Sunday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the Pac-12 in football this fall:
5-2— Oregon
3-1— USC
9-2— Arizona State, Washington
6-1— Utah
12-1— UCLA
18-1— Stanford
20-1— California
40-1— Colorado, Washington State
50-1— Oregon State
200-1— Arizona
Quote of the Day
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Ferris Bueller
Sunday’s quiz
Where did NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner play his college football?
Saturday’s quiz
Trevor Bauer broke into the majors with the Diamondbacks, in 2012.
Friday’s quiz
Bobby Bonilla hit 287 major league homers, playing for 8 teams; he hit the most home runs (114) playing for Pittsburgh.
****************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
13) Last night in Atlanta, Milwaukee beat the Hawks, advancing to the NBA Finals for first time since 1974, when they lost to the Celtics in 7 games. Bucks had a pretty good center back then, guy named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Last night was also Marv Albert’s last TV broadcast, ending a tremendous 55-year career that saw him do NBA, NHL, NFL, college basketball. One of the greatest announcers ever.
I’m from upstate New York, so I heard Marv Albert a lot as a kid; his calls of Knick games in the 70’s still resonate in my memory. He created a great word picture.
12) Friday night in Atlanta, Marlins’ pitcher Pablo Lopez hit Ronald Acuna with the first pitch of the game; the umpires ruled it was intentional, and ejected Lopez. After one pitch.
This enraged Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly and set up what has to be a unique game in MLB history. Acuna scored later that inning and it was the only run of the game, charged against the record of a pitcher who threw only one pitch, the first pitch for his team.
11) I’ve been trying to find ways to get smarter, gain knowledge; listening to podcasts seems to be popular these days, so I’ve been looking for podcasts associated with things I like.
Have to be careful which ones you choose; podcasts are kind of like reading, except you can do something else while you listen. Not all podcasts are great, you can waste time listening to some imbecile rattle on, but I’ve found a couple that I try to listen to every week, and that is good.
One podcast I listen to deals with fantasy baseball; all the guys on it are half my age, and they talk a lot about stuff like pitchers’ spin rates, which doesn’t interest me, but they do give out interesting opinions on various players, which gives me stuff to think about.
10) Mets have drawn 12 walks with the bases loaded this year; 11 different players have drawn them, with Francisco Lindor the only guy to draw two.
9) Cincinnati Reds’ TV guys were saying the other night that stars should get preferential treatment from umpires on marginal calls. I don’t think anyone should get preferential treatment from umpires, though I’m not naive enough to think that stars don’t get some calls.
8) Tampa Bay Rays’ radio crew started traveling with the ballclub this week, another good sign that things are slowly getting back to normal.
7) Dodgers’ pitcher Trevor Bauer is on “administrative leave” for 7 days; he has some off-field issues with a female accuser, which may/may not be serious.
6) Dallas Cowboys will be on Hard Knocks this summer, third time they’ve been on. Things are always interesting with the Cowboys, from Dak Prescott to Jerry Jones to the coaches.
5) Washington Nationals’ OF Kyle Schwarber has been hotter than hell, but he strained his hamstring this week, and will be out for a while, longer than just ten days.
4) Was listening to the Cubs the other night; one of their TV guys is ex-big leaguer Jim Deshaies, who is from Massena, NY, up by the Canadian border.
Apparently, an actor named Hal Smith was also from Massena; he played Otis the Drunk on the old Andy Griffith Show that was pretty famous back in the 60’s. Mr Smith also did a lot of voice over work on animated TV shows.
3) A’s 7, Red Sox 6 (12):
— Oakland has been struggling; they’re 4-8 in their last dozen games.
— A’s were 5-21 in this game, with runners in scoring position; when you’re 3-8 in your last 11 games, then go 5-21 with RISP in the 12th game, the frustration level raises quickly. They were all very happy when Tony Kemp knocked in the winning run.
2) 80-year old Larry Brown has signed on as an assistant coach to Penny Hardaway at Memphis; Brown has had a storied coaching career, but he’s also moved around a lot. Will be interesting to see any features they’ll run on TV about coach Brown’s role in Memphis.
1) One of the cool things about the old TV show Law and Order is that it was a springboard for a lot of acting careers. Law and Order went off the air in 2010, but there are 32 actors who have appeared in 12+ episodes of the Showtime series Billions. 14 of those 32 actors also appeared in at least one episode of Law and Order. Billions didn’t come on the air until 2016, six years after Law and Order went off the air (its re-runs never will).
Odds to win the Pac-12 in football this fall:
5-2— Oregon
3-1— USC
9-2— Arizona State, Washington
6-1— Utah
12-1— UCLA
18-1— Stanford
20-1— California
40-1— Colorado, Washington State
50-1— Oregon State
200-1— Arizona
Quote of the Day
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Ferris Bueller
Sunday’s quiz
Where did NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner play his college football?
