2022 WNBA REGULAR SEASON PICKS,NEWS,GOSSIP !

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Saturday’s 6-pack
Over/under win totals for NBA teams this coming season:
54.5— Celtics, Suns
52— Nuggets, Warriors
51.5— Bucks, 76ers
51— Grizzlies
50.5— Clippers
49— Mavericks

Quote of the Day
“Never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city.”
Coach Finstock, from Teen Wolf

Saturday’s quiz
What actor played Martin Sheen’s Vice President in The West Wing?
Hint: He was also in Animal House

Friday’s quiz
Henry Aaron finished his major league career with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Thursday’s quiz
Eric Show has the most wins while pitching for the San Diego Padres; he also gave up Pete Rose’s 4,195th hit in 1985, giving Rose the all-time record.

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

Saturday’s Den: Random stuff on a summer day……

— Pre-season games are fun to watch; you can learn stuff from watching/listening to them, but don’t take the results too seriously.

2008 Detroit Lions went 4-0 in their preseason games, then they went 0-16 in the regular season.

— NFL players come from all over; Rams have a rookie DB Cobie Durant, who played his college ball at South Carolina State.

Thing is, Durant didn’t have any college scholarship offers when he came out of high school; he worked at FedEx for a year, before South Carolina State signed him up. Now he’s in the NFL, on a very good team. Good for him.

— Thursday night, ESPN’s Louis Riddick inferred that he believes NFL officials are going to call fewer pass interference penalties on longer passes this year.

Does that mean lower scoring games? Less fantasy points for WR’s? It is something that will be interesting to keep an eye on.

— Chicago-Seattle game Thursday was the longest road trip the Bears will make this season.

— I seriously don’t know why, but FOX re-hired Urban Meyer for its Saturday college football pre-game shows; last time Meyer was on TV, he wasn’t good, lacking personality more than anyone I’ve ever heard on TV. He seemed incapable of laughter/humor, and his NFL disaster in Jacksonville hurt his reputation as a coach.

— ESPN, on the other hand, hired a different ex-Florida coach, Dan Mullen to its studio shows. Unlike Meyer, Mullen appears to have a personality; he should be good on TV.

— Texas Longhorns named Ohio State transfer Quinn Evers their starting QB; he better play well this season if he wants to start again next year, because Arch Manning is going to Texas next season, and Arch Manning ain’t going to sit on the bench for very long.

— In the top six college basketball conferences, there are six teams that didn’t bring in any transfers for this season:

Indiana
Iowa
Michigan State
UCLA
USC
Villanova

Last season, only four teams from those six leagues didn’t bring in a transfer.

— Baseball players snack on cookies/fruit in the dugout during games now; haven’t seen much of that until the last couple years.

— Orioles 15, Red Sox 10— Good night if you have a few Orioles on your fantasy team; seven of their nine batters had 2+ hits. Top four guys in their lineup were 10-18 with 10 runs scored.

— Blue Jays 4, Bronx 0— At what point does New York fire someone (like their hitting coach) just to shake things up a little? Bronx scored 19 runs in their last ten games; they’re 9-19 since the All-Star Game, 15-26 in their last 41 games, which is 25% of a season.

— Angels 1, Tigers 0— Patrick Sandoval tossed a complete game shutout.

— Nationals 6, Padres 3— Josh Hader came in with game tied 3-3; he faced three batters, who all scored. In five games with San Diego, Hader has allowed six runs in 3.1 IP.

— If the playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Mets, Cardinals, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Atlanta, Philly, San Diego
AL: New York, Guardians, Astros. Wild Cards: Seattle, Toronto, Tampa Bay

— MLB teams’ records in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on:
Away/Home/total
Arizona 5-9/12-10….17-19
Atlanta 6-4/12-8….18-12
Cubs 8-9/9-10….17-19
Cincinnati 8-6/8-8….16-14
Colorado 8-13/10-6….18-19
Dodgers 6-6/8-5….14-11
Miami 11-8/7-8….18-16
Milwaukee 12-10/7-3….19-13
Mets 7-6/6-8….13-14
Philadelphia 12-6/6-12….18-18
Pittsburgh 5-14/10-5….15-19
St Louis 6-3/8-9….14-12
San Diego 8-13/9-8….17-21
San Francisco 5-13/5-7….10-20
Washington 7-5/6-8…..13-13

Baltimore 5-8/12-4….17-12
Boston 7-12/6-8….13-20
White Sox 7-6/15-8….22-14
Cleveland 15-6/10-5….25-11
Detroit 9-10/9-7….18-17
Houston 9-8/7-5….16-13
Kansas City 7-9/8-9….15-18
Angels 5-7/4-12….9-19
Minnesota 3-11/7-10….10-21
New York 7-13/13-9….20-22
Oakland 8-7/3-13….11-20
Seattle 9-5/11-10….20-15
Tampa Bay 8-12/10-6….18-18
Texas 11-9/7-9….18-18
Toronto 9-8/10-5….19-13

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, August 20

WNBA

Saturday, August 20

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Trend Report
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New York @ Chicago
New York
The total has gone OVER in 9 of New York's last 10 games when playing on the road against Chicago
New York is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Chicago's last 10 games when playing at home against New York
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Chicago's last 8 games at home

Phoenix @ Las Vegas
Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Phoenix's last 8 games on the road
Phoenix is 10-2 ATS in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home


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[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Sunday’s 6-pack
Over/under win totals for NBA teams this coming season:
48.5— Heat, Timberwolves
46.5— Nets
46— Raptors
45.5— Hawks
44— Cavaliers, Pelicans
43.5— Lakers

Quote of the Day
“This is why I’m not a GM. I’m like, ‘Tell them they can have everything.’ … I thought he was untouchable.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, on Miami’s trading for Tyreek Hill

Sunday’s quiz
Which current NFL head coach was once a quarterback at San Diego State?

Saturday’s quiz
Tim Matheson played Martin Sheen’s Vice President in The West Wing; he was Eric Stratton in Animal House

Friday’s quiz
Henry Aaron finished his major league career with the Milwaukee Brewers.

