Month: July 2025

September’s Too……..is a good bar
1165 Central Avenue in Colonie, just west of Osborne Road

Tuesday- $5 drafts all day long…….very good food
Wednesday- they have 12 TV’s to watch games
Thursday- Open Mic night with Cool Universe, 8:00
Friday- Jukebox karaoke, 7:00
Saturday- Good music, a great patio

They have 12 TV’s and good food/drinks.
You can order food from them via Door Dash
Check it out, it’s a fun place
———————————————————————

Baseball trends are posted regularly.

Thursday’s 6-pack:
NBA salary cap, the last six years:
2020-21: $109,140,000
2021-22- $112,414,000
2022-23- $123,655,000
2023-24- $136,021,000
2024-25- $140,588,000
2025-26- $154,647,000

Quote of the Day 
“Today is a blessing. What are you going to do with it?”
Scott Van Pelt

Thursday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Mets, who has the most hits?

Wednesday’s quiz
In the 1984 NBA Draft, Hakeem Olajuwon was the first pick, Michael Jordan the third pick; Sam Bowie was the second pick.

Tuesday’s quiz
In the history of the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan has thrown for the most yards. 

Trends for NFC teams…….
Cardinals
Last three years, Arizona is 6-12 ATS in divisional games.
Last three years, Cardinals are 4-17 ATS in their last seven games.

Falcons
Last two years, Falcons are 12-22 ATS.
Atlanta is 7-2 ATS in its last nine games vs Carolina.
Last nine years, Falcons are 2-7 ATS in season openers.

Panthers
Last two years, Carolina was 4-12-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Last six years, Panthers are 1-5 ATS in season openers.

Bears
Last four years, Chicago is 13-21 ATS as a road underdog.
Bears are 2-10 ATS in last dozen games against Green Bay.

Cowboys
Last four years, Dallas is 17-6-1 ATS in divisional games.
Last three years, Cowboys are 9-15 ATS as an underdog.

Lions
Last four years, Detroit is 17-6-1 ATS in divisional games.
Lions covered their last four season openers.
Detroit is 5-1-1 ATS in last seven games vs Green Bay.

Green Bay
Last four years, Packers are 6-11 ATS as a road favorite.
Last ten years, Green Bay is 9-1 ATS in its home opener.
Packers are 18-11-1 ATS in last 30 games as an underdog.

Rams
Rams are 7-1 ATS last eight games as a road favorite.
Rams are 5-8-1 ATS last 14 games as a home favorite.
Last two years, LA is 14-2 ATS in its last eight games of season.

Vikings
This year, Minnesota plays in Ireland in Week 4, then in England in Week 5
Vikings are 0-9 ATS in their last nine games vs Detroit.

Giants
Last two years, Giants are 12-18-2 ATS as an underdog.
Last eight years, Giants are 1-7 ATS in Week 1.
Last four years, Giants are 5-19-1 SU vs NFC East rivals. 

Saints
Last four years, New Orleans is 6-11 ATS as a home underdog.
Saints covered their last seven visits to Tampa Bay.

Eagles
Eagles are 1-6 ATS in their last seven visits to Dallas.
Last three years, Philly is 11-8-1 ATS vs NFC East rivals.

49ers
San Francisco is 5-2 ATS in last seven games vs Seattle.
49ers are 7-11 ATS in last 18 games as a home favorite.

Seahawks
Last four years, Seattle is 9-20-1 ATS as a favorite, 6-13 at home.
Seahawks are 18-1-1 ATS at home, if they lost their previous two games. 

Buccaneers
Bucs’ star LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) will miss first month of season.
Baker Mayfield is 17-29-2 ATS as a favorite.
Last two years, Bucs are 10-3 ATS as a road underdog.

Commanders
This year, Washington has four games vs teams coming off a bye week.
Last five years, Commanders are 1-4 ATS in their home opener.
Washington is 0-4 ATS in its last four visits to Dallas.

— Famous birthdays, July 10th:
Hal McRae, 80
Bob Bailor, 74
Andre Dawson, 71
Darryl Talley, 65

Roger Craig, 65
Sofia Vergara, 53
Jared Dudley, 40
Lawrence Butler, 25

— Angels 11, Rangers 8
Texas led this game 8-6 in 7th inning.
Mike Trout homered twice for the Halos.
Jorge Soler had the game-winning HR in 8th inning.

— Guardians 4, Astros 2
Cleveland went to Houston on 10-game losing skid, then swept this game series.
Jose Ramirez homered for the third game in a row.
Angel Martinez homered for the second game in a row.

— White Sox 2, Blue Jays 1
Loss ends Toronto’s 10-game winning streak.
Blue Jays were 1-9 with runners in scoring position.
White Sox are 20-26 at home, 11-36 on the road.

— Diamondbacks 8, Padres 2
Arizona hit four HR’s, including Geraldo Perdomo’s grand slam.
Brandon Pfaadt threw eight innings for first time in his MLB career.
San Diego is 5-7 in its last 12 games.

— Brewers 3, Dodgers 2 (10)
Milwaukee tied game with a run in the ninth inning.
Dodgers have now lost six games in a row.
Tyler Glasnow allowed an unearned run in 5 IP, in his first start since April.

— Royals 4, Pirates 3
Salvador Perez homered twice for the Royals.
Royals have won five of their last six games.
Pirates lost their last six games, outscored 25-9.