Saturday’s quiz
Trevor Bauer broke into the majors with the Diamondbacks, in 2012.
Friday’s quiz
Bobby Bonilla hit 287 major league homers, playing for 8 teams; he hit the most home runs (114) playing for Pittsburgh.
****************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
13) Last night in Atlanta, Milwaukee beat the Hawks, advancing to the NBA Finals for first time since 1974, when they lost to the Celtics in 7 games. Bucks had a pretty good center back then, guy named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Last night was also Marv Albert’s last TV broadcast, ending a tremendous 55-year career that saw him do NBA, NHL, NFL, college basketball. One of the greatest announcers ever.
I’m from upstate New York, so I heard Marv Albert a lot as a kid; his calls of Knick games in the 70’s still resonate in my memory. He created a great word picture.
12) Friday night in Atlanta, Marlins’ pitcher Pablo Lopez hit Ronald Acuna with the first pitch of the game; the umpires ruled it was intentional, and ejected Lopez. After one pitch.
This enraged Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly and set up what has to be a unique game in MLB history. Acuna scored later that inning and it was the only run of the game, charged against the record of a pitcher who threw only one pitch, the first pitch for his team.
11) I’ve been trying to find ways to get smarter, gain knowledge; listening to podcasts seems to be popular these days, so I’ve been looking for podcasts associated with things I like.
Have to be careful which ones you choose; podcasts are kind of like reading, except you can do something else while you listen. Not all podcasts are great, you can waste time listening to some imbecile rattle on, but I’ve found a couple that I try to listen to every week, and that is good.
One podcast I listen to deals with fantasy baseball; all the guys on it are half my age, and they talk a lot about stuff like pitchers’ spin rates, which doesn’t interest me, but they do give out interesting opinions on various players, which gives me stuff to think about.
10) Mets have drawn 12 walks with the bases loaded this year; 11 different players have drawn them, with Francisco Lindor the only guy to draw two.
9) Cincinnati Reds’ TV guys were saying the other night that stars should get preferential treatment from umpires on marginal calls. I don’t think anyone should get preferential treatment from umpires, though I’m not naive enough to think that stars don’t get some calls.
8) Tampa Bay Rays’ radio crew started traveling with the ballclub this week, another good sign that things are slowly getting back to normal.
7) Dodgers’ pitcher Trevor Bauer is on “administrative leave” for 7 days; he has some off-field issues with a female accuser, which may/may not be serious.
6) Dallas Cowboys will be on Hard Knocks this summer, third time they’ve been on. Things are always interesting with the Cowboys, from Dak Prescott to Jerry Jones to the coaches.
5) Washington Nationals’ OF Kyle Schwarber has been hotter than hell, but he strained his hamstring this week, and will be out for a while, longer than just ten days.
4) Was listening to the Cubs the other night; one of their TV guys is ex-big leaguer Jim Deshaies, who is from Massena, NY, up by the Canadian border.
Apparently, an actor named Hal Smith was also from Massena; he played Otis the Drunk on the old Andy Griffith Show that was pretty famous back in the 60’s. Mr Smith also did a lot of voice over work on animated TV shows.
3) A’s 7, Red Sox 6 (12):
— Oakland has been struggling; they’re 4-8 in their last dozen games.
— A’s were 5-21 in this game, with runners in scoring position; when you’re 3-8 in your last 11 games, then go 5-21 with RISP in the 12th game, the frustration level raises quickly. They were all very happy when Tony Kemp knocked in the winning run.
2) 80-year old Larry Brown has signed on as an assistant coach to Penny Hardaway at Memphis; Brown has had a storied coaching career, but he’s also moved around a lot. Will be interesting to see any features they’ll run on TV about coach Brown’s role in Memphis.
1) One of the cool things about the old TV show Law and Order is that it was a springboard for a lot of acting careers. Law and Order went off the air in 2010, but there are 32 actors who have appeared in 12+ episodes of the Showtime series Billions. 14 of those 32 actors also appeared in at least one episode of Law and Order. Billions didn’t come on the air until 2016, six years after Law and Order went off the air (its re-runs never will).
WNBA
Sunday, July 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atlanta @ Las Vegas
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Las Vegas is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
Seattle @ Los Angeles
Seattle
Seattle is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 6 games on the road
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing Seattle
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, July 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atlanta @ Las Vegas
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Las Vegas is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
Seattle @ Los Angeles
Seattle
Seattle is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 6 games on the road
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing Seattle
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the MAC in football this fall:
5-2— Toledo
7-2— Ball State, Buffalo
5-1— Western Michigan
6-1— Ohio U
10-1— Central Michigan
12-1— Kent State, Miami
25-1— Eastern Michigan
75-1— Northern Illinois
200-1— Akron, Bowling Green
Quote of the Day
“I’m supposed to throw Sunday. For me, I don’t think it’s smart to go pitch in the All-Star Game. I’ve been a little beat up this first half and obviously missed a few starts that I wish I wouldn’t have missed, so I don’t think it makes sense for me to throw in it.”
