Friday’s 6-pack
Some of the better college football games on Labor Day weekend:
— Florida @ Utah
— Virginia vs Tennessee (@ Nashville)
— Arkansas State @ Oklahoma
— Boise State @ Washington
— North Carolina vs South Carolina (@ Charlotte)
— LSU vs Florida State (@ Orlando)
Quote of the Day
“You know what? You’ve got spunk…….I hate spunk.”
Lou Grant from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, which first aired 50 years ago this week
Friday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leading scorer for the Miami Heat?
Thursday’s quiz
Keith Hernandez is well-known for helping the Cardinals/Mets win World Series; he finished his career with the Cleveland Indians.
Wednesday’s quiz
Alex English is the all-time leader scorer for the Denver Nuggets, with 21,645 points.
*******************************************
Friday’s Den: In a perfect world, where I made all the decisions……..
— Long time ago, the early 70’s, the NBA held a 1-on-1 contest, and aired the games at halftime of regular season NBA telecasts. This was in the early 70’s; I think they had two tournaments, then some of the better players refused to play, and the idea died.
They need to bring back a 1-on-1 tournament; it would be wildly popular.
This should happen in the summer, with each player designating a charity he is playing for. They would make lot of money for various good causes.
64 players; games would be up to 20, have to win by 3 points.
Lot of wagering opportunities, bracket pools, it would be fun.
Each NBA team would have to be represented by one player; the other spots would be determined by fan voting on the Interweb.
— Kids could go right from high school to the NBA. Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, none of them went to college. They should put that rule back in.
— Major League Baseball should have a Hard Knocks-type program during spring training; it would give baseball more exposure, which it needs. Spring training has lot of dead time; would be ideal for a Hard Knocks-type show.
— NFL would have an 18-game regular season, only two preseason games; Super Bowl would be Sunday night of Presidents’ Day weekend.
— College football teams wouldn’t play I-AA opponents; SEC teams do this a lot. This year, Alabama is playing Chattanooga. Seriously? Go play a MAC team or a Sun Belt team, at least.
— Online poker would be made legal so the poker companies would advertise on TV and ESPN would start replaying the World Series of Poker again, like they used to. The stuff ESPN puts on in daytime on weekdays is mostly terrible. Mike Greenberg, Stephen A Smith both make around $6M a year, a tremendous waste of money.
Listening to talking heads in contrived arguments is a waste of electricity. Much rather watch people play cards, or replays of games, actual competition.
— I’d scrap Thursday night NFL games, except for Week 1 and Thanksgiving; I’d replace them with Monday night doubleheaders. Football wasn’t meant to be played on three days’ rest.
— As far as college basketball transfers go, if you poach a transfer from a team, then you have to go play a game in that team’s gym. Most of the teams that poach transfers are way better than the teams they poach from anyway, but they often don’t have the onions to play road games.
VCU has that built into their coaches’ contracts; if the coach leaves for a bigger school, that team has to play a game at VCU.
— I would take the radios out of NFL players’ helmets; coaches have six days to prepare their teams to play. Gameday should be the players’ day; let the QB’s call their own plays, which would make the game lot more exciting. QB’s calling the plays would make the game more fun.
— I’d eliminate the American/National Leagues and go to geographic realignment, which would reduce travel costs and invigorate regional rivalries. Going to 32 teams (which will happen soon) will make scheduling a lot easier.
— NBA playoff series would be best-of-3, with finals best-of-5. Less games, more drama; it is more interesting when the best team has a chance to lose. Would the NCAA tournament be at all interesting if a 16-seed played a #1-seed best-of-3?
Also, there have been 151 NBA best-of-7 playoff series where a team led 3-0; none of them have lost the series, only four of them played a Game 7. With that in mind, if a series gets to 3-0, it is over; it would make Game 3’s fascinating when one team led 2-0.
— I’d get rid of the Electoral College in our presidential election; whoever gets the most votes wins, just like in all the other elections.
— Would definitely move the NBA Draft Lottery back to a half hour before the actual draft; imagine the drama then? Lot of executives would have to think on their feet.
— You want to make baseball’s All-Star Game more interesting? Make it USA vs the World, and it’ll become a serious game fairly quickly. Probably too serious.
— Would like to make people happier; nowadays, there is so much anger in the world. There is a lot less tolerance of others than there used to be. You be you, and let others do what they do. Cheer the bleep up!!!!
Some of the better college football games on Labor Day weekend:
— Florida @ Utah
— Virginia vs Tennessee (@ Nashville)
— Arkansas State @ Oklahoma
— Boise State @ Washington
— North Carolina vs South Carolina (@ Charlotte)
— LSU vs Florida State (@ Orlando)
Quote of the Day
“You know what? You’ve got spunk…….I hate spunk.”
Lou Grant from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, which first aired 50 years ago this week
Friday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leading scorer for the Miami Heat?
Thursday’s quiz
Keith Hernandez is well-known for helping the Cardinals/Mets win World Series; he finished his career with the Cleveland Indians.
Wednesday’s quiz
Alex English is the all-time leader scorer for the Denver Nuggets, with 21,645 points.
*******************************************
Friday’s Den: In a perfect world, where I made all the decisions……..
— Long time ago, the early 70’s, the NBA held a 1-on-1 contest, and aired the games at halftime of regular season NBA telecasts. This was in the early 70’s; I think they had two tournaments, then some of the better players refused to play, and the idea died.
They need to bring back a 1-on-1 tournament; it would be wildly popular.
This should happen in the summer, with each player designating a charity he is playing for. They would make lot of money for various good causes.
64 players; games would be up to 20, have to win by 3 points.
Lot of wagering opportunities, bracket pools, it would be fun.
Each NBA team would have to be represented by one player; the other spots would be determined by fan voting on the Interweb.
— Kids could go right from high school to the NBA. Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, none of them went to college. They should put that rule back in.
— Major League Baseball should have a Hard Knocks-type program during spring training; it would give baseball more exposure, which it needs. Spring training has lot of dead time; would be ideal for a Hard Knocks-type show.
— NFL would have an 18-game regular season, only two preseason games; Super Bowl would be Sunday night of Presidents’ Day weekend.
— College football teams wouldn’t play I-AA opponents; SEC teams do this a lot. This year, Alabama is playing Chattanooga. Seriously? Go play a MAC team or a Sun Belt team, at least.
— Online poker would be made legal so the poker companies would advertise on TV and ESPN would start replaying the World Series of Poker again, like they used to. The stuff ESPN puts on in daytime on weekdays is mostly terrible. Mike Greenberg, Stephen A Smith both make around $6M a year, a tremendous waste of money.
Listening to talking heads in contrived arguments is a waste of electricity. Much rather watch people play cards, or replays of games, actual competition.
— I’d scrap Thursday night NFL games, except for Week 1 and Thanksgiving; I’d replace them with Monday night doubleheaders. Football wasn’t meant to be played on three days’ rest.
— As far as college basketball transfers go, if you poach a transfer from a team, then you have to go play a game in that team’s gym. Most of the teams that poach transfers are way better than the teams they poach from anyway, but they often don’t have the onions to play road games.
VCU has that built into their coaches’ contracts; if the coach leaves for a bigger school, that team has to play a game at VCU.
— I would take the radios out of NFL players’ helmets; coaches have six days to prepare their teams to play. Gameday should be the players’ day; let the QB’s call their own plays, which would make the game lot more exciting. QB’s calling the plays would make the game more fun.
— I’d eliminate the American/National Leagues and go to geographic realignment, which would reduce travel costs and invigorate regional rivalries. Going to 32 teams (which will happen soon) will make scheduling a lot easier.
— NBA playoff series would be best-of-3, with finals best-of-5. Less games, more drama; it is more interesting when the best team has a chance to lose. Would the NCAA tournament be at all interesting if a 16-seed played a #1-seed best-of-3?
Also, there have been 151 NBA best-of-7 playoff series where a team led 3-0; none of them have lost the series, only four of them played a Game 7. With that in mind, if a series gets to 3-0, it is over; it would make Game 3’s fascinating when one team led 2-0.
— I’d get rid of the Electoral College in our presidential election; whoever gets the most votes wins, just like in all the other elections.