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday

13) Cowboys 32, Chargers 18— USFL MVP KaVontae Turpin (New Jersey Generals) ran a kick back 98 yards for a Dallas touchdown, then he ran a punt back 86 yards for a TD, all in the first half. Pretty safe bet that he is making the Cowboys’ roster.

12) Titans 13, Buccaneers 3— Rookie QB Malik Willis will be a lightning rod of discussion; he completed 7-17 passes for 80 yards, ran ball five times for 42 yards.

Willis played at Liberty; they were 8-5 last year, losing 27-14 at Ole Miss, 24-21 at Syracuse, the highest-profile teams they played. Willis threw for 2,857 yards LY, with 27 TD’s, 12 INT’s, but he also ran the ball for 878 yards. He will be a very interesting player to follow.

11) Tom Brady hasn’t been around the Buccaneers for the last ten days; no idea why, but this is not a good thing. Brady can take care of his own business on the field and in the meeting rooms, obviously, but what does it say when the biggest star on the team just disappears for ten days, while everyone else is working?

10) Carolina Panthers’ rookie QB Matt Corral tore a ligament in his foot, is likely out for the whole season.

9) The great announcer Kevin Harlan broadcast the Packers-Saints game Friday night; Harlan’s father Bob worked for Green Bay for 37 years, the last 18 years as team president, so Kevin Harlan obviously grew up at Lambeau Field. Bob Harlan was previously the SID at Marquette.

8) Last time the pre-season favorite to win the Heisman Trophy actually won the Heisman Trophy?

Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, in 2014.

7) Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is the new GM of the Minnesota Vikings; he came to Minnesota from the Cleveland Browns, and previously worked for the 49ers.

Adofo-Mensah played basketball at Princeton, graduating with a degree in Economics; he got a Masters’ in Economics from Stanford, and later worked as a commodities trader on Wall Street.

6) They were saying on one of the six games I watched Saturday, that back in the day, when the AFL first started in the early 60’s, that the eight AFL owners referred to each other as “The Foolish Club” because it seemed like a bad idea to challenge the NFL, but it worked out well.

Raiders.
Chargers.
Chiefs (Dallas Texans).
Oilers.
Jets (NY Titans)
Broncos
Patriots
Bills

Wonder how long before their teams became profitable? These days, they’re all worth a few billion dollars each.

5) Colorado Rockies’ SS Jose Iglesias reached the 10-year plateau in the big leagues Saturday, pretty cool story for a guy who defected from Cuba when his youth team was in Canada a long time ago.

Can’t even imagine living/working in a country where I didn’t know the language, but Iglesias worked hard at his craft and has prospered— his career earnings are now $37,308,750.

4) During Game 1 of the Mets-Phillies doubleheader Saturday, some genius ran on the field, disrupting the game. Mets TV analyst Ron Darling was saying how a lawyer friend of his told him that when someone does that, their average legal tab winds up around $10,000.

How much of an imbecile do you have to be to run on a ballfield in front of 40,000 people, so they can all see you get dragged off the field by the police? Oy.

3) Cardinals 16, Arizona 7— Albert Pujols homered twice; he now has 692 career home runs, and has hit five homers in his last five games. Not bad for a 42-year old.

2) Toronto 5, New York 2— Bronx Bombers are 4-15 in their last 19 games; they’ve scored 21 runs in their last 11 games. Over the last 42 games, they’re 15-27; someone needs to be fired, just to get people’s attention.

Complacency is the word I’m thinking of; yeah, they’re still going to make the playoffs, but there seems to be lack of urgency. Making people in the clubhouse uncomfortable can give a team a jolt. It is a multi-billion dollar business, after all.

1) Here are the two Wild Card races:
AL: Toronto, Seattle, Tampa Bay are three Wild Cards right now
Followed by:
1.5 games back- Minnesota
2.5- Baltimore
3- White Sox
5- Boston

NL: Atlanta, Philly, San Diego are three Wild Cards right now
Followed by:
2 games back- Milwaukee
6.5- San Francisco

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, August 21

WNBA

Sunday, August 21

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Trend Report
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Dallas @ Connecticut
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Dallas's last 9 games when playing Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Connecticut is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Dallas

Washington @ Seattle
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Seattle
Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games
Seattle is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home


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[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Monday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in walks:
108— Juan Soto
69— Jesse Winker, Aaron Judge
67— Christian Yelich, Max Muncy
65— Alex Bregman
62— Profar, ESuarez, YDiaz, Schwarber, Alvarez
61— DJ LeMahieu

Quote of the Day
“I definitely think it should be shared. But if not, at the end of the day, we have the NIL space. We can do it that way. The new college world is turning around and I’m here for it.”
Ohio State QB CJ Stroud, talking about the Big 14’s lucrative TV deal

Monday’s quiz
Who was the Baltimore Orioles’ manager, last time they were in the playoffs?

Sunday’s quiz
Vikings’ coach Kevin O’Connell was a college QB at San Diego State

Saturday’s quiz
Tim Matheson played Martin Sheen’s Vice President in The West Wing; he was Eric Stratton in Animal House

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

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Sunday

13) Ravens 24, Cardinals 17— Baltimore has now won 22 exhibition games in a row, going 20-2 ATS in those 22 games. They led this game 24-7, but Arizona scored two TD’s and had the ball late with a chance to tie, but the Ravens won/covered. Again.

12) Kyler Murray had the play chart and a headset on during the 4th quarter; Arizona moved the ball better when he was calling plays.

You think modern quarterbacks know that 40-50 years ago, QB’s called their own plays?

11) Whats up with the Cardinals’ new black helmets? They looked like the Atlanta Falcons, with the black helmets/black jerseys. Maybe the helmets would look better with white jerseys or red jerseys. Their regular white helmets are still better, though.

10) Super Bowl champion Rams are a home underdog to Buffalo in Week 1; they’re just second Super Bowl champ in last 20 years to be a home dog in Week 1 the following season.

