Month: January 2026

Trends for conference games this season…….
ACC
Home favorites 10-22 ATS
Home underdogs 10-13 ATS

Boston College covered 4 of last 5 games.
Clemson is 6-1 SU/ATS
Duke is 6-0 SU/3-3 ATS
Florida State is 1-5 SU/4-2 ATS
Road team is 5-1 ATS in Georgia Tech games.
Road team is 5-1 ATS in Louisville games.
Road team is 5-1 ATS in Miami games.

North Carolina is 3-3 SU/1-5 ATS, all as a favorite.
Notre Dame is 0-4 SU/ATS in last four games.
Pitt is 1-5 SU/2-4 ATS
Virginia won/covered its last five games.
Virginia Tech is 3-0 ATS as a road underdog.
Wake Forest is 2-4 SU/1-5 ATS, 0-3 ATS as a favorite.

Atlantic 14
Home favorites 9-17 ATS
Home underdogs 9-7 ATS

Davidson won 4 of last 5 games SU (road team 6-0 ATS)
Dayton is 5-1 SU/3-3 ATS
Road team is 6-1 ATS in Fordham games (0-3 ATS as home dog).
George Mason is 6-0 SU/4-2 ATS
Favorites are 5-1 ATS in George Washington games.
LaSalle is 4-1 ATS in last five games; they’re 4-0 ATS as a home dog.

Loyola Chi lost its last six games (2-4 ATS)
Road team is 5-1 ATS in Rhode Island games.
St Bonaventure is 1-5 SU/2-4 ATS
St Joe’s is 3-1 SU/4-0 ATS last four games.
Saint Louis is 6-0 SU/4-2 ATS
VCU is 4-2 SU/1-5 ATS

Big 18
Home favorites 23-21 ATS
Home underdogs 14-13 ATS

Illinois won last six games, covered last five.
Indiana lost last four games (1-3 ATS)
Maryland is 1-7 SU/2-6 ATS
Michigan is 7-1 SU; they’re 0-5 ATS last five games.
Michigan State won its last five games (4-1 ATS)

Minnesota lost last four games (1-3 ATS)
Nebraska is 8-0 SU/6-2 ATS
Northwestern is 1-7 SU/2-6 ATS
Oregon lost its last five games (1-4 ATS)
Penn State is 0-8 SU/4-4 ATS

Purdue is 7-1 SU; they’re 0-5 ATS last five games.
Rutgers covered five of last six games.
Home team is 7-1 ATS in UCLA games.
Washington is 2-6 SU/6-2 ATS
Wisconsin is 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS last five games. 

Big X
Home favorites 15-14 ATS
Home underdogs 9-8 ATS

Arizona is 6-0 SU/4-2 ATS
Arizona State is 1-5 SU/2-4 ATS
Baylor is 1-5 SU/ATS, 0-3 as home dog
BYU is 4-1 SU/2-3 ATS
Cincinnati is 1-5 SU/3-3 ATS
Colorado lost its last four games (0-3 ATS/last three)
Houston is 5-0 SU; they covered last three games.

Iowa State is 5-1 SU/4-2 ATS
Kansas won/covered its last three games.
Kansas State is 1-5 SU/ATS
Road team is 5-1 ATS in TCU games.
Texas Tech is 5-1 SU/4-2 ATS
Utah is 1-5 SU, 3-1 ATS in last four.
West Virginia won/covered four of last five games. 

Big East
Home favorites 7-23 ATS
Home underdogs 7-8 ATS

Butler is 3-5 SU/2-6 ATS
UConn is 8-0 SU, 0-5 ATS in last five.
Road team is 7-2 ATS in Creighton games.
DePaul is 3-5 SU/7-1 ATS
Georgetown lost its last seven games (2-5 ATS)

Marquette is 2-7 SU/ATS
Underdogs are 7-1 ATS in Providence games.
St John’s won its last five games (4-1 ATS)
Road team is 7-1 ATS in Seton Hall games.
Road team is 6-2 ATS in Villanova games.
Xavier covered its last four games. 

MAC
Home favorites 6-19 ATS
Home underdogs 9-12 ATS

Akron won its last five games (3-1 ATS last four)
Ball State covered its last four games.
Road team is 6-1 ATS in Bowling Green games.
Buffalo lost its last four games (1-3 ATS)
Central Michigan is 1-6 SU/4-3 ATS)

Eastern Michigan covered five of last six games.
Kent State is 5-2 SU/2-5 ATS
UMass is 1-5 ATS as a favorite.
Miami is 8-0 SU/6-2 ATS; their last two wins were in OT
Toledo is 1-4 SU/4-1 ATS in last five games.
Road team is 6-1 ATS in Western Michigan games.

Famous birthdays, January 23rd:
Kurt Bevacqua, 79
Pat Haden, 73
Gail O’Grady, 63

Mariska Hargitay, 62
Mark Wohlers, 56
Erubiel Durazo, 52

Phil Dawson, 51
Larry Hughes, 47
Jeff Samardzija, 41

Missouri Valley
Home favorites 14-17 ATS
Home underdogs 11-8 ATS

Belmont won last four games; they’re 2-6 ATS as a favorite.
Bradley won 4 of last 5 games (2-7 ATS in last nine)
Evansville is 1-8 SU/5-4 ATS
Ill-Chicago won/covered its last five games.

Indiana State is 2-5 SU/6-1 ATS last seven games.
Northern Iowa lost its last five games (1-4 ATS)
Southern Illinois is 0-4 SU/ATS last four games.
Valparaiso covered six of last seven games. 

Mountain West
Home favorites 12-14 ATS
Home underdogs 8-8 ATS

Air Force is 0-8 SU/4-4 ATS
Colorado State is 1-3 ATS as an underdog.
Fresno State covered six of its last seven games.
Grand Canyon is 4-1 ATS as an underdog.
Nevada is 7-1 SU/5-3 ATS

UNLV is 5-2 SU/ATS
New Mexico is 6-2 SU/ATS
Road team is 6-2 ATS in San Diego State games.
San Jose State is 1-7 SU/2-6 ATS
Wyoming is 2-6 SU/1-7 ATS

SEC
Home favorites 16-17 ATS
Home underdogs 6-7 ATS

Favorites are 6-0 ATS in Arkansas games.
Underdogs are 5-1 ATS in Auburn games.
Florida won/covered its last five games.
LSU is 1-5/4-2 ATS
Ole Miss won/covered three of last four games.
Miss State is 0-4 SU/ATS last four games.

Home team is 5-1 ATS in Missouri games.
Oklahoma is 0-5 SU/1-4 ATS last five games.
Tennessee is 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS
Underdogs are 5-1 ATS in Texas games.
Texas A&M is 4-1 SU/5-0 ATS last five games.
Vanderbilt lost its last three games, after a 16-0 start. 

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

Wednesday- Open for lunch at noon
Thursday-  Open Mike Night, 7:00
Friday- Karaoke at 8:00
Saturday- Live music at 8:00…….
Sunday- Watch NFL playoff games on 12 TV’s

You can order food from them via Door Dash
There’s a pool table, only 25 cents/game.
Check it out, it’s a fun place

———————————————————————

Sunday’s NFL info is posted

Thursday’s 6-pack
Pre-season longshots who wound up winning a championship:
150-1— 1999 St Louis Rams
100-1— 2025 Indiana football
80-1— 2023 UConn basketball
75-1— 2003 Florida Marlins
65-1— 2014 UConn basketball
60-1— 2006 Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)

Quote of the Day
“It’s a big decision, so you still got to weigh out everything, but this team and this city and the fan base kind of makes it a little bit easier to make some decisions. That is just ultimately what we wanted to do is come here and be part of that and try to win another World Series.”
Kyle Tucker, on signing with the Dodgers

Thursday’s quiz
Michael Jordan was the 3rd pick in the 1984 NBA Draft; Hakeem Olajuwon was the #1 pick. Who was the second pick?

Wednesday’s quiz
Jimmy Butler played his college basketball at Marquette.

Tuesday’s quiz
Matt Barkley has thrown for the most yards in the history of USC football. 

— Nebraska 76, Washington 66
Nebraska is 19-0 in basketball.
Indiana won the national title in football; the world is upside down.
Nebraska is shooting 60.2% inside the arc (#11).
Cornhuskers are in top 30 in eFG%, both in offense/defense.

