Armadillo Sports

— Pacers 138, Knicks 135 OT
Knicks led by 14 with 2:51 left in regulation.
Indiana’s starters were +31, their subs minus-16
Halliburton scored 31 points, Nesmith added 30.
Brunson scored 43 points for the Knicks.

— 22 of the 30 players in the Minnesota-Oklahoma City series are age 26 or younger, so those teams figure to be really good for several years.

— NBA will have a different champ for the 7th year in a row; last team to repeat as champs were the 2017/2018 Golden State Warriors.

— Former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who won an NBA title two years ago, is working for ESPN on the Western Conference finals.

There must be a hell of a story as to what happened with the Nuggets this year; not often do you see the coach of a good team fired, three games before the playoffs start.

— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is this year’s NBA MVP, the 7th year in a row a foreign player has won that award. Last American player to win MVP; James Harden, in 2018.

— NFL announced Wednesday that the Buffalo Bills will be on Hard Knocks during training camp this summer; the in-season Hard Knocks will be the teams in the NFC East.

— Detroit Lions have five games this season against team whose previous game was on Monday Night Football, little bit of a rest advantage for Detroit.

— Former NFL coach Jon Gruden has joined the ownership group of the Nashville Kats of Arena Football One; former NFL coach Jeff Fisher is also a part owner of the Kats.

— Famous birthdays, May 22nd:
Richard Benjamin, 87
Tommy John, 82
Fair Hooker, 78
Randy Brown, 57

Michael Kelly, 56
Dre Bly, 48
Eric Sogard, 39
Julian Edelman, 39

Chase Budinger, 37
Lauri Markkanen, 28
Isaiah Stewart, 24
Anthony Richardson, 23

— RIP to actor George Wendt, 76, who passed away this week; he became famous playing Norm from Cheers, the great sit-com about a bar in Boston.

He was one of only three actors to appear in every episode of Cheers; he was a funny man.

RIP, sir.

— RIP to Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, who passed away Wednesday at age 65; when Jim Irsay was 12, his father bought the Rams and that same day, traded them for the then-Baltimore Colts. 12 years later, Robert Irsay moved the Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis.

Jim Irsay was the Colts’ CEO since 1997; he played in a band and had a tremendous collection of guitars used by famous musicians.

RIP, sir.

— Mets 5, Red Sox 1
Mets scored three runs in 7th inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Brett Baty drove in three runs.
Mets are only 9-11 in their last 20 games.

— Guardians 5-5, Twins 6-1
Teams split a pair of games; the first game was the completion of Monday’s game, which was suspended by weather in the fourth inning.

Minnesota has won 14 of its last 16 games.

— Pirates 3, Reds 1
Pittsburgh has scored 4 or fewer runs in 26 straight games, tying an MLB record.
Andrew Heaney and four relievers held the Reds to four hits.

— Orioles 8, Brewers 4 (11)
Baltimore snaps an 8-game losing skid.
Adley Rutschman hit a 3-run homer in the 11th inning.

— Cubs 2, Marlins 1
Kyle Tucker had three hits, including a home run.
Cubs have won seven of their last nine games.

— Mariners 6, White Sox 5
Leody Taveras won the game with a 2-run homer in the 8th inning.
Seattle has won five of its last six games.

— Royals 8, Giants 4
Salvador Perez went 3-for-4, with two RBI.
Kansas City is 17-1 when it scores 4+ runs, 11-22 when it doesn’t.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Padres, Giants
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Twins, Guardians, Royals

Teams’ records in series:
(away/home….total)

NL East
Braves 3-5/5-1-1…..8-6-1
Marlins 0-6-1/4-4…..4-10-1
Mets 3-4-1/6-1…..9-5-1
Phillies 3-4/6-1-1…..9-5-1
Nationals 3-5/3-3-1…..6-8-1

NL Central
Cubs 4-3-1/6-2…..10-5-1
Reds 3-4/2-5-1…..5-9-1
Brewers 2-6/5-2…..7-8
Pirates 1-7/3-4…..4-11
Cardinals 3-4-1/6-1…..9-5-1

NL West
Arizona 4-3/3-3-2…..7-6-2
Rockies 0-8/0-7…..0-15
Dodgers 4-2-2/6-2…..10-4-2
Padres 3-4/6-2…..9-6
Giants 4-3-1/5-2…..9-5-1

AL East
Orioles 1-5-1/2-5-1…..3-10-2
Red Sox 4-4/3-4…..7-8
New York 4-3/5-3…..9-6
Rays 4-2/4-5…..8-7
Blue Jays 3-3-1/3-4-1…..6-7-2

AL Central
White Sox 1-7/3-7…..4-11
Guardians 4-4/5-2…..9-6
Tigers 5-3/6-1…..11-4
Royals 2-5/5-3…..7-8
Twins 4-4/5-2…..9-6

AL West
Astros 1-5-1/7-1…..8-6-1
Angels 4-5/3-3…..7-8
A’s 4-3-1/2-5…..6-8-1
Mariners 6-1/4-3-1…..10-4-1
Rangers 3-4/4-2-2…..7-6-2

— Famous birthdays, May 20th:
Leroy Kelly, 83
Cheryl Sarkisian (Cher), 79
Terry Nelson, 74
Rick Upchurch, 73
Wendell Tyler, 70

Bronson Pinchot, 66
Todd Stottlemyre, 60
Timothy Olyphant, 57
Terrell Brandon, 55
Jayson Werth, 46

— Royals 3, Giants 1
Bubic-Ray pitchers’ duel was 0-0 after seven innings.
Vinny Pasquantino hit a 2-run homer in the 8th inning.
Giants are 24-9 vs righty starters, 4-11 vs lefties.

