Wednesday’s 6-pack:
— Clemson 85, Alabama 77- Tigers start 4 seniors; they were 11-21 on arc.
— Kentucky 95, Miami 73- Wildcats scored 1.32 points/possession.
— UNLV 72, Akron 70- Rebels led by 18 with 13:33 left, hung on for the win.
— Portland State 75, Portland 74- Vikings were down 5 with 2:09 left.
— McNeese State 81, UAB 60- Former LSU coach Will Wade is the McNeese coach.
— Oregon State named DC Trent Bray its new football coach.
Quote of the Day
“I am so tired of hearing how I was the reason that Barry Sanders never won a Super Bowl. I’m so tired of hearing how I was not a good QB.”
Former Detroit Lions’ QB Scott Mitchell (32-41 as an NFL starter, 27-32 in Detroit)
Wednesday’s quiz
Which college football team is the last team to beat Georgia?
Tuesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman played college football at Oklahoma, then UCLA.
Monday’s quiz
Marshall Thundering Herd is the college football team, with minimum of 10 bowls played, that has the best winning percentage in bowl games— they’re 13-5 (72.2 winning %) in bowls.
**************************************
— Indiana State 77, Southern Illinois 48- This is the only conference game that’s been played so far this season. Salukis shot 30.4% from floor; Indiana State shot 57.1% inside the arc.
— Six teams in country with the best continuity:
1- Columbia
2- Florida Atlantic
3- Marquette
4- Drexel
5- Cal-Davis
7- Weber State
Six teams in country with the worst continuity:
361- New Mexico State
360- Iona
359- Utah State
357- Idaho
356- Notre Dame
355- Southern Utah
— Purdue won Maui Classic, becoming first team in 13 years to beat a top 15 team three days in a row. Last team to do it was UConn, in 2011 Big East tournament.
— Teams that’ve played easiest schedules so far:
362- TCU
361- Cal-Northridge
360- Tulsa
359- Valparaiso
357- Cal Baptist
356- Georgetown
Teams that’ve played hardest schedules so far:
3- Eastern Washington
4- Rider
8- Morehead State
9- Northern Iowa
10- Cal-Fullerton
12- Boise State
— Some of teams playing fastest tempo in country:
4- George Washington
5- James Madison
6- New Mexico
7- Marshall
8- Western Kentucky
9- Hampton
Some of teams playing slowest tempo in country:
362- Virginia
361- Towson
360- Air Force
359- North Texas
357- Northwestern
356- Saint Peter’s
— Teams with the best FG% defense inside the arc:
1- Illinois
2- Rutgers
3- Providence
5- Virginia
6- Iowa State
7- UConn
Teams with the worst FG% defense inside the arc:
358- Wright State
355- Toledo
348- Drake
347- Cornell
346- Rice
345- Nebraska-Omaha
— Word of the Day: authenticity- being true to your own personality, values, and spirit, regardless of the pressure that you’re under to act otherwise.
— Teams getting highest %age of points on 3-pointers:
1- Creighton
2- Sacramento State
3- St Joe’s
4- Cal-Riverside
6- BYU
10- San Jose State
Teams getting lowest %age of points on 3-pointers:
362- Rio Grande Valley
361- Indiana
359- Western Kentucky
358- IUPUI
357- Cal-Northridge
— James Madison started the season with overtime wins at Michigan State/Kent State; they’re only team in the last 30 years to start a season with back/back overtime wins, both on the road.
— Field of 68’s top 6 mid-major teams:
1- Drake
2- Cal-Santa Barbara
3- Yale
4- Akron
5- Charleston
6- Furman
— According to Kenpom.com, these are the six best conferences in the country:
1- Big X
2- Big East
3- SEC
4- Big 14
5- Pac 12
6- ACC
These are the six worst conferences in the country:
32- NEC
31- SWAC
30- MEAC
29- Patriot
28- Southland
27- Ohio Valley
— Teams forcing highest % of turnovers:
1- Iowa State
2- Houston
3- Florida International
4- Rutgers
5- TCU
6- Cal-Davis
— Teams playing their subs the least:
361- Princeton
360- Murray State
359- West Virginia
358- Oral Roberts
357- Air Force
356- Gonzaga
— Most experienced teams (experience is different than continuity; teams that poach lot of transfers have experienced guys, but guys that haven’t played together very much):
1- St Bonzaventure
2- Washington
3- TCU
4- St John’s
5- North Carolina
6- James Madison
— Least experienced teams
362- Idaho
361- Siena
360- Valparaiso
359- Notre Dame
358- VMI
357- North Carolina A&T
— Clemson 85, Alabama 77- Tigers start 4 seniors; they were 11-21 on arc.