Jacob deGrom
Monday’s quiz
Who was the manager of the Bronx Bombers before Aaron Boone?
Sunday’s quiz
NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner played his college football at Northern Iowa.
Saturday’s quiz
Trevor Bauer broke into the majors with the Diamondbacks, in 2012.
******************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend
13) What are the best/worst days to have birthdays?
I’m thinking July 5th is on the worst list, along with December 24 and 26, maybe January 2.
July 4th would be on the good list, along with December 31st.
What do you think? Let me know………ffib13@gmail.com
12) These are facts; do with them what you will:
— Madison Bumgarner threw a no-hitter April 25; Arizona then lost its next 24 road games.
— John Means threw a no-hitter May 5; Orioles lost their next 20 road games.
— Cubs threw a combined no-hitter June 24; Cubs are 0-9 since that game.
Bumgarner/Means are both hurt now, by the way.
11) Cubs had 11 hits in their 3-2 loss to Cincinnati Sunday, ending a streak of 20 games in a row with 8 or fewer hits. Cubs are just third team in last 100 years to go 20 consecutive games with 8 or fewer hits (’72 Mets, ’68 Bronx).
10) Nevada sportsbooks banked a profit of $27.1M in May, their all-time record for May.
9) I cannot imagine eating 76 hot dogs (and buns) in 10:00, but Joey Chestnut did that Sunday and won the Nathan’s contest for the 14th time. I can’t watch those guys eat anymore; it makes me want to puke, seriously. No way is it healthy.
I do remember the movie Meatballs, when Larry Fink beats “The Stomach” in a hot dog eating contest, or as Bill Murray put it, “weenie war.” The actor who played “The Stomach” wound up being a high school football coach about 30 miles from here.
8) Has to be a little awkward when umpires are constantly checking pitchers’ hats for foreign substances right after an inning.
Miami’s Sandy Alcantara was getting squeezed by the home plate ump Saturday, then after the inning the guy was checking his hat/belt. Alcantara had to be biting his tongue.
7) Sunday night was 22nd time this season the Diamondbacks had 2 or fewer hits thru six innings; they’re 1-21 in those games. Arizona has lost 45 games in a row when they score 4 or fewer runs, an ignominious record.
6) Braves 8, Marlins 7 (10):
— Atlanta tied game with four runs in 9th inning.
— Pitcher Max Fried got the walk-off hit as a pinch-hitter in 10th inning.
5) Colorado Rockies have nine walk-off hits, most in the majors this season.
4) NFL Network had the 1999 Rams’ highlight film on Sunday night; damn right I watched it. Was pretty cool that Martin Sheen narrates it; I watch a lot of West Wing re-runs on my laptop as I write this space (am listening to one right now) so it is excellent that President Bartlet narrated the Greatest Show on Turf’s highlight film.
3) Speaking of my Rams’ fandom, 40 years ago this week, Vince Ferragamo made his debut playing QB for Montreal in the CFL. It didn’t go well in Canada for Ferragamo, who had led the Rams to the Super Bowl in 1979- he was 15-5 as QB of the Rams before going to Canada, 11-13 when he came back. He later played for Buffalo and the Packers.
Ferragamo got a raw deal from the Rams, who were very dysfunctional back then; they should’ve made sure he never freakin’ went to Canada, but that’s water under the bridge now.
2) If you care about such things, over is 606-597-42 in baseball totals this season. Under was 11-5 Sunday; teams play more of their bench players on Sunday. May have to check that angle out as we go along.
1) RIP to football coach Terry Donahue, who passed away this weekend at age 77. Coach Donahue coached UCLA from 1976-95, going 151-74-8, 98-51-5 in Pac-12 games, 8-4-1 in bowl games. Coach Donahue replaced the great Dick Vermeil at UCLA; he later worked as an analyst for CBS, then worked in the 49ers’ front office.
Coach Donahue was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. RIP, sir.
Odds to win the MAC in football this fall:
5-2— Toledo
7-2— Ball State, Buffalo
5-1— Western Michigan
6-1— Ohio U
10-1— Central Michigan
12-1— Kent State, Miami
25-1— Eastern Michigan
75-1— Northern Illinois
200-1— Akron, Bowling Green
Quote of the Day
“I’m supposed to throw Sunday. For me, I don’t think it’s smart to go pitch in the All-Star Game. I’ve been a little beat up this first half and obviously missed a few starts that I wish I wouldn’t have missed, so I don’t think it makes sense for me to throw in it.”
Jacob deGrom
Monday’s quiz
Who was the manager of the Bronx Bombers before Aaron Boone?