— Phillies 13, Giants 0
Bryce Harper homered, hit three doubles.
Jesus Luzardo allowed three hits in 7 IP.
Justin Verlander remains winless in 15 starts this season.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets,  Brewers, Giants

Trends for AFC teams…….
Ravens
Last two years, they’re 24-12-1 ATS as a favorite.
Ravens are 11-4-1 ATS in last sixteen games as an underdog.

Bills
Road team is 6-2 ATS in their last eight games vs Miami.
Last five years, Bills are 35-10 ATS in their last nine games of the season.

Bengals
Bengals are 14-6 ATS in last 20 games as a road favorite.
Bengals are 14-5 ATS in last 19 games as a road underdog.

Browns
Cleveland is 7-12 ATS in last 19 games as a road underdog.
Last four years, Browns are 2-7 ATS as a road favorite.

Broncos
Denver covered its last eight games as a favorite.
Last four years, Broncos are 5-11 ATS in their last four games of the season.

Texans
Last five years, Houston is 6-13-1 ATS in Weeks 1-4.
Last four years, Texans are 4-8 ATS as a home favorite.

Colts
Since 2008, Colts are 2-15 ATS in Week 1
Last nine years, over is 8-1 in their Week 1 game.

Jaguars
Jaguars are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games against the Colts.
Last four years, Jacksonville is 3-8 ATS as a home favorite.

Chiefs
Chiefs are 0-4 ATS in their last four visits to Denver.
Kansas City is 8-2 ATS in last 10 games as a road underdog.
Last eight years, Chiefs are 6-2 ATS in Week 1.

Raiders
Last four years, Las Vegas is 1-7 ATS as a road favorite.
Raiders are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games vs Denver.

Chargers
Last two years, Chargers were 9-4 ATS as road favorites.
Chargers covered four of their last five visits to Arrowhead.

Dolphins
Miami covered its last nine games against New England.
Last four years, Dolphins are 16-8-1 ATS vs AFC East rivals.

Patriots
Last two years, Patriots are 4-10-2 ATS at home.
Last three years, New England is 13-22-1 ATS as an underdog.

Jets
Last three years, Jets were 7-12-1 ATS as a favorite.
Last four years, Jets were 8-15 ATS as a road underdog.

Steelers
Pittsburgh is 13-8 ATS in its last 21 games as a favorite.
Steelers are 15-10 ATS in their last 22 divisional games.

Titans
Last three years, Titans were 4-12 ATS as a road underdog.
Last nine years, Tennessee is 2-7 ATS in its home opener.

— Famous birthdays, July 9th:
 Mike Riordan, 80
George Stone, 79
Jimmy Smits, 70
Willie Wilson, 70

Tom Hanks, 69
Jim Paxson, 68
Kelly McGillis, 68
Tom Ramsey, 64

Trent Green, 55
Damon Huard, 52
Enrique Murciano, 52
Miguel Montero, 42

— Giants 4, Phillies 3
Patrick Bailey hit a walk-off, 3-run inside-the-park home run to win the game.
Giants have won six of their last seven games.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 28th home run for the Phillies.

— Guardians 10, Astros 6
Angel Martinez hit a grand slam in the 10th inning.
Cleveland led 6-1 in the fifth inning.
Jose Altuve drove in four runs for the Astros.

— A’s 10, Braves 1
Lawrence Butler led off the bottom of the 1st with an inside-the-park homer.
Butler later homered again; Nick Kurtz hit a grand slam.
A’s led 9-0 after the second inning. 

— Padres 1, Diamondbacks 0
Luiz Arraez homered in 7th inning for the game’s only run.
Merrill, Tatis both robbed Arizona hitters of HR’s with great catches..
Nick Pivetta allowed five baserunners in 5.2 IP.

— Royals 4, Pirates 3
Nick Loftin hit a 2-run HR in 7th, walk-off single in 9th.
Royals have won five of their last six games.
Pirates lost their last five games, outscored 21-6.

— Marlins 12, Reds 2
Marlins have won their last eleven road games.
Eury Perez allowed only two baserunners in five IP.
Miami scored seven runs in the top of the third.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: NY/Phil, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: NY/Phil,  Brewers, Giants

— Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019, but since then, 71-91 is the best season they’ve had. Sunday, the Nationals fired GM Mike Rizzo, manager Dave Martinez.

Franchise got hosed financially when the pandemic happened the year after they won the World Series; defending champs often get a big jump in attendance the year after they win a title, but fans didn’t go to games in 2020.

Maybe the Nationals’ owners should take a look in the mirror; they traded Juan Soto to San Diego during the 2022 season; they let Bryce Harper walk as a free agent after 2018. Hard to fire the general manager when you won’t pay the team’s stars.

Timing of all this is odd; the amateur draft is this Sunday, and Washington has the first pick. If they hire a new GM from outside the organization, you’d think that person would like to make this selection, but that’s not going to happen.

— Cubs’ OF Seiya Suzuki leads MLB in RBI, with 77, but as of right now, he isn’t an All-Star.

Only once has the RBI leader missed the All-Star Game; way back in 1935, Hank Greenberg idid  not make the All-Star team— he had 103 RBI at the break, and his own manager passed him by.

90 freakin’ years; I’m thinking Suzuki deserves to be an All-Star.

— Players voted for their All-Stars; neither Suzuki or Juan Soto was in their top six outfielders.

Go figure.

— I talk about this every year; the NBA Summer League starts Thursday in Las Vegas; if you like the NBA, this is a great event to go to. It is affordable, it is air conditioned, most of the league is there, they have good concessions and when the day is done, you’re in Las Vegas. 

Excellent way to spend a week of your summer.