— Creighton 94, Xavier 93
Bluejays rebounded their own missed foul shot and scored a hoop at the buzzer
Xavier scored 1.28 ppp and still lost; unusual.
Creighton shot 13-24 on the arc, Xavier was 12-24

— Florida Atlantic 79, Tulane 74
Owls are 14-6, lead the AAC with a 6-1 record.
FAU has won five games in a row (3 wins by 6 or fewer points)
FAU is impressive because they’re #347 in country in experience.

— Kentucky 85, Texas 80
Game was 40-40 at halftime.
Kentucky was 30-35 on foul line, Texas 18-20
Brickfest; teams combined to shoot 7-36 on the arc.
Kentucky won its last four games, scoring 83 ppg.

— IU Indy 103, Oakland 85
Oakland was favored by 14.5 points.
IU Indy scored 103 points, only took 3 foul shots (2-3)
Jaguars shot 64.2% inside the arc.

— Citadel 77, Furman 75 OT
Furman was favored by 10.5 points.
Paladins led by 19 with 10:50 left in the game
Teams combined to shoot 12-57 on the arc.

— Gonzaga 84, Pepperdine 60
Zags have beaten Pepperdine 51 games in a row. Fifty-one.
Only streak that was longer; from 1961-86, UCLA beat Cal 52 times in a row.
Gonzaga has won its last 13 games, is 20-1 this season.

— Famous birthdays, January 22nd
Lester Hayes, 71
Jeff Rutledge, 69
Vince Newsome, 65
Diane Lane, 61
Gabriel Macht, 54

Chone Figgins, 48
Carlos Ruiz, 47
Tyrone Taylor, 32
Davis Webb, 31
Dillon Brooks, 30

— Cody Bellinger re-signed with the Bronx Bombers, will get $32.5M/year for five years; he hit 29 homers last year, had 98 RBI, an OPS of .813.

— It is January 22, it is freakin’ freezing out, and I’m watching podcasts trying to figure out where three of the guys on my fantasy baseball team are going to play this year:

Zac Gallen/Luis Arraez are free agents, Freddie Peralta is likely to be traded. Spring training starts in three weeks; time to figure it out, fellas.

As I typed this, Peralta got traded to the Mets:

Mets get Peralta, P Tobias Myers
Milwaukee gets P Brandon Sproat, SS/OF Jett Williams.

— It is kind of funny to listen to these podcasts and listen to nerdy analysts shredding guys who didn’t help their fantasy teams last year. I mean, I’m nerdy too, but if your team wasn’t good, it was your fault, not some guy who is banking million$$ of dollar$$ playing ball.

— There was a 7-year stretch when Indiana coach Curt Cignetti was a QB coach, for three years at Rice, then four years at Temple, not exactly football factories.

In 1998, Rice went 0-11; the whole staff got fired, then Temple went 11-33 the next four years, so if you told Cignetti in 1993 that he would wind up making $12M/year, he probably would’ve laughed at you.

— Before Indiana hired Cignetti away from James Madison, he applied for the head coaching job at Mississippi State, but he didn’t get an interview.

Whoops.

— In Kevin Stefanski’s six years coaching the Cleveland Browns, he started 13 different QB’s; he just hired Bill Callahan as his OL coach in Atlanta, brought OC Tommy Rees with him from the Browns, so if he starts Kirk Cousins, he should have more success with the Falcons.

— Best wishes to Kansas basketball coach Bill Self, who missed the Jayhawks’ game at Colorado Tuesday night; he has atrial fibrillation and was dehydrated.

He had two stents inserted into his heart back in July and also missed the NCAA Tournament and Big 12 Tournament in 2023 after undergoing a heart procedure.

— Over the last six years, the Buffalo Bills:
had the best record
went 8-6 in playoff games
scored the most points
allowed the fewest points
were +902 in point differential; during that time, no other team is over +600.

But they fired coach Sean McDermott Monday, while giving GM Brandon Beane a promotion to president of football operations. Pretty big slap in the face to McDermott, who didn’t get Buffalo to a Super Bowl, but he did just about everything else. 

Very curious to see who they hire to be the next coach.

— When I was a kid, Rams had a coach named Chuck Knox who won five division titles in his first five years as coach- they went 54-15-1 in regular season, but only 3-5 in playoff games (too bad the Vikings didn’t have a dome back then) and the owner fired him, a situation that was kind of like Buffalo’s current thing.

Be careful what you ask for; change isn’t always a good thing.

— Tennessee Titans hired former Jets coach Robert Saleh as their new coach; Saleh was 20-36 in 3+ years coaching the Jets (2012-24). He was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator this year.

— Some successful coaches have gotten the boot this year:
Mike Tomlin (201-126-2, won a Super Bowl)
John Harbaugh (193-124, won a Super Bowl)
Pete Carroll (184-145-1, won a Super Bowl)

— Little weird that backup QB Jarrett Stidham will start for Denver in the AFC title game this week, against New England.

Stidham has started four NFL games (1-3), last of which was two years ago; he was a backup for the Patriots in 2019-20, throwing 48 passes in eight relief appearances. He is the first QB in the Super Bowl who will start a conference title game, without having thrown a pass that season.

Roger Staubach once started an NFC title game without having started a game that year, but he did play some in relief that season (1972) throwing 20 passes in four games.

— When Indiana Hoosiers won the national title Monday night, coach Curt Cignetti banked a $2M bonus. He’s having a very good year.

— Famous birthdays, January 21st:
Gary Garrison, 82
Mike Kurkow, 74
Geena Davis, 70
Robby Benson, 70
Hakeem Olajuwon, 63

Detlef Schrempf, 63
Dalton Hilliard, 62
Jake Diekman, 39
Brandon Crawford, 39
Jake Cronenworth, 32

— Mets acquired OF Luis Robert from the White Sox Tuesday, for two prospects; Robert hit 38 homers for Chicago in 2023, but his OPS last two years was .657/.661.

— RIP Wilbur Wood, the knuckleball pitcher for the White Sox who passed away Saturday at age 84. Wood pitched in the majors for 17 years, winning 164 games, mostly for the White Sox. From 1972-74, he went 64-56, starting 137 games over three years.

In 1973, Wood went 24-20, 3.46 in 48 starts; he started both games of a doubleheader in New York. Because he threw a knuckleball, he could pitch more often that normal pitchers.

RIP, sir.

— Congrats to Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones on being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame; one voter gave Rick Porcello a vote, not really sure why.

Porcello was 150-125 in a 12-year career; he had one great season, going 22-4 for the Red Sox in 2016, but kind of hard for a guy who was never an All-Star to get into the Hall of Fame, though he did win the Cy Young Award in 2016.

— Golden State Warriors star, 36-year old Jimmy Butler tore the ACL in his right knee and is out for the year. He is making $54.1M this year, will make $56.8M next year, the last year of his current contract. Golden State is 12-5 in last 17 games after Tuesday’s loss to Toronto,

— Apparently Bucs’ QB Baker Mayfield wasn’t happy with how he left the Browns; he took a swipe at Kevin Stefanski on social media Tuesday night. Stefanski is the new coach in Atlanta, a division rival of Tampa Bay, so they’ll play each other twice a year going forward.

Mayfield was 30-31 as QB in Cleveland; since they got rid of him, the Browns are 26-43.  

— Movie of the Day: One on One (1977)- A small-town high school basketball star gets a scholarship to a big school, but struggles once he gets there, both on and off the court.

Robbie Benson is the star (today is his 70th birthday, which makes me feel old), Annette O’Toole is his tutor, GD Spradlin is his college coach, Melanie Griffith has a small role at the start of the movie. The movie hasn’t aged very well, but the game scenes were filmed in Colorado State’s gym, the one they still use. 

I was in high school when this movie come out; I really liked it.

— UNLV 86, Utah State 76
Aggies led 58-44 with 12:44 left in the game.
UNLV is off to a 5-2 start in Mountain West games.
First time in ten years the Rebels won at Utah State
6-1 junior G Gibbs-Lawhorn is a really point guard.

— UCLA 69, Purdue 67
Loss snaps Purdue’s nine-game winning streak.
Bruins were only 2-3 on foul line, Purdue 6-7.
Both teams shot over 60% inside the arc.
Purdue’s subs played 56:00; UCLA’s bench played 20.