— Would definitely move the NBA Draft Lottery back to a half hour before the actual draft; imagine the drama then? Lot of executives would have to think on their feet.
— You want to make baseball’s All-Star Game more interesting? Make it USA vs the World, and it’ll become a serious game fairly quickly. Probably too serious.
— Would like to make people happier; nowadays, there is so much anger in the world. There is a lot less tolerance of others than there used to be. You be you, and let others do what they do. Cheer the bleep up!!!!
Armadillo Sports
Saturday’s 6-pack
All-time scoring leaders for the Miami Heat:
21,556— Dwyane Wade
9,459— Alonzo Mourning
9,248— Glen Rice
7,919— LeBron James
6,914— Chris Bosh
6,742— Rony Seikaly
Quote of the Day
“As I’ve said all along, we have an appetite to be a national conference in our makeup from coast to coast.”
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark
Saturday’s quiz
Vegas Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup finals five years ago, in their first-ever season in the NHL. What team beat them in the finals that year?
Friday’s quiz
Dwyane Wade is the all-time leading scorer for the Miami Heat, with 21,556 points.
Thursday’s quiz
Keith Hernandez is well-known for helping the Cardinals/Mets win World Series; he finished his career with the Cleveland Indians.
******************************************************
Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……..
— Starting in 2024, SEC will have 16 teams, once they add Texas/Oklahoma; their football teams will play only eight conference games— they won’t have divisions.
— Nuggets 104, Heat 93
Denver led 59-42 at halftime of Thursday’s Game 1.
Jokic was 10-12 on foul line; Miami’s whole team was 2-2 on the line.
Miami has won three NBA titles; they lost Game 1 in the Finals all three times.
Game 2 isn’t until Sunday.
— Mets faced Taijuan Walker Thursday, Chris Bassitt Friday; those two led the Mets in innings pitched last year. This is the first time since 1978 a team faced its IP leaders from the previous season in consecutive games.
In ’78, Red Sox faced Ferguson Jenkins/Reggie Cleveland in a doubleheader against Texas, after they led Boston in innings pitched in 1977.
— 11 years ago this week, Johan Santana threw a no-hitter for the Mets; he threw 134 pitches in the game, an 8-0 Mets win.
That would never happen today; no way a pitcher is allowed to throw 134 pitches in a game, especially an 8-0 game.
Most pitches anyone has thrown in the majors this season? Justin Verlander threw 117 pitches in six IP vs Toronto Friday night; Kevin Gausman has thrown 115 in two starts this season.
— Nationals 8, Phillies 7
Washington blew a 7-1 lead, scored in bottom of 8th to win it.
Phillies are 3-8 in their last eleven games.
— Brewers 5, Reds 4 (11)— Cincinnati was 1-17 with runners in scoring position.
— Pirates 7, Cardinals 5
St Louis led 5-1 in 7th inning.
Ke’Bryan Hayes went 3-4 with four RBI.
— Arizona 3, Atlanta 2— Diamondbacks won six in row, 10 of last 13 games.
— Rockies 7, Royals 2— Kansas City is 0-12 in Jordan Lyles’ starts; he only allowed one run in 5 IP in this game, but they still lost.
— Texas 2, Seattle 0— Gray out dueled Castillo, tossing seven shutout IP.
—- Astros 6, Angels 2— Valdez threw seven shutout innings.
— Baseball injuries:
Red Sox put P Chris Sale (shoulder) on the IL
San Diego put DH Nelson Cruz (hamstring) on the IL.
— Seattle Mariners are bringing up P Bryan Woo to make his MLB debut in Texas Saturday. Woo is 23; he pitched at Cal Poly. He is 3-2, 2.05 in nine AA starts this season. Marco Gonzales is banged up, which is why the Mariners reached into the minors for a replacement.
— Julio Teheran allowed two runs in 11 IP in his first two starts this year, his first starts since 2021. In his last start, Teheran threw 79 pitches, facing 22 batters, with no walks/strikeouts.
Very unusual that a pitcher would throw six innings, with no walks/strikeouts.
— Noah Syndergaard threw 96 pitches in five IP vs Washington Wednesday, giving up five runs. Nationals swung at 40 of his 96 pitches, whiffed only once, not a good sign for Syndergaard going forward.
— Random trivia: Burgess Meredith was the Penguin in 20 episodes of the Batman TV series, the most episodes of any Batman villain.
— In case you were wondering, the winning word in the National Spelling Bee was:
psammophile— an organism that thrives in sandy areas.
— Movie of the Day: While you’re sleeping and I’m writing this, usually have old movies on, once all the ballgames end. Amazon Prime is the graveyard of old movies; I’m going to mention one I’ve watched every day.
Cousins (1989)— Ted Danson, William Peterson both wound up playing the head of the crime lab in CSI, but way before that, they were in this movie, where two couples go to a mutual friend’s wedding and end up swapping partners.
Movie ends with Danson and Isabella Rosellini sailing off into the sunset, which I mention because at the end of the last episode of CSI, 26 years later, William Peterson’s character sails off into the sunset with Sara Sidle, almost the same exact ending, which couldn’t be a coincidence.
Saturday’s 6-pack
All-time scoring leaders for the Miami Heat:
21,556— Dwyane Wade
9,459— Alonzo Mourning
9,248— Glen Rice
7,919— LeBron James
6,914— Chris Bosh
6,742— Rony Seikaly
Quote of the Day
“As I’ve said all along, we have an appetite to be a national conference in our makeup from coast to coast.”
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark
Saturday’s quiz
Vegas Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup finals five years ago, in their first-ever season in the NHL. What team beat them in the finals that year?
Friday’s quiz
Dwyane Wade is the all-time leading scorer for the Miami Heat, with 21,556 points.
Thursday’s quiz
Keith Hernandez is well-known for helping the Cardinals/Mets win World Series; he finished his career with the Cleveland Indians.
******************************************************
Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……..
— Starting in 2024, SEC will have 16 teams, once they add Texas/Oklahoma; their football teams will play only eight conference games— they won’t have divisions.
— Nuggets 104, Heat 93
Denver led 59-42 at halftime of Thursday’s Game 1.
Jokic was 10-12 on foul line; Miami’s whole team was 2-2 on the line.
Miami has won three NBA titles; they lost Game 1 in the Finals all three times.
Game 2 isn’t until Sunday.
— Mets faced Taijuan Walker Thursday, Chris Bassitt Friday; those two led the Mets in innings pitched last year. This is the first time since 1978 a team faced its IP leaders from the previous season in consecutive games.
In ’78, Red Sox faced Ferguson Jenkins/Reggie Cleveland in a doubleheader against Texas, after they led Boston in innings pitched in 1977.
— 11 years ago this week, Johan Santana threw a no-hitter for the Mets; he threw 134 pitches in the game, an 8-0 Mets win.
That would never happen today; no way a pitcher is allowed to throw 134 pitches in a game, especially an 8-0 game.
Most pitches anyone has thrown in the majors this season? Justin Verlander threw 117 pitches in six IP vs Toronto Friday night; Kevin Gausman has thrown 115 in two starts this season.
— Nationals 8, Phillies 7
Washington blew a 7-1 lead, scored in bottom of 8th to win it.
Phillies are 3-8 in their last eleven games.
— Brewers 5, Reds 4 (11)— Cincinnati was 1-17 with runners in scoring position.
— Pirates 7, Cardinals 5
St Louis led 5-1 in 7th inning.
Ke’Bryan Hayes went 3-4 with four RBI.
— Arizona 3, Atlanta 2— Diamondbacks won six in row, 10 of last 13 games.
— Rockies 7, Royals 2— Kansas City is 0-12 in Jordan Lyles’ starts; he only allowed one run in 5 IP in this game, but they still lost.
— Texas 2, Seattle 0— Gray out dueled Castillo, tossing seven shutout IP.
—- Astros 6, Angels 2— Valdez threw seven shutout innings.
— Baseball injuries:
Red Sox put P Chris Sale (shoulder) on the IL
San Diego put DH Nelson Cruz (hamstring) on the IL.
