Armadillo Sports
Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Early-season leaders in batting average:
.388— Mookie Betts, LA
.382— Jose Altuve, Hst
.375— William Contreras, Milw
.373— Jesse Winker, Wash
.372— Steven Kwan, Clev
.369— Will Smith, LA
Quote of the Day
“We spend max, max money year in and year out. All 32 (teams) can only spend the same amount of money over a five-year stretch. When we’re all said and done, we max out our salary cap every year……”
Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones
Wednesday’s quiz
Where did Klay Thompson play his college basketball?
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie The Rookie, Dennis Quaid plays a high school science teacher who becomes a major league relief pitcher in his 30’s; the high school team he coached to a district title was the Owls.
Monday’s quiz
Clint Hurdle was the Pittsburgh Pirates’ manager the last time they made the playoffs.
*******************************************
Pelicans play Sacramento Friday for last playoff spot in West.
Zion Williamson hurt his hamstring late in this game.
Lakers move on to play Denver in first round of the playoffs.
— Kings 118, Warriors 94
Sacramento outscored Warriors 64-44 in second half.
Was this Klay Thompson’s last game with Golden State?
— BYU hired Kevin Young as its new basketball coach; Young has been an assistant with the Phoenix Suns the last three seasons.
— Milwaukee Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo will be on the sidelines when the Bucks start their playoff series with the Indiana Pacers; they’re hoping to have him back later in the series.
— Baseball injuries:
Brewers put OF Christian Yelich (back) on the IL.
Braves put 2B Ozzie Albies (broken toe) on the IL
— RIP Whitey Herzog; the great baseball manager passed away at age 92. He won three NL pennants with the Cardinals, winning the 1982 World Series. He also made the playoffs three times in five years managing Kansas City.
— Famous birthdays for April 17:
Marty Domres, 77
Geoff Petrie, 76
Boomer Esiason, 63
Marquis Grissom, 57
Tony Boselli, 52
Jennifer Garner, 52
Jed Lowrie, 40
— Arizona 12, Cubs 11 (10)
Ketel Marte tied game with a 9th-inning home run.
Cubs led 11-8 in seventh inning.
Ian Happ was 3-5, with three runs scored, 4 RBI
— Mets 3, Pirates 1
Pirate starter Jones threw 5 shutout IP, was yanked as planned, despite throwing only 59 pitches.
Last three games, Mets haven’t scored a run in the first five innings.
Mets have had 10 home games; five of the crowds were under 20,000.
— Rays 7, Angels 6 (13)
Caballero’s 2-run triple tied game in 9th for Tampa Bay
Rosario’s infield single was the walk-off hit.
With new extra inning rules, you don’t see a lot of 13-inning games.
— Guardians 10, Red Sox 7 (11)
Cleveland led 5-1 after five innings.
Gimenez single tied game in top of the 9th.
Red Sox are 2-6 at home.
— Phillies 5, Rockies 0
Suarez threw the second complete game in the majors this year.
Harper knocked in three of Philly’s five runs.
Last three games, Colorado scored a total of one run.
— Dodgers 6, Nationals 2
Mookie Betts went 5-5, with two runs scored, 2 RBI.
Jesse Winker homered, doubled for Washington.
— Orioles 11, Twins 3
Baltimore led 7-0 in the third inning.
Minnesota is 3-8 in its last eleven games.
Orioles scored 53 runs in their last eight games.
— A woman who accused Trevor Bauer of sexual assault has been indicted by a grand jury in Arizona on felony charges of fraudulent schemes and theft by extortion. Apparently she wanted $3.6M from Bauer, who remains a free agent this season.
Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Early-season leaders in batting average:
.388— Mookie Betts, LA
.382— Jose Altuve, Hst
.375— William Contreras, Milw
.373— Jesse Winker, Wash
.372— Steven Kwan, Clev
.369— Will Smith, LA
Quote of the Day
“We spend max, max money year in and year out. All 32 (teams) can only spend the same amount of money over a five-year stretch. When we’re all said and done, we max out our salary cap every year……”
Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones
Wednesday’s quiz
Where did Klay Thompson play his college basketball?
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie The Rookie, Dennis Quaid plays a high school science teacher who becomes a major league relief pitcher in his 30’s; the high school team he coached to a district title was the Owls.
Monday’s quiz
Clint Hurdle was the Pittsburgh Pirates’ manager the last time they made the playoffs.
*******************************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
— Lakers 110, Pelicans 106Pelicans play Sacramento Friday for last playoff spot in West.
Zion Williamson hurt his hamstring late in this game.
Lakers move on to play Denver in first round of the playoffs.
— Kings 118, Warriors 94
Sacramento outscored Warriors 64-44 in second half.
Was this Klay Thompson’s last game with Golden State?
— BYU hired Kevin Young as its new basketball coach; Young has been an assistant with the Phoenix Suns the last three seasons.
— Milwaukee Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo will be on the sidelines when the Bucks start their playoff series with the Indiana Pacers; they’re hoping to have him back later in the series.
— Baseball injuries:
Brewers put OF Christian Yelich (back) on the IL.
Braves put 2B Ozzie Albies (broken toe) on the IL
— RIP Whitey Herzog; the great baseball manager passed away at age 92. He won three NL pennants with the Cardinals, winning the 1982 World Series. He also made the playoffs three times in five years managing Kansas City.
— Famous birthdays for April 17:
Marty Domres, 77
Geoff Petrie, 76
Boomer Esiason, 63
Marquis Grissom, 57
Tony Boselli, 52
Jennifer Garner, 52
Jed Lowrie, 40
— Arizona 12, Cubs 11 (10)
Ketel Marte tied game with a 9th-inning home run.
Cubs led 11-8 in seventh inning.
Ian Happ was 3-5, with three runs scored, 4 RBI
— Mets 3, Pirates 1
Pirate starter Jones threw 5 shutout IP, was yanked as planned, despite throwing only 59 pitches.
Last three games, Mets haven’t scored a run in the first five innings.
Mets have had 10 home games; five of the crowds were under 20,000.
— Rays 7, Angels 6 (13)
Caballero’s 2-run triple tied game in 9th for Tampa Bay
Rosario’s infield single was the walk-off hit.
With new extra inning rules, you don’t see a lot of 13-inning games.
— Guardians 10, Red Sox 7 (11)
Cleveland led 5-1 after five innings.
Gimenez single tied game in top of the 9th.
Red Sox are 2-6 at home.
— Phillies 5, Rockies 0
Suarez threw the second complete game in the majors this year.
Harper knocked in three of Philly’s five runs.
Last three games, Colorado scored a total of one run.
— Dodgers 6, Nationals 2
Mookie Betts went 5-5, with two runs scored, 2 RBI.
Jesse Winker homered, doubled for Washington.
— Orioles 11, Twins 3
Baltimore led 7-0 in the third inning.
Minnesota is 3-8 in its last eleven games.
Orioles scored 53 runs in their last eight games.
— A woman who accused Trevor Bauer of sexual assault has been indicted by a grand jury in Arizona on felony charges of fraudulent schemes and theft by extortion. Apparently she wanted $3.6M from Bauer, who remains a free agent this season.
Thursday’s 6-pack:
Major League leaders in RBI:
23— Marcell Ozuna, Atl
21— Taylor Ward, LAA
20— Lourdes Gurriel, Az
18— Mookie Betts, LA, Hernandez, LA, Steer, Cin
17— Perez KC, Garcia Tex, Soto NYY, Contreras, Milw
16— Marcus Semien, Tex
Quote of the Day
“I legitimately lost my Super Bowl ring in this event. They could not find it. … We have still yet to find it. All of this stuff has now been thrown away, so I think we can safely assume that my Super Bowl ring is now in a landfill someplace in the Cincinnati tri-state area. I didn’t think that would happen.”
