Armadillo Sports
Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Major league leaders in runs scored:
54— Bobby Witt Jr, KC
48— William Contreras, Milw
47— Gunnar Henderson, Balt
46— Jose Ramirez Clev/Juan Soto NYY
44— Kyle Schwarber Phil/Aaron Judge NYY
43— Marcus Semien Tex/Mookie Betts LA/Anthony Volpe, NYY
Quote of the Day
“That was a terrible game by us today, especially the early portion of the game. When you’re going through losing streaks, at least you fight. For the most part we have. That was an awful game.”
Giants’ manager Bob Melvin, after an 8-5 loss in Arizona.
Wednesday’s quiz
Who is the San Diego Padres’ all-time leader in home runs?
Tuesday’s quiz
In the first-ever episode of Cheers, Diane (Shelley Long) was in Sam Malone’s bar because she was with her fiancee, waiting to get married, but he wound up walking out on her and Sam hired her as a waitress in the bar.
Monday’s quiz
Doc Rivers was coach of the Boston Celtics, last time they won the NBA title.
***************************************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
— There is an excellent 90-minute special on HBO with former NBA player/US Senator Bill Bradley; he talks about his very interesting life and one of the stories he told was especially interesting, at least to me.
Jerry Lucas was a very good ballplayer; he played for the ’73 Knicks championship team, he scored over 14,000 points in his career, but he was also a memory expert- he wrote books with a guy named Harry Lorayne about how to improve your memory.
I bought one of his books when I was in high school, but I forgot where I put it
Bill Bradley tells this story about how Lucas met the great chess champion Bobby Fischer, and Lucas told Fischer how he memorized pages in a phone book. He could tell you anyone’s phone number in the book; Fischer didn’t believe him.
Fischer picks a page in the phone book, asks Lucas for the phone number of the 10th name on that page, and Lucas rattles it off, no problem.
An amazing skill, but not sure how marketable it was.
— Northwestern’s basketball team is taking a 10-day trip to Italy/Greece August 20-30; trips like those help with team bonding, especially in this transfer portal era, when teams get cobbled together quickly.
— 49ers signed Christian McCaffrey to a 2-year, $38M contract extension; there are only five running backs who are making $10M+ a year.
— Today is June 5th; the baseball trade deadline is eight weeks from tomorrow, so for the next 57 days, writers will guess which players the contending teams will poach from the poor teams before July 31st. No bueno.
All this stuff gives fantasy baseball managers a headache; one of your players gets traded to a smaller ballpark (or a pitcher to a bigger one) that helps. Of course the opposite can also happen; real-life trades will keep us on our toes next month.
— Tuesday was a rough day for my fantasy squad; three of my players went on the IL, one of whom sprained his ankle stumbling on the dugout steps during Sunday’s game. Seriously, a 24-year old pro athlete is out for three weeks because he tripped on the dugout steps.
Oy.
— Phillies 2, Brewers 1 (10)
Alec Bohm tied the game with an 8th inning home run.
Phillies are 43-19, 26-9 at home; they lead NL East by 7 games.
— Pirates 1, Dodgers 0
Jack Suwinski’s home run was the game’s only run.
Jared Jones tossed six shutout inning for Pittsburgh.
Dodgers were 0-12 with runners in scoring position.
Famous birthdays, June 5th:
Leslie Hendrix, 64
Jeff Garlin, 62
Mark Wahlberg, 53
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 49
Torry Holt, 48
Andrew Heaney, 33
Joe Ryan, 28
Sam Darnold, 27
— Guardians 8, Royals 5
Kansas City led 5-0 in fifth inning; Bobby Witt hit two homers.
Cleveland leads AL Central by 5 games over the Royals.
— Rays 9, Marlins 5
Brandon Lowe hit a 3-run homer, knocked in five runs.
Tampa Bay is 21-4 in its last 25 games against the Marlins.
— Cubs 7, White Sox 6
White Sox led 5-0 in fifth inning, still lost their 12th game in a row.
Cubs won for only third time in their last 12 games.
— Tigers 3, Rangers 1
Jack Flaherty tossed five shutout IP (60 PT), left with back tightness.
Detroit is over .500 for first time since May 18th.
— Astros 8, Cardinals 5
Yanier Diaz homered for the second game in a row.
Alex Bregman scored three runs for Houston.
— Reds 4, Rockies 1
Frankie Montas allowed only one hit in 7 IP.
Hideo Nomo threw the only no-hitter in Coors Field history, in 1996.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Braves, Padres, Cubs
AL: New York, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Cards: Orioles, Royals, Twins
Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Major league leaders in runs scored:
54— Bobby Witt Jr, KC
48— William Contreras, Milw
47— Gunnar Henderson, Balt
46— Jose Ramirez Clev/Juan Soto NYY
44— Kyle Schwarber Phil/Aaron Judge NYY
43— Marcus Semien Tex/Mookie Betts LA/Anthony Volpe, NYY
Quote of the Day
“That was a terrible game by us today, especially the early portion of the game. When you’re going through losing streaks, at least you fight. For the most part we have. That was an awful game.”
Giants’ manager Bob Melvin, after an 8-5 loss in Arizona.
Wednesday’s quiz
Who is the San Diego Padres’ all-time leader in home runs?
Tuesday’s quiz
In the first-ever episode of Cheers, Diane (Shelley Long) was in Sam Malone’s bar because she was with her fiancee, waiting to get married, but he wound up walking out on her and Sam hired her as a waitress in the bar.
Monday’s quiz
Doc Rivers was coach of the Boston Celtics, last time they won the NBA title.
***************************************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
— There is an excellent 90-minute special on HBO with former NBA player/US Senator Bill Bradley; he talks about his very interesting life and one of the stories he told was especially interesting, at least to me.
Jerry Lucas was a very good ballplayer; he played for the ’73 Knicks championship team, he scored over 14,000 points in his career, but he was also a memory expert- he wrote books with a guy named Harry Lorayne about how to improve your memory.
I bought one of his books when I was in high school, but I forgot where I put it
Bill Bradley tells this story about how Lucas met the great chess champion Bobby Fischer, and Lucas told Fischer how he memorized pages in a phone book. He could tell you anyone’s phone number in the book; Fischer didn’t believe him.
Fischer picks a page in the phone book, asks Lucas for the phone number of the 10th name on that page, and Lucas rattles it off, no problem.
An amazing skill, but not sure how marketable it was.
— Northwestern’s basketball team is taking a 10-day trip to Italy/Greece August 20-30; trips like those help with team bonding, especially in this transfer portal era, when teams get cobbled together quickly.
— 49ers signed Christian McCaffrey to a 2-year, $38M contract extension; there are only five running backs who are making $10M+ a year.
— Today is June 5th; the baseball trade deadline is eight weeks from tomorrow, so for the next 57 days, writers will guess which players the contending teams will poach from the poor teams before July 31st. No bueno.