— Kentucky 95, Miami 73- Wildcats scored 1.32 points/possession.
— UNLV 72, Akron 70- Rebels led by 18 with 13:33 left, hung on for the win.
— Portland State 75, Portland 74- Vikings were down 5 with 2:09 left.
— McNeese State 81, UAB 60- Former LSU coach Will Wade is the McNeese coach.
— Oregon State named DC Trent Bray its new football coach.
Quote of the Day
“I am so tired of hearing how I was the reason that Barry Sanders never won a Super Bowl. I’m so tired of hearing how I was not a good QB.”
Former Detroit Lions’ QB Scott Mitchell (32-41 as an NFL starter, 27-32 in Detroit)
Wednesday’s quiz
Which college football team is the last team to beat Georgia?
Tuesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman played college football at Oklahoma, then UCLA.
Monday’s quiz
Marshall Thundering Herd is the college football team, with minimum of 10 bowls played, that has the best winning percentage in bowl games— they’re 13-5 (72.2 winning %) in bowls.
**************************************
Wednesday’s Den: An early primer on the college basketball season
We’re 23 days into the college basketball season; this is when we gather information and learn as much as possible. It is still really early, but this is what we’ve learned so far:— Indiana State 77, Southern Illinois 48- This is the only conference game that’s been played so far this season. Salukis shot 30.4% from floor; Indiana State shot 57.1% inside the arc.
— Six teams in country with the best continuity:
1- Columbia
2- Florida Atlantic
3- Marquette
4- Drexel
5- Cal-Davis
7- Weber State
Six teams in country with the worst continuity:
361- New Mexico State
360- Iona
359- Utah State
357- Idaho
356- Notre Dame
355- Southern Utah
— Purdue won Maui Classic, becoming first team in 13 years to beat a top 15 team three days in a row. Last team to do it was UConn, in 2011 Big East tournament.
— Teams that’ve played easiest schedules so far:
362- TCU
361- Cal-Northridge
360- Tulsa
359- Valparaiso
357- Cal Baptist
356- Georgetown
Teams that’ve played hardest schedules so far:
3- Eastern Washington
4- Rider
8- Morehead State
9- Northern Iowa
10- Cal-Fullerton
12- Boise State
— Some of teams playing fastest tempo in country:
4- George Washington
5- James Madison
6- New Mexico
7- Marshall
8- Western Kentucky
9- Hampton
Some of teams playing slowest tempo in country:
362- Virginia
361- Towson
360- Air Force
359- North Texas
357- Northwestern
356- Saint Peter’s
— Teams with the best FG% defense inside the arc:
1- Illinois
2- Rutgers
3- Providence
5- Virginia
6- Iowa State
7- UConn
Teams with the worst FG% defense inside the arc:
358- Wright State
355- Toledo
348- Drake
347- Cornell
346- Rice
345- Nebraska-Omaha
— Word of the Day: authenticity- being true to your own personality, values, and spirit, regardless of the pressure that you’re under to act otherwise.
— Teams getting highest %age of points on 3-pointers:
1- Creighton
2- Sacramento State
3- St Joe’s
4- Cal-Riverside
6- BYU
10- San Jose State
Teams getting lowest %age of points on 3-pointers:
362- Rio Grande Valley
361- Indiana
359- Western Kentucky
358- IUPUI
357- Cal-Northridge
— James Madison started the season with overtime wins at Michigan State/Kent State; they’re only team in the last 30 years to start a season with back/back overtime wins, both on the road.
