The XFL's opening weekend has been a successful one, and the New York Guardians can agree after their 23-3 over the Tampa Bay Vipers at MetLife Stadium for their first win of the new season.

Takeaways from Sunday's game

1) Former Raiders QB Matt McGloin leads the Guardians' offense and he did a great job setting the tone early with a touchdown on the opening drive that he capped off with a fourth-down rush up the middle for a one-yard score. Overall, he finished his afternoon with a 15-for-29 line for 182 yards and one touchdown. 

On Saturday, No. 12 Seton Hall beat No. 10 Villanova 70-64 on the road to improve to 10-1 in Big East Conference play.

After the win, head coach Kevin Willard praised senior guard Myles Powell for his leadership.

"It just shows you what type of player and person Myles Powell is," Willard said. " The whole time, he was calling plays, he was telling the guys what to do. It's just the type of leadership that he has. He has such great leadership at all times."

St. John's largest lead of 17 points disappeared in Sunday's 73-72 loss to Georgetown, and head coach Mike Anderson saw one common theme that contributed to the Red Storm's second-half collapse against the Hoyas.

After St. John's (13-10, 2-8 Big East) took a 38-29 lead over Georgetown (13-9, 3-6) into the locker room at Madison Square Garden, the Red Storm got sloppy. All 12 of St John's turnovers came in the second half, which gave the Hoyas chances down the stretch.

"You say you know you want to take care of the home court," Anderson said. "I thought, (in) the first half, we played pretty good basketball and we had zero turnovers. But if you said, 'Coach, what was the narrative of the game?' And you can see it -- we end up with 12 turnovers. They made some plays going down the stretch. Well, we didn't make those plays."

No. 25 Rutgers and Michigan faced off at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, in what probably felt like a home game for the New Jersey based Scarlet Knights, but that atmosphere wasn't enough, as the Wolverines walked away with a 69-63 win.

Despite it feeling like a home game, Rutgers might be thankful that it actually wasn't one -- considering the outcome. The Scarlet Knights are a perfect 15-0 at the RAC and are hoping to keep that record intact as they push for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991.

Saturday night's finish certainly did not help those chances -- Rutgers shot a poor 32.5 percent from the field and an even worse 25 percent from three-point range.

No. 10 Seton Hall got dealt a shocking ending to their weekend on Saturday, as Xavier came into the Prudential Center and upset the Pirates 74-62 on their home floor.

A big part of Xavier's game came on the boards, as the Musketeers outrebounded Seton Hall 51-22, including 14 offensive boards to the Pirates' five.

"We got down early, we started scrambling a little bit and when you scramble against good, big, physical teams, you're going to give up offensive rebounds," head coach Kevin Willard said after the game.

With Xavier ending Seton Hall's 10 game winning streak, the No. 10 Pirates should expect a drop down in the national rankings this upcoming week.

St. John's dropped Tuesday's game against the No. 8 Villanova Wildcats 79-59 at Madison Square Garden.

After the game, head coach Mike Anderson and guard Rasheem Dunn reacted to the 20-point loss, saying that the Red Storm simply didn't play up to their own expectations.

"One of the things that we always talk about is just trying to be consistent in how we play, and let's give Villanova some credit. They came out knocking some shots," said Anderson. "We got off to a pretty good start, and then of course I thought they settled it.

"Their experience, I think, showed."

A few months ago, Sacred Heart senior forward Jason Cotton said in 50 years he had hoped he could look back on his collegiate career with the Pioneers crowned as champions of the inaugural Connecticut Ice Festival.

Cotton's dream came true Sunday, and he earned Connecticut Ice MVP for his goal and assist in Sacred Heart's 4-1 win over Quinnipiac at Webster Bank Arena.

"Overall, I think going home tonight and just thinking about it -- it's going to be a lifetime memory," Cotton said.

Check out our recap of all the exciting action for Day Three of Connecticut Ice!

Sunday's slate featured the state's four NCAA Division I Men's College hockey teams battling it out, as Yale defeated UConn 6-2 in the consolation game and Sacred Heart won it all in a 4-1 victory over Quinnipiac.

So, as the Pioneers hoist the CT Ice trophy, here's what went down on the final day...