— Red Sox 3, Mets 1
Mets scored total of 10 runs in their last six games.
Jarren Duran had a double/triple in first two innings.
Mets are out of first place in NL East for first time since April 9th.

— Astros 4, Rays 3
Jake Meyers had the game-winning home run in 7th inning.
Tampa Bay is 10-8 on road, only 11-18 in their temporary home stadium.

— Phillies 9, Rockies 3
Colorado led this game 3-2 after the 7th inning- their bullpen imploded.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 300th career home run, a 466-foot blast.

Sunday’s 1-0 win over Pittsburgh took 1:59 to play, fastest Phillies game since 1998.

— Marlins 8, Cubs 7
Jesus Sanchez homered in first inning, also had a walk-off triple.
Marlins are 13-13 at home; six of those wins are walk-off wins.

— Brewers 5, Orioles 4
William Contreras had the game-winning single in 8th inning.
Cedric Mullins had a 3-run homer for the Orioles.
Baltimore lost their 7th game in a row.

— Diamondbacks 9, Dodgers 5
Dodgers have lost four in a row at home, for first time since 2018.
Arizona led this game 7-0 in the third inning.
Brandon Pfaadt threw 6 IP, became MLB’s first seven-game winner.
Dodgers swung at 42 of his pitches, didn’t whiff on any of them— unusual.

— Twins led Cleveland 2-1 in 4th inning; game was suspended by rain, will be resumed at 6:10 Tuesday night.

— If the playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Padres, Giants
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Twins, Guardians, Royals

— Prayers go out to President Joe Biden, who was diagnosed with an ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer, and it has spread to his bones. The 82-year old Biden and his family “are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Get well soon, sir. 

— Thunder 125, Nuggets 93
Oklahoma City gets to the NBA’s Final Four for first time since 2016.
Thunder outscored Denver 39-20 in the second quarter.
Thunder-Minnesota series starts Tuesday.

— Since 1979, dating back to their days in Seattle, the Sonics/Thunder have won their last seven Game 7’s- this was their first one since 2014.

— Philadelphia Phillies closer Jose Alvarado was suspended 80 games without pay following a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug; he is ineligible for this year’s postseason.

— Arizona P Zac Gallen this year, by catcher:
with Jose Herrera at catcher: 2.92 ERA in four games
with Gabriel Moreno at catcher: 6.89 ERA in eight games

He also has a 6.03 home ERA, a 3.38 road ERA; this is a contract year for Gallen, not the best timing for him or the Diamondbacks.

— Arizona OF Corbin Carroll is the first ballplayer since Eddie Mathews in 1959 with 14+ home runs, 50+ hits, 5+ triples in the first 45 games of a season. Eddie Mathews is a Hall of Famer, so a good comp for Carroll.

— Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde Saturday, after a 15-28 start, which seems kind of quick; the last two years, Baltimore was 91-71/101-61. All of a sudden this is his fault?

Four of the seven starting pitchers Orioles have used this year are 30+ years old; maybe the person who assembled this underachieving roster should shoulder some of the blame.

One stat about the Orioles that makes very little sense: they’re 1-7 in games after a day off.

— There are only three active major leaguers with 3,000+ plate appearances who have a career batting average of .300+:

Jose Altuve, Luis Arraez, Freddie Freeman

— Famous birthdays, May 19th:
Archie Manning, 76
Ed Whitson, 70
Jack Thompson, 69
Bill Laimbeer, 68

John Friesz, 59
Turk Wendell, 58
Paul Justin, 57
Brandon Inge, 48

— Bronx 8, Mets 2
Bronx scored six times in the bottom of the 8th inning.
Juan Soto went 1-10 with four walks in his return to the Bronx.

— Astros 4, Rangers 3
Isaac Paredes hit a 3-run homer in the 8th inning.
Astros didn’t get a hit off Jack Leiter until the 7th inning

— Phillies 1, Pirates 0
Mick Abel tossed six shutout IP in his MLB debut.
Phillies have won 15 of their last 20 games.

— Nationals 10, Orioles 4
Nationals led 6-0 in 1st inning Saturday, 7-0 in 2nd inning Sunday
CJ Abrams was 9-30 with four HR’s, 8 runs scored this week.

— Tigers 3, Blue Jays 2
Spencer Torkelson knocked in all three runs for Detroit.
Detroit is an MLB-best 31-16, 8-0 when Jackson Jobe pitches.

