SIZE=2]Tuesday’s 6-pack:
Interesting NFL spreads this week:
— Buffalo (-4.5) @ New Orleans
— Tennessee @ New England (-5.5)
— NJ Jets @ Houston (-3)
— Tampa Bay (-3) @ Indianapolis
— Atlanta (even) @ Jacksonville
— Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati (-3.5)
Instagram Post of the Day
“No one better say anything bad about @bakermayfield after this game. I don’t think I have seen toughness like this in a while. Maybe the rest of our team should take the hint and get tougher.”
Emily Mayfield (Baker Mayfield’s wife). What could possibly go wrong after this?
Tuesday’s quiz
What was the name of the football team Al Pacino’s character coached in Any Given Sunday?
Monday’s quiz
Stan Humphries was the Chargers’ QB, the one time they played in a Super Bowl.
Sunday’s quiz
Erik Kramer was the Detroit Lions’ QB, last time they won a playoff game, in 1991.
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Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..
13) Tampa Bay 30, NJ Giants 10:
— Giants’ only TD came on a 5-yard drive after an INT
— Big Blue averaged 3.6 yards/pass attempt.
— Daniel Jones’ career win-loss record: 11-25.
— Giants were outscored 64-12 in last 2:00 of each half, 45-0 in first half.
— Bucs drove 73-79-71 yards on three of first four drives.
— Giants were 1-9 on third down, Tampa Bay 6-13.
— Last nine games, Tampa Bay is +8 in turnovers.
— With Brady at QB, Tampa Bay is 7-3-1 ATS as a home favorite.
12) There is a college basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, which is different from the Hall of Fame in Springfield, which is for all of basketball.
How in God’s name is Jerry Tarkanian not in the college Hall of Fame? He is in the Springfield Hall of Fame, but not the one in Kansas City. It is ludicrous and absurd.
761-202 record, four Final Fours, 1990 national title; I could go on for a while about some of the coaches who have been inducted who had inferior records, but don’t really want to disparage those other coaches.
If they want their Hall of Fame (it is only 15 years old) to be taken seriously, they have to put the great coaches in. Tarkanian was undoubtedly a great coach.
11) Florida Gators fired football coach Dan Mullen; he went 34-15 in four seasons at Florida, but was 2-9 in his last 11 games against against Power 5 opponents.
His replacement will be the Gators’ fourth head coach in eight years; there is a certain amount of insanity involved when it comes to college football hiring/firing.
10) There have been 13 college football coaches fired this fall; one school that didn’t fire its coach on the hot seat is Nebraska, which has kept Scott Frost, despite his 15-28 record (5-19 in games decided by 8 or fewer points).
9) Minnesota Vikings are 5-5 this season; they’ve had a lead of 7+ points in every game.
8) Utah/Utah State’s basketball teams don’t play each other; last time they met was 2018. Why?
You would think games between intra-state rivals would draw big crowds, make lot of money. Plus, Utah’s new coach came to Salt Lake City from Utah State, which should add to the rivalry.
7) There are seven first-time head coaches in the NFL this season; they’re combined 7-7 ATS as a favorite this season, 24-33 ATS as an underdog.
6) It is Thanksgiving week, and Baltimore Ravens haven’t played Pittsburgh/Cleveland yet, their two biggest divisional rivals. Four of their last seven games are against those two teams.
5) Was watching the Georgia-Georgia Tech basketball game from Athens the other night; Atlanta Braves’ manager Brian Snitker was watching in the front row- they put him on TV for a while and it was fun hearing how happy he sounded. He waited a long time to be a big league skipper, and now he is a World Series champ— he should be enjoying it.
4) Ohio State 79, Seton Hall 76:
— Buckeyes were 11-22 on arc, Seton Hall 5-23.
— Seven of ten starters in this game are seniors; two good teams.
3) Cincinnati 71, Illinois 51:
— Illinois led 23-10 after 10:00 of play.
— North Carolina alum Wes Miller is Cincinnati’s new coach; when the Tar Heels hired Hubert Davis to replace Roy Williams, did they choose the right alumnus?
— Miller was coach at NC-Greensboro for ten years- the last five years, he went 125-43, 70-18 in conference games.
2) Rice 109, Evansville 104, 3OT:
— Evansville led by 15 early in second half.
— Rice was 25-35 on foul line, Purple Aces 14-20.
— Owls start a frosh, two sophs; Evansville starts four seniors.
1) I’m curious about how many people from San Diego venture north to LA for Charger home games; San Diego is the 8th-biggest city in the country, still think it is odd that they skipped town to be a tenant in someone else’s domed stadium.[/SIZE]
