Quote of the Day
“Let me say it the best way I can say it: If anyone wants to blame anyone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you’re talking to the guy who should be blamed. Because I brought it to their attention. I pushed for it. They agreed to it.”
Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick
Wednesday’s quiz
Who was the last pitcher to win 25+ games in a season?
Tuesday’s quiz
Cubs won World Series over Cleveland in 2016; Kyle Hendricks was the Cubs’ starting pitcher in Game 7.
Monday’s quiz
Anthony Lynn was the Chargers’ coach, last time they won a playoff game.
— Tigers 3, Astros 1
Tarik Skubal tossed six shutout IP in his playoff debut.
Detroit scored three runs in 2nd inning; that was enough.
Loss ends Astros’ 10-game win streak in playoff series openers.
— Detroit had 41 games this season where their starting pitcher threw 3 or fewer innings, which is highly unusual for a playoff team.
— Royals 1, Orioles 0
Cole Ragans allowed four baserunners in six shutout IP.
Bobby Witt knocked in only run with a 6th-inning single.
Baltimore is 33-34 since the All-Stsr break.
— Mets 8, Brewers 4
Mets scored five runs in fifth inning to break game open.
Mark Vientos was 2-4 with two runs scored, two RBI
Milwaukee has lost 10 of its last 11 playoff games.
— Last Friday in Toronto, Marlins SS Xavier Edwards hit three triples in Miami’s 15-5 win over the Blue Jays. He is the first player to hit three triples in a game since Yasiel Puig in 2014.
— Imagine having CJ Abrams as the shortstop on your fantasy team? Season is coming to an end, Abrams was hot (8 for his last 17) but then on September 20, five hours before a day game at Wrigley Field, Abrams was spotted in a casino very late at night before the day game.
Washington front office didn’t take this well; they sent Abrams to the minor leagues, ending his season, costing him $30,000 in salary, and totally screwing people who had him on their fantasy squads (I wasn’t one of them).
— Famous birthdays, October 2
Dick Barnett, 88
Bob Robertson, 78
Gordon Sumner, 73 (Sting)
Lorraine Bracco, 70
Dave Beard, 65
Mark Rypien, 62
Aaron McKie, 52
Joe Ingles, 37
Aaron Hicks, 35
Missed this one yesterday; President Jimmy Carter turned 100 on Monday.
— NFL games were 10-6 to the over in Week 4; under is 33-31 for the season.
Team totals were 18-14 over; under is 68-57-3 this season.
— People are fickle; best to stay off social media after your favorite team loses, since every nitwit on Twitter thinks he knows more than the team’s coach/GM.
— Gonzaga is jumping to the Pac-12 starting in 2026-27, which helps the Pac-12 more than it will help Gonzaga. We preach about this every year; best to be a very big fish in a small pond.
Think back to UNLV in the Tarkanian days in the late 80’s; they dominated the Big West, were a national power, just like Gonzaga is now, but then they moved up to the Mountain West and haven’t been the same since.
Gonzaga isn’t a football school; the Pac-12 has to add a football school to get to eight teams and will probably also add either Grand Canyon or Saint Mary’s to giver them a 10-team basketball league.
— Texas-El Paso is jumping to the Mountain West two years from now; Miners bolted from the WAC to Conference USA in 2005, now they’re moving again.
UNLV/Air Force are staying in the Mountain West.
— Must be nice to be really, really rich; Tom Gores, owner of the Detroit Pistons, is buying a 27% stake in the LA Chargers, who are valued at being worth $5.1B (#20 in NFL).
Gores is buying out the part of the Chargers owned by one of the four Spanos siblings, who was at odds with her three siblings.
— San Francisco Giants fired president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi, replaced him with Buster Posey, the great Giants catcher who retired as a player three years ago.
Giants went 107-55 three years ago, in Zaidi’s third season in charge, but lost to the Dodgers 3-2 in a five-game playoff series; since then, they’ve gone 81-81/79-83/80-82, and Zaidi was told to take a hike. Bob Melvin is expected to stay on as San Francisco’s manager.
So much for home field advantage in the AL playoffs; road team was 4-0 in the AL Wild Card games, with home teams scoring four runs in the four games.
— Tigers 5, Astros 2
Andy Ibanez hit a bases-loaded double in 8th inning.
Detroit used seven pitchers are they continue a 33-13 run.
Astros won’t play in ALCS for first time in seven years.
— Tigers’ payroll this year is just over $103M, over $32M of which is to guys who aren’t on the Tigers’ roster right now.
— Royals 2, Orioles 1
Baltimore scored one run in losing two games in this series.
Orioles were 33-35 after the All-Star break.
Baltimore has lost its last ten playoff games.
— Mets 3, Brewers 5
Garrett Mitchell, who entered game as a pinch-runner, hit the game-winning HR.
Jackson Chourio/Mitchell both homered in 8th inning.
Game 3 is Thursday.
MLB had to breathe a big sigh of relief when Milwaukee won; Game 3’s in this round get the bigger TV ratings, winner-take-all games.
— Padres 5, Braves 4
Padres scored five runs in second inning, hung on for dear life.
San Diego advances to play the Dodgers in the next round.
— The remote control on my TV died at 3:30 in the morning the other night, so while I wait for Amazon to deliver my new remote, I don’t have access to YouTubeTV on my main television; I’ve been watching the baseball playoff games on my laptop.
Yesterday, just laid on the couch and listened to the Royals-Orioles game on ESPN radio on my phone; it was a throwback to being a kid. Way back when, I listened to a lot of baseball on the radio, before I controlled the remote control in our house.