— Seattle Mariners are bringing up P Bryan Woo to make his MLB debut in Texas Saturday. Woo is 23; he pitched at Cal Poly. He is 3-2, 2.05 in nine AA starts this season. Marco Gonzales is banged up, which is why the Mariners reached into the minors for a replacement.
— Julio Teheran allowed two runs in 11 IP in his first two starts this year, his first starts since 2021. In his last start, Teheran threw 79 pitches, facing 22 batters, with no walks/strikeouts.
Very unusual that a pitcher would throw six innings, with no walks/strikeouts.
— Noah Syndergaard threw 96 pitches in five IP vs Washington Wednesday, giving up five runs. Nationals swung at 40 of his 96 pitches, whiffed only once, not a good sign for Syndergaard going forward.
— Random trivia: Burgess Meredith was the Penguin in 20 episodes of the Batman TV series, the most episodes of any Batman villain.
— In case you were wondering, the winning word in the National Spelling Bee was:
psammophile— an organism that thrives in sandy areas.
— Movie of the Day: While you’re sleeping and I’m writing this, usually have old movies on, once all the ballgames end. Amazon Prime is the graveyard of old movies; I’m going to mention one I’ve watched every day.
Cousins (1989)— Ted Danson, William Peterson both wound up playing the head of the crime lab in CSI, but way before that, they were in this movie, where two couples go to a mutual friend’s wedding and end up swapping partners.
Movie ends with Danson and Isabella Rosellini sailing off into the sunset, which I mention because at the end of the last episode of CSI, 26 years later, William Peterson’s character sails off into the sunset with Sara Sidle, almost the same exact ending, which couldn’t be a coincidence.
FLORIDA is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) in road games as a # 4 seed in the playoffs in the current season.
NHL
Dunkel
Saturday, June 3
NHL
Long Sheet
Saturday, June 3
FLORIDA (54-37-0-7, 115 pts.) at VEGAS (63-26-0-10, 136 pts.) - 6/3/2023, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 13-19 ATS (-20.7 Units) in non-conference games this season.
FLORIDA is 20-27 ATS (-17.2 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
VEGAS is 63-36 ATS (+103.8 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 38-22 ATS (+1.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 22-10 ATS (+9.7 Units) in non-conference games this season.
VEGAS is 29-12 ATS (+15.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
VEGAS is 34-20 ATS (+5.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VEGAS is 25-13 ATS (+11.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 38-23 ATS (+6.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 21-15 ATS (+38.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 4-9 ATS (-8.5 Units) in home games on Saturday games this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 2-2 (+0.6 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 2-2-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.0 Units)
NHL
Saturday, June 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florida @ Vegas
Florida
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Florida is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Florida
Vegas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Florida
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL
Dunkel
Saturday, June 3
NHL
Long Sheet
Saturday, June 3
FLORIDA (54-37-0-7, 115 pts.) at VEGAS (63-26-0-10, 136 pts.) - 6/3/2023, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 13-19 ATS (-20.7 Units) in non-conference games this season.
FLORIDA is 20-27 ATS (-17.2 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
VEGAS is 63-36 ATS (+103.8 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 38-22 ATS (+1.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 22-10 ATS (+9.7 Units) in non-conference games this season.
VEGAS is 29-12 ATS (+15.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
VEGAS is 34-20 ATS (+5.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VEGAS is 25-13 ATS (+11.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 38-23 ATS (+6.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 21-15 ATS (+38.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 4-9 ATS (-8.5 Units) in home games on Saturday games this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 2-2 (+0.6 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 2-2-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.0 Units)
NHL
Saturday, June 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florida @ Vegas
Florida
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Florida is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Florida
Vegas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Florida
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday’s 6-pack
Most runs scored in history of the San Diego Padres:
1,383— Tony Gwynn
599— Dave Winfield
484— Gene Richards
470— Brian Giles
464— Adrian Gonzalez
449— Ryan Klesko
Quote of the Day
“A date is an experience you have with another person that makes you appreciate being alone.”
Larry David
Sunday’s quiz
Jerry Springer was famous for his talk show, but he was also once the mayor of which city?
Saturday’s quiz
Vegas Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup finals five years ago, in their first-ever season in the NHL. Washington beat them in five games in the finals that year.
Friday’s quiz
Dwyane Wade is the all-time leading scorer for the Miami Heat, with 21,556 points.
*******************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
— Rangers 16, Mariners 6— Texas has scored 10+ runs in 15 games this season; no one else has done it more than eight times. Detroit hasn’t done it once yet.
— Astros 9, Angels 6— Alex Bregman is just third player since 1974 to hit a grand slam in a game where he also walked four times.
— Rays 5-4, Red Sox 8-2— AL East rivals split a twinbill; Boston scored six runs in 6th inning of the opener. Rays earned a split, scoring twice in the 9th inning. Tampa Bay leads the AL East by four games over Baltimore.
— Pirates 4, Cardinals 3
Commor Joe’s 6th inning double but the Pirates ahead for good.
Willson Contreras is 2-31 the last two weeks, but he homered in this game.
— Brewers 10, Reds 8— Milwaukee scored all their runs in the first four innings.
— Padres 6, Cubs 0— Yu Darvish tossed seven shutout innings.
— Rockies 6, Royals 4— Kansas City is now 8-23 at home, losing series to the A’s/Rockies.
— Blue Jays 2, Mets 1— The $375M Mets are 30-29; they scored one run the last two games.
Mets inducted four people into their Hall of Fame Saturday:
Al Leiter, Howard Johnson…….plus TV voice Gary Cohen, radio voice Howie Rose.
— New York 6, Los Angeles 3— Aaron Judge hit another home run, then made a terrific catch in rightfield, where he crashed into the bullpen door and damn near broke it.
— College sports is getting worse than baseball, as far the rich stealing from the poor; Ole Miss poached a WR this week from Texas-San Antonio- he caught 94 passes for 1,136 yards and 15 TD’s last year. Of course, that was in Conference USA and now he is in the SEC. We’ll see how that works out.
— Buffalo Bills signed DT Ed Oliver to a four-year, $68M contract.
— Vegas 5, Florida 2
Golden Knights outscored Florida 3-0 in third period.
Panthers scored a short-handed goal early in the game.
This is only third time since 2000 that the Stanley Cup final is between two teams that have never won the Stanley Cup.
— NHL will have two outdoor games at Giants Stadium next February:
February 17: Flyers-Devils. February 18: Rangers-Islanders
— NBA stuff:
Phoenix Suns are hiring former Lakers’ coach Frank Vogel as their new coach.
Suns are keeping assistant coach Kevin Young, paying him $2M+ a year,
Milwaukee Bucks hired former Portland coach Terry Stotts as an assistant.
— Movie of the Day: While you’re sleeping and I’m writing this, usually have old movies on, once all the ballgames end. Amazon Prime is the graveyard of old movies; I’m going to mention one I’ve watched every day.
Invincible (2006)— True story of Vince Papale, a 30-year old bartender from Philadelphia who made the Eagles as a non-roster special teams player in 1976, and lasted four years in the NFL.
Mark Wahlberg plays Papale, Greg Kinnear plays coach Dick Vermeil. Michael Rispoli plays the owner of the bar where Papale worked; he lated appeared in Billions.
Most runs scored in history of the San Diego Padres:
1,383— Tony Gwynn
599— Dave Winfield
484— Gene Richards
470— Brian Giles
464— Adrian Gonzalez
449— Ryan Klesko
Quote of the Day
“A date is an experience you have with another person that makes you appreciate being alone.”
Larry David
Sunday’s quiz
Jerry Springer was famous for his talk show, but he was also once the mayor of which city?
Saturday’s quiz
Vegas Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup finals five years ago, in their first-ever season in the NHL. Washington beat them in five games in the finals that year.
Friday’s quiz
Dwyane Wade is the all-time leading scorer for the Miami Heat, with 21,556 points.
*******************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
— Rangers 16, Mariners 6— Texas has scored 10+ runs in 15 games this season; no one else has done it more than eight times. Detroit hasn’t done it once yet.
— Astros 9, Angels 6— Alex Bregman is just third player since 1974 to hit a grand slam in a game where he also walked four times.