Six years ago, Denver was a home dog to Baltimore in Week 1, but that was because Peyton Manning retired and Trevor Siemian was Denver’s new QB. Rams still have the same excellent quarterback they had last year.

9) Russell Wilson will be the Broncos’ 6th different starting QB the last six years.

8) What happens if the Cleveland Browns are 7-4, or 8-3 when Deshaun Watson’s suspension ends? What happens then? Does Watson automatically step in and start?

7) During the Eagles-Browns game Sunday, Cleveland strategy officer Paul DePodesta was on the TV broadcast, talking about the Browns’ chances this year.

People forget, but the Jonah Hill character in Moneyball, the nerdy assistant who came up with new mathematical strategies to run a baseball franchise, is actually DePodesta, who played baseball and football in college at Harvard.

DePodesta did not approve of the way his character was portrayed in the movie, but now he works for one of the most inept franchises in the NFL. Wonder if he recommended giving Watson $46M a year?

6) With one game left in Week 2 of preseason games, over is 21-11 this summer. Under is 8-7 so far this week.

5) Mets 10, Phillies 9:
— Alec Bohm hit two HR’s, knocked in six runs. Philly still lost.
— Juan Segura’s career OPS in .741; his career OPS against the Mets is .895.

Mark Canha hit two homers, knocked in five runs for the Mets, who lead Atlanta by 4 games in the NL East race.

4) Last year, Nate Fisher was employed by the First National Bank of Omaha deciding whether to approve commercial loans; Sunday, he threw three scoreless innings for the Mets.

The 26-year-old lefty went undrafted out of college at Nebraska before pitching in 12 games at Class A in the Seattle organization, but when COVID hit the next year, Fisher entered banking- he re-signed with the Mariners in June, 2021, and now, he’s in the big leagues.

3) Quote of the Day, part 2
“I didn’t even know who this guy was when he came into the game today.”
Mark Canha, talking about when Fisher entered Sunday’s game in relief.

2) Lions 27, Colts 26— Hard Knocks should be more upbeat this week, with Detroit getting its first win this summer. Down 27-20 with 0:38 left. Indianapolis scored a TD, but went for two points and the win. Lions stopped them, which should be a good scene in this week’s show.

1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL; Mets, Cardinals, Dodgers. Wild Cards- Braves, Padres, Phillies
AL: New York, Guardians, Astros. Wild Cards- Rays, Blue Jays, Mariners

 

[Udog]

No games today.... playoffs resume tomorrow.

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Tuesday’s 6-pack
Pointspreads for Week 3 preseason games:
— Green Bay (-3) @ Kansas City
— San Francisco (-3) @ Houston
— Buffalo @ Carolina (-6)
— Seattle (-3) @ Dallas
— LA Chargers @ New Orleans (-1.5)
— New England @ Las Vegas (-1.5)

Quote of the Day
“It was almost a done deal, and at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn’t want him, and all hell broke loose. It was crazy. Brady was already looking at houses. It wasn’t being said yet that Gronk was coming. So Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl, except Gruden blew the deal up.”
UFC president Dana White

Tuesday’s quiz
What team did Max Scherzer break into the major leagues with, in 2008?

Monday’s quiz
Buck Showalter was the Baltimore Orioles’ manager, last time they were in the playoffs, in 2016.

Sunday’s quiz
Vikings’ coach Kevin O’Connell was a college QB at San Diego State.

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

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

13) Jets 24, Falcons 16:
— Atlanta led 16-3 at halftime.
— Penalties: Falcons 13 for 121 yards, Jets 11 for 104
— Jets’ last TD was scored by their defense on a rainy night.
— Atlanta outgained the Jets, 380-279.

12) Speaking of the Jets, they’ve lost 12 straight regular season September games. Here are their September games this season:
Week 1— vs Baltimore
Week 2— @ Cleveland
Week 3— vs Cincinnati

Jets’ first four games this season are against the AFC North.

11) On Sunday, after practicing against the Jets late in the week, the Falcons visited the US Military Academy at West Point. They practiced there, had lunch; the entire traveling party spent the day learning about West Point, its history and the sacrifices some of its alumni have made in defense of this country. That included a trip through West Point Cemetery, where veterans told stories about their fallen classmates.

Training camp can get monotonous; Sunday provided players/coaches with a break and a chance to bond as teammates.

10) Carolina Panthers did the expected and named Baker Mayfield their starting QB for their Week 1 game against Cleveland, Mayfield’s old team.

9) Coming into Monday’s game, Kansas City Royals had walked opposing #9 hitters 56 times this season, more than any other team. That not good.

8) Cardinals 1, Cubs 0:
— Jordan Montgomery has started four games for St Louis; in 25.2 IP, he’s put only 16 runners on base, and only one of them scored. Great trade by the Cardinals.
— Only run of the game was a 7th-inning home run by 42-year old Albert Pujols.

7) Central Florida named Ole Miss transfer John Rhys Plumlee the Knights’ starting QB this season; Plumlee started eight games at QB for Ole Miss in 2019, while setting the program’s freshman rushing record with 1,023 yards, 16 TD’s.

After losing the starting QB job to Matt Corral (now in the NFL) Plumlee played RB/WR for the Rebels, before transferring to UCF, so he can play quarterback again.

6) NFL teams who had the most draft picks, from 2017-22:
67— Minnesota
58— Green Bay
56— Baltimore
55— Cincinnati
54— Washington

5) NFL teams who had the fewest draft picks, from 2017-22:
34— New Orleans
40— Kansas City
41— Houston
42— Falcons, Bears, Dolphins, Eagles

4) 3am the other night, I’m watching old episodes of Green Acres, because old re-runs are more fun that sleeping. I loved Green Acres when I was a kid; it turns out in the first episode, they say that Oliver Wendell Douglas’ character (Eddie Albert) was born in Saratoga, about 30 miles north of Armadillo World HQ. Turns out his dad liked to wager on the ponies.

3) Big 14 is going to make a small fortune on their TV deal, with lot of different networks showing all their events. One thing came out Monday, which was disappointing; they said 20% or so go Big 14 basketball games will be shown on the Peacock Network.