— Field of 68’s top 6 mid-major teams:
1- Drake
2- Cal-Santa Barbara
3- Yale
4- Akron
5- Charleston
6- Furman
— According to Kenpom.com, these are the six best conferences in the country:
1- Big X
2- Big East
3- SEC
4- Big 14
5- Pac 12
6- ACC
These are the six worst conferences in the country:
32- NEC
31- SWAC
30- MEAC
29- Patriot
28- Southland
27- Ohio Valley
— Teams forcing highest % of turnovers:
1- Iowa State
2- Houston
3- Florida International
4- Rutgers
5- TCU
6- Cal-Davis
— Teams playing their subs the least:
361- Princeton
360- Murray State
359- West Virginia
358- Oral Roberts
357- Air Force
356- Gonzaga
— Most experienced teams (experience is different than continuity; teams that poach lot of transfers have experienced guys, but guys that haven’t played together very much):
1- St Bonzaventure
2- Washington
3- TCU
4- St John’s
5- North Carolina
6- James Madison
— Least experienced teams
362- Idaho
361- Siena
360- Valparaiso
359- Notre Dame
358- VMI
357- North Carolina A&T
NCAAB
Wednesday, November 29
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Trend Report
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Wednesday, November 29
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Trend Report
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Thursday’s 6-pack:
Interesting NFL spreads this week:
— Seahawks @ Dallas (-9)
— Colts (-1) @ Tennessee
— Chargers (-6) @ New England
— Lions (-4) @ New Orleans
— Falcons (-3) @ Jets
— Cardinals @ Pittsburgh (-5.5)
Quote of the Day
“Make no mistake that a good quarterback in the portal costs, you know, a million to $1.5M to $2M right now, just so we’re all on the same page. Let’s make sure we all understand what’s happening. There are some teams that have $6M or $7M players playing for them.”
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule
Thursday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans?
Wednesday’s quiz
Alabama is the last team to beat Georgia, 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game.
Tuesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman played college football at Oklahoma, then UCLA.
************************************
— St Joe’s 78, Villanova 65- Hawks lost in overtime at Kentucky, beat Villanova here; they haven’t had a winning season since 2016, but they’re off to a terrific start this year.
— North Carolina 100, Tennessee 92- Game was 61-39 at halftime; Vols are struggling, losing their last three games. Tar Heels were 32-38 on the foul line.
— Colorado State 88, Colorado 83- Are Niko Medved’s Rams the best team in Mountain West? They already have wins over Creighton, Colorado.
— College football has its conference championship games this weekend; here are some quick trends on each conference title game, over the last five years:
AAC- favorites 3-2 against spread. Teams that won three of last five titles have moved on to other leagues.
ACC- favorites 5-0 against spread. Four of those five years the winner was Clemson; they’re not in this year’s game.
Big 14- favorites 3-2 against spread, all double digit spreads, Favorites were either Michigan or Ohio State- they won all five games SU.
Big X- underdogs 3-2 against spread.
C-USA- underdogs 4-1 against spread. Teams that won last five title games have moved on to better leagues.
MAC- underdogs 4-1 against spread. Four different teams won last five titles.
Mountain West- underdogs 4-1 against spread. UNLV is in this game for first time; Boise State is in its for 5th time in last six years, but they haven’t won this game since 2019, and they’ve already fired their coach this season.
Pac-12- underdogs 3-2 against spread. Average total, last four years- 56.5. Oregon (2-1) is in this game for 4th time in five years. Washington is in it for first time since 2018, when they won it.
SEC- underdogs 3-2 against spread. Average total: 68.6. Georgia is 1-3 in this game the last five years, Alabama 3-0.
Sun Belt- underdogs 2-2 against spread (2020 game was cancelled).
— Long time ago, a shortstop named Garry Templeton made the 1979 All-Star Game, but he told the Cardinals’ radio guy (Jack Buck) “If I ain’t starting, I ain’t departing”
Little did he know is that his statement now sums up lot of quarterback situations in college football, except now it is “If I ain’t starting, then I will be departing”
College football has turned into baseball, with QB’s bolting into free agency at a high rate:
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina- he played five years there, with 10,000+ PY.
Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota
Blake Shapen, Baylor
Riley Leonard, Duke
Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Max Johnson, Texas A&M- already surfaced at North Carolina
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
Will Howard, Kansas State
Jake Rubley, Kansas State- His dad TJ Rubley played in the NFL/CFL; he also coached Keanu Reeves in his role as the starting QB for the fictional Washington Sentinels in the movie, The Replacements.
Spencer Petras, Iowa
E.J. Warner, Temple- Kurt Warner’s son
Gerry Bohanon, South Florida
This isn’t a complete list; has to be crazy being a college coach these days, recruiting high school kids while also re-recruiting all your current players.
— HBO or Showtime should hook up with some college program to do a reality show based on recruiting and the transfer portal— it would be excellent television.
Put it this way; this season, 55.7% of the starting quarterbacks were transfers.
— Word of the Day: catalyst- a person or thing that precipitates an event.
— College football coaching changes:
Oregon State promoted defensive coordinator Trent Bray to head coach, replacing Jonathan Smith, who bolted to Michigan State. Like Smith, Bray is an Oregon State alum.
San Diego State hired Sean Lewis, who used to coach Kent State; he was offensive coordinator at Colorado this season.
— Mississippi State’s new coach, Jeff Lebby, banks a $1M incentive if his Bulldogs win a national championship. Good luck with that one.
— This season and last, in Sunday night/Monday NFL games, under is 49-17. I can’t come up with a good reason why this is happening, but it is happening.
— Richmond Spiders’ starting G DeLonnie Hunt hurt his wrist, is out 6-8 weeks.
— Lakers 133, Detroit 107- Pistons have lost 15 games in a row, are 0-14 in November.
— 23 years ago, Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks for $285M; this week, word is out that he is selling a majority stake in the Mavericks, for $3.5B, that’s billion, with a B.
Cuban is cashing out on most of his ownership status, but he will retain full control over the Mavericks’ basketball operations, which is what makes this so unusual.
— New York Mets had some activity Wednesday:
Mets signed P Luis Severino for one year, $13M
Mets signed IF Joey Wendle for one year, $2M (plus incentives)
— Friend of mine found the old TV show White Shadow on YouTube this week, so I’ve spent the last few late-nights catching up with one my all-time favorite TV shows.
Ken Howard is a basketball player who retires from the NBA and gets a job as a basketball coach in an inner-city high school in Los Angeles- his friend from college is the school’s principal.
Hadn’t seen this show in 35-40 years; it was only on for three seasons, but it was well done. Creator of the show was Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth Paltrow’s father.
— Delaware is moving from the CAA to Conference USA; they’ll be going I-A in football, starting in 2025-26.
Interesting NFL spreads this week:
— Seahawks @ Dallas (-9)
— Colts (-1) @ Tennessee
— Chargers (-6) @ New England
— Lions (-4) @ New Orleans
— Falcons (-3) @ Jets
— Cardinals @ Pittsburgh (-5.5)
Quote of the Day
“Make no mistake that a good quarterback in the portal costs, you know, a million to $1.5M to $2M right now, just so we’re all on the same page. Let’s make sure we all understand what’s happening. There are some teams that have $6M or $7M players playing for them.”
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule
Thursday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans?
Wednesday’s quiz
Alabama is the last team to beat Georgia, 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game.
Tuesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman played college football at Oklahoma, then UCLA.
************************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..
— Arkansas 80, Duke 73- Duke put only two players in double figures. Arkansas struggled against pressure defense in the last 3:00, but they get a big non-conference win.— St Joe’s 78, Villanova 65- Hawks lost in overtime at Kentucky, beat Villanova here; they haven’t had a winning season since 2016, but they’re off to a terrific start this year.
— North Carolina 100, Tennessee 92- Game was 61-39 at halftime; Vols are struggling, losing their last three games. Tar Heels were 32-38 on the foul line.
— Colorado State 88, Colorado 83- Are Niko Medved’s Rams the best team in Mountain West? They already have wins over Creighton, Colorado.