All this stuff gives fantasy baseball managers a headache; one of your players gets traded to a smaller ballpark (or a pitcher to a bigger one) that helps. Of course the opposite can also happen; real-life trades will keep us on our toes next month.
— Tuesday was a rough day for my fantasy squad; three of my players went on the IL, one of whom sprained his ankle stumbling on the dugout steps during Sunday’s game. Seriously, a 24-year old pro athlete is out for three weeks because he tripped on the dugout steps.
Oy.
— Phillies 2, Brewers 1 (10)
Alec Bohm tied the game with an 8th inning home run.
Phillies are 43-19, 26-9 at home; they lead NL East by 7 games.
— Pirates 1, Dodgers 0
Jack Suwinski’s home run was the game’s only run.
Jared Jones tossed six shutout inning for Pittsburgh.
Dodgers were 0-12 with runners in scoring position.
Famous birthdays, June 5th:
Leslie Hendrix, 64
Jeff Garlin, 62
Mark Wahlberg, 53
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 49
Torry Holt, 48
Andrew Heaney, 33
Joe Ryan, 28
Sam Darnold, 27
— Guardians 8, Royals 5
Kansas City led 5-0 in fifth inning; Bobby Witt hit two homers.
Cleveland leads AL Central by 5 games over the Royals.
— Rays 9, Marlins 5
Brandon Lowe hit a 3-run homer, knocked in five runs.
Tampa Bay is 21-4 in its last 25 games against the Marlins.
— Cubs 7, White Sox 6
White Sox led 5-0 in fifth inning, still lost their 12th game in a row.
Cubs won for only third time in their last 12 games.
— Tigers 3, Rangers 1
Jack Flaherty tossed five shutout IP (60 PT), left with back tightness.
Detroit is over .500 for first time since May 18th.
— Astros 8, Cardinals 5
Yanier Diaz homered for the second game in a row.
Alex Bregman scored three runs for Houston.
— Reds 4, Rockies 1
Frankie Montas allowed only one hit in 7 IP.
Hideo Nomo threw the only no-hitter in Coors Field history, in 1996.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Braves, Padres, Cubs
AL: New York, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Cards: Orioles, Royals, Twins
Thursday’s 6-pack:
— Rays 5, Marlins 3— Tampa Bay won 23 of last 26 games vs Miami.
— Cubs 7, White Sox 6- Pale Hose led 5-1 in fifth inning.
— Reds 12, Rockies 7- Cincinnati scored six runs in ninth inning.
— Pirates 10, Dodgers 6- Pittsburgh scored seven runs in 2nd inning.
— Angels 3, Padres 2- Zach Neto hit a 2-rum homer.
— A’s 2, Mariners 1- Joey Estes had a perfect game going until 7th inning.
Quote of the Day
“It just wasn’t perfect for us playing together, and it didn’t work out. And that’s it. There’s no ill will, I don’t think from their side. For sure, [there is not] from my side. I don’t think there should be. It just didn’t work out, but I have nothing but love for Dallas and for my teammates and for everybody there.”
Celtics C Kristaps Porzingis, talking about his time with the Mavericks
Thursday’s quiz
Dave Winfield was a Hall of Fame baseball player, was drafted by four pro teams in three different sports. Where did he go to college?
Wednesday’s quiz
Nate Colbert is the San Diego Padres’ all-time leader in home runs, with 163.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the first-ever episode of Cheers, Diane (Shelley Long) was in Sam Malone’s bar because she was with her fiancee, waiting to get married, but he wound up walking out on her and Sam hired her as a waitress in the bar.
************************************************
Remember Gene Bartow coaching basketball at UCLA? The guy replaced John Wooden, he went 52-9 in two years, then beat feet to start the program at UAB, because back then, 52-9 at UCLA wasn’t good enough. Kind of like Alabama now.
Kalen DeBoer went 25-3 in two years at Washington, 12-6 in two years at Fresno State and before that, he was 67-3 at an NAIA school. Very good coach.
But Alabama has only 8 of 22 starters back from last year; good luck.
— Georgia scored 40.1 ppg last year; they’ve got nine starters back on offense, but lost four assistant coaches, two of whom became head coaches (Georgia State/Syracuse).
Last time Georgia didn’t play in a bowl: 1996.
— USC is in the Big 18 now; they got a break with their schedule- their three eastern road trips are in September/October. Trojans’ over/under win total is only 7.5, not very high; they’ve got only nine starters back. Who will play QB; last year’s backup, Miller Moss or UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava?
— Oklahoma/Texas are both in the SEC now; Sooners figure to struggle some.
Oklahoma has a new:
Offensive coordinator
Quarterback
5 new offensive linemen
Sooners open with four straight home games, but Houston/Tennessee are two of those.
— As for Texas, they’ve got 5 starters back on offense, 7 on defense; their QB is back, and so are 4 of their starters on the offensive line, which is good. They’ve got a tough road game September 7 at Michigan.
Last year, Longhorns were #70 in country in 3rd down conversions (38.4%), 120th in country in TD %age in the red zone (50.8%). Those numbers need to improve.
— Florida’s November schedule is kind of hard:
November 2- vs Georgia
November 9- @ Texas
November 16- LSU
November 23- Ole Miss
November 30- @ Florida State
No bye weeks in there; not ideal.
— Coordinators who changed jobs since last year:
Ohio State OC Chip Kelly was head coach at UCLA last year.
Alabama DC Kane Wommack was the head coach at South Alabama last year.
Arkansas OC Bobby Petrino was head coach at Missouri State last year.
UCLA OC Eric Bieniemy was OC for the Commanders last year.
Boise State OC Dirk Koetter comes out of semi-retirement to revive the Broncos’ offense.
Michigan DC Wink Martindale was the Giants’ DC last year.
— Famous birthdays for June 6th:
Max Venable, 67
Cam Neely, 59
Paul Giamatti, 57
Mark Ellis, 47
Anthony Rendon, 34
DeAndre Hopkins, 32
Joey Lucchesi, 31
Kenny Pickett, 26
— 12-team college football playoff starts with two games each December 20-21.
Quarterfinals will have two games each December 31-January 1st.
Semi-finals are January 9-10.
National championship game is January 20th.
— Last year, I-A teams went 113-4 vs I-AA teams; it is stupid that these games are played, it is stealing money from fans to watch non-competitive games. This year, there are 121 of these games. Awesome.
I-A teams that lost to a I-AA team last year:
Buffalo, Nevada, Northern Illinois, Stanford.
— Michigan QB Jack Tuttle was the 7th-rated QB in the 2018 freshman class; he is still a Wolverine. Here are some other QB’s who were also in that class:
#1- Trevor Lawrence- Was #1 pick in the 2021 draft
#11- Justin Fields- #11 pick in ‘21 draft just got traded to the Steelers.