— Rays 5-4, Red Sox 8-2— AL East rivals split a twinbill; Boston scored six runs in 6th inning of the opener. Rays earned a split, scoring twice in the 9th inning. Tampa Bay leads the AL East by four games over Baltimore.
— Pirates 4, Cardinals 3
Commor Joe’s 6th inning double but the Pirates ahead for good.
Willson Contreras is 2-31 the last two weeks, but he homered in this game.
— Brewers 10, Reds 8— Milwaukee scored all their runs in the first four innings.
— Padres 6, Cubs 0— Yu Darvish tossed seven shutout innings.
— Rockies 6, Royals 4— Kansas City is now 8-23 at home, losing series to the A’s/Rockies.
— Blue Jays 2, Mets 1— The $375M Mets are 30-29; they scored one run the last two games.
Mets inducted four people into their Hall of Fame Saturday:
Al Leiter, Howard Johnson…….plus TV voice Gary Cohen, radio voice Howie Rose.
— New York 6, Los Angeles 3— Aaron Judge hit another home run, then made a terrific catch in rightfield, where he crashed into the bullpen door and damn near broke it.
— College sports is getting worse than baseball, as far the rich stealing from the poor; Ole Miss poached a WR this week from Texas-San Antonio- he caught 94 passes for 1,136 yards and 15 TD’s last year. Of course, that was in Conference USA and now he is in the SEC. We’ll see how that works out.
— Buffalo Bills signed DT Ed Oliver to a four-year, $68M contract.
— Vegas 5, Florida 2
Golden Knights outscored Florida 3-0 in third period.
Panthers scored a short-handed goal early in the game.
This is only third time since 2000 that the Stanley Cup final is between two teams that have never won the Stanley Cup.
— NHL will have two outdoor games at Giants Stadium next February:
February 17: Flyers-Devils. February 18: Rangers-Islanders
— NBA stuff:
Phoenix Suns are hiring former Lakers’ coach Frank Vogel as their new coach.
Suns are keeping assistant coach Kevin Young, paying him $2M+ a year,
Milwaukee Bucks hired former Portland coach Terry Stotts as an assistant.
— Movie of the Day: While you’re sleeping and I’m writing this, usually have old movies on, once all the ballgames end. Amazon Prime is the graveyard of old movies; I’m going to mention one I’ve watched every day.
Invincible (2006)— True story of Vince Papale, a 30-year old bartender from Philadelphia who made the Eagles as a non-roster special teams player in 1976, and lasted four years in the NFL.
Mark Wahlberg plays Papale, Greg Kinnear plays coach Dick Vermeil. Michael Rispoli plays the owner of the bar where Papale worked; he lated appeared in Billions.
Armadillo Sports
Monday’s 6-pack
Most home runs hit in history of the Toronto Blue Jays:
336— Carlos Delgado
288— Jose Bautista
239— Edwin Encarnacion
223— Vernon Wells
203— Joe Carter
202— George Bell
Quote of the Day
“My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right; I feel 10 years older already.”
Milton Berle
Monday’s quiz
The last two no-hitters in the major leagues were combined no-hitters; the same pitcher started both of them, one of them in the playoffs. Who is he?
Sunday’s quiz
Jerry Springer was famous for his talk show, but he was also once the mayor of Cincinnati. As a kid, he was also a ballboy at the US Tennis Open.
Saturday’s quiz
Vegas Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup finals five years ago, in their first-ever season in the NHL. Washington beat them in five games in the finals that year.
******************************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a quiet weekend……..
— Miami 111, Denver 108
Nuggets had a 40-14 run in first half, but still lost.
Miami outscored Denver 36-25 in 4th quarter,
Heat was +22 in 32:00 Vincent played; they were minus-19 in 16:00 he sat out.
Strus was 4-10 on the arc; he was 0-9 in Game 1.
Series is 1-1; Game 3 is Wednesday in Miami.
— Pirates 2, Cardinals 1
Ji Hwan Bae hit a 2-run double in first inning; the runs held up.
Pittsburgh won its last five games.
On June 4, Pirates are half-game out of first in NL Central.
— Phillies 11, Nationals 3— Schwarber, Ellis both homered twice. Washington’s bullpen gave up seven runs in 3.1 IP.
— Braves 8, Arizona 5— Eddie Rosario hit a dramatic, two-out grand slam in the top of the ninth inning, ending Atlanta’s road trip on a happy note.
— Blue Jays 6, Mets 4— Toronto sweeps three games from the Mets, holding them to five runs.
— Cubs 7, Padres 1– Marcus Stroman is 6-4, 2.39; he’ll be going to the All-Star Game.
— Guardians 2, Twins 1— Triston McKenzie tossed five shutout IP in his first ’23 start. Game was scoreless thru six innings; Joe Ryan allowed only two hits.
— Rangers 12, Mariners 3— Texas scored 28 runs the last two games; Bruce Bochy is letting everyone know he is one of the best managers………ever.
— Movie of the Day: Random Hearts (1999)— A police sergeant and U.S. Representative both lose their spouses in a plane crash, and they soon discover that their spouses were having an affair with each other.
Harrison Ford plays the policeman, Kristin Scott Thomas is the politician; movie is kind of sad, but has some pleasant moments. The two stars had very good chemistry together.
Excellent supporting cast:
Dennis Haysbert (Cerrano in Major League)
S. Epatha Merkerson (Van Buren in Law and Order)
Paul Guilfoyle (Jim Brass in CSI)
— Patrick Mahomes has been in the NFL for six years; he has an 11-3 record in playoff games. That is more playoff wins than these eight franchises:
Arizona, Atlanta, Carolina, Cincinnati
Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, New Orleans
— Thru eight weeks of the USFL season, South Division is 13-3 SU against teams from the North Division. All eight USFL teams have 2-2 records in divisional games.
— Major League Baseball has taken over the San Diego Padres’ local broadcasts; the company that was doing it went bankrupt. MLB has eliminated territorial rights through various deals, which means that, for local fans who purchase the Padres MLB.tv package, streamed San Diego games will no longer be subject to blackouts, which is a good thing.
— Joe Namath turned 80 this week; Clint Eastwood turned 93. Time flies, man……..
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Braves-Brewers-Ariz/LA. Wild Cards: Ariz/LA, Pirates, Marlins
AL: Rays-Twins-Rangers. Wild Cards: Orioles, New York, Astros.
Monday’s 6-pack
Most home runs hit in history of the Toronto Blue Jays:
336— Carlos Delgado
288— Jose Bautista
239— Edwin Encarnacion
223— Vernon Wells
203— Joe Carter
202— George Bell
Quote of the Day
“My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right; I feel 10 years older already.”
Milton Berle
Monday’s quiz
The last two no-hitters in the major leagues were combined no-hitters; the same pitcher started both of them, one of them in the playoffs. Who is he?
Sunday’s quiz
Jerry Springer was famous for his talk show, but he was also once the mayor of Cincinnati. As a kid, he was also a ballboy at the US Tennis Open.
Saturday’s quiz
Vegas Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup finals five years ago, in their first-ever season in the NHL. Washington beat them in five games in the finals that year.
******************************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a quiet weekend……..
— Miami 111, Denver 108
Nuggets had a 40-14 run in first half, but still lost.
Miami outscored Denver 36-25 in 4th quarter,
Heat was +22 in 32:00 Vincent played; they were minus-19 in 16:00 he sat out.
Strus was 4-10 on the arc; he was 0-9 in Game 1.
Series is 1-1; Game 3 is Wednesday in Miami.
— Pirates 2, Cardinals 1
Ji Hwan Bae hit a 2-run double in first inning; the runs held up.
Pittsburgh won its last five games.
On June 4, Pirates are half-game out of first in NL Central.
— Phillies 11, Nationals 3— Schwarber, Ellis both homered twice. Washington’s bullpen gave up seven runs in 3.1 IP.
— Braves 8, Arizona 5— Eddie Rosario hit a dramatic, two-out grand slam in the top of the ninth inning, ending Atlanta’s road trip on a happy note.
— Blue Jays 6, Mets 4— Toronto sweeps three games from the Mets, holding them to five runs.
— Cubs 7, Padres 1– Marcus Stroman is 6-4, 2.39; he’ll be going to the All-Star Game.