— College football has its conference championship games this weekend; here are some quick trends on each conference title game, over the last five years:
AAC- favorites 3-2 against spread. Teams that won three of last five titles have moved on to other leagues.
ACC- favorites 5-0 against spread. Four of those five years the winner was Clemson; they’re not in this year’s game.
Big 14- favorites 3-2 against spread, all double digit spreads, Favorites were either Michigan or Ohio State- they won all five games SU.
Big X- underdogs 3-2 against spread.
C-USA- underdogs 4-1 against spread. Teams that won last five title games have moved on to better leagues.
MAC- underdogs 4-1 against spread. Four different teams won last five titles.
Mountain West- underdogs 4-1 against spread. UNLV is in this game for first time; Boise State is in its for 5th time in last six years, but they haven’t won this game since 2019, and they’ve already fired their coach this season.
Pac-12- underdogs 3-2 against spread. Average total, last four years- 56.5. Oregon (2-1) is in this game for 4th time in five years. Washington is in it for first time since 2018, when they won it.
SEC- underdogs 3-2 against spread. Average total: 68.6. Georgia is 1-3 in this game the last five years, Alabama 3-0.
Sun Belt- underdogs 2-2 against spread (2020 game was cancelled).
— Long time ago, a shortstop named Garry Templeton made the 1979 All-Star Game, but he told the Cardinals’ radio guy (Jack Buck) “If I ain’t starting, I ain’t departing”
Little did he know is that his statement now sums up lot of quarterback situations in college football, except now it is “If I ain’t starting, then I will be departing”
College football has turned into baseball, with QB’s bolting into free agency at a high rate:
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina- he played five years there, with 10,000+ PY.
Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota
Blake Shapen, Baylor
Riley Leonard, Duke
Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Max Johnson, Texas A&M- already surfaced at North Carolina
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
Will Howard, Kansas State
Jake Rubley, Kansas State- His dad TJ Rubley played in the NFL/CFL; he also coached Keanu Reeves in his role as the starting QB for the fictional Washington Sentinels in the movie, The Replacements.
Spencer Petras, Iowa
E.J. Warner, Temple- Kurt Warner’s son
Gerry Bohanon, South Florida
This isn’t a complete list; has to be crazy being a college coach these days, recruiting high school kids while also re-recruiting all your current players.
— HBO or Showtime should hook up with some college program to do a reality show based on recruiting and the transfer portal— it would be excellent television.
Put it this way; this season, 55.7% of the starting quarterbacks were transfers.
— Word of the Day: catalyst- a person or thing that precipitates an event.
— College football coaching changes:
Oregon State promoted defensive coordinator Trent Bray to head coach, replacing Jonathan Smith, who bolted to Michigan State. Like Smith, Bray is an Oregon State alum.
San Diego State hired Sean Lewis, who used to coach Kent State; he was offensive coordinator at Colorado this season.
— Mississippi State’s new coach, Jeff Lebby, banks a $1M incentive if his Bulldogs win a national championship. Good luck with that one.
— This season and last, in Sunday night/Monday NFL games, under is 49-17. I can’t come up with a good reason why this is happening, but it is happening.
— Richmond Spiders’ starting G DeLonnie Hunt hurt his wrist, is out 6-8 weeks.
— Lakers 133, Detroit 107- Pistons have lost 15 games in a row, are 0-14 in November.
— 23 years ago, Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks for $285M; this week, word is out that he is selling a majority stake in the Mavericks, for $3.5B, that’s billion, with a B.
Cuban is cashing out on most of his ownership status, but he will retain full control over the Mavericks’ basketball operations, which is what makes this so unusual.
— New York Mets had some activity Wednesday:
Mets signed P Luis Severino for one year, $13M
Mets signed IF Joey Wendle for one year, $2M (plus incentives)
— Friend of mine found the old TV show White Shadow on YouTube this week, so I’ve spent the last few late-nights catching up with one my all-time favorite TV shows.
Ken Howard is a basketball player who retires from the NBA and gets a job as a basketball coach in an inner-city high school in Los Angeles- his friend from college is the school’s principal.