— Georgia 74, Missouri 72
Dawgs scored the winning hoop with 0:05.5 left.
74 points are the fewest Georgia has scored this season.
Mizzou is 5-6 in its last 11 games, after an 8-0 start.

— Miami OH 107, Kent State 101, OT
20-0 Miami is first team in country to get to 20 wins.
RedHawks have scored 87+ points in each of their last five games.
Their last two wins were both in overtime.
Miami shot 74.4% inside arc, only 22-34 on foul line.

— NC State 80, Clemson 76 OT
Loss ends Clemson’s nine-game winning streak.
Wolfpack led by 11 late in the first half.
NC State coach Will Wade is a Clemson alum, was a basketball manager.

— St John’s 65, Seton Hall 62
Seton Hall led by 15 early in the second half.
Pirates shot only 37.9% from the floor.
Fifth straight win for the Red Storm (14-5, 7-1 in Big East).

— Michigan State 68, Oregon 52
Oregon led by 3 with 14:00 left.
Spartans shot 72.4% inside the arc.
Fifth straight loss for the injury-riddled 8-11 Ducks. 

— Indiana 27, Miami 21
Hoosiers win their first-ever national title.
Before this year, Indiana hadn’t won a bowl game since 1991.
Indiana blocked punt for a TD to go ahead 17-7.

— What does it say about Miami’s program that the national title game was on their home field, but Indiana had more fans there?

— ESPN had a great Film Room broadcast of this game, with four former coaches analyzing the game as they watched it. Learned a lot; it was an excellent listen.

Gene Chizik
Dave Clawson
Mike Gundy
Steve Addazio

— Indiana, Miami are both Adidas schools, which clinched Adidas having their first national champ in college football since Tennessee in 1998.

— Coaches come from all kinds of backgrounds:

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti didn’t become a head coach until he was 50; he is 146-37 as a head coach, 27-2 in two years at Indiana. He spent seven years as the QB coach at Rice, Temple, not exactly football factories. Now he’s a national champ.

Rams’ coach Sean McVay was an NFL head coach at age 30; he turns 40 on Saturday, is already 102-62 with the Rams. His grandfather was head coach of the Giants and later an executive with the 49ers. At one time, Sean McVay was an assistant coach for the Florida Tuskers in the UFL.

— I’m watching Rams-Bears Sunday and I’m wondering,”Who is Jared Goff rooting for?”

He played for McVay with the Rams for four years, then played for four years in Detroit with Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator— he had great success playing for both guys. Maybe he didn’t watch, maybe he didn’t care, but would be fun to know.

By the way, makes me feel old that Goff has already been in the NFCL for 10 years.

— Caleb Williams is a lot better than I thought he was going to be, but maybe Ben Johnson is just a great offensive coach.

Next summer, some NFL analysts are going to predict the Bears are going to regress, because teams that win a lot of close games don’t always do that the next year. Minnesota Vikings have won a ton of last close games under Kevin O’Connell, but with QB injuries this year, Minnesota missed the playoffs, even though they were 5-3 in one-score games.

Such a fine line between winning and losing in the NFL. 

— Miami Dolphins hired former Boston College coach Jeff Hafley as their new coach, he was the defensive coordinator for Green Bay the last two years. Hafley was 22-26 in four years at BC, 12-22 in ACC games.

— Famous birthdays, January 20th:
Ron Harper, 62
Ozzie Guillen, 62
Terry Kirby, 56
Eddie Kennison, 53
David Eckstein, 51

Jason Richardson, 45
Nick Foles, 37
DeVante Parker, 33
Tyler Herro, 26
JJ McCarthy, 23

— I’m wondering if Gonzaga will still be a powerhouse when they leave the WCC after this year; they’re moving to the re-tooled Pac-12, which will mostly be like the current Mountain West, but it is going to be tougher than the current WCC.

In the 80’s/early 90’s, UNLV was a national power under Jerry Tarkanian, playing in the Big West Conference; when the NCAA forced Tarkanian out in 1992, Rebels played four more years in the Big West, before moving on to the Mountain West.

UNLV has slid into mediocrity; they haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2013, and they have had some good coaches: Lon Kruger, TJ Otzelberger, Charlie Spoonhour. 

— Saint Louis, Miami OH are both in the top 25, which is unusual; first time Miami has been in the top 25 since 1999.

— Marquette 105, Providence 104 OT
Marquette led 54-44 at halftime.
6-0 freshman James scored 38 points, had 8 assists.
Golden Eagles shot 62% inside the arc, only 19-30 on foul line.
Providence is 2-6 in last eight games; three of those losses were in OT.

— Towson 59, Drexel 58
Drexel led by 17 in first half, by 6 with 2:34 left.
Towson was 15-21 on foul line, Dragons 1-4
Towson out-rebounded Drexel, 42-29

— Harvard 64, Penn 63
Harvard shot 60% inside the arc.
6-5 senior Roberts scored 27 for Penn, had no assists.
Quakers were 13-17 on foul line, Harvard was 4-8.

— Quinnipiac 98, Manhattan 92 OT
Manhattan led by 15 with 12:59 left in the game.
6-2 senior Jones scored 30 points, had five assists.
Fifth lost in last six games for the Jaspers.

— Bracketology; seeds 1-4 according to ESPN:
1- Arizona, Michigan, UConn, Duke
2- Gonzaga, Nebraska, Purdue, Iowa State
3- Vanderbilt, Houston, BYU, Illinois
4- Alabama, Texas Tech, Florida, Michigan

— Rams 20, Bears 17 OT
Rams drove 54 yards, Mevis kicked 42-yard walk-off FG in OT.
Bears scored a TD with 0:18 left to force overtime.
Rams are 9-0 when they allow less than 26 points.
Rams advance to the NFC title game in Seattle next week.

Bears converted 9-19 on third down, LA 5-16, on a cold night
Chicago ran ball for 160 yards, but were minus-3 in turnovers.
In two playoff games, Bears converted only 5-12 fourth down plays.
Rams’ two TD drives were 91-85 yards, lasted 6:33/6:02.

— Patriots 28, Texans 16
Houston turned ball over on 4 of their first 8 drives.
Patriots scored on a pick-6 to take a 14-10 lead. 
In their history, Texans are 0-7 in this round of the playoffs.
Patriots move on to AFC title game in Denver next week.

Texans ran ball 22 times for only 48 yards.
Houston scored only one TD; that was on a short 27-yard drive.
QB Maye threw for 179 yards, 3 TD’s on a snowy/sleet day.
Texans completed only 20 of 47 passes, with four INTs. 

— Atlanta Falcons hired former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski as their new coach, the first hire for new Falcons boss Matt Ryan. Stefanski was 46-58 in six years in Cleveland, 1-2 in playoff games.

— Famous birthdays, January 19th:
Dolly Parton, 80
Terry Hanratty, 78
Jon Matlack, 76
Katy Segal, 72
Steve DeBerg, 72

Paul McCrane, 65
Chris Sabo, 64
Michael Adams, 63
Luc Longley, 57
Phil Nevin, 55

— Was laughing the other day when the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker for four years at $60M a year; hearing New York fans complain how the Dodgers are ruining baseball by spending too much $$$ and I’m like, “Hey, I root for the A’s. Welcome to my world for the last 50 years”

That said, $60M/year for Tucker seems comically excessive; he isn’t Aaron Judge or Juan Soto but he is really good. At first, I thought it said $240 for six years; $40M/year seemed OK, but then I realized he’ll be making $60M/year. Yikes.

— Atlanta Braves made a $46M profit last year, which makes you wonder how high these teams are willing to go to sign stars. $46M is one superstar player or two really good ones. I’m not a big finance guy; this time next year, we’ll probably be hearing a lot more about the finances of major league teams, when the lockout is looming.

— Minnesota Twins signed C Victor Caratini for two years, $14M; with the new appeal system for ball/strike challenges, not sure if good pitch framers are as valuable as they have been, but the Twins think Caratini is. He’s had an OPS of .711+ the last three years.

— When actor Charlie Sheen was a kid, apparently he was really good at baseball; U of Kansas offered him a baseball scholarship, but then he got tossed out of high school for not going to this classes, so college was out of the question.