#25- Zach Wilson- #2 pick in ’21 draft just moved to the Broncos.
#36- Michael Penix- #8 pick in 2024 draft by Atlanta.
#50- Brock Purdy- #262 pick in ’22 draft starts for the 49ers.
Tuttle isn’t the only QB in his 7th year of college football.
Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman used to play at Texas Tech.
Utah QB Cam Rising used to play at Texas.
— Clemson won its last five games LY, after starting the season 4-4; six true freshmen started 3+ games last year, and none of them transferred. This year, Tigers play Georgia, Florida State, NC State in their first five games.
Last year was first time in 12 years Clemson didn’t win 10+ games; they’ve only got three starters back on defense, but the offense figures to be improved.
— Coaches on the hot seat, alphabetically by school:
(In reality, every coach who lost his last game is on the hot seat, but still…….)
Arkansas- Sam Pittman- Hired Bobby Petrino to save his offense.
Baylor- Dave Aranda- Bears are 3-10 in last 13 games, with a home loss to Texas State.
BYU- Kalani Sitake- Were 118th in country running ball LY, now they’re in the Big X.
Florida- Billy Napier- He is 11-14 in two years, but has 13 starters back this season.
Pittsburgh- Pat Narduzzi- Pitt was 3-9 LY, then fired the offensive coordinator.
— Top QB’s who transferred this year:
Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma to Oregon)
Cam Ward (Washington State to Miami)
Riley Leonard (Duke to Notre Dame)
DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson to Oregon State to Florida State)
Cam Howard (Kansas State to Ohio State)
— With all the conference shuffling going on, Oregon State/Washington State got screwed over, left behind to fend for themselves, all of which makes Oregon State-Oregon, Washington-Wazzu must watch TV this fall.
Beavers/Coogs are basically playing a Mountain West schedule for now; Oregon State’s coach bolted to Michigan State, and he’s an OSU alum. Not a good sign for the future.
— Rays 5, Marlins 3— Tampa Bay won 23 of last 26 games vs Miami.
— Cubs 7, White Sox 6- Pale Hose led 5-1 in fifth inning.
— Reds 12, Rockies 7- Cincinnati scored six runs in ninth inning.
— Pirates 10, Dodgers 6- Pittsburgh scored seven runs in 2nd inning.
— Angels 3, Padres 2- Zach Neto hit a 2-rum homer.
— A’s 2, Mariners 1- Joey Estes had a perfect game going until 7th inning.
Quote of the Day
“It just wasn’t perfect for us playing together, and it didn’t work out. And that’s it. There’s no ill will, I don’t think from their side. For sure, [there is not] from my side. I don’t think there should be. It just didn’t work out, but I have nothing but love for Dallas and for my teammates and for everybody there.”
Celtics C Kristaps Porzingis, talking about his time with the Mavericks
Thursday’s quiz
Dave Winfield was a Hall of Fame baseball player, was drafted by four pro teams in three different sports. Where did he go to college?
Wednesday’s quiz
Nate Colbert is the San Diego Padres’ all-time leader in home runs, with 163.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the first-ever episode of Cheers, Diane (Shelley Long) was in Sam Malone’s bar because she was with her fiancee, waiting to get married, but he wound up walking out on her and Sam hired her as a waitress in the bar.
************************************************
Thursday’s Den: Random college football knowledge
— Replacing Nick Saban at Alabama is going to be really difficult; the fanbase is spoiled, the SEC is a really tough league. Very little chance this ends well.Remember Gene Bartow coaching basketball at UCLA? The guy replaced John Wooden, he went 52-9 in two years, then beat feet to start the program at UAB, because back then, 52-9 at UCLA wasn’t good enough. Kind of like Alabama now.
Kalen DeBoer went 25-3 in two years at Washington, 12-6 in two years at Fresno State and before that, he was 67-3 at an NAIA school. Very good coach.
But Alabama has only 8 of 22 starters back from last year; good luck.
— Georgia scored 40.1 ppg last year; they’ve got nine starters back on offense, but lost four assistant coaches, two of whom became head coaches (Georgia State/Syracuse).
Last time Georgia didn’t play in a bowl: 1996.
— USC is in the Big 18 now; they got a break with their schedule- their three eastern road trips are in September/October. Trojans’ over/under win total is only 7.5, not very high; they’ve got only nine starters back. Who will play QB; last year’s backup, Miller Moss or UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava?
— Oklahoma/Texas are both in the SEC now; Sooners figure to struggle some.
Oklahoma has a new:
Offensive coordinator
Quarterback
5 new offensive linemen
Sooners open with four straight home games, but Houston/Tennessee are two of those.
— As for Texas, they’ve got 5 starters back on offense, 7 on defense; their QB is back, and so are 4 of their starters on the offensive line, which is good. They’ve got a tough road game September 7 at Michigan.
Last year, Longhorns were #70 in country in 3rd down conversions (38.4%), 120th in country in TD %age in the red zone (50.8%). Those numbers need to improve.
— Florida’s November schedule is kind of hard:
November 2- vs Georgia
November 9- @ Texas
November 16- LSU
November 23- Ole Miss
November 30- @ Florida State
No bye weeks in there; not ideal.
— Coordinators who changed jobs since last year:
Ohio State OC Chip Kelly was head coach at UCLA last year.
Alabama DC Kane Wommack was the head coach at South Alabama last year.
Arkansas OC Bobby Petrino was head coach at Missouri State last year.
UCLA OC Eric Bieniemy was OC for the Commanders last year.
Boise State OC Dirk Koetter comes out of semi-retirement to revive the Broncos’ offense.
Michigan DC Wink Martindale was the Giants’ DC last year.
— Famous birthdays for June 6th:
Max Venable, 67
Cam Neely, 59
Paul Giamatti, 57
Mark Ellis, 47
Anthony Rendon, 34
DeAndre Hopkins, 32
Joey Lucchesi, 31
Kenny Pickett, 26
— 12-team college football playoff starts with two games each December 20-21.
Quarterfinals will have two games each December 31-January 1st.
Semi-finals are January 9-10.
National championship game is January 20th.
— Last year, I-A teams went 113-4 vs I-AA teams; it is stupid that these games are played, it is stealing money from fans to watch non-competitive games. This year, there are 121 of these games. Awesome.
I-A teams that lost to a I-AA team last year:
Buffalo, Nevada, Northern Illinois, Stanford.
— Michigan QB Jack Tuttle was the 7th-rated QB in the 2018 freshman class; he is still a Wolverine. Here are some other QB’s who were also in that class:
#1- Trevor Lawrence- Was #1 pick in the 2021 draft
#11- Justin Fields- #11 pick in ‘21 draft just got traded to the Steelers.