Former Eagles C Jason Kelce, who lost his Super Bowl ring in a vat of chili
Monday’s quiz
When the Rams win the Super Bowl in Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty plays QB for the Rams. What number did he wear in the Super Bowl?
Wednesday’s quiz
Klay Thompson played his college basketball at Washington State.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie The Rookie, Dennis Quaid plays a high school science teacher who becomes a major league relief pitcher in his 30’s; the high school team he coached to a district title was the Owls.
**************************************************
White scored 42 points, had 9 rebounds, 6 assists.
Atlanta ends the season by losing its last eight games.
Bulls play Miami Friday, for the last playoff spot in the East.
— 76ers 105, Heat 104
Miami led 51-39 at halftime.
Embiid scored 23 points, had 15 rebounds.
76ers are 32-8 when Embiid plays, 16-27 when he doesn’t.
76ers advance to play the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
— Who is the American League leader in RBI’s?
Aaron Judge? Julio Rodriguez?
Mike Trout? Vladimir Guerrero?
Try Taylor Ward of the Angels, who hits behind Mike Trout in their lineup.
— Red Sox 2, Guardians 0
This game took 1:49 to play, the fastest MLB game since 2010; how long before people complain about baseball games going too quickly?
— Braves 5, Astros 4 (10)
Houston is 6-14 this season, 4-9 at home. Two years ago they won the World Series, then told their GM to take a hike. Maybe that wasn’t such a great idea.
— NFL Draft is next week; apparently Pat McAfee will have a channel on one of the ESPN’s during the draft, and one of the people with him on the broadcast will be Bill Belichick, which should be interesting.
— Famous birthdays for April 18th:
Pete Gogolak, 82
Steve Blass, 82
Cindy Pickett, 77
Eric Roberts, 68
Conan O’Brien, 61
Frederick Weller, 58
Derrick Brooks, 51
Miguel Cabrera, 41
— Movie of the Day: Heaven Can Wait (1978)
An NFL quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire.
Warren Beatty is the QB, James Mason is the guy who ran heaven, Jack Warden is the trainer for the Rams. Julie Christie, Charles Grodin, Vincent Gardenia, Dyan Cannon, Buck Henry are all in this movie- excellent cast.
When the QB is taken away from his body, they do a search and find that he was supposed to do in March of 2025, which at the time seemed like a ridiculously long time away. I was 18 back then; now that date is next year.
When this movie came out, the real-life Rams were in the midst of winning their division every year, then losing in the playoffs. Seeing them win the Super Bowl, even in a fictional movie, it was great. (I still have the poster of the movie that was in the theater).
— There is a college basketball player who just transferred from Iowa State to Ohio U; before he played for Iowa State, he played for Wofford.
I’m sure a lot of college kids have transferred from Wofford to Iowa State to Ohio U, just can’t think of any others. College sports has gone nuts.
— A’s 6, Cardinals 3
Esteury Ruiz scored two runs, knocked in two runs.
A’s are 4-0 when Paul Blackburn pitches.
Oakland is 7-5 in its last 12 games, after a 1-6 start.
— Phillies 7, Rockies 6
Kyle Schwarber homered twice, including his 250th career home run.
— Angels 5, Rays 4
Tampa Bay scored twice in 8th inning to take 4-3 lead.
Angels scored twice in 9th inning for the win.
Rendon, Ward had 9th inning singles for the Halos.
— Nationals 2, Dodgers 0
Jake Irvin tossed six shutout innings for Washington.
CJ Abrams led the game off with a home run, the only run they needed.
— Giants 3, Marlins 1
Miami is 4-15, 0-7 in games where the winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Marlins are 8-9-2 in first five innings; they’ve struggled in late innings.
Major League leaders in RBI:
23— Marcell Ozuna, Atl
21— Taylor Ward, LAA
20— Lourdes Gurriel, Az
18— Mookie Betts, LA, Hernandez, LA, Steer, Cin
17— Perez KC, Garcia Tex, Soto NYY, Contreras, Milw
16— Marcus Semien, Tex
Quote of the Day
“I legitimately lost my Super Bowl ring in this event. They could not find it. … We have still yet to find it. All of this stuff has now been thrown away, so I think we can safely assume that my Super Bowl ring is now in a landfill someplace in the Cincinnati tri-state area. I didn’t think that would happen.”
Former Eagles C Jason Kelce, who lost his Super Bowl ring in a vat of chili
Monday’s quiz
When the Rams win the Super Bowl in Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty plays QB for the Rams. What number did he wear in the Super Bowl?
Wednesday’s quiz
Klay Thompson played his college basketball at Washington State.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie The Rookie, Dennis Quaid plays a high school science teacher who becomes a major league relief pitcher in his 30’s; the high school team he coached to a district title was the Owls.
**************************************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
— Bulls 131, Hawks 116White scored 42 points, had 9 rebounds, 6 assists.
Atlanta ends the season by losing its last eight games.
Bulls play Miami Friday, for the last playoff spot in the East.
— 76ers 105, Heat 104
Miami led 51-39 at halftime.
Embiid scored 23 points, had 15 rebounds.
76ers are 32-8 when Embiid plays, 16-27 when he doesn’t.
76ers advance to play the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
— Who is the American League leader in RBI’s?
Aaron Judge? Julio Rodriguez?
Mike Trout? Vladimir Guerrero?
Try Taylor Ward of the Angels, who hits behind Mike Trout in their lineup.
— Red Sox 2, Guardians 0
This game took 1:49 to play, the fastest MLB game since 2010; how long before people complain about baseball games going too quickly?
— Braves 5, Astros 4 (10)
Houston is 6-14 this season, 4-9 at home. Two years ago they won the World Series, then told their GM to take a hike. Maybe that wasn’t such a great idea.
— NFL Draft is next week; apparently Pat McAfee will have a channel on one of the ESPN’s during the draft, and one of the people with him on the broadcast will be Bill Belichick, which should be interesting.
— Famous birthdays for April 18th:
Pete Gogolak, 82
Steve Blass, 82
Cindy Pickett, 77
Eric Roberts, 68
Conan O’Brien, 61
Frederick Weller, 58
Derrick Brooks, 51
Miguel Cabrera, 41
— Movie of the Day: Heaven Can Wait (1978)
An NFL quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire.
Warren Beatty is the QB, James Mason is the guy who ran heaven, Jack Warden is the trainer for the Rams. Julie Christie, Charles Grodin, Vincent Gardenia, Dyan Cannon, Buck Henry are all in this movie- excellent cast.
When the QB is taken away from his body, they do a search and find that he was supposed to do in March of 2025, which at the time seemed like a ridiculously long time away. I was 18 back then; now that date is next year.
When this movie came out, the real-life Rams were in the midst of winning their division every year, then losing in the playoffs. Seeing them win the Super Bowl, even in a fictional movie, it was great. (I still have the poster of the movie that was in the theater).
— There is a college basketball player who just transferred from Iowa State to Ohio U; before he played for Iowa State, he played for Wofford.
I’m sure a lot of college kids have transferred from Wofford to Iowa State to Ohio U, just can’t think of any others. College sports has gone nuts.
— A’s 6, Cardinals 3
Esteury Ruiz scored two runs, knocked in two runs.
A’s are 4-0 when Paul Blackburn pitches.
Oakland is 7-5 in its last 12 games, after a 1-6 start.
— Phillies 7, Rockies 6
Kyle Schwarber homered twice, including his 250th career home run.
— Angels 5, Rays 4
Tampa Bay scored twice in 8th inning to take 4-3 lead.
Angels scored twice in 9th inning for the win.
Rendon, Ward had 9th inning singles for the Halos.