Sunday’s quiz
NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner played his college football at Northern Iowa.
Saturday’s quiz
Trevor Bauer broke into the majors with the Diamondbacks, in 2012.
******************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend
13) What are the best/worst days to have birthdays?
I’m thinking July 5th is on the worst list, along with December 24 and 26, maybe January 2.
July 4th would be on the good list, along with December 31st.
What do you think? Let me know………ffib13@gmail.com
12) These are facts; do with them what you will:
— Madison Bumgarner threw a no-hitter April 25; Arizona then lost its next 24 road games.
— John Means threw a no-hitter May 5; Orioles lost their next 20 road games.
— Cubs threw a combined no-hitter June 24; Cubs are 0-9 since that game.
Bumgarner/Means are both hurt now, by the way.
11) Cubs had 11 hits in their 3-2 loss to Cincinnati Sunday, ending a streak of 20 games in a row with 8 or fewer hits. Cubs are just third team in last 100 years to go 20 consecutive games with 8 or fewer hits (’72 Mets, ’68 Bronx).
10) Nevada sportsbooks banked a profit of $27.1M in May, their all-time record for May.
9) I cannot imagine eating 76 hot dogs (and buns) in 10:00, but Joey Chestnut did that Sunday and won the Nathan’s contest for the 14th time. I can’t watch those guys eat anymore; it makes me want to puke, seriously. No way is it healthy.
I do remember the movie Meatballs, when Larry Fink beats “The Stomach” in a hot dog eating contest, or as Bill Murray put it, “weenie war.” The actor who played “The Stomach” wound up being a high school football coach about 30 miles from here.
8) Has to be a little awkward when umpires are constantly checking pitchers’ hats for foreign substances right after an inning.
Miami’s Sandy Alcantara was getting squeezed by the home plate ump Saturday, then after the inning the guy was checking his hat/belt. Alcantara had to be biting his tongue.
7) Sunday night was 22nd time this season the Diamondbacks had 2 or fewer hits thru six innings; they’re 1-21 in those games. Arizona has lost 45 games in a row when they score 4 or fewer runs, an ignominious record.
6) Braves 8, Marlins 7 (10):
— Atlanta tied game with four runs in 9th inning.
— Pitcher Max Fried got the walk-off hit as a pinch-hitter in 10th inning.
5) Colorado Rockies have nine walk-off hits, most in the majors this season.
4) NFL Network had the 1999 Rams’ highlight film on Sunday night; damn right I watched it. Was pretty cool that Martin Sheen narrates it; I watch a lot of West Wing re-runs on my laptop as I write this space (am listening to one right now) so it is excellent that President Bartlet narrated the Greatest Show on Turf’s highlight film.
3) Speaking of my Rams’ fandom, 40 years ago this week, Vince Ferragamo made his debut playing QB for Montreal in the CFL. It didn’t go well in Canada for Ferragamo, who had led the Rams to the Super Bowl in 1979- he was 15-5 as QB of the Rams before going to Canada, 11-13 when he came back. He later played for Buffalo and the Packers.
Ferragamo got a raw deal from the Rams, who were very dysfunctional back then; they should’ve made sure he never freakin’ went to Canada, but that’s water under the bridge now.
2) If you care about such things, over is 606-597-42 in baseball totals this season. Under was 11-5 Sunday; teams play more of their bench players on Sunday. May have to check that angle out as we go along.
1) RIP to football coach Terry Donahue, who passed away this weekend at age 77. Coach Donahue coached UCLA from 1976-95, going 151-74-8, 98-51-5 in Pac-12 games, 8-4-1 in bowl games. Coach Donahue replaced the great Dick Vermeil at UCLA; he later worked as an analyst for CBS, then worked in the 49ers’ front office.
Coach Donahue was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. RIP, sir.
WNBA
Monday, July 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dallas @ New York
Dallas
Dallas is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games on the road
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games
New York is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Dallas
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, July 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dallas @ New York
Dallas
Dallas is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games on the road
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games
New York is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Dallas
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the Quad Cities Open golf tourney this week:
9-1— Daniel Berger
14-1— Brian Harman
16-1— Russell Henley, Sungjae Im
18-1— Kevin Streelman
27-1— Cameron Davis, Si Woo Kim
29-1— Alex Noren
Quote of the Day
“Hey, the other team gives scholarships too!!!”
Football coach Lou Holtz, asked by a reporter at halftime why his heavily favored team was only ahead by a couple points.
Wednesday’s quiz
Who was manager of the Seattle Mariners, last time they made the playoffs?
(Hint: He won a World Series managing a different team)
Tuesday’s quiz
Matthew Stonie (62 hot dogs) was the last male other than Joey Chestnut to win the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, in 2015.
Monday’s quiz
Joe Girardi was the manager of the Bronx Bombers before Aaron Boone.