People I’ve spoken to at the Summer League:
Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke (he owns the Rams, too)
NBA great Walt Frazier (very nice man)
Tim Grgurich (one of Jerry Tarkanian’s assistants in UNLV’s glory days)

— Win total for the Utah Jazz this coming season is 19.5, their lowest total since at least 1993

Orlando’s win total is 51.5, their highest since 2011.

— Do people really bet on hot dog eating contests?

Monday in Brooklyn, Joey Chestnut ate 70 weiners (and rolls) in 10 minutes to win the title, but his over/under was 70.5 hot dogs, so the under bettors cashed in.

It is gross to watch people eat so fast; I like hot dogs as much as anyone, but good grief, stuffing food down your throat like that makes me queasy.

— Trends for the Carolina Panthers:

Last three years, they’re 14-37 SU

This year, Carolina is #6 in NFL in $$$ spent on offense, #1 on offensive line
This year, Carolina is #16 in NFL in $$$ spent on defense, #4 on DL

Last year, Panthers were minus-5 in turnovers (17-22)
Last year, Panthers were 5-12, 4-3 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Carolina was 1-9 in games decided by more than 8 points.

Panthers are 0-5 ATS in last five games as a favorite.
Panthers are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 road games. 

— Famous birthdays, July 8th:
Anjelica Huston, 74
Alan Ashby, 74
Jack Lambert, 73
Terry Puhl, 69
Kevin Bacon, 67

Michael Weatherly, 57
Sebastian Maniscalco, 52
Hakim Warrick, 43
Josh Harrison, 38
Reid Detmers, 26

— Guardians 7, Astros 5
Cleveland snaps its 10-game losing skid.
Jose Ramirez homered, knocked in three runs.

— Brewers 9, Dodgers 1
Milwaukee scored five runs in the first off of Yamamoto.
Freddy Peralta threw six shutout innings.
Andrew Vaughn homered in his first game for the Brewers.

— Marlins 5, Reds 1
Janson Junk allowed one hit in six IP.
Marlins are 11-3 in their last fourteen games.

— Royals 9, Pirates 3
Rookie Noah Cameron allowed three hits in 7 IP.
Pirates lost their last four games, outscored by total of 17-3.

— Angels 6, Rangers 5
Nolan Schanuel drew a bases-loaded walk to end the game.
First time in 15 starts that Jacob deGrom allowed more than 2 runs.

— Diamondbacks 6, Padres 3
Manny Machado homered, also got his 2,000th career hit.
Zac Gallen allowed an unearned run in his six IP.
Josh Naylor homered, scored twice for Arizona.

— Giants 3, Phillies 1
Giants scored twice in 8th inning to win this pitchers’ duel.
Cristopher Sanchez allowed one run in 7 IP (how is he not an All-Star??)
Teams were a combined 0-15 with runners in scoring position.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Giants

Trends for major league teams
(thru Sunday’s games)

— Arizona (44-46)
Arizona lost four of its last five games.
Over is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.
Arizona is 8-17 in last 25 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (39-50)
Braves lost nine of their last eleven games.
Atlanta is 24-22 at home, 15-28 on the road.
Under is 25-11 in their last 36 home games.

— Cubs (54-36)
Chicago is 8-3 in its last eleven games.
Over is 8-2 in its last ten home games.
Cubs are 42-22 vs righty starters, 12-14 vs lefties.

— Reds (46-44)
Cincinnati is 4-6 in its last 10 games.
Reds are 11-4 in last fifteen series openers.
Reds are 34-27 vs righty starters, 12-17 vs lefties.
Under is 9-4 in their last thirteen games.

— Rockies (21-69)
Colorado is 4-11 in its last fifteen games.
Under is 9-4 in Rockies’ last thirteen games.
Rockies are 3-23 vs lefty starters, 18-46 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (56-35)
Dodgers lost their last three games, scoring total of six runs.
Dodgers are 41-23 vs righty starters, 15-12 vs lefties.
Under is 8-3 in their last eleven games.

— Marlins (40-48)                                                                       )
Marlins are 17-10 in their last 27 games.
Miami is 20-27 at home, 20-21 on the road.
Under is 16-3 in Marlins’ last 19 home games.
Over is 5-0 in Marlins’ last five road games.

— Brewers (50-40)
Brewers won 15 of their last 21 games.
Milwaukee is 27-17 at home, 23-23 on the road.
Under is 20-10 in their last 30 home games.

— Mets (52-39)
Mets won four of their last five games.
Mets are 33-14 at home, 19-25 on the road.
Over is 16-6 in their last 22 games.

— Phillies (53-37)
Phillies are 5-2 in their last seven games.
Phillies are 42-22 vs righty starters, 11-15 vs lefties.
Phillies are 11-4 in home series openers.

— Pirates (38-53)
Pirates got shut out in losing their last three games.
Pittsburgh is 26-21 at home, 12-32 on the road.
Under is 6-0 in their last six games.
Pirates are 9-3 in last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (48-43)
St Louis lost five of its last seven games.
Cardinals are 10-4 in home series openers.
St Louis is 26-17 at home, 22-26 on the road.

— Padres (48-41)
Padres are 11-14 in their last 25 games.
Under is 12-5 in their last seventeen games.
San Diego starting pitchers have two wins/nine losses in last 26 road games.

