WNBA PLAYOFFS 2024
09/24/2024...........................2 - 2 - 0.........................50.00%..........................- 1.00
09/22/2024...........................1 - 5 - 0.........................16.66%...........................- 22.50
TOTALS...................................3 - 7 - 0..........................30.00%..........................- 23.50
09/24/2024...........................2 - 2 - 0.........................50.00%..........................- 1.00
09/22/2024...........................1 - 5 - 0.........................16.66%...........................- 22.50
TOTALS...................................3 - 7 - 0..........................30.00%..........................- 23.50
Wednesday’s 6-pack:
NFL RB’s/WR’s with most yards from scrimmage:
417— Alvin Kamara, NO
404— Saquon Barkley, Phil
344— Jordan Mason, SF
338— Nico Collins, Hst
325— Aaron Jones, Minn
324— JK Dobbins, LAC
Quote of the Day
“I definitely understand our fan base has been waiting for the franchise QB, but I also don’t want Jayden feeling any ghosts, making sure he understands there’s only one name on the back of that jersey and that’s for him.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn
Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the active players in the major leagues, who has played the most games in the Oakland Coliseum?
Tuesday’s quiz
Troy Aikman played college football for Oklahoma, UCLA.
Monday’s quiz
Terry Collins was manager of the New York Mets, last time they were in a World Series.
******************************************
Let’s say Team A scores a TD with 1:00 left, they trail 27-24; instead of an onside kick, they get the ball on their own 30, but it is 4th-and-15, and you play it out from there.
Much more interesting rule than what exists now. NFL needs to fix this.
— There is an NFL survivor contest at the Circa Casino in Las Vegas.
You pick one team a week.
If that team wins, you move on.
You can only pick the same team once a season.
Last person standing gets all the $$$$.
$1,000 to enter
14,266 people entered, so the prize pool is $14,266,000.
After three weeks (THREE!!!!!) only 642 people are left. 95.5% of people got eliminated in only three weeks.
Week 1- Bengals (-8) lost
Week 2- Ravens (-9) lost
Week 3- Bengals (-7.5) lost
First time since 2001 that biggest favorite of the week lost three weeks in a row. Only the 4th time since 1970 that it happened.
— In the last 58 years, there had been 26 NFL teams who:
Scored 4+ TD’s in a game
Didn’t punt
Didn’t turn the ball over
Those teams were 26-0, until the Bengals did it and lost Monday night.
— A reminder with the A’s leaving Oakland after this week; a long time ago, in the early 70’s, a kid named Tom Hanks was a vendor at the Coliseum, selling hot dogs/peanuts.
— In 1974, A’s had a player named Herb Washington, who did nothing but pinch-run; he appeared in 92 games, never batted or played the field. Washington stole 29 bases in 45 tries, scored 29 runs; he was a track star at Michigan State who wasn’t actually a baseball player, but he got a World Series ring when the A’s won their third straight World Series that year.
A’s had previously used Allan Lewis as a pinch-runner; he scored 47 runs, stole 44 bases in his six-year career, but he also batted 31 times.
— Famous birthdays, September 25
Michael Douglas, 80
Bob McAdoo, 73
Glenn Hubbard, 67
Heather Locklear, 62
Scottie Pippen, 59
Geno Petralli, 59
Will Smith, 56
Catherine Zeta-Jones, 55
Chauncey Billups, 48
Rocco Baldelli, 43
Alec Ogletree, 33
Brandin Cooks, 31
— Washington beat the Bengals 38-33 Monday night; it was the first NFL game since 1940 with no punts and no turnovers by either team.
Commanders’ rookie QB Jayden Daniels is putting on a show:
Washington’s last two games:
Week 2: 7 drives, kicked 7 field goals.
Week 3: 6 drives, 5 TD’s and a field goal
— Utah State bolted to the Pac-12, fueling speculation that UNLV/Air Force will be right behind them in jumping leagues, but that part of it isn’t official.
— Random trivia: Cubs have drawn 18 bases loaded walks this year, most of any team this year.
— The last major leaguer to hit without a batting helmet; Bob Montgomery in 1979- he was a backup catcher for the Red Sox, later became one of their TV analysts.
— Word of the Day: Chicanery- clever, dishonest talk or behavior that is used to deceive people.
NFL RB’s/WR’s with most yards from scrimmage:
417— Alvin Kamara, NO
404— Saquon Barkley, Phil
344— Jordan Mason, SF
338— Nico Collins, Hst
325— Aaron Jones, Minn
324— JK Dobbins, LAC
Quote of the Day
“I definitely understand our fan base has been waiting for the franchise QB, but I also don’t want Jayden feeling any ghosts, making sure he understands there’s only one name on the back of that jersey and that’s for him.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn
Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the active players in the major leagues, who has played the most games in the Oakland Coliseum?
Tuesday’s quiz
Troy Aikman played college football for Oklahoma, UCLA.
Monday’s quiz
Terry Collins was manager of the New York Mets, last time they were in a World Series.
******************************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
— One of the spring football leagues in the last few years had a great rule to replace onside kicks:Let’s say Team A scores a TD with 1:00 left, they trail 27-24; instead of an onside kick, they get the ball on their own 30, but it is 4th-and-15, and you play it out from there.
Much more interesting rule than what exists now. NFL needs to fix this.
— There is an NFL survivor contest at the Circa Casino in Las Vegas.
You pick one team a week.
If that team wins, you move on.
You can only pick the same team once a season.
Last person standing gets all the $$$$.
$1,000 to enter
14,266 people entered, so the prize pool is $14,266,000.
After three weeks (THREE!!!!!) only 642 people are left. 95.5% of people got eliminated in only three weeks.
Week 1- Bengals (-8) lost
Week 2- Ravens (-9) lost
Week 3- Bengals (-7.5) lost
First time since 2001 that biggest favorite of the week lost three weeks in a row. Only the 4th time since 1970 that it happened.
— In the last 58 years, there had been 26 NFL teams who:
Scored 4+ TD’s in a game
Didn’t punt
Didn’t turn the ball over
Those teams were 26-0, until the Bengals did it and lost Monday night.
— A reminder with the A’s leaving Oakland after this week; a long time ago, in the early 70’s, a kid named Tom Hanks was a vendor at the Coliseum, selling hot dogs/peanuts.
— In 1974, A’s had a player named Herb Washington, who did nothing but pinch-run; he appeared in 92 games, never batted or played the field. Washington stole 29 bases in 45 tries, scored 29 runs; he was a track star at Michigan State who wasn’t actually a baseball player, but he got a World Series ring when the A’s won their third straight World Series that year.
A’s had previously used Allan Lewis as a pinch-runner; he scored 47 runs, stole 44 bases in his six-year career, but he also batted 31 times.
— Famous birthdays, September 25
Michael Douglas, 80
Bob McAdoo, 73
Glenn Hubbard, 67
Heather Locklear, 62
Scottie Pippen, 59
Geno Petralli, 59
Will Smith, 56
Catherine Zeta-Jones, 55
Chauncey Billups, 48
Rocco Baldelli, 43
Alec Ogletree, 33
Brandin Cooks, 31
— Washington beat the Bengals 38-33 Monday night; it was the first NFL game since 1940 with no punts and no turnovers by either team.
Commanders’ rookie QB Jayden Daniels is putting on a show:
Washington’s last two games:
Week 2: 7 drives, kicked 7 field goals.
Week 3: 6 drives, 5 TD’s and a field goal
— Utah State bolted to the Pac-12, fueling speculation that UNLV/Air Force will be right behind them in jumping leagues, but that part of it isn’t official.
— Random trivia: Cubs have drawn 18 bases loaded walks this year, most of any team this year.
— The last major leaguer to hit without a batting helmet; Bob Montgomery in 1979- he was a backup catcher for the Red Sox, later became one of their TV analysts.
— Word of the Day: Chicanery- clever, dishonest talk or behavior that is used to deceive people.
Thursday’s 6-pack:
NFL QB’s with most passing yards:
851— Dak Prescott, Dal
842— Brock Purdy, SF
787— Geno Smith, Sea
772— Jalen Hurts, Phil
754— Matthew Stafford, Rams
747— Gardner Minshew, LV
Quote of the Day
“This was one of the easiest [consignments] ever. Ohtani [hits #50] on Thursday, literally Friday we heard from the guy, he contacted Goldin on his own through social media, flew a security guard down to Miami on Monday with a representative from Goldin, met him, flew back Monday.”
Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin; bidding for Ohtani’s 50th home run baseball is going to start Friday at $500,000.
Thursday’s quiz
50 years ago, Oakland A’s won their third straight World Series; who was their manager that year?
Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the active players in the major leagues, Marcus Semien has played the most games in the Oakland Coliseum.
Tuesday’s quiz
Troy Aikman played college football for Oklahoma, UCLA.
******************************************
The tropical storm pounding Georgia could bring 6-12 inches of rain, with lot of flooding; it figures to cost the Braves a bunch of $$$- the doubleheader Monday won’t be played unless it impacts the Wild Card race.
Whoever gets the Wild Card spot has to play Game 1 of the Wild Card round Tuesday, probably in San Diego, making it even more of a logistical mess.
— Braves’ P Chris Sale splits this season:
Home: 10-0, 2.28 in 14 starts
Away: 8-3, 2.48 in 15 starts
Will the Braves use Sale this weekend, or wait until Monday’s doubleheader?
