Cnotes NFL 2023-2024 Best Bets-OPINIONS-NEWS !

[CNOTES]

Sunday’s 6-pack:
Highest paid players in NBA this season:
$51,915,615— Steph Curry
$47,649,433— Kevin Durant
$47,607,350— Lebron James, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid
$46,741,590— Bradley Beal
$45,640,084— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Paul George
$45,183,960— Jimmy Butler

Quote of the Day
“I was so fortunate to become part of this team — it’s a special group. To be given a chance to do this with those guys, I’m super grateful for it. … Stinks the way it ended. But it was a lot of fun and I’m grateful for the time that we had.”
Browns’ QB Joe Flacco, who turns 39 Tuesday

Friday’s quiz
In the movie Tin Cup, Kevin Costner plays a driving range golf pro who tries to qualify for the US Open; what well-known actor played his golfing rival?

Saturday’s quiz
Vince Ferragamo played QB for the Rams in Super Bowl XIV, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.

Friday’s quiz
Wayne Gretzky played 8 games for the Indianapolis Racers in the WHA, then they traded him to the Edmonton Oilers, because the Racers were having financial issues.

*******************************************

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy Saturday…….​

— SEC
Texas A&M 97, Kentucky 92, OT- Aggies outscored Kentucky 8-3 in overtime.
Tennessee 85, Georgia 79- Dawgs led by 11 with 6:24 left in game.
Alabama 82, Mississippi State 74- Bulldogs were only 15-27 on the foul line.
Alabama/Auburn are both 3-0 in SEC; six other teams are 2-1.
— Big X
TCU 68, Houston 67- TCU was 8-15 on arc, Houston 4-11.
Cougars were last unbeaten team in country; they lost twice this week.
Texas Tech 60, Kansas State 59- Tech outscored K-State 11-2 over final 3:21.
Baylor/Texas Tech are tied for first at 3-0; four other teams are 2-1.

— Pac-12
Washington State 73, Arizona 70- Wildcats shot 34.7% from the floor.
Wildcats split their last eight games, after an 8-0 start.
Colorado 68, USC 58- Buffs outscored USC 44-21 in second half.
Oregon is 5-0, sits atop Pac-12; Arizona State is 4-1.

— Mountain West
Utah State 87, UNLV 86- Aggies hit and 3-pointer and 2 foul shots with 0:08.4 left.
New Mexico 88, San Diego State 70- Lobos outscored Aztecs 48-33 in second half.
Wyoming 68, Fresno State 67- Bulldogs lost five of their last six games.
Utah State 4-0 in conference, Boise State 3-0, San Diego State 3-1

— Big East
Creighton 66, St John’s 65- Red Storm led by 9 with 9:29 left in game.
Xavier 85, Providence 65- Friars lost last four games, after an 11-2 start.
Seton Hall 78, Butler 72- Pirates won seven of their last eight games.
Seton Hall is 5-1 in Big East; UConn/Villanova are both 4-1.

— Atlantic 15
Fordham 80, St Bonaventure 74- Rams were a 10.5-point underdog.
Richmond 77, George Mason 70- Spiders won their last six games.
Loyola Chi 78, St Joe’s 75- Loyola outscored the Hawks 19-7 over final 6:13
Dayton, Richmond, Rhode Island are all 3-0 in conference games.

— Baseball Fact of the Day: On December 9, 1965, the Reds traded Frank Robinson to the Orioles. In his first season with Baltimore, Robinson hit for the Triple Crown, and the Orioles won the World Series.

— Upsets of the Day:
Fordham (+10.5) 80, St Bonaventure 74
Washington State (+9.5) 73, Arizona 70
Campbell (+9.5) 69, Hofstra 68
Central Michigan (+7.5) 77, Kent State 62
West Virginia (+6.5) 76, Texas 73
Appalachian State (+6.5) 59, James Madison 55

— Sun Belt
Appalachian State 59, James Madison 55- ASU survived 23 turnovers (minus-10).
JMU lost two of its last three games, after a 14-0 start.
South Alabama 91, Marshall 85- Jaguars led 53-45 at halftime of this 79-possession game.
Troy is 5-0 in Sun Belt; Marshall, App State, Georgia State are all 4-1.

— Big West
Northridge 76, Fullerton 71- Matadors are 13-4; their last winning season? 2009.
Santa Barbara 85, Long Beach 76- Gauchos outscored Long Beach 50-36 in second half.
Cal-San Diego is 11-6, 5-0 in Big West games, but they’re not eligible for the Big West tournament or NCAA’s yet- this is only their 4th season as a Division I team.

— Big Sky
Portland State 69, Weber State 66- Underdog Vikings led 42-26 at halftime, hung on.
Sacramento State 66, Idaho State 64- Hornets won 3 of last 4 games (wins by 3-2-2 points)
Montana State 90, Northern Colorado 81- Bobcats shot 62.8% inside the arc.
Eastern Washington leads Big Sky with a 3-0 record; Montana State is 3-1.

— Saint Mary’s 73, Santa Clara 49
Broncos upset Gonzaga Thursday; they were down 47-18 at halftime in this game.
Gaels won five in row, 10 of last 11 games, after a 2-5 start.
Gaels are 4-0 in WCC, giving up 58.8 ppg in those games.

— Samford 134, VMI 96
Samford led this game 72-54………at halftime.
VMI shot 13-23 on the arc……and lost by 38.
Samford is shooting 41.1% on the arc (#3) this season.

— Winthrop 92, Radford 88, 3 OT’s
Radford led this game 20-5 early on.
Winthrop is 4-0 in Big South; 3 of the 4 wins came in overtime.
Eagles were 24-38 on foul line, Radford 12-15.

 

[Udog]

NFL
Weather Report

Wild Card Round

 

[CNOTES]

Monday’s 6-pack:
PGA Tour leaders in average driving distance:
303.3— Wyndham Clark
300.5— Viktor Hovland
298.8— Taylor Moore
297.6— Patrick Rodgers
297.4— Ludvig Åberg
297.0— Sam Burns

Quote of the Day
“Hard work pays off. It’s not easy. I wanted to give up a lot of times — give up on myself, give up on the game of golf, give up on life at times. Just persevere. When you get tired of fighting, let someone else fight for you. And that’s what happened.”
golfer Grayson Murray, who won the Sony Open this week, at 450-1 odds

Monday’s quiz
Since 1987, which NFL quarterback threw the most passes in a playoff game?
Hint: He is retired.

Sunday’s quiz
In the movie Tin Cup, Kevin Costner plays a driving range golf pro who tries to qualify for the US Open; Don Johnson played his golfing rival.

Saturday’s quiz
Vince Ferragamo played QB for the Rams in Super Bowl XIV, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.

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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Sunday…….​

Packers 48, Cowboys 32
Green Bay’s first seven drives: 57 plays, 407 yards, 41 points.
Packers outscored last eight opponents 139-58 in first half.
Last seven games, Green Bay is 64-125 (51.2%) on third down.
Packers visit the 49ers next weekend.
Green Bay won its last four visits to Dallas, scoring 37-35-34-48 points.
Since 1998, Dallas is 4-11 in playoff games (2-3 since 2018)

Lions 24, Rams 23
Lions get their first playoff win since 1991.
Detroit’s first three drives: 26 plays, 225 yards, 21 points.
Detroit rest of game: 30 plays, 116 yards, 3 points.
Lions in red zone: 3 drives, 3 touchdowns.
Rams in red zone: 3 drives, 3 field goals.
Next week, Detroit hosts the winner of the Philly-Tampa Bay game.

Texans 45, Browns 14
Houston gets its first playoff win since 2019.
All-time, Texans are 5-2 at home in playoffs, 0-4 on road.
Rookie QB Stroud was 16-21/274 passing, with 3 TD’s.
Down 24-14 at halftime, Flacco threw consecutive pick-6’s in 3rd quarter.
Browns were 8-0 giving up less than 24 points, 3-7 allowing 24+.
Since 2013, Browns are 5-13 ATS as a road favorite.

Chiefs 26, Dolphins 7
Chiefs outgained Miami 409-265, on a frigid night.
Kansas City was 6-15 on third down, Dolphins 1-12.
Dolphins still haven’t won a playoff game since 2000.
Dolphins lost four of last six games, after a 9-3 start.
Favorites were 15-2 ATS in their last 17 games.
Miami was 1-6 SU this year vs teams that made the playoffs.

—Washington Huskies hired Arizona coach Jedd Fisch as its new football coach, as they moved into the Big 14 next year. He is expected to made $7.7M a year, for seven years.
Fisch coached Arizona for three years, going 10-3 this year, including a bowl win vs Oklahoma. Wildcats won their last seven games; now they’re looking for a new football coach.

— Best wishes to Old Dominion basketball coach Jeff Jones, who has to step away from his job for the rest of the season because of health issues. Jones was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015 and 2018; he also had a heart attack in Hawai’i December 20.
Get well soon, sir.

— Baseball Fact of the Day: In his Hall of Fame career, Orioles 3B Brooks Robinson grounded into four triple plays.

— Word of the Day: Progress- Forward movement toward a destination.

— Michigan Wolverines’ QB JJ McCarthy announced that he plans to forgo his remaining college football eligibility and enter the 2024 NFL Draft. McCarthy had a 27-1 record as a starter with Michigan.

— Today (Monday) is the deadline for college players to enter the ’24 Draft; USC QB Caleb Williams hasn’t announced either way yet; he has a choice- play another year for USC football or go pro, and likely get drafted first, by the Chicago Bears.
Caleb Williams is from Washington, DC; the Commanders have the #2 pick in the draft. With a new owner and a new coach soon to be hired, Washington (actually Maryland, but whatever) might be a more appealing place for Williams to begin his pro career.
How much would Washington have to give the Bears to move up one spot in the draft?