— Guardians 2, Twins 1— Triston McKenzie tossed five shutout IP in his first ’23 start. Game was scoreless thru six innings; Joe Ryan allowed only two hits.
— Rangers 12, Mariners 3— Texas scored 28 runs the last two games; Bruce Bochy is letting everyone know he is one of the best managers………ever.
— Movie of the Day: Random Hearts (1999)— A police sergeant and U.S. Representative both lose their spouses in a plane crash, and they soon discover that their spouses were having an affair with each other.
Harrison Ford plays the policeman, Kristin Scott Thomas is the politician; movie is kind of sad, but has some pleasant moments. The two stars had very good chemistry together.
Excellent supporting cast:
Dennis Haysbert (Cerrano in Major League)
S. Epatha Merkerson (Van Buren in Law and Order)
Paul Guilfoyle (Jim Brass in CSI)
— Patrick Mahomes has been in the NFL for six years; he has an 11-3 record in playoff games. That is more playoff wins than these eight franchises:
Arizona, Atlanta, Carolina, Cincinnati
Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, New Orleans
— Thru eight weeks of the USFL season, South Division is 13-3 SU against teams from the North Division. All eight USFL teams have 2-2 records in divisional games.
— Major League Baseball has taken over the San Diego Padres’ local broadcasts; the company that was doing it went bankrupt. MLB has eliminated territorial rights through various deals, which means that, for local fans who purchase the Padres MLB.tv package, streamed San Diego games will no longer be subject to blackouts, which is a good thing.
— Joe Namath turned 80 this week; Clint Eastwood turned 93. Time flies, man……..
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Braves-Brewers-Ariz/LA. Wild Cards: Ariz/LA, Pirates, Marlins
AL: Rays-Twins-Rangers. Wild Cards: Orioles, New York, Astros.
FLORIDA is 9-1 Over (7.9 Units) revenging a road blowout loss versus opponent by 3 goals or more in the current season.
NHL
Dunkel
Monday, June 5
NHL
Long Sheet
Monday, June 5
FLORIDA (54-38-0-7, 115 pts.) at VEGAS (64-26-0-10, 138 pts.) - 6/5/2023, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 13-20 ATS (-21.9 Units) in non-conference games this season.
FLORIDA is 20-24 ATS (-13.2 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
VEGAS is 64-36 ATS (+104.8 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 39-22 ATS (+3.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 23-10 ATS (+9.1 Units) in non-conference games this season.
VEGAS is 15-3 ATS (+10.8 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs over the last 2 seasons.
VEGAS is 35-20 ATS (+6.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VEGAS is 26-13 ATS (+12.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 20-11 ATS (+8.5 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 10-4 ATS (+14.1 Units) in road games after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
FLORIDA is 21-16 ATS (+39.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 3-2 (+1.6 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 3-2-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.0 Units)
NHL
Monday, June 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florida @ Vegas
Florida
Florida is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Florida is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Florida
Vegas is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Florida
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL
Dunkel
Monday, June 5
NHL
Long Sheet
Monday, June 5
FLORIDA (54-38-0-7, 115 pts.) at VEGAS (64-26-0-10, 138 pts.) - 6/5/2023, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 13-20 ATS (-21.9 Units) in non-conference games this season.
FLORIDA is 20-24 ATS (-13.2 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
VEGAS is 64-36 ATS (+104.8 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 39-22 ATS (+3.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 23-10 ATS (+9.1 Units) in non-conference games this season.
VEGAS is 15-3 ATS (+10.8 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs over the last 2 seasons.
VEGAS is 35-20 ATS (+6.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VEGAS is 26-13 ATS (+12.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 20-11 ATS (+8.5 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 10-4 ATS (+14.1 Units) in road games after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
FLORIDA is 21-16 ATS (+39.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 3-2 (+1.6 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 3-2-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.0 Units)
NHL
Monday, June 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florida @ Vegas
Florida
Florida is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Florida is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Florida
Vegas is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Florida
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armadillo Sports
Tuesday’s 6-pack
— Vegas 7, Florida 2— Golden Knights lead Stanley Cup finals, 2-0.
— Reds 2, Brewers 0— Rookie P Abbott tossed six shutout IP in his MLB debut.
— Phillies 8, Tigers 3— Detroit didn’t get a hit until the 7th inning.
— Astros 11, Blue Jays 4— Houston scored six runs in first inning.
— Padres 5, Cubs 0— Snell threw six shutout innings, using 109 pitches.
— It’s been 267 days since the last time it was 100 degrees in Las Vegas.
Quote of the Day
“God likes me!!! He really, really likes me!!! What a day!!! What a fabulous day!!!”
Richard Dreyfuss in Let It Ride
Tuesday’s quiz
On the old animated TV show The Jetsons, what was the dog’s name?
Monday’s quiz
Cristian Javier of the Astros started the last two no-hitters in the major leagues, which were both combined no-hitters, one of them in the playoffs.
Sunday’s quiz
Jerry Springer was famous for his talk show, but he was also once the mayor of Cincinnati. As a kid, he was also a ballboy at the US Tennis Open.
****************************************************
Tuesday’s Den: Random Lists of 4…….
Best Quarterbacks:
John Elway
Tom Brady
Joe Montana
Roger Staubach (Patrick Mahomes soon to replace him)
Favorite Quarterbacks:
Kurt Warner
Matthew Stafford
Vince Ferragamo
Jared Goff
Best basketball players:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
T2 Michael Jordan
T2 Lebron James
Bill Russell
Las Vegas sportsbooks:
Westgate
MGM Grand
South Point
Aria
Favorite TV shows:
Magnum PI
CSI
Law and Order
Odd Couple
Favorite Batman villains:
Riddler (Frank Gorshin)
Egghead (Vincent Price)
Mad Hatter (David Wayne)
Catwoman (Julie Newmar)
Favorite Musicians:
Bob Seger
Billy Joel
Pat Benatar
Van Morrison
Favorite dinners:
Pizza
Spaghetti and meatballs
Scrambled eggs with bacon
Fried chicken with waffles
Favorite non-sports movies:
A Star is Born (2018 version)
Leap of Faith
Begin Again
Fabulous Baker Boys
Favorite sports movies:
American Underdog
Moneyball
Blue Chips
Invincible
Favorite gambling movies:
Rounders
Let It Ride
Molly’s Game
Lucky You
Favorite Kevin Costner movies:
For Love of the Game
The Bodyguard
Message In a Bottle
Bull Durham
Favorite Susan Sarandon movies:
The Client
Bull Durham
Ping Pong Summer
White Palace
Remaining bucket list items:
Rams’ home game at SoFi Stadium
LSU Saturday night home football game
Week at spring training, preferably Arizona
New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas
John Grisham books:
Pelican Brief
The Client
Runaway Jury
A Time to Kill
Favorite TV characters:
Lenny Briscoe, Law and Order
Oscar Madison, Odd Couple
Henry Blake, M*A*S*H
Jack Malone, Without a Trace
Tuesday’s 6-pack
— Vegas 7, Florida 2— Golden Knights lead Stanley Cup finals, 2-0.
— Reds 2, Brewers 0— Rookie P Abbott tossed six shutout IP in his MLB debut.
— Phillies 8, Tigers 3— Detroit didn’t get a hit until the 7th inning.
— Astros 11, Blue Jays 4— Houston scored six runs in first inning.
— Padres 5, Cubs 0— Snell threw six shutout innings, using 109 pitches.
— It’s been 267 days since the last time it was 100 degrees in Las Vegas.
Quote of the Day
“God likes me!!! He really, really likes me!!! What a day!!! What a fabulous day!!!”
Richard Dreyfuss in Let It Ride
Tuesday’s quiz
On the old animated TV show The Jetsons, what was the dog’s name?
Monday’s quiz
Cristian Javier of the Astros started the last two no-hitters in the major leagues, which were both combined no-hitters, one of them in the playoffs.
Sunday’s quiz
Jerry Springer was famous for his talk show, but he was also once the mayor of Cincinnati. As a kid, he was also a ballboy at the US Tennis Open.
****************************************************
Tuesday’s Den: Random Lists of 4…….