— 50 years ago, Dodger pitcher Tommy John had this innovative surgery on his left elbow: he was 31 years old, had just gone 16-7/13-3 the previous two years, helping the Dodgers win the NL in 1974 (they lost the World Series to the A’s)
Tommy John didn’t pitch in 1975 because of the surgery, but he came back in 1976, and then he pitched for another 14 years!!! They named the surgery “Tommy John surgery” and since then, 1,247 major leaguers have had that surgery.
Second person to have Tommy John Surgery was Brent Strom, currently pitching coach for Arizona Diamondbacks.
— Pirates’ 1B Rowdy Tellez had a contract with performance incentives; as we speak, Tellez has 421 plate appearances. If he got to 425 PA’s, another $200,000 in his contract would’ve kicked in, but Pittsburgh cut him this week, saving the extra $200,000 expense.
Tellez only hit .243 this year, but he hit .310 from June 1st on; it is a bad look for a team that has had six straight losing seasons, hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015.
— Major League Baseball doesn’t market its sport very well; they’re arrogant people who assume that baseball is still our national pastime (it isn’t). For years, MLB relied on movies to promote the sport; it is time for them to do it themselves.
I have some ideas that would help MLB show people, especially young people, that baseball is a great game, because it is. Sometimes I wonder if Commissioner Manfred believes that
1) MLB needs a Hard Knocks-type show, let people take a look behind the curtain at how teams are run. It would be fascinating:
Spring training
Cutting rosters
Home Run Derby/All-Star game
Hall of Fame inductions
Trade deadline stuff would be exceptional
Take a hard look at how the cheap teams do business.
Lot of opportunities for great TV and excellent exposure for the sport.
2) End TV blackouts; I spend a decent chunk of change every year on the MLB package on YouTube TV, but I can’t watch the New York teams live— have to wait until 90 minutes after the games end. It is nonsensical.
Why is this a good idea? Expose the game to as many people as possible.
3) ESPN or FS1 should run a big-money fantasy baseball league, with famous people owning some of the teams, fantasy experts owning some of the others. The draft would be tremendous; this would create a lot of interest during spring— have the draft early in a week, on two nights when the NCAA basketball tournament isn’t being played.
Imagine Kevin Costner owning a team? Joan Jett? Ludacris? Alex Rodriguez?
It would be very popular.
— Famous birthdays, September 26th:
Kent McCord, 82
Dave Duncan, 79
Lucius Allen, 77
John Roche, 75
Craig Heyward, 58
Jim Caviezel, 56
Serena Williams, 43
Sean Doolittle, 38
Matt Waldron, 28
— Obscure trivia: There was a guy named Mel McGaha, who managed the Kansas City A’s in 1964-65; he was the A’s manager when I became a fan at age 5. The A’s were terrible back then, and he got fired fairly quickly.
McGaha never played in the major leagues, but he did play 51 basketball games for the Knicks in 1949, in the old BAA, a predecessor to the NBA.
— Diamondbacks 8, Giants 2
Zac Gallen struck out 11 guys, allowed one run in 6 IP.
Pavin Smith hit a 3-run homer.
Arizona/Mets are tied for last Wild Card slot, a game ahead of Atlanta.
— Dodgers 4, Padres 3
Dodgers leas NL West by three games, with four left to play.
Shohei Ohtani knocked in the winning run, in the 6th inning.
Padres magic number for clinching NL’s #1 Wild Card slot is at 2.
— Royals 3, Nationals 0
Kansas City gets off the mat by tossing consecutive shutouts.
Royals have scored total of five runs in their last five games.
Royals/Tigers are tied for last two AL playoff slots.
— Tigers 7, Rays 1
Detroit is 29-11 in its last 40 games.
Six Detroit pitchers combined to win this game.
— Phillies 9, Cubs 6
Phillies clinched a first-round bye in playoffs.
Nick Castellanos had three hits, scored three runs.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they start next week):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards- Padres-Mets-Arizona
AL: New York, Guardians, Astros. Wild Cards- Orioles-Royals-Tigers
NFL QB’s with most passing yards:
851— Dak Prescott, Dal
842— Brock Purdy, SF
787— Geno Smith, Sea
772— Jalen Hurts, Phil
754— Matthew Stafford, Rams
747— Gardner Minshew, LV
Quote of the Day
“This was one of the easiest [consignments] ever. Ohtani [hits #50] on Thursday, literally Friday we heard from the guy, he contacted Goldin on his own through social media, flew a security guard down to Miami on Monday with a representative from Goldin, met him, flew back Monday.”
Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin; bidding for Ohtani’s 50th home run baseball is going to start Friday at $500,000.
Thursday’s quiz
50 years ago, Oakland A’s won their third straight World Series; who was their manager that year?
Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the active players in the major leagues, Marcus Semien has played the most games in the Oakland Coliseum.
Tuesday’s quiz
Troy Aikman played college football for Oklahoma, UCLA.
******************************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
— Last week of baseball’s regular season, teams jockeying for position, but hideous weather in Atlanta caused MLB to postpone Wednesday/Thursday Mets-Braves games to a Monday doubleheader. Mets go to Milwaukee this weekend; the Braves host Kansas City.The tropical storm pounding Georgia could bring 6-12 inches of rain, with lot of flooding; it figures to cost the Braves a bunch of $$$- the doubleheader Monday won’t be played unless it impacts the Wild Card race.
Whoever gets the Wild Card spot has to play Game 1 of the Wild Card round Tuesday, probably in San Diego, making it even more of a logistical mess.
— Braves’ P Chris Sale splits this season:
Home: 10-0, 2.28 in 14 starts
Away: 8-3, 2.48 in 15 starts
Will the Braves use Sale this weekend, or wait until Monday’s doubleheader?
— 50 years ago, Dodger pitcher Tommy John had this innovative surgery on his left elbow: he was 31 years old, had just gone 16-7/13-3 the previous two years, helping the Dodgers win the NL in 1974 (they lost the World Series to the A’s)
Tommy John didn’t pitch in 1975 because of the surgery, but he came back in 1976, and then he pitched for another 14 years!!! They named the surgery “Tommy John surgery” and since then, 1,247 major leaguers have had that surgery.
Second person to have Tommy John Surgery was Brent Strom, currently pitching coach for Arizona Diamondbacks.
— Pirates’ 1B Rowdy Tellez had a contract with performance incentives; as we speak, Tellez has 421 plate appearances. If he got to 425 PA’s, another $200,000 in his contract would’ve kicked in, but Pittsburgh cut him this week, saving the extra $200,000 expense.
Tellez only hit .243 this year, but he hit .310 from June 1st on; it is a bad look for a team that has had six straight losing seasons, hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015.
— Major League Baseball doesn’t market its sport very well; they’re arrogant people who assume that baseball is still our national pastime (it isn’t). For years, MLB relied on movies to promote the sport; it is time for them to do it themselves.
I have some ideas that would help MLB show people, especially young people, that baseball is a great game, because it is. Sometimes I wonder if Commissioner Manfred believes that
1) MLB needs a Hard Knocks-type show, let people take a look behind the curtain at how teams are run. It would be fascinating:
Spring training
Cutting rosters
Home Run Derby/All-Star game
Hall of Fame inductions
Trade deadline stuff would be exceptional
Take a hard look at how the cheap teams do business.
Lot of opportunities for great TV and excellent exposure for the sport.
2) End TV blackouts; I spend a decent chunk of change every year on the MLB package on YouTube TV, but I can’t watch the New York teams live— have to wait until 90 minutes after the games end. It is nonsensical.
Why is this a good idea? Expose the game to as many people as possible.
3) ESPN or FS1 should run a big-money fantasy baseball league, with famous people owning some of the teams, fantasy experts owning some of the others. The draft would be tremendous; this would create a lot of interest during spring— have the draft early in a week, on two nights when the NCAA basketball tournament isn’t being played.
Imagine Kevin Costner owning a team? Joan Jett? Ludacris? Alex Rodriguez?
It would be very popular.
— Famous birthdays, September 26th:
Kent McCord, 82
Dave Duncan, 79
Lucius Allen, 77
John Roche, 75
Craig Heyward, 58
Jim Caviezel, 56
Serena Williams, 43
Sean Doolittle, 38
Matt Waldron, 28
— Obscure trivia: There was a guy named Mel McGaha, who managed the Kansas City A’s in 1964-65; he was the A’s manager when I became a fan at age 5. The A’s were terrible back then, and he got fired fairly quickly.
McGaha never played in the major leagues, but he did play 51 basketball games for the Knicks in 1949, in the old BAA, a predecessor to the NBA.
— Diamondbacks 8, Giants 2
Zac Gallen struck out 11 guys, allowed one run in 6 IP.
Pavin Smith hit a 3-run homer.
Arizona/Mets are tied for last Wild Card slot, a game ahead of Atlanta.
— Dodgers 4, Padres 3
Dodgers leas NL West by three games, with four left to play.
Shohei Ohtani knocked in the winning run, in the 6th inning.
Padres magic number for clinching NL’s #1 Wild Card slot is at 2.
— Royals 3, Nationals 0
Kansas City gets off the mat by tossing consecutive shutouts.
Royals have scored total of five runs in their last five games.
Royals/Tigers are tied for last two AL playoff slots.
— Tigers 7, Rays 1
Detroit is 29-11 in its last 40 games.
Six Detroit pitchers combined to win this game.
— Phillies 9, Cubs 6
Phillies clinched a first-round bye in playoffs.