— With Sunday’s loss, Dallas Cowboys are now 4-11 in playoff games since 1998; they haven’t been in the NFC Championship Game since 1995. Owner Jerry Jones is 81 years old, there is an urgency involved, obviously, with having the Cowboys get back to the NFL’s Final Four, which is probably why they’ll make a coaching change this offseason.
Dallas has lost three of its last four home playoff games; in the NFL, losing home playoff games is squandering an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often.

— Along those lines, Toledo Rockets will be an interesting basketball team to follow in March; the last three years, Toledo went 74-25, 48-9 in regular season MAC games, but in the MAC tournament, when the league’s NCAA bid is decided, the Rockets were 4-3 in those games.
Toledo hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1980; they’re 10-6 this year, 4-0 in the MAC, with a thin roster that hasn’t been defending well. We’ll see what happens.

— St John’s basketball team is 12-5 this year, 4-2 in Big East games, with the two losses by a total of five points. Rick Pitino has totally retooled his program; St John’s is an experienced team, #5 in country, but they’re #329 in continuity- the players have come to Queens from all over the country, and the team figures to get better as the season progresses.

— In baseball, P Jordan Hicks signed a 4-year, $44M deal with the Giants, who hope to turn the flame thrower into a starting pitcher. Hicks started eight games for St Louis in 2022, his only starts in 212 big league games.

 

[Udog]

NFL
Weather Report

Wild Card Round

 

[CNOTES]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
— Bills 38, Steelers 17- Buffalo ran for 179 yards, 5.3 yards/carry.
— Bucs 32, Eagles 9- Philly ends its season on a 1-6 skid.
Odds on this weekend’s NFL games:
— Texans @ Baltimore (-9, 45.5)
— Packers @ San Francisco (-10, 50.5)
— Buccaneers @ Detroit (-6, 48.5)
— Chiefs @ Buffalo (-3, 45.5)

Quote of the Day
“Being historically great on offense is fun, but even dating a pretty girl gets boring after a while, if she can’t guard anybody.”
Indiana Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle

Tuesday’s quiz
When the NFL/AFL merged after the 1969 season, which three NFL teams switched over and became AFC teams in the new set-up?

Monday’s quiz
Since 1987, Ben Roethlisberger threw the most passes in a playoff game, he threw 68 passes in a 48-37 loss to Cleveland three years ago.

Sunday’s quiz
In the movie Tin Cup, Kevin Costner plays a driving range golf pro who tries to qualify for the US Open; Don Johnson played his golfing rival.

**********************************************

Tuesday’s Den: NBA trends……..​

NBA trends (thru Monday)

Hawks (16-23):
— split last eight games SU (1-7 ATS)
— 2-12 ATS as a home favorite
— under 4-1 last five games
— 1-6 ATS if they played night before.

Celtics (31-9):
— won five of last seven games SU (5-6 ATS last 11)
— 8-10-1 ATS as a road favorite.
— over 6-3 last nine road games.

Nets (16-23):
— lost eight of their last nine games.
— 8-2 ATS as home favorite.
— 0-8 ATS last eight road games.
— 2-4 ATS if they played night before.

Hornets (8-29):
— lost 15 of their last 16 games SU (7-9 ATS).
— 3-13 ATS last 16 games as road underdog.
— under 6-1 last seven games.

Bulls (19-23)
— 4-2 SU in their last six games (5-7 ATS last 12).
— 6-3 ATS last nine as a home favorite.
— over 4-1 last five games.

Cavaliers (23-15):
— won their last five games SU (4-1 ATS).
— 8-3 ATS last eleven home games.
— under 6-2 last eight games.
— 1-4 ATS if they played the night before.

Mavericks (24-17):
— won/covered five of their last seven games.
— 6-2 ATS as road favorites.
— under 7-3 last ten home games.
— 5-2 ATS if they played night before.

Nuggets (28-13):
— won 14 of last 18 games SU (2-4 ATS last six)
— 5-11 ATS as a road favorite
— over 4-1 last five games.
— 2-7 ATS if they played night before.

Pistons (4-36):
— 7-4 ATS in last eleven games.
— 7-10 ATS as a home underdog, 9-11 as a road dog.
— over 7-1 last eight road games
— 1-6 ATS on first night of a back/back.

Warriors (18-22):
— lost eight of last eleven games SU
— 4-14 ATS as a home favorite
— 9-2 ATS as a road underdog.
— over 7-2 last nine games

Rockets (19-20):
— lost four of last five games SU
— 7-3 ATS as a home favorite.
— over 4-1 last five games.
— 4-2 ATS if they played night before.

Pacers (23-17):
— split their last six games SU.
— under 7-0 last seven road games
— 5-1 ATS in last six road games.
— 1-5 ATS if they played night before.

Clippers (25-14):
— 8-2 SU in last 10 games SU (6-3 ATS in last nine)
— 1-6 ATS as an underdog.
— over 3-1 last four games.
Lakers (20-21):
— 6-12 SU since they won the in-season tournament.

— 9-18 ATS as a favorite.
— over 10-2 last dozen road games.
— 1-6 ATS if they played night before.

Grizzlies (15-25):
— won six of last eight games SU
— 6-13 ATS at home.
— over 6-2 last eight road games

Heat (24-16):
— won four of last five games SU.
— 8-7 ATS as home favorites, 0-4 as home underdogs.
— under 6-0 last six road games.
— 1-4 ATS if they played the night before.

Bucks (28-12):
— won last three games, scoring 135-124-143 points.
— 6-11-1 ATS as home favorites.
— over 3-1 last four games.

Timberwolves (28-11)
— 4-2 SU/5-1 ATS last six games.
— 9-7 ATS as a home favorite.
— under 7-3 last ten home games.

Pelicans (24-17):
— split their last six games SU
— 13-6 ATS as an underdog.
— over 3-1 last four games.
— 4-2 ATS if they played the night before

Knicks (23-17):
— won/covered six of their last seven games
— 13-5 ATS as a favorite, 7-9 as a road underdog
— under 7-0 last seven games
— 2-5 ATS if they played night before.

Thunder (24-12):
— won four of their last five games.
— 11-3 ATS as a home favorite, 7-2 as a road dog.
— over 9-2 last eleven home games
— 3-1 ATS if they played night before.

Magic (22-18):
— 1-3 SU/ATS last four games
— 12-5 ATS at home, 5-1 as a home dog.
— under 5-0 last five games.

76ers (25-13):
— 3-4 last seven games SU.
— 18-8 ATS as a favorite, 5-6 as an underdog.
— under 5-2 last seven games.
— 2-6 ATS if they played night before.

Suns (21-18):
— split their last six games SU.
— 10-19 ATS as a favorite.
— over 3-1 last four games

Trailblazers (10-29):
— 1-7 SU/2-6 ATS in last eight games.
— 5-2 ATS last seven home games
— under 5-2 last seven road games
— 5-2 ATS if they played night before.

Kings (21-14):
— split their last eight games SU.
— 9-2 ATS as an underdog.
— under 4-1 last five games
— 1-5 ATS if they played night before.

Spurs (7-32):
— covered six of their last seven games
— 7-10 ATS as a home underdog, 8-10 as a road dog.
— under 6-1-1 last eight games.
— 3-0 ATS as a favorite

Raptors (15-25):
— lost five of their last six games.
— 9-7 ATS as a favorite.
— over 5-1 last six games.

Jazz (21-20):
— won/covered their last six games.
— 16-4 ATS at home
— 7-12 ATS as a road underdog.
— over 3-2 last five home games

Wizards (7-32):
— 1-7 SU/3-5 ATS last eight games
— 6-9 ATS as a home underdog.
— under 6-1 last seven road games.

NBA has a scheduling thing now where sometimes, a team will go to a city for three nights and play the same team twice (to save travel costs), with a day off in between.
So far this season, it has happened 26 times, so 52 games; underdogs are 32-20 ATS in those games, over 30-22 (13-13 first night, 17-9 second night)

 

[Udog]

DIVISIONAL ROUND

NFL
Dunkel

Divisional Round

NFL
Long Sheet

Divisional Round

NFL

Divisional Round

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Trend Report
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Houston @ Baltimore
Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston's last 7 games when playing on the road against Baltimore
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Baltimore's last 7 games when playing at home against Houston

Green Bay @ San Francisco
Green Bay
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Green Bay's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Green Bay's last 8 games
San Francisco
San Francisco is 19-4 SU in its last 23 games at home
San Francisco is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games

Tampa Bay @ Detroit
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Detroit
Detroit is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games at home

Kansas City @ Buffalo
Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Kansas City's last 6 games when playing on the road against Buffalo
Kansas City is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games on the road
Buffalo
Buffalo is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Buffalo is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home


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[CNOTES]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
NHL goalies with most all-time wins:
691— Martin Brodeur
552— Marc-Andre Fleury
551— Patrick Roy
489— Roberto Luongo
484— Ed Belfour
459— Henrik Lundqvist

Quote of the Day
“Never mess with a civil servant, my friend.”
Lenny Briscoe, Law and Order, after he beat a guy playing pool in a bar

Wednesday’s quiz
What former Arizona Wildcats’ guard is one of two players EVER to play in both the Final Four and in the World Series?

Tuesday’s quiz
When the NFL/AFL merged after the 1969 season, three NFL teams switched over and became AFC teams in the new set-up- Browns, Colts, Steelers.

Monday’s quiz
Since 1987, Ben Roethlisberger threw the most passes in a playoff game, he threw 68 passes in a 48-37 loss to Cleveland three years ago.

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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….​

Now that we’re in conference play in college basketball, we’ll have some notes on March Madness now and then:

— For the first time ever, a #15-seed has upset a #2-seed in the first round of the NCAAs for three straight years: Oral Roberts, St Peter’s, Princeton.
Four of the last five #15-seeds that won in the first round (add in Florida Gulf Coast in 2013) also won in the second round, and three of those four teams covered in their regional semifinal game. St Peter’s is the only #15-seed that made it to a regional final.