It was fun, in an odd way, though I am looking forward to getting the new remote today,
— Famous birthdays, October 3rd
Lindsey Buckingham, 75
Dave Winfield, 73
Dennis Eckersley, 70
Jack Wagner, 65
Greg Foster, 56
Anquan Boldin, 44
Courtney Lee, 39
CJ Abrams, 24
CJ Stroud, 23
— There will be scapegoats: Minnesota Twins went 12-27 in their last 39 games; they fired four coaches Wednesday, with all three hitting coaches being told to take a hike.
— Texas State apparently has said no to the Mountain West, will stay in the Sun Belt, where the travel costs will be much lower.
— NFL divisional trends:
NFC East non-divisional home teams are 0-4 ATS
NFC East non-divisional road underdogs are 5-1 ATS.
NFC North non-divisional favorites are 6-0 ATS
NFC North non-divisional home teams are 7-1 ATS
NFC South non-divisional home teams are 2-6 ATS
NFC South non-divisional road underdogs are 4-0 ATS
NFC West non-divisional underdogs are 1-5 ATS
AFC East teams are 3-8-1 ATS in non-divisional games.
AFC North non-divisional home favorites are 2-5 ATS
AFC North non-divisional road teams are 6-3 ATS
AFC South non-divisional favorites are 1-5 ATS
AFC West non-divisional road teams are 6-1 ATS
— We close with an unusual story:
Missouri plays Texas A&M this week. Marcel Reed is Texas A&M’s quarterback, taking over for an injured Connor Weigman; his sister is Missouri’s assistant director of on campus recruiting.
The sister is “not allowed at practice this week” according to Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz.
Awkward…….
Friday’s 6-pack: — Falcons 36, Buccaneers 30 OT- Cousins threw for 509 yards, 4 TD’s. — Cincinnati Reds are hiring Terry Francona as their new manager. — Mets 4, Brewers 2- Pete Alonso hit a dramatic 3-run homer in 9th inning.
— Today is a good day to be free agent-to-be Alonso’s agent. — Texas State 38, Troy 17- Bobcats ran for 215 yards, threw for 252 more. — Sam Houston 41, Texas-El Paso 21- Bearkats win their 4th straight game.
Quote of the Day
“I’m just so happy to come through for the team right there. It’s just something that you practice in the back yard as a kid. Words can’t explain it.”
Pete Alonso
Friday’s quiz
Which NFL team drafted Kirk Cousins?
Thursday’s quiz
Buck Showalter was manager of the Baltimore Orioles, last time they won a playoff game.
Wednesday’s quiz
Bob Welch was the last pitcher to win 25+ games in a season; he went 27-6 for the A’s in 1990.
Friday’s Den: How NFL teams do on first drives of a half…….
How teams do on first drives of a half, through four games: NFC
Cardinals
1st drive of game: 36 plays, 255 yards, four TD’s.
Allowed TD on opening drive last two games.
Overall on first drive of half: Cardinals 35-28
Falcons
1st drive of half: 54 plays, 316 yards, 16 points.
Opponents: 70 plays, 324 yards, 16 points.
Overall on first drive of half: 16-16
Panthers
First drive in Dalton’s two games: 21 plays, 139 yards, 7 points.
Opponents’ first drive of 3rd quarter: 26 plays, 171 yards, 17 points.
Overall on first drive of half: opponents, 31-13
Bears
1st drive of game: 30 plays, 92 yards, 3 points
Opponents 1st drive of half: 51 plays, 195 yards, 3 FGs
Bears blocked punt for TD on first drive of 2nd half in Week 1
Overall on first drive of half: Bears 13-2
Cowboys
1st drive of game: 26 plays, 62 yards, 3 points
Opponents’ 1st drive of game: 26 plays, 215 yards, 20 points
Overall on first drive of half: Opponents, 37-9
Lions
1st drive of game: 16 plays, 57 yards, 7 points
Opponents’ 1st drive of game: 22 plays, 152 yards, 10 points
Overall on first drive of half: 17-17
Packers
1st drive of 3rd quarter: 21 plays, 135 yards, 17 points
Opponents’ first drive, last two games: 16 plays, 143 yards, 14 points. Overall on first drive of half: Packers 27-21
Rams
First drive of a half: 45 plays, 173 yards, 6 points.
Opponents’ first drive of 2nd half, last 3 games: 31 plays, 235 yards, 21 points.
Overall on first drive of half: opponents, 35-6
Vikings
First drive of a half, last 2 games: 12 plays, 94 yards, 14 points
Opponents’ first drive of a game: 17 plays, 39 yards, no points
Overall on first drive of half: Vikings, 28-3
Giants
First drive of 2nd half: 29 plays, 178 yards, 2 FG’s, 2 fumbles
Opponents’ first drive of 2nd half: 26 plays, 152 yards, 13 points
Overall on first drive of half: opponents, 23-16
Saints
First drive of game: 36 plays, 280 yards, 24 points.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 25 plays, 60 yards, 3 points.
Overall on first drive of half: Saints, 38-9
Eagles
First drive of game: 13 plays, 7 yards, no points.
First drive of 2nd half: 35 plays, 236 yards, 17 points.
Opponents; first drive of 2nd half: 33 plays, 262 yards, 17 points.
Overall on first drive of half: Opponents, 27-17
49ers
First drive of 2nd half: 31 plays, 241 yards, 21 points.