— Reds 3, Guardians 1
Will Benson hit two home runs for Cincinnati.
Reds have won four games in a row, Cleveland has lost four in a row.

— Angels 6, Dodgers 4
Angels led 4-0 in 5th inning, blew the lead, but won the game late.
Travis d’Arnaud hit his first homer of the year in the 8th inning.

— Diamondbacks 1, Rockies 0
Merrill Kelly allowed only one hit in seven IP.
Rockies are 8-38, the worst start for any team since 1901.

— If the playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Padres, Giants
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Twins, Guardians, Royals

— Friday was the 10-year anniversary of the day my dad passed away, a cruddy day.

My dad was a nice person, an honest person- he was the kind of person this world needs a lot more of. He loved the Mets, the Knicks, the football Giants; he was a pretty good golfer, and he was a freakin’ great father. 

He was a great example of the kind of person I should be; I would’ve been remiss if today had gone by without giving a wave up to heaven and saying hi.

I love you, dad. You are missed every day.

— Knicks 119, Celtics 81
New York led 64-37 at halftime.
Knicks win this series, 4-2.
Knicks-Pacers (#3-seed vs #4-seed) is the Eastern Conference final

— 49ers signed QB Brock Purdy to a 5-year contract worth $53M/year; Purdy has played three years in the NFL, is 27-15 as an NFL starter, 4-2 in playoff games. 

— Illinois signed football coach Bret Bielema to a six-year contract, with $7.7M/year. Bielama has been at Illinois four years, has a 28-22 record, 2-2 in bowl games. 

Overall in 16 years as a head coach, Bielema is 125-80, 5-6 in bowl games.

— Former NBA star Nick Van Exel had some thoughts on social media about the increased amount of Achilles tendon injuries in the NBA:

“There have been Achilles tears throughout the years but my thoughts on them is that they happen more now and I think it has something to do with them dam lows the players wear nowadays. Cover them ankles up fellas.”

— I’m curious how much these celebrities get for doing commercials:
Christopher Walken (Miller Lite)
Will Ferrell (PayPal)
Jeff Goldblum (apartments.com)

— Texas Rangers P Max Scherzer is getting direct deposits in his bank account from all over the continent this year; he is getting paid:

$30,833,334 from the Mets
$15,500,000 from the Blue Jays
$15,000,000 from the Nationals
$12,500,000 from the Rangers

— Famous birthdays, May 17th:
Paige Turco, 60
Danny Manning, 59
Hill Harper, 59
Craig Erickson, 56

Hubert Davis, 55
Sasha Alexander, 52
Carlos Pena, 47
Tony Parker, 43

Matt Cassel, 43
Channing Frye, 42
Matt Ryan, 40
Austin Ekeler, 30

— Week 1 NFL spreads:
Cowboys @ Philadelphia (-7)
Chiefs (-3) vs Chargers (@ San Paolo, Brazil)
Cardinals (-3.5) @ New Orleans
Bengals (-4.5) @ Cleveland

Dolphins @ Indianapolis (-1.5)
Raiders @ New England (-3.5)
Giants @ Washington (-7.5)
Buccaneers (-2.5) @ Atlanta

Panthers @ Jacksonville (-3.5)
Steelers (-2.5) @ NJ Jets
Texans @ Rams (-3.5)
49ers (-1.5) @ Seattle

Titans @ Denver (-7.5)
Lions @ Green Bay (-1.5)
Ravens @ Buffalo (-1.5)
Vikings @ Chicago (-1.5)

— Twins 3, Brewers 0
Minnesota won its 12th game in a row.
Twins haven’t allowed a run in their last 24 innings.
Joe Ryan allowed three baserunners in six scoreless IP.

— Cardinals 10, Royals 3
St Louis has won 11 of its last 12 games.
Ivan Herrera had three hits, four RBI.
Cardinals are 49-26 in their games at Kauffman Stadium.

— Phillies 8, Pirates 4
Pittsburgh led 3-1 in 7th inning.
Phillies scored four runs on only one hit in bottom of 7th.
Bryce Harper got his 1,000th career RBI

— Bronx 6, Mets 2
Juan Soto was 0-2 with three walks in his return to the Bronx.
Mets are 17-5 at home, 11-12 on the road.
Bronx leads AL East by five games.

— Nationals 4, Orioles 3
Mackenzie Gore allowed 12 baserunners in 3.2 IP, but only gave up 2 runs.
Winning run scored from 2nd base on a 9th inning infield hit.
Orioles lost 10 of their last 12 games. 

— Marlins 9, Rays 4
Only 5th win for Miami in their last 29 games against the Rays.

— Astros 6, Rangers 3
Texas led 2-0 after six innings.
Astros scored six runs in the top of the 7th.
Christian Walker’s 3-run homer was the big hit.

— Mariners 5, Padres 1
JP Crawford hit the first pitch of the game for a home run.
Logan Evans tossed six shutout innings, allowing seven hits.
Seattle leads the AL West by a game and a half. 