— The last 17 years, the team that wound up winning the national title was 14-3 ATS in their first round game, the exceptions being:
2012- Kentucky, -26, won 81-66
2019- UCLA, -21.5, won 71-56
2021- Baylor, -26, won 79-55
Since 2006, every other national champ covered their first round game.

— What stats can help identify who the national champ will be?
1) offensive efficiency- last seven years, all seven champs were in the top 10.
2) defensive efficiency- last seven years, all seven champs were in the top 25.
3) Five of last seven national champs were #1-seeds, one was a 2-seed, UConn LY was a #4.
4) Five of last seven national champs were in top 100 in % of points scored on the arc.
5) Five of last seven national champs were in top 125 in continuity.
Stats that don’t seem to matter:
Tempo- only two of last seven champs were in top 125 in pace of play.
Bench minutes- only one of last seven champs was in top 200 in bench minutes
Forcing turnovers- low FG% by opponents seems to matter a lot more.
only 2 of last 7 national champs were in top 200 in % of points scored inside arc.
We’ll do more of this as we get closer to March…….

— Gonzaga is out of the top 25 for the first time since 2016.

— There are eight Big X teams in the Top 25 right now, only two ACC teams.

— Michigan State hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament since 1997; right now, the Spartans are 10-7, only 2-4 in conference, albeit against a difficult schedule.

— Baseball Fact of the Day- In 1960, Cincinnati Reds went 67-87, finished 28 games out of first place in the 8-team National League. The next year, Cincinnati went 93-67 and won the National League, losing the World Series in five games.

— In his 6-year NFL career, Baker Mayfield has played for eight different head coaches.

— NFC East is the only division that won’t have a team in the playoffs this weekend.

— Last 11 times an NFL playoff game had a double-digit spread, the favorite went 10-1 ATS.

— New Orleans Saints fired offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, the longest-tenured offensive coordinator in the NFL- he had been with the Saints for 18 years.

— When the Houston Texans traded QB Deshaun Watson to Cleveland, they got back:
Three (3!!!) 1st round picks
3rd-round pick
5th-round pick
Cleveland also got a 5th-round pick from Houston.

— USC QB Caleb Williams declared for the NFL Draft; he is expected to be the #1 pick in the draft, whether it is by the Bears or some other team.

— Word of the Day: Aberration- a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, usually something that is unwelcome.

— Georgia Tech 93, Clemson 90, 2OT
Yellow Jackets snap their 5-game losing skid.
Clemson led this game by 9 with 1:43 left in regulation.
Tech was 15-35 on the arc, Clemson was 3-21

— Cincinnati 81, TCU 77 OT
Bearcats trailed by 7 with 7:25 left in the game.

— Samford 75, Western Carolina 71
Samford has won 17 games in a row, after an 0-2 start.
TV announcer for this game mentioned how Samford coach Bucky McMillan has played in the World Series of Poker twice. He started telling the story at a key point near the end of the game, so he never got to finish the story, and tell us how McMillan did in the WSOP.

— Penn State 87, Wisconsin 83- First loss for the Badgers in six conference games.

— Seton Hall 80, St John’s 65- Red Storm coach Rick Pitino has COVID, missed this game. Seton Hall has won eight of its last nine games.

— Charlotte 81, Rice 79 OT- Owls have now lost their last five games, losing two of last three games in OT. Rice led this game 24-4 early on.

NBA has a scheduling thing now where sometimes, a team will go to a city for three nights and play the same team twice (to save travel costs), with a day off in between.
So far this season, it has happened 26 times, so 52 games; underdogs are 32-20 ATS in those games, over 30-22 (13-13 first night, 17-9 second night)

 

[CNOTES]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
Most passes thrown in an NFL playoff game:
68- Ben Roethlisberger, 2021
66- Tom Brady, 2023
65- Steve Young, 1996
64, Dan Marino 1995, Bernie Kosar 1987 (won in OT)
63- Drew Brees, 2012
62- Tom Brady, 2017 (won in OT)
The QB’s went 2-5 in those games, with both wins in overtime.

Quote of the Day
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein

Thursday’s quiz
Phil Jackson won 11 NBA titles as a head coach; what team did he play most of his career for?

Wednesday’s quiz
Kenny Lofton is one of two players EVER to play in both the Final Four and in the World Series; he played basketball at Arizona, baseball with the Cleveland Indians. Pitcher Tim Stoddard is the other guy who has done that (NC State/Orioles).

Tuesday’s quiz
When the NFL/AFL merged after the 1969 season, three NFL teams switched over and became AFC teams in the new set-up- Browns, Colts, Steelers.

*****************************************************

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..​

— Last nine years in college basketball, the team that won the national title only won their conference tournament two of those years; over the last 21 years, the national champs all won at least one game in their conference tournament.
What I’m saying is if a team gets KO’d in their first conference tourney game, don’t pencil that team into the Final Four. Over the last five years, only 2 of 20 Final Four teams lost their first game in the conference tournament.

— Surprise of the Day; Dallas Cowboys aren’t firing coach Mike McCarthy after Sunday’s 48-32 home loss to Green Bay. McCarthy has been the Dallas coach for four years, has a 43-28 record, but is only 1-3 in playoff games.

— Odd Fact of the Day: Only two people have played in a Final Four and a World Series:
Kenny Lofton, played hoop at Arizona, played in major leagues for 17 years.
Tim Stoddard, played hoop at NC State, pitched in major leagues for 13 years.
Here’s the thing; Lofton/Stoddard went to the SAME high school: East Chicago Washington HS in Indiana, a school in a town with a population of only 30,000 people.
What are the odds of that?

— Dodgers are going to use a 6-man pitching rotation this year, with Ohtani/Yamamoto on their squad; in Japan, teams use 6-man rotations and their pitchers start once a week, with Monday usually an off day for teams.

— Baseball had its international signing period last weekend: St Louis Cardinals signed Branneli Franco, a 16-year old pitcher from the Dominican Republic. He must be awful good if St Louis projects him as a future star when he’s 16 years old.

— Memo to MLB Network: I’m asking you nicely, begging you to show baseball games during the offseason. The mindless talk shows and lists that are cobbled together are boring; please promote the sport, show Yamamoto pitch, show Ohtani, Trout, Julio Rodriguez.
Baseball is a great game, but unless you work hard to expose the game to younger people, they aren’t going to realize that.

— Baseball Fact of the Day- Cincinnati Reds’ OF TJ Friedl had 17 bunt hits last year, the most by any big leaguer since 2017.

— Word of the Day- Concierge- a hotel employee whose job is to assist guests by arranging tours, making theater and restaurant reservations.

— Happy 48th birthday to former NFL QB Scott Covington, who played college ball at Miami, then appeared in four NFL games, with his only start in the 2002 season finale for the Rams.

— When the Eagles lost Sunday, it meant that since 1997, the team that lost the Super Bowl is 15-15 in playoff games the next season. Over the last 27 seasons, the loser of the Super Bowl missed the playoffs 12 of 27 years.

— Next fall, Miami Heat will unveil a statue of Dwayne Wade that will be outside the Heat’s arena. Thats a huge honor, for a team to put a statue of you outside the team’s arena.

— Speaking of the Heat, they beat the Nets 96-95 in overtime Monday, the first NBA game in almost five years that went overtime, with neither team scoring 100+ points in the game.

— Arizona Wildcats hired San Jose State coach Brent Brennan as its new coach, replacing Jedd Fisch, who bolted to Washington.
Brennan rebuilt the San Jose program in his seven years there, going 26-19 the last four years; he was a graduate assistant at Arizona in 2000, his wife went to Arizona, his brother played ball there.
Washington is off the to Big 10, Arizona is off to the Big X; I still can’t process that the Pac-12 won’t exist anymore after this basketball season.

— When Fisch left for the Washington job, Arizona QB Jayden de Laura bolted to Texas State, which was news to TJ Finley, the Bobcats’ QB this past year. When he heard, Finley rejoined the transfer portal; he has previously played college ball at LSU, Auburn and North Texas.

— Two current I-A football head coaches quit their jobs to be assistant coaches at Alabama:
Kane Wommack went 17-9 the last two years at South Alabama.
Maurice Linguist went 14-23 in three years at Buffalo.
They’ll be co-defensive coordinators, apparently, and both should get big pay raises.

— We’ve started something a little different; on the college basketball page, I’ll post info on five of that day’s most interesting games.

— Bradley 70, Southern Illinois 69
Salukis led 47-24 early in second half.
Bradley has won seven in a row; they’ve got the #33 eFG%.

— UConn, 62, Creighton 48
Bluejays are 12-0 when they score 69+ points, 1-5 when they don’t.
Creighton shot 34.6% from floor, was out-rebounded 48-32.

— LSU 89, Ole Miss 80
Ole Miss split its last four games, after a 13-0 start.
Rebels allowed 90-89 points in their two losses.

— Florida State 84, Miami 75
Seminoles are 5-1 in ACC, tied for second place.
Miami lost, despite shooting 66.7% inside the arc.

— Central Florida 77, Texas 71
Knights out-rebounded Texas, 37-22.
UCF shot 64.7% inside the arc.
Knights are forcing turnovers 22.7% of time, #10 in country.

— Loyola 79, UMass 78
Both teams took 31 foul shots; physical game.
Loyola scored on a 3-point play in last couple seconds for the win.

— UCLA 68, Arizona State 66
Bruins trailed 39-24 early in second half.
Sun Devils were called for four technical fouls, all in the 2nd half.

— Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, who passed away Wednesday at age 46, after suffering a heart attack. He played in four different countries during his 14-year playing career and was the MVP of the Adriatic League three times (2004-06). RIP, sir.

 

[CNOTES]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
Odds to win the college basketball national title:
8-1— Arizona, Purdue
10-1— Houston
12-1— Connecticut
14-1— Kansas, North Carolina
17-1— Tennessee
18-1— Auburn

Thought of the Day
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Friday’s quiz
First time the Houston Texans made the NFL playoffs was 2011; what former NFL QB was the Texans’ coach back then?