Opponents; first drive of 2nd half: 15 plays, 67 yards, no points.
Overall on first drive of half: 49ers, 31-0 Seahawks
First drive of game: 19 plays, 55 yards, 3 points.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 15 plays, 15 yards, 3 points.
Overall on first drive of half: Seahawks, 17-10
Buccaneers
First drive of game: 27 plays, 171 yards, 13 points.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 13 plays, 65 yards, 7 points.
Overall on first drive of half: Bucs, 27-17
Commanders
First drive of half: 66 plays, 388 yards, 34 points.
Opponents’ first drive of half: 54 plays, 368 yards, 38 points.
Overall on first drive of half: opponents 38-34
Famous birthdays, October 4th:
Tony LaRuasa, 80
Susan Sarandon, 78
Alan Rosenberg, 74
Truck Robinson, 73
AC Green, 61
Liev Schreiber, 57
Kurt Thomas, 52
Kurt Suzuki, 41
Derrick Rose, 36
Dakota Johnson, 35
Sean Murphy, 30
Oneil Cruz, 26
AFC teams
— Ravens
1st drive of game: 24 plays, 253 yards, 24 points
opponents’ 1sr drive, last 3 games: 17 plays, 25 yards, no points.
Overall on first drive of half: Ravens 38-21
— Bills
1st drive of 2nd half: 30 plays, 198 yards, 17 points.
Overall on first drive of half: Bills, 31-21
— Bengals
First drive of 2nd half, last three games: 32 plays, 219 yards, 21 points.
Opponents’ first drive, last three games: 69-70-69 yards, 10 points.
Overall on first drive of half: Bengals, 31-24
— Browns
First drive of last three games: 32 plays, 183 yards, 21 points.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 14 plays, 4 yards, four punts
Overall on first drive of half: Browns, 24-3
— Broncos
First drive of 2nd half: 14 plays, 21 yards, no points.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 11 plays, 2 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.
Overall on first drive of half: Broncos, 10-7
— Texans
First drive of game: 21 plays, 114 yards, 13 points.
First drive of 3rd quarter: 20 plays, 61 yards, 3 points.
Overall on first drive of half: Opponents, 17-16
— Colts
Colts’ first drive of 2nd half: 13 plays, 30 yards, no points.
Opponents tried FG’s (5-6) on six of eight first drives.
Overall on first drive of half: Opponents, 15-7 — Jaguars
1st drive of game: 16 plays, 17 yards, no points
opponents’ first drive of last 3 games: 35 plays, 229 yards, 21 points.
Overall on first drive of half: opponents, 24-7
— Chiefs
Chiefs’ 1st drive of 2nd half: 40 plays, 255 yards, 20 points.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 38 plays, 280 yards, 24 points.
Overall on first drive of half: Opponents 31-30
— Raiders
First drive of game: 12 plays, minus-2 yards, four punts.
Opponents’ first drive, last three games: 31 plays, 165 yards, 17 points.
Overall on first drive of half: opponents 30-3
— Chargers
First drive of last three games: 22 plays, 143 yards, 14 points.
Opponents’ first drive of 2nd half, last 3 games: 28 plays, 127 yards, 3 FG’s.
Overall on first drive of half: Chargers, 20-12
— Dolphins
First drive of a half: 39 plays, 125 yards, no points.
Opponents’ first drive of 2nd half: 14 plays, 12 yards, no points.
Overall on first drive of half: Opponents, 7-0
— Patriots:
First drive of a half: 34 plays, 89 yards, no points.
Opponents’ first drive of 2nd half, last 2 games: 15 plays, 136 yards, 14 points.
Overall on first drive of half: opponents, 17-0
— Jets
First drive of a half: 19 plays, 37 yards, no points.
Opponents’ first drive of a half: 12 plays, one yard, no points.
Overall on first drive of half: Jets, 14-7
— Steelers
First drive of game: 24 plays, 71 yards, 3 points.
Opponents’ first drive of 2nd half: 14 plays, 22 yards, no points.
Overall on first drive of half: opponents, 10-6
— Titans
First drive of 2nd half: 18 plays, 32 yards, no points.
Opponents’ first drive of 2nd half: 19 plays, 104 yards, 14 points.
Overall on first drive of half: opponents 21-7
Saturday’s 6-pack:
Pitchers with most strikeouts in a playoff game:
17- Bob Gibson, StL
16- Kevin Brown, SD
15- Gerrit Cole, Hat
15- Roger Clemens, NYY
15- Livan Hernandez, Mia
15- Mike Mussina, Balt
15- Sandy Koufax, LA
Quote of the Day
“I do think that the postseason is going to be different from the World Baseball Classic, considering that we did have a week off. So I’m doing the best I can to make sure that my first at-bat is really good.”
Shohei Ohtani, who plays in his first major league playoff game tonight
Saturday’s quiz
Before the NHL’s Calgary Flames moved to Calgary in 1980, where did they call home?
Friday’s quiz
Washington Redskins drafted Kirk Cousins, in the 4th round of the 2012 draft.
Thursday’s quiz
Buck Showalter was manager of the Baltimore Orioles, last time they won a playoff game.
Falcons 36, Buccaneers 30 OT
Cousins threw a 45-yard TD pass on first possession of OT.
Cousins threw for 509 yards, four TD’s.
Atlanta’s three wins are by 1-2 points and an OT game.
Falcons scored 22-26-36 points in wins, 10-17 in losses.
Cousins is first QB in last 58 years to throw for 250+ yards before halftime, and 250+ yards after halftime, in the same game.
