Mickey Togs

The Yankees opened the season with a 7-0 win over the San Francisco Giants, taking a lead early and coasting from there behind 6 shutout innings from starting pitcher Max Fried. It is New York’s fifth straight Opening Day victory.

Facing Giants ace Logan Webb, the Yankees pounced in the second inning, with six straight hits to take a 5-0 lead. Trent Grisham, playing his first game since returning to the team on a qualifying offer last winter, capped the rally with a triple.

Two more runs followed in the fifth inning, enough to raise Webb’s ERA to 10.80. His six earned runs were more than he allowed in any start in 2025.

Every member of the Yankees’ lineup finished the game with a hit, save for one. Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, marking the first time since 2024 that he posted that many strikeouts in a game.

The Jets are turning to their quarterback past to make it through the present. The Jets sent the Las Vegas Raiders a sixth-round pick for former Jets quarterback Geno Smith, who was originally drafted by the Jets in 2013. 

As part of the trade, Smith agreed to restructure his contract, and the Raiders are eating most of the deal. He had two years and $66 million remaining on his contract before the restructure. Now, the Raiders will pay him $16.2 million and the Jets are on the hook for $3.3 million.

Smith is the favorite to be the starter for the Jets in 2026. 

The expectation is the Jets will try to find their franchise quarterback in the 2027 draft when they have three first-round picks and the class is expected to be loaded, unlike this year. But they need to get through 2026 first, and that is where Smith’s return comes in.

Smith, 35, had one dismal season with the Raiders after finding success with the Seahawks in 2022 and 2023.

St. John’s is the back-to-back Big East champion after picking up a dominant win in the tournament final over UConn. The Red Storm looked strong in the 72-52 win over the Huskies.

St. John’s went on a 10-0 run to open the game, going up by as many as 17 points in the first half. The Huskies fought back, but they completely failed to score from the field in the final eight minutes of the game. UConn went 1-for-15 down the final stretch.

St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor was absolutely dominant on both sides of the court, putting up 18 points as well as 9 rebounds, 7 blocks and 3 steals. Bryce Hopkins also hit 18 points for the Red Storm, while Tarris Reed Jr. led UConn with 17 points.

The victory likely felt extra sweet for St. John’s, who lost to UConn by 32 points at the end of February as the regular season ramped down. Despite entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed, with UConn as the No. 2, the Red Storm were ranked lower than the Huskies in the AP poll — 13th vs. UConn’s sixth.