Nick Castellanos had three hits, scored three runs.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they start next week):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards- Padres-Mets-Arizona
AL: New York, Guardians, Astros. Wild Cards- Orioles-Royals-Tigers
Friday’s 6-pack:
Players with most receiving yards in NFL:
338— Nico Collins, Hst
288— Rashee Rice, KC
276— Jauan Jennings, SF
273— Justin Jefferson, Minn
271— Malik Nabers, NJG
262— DK Metcalf, Sea
Quote of the Day
“I want to take a minute to share with all you how privileged and honored I feel to stand on this field……..I want to thank you guys for coming out today to share this moment with the club I’m so proud of. We played our asses off this year…….Let’s go Oakland!!!”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay
Friday’s quiz
What pitcher won the most games at the Oakland Coliseum?
Thursday’s quiz
50 years ago, Oakland A’s won their third straight World Series; Alvin Dark was their manager that year.
Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the active players in the major leagues, Marcus Semien has played the most games in the Oakland Coliseum.
*******************************************
Dallas won eight in row, 14 of last 15 series games.
Cowboys held Giants to 26 rushing yards on 24 attempts.
Dallas overcame 11 penalties for 89 yards.
CeeDee Lamb caught seven passes for 98 yards and a TD.
On their first six drives, Giants kicked five field goals.
On their last two drives, Giants ran 11 plays for 15 yards.
QB Jones is 24-40-1 as an NFL starter.
Rookie WR Nabers caught 12 passes for 115 yards, but left with a concussion.
— Army 42, Temple 14
Army is 4-0, with I-A wins by 17-23-28 points.
Black Knights outgained Temple, 489-219
Army ran the ball 57 times for 417 yards.
Under Drayton, Temple is 10-15 ATS as an underdog.
— A’s 3, Rangers 2
Crowd of 46,889 watched the A’s last-ever game in Oakland.
JT Ginn got 16 outs and his first major league win.
Mason Miller got the last four outs and his 28th save.
— White Sox 7, Angels 0
39-120 White Sox won for the third day in a row.
Angels are paying:
Anthony Rendon $38,571,429
Mike Trout $37,116,667……..that adds up to
$75,688,096……..for two guys.
Oakland’s ENTIRE TEAM makes $63,136,720; the A’s are six games ahead of the Angels.
— Dodgers 7, Padres 2
LA trailed 2-0 after six innings; they scored five runs in 7th inning.
Dodgers win NL West for 11th time in last 12 years.
Dodgers drew over 3,941,000 fans to their home games this season.
— New York 10, Orioles 1
Aaron Judge hit his 58th home run.
New York clinched the AL East.
— Tigers 4, Rays 3
Detroit has won five games in a row.
Tigers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is xxx.
— Famous birthdays, September 27th:
Mike Schmidt, 75
Monte Towe, 71
Steve Kerr, 59
Rob Moore, 56
Gwyneth Paltrow, 52
Anthony Morrow, 39
Christian Wood, 29
Mitchell Parker, 25
Some notes on how NFL teams do on their first drive of a half:
— Arizona’s first drive of each game:
70 yards, TD
60 yards, TD
70 yards, TD
— Green Bay, on first drive of 3rd quarter:
70 yards, TD
23 yards, field goal
36 yards, TD
— Colts on first drive of each half:
offense- 22 plays, 51 yards, no points.
defense- 48 plays, 223 yards, five field goals.
— Jaguars on first drive of game:
offense- 11 plays, 2 yards, no points.
defense- 33 plays, 192 yards, 14 points.
— Rams on first drive of each half:
offense- 20 plays, 42 yards, no points.
defense- 39 plays, 294 yards, 28 points.
— Chiefs on their first drive of each half:
68 plays, 429 yards, 27 points.
— Raiders on their first drive of each half:
22 plays, 67 yards, no points.
— Saints on first drive of each half:
55 plays, 355 yards, 31 points.
— Ravens’ first drive of each half:
41 plays, 331 yards, 31 points.
— Chargers’ opponents on first drive of games:
nine plays, 20 yards, three punts.
— New England on first drive of each half:
20 plays, 38 yards, no points.
— Jets on first drive of game:
16 plays, 38 yards, no points.
Jets on first drive of second half:
19 plays, 153 yards, 14 points.
Players with most receiving yards in NFL:
338— Nico Collins, Hst
288— Rashee Rice, KC
276— Jauan Jennings, SF
273— Justin Jefferson, Minn
271— Malik Nabers, NJG
262— DK Metcalf, Sea
Quote of the Day
“I want to take a minute to share with all you how privileged and honored I feel to stand on this field……..I want to thank you guys for coming out today to share this moment with the club I’m so proud of. We played our asses off this year…….Let’s go Oakland!!!”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay
Friday’s quiz
What pitcher won the most games at the Oakland Coliseum?
Thursday’s quiz
50 years ago, Oakland A’s won their third straight World Series; Alvin Dark was their manager that year.
Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the active players in the major leagues, Marcus Semien has played the most games in the Oakland Coliseum.
*******************************************
Friday’s Den: NFL notes and some other thoughts…….
— Cowboys 20, Giants 15Dallas won eight in row, 14 of last 15 series games.
Cowboys held Giants to 26 rushing yards on 24 attempts.
Dallas overcame 11 penalties for 89 yards.
CeeDee Lamb caught seven passes for 98 yards and a TD.
On their first six drives, Giants kicked five field goals.
On their last two drives, Giants ran 11 plays for 15 yards.
QB Jones is 24-40-1 as an NFL starter.
Rookie WR Nabers caught 12 passes for 115 yards, but left with a concussion.
— Army 42, Temple 14
Army is 4-0, with I-A wins by 17-23-28 points.
Black Knights outgained Temple, 489-219
Army ran the ball 57 times for 417 yards.
Under Drayton, Temple is 10-15 ATS as an underdog.
— A’s 3, Rangers 2
Crowd of 46,889 watched the A’s last-ever game in Oakland.
JT Ginn got 16 outs and his first major league win.
Mason Miller got the last four outs and his 28th save.
— White Sox 7, Angels 0
39-120 White Sox won for the third day in a row.
Angels are paying:
Anthony Rendon $38,571,429
Mike Trout $37,116,667……..that adds up to
$75,688,096……..for two guys.
Oakland’s ENTIRE TEAM makes $63,136,720; the A’s are six games ahead of the Angels.
— Dodgers 7, Padres 2
LA trailed 2-0 after six innings; they scored five runs in 7th inning.
Dodgers win NL West for 11th time in last 12 years.
Dodgers drew over 3,941,000 fans to their home games this season.
— New York 10, Orioles 1
Aaron Judge hit his 58th home run.
New York clinched the AL East.
— Tigers 4, Rays 3
Detroit has won five games in a row.
Tigers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is xxx.
— Famous birthdays, September 27th:
Mike Schmidt, 75
Monte Towe, 71
Steve Kerr, 59
Rob Moore, 56
Gwyneth Paltrow, 52
Anthony Morrow, 39
Christian Wood, 29
Mitchell Parker, 25
Some notes on how NFL teams do on their first drive of a half:
— Arizona’s first drive of each game:
70 yards, TD
60 yards, TD
70 yards, TD
— Green Bay, on first drive of 3rd quarter:
70 yards, TD
23 yards, field goal
36 yards, TD
— Colts on first drive of each half:
offense- 22 plays, 51 yards, no points.
defense- 48 plays, 223 yards, five field goals.
— Jaguars on first drive of game:
offense- 11 plays, 2 yards, no points.
defense- 33 plays, 192 yards, 14 points.
— Rams on first drive of each half:
offense- 20 plays, 42 yards, no points.
defense- 39 plays, 294 yards, 28 points.
— Chiefs on their first drive of each half:
68 plays, 429 yards, 27 points.
— Raiders on their first drive of each half:
22 plays, 67 yards, no points.
— Saints on first drive of each half:
55 plays, 355 yards, 31 points.
— Ravens’ first drive of each half:
41 plays, 331 yards, 31 points.
— Chargers’ opponents on first drive of games:
nine plays, 20 yards, three punts.
— New England on first drive of each half:
20 plays, 38 yards, no points.
— Jets on first drive of game:
16 plays, 38 yards, no points.
Jets on first drive of second half:
19 plays, 153 yards, 14 points.
Saturday’s 6-pack:
College football teams that are 0-4 against the spread:
— Kansas
— Kent State
— LSU
— Middle Tennessee
— NC State
— TCU
— Wyoming
Quote of the Day
“Obviously, it sucks. We put ourselves in this position early on. We had a bad April. We just never dug ourselves out of that hole. We are where we are because of the way we played, which sucks.”
White Sox P Garrett Crochet, after Chicago’s 121st loss Friday
Saturday’s quiz
What quarterback has thrown the most TD passes against the New Jersey Giants?
Friday’s quiz
Catfish Hunter was the pitcher won the most games at the Oakland Coliseum.
Thursday’s quiz
50 years ago, Oakland A’s won their third straight World Series; Alvin Dark was their manager that year.
*****************************************
Detroit clinched its first playoff spot since 2014.
Tigers are 34-17 in their last 51 games.
44,435 fans celebrated Detroit’s making the playoffs.
Tigers actually dumped four veterans at the trade deadline in July
Detroit manager AJ Hinch was the Astros’ skipper when they won the World Series in 2017, and lost the World Series in 2019. He’s a really good manager.
