Screen Shots: May 15th-21st, 2025

Welcome to Screen Shots! This is where I tell you what sporting events you should watch on TV every week! Make sure you subscribe so it comes straight to your inbox! Have your own suggestions? Shoot me an email at [email protected]!

To the raucous applause of track and field fans across the globe, Coach Herbert Johnson made his return to the show to talk about how things are going with Grand Slam Track so far! You know he always brings the energy, so skip your coffee and just watch this!

Now, to the sports!

Thursday, May 15th, 2025

• NBA Playoffs: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets at 8:30 pm (ET) on ESPN

Game 6 in this series, and I can’t decide if neither teams want to win or if both teams want to win. A lot of what we’ve seen from OKC has been a major disappointment because we thought they worked past these issues last season during their first playoff experience as the top seed. Turns out, it’s not so easy to win a championship. However, they can close the Nuggets out in this one, and if they win the title, these struggles will be nothing more than a footnote. Most importantly, we don’t have to deal with that “what a pro wants” commercial anymore.

Friday, May 16th, 2025

• College Softball: First Round NCAA Tournament Coverage begins at 12:00 pm (ET) on ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network, SEC Network

Perhaps the Thunder could learn a thing or two from the Sooners softball program. They are seeking their 5th straight WCWS title. SEC-mate Texas A&M snagged the #1 overall seed, but Oklahoma is sitting nicely at 2. Here’s everything you need to know!

• WNBA: Los Angeles Sparks @ Golden State Valkyries at 10:00 pm (ET) on ION

WNBA on ION Fridays are back! What a Friday night for you! You get to come watch me MC a poetry show featuring some of the most talented performers in the Lowcountry and get home in time to witness history as the Valkyries play their first-ever regular season game!

Saturday, May 17th, 2025

• WNBA: Las Vegas Aces @ New York Liberty at 1:00 pm (ET) on ABC

I forgot to mention that I’ve got quick season previews for every team to help get you ready. These two have combined for the last 3 WNBA titles. Luckily for us, they also don’t seem to enjoy each other’s company in a beef that dates back to when the Aces beat the Liberty to win the 2023 WNBA Championship. The fact that it’s only the 2nd-most heated rivalry today speaks to the general pettiness of WNBA schedulemakers.

• WNBA: Chicago Sky @ Indiana Fever at 3:30 pm (ET) on ABC

Holy ratings grab! Look, we know what they’re doing, but I want to go on the record and say the real problem is between Caitlin Clark and Hailey Van Lith. There is no “You Can’t See Me” celebration in the national title game if Clark doesn’t hit HVL with it during the Elite Eight that year in the midst of dropping 41 points on her head. And, of course, the very next year, Clark gave her 41 again in the Elite Eight, which led to this meme. Honestly, if America weren’t so insistent upon being racist, this could be a fun thing with HVL on the Sky now! But c’est la vie! A lot of changes for both organizations, so I will once again implore you to read my season previews for each and every team.

Sunday, May 18th, 2025

• MLB: New York Mets @ New York Yankees at 7:00 pm (ET) on ESPN

A little Subway Series action on Sunday Night Baseball. Am I insane, or do games featuring the Mets, Yankees, and/or Red Sox feel like they take 5 times as long as the average game? I grew up in an era where the Yankees never lost out on players that they wanted, much less guys they already had who they tried to re-sign. Well, the future is now, old man. In a move that nearly reanimated George Steinbrenner, they lost Juan Soto to the Mets this offseason. Tune in to see if Roger Clemens shows up to throw broken bats!

Monday, May 19th, 2025

• MLB: Cincinnati Reds @ Pittsburgh Pirates at 6:40 pm (ET) on FS1

Baseball is very much a regional sport, and the lack of available national games reflects that. What really drives me crazy, though, is that when there are nationally televised games, we get the same rotation of teams to watch. That means our nation’s Elly De La Cruz levels are dangerously low. Yes, the Reds are not a big market or even a good baseball team, but Elly is Elly. He’s still improving as a player and giving us moments like this. Who knows when we’ll get to see him again, so tap in.

