From the Couch Sports

March 10, 2026 will be a day every American sports fan will remember forever.

As the day started we were all expecting some headlines from NFL Free Agency, which was entering its second day. Monday was a HUGE day with player signings and extensions but in large part, Tuesday would be the dessert to compliment the main course Day 1.

It’s March, so there’s always college basketball headlines and mid-major conference tournaments being played on a weekday during the second week of March, but never anything too unexpected.

The NBA regular season is nearing a close, but the general consensus around the NBA season this year has been resounding disappointment. Teams are “tanking”, players are still load managing, and there’s just not a level of buzz around the game like there once was. The headliner of the night in the NBA was the matchup between the Celtics and the Spurs, which would feature two superstars, a newly returned from injury Jayson Tatum for Boston and Victor Wembanyama for San Antonio. That would be something to look forward to if you’re an NBA die-hard.

Lastly, the World Baseball Classic is almost finished with pool play and the matchup between Canada and Puerto Rico had some major implications in Pool A while the United States could clinch a spot in the Quarterfinals and win Pool B with a win over heavy underdog Italy.

There would be stories and the night would be fun to follow, especially with Team USA on the diamond but no one, and I mean NO ONE could have expected what was to come.

The first shocker:

Maxx Crosby sent back to the Raiders.

News broke at approximately 8ish PM EST Tuesday, March 10,2026.

Raiders superstar EDGE rusher Maxx Crosby was traded to the Ravens on Friday, March 6th. The Raiders sent two first round picks, one in 2026 and one in 2027 to the Ravens in exchange for Crosby. The news broke around 9PM EST on Friday.

Of course, this was pending a physical and wouldn’t be finalized for a few days but this is standard procedure. A big trade but expected considering the roster rebuild happening in Vegas.

The voided trade sent shock waves through the NFL world. Twitter (X) was exploding with memes, questions, and more importantly, reports of a failed physical. The Ravens knew he was coming off meninscus surgery in January and in turn would most likely fail his physical anyway so this was absolutely shocking and could somewhat be chalked up to buyers remorse. The trade was never technically finalized so it was perfectly legal what the Ravens did. The story around Crosby and the Raiders has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, story of the NFL off-season so far. It would likely be the biggest shocker of the night, right?

Oh and by the way, QB Geno Smith wad traded from the Raiders to the Jets. A strange full circle moment for Geno, he famously-well infamously, started his career with New York.

Quietly and I mean quietly trending:

Bam Adabeyo recorded 31 points in the 1st quarter against the Washington Wizards, sets the Miami Heat record for points in the 1st quarter

Shortly after the Maxx Crosby news approximately 8ish PM Tuesday, March 10,2026.

The Miami Heat hosted the Wizards riding a 5-game win streak as they push towards an opportunity to avoid the Play-In Tournament in the upcoming NBA Playoffs. The Heat were without top scorers Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell, Tyler Herro, and Kel’el Ware who were all battling injuries. Bam would have to step up and be the main scorer if the Heat would want to continue their win streak. Bam was averaging nearly 19 points per game this season.

After the first quarter, he was just seven points shy of his 2nd highest point total in his career (38). His career-high was 41 points. He played all 12 minutes of the first quarter.

Bam outscored the Wizards ENTIRE Wizards team 31-29 in the first quarter.

Bam Adebayo puts up 43 points in the 1st half

Approximately 8:40 ish PM EST Tuesday, March 10,2026

As most of us were waiting for the USA/Italy game to start, Bam surpassed his previous career-high of 41 points and put up 43 points in the first half against the Wizards. He was 13-24 from the field, 5-11 from the 3PT line, and 12-14 from the FT line.

The Heat lead the Wizards 76-62 at HT.

USA/Italy begins:

Just after 9 PM EST Tuesday, March 10,2026

The boys in the Red, White, and Blue started their game against Italy with a strong showing in the first inning by pitcher Nolan Mclean. 3 straight strikeouts in his WBC debut. The United States entered the game as a 5.5 point favorite to win and a -1000 favorite to win outright. The game started as expected.

Italy takes a 3-0 lead:

9:30ish PM EST Tuesday, March 10,2026

After a stellar first inning from Mclean, he lost momentum in the top of the 2nd. Italy catcher and White Sox prospect Kyle Teel lifted a home run over the Crawford Boxes at Daikin Park in Houston. Minutes later Jac Caglianone was hit by a pitch and then Sam Antonacci, another White Sox prospect, blasted a home run 403 feet into right center to give Italy a 3-0 lead.

Antonacci is a non-roster invitee on the 2026 White Sox Spring Training roster. His highest level of professional baseball is AA.