There are so many new TV networks now; they nickel/dime you to death with their fees. There is Paramount+, ESPN+, Peacock, AMC+, on and on and on. No bueno.

2) Random odd fact: UCLA hasn’t won the Pac-12 regular season basketball title since 2013, Ben Howland’s last season in Westwood; they’ve made the NCAA tournament six times in eight tries since then (they were a bubble team in 2020, when there were no NCAA’s), but no regular season titles.

You’d think a team that went 12-6 in NCAA Tournament games over an 8-year stretch would at least win their conference once, but they haven’t.

1) RIP to former Permian HS football coach Gary Gaines, who passed away this week; Gaines was the coach made famous by the movie Friday Night Lights— Billy Bob Thornton played him in the movie.

Friday Night Lights shows what a big deal high school football is in west Texas; people put “For Sale” signs on Coach Gaines’ lawn after a loss. The year after the season chronicled in the book and movie, Permian High won the state championship.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, August 23

WNBA

Tuesday, August 23

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Trend Report
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Chicago @ New York
Chicago
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against New York
Chicago is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing New York
New York
New York is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
New York is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games


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[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Pointspreads for Week 3 preseason games:
— Jacksonville @ Atlanta (-4)
— LA Rams @ Cincinnati (-2.5)
— Washington @ Baltimore (-6)
— Chicago @ Cleveland (-4.5)
— Philadelphia @ Miami (-3.5)
— Arizona @ Tennessee (-3)

Quote of the Day
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
John Shedd

Wednesday’s quiz
Last time the Angels made the playoffs was 2014; who did they lose to that year?

Tuesday’s quiz
Max Scherzer broke into the major leagues in 2008, with the Diamondbacks.

Monday’s quiz
Buck Showalter was the Baltimore Orioles’ manager, last time they were in the playoffs, in 2016.

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

Wednesday’s Den: Quick notes on Week 1 NFL games……

Bills @ Rams
— Last 19 years, the defending Super Bowl champ is 11-5-3 ATS in its first game the next year.
— Bills are 12-2-2 ATS last 16 games where spread was 3 or less.

Saints @ Falcons
— Last four years, Saints are 10-2 ATS in NFC South road games.
— Last four years, NFL coaches in their first year with a new team are 0-10 ATS as Week 1 favorites.

Browns @ Panthers
— Carolina QB Baker Mayfield played for the Browns (2018-21; 30-31 W-L)
— Since 2005, Browns are 0-16-1 SU in Week 1.

49ers @ Bears
— Since 1994, 49ers are 2-8 ATS as a favorite in road opener.
— Chicago started out 0-1 seven of last eight years.

Steelers @ Bengals
— Trubisky had a 29-21 W-L record in four years with Chicago.
— Last 19 years, team that lost Super Bowl is 4-15 ATS in Week 1 the next season.

Eagles @ Lions
— Since 2005, Philly is 4-8 ATS as a favorite in road openers.
— Detroit’s last eleven season openers went over the total.

Colts @ Texans
— Ryan is Colts’ 6th different starting QB the last six years.
— Since 2013, NFL coaches in their first year with a new team are 13-7-1 ATS as Week 1 underdogs.

Patriots @ Dolphins
— Patriots are 17-16 SU since Brady left; 4-5 ATS as a road underdog.
— New England is Week 1 underdog for 2nd time since 2003 (won 23-21 in ’16)

Ravens @ Jets
— Last six years, Baltimore is 5-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
— Flacco is 108-83 as an NFL starter; he won Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2012. Last three years, he is 2-11 as a starter.

Jaguars @ Commanders
— Last nine years, Jaguars are 6-31 ATS vs NFC teams.
— Since 2009, Commanders are 1-5 ATS as a favorite in home openers.

Chiefs @ Cardinals
— Kansas City started 1-0 the last seven years, scoring 35.1 ppg in Week 1.
— Average total in Cardinals’ last three Week 1 games: 49.7

Raiders @ Chargers
— Raiders are 7-1-1 ATS in last nine road openers.
— Last 8 years, Chargers are 16-29-1 ATS as home favorites (4-3 under Staley)

Packers @ Vikings
— Packers allowed 31+ points in four of last five road openers.
— Over last decade, Vikings are 17-6 ATS as a home underdog.

Giants @ Titans
— Last three years, Giants are 3-10 ATS vs AFC teams.
— Since 2013, Titans are 0-5-1 ATS as a favorite in home openers.

Buccaneers @ Cowboys
— Cowboys won their last five home openers (4-1 ATS)
— Last three years, Dallas is 6-10 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less.

Broncos @ Seahawks
— Russell Wilson (113-60-1) played the last 10 years at QB for Seattle.
— Last ten years, Denver is 24-15-2 ATS vs NFC teams.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, August 24

WNBA

Wednesday, August 24

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


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[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Thursday’s 6-pack
Spreads for college football games this weekend:
— Northwestern vs Nebraska (-13) (@ Dublin, Ireland)
— UConn at Utah State (-27.5)
— Wyoming @ Illinois (-11)
— Charlotte @ FAU (-7.5)
— North Texas (-1) @ Texas-El Paso
— Vanderbilt (-8) @ Hawai’i

Quote of the Day
“I am the 7th son of a 7th son. And I have been one lucky son of a gun.”
Len Dawson

Wednesday’s quiz
After leaving the Chiefs, which other NFL team did Hank Stram coach?

Wednesday’s quiz
Last time the Angels made the playoffs was 2014; they got swept 3-0 by Kansas City.

Tuesday’s quiz
Max Scherzer broke into the major leagues in 2008, with the Diamondbacks.

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

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

— RIP to Hall of Fame QB Len Dawson, who passed away this week at age 87.

Dawson was QB for the Chiefs in two of the first four Super Bowls; he led them to a 23-7 upset win over Minnesota in Super Bowl IV.

Dawson was the 5th pick of the 1957 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh (Jim Brown was the Special pick), but he threw only 17 passes in three years with the Steelers, then threw 28 passes in two years as a backup in Cleveland.