Best Quarterbacks:
John Elway
Tom Brady
Joe Montana
Roger Staubach (Patrick Mahomes soon to replace him)
Favorite Quarterbacks:
Kurt Warner
Matthew Stafford
Vince Ferragamo
Jared Goff
Best basketball players:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
T2 Michael Jordan
T2 Lebron James
Bill Russell
Las Vegas sportsbooks:
Westgate
MGM Grand
South Point
Aria
Favorite TV shows:
Magnum PI
CSI
Law and Order
Odd Couple
Favorite Batman villains:
Riddler (Frank Gorshin)
Egghead (Vincent Price)
Mad Hatter (David Wayne)
Catwoman (Julie Newmar)
Favorite Musicians:
Bob Seger
Billy Joel
Pat Benatar
Van Morrison
Favorite dinners:
Pizza
Spaghetti and meatballs
Scrambled eggs with bacon
Fried chicken with waffles
Favorite non-sports movies:
A Star is Born (2018 version)
Leap of Faith
Begin Again
Fabulous Baker Boys
Favorite sports movies:
American Underdog
Moneyball
Blue Chips
Invincible
Favorite gambling movies:
Rounders
Let It Ride
Molly’s Game
Lucky You
Favorite Kevin Costner movies:
For Love of the Game
The Bodyguard
Message In a Bottle
Bull Durham
Favorite Susan Sarandon movies:
The Client
Bull Durham
Ping Pong Summer
White Palace
Remaining bucket list items:
Rams’ home game at SoFi Stadium
LSU Saturday night home football game
Week at spring training, preferably Arizona
New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas
John Grisham books:
Pelican Brief
The Client
Runaway Jury
A Time to Kill
Favorite TV characters:
Lenny Briscoe, Law and Order
Oscar Madison, Odd Couple
Henry Blake, M*A*S*H
Jack Malone, Without a Trace
Wednesday’s 6-pack
Most career starts in a visiting ballpark:
42— Steve Carlton, Wrigley Field
40— Early Wynn, Fenway Park
33— Phil Niekro, Dodger Stadium
30— Frank Tanana, Oakland Coliseum
30— Justin Verlander, Progressive Field, Cleveland
28— Felix Hernandez, Angel Stadium
28— CC Sabathia, Camden Yards
Quote of the Day
“When they say it’s not about money, that means it’s all about money.”
George Young
Wednesday’s quiz
Who was the Houston Astros’ manager, the first time they played in a World Series?
Tuesday’s quiz
On the old animated TV show The Jetsons, the dog’s name was Astro.
Monday’s quiz
Cristian Javier of the Astros started the last two no-hitters in the major leagues, which were both combined no-hitters, one of them in the playoffs.
*********************************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings………
NFL teams can turn down being on HBO’s Hard Knocks, if………
— They have a first-year head coach in place.
— If they made the playoffs in the last two years.
— If they’ve been on Hard Knocks in the last 10 years.
NFL has rules on which teams appear on Hard Knocks; there are four teams who the league can choose to be in this year’s shows, but those four teams all seem reluctant.
Bears, Jets, Saints, Commanders
Teams seem more and more reluctant to be on Hard Knocks, which is too bad, since it is such an interesting show.
— The great comedian/actor Steve Martin won a Grammy Award in 2010, in the category of Best Bluegrass Album for his album The Crow: New Songs For The Five-String Banjo.
Martin first played the banjo when he was 17; he used to take 33 rpm bluegrass records and slow them down to 16 rpm and tune his banjo down, so the notes would sound the same.
The album that won him the Grammy came from his reading a book called The Stuffed Owl, a collection of bad poetry. As a joke, Martin decided to write some bad poetry of his own, then turned the poetry into bluegrass songs, and those songs won him a Grammy.
One of the most talented people ever, whether in comedy, acting or music. I first saw him do stand-up on The Tonight Show when Buddy Hackett was the guest host— I was 11 or 12 years old. Was laughing my head off. What a gift, to be able to make people laugh like that.
— Texas Rangers’ P Jacob deGrom signed a 5-year, $185M contract last winter, but his elbow is screwed up again, and he is heading to his second Tommy John surgery; he is out for the year, and much of next year. The last three seasons combined, he’s thrown 186.2 innings.
— Denver Nuggets are 8-9 this season when Nikola Jokic gets fewer than 8 assists, which helps explain why Miami isn’t double-teaming him as much now
— NFL teams with the worst first quarter scoring margin last year:
minus-38— Giants— finished 9-7-1, 1-1 in playoffs.
minus-34— Houston— 3-13-1
minus-33— Arizona— 4-13
Minus-26— Chargers— 10-7, 0-1 in playoffs (blew 27-0 lead, lost 31-30)
— More hitters are swinging at 3-0 pitches now; at least it seems like it to me.
— Movie of the Day: Let It Ride (1989)— A cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and for once, he wins big, but he can’t seem to stop gambling.
If you enjoy going to the racetrack, you’ll definitely like this movie.
Richard Dreyfuss runs amok in this movie; Teri Garr is his overwhelmed wife. Jennifer Tilly is a rich guy’s girlfriend at the track, before we knew that in real life she is a serious poker player.
— Reds 9, Dodgers 8
Reds scored three runs in the bottom of the 9th.
Dodgers led 8-3 in fifth inning.
Cincinnati brought up star prospect, SS Elly De La Cruz; he batted fourth in his MLB debut and
De La Cruz is the youngest player the Reds have had since Jay Bruce in 2008.
— White Sox 3, New York 2— Lucas Giolito is first pitcher since 2015 (Max Scherzer) to not allow a hit in the first six innings of two games in the same season.
— Arizona 10, Nationals 5— Pavin Smith homered, knocked in three runs.
— A’s 11, Pirates 2— Jace Peterson was 5-5 with five RBI; unfortunately, he’s still only hitting .218.
— Braves 6, Mets 4
Atlanta scored four runs in 6th inning, erasing a 4-1 deficit.
Mets and their $375M payroll are now 30-31.
— Rays 7, Twins 0— Zach Eflin tossed 6.2 scoreless innings. Rays are 27-6 at home.
— Red Sox 5, Guardians 4— Boston scored four runs in 8th inning, erasing a 2-1 deficit.
— Phillies 1, Tigers— Schwarber homered in the first inning, the game’s only run.
— Brewers 4, Orioles 3 (10)— Joey Wiemer’s walk-off single was the game-winner.
— In his terrific career, Mike Trout has been intentionally walked 119 times.
In 2004 alone, Barry Bonds was intentionally walked 120 times.
Most career starts in a visiting ballpark:
42— Steve Carlton, Wrigley Field
40— Early Wynn, Fenway Park
33— Phil Niekro, Dodger Stadium
30— Frank Tanana, Oakland Coliseum
30— Justin Verlander, Progressive Field, Cleveland
28— Felix Hernandez, Angel Stadium
28— CC Sabathia, Camden Yards
Quote of the Day
“When they say it’s not about money, that means it’s all about money.”
George Young
Wednesday’s quiz
Who was the Houston Astros’ manager, the first time they played in a World Series?
Tuesday’s quiz
On the old animated TV show The Jetsons, the dog’s name was Astro.
Monday’s quiz
Cristian Javier of the Astros started the last two no-hitters in the major leagues, which were both combined no-hitters, one of them in the playoffs.
*********************************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings………
NFL teams can turn down being on HBO’s Hard Knocks, if………
— They have a first-year head coach in place.
— If they made the playoffs in the last two years.
— If they’ve been on Hard Knocks in the last 10 years.
NFL has rules on which teams appear on Hard Knocks; there are four teams who the league can choose to be in this year’s shows, but those four teams all seem reluctant.
Bears, Jets, Saints, Commanders
Teams seem more and more reluctant to be on Hard Knocks, which is too bad, since it is such an interesting show.
— The great comedian/actor Steve Martin won a Grammy Award in 2010, in the category of Best Bluegrass Album for his album The Crow: New Songs For The Five-String Banjo.
Martin first played the banjo when he was 17; he used to take 33 rpm bluegrass records and slow them down to 16 rpm and tune his banjo down, so the notes would sound the same.
The album that won him the Grammy came from his reading a book called The Stuffed Owl, a collection of bad poetry. As a joke, Martin decided to write some bad poetry of his own, then turned the poetry into bluegrass songs, and those songs won him a Grammy.