— Nationals 2, Dodgers 0
Jake Irvin tossed six shutout innings for Washington.
CJ Abrams led the game off with a home run, the only run they needed.
— Giants 3, Marlins 1
Miami is 4-15, 0-7 in games where the winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Marlins are 8-9-2 in first five innings; they’ve struggled in late innings.
Friday’s 6-pack:
NFL teams’ records last year in games decided by 9+ points:
9-0— Baltimore
5-0— Buffalo
11-2— San Francisco
9-3— Dallas
7-2— Detroit
6-2— New Orleans
Quote of the Day
“There will be more of an emphasis on size of players in the return game than speed. You just need guys who can play at the point of attack, shed blocks, and defend their space because of the new alignment. So I think it will increase the size of the players that are on the field.”
Bill Belichick, talking about players on special teams, with the new rules
Friday’s quiz
Who was the New England Patriots’ coach before Bill Belichick?
Thursday’s quiz
When the Rams win the Super Bowl in Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty plays QB for the Rams. He wore number 16 in the Super Bowl, the number Ron Jaworski wore for the Rams in real life back then.
Wednesday’s quiz
Klay Thompson played his college basketball at Washington State.
*************************************************
Remember, these are my favorite movies, not the movies that are necessarily the best. Of the 50 movies USA Today listed as the best ever, I’ve seen three of them. Seriously.
15) Runaway Jury— I’m a big fan of the John Grisham books; this was my favorite of the ones that were turned into movies. Gene Hackman plays a jury consultant whose client is a gun manufacturer; John Cusack is on the jury to manipulate the verdict.
14) Moon Over Parador— Richard Dreyfuss is an actor who is hired to stand in for the dictator of a Latin American country who suddenly dies. Jonathan Winters is a weird CIA agent whose wife is Polly Holliday, who played Flo in the old TV series Alice.
13) Dave— Made five years after Moon Over Parador, this is basically the same movie, just set in Washington, DC.
Guy who looks just the President runs a temp service in Washington; when the real president has a stroke while screwing around with his mistress, the guy (Kevin Kline) is hired as the stand-in president. Sigourney Weaver is the First Lady.
12) A Few Good Men— The last scene, with Jack Nicholson on the witness stand, is tremendous. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, JT Walsh as supporting actors is pretty strong.
11) The Verdict— Paul Newman is a struggling lawyer who is handed a winning case, but winning it is easier said than done. His friend is played by Jack Warden, one of my all-time favorites.
10) The Gambler— Remake of a James Caan movie from the mid-70’s. College professor (Mark Wahlberg) seems to have an excellent life, but he has a huge gambling problem which drags him down. John Goodman plays one of the people he owes money to; he is very good in this.
9) The Bodyguard— Whitney Houston is a famous singer with a contract on her head; Kevin Costner is the ex-Secret Service hired to protect her.
8) Prince of Tides— A football coach from the south comes to New York City to talk to his sister’s psychiatrist about his sister’s suicide attempt, and their family history- then they in love. Nick Nolte is the coach, Barbra Streisand is the psychiatrist.
— Famous birthdays for April 19th:
Keith Erickson, 80
Mark van Eeghen, 72
Frank Viola, 64
Spike Owen, 63
Ashley Judd, 56
Jeff Wilkins, 52
Kate Hudson, 45
Troy Polamalu, 43
Joe Mauer, 41
7) Leap of Faith— Steve Martin plays a traveling preacher whose bus breaks down, stranding his crew in a drought-stricken Kansas town. Miracles ensue. Liam Neeson, Debra Winger, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meat Loaf all have supporting roles.
6) Lost In Translation— Bill Murray plays a washed-up actor who is in Tokyo getting paid $2M to do a whiskey commercial. He meets Scarlett Johansson in the hotel bar and they become friends.
5) Begin Again— Down-and-out music executive stumbles into a Manhattan bar and discovers a young singer who can resurrect his career, while starting the singer on her own career.
4) Good Will Hunting— Janitor at MIT can do complicated math problems better than the professors can, but he also has a criminal record, and has to get counseling for that. Robin Williams is great as the counselor.
3) Molly’s Game— Young woman runs high stakes poker games for celebrities/rich guys, but when members of the Russian mob enter the game, things get complicated. This is a true story, and as we’re learning nowadays, real life is often stranger than fiction.
2) Last Vegas— Four old friends get together in Las Vegas for the bachelor party of the one bachelor in group (Michael Douglas) who is marrying a woman 40 years younger than him. It is Douglas, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline.
1) Rounders— Law student decides he’d rather play high stakes poker than go to law school. The scenes with Matt Damon and his law professor (Martin Landau) are excellent. Same guys who wrote this wrote the great Showtime series Billions.
NFL teams’ records last year in games decided by 9+ points:
9-0— Baltimore
5-0— Buffalo
11-2— San Francisco
9-3— Dallas
7-2— Detroit
6-2— New Orleans
Quote of the Day
“There will be more of an emphasis on size of players in the return game than speed. You just need guys who can play at the point of attack, shed blocks, and defend their space because of the new alignment. So I think it will increase the size of the players that are on the field.”
Bill Belichick, talking about players on special teams, with the new rules
Friday’s quiz
Who was the New England Patriots’ coach before Bill Belichick?
Thursday’s quiz
When the Rams win the Super Bowl in Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty plays QB for the Rams. He wore number 16 in the Super Bowl, the number Ron Jaworski wore for the Rams in real life back then.
Wednesday’s quiz
Klay Thompson played his college basketball at Washington State.
*************************************************
Friday’s Den: 15 of my favorite non-sports movies…….
These are 15 of my favorite non-sports movies. Make your own list.Remember, these are my favorite movies, not the movies that are necessarily the best. Of the 50 movies USA Today listed as the best ever, I’ve seen three of them. Seriously.
15) Runaway Jury— I’m a big fan of the John Grisham books; this was my favorite of the ones that were turned into movies. Gene Hackman plays a jury consultant whose client is a gun manufacturer; John Cusack is on the jury to manipulate the verdict.
14) Moon Over Parador— Richard Dreyfuss is an actor who is hired to stand in for the dictator of a Latin American country who suddenly dies. Jonathan Winters is a weird CIA agent whose wife is Polly Holliday, who played Flo in the old TV series Alice.
13) Dave— Made five years after Moon Over Parador, this is basically the same movie, just set in Washington, DC.
Guy who looks just the President runs a temp service in Washington; when the real president has a stroke while screwing around with his mistress, the guy (Kevin Kline) is hired as the stand-in president. Sigourney Weaver is the First Lady.
12) A Few Good Men— The last scene, with Jack Nicholson on the witness stand, is tremendous. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, JT Walsh as supporting actors is pretty strong.
11) The Verdict— Paul Newman is a struggling lawyer who is handed a winning case, but winning it is easier said than done. His friend is played by Jack Warden, one of my all-time favorites.
10) The Gambler— Remake of a James Caan movie from the mid-70’s. College professor (Mark Wahlberg) seems to have an excellent life, but he has a huge gambling problem which drags him down. John Goodman plays one of the people he owes money to; he is very good in this.
9) The Bodyguard— Whitney Houston is a famous singer with a contract on her head; Kevin Costner is the ex-Secret Service hired to protect her.
8) Prince of Tides— A football coach from the south comes to New York City to talk to his sister’s psychiatrist about his sister’s suicide attempt, and their family history- then they in love. Nick Nolte is the coach, Barbra Streisand is the psychiatrist.
— Famous birthdays for April 19th:
Keith Erickson, 80
Mark van Eeghen, 72
Frank Viola, 64
Spike Owen, 63
Ashley Judd, 56
Jeff Wilkins, 52
Kate Hudson, 45
Troy Polamalu, 43
Joe Mauer, 41
7) Leap of Faith— Steve Martin plays a traveling preacher whose bus breaks down, stranding his crew in a drought-stricken Kansas town. Miracles ensue. Liam Neeson, Debra Winger, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meat Loaf all have supporting roles.