— Giants (49-42)
Giants won four of their last five games.
Giants are 40-27 vs righty pitchers, 9-15 vs lefties.
SF is 19-9 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (37-53)
Nationals fired their general manager and manager Sunday.
Washington is 3-12 in its last fifteen home games.
Over is 13-2 in their last fifteen games.
Washington is 17-6 last 23 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Notes for the Buffalo Bills:

#8 in NFL in $$$ spent on offense, #29 on defense.
#9 in $$$ spent on QB’s, #24 on WR’s.

Last year, Bills were +24 in turnovers (32-8)
Last year, Bills were +25 in sacks (39-14)

Buffalo was 13-4 LY, 5-3 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Buffalo was 3-2 LY in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

— Famous birthdays, July 7th:

Carl Mauck, 78
Len Barker, 70
Glenn Hoffman, 67
Billy Campbell, 66
Ralph Sampson, 65

Stoney Case, 53
Michael Westbrook, 53
Chris Redman, 48
Brandon McCarthy, 42
Landen Akers, 28

— Orioles (40-49)
Baltimore is 5-2 in its last seven games.
Orioles are 13-13 vs AL East foes, 26-36 vs everyone else.
Under is 23-11 in their last 34 games.

— Red Sox (46-45)
Red Sox won five of their last six games.
Boston is 9-19 in one-run games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Red Sox are 9-9 in 18 games since trading Devers.

— White Sox (30-60)
Chicago is 8-8 in its last sixteen games.
White Sox are 19-24 at home, 11-36 on the road.
Under is 15-3 in their last 18 road games.

— Cleveland (40-48)
Cleveland lost its last ten games, scoring total of 15 runs.
Guardians are 33-29 vs righty starters, 7-19 vs lefties.
Under is 16-5 in their last 21 games.

— Detroit (57-34)
Detroit is 18-9 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 13.5 games.
Tigers are 6-2 in their last eight games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine road games.

— Houston (55-35)
Astros are 11-2 in last 13 games, lead AL West by 7 games.
Astros are 32-14 at home, 23-21 on the road.
Over is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.
Astros are 17-10 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (43-48)
Royals lost 12 of their last 13 home games.
Kansas City is 34-41 vs righty starters, 9-7 vs lefties.
Under is 7-1 in Royals’ last eight home games.

— Angels (43-46)
Angels are 3-6 in their last nine games.
Halos are 7-2 in last nine road series openers.
Angels are 20-12  in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (43-47)
Twins are 6-5 in their last 11 games.
Minnesota is 24-18 at home, 19-29 on the road.
Under is 5-1 in their last six road games.

— New York (49-41)
New York is 7-16 in its last 23 games.
Over is 8-0 in their last eight games.
New York is 38-32 vs righty starters, 11-9 vs lefties.

— A’s (37-55)
A’s are 5-9 in their last fourteen games.
Under is 10-5 in their last fifteen games.
Last seven series, A’s are 5-0 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (48-42)
Mariners are 6-2 in their last eight games.
Over is 12-4 in their last sixteen road games.
Under is 12-5 in Mariners’ last seventeen home games.

— Tampa Bay (49-41)
Tampa Bay lost five of its last seven games.
Rays are 28-25 at home, 21-16 on the road.
Rays are 14-8 in last 22 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (44-46)
Rangers are 15-11 in their last 26 games.
Texas is 8-17 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 26-19 at home, 18-27 on road.
Under is 24-11 in their last 32 road games.

— Toronto (52-38)
Blue Jays won 8 in a row, are 18-5 in their last 23 home games.
Over is 11-4 in their last 15 road games.
Toronto is 13-5 in last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres

SEC football notes:
— Alabama
Since 2020, they’re 22-9-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last seven years, Crimson Tide is +57 in turnovers.

— Arkansas
Pittman is 19-11 ATS as an underdog.
Razorbacks are 8-14-1 ATS last 23 games as a favorite.

— Auburn
Since 2015, Tigers are 21-30-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Auburn lost its last four bowl games (favored in 3 of the 4)

— Florida
Napier is 12-18-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Napier is 23-10-1 ATS as an underdog.

— Georgia
Last four years, Dawgs were 8-16-1 ATS as home favorites.
Georgia is 4-11-1 ATS in last sixteen non-conference games.

— Kentucky
Last four years, Wildcats are minus-22 in turnovers.
Since 2019, Kentucky is 17-10-1 ATS as an underdog.

— LSU
Under Kelly, LSU is 14-6 ATS at home.
Tigers won five of last six bowl games, scoring 44.5 ppg.

— Ole Miss
Last two years, Rebels were 21-5 SU (+21 turnovers)
Under Kiffin, Ole Miss is 10-5-1 as a road favorite.

— Notes on the Baltimore Ravens:
Ravens are #21 in NFL in $$ spent on offense, #17 on defense.
Ravens are #4 in NFL in $$ spent on QB’s, #2 on RB’s
Ravens are #5 in NFL in $$ spent on linebackers

Baltimore was +6 in turnovers last year, with only 11 giveaways
Ravens were +30 in sacks last year (54-24)

Baltimore was 5-5 LY in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Baltimore was 7-0 LY in games decided by more than 8 points.

Last three years, Ravens are 17-8 ATS on the road.
Ravens are 19-10 ATS in last 29 games as a favorite.

— Famous birthdays, July 6th:
Fred Dryer, 79
Jason Thompson, 71
Willie Randolph, 71
Joe Jacoby, 66
Kelly Stouffer, 61

Pau Gasol, 45
Jae Crowder, 35
Manny Machado, 33
Andrew Benintendi, 31
Brandon Lowe, 31

— Miss State
Last two years, Bulldogs are 7-17 SU
Since 2019, MSU is 2-13-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Underdogs are 4-1 ATS in their last five bowl games.