— Been watching a lot of fantasy baseball mock drafts on the Interweb, watched one the other day where Mike Trout was a 19th round pick. Jeez, how quickly they forget.

— Movie of the Day: Major League (1989)- Woman inherits the Cleveland Indians from her dead husband; she wants to move the team to Miami, so she puts together a roster that is really bad, so fans in Cleveland won’t come to see them play.

Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Corbin Bernsen are some of the players; former Dodger catcher Steve Yeager is Cleveland’s third base coach. James Gammon is the manager of the team; Rene Russo is also in this, but the late Bob Uecker steals the show as the announcer of the team.

Very funny movie, but moving a baseball team to Miami turned out to be a very bad idea.

— In college basketball, Florida Gators won consecutive national titles in 2007, 2008; since then, only one defending national champ made it to the Elite 8 in the NCAAs the next year, and that was UConn won their consecutive titles in 2023, 2024.

Florida is the defending champ this year; they’re 13-5 right now, 4-1 in the SEC, experience team #65. We’ll see how it goes for them.

— Florida Atlantic 79, Temple 73
Fast-paced game (79 possessions), was fun to watch.
Both teams are the Owls, by the way.
Brickfest for a high-scoring game; teams shot 9-41 on the arc.
FAU won its last four games, scoring 82.3 ppg.

— Wichita State 86, South Florida 85 OT
USF led by 13 early in the second half.
Both teams shot under 40% inside the arc.
Teams combined to shoot 24-51 (47.1%) outside the arc.

— Houston 103, Arizona State 73
Cougars led 56-29 at halftime.
Arizona State has lost six of its last seven games.
Houston has won 11 games in a row (only loss 76-73 to Tennessee)

— San Francisco 85, Washington State 80
Wazzu led by 7 with 6:06 left in the game.
USF was 15-18 on foul line, Wazzu 2-3.
Coogs lost last three games (Zags, St Mary’s, USF)
Dons made 12-22 shots on the arc.

— North Texas 71, Tulane 63
North Texas out-rebounded Tulane, 47-30.
Green Wave shot only 31.3% from the floor.
North Texas is 11-7; they have the #325 eFG% in the country. 

— Broncos 33, Bills 30 OT
Denver advances to AFC title game next week, at home.
Denver QB Bo Nix broke his ankle, is out for the year.
Backup Jarrett Stidham (1-3 as an NFL starter) is Denver’s new QB.
Stidham will be first QB in the last 60 years to start a conference championship game, without having thrown a pass up to that point in that season.

Denver scored 10 points in last 0:22 of first half to take 20-10 halftime lead.
Buffalo kicked a 50-yard FG with 0:05 left in regulation to force OT.
Broncos drove 75 yards before they kicked the game-winning FG.
Josh Allen is having a great career, but he is now 0-7 in overtime games.

— Seahawks 41, 49ers 6
Seahawks ran opening kickoff back 95 yards for a TD.
Seattle’s first seven drives: 48 plays, 271 yards, 34 points.
San Francisco lost fumbles on their first two drives.
Seattle will host the NFC title game next Sunday.

Seahawks won 11 of their last 12 home playoff games.
49ers were 2-5 ATS as an underdog this year.
49ers had won their previous four visits to Seattle.
Seahawks went over their team total in 12 of last 17 games.

— California 84, North Carolina 78
Cal led this game 54-37 at halftime.
Golden Bears shot 14-26 on arc; Justin Pippen scored 19 points.
Tar Heels are 0-3 in ACC road games, giving up 97-95-84 points.
Justin Pippen is the son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen

— Purdue 69, USC 64
USC led this game 22-8 midway thru the first half.
Trojans shot 61% inside the arc, only 3-20 outside arc.
Purdue has won nine in a row, is now 17-1 this year (lost to Iowa State)

— Kentucky 80, Tennessee 78
Tennessee led by 17 late in the first half.
2nd game in row Kentucky won after trailing by 15+ points.
Kentucky won seven of its last nine games, after a 5-4 start.

— College Basketball Upsets of the Day:
Georgia Tech (+17) 78, NC State 74
Northern Illinois (+8.5) 70, UMass 68
Cleveland State (+8.5) 80, Youngstown State 78
Wofford (+7.5) 74, Furman 70
Kennesaw State (+7.5) 81, Western Kentucky 65
SIU-Edwardsville (+7.5) 68, SE Missouri State 55

— Miami OH 105, Buffalo 102, OT
Miami improves to 19-0, one of three unbeaten teams in country.
RedHawks shot 67.6% inside arc, scored 1.26 ppp.
6-5 senior Suder scored 37 points, had no assists; his job is to shoot the ball.

— Clemson 69, Miami 59
Tigers are 6-0 in ACC, are quietest 16-3 team in the country.
Clemson is #30 experience team that has played schedule #40 so far.
Tigers have the #20 eFG% defense in the country.

— Santa Clara 62, Saint Mary’s 54
Huge win for Santa Clara’s chances of getting an at-large bid in March.
Broncos are 7-1 in WCC, with only loss by 12 at Gonzaga.
Brickfest; teams combined to shoot 7-36 on the arc.

— Florida 98, Vanderbilt 94
Florida shot 62.2% inside arc, scored 1.35 ppp.
Gators out-rebounded Vandy, 40-26.
Florida has won eight of last nine games, after a 5-4 start.

— Famous birthdays, January 18th:
Myron Pottios, 88
Scott McGregor, 72
Kevin Costner, 71
Larry Smith, 68

Bob Hansen, 65
Brady Anderson, 62
Jesse L Martin, 57
Julius Peppers, 46

Michael Pineda, 37
Leonard Fournette, 31
Tee Higgins, 27
Braden Fiske, 26

— Alabama 83, Oklahoma 81
Sooners led 44-33 at halftime.
Alabama shot 57.6% inside arc, only 15-26 on foul line.
Alabama is 13-5; up to this point, they’ve played toughest schedule in country.

— Texas Tech 84, BYU 71
BYU led 61-52 with 8:40 left in the game.
Tech used only three subs, for a total of 10:00.
Red Raiders are shooting 37.8% on arc this year (#24 in country)

— St John’s 86, Villanova 79
Red Storm shot 58.1% inside arc; they opened 2nd half with a 20-4 run.
Johnnies won their last four games, scoring 88 ppg.
Villanova slips to 14-4; they’ve played #24 schedule in country.

— San Diego State 83, New Mexico 79
Aztecs won their 7th game in row, lead Mountain West by a game.
San Diego State outscored Lobos 6-0 over final 1:11 for the win.
Just 2nd loss in last 12 games for New Mexico; they’ve played schedule #90.

— Grand Canyon 84, Utah State 74
Loss snaps Utah State’s 8-game winning streak.
Antelopes shot 60.6% inside arc, scored 1.28 ppp.
6-2 junior Williams scored 20 points in 27:00 off bench for Grand Canyon. 

There are seven NFL head coaches who have led more than one franchise to a Super Bowl; was surprised to learn that no coach has ever won a Super Bowl with two franchises.

— Don Shula (347-173-6 as NFL coach)
lost Super Bowl III with the Colts
was 2-3 in Super Bowls with Miami, winning Super Bowls VII and VIII

His grandson Chris is defensive coordinator for the Rams. 

— Dick Vermeil (126-114)
Won Super Bowl XXXIV with the Rams
Lost Super Bowl XiX with Philadelphia
He was 6-5 in playoff games, was 15-5-3 as a college coach

— Andy Reid (307-174-1)
Is 3-3 in Super Bowls, 28-17 in playoff games.
Lost Super Bowl XXXIX with the Eagles
Is 3-2 in Super Bowls with Chiefs, 18-8 in playoff games.

— Bill Parcells (191-141-1)
Won two Super Bowls with the Giants (XXI and XXV)
Lost Super Bowl XXXI with New England.
He was 11-8 in playoff games.

— Mike Holmgren (174-122)
Won Super Bowl XXXI with Green Bay
Lost Super Bowl XV with Seattle
Was 1-2 in Super Bowl, 13-11 in playoff games.

— John Fox (141-130)
Won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Broncos
Lost Super Bowl XXXVIII with Carolina
He was 8-7 in playoff games.