6) Lost In Translation— Bill Murray plays a washed-up actor who is in Tokyo getting paid $2M to do a whiskey commercial. He meets Scarlett Johansson in the hotel bar and they become friends.
5) Begin Again— Down-and-out music executive stumbles into a Manhattan bar and discovers a young singer who can resurrect his career, while starting the singer on her own career.
4) Good Will Hunting— Janitor at MIT can do complicated math problems better than the professors can, but he also has a criminal record, and has to get counseling for that. Robin Williams is great as the counselor.
3) Molly’s Game— Young woman runs high stakes poker games for celebrities/rich guys, but when members of the Russian mob enter the game, things get complicated. This is a true story, and as we’re learning nowadays, real life is often stranger than fiction.
2) Last Vegas— Four old friends get together in Las Vegas for the bachelor party of the one bachelor in group (Michael Douglas) who is marrying a woman 40 years younger than him. It is Douglas, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline.
1) Rounders— Law student decides he’d rather play high stakes poker than go to law school. The scenes with Matt Damon and his law professor (Martin Landau) are excellent. Same guys who wrote this wrote the great Showtime series Billions.
CHICAGO is 14-5 Over (8.5 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - shooting pct defense of >=46% - 2nd half of the seaso...
SACRAMENTO is 19-4 Over (14.6 Units) off a blowout win of 20 points or more as an underdog since 1996.
NBA
Dunkel
Friday, April 19
NBA
Long Sheet
Friday, April 19
SACRAMENTO is 19-4 Over (14.6 Units) off a blowout win of 20 points or more as an underdog since 1996.
NBA
Dunkel
Friday, April 19
NBA
Long Sheet
Friday, April 19
Saturday’s 6-pack:
First-round playoff matchups in the NHL:
— Washington-NY Rangers
— Tampa Bay-Florida
— Toronto-Boston
— NY Islanders-Carolina
— Colorado-Winnipeg
— Nashville-Vancouver
— Vegas-Dallas
— Los Angeles-Edmonton
Quote of the Day
“I wasn’t happy, but it’s over [manager Miguel Perez’s] head. It’s over my head.”
Pirates pitching prospect Paul Skenes, who is having his innings limited by the team
Saturday’s quiz
Who did the Knicks play, the last time they were in the NBA Finals?
Friday’s quiz
Pete Carroll was the New England Patriots’ coach before Bill Belichick.
Thursday’s quiz
When the Rams win the Super Bowl in Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty plays QB for the Rams. He wore number 16 in the Super Bowl, the number Ron Jaworski wore for the Rams in real life back then.
**********************************************
Miami led 34-17 after the first quarter.
Bulls were 8-10 on foul line; Kevin Love was 10-10 and he didn’t start.
Heat play Boston in the first round of the playoffs.
— Pelicans 105, Kings 98
Pelicans’ three subs were a combined +39 in 66:00.
Sacramento shot 11-41 on the arc.
New Orleans plays Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs.
— Why is the NFL Draft such a fascinating thing? Because great players come from all over; even with all the $$$ teams spend on scouting, guys slip thru the cracks.
Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, Northern Iowa, undrafted
Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley, 16th pick
Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington, 3rd round (69th pick)
Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael, Southern, 7th round (181st pick)
Tom Brady, 6th round (199th pick)
Draft is next week; should be an interesting three days.
— College football is adding a 2:00 warning for each half; teams will also have coach-player radios in the helmet of one player on the field at a time, just like the NFL.
— Watched one of my favorite movies late Wednesday night; Invincible, with Mark Wahlberg, the real-life story of Philadelphia bartender Vince Papale, who went to an open tryout the Eagles had in 1976, and made the squad as a special teams player, lasting three years in the NFL.
Papale’s son Vinny is a wide receiver for the Memphis Showboats in the UFL.
— Left a movie off of yesterday’s list, one of my favorite movies, A Star is Born, with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Fourth time the movie has been made; this version is very similar to the 1950’s version with Judy Garland and James Mason.
— 7-foot center Oumar Ballo transferred from Arizona to Indiana; people on the Interweb are saying the price tag was $1.2M, for one year. Ballo had also previously played at Gonzaga.
— There are over 1,700 names in the college basketball transfer portal, which works out to roughly 4.7 players per team.
— Famous birthdays for April 20th:
Steve Spurrier, 79
Tommy Hutton, 78
Jessica Lange, 75
Clint Howard, 65
Don Mattingly, 63
John Carney, 60
Allan Houston, 53
Brandon Belt, 36
— Brewers 2, Cardinals 1 (10)
William Contreras knocked in both Milwaukee runs.
Freddy Peralta tossed six shutout IP.
Paul Goldschmidt is struggling, off to a .169 start.
— Mets 9, Dodgers 4
Dodgers tied game 4-4 in 6th, after trailing 4-0.
Lindor’s 7th-inning tater put the Mets ahead for good.
Yamamoto is 1-1, 4.50 in his first five MLB starts.
— Phillies 7, White Sox 0
Alec Bohm hit a pair of 3-run homers in his first two at-bats.
Spencer Turnbull is 2-0, 1.23 in his first four starts for Philly.
White Sox are off to worst offensive start of any team since 1939.
— Astros 5, Nationals 3
Justin Verlander tossed six innings and won in his first ’24 start.
— Reds 7, Angels 1
Lodolo has allowed one run in 12 IP in winning his first two starts.
Angels lost five of their last seven games.
— Tigers 5, Twins 4
Rookie OF Perez had game-winning hit in 9th inning.
Jack Flaherty struck out 10 guys in six IP, but blew a 4-2 lead in the 6th.
— Royals 9, Orioles 4
Winnie Pasquantino has 11 RBI in his last eight games.
Loss ends Baltimore’s 4-game winning streak.
Royals have won their last nine home games.
First-round playoff matchups in the NHL:
— Washington-NY Rangers
— Tampa Bay-Florida
— Toronto-Boston
— NY Islanders-Carolina
— Colorado-Winnipeg
— Nashville-Vancouver
— Vegas-Dallas
— Los Angeles-Edmonton
Quote of the Day
“I wasn’t happy, but it’s over [manager Miguel Perez’s] head. It’s over my head.”
Pirates pitching prospect Paul Skenes, who is having his innings limited by the team
Saturday’s quiz
Who did the Knicks play, the last time they were in the NBA Finals?
Friday’s quiz
Pete Carroll was the New England Patriots’ coach before Bill Belichick.
Thursday’s quiz
When the Rams win the Super Bowl in Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty plays QB for the Rams. He wore number 16 in the Super Bowl, the number Ron Jaworski wore for the Rams in real life back then.
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Saturday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy Friday…….
— Heat 112, Bulls 91Miami led 34-17 after the first quarter.
Bulls were 8-10 on foul line; Kevin Love was 10-10 and he didn’t start.
Heat play Boston in the first round of the playoffs.
— Pelicans 105, Kings 98
Pelicans’ three subs were a combined +39 in 66:00.
Sacramento shot 11-41 on the arc.
New Orleans plays Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs.
— Why is the NFL Draft such a fascinating thing? Because great players come from all over; even with all the $$$ teams spend on scouting, guys slip thru the cracks.
Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, Northern Iowa, undrafted
Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley, 16th pick
Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington, 3rd round (69th pick)
Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael, Southern, 7th round (181st pick)
Tom Brady, 6th round (199th pick)
Draft is next week; should be an interesting three days.
— College football is adding a 2:00 warning for each half; teams will also have coach-player radios in the helmet of one player on the field at a time, just like the NFL.