Thursday’s quiz
Phil Jackson won 11 NBA titles as a head coach; he played most of his career for the Knicks.

Wednesday’s quiz
Kenny Lofton is one of two players EVER to play in both the Final Four and in the World Series; he played basketball at Arizona, baseball with the Cleveland Indians. Pitcher Tim Stoddard is the other guy who has done that (NC State/Orioles).

******************************************

Friday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy night of basketball…….​

— AAC
South Florida 74, Memphis 73
Memphis led by 20 early in second half.
Loss snaps the Tigers’ 10-game win streak.
North Texas leads the AAC right now, with a 4-0 record- they play the slowest tempo in the country.

— Pac-12
Colorado 86, Oregon 70
Colorado outscored the Ducks 30-13 over the last 10:55 of the game.
Loss snapped Oregon’s six-game win streak.
Ducks still lead the Pac-12, a game ahead of the Arizona schools.

— WCC
Gonzaga 86, Pepperdine 61
Zags are out of the top 25 for first time in eight years.
San Francisco 90, LMU 74
Dons shot 64.4% inside took, were only 5-7 on foul line.
USF/Saint Mary’s are tied atop WCC at 4-0, with Santa Clara 4-1, Gonzaga 3-1

— Big West
Cal-Irvine 76, Cal-San Diego 65
Irvine’s Big West opponents are shooting 41.3% inside arc.
Cal-Davis 67, Cal-Fullerton 65
Fullerton led by 9 with 5:43 left in game.
Cal-Davis was 28-33 on foul line, only 5-23 on arc.
Irvine leads Big West at 6-0; Cal-Davis is 6-1, Cal-San Diego 5-1

— Horizon
Green Bay 88, Wright State 81
Green Bay is 12-8, 7-2 in Horizon games.
Last three years, Green Bay was 16-71, 14-46 in Horizon tilts.
Oakland/Green Bay are tied for first in Horizon, with 7-2 records.

— Big 14
Illinois 88, Michigan 73
Illini outscored Michigan 22-10 on foul line, on the road.
Big 14 opponents are shooting only 25.7% on arc vs Illinois.
Wisconsin leads the Big 14, with a 5-1 record; Purdue is 5-2.

— Baseball Note of the Day: Seattle signed C/DH Mitch Garver as a free agent: he started 40 of the Rangers’ last 43 games LY, and hit .283 with 14 homers and a .937 OPS from August 1 on, which is really good for a catcher. Bonus here is that Garver is a DH more than he catches, so he is less likely to wear down as the season goes on.

— Word of the Day: Skulk- moving around or hiding in a stealthy or secretive way. People who are skulking are often up to no good.

— CAA
Hofstra 86, Hampton 77
Hofstra trailed by 18 late in first half.
Towson 82, Charleston 78
Towson was 10-19 on arc, only 12-22 on foul line. Go figure.
Loss snaps Charleston’s 8-game win streak vs D-I teams.
Drexel leads the CAA with a 6-0 mark; Charleston is 4-1.

— Big Sky
Eastern Washington 80, Weber State 78
Weber State led by 13 late in first half.
Both teams shot over 57% inside the arc.
Eastern Washington is 4-0 in Big Sky; Northern Colorado/Montana State are 3-1.

— Summit
South Dakota 74, St Thomas 73 OT
Coyotes were down 10 with 8:19 left in game.
Rock Fight: Teams combined to shoot 17-58 on the arc.
Denver, South Dakota State are tied for first in the Summit, with 3-1 records.
There are fewer turnovers in Summit games than in any league in country; shooting %age on 2-point shots in also highest in the Summit League.

— Ohio Valley
Morehead State 84, Tenn-Martin 66
Eagles are 5-1 in OVC; they start four seniors, lost 69-68 at Indiana.
Western Illinois leads the OVC with a 5-0 record, in their first year in the OVC. Last time the Leathernecks had a winning conference record was 2013, in the Summit League.

— WAC
Grand Canyon 78, Utah Valley 65
Antelopes are 17-1, have won 14 games in a row.
Grand Canyon is shooting 55.5% inside arc, against schedule #304.
Grand Canyon is ranked #58 by KenPom; next-highest WAC team is #125
Grand Canyon is 7-0 in WAC games, Stephen F Austin is 5-2.

— Sun Belt
South Alabama 74, Troy 71
Trojans’ 6-game win streak is over.
South Alabama played only seven guys the whole game.
Troy is now tied for first in the Sun Belt with Appalachian State, with 5-1 records.

— College football note- Ohio State is hiring former NFL head coach Bill O’Brien as its new offensive coordinator. O’Brien worked for the Patriots this past season.

 

[Udog]

NFL
Armadillo's Write-up

Divisional Round

Saturday’s games
Texans (11-7) @ Ravens (13-4) (-9.5)
— Houston is 8-3 in its last 11 games SU.
— Texans are 4-1 ATS as road underdogs TY.
— Last eight games, Texans are +9 in turnovers (12-3).
— Houston is 3-2 SU vs teams that made the playoffs.
— This is Texans’ first playoff spot since 2019.
— Houston is 5-6 SU all-time in playoff games, 0-4 on road.
— Texans are 2-6 when they allow 20+ points, 9-1 when they don’t.
— Texans are 7-3 TY in one-score games.
— under is 6-3 in their last nine games.
— Rookie QB Stroud is 10-6 as an NFL starter, 1-0 in playoffs.
— Rookie HC Ryans is 11-7 this year, 1-0 in playoffs.
— AFC South road underdogs are 6-7 ATS outside division.


— Baltimore won Super Bowl in 2012; since then, they’re 2-5 in playoffs.
— Ravens had last week off; QB Jackson hasn’t played since Week 17.
— Lamar Jackson is 59-22 as NFL starter, 1-3 in playoff games (13 ppg)
— Ravens won nine of their last 11 games SU.
— Baltimore is 5-3 ATS as a home favorite this year.
— Ravens are 13-1 when they score 20+ points, 0-3 if they do not.
— Baltimore is minus-6 in TO’s in its losses, +14 in wins.
— Ravens are 4-4 TY in one-score games.
— Baltimore is 6-3 SU vs teams that made the playoffs
— over is 7-4 in Baltimore’s last eleven games.
— Coach Harbaugh has a 171-108 NFL record, 11-9 in playoff games.
— AFC North home favorites are 15-6 ATS, outside the division.


— Ravens (-10) beat Houston 25-9 in this season’s opener.
— Total yardage: 268-265. Ravens led 7-6 at halftime.
— Ravens are 11-2 SU against Houston.
— Texans are 1-4 ATS in last five visits to Baltimore.
— Last four years, #1-seed in AFC is 2-2 SU/0-4 ATS in this round.
— NFL-wide, last four years, #1-seed is 5-3 SU/3-5 ATS in this round.


Packers (10-8) @ 49ers (12-5) (-9.5)
— Packers are 7-2 SU/6-3 ATS in their last nine games.
— Packers are 15-7 ATS last 22 games as a road underdog (4-3 TY).
— Green Bay outscored last eight foes 139-58 in first half.
— Last six games, Packers are +7 in turnovers (11-4)
— Packers are 6-5 TY in one-score games.
— Green Bay is 4-3 SU vs teams that made the playoffs
— Green Bay is 64 for its last 125 (51.2%) on third down.
— since 2014, Packers are 7-6 in playoffs.
— Jordan Love is 10-9 as an NFL starter, 1-0 in playoffs.
— Over is 8-2 in their last ten games.
— LaFleur is 59-30 as an NFL coach, 3-3 in playoffs.
— NFC North underdogs are 14-9-2 ATS outside the division.


— 49ers had last week off; QB Purdy hasn’t played since Week 17.
— SF is 7-2 since its bye week (5-4 ATS).
— 49ers scored 27+ points in wins, 17-17-17-19-20 in losses.
— 49ers are 3-5 ATS as a home favorite this season.
— 49ers are 1-3 TY in one-score games.
— SF is 5-3 SU vs teams that made the playoffs
— Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
— 2nd-year QB Purdy is 19-5 as NFL starter, 2-1 in playoffs.
— Coach Shanahan is 70-54 as a head coach, 6-3 in playoffs.
— NFC West favorites are 11-9-1 ATS outside division, 6-6-1 at home.


— Teams split their last eight series games.
— 49ers upset Green Bay 13-10 in last meeting, in ’21 playoffs.
— 49ers covered four of last five visits to Lambeau.
— Last four years, NFC’s #1-seed is 3-1 SU/ATS in this round.
— NFL-wide, last four years, #1-seed is 5-3 SU/3-5 ATS in this round.


Sunday’s games
Buccaneers (10-8) @ Lions (13-5)
— Tampa Bay won/covered six of its last seven games.
— Bucs are 2-5 SU vs teams that made the playoffs
— Tampa Bay is 7-1 ATS as a road underdog this year.
— Bucs are 2-7 when they allow more than 18 points.
— Bucs are 8-1 when they allow less than 18 points.
— Bucs are 3-4 TY in one-score games.
— Tampa Bay is 2-3 SU this year in domed stadiums.
— TB is 2-5 SU vs teams that made the playoffs
— Last four years, Tampa Bay is 6-2 in playoff games.
— Bucs won Super Bowl in 2002/2020; in between, they were 0-2 in playoffs.
— Tampa Bay’s last four games stayed under the total.
— Mayfield is 42-47 as an NFL starter; 2-1 in playoffs, 10-8 with Bucs.
— Bowles is 44-59 as an NFL coach, 1-1 in playoff games.
— NFC South underdogs are 11-16 ATS outside the division.