Hadn’t seen this show in 35-40 years; it was only on for three seasons, but it was well done. Creator of the show was Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth Paltrow’s father.
— Delaware is moving from the CAA to Conference USA; they’ll be going I-A in football, starting in 2025-26.
NCAAB
Thursday, November 30
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Trend Report
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Thursday, November 30
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Trend Report
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Friday’s 6-pack:
There are six D-I basketball coaches who are 70+ years old:
— Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina- 78 years old, 829 wins.
— Dan D’Antoni, Marshall- 76 years old, 164 wins.
— Leonard Hamilton, Florida State- 75 years old, 630 wins.
— Fran Dunphy, LaSalle- 75 years old, 599 wins.
— Jim Larrañaga, Miami- 74 years old, 730 wins
— Rick Pitino, St John’s- 71 years old, 713 wins
Quote of the Day
“We can’t guard a stop sign.”
Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma. Wizards are 3-15 this season.
Friday’s quiz
Which team is the last one that beat the Dallas Cowboys at home?
Thursday’s quiz
Matt Schaub (23,221) is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans.
Wednesday’s quiz
Alabama is the last team to beat Georgia, 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game.
******************************************
Only 5th regular season game ever where neither team punted.
Seattle scored a touchdown on five of its first seven drives.
Seattle in 4th quarter: 3 drives- 20 plays, 78 yards, no points.
Seahawks are 15-9-1 ATS in its last 25 games as road dog (3-2 TY).
Dallas had nine drives: four touchdowns, four field goals.
Cowboys drove 54 yards, scored game-winning TD with 4:37 left.
Seahawks covered four of last five visits to Dallas.
Last four games, Cowboys are 27-52 on third down.
— NFL juggled its TV schedule for Week 15, two weeks from now:
Eagles @ Seattle moves to Monday night.
Chiefs @ New England gets moved to 1:00 Sunday.
There is a tripleheader on Saturday, December 16:
1:00- Vikings @ Cincinnati
4:30- Steelers @ Indianapolis
8:15- Broncos @ Detroit
— Butler 103, Texas Tech 95, OT
Tech led by 5 with 3:10 left in regulation.
Butler shot 12-27 on arc, Tech 13-26.
Not often a team scores 1.25 points/possession and loses.
— Illinois State 69, Ill-Chicago 64
Ill-Chicago led by 13 in first half.
Redbirds shot 66.7% inside the arc.
State starts 5 seniors, but they’re #312 in eFG%.
— UCLA 66, Cal-Riverside 65- Narrow escape for the Bruins.
— Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred from Clemson last year, is going in the portal again; UCLA QB Dante Moore is also in the portal.
College football has evolved into a situation where every decent QB goes on the open market every December, with lot of money on the table. Not great.
— Clemson fired two assistant coaches, its offensive line coach and its defensive end coach.
— Word of the Day: Consequence- the result of a particular action or situation.
— SEC-ACC have already played 20 basketball games against each other this season:
SEC teams are 14-11 straight up, 15-10 against spread.
SEC teams are 7-2 ATS at home, 6-3 on neutral floors.
ACC teams are 5-2 ATS at home.
— When Duke lost at Arkansas the other night, it was first time in 32 years that Duke played a basketball against an SEC team in an SEC arena.
— San Jose State-Coastal Carolina get rewarded for their good seasons by getting matched up to play in the Hawai’i Bowl. Going to Hawai’i for a bowl must be excellent.
Put it this way; there are bowls in Boise, Boston, Bronx, Maryland, Albuquerque; I’d rather not freeze my butt off during the game. Hawai’i would be just fine.
— Indiana tabbed James Madison coach Curt Cignetti as its new football coach; Dukes are 19-4 the last two years, 13-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. Overall, he went 52-9 at James Madison.
— Cincinnati Reds bolstered their bullpen, adding Emilio Pagan, Nick Martinez as free agents.
— Ole Miss announced that 7-foot center Moussa Cisse, a transfer from Oklahoma State, has cleared by the NCAA to play for Rebels. Cisse was the 2021-22 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year for Oklahoma State; he started his college career at Memphis.