— White Sox lost their 121st game, the most any team has lost since 1900.
— Orioles 7, Twins 2
Cade Povich tossed 5.2 scoreless IP.
Baltimore wraps up the #1 Wild Card in the AL.
Minnesota is eliminated- they’re 4-10 in their last 14 games.
Twins’ loss puts Kansas City in the playoffs.
Royals are in playoffs for first time since 2015- they were 56-106 last year.
— Braves 3, Royals 0
Max Fried allowed three hits in 8.2 scoreless IP.
Royals were shut out for third time in their last six games.
— Brewers 8, Mets 4
Rhys Hoskins hit a first inning grand slam.
— Padres 5, Diamondbacks 3
Luis Arraez had two doubles and a triple for San Diego.
Padres clinch the #1 Wild Card in the National League.
Braves/Mets/Arizona are now all tied for the last two NL Wild Cards.
Braves/Mets are scheduled to play a doubleheader in Atlanta Monday.
— Cubs 1, Reds 0
Jameson Taillon threw seven shutout IP.
Tough-luck loser Nick Martinez was 4-1, 0.83 in five September starts.
— Last four World Series champs finished in the top 4 in home runs during the regular season.
Top 5 teams in home runs this season:
235- New York (A)
228- Baltimore
227- Los Angeles
208- Atlanta
207- Arizona
— Famous birthdays, September 28th:
Steve Largent, 70
Todd Worrell, 65
Irving Fryar, 62
Johnny Dawkins, 61
Mira Sorvino, 57
José Calderón, 43
Emeka Okafor, 42
Ryan Zimmerman, 40
Riley Greene, 24
— Miami 38, Virginia Tech 34
Miami drove 57 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:57 left.
Hokies led 24-17 at halftime.
Tech was 9-14 on third down, Miami 10-15
Miami is 5-0; they gained 508 yards, survived three turnovers.
— Rutgers 21, Washington 18
Huskies outgained Rutgers, 521-299.
Rutgers was 7-15 on third down, Washington 2-12
Washington missed a 55-yard FG with 0:03 left.
These schools are in same league, despite being 2,854 miles apart.
— Interesting article on the Interweb about how the Denver Broncos spent this week in West Virginia, after playing in Tampa last week- they play the Jets in New Jersey Sunday.
Broncos stayed at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia this week. Back in 2012, when he was suspended for Bountygate, Denver coach Sean Payton caddied in a PGA golf tournament at Greenbrier. Saints later had three training camps there.
Trip is costing the Broncos around $2M.
Weather was cruddy Friday and the Greenbrier doesn’t have an indoor practice facility; the Broncos practiced on indoor tennis courts.
Denver is traveling with 36,000 pounds of gear.
Apparently the Broncos get honey from beehives behind their indoor practice facility in Colorado; they brought some of that honey with them to West Virginia.
— Dallas Cowboys hosted the Ravens last week, September 22; they have only one home game between then and November 10th.
Week 4- won 20-15 @ Giants
Week 5- @ Pittsburgh
Week 6- home vs Detroit
Week 7- bye week
Week 8- @ San Francisco
Week 9- @ Atlanta
Week 10- home vs Philadelphia
— Auburn is changing QB’s again this week for their game with Oklahoma; Payton Thorne is back as Auburn’s starter- he got benched after they lost 21-14 to the Cal Bears three weeks ago.
— Big trade in the NBA:
Knicks are acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns from Minnesota.
In return, Timberwolves get:
Julius Randle
Donte DiVincenzo
Detroit Pistons’ 2025 first round pick
Towns will reunite with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, whom he played for in Minnesota from 2016-19.
College football teams that are 0-4 against the spread:
— Kansas
— Kent State
— LSU
— Middle Tennessee
— NC State
— TCU
— Wyoming
Quote of the Day
“Obviously, it sucks. We put ourselves in this position early on. We had a bad April. We just never dug ourselves out of that hole. We are where we are because of the way we played, which sucks.”
White Sox P Garrett Crochet, after Chicago’s 121st loss Friday
Saturday’s quiz
What quarterback has thrown the most TD passes against the New Jersey Giants?
Friday’s quiz
Catfish Hunter was the pitcher won the most games at the Oakland Coliseum.
Thursday’s quiz
50 years ago, Oakland A’s won their third straight World Series; Alvin Dark was their manager that year.
*****************************************
Saturday’s Den: Wrapping up a fall Friday……..
— Tigers 4, White Sox 2Detroit clinched its first playoff spot since 2014.
Tigers are 34-17 in their last 51 games.
44,435 fans celebrated Detroit’s making the playoffs.
Tigers actually dumped four veterans at the trade deadline in July
Detroit manager AJ Hinch was the Astros’ skipper when they won the World Series in 2017, and lost the World Series in 2019. He’s a really good manager.
— White Sox lost their 121st game, the most any team has lost since 1900.
— Orioles 7, Twins 2
Cade Povich tossed 5.2 scoreless IP.
Baltimore wraps up the #1 Wild Card in the AL.
Minnesota is eliminated- they’re 4-10 in their last 14 games.
Twins’ loss puts Kansas City in the playoffs.
Royals are in playoffs for first time since 2015- they were 56-106 last year.
— Braves 3, Royals 0
Max Fried allowed three hits in 8.2 scoreless IP.
Royals were shut out for third time in their last six games.
— Brewers 8, Mets 4
Rhys Hoskins hit a first inning grand slam.
— Padres 5, Diamondbacks 3
Luis Arraez had two doubles and a triple for San Diego.
Padres clinch the #1 Wild Card in the National League.
Braves/Mets/Arizona are now all tied for the last two NL Wild Cards.
Braves/Mets are scheduled to play a doubleheader in Atlanta Monday.
— Cubs 1, Reds 0
Jameson Taillon threw seven shutout IP.
Tough-luck loser Nick Martinez was 4-1, 0.83 in five September starts.
— Last four World Series champs finished in the top 4 in home runs during the regular season.
Top 5 teams in home runs this season:
235- New York (A)
228- Baltimore
227- Los Angeles
208- Atlanta
207- Arizona
— Famous birthdays, September 28th:
Steve Largent, 70
Todd Worrell, 65
Irving Fryar, 62
Johnny Dawkins, 61
Mira Sorvino, 57
José Calderón, 43
Emeka Okafor, 42
Ryan Zimmerman, 40
Riley Greene, 24
— Miami 38, Virginia Tech 34
Miami drove 57 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:57 left.
Hokies led 24-17 at halftime.
Tech was 9-14 on third down, Miami 10-15
Miami is 5-0; they gained 508 yards, survived three turnovers.
— Rutgers 21, Washington 18
Huskies outgained Rutgers, 521-299.
Rutgers was 7-15 on third down, Washington 2-12
Washington missed a 55-yard FG with 0:03 left.
These schools are in same league, despite being 2,854 miles apart.
— Interesting article on the Interweb about how the Denver Broncos spent this week in West Virginia, after playing in Tampa last week- they play the Jets in New Jersey Sunday.
Broncos stayed at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia this week. Back in 2012, when he was suspended for Bountygate, Denver coach Sean Payton caddied in a PGA golf tournament at Greenbrier. Saints later had three training camps there.
Trip is costing the Broncos around $2M.
Weather was cruddy Friday and the Greenbrier doesn’t have an indoor practice facility; the Broncos practiced on indoor tennis courts.
Denver is traveling with 36,000 pounds of gear.
Apparently the Broncos get honey from beehives behind their indoor practice facility in Colorado; they brought some of that honey with them to West Virginia.
— Dallas Cowboys hosted the Ravens last week, September 22; they have only one home game between then and November 10th.
Week 4- won 20-15 @ Giants
Week 5- @ Pittsburgh
Week 6- home vs Detroit
Week 7- bye week
Week 8- @ San Francisco
Week 9- @ Atlanta
Week 10- home vs Philadelphia
— Auburn is changing QB’s again this week for their game with Oklahoma; Payton Thorne is back as Auburn’s starter- he got benched after they lost 21-14 to the Cal Bears three weeks ago.
— Big trade in the NBA:
Knicks are acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns from Minnesota.
In return, Timberwolves get:
Julius Randle
Donte DiVincenzo
Detroit Pistons’ 2025 first round pick
Towns will reunite with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, whom he played for in Minnesota from 2016-19.
Sunday’s 6-pack:
Six biggest stadiums in college football:
107,601— Michigan
106,572— Penn State
102,780— Ohio State
102,733— Texas A&M
102,321— LSU
101,915— Tennessee
Thought of the Day
“Don’t regret having a good heart, all good things come back and multiply.”
Sunday’s quiz
Who was the Jets’ quarterback, the last time they played in a playoff game?
Saturday’s quiz
Tony Romo (41) has thrown the most TD passes against the New Jersey Giants.
Friday’s quiz
Catfish Hunter was the pitcher won the most games at the Oakland Coliseum.
************************************************
Alabama led this game 30-7 at halftime.
Georgia threw 67-yard TD pass with 2:31 left to take 34-33 lead.
Alabama threw 75-yard TD pass on first play of next drive, for the win.
Alabama outgained Georgia 547-519.
Dawgs turned ball over four times (minus-3).
— Service academies are doing well this year:
Army 42, Temple 14- Cadets have won eight games in a row, are 4-0 this year.
Navy 41, UAB 18
Middies are 3-0 in ACC for first time since 2017.