— Watched one of my favorite movies late Wednesday night; Invincible, with Mark Wahlberg, the real-life story of Philadelphia bartender Vince Papale, who went to an open tryout the Eagles had in 1976, and made the squad as a special teams player, lasting three years in the NFL.
Papale’s son Vinny is a wide receiver for the Memphis Showboats in the UFL.
— Left a movie off of yesterday’s list, one of my favorite movies, A Star is Born, with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Fourth time the movie has been made; this version is very similar to the 1950’s version with Judy Garland and James Mason.
— 7-foot center Oumar Ballo transferred from Arizona to Indiana; people on the Interweb are saying the price tag was $1.2M, for one year. Ballo had also previously played at Gonzaga.
— There are over 1,700 names in the college basketball transfer portal, which works out to roughly 4.7 players per team.
— Famous birthdays for April 20th:
Steve Spurrier, 79
Tommy Hutton, 78
Jessica Lange, 75
Clint Howard, 65
Don Mattingly, 63
John Carney, 60
Allan Houston, 53
Brandon Belt, 36
— Brewers 2, Cardinals 1 (10)
William Contreras knocked in both Milwaukee runs.
Freddy Peralta tossed six shutout IP.
Paul Goldschmidt is struggling, off to a .169 start.
— Mets 9, Dodgers 4
Dodgers tied game 4-4 in 6th, after trailing 4-0.
Lindor’s 7th-inning tater put the Mets ahead for good.
Yamamoto is 1-1, 4.50 in his first five MLB starts.
— Phillies 7, White Sox 0
Alec Bohm hit a pair of 3-run homers in his first two at-bats.
Spencer Turnbull is 2-0, 1.23 in his first four starts for Philly.
White Sox are off to worst offensive start of any team since 1939.
— Astros 5, Nationals 3
Justin Verlander tossed six innings and won in his first ’24 start.
— Reds 7, Angels 1
Lodolo has allowed one run in 12 IP in winning his first two starts.
Angels lost five of their last seven games.
— Tigers 5, Twins 4
Rookie OF Perez had game-winning hit in 9th inning.
Jack Flaherty struck out 10 guys in six IP, but blew a 4-2 lead in the 6th.
— Royals 9, Orioles 4
Winnie Pasquantino has 11 RBI in his last eight games.
Loss ends Baltimore’s 4-game winning streak.
Royals have won their last nine home games.
ORLANDO is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) after failing to cover 3 of their last 4 against the spread in the current season.
MINNESOTA is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) revenging a straight up loss vs opponent as a home favorite in the current season.
NEW YORK is 9-1 Under (7.9 Units) in home games versus good teams - outscoring their opponents by 3+ points/game - 2nd half of the season.
DENVER is 7-0 Under (7 Units) in home games against Pacific division opponents in the current season.
NBA
Dunkel
Saturday, April 20
NBA
Long Sheet
Saturday, April 20
MINNESOTA is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) revenging a straight up loss vs opponent as a home favorite in the current season.
NEW YORK is 9-1 Under (7.9 Units) in home games versus good teams - outscoring their opponents by 3+ points/game - 2nd half of the season.
DENVER is 7-0 Under (7 Units) in home games against Pacific division opponents in the current season.
NBA
Dunkel
Saturday, April 20
NBA
Long Sheet
Saturday, April 20
Sunday’s 7-pack:
— St Louis 32, Memphis 17- St Louis outgained the Showboats, 355-127
— Birmingham 20, DC 18- Stallions kicked a 46-yard FG with 0:04 left.
— San Antonio 19, Michigan 9- Brahmas threw ball for 269 yards.
— Cavaliers 97, Magic 83- Orlando’s subs were 4-24 from floor.
— T’wolves 120, Suns 95- Minnesota had 52 rebounds, Phoenix 22.
— Knicks 111, 76ers 104- NY outscored Philly 32-22 in 4th quarter.
— Nuggets 114, Lakers 103- Jokic scored 32 points, had 7 assists.
Quote of the Day
“……here’s the thing. If you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.”
Mike McDermott, Rounders
Sunday’s quiz
Everyone knows that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American major leaguer, but he played in the National League; who was the first African-American player in the American League?
Saturday’s quiz
Knicks lost 4-1 to San Antonio in 1999, the last time they were in NBA Finals.
Friday’s quiz
Pete Carroll was the New England Patriots’ coach before Bill Belichick.
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I became a Rams fan back in 1966, when I was 6 years old; Gabriel was the Rams’ QB for the first seven years I rooted for LA- they went 63-28-5 with Gabriel starting during those years.
Distinctly remember him hitting Jack Snow on an 80-yard TD pass to spur the Rams to a 34-10 win over the Colts in the 1967 series finale, giving the Rams a division title. No idea why the Rams and Colts were in the same division, but they were.
Bigger than most QB’s back then, Gabriel was hard to sack; he was MVP of the NFL in 1969, when the Rams started the season 11-0. He later played five years for the Eagles.
RIP, sir.
— Knicks’ guard Josh Hart is the great nephew of Elston Howard, the outstanding catcher who played 15 years in the big leagues in the late 50’s/60’s.
— So far this season, Mets have outscored opponents 47-14 in innings 7-9.
Mets put C Francisco Alvarez (sprained thumb) on the IL.
— Mookie Betts has reached base safely 14 of 23 times he’s batted in first inning this year.
— Twins pitcher Bailey Ober has had an odd start to his season:
March 31, he gave up 8 runs in 1.1 IP at Kansas City. No bueno.
In three starts since then, Ober has allowed 2 runs in 17 IP, allowing only 11 baserunners.
— Blake Snell’s first three starts for the Giants:
11.2 IP, 23 baserunners, 15 runs allowed; 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA.
— Famous birthdays for April 21st:
Dick Green, 83
Al Bumbry, 77
Tony Danza, 73
Jesse Orosco, 67
Andie McDowell, 66
Tony Romo, 44
Rodney Stuckey, 38
Joc Pederson, 32
— Movie of the Day: The Cincinnati Kid (1965)- An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
Steve McQueen is the up-and-coming player, Edward G Robinson the older guy. Karl Malden is another player in the game; a very young Ann Margret is also in the movie, along with Rip Torn, Cab Calloway and Joan Blondell.
One thing about older movies; people smoked like chimneys in them. Lot of cigarettes.
— Nationals 5, Astros 4 (10)
Washington tied game with two runs in 9th inning.
Joey Meneses had the walk-off hit in 10th inning.
Astros fall to 7-15.
— Mets 6, Dodgers 4
Starling Marte hit a 3-run homer.
Mets have won six games in a row.
— Tampa Bay 2, New York 0 (10)
Eflin allowed only 3 baserunners in 6 IP.
Aaron Judge was 0-4 with four K’s; he’s hitting .179.
— Brewers 12, Cardinals 5
Brewers improve to 13-6 on the young season.
Bottom 4 guys in Milwaukee’s lineup were 8-17, with 6 runs scored.
— Giants 7, Diamondbacks 3
Patrick Bailey was 4-4 with a homer, three RBI
— Phillies 9, White Sox 5
White Sox’ first hit Friday was in 7th inning; Saturday, their first hit was in 8th.
Castellanos was 3-3, with two runs scored, two RBI
— Orioles 9, Royals 7
KC starter Ragans threw 49 pitches in 2nd inning; he didn’t finish the inning.
Santander was 3-5, with three doubles, 2 RBI
— Mariners 7, Rockies 0
Castillo got his first win, tossing 7 shutout IP.
Colorado falls to 4-16 this season.
— St Louis 32, Memphis 17- St Louis outgained the Showboats, 355-127
— Birmingham 20, DC 18- Stallions kicked a 46-yard FG with 0:04 left.