Notes on the 2025 NFL schedule:
AFC East
Bills
Four of their first five games are at home.
Three of their first five games are in primetime.
Chiefs visit Buffalo in Week 9
Weeks 12-16, four road games in five weeks.

Dolphins
3/last 5 games are in cold weather: @ Jets, Steelers, Patriots.
Five primetime games, plus a game vs Washington, in Spain
Don’t play any 4:00 games.

Patriots
Weeks 5-7: 3 straight road games, at Buffalo, New Orleans, Tennessee
Week 7, Patriots @ Titans; Vrabel coached Tennessee from 2018-23.
Three of first four games at home.
Week 1, Raiders @ Patriots (Tom Brady owns part of Raiders now)

Jets
Week 1: Steelers @ Jets- Justin Fields played for Pittsburgh last year.
3/last 4 games are on the road.
Play Broncos in London in Week 6, don’t have a bye in Week 7.
Right now, 14 of their 17 games are at 1:00; low expectations.

AFC North
Ravens
Five of their first seven games are at home.
Weeks 5-8, have three home games and a bye week.
Weeks 9-11, 3 straight road games, at Miami, Minnesota, Cleveland
Play the Bengals in weeks 13/15.
Three of their last four games are on the road.

Bengals
Last three years, Bengals are 5-10 in Weeks 1-5, 25-10 from Week 6 on.
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Have four primetime games, plus four 4:25 games that aren’t on West Coast.
Weeks 7-10: three home games, then their bye week.

Browns
Browns have 40-year old QB Flacco, and two rookie QB’s,
Cleveland plays its first game and its last game against Cincinnati.
14 of their 17 games are in the Eastern time zone.
No primetime games; they play the Vikings in England in Week 5.

Steelers
Who will the QB be? Right now, it would be Mason Rudolph.
Only 5 of their 17 games are vs teams that were in playoffs last year.
Steelers have four primetime games, plus a game vs Vikings in Ireland.
Their games with the Ravens are in Weeks 14/18.

AFC South
Texans
Weeks 8-10, have three straight home games.
Visit SoFi Stadium twice; Week 1 vs Rams, Week 17 vs Chargers
Chargers beat Houston 32-12 in playoffs last year.
Visit Chiefs in Week 14; KC beat them 23-14 in playoffs LY.

Colts
Four of their first six games are at home.
Also visit SoFi Stadium twice; vs Rams in Week 4, Chargers in Week 7
Only one primetime game, Week 16 vs 49ers.
12 of their 17 games are in domed stadiums.

Jaguars
Play only one game in England this year, Week 7 vs Rams
Play only one primetime game, Week 5 vs Chiefs.
Two games vs Colts are in Weeks 14/17.
Two games vs Tennessee are in Week 13/18.

Titans
Weeks 4-6- 3 straight road games, at Houston, Arizona, Las Vegas (all domes)
No primetime games; league has low expectations for them.
Weeks 9-13- have four home games and their bye week.
Only cold weather game figures to be Week 14 in Cleveland.

AFC West
Broncos
First three games are against their three AFC West rivals.
Open season vs Chiefs on a Friday night in Brazil.
Five primetime games; league has high expectations for them.

Chiefs
Open season in Brazil vs Chargers; host the Eagles in Week 2.
5 of their first 8 games are in primetime.
Weeks 6-8, have three straight home games.
Play on both Thanksgiving/Christmas this year.

Raiders
Two of first three games are on East Coast, at New England/Washington
Raiders open season vs Patriots; Pete Carroll coached Patriots from 1997-99.
Weeks 15-16 are only time they play consecutive weeks on the road.

Chargers
Open season against the Chiefs, in Brazil.
Have two trips to east coast in Weeks 4, 6; lot of travel early on.
Three of their last four games are on the road. .
Five primetime games; league has high expectations for them.

Thanksgiving Day games:
Packers @ Detroit
Chiefs @ Dallas
Bengals @ Baltimore

Christmas Day games
Cowboys @ Washington
Lions @ Minnesota
Broncos @ Kansas City

NFC East
Cowboys
Open season at Super Bowl champion Eagles in Week 1.
Play four of their games on Thursdays. 
Weeks 12-16, play four home games in five weeks.
Play on both Thanksgiving/Christmas this year.

Giants
Open season with road games at Washington/Dallas.
Two games vs Cowboys are in Weeks 2/18.
Have a late bye week, Week 14.
Have only one road game in the last five weeks. 

Eagles
Don’t have back/back home games all season.
Two games vs Washington are in Weeks 16/18.
Two games vs Giants are in Weeks 6/8.
Host Bears on Black Friday afternoon, the day after Thanksgiving

Commanders
Washington is 18-1 to win Super Bowl; this time last year, they were 150-1
Their last four games are against NFC East rivals.
Weeks 4-8, play four road games in five weeks.
Have five primetime games, plus a Week 8 game in Spain. 

NFC North
Bears
Their games vs Detroit are in Weeks 2/18
Three of their last four games are at home.
Weeks 4-9, have tour road games and a bye week.
Thought it was odd that Ben Johnson turned down Washington job LY, but left the Lions to coach division rival Chicago this year. Both teams have promising young QB’s.