Navy’s QB threw for 225 yards, ran for 84 more yards.
There is a pretty good chance that this year’s Army-Navy game will feature two unbeaten teams.
— Kentucky 20, Ole Miss 17
Kentucky scored game-winning TD with 2:25 left.
Wildcats were 4-16 on third down, Ole Miss 1-10.
Rebels missed a 48-yard field goal wide left in last minute.
— Oklahoma 27, Auburn 21
Auburn led 21-10 with 9:00 left in the game.
Sooners took 24-21 lead on 63-yard pick-6 with 4:06 left.
Auburn lost despite outgaining Oklahoma, 481-292.
— UNLV 59, Fresno State 14
UNLV players made a statement here, winning big after their QB quit team.
The new #1 QB threw for 182 yards, ran for 119 more.
Rebels had lost their last six games with Fresno State.
UNLV was +4 in turnovers, averaged 11.6 yards/pass attempt.
— Upsets of the Week:
Kentucky (+16) 20, Ole Miss 17
Colorado (+14) 48, Central Florida 21
Sam Houston State (+10) 40, Texas State 39
Old Dominion (+10) 30, Bowling Green 27
Arizona (+9.5) 23, Utah 10
UL-Monroe (+6.5) 13, Troy State 9
Charlotte (+5.5) 21, Rice 20
— USC 38, Wisconsin 21
Badgers led 21-10 at halftime.
USC gets its first-ever Big 18 conference win.
Trojans were 11-17 on 3rd down, outgained Wisconsin 469-286.
USC covered spread on a 55-yard pick-6 with 5:10 left.
— Charlotte 21, Rice 20
Rice led 10-0 at halftime.
Charlotte drove 77 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:47 left.
Owls outgained Charlotte, 463-304.
— Central Michigan 22, San Diego State 21
San Diego State led 21-10 with 2:00 left in 2nd quarter.
Chippewas kicked a 46-yard FG with 0:05 left for the win.
Aztecs lost despite averaging 10.7 yards/pass attempt.
— Sam Houston State 40, Texas State 39
Favored Bobcats led 22-0 in first quarter.
Bobcats led 39-21 with 5:00 left in third quarter.
Sam Houston kicked a 24-yard FG with 0:06 left for the win.
— Famous birthdays, September 29th:
Steve Busby, 75
Tim Flannery, 67
Hersey Hawkins, 58
Erika Eleniak, 45
Zachary Levi, 44
Calvin Johnson, 39
Kevin Durant. 36
Luis Campusano, 26
Lucas Havrisik, 25
— Duke 21, North Carolina 20
Tar Heels led 20-0 with 7:00 left in third quarter.
Duke scored game-winning TD on a 20-yard run with 5:42 left.
Duke is 5-0; they had lost six games in a row to Carolina.
— Indiana 42, Maryland 28
Hoosiers are 5-0 for first time since 1967.
Kurtis Rourke threw for 359 yards, three TD’s.
Indiana coach Cignetti was 33-5 at James Madison; he’s a keeper.
— Boston College 21, Western Kentucky 20
Hilltoppers led 20-7 after the third quarter.
BC scored game-winning TD on an 8-yard pass with 3:33 left.
WKU converted 5-16 third down plays, 4-6 on fourth down.
Boston College QB Castellanos didn’t play (undisclosed injury)
— Texas Tech 44, Cincinnati 41
Tech is 2-0 in Big X for first time since 2013.
RB Brooks ran for 172 yards, two TD’s.
Game was 24-24 at halftime.
Cincinnati missed a 51-yard FG on last play of the game.
— SMU 42, Florida State 16
Mustangs had an 82-yard pick-6, outgained Florida State 458-285.
SMU wins its first-ever ACC game.
Seminoles are 1-4; they completed only 12-34 passes.
Baseball stuff…….
— Braves 2, Royals 1- Travis d’Arnaud hit a walk-off home run.
— Brewers 6, Mets 0- New York had only two hits.
— Padres 5, Diamondbacks 0- San Diego scored five runs in last inning.
Atlanta leads Mets/Diamondbacks by a game for the #2 Wild Card slot.
Mets/Arizona are tied for the last Wild Card slot.
Mets/Atlanta have a Monday doubleheader to play, if necessary.
Six biggest stadiums in college football:
107,601— Michigan
106,572— Penn State
102,780— Ohio State
102,733— Texas A&M
102,321— LSU
101,915— Tennessee
Thought of the Day
“Don’t regret having a good heart, all good things come back and multiply.”
Sunday’s quiz
Who was the Jets’ quarterback, the last time they played in a playoff game?
Saturday’s quiz
Tony Romo (41) has thrown the most TD passes against the New Jersey Giants.
Friday’s quiz
Catfish Hunter was the pitcher won the most games at the Oakland Coliseum.
************************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a college football Saturday…….
— Alabama 41, Georgia 34Alabama led this game 30-7 at halftime.
Georgia threw 67-yard TD pass with 2:31 left to take 34-33 lead.
Alabama threw 75-yard TD pass on first play of next drive, for the win.
Alabama outgained Georgia 547-519.
Dawgs turned ball over four times (minus-3).
— Service academies are doing well this year:
Army 42, Temple 14- Cadets have won eight games in a row, are 4-0 this year.
Navy 41, UAB 18
Middies are 3-0 in ACC for first time since 2017.
Navy’s QB threw for 225 yards, ran for 84 more yards.
There is a pretty good chance that this year’s Army-Navy game will feature two unbeaten teams.
— Kentucky 20, Ole Miss 17
Kentucky scored game-winning TD with 2:25 left.
Wildcats were 4-16 on third down, Ole Miss 1-10.
Rebels missed a 48-yard field goal wide left in last minute.
— Oklahoma 27, Auburn 21
Auburn led 21-10 with 9:00 left in the game.
Sooners took 24-21 lead on 63-yard pick-6 with 4:06 left.
Auburn lost despite outgaining Oklahoma, 481-292.
— UNLV 59, Fresno State 14
UNLV players made a statement here, winning big after their QB quit team.
The new #1 QB threw for 182 yards, ran for 119 more.
Rebels had lost their last six games with Fresno State.
UNLV was +4 in turnovers, averaged 11.6 yards/pass attempt.
— Upsets of the Week:
Kentucky (+16) 20, Ole Miss 17
Colorado (+14) 48, Central Florida 21
Sam Houston State (+10) 40, Texas State 39
Old Dominion (+10) 30, Bowling Green 27
Arizona (+9.5) 23, Utah 10
UL-Monroe (+6.5) 13, Troy State 9
Charlotte (+5.5) 21, Rice 20
— USC 38, Wisconsin 21
Badgers led 21-10 at halftime.
USC gets its first-ever Big 18 conference win.
Trojans were 11-17 on 3rd down, outgained Wisconsin 469-286.
USC covered spread on a 55-yard pick-6 with 5:10 left.
— Charlotte 21, Rice 20
Rice led 10-0 at halftime.
Charlotte drove 77 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:47 left.
Owls outgained Charlotte, 463-304.
— Central Michigan 22, San Diego State 21
San Diego State led 21-10 with 2:00 left in 2nd quarter.
Chippewas kicked a 46-yard FG with 0:05 left for the win.
Aztecs lost despite averaging 10.7 yards/pass attempt.
— Sam Houston State 40, Texas State 39
Favored Bobcats led 22-0 in first quarter.
Bobcats led 39-21 with 5:00 left in third quarter.
Sam Houston kicked a 24-yard FG with 0:06 left for the win.
— Famous birthdays, September 29th:
Steve Busby, 75
Tim Flannery, 67
Hersey Hawkins, 58
Erika Eleniak, 45
Zachary Levi, 44
Calvin Johnson, 39
Kevin Durant. 36
Luis Campusano, 26
Lucas Havrisik, 25
— Duke 21, North Carolina 20
Tar Heels led 20-0 with 7:00 left in third quarter.
Duke scored game-winning TD on a 20-yard run with 5:42 left.
Duke is 5-0; they had lost six games in a row to Carolina.
— Indiana 42, Maryland 28
Hoosiers are 5-0 for first time since 1967.
Kurtis Rourke threw for 359 yards, three TD’s.
Indiana coach Cignetti was 33-5 at James Madison; he’s a keeper.
— Boston College 21, Western Kentucky 20
Hilltoppers led 20-7 after the third quarter.
BC scored game-winning TD on an 8-yard pass with 3:33 left.
WKU converted 5-16 third down plays, 4-6 on fourth down.
Boston College QB Castellanos didn’t play (undisclosed injury)
— Texas Tech 44, Cincinnati 41
Tech is 2-0 in Big X for first time since 2013.
RB Brooks ran for 172 yards, two TD’s.
Game was 24-24 at halftime.
Cincinnati missed a 51-yard FG on last play of the game.
— SMU 42, Florida State 16
Mustangs had an 82-yard pick-6, outgained Florida State 458-285.
SMU wins its first-ever ACC game.
Seminoles are 1-4; they completed only 12-34 passes.
Baseball stuff…….
— Braves 2, Royals 1- Travis d’Arnaud hit a walk-off home run.
— Brewers 6, Mets 0- New York had only two hits.
— Padres 5, Diamondbacks 0- San Diego scored five runs in last inning.
Atlanta leads Mets/Diamondbacks by a game for the #2 Wild Card slot.
Mets/Arizona are tied for the last Wild Card slot.
