner advancing to play the Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball in the next round. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket and continue their March Madness run when the Round of 64 begins later in the week. Did NC State earn their positioning in the NCAA Tournament First Four? Should they have been a higher seed or missed the tournament altogether?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex break down the 2026 NCAA Tournament, analyzing each region highlighting the top seeds, examine potential upsets and debate which teams have the best chances to make a deep March Madness run.

The NCAA First Four takes place this week and officially begins the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The games are played on March 17 and March 18 at University of Dayton Arena and feature eight teams competing for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. The seeding for both the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament will be official following the "First Four" games. In the men’s tournament, the four No. 1 seeds are the Duke Blue Devils, Arizona Wildcats, Michigan Wolverines and Florida Gators. Who will make it out of each region?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss this week’s NCAA First Four matchups, including NC State’s placement, potential snubs and surprises and which teams have the best chances to make a deep March Madness run.

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss if there were any issues with the NCAA Tournament seeding.

The seeding for the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament is determined through a process called bracketology, where the NCAA selection committees rank teams based on their performance during the season. In the men’s tournament, which features 68 teams, the four No. 1 seeds are the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Arizona Wildcats men's basketball, Michigan Wolverines men's basketball, and Florida Gators men's basketball. Were there any egregious mistakes, omisisons, additions, etc? Who are the early favorites to make the Final Four?