— Lions are in playoffs for first time since 2016.
— Last week was Detroit’s first home playoff game in 30 years.
— Under Campbell, Detroit is 9-5 ATS as home favorite (5-4 TY).
— Under Campbell, Lions are 35-16-1 ATS overall.
— Goff is 69-53-1 as an NFL starter, 25-23-1 with the Lions.
— Goff is 3-3 as a playoff starter, with another win off the bench.
— Lions are 3-3 SU vs teams that made the playoffs
— Detroit is 7-3 TY in one-score games.
— Last five games, Detroit is +6 in turnovers
— Last five games, Lions held opponents to 62.5 rushing yards/game.
— Lions are 9-1 when they score 26+ points, 4-4 when they don’t.
— over is 10-5 in their last 15 games.
— NFC North favorites are 12-8-1 ATS outside the division.


— Lions (-3) won 20-6 at Tampa Bay in Week 6.
— Detroit outgained Bucs 380-251, converted 9-16 on third down.
— Teams split their last six meetings.
— Buccaneers covered four of last five visits to the Motor City.


Chiefs (12-6) @ Bills (12-6) (-2.5)
— This is Mahomes’ first true road playoff game, Chiefs’ first since 2015.
— Chiefs won four of last five games, after a 2-4 skid.
— Chiefs are 2-4 SU vs teams that made the playoffs (both wins vs Miami).
— Chiefs are 4-3 SU TY vs teams that made the playoffs
— Kansas City is 6-5 TY in one-score games.
— Chiefs haven’t had a plus turnover game since Week 6.
— In last 12 games, Chiefs are minus-11 in turnovers (7-18)
— Since 2019, Chiefs are 11-2 in playoff games, winning 2 Super Bowls.
— Under is 10-3-1 in their last 14 games.
— coach Reid is 23-16 in playoff games, 13-7 with KC.
— Mahomes is 86-25 SU as an NFL starter, 12-3 in playoffs.
— AFC West favorites are 14-15 ATS outside the division.


— Buffalo is 6-0 SU/4-2 ATS since its bye week.
— Three of those five wins was by 7 or less points.
— Buffalo is 6-1 SU vs teams that made the playoffs
— Bills are 10-0 giving up 20 or less points, 2-6 giving up more than 20.
— Last eight games, Buffalo has a +7 turnover ratio.
— Last seven games, Bills ran ball for 156.5 yards/game.
— Bills are 5-5 ATS as a home favorite this year.
— Buffalo outscored last seven foes 123-54 in first half.
— Five of their last seven games went over the total.
— Josh Allen is 68-34 as an NFL starter, 5-4 in playoff games.
— Bills are 5-3 in playoffs last three years, 5-1 at home.
— coach McDermott is 5-5 in playoff games.
— AFC East favorites are 9-12-1 ATS outside the division.


— Bills won 20-17 at Arrowhead in Week 14.
— Chiefs’ go-ahead TD at end was nullified; WR lined up offside.
— Buffalo won last three series games.
— Chiefs won last three visits to Buffalo.
— since 2016, favorites are 3-2 ATS in this round in games with #2 vs #3 seeds.
— Road team is 10-4 ATS in last 14 series games.

 

[Udog]

NFL
Weather Report

Divisional Round

 

[CNOTES]

Sunday’s 6-pack:
Active hit leaders in major league baseball:
2,135— Joey Votto
2,114— Freddie Freeman
2,091— Elvis Andrus
2,048— Andrew McCutchen
2,047— Jose Altuve
1,930— Evan Longoria

Quote of the Day
“Your verbal compliments don’t pay my bills.”
Overheard a bartender say that to a customer this week

Sunday’s quiz
Pat Riley won five NBA titles as a head coach; what team did he break into the NBA with, as a player?

Saturday’s quiz
Packers’ QB Jordan Love play his college football at Utah State.

Friday’s quiz
First time the Houston Texans made the NFL playoffs was 2011; former NFL QB Gary Kubiak was the Texans’ coach.

*************************************************

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday……​

— Ravens 34, Texans 10
Game was 10-10 at halftime.
Houston’s only TD came on a 67-yard punt return.
Texans in second half: 19 plays, 68 yards, no points.
Ravens outgained Houston, 352-213.
Jackson threw for 152 yards, 2 TD’s, ran for 100 yards, 2 more TD’s.
Baltimore hosts the AFC title game next Sunday.

— 49ers 24, Packers 21
49ers drove 69 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:07 left.
49ers scored 24+ points in their wins, 17-17-17-19-20 in losses.
San Francisco hosts the NFC title game next Sunday night.
Up 21-17 with 6:18 left, Green Bay missed a 41-yard FG.
McCaffrey ran ball 17 times for 98 yards and two TD’s.
49ers were 10-16 on third down, Packers 7-13.

— Big East
Creighton 97, Seton Hall 94, 3OT’s
Seton Hall led by 9 with 13:16 left.
Four players on Creighton played 48:00+

Marquette 73, St John’s 72
St John’s outscored Marquette 14-2 over final 6:20;
Marquette was 3-9 on foul line, Johnnies were 15-19.
Red Storm lost their last three games, after a 12-7 start.

UConn 66, Villanova 65
In this game, there were 50 3-point shots taken, 48 2-point shots.
Villanova lost three of its last four games.
7-1 UConn leads 6-2 Seton Hall by a game atop the Big East standings.

— Big X
West Virginia 91, Kansas 85
Don’t see lot of college games that are 51-51 at halftime.
Kansas shot 67.6% inside arc; WVU was 12-21 on the arc.

Iowa State 73, TCU 72
Cyclones led 44-26 at halftime, hung on for dear life.
TCU never led; they turned ball over 27 times (minus-14)
Texas Tech, Kansas State are tied for first, at 4-1.

— Pac-12
Arizona 77, UCLA 71
UCLA led 32-13 with 7:40 left in first half.
Arizona shot 60.7% inside the arc.
Bruins are 4-11 in their last 15 D-I games.
Oregon leads Pac-12 at 5-1; the Arizona schools are both 5-2.

— ACC
Pittsburgh 80, Duke 76
11 days ago, Duke won 75-53 at Pitt
Panthers had lost four of previous five games.
This is Pitt’s first win at Cameron since 1979.

Syracuse 72, Miami 69
Syracuse hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the win.
Miami led by 7 with 7:47 left in the game.
Syracuse was 10-15 on foul line, Miami 3-5.
North Carolina leads ACC with a 7-0 mark; three teams are 5-2.

— Upsets of the Day:
Pitt (+13.5) 80, Duke 76
UL-Monroe (+11.5) 80, Old Dominion 73
VMI (+9.5) 70, Citadel 63
Fullerton (+7.5) 73, Santa Barbara 69
SE Missouri State (+7.5) 52, SIU-Edwardsville 47
Illinois State (+6.5) 69, Missouri State 60
Wyoming (+6.5) 98, Nevada 93
Iowa State (+5.5) 73, TCU 72

— Word of the Day: Cornucopia- a symbol of abundance and nourishment.

— SEC
Tennessee 91, Alabama 71- Vols are #85 in tempo this year; the previous six years, Tennessee’s tempo averaged #239.

Auburn 82, Oe Miss 59
Rebels are 2-3 in SEC, giving up 90-89-82 points in losses, after a 13-0 pre-conference mark.
Auburn is 5-0 in SEC play; Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama are all 4-1.

— Mountain West
Boise State 67, San Diego State 66
Aztecs lost two of last three games, after a 14-2 start.

Wyoming 98, Nevada 93
Cowboys made 13-23 shots on the arc.
Wyoming was 25-35 on foul line, Nevada 12-22.
Utah State is 5-1 in Mountain West, Boise State is 4-1.

— The last eight days for basketball official Randy McCall:
January 13- Tarleton State @ Grand Canyon
January 14- Utah @ Stanford
January 16- Air Force @ Colorado State
January 17- UCLA @ Arizona State
January 18- Washington @ California
January 20- San Diego State @ Boise State

— Atlantic 15
St Joe’s 71, Duquesne 69
Dukes are 0-5 in A-15, with three losses by 5 or fewer points.

— Big 14
Purdue 84, Iowa 70
Zach Edey scored 30 points, had 18 rebounds, 4 blocked shots.
Purdue out-rebounded Iowa, 50-24.
Wisconsin is 6-1 in conference games, Purdue 6-2.

— Speaking of Wisconsin, they’re #54 in 2-point FG% this year; the last four years, they didn’t finish higher than 215th.

— Big West
Fullerton 73, Santa Barbara 69
Visiting Titans snap a 4-game losing skid.
Loss snaps Santa Barbara’s 4-game win streak.
Gauchos are turning ball over 20.1% of time in league games (#10 of 11)

Davis 54, Irvine 52
Teams combined to shoot 7-29 on the arc.
Both teams shot under 40% inside the arc.
Davis’ big guy Niko Rocak blocked six shots.
Cal-Davis is 7-1 in Big West, half-game ahead of Irvine, UC-San Diego.

 

[Udog]

NFL
Weather Report

Divisional Round

 

[CNOTES]

Monday’s 6-pack:
— Tulane 81, Memphis 79- Green Wave trailed by 7 with 9:17 left.
— Michigan State 61, Maryland 59- Spartans were +10 in turnovers.
— Lions 31, Bucs 23- Goff threw for 287 yards, two TD’s.
— Chiefs 27, Bills 24- Pacheco ran 15 times for 97 yards.
— Utah 80, Oregon 77- Utah outscored Ducks 15-7 on foul line.
— Indiana State 72, Murray State 63- Larry Bird’s alma mater is 7-1 in MVC.

Quote of the Day
“It feels like my heart just got ripped out.”
Baker Mayfield, who threw for 349 yards, 3 TD’s in Sunday’s loss

Monday’s quiz
On the classic TV show CSI, what well-known actress from the 70’s played Hodges’ mother?

Sunday’s quiz
Pat Riley won five NBA titles as a head coach; he broke into the NBA as a player with the San Diego Rockets, in 1967.

Saturday’s quiz
Packers’ QB Jordan Love play his college football at Utah State.