Lions
Detroit has two new coordinators this year, the price of success.
Weeks 12-14, have three straight home games.
Week 15, they visit the Rams, a renewal of the Stafford-Goff thing.
Play on both Thanksgiving/Christmas this year.

Packers
Open season with home games vs Lions/Commanders.
Play three of last four games on the road.
Have four primetime games, four 4:25 games.
Two games with the Bears are in Weeks 14/16.

Vikings- unusual schedule
Week 1- visit Chicago on Monday night
Weeks 2-3- two home games
Weeks 4-5- a game in Ireland, a game in England
Week 6- bye
Week 7- host the Eagles
Weeks 8-16- six road games in nine weeks.
Weeks 17-18- home games vs Lions/Packers. 

NFC South
Falcons
Week 5 is an early bye week.
Week 2 is at Minnesota, interesting if Kirk Cousins is still a Falcon.
12 of their 17 games are in domed stadiums.
Four primetime games, plus a Week 9 game in Germany,
They don’t have a bye week the game after playing in Germany.

Panthers
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Week 9 game in Germany, against the Falcons.
They don’t have a bye week the game after playing in Germany.
Two games with Tampa Bay are in Weeks 16/18.

Saints
It is unclear who Saints’ QB will be, but whoever it is will be young.
Open with home games vs Cardinals/49ers.
Finish with road games at Tennessee/Atlanta.
No primetime games; league has low expectations for them.

Buccaneers
Open season with road games, at Atlanta/Houston.
Weeks 13-15, have three straight home games.
Have four primetime games, three of them on road.
Four of their last five games are vs NFC South rivals. 

NFC West
Cardinals
Three of their last four games are on the road.
12 of their 17 games are in domed stadiums.
Two games with the Rams are in Weeks 14/18.
Have only two games in the eastern time zone.

Rams
Three of their first four games are vs AFC South teams.
Play Jaguars in England in Week 7.
Week 8-12, have three home games and a bye week.
Two of their last three games are in primetime.

49ers
Open season with road games, against teams with new QB’s (Seattle/NO)
Three of their last four games are at home.
Have five primetime games, including two of last three weeks.
First game and last game are both against the Seahawks.

Seahawks
Sam Darnold faces his old team (Vikings) in Week 13.
Cooper Kupp plays against his old team (Rams) in Weeks 11/16
Seahawks have five trips to the eastern time zone.
Seattle finishes with road games, at Panthers/49ers. 

2025 NFL schedule gets released Wednesday night; here is what we know:

— Cowboys @ Eagles opens the season September 4th; these division rivals play twice a year, but this is the first time since 2000 that they’ll meet in Week 1. 

— Chargers are going to start their season in Brazil the next night, September 5th; they haven’t announced who their opponent will be.

— Vikings are going to be the first team in NFL history to play consecutive international games in different countries; they’re playing the Steelers September 28 in Ireland, then they’re playing the Browns in England October 5th.

— Bears @ Eagles is a Friday afternoon game the day after Thanksgiving, the game Amazon shows because they want to you to stay home and go Christmas shopping on their website.

— Rams-Jaguars are playing a game in England October 19th, I think they said.

— Tomorrow’s Den will be loaded with info on the 2025 schedule.

— Famous birthdays, May 14th:
Tony Perez, 83
Dave LaRoche, 77
Dennis Martinez, 71
Mike Quick, 66

Pat Borders, 62
Pooh Richardson, 59
Sofia Coppola, 54
Rob Gronkowski, 36

Kyle Freeland, 32
Tony Gonsolin, 31
Brenton Doyle, 27
Zach Edey, 23

— Pacers 114, Cavaliers 105
Indiana eliminates top-seeded Cleveland in five games.
Pacers outscored Cleveland 33-20 in third quarter.
Tyrese Halliburton scored 31 points, was +27.

— Thunder 112, Nuggets 105
Shea Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points.
Nikola Jokic scored 44 points, had 15 rebounds.
Nuggets led 86-78 after the third quarter.
Oklahoma City leads series, 3-2

— New York Knicks are first NBA team ever to have three wins in the same playoff series, when they trailed by 9+ points at halftime in all three games.

— Boston Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon late in Monday night’s loss to the Knicks; he had surgery on his leg Tuesday afternoon.

— Top 4 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft:
Dallas
San Antonio
Philadelphia
Charlotte

— Movie of the Day: The Fugitive (1993)- A well-known surgeon is unjustly accused of murdering his wife, so he tries to find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a veteran U.S. Marshal.

Harrison Ford is the surgeon, Tommie Lee Jones is the Marshal, Julianne Moore, Sela Ward and Joe Pantoliano are also in the cast. 

This is an excellent movie, really, really good.

— A’s 11, Dodgers 1
If the season ended right now, the A’s would be in the playoffs.
Jacob Wilson went 4-5, with two homers, 4 RBI
A’s are a major league-best 14-7 on the road.
1B Nick Kurtz hit his first major league home run.