Mets/Atlanta have a Monday doubleheader to play, if necessary.
Monday’s 6-pack:
Six biggest stadiums in the NFL:
82,500— MetLife Stadium (Giants/Jets)
81,441— Lambeau Field, Green Bay
80,000— AT&T Stadium, Dallas
76,416— Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
76,125— Mile High Stadium, Denver
74,867— Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
Quote of the Day
“There was a lot of hoopla, and stuff. Probably started with me, with my comments, and I apologize for that. Don’t want to be a distraction that way but … we just went to work each and every day. Things came out throughout the week and guys just never flinched [or] blinked.”
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, after criticizing some players last week
Monday’s quiz
Who was the Chargers’ coach, last time they won a playoff game?
Sunday’s quiz
Mark Sanchez was the Jets’ quarterback, last time they played in a playoff game, in 2010
Saturday’s quiz
Tony Romo (41) has thrown the most TD passes against the New Jersey Giants.
************************************************
Younghoe Koo kicked 58-yard FG with 0:07 left for the win.
Falcons didn’t score an offensive TD; Koo kicked four FG’s.
Atlanta’s two TD’s were a pick-6 and a fumble recovery on special teams.
Falcons are 10-38 on third down this year.
Saints’ first two drives: 20 plays, 118 yards, 14 points.
New Orleans was 7-13 on third down, Falcons 4-11.
Saints scored 47-44 points in wins, 12-24 in losses.
Saints are 16-5-1 ATS last 22 games as a road underdog.
Texans 24, Jaguars 20
Texans drove 64 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:18 left.
Houston in first half: 36 plays, 261 yards, 17 points.
Houston in second half: 33 plays, 174 yards, 7 points.
Texans won 11 of last 13 games with Jacksonville.
Jacksonville led 20-17 after three quarters.
Jaguars lost first four games, scoring six TD’s on 39 drives.
In four games, Jaguars are 11-44 on third down.
Jacksonville has been outscored 32-3 in last 2:00 of each half.
Broncos 10, Jets 9
Denver was outgained 248-186, gained only 2.4 yards/pass attempt.
Broncos kicked 47-yard FG with 8:59 left for the win.
Denver held last three opponents to 251/223/248 yards.
Denver is 3-0 ATS as a road dog TY; visitor is 4-0 ATS in their games.
Jets’ first four drives: 12 plays, 6 yards, no first downs.
Jets averaged only 3.9 yards/pass attempt.
Jets last three opponents were 10-37 on third down.
Under Saleh, Jets are 12-16 ATS at home.
Vikings 31, Packers 29
Vikings led 28-0 with 2:00 left in first half.
Vikings have outscored opponents 69-17 in first half.
Minnesota had short TD drives of 4-46 yards.
Darnold was 20-28/275 passing, with three TD’s.
QB Love returned, was 32-54/389 passing, with 4 TD’s, 3 INT’s.
Packers ran ball for only 86 yards (204 yards/game Weeks 1-3).
Packers’ first four drives: two INT’s, two missed FG’s.
Green Bay’s last five drives: three TD’s, two more turnovers.
Buccaneers 33, Eagles 16
Tampa Bay outgained the Eagles, 445-227.
Buccaneers led 24-7 at halftime.
Philly averaged only 3.2 yards/pass attempt.
Under Sirianni, Eagles are 7-11-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Bucs’ first five drives: 36 plays, 255 yards, 24 points.
Mayfield threw for 347 yards, two TD’s.
WR Evans caught eight passes for 94 yards and a TD.
Tampa Bay is 11-8-2 in last 21 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Bengals 34, Panthers 24
Bengals’ first five drives: 33 plays, 247 yards, 28 points.
Bengals scored 25-33-34 points in last three games.
Cincinnati averaged 7.5 yards/pass attempt.
Bengals are 8-2-2 ATS last 12 games vs NFC opponents.
Carolina scored 36-24 points last two games, after scoring 10-3 points in weeks 1-2.
Panthers gained 437-375 yards in two games with Dalton at QB (over 2-0).
Last 3+ years, Carolina is 6-12 ATS vs AFC opponents.
On their first drive, Panthers were stopped on downs on the 2-yard line.
Colts 27, Steelers 24
39-year old QB Flacco came off bench, threw for 168 yards, two TD’s.
Colts’ first three drives: 26 plays, 181 yards, 17 points.
Indy converted 8-15 third down plays.
Under Steichen, Colts are 10-5 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points.
Steelers were minus-2 in turnovers; they were +4 in first three games.
QB Fields threw for 312 yards, ran for 55 more.
Pittsburgh had three TD’s in this game; they had total of three in Weeks 1-3.
Steelers trailed 17-3 at halftime; they had ball with chance to win at the end.
Bears 24, Rams 18
Bears in first half: 27 plays, 97 yards, 10 points.
Bears 1st two drives of 2nd half: 17 plays, 149 yards, 14 points.
RB Swift had 93 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards.
Chicago’s first TD drive was only 16 yards, after a turnover.
Rams have been outscored 58-19 in first half of games.
LA is 4-9-2 ATS in its last 15 games as a road dog.
Rams are 2-6-2 ATS in last 10 games with spread of 3 or less points.
Last three games, first drive of 2nd half, LA foes had TD drives of 70-91-74 yards.
Famous birthdays, September 30th:
Angie Dickinson, 93
Fran Drescher, 67
Eric Stoltz, 63
Dave Magadan, 62
Eric Piatkowski, 53
Jamal Anderson, 52
Kenley Jansen, 37
Equanimeous St. Brown, 28
Jesus Luzardo, 27
Commanders 42, Cardinals 14
First two drives, Washington ran 22 plays for 163 yards, 14 points.
In second half, Washington ran 34 plays for 257 yards, 25 points.
Last three games, Commanders scored 10 TD’s, kicked 10 FG’s on 22 drives.
Washington converted 21 of last 35 third down plays (9-12 this game).
Washington OC Kingsbury was Cardinals’ head coach from 2019-22.
Last time Commanders scored 38+ points in consecutive games? 1991.
Last two games, Arizona converted 5-20 on third down.
QB Murray is 29-40-1 SU as an NFL starter.
49ers 30, Patriots 13
49ers’ first five drives: 37 plays, 257 yards, 20 points.
Patriots turned ball over on two of first three drives.
Down 6-0 in 2nd quarter, Brissett threw pick-6 that broke game open.
San Francisco is 12-6 ATS last 18 games as a home favorite.
49ers outgained New England, 431-216.
Patriots have scored only four TD’s on their first 40 drives.
NE has averaged 4.8/4.2/1.8/3.8 yards/pass attempt.
Patriots are 30-42 since Tom Brady left town.
Raiders 20, Browns 16
Browns’ first two drives: 21 plays, 87 yards, 10 points.
Browns rest of game: 36 plays, 154 yards, no points.
Cleveland scored defensive TD to get within 20-16, then missed PAT.
Browns are 11-53 on 3rd down this year, 3-10 in this game.
Raiders ran for 152 yards (averaged only 51 yards/game Weeks 1-3).
Last 2+ years, Raiders are 10-4 ATS as a home favorite.
Las Vegas is 11-6-1 ATS in their last 18 home games.
Las Vegas won both games where they were even in turnovers.
Chiefs 17, Chargers 10
Chiefs’ first five drives: 20 plays, 65 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.
Last three games, Chiefs were down 16-10/14-13/10-7 at half.
Chiefs won their first four games, by 7-1-5-7 points.
Kansas City is 4-0 despite being minus-6 in turnovers.
Chargers ran ball 24 times for only 55 yards.
Chiefs outgained Bolts, 329-224.
Last two games, Chargers were outscored 23-0 in second half.
Chiefs won 18 of their last 21 games against the Chargers.
Ravens 35, Bills 10
RB Henry ran 87 yards for a TD on Baltimore’s first play.
Ravens’ first three drives: 20 plays, 238 yards, 21 points.
Baltimore ran ball for 271 yards (8.0 yards/carry).
Ravens are 18-4 ATS in last 22 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Baltimore outgained the Bills, 427-236.
Ravens were 5-9 on third down, Buffalo 3-13.
Over/under in Week 4 games so far: over 8-6
Over/under team totals in Week 4 games so far: over 15-13
— In baseball, Mets-Braves-Arizona are all tied for the last two NL Wild Cards; Mets-Braves are playing a doubleheader in Atlanta Monday, a makeup from last week.
If either team sweeps, that team and Arizona both make the playoffs.
If Mets/Braves split, they both get in and Diamondbacks are out of luck.
In the American League:
Tigers-Astros is a first round matchup; winner plays Cleveland.
Royals-Orioles is a first round matchup; winner plays New York.
Six biggest stadiums in the NFL:
82,500— MetLife Stadium (Giants/Jets)
81,441— Lambeau Field, Green Bay
80,000— AT&T Stadium, Dallas
76,416— Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
76,125— Mile High Stadium, Denver
74,867— Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
Quote of the Day
“There was a lot of hoopla, and stuff. Probably started with me, with my comments, and I apologize for that. Don’t want to be a distraction that way but … we just went to work each and every day. Things came out throughout the week and guys just never flinched [or] blinked.”
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, after criticizing some players last week
Monday’s quiz
Who was the Chargers’ coach, last time they won a playoff game?
Sunday’s quiz
Mark Sanchez was the Jets’ quarterback, last time they played in a playoff game, in 2010
Saturday’s quiz
Tony Romo (41) has thrown the most TD passes against the New Jersey Giants.