#25- Zach Wilson- #2 pick in ’21 draft just moved to the Broncos.
#36- Michael Penix- #8 pick in 2024 draft by Atlanta.
#50- Brock Purdy- #262 pick in ’22 draft starts for the 49ers.
Tuttle isn’t the only QB in his 7th year of college football.
Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman used to play at Texas Tech.
Utah QB Cam Rising used to play at Texas.
— Clemson won its last five games LY, after starting the season 4-4; six true freshmen started 3+ games last year, and none of them transferred. This year, Tigers play Georgia, Florida State, NC State in their first five games.
Last year was first time in 12 years Clemson didn’t win 10+ games; they’ve only got three starters back on defense, but the offense figures to be improved.
— Coaches on the hot seat, alphabetically by school:
(In reality, every coach who lost his last game is on the hot seat, but still…….)
Arkansas- Sam Pittman- Hired Bobby Petrino to save his offense.
Baylor- Dave Aranda- Bears are 3-10 in last 13 games, with a home loss to Texas State.
BYU- Kalani Sitake- Were 118th in country running ball LY, now they’re in the Big X.
Florida- Billy Napier- He is 11-14 in two years, but has 13 starters back this season.
Pittsburgh- Pat Narduzzi- Pitt was 3-9 LY, then fired the offensive coordinator.
— Top QB’s who transferred this year:
Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma to Oregon)
Cam Ward (Washington State to Miami)
Riley Leonard (Duke to Notre Dame)
DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson to Oregon State to Florida State)
Cam Howard (Kansas State to Ohio State)
— With all the conference shuffling going on, Oregon State/Washington State got screwed over, left behind to fend for themselves, all of which makes Oregon State-Oregon, Washington-Wazzu must watch TV this fall.
Beavers/Coogs are basically playing a Mountain West schedule for now; Oregon State’s coach bolted to Michigan State, and he’s an OSU alum. Not a good sign for the future.
Friday’s 6-pack:
Highest-paid coaches, by league:
NFL— Andy Reid, Chiefs, $20M
NBA— Steve Kerr, Warriors, $17.5M
MLB— Craig Counsell, Cubs, $8.5M
NHL— Mike Sullivan, Penguins, $5.5M
CFB— Kirby Smart, Georgia, $13M
CBB— Bill Self, Kansas, $10.6M
Quote of the Day
“Either you lose or you win. First to four (wins), we’ve got to focus on the next game.”
Luka Doncic
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Major League, what number did Corbin Bernsen’s character (Roger Dorn) wear for the Cleveland Indians?
Thursday’s quiz
Dave Winfield was a Hall of Fame baseball player, was drafted by four pro teams in three different sports. He went to college at Minnesota.
Wednesday’s quiz
Nate Colbert is the San Diego Padres’ all-time leader in home runs, with 163.
************************************************
San Francisco is 17-11 in day games, 13-22 in night games.
— Nationals lost six of their last seven games,
Rookie P Parker is 4-3, 3.47 in his first 10 MLB starts.
— Famous birthdays for June 7th:
Cazzie Russell, 80
Don Money, 77
Terrell Buckley, 53
Allen Iverson, 49
Anna Kournikova, 43
Kellen Clemens, 41
Christian McCaffrey, 28
— Orioles are 14-6 in series openers.
Baltimore is 13-5 vs lefty starters.
— Red Sox are 6-11 vs lefty starters; last two years, they were 47-31.
Boston is 1-9 in home series openers.
— White Sox have 14 games in a row.
Lefty P Garrett Crochet is 4-1, 1.03 in his last six starts.
— Guardians are 19-5 in their last 24 home games.
Cleveland is 12-4 vs lefty starting pitchers; LY, they were 24-35.
— Tigers are 8-4 in their last 12 games.
Over is 10-3 in their last 13 road games.
— Under is 11-3 in Astros’ last 14 games.
Last 2 years, Houston was 70-33 vs lefty starters; this year, they’re 6-12
— Royals are 3-7 in their last ten games.
Kansas City is 22-10 at home, 15-16 on road.
— Angels won three games in row for first time since April 3rd.
Under is 5-1 in their last six home games.
— Under is 8-2 in their last ten home games.
Since 2002, Twins are 44-123 against New York.
— New York won 26 of its last 32 games.
NY scored in first inning in 12 of its last 21 games.
— A’s lost 12 of their last 14 road games.
Under is 9-2 in their last 11 games.
— Mariners are 9-1 in home series openers, 4-6 in road series openers.
Seattle is 17-5 in its last 22 home games, overall.
— Rays are 11-5 vs lefty starters, 20-26 vs righty starters.
Tampa Bay is 3-8 in home series openers.
— Texas lost nine of its last 12 road games.
Under is 20-6 in Rangers’ last 26 home games.
— Toronto is 7-3 in its last ten games.
Blue Jays are 7-3 in road series openers.
Highest-paid coaches, by league:
NFL— Andy Reid, Chiefs, $20M
NBA— Steve Kerr, Warriors, $17.5M
MLB— Craig Counsell, Cubs, $8.5M
NHL— Mike Sullivan, Penguins, $5.5M
CFB— Kirby Smart, Georgia, $13M
CBB— Bill Self, Kansas, $10.6M
Quote of the Day
“Either you lose or you win. First to four (wins), we’ve got to focus on the next game.”
Luka Doncic
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Major League, what number did Corbin Bernsen’s character (Roger Dorn) wear for the Cleveland Indians?
Thursday’s quiz
Dave Winfield was a Hall of Fame baseball player, was drafted by four pro teams in three different sports. He went to college at Minnesota.
Wednesday’s quiz
Nate Colbert is the San Diego Padres’ all-time leader in home runs, with 163.
************************************************
Friday’s Den: Trends for all 30 MLB teams……..
— Giants lost six of their last seven games.San Francisco is 17-11 in day games, 13-22 in night games.
— Nationals lost six of their last seven games,
Rookie P Parker is 4-3, 3.47 in his first 10 MLB starts.
— Famous birthdays for June 7th:
Cazzie Russell, 80
Don Money, 77
Terrell Buckley, 53
Allen Iverson, 49
Anna Kournikova, 43
Kellen Clemens, 41
Christian McCaffrey, 28
— Orioles are 14-6 in series openers.
Baltimore is 13-5 vs lefty starters.
— Red Sox are 6-11 vs lefty starters; last two years, they were 47-31.
Boston is 1-9 in home series openers.
— White Sox have 14 games in a row.
Lefty P Garrett Crochet is 4-1, 1.03 in his last six starts.
— Guardians are 19-5 in their last 24 home games.
Cleveland is 12-4 vs lefty starting pitchers; LY, they were 24-35.
— Tigers are 8-4 in their last 12 games.
Over is 10-3 in their last 13 road games.
— Under is 11-3 in Astros’ last 14 games.