— Dan Reeves (201-174-2)
Got to three Super Bowls in four years with Denver, went 0-3
Lost Super Bowl XXXIII with the Falcons, against Denver.
Was 11-9 in playoff games. 

— Famous birthdays, January 17th:
Preston Pearson, 81
Pete LaCock, 74
Chili Davis, 66

Jim Carrey, 64
Dwyane Wade, 44
Tyler Zeller, 36

Trevor Bauer, 35
Nickell Robey-Coleman, 34
Kyle Tucker, 29

— Dodgers gave OF Kyle Tucker a four-year, $240M contract, $60M/year, which seems a bit excessive. Tucker has 147 career home runs, a career OPS of .865, but he played most of his career in a hitter-friendly ballpark in Houston.

— Mets responded to that by signing IF Bo Bichette for three years, $126M. He hit .311 last year, has a career OPS of .806. Bichette figures to play third base, after being a shortstop up until now, kind of what Alex Rodriguez did when he moved to the Bronx.

— Phillies re-signed C JP Realmuto for three years, $45M; he will be 35 in March, has a career OPS of .774.

— In college/minor league sports, QB Darian Mensah is in the transfer portal, again. After making $8M the last two years at Duke, he figures to land with the Miami Hurricanes. Mensah started his college career at Tulane. Duke went 18-9 in Mensah’s two years as QB.

— Word of the Day: Chiseler- A person who cheats/tricks people; a grifter.

— Providence 93, Creighton 88
Friars shot 56.8% inside the arc.
Creighton led 46-45 at halftime.
Just second win in seven Big East games for Providence

— Kansas 80, Baylor 62
Kansas shot 58.7% inside arc, had only four turnovers.
Jayhawks won last two games, by 21-18 points.
Baylor slips to 11-6, 1-4 in conference games.

— DePaul 80, Marquette 75
Marquette led 44-36 at halftime.
6-7 senior Gunn had 31 points for DePaul.
DePaul won last three home games, is 3-4 in Big East play.
Last time DePaul finished .500+ in conference play? 2007.

— Kent State 87, Toledo 84
Toledo led 41-35 at halftime.
Kent State was 26-36 on foul line, Rockets 20-29.
Kent State is 5-1 in MAC, game behind unbeaten Miami.

— Ball State 76, Ohio U 71
Cardinals never trailed, improved to 1-5 in the MAC.
Ball State was 25-31 on foul line, Bobcats 15-19.
Ohio U shot 57.9% inside arc, 4-16 outside arc.

— Dayton 78, Loyola Chi 51
Flyers led this game 31-30 at halftime.
Dayton is 5-0 in A-14, forcing turnovers 25% of time.
Loyola is 5-14 this year, after going 48-22 the last two years. 

— Dodgers have apparently signed free agent OF Kyle Tucker, who has hit 134 home runs the last five years. He was hampered by a hand injury last year, batting .218 in July, .244 in August after hitting .280 with 17 homers before the All-Star break.

— When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was The Rockford Files, starring the great actor James Garner. It was about a private detective who lived in a trailer on a beach outside Los Angeles. He drove a gold Pontiac Firebird, the show is still on TV, I think on Peacock, but it ran from 1974-80, my high school/college years.

NBC is re-booting the series, but James Garner as Rockford is going to be a tough act to follow, harder than Tom Selleck as Magnum PI, and that hasn’t gone well. Curious to see who they cast as Rockford.

— ACC is adding a conference game to each team’s schedule next year, so teams have to pare down their non-conference schedules. Virginia Tech is paying James Madison $800,000 not to play them next fall.

— The minimum salary in major league baseball this season: $780,000.

— Back in the day, when Al Davis owned the Oakland Raiders, he would interview some coaches he had no intention of hiring; he just wanted to pick their brain.

This week, Raiders interviewed 30-year old Davis Webb, who is the passing game coordinator for the Raiders’ division rival Denver Broncos. Hmmm……

— Famous birthdays, January 16th
Dave Stapleton, 72
Gerald Henderson, 70
Steve Balboni, 69
Mark Collins, 62

Jack McDowell, 60
Don MacLean, 56
Joe Horn, 54
Jack Cust, 47

Albert Pujols, 46
Joe Flacco, 41
Mark Trumbo, 40
Brendan Donovan, 29

— Rules changes for the college basketball transfer portal; players will not be able to enter the portal until the day after the NCAA Tournament, and the portal will be open for only 15 days.

This is a drastic switch (and improvement) from 2024, when the portal was open for 45 days and the process began the day after Selection Sunday.

— North Carolina’s basketball roster is earning a total of $14M this season; they’re 14-3 so far, 2-2 in the ACC, giving up 97-95 points in road losses to SMU, Stanford.

— Gonzaga F Braden Huff is out 4-8 weeks with a left knee injury; massive loss for the Zags. Huff is averaging 17.8 points and 5.6 rebounds/game.

— Virginia Tech is 2-3 in ACC games, with losses by 1-1-3 points; their last six games were all decided by 3 or fewer points. This season, Hokies are 4-0 in overtime games.

— Movie of the Day: Let It Ride (1989)- A cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can’t stop gambling. If you enjoy going to the racetrack, chances are you’ll like this movie.

Richard Dreyfuss is the cab driver, Terri Garr is his wife, Jennifer Tilly is one of the patron’s in the track’s clubhouse, David Johanssen is another cab driver, Robbie Coltrane is great as the teller who takes the gambler’s bets.

Funny movie. 

— South Alabama 91, Arkansas State 87, OT
Ark State led by 4 with 0:50 left in regulation.
Jaguars were 21-30 on foul line, Ark State 12-15.
Ark State shot 13-44 on the arc, 18-28 inside the arc.

— Southern Utah 106, Tarleton State 105 OT
Thunderbirds snap a seven-game losing streak.
Southern Utah shot 58% inside arc, 31-42 on the foul line.
6-3 junior Dior Johnson scored 40 points for Tarleton; he didn’t start.

— IU Indy 96, Robert Morris 93, OT
Robert Morris led by 10 with 10:04 left in the game.
IU Indy was 26-35 on the foul line, Robert Morris 21-27.
Jaguars end nine-game losing skid vs D-I teams.
IU Indy is playing fastest-paced games in the country.

— Georgia Southern 87, Old Dominion 84
Monarchs led 48-39 at halftime.
Georgia Southern shot 10-23 on arc, scored 1.22 ppp.
Eagles were 19-28 on foul line, ODU was 10-15

— Cal-Davis 74, Cal-Fullerton 69
Cal-Davis had 20 turnovers, but shot 61.3% inside arc.
Cal-Davis out-rebounded the Titans, 43-32
Cal-Fullerton has #337 eFG% defense in the country. 

— Three years ago, 10 NFL teams changed coaches after the season; eight of those ten coaches have already been fired.

— Red Sox signed P Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130M contract; last two years, Suarez was 24-16 in 53 starts for the Phillies. He pitched for Philadelphia for eight years.

— Tuesday, Cardinals continued their house cleaning, dealing 3B Nolan Arenado to Arizona for a minor leaguer; not only that, but St Louis is paying $31M of the $42M Arenado is owed over the next two years. 

Arenado will be 35 in April; his OPS the last two years: .719, .666.

— College/minor league sports are off the rails; few days ago, Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola transferred to Oregon. Wednesday, Ducks’ QB Dante Moore announced he’s coming back to school next year, instead of going to the NFL.

Wednesday night, Raiola’s name went back into the transfer portal.

Oy.

— Alabama QB Ty Simpson is going into the NFL Draft; he had NIL offers:
$4M- Ole Miss, Tennessee
$6.5M- Miami…….he turned those offers down.

Jimmy Garoppolo is the Rams’ backup QB; he made $3M this year.

— NBA has games from Europe this week; Thursday, Grizzlies-Magic are playing in Berlin, Sunday, they’re playing in London.

— Wednesday in beautiful upstate New York, it was rainy and in the low 40’s; I go to the grocery store, and as I’m leaving, a 50-ish guy is walking in, wearing a sweatshirt and shorts. I had a parka on over a sweatshirt, and I wasn’t warm. Wearing shorts outside in January in upstate New York is almost never a good idea.