************************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday……..
Falcons 26, Saints 24Younghoe Koo kicked 58-yard FG with 0:07 left for the win.
Falcons didn’t score an offensive TD; Koo kicked four FG’s.
Atlanta’s two TD’s were a pick-6 and a fumble recovery on special teams.
Falcons are 10-38 on third down this year.
Saints’ first two drives: 20 plays, 118 yards, 14 points.
New Orleans was 7-13 on third down, Falcons 4-11.
Saints scored 47-44 points in wins, 12-24 in losses.
Saints are 16-5-1 ATS last 22 games as a road underdog.
Texans 24, Jaguars 20
Texans drove 64 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:18 left.
Houston in first half: 36 plays, 261 yards, 17 points.
Houston in second half: 33 plays, 174 yards, 7 points.
Texans won 11 of last 13 games with Jacksonville.
Jacksonville led 20-17 after three quarters.
Jaguars lost first four games, scoring six TD’s on 39 drives.
In four games, Jaguars are 11-44 on third down.
Jacksonville has been outscored 32-3 in last 2:00 of each half.
Broncos 10, Jets 9
Denver was outgained 248-186, gained only 2.4 yards/pass attempt.
Broncos kicked 47-yard FG with 8:59 left for the win.
Denver held last three opponents to 251/223/248 yards.
Denver is 3-0 ATS as a road dog TY; visitor is 4-0 ATS in their games.
Jets’ first four drives: 12 plays, 6 yards, no first downs.
Jets averaged only 3.9 yards/pass attempt.
Jets last three opponents were 10-37 on third down.
Under Saleh, Jets are 12-16 ATS at home.
Vikings 31, Packers 29
Vikings led 28-0 with 2:00 left in first half.
Vikings have outscored opponents 69-17 in first half.
Minnesota had short TD drives of 4-46 yards.
Darnold was 20-28/275 passing, with three TD’s.
QB Love returned, was 32-54/389 passing, with 4 TD’s, 3 INT’s.
Packers ran ball for only 86 yards (204 yards/game Weeks 1-3).
Packers’ first four drives: two INT’s, two missed FG’s.
Green Bay’s last five drives: three TD’s, two more turnovers.
Buccaneers 33, Eagles 16
Tampa Bay outgained the Eagles, 445-227.
Buccaneers led 24-7 at halftime.
Philly averaged only 3.2 yards/pass attempt.
Under Sirianni, Eagles are 7-11-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Bucs’ first five drives: 36 plays, 255 yards, 24 points.
Mayfield threw for 347 yards, two TD’s.
WR Evans caught eight passes for 94 yards and a TD.
Tampa Bay is 11-8-2 in last 21 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Bengals 34, Panthers 24
Bengals’ first five drives: 33 plays, 247 yards, 28 points.
Bengals scored 25-33-34 points in last three games.
Cincinnati averaged 7.5 yards/pass attempt.
Bengals are 8-2-2 ATS last 12 games vs NFC opponents.
Carolina scored 36-24 points last two games, after scoring 10-3 points in weeks 1-2.
Panthers gained 437-375 yards in two games with Dalton at QB (over 2-0).
Last 3+ years, Carolina is 6-12 ATS vs AFC opponents.
On their first drive, Panthers were stopped on downs on the 2-yard line.
Colts 27, Steelers 24
39-year old QB Flacco came off bench, threw for 168 yards, two TD’s.
Colts’ first three drives: 26 plays, 181 yards, 17 points.
Indy converted 8-15 third down plays.
Under Steichen, Colts are 10-5 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points.
Steelers were minus-2 in turnovers; they were +4 in first three games.
QB Fields threw for 312 yards, ran for 55 more.
Pittsburgh had three TD’s in this game; they had total of three in Weeks 1-3.
Steelers trailed 17-3 at halftime; they had ball with chance to win at the end.
Bears 24, Rams 18
Bears in first half: 27 plays, 97 yards, 10 points.
Bears 1st two drives of 2nd half: 17 plays, 149 yards, 14 points.
RB Swift had 93 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards.
Chicago’s first TD drive was only 16 yards, after a turnover.
Rams have been outscored 58-19 in first half of games.
LA is 4-9-2 ATS in its last 15 games as a road dog.
Rams are 2-6-2 ATS in last 10 games with spread of 3 or less points.
Last three games, first drive of 2nd half, LA foes had TD drives of 70-91-74 yards.
Famous birthdays, September 30th:
Angie Dickinson, 93
Fran Drescher, 67
Eric Stoltz, 63
Dave Magadan, 62
Eric Piatkowski, 53
Jamal Anderson, 52
Kenley Jansen, 37
Equanimeous St. Brown, 28
Jesus Luzardo, 27
Commanders 42, Cardinals 14
First two drives, Washington ran 22 plays for 163 yards, 14 points.
In second half, Washington ran 34 plays for 257 yards, 25 points.
Last three games, Commanders scored 10 TD’s, kicked 10 FG’s on 22 drives.
Washington converted 21 of last 35 third down plays (9-12 this game).
Washington OC Kingsbury was Cardinals’ head coach from 2019-22.
Last time Commanders scored 38+ points in consecutive games? 1991.
Last two games, Arizona converted 5-20 on third down.
QB Murray is 29-40-1 SU as an NFL starter.
49ers 30, Patriots 13
49ers’ first five drives: 37 plays, 257 yards, 20 points.
Patriots turned ball over on two of first three drives.
Down 6-0 in 2nd quarter, Brissett threw pick-6 that broke game open.
San Francisco is 12-6 ATS last 18 games as a home favorite.
49ers outgained New England, 431-216.
Patriots have scored only four TD’s on their first 40 drives.
NE has averaged 4.8/4.2/1.8/3.8 yards/pass attempt.
Patriots are 30-42 since Tom Brady left town.
Raiders 20, Browns 16
Browns’ first two drives: 21 plays, 87 yards, 10 points.
Browns rest of game: 36 plays, 154 yards, no points.
Cleveland scored defensive TD to get within 20-16, then missed PAT.
Browns are 11-53 on 3rd down this year, 3-10 in this game.
Raiders ran for 152 yards (averaged only 51 yards/game Weeks 1-3).
Last 2+ years, Raiders are 10-4 ATS as a home favorite.
Las Vegas is 11-6-1 ATS in their last 18 home games.
Las Vegas won both games where they were even in turnovers.
Chiefs 17, Chargers 10
Chiefs’ first five drives: 20 plays, 65 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.
Last three games, Chiefs were down 16-10/14-13/10-7 at half.
Chiefs won their first four games, by 7-1-5-7 points.
Kansas City is 4-0 despite being minus-6 in turnovers.
Chargers ran ball 24 times for only 55 yards.
Chiefs outgained Bolts, 329-224.
Last two games, Chargers were outscored 23-0 in second half.
Chiefs won 18 of their last 21 games against the Chargers.
Ravens 35, Bills 10
RB Henry ran 87 yards for a TD on Baltimore’s first play.
Ravens’ first three drives: 20 plays, 238 yards, 21 points.
Baltimore ran ball for 271 yards (8.0 yards/carry).
Ravens are 18-4 ATS in last 22 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Baltimore outgained the Bills, 427-236.
Ravens were 5-9 on third down, Buffalo 3-13.
Over/under in Week 4 games so far: over 8-6
Over/under team totals in Week 4 games so far: over 15-13
— In baseball, Mets-Braves-Arizona are all tied for the last two NL Wild Cards; Mets-Braves are playing a doubleheader in Atlanta Monday, a makeup from last week.
If either team sweeps, that team and Arizona both make the playoffs.
If Mets/Braves split, they both get in and Diamondbacks are out of luck.
In the American League:
Tigers-Astros is a first round matchup; winner plays Cleveland.
Royals-Orioles is a first round matchup; winner plays New York.
Tuesday’s 6-pack:
Interesting Week 5 spreads in the NFL:
— Buccaneers @ Atlanta (-1.5)
— Jets vs Vikings (-2.5) (@ London)
— Ravens (-2.5) @ Cincinnati
— Colts @ Jaguars (-3)
— Dolphins (-1) @ New England
— Browns @ Washington (-3)
Quote of the Day
“I don’t know (what the plan is), but I’d say there’s a number of issues there. One is (they) can’t move the ball and can’t score.”
Bill Belichick, talking about the Patriots
Tuesday’s quiz
Cubs won World Series over Cleveland in 2016; who was the Cubs’ starting pitcher in Game 7?
Monday’s quiz
Anthony Lynn was the Chargers’ coach, last time they won a playoff game.
Sunday’s quiz
Mark Sanchez was the Jets’ quarterback, last time they played in a playoff game, in 2010
*************************************
Teams split their twinbill, both make the playoffs.
Rough day for the Diamondbacks, who get nosed out of the playoffs.
September 22, Arizona led 8-0 in 3rd inning in Milwaukee, lost 10-9. That one will sting all winter long.
Mets’ 8-7 win in Game 1 Monday was an epic ballgame, fun to watch.
— Neither team that played in last year’s World Series made the playoffs this year.
— Titans 31, Dolphins 12
Titans’ backup QB Rudolph was 9-17/85 passing, with NO TURNOVERS.
Pollard carried ball 22 times for 88 yards and a TD.
Both teams were 2-12 on third down.
Titans are 1-3, but outgained three of four opponents, led 3 games at halftime.
