Ticket punched - Magic. They’re going to lose to the Celtics, but a great early career playoff test for Paolo and Franz. Iron sharpens Magic.

Ticket punched - Warriors. Where was Santi Aldama in the fourth? Grit from Steph.

NFL Draft next week. Mcshay with a great report on the Big Hogs up front. Peter Schrager reports the Giants are earnest in their Shedeur Sanders sniffing but maybe not at #3. Fellas, it’s time to eat tape. You need three bullet points on all 256 picks to me by Monday.

Verlander off to a slow start with the Giants. Did you know he pitches there? Harper goes deep and Phils take a 6-4 win. Plus: Angels leading the Plucky April Team pack.

Back to golf. The PGA heads to Harbour Town, home of the RBC Heritage. A Signature Series event, the winner takes home $3.6m and an extremely less prestigious jacket (it’s plaid). Scottie Scheffler looks to defend his title at the first Tour event to feature range finders (pa-pa-pa-pace of play Junior!). LIV boys get to rest their dogs before shipping out to Mexico City.

The inevitable LIV vs PGA debate. I don’t need to provide a disclaimer, but I know nothing, I don’t know how this ends, and no one else does. Not Trump. Not Tiger. Not Jay Monahan. The entirety of LIV and the Great Schism has been fluid. The leverage, as Phil famously put it, has swung back and forth.

- “As nice a guy as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as,” he told Shipnuck, “unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage.”

Recently, LIV has a new head man in charge. Greg Norman has been royally kicked to sideline largely for failing to secure a television rights deal. New LIV CEO Scott O’Neil is firmly committed to selling the world that LIV is the F1 of golf. He sees a global touring schedule highlighted by a festival like fan experience. That’s a compelling vision, but largely a distraction from the business model.

Let’s recall LIV’s original intentions. The Saudi’s would fund player acquisition. The Saudi’s would pour hundreds of millions into the biggest stars’ pockets, arrange teams, and entice legends like Phil with equity stakes (25%) in “franchises”. For all the money Saudi Arabia invested in Bryson, DJ, Brooks, the LIV party jet, and hosting tournaments, they could recoup their investment by selling teams (CRUSHERS, Stinger, etc…) to billionaires. Team owners would monetize their investments no different than any other sport (collecting television rights fees, sponsorships, tickets, merch).

- Absolutely fucking no one wants a Fireballs GC Abraham Ancer jersey. Had to be said.

Leverage - remember that word? LIV is getting squeezed. LIV, even in Saudi Circles, has yet to convince a billionaire to buy a team. Why? The original round of LIV Mega-Deals are set to expire in 2026. Exact reporting is unclear, but the earliest and biggest names signed to LIV will be “free agents” in the next one or two years. If I, KMARK, decide to buy Smash, then I’m only buying the right to maybe give Brooks Koepka a raise on his 4yr/$100m deal. I’m on the hook for paying Jason Kokrak. If I’m smart, and I don’t pay Jason Kokrak, I need to find a replacement. All of these liabilities are mine except I have no television deal stuffing my coffers.

LIV and FOX do have an agreement to broadcast tournaments. While the ratings for INTL tournaments were abysmal (Australia’s tournament pulled roughly 25k eyeballs), they should improve with US events. Still, terms of the FOX deal were basically non-reported. The NBA leaked terms of their entire multi-billion dollar deal throughout negotiations. LIV’s deal has to be fractions of fractions of that.

As the year goes on, if LIV guys can’t pick it up in majors, if Scottie and Rory suck up more major airwaves, let’s keep a close eye on LIV’s progress selling teams. Will a major LIV player announce an extension? We, the People on the Outside, will keep looking for clues on the Future of Golf.