Sacred Heart is the first Connecticut Ice winner following a 4-1 victory over No. 17 Quinnipiac at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. on Sunday. 

Five things to know from Sunday's game

1) Jason Cotton has been the star player for the Pioneers this season, and he continued that with a clutch goal in the second period that helped SHU pull away from the Bobcats. It was his 17th on the season, and after recording an assist as well to go along with a solid first night in the win over Yale on Saturday, Cotton was named the Connecticut Ice MVP. 

After a demoralizing loss last night, the Yale Bulldogs bounced back with a 3-2 win in the Connecticut Ice consolation game against the UConn Huskies.

"I thought it was a great college hockey game," Yale head coach Keith Allain said. "UConn's a great team and they pushed us to the absolute limit."

In Yale's loss to Sacred Heart last night, Yale goaltender Corbin Kaczperski had five saves. However, Kaczperski was able to salvage that performance with 42 saves against UConn.

Check out our recap of all the exciting action for Day One of Connecticut Ice!

Friday's slate featured the Mites Jamboree for 6-8-year olds, the Girls High School Showcase, and the Prep Showcase Game.

Connecticut Ice continues on Saturday with the state's four NCAA Division I Men's College hockey teams battling it out for the CT Ice Trophy.

The Sacred Heart Pioneers dominated on all cylinders during their 6-2 win over the Yale Bulldogs -- advancing to the inaugural Connecticut Ice championship game against Quinnipiac. 

"I think we have so much depth," Sacred Heart forward Jason Cotton said. "We have so many guys who aren't in the lineup, who bring so much to practice every day and, you know, we have so much depth upfront and in the back."

That depth has propelled Sacred Heart to becoming a first-place team in Atlantic Hockey for a majority of this season. Earlier this season, the Pioneers cracked the USCHO Top 20 poll for the first time in their history.

Sacred Heart scored four goals in the first period and went on to beat Yale 6-2 to advance to the Connecticut Ice final against Quinnipiac on Sunday.

Five things to know from Saturday's game

1) The first period belonged to the Pioneers, as Sacred Heart dominated the first 20 minutes. Sacred Heart put 13 shots on goal in the period, and four of them found the back of the net. Jason Cotton got things started with a power play tally, his 16th goal of the season. Two minutes later, Vito Bavaro scored his 15th of the year to double the lead. Later in the period, with Yale on the power play and looking to get back in the game, Matt Tugnutt scored a shorthanded goal, keeping all the momentum in the Pioneers' favor. Austin Magera then added another goal, making it a 4-0 lead at the first intermission.

Check out our recap of all the exciting action for Day One of Connecticut Ice!

Friday's slate featured the Mites Jamboree for 6-8-year olds, the Girls High School Showcase, and the Prep Showcase Game.

Connecticut Ice continues on Saturday with the state's four NCAA Division I Men's College hockey teams battling it out for the CT Ice Trophy.

Seton Hall, the 10th ranked team in the country, knocked off Providence 73-64 on Wednesday night.

With the victory, the Pirates improved to 7-0 in Big East play, the only perfect record in the conference.

Myles Powell scored 14 points in the victory, while Romaro Gill led the Pirates with 17 points.

No. 10 Seton Hall entered the season ranked No. 12 in the nation, but they wouldn't stay there for long.

After losses to then-No. 3 Michigan State and then-No. 11 Oregon put the Pirates at a 6-2 record through the first five weeks of play, Seton Hall fell all the way out of the rankings with back-to-back losses to Iowa State and Rutgers.

Rutgers men's basketball has been on a tear recently, and the AP Top 25 poll has awarded them for their efforts. 

In the latest rankings, the Scarlet Knights have come in at No. 24 following their 64-56 win over Minnesota on Sunday. According to CBS' Gary Parrish, it is the first time since 1979 that Rutgers has been in an AP ranking. 

Led by fourth-year head coach Steve Pikiell, Rutgers has won eight of their last 10 games, which comes to a 14-4 record. They are also third in the Big Ten behind Michigan State and Illinois, while owning a perfect 13-0 home record at the RAC. 