Miami has already played four different QB’s in five games.
Miami has been outscored 67-23 in first half of games.
Last two weeks, Dolphins were 3-24 on third down.
Last three games, Dolphins have two touchdowns on 33 drives.
Lions 42, Seahawks 27
Detroit scored six touchdowns on ten drives.
Goff was 18-18 passing, averaging 12.4 yards/attempt.
Goff also caught a 7-yard TD pass from WR St Brown.
Under Campbell, Detroit is 15-8 ATS in games coming off a win.
Smith was 38-56/395 passing, career highs.
Detroit led 21-7 at halftime.
Seahawks in first half: 31 plays, 172 yards, 7 points.
Seattle has gone over its team total in all four games.
— Purdue’s football team is 1-3, losing its three I-A games by a combined 132-38, so they fired the offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, who is making $950,000 this year and was going to make $1M next year. Purdue is heading towards its 10th losing season in 13 years; they did well in 2021-22 under Jeff Brohm, but then he bolted to Louisville.
— Miami Marlins/manager Skip Schumaker parted ways, which was expected. Schumaker was last year’s Manager of the Year when the Marlins went 84-78 and the playoffs, but the GM from last year quit during the off-season when the new owners inserted someone above her in the team hierarchy. Schumaker will be a coveted free agent this winter.
— Tough few days for celebrities: Kris Kristofferson, Dikembe Mutombo, Pete Rose all passed away in the last few days. RIP, guys.
— You hear Pete Rose’s name and you think Hall of Fame; I’ve got a name of someone who needs to be inducted into Cooperstown.
Dr Frank Jobe was the first doctor to perform Tommy John Surgery on pitchers’ elbows; who has contributed more to baseball than he has?
They put Marvin Miller in the Hall of Fame; he made players a lot wealthier but screwed the small market teams- what value did he provide the game?
Frank Jobe definitely belongs in the Hall of Fame.
— Famous birthdays, October 1st:
Rod Carew, 79
Mark McGwire, 61
Zach Galifianakis, 55
Matt Cain, 40
Brie Larson, 35
Robbie Ray, 33
Xander Bogaerts, 32
Cedric Mullins, 30
Jordan Whittington, 24
— College basketball season starts in five weeks; Gonzaga-Baylor will play on on Opening Night, November 4 in Spokane, the first of a 3-year series between the two teams.
— Random trivia: Only two players ever have appeared in all 162 games of a baseball season, being the team’s DH in every game:
Rusty Staub, 1978 with Detroit
Willie Horton, 1979 with Seattle
— Forgot to mention this last week; it was pretty cool that before the A’s last game in Oakland Thursday, Barry Zito sang the national anthem. Zito was a really good pitcher; he was 102-63 in eight years with the A’s during the Moneyball era, later pitched seven more years with the Giants.
— This was the first baseball season in ten years where no team won 100+ games.
— Padres’ 1B Luis Arraez won his third consecutive batting title, playing for a different team all three years.
— Some early season college football conference trends:
AAC- Favorites are 5-1 ATS in conference games.
ACC- Non-conference home favorites are 3-10 ATS.
Big X- Favorites were 2-4-1 ATS in conference games this past week.
Big 18- Home teams are 6-9 ATS in conference games.
C-USA- Non-conference road underdogs are 5-8 ATS.
MAC- MAC teams are 13-21 ATS in non-conference games.
Mountain West- 7-4 ATS in non-conference home games.
SEC- Conference home favorites are 0-6 ATS, home dogs are 3-2.
Sun Belt- Non-conference road underdogs are 10-6 ATS
— Imagine what a day Sunday was for Charlie Blackmon; after 14 years in the major leagues, four All-Star teams, 1,805 hits and $138M in career earnings, Sunday was the last day in his career, all of which was spent with the Rockies.
When the Rockies took the field for the start of the game Sunday, Blackmon ran out, but his teammates stayed in the dugout, while Blackmon stood in the outfield and got a huge ovation from the home crowd. Pretty cool.
Interesting Week 5 spreads in the NFL:
— Buccaneers @ Atlanta (-1.5)
— Jets vs Vikings (-2.5) (@ London)
— Ravens (-2.5) @ Cincinnati
— Colts @ Jaguars (-3)
— Dolphins (-1) @ New England
— Browns @ Washington (-3)
Quote of the Day
“I don’t know (what the plan is), but I’d say there’s a number of issues there. One is (they) can’t move the ball and can’t score.”
Bill Belichick, talking about the Patriots
Tuesday’s quiz
Cubs won World Series over Cleveland in 2016; who was the Cubs’ starting pitcher in Game 7?
Monday’s quiz
Anthony Lynn was the Chargers’ coach, last time they won a playoff game.
Sunday’s quiz
Mark Sanchez was the Jets’ quarterback, last time they played in a playoff game, in 2010
*************************************
Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..
— Mets 8-0, Braves 7-3Teams split their twinbill, both make the playoffs.
Rough day for the Diamondbacks, who get nosed out of the playoffs.
September 22, Arizona led 8-0 in 3rd inning in Milwaukee, lost 10-9. That one will sting all winter long.
Mets’ 8-7 win in Game 1 Monday was an epic ballgame, fun to watch.
— Neither team that played in last year’s World Series made the playoffs this year.
— Titans 31, Dolphins 12
Titans’ backup QB Rudolph was 9-17/85 passing, with NO TURNOVERS.
Pollard carried ball 22 times for 88 yards and a TD.
Both teams were 2-12 on third down.
Titans are 1-3, but outgained three of four opponents, led 3 games at halftime.
Miami has already played four different QB’s in five games.
Miami has been outscored 67-23 in first half of games.
Last two weeks, Dolphins were 3-24 on third down.
Last three games, Dolphins have two touchdowns on 33 drives.
Lions 42, Seahawks 27
Detroit scored six touchdowns on ten drives.
Goff was 18-18 passing, averaging 12.4 yards/attempt.
Goff also caught a 7-yard TD pass from WR St Brown.
Under Campbell, Detroit is 15-8 ATS in games coming off a win.
Smith was 38-56/395 passing, career highs.
Detroit led 21-7 at halftime.
Seahawks in first half: 31 plays, 172 yards, 7 points.
Seattle has gone over its team total in all four games.
— Purdue’s football team is 1-3, losing its three I-A games by a combined 132-38, so they fired the offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, who is making $950,000 this year and was going to make $1M next year. Purdue is heading towards its 10th losing season in 13 years; they did well in 2021-22 under Jeff Brohm, but then he bolted to Louisville.
— Miami Marlins/manager Skip Schumaker parted ways, which was expected. Schumaker was last year’s Manager of the Year when the Marlins went 84-78 and the playoffs, but the GM from last year quit during the off-season when the new owners inserted someone above her in the team hierarchy. Schumaker will be a coveted free agent this winter.
— Tough few days for celebrities: Kris Kristofferson, Dikembe Mutombo, Pete Rose all passed away in the last few days. RIP, guys.
— You hear Pete Rose’s name and you think Hall of Fame; I’ve got a name of someone who needs to be inducted into Cooperstown.
Dr Frank Jobe was the first doctor to perform Tommy John Surgery on pitchers’ elbows; who has contributed more to baseball than he has?
They put Marvin Miller in the Hall of Fame; he made players a lot wealthier but screwed the small market teams- what value did he provide the game?
Frank Jobe definitely belongs in the Hall of Fame.
— Famous birthdays, October 1st:
Rod Carew, 79
Mark McGwire, 61
Zach Galifianakis, 55
Matt Cain, 40
Brie Larson, 35
Robbie Ray, 33
Xander Bogaerts, 32
Cedric Mullins, 30
Jordan Whittington, 24
— College basketball season starts in five weeks; Gonzaga-Baylor will play on on Opening Night, November 4 in Spokane, the first of a 3-year series between the two teams.
— Random trivia: Only two players ever have appeared in all 162 games of a baseball season, being the team’s DH in every game:
Rusty Staub, 1978 with Detroit
Willie Horton, 1979 with Seattle
— Forgot to mention this last week; it was pretty cool that before the A’s last game in Oakland Thursday, Barry Zito sang the national anthem. Zito was a really good pitcher; he was 102-63 in eight years with the A’s during the Moneyball era, later pitched seven more years with the Giants.
— This was the first baseball season in ten years where no team won 100+ games.
— Padres’ 1B Luis Arraez won his third consecutive batting title, playing for a different team all three years.
— Some early season college football conference trends:
AAC- Favorites are 5-1 ATS in conference games.
ACC- Non-conference home favorites are 3-10 ATS.
Big X- Favorites were 2-4-1 ATS in conference games this past week.
Big 18- Home teams are 6-9 ATS in conference games.
C-USA- Non-conference road underdogs are 5-8 ATS.
MAC- MAC teams are 13-21 ATS in non-conference games.
Mountain West- 7-4 ATS in non-conference home games.
SEC- Conference home favorites are 0-6 ATS, home dogs are 3-2.
Sun Belt- Non-conference road underdogs are 10-6 ATS
— Imagine what a day Sunday was for Charlie Blackmon; after 14 years in the major leagues, four All-Star teams, 1,805 hits and $138M in career earnings, Sunday was the last day in his career, all of which was spent with the Rockies.
When the Rockies took the field for the start of the game Sunday, Blackmon ran out, but his teammates stayed in the dugout, while Blackmon stood in the outfield and got a huge ovation from the home crowd. Pretty cool.
