1st Down: In the world of combat, Saturday was a full day. UFC 274 took place in Phoenix, and it was full of big-time storylines. There is a vacant lightweight championship now as former champ Charles Oliveira missed weight Friday but still defeated Justin Gaethje in the first round. Carla Esparza won the women’s strawweight title by knocking off defending champ Rose Namajunas in a snoozer. In the boxing world, Dmitry Bivol won a shocking unanimous decision over Canelo Alvarez.
2nd Down: The Kentucky Derby took place on Saturday, and the second biggest shocker in race history unfolded as 80-1 long shot Rich Strike, who wasn’t even in the field until Friday, prevailed over race favorite Epicenter and Zandon down the stretch. A $2 bet would have yielded you $163.60. Not a bad yield on investment…
3rd Down: On the diamond, Saturday brought a ton of games, as usual, with some of the highlights including the Chicago White Sox defeating the Boston Red Sox 3-1 in the tenth inning to grab a fifth straight ‘W,’ Ronald Acuna. Jr. slipping as he hit a blast over the center-field wall in the Atlanta Braves 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers winning both games of a doubleheader over the Chicago Cubs. That’s five wins consecutively for them as well, putting them just a game off the current league-high of six held by Tampa.
4th Down: In tennis, another stunner took place on Saturday as teenager Carlos Alcaraz pulled off back-to-back upsets by downing Novak Djokovic in the Madrid Open. The 19-year-old managed to beat the world #1 on clay one in 3 ½ hours one day after taking down Rafa Nadal, signaling the emergence of a fresh start in the game. He takes on Alexander Zverev for the title.