— San Antonio 19, Michigan 9- Brahmas threw ball for 269 yards.
— Cavaliers 97, Magic 83- Orlando’s subs were 4-24 from floor.
— T’wolves 120, Suns 95- Minnesota had 52 rebounds, Phoenix 22.
— Knicks 111, 76ers 104- NY outscored Philly 32-22 in 4th quarter.
— Nuggets 114, Lakers 103- Jokic scored 32 points, had 7 assists.
Quote of the Day
“……here’s the thing. If you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.”
Mike McDermott, Rounders
Sunday’s quiz
Everyone knows that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American major leaguer, but he played in the National League; who was the first African-American player in the American League?
Saturday’s quiz
Knicks lost 4-1 to San Antonio in 1999, the last time they were in NBA Finals.
Friday’s quiz
Pete Carroll was the New England Patriots’ coach before Bill Belichick.
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Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday…….
— RIP to former NFL QB Roman Gabriel, who passed away Saturday at age 83.I became a Rams fan back in 1966, when I was 6 years old; Gabriel was the Rams’ QB for the first seven years I rooted for LA- they went 63-28-5 with Gabriel starting during those years.
Distinctly remember him hitting Jack Snow on an 80-yard TD pass to spur the Rams to a 34-10 win over the Colts in the 1967 series finale, giving the Rams a division title. No idea why the Rams and Colts were in the same division, but they were.
Bigger than most QB’s back then, Gabriel was hard to sack; he was MVP of the NFL in 1969, when the Rams started the season 11-0. He later played five years for the Eagles.
RIP, sir.
— Knicks’ guard Josh Hart is the great nephew of Elston Howard, the outstanding catcher who played 15 years in the big leagues in the late 50’s/60’s.
— So far this season, Mets have outscored opponents 47-14 in innings 7-9.
Mets put C Francisco Alvarez (sprained thumb) on the IL.
— Mookie Betts has reached base safely 14 of 23 times he’s batted in first inning this year.
— Twins pitcher Bailey Ober has had an odd start to his season:
March 31, he gave up 8 runs in 1.1 IP at Kansas City. No bueno.
In three starts since then, Ober has allowed 2 runs in 17 IP, allowing only 11 baserunners.
— Blake Snell’s first three starts for the Giants:
11.2 IP, 23 baserunners, 15 runs allowed; 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA.
— Famous birthdays for April 21st:
Dick Green, 83
Al Bumbry, 77
Tony Danza, 73
Jesse Orosco, 67
Andie McDowell, 66
Tony Romo, 44
Rodney Stuckey, 38
Joc Pederson, 32
— Movie of the Day: The Cincinnati Kid (1965)- An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
Steve McQueen is the up-and-coming player, Edward G Robinson the older guy. Karl Malden is another player in the game; a very young Ann Margret is also in the movie, along with Rip Torn, Cab Calloway and Joan Blondell.
One thing about older movies; people smoked like chimneys in them. Lot of cigarettes.
— Nationals 5, Astros 4 (10)
Washington tied game with two runs in 9th inning.
Joey Meneses had the walk-off hit in 10th inning.
Astros fall to 7-15.
— Mets 6, Dodgers 4
Starling Marte hit a 3-run homer.
Mets have won six games in a row.
— Tampa Bay 2, New York 0 (10)
Eflin allowed only 3 baserunners in 6 IP.
Aaron Judge was 0-4 with four K’s; he’s hitting .179.
— Brewers 12, Cardinals 5
Brewers improve to 13-6 on the young season.
Bottom 4 guys in Milwaukee’s lineup were 8-17, with 6 runs scored.
— Giants 7, Diamondbacks 3
Patrick Bailey was 4-4 with a homer, three RBI
— Phillies 9, White Sox 5
White Sox’ first hit Friday was in 7th inning; Saturday, their first hit was in 8th.
Castellanos was 3-3, with two runs scored, two RBI
— Orioles 9, Royals 7
KC starter Ragans threw 49 pitches in 2nd inning; he didn’t finish the inning.
Santander was 3-5, with three doubles, 2 RBI
— Mariners 7, Rockies 0
Castillo got his first win, tossing 7 shutout IP.
Colorado falls to 4-16 this season.
MIAMI is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in road games revenging a home loss vs opponent in the current season.
LA CLIPPERS are 10-0 ATS (10 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games in the current season.
INDIANA is 9-1 Over (7.9 Units) after 4 or more consecutive overs in the current season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in home games after scoring 125 points or more 2 straight games in the current season.
NBA
Dunkel
Sunday, April 21
NBA
Long Sheet
Sunday, April 21
LA CLIPPERS are 10-0 ATS (10 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games in the current season.
INDIANA is 9-1 Over (7.9 Units) after 4 or more consecutive overs in the current season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in home games after scoring 125 points or more 2 straight games in the current season.
NBA
Dunkel
Sunday, April 21
NBA
Long Sheet
Sunday, April 21
Monday’s 7-pack:
Last seven baseball teams to start a season 3-18, or worse (final record):
— 1969 Cleveland Indians (62-99)
— 1988 Baltimore Orioles started out 0-21, finished 54-107
— 1993 Kansas City Royals (72-90)
— 2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119)
— 2018 Cincinnati Reds (67-95)
— 2022 Cincinnati Reds (62-100)
— 2024 Chicago White Sox
Quote of the Day
“Not (feeling) too great. Frustration. Anger. Mad. Any of those adjectives you want to use.”
Angels 3B Anthony Rendon, talking about his latest injury/IL stint
Monday’s quiz
Who is the Arizona Diamondbacks’ all-time leader in pitching wins?
Sunday’s quiz
Everyone knows that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American major leaguer, but he played in the National League; Larry Doby was the first African-American player in the American League- he was an outfielder for Cleveland.
Saturday’s quiz
Knicks lost 4-1 to San Antonio in 1999, the last time they were in NBA Finals.
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— Diamondbacks are 1-6 in series openers, 9-6 in all other games.
— Braves are 14-1 when they score 5 or more runs.
— Cubs are 3-0 in home series openers, 1-3 in road series openers.
— Reds are 11-3 when they score 4+ runs, 1-6 when they don’t.
— Rockies are 1-16 when they score less than seven runs.
— Dodgers are 2-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
— Marlins are 1-10 against lefty starting pitchers.
— Brewers have 5 wins where they scored 3 or fewer runs, tied with the Mets for the most in the major leagues.
— Over is 7-1 in the Mets’ last seven road games.
— Phillies are 13-1 when they score 4 or more runs.
— Pirates lost their last six games, scoring total of nine runs.
— Cardinals are 2-9 in day games, 7-4 in night games.
— Padres have been held to 2 or fewer runs in 10 of 24 games; they’re 0-10 scoring 2 or fewer runs, 10-2 scoring 3+ runs.
— Barry Bonds hit 45 home runs in 2004; since then, no Giant player has hit 30+ homers in a season. During that time, every other major league team has had 5+ seasons where a player hit 30+ homers.
— Nationals are 8-5 in their last 13 games, after a 2-6 start.
— Famous birthdays for April 22nd:
Jack Nicholson, 87
Peter Frampton, 74
Terry Francona, 65
Jimmy Key, 63
Jeff Hostetler, 63
Bimbo Coles, 56
Marshawn Lynch, 38
Eddie Albert, the star of Green Acres, one of the funniest TV shows ever, was born on this day in 1906.
— Orioles are 11-3 vs righty starting pitchers, 3-4 vs lefty starters.
— Red Sox are 10-2 when they score 5+ runs, 3-8 when they don’t.
— White Sox are 7th team since 1960 to start a season 3-18 or worse.
— Guardians have a 16-6 record, best record in American League.