Last 2 years, Houston was 70-33 vs lefty starters; this year, they’re 6-12
— Royals are 3-7 in their last ten games.
Kansas City is 22-10 at home, 15-16 on road.
— Angels won three games in row for first time since April 3rd.
Under is 5-1 in their last six home games.
— Under is 8-2 in their last ten home games.
Since 2002, Twins are 44-123 against New York.
— New York won 26 of its last 32 games.
NY scored in first inning in 12 of its last 21 games.
— A’s lost 12 of their last 14 road games.
Under is 9-2 in their last 11 games.
— Mariners are 9-1 in home series openers, 4-6 in road series openers.
Seattle is 17-5 in its last 22 home games, overall.
— Rays are 11-5 vs lefty starters, 20-26 vs righty starters.
Tampa Bay is 3-8 in home series openers.
— Texas lost nine of its last 12 road games.
Under is 20-6 in Rangers’ last 26 home games.
— Toronto is 7-3 in its last ten games.
Blue Jays are 7-3 in road series openers.
Armadillo Sports
Saturday’s 6-pack:
NFL Week 1 spreads:
— Ravens @ Kansas City (-2.5, 46.5)
— Packers vs Eagles (-1.5, 49)
— Titans @ Chicago (-4.5, 43.5)
— Texans (-2, 48) @ Indianapolis
— Cardinals @ Buffalo (-7, 48)
— Patriots @ Cincinnati (-9, 42)
Quote of the Day
“We’re not looking next year. We’re forecasting where FSU is going to be five, 10, 15 years from now and how do we make sure we’re doing our due diligence now to position ourselves. Where is college athletics going to be five,10 years from now and making sure this is a part of it.”
Florida State athletic director Michael Alford
Saturday’s quiz
Which active major leaguer has the most career home runs?
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Major League, Corbin Bernsen’s character (Roger Dorn) wore #24 for the Cleveland Indians.
Thursday’s quiz
Dave Winfield was a Hall of Fame baseball player, was drafted by four pro teams in three different sports. He went to college at Minnesota.
**********************************************
Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……..
— Royals 10, Mariners 9
Seattle led 7-0 in top of the first inning…….but lost.
MJ Melendez hit a grand slam for the Royals.
— New York Mets have played nine extra inning games this year; they haven’t scored a run in the 10th inning in any of the games, even though every half-inning starts with a runner on second base. Astros have played five extra inning games, also don’t have a 10th inning run.
— Mets cut Omar Narvaez/Jorge Lopez this week, which raises their dead $$$ count to $76M this season- they’re paying $76M this season to players who aren’t in their organization.
By way of comparison, the Oakland A’s ENTIRE payroll for this year: $63M.
— Congrats to Justin Turner, who got his 1,500th career hit this week; Turner was mostly a stiff in his first five big league seasons, with Orioles/Mets. He went to the Dodgers and pretty quickly became a star, with an .865 OPS in nine years. 1,088 of his hits were with the Dodgers.
— UConn basketball coach Danny Hurley apparently met with the LA Lakers Friday; if he takes the Lakers’ head coaching job, there will be an interesting domino effect of other people changing jobs, and maybe UConn players bolting to other schools.
— West Virginia’s basketball team is off to Italy for 10 days in August, another one of those foreign trips that help team bonding.
— Celtics beat Dallas in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday; Game 2 isn’t until Sunday; I understand that TV ratings/TV $$$ drive all these decisions, but there were eight days in between the semi-finals and Game 1 of the Finals, now three more days until Game 2.
They’re not exactly capturing the attention of their target audience, or any audience.
— I went to the horse races at Saratoga Thursday, hung out with friends and got some fresh air; they have races in Saratoga for four days this weekend, with the Belmont Stakes Saturday (Belmont is being refurbished). The regular Saratoga meet doesn’t start until next month.
Two total strangers made fun of my hair (they said it is too long, and I had a hat on), I paid $6.42 for a 20-ounce Coke, but other than that, it was a very good day.
— Famous birthdays for June 8th:
Bob Tucker, 79
Sonia Braga, 74
Julianna Margulies, 58
Tom Nutten, 53
Mark Feuerstein, 53
Bryant Reeves, 51
Connor Norby, 24
Tyson Bagent, 24
— Brewers 10, Tigers 0
Blake Perkins hit two triples, his first two triples in the big leagues.
Tobias Myers tossed eight scoreless IP for Milwaukee.
This was the Brewers’ 9th game this year with 10+ runs, most in the major leagues.
— Random stat: Last major leaguer with three triples in a game: Yasiel Puig, who hit three triples against the Giants on July 25, 2014, in an 8-1 Dodger win.
— A’s 2, Blue Jays 1
JJ Bleday hit a walk-off homer for the A’s;
Hogan Harris tossed six shutout IP for Oakland.
— Blue Jays haven’t scored a first-inning run in their last 29 games.
By way of comparison, Angels’ P Griffin Canning has allowed 15 first inning runs in his 13 starts.
— White Sox 7, Red Sox 2
Chicago ends its 14-game losing streak.
Garrett Crochet is 6-5, 3.33 and is headed to the All-Star Game.
— Pirates 3, Twins 0
Mitch Keller won his sixth straight start, first Pirate to do that since 2015.
Minnesota was shut out for the fourth time this season.
— Nationals 2, Braves 1
Jake Irvin tossed six shutout IP for Washington.
Chris Sale lost for the first time since April 13.
— Reds 3, Cubs 2
Cincinnati won its sixth game in a row.
Nick Lodolo allowed one run in 6 IP.
— Pat Sajak signed off as host of Wheel of Fortune Friday, ending his 41-year run on the show. Imagine having a job that is so much fun that you do it for 41 years, and he did it very well.
We need more game shows on TV, of that I am sure.
Saturday’s 6-pack:
NFL Week 1 spreads:
— Ravens @ Kansas City (-2.5, 46.5)
— Packers vs Eagles (-1.5, 49)
— Titans @ Chicago (-4.5, 43.5)
— Texans (-2, 48) @ Indianapolis
— Cardinals @ Buffalo (-7, 48)
— Patriots @ Cincinnati (-9, 42)
Quote of the Day
“We’re not looking next year. We’re forecasting where FSU is going to be five, 10, 15 years from now and how do we make sure we’re doing our due diligence now to position ourselves. Where is college athletics going to be five,10 years from now and making sure this is a part of it.”
Florida State athletic director Michael Alford
Saturday’s quiz
Which active major leaguer has the most career home runs?
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Major League, Corbin Bernsen’s character (Roger Dorn) wore #24 for the Cleveland Indians.
Thursday’s quiz
Dave Winfield was a Hall of Fame baseball player, was drafted by four pro teams in three different sports. He went to college at Minnesota.
**********************************************
Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……..