But there was a pro football team in Dallas that valued Dawson, because their head coach was the guy who recruited Dawson to play college ball at Purdue. A coach named Hank Stram, who at that point was the coach of the AFL’s Dallas Texans.

— 1962 Dallas Texans won the AFL Championship, then moved to Kansas City, where they became the Chiefs and thrived under Stram’s coaching. Dawson was 98-59-8 as QB of the Chiefs and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

— Dawson went on to have an excellent career in broadcasting, hosting Inside the NFL on HBO and also worked for NBC and local outlets in Kansas City.

RIP, sir.

— Stram let Dawson call his own plays; do you think an NFL team would do that today? Coaches are control freaks, but I could see it happening with the right QB, especially in a no-huddle situation.

— Good segment on HBO’s Hard Knocks, with Lions’ WR Amon-Ra St Brown reciting the 16 wide receivers who were drafted ahead of him in the 2021 draft. St Brown was the 112th player taken, a 4th-round pick; he caught 90 passes for 912 yards and five TD’s last year.

— Lions’ coach Dan Campbell was talking about the practices Detroit had with the Colts, before their exhibition game last week. He pretty much said that he considered the practices to be more important than the game. Teams get lot of work done in those joint practices.

— Can’t remember if I’ve posted this or not yet this summer, but Lions’ last eleven Week 1 games all went over the total.

— The average NFL team is worth $4.46B, that’s billion, with a B.

— Alabama coach Nick Saban signed a 8-year, $94M contract extension that I’m guessing is aimed at shutting up rivals who will use Saban’s age against him in the recruiting battles.

Saban will turn 71 years old on Halloween; highly unlikely he coaches out the whole contract, but as long as he wins on the recruiting trail, Alabama will be a national power.

— Cleveland Browns are paying backup QB Jacoby Brissett $4.5M this year; he’ll start for the Browns until Deshaun Watson’s suspension is over. Browns are playing at Carolina in Week 1, where the new QB is Baker Mayfield.

Browns traded Mayfield to the Panthers in July; Cleveland is paying $10.5M of Mayfield’s $15.5M salary this season. Awkward.

— Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie who was the Forum pick in the NBA Draft, may have torn ligaments in his foot at a Pro-Am game in Seattle that had to be stopped due to unsafe court conditions. Awesome.

— November 7th is the first night of college basketball; here are that night’s best games:
George Mason @ Auburn
Memphis @ Vanderbilt
LaSalle @ Villanova
Murray State @ Saint Louis
Florida Gulf Coast @ USC

— December 18, Iona visits New Mexico; Rick Pitino’s team visiting Richard Pitino’s team. Pretty good non-conference game.

— MSNBC has a news show in the morning where they show sports highlights at the end; there was a British lady subbing as host the other day- she was struggling with the script for some baseball action. She actually said this on the air:

“When you don’t understand baseball, doing this is like reading Chinese.” Good stuff.

—- Royals 5, Diamondbacks 3— Zac Gallen tossed six scoreless frames, has now thrown 27.1 consecutive scoreless innings, but as soon as left the game, Kansas City scored five runs.

— Nationals 3, Mariners 1— Washington 3B Ildemaro Vargas hit a 2-run homer in the ninth inning as Nationals post an upset win.

— Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 2 (10)— George Springer’s 10th-inning double scored the winning run.

— A’s 3, Marlins 2 (10)— Cole Irvin threw seven scoreless IP, striking out 11, but the Oakland bullpen blew the lead. Skye Bolt hit a LEADOFF sacrifice fly to end things; the ghost runner on 2B went to third on a wild pitch before the sac fly.

— Rays 4, Angels 3 (11)— Game was scoreless after seven innings; Tampa Bay has now won five games in a row.

— Saw something Tuesday night that was very unusual; two teams that were WINNING used a position player to pitch the 9th inning. Seriously, Dodgers and Tampa Bay; they were winning 10-2 and 10-1.

 

[Udog]

No games today.... playoffs resume Sunday.

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Friday’s 6-pack
Odds to score the most points in college football games this weekend:
5-2— Utah State
5-1— Charlotte
6-1— Nebraska
7-1— Vanderbilt
10-1— Nevada
12-1— FAU, Illinois, North Texas, UTEP
25-1— Hawai’i
40-1— New Mexico State
50-1— Northwestern
60-1— Wyoming

Quote of the Day
“I’ve been with both of ’em, and I’m gonna be honest. I think Pat (Mahomes) is unbelievably good. But A-Rod (Aaron Rodgers) is on a whole different level.”
Green Bay WR Sammy Watkins

Friday’s quiz
Other than the Jets (10 years), which NFL team has the longest playoff drought?

Thursday’s quiz
After leaving the Chiefs, Hank Stram coached the New Orleans Saints.

Wednesday’s quiz
Last time the Angels made the playoffs was 2014; they got swept 3-0 by Kansas City.

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

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

13) NFL has a strange rule about what coaches/players wear on the sidelines during games.

Under league rules, coaches aren’t allowed to wear a hat from a previous year; they have to wear stuff that was designed this year, so suckers (like me) watching on TV will go on the Interweb and buy the new stuff. (disclaimer: I don’t buy nearly as much stuff as I used to)

I’m superstitious; when the Rams play Buffalo in couple weeks, I’ll be wearing the same shirt I wore during the Super Bowl, but NFL coaches can’t, and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t happy about it. NFL makes a boatload of $$$ for sure, and stuff like this is part of the reason why.

12) There are no NFL games next weekend, which is a smart move; college games will get the full stage, as NFL teams finalize their rosters and get ready for their openers the following week.

11) 76-year old Arte Moreno, who has owned the Los Angeles Angels for 20 years, said this week that he has begun to explore the process of selling the team. Angels haven’t made the playoffs since 2014; they’re a big market team with a nice stadium that draws well— someone is going to step up and pay a boatload of $$$ to buy it.

Moreno spent a lot of money on the Angels, but their farm system wasn’t productive, and their pitching is dismal. Will be interesting to see who buys the team.