— Tigers are 4-0 vs lefty starting pitchers, 8-10 vs righty starters.
— Astros are off to a 7-16 start; their last losing year in a full season was 2014 (they went 29-31 in 2020, the pandemic season).
— Royals are off to a 13-9 start; their last winning season was 2015, when they won the World Series.
— This is Mike Trout’s 14th year in the majors; he’s played in three playoff games, going 1-12 at the plate in those games- the one hit was a home run.
— Twins lost six of its last seven games; they’re 2-6 at home.
— New York is 15-2 when it scores 3+ runs.
— A’s are 3-0 when they score 6+ runs, 5-14 when they don’t.
— Mariners won five of their last six games; under is 10-2 in their last 12 games.
— Rays are off to a 12-11 start; they’ve made the playoffs the last five years, have been over .500 the last six seasons.
— Rangers are 4-5 in their last nine games; they’re 12-11, leading AL West by a game.
— Blue Jays scored in the first inning in 7 of their last 12 games.
Last seven baseball teams to start a season 3-18, or worse (final record):
— 1969 Cleveland Indians (62-99)
— 1988 Baltimore Orioles started out 0-21, finished 54-107
— 1993 Kansas City Royals (72-90)
— 2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119)
— 2018 Cincinnati Reds (67-95)
— 2022 Cincinnati Reds (62-100)
— 2024 Chicago White Sox
Quote of the Day
“Not (feeling) too great. Frustration. Anger. Mad. Any of those adjectives you want to use.”
Angels 3B Anthony Rendon, talking about his latest injury/IL stint
Monday’s quiz
Who is the Arizona Diamondbacks’ all-time leader in pitching wins?
Sunday’s quiz
Everyone knows that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American major leaguer, but he played in the National League; Larry Doby was the first African-American player in the American League- he was an outfielder for Cleveland.
Saturday’s quiz
Knicks lost 4-1 to San Antonio in 1999, the last time they were in NBA Finals.
**************************************
Monday’s Den: Quick trends for all 30 MLB teams…….
Quick trends for all 30 MLB teams…….— Diamondbacks are 1-6 in series openers, 9-6 in all other games.
— Braves are 14-1 when they score 5 or more runs.
— Cubs are 3-0 in home series openers, 1-3 in road series openers.
— Reds are 11-3 when they score 4+ runs, 1-6 when they don’t.
— Rockies are 1-16 when they score less than seven runs.
— Dodgers are 2-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
— Marlins are 1-10 against lefty starting pitchers.
— Brewers have 5 wins where they scored 3 or fewer runs, tied with the Mets for the most in the major leagues.
— Over is 7-1 in the Mets’ last seven road games.
— Phillies are 13-1 when they score 4 or more runs.
— Pirates lost their last six games, scoring total of nine runs.
— Cardinals are 2-9 in day games, 7-4 in night games.
— Padres have been held to 2 or fewer runs in 10 of 24 games; they’re 0-10 scoring 2 or fewer runs, 10-2 scoring 3+ runs.
— Barry Bonds hit 45 home runs in 2004; since then, no Giant player has hit 30+ homers in a season. During that time, every other major league team has had 5+ seasons where a player hit 30+ homers.
— Nationals are 8-5 in their last 13 games, after a 2-6 start.
— Famous birthdays for April 22nd:
Jack Nicholson, 87
Peter Frampton, 74
Terry Francona, 65
Jimmy Key, 63
Jeff Hostetler, 63
Bimbo Coles, 56
Marshawn Lynch, 38
Eddie Albert, the star of Green Acres, one of the funniest TV shows ever, was born on this day in 1906.
— Orioles are 11-3 vs righty starting pitchers, 3-4 vs lefty starters.
— Red Sox are 10-2 when they score 5+ runs, 3-8 when they don’t.
— White Sox are 7th team since 1960 to start a season 3-18 or worse.
— Guardians have a 16-6 record, best record in American League.
— Tigers are 4-0 vs lefty starting pitchers, 8-10 vs righty starters.
— Astros are off to a 7-16 start; their last losing year in a full season was 2014 (they went 29-31 in 2020, the pandemic season).
— Royals are off to a 13-9 start; their last winning season was 2015, when they won the World Series.
— This is Mike Trout’s 14th year in the majors; he’s played in three playoff games, going 1-12 at the plate in those games- the one hit was a home run.
— Twins lost six of its last seven games; they’re 2-6 at home.
— New York is 15-2 when it scores 3+ runs.
— A’s are 3-0 when they score 6+ runs, 5-14 when they don’t.
— Mariners won five of their last six games; under is 10-2 in their last 12 games.
— Rays are off to a 12-11 start; they’ve made the playoffs the last five years, have been over .500 the last six seasons.
— Rangers are 4-5 in their last nine games; they’re 12-11, leading AL West by a game.
— Blue Jays scored in the first inning in 7 of their last 12 games.
ORLANDO is 11-2 Under (8.8 Units) after failing to cover 3 of their last 4 against the spread in the current season.
PHILADELPHIA is 112-79 Over (25.1 Units) in road games when the total is 200-200.5 since 1996.
LA LAKERS are 15-4 Over (10.6 Units) in road games after 2 straight games being called for 5+ less fouls than opponent over the last 2 seasons.
NBA
Dunkel
Monday, April 22
NBA
Long Sheet
Monday, April 22
PHILADELPHIA is 112-79 Over (25.1 Units) in road games when the total is 200-200.5 since 1996.
LA LAKERS are 15-4 Over (10.6 Units) in road games after 2 straight games being called for 5+ less fouls than opponent over the last 2 seasons.
NBA
Dunkel
Monday, April 22
NBA
Long Sheet
Monday, April 22
Tuesday’s 6-pack:
— Nuggets 101, Lakers 99- Murray hit contested jumper at buzzer for the win.
— Knicks 104, 76ers 101- NY outscored 76ers 8-0 over the final 0:30.
— Cavaliers 96, Magic 86- Home side won all six games in these three series.
— Knights 4, Stars 3- Vegas scored four goals on only 15 shots.
— Hurricanes 5, Islanders 3- New York led 3-0 with 8:00 left in 2nd period.
— Toronto 3, Boston 2- Maple Leafs even series, 1-1.
Quote of the Day
“Over the last 11 years, Tammy and I have enjoyed calling Kansas City our home. The community has embraced us, we’ve watched our family grow, including having all 12 grandkids during our time here. On the field, there have been so many people that have contributed to our success and Super Bowls, and I’m grateful to the players, coaches and staff that have all invested their time into this process.”
Andy Reid, after getting a contract extension thru 2029
Tuesday’s quiz
Who was the Chiefs’ coach before Andy Reid?
Monday’s quiz
Randy Johnson is the Arizona Diamondbacks’ all-time leader in pitching wins.
Sunday’s quiz
Everyone knows that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American major leaguer, but he played in the National League; Larry Doby was the first African-American player in the American League- he was an outfielder for Cleveland.
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Back in the late 60’s, Tennessee Vols had a punter named Ron Widby; he wound up punting for seven years in the NFL, for Dallas/Green Bay, but he was also a good enough basketball player that he played 20 games for the New Orleans Buccaneers in the old ABA. He punted for Dallas when they won Super Bowl VI.
He punted in Tennessee’s bowl game one year, and also played in their basketball game the same day, getting ferried back and forth by boosters’ airplanes. He was also on the school’s golf team. Widby scored 50 points in a basketball game against LSU.
Impressive career, for sure.
— Jets traded QB Zach Wilson to Denver Monday; in return, they moved up from a 7th round pick to a 6th round pick late in the draft.
Wilson was the 2nd pick in the 2021 draft; he went 12-21 in three years as the Jets’ starter.
