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rantnrave:// In-game biometric monitoring has come to MLB. This was just a matter of time. Where it goes is more important. Players and teams will have access to data but only players can decide whether to wear the monitoring device. MLB players have viewed the incursion of tech as a slippery slope, a potential privacy issue. It will help teams with player evaluation but only if players agree to give away more information about themselves -- from their heart rate to how many hours of sleep they get a night. Players already are heavily scrutinized but now they must decide to what degree. ... Does anyone care about the World Baseball Classic as much as MLB Network's Jon Morosi? I admit I won't be watching. The WBC remains a niche product but does help break up MLB's March doldrums. And Rob Manfred says it's not going anywhere. ... Mark Cuban's constant needling of Russell Westbrook is the NBA's weirdest feud. Though Cuban might have a point that Westbrook shouldn't be an MVP candidate. ... Next up on ESPN8: The Ocho: Tricking. ... Pat Riley offers a defense of Magic Johnson, Lakers exec. ... Mike Francesa can't get off the air soon enough. ... For Underwear Olympics fans, a thorough scouting report of the 50 top players in this year's NFL draft. ... Got a tour of the new SNY studios last week. They're impeccable. The views of NYC too. ... Popovich/Kerr 2020.

The Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference will almost certainly get just one bid for the NCAA tournament. In college basketball's uneasy middle, that is worth a lot.

David Roth | Vice Sports

Everyone, it seems, loves Sanchez in 2017. But let's pause and take a deep breath. Have we learned nothing? Despite years of warnings about the dangers of small sample sizes, it's possible we're still, and always will be as humans, susceptible to making judgment errors from too little data.

Travis Sawchik | FanGraphs

Togo international Francis Koné has just saved a player's life in the Czech Republic, the fourth time he has done so in his peripatetic, eight-year career. "Never run away if something bad happens," he tells Dominic Fifield.

Dominic Fifield | The Guardian

Maria Pares was one of the most successful basketball coaches in New York history. She also happened to be a nun.

Eric Nusbaum | Vice Sports

How Mike Brey quietly turned around the Notre Dame basketball program -- and in the process became one of the coaches most feared by big-name opponents.

Seth Gruen | Men's Journal

"It's not enough to be smart. You have to be curious."

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