Shohei's magic continues, plus the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft

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Good morning! Dont fall for a smokescreen today.

At some point, a championship teams magic runs out.

Maybe its after one perfect year, where everything went right.

Maybe it lasts for an entire era, a la the peak Golden State Warriors.

The Shohei Ohtani-led Dodgers, 2024 World Series champions, still have plenty of magic left.

The defending champs were undefeated heading into last nights game against the winless Braves.

Atlanta, expected to be a contender this season, jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but saw it whither to a 5-5 tie by the ninth, when Ohtani came up.

You know what happened next: SHOHEI OHTANI SAYS GOODNIGHT He hits a walk-off home run as the Dodgers move to 8-0 on the season.

@MLB pic.twitter.com/705tV2XGcx The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 3, 2025 As Joe Davis said on the Dodgers broadcast, Ohtani was truly inevitable.

All we really needed was Mike Breen next to him shouting Bang! For those keeping score at home: The Dodgers are now 8-0, five games shy of tying the 1982 Braves, 1987 Brewers and 2023 Rays for the best start in MLB history.

Also, the Braves are now 0-7.

Lets keep going: The NFL Draft is three weeks away, and now we enter the smokescreen zone.

Pro days are mostly done.

The combine is far behind us.

Executives have most of the data they need to make a choice.

Thus, before we start to get loony reports meant to mislead, I present two certainties today, April 3, I should qualify of opinions around the sport: 1.

Cam Ward will go No.

1 Miamis Ward entered draft season in discussion for the QB1 role, and in the months since, has distanced himself from Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders.

Bruce Feldman emphasized this even more in his latest mock draft yesterday , where coaches across college football testified to Wards greatness.

Tennessee, which holds the top pick, has shown every sign of going after a quarterback.

The only intrigue for now is whether someone ponies up a worthy trade package to nab Ward.

Advertisement 2.

Dont expect Sanders to fall that far There has been plenty of chatter, including on Athletic airwaves, about opinions on Sanders around the NFL.

While Dane Brugler has him going late in the first to Pittsburgh in his March 4 mock , Bruce has him going No.

3 to New York, even with the Giants signing both Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston this offseason.

ESPNs Field Yates did the same .

Quarterback is the most important position in the NFL, and if a team likes Sanders skill set enough no one is saying hes a bad prospect, either the temptation will prove too great.

Well be touching on the draft much more in the coming weeks.

For now, check out our newly published NFL Draft hub .

NBA investigating Morant On multiple occasions during Tuesdays game, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant celebrated with a gun-like gesture, with one pointed directly at the Warriors bench.

The NBA has fined players for similar motions before, but with Morant its different hes been suspended twice for waving around actual firearms on social media.

Not a great time in Memphis right now .

Marte, Merrill, Campbell get paid I guess its extension season in baseball, which adds to some good early season vibes for those getting millions more dollars.

Up first: Diamondbacks All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte, who agreed to a six-year, $116.5 million deal yesterday.

Well-deserved, as Marte has been awesome in Arizona.

Also making big bucks: Padres wunderkind Jackson Merrill, who will sign a team-friendly nine-year, $135 million extension that already feels too cheap .

On the opposite end, the Red Sox finalized an eight-year, $60 million contract with 22-year-old Kristian Campbell, who debuted on Opening Day this year.

Cheers to signing players early.

More news Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters .

NHL: Bruins at Canadiens 7 p.m.

ET on ESPN+ Montreal is in a tight race for the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, tied in the standings with the Rangers with Columbus and Detroit not far behind.

Eight games left.

NBA: Warriors at Lakers 10 p.m.

ET on TNT/Max Steph vs.

LeBron, two playoff teams jelling at the right time.

What more do you need? Get tickets to games like these here .

What was it like to face Nikola Jokic on Tuesday, when he registered a 61-point triple-double? Bruh, oh my god, is the best answer I could hope for from the bewildered Timberwolves.

I love game stories like this one .

How did NFL teams namely, the Bengals do in free agency? Mike Sando got unfiltered opinions from executives around the league to find out.

Advertisement Fun exclusive: Bears GM Ryan Poles talks about how he reeled in this offseasons big coaching hire, and a whole lot more.

Watch here .

Very important journalism: Ken Rosenthal asked Dodgers players to pick the better athlete between Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani .

They had a hard time .

Hey, theres a new pitch in baseball.

Its called the kick-change and Eno Sarris has all the lore .

I liked Ralph Russos perspective on this: Sure, we dont have Cinderella teams this year in the mens NCAA Tournament , but we do have Cinderella players .

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday : Andrew Marchands column on the Pat McAfee/Ole Miss student situation, which he compared to the saga of Don Imus.

Catch up here .

Most-read on the website yesterday : Once again, Katie Strangs story on the above situation , which is the start of this entire arc.

A final ask: Hello, Pulse friends.

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