— Denver Broncos’ quarterback room as we speak:
Jarrett Stidham
Zach Wilson
Ben DiNucci
Will they draft a quarterback this week?
— Top five QB’s drafted three short years ago, in 2021:
Jacksonville- Trevor Lawrence- 21-31 as Jaguars’s starter, 1-1 in playoffs.
Jets- Zach Wilson- traded to Denver
San Francisco- Trey Lance- traded to Dallas
Chicago- Justin Fields- traded to Pittsburgh
New England- Mac Jones- traded to Jacksonville.
— Matt Ryan officially retired Monday, with career earnings of $304M; he had a career record of 128-115-1, 4-6 in playoff games.
— A 15-year old kid finished T20 on the Korn Ferry golf tour this weekend- that’s the AAA golf tour, the old Nike Tour. Pretty impressive for a high school kid.
— Alabama poached a kicker from Miami OH; college sports is like baseball now, the rich steal from the not-so-rich.
— Speaking of which, FedEx kicked in $25M to the NIL program at Memphis, which figures to be a big boost to their recruiting efforts.
— Famous birthdays for April 23rd:
Lee Majors, 85
Gail Goodrich, 81
Joyce DeWitt, 75
Joe Ferguson, 74 (Bills’ QB)
Uwe von Schamann, 68
Valerie Bertinelli, 64
Andruw Jones, 47
Gavin Sheets, 28
— Astros-Rockies are playing couple of games in Mexico this weekend; very high altitude, games figure to be hitter-friendly.
— Dodgers just finished a homestead where they lost all three series, first time that happened since 2011.
— Baseball season is only four weeks old, but who would’ve thought that Shota Imanaga would be a better pitcher than Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
Listening to the wise guys this winter who supposedly know all this stuff, no one thought Imanaga would be a big deal, but so far, he is 3-0, 0.84 in four starts.
— Mets’ catcher Francisco Alvarez (thumb) is out for a couple months.
— A’s 2, New York 0
Zack Gelof’s 9th-inning homer provided the game’s only runs.
JP Sears tossed six scoreless IP against the team that traded him away.
— Twins 7, White Sox 0
Chicago was blanked for the 8th time in 22 games.
Paddack was 0-1, 8.36 in three starts before this game.
— Padres 3, Rockies 1
Cease allowed one baserunner in 7 IP.
Rockies are 1-8 in last nine games, scoring total of 15 runs.
— Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 3
Nolan Gorman snapped an 0-19 skid with a walk-off homer.
— Phillies 7, Reds 0
Ranger Suarez has a 25-inning scoreless streak.
Phillies have won seven games in a row.
— Nuggets 101, Lakers 99- Murray hit contested jumper at buzzer for the win.
— Knicks 104, 76ers 101- NY outscored 76ers 8-0 over the final 0:30.
— Cavaliers 96, Magic 86- Home side won all six games in these three series.
— Knights 4, Stars 3- Vegas scored four goals on only 15 shots.
— Hurricanes 5, Islanders 3- New York led 3-0 with 8:00 left in 2nd period.
— Toronto 3, Boston 2- Maple Leafs even series, 1-1.
Quote of the Day
“Over the last 11 years, Tammy and I have enjoyed calling Kansas City our home. The community has embraced us, we’ve watched our family grow, including having all 12 grandkids during our time here. On the field, there have been so many people that have contributed to our success and Super Bowls, and I’m grateful to the players, coaches and staff that have all invested their time into this process.”
Andy Reid, after getting a contract extension thru 2029
Tuesday’s quiz
Who was the Chiefs’ coach before Andy Reid?
Monday’s quiz
Randy Johnson is the Arizona Diamondbacks’ all-time leader in pitching wins.
Sunday’s quiz
Everyone knows that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American major leaguer, but he played in the National League; Larry Doby was the first African-American player in the American League- he was an outfielder for Cleveland.
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Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..
— You hear a lot about guys who played more than one pro sport; Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Brian Jordan, Dave DeBusschere, Danny Ainge.Back in the late 60’s, Tennessee Vols had a punter named Ron Widby; he wound up punting for seven years in the NFL, for Dallas/Green Bay, but he was also a good enough basketball player that he played 20 games for the New Orleans Buccaneers in the old ABA. He punted for Dallas when they won Super Bowl VI.
He punted in Tennessee’s bowl game one year, and also played in their basketball game the same day, getting ferried back and forth by boosters’ airplanes. He was also on the school’s golf team. Widby scored 50 points in a basketball game against LSU.
Impressive career, for sure.
— Jets traded QB Zach Wilson to Denver Monday; in return, they moved up from a 7th round pick to a 6th round pick late in the draft.
Wilson was the 2nd pick in the 2021 draft; he went 12-21 in three years as the Jets’ starter.
— Denver Broncos’ quarterback room as we speak:
Jarrett Stidham
Zach Wilson
Ben DiNucci
Will they draft a quarterback this week?
— Top five QB’s drafted three short years ago, in 2021:
Jacksonville- Trevor Lawrence- 21-31 as Jaguars’s starter, 1-1 in playoffs.
Jets- Zach Wilson- traded to Denver
San Francisco- Trey Lance- traded to Dallas
Chicago- Justin Fields- traded to Pittsburgh
New England- Mac Jones- traded to Jacksonville.
— Matt Ryan officially retired Monday, with career earnings of $304M; he had a career record of 128-115-1, 4-6 in playoff games.
— A 15-year old kid finished T20 on the Korn Ferry golf tour this weekend- that’s the AAA golf tour, the old Nike Tour. Pretty impressive for a high school kid.
— Alabama poached a kicker from Miami OH; college sports is like baseball now, the rich steal from the not-so-rich.
— Speaking of which, FedEx kicked in $25M to the NIL program at Memphis, which figures to be a big boost to their recruiting efforts.
— Famous birthdays for April 23rd:
Lee Majors, 85
Gail Goodrich, 81
Joyce DeWitt, 75
Joe Ferguson, 74 (Bills’ QB)
Uwe von Schamann, 68
Valerie Bertinelli, 64
Andruw Jones, 47
Gavin Sheets, 28
— Astros-Rockies are playing couple of games in Mexico this weekend; very high altitude, games figure to be hitter-friendly.
— Dodgers just finished a homestead where they lost all three series, first time that happened since 2011.
— Baseball season is only four weeks old, but who would’ve thought that Shota Imanaga would be a better pitcher than Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
Listening to the wise guys this winter who supposedly know all this stuff, no one thought Imanaga would be a big deal, but so far, he is 3-0, 0.84 in four starts.
— Mets’ catcher Francisco Alvarez (thumb) is out for a couple months.
— A’s 2, New York 0
Zack Gelof’s 9th-inning homer provided the game’s only runs.
JP Sears tossed six scoreless IP against the team that traded him away.
— Twins 7, White Sox 0
Chicago was blanked for the 8th time in 22 games.
Paddack was 0-1, 8.36 in three starts before this game.
— Padres 3, Rockies 1
Cease allowed one baserunner in 7 IP.
Rockies are 1-8 in last nine games, scoring total of 15 runs.
— Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 3
Nolan Gorman snapped an 0-19 skid with a walk-off homer.
— Phillies 7, Reds 0
Ranger Suarez has a 25-inning scoreless streak.
Phillies have won seven games in a row.
MINNESOTA is 25-12 ATS (11.8 Units) in home games after a win by 10 points or more in the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights in the current season.
LA CLIPPERS are 11-0 ATS (11 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games in the current season.
NBA
Dunkel
Tuesday, April 23
NBA
Long Sheet
Tuesday, April 23
INDIANA is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights in the current season.
LA CLIPPERS are 11-0 ATS (11 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games in the current season.
NBA
Dunkel
Tuesday, April 23
NBA
Long Sheet
Tuesday, April 23