One of the most talented people ever, whether in comedy, acting or music. I first saw him do stand-up on The Tonight Show when Buddy Hackett was the guest host— I was 11 or 12 years old. Was laughing my head off. What a gift, to be able to make people laugh like that.
— Texas Rangers’ P Jacob deGrom signed a 5-year, $185M contract last winter, but his elbow is screwed up again, and he is heading to his second Tommy John surgery; he is out for the year, and much of next year. The last three seasons combined, he’s thrown 186.2 innings.
— Denver Nuggets are 8-9 this season when Nikola Jokic gets fewer than 8 assists, which helps explain why Miami isn’t double-teaming him as much now
— NFL teams with the worst first quarter scoring margin last year:
minus-38— Giants— finished 9-7-1, 1-1 in playoffs.
minus-34— Houston— 3-13-1
minus-33— Arizona— 4-13
Minus-26— Chargers— 10-7, 0-1 in playoffs (blew 27-0 lead, lost 31-30)
— More hitters are swinging at 3-0 pitches now; at least it seems like it to me.
— Movie of the Day: Let It Ride (1989)— A cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and for once, he wins big, but he can’t seem to stop gambling.
If you enjoy going to the racetrack, you’ll definitely like this movie.
Richard Dreyfuss runs amok in this movie; Teri Garr is his overwhelmed wife. Jennifer Tilly is a rich guy’s girlfriend at the track, before we knew that in real life she is a serious poker player.
— Reds 9, Dodgers 8
Reds scored three runs in the bottom of the 9th.
Dodgers led 8-3 in fifth inning.
Cincinnati brought up star prospect, SS Elly De La Cruz; he batted fourth in his MLB debut and
De La Cruz is the youngest player the Reds have had since Jay Bruce in 2008.
— White Sox 3, New York 2— Lucas Giolito is first pitcher since 2015 (Max Scherzer) to not allow a hit in the first six innings of two games in the same season.
— Arizona 10, Nationals 5— Pavin Smith homered, knocked in three runs.
— A’s 11, Pirates 2— Jace Peterson was 5-5 with five RBI; unfortunately, he’s still only hitting .218.
— Braves 6, Mets 4
Atlanta scored four runs in 6th inning, erasing a 4-1 deficit.
Mets and their $375M payroll are now 30-31.
— Rays 7, Twins 0— Zach Eflin tossed 6.2 scoreless innings. Rays are 27-6 at home.
— Red Sox 5, Guardians 4— Boston scored four runs in 8th inning, erasing a 2-1 deficit.
— Phillies 1, Tigers— Schwarber homered in the first inning, the game’s only run.
— Brewers 4, Orioles 3 (10)— Joey Wiemer’s walk-off single was the game-winner.
— In his terrific career, Mike Trout has been intentionally walked 119 times.
In 2004 alone, Barry Bonds was intentionally walked 120 times.
Thursday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the College World Series:
3-1— Wake Forest
5-1— LSU
6-1— Florida
7-1— Virginia
10-1— South Carolina
12-1— Stanford, Tennessee
15-1— TCU
20-1— Kentucky, Texas
25-1— Duke, Oregon
30-1— Alabama, Indiana State, Oregon
40-1— Oral Roberts
Quote of the Day
“There still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this tour, started litigation against it. Like, we can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen.”
Rory McIlroy
Thursday’s quiz
Hard question today: since 1930, there has been only one inside-the-park home run in a World Series game. It happened in 2015; who hit it?
Wednesday’s quiz
Phil Garner was the Houston Astros’ manager, the first time they played in a World Series, back in 2005.
Tuesday’s quiz
On the old animated TV show The Jetsons, the dog’s name was Astro.
*****************************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
— Nuggets 109, Heat 94
Nikola Jokic is first player ever with 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, 10+ assists in an NBA Finals game.
Other than Jimmy Butler (11-24), Miami’s starters were 12-43 from the floor.
Denver leads series, 2-1. Game 4 is Friday.
— AL Central standings— it is June 8th:
Twins 31-31
Guardians 28-33
Tigers 26-33
White Sox 27-35
Royals 18-44
It is conceivable that the winner of this division will have a losing record.
— Last couple days, it has been weird here in upstate New York; you’ve probably seen pictures of the smoke from hundreds of wildfires in Canada- that smoke drifted south and as a result, New York is facing the worst air quality it has seen in decades with conditions that he characterized as “unprecedented” and “the worst in memory.”
Things are expected to get better early next week, when it is supposed to rain in Canada.
— Chris Andrews runs the sportsbook at South Point Casino in Las Vegas; it is a very good sportsbook. Mr Andrews ran sportsbooks in Reno for 30+ years before coming to the South Point. He posted this on Twitter a few days ago:
“When I first got to the South Point in 2016 I had to fight with my crew every night to get hockey on a few TVs.”
These days, NHL playoffs share the big screens with NBA playoff games, in large part because the Golden Knights have done so well.
— There are 14 major league baseball teams with a payroll of $200M+; there are three teams with a payroll less than $100M.
— Most touchdown plays of more than 20 yards last year:
17— Eagles, Raiders
16— Seahawks, 49ers
15— Bills
12— Bengals, Patriots.
— Fewest touchdown plays of more than 20 yards last year:
2— Steelers
3— Colts
4— Falcons
5— Rams, Buccaneers
— Inside the NFL is going to air on the CW this fall, first time it has been on network TV. All the stuff NFL Films does is really good, so this is a good addition for the CW.
— A’s 9, Pirates 5— Oakland split its last eight games, scoring 20 runs the last two games. A’s are 4-6 on Tuesdays, 10-44 the rest of the week.
— Reds 8, Dodgers 6
Benson’s first MLB home run was a walk-off shot.
De La Cruz also hit his first big league homer.
Last three weeks, Dodgers are 1-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
— Arizona 6, Washington 2— Diamondbacks have a two-game lead in the NL West.
— Braves 7, Mets 5— Mets and their $375M payroll have lost five in row, are now 30-32
— Giants 5, Colorado 4— Rockies have lost 10 games in a row vs San Francisco.
— Rays 2, Twins 1— Arozarena hit a walk-off homer for Tampa Bay.
— Padres 10, Mariners 3
Wacha threw six shutout innings.
Soto went 5-for-5, knocked in three runs.
— Baseball injuries:
Bronx put OF Aaron Judge (toe) on the IL
— Movie of the Day— The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)— The lives of two struggling musicians, who are brothers, change drastically when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the singer; Jeff/Beau Bridges are the two brothers.
Movie was nominated for four Academy Awards, but made only $6.9M over budget at the box office.
— USFL trends, thru eight weeks:
Stallions (6-2)
5-0 allowing 20 or less points; gave up 45-27 in losses.
4-4 ATS (favored in every game)
3-1 in games decided by 7 or less points.
under 3-1 last four games
Gamblers (5-3)
won four of last five games, after an 0-2 start
2-3 ATS as a favorite
last four games stayed under.
5-1 if they allow less than 29 points
Last three games were decided by 6-3-1 points.
Showboats (5-3)
won/covered last four games, after an 0-3 start.
allowed 27-42-30 points in losses; 10-10-0-20-16 in wins
under six of last seven games
5-3 ATS; have been underdog in every game.
Panthers (3-5)
lost five of last six games, after a 2-0 start
3-0 if they score 24+ points, 0-5 if they score less than 24.
3-2 ATS as an underdog.
five of last seven games stayed under total.
Generals (2-6)
lost last five games, by 3-3-6-3-9 points.
Allowed 3-13 points in wins; 0-6 giving up more than 13.
1-4 ATS as a favorite.
Six of eight games stayed under total.
Breakers (5-3)
Last five games were all decided by 7 or less points.
four of last five games stayed under total.
1-3 in last four games, after a 4-0 start.
4-2 ATS as a favorite
Stars (4-4)
won three of last four games (4-0 ATS)
4-1 in games decided by 6 or less points.
Losses are by 14-8-25-6 points.
3 of last 4 games stayed went over the total.
Maulers (2-6)
0-6 if they give up more than 13 points.