Rutgers improved to 14-4 on Sunday after beating Minnesota 64-56, and could now become ranked for the first time since 1979.

Head coach Steve Pikiell has the Scarlet Knights tied for second place in the Big Ten, and talked about how the team gave an all around effort in their win on Sunday.

"A great team win... this team sacrifices, they play together, they play the right way," Pikiell said. "They were rewarded today against a good Minnesota team... when you're playing good teams, you better be doing some things well."

Seton Hall and St. John's played a thrilling game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, with the Pirates holding on for an 82-79 win.

With the victory, the Pirates improved to a perfect 6-0 in the Big East, while St. John's fell to 1-5 in the conference.

"We were really struggling to score in the first half and they were doing a great job," Pirates head coach Kevin Willard said after the game. "I think in the second half we were able - with turning them over a few times for easy buckets, I thought that kind of got everybody into a good rhythm and was able to kind of relax everybody a good bit and get us going into a good offensive rhythm."

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Myles Powell scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half and Romaro Gill matched his career high with 17 points to lead No. 18 Seton Hall back from a 10-point halftime deficit for a 78-70 victory at No. 5 Butler on Wednesday night.

The Pirates (13-4, 5-0 Big East) closed the game on a 13-4 run to win their seventh in a row. They are the only conference team still unbeaten in league play.

Quincy McKnight had 11 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.

Hockey is more than just a game in Connecticut, and later this month, the state's four NCAA Division I men's hockey programs -- UConn, Yale, Sacred Heart, and Quinnipiac -- will battle at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. to determine who will take the throne.

Connecticut Ice is a three-day festival, Jan. 24 - 26, that will showcase youth and amateur hockey from across the state and include the Collegiate Cup - the two-round, four-game tournament for state bragging rights.

For more information on Connecticut Ice, click here. And to buy tickets, click here.

Here's what you need to know about the first-round matchups…

You may not know how to pronounce Quinnipiac, but any college hockey fan knows the program has been a national powerhouse in the sport for a while.

The Bobcats are led by head coach Ran Pecknold, who has been at the helm for 26 seasons. Entering the year, Pecknold posted 511 career wins, the third most for active Division I coaches. Quinnipiac has had a winning season 21 out of the last 22 years, including Frozen Four berths in 2013 and '16.

Last season, Quinnipiac claimed its fourth Cleary Cup (ECAC Hockey regular-season championship) before falling 3-1 to Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional Final. The 26-10-2 overall record was driven by NCAA statistical goaltender champion Andrew Shortridge and Hobey Baker finalist Chase Priskie. Both have gone on to sign NHL contracts, respectively -- Shortridge with the San Jose Sharks and Priskie with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Yale Bulldogs are one year removed from snatching a series win in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, but the tides have turned this season for the country's oldest collegiate hockey program.

The team is in ninth place in the ECAC Hockey standings, with a 5-10 record heading into their matchup against Union on Friday night. However, Yale can never be counted out due to the culture installed by head coach Keith Allain.

In 13 full seasons, Allain has coached Yale to a 235-159-42 record, six NCAA Tournament berths, and a national title in 2013 defeating Quinnipiac -- a team whose home ice is eight miles up the road from Yale's. 

Sitting in first place in the Atlantic Conference, Sacred Heart Pioneers have made their mark in college hockey this season, cracking the USCHO Top 20 poll for the first time in the program's history.

A new decade feels like a new beginning for this program. It hasn't been smooth sailing up to this point for Sacred Heart, which is the only Connecticut team to be nationally ranked this season.

The team started as a Division III program before the MAAC was formed as a Division I hockey conference. MAAC ice hockey folded after the 2002-03 season and the following season the remaining nine MAAC ice hockey programs formed Atlantic Hockey. 

St. Johns picked up a big win over DePaul on Saturday, defeating the Blue Demons at home 74-67 to secure their first Big East victory of the season.

The Red Storm jumped out of a two-way tie with the Blue Demons at the bottom of the conference with the win, and managed to hand DePaul just their fourth loss of the season.

St. Johns is now 1-3 in conference play this season.

We're getting to know players from UConn, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale ahead of SNY's Connecticut Ice tournament on Jan. 25-26.