— Missouri
Last two years, Tigers were 21-8 SU (+18 turnovers)
Last three years, Mizzou is 10-4 ATS on the road.

— Oklahoma
Last four years, Sooners are 3-10-1 ATS as road favorites.
Last three years, Oklahoma is 10-15-1 ATS in conference games.

— South Carolina
Coach Beamer is 14-6 ATS as a favorite.
Underdogs are 4-1 ATS in their last five bowl games.

— Tennesssee
Since 2020, Tennessee is 4-14 ATS as an underdog.
Under Heupel, Vols are 15-8 ATS as a home favorite.

— Texas
Since 2016, Longhorns are 23-12-1 ATS in non-league games.
Coach Sarkisian is 10-18 ATS as a road underdog.

— Texas A&M
Coach Elko is 9-6 ATS as a home favorite, 2-6 as a road favorite.
Aggies are 3-10-2 ATS in their last fifteen road games.

— Vanderbilt
Since 2020, Vandy is 15-8 ATS as a road underdog.
Commodores are 11-27 ATS in their last 38 home games. 

— The best baseball announcers make you feel like you’re eavesdropping on a conversation between friends who are watching the game.

In my opinion, the best baseball play-by-play guys:
Jon Sciambi, Cubs
Dan Shulman, Blue Jays
Don Orsillo, Padres
Gary Cohen, Mets

The best analysts:
Ron Darling, Mets
Mark Gubicza, Angels
Jim Palmer, Orioles
Steve Stone, White Sox

— Before last season, no one was touting Cubs’ P Shota Imanaga, who they brought over from Japan; 1.5 years later, the Cubs are 30-9 in Imanaga’s starts. Pretty impressive.

— Cleveland Guardians were at Wrigley Field this week; OF Angel Martinez plays for the Guardians. His dad Sandy Martinez was the Cubs’ catcher in a 1998 game where Kerry Wood struck out 20 Houston Astros.

— Divisional leads in MLB
NL East:
Phillies leads the Mets by half a game. 

NL Central:
Cubs lead Milwaukee by four games, St Louis by 6.5, Cincinnati by seven games. 

NL West:
Dodgers lead San Diego by eight games, Giants by nine games.

AL East:
Blue Jays lead New York/Tampa Bay by two games.

AL Central:
Tigers have a 12.5-game lead over their nearest rival.

AL West:
Astros lead Seattle by seven games, Angels by 9.5 games.

— I have Jesus Luzardo on my fantasy team; he is an all-or-nothing pitcher:

Good starts:
April 4th- 7 IP, no runs allowed vs Dodgers
June 11th- 6 IP, one run allowed vs Cubs
June 22nd- 6.2 IP, no runs allowed vs Mets

Ugly starts:
May 31st: 3.1 IP, 12 runs vs Milwaukee
June 5th: 2.1 IP, 8 runs allowed at Toronto
July 4th: 2 IP, 6 runs allowed vs Cincinnato

Hard to predict, but very few mediocre starts.

— Notes on the Atlanta Falcons:
They’ve spent the most $$$ of any team in the NFL on their offense this year; backup QB Kirk Cousins makes a lot of that money.

Falcons are #22 in $$$ spent on defense, defensive line is #27.

Atlanta was minus-6 in turnovers last year, with only 18 takeaways; they were 8-9, 6-6 in games decided by 8 or fewer points, 2-1 in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

Last two years, Falcons are 11-23 ATS, 8-14 when favored, 3-9 as an underdog, 6-11 at home. Under is 11-6 in their last 17 home games.

— Famous birthdays, July 5th:
Gary Matthews, 75
Rich Gossage, 74
Johnny Rodgers, 74
James Lofton, 69

Edie Falco, 62
Kathryn Erbe, 60
Donnie Jones, 45
Been Udrih, 43

Ish Smith, 37
Jorge Polanco, 32
Shohei Ohtani, 31
Austin Hays, 30

— Mets 6, Bronx 5
Juan Soto went 3-4 with two runs scored, two RBI
Mets won their third game in a row; Bronx has lost five in a row.

— Cubs 11, Cardinals 3
Cubs hit eight home runs; Michael Busch hit three of them.
Colin Rea gave up one hit in 6.2 IP.

— Blue Jays 4, Angels 3 (10)
Toronto wins its sixth game in a row.
Blue Jays scored game-winning run on a throwing error.

— Twins 4, Rays 3
Tampa Bay led 3-1 in the 7th inning.
Harrison Bader homered twice, including a walk-off blast in 9th inning.

— Padres 3, Rangers 2 (10)
Jake Cronenworth got his 5th walk-off RBI for the Padres.
Texas has played in extra innings in six of its last nine games (2-4).

— Tigers 2, Guardians 1
Wenceel Perez, Zach McKinstry homered for Detroit.
Cleveland has now lost eight games in a row.

— A’s 11, Giants 2
Denzel Clarke, homered, tripled, made another great catch in centerfield.
JP Sears tossed six shutout IP for the green-and-gold.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners

— Whats the best day to have a birthday? I’m thinking the 4th of July has to be pretty high on the list. People shoot off fireworks, most everyone has the day off, the weather is usually good.

Few years ago, we did the best/worst days to have a birthday (February 29 is most definitely the worst). Sometime this summer, we’ll re-visit that topic.

— Duncan Robinson has played guard for the Miami Heat for the last seven years, scoring 11.3 ppg, mostly because he has shot 39.7% on the arc- shooting is marketable.