Washington Nationals are also on the block, and they won the World Series three years ago, but they’ve been unable to re-sign the star players they’ve had.

Makes you wonder though; if two teams are up for sale, is owning a big league ballclub as good a deal as it used to be?

10) Houston Astros are 50-3 this season when they score 5+ runs, 31-42 when they don’t.

9) San Diego Padres are 8-12 since they traded for Juan Soto/Josh Bell. Very disappointing.

8) If you bet on the Mets Thursday, they were -417 against Colorado, meaning to win $100 on the Mets, you had to risk $417. They were the biggest baseball favorite in the last three years.

I would never, ever lay -417 in baseball; actually, would probably never lay anything over -175. Better to play totals or first five innings, or lay 1.5 runs.

7) Horse racing channel TVG (602 on DirecTV) will now be known as FanDuel TV; sounds like the station will remain basically the same, other than the name change. They will also have a football-related program, a new daily show with Kay Adams, who used to be on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.

6) LA Rams hired former Washington head coach Jay Gruden as a consultant; Sean McVay used to work under Gruden, with Washington and in the UFL with the Florida Tuskers.

5) Minnesota Vikings cut punter Jordan Berry; they’ll have their sixth different punter the last seven seasons, which also means their kicker will have another new guy holding for kicks.

4) Dallas Cowboys’ LT Tyron Smith suffered an avulsion fracture of his knee, a serious injury that involves the hamstring tendon tearing off the bone. Cowboys hope he can return to play in December, but that is not a sure thing.

3) If you have Amazon Prime, here’s a TV recommendation: Bosch, starring Titus Welliver as a Los Angeles homicide detective. Good show; is it fairly violent, but there is some low-key humor in there too and very good acting.

2) Phillies star Bryce Harper will be activated for Friday’s game with Pittsburgh; he’s been out for two months since breaking his thumb when he got hit by a pitch. Harper figures to be the DH going forward, seeing how he also has a torn ligament in his elbow.

1) Orioles 4, White Sox 3 (11)— Rookie Kyle Stowers hit his first MLB home run with two out in the ninth inning, tying the game in dramatic fashion. It was Stowers’ 7th MLB game.

Orioles are now 65-59, 2.5 games behind Seattle for the third/last Wild Card slot.

 

[Udog]

No games today.... playoffs resume Sunday.

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Saturday’s 6-pack
Jeff Borzello’s top 6 transfers for the upcoming college basketball season:
— Kendrick Davis, 5-11 G. SMU to Memphis
— Nijel Pack, 6-0 G. Kansas State to Miami
— Tyrese Hunter 6-0 G. Iowa State to Texas
— Baylor Scheierman, 6-6 G. South Dakota State to Creighton
— Malachi Smith, 6-4 G. Chattanooga to Gonzaga
— Isiaih Mosley 6-5 G. Missouri State to Missouri

Quote of the Day
“I didn’t like the way it ended at UCLA. I should not have been fired. And I will tell you this, the last four years bear that out…….I shouldn’t have been fired. You can write that. I should not have been fired. What did they win, [18] games in the four years since I’ve been fired? So yeah, I do have a chip on my shoulder. Did I want another chance? Sure.”
UConn football coach Jim Mora Jr

Saturday’s quiz
Which two NFL teams has Jim Mora Jr coached?

Friday’s quiz
Other than the Jets (10 years), Denver Broncos have the longest playoff drought (6 years).

Thursday’s quiz
After leaving the Chiefs, Hank Stram coached the New Orleans Saints.

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

Saturday’s Den: Story lines for the 2022 NFL season

— What a mess they have in Cleveland; they’ve made the playoffs once the last 19 years, they signed QB Deshaun Watson to a huge, guaranteed contract, but he’s suspended 11 games by the NFL for alleged sexual misconduct- he didn’t play last year either.

Jacoby Brissett is Cleveland’s QB to start; the Browns traded the previous starter Baker Mayfield to Carolina, their opponent in Week 1.

— Mike Zimmer went 74-59-1 as coach of the Vikings from 2014-21, but went 2-3 in playoff games, so he was shown the door and in comes Kevin O’Connell, who has an offense-based background, but he’s never been a head coach.

Will QB Kirk Cousins/WR Justin Jefferson benefit from the coaching change? Defense-minded coaches like Zimmer tend to run the ball more, to protect their defense from being on the field too much. Minnesota figures to be more wide open on offense now.

— Trey Lance is the new QB in San Francisco; he’s started only three football games the last two years, going 1-1 with the 49ers LY, after North Dakota State played only one game in the short 2020 season.

17 starts at the I-AA level, two starts in the NFL, he takes over a team that lost the NFC title game 20-17 last year. 49ers are in win-now mode; is Lance good enough right now to lead them to a Super Bowl?

— Brian Daboll is the guy who developed Buffalo QB Josh Allen into a big star; Daboll is now the head coach of the Giants. Allen will have a new voice in his ear; new OC Ken Dorsey. Buffalo is favored to win the Super Bowl; can Allen maintain his high level of play, with a new OC calling his plays?

— if Daboll can turn Daniel Jones into a top-flight QB the way he did with Allen, then he’s going to be known as an elite QB whisperer; last five years, Giants are 22-59. This is a made-or-break year for Jones in New Jersey; the 2023 draft is expected to be QB-heavy.

— AFC West is loaded; Raiders are the longest shot to win the division, and they were 10-7 LY, a playoff team. Mahomes, Wilson, Herbert, Carr; lot of good QB’s.

— Chiefs have hosted the last four AFC title games, but won only one Super Bowl- they played the Buccaneers in Tampa in the Super Bowl they lost. Kansas City has won the AFC West six years in a row; can they make it seven this year?

— Raiders, by the way, haven’t won a playoff game since losing the Super Bowl 20 years ago.

— Matt Ryan will be the Colts’ 5th different starting QB the last five years; they were 9-6 at one point LY, but gagged at the end, losing last two games to Raiders/Jaguars, missing the playoffs, which prompted the Carson Wentz-to-Washington deal.

