Takeaways from Opening Day, plus who will replace Roy Williams at UNC?

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Happy Friday, my friend! Day 1 of baseball season is in the books and I hope you enjoyed it. I woke up at noon and immediately opened Twitter only to see that my favorite team's game was rained out, so I suppose it could have gone better for me. But, on the bright side, I still watched plenty of baseball and had my ceremonial Opening Day hot dogs ... so, not the worst! (Also, now I get to have a few too many beers to watch a belated Opening Day on a Friday!)

We'll get you caught up on yesterday's Opening Day action here shortly, but we're going to be leading with some big college basketball news first. We'll also take a look at whether Trevor Lawrence is the greatest quarterback prospect in the NFL's modern era.

We've got a big sports weekend ahead of us so you better be getting yourself ready. I'll be enjoying plenty of hockey, baseball and Final Four action from the couch (unfortunately, I don't think the weather will be nice enough to break in my outdoor setup just yet) and you can follow me on Twitter if you want to keep up with my nonsense while we're apart. I'll be back here on Monday to recap it all.

Enjoy your weekend and stay safe out there!

📰 What you need to know

1. Roy Williams retires from UNC 🏀

It's the end of an era for North Carolina basketball. Yesterday, Roy Williams announced his retirement as the head coach of UNC, bringing his legendary career to a close after 33 seasons. The 70-year-old Williams has been the face of North Carolina's program since 2003 and he spent 15 years at Kansas before that, racking up 903 total wins between the two schools (third-most all-time).

Williams has an incredible list of accolades, including:

He's one of six head coaches all-time to win three national titles (2005, 2009, 2017) and is the only to win three at his alma mater
He's the only head coach to win 400 games at two different schools
He coached teams to nine Final Four appearances (fourth-most all-time) and won 18 regular-season conference titles (nine at Kansas, nine at UNC)
He reached the 900-win milestone in fewer games (1,161) and seasons (33) than any coach in NCAA history

Williams' retirement comes after the Tar Heels have fallen short of expectations over the past few seasons. They would have missed the tournament had there been one last year, and UNC was bounced in the first round (Williams' first-ever opening round loss with the program) this season.

So, who might be tapped to step into the big shoes that Williams leaves behind? Our Matt Norlander highlighted some candidates yesterday.

Two alums that could be considered: Hubert Davis (a current UNC assistant) and Wes Miller (coach of UNC Greensboro). Davis' passion for the program is evidenced by the fact he left a cushy ESPN gig in 2012 to join Williams' staff, and Miller has a decade of experience running a program and has been long been pegged as an ideal successor
A few outside contenders: Mark Few (Gonzaga head coach), Tony Bennett (Virginia head coach) and Billy Donovan (Bulls head coach)

While we don't know who's going to take over, what we do know is this: One of the best coaches in the history of college basketball is calling it quits and, as a result, one of the most attractive jobs in the nation has just opened up. It's a major shift for the landscape.

2. The biggest takeaways from Opening Day ⚾

It's great to have baseball back in our lives, isn't it? Opening Day really does feel like a holiday every single year and this year's felt a bit more special thanks to some of the normalcy it brought. It was great to see the season start on time and with fans back in the stands, even at limited capacity.

Plus, the more sports the better ... even if only for the background noise (baseball and golf are the best sports to fold laundry to and that's a fact.)

Our Matt Snyder has some takeaways from the first day of the season:

Rough start for the reigning champs: The Dodgers' title defense got off to a rocky start and they lost to -- wait for it -- the Rockies. The silver lining? Los Angeles played just about the worst possible game imaginable and they still had a very real chance to win
Giants melt down, lose on walks: San Francisco took a 6-1 lead into the eight inning of their game against the Mariners and then gave up a six-spot. The Giants did manage to get a game-tying home run from pinch hitter Alex Dickerson in the 9th inning to force extras, but then they walked three straight batters to lose the game in the 10th inning
Good signs for Blue Jays: Toronto took its opener despite having to go up against Gerrit Cole and the Yankees. Cole struck out eight batters, but the Jays got some big performances from Teoscar Hernandez (3 for 4 with a home run) and Vladimir Guerrero (line drive single and two walks). Aaron Judge was a rally-killer for the Yankees, striking out twice and stranding five men on base

The best highlight of the day came when Miguel Cabrera hit a home run through a flurry of snow in Detroit -- a relatively rare scene in baseball. To make the moment even better, Miggy lost sight of the ball and slid into second thinking it was still in play. The weirdest highlight of the day came when a baserunning error took a home run away from Cody Bellinger and instead handed him a single.