He just signed a 3-year, $48M deal with the Detroit Pistons, $16M a year.

Robinson has earned just over $73M in his career, which is amazing for one reason; the first year he was in college, he played at Williams, which plays Division III, non-scholarship ball. This new contract will put him at around $121M for his career.

There are many very good players at the D-III level, but the odds of someone playing D-III ball, then banking $120M+ playing in the NBA have to be astronomical.

— New York Knicks are expected to hire former Cavaliers/Lakers/Kings coach Mike Brown as their next head coach. Brown has a 454-304 record in regular season games, 50-40 in playoff games. He was an assistant coach for Spurs/Warriors teams that won NBA titles- his team in Cleveland got the NBA Finals in 2007, but lost in the Finals.

Knicks just had their best season in 25 years but fired coach Tom Thibodeau anyway.

— There will be at least five more years of labor peace in the NHL; the league and players agreed to a four-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will carry through the 2029-30 season.

— Clayton Kershaw recorded his 3,000th career strikeout this week, the 20th pitcher to do it, only the 4th left-handed pitcher.

— Atlanta Braves P Spencer Schwellenbach broke his elbow, is out for an indefinite time. This year, Schwellenbach was 7-4, 3.09 in 17 starts.

Not sure how you break your elbow pitching, but this is yet another injury for an injury-ravaged Atlanta pitching staff.

— Quick facts on the Arizona Cardinals:
Head coach and both coordinators are in their third year with Arizona.

Arizona was 7-2 ATS as an underdog last year.
Last two years, Cardinals were 11-6 ATS at home.

Last year, Arizona was +11 in sacks (41-30)
Last year, Arizona was minus-3 in turnovers (17-20)

Last year, Cardinals were 8-9, 3-5 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

— Famous birthdays, July 4th
Emerson Boozer, 82
Horace Grant, 60
Harvey Grant, 60
Vinny Castilla, 58

Todd Marinovich, 56
Josh McCown, 46
Brock Berlin, 44
Ömer Aşık, 39

— Cubs 1, Guardians 0 (10)
Cleveland has now lost seven games in a row.
Cubs won despite having only three hits.
Cade Horton threw seven shutout IP for the Cubs.

— Marlins 4, Twins 1
Eury Perez allowed one hit in six IP.
Marlins won 10 of last 12 games, won their last four series.
Agustin Ramirez hit a two-run home run.

— Rockies 7, Astros 6
Thairo Estrada homered, knocked in four runs.
Tyler Freeman has reached base safely in his last 18 games.

— Blue Jays 8, New York 5
George Springer hit two 2-run homers.
Toronto sweeps 4-game series, now leads the AL East.
New York is 10-16 against its AL East rivals.

— Giants 7, Diamondbacks 2
Robbie Ray threw a 102-pitch complete game against his old team.
It was Ray’s first complete game since 2017.
Rafael Devers had three RBI for the Giants.

— Angels 5, Braves 1
Jose Soriano threw seven scoreless IP.
Zach Neto went 3-5, scored three runs.
Matt Olson has reached base safely in his last 33 games.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners

— Pirates 5, Cardinals 0
Pittsburgh went 6-0 on this homestand.
Cardinals were outscored 13-0 in the three-game series.
Mitch Keller tossed seven IP for the Pirates.

— Brewers 7-3, Mets 2-7
Joey Ortiz hit a tie-breaking grand slam in 6th inning.
Lindor went 3-4 with 3 RBI batting 2nd in the nightcap.
Mets have lost 14 of their last 18 games.

— Blue Jays 11, New York 9
Toronto blew a 9-1 lead, scored winning run on a wild pitch.
Teams are now tied for first place in the AL East.
New York is 13-18 since May 28th.

— Braves 8, Angels 3
Jurickson Profar homered in his return from an 80-game PED suspension.
Matt Olson had three hits, including a sixth inning grand slam.

— Giants 6, Diamondbacks 5 (10)
Patrick Bailey’s sac fly scored the game-winning run.
San Francisco snaps a four-game losing skid.

— Twins 2, Marlins 1
Loss snaps Miami’s 8-game winning streak.
Minnesota had lost its previous nine one-run games.

— Dodgers 5, White Sox 4
Dodgers scored three runs in bottom of the ninth.
Clayton Kershaw got his 3,000th career strikeout. 

— Great factoid from Christopher Kamka:
Cesar Geronimo was Bob Gibson’s 3,000th strikeout.
Six years later, Geronimo was Nolan Ryan’s 3,000th strikeout.

— Famous birthdays, July 3rd
Betty Buckley, 78
Jan Smithers, 76
Frank Tanana, 72
Bruce Altman, 70

Tom Cruise, 63
Greg Vaughn, 60
Moisés Alou, 59
Neil O’Donnell, 59

Derrick Chievous, 58
Grant Wistrom, 49
Cole Tucker, 29
T.J. Hockenson, 28

— Bobby Bonilla must enjoy the first week of July every year; way back in 2000, the Mets wanted to buy out the remaining $5.9M on his contract. Instead of just giving him a check for $5.9M, they agreed to pay the former Mets’ slugger $1,193,248.20 a year for the next 35 years, which made/makes no freakin’ sense, but they did.

Back then, the Wilpon family owned the Mets; they were in business with fraudster Bernie Madoff, which makes it make a little sense, but not much. 

So every July 1st from now through 2035, Bonilla banks a very large check.

— Monday night in Boston, Red Sox OF Wilyer Abreu hit a grand slam, then later hit an inside-the-park home run. He is the first big leaguer to do that in the same game since Roger Maris, in 1958.