— Royals 10, Mariners 9
Seattle led 7-0 in top of the first inning…….but lost.
MJ Melendez hit a grand slam for the Royals.
— New York Mets have played nine extra inning games this year; they haven’t scored a run in the 10th inning in any of the games, even though every half-inning starts with a runner on second base. Astros have played five extra inning games, also don’t have a 10th inning run.
— Mets cut Omar Narvaez/Jorge Lopez this week, which raises their dead $$$ count to $76M this season- they’re paying $76M this season to players who aren’t in their organization.
By way of comparison, the Oakland A’s ENTIRE payroll for this year: $63M.
— Congrats to Justin Turner, who got his 1,500th career hit this week; Turner was mostly a stiff in his first five big league seasons, with Orioles/Mets. He went to the Dodgers and pretty quickly became a star, with an .865 OPS in nine years. 1,088 of his hits were with the Dodgers.
— UConn basketball coach Danny Hurley apparently met with the LA Lakers Friday; if he takes the Lakers’ head coaching job, there will be an interesting domino effect of other people changing jobs, and maybe UConn players bolting to other schools.
— West Virginia’s basketball team is off to Italy for 10 days in August, another one of those foreign trips that help team bonding.
— Celtics beat Dallas in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday; Game 2 isn’t until Sunday; I understand that TV ratings/TV $$$ drive all these decisions, but there were eight days in between the semi-finals and Game 1 of the Finals, now three more days until Game 2.
They’re not exactly capturing the attention of their target audience, or any audience.
— I went to the horse races at Saratoga Thursday, hung out with friends and got some fresh air; they have races in Saratoga for four days this weekend, with the Belmont Stakes Saturday (Belmont is being refurbished). The regular Saratoga meet doesn’t start until next month.
Two total strangers made fun of my hair (they said it is too long, and I had a hat on), I paid $6.42 for a 20-ounce Coke, but other than that, it was a very good day.
— Famous birthdays for June 8th:
Bob Tucker, 79
Sonia Braga, 74
Julianna Margulies, 58
Tom Nutten, 53
Mark Feuerstein, 53
Bryant Reeves, 51
Connor Norby, 24
Tyson Bagent, 24
— Brewers 10, Tigers 0
Blake Perkins hit two triples, his first two triples in the big leagues.
Tobias Myers tossed eight scoreless IP for Milwaukee.
This was the Brewers’ 9th game this year with 10+ runs, most in the major leagues.
— Random stat: Last major leaguer with three triples in a game: Yasiel Puig, who hit three triples against the Giants on July 25, 2014, in an 8-1 Dodger win.
— A’s 2, Blue Jays 1
JJ Bleday hit a walk-off homer for the A’s;
Hogan Harris tossed six shutout IP for Oakland.
— Blue Jays haven’t scored a first-inning run in their last 29 games.
By way of comparison, Angels’ P Griffin Canning has allowed 15 first inning runs in his 13 starts.
— White Sox 7, Red Sox 2
Chicago ends its 14-game losing streak.
Garrett Crochet is 6-5, 3.33 and is headed to the All-Star Game.
— Pirates 3, Twins 0
Mitch Keller won his sixth straight start, first Pirate to do that since 2015.
Minnesota was shut out for the fourth time this season.
— Nationals 2, Braves 1
Jake Irvin tossed six shutout IP for Washington.
Chris Sale lost for the first time since April 13.
— Reds 3, Cubs 2
Cincinnati won its sixth game in a row.
Nick Lodolo allowed one run in 6 IP.
— Pat Sajak signed off as host of Wheel of Fortune Friday, ending his 41-year run on the show. Imagine having a job that is so much fun that you do it for 41 years, and he did it very well.
We need more game shows on TV, of that I am sure.
Sunday’s 6-pack:
NFL Week 1 spreads:
— Broncos @ Seattle (-5, 42.5)
— Raiders @ LA Chargers (-3.5, 43.5)
— Cowboys (-1, 44) @ Cleveland
— Commanders @ Tampa Bay (-4, 42)
— Rams @ Detroit (-3.5, 51)
— Jets @ San Francisco (-5.5, 45.5)
Quote of the Day
“This is a team sport. We understand that. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have JB on our team, and we could say that for a lot of guys. We all played a part in getting to where we’re at. We understand that people try to drive a wedge between us. It’s a smart thing to do, or try to do.”
Celtics star Jayson Tatum
Sunday’s quiz
Which NBA team did Larry Bird used to coach?
Saturday’s quiz
Giancarlo Stanton (417) has the most career home runs of any active major leaguer.
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Major League, Corbin Bernsen’s character (Roger Dorn) wore #24 for the Cleveland Indians.
*********************************************
Any special reason? My first theory was that the baseballs night be a little less lively this year, but that’s hard to prove. I think its true, but don’t know for sure.
My second theory I’m beginning to believe more and more; given the commissioner’s obsession with having shorter games, it appears that umpires are calling way more marginal strikes than they used to, especially younger umpires.
Something to follow as the season moves towards the halfway point.
— Phillies 7, Mets 2
Ranger Suarez is the first 10-game winner this season.
Phillies have won seven of last eight games.
Announced attendance in London: 53,882
— Nationals 7, Braves 3
Atlanta is 9-14 in its last 23 games.
Braves scored 3 or fewer runs in 13 of the 23 games.
— Reds 4, Cubs 3
Cincinnati has won seven games in a row.
Attendance at Reds’ home games is up 18% over last year; fans are excited.
— Pirates 4, Twins 0
Minnesota gets shut out for second day in a row.
Rowdy Tellez’ 7th inning home run snapped a scoreless tie.
— Orioles 5, Rays 0
Kyle Bradish allowed one hit in 6 IP.
Gunnar Henderson hit his 20th home run of the season.
— Giants 3, Rangers 1
Matt Chapman has now reached base in 25 consecutive games.
Texas scored one run in three of their last five games.
— Famous birthdays for June 9th:
Dave Parker, 73
Michael J Fox, 63
Aaron Sorkin, 63
Johnny Depp, 61
Wayman Tisdale, 60
Gloria Reuben, 60
D’Marco Farr, 53
Peja Stojaković, 47
Yuli Gurriel, 40
— Birmingham 31, Michigan 18
Stallions outscored Michigan 19-0 in second half.
Both teams turned ball over four times.
Birmingham advances to the UFL title game next week in St Louis.
— Florida 3, Edmonton 0
Panthers win Game 1 of Stanley Cup finals.
Florida scored one goal in each period.
Panthers won face-offs, 34-23.
— NHL has the right idea; teams have a salary cap, and a salary floor, so teams HAVE TO spend a certain amount of $$$ on salaries. Even the cheapskate teams.
Next year, the salary floor is $65M, the salary cap is $88M.
Maybe baseball should try something like that.
