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This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

⚾ Good morning to all, but especially to ... MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAMS AND THEIR FANS

The grass is green, the cracks of bats and the pops of mitts fill the air, and everyone (well, except for the Cubs) has a zero in the loss column. It's Opening Day!

Our experts' World Series and pennant picks are in, and two teams earned multiple votes to win it all. One of those, unsurprisingly, is the Dodgers. The other? R.J. Anderson is rolling with ...

  • Anderson: "Phillies -- With due respect to the Dodgers, in my estimation the team with the best individual chance of winning this year's World Series, I went with the chaos as an acknowledgement that Stuff Happens during the playoffs. Despite picking the Phillies to finish second in the NL East, I think we can all agree that their rotation catching fire at the right time could see them go from the wild card to World Series champions."

R.J. mentioned his NL East pick, and we have full-staff divisional picks and projected standings here.

Looking at the individual side, we have award predictions as well. Two players got multiple votes for AL MVP ... and neither is Aaron Judge. I'll let Julian McWilliams -- welcome to CBS Sports, Julian! -- and Matt Snyder explain ...

  • McWilliams: "It's Bobby Witt Jr.'s world. He's the epitome of a five-tool player who impacts winning and had a breakout year last season. Had it not been for Aaron Judge, Witt would have easily taken home the AL MVP award."
  • Snyder: "Witt might be the best all-around position player in baseball and he's still only scratched the surface. I've got the Royals winning the AL Central, which means he'll have extra narrative on his side."

Matt also has a Royal winning Cy Young. The last team to have both the MVP and the Cy Young winner was the 2013 Tigers (Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer), so it's safe to say Matt is pretty high on Kansas City. You can see who else Matt is high on in his best bets.

Here's more:

😃 Honorable mentions

😥 Not so honorable mentions

🏀 Men's Sweet 16 predictions, ranking best games

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Welcome to the Sweet 16! After the always-hectic first weekend, the number of games goes way down but, in all likelihood, the quality goes way up.

No matter the quality of their picks so far, we gave our experts second-chance brackets, and they all stuck with their original champion -- all No. 1 seeds.

But those teams are going to get quite the test in this round. David Cobb ranked the best games of the Sweet 16, and I hope you're staying up late for ...

  • Cobb: "1. (3) Texas Tech vs. (10) Arkansas -- Why aren't we putting JT Toppin's name in the conversation with Duke's Cooper Flagg and Auburn's Johni Broome for National Player of the Year? The sophomore big is averaging 22.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over the Red Raiders' past 13 games. Arkansas and coach John Calipari are the story entering this game. Don't be surprised if Toppin is the story coming out of it. If not, Calipari reaching the Elite Eight with the only double-digit seed remaining in the bracket will suffice as one incredible development."

I loved John Talty's story on Toppin, who idolizes (and rebounds like) Dennis Rodman while still filling it up in the points column, and in my keys for every Sweet 16 underdog, I explain why and how the Razorbacks need to contain him.

Texas Tech-Arkansas might be the best game, but (1) Duke vs. (4) Arizona might be the most anticipated. Can Caleb Love get his sixth career win over the Blue Devils? Or will Cooper Flagg and Co. repeat what they did to the Wildcats earlier this season?

In our expert picks and best bets, Chip Patterson says ...

  • Patterson: "Every Duke game since Feb. 14 when Flagg has been healthy has resulted in 80 or more points for the Blue Devils ... Now we introduce an Arizona team that pushes the pace and started to slip a little on the defensive side at the end of the regular season. If this game plays out as the oddsmakers are expecting, there will be plenty of Arizona chasing the game late, and Duke just happens to be the best free-throw shooting team left in the NCAA Tournament. Pick: Duke Team Total Over 81.5"

Here's more:

🏀 LeBron James gets first game-winning buzzer beater since 2018

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They say it's not how you start, but how you finish. And LeBron James' finish against the Pacers featured something he hadn't done in more than a half-decade. James tipped in a Luka Dončić miss as time expired to lift the Lakers to a much-needed 120-119 win.

  • It's James' eighth career game-winning buzzer beater -- one behind Michael Jordan's record nine -- but his first since the 2018 playoffs against the Raptors.
  • James entered the fourth quarter 0 for 6 from the field. It was the first time he had zero field goals through three quarters since Dec. 29, 2004 -- the day before he turned 20!
  • He also entered the quarter with just three points. The last time he had fewer than 10 points in a game was Jan 5, 2007.
  • He made sure he'd keep that streak going by scoring eight quick points to open the fourth. And after the Pacers rallied, his final two points proved to be the difference in what was far from his finest offensive outing.

The Lakers had dropped three straight and seven of 10 entering the contest, so this was a big one. They are currently fourth in the West.

🏀 Ranking women's Sweet 16 games

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The women's Sweet 16 opens tomorrow, and just like the men's side, it's chock full of excellent, intriguing matchups. Isabel Gonzalez ranked the games 1-8, and atop the list is ...

  • Gonzalez: "1. (1) Texas vs. (5) Tennessee -- Tennessee almost upset Texas earlier this season, and this could be another tight contest between two of the most successful programs in women's basketball history. Both teams know how to go on runs and disrupt opponents by forcing turnovers. Tennessee has a fast, aggressive style of play and one of the best offenses in the nation with some strong 3-point shooting."

I always say guards win in March, and you won't find many guard duos better than the Longhorns' Madison Booker and Rori Harmon.

As for the remaining field, this Sweet 16 has all top four 1, 2 and 3 seeds, so we thought it would be fun if we re-seeded those teams still in the running. The loss of JuJu Watkins certainly hurt USC, but after the first two rounds, Jack Maloney has come away thinking that there is only one true No. 1.

  • Maloney: "1. Connecticut -- Their high-powered offense is firing on all cylinders, Paige Bueckers tied her career-high with 34 points in her final home game and Azzi Fudd announced she'll be returning to Storrs next season. The vibes are extremely high for the Huskies, who are the current betting favorites to win it all."

📺 What we're watching Thursday

⚾ Brewers at Yankees, 3 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Mavericks at Magic, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Tigers at Dodgers, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 (2) Alabama vs. (6) BYU (M), 7:09 p.m. on CBS
🏒 Capitals at Wild, 7:30 p.m. on Disney+ | ESPN+ | Hulu
🏀 (1) Florida vs. (4) Maryland (M), 7:39 p.m. on TBS
🏀 (1) Duke vs. (4) Arizona (M), 9:39 p.m. on CBS
🏒 Kings at Avalanche, 10 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 (10) Arkansas vs. (3) Texas Tech (M), 10:09 p.m. on TBS