Tampa Bay in first half: 25 plays, 223 yards, 24 points.
Tampa Bay in second half: 28 plays, 106 yards, six points.
Atlanta outgained the Buccaneers, 550-333.
Over is 11-2 in last 13 series games.
Atlanta WR London caught 12 passes for 154 yards and a TD.
— Texas State 38, Troy 17
Bobcats ran ball for 215 yards, threw for 252 more.
Texas State led 24-10 at halftime.
1-5 Troy ran ball 33 times for only 63 yards.
— Sam Houston 41, Texas-El Paso 21
Bearkats led 17-7 at halftime.
Sam Houston has won four in row since 45-14 loss at UCF.
Sam Houston outgained Miners, 517-323.
— Jacksonville State 63, Kennesaw State 24
Gamecocks outscored Kennesaw 42-7 in second half.
Jax State outgained the Owls, 577-270
Gamecocks ran ball for 384 yards (7.2 yards/carry).
— Houston 30, TCU 19
Cougars were a 16.5-point underdog.
Houston outrushed the Horned Frogs, 207-66.
Houston had been shut out in its previous two games.
— Oregon 31, Michigan State 10
Ducks led 21-0 at halftime.
Oregon was 6-12 on third down, MSU 2-11
Ducks outrushed the Spartans, 213-59.
— Syracuse 44, UNLV 41 OT
Syracuse scored the first 14 points in both halves.
Orange tied game 38-38 with 0:23 left in regulation.
Syracuse was 11-18 on third down, Rebels 3-7.
Syracuse ran 96 plays for 492 yards, UNLV 50 plays for 354 yards.
Famous birthdays, October 5th:
Steve Miller, 81
Dennis Byrd, 58
Rex Chapman, 57
Grant Hill, 52
Jesse Palmer, 46
Travis Kelce, 35
Cody Zeller, 32
Zack Littell, 29
— Mets 4, Brewers 2
Pete Alonso hit a dramatic 3-run homer in top of the 9th.
Quintana threw six shutout IP, Myers threw 5 shutout IP.
Mets advance to play the Phillies in the NLDS.
It is a very good to be Alonso’s agent, seeing how he is a free agent this winter.
— Cincinnati Reds made a great move, hired Terry Francona as their new manager.
Francona has 1,994 career wins and two World Series titles. He also got Cleveland to the 2016 World Series, where they lost to the Cubs.
He left Cleveland after the 2023 season because of health problems, so good to hear he is coming back. Reds will be better off for it.
— Padres’ P Joe Musgrove is out for the playoffs and probably next year too; he’s going to have Tommy John surgery, after leaving Wednesday’s star with a sore elbow.
— Arizona Diamondbacks got to the World Series last year, but they fired pitching coach Brett Strom this week, which seems odd. Arizona was 89-73 this year despite scoring the most runs in MLB, but Strom is a highly thought of pitching coach.
Long time ago, when he was pitching, Strom was the second pitcher to have Tommy John surgery, back in 1973.
— Celtics 107, Nuggets 103- Exhibition game was played in the basketball hotbed that is Abu Dhabi; Payton Pritchard scored 21 points in 24:00 for Boston.
— Timberwolves 124, Lakers 107
Top three scorers for Minnesota all came off the bench.
Bronny James scored a basket, had an assist in 16:00 (1-6 from floor)
This game was in Palm Springs, CA.
Lakers’ situation is so unusual; Lebron James is still really good, one of the best players in NBA history, but now his son is also on the team, while the Lakers have a new coach (JJ Redick) who has never been a coach at any level. Strange situation.
— A’s 1B/DH Brent Rooker had surgery on his right forearm; the guy hit .293 with 39 homers, 112 RBI while playing with a screwed up arm- he mostly DH’d this season, but is expected to be ready to go for spring training.
— Minnesota Twins VP/general manager Thad Levine is leaving the Twins after eight years; they made the playoffs in four of those eight years, winning three AL Central titles.
Twins went 6-18 in their last 24 games this year and missed the playoffs, but before Levine came to the Twins, Minnesota had missed the playoffs six years in a row.
— Devils 4, Sabres 1- First game of the NHL’s regular season was in Czechoslovakia; rest of the league doesn’t start until Tuesday.
Sunday’s 6-pack:
Active NFL QB’s who have had a game with 500+ passing yards:
— Joe Burrow
— Derek Carr
— Kirk Cousins
— Jared Goff
— Dak Prescott
— Matthew Stafford
Quote of the Day
“This is the dream, right here, and for the next 12 hours, I’m going to enjoy the dream. We’ve got more ahead of us, but this is what Vanderbilt football needs to be about: big wins on big stages. We’re going to go get some more.”
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea
Sunday’s quiz
Which former Chicago Bears QB threw for 8,697 yards in his college days, playing for Vanderbilt?
Saturday’s quiz
Before the NHL’s Calgary Flames moved to Calgary in 1980, they called Atlanta home.
Friday’s quiz
Washington Redskins drafted Kirk Cousins, in the 4th round of the 2012 draft.
— Vanderbilt 40, Alabama 35
Commodores were a 23-point underdog; huge upset.
Vandy had been 0-60 all-time vs top-5 teams.
Commodores were 12-18 on third down, Alabama 3-7
Vandy QB Pavia was New Mexico State’s QB LY, when the Aggies pulled an upset at Auburn. Now he wins this game, another big upset.
As I type this, there are reports of Vandy students carrying the goalposts from the field down Main Street in Nashville.