Name: Jason Cotton

School: Sacred Heart

We're getting to know players from UConn, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale ahead of SNY's Connecticut Ice tournament on Jan. 25-26.

Name: Jack St. Ivany

School: Yale

We're getting to know players from UConn, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale ahead of SNY's Connecticut Ice tournament on Jan. 25-26.

Name: Peter DiLiberatore

School: Quinnipiac

Despite being without their two leading scorers, Seton Hall was able to upset Maryland, the No. 7 team in the country, with a 52-48 victory on Thursday night.

Down Myles Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili, the Pirates were led by Quincy McKnight, who scored 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Fellow guard Anthony Nelson was the only other Pirate to score in double figures, as he finished with 10 points. 

Rutgers football has finally found its new head coach, as Greg Schiano will return to the school.

The two sides have agreed to a 8-year, $32 million deal with $25.2 million guaranteed, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Schiano was the head coach at Rutgers from 2001 to 2011, going 68-67 and 5-1 in bowl games. Rutgers had their best season in 2006, going 11-2 and finishing the season ranked No. 12 in the country.

Looking to place some bets for the Week 6 late games? SNY's Place Your Bets crew has you covered.

Will the Los Angeles Chargers struggle at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers and third-string QB Devlin Hodges?

Do the Atlanta Flacons cover the three point spread on the road against the Arizona Cardinals?

St. John's new head basketball coach Mike Anderson spoke about his expectations for this season on Thursday at Big East Media Day, which took place at Madison Square Garden.

"I don't put numbers on it," Anderson said. "As we get prepared, we're trying to win a championship. I hope every team in the country is trying to do that. I know who we are and what we are trying to do... I just want to see a team that's gonna go out each and every day and improve and get better."

The tournament matchups for SNY's inaugural Connecticut Ice Festival have been set. 

Starting on Jan. 25, 2020 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT, four NCAA Division I hockey programs will face off in the first-of-its-kind weekend hockey festival. Here are the matchups in the two-round, four-game tournament:

World Team Tennis member Venus Williams caught up with SNY's Jonas Schwartz to talk about the impact the New York Empire can have on young tennis players, and how she hopes those younger players continue to make the game better and better.

"When you have love for something, you always want to give your best," Williams said about appearing for the World Team Tennis match. "I don't think there's one person that says I'm okay with losing." 

"It's definitely great to leave the game better than what you came with," Williams added. "I think the next generations will continue the same."

Soccers fans from all around flocked to the Canyon of Heroes on Wednesday morning to cheer on the United States Women's National Team, as they celebrated their 2019 FIFA World Cup Championship.

The ticker tape was flowing from the top of building as Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and the rest of the team floated their way through the streets. 

The floats finally made their way to City Hall where the team thanked the crowd for their unwavering support throughout the tournament, with Rapinoe capping it off in amazing fashion...

For the second time in four years, the U.S. women's national soccer team will have a parade through the Canyon of Heroes.

And this one is going to be special.

The USWNT returned home on Monday with its second consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup championship after beating the Netherlands 2-0 on Sunday in France.

Five-time PGA Tour winner Bryson DeChambeau was in New York City on Monday for this year's Media Day for the Northern Trust, which will kick off the FedEx Cup and be held in Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, NJ in August. 

SNY's Maria Marino catches up with DeChambeau, last year's Norther Trust winner, to talk about how he's played this year and what lies ahead. 

The Climb is the podcast that tells the stories of big names in the New York sports scene, and how they got to the top of their industry. On the latest episode, SNY's Jonas Schwartz sits down with boxing legend Teddy Atlas. Teddy shares stories from growing up in New York to how he got his infamous scar. Atlas also opens up about the struggles of training Mike Tyson on their ascension to the heavyweight title. That and more on this episode of The Climb.

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Sir Winston came away with the victory at the 151st running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday afternoon.

Led by jockey Joel Rosario, Sir Winston entered the race with 10-1 odds. In the final turn, Sir Winston took an inside path and weaved towards the outside to charge into the lead, eventually winning the race with an official time of 2:28.30, winning by one length.

War of Will, the winner of this year's Preakness Stakes who had the second-best odds at 7/2 , finished in ninth place.