— Famous birthdays, January 15th
Karen Carlson, 81
Andrea Martin, 79
Bobby Grich, 77
Ernie DiGregorio, 75

Randy White, 73
Ricky Sobers, 73
Marty Lyons, 69
Delino DeShields, 57

Eddie Cahill, 48
Drew Brees, 47
Matt Holliday, 46
Mitch Garver, 35

— Kentucky 75, LSU 74
LSU led by 18 early in second half.
Kentucky hit mid-range jumper at the buzzer for a walk-off win.
LSU slips to 0-4 in SEC after a 12-1 pre-conference mark.

— Texas 80, Vanderbilt 64
First loss in 17 games this year for Vandy.
Longhorns shot 58.8% inside the arc.
Texas out-rebounded the Commodores, 42-24.

— Stanford 95, North Carolina 90
6-2 frosh Okorie scored 36 points, dished out nine assists.
Stanford shot 16-28 on the arc, scored 1.30 ppp.
UNC lost first two ACC road games, giving up 97-95 points. 

— SMU 77, Virginia Tech 76
Kid on SMU hit a half-court shot at the buzzer for the win.
Hokies led by 8 with 11:11 left in the game.
Boogie Miller was 11-16 on foul line; Tech’s whole team was 11-18.

— Louisiana Tech 59, Middle Tennessee 58
Blue Raiders led 34-14 late in the first half.
Bulldogs outscored MTSU 38-18 in second half.
Tech won despite shooting 1-12 on the arc.
MTSU was only 9-18 on the foul line.

— Arizona 89, Arizona State 82
Arizona was 21-26 on foul line, ASU was 7-11
Wildcats shot 58.3% inside arc, scored 1.26 ppp
Arizona out-rebounded the Sun Devils, 39-28

— Ole Miss 97, Georgia 95 OT
Georgia led by 4 with 0:48 left in regulation.
Ole Miss scored on an offensive rebound with 0:01 left for the win.
AJ Storr scored 27 points for Ole Miss; he didn’t start. 

“Welcome to the most competitive business in the world.”
Bill O’Brien

Fine line between winning and losing in the NFL, and when teams stop winning, heads will roll, whether it is justified or not.

— Mike Tomlin coached the Steelers for 19 years; he went 201-126-2, 8-12 in playoff games. He won the Super Bowl in his second year in Pittsburgh, 17 years ago. He lost the Super Bowl two years after that. Tomlin never had a losing season (he was 8-8 three times) but he also lost his last seven playoff games, and is now out as head coach of the Steelers.

Steelers are first NFL team ever to lose five playoff games in a row by 10+ points.

— Much like John Harbaugh, who got dumped by the Ravens last week; Harbaugh coached the Ravens for 18 years, went 193-124, 13-11 in playoff games, winning the 2012 Super Bowl. Not sure what happened this season; Ravens made the playoffs six of the last eight years, but now Harbaugh is highly-sought after by other teams.

— Los Angeles Chargers fired their offensive coordinator and offensive line coach after they lost 16-3 at New England Sunday night.

— Philadelphia Eagles demoted their offensive coordinator after they lost 23-19 to the 49ers Sunday; they didn’t fire him, he can stay on the staff in a lesser role, but they’ll have a new guy as offensive coordinator next year.

— Denver Broncos are only the third #1-seed since 1970 to be an underdog in this round of the playoffs:

1971 Vikings were +1 against Dallas
2017 Eagles were +2.5 against the Falcons

— Last six years, #1-seeds went 4-8 ATS in the divisional round of the playoffs.

— Weird stat of the Day: Rams coach Sean McVay is 9-5 in playoff games; those 14 games have been against 14 different teams, and this week it’ll be 15 games against 15 different teams, when the Rams visit Chicago Sunday night.

— Famous birthdays, January 14th
Faye Dunaway, 85
Swen Nater, 76
Wayne Gross, 74
Terry Forster, 74
James Todd Smith, 58 (LL Cool J)

Jason Bateman, 57
Byron Leftwich, 46
Mike Pelfrey, 42
Aaron Brooks, 41
Stephen Piscotty, 35

— Movie of the Day: Absence of Malice (1981)- A Miami prosecutor leaks info to a naive, but well-meaning newspaper reporter that a liquor wholesaler is suspected in the murder of the local longshoreman union president, the wholesaler’s life begins to unravel.

Paul Newman is the wholesaler, Sally Field is the reporter, Wilford Brimley has a small but important role, as does Melinda Dillon.

Very good movie; anything that Paul Newman was in is worth watching, obviously, plus Sally Field was very good in this, too. 

— Tennessee 87, Texas A&M 82, 2OTs
Aggies led by 11 points in the first half.
A&M shot 13-43 on the arc, 11-23 inside the arc.
Vols were 31-42 on foul line, A&M was 21-32

— Kansas 84, Iowa State 63
Cyclones’ first loss of the year, after a 16-0 start.
Kansas shot 12-24 on arc; they led 44-23 at halftime.
Jayhawks are 12-5 against the #2 schedule in country.

— Villanova 88, Providence 82
Villanova led 46-34 at halftime.
Providence shot 74.2% inside the arc; they’re 1-5 in Big East.
Villanova is 5-1 in Big East, tied for 2nd with St John’s behind UConn.

— UConn 69, Seton Hall 64
UConn led 35-22 at halftime.
Brickfest: teams combined to shoot 4-33 on the arc.
Huskies have won 13 in a row; they lost by 4 to Arizona in November.

— Creighton 86, Georgetown 83 OT
Georgetown scored at end of regulation; after LONG review, hoop was waved off.
Hoyas led by 7 with 1:56 left in regulation.
Georgetown scored 1.29 ppp and lost; that doesn’t happen much.

— UNLV 89, Boise State 85 OT
Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 33 points, had six assists.
Rebels are 2-5 in games decided by 9 or fewer points.
Boise State lost last four games, two of them in overtime.

— Wisconsin 78, Minnesota 75
Both teams hit a 3-pointer in last 0:05; Badgers hit buzzer beater.
Minnesota led by 11 early in second half.
Wisconsin made 14 of 33 shots behind the arc.

— Virginia 79, Louisville 70
Cavaliers never trailed; they shot 14-34 on the arc.
Virginia has won four in a row, 10 of last 11 games.
Louisville star Mikel Brown missed his 7th consecutive game. 

— Texans 30, Steelers 6
Houston gets their first-ever road playoff win.
Texans led 7-6 after the third quarter.
Houston scored two defensive TD’s in 4th quarter.

Houston outgained the Steelers, 408-175.
Texans were 10-15 on third down, Pittsburgh 2-14
Steelers lost their 7th consecutive playoff game.

— This weekend’s NFL schedule:
Saturday:
Bills @ Denver
49ers @ Seattle

Sunday:
Texans @ New England
Rams @ Chicago

College basketball conference trends:
(thru Monday’s games)

— SEC
Home favorites 16-14 ATS
Home underdogs 10-6 ATS

Home team 3-0 ATS in Florida games
Home team 3-0 ATS in Oklahoma games
Home team 3-0 ATS in Tennessee games
Road team 3-0 ATS in LSU games
Favorites 3-0 ATS in Ole Miss games

— Big 18
Home favorites 16-14 ATS
Home underdogs 10-6 ATS

Maryland 0-5 SU/1-4 ATS
Michigan 4-1 SU/2-3 ATS
Underdogs 4-1 ATS in Minnesota games.
Nebraska 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS

Northwestern 0-5 SU/1-4 ATS
Oregon 1-4 SU/ATS
Penn State 0-5 SU/4-1 ATS
Home team 5-0 ATS in UCLA games.

— Big X
Home favorites 8-6 ATS
Home underdogs 5-5 ATS

Arizona 3-0 SU/ATS
Baylor 0-3 SU/ATS
Colorado 2-1 SU/3-0 ATS
Kansas 1-2 SU/0-3 ATS (lost both road games)
Kansas State 0-3 SU/ATS

— ACC
Home favorites 5-16 ATS
Home underdogs 5-6 ATS

Clemson 4-0 SU/ATS
Duke 4-0 SU/1-3 ATS
North Carolina 1-2 SU/0-3 ATS
Virginia won last three games, by 15-24-15 points.
Underdogs 4-0 ATS in Virginia Tech’s games.