— Service academies are on a roll:
Nayy 34, Air Force 7- Navy is 5-0.
Middies outgained Air Force, 463-273
Navy ran ball 49 times for 329 yards (6.7 yards/carry)
Army 49, Tulsa 7
Cadets have won nine games in a row, dating back to last year.
Army was 6-6 passing, for 160 yards.
This is Army’s best start since 1996.
Army-Navy game this year is going to be a very big deal.
— Wake Forest 34, NC State 30
RB Claiborne ran 20 times for 136 yards, two TD’s.
Deacons scored game-winning TD with 1:01 left.
NC State QB McCall got KO’d from this game with a head injury.
— Indiana 41, Northwestern 24
Hoosiers are 6-0 for first time since 1967.
Indiana outscored the Wildcats, 529-336
Indiana QB Rourke was 25-33/380 passing, with three TD’s.
— Minnesota 24, USC 17
Gophers outscored USC 14-0 in 4th quarter.
Minnesota scored game-winning TD with 0:56 left.
Trojans were 7-11 on third down, Gophers 2-8.
USC turned ball over three times (minus-2).
— Arizona State 35, Kansas 31
Sun Devils scored game-winning TD with 0:16 left.
Kansas had taken the lead on a TD with 2:04 left.
Jayhawks are 0-5 vs I-A teams (four losses by 6 or fewer points)
— Upsets of the Week:
Vanderbilt (+23) 40, Alabama 35
Houston (+16.5) 30, TCU 19
UL-Monroe (+16) 21, James Madison 19
Arkansas (+13.5) 19, Tennessee 14
Minnesota (+9.5) 24, USC 17
Charlotte (+8) 55, East Carolina 24
Syracuse (+6.5) 44, UNLV 41, OT
SMU (+6.5) 34, Louisville 27
Wake Forest (+4) 34, NC State 30
— Guardians 7, Tigers 0
Cleveland scored five runs in bottom of the first.
Lane Thomas hit a 3-run HR in his first playoff at-bat.
Guardians still used five pitchers to finish a stress-free win.
— Mets 6, Phillies 2
Zack Wheeler threw 111 pitches, tossed 7 shutout IP
Phillies bullpen threw 58 pitches, allowed 6 runs in 2 IP.
Brandon Nimmo was 2-4, with two RBI.
— New York 6, Royals 5
New York bullpen allow one unearned run in 4 IP.
Verdugo, batting 9th, was 2-3 with two runs scored.
Kansas City pitchers walked eight hitters.
— Dodgers 7, Padres 5
Ohtani was 2-5, with two runs scored, 3 RBI
San Diego led 5-3 after three innings.
Dodger bullpen tossed six shutout IP.
— Famous birthdays, October 6th:
Tony Dungy, 69
Alfredo Griffin, 67
Elisabeth Shue, 61
Ruben Sierra, 59
Jeremy Sisto, 50
Jake Bauers, 29
Bryson Stott, 27
Trevor Lawrence, 25
Kyle Pitts, 24
— UConn 29, Temple 20
UConn led 23-20 with 0:03 left, Temple had ball on UConn’s 1-yard line; not only didn’t Temple score, their QB fumbled and UConn ran the ball back 96 yards for the final margin.
— Western Michigan 45, Ball State 42
RB Nixon ran ball 14 times for 124 yards and three TD’s.
Ball State led 35-31 after three quarters.
— Texas A&M 41, Missouri 10
During the week, Mizzou’s coach caused a stir because the sister of a Texas A&M player is a Mizzou staffer; the coach said he wouldn’t let her watch practice this week, because her brother might be playing QB in this game for the other team.
Texas A&M is 3-0 in the SEC for first time since 2016; the kid didn’t start.
Distractions are a bad thing; Mizzou got blasted in this game, outgained 512-254.
— Oregon 31, Michigan State 10
Andrew Boyle kicked a 50-yard field goal in this game Friday night, Oregon’s first field goal of 50+ yards since 2008.
— Washington 27, Michigan 17
Huskies outscored Michigan 13-0 in 4th quarter.
Washington outgained Wolverines, 429-287.
— Why isn’t Pete Carroll on TV? Guy is a great coach; Nick Saban is on TV, Bill Belichick is on TV and Carroll seems to have a better personality than both of those guys. It is nonsensical.
Monday’s 6-pack:
Interesting Week 6 NFL spreads:
— 49ers (-3) @ Seattle
— Bears (-1) vs Jaguars (@ London)
— Commanders @ Baltimore (-6.5)
— Cardinals @ Green Bay (-5)
— Texans (-6.5) @ New England
— Buccaneers @ New Orleans (-2.5)
Quote of the Day
“We’re not a championship-level team right now. We’re not. I like to think that we’ll come back and improve throughout the season to get to that point, but right now we are not and we have to get better.”
QB Joe Burrow, after the Bengals’ 1-4 start
Monday’s quiz
Who managed the San Diego Padres, last time they were in a World Series?
Sunday’s quiz
Former NFL QB Jay Cutler threw for 8,697 yards in his college days, playing for Vanderbilt.
Saturday’s quiz
Before the NHL’s Calgary Flames moved to Calgary in 1980, they called Atlanta home.
Vikings 23, Jets 17
Jets’ first four drives: 12 plays, 19 yards, 2 punts, 2 INTs.
Jets averaged only 3.8 yards/pass attempt.
Jets scored 24-24 points in wins, 19-9-17 in losses.
Under Saleh, Jets are 17-27 ATS as an underdog.
