Front Row Seat: Padres sweep Giants, Lakers go home
Here's a front row seat to all of the news, stories, videos and podcasts that you need to start your day.
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John Gennaro
We'll have two podcast episodes for you today, one with Darren and I once again playing tag via podcast and another with a special guest that I'll be interviewing. Keep your eyes peeled for both!
San Diego Padres
Padres put on 'big-boy pants' to start NL West slate with two-game sweep - MLB.com
“We’re going to have a lot of really good NL West battles throughout the whole season,” King said. “Those tests, you’ve got to put your big-boy pants on and play these guys. We’re going to get them 11 more times throughout the year.
“Obviously a good start. But you’ve got to make sure you bring it the next 11 against them, and then the 13 against the Dodgers and the 13 against the Diamondbacks.”
Padres Daily: Confirmation; leading men; King throws it all, including the sink; Wade steps in - San Diego Union-Tribune
“We’re back to ourselves,” Machado said.
The return of Jason Heyward and Luis Arraez was an instantaneous reigniting of the Padres way of baseball.
Arraez, in particular.
“He’s definitely a spark in this lineup,” Tatis said. “When he’s not out there, you can definitely feel it. And when he’s out there, you definitely see the difference.”
The Padres manufactured runs (scored without the benefit of a home run) in five different innings over the past two days. Arraez was involved in three of those.
NBA Playoffs
Lakers just don't measure up to expectations – literally and figuratively - USA Today
Why did the Lakers not use their 7-footer, Jaxson Hayes? He made appearances in the first four games of the playoff series against the Timberwolves but scored only seven points.
"You could say, 'Oh play a center,' " Lakers coach JJ Redick said after the game. "We couldn't score, so there's a tradeoff to everything."
Hayes riding the bench and Gobert dominating served as painful reminders the Lakers have failed to find a replacement for Davis, the 6-10 all-star.
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves show basketball world they’ve ‘figured it out’ - The Athletic
Behind Gobert’s 27 points and 24 rebounds, the Timberwolves dominated Game 5, at least as much as one team can dominate another when the margin of victory is in the single digits. The Timberwolves were staggeringly bad from 3-point range, making only 7 of 47 attempts. Anthony Edwards, the star whom everyone is falling in love with, scored just 15 points on 5-of-19 shooting and missed all 11 of his 3s. Breakout star Jaden McDaniels had eight points and three rebounds in 18 minutes before fouling out. Naz Reid had three points and two rebounds.
None of that mattered. The Wolves out-rebounded the Lakers 54-37, outscored them 22-4 in bench points, 20-10 in second-chance points and 56-40 in the paint. Randle shook off early foul trouble to finish with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists.
LeBron Jokes 'No Comment' on Lakers Roster After Anthony Davis Was Traded for Luka - Bleacher Report
After the Lakers' season came to an end with a 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Wednesday's Game 5, James was asked about how tough playing without a center was after Anthony Davis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic, and he had a hilarious answer.
"No comment, I'll never say that, because my guy AD said what he needed, and he was gone the following week. I got no comment, I put that uniform on every night, I gave everything that I had, and that's all that matters," James said with a laugh.
LeBron James undecided on future after Lakers' first-round exit - ESPN
As has been his custom the past several seasons when offering his thoughts on the future immediately following the Los Angeles Lakers' final game, James said he was unsure.
"I don't know," James said when asked how much longer he planned to play before retiring. "I don't have an answer to that. Something I'll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.
"I don't know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So we'll see."
Warriors believe Rockets are targeting Stephen Curry's thumb injury during playoffs: 'I think it's pretty obvious' - Yahoo Sports
After Curry released the ball, Rockets forward Dillon Brooks appeared to swing his hand to hit Curry's injured hand. Curry fell to the ground. When he got up, he appeared to argue with the refs over Brooks' antics. It may not have resulted in a foul, but Curry made officials aware he felt he was being targeted.
Curry finished with 13 points in the loss, going 4 for 12 from the field.
When asked about the situation after the game, Curry downplayed it, saying the injury is "something I am dealing with." He declined to make a big deal out of Houston's strategy, adding, "If it's a foul, they should call it."
San Diego FC
Behind Enemy Lines: Scouting San Diego FC 🔎 - Big D Soccer
We know FC Dallas has players with speed, so why not use it more often? Against Miami in the second half, Dallas did just that with long balls over the Miami defense that Anderson Julio or Logan Farrington could get on the end of in space. San Diego is prone to defensive issues in space like this and Dallas needs to figure that out earlier in the match, rather than late.
USD Toreros
USD Men's Golf Earns 2025 NCAA Regional Bid
USD heard its name called during the NCAA selection show after a season in which it won three tournaments (the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational, The Prestige, and the Nick Watney Invitational), finished second at two events (the Kapolei Invitational and the R.E.L. Invitational), and earned a third-place finish at two more (the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and the Wyoming Cowboy Classic).
Two Toreros secured All-WCC honors in head coach Evan Emerick's first season at the helm, with Ryan Abuan earning an All-WCC First Team selection alongside an All-WCC Honorable Mention for You Seong Choi.
San Diego has now qualified for the NCAA Tournament in every season since 2020-2021.
WNBA
The 2025 WNBA preseason makes historic waves - Axios
In the first preseason game, Bueckers will make her WNBA debut for the Dallas Wings against the Las Vegas Aces, where Jewell Loyd will play her first game with the Aces after being traded in February.
Alright, that's going to do it for today's edition of Front Row Seat. I'll be back tomorrow, and every weekday, to try and make it easier for you to follow the news.
Feedback is welcome (in the comments below, in my inbox or on the Section 1904 Discord server) and feel free to send me any links that you think I missed and I'll try to include them tomorrow.