*************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
13) Suns 118, Bucks 105:
— Chris Paul scored 32 points for Phoenix.
— He has 73 points the last two games, most points he’s ever scored in consecutive games.
— Giannis Antetokounmpo played 35:00, scoring 20 points, with 17 rebounds.
Before the 1969 NBA Draft, a coin was flipped in New York City to determine who got the first pick in the draft. Milwaukee won the coin flip, got Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then won 332 games over the next six years, winning the 1971 NBA title, losing the Finals in ‘74.
Phoenix lost that coin flip in ‘69; they drafted Neal Walk, a center from Florida. Not ideal.
Later that summer, the Suns had a coin flip with Seattle for rights to ABA star Connie Hawkins. The second flip was more better for Phoenix; the won that coin flip and the rights to Hawkins, who became one of the greatest players in Suns’ history.
Suns went 136-110 the next three years, with Hawkins lasting 4.5 years in the desert.
12) With all the talk about Shohei Ohtani, I decided to look into Babe Ruth’s career, since he also was a great hitter who did some pitching. Here is what I found:
Babe Ruth played five years for Boston, but played in 100+ games only in the last two seasons. He went 89-46 as a pitcher for Boston, winning 47 games in 1916-17. He threw 35 complete games in 1917. His last year in Boston was the only time he batted 400+ times for them.
When he was traded to New York, he became a full-time hitter, and pitched only five games. Ruth hit 659 home runs for New York, and had a candy bar named after him.
(A person who is smarter than me informed me that the candy bar was probably named after President Grover Cleveland’s daughter Ruth)
Obviously there was no DH back then, or he probably would’ve hit more for Boston.
11) In 1975, there was a TV show called When Things Were Rotten, a comedy set in Sherwood Forest, where Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and Robin’s band of Merry Men. Pretty good cast: Dick Van Patten, Bernie Kopell, Dick Gautier, Ron Rifkin.
I was reminded of that this week, thinking about the catchers on my fantasy baseball team; over the last 23 days, the catchers on my fantasy team have been a combined 2 for 44.
2 hits. 44 at-bats. 2 more hits than a dead person.
In the big picture of life, this isn’t important, but it is driving me nuts; there are very few big league catchers who can hit. I’ve had six different catchers on my team in only 14 weeks. Next step is to leave the spot blank, then at least they won’t kill me in on-base %age.
As I was typing all this, one of my team’s pitchers, Luis Castillo, left a game in Kansas City with a 6-1 lead after 7 innings; of course the Cincinnati bullpen blew the lead for him.
Thats what happens when things are rotten.
10) Braves, Marlins, Rangers are only three major league teams who haven’t been over .500 at any time this season.
9) Angels’ 3B David Fletcher has a 20-game hitting streak, longest in the AL this season.
8) Top under teams in the majors:
— Washington under 52-29-1
— Cubs 50-33-2
— Marlins 45-31-6
— Bronx 46-36
Top over teams in the majors:
— Twins 53-28-2
— Angels 51-33
— Astros 48-35-3
— Rays 46-36-3
7) Jacob deGrom was supposed to pitch for the Mets on Tuesday, then again on Sunday, the last day before the All-Star break, but the weather didn’t cooperate and last night’s game got rained out, so deGrom won’t pitch on Sunday.
The Mets really, really wanted him to pitch last night night, then on Sunday; last night’s game wasn’t postponed until 9:40 or so. It was a scheduled 7:10 start.
6) Baseball players signed by big league clubs at age 18 or younger have to be added to the team’s 40-man roster within five years, or that player becomes subject to the Rule 5 Draft, where other teams can draft them away from the original team.
Players signed by big league clubs at age 19 or older have to be put on the 40-man roster within four seasons, or else they risk losing that player for nothing.
5) Cities where the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest got the best TV ratings:
Cincinnati, New York, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Columbus.
4) In 440 games played in empty arenas during the NBA regular season, the home team won by an average of 0.39 points.
In 507 games played with fans, the home team won by an average of 2.13 points.
3) Jaguars’ rookie QB Trevor Lawrence signed his first pro contract, for $36.8M, with $24.1M of that guaranteed. By way of contrast, when Sam Bradford signed his rookie contract in 2010, it was worth $78M. NFL has done a good job of toning down the rookie deals since then.
2) Phillies 15, Cubs 10
— Cubs lose their 11th straight game
— Chicago’s last 67 home runs have all come with either the bases empty or only one man on base, the longest stretch in franchise history.
1) When umpire Joe West first umped in the major leagues in the mid-70’s, there were five current major league managers who weren’t even born yet.
Odds to win the Quad Cities Open golf tourney this week:
9-1— Daniel Berger
14-1— Brian Harman
16-1— Russell Henley, Sungjae Im
18-1— Kevin Streelman
27-1— Cameron Davis, Si Woo Kim
29-1— Alex Noren
Quote of the Day
“Hey, the other team gives scholarships too!!!”