**************************************************

Monday’s Den: NHL trends…….​

NHL trends (thru Saturday, January 20th)

Anaheim 15-29-1
— lost eight of last ten games overall.
— 6-16-1 at home, 9-13 on road.
— under 4-1 last five home games

Arizona 23-19-3
— lost six of their last nine games
— 15-9 at home, 8-10-3 on road.
— over 6-2 last eight home games.

Boston 28-8-9
— lost last three road games, all in OT/SO.
— 15-3-3 at home, 13-5-6 on road.
— over 6-1 last seven home games

Buffalo 20-23-4
— 3-4 in their last seven games.
— 11-13-1 at home, 9-10-3 on road.
— under 4-0 last four games
— 2-5 if they played the night before.

Calgary 21-20-5
— won four of their last six games
— 11-9-1 at home, 10-11-4 on road.
— over 3-2 last five home games
— 0-5 if they played the night before.

Carolina 25-14-5
— won eight of their last ten games.
— 13-4-4 at home, 12-10-1 on road.
— over 3-1 last four road games.

Chicago 14-30-2
— lost seven of their last ten games
— 10-11-1 at home, 4-19-1 on road.
— under 8-2 last ten games
— 1-5 if they played the night before.

Colorado 31-14-3
— won nine of last 12 games
— 18-5 at home, 13-9-3 on road.
— over 9-1 last ten games.
— 3-1 if they played the night before.

Columbus 14-22-9
— lost nine of their last 12 games
— 9-13-4 at home, 5-9-5 on road.
— under 4-1 last three road games

Dallas 27-13-5
— won five of their last seven games
— 14-8-2 at home, 13-5-3 on road.
— over 9-3 last 12 games
— 4-1 if they played the night before.

Detroit 23-17-5
— won six of their last eight games
— 11-7-4 at home, 12-10-1 on road.
— under 5-1 last six games
— 4-1 if they played the night before.

Edmonton 26-15-1
— won their last 13 games.
— 13-6-1 at home, 13-9 on road.
— under 7-0 last seven games

Florida 27-14-4
— lost their last four games.
— 13-7-2 at home, 14-7-2 on road.
— under 14-4 last 18 games

Los Angeles 22-13-8
— lost 10 of their last 12 games.
— 8-8-5 at home, 14-5-3 on road.
— under 12-5 last 17 games
— 1-5 if they played the night before.

Minnesota 19-21-5
— lost nine of last 12 games.
— 11-9-3 at home, 8-12-2 on road.
— over 5-1 last six games
— 2-6 if they played the night before.

Montreal 19-20-7
— 4-9 in their last 13 games.
— 9-11-3 at home, 10-9-4 on road.
— over 5-2 last seven home games
— 1-9 if they played the night before.

Nashville 25-21-1
— 3-2 in their last five games.
— 13-11 at home, 12-10-1 on road.
— under 4-0 last four games
— 5-0 if they played the night before.

New Jersey 23-18-3
— lost five of last seven games
— 9-11-2 at home, 14-7-1 on road.
— under 4-1 last five games.
— 1-6 if they played the night before.

NY Islanders 19-15-11
— lost eight of last ten games.
— 11-5-6 at home, 8-10-5 on road.
— over 10-3 last 13 games
— 0-6 if they played the night before.

NY Rangers 28-15-2
— lost six of their last eight games
— 15-6 at home, 13-9-2 on road.
— over 5-3 last eight games.
— 7-0 if they played the night before.

Ottawa 16-25-1
— lost seven of their last nine games.
— 12-12-1 at home, 4-13 on road.
— over 5-1 last six games.

Philadelphia 25-16-6
— won five of their last six games.
— 11-10-2 at home, 14-6-4 on road.
— under 6-3 last nine games.
— 5-0 on first night of a back/back.

Pittsburgh 21-16-6
— lost three of their last four games
— 11-8-2 at home, 10-8-4 on road.
— under 5-1 last six games
— 4-0 if they played the night before.

St Louis 22-20-2
— lost four of their last six games.
— 14-8-1 at home, 8-12-1 on road.
— over 3-2 last five games

San Jose 11-31-4
— lost 15 of their last 17 games
— 7-12-2 at home, 4-19-2 on road.
— under 5-3 last eight games

Seattle 19-17-9
— lost last three games, outscored 12-4.
— 9-8-3 at home, 10-9-6 on road.
— under 9-3 last dozen games

Tampa Bay 25-17-5
— won their last five games.
— 15-5-3 at home, 10-12-2 on road.
— under 5-1 last six road games

Toronto 22-14-8
— lost five of their last six games.
— 10-9-2 at home, 12-5-6 on road.
— over 5-2 last seven games

Vancouver 31-11-4
— 7-1 in their last eight games.
— 16-4-1 at home, 15-7-3 on road.
— over 6-2 last eight games

Vegas 27-14-5
— lost their last six road games.
— won five of last six home games.
— 18-5-2 at home, 9-9-3 on road.
— under 8-2 last ten games

Washington 22-16-6
— won three of last five games.
— 13-7-4 at home, 9-9-2 on road.
— under 4-1 last five games.
— 4-2 if they played the night before.

Winnipeg 31-10-4
— 10-1 in their last 11 games.
— 16-6-2 at home, 15-4-2 on road.
— under 8-2 last ten games.
— 4-0 if they played the night before.

 

[Udog]

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

NFL
Dunkel

Conference Championships

NFL
Long Sheet

Conference Championships

NFL

Conference Championships

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kansas City @ Baltimore
Kansas City
Kansas City is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games on the road
Kansas City is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Baltimore
Baltimore is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Baltimore's last 5 games when playing Kansas City

Detroit @ San Francisco
Detroit
Detroit is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Detroit is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
San Francisco
San Francisco is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
San Francisco is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games when playing Detroit

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[CNOTES]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
— 76ers 133, Spurs 123- Joel Embiid scored 70 points in the win.
— Celtics 119, Mavericks 110- Boston was +27 with Tatum on floor.
— Hornets 128, Wolves 125- Towns scored 62 points in a losing cause.
— Bucks 122, Pistons 113- Detroit is 4-39; they must be having fun.
— Grizzlies 108, Raptors 100- Jaren Jackson scored 27 points, had 6 steals.
— Cavaliers 126, Magic 99- Cleveland shot 20-38 behind the arc.

Quote of the Day
“It’s hard to describe the week. Heartbreaking, devastating. It’s just the saddest thing I’ve ever been a part of in the NBA, where we lose someone who’s so close to us. And then, more importantly, seeing his family suffer. So this last week has been — last five days, I guess — has been full of all of the above. The shock, the emotion, the extreme outpouring of love from all over the world.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, after assistant coach Dejan Milojevic passed away last week

Tuesday’s quiz
Who was the Baltimore Ravens’ QB, last time they won the Super Bowl?

Monday’s quiz
On the classic TV show CSI, Jaclyn Smith played Hodges’ mother. She was one of the stars of Charlie’s Angels in the late 70’s.

Sunday’s quiz
Pat Riley won five NBA titles as a head coach; he broke into the NBA as a player with the San Diego Rockets, in 1967.

***********************************************************

Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….​

— Betting lines for this weekend’s conference title games:
Chiefs @ Baltimore (-3.5, 44.5)
Lions @ San Francisco (-6.5, 51)

— Patrick Mahomes is now 13-3 in NFL playoff games, and he’s only 28. Sunday’s game in Baltimore is the 6th time Mahomes’ Chiefs have opened as an underdog of 3+ points- they were 5-0 ATS in the first five games.
Chiefs ranked 14th in NFL this year in points per game; this was first year since 2016 that the Chiefs weren’t in the top 10 in points per game.

— Tennessee Titans are going to hire Brian Callahan as head coach; he was the Bengals’ OC the last five years, and is the son of former Raiders’ coach Bill Callahan- Bill Callahan is now the offensive line coach in Cleveland.

— Chicago Bears named Shane Waldron their new offensive coordinator; he was Seattle’s OC the last three years, after working with the Rams before that. Waldron replaces Luke Getsy, a scapegoat for the Bears dismal showing the last two years.
Of the nine coaches who interviewed for this job, four of them worked for Sean McVay in Los Angeles at one time or another.

— Las Vegas Raiders named Antonio Pierce their full-time head coach; Raiders went 5-4 under Pierce after they fired Josh McDaniels on Halloween.

— Ohio State hired former Houston Texans’ coach Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator; he worked for the Patriots this past season, for Alabama in 2021-22. He went 54-52 coaching the Texans from 2014-20.

— Minnesota Vikings fired their trainer, after an injury-riddled 7-10 season. Go figure. The guy had only been with Minnesota for two years.

— Arizona Cardinals had a cruddy season this year, going 4-13; they recently laid off three members of their front office on the non-football side, all of whom had been with Arizona for 15+ years.

— Baseball Note of the Day: In 2021-22, when defensive shifts were still a thing, lefty batters hit a combined .238. Last year, with no shifts, lefty batters hit .247.

— Word of the Day: Negotiation- a discussion aimed at reaching an agreement.

— Pittsburgh Pirates gave reliever Aroldis Chapman $10.5M on a one-year deal; Pirates are the sixth big league team for Chapman, who was 6-5, 3.09 in 61 games for Royals/Rangers last year, winning a World Series ring with Texas.

— Houston Astros signed Josh Hader to a 5-year, $95M deal; Hader has 103 saves the last three seasons, in 113 opportunities.

— Toronto Blue Jays signed Cuban P Yariel Rodríguez to a 4-year, $32M deal.

— St Louis Cardinals brought utility guy Matt Carpenter back on a 1-year contract; he played for St Louis from 2011-21, but played for Bronx/San Diego the last two years.
Next year, Carpenter will be paid $3.26M by the Braves, $1.5M by the Padres and $740,000 by the Cardinals. Braves traded for Carpenter this winter, kept him for three days, then released him.