— Former big league pitcher/current Mets’ TV analyst Ron Darling was talking the other day about gloves that ballplayers wear. Darling said that in his 13 years in the major leagues, he only used two different gloves, which seems surprising.

— Last weekend in Anaheim, the Angels walked Washington OF James Wood intentionally four times in one game, first time that happened in the majors since Barry Bonds, in 2004.

— Was watching a replay of HBO’s Hard Knocks from last year, when they followed the Giants’ front office before/during the draft; always a good program. Liev Schrieber is the narrator for Hard Knocks; never would’ve guessed that in 100 years. Am used to hearing talk like he did in Ray Donovan, the great Showtime series.

— NBA salary cap for next season is $154.6M; Golden State’s three stars, Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, will earn a combined $139.6M, so guess the Warriors will be going over both salary cap aprons.

— Seattle Redhawks are bolting from the WAC to the WCC; this time next year, college sports are going to look a lot different than they do now.

Seattle was 14-18 last year, after winning 20+ games the three years before that. 

Notes for NFL teams:
NFC East
Dallas
Missed playoffs LY for first time in four years.
Since 1998, they’re 4-12 in playoff games.
17-8 ATS in last 25 games as a home favorite.

NJ Giants
Missed playoffs 11 of last 13 years.
Last two years, went 6-11/3-14.
Last seven years, they’re 9-12 ATS in NFC East home games.

Philadelphia
Since 2017, they’re 10-5 in playoff games (2 Super Bowl wins)
Since 2018, Eagles are 19-24-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, over is 21-12 in Philly’s regular season home games.

Washington
LY, Commanders made playoffs for second time in last nine years.
Before last year, Washington’s last playoff win was in 2005.
Last year, over was 12-5 in Washington’s regular season games.

NFC North
Chicago
Last four years, Chicago went 21-47, missing playoffs every year.
Since winning Super Bowl 40 years ago, Bears are 6-12 in playoff games.
Last five years, Bears are 10-20 ATS in divisional games.

Detroit
Last three years, Detroit went 36-15 in regular season, 2-2 in playoffs.
In the entire Super Bowl era, Lions are 3-14 in playoff games (0-12 on road)
Lions are 14-8 ATS in last 22 games as a home favorite.

Green Bay
Packers made the playoffs 12 of the last 15 years.
Since winning Super Bowl 15 years ago, Green Bay is 8-11 in playoff games.
Packers are 26-17-1 ATS in their last 44 games as a home favorite.

Minnesota
Vikings were 14-3 LY, but let QB Darnold walk anyway.
Since 2010, Minnesota is 2-6 in playoff games.
Vikings are 10-2-1 ATS in last 13 games as a road favorite.

NFC South
Atlanta
Falcons missed the playoffs the last seven years.
Since 2014, Atlanta is 20-40-1 ATS as a home favorite.
In their history, Falcons are 6-2 in home playoff games, 4-12 otherwise.

Carolina
Carolina missed the playoffs the last seven years.
In their history, Panthers are 9-8 in playoff games (5-2 at home)
Carolina’s last seven home games went over the total.

New Orleans
New Orleans missed the playoffs the last four years.
Since winning Super Bowl 16 years ago, Saints are 4-7 in playoff games.
Since 2014, Saints are 26-38-1 ATS as a home favorite.

Tampa Bay
Buccaneers made the playoffs the last five years (27-24 last 3 years)
Tampa Bay is 5-2-1 ATS last eight games as a home favorite.
Last three years, Buccaneers are 3-5-1 ATS in NFC South home games.

NFC West
Arizona
Cardinals missed playoffs the last three years, and eight of last nine.
Since making it to the Super Bowl 17 years ago, Arizona is 2-4 in playoff games.
Cardinals are 8-4 ATS in last 12 games as a home underdog.

LA Rams
In eight years under McVay, Rams made playoffs six times (1-1 in Super Bowl)
McVay has a 8-5 record in playoff games.
Rams are 4-8-2 ATS last 14 games as a non-divisional road underdog.

San Francisco
49ers missed playoffs LY for first time in four years.
Since 2012, 49ers made playoffs six times; they went WWL all six years.
49ers are 7-9 ATS in last sixteen games as a home favorite.

Seattle
Seattle missed playoffs 3 of last 4 years, after making it 12 of previous 16 years.
Since losing Super Bowl 11 years ago, Seahawks are 3-6 in playoff games.
Last year, Seahawks were 1-6 SU/ATS in last seven home games.

Famous birthdays, July 2nd:
Robert Ito, 94
Polly Holliday, 88
Larry David, 78
Joe Pisarcik, 73

Tony Armas, 72
Jon Sundvold, 64
Jose Canseco, 61
Steve Sparks, 61

Chad Henne, 40
Margot Robbie, 35
Derrick White, 31
Daulton Varsho, 29

AFC teams
AFC East
Buffalo
Since 2017, Bills are 86-45 SU in regular season, 7-7 in playoffs.
Buffalo is 11-5-1 ATS last 17 games as a road underdog.
Over is 10-2 in their last 12 regular season games.

Miami
Dolphins made the playoffs twice in McDaniel’s three seasons as HC.
Dolphins lost their last six playoff games (last win, 2000)
Miami’s last six home games went over the total.

New England
Patriots made the playoffs once in five years since Brady left.
Vrabel’s is New England’s third HC in three years (4-13/4-13 last 2 years)
Patriots are 7-17-1 ATS in their last 25 home games.