Two wins were 21-13/23-7
under 5-3
0-5 if they score less than 21 points.
— Recently, a violinist played for 45 minutes in a New York City subway; a handful of people stopped, a couple clapped, and the violinist managed to raise about $30 in tips.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. In that subway, Joshua played music with a violin worth $3.5M.
Two days before he played in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston and the seats averaged about $100 apiece; it goes to show you, sometimes, you just never know.
Odds to win the College World Series:
3-1— Wake Forest
5-1— LSU
6-1— Florida
7-1— Virginia
10-1— South Carolina
12-1— Stanford, Tennessee
15-1— TCU
20-1— Kentucky, Texas
25-1— Duke, Oregon
30-1— Alabama, Indiana State, Oregon
40-1— Oral Roberts
Quote of the Day
“There still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this tour, started litigation against it. Like, we can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen.”
Rory McIlroy
Thursday’s quiz
Hard question today: since 1930, there has been only one inside-the-park home run in a World Series game. It happened in 2015; who hit it?
Wednesday’s quiz
Phil Garner was the Houston Astros’ manager, the first time they played in a World Series, back in 2005.
Tuesday’s quiz
On the old animated TV show The Jetsons, the dog’s name was Astro.
*****************************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
— Nuggets 109, Heat 94
Nikola Jokic is first player ever with 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, 10+ assists in an NBA Finals game.
Other than Jimmy Butler (11-24), Miami’s starters were 12-43 from the floor.
Denver leads series, 2-1. Game 4 is Friday.
— AL Central standings— it is June 8th:
Twins 31-31
Guardians 28-33
Tigers 26-33
White Sox 27-35
Royals 18-44
It is conceivable that the winner of this division will have a losing record.
— Last couple days, it has been weird here in upstate New York; you’ve probably seen pictures of the smoke from hundreds of wildfires in Canada- that smoke drifted south and as a result, New York is facing the worst air quality it has seen in decades with conditions that he characterized as “unprecedented” and “the worst in memory.”
Things are expected to get better early next week, when it is supposed to rain in Canada.
— Chris Andrews runs the sportsbook at South Point Casino in Las Vegas; it is a very good sportsbook. Mr Andrews ran sportsbooks in Reno for 30+ years before coming to the South Point. He posted this on Twitter a few days ago:
“When I first got to the South Point in 2016 I had to fight with my crew every night to get hockey on a few TVs.”
These days, NHL playoffs share the big screens with NBA playoff games, in large part because the Golden Knights have done so well.
— There are 14 major league baseball teams with a payroll of $200M+; there are three teams with a payroll less than $100M.
— Most touchdown plays of more than 20 yards last year:
17— Eagles, Raiders
16— Seahawks, 49ers
15— Bills
12— Bengals, Patriots.
— Fewest touchdown plays of more than 20 yards last year:
2— Steelers
3— Colts
4— Falcons
5— Rams, Buccaneers
— Inside the NFL is going to air on the CW this fall, first time it has been on network TV. All the stuff NFL Films does is really good, so this is a good addition for the CW.
— A’s 9, Pirates 5— Oakland split its last eight games, scoring 20 runs the last two games. A’s are 4-6 on Tuesdays, 10-44 the rest of the week.
— Reds 8, Dodgers 6
Benson’s first MLB home run was a walk-off shot.
De La Cruz also hit his first big league homer.
Last three weeks, Dodgers are 1-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
— Arizona 6, Washington 2— Diamondbacks have a two-game lead in the NL West.
— Braves 7, Mets 5— Mets and their $375M payroll have lost five in row, are now 30-32
— Giants 5, Colorado 4— Rockies have lost 10 games in a row vs San Francisco.
— Rays 2, Twins 1— Arozarena hit a walk-off homer for Tampa Bay.
— Padres 10, Mariners 3
Wacha threw six shutout innings.
Soto went 5-for-5, knocked in three runs.
— Baseball injuries:
Bronx put OF Aaron Judge (toe) on the IL
— Movie of the Day— The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)— The lives of two struggling musicians, who are brothers, change drastically when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the singer; Jeff/Beau Bridges are the two brothers.
Movie was nominated for four Academy Awards, but made only $6.9M over budget at the box office.
— USFL trends, thru eight weeks:
Stallions (6-2)
5-0 allowing 20 or less points; gave up 45-27 in losses.
4-4 ATS (favored in every game)
3-1 in games decided by 7 or less points.
under 3-1 last four games
Gamblers (5-3)
won four of last five games, after an 0-2 start
2-3 ATS as a favorite
last four games stayed under.
5-1 if they allow less than 29 points
Last three games were decided by 6-3-1 points.
Showboats (5-3)
won/covered last four games, after an 0-3 start.
allowed 27-42-30 points in losses; 10-10-0-20-16 in wins
under six of last seven games
5-3 ATS; have been underdog in every game.
Panthers (3-5)
lost five of last six games, after a 2-0 start
3-0 if they score 24+ points, 0-5 if they score less than 24.
3-2 ATS as an underdog.
five of last seven games stayed under total.
Generals (2-6)
lost last five games, by 3-3-6-3-9 points.
Allowed 3-13 points in wins; 0-6 giving up more than 13.
1-4 ATS as a favorite.
Six of eight games stayed under total.
Breakers (5-3)
Last five games were all decided by 7 or less points.
four of last five games stayed under total.
1-3 in last four games, after a 4-0 start.
4-2 ATS as a favorite
Stars (4-4)
won three of last four games (4-0 ATS)
4-1 in games decided by 6 or less points.
Losses are by 14-8-25-6 points.
3 of last 4 games stayed went over the total.
Maulers (2-6)
0-6 if they give up more than 13 points.
Two wins were 21-13/23-7
under 5-3
0-5 if they score less than 21 points.
— Recently, a violinist played for 45 minutes in a New York City subway; a handful of people stopped, a couple clapped, and the violinist managed to raise about $30 in tips.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. In that subway, Joshua played music with a violin worth $3.5M.
Two days before he played in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston and the seats averaged about $100 apiece; it goes to show you, sometimes, you just never know.
VEGAS are 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs in the current season.
NHL
Dunkel
Thursday, June 8
NHL
Long Sheet
Thursday, June 8
VEGAS (65-26-0-10, 140 pts.) at FLORIDA (54-39-0-7, 115 pts.) - 6/8/2023, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 21-17 ATS (+2.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 65-36 ATS (+14.5 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 26-15 ATS (+7.9 Units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more this season.
VEGAS is 40-22 ATS (+13.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 24-10 ATS (+10.4 Units) in non-conference games this season.
VEGAS is 9-1 ATS (+7.5 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs this season.
VEGAS is 36-20 ATS (+15.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VEGAS is 27-13 ATS (+40.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 144-190 ATS (-56.5 Units) when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
FLORIDA is 13-21 ATS (-22.3 Units) in non-conference games this season.
FLORIDA is 20-25 ATS (+60.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 4-2 (+2.6 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 4-2-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.4 Units, Under=-0.0 Units)
NHL
Thursday, June 8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vegas @ Florida
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Florida
Vegas is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Florida
Florida is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Florida is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Vegas
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL
Dunkel
Thursday, June 8
NHL
Long Sheet
Thursday, June 8
VEGAS (65-26-0-10, 140 pts.) at FLORIDA (54-39-0-7, 115 pts.) - 6/8/2023, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 21-17 ATS (+2.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 65-36 ATS (+14.5 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 26-15 ATS (+7.9 Units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more this season.
VEGAS is 40-22 ATS (+13.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 24-10 ATS (+10.4 Units) in non-conference games this season.
VEGAS is 9-1 ATS (+7.5 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs this season.
VEGAS is 36-20 ATS (+15.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VEGAS is 27-13 ATS (+40.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
FLORIDA is 144-190 ATS (-56.5 Units) when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
FLORIDA is 13-21 ATS (-22.3 Units) in non-conference games this season.
FLORIDA is 20-25 ATS (+60.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 4-2 (+2.6 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 4-2-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.4 Units, Under=-0.0 Units)
NHL
Thursday, June 8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vegas @ Florida
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Florida
Vegas is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Florida
Florida is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Florida is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Vegas
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