— It has been a slow winter for baseball talk; 13 of the top 25 free agents are still unsigned. The top four remaining players are all Scott Boras clients, and Boras tends to drag negotiations out

— North Carolina 85, Wake Forest 64
Tar Heels are 8-0 SU/7-1 ATS in ACC games.
Carolina outscored the Deacons 52-30 in the second half.

— Kansas 74, Cincinnati 69
Game was 35-35 at halftime.
Jayhawks were +5 (16-11) in turnovers.
This was Cincinnati’s sixth straight game against a top 25 opponent.

— McNeese State 62, Corpus Christi 61
McNeese put in a missed foul shot at the buzzer for the road win.
Corpus Christi led this game by 18 with 12:57 left to play.
McNeese has now won 11 in a row, is 6-0 in Southland Conference.

— DePaul fired basketball coach Tony Stubblefield, who was 28-54 with the Blue Demons, 3-15 this year; Matt Brady will serve as the interim head coach the rest of the season.

— Isaiah Watts of Washington State is the grandson of Slick Watts, an excellent point guard for the Seattle SuperSonics back when I was a kid.

— St John’s/UNLV are two teams who always have their conference tournament at their home court, but it hasn’t helped either team very much.
Since 2008, St John’s is 10-16 in the Big East tournament; since 2014, UNLV is 6-10 in their conference tournament.

 

[CNOTES]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Mel Kiper’s first mock draft for 2024:
1- Bears- Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2- Commanders- Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
3- Patriots- Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4- Cardinals- Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State
5- Chargers- Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
6- Mailk Nabers, WR, LSU

Quote of the Day
“Typically, we don’t enforce policies that force loyalty. We want loyalty to be organic and natural. When you limit the ability to exercise your freedoms of transferring, there needs to be a very valid reason to do so. And to just blatantly enforce loyalty, I think it’s hard to argue that case.”
Former college QB JT Daniels, talking about the transfer process- he transferred three times and played for four schools in a six-year college career.

Wednesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing played 15 of his 17 seasons with the Knicks, but what team did he finish his career with?

Tuesday’s quiz
Joe Flacco was the Baltimore Ravens’ QB, last time they won the Super Bowl.

Monday’s quiz
On the classic TV show CSI, Jaclyn Smith played Hodges’ mother. She was one of the stars of Charlie’s Angels in the late 70’s.

********************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….​

When I was a kid back in the 70’s, the Rams won their division seven years in a row, but the first six of those years, they lost in the playoffs- they lost the NFC Championship game four times in a five-year span, twice at home, before making the Super Bowl in 1979.
This came up because I’ve often wondered if a home playoff loss comes with a hangover effect the next season. Teams work so hard for the home field edge; if you get it, then lose a playoff game at home, are there long-term negative effects?
Since 2010 in the NFL, the road team has won 50 playoff games:
Of the 50 teams who lost at home, those teams, the next season…….

— 3 of them won the Super Bowl (Chiefs in 2019/2022), Broncos in 2015.
Helps to have Mahomes/Peyton Manning at QB.

— 4 of them lost the Super Bowl

— 20 of 50 teams missed the playoffs the next year.

— The 30 teams who made the playoffs went 20-10 in their first playoff game.

— The 20 teams who won that first playoff game went 7-13 in their next game.

Since 2000, #1-seeds are 34-14 in their first playoff game; of the 14 teams who lost that first playoff game……
— 7 0f 14 teams missed the playoffs the next year.

— 2006 Colts were only team to win the Super Bowl the next year.
Again, it helped to have Peyton Manning at QB.

— Two other teams lost the Super Bowl the next year.
Elsewhere in the world……..

— Hard to believe that Sports Illustrated has bit the dust; seems like it has been around forever. Last week they fired just about all their staff. Not good.
For my 9th birthday, a friend of my parents gave me a subscription to Sports Illustrated as a gift; the first issue that came in the mail had Bobby Orr on the cover, and I became a big hockey fan, and the Boston Bruins in particular. The magazine always came on Thursday, as I remember.

— Monday, they had 2.7 inches of rain in San Diego, of all places. It was one of the five wettest days in San Diego’s recorded history.

— Super Bowls won, by division:
13- NFC East
9- AFC East, AFC West
9- NFC West, AFC North
5- NFC North
3- NFC South
2- AFC South

— Lot of job interviews this time of year; I remember hearing a story about how Al Davis would interview people he had no intention of hiring, he just wanted to pick their brains, get new ideas on how to do things going forward.

— Comgrats to Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton on getting elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Manager Jim Leyland is also getting in this year; he was voted in last month.

— Other baseball stuff:
Milwaukee Brewers signed 1B Rhys Hoskins for two years,, $34M.
Washington Nationals signed OF/DH Joey Gallo for one year, $5M.
LA Dodgers signed P James Paxton, for one year, $11M.

— Long time ago, back when ESPN was more fun to watch, their Big Mondays were great:
7:00- Big East game
9:00- Big 10 game
midnight- Big West game
This was back when UNLV was a national power; they played in the Big West back then, when their top competitors were Cal-Santa Barbara, New Mexico State and Cal-Fullerton. Then they moved to the Mountain West, which has hurt both them and the Big West.
My suggestion to ESPN; add the midnight game again, whether it is Big Sky, Big West, WCC or the WAC (or a combination). People will watch, of that I am not uncertain.

— Baseball Fact of the Day: 2008 Florida Marlins were the first team where all four infielders hit 25+ home runs.
1B Mike Jacobs- 32
2B Dan Uggla- 32
SS Hanley Ramirez- 33
3B Jorge Cantu- 29

— Word of the Day: Narcissist- a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.

— South Carolina 79, Kentucky 62
South Carolina made 11-24 on the arc.
Gamecocks are 5-3 in last eight games vs Kentucky.

— Kent State 90, Bowling Green 84 OT
Bowling Green led by 3 with 1:38 left in regulation.
Falcons were 26-34 on foul line, but only 6-23 on arc.

— Creighton 85, Xavier 78
Xavier led by 7 with 11:56 left in the game.
Alexander scored 27 points, had 9 rebounds, 4 assists.

— TCU 74, Oklahoma State 69
Oklahoma State led by 17 late in first half.
Horned Frogs shot 64.3% inside the arc.

— Charlotte 76, UAB 70
Blazers led 35-15 late in first half.
Charlotte won its last six games, after a 6-7 start.

— Air Force 90, UNLV 58
UNLV trailed 39-24 at halftime, then it got worse.
Underdogs are 5-1 ATS in Rebels’ Mountain West games.

 

[CNOTES]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Mel Kiper’s first mock draft for 2024:
1- Bears- Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2- Commanders- Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
3- Patriots- Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4- Cardinals- Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State
5- Chargers- Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
6- Mailk Nabers, WR, LSU

Quote of the Day
“Typically, we don’t enforce policies that force loyalty. We want loyalty to be organic and natural. When you limit the ability to exercise your freedoms of transferring, there needs to be a very valid reason to do so. And to just blatantly enforce loyalty, I think it’s hard to argue that case.”
Former college QB JT Daniels, talking about the transfer process- he transferred three times and played for four schools in a six-year college career.

Wednesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing played 15 of his 17 seasons with the Knicks, but what team did he finish his career with?

Tuesday’s quiz
Joe Flacco was the Baltimore Ravens’ QB, last time they won the Super Bowl.

Monday’s quiz
On the classic TV show CSI, Jaclyn Smith played Hodges’ mother. She was one of the stars of Charlie’s Angels in the late 70’s.

********************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….​

When I was a kid back in the 70’s, the Rams won their division seven years in a row, but the first six of those years, they lost in the playoffs- they lost the NFC Championship game four times in a five-year span, twice at home, before making the Super Bowl in 1979.
This came up because I’ve often wondered if a home playoff loss comes with a hangover effect the next season. Teams work so hard for the home field edge; if you get it, then lose a playoff game at home, are there long-term negative effects?
Since 2010 in the NFL, the road team has won 50 playoff games:
Of the 50 teams who lost at home, those teams, the next season…….

— 3 of them won the Super Bowl (Chiefs in 2019/2022), Broncos in 2015.
Helps to have Mahomes/Peyton Manning at QB.

— 4 of them lost the Super Bowl

— 20 of 50 teams missed the playoffs the next year.

— The 30 teams who made the playoffs went 20-10 in their first playoff game.

— The 20 teams who won that first playoff game went 7-13 in their next game.

Since 2000, #1-seeds are 34-14 in their first playoff game; of the 14 teams who lost that first playoff game……
— 7 0f 14 teams missed the playoffs the next year.

— 2006 Colts were only team to win the Super Bowl the next year.
Again, it helped to have Peyton Manning at QB.

— Two other teams lost the Super Bowl the next year.
Elsewhere in the world……..

— Hard to believe that Sports Illustrated has bit the dust; seems like it has been around forever. Last week they fired just about all their staff. Not good.
For my 9th birthday, a friend of my parents gave me a subscription to Sports Illustrated as a gift; the first issue that came in the mail had Bobby Orr on the cover, and I became a big hockey fan, and the Boston Bruins in particular. The magazine always came on Thursday, as I remember.

— Monday, they had 2.7 inches of rain in San Diego, of all places. It was one of the five wettest days in San Diego’s recorded history.

— Super Bowls won, by division:
13- NFC East
9- AFC East, AFC West
9- NFC West, AFC North
5- NFC North
3- NFC South
2- AFC South

— Lot of job interviews this time of year; I remember hearing a story about how Al Davis would interview people he had no intention of hiring, he just wanted to pick their brains, get new ideas on how to do things going forward.

— Comgrats to Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton on getting elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Manager Jim Leyland is also getting in this year; he was voted in last month.

— Other baseball stuff:
Milwaukee Brewers signed 1B Rhys Hoskins for two years,, $34M.
Washington Nationals signed OF/DH Joey Gallo for one year, $5M.
LA Dodgers signed P James Paxton, for one year, $11M.

