Welcome to Monday's Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
MONDAY'S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:MLB: Tampa Bay at NY Yankees, 1:05 p.m. (ESPN)MLB: Baltimore at Houston, 7:10 p.m. (ESPN)MLB: Boston at Miami, 7:10 p.m. (NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7)MLB: Cleveland at LA Angels, 10:07 p.m. (ESPN2)
AROUND THE WEB:
-- At least one Gronkowski will attend the Kentucky Derby this year.
A horse named after the Patriots tight end won the Burradon Stakes on Friday, qualifying the thoroughbred for the Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5.
"We've had this dream, and now the dream is alive," the horse's trainer Jeremy Noseda said after the victory.
Gronkowski the horse finished first in his last four races, including the Kempton Stakes in March.
"I love the New England Patriots, and as Rob Gronkowski is 6-5 and about the same wide, I thought it would be an appropriate name for the horse, as he's built much the same," Gronkowski's owner Kerri Radcliffe said last month.
Rob Gronkowski has attended the Kentucky Derby in the past, along with teammate Tom Brady, who regularly attends.
-- Two elementary school students took a knee while performing the national anthem before the Mariners game at Safeco Field on Sunday.
Here at Safeco Field where an elementary school sung the anthem and two students took a knee while performing. pic.twitter.com/HwHIsowsxN
— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) April 1, 2018The kneeling protests are, of course, prevalent in the NFL but only moved to baseball when Bruce Maxwell of the A's took a knee before an MLB game last season.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I think it was a combination of a few things. It was building. Some of those products equal what you're getting. The starting block was that he started building a pretty good foundation what he was trying to do with his legs so he felt strong in the batter's box. I think he wanted to stay behind the ball, so that made him stay upright a little more. Those things, that slows the ball down." -- Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers, on the change in Xander Bogaerts' swing