NJ Jets
Jets have had nine consecutive losing seasons, last made playoffs in 2010.
Jets haven’t played a home playoff game since 2002.
Since 2018, Jets are 7-14 ATS in AFC East home games.

AFC North
Baltimore
Lamar Jackson is 70-24 in regular season games, 3-5 in playoff games.
Ravens are 2-3 SU in last five home playoff games.
Last two years, Baltimore is 19-12 ATS as a favorite.

Cincinnati
Bengals went 9-8/9-8 last two years, but missed playoffs both years.
2021-22, Bengals went 22-11 in regular season, 5-2 in playoffs.
From 1991-2020, Cincinnati was 0-7 in playoff games.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven home games. 

Cleveland
Since returning to NFL, Browns are 1-3 in playoff games.
Cleveland made playoffs twice in last five years, were 3-14 LY.
Last year, Browns were 3-12 ATS in their last fifteen games.

Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh made the playoffs eight of the last 11 years.
Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016.
Steelers are 25-14 ATS in last 39 games as a road underdog.

AFC South
Houston
Texans won AFC South last two years, six of last 10 seasons.
Texans are 6-1 in home playoff games, 0-6 in road playoff games.
Since 2019, Houston is 6-15 ATS as a home favorite.

Indianapolis
Colts missed playoffs last four years, and eight of last 10 seasons.
Last year, over was 7-1 in their last eight games.
Over is 11-5 in their last sixteen home games.

Jacksonville
Jaguars made the playoffs once in last seven seasons.
In their history, Jacksonville is 8-8 SU in playoff games.
Since 2016, Jaguars are 10-3 ATS as a home dog vs AFC South rivals.

Tennessee
Last three years, Titans missed playoffs, going 16-35 SU
Tennessee is 5-4 SU in its last nine road playoff games.
Last year, Titans were 1-7 SU/0-8 ATS at home. 

AFC West
Denver
Broncos made playoffs last year for first time in nine years.
LY’s playoff loss in Buffalo was their first road playoff game since 2011.
Denver won/covered six of its last seven home games.

Kansas City
Last six years, Chiefs went 3-2 SU in Super Bowls.
Since 2019, Chiefs are 16-3 SU in playoff games.
Since 2020, Chiefs are 17-22 ATS as a home favorite.

Las Vegas
Raiders made the playoffs twice in the last 22 years.
Raiders haven’t won a playoff game since 2002.
Pete Carroll made playoffs in four of his last six years in Seattle.

LA Chargers
Chargers made playoffs two of last three years.
Jim Harbaugh is 55-25-1 SU as an NFL coach, 5-4 in playoff games.
Chargers’ last six regular season road games went over the total. 

Happy Canada Day, to our neighbors to the north…….
Notes for Big X football teams:

Arizona
Wildcats have had only one winning season the last seven years.
Arizona won four of its last five bowl games SU

Arizona State
Coach Dillingham is 7-1 ATS as a favorite.
Since 2017, Sun Devils are 41-27 ATS in league games, 9-16-1 in non-league games.

Baylor
Last four years, Bears are 10-6-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Baylor has 73 starts back on offensive line, which is good- they were 8-5 last year, only their second winning season the last five years. 

Brigham Young
Coach Sitake is 17-9 ATS as a road underdog.
Coach Sitake is 27-35 as a favorite.

Central Florida
Since 2019, Knights are 7-16 ATS as a road favorite.
Coach Frost is 12-6 ATS as a road underdog. He is back at UCF this year after he had previously coach the Knights in 2016-17. 

Cincinnati
Last two years, Bearcats are 8-16 SU; their last bowl win was in 2019.
Coach Satterfield is 17-9 ATS as a road favorite.

Colorado
Under Coach Sanders, Colorado is 9-3 ATS as an underdog.
Last two years, Buffaloes were +21 in turnovers. 

Houston
Coach Fritz is 44-27 ATS as a favorite.
Last three years, Houston was 9-16-1 in conference games.

Famous birthdays, July 1st:
Jamie Farr, 91
Freddie Lewis, 82
Dan Aykroyd, 73
Roger Carr, 73

Nelson Cruz, 45
Pamela Anderson, 58
Charlie Blackmon, 39
Kent Bazemore, 36

Iowa State
Coach Campbell is 25-14-2 ATS as an underdog.
Since 2015, Cyclones are 35-17-1 ATS coming off a loss. 

Kansas
Last two years, Jayhawks are 8-3 ATS as an underdog.
Kansas won 4 of its last 5 bowl games, scoring 42 ppg, but only two of those five bowls have been played since 2008.

K-State
Coach Klieman is 25-13 ATS in home games.
Since 2016, Wildcats are 27-13 ATS coming off a loss.

Oklahoma State
Cowboys were 3-9 LY, missing a bowl for first time in 19 years.
OSU is 8-3 ATS last 11 games as a home dog, 24-9 ATS in last 33 non-league games. 

TCU
Since 2018, Horned Frogs are 5-11-1 as a road underdog.
TCU has 3 starters/93 starts back on OL; they were 9-4 LY, despite a -6 turnover ratio.

Texas Tech
Last four years, Red Raiders are 16-6 ATS coming off a loss
Coach McGuire is 9-6-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Tech has 136 starts back on the offensive line; very experienced.

Utah
Coach Whittingham is 39-26 ATS as an underdog.
Utes lost their last five bowl games; they were favored in three of the five games.

West Virginia
Coach Rodriguez is 20-31 ATS as a road underdog.
Last five years, Mountaineers are 13-4 ATS as a home favorite.