— Guardians 2, Brewers 0
Cleveland shut the Brewers out for the second day in a row.
Logan Allen allowed three hits and a walk in six IP.
Milwaukee is 12-7 at home, 8-16 on the road.

— Rays 11, Blue Jays 9
Junior Caminero hit a grand slam in the ninth inning.
Rays gave up five runs in the last two innings but still won.
Daulton Varsho homered twice for Toronto.

— Phillies got rained out Tuesday; Kyle Schwarber has a 47-game on-base streak. The all-time best on-base streak is 84 games, by Ted Williams.

— Tigers 10, Red Sox 9 (11)
Javier Baez hit two homers, knocked in six runs; he had the walk-of HR in this game.
Red Sox tied game 8-8 with two runs in 8th inning.
Detroit is 28-15 now, 16-5 at home.

— Astros 2, Royals 1
Isaac Paredes hit a walk-off home run for Houston.
Framber Valdez threw 8 innings, on only 89 pitches.
Jeremy Pena has 13 RBI in 15 games since moving to the leadoff spot.

— Padres 6, Angels 4
Fernando Tatis hit a walk-off home run for San Diego.
Angels led this game 4-2 in the 8th inning.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Phillies, Giants
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Royals, A’s

— You can bet on whether or not a team will score in the first inning of a game; with the season six weeks old, here are each teams’ results for first inning scoring:

NL (Home/Away….total)
Braves 5-18/6-21…..11-39
Marlins 7-22/5-18…..12-40
Mets 6-19/4-20…..10-39
Phillies 11-19/4-21…..15-40
Nationals 7-22/3-19…..10-41

Cubs 5-17/5-24…..10-41
Reds 5-17/5-24…..10-41
Brewers 2-19/7-24…..9-43
Pirates 6-22/6-19…..12-41
St Louis 4-21/7-20…..11-41

Arizona 8-22/5-19……13-41
Colorado 8-22/2-19…..10-41
Dodgers 8-18/8-21…..16-39
Padres 7-18/9-21…..16-39
Giants 4-16/5-23…..9-39

AL
Orioles 5-16/7-23…..12-39
Red Sox 7-20/6-22…..13-42
New York 8-21/8-19…..16-40
Rays 8-28/0-12…..8-40
Toronto 6-19/5-21…..11-40

White Sox 9-21/8-20……17-41
Cleveland 5-19/5-21…..10-40
Detroit 5-19/7-22…..12-41
Royals 7-23/5-19…..12-42
Twins 3-21/3-18…..6-39

A’s 7-21/6-21…..13-42
Astros 3-21/3-18…..6-39
Angels 6-19/7-20…..13-39
Seattle 4-21/10-18…..14-39
Texas 3-20/5-21…..8-41

— Famous birthdays, May 12th:
Ted Kubiak, 83
Bruce Boxleitner, 75
George Karl, 74
Kevin Grevey, 72

Lou Whitaker, 68
James Wilder, 67
Ving Rhames, 66
Emilio Estevez, 63

Lawrence Phillips, 50
Malin Ackerman, 47
Steve Smith, 46 (NFL WR)
Lance Lynn, 38

— Thunder 92, Nuggets 87
Denver shot 2-22 in first quarter, trailed 17-8.
OKC shot 35.6% from floor, Nuggets 31.3%. Ugly game.
Thunder outscored Denver 29-18 in 4th quarter.
Series is 2-2; Game 5 is Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

— Pacers 129, Cavaliers 109
Indiana led 80-39 at halftime!!!! 80 to freakin’ 39!!!
If you’re coaching #1-seed Cleveland, what do you say at halftime?
Indiana’s starters shot 59.1% from the floor.
Underdog Pacers lead series, 3-1.

— Colorado Rockies beat San Diego 9-3 Sunday, then fired manager Bud Black, because they’re 7-33, which isn’t Bud Black’s fault, but you can’t fire the players, although you could fire the guy who assembled this awful roster of players.

— New York Mets are the only team that hasn’t lost three games in a row this season.

— Los Angeles Rams are having their mini-camp in Maui, which seems like a fun place to have your mini-camp, even though mini-camps aren’t necessarily supposed to be fun.

— Movie of the Day: Sea of Love (1989)- A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.

Al Pacino is the detective, Ellen Barkin is the woman; John Goodman, Samuel L Jackson, John Spencer are also in this movie. Really good cast.

A movie worth watching, if only because Ellen Barkin is in it.

— Twins 7, Giants 6 (10)
Minnesota won its eighth game in a row.
Brooks Lee was 3-5, with three runs scored, 2 RBI
Heliot Ramos homered, had four RBI for the Giants.

— Cardinals 6, Nationals 1
St Louis also won its eighth game in a row.
Miles Mikolas got 16 outs, allowed only four hits.
Nootbaar, Contreras, Arenado homered for the Redbirds. 

— Pirates 4, Braves 3
Pirates blew a 3-0 run lead in 8th inning, won it in bottom of 9th.
Sean Murphy tied the game with a 3-run double in 8th inning.
Atlanta is 19-21, still hasn’t gotten to .500 this season.
Pittsburgh is 2-1 under interim manager Don Kelly.