Bam Adabeyo sets the Miami Heat franchise record with 62 points:

9:30ish PM EST Tuesday, March 10,2026

As the US was falling behind to Team Italy, Bam Adabeyo broke Lebron James’ 12-year old franchise record of 61 points.

Miami Heat Guard Dru Smith picked the pocket of Sharife Cooper as he was bringing the ball up the court. Smith then passed to Bam, who slammed down an emphatic, James-esque dunk to set the Miami Heat record. This happened with :22 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to give the Heat a 113-94.

Bam Adabeyo hits the 70 then 80-point mark:

9:40ish EST Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Bam Adabeyo became just the 11th player in NBA history to score 70 points in a single game.

He would then begin his quest for more points as the game was nearing an end.

With just over 2 minutes to go in the 4th, he surpassed Wilt Chamberlin for 3rd all-time with 80 points after he connected on two free throws.

Jac Caglianone puts Italy ahead 5-0:

Just after 10ish PM Tuesday, March 10,2026

Team USA was trailing Italy 3-0 but they weren’t in dire straits yet. Sure they were struggling at the plate, but most US fans knew it would be a matter of time before the bats would get going.

Well, they’d fall behind just a bit more as Royals prospect Jac Caglianone sent one deep to right to give the Italians a 5-0 lead in the Top of the 4th.

Bam passes Kobe’s 81

10:06ish Tuesday, March 10,2026

After a series of multiple possessions where the Heat’s offense did everything they could to feed Bam the ball, he forced fouls and connected with a series of free throws to match Kobe’s 81 points.

He was sent back to the line with just over a minute to go in the game with an opportunity to pass the seemingly unreachable mark that Kobe hit in 2006.

The whole place went silent. Bam shot his first, nothing but net. The place exploded as Bam scored his 82nd point. His second shot was as perfect as the previous one. He reached a pinnacle that was seemingly unthinkable, 83 points. Second all-time behind Wilt Camberlin.

The Aftermath

10:15ish to Midnight EST Tuesday, March 10,2026

The World Baseball Classic game was on FS1 so I’d estimate most people were able to watch it, but the Heat game was on Fan Duel Network Sun, a regional broadcast network. No where to be found for most subscribers of basic TV packages. I live in South Florida but I have YouTube TV so I don’t get it. Given the low-profile game, it wasn’t going to be on national TV but c’mon man how was the last half of the fourth quarter not anywhere to be found on an ESPN channel or the NBA Network. Most of us found out about this milestone through social media. One of the greatest accomplishments in NBA history was hardly seen.

But boy was it scrutinized.

Instantly people were dissecting and criticizing the last possessions for the Heat which sent Bam to the free throw line many times. Bam shot 43 free throws in the game, an NBA record and people all over social media went crazy comparing his game to Kobe’s 81-point game. Some even thought Bam should’ve stopped at 81 out of respect for Kobe. It was absolute madness.

An NBA player just scored the second most points of all time in an NBA game and it felt like people were mad. Like legitimately mad, not sad, not disappointed…mad.

Social media was in an absolute frenzy and slowly it wouldn’t just be over the scoring night from Bam. Soon the United States would fall behind to Team Italy 8-0 in the top of the 6th in the World Baseball Classic. The mighty Team USA was getting the absolute doors blown off them in the most embarrassing way. They couldn’t hit, couldn’t pitch, and couldn’t field.

It took a Gunnar Henderson solo HR in the bottom of the 6th to finally get the Red, White, and Blue on the board. The US homered again in the bottom of the 7th and cut the Italian lead to 8-4. After a Roman Anthony RBI in the bottom of the 8th, the US trailed 8-5 with the tying run at the plate.

Bryce Harper, pinch hitting for Paul Goldschmidt, struck out swinging. Damn.

Team Italy held an 8-5 lead going into the bottom of the 9th. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s second homer of the game pulled the US within two. The US officially had a rally going, Bobby Witt singled and again the US had the tying run at the plate. Team Italy and (Red Sox) pitcher Greg Weissert would have to retire Gunnar Henderson and possibly Aaron Judge to get the save.

Weissert struck out Henderson, like he had done twice last season. Aaron Judge entered the batters box with two outs, he represented the tying run. Weissert again had the right pitches and struck out Judge with a low, off-speed pitch.

Italy could finally breathe after the late US rally, they just pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in World Baseball Classic history.

Italy’s 8-6 win over the US was the final shocker of the night. A night where the unthinkable happened three times over the course of three and a half hours. Never again will we see such a series of events so shocking and so unexpected on a random Tuesday in March.