Football coach Lou Holtz, asked by a reporter at halftime why his heavily favored team was only ahead by a couple points.
Wednesday’s quiz
Who was manager of the Seattle Mariners, last time they made the playoffs?
(Hint: He won a World Series managing a different team)
Tuesday’s quiz
Matthew Stonie (62 hot dogs) was the last male other than Joey Chestnut to win the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, in 2015.
Monday’s quiz
Joe Girardi was the manager of the Bronx Bombers before Aaron Boone.
*************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
13) Suns 118, Bucks 105:
— Chris Paul scored 32 points for Phoenix.
— He has 73 points the last two games, most points he’s ever scored in consecutive games.
— Giannis Antetokounmpo played 35:00, scoring 20 points, with 17 rebounds.
Before the 1969 NBA Draft, a coin was flipped in New York City to determine who got the first pick in the draft. Milwaukee won the coin flip, got Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then won 332 games over the next six years, winning the 1971 NBA title, losing the Finals in ‘74.
Phoenix lost that coin flip in ‘69; they drafted Neal Walk, a center from Florida. Not ideal.
Later that summer, the Suns had a coin flip with Seattle for rights to ABA star Connie Hawkins. The second flip was more better for Phoenix; the won that coin flip and the rights to Hawkins, who became one of the greatest players in Suns’ history.
Suns went 136-110 the next three years, with Hawkins lasting 4.5 years in the desert.
12) With all the talk about Shohei Ohtani, I decided to look into Babe Ruth’s career, since he also was a great hitter who did some pitching. Here is what I found:
Babe Ruth played five years for Boston, but played in 100+ games only in the last two seasons. He went 89-46 as a pitcher for Boston, winning 47 games in 1916-17. He threw 35 complete games in 1917. His last year in Boston was the only time he batted 400+ times for them.
When he was traded to New York, he became a full-time hitter, and pitched only five games. Ruth hit 659 home runs for New York, and had a candy bar named after him.
(A person who is smarter than me informed me that the candy bar was probably named after President Grover Cleveland’s daughter Ruth)
Obviously there was no DH back then, or he probably would’ve hit more for Boston.
11) In 1975, there was a TV show called When Things Were Rotten, a comedy set in Sherwood Forest, where Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and Robin’s band of Merry Men. Pretty good cast: Dick Van Patten, Bernie Kopell, Dick Gautier, Ron Rifkin.
I was reminded of that this week, thinking about the catchers on my fantasy baseball team; over the last 23 days, the catchers on my fantasy team have been a combined 2 for 44.
2 hits. 44 at-bats. 2 more hits than a dead person.
In the big picture of life, this isn’t important, but it is driving me nuts; there are very few big league catchers who can hit. I’ve had six different catchers on my team in only 14 weeks. Next step is to leave the spot blank, then at least they won’t kill me in on-base %age.
As I was typing all this, one of my team’s pitchers, Luis Castillo, left a game in Kansas City with a 6-1 lead after 7 innings; of course the Cincinnati bullpen blew the lead for him.
Thats what happens when things are rotten.
10) Braves, Marlins, Rangers are only three major league teams who haven’t been over .500 at any time this season.
9) Angels’ 3B David Fletcher has a 20-game hitting streak, longest in the AL this season.
8) Top under teams in the majors:
— Washington under 52-29-1
— Cubs 50-33-2
— Marlins 45-31-6
— Bronx 46-36
Top over teams in the majors:
— Twins 53-28-2
— Angels 51-33
— Astros 48-35-3
— Rays 46-36-3
7) Jacob deGrom was supposed to pitch for the Mets on Tuesday, then again on Sunday, the last day before the All-Star break, but the weather didn’t cooperate and last night’s game got rained out, so deGrom won’t pitch on Sunday.
The Mets really, really wanted him to pitch last night night, then on Sunday; last night’s game wasn’t postponed until 9:40 or so. It was a scheduled 7:10 start.
6) Baseball players signed by big league clubs at age 18 or younger have to be added to the team’s 40-man roster within five years, or that player becomes subject to the Rule 5 Draft, where other teams can draft them away from the original team.
Players signed by big league clubs at age 19 or older have to be put on the 40-man roster within four seasons, or else they risk losing that player for nothing.
5) Cities where the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest got the best TV ratings:
Cincinnati, New York, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Columbus.
4) In 440 games played in empty arenas during the NBA regular season, the home team won by an average of 0.39 points.
In 507 games played with fans, the home team won by an average of 2.13 points.
3) Jaguars’ rookie QB Trevor Lawrence signed his first pro contract, for $36.8M, with $24.1M of that guaranteed. By way of contrast, when Sam Bradford signed his rookie contract in 2010, it was worth $78M. NFL has done a good job of toning down the rookie deals since then.