— White Sox 4, Marlins 2
Tim Elko’s first major league hit was a 3-run homer.
Marlins are 15-24, 5-12 on the road.

— Mets 6, Cubs 2
Mets scored four runs in 8th inning; Lindor’s HR sparked the rally.
Pete Crow-Armstrong homered for Chicago.
Mets are 15-4 at home, 11-11 on the road.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phillies
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Royals, Red Sox

— Timberwolves 102, Warriors 97
Julius Randle had 24 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists.
Other than Butler, Golden State’s starters were 10-29 from the floor
Minnesota takes a 2-1 series lead; Game 4 is Monday.

— Celtics 115, Knicks 93
Boston has led all three series games by 20+ points, at some point.
Celtics shot 20-40 on the arc, trail series 2-1.
Road team has won all three series games.

— Vegas 4, Edmonton 3
Knights scored a goal with 0:00.4 left in regulation for the win.
Third-latest game-winning goal in playoff history:
0:00.2- Carolina, 2009
0:00.1- Colorado, 2020

Edmonton leads series, 2-1; road team won all three games.

— Saints’ QB Derek Carr retired because of a shoulder injury, after an 11-year career; he had a career record of 77-93, 0-1 in playoff games. He was 12-3 with the Raiders in 2016, but got hurt just before the playoffs and missed the postseason that year.

New Orleans now has three QB’s:
26-year old rookie Tyler Shough
Jake Haener
Spencer Rattler

— Friday night at Citi Field in Queens, Cubs P Jameson Taillon threw 100 pitches in four innings in the Cubs’ 7-2 loss to the Mets……25-25-25-25 pitches in each inning. Unusual.

— Famous birthdays, May 11th:
Steve Cox, 67
Walt Terrell, 67
Steve Bono, 63
Bobby Witt Sr., 61

Floyd Youmans, 61
Jeffrey Donovan, 57
Matt Leinart, 42
Cam Newton, 36

Miguel Sano, 32
Griffin Canning, 29
Madison Lintz, 26
Zach Dezenzo, 25

— Padres 21, Rockies 0
San Diego led 15-0 in the fourth inning.
Rockies are 6-33, tied for the worst 39-game start ever.
Colorado gave up 72 runs in losing its last six games.

— Reds 13, Astros 9
Cincinnati scored 10 runs in the top of the first.
Reds’ starter Brady Singer got only seven outs, gave up seven runs.
Jose Altuve left the game with hamstring tightness. 

— A’s 11, New York 7
Shea Langeliers went 4-for-5, with a homer and five RBI
A’s scored three runs in 7th inning, four more in 8th.
Aaron Judge homered twice for New York.

— Braves 3, Pirates 2 (11)
Pirates interim manager Don Kelly got ejected, in his second game as skipper.
Pittsburgh scored 4 or fewer runs in their last 16 games.
Pirates were 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position.

— Rangers 10, Tigers 3
Corey Seager went 3-for-4, with two home runs.
Jacob deGrom struck out ten Tigers in five IP.
deGrom got 21 whiffs on the 45 pitches Detroit swung at. 

— Movie of the Day: Molly’s Game (2017)- The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game but also became an FBI target in the process.

Jessica Chastain plays Molly, Idris Elba is her lawyer, Kevin Costner has a smallish role as her father. This is a very good movie, a true story.

— Marlins 3, White Sox 1
Eric Wagaman’s two-run triple in the 8th inning was a game-winner.
Marlins won only third time in their last thirteen games. 

Shane Smith threw six shutout IP, but Chicago’s bullpen let him down.

— Rays 3, Brewers 2
Travis Jankowski drove in the winning run with a 9th inning single.
There was a 38-minute rain delay, the Rays’ first ever rain delay in a home game.
Tampa Bay is 18-21 this season, 11-16 at home..

— Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 0
Corbin Burnes threw seven shutout innings, giving up five hits.
Pavin Smith went 3-for-4, is now hitting .302.
Dodgers are 15-3 at home, 11-11 on the road.

— Cubs 6, Mets 5
Cade Horton allowed 3 runs in 4 innings to get the win in his MLB debut.
Dansby Swanson hit his 8th homer of the year.
Brett Baty homered twice for the Mets.

— Blue Jays 6, Mariners 3
Toronto scored three runs in the 8th inning for their third straight win.
Mariners led 3-0 after four innings.
Blue Jays improved to 8-12 on the road.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Padres. Wild Cards: Dodgers, Giants, Phillies
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, A’s, Royals

— Arizona (20-18)
Diamondbacks are 3-6 in their last nine home games,
Arizona is 16-11 vs right starters, 4-7 vs lefties.
Under is 7-2 in their last seven nine games.

— Braves (18-19)
Atlanta won four of their last five games.
Braves are 12-6 at home, 6-13 on the road.
Under is 8-2 in their last ten games.