Ryan went 124-108 as QB of the Falcons; he led a Super Bowl 28-3, but things went downhill after Atlanta lost that game in overtime. Now, at age 37, he starts the final chapter in his NFL career.

— Some numbers to consider:
Tom Brady was 249-75 as QB of the Patriots, 30-11 in playoff games.
Bill Belichick is 321-156 as a head coach, 31-13 in playoff games.

Do the math, subtracting the Brady games, and Belichick is 72-81 as a head coach, 1-2 in playoff games.

— Sean Payton was 161-97 coaching the Saints, 9-8 in playoff games; he won a Super Bowl, but he is working on TV for FOX this year. His presence will hover over the Dallas Cowboys this year; Dallas is 18-15 in two years under Mike McCarthy- they haven’t won a playoff game since 2018.

Dallas was 12-5 last year, but lost their first playoff game; they haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995. Jerry Jones ain’t getting any younger; there is pressure on McCarthy to produce this year.

If he doesn’t, Payton could very well be the Dallas coach next season.

— During a preseason game last week, Arizona QB Kyler Murray was calling plays in the fourth quarter; would Kliff Kingsbury ever let Murray call his own plays while he was playing?

Back in the day, quarterbacks called their own plays, but this off-season, Arizona questioned Murray’s willingness to study/prepare like NFL QB’s are supposed to do. They’re also paying him $46M a year, so they obviously think he is capable.

— Doug Pederson is Jacksonville’s third head coach in three years; he was 46-39-1 coaching the Eagles, winning a Super Bowl. Trevor Lawrence enters his second year as the QB; he should do a lot better with Pederson mentoring him.

— It has been 18 years since a team won consecutive Super Bowls; can the Rams repeat this season? They lost some veteran players from LY; Whitworth. Woods. Von Miller. Weddle. Hekker. Corbett.

They’re being dismissed in preseason predictions; they still have a great coach, a great QB and Aaron Donald, the best defensive player in the game. We’ll see what happens.

 

[Udog]

No games today.... playoffs resume tomorrow.

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Sunday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in runs scored:
101— Aaron Judge
98— Mookie Betts
92— Paul Goldschmidt
89— Freddie Freeman
83— Dansby Swanson
81— Tommy Edman, Trea Turner, Christian Yelich

Quote of the Day
“I think I care a lot about this game, and I sometimes get a little bit too passionate. After the interception and all that, I tried to just clean the plate and start fresh. Sometimes it’s getting the frustration out and moving on.”
New England QB Mac Jones

Sunday’s quiz
Who was the last pitcher to win 30 games in one season?

Saturday’s quiz
Jim Mora Jr has coached the Falcons/Seahawks.

Friday’s quiz
Other than the Jets (10 years), Denver Broncos have the longest playoff drought (6 years).

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

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

— Northwestern (+11) 31, Nebraska 28
Nebraska led 28-17 with 9:00 left in third quarter.
Total yardage: Northwestern 528-465. Teams put on a good show for the fans in Ireland.

When Nebraska scored to make it 28-17, they tried an onside kick, which failed, and the game swung from there.

Cornhuskers are 5-21 in their last 26 games that were decided by 8 or fewer points.

— When September 1 rolls around next week, major league rosters expand from 26 to 28 players, but only one of the two new players can be a pitcher. Teams will be limited to 14 pitchers for the last month of the season.

— When training camp started, Carolina Panthers had a crowded QB room, but they’ve already lost two guys; rookie Matt Corral hurt his foot, is thought to be done for the year. Sam Darnold messed up his ankle Friday night, is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, leaving Baker Mayfield as the Home QB, with PJ Walker backing him up.

— Utah State 31, UConn (+26) 20— Jim Mora Jr’s Huskies jumped out to a 14-0 lead on the road, easily covered the spread. UConn ran the ball for 245 yards, but completed only 13-33 passes.

— San Francisco Giants are in Minnesota this weekend for first time since 2005; they’re the last major league team to visit Target Field. Giants lost their last three games, outscored 18-3.

— Seattle Seahawks named Geno Smith their starting QB for the season opener against Denver and old friend Russell Wilson.

— Illinois 38, Wyoming 6:
Wyoming completed only 5 of 20 passes.

Wyoming converted 1-12 on third down.
Illinois outgained them, 477-212.

— Orioles 3, Astros 1— Road team has won the last eight Baltimore-Houston games.

— Why some teams lose more than others:
10 years ago, Jacksonville drafted a punter in the third round; the guy (Bryan Anger) is still in the NFL, but lasted only four years with the Jaguars.

Meanwhile, Seattle took a guy five picks after the Jaguars drafted a punter, a guy named Russell Wilson. Quarterback. Hall of Famer.

Thats why Seattle has won for the last decade, and Jacksonville has mostly lost.

— Nevada 23, New Mexico State 12:
New Mexico State put in freshman backup QB Gavin Frakes in the second half, and he was 9-13 for 143 yards in his college debut. TV analyst Andre Ware was raving about him.

The starting QB threw three INT’s; Aggies turned ball over five times. I’m guessing Frakes is their new starting QB.

Kid was supposed to go to Princeton, but his dad played ball at New Mexico State, so he wound up in Las Cruces instead.

Toa Tuau ran the ball for 109 yards for Nevada.

— Mike Ford has had an interesting baseball season; this is his 4th year in the major leagues, and he’s been a busy guy.
16 games (29 AB’s) with Seattle
1 game (4 AB’s) with San Francisco
5 games (8 AB’s) with Atlanta
Now, 3 games (11 AB’s) with the Angels.

He also hit .248 with a .380 on-base %age in AAA this year, in 118 AB’s.
He must be very good at packing.

— Ravens 17, Commanders 15— Baltimore has now won 23 consecutive pre-season games (20-3 ATS) but they didn’t cover this game.

— Florida State 47, Duquesne 7— Seminoles win their season opener for first time in six years; of course, they played better teams than I-AA Duquesne those other years.