— Long time ago, back when ESPN was more fun to watch, their Big Mondays were great:
7:00- Big East game
9:00- Big 10 game
midnight- Big West game
This was back when UNLV was a national power; they played in the Big West back then, when their top competitors were Cal-Santa Barbara, New Mexico State and Cal-Fullerton. Then they moved to the Mountain West, which has hurt both them and the Big West.
My suggestion to ESPN; add the midnight game again, whether it is Big Sky, Big West, WCC or the WAC (or a combination). People will watch, of that I am not uncertain.

— Baseball Fact of the Day: 2008 Florida Marlins were the first team where all four infielders hit 25+ home runs.
1B Mike Jacobs- 32
2B Dan Uggla- 32
SS Hanley Ramirez- 33
3B Jorge Cantu- 29

— Word of the Day: Narcissist- a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.

— South Carolina 79, Kentucky 62
South Carolina made 11-24 on the arc.
Gamecocks are 5-3 in last eight games vs Kentucky.

— Kent State 90, Bowling Green 84 OT
Bowling Green led by 3 with 1:38 left in regulation.
Falcons were 26-34 on foul line, but only 6-23 on arc.

— Creighton 85, Xavier 78
Xavier led by 7 with 11:56 left in the game.
Alexander scored 27 points, had 9 rebounds, 4 assists.

— TCU 74, Oklahoma State 69
Oklahoma State led by 17 late in first half.
Horned Frogs shot 64.3% inside the arc.

— Charlotte 76, UAB 70
Blazers led 35-15 late in first half.
Charlotte won its last six games, after a 6-7 start.

— Air Force 90, UNLV 58
UNLV trailed 39-24 at halftime, then it got worse.
Underdogs are 5-1 ATS in Rebels’ Mountain West games.

 

[CNOTES]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
Most saves in major leagues, since 2019:
153— Josh Hader
152— Kenley Jansen
126— Raisel Iglesias
115— Liam Hendriks
111— Emmanuel Clase
105— Ryan Pressly

Quote of the Day
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”
George McDonald

Thursday’s quiz
New Orleans Saints started playing in 1967, but they didn’t win a playoff game until 2000; who was their coach when they got that first playoff win?

Wednesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing played 15 of his 17 seasons with the Knicks; he finished his career with the Orlando Magic, after playing a year with Seattle.

Tuesday’s quiz
Joe Flacco was the Baltimore Ravens’ QB, last time they won the Super Bowl.

******************************************

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….​

— Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh as their new coach Wednesday; he played for the Chargers for two years (1999-2000).
Harbaugh just won a national title at Michigan; he was 86-25 in Ann Arbor, 144-42 overall in college ball. Before this season, Harbaugh had lost six bowl games in a row, but he won two of them this year and he leaves Michigan with a national title.
Harbaugh coached the 49ers from 2011-14, going 49-22-1, 5-3 in playoff games. His 49ers lost the Super Bowl 11 years ago- he lost to his brother John’s Baltimore team.
Next year, by the way, the Ravens will play the Chargers at SoFi in Los Angeles, which sounds like a Monday Night Football matchup.

— Football coaches are nomads, they move around a lot:
Packers fired defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
Dolphins fired defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Next year, Dolphins will have their third defensive coordinator in three years under head coach Mike McDaniel. Eagles will have their third offensive coordinator in three years.

— Four QB’s have started a Super Bowl for two different teams:
Craig Morton
Kurt Warner
Peyton Manning
Tom Brady
Jared Goff tries to join this list Sunday night.

— QB Will Rogers bolted from Mississippi State to Washington after the season, but when Kalen DeBoer bolted from Washington to Alabama, Rogers put his name back into the portal, but now he’s taken his name out of the portal and will play for Jedd Fisch at Washington.

— Must be an interesting story going on in Milwaukee; the Bucks fired rookie head coach Adrian Griffin, even though the guy had a 30-13 record.
According to the Ringer, “…….(Griffin made) head-scratching in-game decisions that made the franchise’s star players believe he’s not capable of leading them to a championship.”
Doc Rivers is the new coach in Milwaukee; he is 1,208-867 as an NBA coach, 111-104 in playoff games, with one title, but that was 16 years ago.

— Baseball Note of the Day: 25-year old Bubba Thompson is one of the fastest players in baseball; he’s had an interesting last few months:
He hit .170 in 53 at-bats with Texas last year.
August 13- Royals claimed him on waivers.
October 26- Reds claimed him on waivers.
January 4- Bronx claimed him on waivers.
January 24- Twins claimed him on waivers.
Not many players change teams three times in one offseason.

— Word of the Day: Nomad- a person who doesn’t stay long in the same place.

— Home team is 9-0 ATS in Nebraska’s Big 14 games this season.

— Creighton Bluejays are 15-5, 6-3 in the Big East; in their last four games, Baylor Scheierman has played 174:18 of a possible 175:00.
Creighton is #351 in the country in bench minutes; this will hurt them in the Big East tournament, when the games are on consecutive days. In the NCAA’s, the games are every other day, so players can have down time between games.

— Northwestern 96, Illinois 91, OT
Three weeks ago, Illinois beat the Wildcats by 30 at home.
Northwestern made 11-18 shots on the arc.

— Alabama 79, Auburn 75
Alabama led 44-30 at the half, held on in second half.
Both teams are now 5-1 in the SEC.

— Virginia 59, NC State 53, OT
Virginia led by 14 with 12:44 left in regulation.
Cavaliers out-rebounded NC State, 54-32.
Teams combined to shoot 8-31 on the arc.

— Missouri State 83, Drake 80, 2OT
Drake led by 16 late in first half.
Alston Mason scored 36 points for the victorious Bears.

— Furman 78, Samford 68
Fifth straight win for the Paladins.
First loss for Samford in eight SoCon games.

— Iowa State 78, Kansas State 67
K-State never led, but game was 61-61 with 4:40 left.
Cyclones were 27-39 on foul line, K-State 15-23.

 

[CNOTES]

Friday’s 6-pack:
Early odds to win next season’s Super Bowl:
6-1— 49ers
10-1— Chiefs, Ravens
12-1— Bills
14-1— Cowboys, Lions, Packers
16-1— Bengals, Dolphins, Eagles
25-1— Rams, Falcons, Texans, Jaguars, Chargers, Jets

Quote of the Day
“……you learn the most when things aren’t going very well. Everyone can be positive when you’re winning a bunch of football games.”
Titans’ coach Brian Callahan

Friday’s quiz
Who is the career leader in passing yards for the Green Bay Packers?

Thursday’s quiz
New Orleans Saints started playing in 1967, but they didn’t win a playoff game until 2000; Jim Haslett was the coach when they got that first playoff win.

Wednesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing played 15 of his 17 seasons with the Knicks; he finished his career with the Orlando Magic, after playing a year with Seattle.

**************************************

Friday’s Den: Random stuff, with the weekend here…….​

— There were eight head coaching openings in the NFL; 6 of the 8 jobs have been filled, with Washington/Seattle remaining. Not only has Bill Belichick not been hired, Atlanta was the only team that interviewed him but they hired Rams’ DC Raheem Morris Thursday.
Morris went 17-31 in three years coaching Tampa Bay, from 2009-11.

— Four of the other five coaching openings have been filled by first-time head coaches, with Jim Harbaugh/Chargers the exception.

— Rams, by the way, will be awarded two 3rd-round draft picks under the NFL’s plan that rewards a team that develops a minority candidate hired by another franchise as a head coach or general manager.

— Carolina Panthers hired Tampa Bay’s OC Dave Canales as their new head coach.

— Philadelphia Eagles named Vic Fangio their new defensive coordinator.
Last year, the Eagles did so well that both their coordinators were hired elsewhere as head coaches; this year, they fired both their coordinators.

— If Belichick doesn’t get another coaching job, will a TV network reach out to him? The guy has gone out of his way to be as boring as humanly possible in press conferences, but it would be interesting to listen to him talk football during games.
Last thought on the coaching carousel; how do you not bring Belichick in for an interview, just to pick his brain?

— Sunday night’s NFC title game will be only the 2nd game the Lions have played outdoors since October 22; they lost 28-13 in Chicago December 10.

— Baseball Note of the Day: Last year, Milwaukee Brewers’ 1st basemen hit .231, with an OPS of .681, not good. Milwaukee DH’s hit .219, with an OPS of .657, even worse, all of which explains why the Brewers gave Rhys Hoskins $34M for two years.

— Word of the Day: Vivacious- someone who is lively, exciting, fun to be around.

— Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra recently signed an 8-year, $15M/year contract; there are 108 NBA players who are making more $$$ than Spoelstra this year.
Also in the NBA, Washington Wizards fired coach Wes Unseld Jr, who went 77-130 in 2.5 years coaching Washington, the team his father starred for as a player.

— When St John’s beat Villanova 70-50 Wednesday, it was the first time since 1993 that the Red Storm swept their regular season meetings with Villanova.

— Gonzaga 77, San Francisco 72
USF led by 6 early in second half.
Gonzaga played only seven guys (#346 in bench minutes)

— Wright State 107, Cleveland State 99, OT
Cleveland State led by 11 with 7:50 left in regulation.
Wright State shot 61.4% inside arc, 32-39 on foul line.

— North Texas 68, SMU 66
Mean Green made 10-23 shots on the arc.
Robert Allen had 12 points, 10 rebounds off the bench.

— Towson 70, Drexel 67
First loss for the Dragons in eight CAA games.
Towson is #2 team in country on offensive boards.

— Cal-San Diego 66, Cal-Riverside 65
Tritons were 12-15 on foul line, Riverside 3-5
UCSD is 7-1, tied for 1st in Big West; they’re ineligible for NCAA’s.

— Eastern Washington 77, Northern Colorado 74
Eagles improve to 6-0 in the Big Sky.
Eastern Washington put five players in double figures.