— Big East
Home favorites 4-17 ATS
Home underdogs 3-6 ATS (road teams 23-7 ATS)

Butler 1-4 SU/ATS
Road team 5-1 ATS in Creighton games.
DePaul 2-4 SU/5-1 ATS
Georgetown 1-4 SU/ATS

Road team 5-0 ATS in St John’s games.
Road team 5-0 ATS in Seton Hall games.
Underdog 5-0 ATS in Villanova games.

— Famous birthdays, January 13th
Bob Forsch, 76
Russell Erxleben, 69
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 65
Kevin Mitchell, 64

Patrick Dempsey, 60
Curtis Conway, 55
James Posey, 49
Emmanuel Forbes, 25

— Mountain West
Home favorites 8-8 ATS
Home underdogs 3-6 ATS

Fresno State 1-4 SU/3-2 ATS
Favorites 5-0 ATS in New Mexico games.
Road team 4-0 ATS in Grand Canyon games.

Road team 4-1 ATS in San Jose State games.
Road team 4-1 ATS in San Diego State games.
Underdogs 4-1 ATS in Nevada games.
Home team 4-0 ATS in UNLV games.

— West Coast
Home favorites 12-10 ATS
Home underdogs 7-5 ATS

Gonzaga 5-0 SU/2-3 ATS
Saint Mary’s 5-0 SU/3-2 ATS
LMU 4-2 ATS (home side 5-1 ATS)
Oregon State 2-4 ATS (home side 5-1 ATS), 0-3 AU

Pacific 3-3 SU/1-5 ATS
Pepperdine 0-6 SU/2-4 ATS (0-3 HU)
Portland covered four of last five games.
San Diego 2-4 SU/5-1 ATS

— Atlantic 14
Home favorites 4-12 ATS
Home underdogs 5-5 ATS

Road team 4-0 ATS in Davidson games.
Road team 4-0 ATS in Fordham games.
Road team 4-0 ATS in Richmond games.

George Mason 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS
Favorites 4-0 ATS in George Washington games.
Underdogs 3-0 ATS in St Bonaventure games.

— Missouri Valley
Home underdogs 7-7 ATS
Home favorites 10-11 ATS

Murray State 7-0 SU/5-2 ATS
Belmont 5-2 SU/2-5 ATS
Drake 2-4 SU/1-5 ATS
Evansville 1-6 SU/4-3 ATS

— American
Home underdogs 7-3 ATS
Home favorites 5-8 ATS

Underdogs 4-0 ATS in UAB’s games
Memphis 2-1 SU/0-3 ATS
North Texas 3-1 ATS
Rice 3-1 ATS
Tex-San Antonio 0-4 SU/ATS
Tulane 3-0 ATS
Underdogs 3-0 ATS in Wichita State’s games

— Big West
Home favorites 8-13 ATS
Home underdogs 7-2 ATS (underdogs 20-10 ATS)

Underdogs 4-1 ATS in Cal-Davis games
Hawai’i 4-1 SU/1-4 ATS (0-3 home favorite)
Long Beach State 2-3 SU/5-0 ATS

Home team 5-1 ATS in Northridge games.
Underdogs 5-1 ATS in Cal Poly games
Riverside 1-4 SU/4-1 ATS
Cal-Santa Barbara 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS

— MAAC
Home favorites 15-9-1 ATS
Home underdogs 9-12 ATS (favorites 27-18-1 ATS)

Merrimack 6-0 SU/5-1 ATS
Home team 4-1 ATS in Canisius games.
Home team 4-1 ATS in Siena games.

Home team 5-0-1 ATS in Marist games.
Fairfield 2-4 SU/1-5 ATS
Niagara 1-4 SU/ATS

Rider 0-5 SU/3-2 ATS
Underdogs 5-1 ATS in Sacred Heart games.
St Peter’s 4-1 SU/ATS

— Bills 27, Jaguars 24
Buffalo drove 66 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:04 left.
Jaguars had taken 24-20 lead on a TD with 4:03 left.
Bills get their first road playoff win since 1992.
Buffalo is 13-0 this year when they score 23+ points.

QB Allen threw for 273 yards and a TD.
Allen also ran ball 11 times for 33 yards, two TD’s.
Jaguars WR Washington caught 7 passes for 107 yards and a TD.
Buffalo will play the #1-seed Broncos in Denver next weekend.

— 49ers 23, Eagles 19
49ers drove 66 yards, scored game-winning TD with 2:54 left.
49ers grabbed 17-16 lead on a trick play; WR Jennings threw 29-yard TD pass.
Last 7 times they were in playoffs, 49ers won their first game.
49ers visit division rival Seattle next weekend.

WR Robinson caught six passes for 111 yards and a TD.
San Francisco was 6-11 on third down, Eagles 5-16.
Eagles were 4-7 this year when they scored less than 21 points.
Last nine years, underdog is 8-1 SU/9-0 ATS in #3-6 seed NFC game.

— Patriots 16, Chargers 3
New England gets its first playoff win since 2018.
QB Maye threw for 268 yards and a TD.
Patriots are 9-3 ATS as a favorite this year.
Opponents’ team total: under 14-2 last 16 games

New England outgained Chargers 381-207; Bolts were 1-10 on 3rd down.
Patriots ran ball 29 times for 146 yards (5.0 yards/carry)
Last six years, #2-seeds are 11-1 SU/9-3 ATS vs #2-seeds in this round.
New England hosts Texans-Steelers winner next weekend. 

— Chicago Cubs signed 3B Alex Bregman for five years, $175M; he got a no-trade clause, and $70M of the money is deferred. Bregman hit 18 homers, had 62 RBI in 114 games for Boston; he had his best OPS since 2019, but Wrigley Field isn’t as good a hitters’ park as Fenway, so we’ll have to wait and see what 2026 brings.

— Detroit Tigers/P Tarik Skubal are going to arbitration; unless the two sides agree before the arbitrator decides, one side will win, one will lose. 

Tigers are offering Skubal $19M; Skubal is asking for $32M, a huge difference. Arbitration hearings start January 26th. Skubal has won the Cy Young award the last two years, going 31-10 in 62 starts, with 469 strikeouts in 387.1 IP.

Skubal can be a free agent next winter; if he wins the arbitration and gets paid $32M this year, will Detroit trade him before he hits the open market?

Famous birthdays, January 12th:
Bob Dishy, 92
Drew Pearson, 75
Campy Russell, 74

Dominique Wilkins, 66
Oliver Platt, 66
Cade McNown, 49

— UCF 73, Cincinnati 72
Golden Knights shot 63.2% inside arc; they’re 13-2.
UCF is #27 experience team, #345 in continuity- they start three seniors.
Cincinnati lost six of last eight games; they’re 0-3 in the Big X.

— Florida Atlantic 89, Memphis 78
Owls shot 65.9% inside arc, improved to 11-6, 3-1 in AAC.
FAU out-rebounded Memphis, 46-29.
Memphis is #347 in continuity; they’re 1-7 vs top 100 teams.

— Illinois 75, Iowa 69
Illinois led by 18 midway thru first half.
Illinois shot 62.1% inside the arc.
Illinois is 13-3 vs schedule #18; all three losses are to top 20 teams.

— Green Bay 80, Northern Kentucky 78
Doug Gottlieb’s Green Bay team has won 6 of 7, is 5-2 in Horizon League.
Green Bay led by 19 with 13:43 left, hung on for dear life.
Green Bay shot 10-19 on the arc, scored 1.33 ppp.

— Washington 81, Ohio State 74
Buckeyes led by 7 early in the second half.
Washington shot 57.9% inside the arc.
Ohio State split its last 10 games, after a 6-0 start.

Why are Ohio State, Washington in the same freakin’ league??? It makes zero sense.

— Hawai’i 67, Cal-Irvine 66
Hawai’i hit a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer for a dramatic win late Saturday night.
Irvine is 5-1 in the Big West, Hawaii is 4-1.
Rainbows have the #2 eFG% defense in the country. 

— USC 70, Minnesota 69 OT
Eric Musselman coaches USC; his father Bill Musselman was a really good coach at Minnesota a long time ago (1971-75), before his NBA days.

USC led 53-40 with 9:48 left in regulation; the game went to overtime.
Gophers only played seven guys; two of them played the whole 45:00
Chad Baker-Mazara scored 29 points, had 8 assists for USC.

