Vikings crush Day 2 of NFL free agency; The Players Championship expert picks

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🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to ...

THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS

The second day of the NFL's free agency negotiating period was much quieter overall than the first, but the Vikings made plenty of noise -- and added plenty of heft -- one day after losing Sam Darnold to the Seahawks. Here are notable additions Minnesota made yesterday:

• Will Fries (five years, $88 million)
• Jonathan Allen (3/$60M)
• Javon Hargrave (no terms yet because he hasn't officially been released by the 49ers; that will happen today)

Keep in mind the Vikings had already re-signed Aaron Jones and Byron Murphy and added Isaiah Rodgers and Ryan Kelly, Fries' former Colts teammate.

I love the emphasis along the lines. Allen is an absolute bully, and Hargrave is a disruptive interior pass rusher who missed almost all of 2024 with an injury. Fries and Kelly should shore up what was an inconsistent interior offensive line in front of J.J. McCarthy, always a good plan with a young quarterback. Jared Dubin declared the Vikings a Day 2 winner, and they're up to an "A-" in our team-by-team free agency grades.

Here's more:

• The Bills added Joey Bosa (1/$12.6M).
• Lamar Jackson got his contested catch guy: DeAndre Hopkins (1/$6M) is joining the Ravens.
• The Giants continued overhauling their secondary, getting Jevon Holland (3/$45.3M) one day after adding Paulson Adebo (3/$54M).
• The Falcons added Leonard Floyd (2/$20M) shortly after the 49ers released him.
• The Eagles made another trade, sending C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Texans. Here are Cody Benjamin's trade grades.
• Why have money if you don't spend it? The Cowboys' conservative offseason continued, with a two-year deal for Solomon Thomas and a one-year deal for Payton Turner. At least they retained KaVontae Turpin (3/$18M) and got a lot of compensatory picks! (Seriously, what is Jerry Jones doing?)

There are several big names available, still led by Aaron Rodgers -- though Antonio Brown claims to know where Rodgers is going. In other quarterback news, the Browns have their eyes on this veteran, and Daniel Jones agreed to a deal with the Colts.

Here's our live tracker.

👍 Honorable mentions

• Tyrese Haliburton with a four-point play for the win!!!
• Nikola Jokić says he's "playing the best basketball of [his] life."
• Can the Cavaliers win 70 games?
• Jonathan Kuminga is expected to return tomorrow.
• Max Fried sounds ready to step up after Gerrit Cole's season-ending injury. Brian Cashman says the Yankees likely won't look for outside pitching help.
• The Eagles will visit the White House next month.
• Puka Nacua gave new teammate Davante Adams No. 17; he'll switch to No. 12.
• Gonzaga (WCC), UNCW (CAA), Robert Morris (Horizon) and Saint Francis (Northeast) punched their men's NCAA Tournament tickets.
• I loved Matt Norlander's top 25 men's college basketball stars since 2000, with an iconic, electrifying one-and-done at No. 1.
• Here's how John Calipari got Arkansas back on track after a tough start.
• Isaac Trotter's 10 Trends will make you a smarter men's college basketball fan.
• UCLA is the new No. 1 overall seed in Connor Groel's women's NCAA Tournament Bracketology.
• These are the top 10 MLB players who switched teams this offseason.
• The USMNT named its Concacaf Nations League finals roster, and here are the snubs. The USMNT faces Panama on March 20 on Paramount+.
• NCAA coaches want less stringent rules for JUCO transfers.
• Here are the announcers for the men's 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• Magomed Ankalaev entered the top 10 of our UFC Pound-for-Pound Power Rankings.

🏌 And not such a good morning for ...

TIGER WOODS

Tiger Woods announced yesterday that he underwent surgery for a ruptured left Achilles tendon. The news comes one month ahead of the Masters, and he provided no timetable for a return.

• "As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured," Woods said in the statement.
• Woods, 49, had committed to play in the 2025 Genesis Invitational but pulled out after his mother died. He has not played in a PGA Tour event since the 2024 Open Championship, though he has participated in TGL, the upstart virtual golf league.
  
• Achilles tendon repairs typically require 4-6 months of recovery, meaning Woods' entire 2025 season could be over before it started. 