2) Phillies 15, Cubs 10
— Cubs lose their 11th straight game
— Chicago’s last 67 home runs have all come with either the bases empty or only one man on base, the longest stretch in franchise history.
1) When umpire Joe West first umped in the major leagues in the mid-70’s, there were five current major league managers who weren’t even born yet.
WNBA
Wednesday, July 7
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Trend Report
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Dallas @ Minnesota
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas
Minnesota is 16-2 SU in its last 18 games when playing Dallas
Phoenix @ Las Vegas
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Los Angeles @ Seattle
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Seattle
Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Seattle is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
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Wednesday, July 7
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Trend Report
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Dallas @ Minnesota
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas
Minnesota is 16-2 SU in its last 18 games when playing Dallas
Phoenix @ Las Vegas
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Los Angeles @ Seattle
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Seattle
Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Seattle is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
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Friday’s 6-pack
Some Week 2 NFL lines:
— Giants @ Washington (-3, 43)
— New England (-3, 42.5) @ Jets
— Broncos (-1.5, 43.5) @ Jacksonville
— Bills (-3.5, 48.5) @ Miami
— 49ers (-4, 46) @ Philadelphia
— Raiders @ Pittsburgh (-5.5, 49)
Quote of the Day
“Real people are working their tail off and we gotta do is train two hours a day, play a game for two more hours at night and make a lot of money. 40 million people have been laid off and I’m making $200M. I’d play back-to-back-to-back-to-back (games)”
Shaquille O’Neal
Friday’s quiz
Who was coach of the Phoenix Suns, last time they played in NBA Finals?
Thursday’s quiz
Before this year, Pittsburgh Penguins were NHL team was last to repeat as Stanley Cup champs.
Wednesday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was manager of the Seattle Mariners, last time they made the playoffs.
***************************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here……..
13) Suns 118, Bucks 108:
— Phoenix made 20 of 40 three-point shots.
— Suns grab 2-0 series lead.
— Antetokounmpo scored 42 points; Bucks were minus-11 in 8:00 he sat out.
12) I’m guessing that lot of people will jump on the bandwagon for betting over the total at the All-Star Game next week, but keep in mind that first pitch will be roughly 6:00 in Denver, so there will be shadows on the field for the first 60-90 minutes of the game, which could make hitting/scoring more difficult. Assuming it is sunny in Denver Tuesday.
11) 9th no-hitter of the season happened the other night, but it was a double asterisk; 7-inning game, with five Tampa Bay pitchers combining to get the 21 Cleveland outs.
There have been seven 9-inning no-hitters this year, one of them combined, plus Madison Bumgarner’s 7-inning no-hitter and now this one by Tampa Bay.
10) Detroit Tigers started the season 9-24, but they’re 31-24 since, which is 55 games, 1/3 of a season. AJ Hinch is a very good manager.
9) Arizona 4, Colorado 3— This win Tuesday ended Arizona’s 45-game losing streak in games where they scored 4 or fewer runs.
Rockies won 9-3 in Arizona Thursday; they’re 31-17 at home, 7-33 on the road.
8) Kid worked out for the Indiana Pacers this week, in advance of the NBA Draft; he didn’t get a D-I scholarship, didn’t even get a D-II scholarship, but he went to an NAIA school and scored 3,453 points. Lot of points, even if you’re playing in the California Penal League.
In 137 games at NAIA Indiana Wesleyan, Mangas shot 39.3% on the arc, scoring 25.2 ppg. His team went 30-3 last year; will be interesting to see if he gets an invite to training camp.
7) Wednesday was Brett Anderson’s 211th major league game over 13 years, but it was the first time he pitched against the Mets. He’s pitched for four different National League teams, too.
6) Domino’s pizza place closest to my house now has a $6 delivery fee tacked onto the bill. Ummmm, no thanks on that.
5) Had the Angels’ game on TV the other night; left the room for a minute and when I came back, play-by-play guy Matt Vasgersian was talking about Yakov Smirnoff, the old Russian comedian. No idea why his name would come up during a baseball game, but for a couple of minutes, it did. What a country!!
4) December 11th in Atlanta, pretty good 4-game card of college basketball:
— Auburn-Nebraska
— LSU-Georgia Tech
— Ole Miss-Western Kentucky
— Clemson-Drake
3) Bruce Springsteen’s daughter Jessica made the American equestrian jumping team for the Olympics in Tokyo later this month.
2) Miami Marlins picked up manager Don Mattingly’s option for 2022; Marlins are 38-48 this year, 345-447 in six years under Mattingly, but the team is no good because they’ve got owners who are cheapskates. Mattingly seems like a pretty good manager.
Few years ago, Marlins had Stanton-Ozuna-Yelich-Realmuto as a nucleus, but traded them all away. Players they got in return haven’t done much, except for Sandy Alcantara.