It's Christmas in June for the Seton Hall Pirates basketball team. 

Myles Powell, the team's best player last season, will be returning to school for his senior season next year. Powell announced the moved on Twitter Wednesday night...

CLICK BELOW TO SEE

Tiger Woods couldn't solve Bethpage Black.

Five weeks after winning the Masters for his 15th career major and first in 11 years, Woods missed the cut at the PGA Championship. He shot 3-over 73 Friday in the second round to finish at 5-over, missing the cut by one stroke. 

Woods had six bogeys and three birdies on Friday, four of those bogeys coming on the back nine. He managed par on his final four holes, but it wasn't enough to get him above the cut line.

John Harper, SNY.tv | Twitter |

The roars from Bethpage Park on Thursday are bound to be loud enough to resonate all over Long Island. Heck, they might even be loud enough to make you think Zion Williamson announced he's pulling an Eli Manning, declaring it's New York or bust. The Draft Lottery be damned.

If only.

Yes, sometimes it seems that sports bring nothing but bad news for New York anymore. What do we have to do to claim a "W" these days, nevermind end this ongoing championship drought of our various pro teams?

Tiger Woods will look to capture his 16th major this week during the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. 

Among the topics discussed were his Masters win, longevity in golf and his comparison to Brooks Koepka.

The conversation shifted to his relationship with caddy Joe LaCava -- who is a diehard New York sports fan and wore a Saquon Barkley jersey under his uniform on Sunday at Augusta this year -- and how the two are constantly debating NY vs. Los Angeles sports on the golf course. 

Ian Begley, SNY.tv | Twitter | 

A month after stepping down as the head coach at St. John's, Chris Mullin doesn't seem to have any regrets about the decision.

"I feel great. I felt pretty good straight through. Just decisions had to be made in my life. I feel good about the four years I coached at St. John's," Mullin said Thursday after participating in the T.J. Martell Foundation for Cancer Research's Second Annual New York Classic Fishing Tournament. "It's a special place to me. My kids go there. I met my wife there. So way beyond my four years playing there, my four years coaching, relationships - first and foremost with coach (Lou) Carnesecca, that's how I became part of St. John's. Met him when I was 10. He was my college coach, but way more than that. Things are well, life is good. Healthy, happy, and just kind of moving forward."

It was "Maximum Security" that crossed the finish line at Churchill Downs as the unofficial winner of the 145th Kentucky Derby. 

Unofficial was the key word in the end. 

After a very long video replay, it was determined that Maximum Security impeded the lane of other horses, and was disqualified from the race. As such, "Country House" was the winner after the review.

The runner-up was then named "Code of Honor," while "Tacitus" came in third. 

It was simply time to move on.

That's what Chris Mullin said about his St. John's departure in an interview with the Associated Press on Monday.

"It got to a certain point for me to do something different," Mullin told The AP. "Straight from the heart and gut, when you do it that way it's natural. It wasn't anything but that. I'm excited to do some different things."

St. John's introduced its new head coach Mike Anderson on Friday and the unexpected hire did not waste any time in trying to win over the fans and media at Madison Square Garden. 

The 59-year-old Alabama native promised entertaining basketball and if it is as entertaining as his opening press conference he will surely deliver. 

Anderson was charismatic, laying out his philosophy and putting his personality on display in a lengthy opening statement that included bringing up some of the players on the dais behind him. 

After a topsy turvy coaching search, St. John's has finally found its man.

The school named former Arkansas, Missouri and UAB coach Mike Anderson its new coach on Friday morning. Anderson will replace Chris Mullin, who parted ways with the team April 9.

The Climb is the podcast that tells the stories of big names in the New York sports scene, and how they got to the top of their industry. On the latest episode, SNY's Jonas Schwartz sits down with Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman. She shares her story from her days as a student-athlete at Virginia, through the beginnings of her legal career - which led her back to the sports world. Ackerman spent time as an executive at the NBA, served as the first President of the WNBA, was elected as President of USA Basketball, and now guides the Big East. She reveals the steps of her climb in an industry where she forged a path that not many women had taken before, and shares advice for the next generation who may choose to follow that path today.

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