👎 Not so honorable mentions

• Rich Rodriguez banned his West Virginia players from dancing on TikTok.
• The Rangers removed a hat that contained a vulgar Spanish word from the team store.
• John Fisher believes he's set the Athletics up for success. We politely disagree.
• It's time for Barry Bonds and other former MLB players to stop complaining about today's game, Matt Snyder writes.
• Isiah Thomas declined to be in the new Celtics documentary after he didn't like how he was portrayed in "The Last Dance."
• Tre Johnson is Texas' best freshman scorer since Kevin Durant, but we might not see him in the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns (17-14, 6-12 SEC) are just trying to join the bubble as the SEC Tournament begins today.
• The Big 12 Tournament court is hideous.
• Napheesa Collier says WNBA players are prepared for a lockout after the upcoming season amid CBA negotiations.
• Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney and Arnold Barboza Jr. got into it at a press conference.
• Aaron Ekblad was suspended 20 games for violating the PED policy.

⛳ The Players Championship preview, picks, storylines

By the time you read tomorrow's morning newsletter, the The Players Championship will be underway (here's how to watch), and so we're getting in our preview of what's colloquially known as the fifth major today.

Here are notable tee times:

• 8:24 a.m. — Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas
• 8:46 a.m. — Wyndham Clark, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth
• 1:29 p.m. — Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele
• 1:40 p.m. — Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Tommy Fleetwood

... and here are the odds.

Scheffler is already the first player to repeat at the Players. His attempt at a third straight, McIlroy's strong start and Åberg's star turn lead our top storylines. But it's someone else who earns Patrick McDonald's pick as winner:

• McDonald: "Winner -- Collin Morikawa (14-1): The Arnold Palmer Invitational loss may still sting, but Morikawa will get right back onto the horse and ride into the winner's circle after traveling a few hours North. The two-time major champion was sensational from tee to green at Bay Hill, and that will carry over to TPC Sawgrass where his blend of accurate driving and pinpoint iron play will allow him to rise to the top of the leaderboard."

Morikawa discussed his struggles finishing Tuesday

⚽ UEFA Champions League: PSG stuns Liverpool, predictions for today

After years and years of UEFA Champions League disappointment, PSG has one of its best wins in its history in the competition. Les Parisiens are into the quarterfinals after defeating Liverpool, 1-0, yesterday and therefore 1-1 (4-1 on pens) on aggregate, a terrific comeback after losing the first leg last week, 1-0.

• Ousmane Dembélé scored early for the visitors, and though both sides had big chances, the 1-1 aggregate deadlock remained.
• PSG was nearly perfect in the shootout, with Vitinha, Gonçalo Ramos and Dembélé converting in the first three rounds, while Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Darwin Nuñez and Curtis Jones.
• Désiré Doué provided the winner, and PSG players went into delirium as Anfield fell silent.

What a scene. This is knockout-stage soccer at its best. PSG was simply the better team, James Benge writes, and it's also a really fun team, Chuck Booth notes.

Elsewhere around Europe ...

• Barcelona beat Benfica, 3-1 (4-1 on aggregate), with 17-year-old star Lamine Yamal scoring a goal for the ages.
• Inter beat Feyenoord, 2-1 (4-1 on aggregate), and Simone Inzaghi's bold statement on winning the treble remains alive.
• Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen, 2-0 (5-0 on aggregate).

Today's four matches are ...

• Lille (1) vs. Borussia Dortmund (1) | 1:45 p.m. on CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ | Preview
• Arsenal (7) vs. PSV (1) | 4 p.m. on Paramount+ 
• Atlético Madrid (1) vs. Real Madrid (2) | 4 p.m. on Paramount+ | Preview
• Aston Villa (3) vs. Club Brugge (1) | 4 p.m. on Paramount+ | Preview

Here are our expert picks and James Benge's bold predictions.

📺 What we're watching Wednesday

🏀 Big 12 Tournament: Cincinnati vs. Iowa State (M), 12:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ We're watching the UEFA Champions League. Here's how.
🏀 Southland championship: Lamar vs. McNeese (M), 5 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Patriot League championship: Navy vs. American (M), 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Thunder at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Sabres at Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. om TNT/truTV
🏀 SEC Tournament: Oklahoma vs. Georgia (M), 9:30 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 Timberwolves at Nuggets, 10 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Ducks at Utah Hockey Club, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Big Sky championship: Montana vs. Northern Colorado, 11:30 p.m. on ESPN2