Vikings’ first TD was a 63-yard pick-6 by Van Ginkel.
Minnesota won first five games, scoring 27.8 ppg.
Vikings have outscored opponents 86-24 in first half.
Minnesota’s only TD drive was only 53 yards.
Bears 36, Panthers 10
Bears scored a TD on four of their first six drives.
Chicago averaged 9.9 yards/pass attempt.
Home team won all five Chicago games (favorites 4-1 ATS)
Bears outgained Carolina, 424-292.
Carolina scored a TD on their second drive of the game.
Rest of game, Panthers ran 52 plays for 236 yards, 3 points.
Carolina is 8-17-1 ATS in last 26 games as a road underdog.
Opponents’ team total: over 4-1
Ravens 41, Bengals 38 OT
Bengals led 38-28 with 8:54 left in regulation.
Ravens forced OT with a 56-yard FG with 1:40 left.
Jackson was 26-42/348 passing, with four TD’s.
Baltimore won last two games, scoring 28-35-41 points.
Burrow was 30-39/392 passing, with five TD’s.
Chase caught 10 passes for 193 yards, with two TD’s.
Last three games, Bengals scored 33-34-38 points.
Cincinnati is 1-4, with losses by 6-1-5-3 points.
Dolphins 15, Patriots 10
Dolphins drove 80 yards, scored only TD with 4:24 left.
Last three games, Miami scored three touchdown on 44 drives.
Under McDaniel, Miami is 5-2 ATS in AFC East road games.
Dolphins’ team total: under 5-0
Patriots were 17-56 on third down in losing last four games.
NE has scored only five TD’s on their first 50 drives.
NE is 1-7-1 ATS in last nine games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Patriots are 30-43 since Tom Brady left town.
Commanders 34, Browns 13
Commanders won/covered last four games, scoring 38-42-34 points in last three.
QB Daniels threw for 238 yards, ran for 82 more.
Last four games, Commanders scored 14 TD’s, kicked 12 FG’s on 34 drives.
Washington converted 29 of last 52 third down plays.
Cleveland was outgained 434-212 in this game.
Browns were 1-13 on third down, Washington 8-17.
Last three games, Browns averaged 223.3 yards/game.
Cleveland scored 17-18-15-16-13 points in its 1-4 start.
Jaguars 37, Colts 34
Jaguars drove 39 yards, kicked 49-yard FG with 0:21 left for the win.
Jaguars led 20-10 after the third quarter.
QB Lawrence threw for 371 yards, two TD’s on his 25th birthday.
Jaguars averaged 10.9 yards/pass attempt.
Colts drove 82 yards, tied game 34-34 with 2:40 left.
39-year old backup QB Flacco was 33-44/359 passing, with 3 TD passes.
Colts were 7-14 on third down, Jaguars 3-10.
Colts are 0-10 SU/0-9-1 ATS in last ten visits to Jacksonville.
Texans 23, Bills 20
Fairbairn kicked a 59-yard FG with 0:02 left for the win.
Texans have wins by 2-6-4-3 points.
Houston outgained the Bills, 425-276.
2nd-year QB Stroud is 14-8 as an NFL starter.
Josh Allen completed only 9-30 passes, for 131 yards.
Last two games, Buffalo threw for only 42-56 yards in the first half.
Texans were 8-16 on third down, Buffalo 3-14.
WR Diggs caught six passes for 82 yards against his old team.
Famous birthdays, October 7th
John Mellencamp, 73
Simon Cowell, 65
Toni Braxton, 58
Priest Holmes, 51
Evan Longoria, 39
Chase Daniel, 38
Mookie Betts, 32
Jesus Sanchez, 27
Tutu Atwell, 25
Broncos 34, Raiders 18
Denver’s only first half TD was a 100-yard pick-6 by Surtain.
Broncos in second half: 29 plays, 162 yards, 21 points.
Broncos outscored last four opponents 43-14 in second half.
Win snaps a nine-game losing skid against the Raiders.
Raiders first two drives: 17 plays, 138 yards, 10 points.
Raiders rest of game: 49 plays, 166 yards, 8 points.
O’Connell replaced Minshew at QB in second half.
Raiders were 7-15 on third down, Denver 3-12.
Cardinals 24, 49ers 23
Cardinals drove 75 yards, kicked 35-yard FG with 1:40 left for the win.
49ers led 23-10 at halftime, 23-13 with 12:00 left.
Cardinals are 16-8 ATS last 24 games as a road underdog.
49ers were 6-11 on third down, Arizona 3-10.
49ers in first half: 41 plays, 239 yards, one TD, 3 FG’s.
49ers in second half: 25 plays, 130 yards, 3 turnovers.
49ers gave up 19-13 points in their wins, 23-27-24 in losses.
San Francisco is already 0-2 in NFC West games.
Packers 24, Rams 19
Rams led at halftime, for first time this year.
Packers first 2 drives of 2nd half: 9 plays, 124 yards, 14 points.
Rams first 2 drives of 2nd half: 13 plays, 71 yards, two turnovers.
Packers have 14 takeaways in five games (+7 turnovers)
Last 4 games, Rams allowed a TD on opponents’ first drive of 2nd half.
Rams were 8-16 on third down, Packers 1-8.
Rams averaged only 4.9 yards/pass attempt.
McVay is 1-5 coaching against Green Bay.
Giants 29, Seahawks 20
Seattle’s 47-yard game-tying FG was blocked, run back for TD by Giants with 0:55 left.