The most ridiculous moment of the day? That came when the White Sox orchestrated a nice but completely over-the-top tribute to Eloy Jimenez, who is hurt ... not dead. Could've fooled me!

3. Where does Trevor Lawrence rank among top QB prospects this era? 🏈

Listen, it's no secret that Trevor Lawrence is going to go No. 1 in this year's NFL Draft, which is just under four weeks away. It's always fun to have a little bit of mystery and wonder who might get picked first overall, but we won't have that suspense this year.

Instead, we'll have to wonder just how good Lawrence can be. As part of that exercise, our Chris Trapasso ranked the top quarterback prospects of the modern era to find out where Lawrence fits in ... and the results are something.

Lawrence can be considered the most highly regarded QB prospect of the last 40 years
He was arguably the most hyped high school recruit in history, had an incredible college career and now is considered a "can't miss" NFL prospect with top grades in nearly every category
The Mount Rushmore of QB prospects: 1) Lawrence, 2) Andrew Luck, 3) John Elway, 4) Peyton Manning

That's not necessarily saying that Lawrence will be the best quarterback in NFL history or be a lock to have a better career than any of the guys ranked behind him, but it's a testament to how highly scouts have thought of him for so long ... and how he hasn't let any of them down. When you rank ahead of a few Hall of Famers, that's a good sign.

Lawrence is genuinely the best quarterback prospect we've ever seen, and that's why there's no suspense surrounding the top pick this year.

4. Texas steals Chris Beard from Texas Tech 🏀

Roy Williams' retirement wasn't the only bit of big coaching news in college hoops yesterday. After Shaka Smart ditched Texas to take the Marquette job last month, the Longhorns have found their new man.

Texas hired Chris Beard away from Texas Tech on Thursday, continuing Beard's ascension in the CBB ranks
Beard is a Texas alumnus who got his coaching start as a graduate assistant with the Longhorns in the early 1990s
In five seasons at Texas Tech, Beard led the Red Raiders to a 112-55 record. He made three appearances out of four NCAA Tournaments in that time -- including two Elite Eights and a runner-up finish in 2019

This seems like a slam dunk hire for the Longhorns given Beard's success and his ties to the university, and as Texas guy myself ... I'm quite excited about it. It's always cool to see a guy come full circle and there's little doubt that Beard sees this opportunity as his dream job. He'll be tasked with bringing the Horns back to prominence, as the program has won just one NCAA Tournament game since 2012.

📝 Odds & Ends

It turns out Michael Strahan's surgery to fix the gap in his teeth was just an elaborate April Fool's hoax
An MMA fighter lost his finger during a fight at CFFC 94
Kevin Durant apologized for the language he used in private messages sent to actor Michael Rapaport

📺 What to watch this weekend

Saturday: 🏀 No. 2 Houston vs. No. 1 Baylor, 5:14 p.m. | BAYLOR -5 | TV: CBS

Saturday: 🏀 No. 11 UCLA vs. No. 1 Gonzaga, 8:34 p.m. | ZAGS -14 | TV: CBS

Sunday: ⚾ White Sox vs. Angels, 8:37 p.m. | TV: ESPN

🥇 The best thing I saw yesterday

Bruce Drennan absolutely went off on a "stupid idiot" Indians fan who called into his show complaining about Franmil Reyes after Game 1 yesterday. My guy Bruce better pace himself ... it's gonna be a long season in Cleveland.