— Surprising fact: San Francisco 49ers are the NFL team that has gone the longest since the last time they had a QB throw for 5 TD’s in a game— 1990. Buffalo/Washington haven’t had a QB throw for 5+ TD’s in a game since 1991.
— Guy on The Price Is Right Friday bid $39,500 on his showcase; the actual retail price was $39,501— he only missed by a freakin’ dollar!!! Amazing……
Would’ve been sad if he went over by a dollar, then he wouldn’t have won.
— If the baseball play-offs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Braves, Padres, SF/Cin
AL: New York, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Cards: Orioles, Royals, Twins
— Hey, I got two e-mails from George Clooney Saturday; I’m a big fan of his movies, but I was wondering how he got my e-mail address. Then I found out.
Turns out Mr Clooney wants me to donate $$$ to political candidates.
Oy.
In the future, no matter who you are, please don’t ask me for $$$, for anything…….
— $19 a month for deserted animals
— $25 or more for a politician (both parties)
— $45 for people in Israel (seriously, they asked)
Thanks, but no thanks.
NFL Week 1 spreads:
— Broncos @ Seattle (-5, 42.5)
— Raiders @ LA Chargers (-3.5, 43.5)
— Cowboys (-1, 44) @ Cleveland
— Commanders @ Tampa Bay (-4, 42)
— Rams @ Detroit (-3.5, 51)
— Jets @ San Francisco (-5.5, 45.5)
Quote of the Day
“This is a team sport. We understand that. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have JB on our team, and we could say that for a lot of guys. We all played a part in getting to where we’re at. We understand that people try to drive a wedge between us. It’s a smart thing to do, or try to do.”
Celtics star Jayson Tatum
Sunday’s quiz
Which NBA team did Larry Bird used to coach?
Saturday’s quiz
Giancarlo Stanton (417) has the most career home runs of any active major leaguer.
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Major League, Corbin Bernsen’s character (Roger Dorn) wore #24 for the Cleveland Indians.
*********************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday……
— Scoring is down some in baseball this year; last year, there were 9.24 runs per game. This year so far, there have been 8.64 runs per game.Any special reason? My first theory was that the baseballs night be a little less lively this year, but that’s hard to prove. I think its true, but don’t know for sure.
My second theory I’m beginning to believe more and more; given the commissioner’s obsession with having shorter games, it appears that umpires are calling way more marginal strikes than they used to, especially younger umpires.
Something to follow as the season moves towards the halfway point.
— Phillies 7, Mets 2
Ranger Suarez is the first 10-game winner this season.
Phillies have won seven of last eight games.
Announced attendance in London: 53,882
— Nationals 7, Braves 3
Atlanta is 9-14 in its last 23 games.
Braves scored 3 or fewer runs in 13 of the 23 games.
— Reds 4, Cubs 3
Cincinnati has won seven games in a row.
Attendance at Reds’ home games is up 18% over last year; fans are excited.
— Pirates 4, Twins 0
Minnesota gets shut out for second day in a row.
Rowdy Tellez’ 7th inning home run snapped a scoreless tie.
— Orioles 5, Rays 0
Kyle Bradish allowed one hit in 6 IP.
Gunnar Henderson hit his 20th home run of the season.
— Giants 3, Rangers 1
Matt Chapman has now reached base in 25 consecutive games.
Texas scored one run in three of their last five games.
— Famous birthdays for June 9th:
Dave Parker, 73
Michael J Fox, 63
Aaron Sorkin, 63
Johnny Depp, 61
Wayman Tisdale, 60
Gloria Reuben, 60
D’Marco Farr, 53
Peja Stojaković, 47
Yuli Gurriel, 40
— Birmingham 31, Michigan 18
Stallions outscored Michigan 19-0 in second half.
Both teams turned ball over four times.
Birmingham advances to the UFL title game next week in St Louis.
— Florida 3, Edmonton 0
Panthers win Game 1 of Stanley Cup finals.
Florida scored one goal in each period.
Panthers won face-offs, 34-23.
— NHL has the right idea; teams have a salary cap, and a salary floor, so teams HAVE TO spend a certain amount of $$$ on salaries. Even the cheapskate teams.
Next year, the salary floor is $65M, the salary cap is $88M.
Maybe baseball should try something like that.
— Surprising fact: San Francisco 49ers are the NFL team that has gone the longest since the last time they had a QB throw for 5 TD’s in a game— 1990. Buffalo/Washington haven’t had a QB throw for 5+ TD’s in a game since 1991.
— Guy on The Price Is Right Friday bid $39,500 on his showcase; the actual retail price was $39,501— he only missed by a freakin’ dollar!!! Amazing……
Would’ve been sad if he went over by a dollar, then he wouldn’t have won.
— If the baseball play-offs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Braves, Padres, SF/Cin
AL: New York, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Cards: Orioles, Royals, Twins
— Hey, I got two e-mails from George Clooney Saturday; I’m a big fan of his movies, but I was wondering how he got my e-mail address. Then I found out.
Turns out Mr Clooney wants me to donate $$$ to political candidates.
Oy.
In the future, no matter who you are, please don’t ask me for $$$, for anything…….
— $19 a month for deserted animals
— $25 or more for a politician (both parties)
— $45 for people in Israel (seriously, they asked)
Thanks, but no thanks.
Armadillo Sports
Monday’s 6-pack:
Early season college football spreads:
— North Carolina vs Minnesota (-1.5, 50.5)
— Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State (-4, 60.5)
— TCU vs Stanford (-9.5, 60.5)
— Clemson vs Georgia (-13.5, 48.5)
— Virginia Tech vs Vanderbilt (-13.5, 55.5)
— Penn State (-10.5, 49.5) vs West Virginia
Quote of the Day
“Winning (poker) players aren’t afraid to pull the trigger; they aren’t afraid to make the right play, even if it is risky. They also realize that there is a fine line between being bold and being reckless.”
Poker pro Barry Greenstein
Monday’s quiz
When NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner played Arena Football, what team did he play for?
Sunday’s quiz
Larry Bird coached the Indiana Pacers for three years, going 179-87 (32-20 in playoff games).
Saturday’s quiz
Giancarlo Stanton (417) has the most career home runs of any active major leaguer.
********************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend……..
— Mets 6, Phillies 5
Mets scored three runs in 9th inning to split the 2-game series in London.
Phillies have outscored opponents 49-20 in first inning this year.
Attendance was 55,074- MLB made a lot of $$$ this weekend.
— Former Phillies’ 2B Chase Utley was on the TV broadcast for a while; he lives in England now, working as an ambassador for MLB, trying to promote the sport there, and in Europe.
— Random trivial trivia: The son of ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian was Otto the Orange, the Syracuse mascot, during his time as a college student in central New York.
— Celtics 105, Mavericks 98
Jrue Holiday was 11-14 from floor, scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds.