— San Diego Padres recently signed P Joe Musgrove to a 5-year, $100M contract extension; the problem is, since late June, in 12 starts, he is 0-6, 4.86, not exactly what they had in mind when they gave him $20M a year.

— Titans 26, Cardinals 23— Rookie QB Malik Willis was 15-23/131 passing; he ran the ball four times for 79 yards. Ryan Tannehill is going to start the season as Tennessee’s QB, but you have to think Willis will get the starting nod at some point.

— Vanderbilt 63, Hawai’i 10— Game was only 21-10 at halftime, but Commodores dominated the second half- they ran the ball for 404 yards.

Rough day for the Mountain West, with Hawai’i getting smoked, Wyoming getting pounded- their teams went 1-3 ATS. At least UNLV looked good in their opener, whacking I-AA Idaho State 52-21. Lefty QB Brumfield was 21-25/356 passing, with four TD’s.

UNLV plays the Cal Bears next; that’ll be a much tougher game.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, August 28

WNBA

Sunday, August 28

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

Seattle @ Las Vegas
Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Seattle's last 7 games on the road
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Connecticut @ Chicago
Connecticut
Connecticut is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Connecticut is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Chicago
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Connecticut
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Connecticut


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

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Monday’s 6-pack
College football spreads for this weekend:
— West Virginia @ Pittsburgh (-7.5)
— Penn State (-3.5) @ Purdue
— Temple @ Duke (-7)
— Cincinnati @ Arkansas (-6)
— TCU (-10.5) @ Colorado
— Georgia (-17.5) vs Oregon

Quote of the Day
“I’ve been in the thick of things. I guess every chance I get, I’m trying to defend what I feel is the best place to play elite professional golf in the world. It’s in some ways fitting that I was able to get this done today to sort of round off a year that has been very, very challenging and different.”
Rory McIlroy, who banked $18M Sunday

Monday’s quiz
When was the last time an NFL team went winless for a whole season?

Sunday’s quiz
Denny McLain was the last pitcher to win 30 games in one season, in 1968.

Saturday’s quiz
Jim Mora Jr has coached the Falcons/Seahawks.

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

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend……..

— Jets 31, Giants 27:
— Giants’ backup QB Tyrod Taylor got hurt early; 3rd-stringer Davis Webb went 30-38/202. 38 passes in a preseason game is an awful lot of passes.
— 14 different Giants caught a pass in this game.
— 15 different Jets caught a pass; they scored winning TD with 0:22 left, on drive led by former Cardinal/CFL quarterback Chris Streveler.

— Steelers 19, Lions 9:
— Pittsburgh led 16-0 at halftime.
— Trubisky was 15-19/160 passing, is Steelers’ likely Week 1 starting QB.
— Detroit’s backup QB’s completed only 22 of 47 passes. No bueno.
— Penalties: Steelers 11-95, Lions 10-89.

— NFL preseason is over; the next 48-72 hours will be very, very busy for NFL front offices, teams cutting players, signing others, trying to fortify their rosters.

Rosters go from 80 to 53 players Tuesday; 864 players hit the streets, but then starting the next day, teams can sign 16 players to their practice squads, so 512 guys getting a different job.

— Buffalo Bills still need a punter, after rookie Matt Araiza was released for off-field issues.

— Michigan Wolverines haven’t decided on their starting QB yet; senior Cade McNamara will start at QB against Colorado State this week, sophomore J.J. McCarthy will start the next game, against Hawai’i September 10,

Harbaugh will then make a final decision on his starter/backup going into their third game, against UConn. The way college sports are these days, the backup will probably hit the transfer portal around September 20.

— Since 2005, Cleveland Browns are 0-16-1 SU in Week 1 games.

— It seems weird that the last 4+ seasons, Florida State is 20-27 SU; they haven’t played in a bowl game since 2019. Seminoles’ game with LSU Sunday night is a big one for FSU.

— In his last ten tournaments, golfer Tony Finau has averaged 66.8 in his final round, with all ten rounds under 70.

— Rory McIlroy won the TOUR Championship, raked in $18M, pretty good week. He may have shunned the LIV Golf thing, but the LIV is forcing purses up on the PGA Tour.

— C Christian Vazquez has played in only 14 of 26 games since the Astros acquired him from the Red Sox. There aren’t a lot of catchers who are quality hitters with fantasy baseball credentials; the people who have Vazquez on their teams can’t be very happy, though he is hitting .333 in those 14 games.

— I watch way too much baseball on TV; one thing I firmly believe but can’t prove, is that older umpires call more strikes on Getaway Days. Seems to me that lot of borderline pitches are called strikes on Sunday; Phil Cuzzi had Orioles/Astros batters mumbling to themselves in Sunday’s 3-1 game.

— Speaking of the Astros, Justin Verlander left Sunday’s game after three innings with a strained calf muscle.

— Seattle Mariners’ star Julio Rodriguez has 21 home runs, 23 stolen bases, he is Seattle’s first 20-20 guy since Mike Cameron back in 2002.

— Washington 3, Cincinnati 2— Patrick Corbin got the win here, ending a streak of 43 games where the Nationals didn’t get any wins from their starting pitchers. That, unfortunately for them, is a major league record.

— New York put reliever Aroldis Chapman on the injured list with “a pretty bad infection” on Chapman’s leg, arising from a new tattoo.

I know someone who works in the tattoo industry; she told me Sunday night that the injury could very well be an allergic reaction to the ink, as opposed to an actual infection.

— TJ Finley won Auburn’s QB job, beating out guys who transferred into Auburn from Oregon and Texas A&M. Finley started the final three games for Auburn last season; he transferred to Auburn from LSU after the 2020 season.

— 20 years ago this week, the Oakland A’s were on their 20-game winning streak that we saw chronicled in the movie Moneyball; that team won honored in Oakland Sunday, including the manager Art Howe, which was great to see.

As an A’s fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but the worst part of the film was how Howe was portrayed; they made him out to be kind of a hack, when in reality he went 296-189 in his last three years with the A’s. He is a good baseball man, was a good manager. He deserved better.

 

[Udog]

No games today.... playoffs resume Wednesday.