— Nebraska is 16-0, its best start ever, under coach Fred Hoiberg; their point guard is Sam Hoiberg, the coach’s son, who is spending some of his free time preparing for his next job- he’s doing color commentary on some Nebraska’s women’s basketball games.

— Former NFL QB Matt Ryan is the Atlanta Falcons’ new president of football; he will lead the searches for both the open head coach and GM jobs and will have oversight of who gets hired.

Ryan had been working as an NFL analyst for CBS; he played 15 years in the NFL, going 128-115-1 as a starter. 

— Rams 34, Panthers 31
Future Hall of Fame QB Stafford threw 19-yard TD pass with 0:38 left for the win
Rams led 14-0 early, after TD drives of 45-48 yards.
Stafford threw for 304 yards, three TD’s.
WR Nacua caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a TD.

Carolina converted 27-40 4th down plays this year, but they were 0-3 this game. 
Panthers led 31-27 after a 30-yard TD drive set up by a blocked punt.
WR Coker caught nine passes for 134 yards and a TD.
Rams outgained Carolina 411-333, but were only 3-13 on third down.

This was Rams’ 50th playoff game in the Super Bowl era; they’re 25-25.

— Bears 31, Packers 27
Green Bay led 21-6 after the third quarter.
Chicago’s first six drives: 50 plays, 245 yards, 6 points.
Chicago’s last four drives: 30 plays, 210 yards, 25 points.
This was Chicago’s first playoff win since 2011.

Packers’ first three drives: 27 plays, 204 yards, 21 points.
Packers’ last eight drives: 45 plays, 177 yards, 6 points.
Green Bay missed PAT, a 44-yard FG, lost a fumble in last 6:36.
Green Bay ends season losing its last five games, giving up 28.8 ppg

— Nebraska 83, Indiana 77
Hoosiers led by 16 with 16:54 left in the game.
Nebraska shot 14-34 on the arc, shot 57.7% inside arc.
Cornhuskers are 16-0, 5-0 in conference games.

— Wisconsin 91, Michigan 88
Badgers shot 15-33 on the arc, hand Michigan their first loss.
Wolverines led by 14 midway thru first half.
Wisconsin is 11-5, 3-2 in Big 18; they’ve played schedule #24.

— Texas 92, Alabama 88
Texas shot 10-24 on the arc, scored 1.29 ppp
Longhorns out-rebounded Alabama, 48-38
Crimson Tide is 11-5; they allowed 87+ points in all five losses. 

— College basketball Upsets of the Day
Wisconsin (+19) 91, Michigan 88
Texas (+12.5) 92, Alabama 88
Ill-Chicgo (+11.5) 63, Illinois State 59 OT
Central Michigan (+9.5) 87, Kent State 85
Dartmouth (+8.5) 102, Cornell 91
Princeton (+8.5) 76, Yale 60
Evansville (+7.5) 72, Indiana State 69

— Belmont 78, Drake 76
Drake led 50-25 early in the second half.
Belmont is 15-3, 5-2 in conference games.
Belmont has the best eFG% in the country (60.5%)

— NC-Wilmington 75, Stony Brook 71
Stony Brook led by 24 early in the second half.
UNCW shot 12-25 on the arc, only 7-15 on foul line.
UNCW is 16-2, has won its first five CAA games.

— Idaho 92, Montana State 89
Bobcats led by 21 late in the first half.
Vandals outscored Montana State 62-41 in the second half.
Idaho shot 13-29 on the arc, scored 1.35 ppp.

— James Madison 70, Old Dominion 69
ODU led by 19 in first half, by 9 with 1:59 left in the game.
6-7 junior McBride scored 29 points in 29:00 for JMU.
10th loss in last 12 games for Old Dominion.

— Famous birthdays, January 11th
George Mira, 84
Lloyd McClendon, 67
Ali Haji-Sheikh, 65
Chris Jent, 56
Rey Ordóñez, 55

Marc Blucas, 54
Amanda Peet, 54
Damien Wilkins, 46
JP Crawford, 31
Elly De La Cruz, 24

If today is your 15th birthday, you were born on 1/11/11 (January 11, 2011)

— Auburn 95, Arkansas 73
Auburn shot 63.2% inside arc, scored 1.33 ppp
Just third win in last seven games for Auburn.
Only second loss in last seven games for Arkansas.

— George Mason 86, VCU 80
George Mason shot 68.3% inside the arc.
George Mason has won seven in a row, is 16-1, 4-0 in A-14.
VCU is 1-6 against top 100 teams.

— Texas A&M 83, Oklahoma 76
Aggies shot 55.2% inside arc, improve to 13-3, 3-0 in SEC
Texas A&M scored 82.8 ppg in its three SEC wins.
Oklahoma out-rebounded A&M, 43-32.

— Florida 91, Tennessee 67
Gators shot 64.7% inside arc, led 41-28 at halftime.
6-10 junior Chinyelu had 17 points, 16 rebounds for Florida.
Tennessee is 4-5 in its last five games, after a 7-0 start.

— West Virginia 86, Kansas 75
Mountaineers outscored Kansas 47-32 in second half.
Jayhawks are in bottom 20 in country at forcing turnovers.
Kansas is only 6-5 against top 100 teams; they’re 1-3 in true road tilts. 

— Indiana 56, Oregon 22
Indiana scored on a pick-6 on the first play of the game.
Hoosiers were +3 in turnovers, ran ball 40 times for 185 yards.
Indiana’s first six TD’s were scored by six different players.
Hoosiers move on to play Miami, in Miami for the national title.

— Concession prices for this game in Atlanta were pretty good:
$5 beer
$5 cheeseburger
$3 slice of pizza
$2 hot dog
$2 popcorn

— Last time there was a bowl game with a pick-6 on the very first play was the 2013 Sugar Bowl, when Louisville scored against Florida, and went on to win, 33-23.

— Miami has banked $20M from its run to the national title game; they don’t have to split it with their ACC rivals. Miami also collects $3M in travel expenses for the title game, even though the game is on their home field. Go figure

— Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss applied for a 6th year of eligibility from the NCAA, but that application was denied, which will make some NFL team very happy in April.

— SEC teams went 4-10 in bowl games this year, but two of those games were SEC vs SEC, so SEC teams were 2-8 in bowls, against non-SEC teams. This was third year in a row the national title game didn’t have an SEC team playing in it.

— March 21, 2022, this trade was made:
Cleveland Browns got:
QB Deshaun Watson
5th round draft pick

Houston Texans got:
three 1st round picks
3rd round draft pick
5th round pick

Since then…….
Cleveland is 26-42, 0-1 in playoffs
Houston is 35-32-1, 2-2 in playoffs

— Famous birthdays, January 10th
Richard Dotson, 67
Janet Jones, 65
Glenn Robinson, 53

Jake Delhomme, 51
Deshaun Foster, 46
Ryon Healy, 34

— Last year, Eagles’ RB Saquon Barkley had 1,763 rushing yards, just in the SECOND HALF of games. This year, Barkley has only has 508 rushing yards in second half of games.

— Miami Dolphins hired Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager; he had been working for Green Bay, as VP of Player Personnel.

— Las Vegas Raiders are now paying five guys who used to coach for them, a total of $50M:

$16M- Pete Carroll
$10M- Jon Gruden
$10M- Josh McDaniels
$8M- Antonio Pierce
$6M- Chip Kelly

— Oklahoma Sooners hired former Cowboys’ star Jason Witten as their tight ends coach; since 2021, he has been the head coach at Dallas’ Liberty Christian School, where his son plays.

— Fairfield 68, Rider 62
Stags led 34-22 at halftime.
Brickfest: teams combined to shoot 12-42 on the arc.
Rider is 1-13, 0-5 in MAAC games.

— Miami OH 87, Toledo 73
Redhawks shot 12-31, improved to 17-0 this season (vs schedule #349)
Miami led 56-36 at halftime.
First loss for Toledo in four MAC games.

— Playoff teams’ records against playoff teams this year:
6-2- Seattle
5-3- Jacksonville
4-2- Denver

4-4- Rams, Houston, San Francisco
3-3- Buffalo, Philadelphia, LA Chargers
2-2- New England

2-4- Green Bay
2-5- Carolina
1-5- Pittsburgh