Boston was +12 in the 23:00 that Kristaps Porzingis was on the floor.
Celtics lead series, 2-0
— You can bet on most anything these days- Luka Doncic’s props for Game 2:
points: 31.5- over
rebounds: 9.5- over
assists: 7.5- over
I’d be sketchy with betting on assist props; they are subjective. When I did analytics for teams, I gave out more assists than most people.
— ABC/ESPN sold out all its commercials for Games 1-5 of the Stanley Cup finals; of the 80 companies who bought commercial time, 51 are advertising on the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.
— This week was the last French Open on NBC; next year, TNT takes over- they paid $650M for a 10-year deal to broadcast the clay court tennis tournament.
— Famous birthdays for June 10th:
Jon McGlocklin, 81
Randee Heller, 77
Ken Singleton, 77
Larry Brooks, 74
Elias Sosa, 74
Dan Fouts, 73
Gina Gershon, 62
Brent Sutter, 62
Kate Upton, 32
— Saturday was Dick Vitale’s 85th birthday; the former college basketball coach has raised over $100M to battle cancer. Vitale was 78-30 in four years coaching at Detroit Mercy in the 70’s, then coached the NBA’s Pistons for a couple years. He is an amazing person; what energy!!!!
Happy birthday, coach.
— Four NFL teams start 2024 with road games in Weeks 1-2:
Raiders, Rams, Jets, Steelers.
Since 1980, teams that played on the road in Weeks 1-2 were 56-80 ATS in their Week 3 home opener.
— Eagles play four of their last five games at home; last time they did that was 1951.
— Bears/Steelers don’t play a divisional game until Week 11, latest ever.
— The last 2.5 years, since the start of the 2022 season, Atlanta Braves have only three sacrifice bunts, none this season.
Cincinnati OF Michael Siani has seven sac bunts, just this season.
— Angels 9, Astros 7
Logan O’Hoppe had four hits, including a walk-off homer.
Jose Altuve was 4-5, with 3 RBI
— Mariners 6, Royals 5 (10)
Game was 1-1 after six innings; bad beat for under bettors.
Seattle avoids getting swept for first time this season.
— Nationals 8, Braves 5
Keibert Ruiz homered, knocked in four runs.
Braves are 9-15 in their last 24 games; they miss Ronald Acuna.
— Twins 11, Pirates 5 (10)
Minnesota scored seven runs in top of the 10th.
Twins didn’t score Friday/Saturday; they snapped a 5-game skid.
— Red Sox 6, White Sox 4 (10)
Red Sox tied game in 9th on a Reese McGuire sac fly.
Paul DeJong hit a 3-run homer and also doubled for Chicago.
Monday’s 6-pack:
Early season college football spreads:
— North Carolina vs Minnesota (-1.5, 50.5)
— Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State (-4, 60.5)
— TCU vs Stanford (-9.5, 60.5)
— Clemson vs Georgia (-13.5, 48.5)
— Virginia Tech vs Vanderbilt (-13.5, 55.5)
— Penn State (-10.5, 49.5) vs West Virginia
Quote of the Day
“Winning (poker) players aren’t afraid to pull the trigger; they aren’t afraid to make the right play, even if it is risky. They also realize that there is a fine line between being bold and being reckless.”
Poker pro Barry Greenstein
Monday’s quiz
When NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner played Arena Football, what team did he play for?
Sunday’s quiz
Larry Bird coached the Indiana Pacers for three years, going 179-87 (32-20 in playoff games).
Saturday’s quiz
Giancarlo Stanton (417) has the most career home runs of any active major leaguer.
********************************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend……..
— Mets 6, Phillies 5
Mets scored three runs in 9th inning to split the 2-game series in London.
Phillies have outscored opponents 49-20 in first inning this year.
Attendance was 55,074- MLB made a lot of $$$ this weekend.
— Former Phillies’ 2B Chase Utley was on the TV broadcast for a while; he lives in England now, working as an ambassador for MLB, trying to promote the sport there, and in Europe.
— Random trivial trivia: The son of ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian was Otto the Orange, the Syracuse mascot, during his time as a college student in central New York.
— Celtics 105, Mavericks 98
Jrue Holiday was 11-14 from floor, scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds.
Boston was +12 in the 23:00 that Kristaps Porzingis was on the floor.
Celtics lead series, 2-0
— You can bet on most anything these days- Luka Doncic’s props for Game 2:
points: 31.5- over
rebounds: 9.5- over
assists: 7.5- over
I’d be sketchy with betting on assist props; they are subjective. When I did analytics for teams, I gave out more assists than most people.
— ABC/ESPN sold out all its commercials for Games 1-5 of the Stanley Cup finals; of the 80 companies who bought commercial time, 51 are advertising on the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.
— This week was the last French Open on NBC; next year, TNT takes over- they paid $650M for a 10-year deal to broadcast the clay court tennis tournament.
— Famous birthdays for June 10th:
Jon McGlocklin, 81
Randee Heller, 77
Ken Singleton, 77
Larry Brooks, 74
Elias Sosa, 74
Dan Fouts, 73
Gina Gershon, 62
Brent Sutter, 62
Kate Upton, 32
— Saturday was Dick Vitale’s 85th birthday; the former college basketball coach has raised over $100M to battle cancer. Vitale was 78-30 in four years coaching at Detroit Mercy in the 70’s, then coached the NBA’s Pistons for a couple years. He is an amazing person; what energy!!!!
Happy birthday, coach.
— Four NFL teams start 2024 with road games in Weeks 1-2:
Raiders, Rams, Jets, Steelers.
Since 1980, teams that played on the road in Weeks 1-2 were 56-80 ATS in their Week 3 home opener.
— Eagles play four of their last five games at home; last time they did that was 1951.
— Bears/Steelers don’t play a divisional game until Week 11, latest ever.
— The last 2.5 years, since the start of the 2022 season, Atlanta Braves have only three sacrifice bunts, none this season.
Cincinnati OF Michael Siani has seven sac bunts, just this season.
— Angels 9, Astros 7
Logan O’Hoppe had four hits, including a walk-off homer.
Jose Altuve was 4-5, with 3 RBI
— Mariners 6, Royals 5 (10)
Game was 1-1 after six innings; bad beat for under bettors.
Seattle avoids getting swept for first time this season.
— Nationals 8, Braves 5
Keibert Ruiz homered, knocked in four runs.
Braves are 9-15 in their last 24 games; they miss Ronald Acuna.
— Twins 11, Pirates 5 (10)
Minnesota scored seven runs in top of the 10th.
Twins didn’t score Friday/Saturday; they snapped a 5-game skid.
— Red Sox 6, White Sox 4 (10)
Red Sox tied game in 9th on a Reese McGuire sac fly.
Paul DeJong hit a 3-run homer and also doubled for Chicago.