Ole Miss is off to a 6-0 start, with a win over NC State; they play Memphis Saturday.
There are six D-I basketball coaches who are 70+ years old:
— Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina- 78 years old, 829 wins.
— Dan D’Antoni, Marshall- 76 years old, 164 wins.
— Leonard Hamilton, Florida State- 75 years old, 630 wins.
— Fran Dunphy, LaSalle- 75 years old, 599 wins.
— Jim Larrañaga, Miami- 74 years old, 730 wins
— Rick Pitino, St John’s- 71 years old, 713 wins
Quote of the Day
“We can’t guard a stop sign.”
Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma. Wizards are 3-15 this season.
Friday’s quiz
Which team is the last one that beat the Dallas Cowboys at home?
Thursday’s quiz
Matt Schaub (23,221) is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans.
Wednesday’s quiz
Alabama is the last team to beat Georgia, 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game.
******************************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here………
— Cowboys 41, Seahawks 35Only 5th regular season game ever where neither team punted.
Seattle scored a touchdown on five of its first seven drives.
Seattle in 4th quarter: 3 drives- 20 plays, 78 yards, no points.
Seahawks are 15-9-1 ATS in its last 25 games as road dog (3-2 TY).
Dallas had nine drives: four touchdowns, four field goals.
Cowboys drove 54 yards, scored game-winning TD with 4:37 left.
Seahawks covered four of last five visits to Dallas.
Last four games, Cowboys are 27-52 on third down.
— NFL juggled its TV schedule for Week 15, two weeks from now:
Eagles @ Seattle moves to Monday night.
Chiefs @ New England gets moved to 1:00 Sunday.
There is a tripleheader on Saturday, December 16:
1:00- Vikings @ Cincinnati
4:30- Steelers @ Indianapolis
8:15- Broncos @ Detroit
— Butler 103, Texas Tech 95, OT
Tech led by 5 with 3:10 left in regulation.
Butler shot 12-27 on arc, Tech 13-26.
Not often a team scores 1.25 points/possession and loses.
— Illinois State 69, Ill-Chicago 64
Ill-Chicago led by 13 in first half.
Redbirds shot 66.7% inside the arc.
State starts 5 seniors, but they’re #312 in eFG%.
— UCLA 66, Cal-Riverside 65- Narrow escape for the Bruins.
— Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred from Clemson last year, is going in the portal again; UCLA QB Dante Moore is also in the portal.
College football has evolved into a situation where every decent QB goes on the open market every December, with lot of money on the table. Not great.
— Clemson fired two assistant coaches, its offensive line coach and its defensive end coach.
— Word of the Day: Consequence- the result of a particular action or situation.
— SEC-ACC have already played 20 basketball games against each other this season:
SEC teams are 14-11 straight up, 15-10 against spread.
SEC teams are 7-2 ATS at home, 6-3 on neutral floors.
ACC teams are 5-2 ATS at home.
— When Duke lost at Arkansas the other night, it was first time in 32 years that Duke played a basketball against an SEC team in an SEC arena.
— San Jose State-Coastal Carolina get rewarded for their good seasons by getting matched up to play in the Hawai’i Bowl. Going to Hawai’i for a bowl must be excellent.
Put it this way; there are bowls in Boise, Boston, Bronx, Maryland, Albuquerque; I’d rather not freeze my butt off during the game. Hawai’i would be just fine.
— Indiana tabbed James Madison coach Curt Cignetti as its new football coach; Dukes are 19-4 the last two years, 13-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. Overall, he went 52-9 at James Madison.
— Cincinnati Reds bolstered their bullpen, adding Emilio Pagan, Nick Martinez as free agents.
— Ole Miss announced that 7-foot center Moussa Cisse, a transfer from Oklahoma State, has cleared by the NCAA to play for Rebels. Cisse was the 2021-22 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year for Oklahoma State; he started his college career at Memphis.
Ole Miss is off to a 6-0 start, with a win over NC State; they play Memphis Saturday.