Tuesday, May 20th, 2025

• WNBA: Atlanta Dream @ Indiana Fever at 7:00 pm (ET) on NBA TV

Similar to MLB’s decision-making when it comes to which games to televise, it would appear that the WNBA is going to keep pressing the Caitlin Clark button for the foreseeable future. We will take what we can get (for now), especially if it means we get to see how many 3-pointers the Atlanta Dream take under new coach Karl Smesko. During his tenure at Florida Gulf Coast, his teams never finished outside the top 5 in 3-pointers attempted per game.

Wednesday, May 21st, 2025

• On This Day In Sport History: In 1981, former MLB MVP Josh Hamilton was born

For a baseball fan in a minor league city, there are few things better than being the affiliate of an awful major league team. Such was the case in 2000 when my hometown Charleston Riverdogs were the Single-A team for the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Devil Rays began play in 1998 and wouldn’t make their 1st postseason appearance until 2008 (interestingly enough, the same season they dropped the “Devil”). This meant a lot of high draft picks stamped as future stars passing through the minor league system.

None had more potential than Josh Hamilton. The 6’4”, 200 lbs lefty was a legitimate 5-tool player. He ran the 60-yard dash in 6.7 seconds, had a 97 mph fastball, and hit for .529 with 13 homers as a high school senior. Tampa Bay drafted him first overall, passing on P Josh Beckett, with the goal of having Hamilton be their star outfielder as they climbed out of the expansion franchise basement.

It didn’t take long to see the vision. Paired with another future All-Star outfielder, Carl Crawford, during his only season with the Riverdogs, Hamilton was as good as advertised. I quickly became a daily Post & Courier boxscore checker. Josh earned MVP honors at the South Atlantic League All-Star game, was selected to the All-Star Futures game played during MLB All-Star Weekend, and was named Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today. He was 19 years old.

Hamilton suffered a back injury in a car accident just prior to the beginning of the next season. He ended up starting that year off in Charleston once again, but was quickly moved up to AA. However, he was never able to shake the injuries sustained in the accident, and only played sporadically. During his time away from the game, something much worse happened: he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. By 2003, the only time you heard about Josh Hamilton was when he failed another drug test.

Incredibly, what was a story about wasted potential and a fight to stay alive managed to become a story about redemption. After several years out of baseball, numerous attempts at rehab, and run-ins with the law, Josh Hamilton made his Major League debut in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds. Following an impressive rookie season, he was traded to the Texas Rangers, where he gave us a glimpse of the player he should have been all along. Beginning with his first season on the Rangers, he was named an All-Star 5 consecutive years. That first appearance also featured a Home Run Derby performance for the ages. In 2010, Hamilton was named AL MVP and ALCS MVP. He helped lead the Rangers to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011. He had overcome his demons and become one of the best players in the game. It was something out of a Disney movie.

Except that’s not how life goes. Hamilton had very public relapses in 2009, 2012, and 2015. Many attribute the 2012 relapse to a tragic incident in 2011 where Hamilton tossed a ball to a fan, who was attending the game with his son, and the fan lost his footing and fell to his death. The Angels signed Hamilton to a huge contract during the 2012 offseason, but he never came close to the levels of production he reached in Texas. He was often injured, and when he did play, he was bad. Shortly after his 2015 relapse, his wife filed for divorce, and the Angels traded him back to the Rangers. After playing just 50 games in 2015, Texas planned to move Josh to 1B to save his beaten-down body from even more wear and tear, but, while rehabbing from the surgery on his left knee that necessitated the position switch, he injured his right knee. And just like that, Hamilton’s career was over.

In the time since then, I wish I could say that Josh started another redemption arc. Unfortunately, it’s hard to say. In 2019, he was arrested for physically assaulting his oldest daughter. He did make an appearance at the All-Star festivities last year, so I’m hopeful that’s a sign that he’s doing okay now. May he have a happy, safe, and healthy birthday.

As always, thank you for reading! Make sure you’re subscribed so you get this first thing Thursday morning, and be sure to share with your friends! See you next week!