1) Bryce Harper’s first 14 home runs this season came with the bases empty; his first homer with someone on base came on July 6th.
Some Week 2 NFL lines:
— Giants @ Washington (-3, 43)
— New England (-3, 42.5) @ Jets
— Broncos (-1.5, 43.5) @ Jacksonville
— Bills (-3.5, 48.5) @ Miami
— 49ers (-4, 46) @ Philadelphia
— Raiders @ Pittsburgh (-5.5, 49)
Quote of the Day
“Real people are working their tail off and we gotta do is train two hours a day, play a game for two more hours at night and make a lot of money. 40 million people have been laid off and I’m making $200M. I’d play back-to-back-to-back-to-back (games)”
Shaquille O’Neal
Friday’s quiz
Who was coach of the Phoenix Suns, last time they played in NBA Finals?
Thursday’s quiz
Before this year, Pittsburgh Penguins were NHL team was last to repeat as Stanley Cup champs.
Wednesday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was manager of the Seattle Mariners, last time they made the playoffs.
***************************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here……..
13) Suns 118, Bucks 108:
— Phoenix made 20 of 40 three-point shots.
— Suns grab 2-0 series lead.
— Antetokounmpo scored 42 points; Bucks were minus-11 in 8:00 he sat out.
12) I’m guessing that lot of people will jump on the bandwagon for betting over the total at the All-Star Game next week, but keep in mind that first pitch will be roughly 6:00 in Denver, so there will be shadows on the field for the first 60-90 minutes of the game, which could make hitting/scoring more difficult. Assuming it is sunny in Denver Tuesday.
11) 9th no-hitter of the season happened the other night, but it was a double asterisk; 7-inning game, with five Tampa Bay pitchers combining to get the 21 Cleveland outs.
There have been seven 9-inning no-hitters this year, one of them combined, plus Madison Bumgarner’s 7-inning no-hitter and now this one by Tampa Bay.
10) Detroit Tigers started the season 9-24, but they’re 31-24 since, which is 55 games, 1/3 of a season. AJ Hinch is a very good manager.
9) Arizona 4, Colorado 3— This win Tuesday ended Arizona’s 45-game losing streak in games where they scored 4 or fewer runs.
Rockies won 9-3 in Arizona Thursday; they’re 31-17 at home, 7-33 on the road.
8) Kid worked out for the Indiana Pacers this week, in advance of the NBA Draft; he didn’t get a D-I scholarship, didn’t even get a D-II scholarship, but he went to an NAIA school and scored 3,453 points. Lot of points, even if you’re playing in the California Penal League.
In 137 games at NAIA Indiana Wesleyan, Mangas shot 39.3% on the arc, scoring 25.2 ppg. His team went 30-3 last year; will be interesting to see if he gets an invite to training camp.
7) Wednesday was Brett Anderson’s 211th major league game over 13 years, but it was the first time he pitched against the Mets. He’s pitched for four different National League teams, too.
6) Domino’s pizza place closest to my house now has a $6 delivery fee tacked onto the bill. Ummmm, no thanks on that.
5) Had the Angels’ game on TV the other night; left the room for a minute and when I came back, play-by-play guy Matt Vasgersian was talking about Yakov Smirnoff, the old Russian comedian. No idea why his name would come up during a baseball game, but for a couple of minutes, it did. What a country!!
4) December 11th in Atlanta, pretty good 4-game card of college basketball:
— Auburn-Nebraska
— LSU-Georgia Tech
— Ole Miss-Western Kentucky
— Clemson-Drake
3) Bruce Springsteen’s daughter Jessica made the American equestrian jumping team for the Olympics in Tokyo later this month.
2) Miami Marlins picked up manager Don Mattingly’s option for 2022; Marlins are 38-48 this year, 345-447 in six years under Mattingly, but the team is no good because they’ve got owners who are cheapskates. Mattingly seems like a pretty good manager.
Few years ago, Marlins had Stanton-Ozuna-Yelich-Realmuto as a nucleus, but traded them all away. Players they got in return haven’t done much, except for Sandy Alcantara.
1) Bryce Harper’s first 14 home runs this season came with the bases empty; his first homer with someone on base came on July 6th.
WNBA
Friday, July 9
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Trend Report
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Atlanta @ Connecticut
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games
Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games at home
Connecticut is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
New York @ Indiana
New York
New York is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 7 games
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games at home
Seattle @ Phoenix
Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games on the road
Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing at home against Seattle
Minnesota @ Las Vegas
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games at home
Las Vegas is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
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Friday, July 9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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Atlanta @ Connecticut
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games
Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games at home
Connecticut is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
New York @ Indiana
New York
New York is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 7 games
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games at home
Seattle @ Phoenix
Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games on the road
Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing at home against Seattle
Minnesota @ Las Vegas
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games at home
Las Vegas is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
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