ESNY’s Thursday Morning Shootaround

Welcome back, NBA.

After a long All-Star break, the NBA returns to the court tonight. Which is good, because we’re still waiting for baseball to get their act together and get back on the diamond.

Last night we had some big college hoops action with NCAA Tournament implications. And we’ll continue watching to see how our local teams work to get into the dance in March.

Here’s what we’re watching tonight:

• NBA: Celtics @ Nets — 7:30 PM ET
• NHL: Capitals @ Rangers — 7 PM ET
• NHL: Islanders @ Sharks — 10:30 PM ET
• CBB: #22 Ohio State @ #15 Illinois — 9 PM ET
• CBB: #12 UCLA @ Oregon — 9:30 PM ET

The Martian has landed

The Yankees have a nice collection of minor leaguers in camp right now in Florida. Yesterday, FanGraphs dropped their new top 100 rankings. Jasson Dominguez came in at 73.

He’s looking ready for a big second professional season in camp, though.

Jasson Dominguez at #Yankees minor league camp: pic.twitter.com/nkWAndRTE3

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) February 23, 2022

Seton Hall hangs on

We’re at the time of year that college basketball teams are desperately trying to build and complete a resume worthy of a ticket to the dance. We broke down the chances of a few local teams to get into March Madness this morning, including a solid win for Seton Hall over Butler last night.

Let's get to the highlights … 🎥#HALLin 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/tir2YXPhvp

— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) February 24, 2022

Thome time

The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association — note: not the union — named Hall of Famer Jim Thome as their new president on Wednesday. He’s a class act and will do a tremendous job replacing Brooks Robinson in the role.

We are thrilled to announce Jim Thome as our new president! Jim will assume the duties of president immediately under the guidance of former president Brooks Robinson. pic.twitter.com/LdBEQNDXKb

— MLBPAA (@MLBPAA) February 23, 2022