Giants were 7-16 on third down, Seattle 3-11.
Giants outgained the Seahawks, 420-333.
Under Daboll, Giants are 14-6 ATS coming off a loss.
Seattle’s first TD was a 102-yard fumble return in first quarter.
Seahawks didn’t score an offensive TD until there was 2:13 left in game.
Score was 10-10 at halftime.
NFC West teams are 4-9-1 ATS in non-divisional games.
Cowboys 20, Steelers 17
Start of game was delayed 90 minutes by a lightning storm.
Dallas drove 70 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:26 left.
Dallas outgained Steelers 445-226, but had 3 turnovers and had FG blocked
Cowboys were 9-15 on third down, Pittsburgh 3-12.
Tolbert caught seven passes for 87 yards and a TD.
Steelers allowed 10-6-10 points in wins; 24-20 in losses.
Pittsburgh averaged only 4.3 yards/pass attempt.
Pittsburgh’s team total: under 4-1
QB Fields is 13-30 as an NFL starter (3-2 with Steelers).
— Phillies 7, Mets 6
Nick Castellanos hit a walk-off single in the 9th inning.
Mets had tied game with two runs in top of 9th.
Series heads to Queens for Game 3 on Tuesday.
— Padres 10, Dodgers 2
San Diego hit six home runs, tied series 1-1.
Yu Darvish allowed one run, three hits over 7 IP.
Dodgers have lost seven of their last eight playoff games.
Game 3 is in San Diego Tuesday.
Quote of the Day
“We are preparing for the highest evacuations we have ever seen, most likely since 2017.”
Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s director of emergency management
Tuesday’s quiz
Where did Patrick Mahomes play his college football?
Monday’s quiz
Bruce Bochy managed the San Diego Padres, last time they were in a World Series.
Sunday’s quiz
Former NFL QB Jay Cutler threw for 8,697 yards in his college days, playing for Vanderbilt.
— Chiefs 26, Saints 13
Chiefs in first half: 47 plays, 272 yards, one TD, 3 FG’s.
Chiefs led 16-7 at half, only 2nd game they’ve led at halftime.
Kansas City outgained the Saints, 460-220.
Chiefs/Vikings are NFL’s only 5-0 teams.
New Orleans lost its last three games, 12-24-13 points.
Saints ran ball only 15 times for 46 yards.
QB Carr got KO’d late in game; check status for next week.
NFC South teams are 6-8 ATS in non-divisional games.
— Tigers 3, Guardians 0
Kerry Carpenter broke a scoreless tie with a 9th inning HR.
Tarik Skubal allowed three baserunners in 7 shutout IP.
Former Tiger Boyd got the first 14 outs for Cleveland.
Series heads to Detroit, tied 1-1.
— Detroit has an odd team, lot of platooning; three of their top five hitters Monday didn’t even start in Game 1 of the series.
Tigers are first team EVER to make the playoffs in a 162-game season that didn’t have any players with any of these things:
150+ hits
75+ RBI
25+ home runs
25+ stolen bases
— Royals 4, New York 2
Royals scored all four of their runs in the 4th inning.
Four KC relievers got the last 15 outs, allowing only one run.
New York’s payroll is $302,491,525; Jon Berti is playing 1B in a playoff game?
Series heads to Kansas City, tied 1-1.
— Kansas City’s payroll, by the way, is $113,530,905.
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers are heading to New Orleans today, to avoid Hurricane Milton, which is supposed to hit the Florida gulf coast starting Wednesday. Bucs play the Saints Sunday in the Superdome.
— Famous birthdays, October 8th:
Chevy Chase, 81
Sigourney Weaver, 75
Enos Cabell, 75
Mike Morgan, 65
Tony Eason, 65
Matt Damon, 54
Olmedo Sáenz, 54
Monty Williams, 53
Nick Allen, 26
— Vanderbilt upset Alabama Saturday night; now they’re trying to capitalize on it:
The $chool is auctioning item$ from $aturday’$ game:
$1,005- 4-inch piece of a goal post
$4,035- 8-inch piece of a goal post
$2,830- Game helmet signed by Vandy coach Clark Lea
$500 or $1,000- Footballs used in the game.
$1,500- End zone pylons.
— Army and Navy are a combined 10-0 in football for first time since 1945.
— NHL starts tonight, except for the two games Devils-Sabres played in Europe (New Jersey won both of those).
NHL players with the most power play goals last year:
27- Sam Reinhart
21- Leon Draisaitl
19- Kirill Kaprizov
19- Steven Stamkos
18- Chris Kreider
— Coming into this season, only four NHL teams have had the same head coach more than three years:
Jon Cooper, 12 years with Tampa Bay
Mike Sullivan, nine years with Pittsburgh
Jared Bednar, eight years with Colorado
Rod Brind’Amour, six years with Carolina
10 NHL teams have a new coach this season; 12 more teams have a coach in their second year with that team.
— There are 12 unbeaten teams left in college football:
Army, BYU, Indiana, Iowa State
Liberty, Miami, Navy, Ohio State
Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Texas
— SMU’s football team is off to a fast 5-1 start, in their first year as an ACC member, with ACC wins over Florida State/Louisville. Mustangs’ only loss was 18-15 to BYU.
In its last three games, SMU is +7 in turnovers; Mustangs were 11-3 last year, are heading towards their sixth winning season in a row.
Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Interesting Week 6 college football spreads:
— Washington @ Iowa (-2.5)
— Texas (-14) vs Oklahoma (@ Dallas)
— Penn State (-5.5) @ USC
— Arizona @ BYU (-4.5)
— Ohio State (-3) @ Oregon
— Ole Miss (-3.5) @ LSU
Quote of the Day
“This is probably the best team I’ve had in 25 years. I just felt that the best way to go forward was a new direction. Taking Jeff Ulbrich and making him the interim head coach, I thought that would get the most out of this team and give us the best chance that we all want to have, which is going to the playoffs.”
Jets owner Woody Johnson
Wednesday’s quiz
Who was the Dodgers’ manager, last time they missed the playoffs?
Tuesday’s quiz
Patrick Mahomes played his college football at Texas Tech.
Monday’s quiz
Bruce Bochy managed the San Diego Padres, last time they were in a World Series.
— Jets fired coach Robert Saleh after the team lost 23-17 to the Vikings in England; Jets were 20-36 in Saleh’s 3+ years as head coach. DC Jeff Ulbrich is the interim coach.
This is complicated; Week 6 is early to fire a coach. Jets’ last two losses were by a total of seven points. Jets owner Woody Johnson used to be an ambassador to England, maybe he didn’t like seeing his team lose in front of friends. Who knows why rich people do things?
Jets obviously signed QB Aaron Rodgers before last season, but he tore his achilles on the 4th play of the season, so Saleh got a Mulligan for last year. Not this year.
Another odd part of this is that most NFL teams have their bye week after they play over the pond, but the Jets’ bye isn’t until the week before Thanksgiving- they host the Bills on Monday night this coming week.
— Mets 7, Phillies 2
Sean Manaea allowed five baserunners, one run in 7 strong IP.
Pete Alonso homered, walked twice, scored two runs.
Game 4 is Wednesday in Queens.
— Padres 6, Dodgers 5
All the scoring in this game was in the first 2.5 innings.
San Diego bullpen allowed only one baserunner in four scoreless IP.
Padres scored all six of their runs in the second inning.
Game 4 is in San Diego Wednesday.
— Last month, Dodger P Walker Buehler and his wife were at Santa Anita racetrack; they were confronted by a group of people there, and apparently one of the people stole a watch from Buehler- the watch is said to be worth $100,000. The crime is still under investigation.
Dodgers were playing in Colorado that weekend, but Buehler wasn’t going to pitch so he and some other players got the weekend off. Maybe he should’ve gone.
— Liberty 31, Florida International 24, OT
5-0 Flames were favored by 15.5 points.
FIU scored two TD’s in last 6:23 to force overtime.
Liberty ran ball for 281 yards (5.6 yards/carry).
— Cruddy weather in Florida has moved the Memphis-South Florida game from Friday night to Saturday in Tampa.
— RIP to former MLB pitcher Luis Tiant, who passed away at age 83; Tiant was 229-172 in his 19-year career, where he pitched for six different teams.
He led the AL with a 1.60 ERA in 1968, the Year of the Pitcher; after MLB lowered the mounds that winter, Tiant went 9-20, 3.71 the next year, then Cleveland traded him to the Twins.
In 1972, Tiant went 15-6, 1.91 for the Red Sox, again leading the AL in ERA; he helped Boston make it to the ’75 World Series. He was 3-0, 2.86 in four postseason starts.
RIP, sir.
— Famous birthdays:
Jackson Browne, 76
Robert Wuhl, 73
Scott Bakula, 70
Mike Singletary, 66
Kenny Anderson, 54
Dexter McCleon,. 51
Darius Miles, 43
Derek Holland, 38
Starling Marte, 36
— New England Patriots are going to give rookie QB Drake Maye his first NFL start this week, at home against Houston.
Patriots lost their last four games, scoring total of 26 points in last three. This seems kind of early to be throwing a rookie QB to the wolves, but the other rookie QB’s in the NFL are doing well, so maybe Maye will do alright.
— Saints QB Derek Carr has an oblique injury, figures to miss a couple games; Jake Haener is the Saints’ backup QB- this week figures to be his first start. Haener has thrown 8 passes in his three NFL cameo appearances. Rookie Spencer Rattler would be Haener’s backup.
— Green Bay WR Romeo Doubs got suspended for last week’s game for conduct detrimental to the team. The suspension cost him $54,422; he is expected back this week.
— NBA training camps are underway; LA Clippers made a wise move, hiring Jeff Van Gundy as an assistant coach. Sounds like he will be their defensive coordinator.
ESPN is off the rails; not sure why they fired Van Gundy and Mark Jackson as game analysts, but they did, so now Van Gundy is back coaching, which is good for the Clippers.
— Cincinnati Reds did a smart thing last week and hired Terry Francona as their new manager; they fired all three of their hitting coaches Tuesday.
Reds were 77-85 this week, ramming 16th in runs scored, 26th in batting average. How do you finish 16th in runs scored playing in their hitting-friendly ballpark?
Reds were 15-28 in one-run games this year; they were shut out 16 times, losing four 1-0 games.
— One event I’ve circled on the calendar are baseball’s Winter Meetings, which will be in Dallas December 8-11. Looking forward to seeing which players move where this winter, with an eye on making my fantasy team better for next year.
— College basketball is only four weeks away; I’ve started prep work for that, which is harder than ever because of the ridiculous amount of players transferring, but it will be fun to watch college basketball again.
— Speaking of which, my new TV was delivered Tuesday morning. My last TV was a warrior, 10 or 11 years, including the pandemic year when it was on almost constantly. The last week was odd, with no TV, watching games on my laptop. YouTube TV is a good thing to have.