— Cubs (22-16)
Chicago is 6-0 in home series openers.
Over is 12-5 in their last 17 home games.
Cubs are 14-8 in night games, 8-8 in day games.

— Reds (19-20)
Reds lost five of their last six games.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine road games.
Reds are 2-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Rockies (6-31)
Colorado lost 13 of its last 15 games.
Rockies are 2-17 on the road (under 13-6).
Rockies have already had four losing streaks of 6+ games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.

— Dodgers (25-13)
Dodgers won nine of their last 12 games.
Dodgers are 15-3 at home, 10-10 on the road.
Over is 12-6 in their home games.

— Marlins (14-22)
Marlins lost nine of their last eleven games.
Marlins are 3-9 in series openers.
Over is 9-0 in their last nine road games.

— Brewers (19-19)
Milwaukee is 12-7 at home, 7-12 on the road.
Brewers are 1-11 on the road if they score less than seven runs.
Brewers are 2-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Mets (24-14)
Mets are 13-3 at home, 11-11 on road.
Mets are 10-2 in series openers.
Under is 4-1 their last five home games.

— Phillies (22-15)
Phillies won nine of their last eleven games.
Phillies are 19-9 vs righty starters, 3-6 vs lefties.
Philly is 16-6 at home, 6-9 on road.

— Pirates (12-26)
Pirates fired their manager Thursday; it isn’t his fault.
Pittsburgh lost ten of their last eleven games.
Last 8 series, Pirates are 1-4 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.

— St Louis (19-19)
St Louis won its last five games.
Cardinals are 15-6 at home, 4-13 on road.
St Louis is 2-6 vs lefty starters, 17-13 vs righties.
Seven of their last nine games went over the total.
St Louis is 3-8 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Padres (23-13)
San Diego is 6-2 since Arraez got back in lineup.
Padres are 14-4 at home, 9-9 on the road.
Under is 8-3 in their last eleven road games.

— Giants (24-14)
Giants are 22-6 vs rightly pitchers, 2-8 vs lefties.
SF is 7-4 in one-run games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.

— Washington (17-21)
Nationals are 10-9 at home, 7-12 on the road.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven home games.
Nats scored in 1st inning in 7 of 19 home games, 3 of 19 on the road.
Washington is 6-1 in last seven games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, May 9th:
Candice Bergen, 79
Billy Joel, 77
Calvin Murphy, 77
Doug Christie, 55
Brandon Webb, 46

Prince Fielder, 41
Jace Peterson, 35
Samson Ebukam, 30
Tommy Edman, 30
Trey Lance, 25

— Orioles (13-23)
Baltimore is 4-12 in its last 16 games.
Orioles are 11-14 vs righty starters, 2-9 vs lefties.
Under is 13-2 in their last 15 games.

— Red Sox (20-19)
Boston is 4-9 in one-run games.
Red Sox are 11-9 at home, 9-10 on the road.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— White Sox (10-28)
Chicago lost its last four games, outscored 19-4.
White Sox are 7-11 at home, 3-17 on the road.
Chicago is 2-9 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Cleveland (22-15)
Cleveland won seven of its last nine games.
Cleveland is 10-3 against its AL Central rivals.
Over is 5-0 in their last five games.

— Detroit (25-13)
Tigers won seven of last eight games, scoring 65 runs.
Detroit is 13-3 at home, 12-10 on the road.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.

— Houston (18-18)
Astros are 5-11 in the game following a win.
Houston is 11-7 at home, 7-11 on road.
Over is 8-2 in their last ten games.
Astros scored in first inning run in only 2 of 18 home games.

— Royals (23-16)
Royals won 15 of their last 17 games.
Kansas City is 15-5 at home, 8-11 on the road.
13 of Royals’ last 16 home games stayed under the total.

— Angels (15-21)
Halos lost 11 of last 15 games overall.
Angels lost their last nine road games.
Over is 8-1 in their last nine games.

— Twins (18-20)
Twins won their last five games.
Minnesota is 12-6 at home, 6-14 on the road.
Under is 9-3 in their last dozen games.
Twins are 7-10 vs their AL Central rivals.

— New York (21-16)
New York is 7-8 in its last 15 games.
New York is 13-8 at home, 8-8 on the road.
New York is 18-12 vs righty starters, 3-4 vs lefties.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— A’s (20-18)
A’s are 14-8 in their last 22 games.
A’s are 7-11 in Sacramento, 13-7 on the road.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven road games.
In 8 of their last 13 games, winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Seattle (22-14)
Mariners won 19 of their last 26 games.
Over is 8-3 in their last eleven road games.
Seattle is 12-6 at home, 10-8 on road.

— Tampa Bay (16-21)
Rays are 9-16 at home, 7-5 on the road.
Rays are 11-7 vs NL teams, 5-14 vs AL teams.
Rays are 4-1 in last five games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (18-20)
Texas lost six of its last eight games.
Rangers fired their hitting coach last week
Under is 16-4 in their home games.
Rangers haven’t scored in first inning in their last 10 home games.

— Toronto (17-20)
Blue Jays are 9-7 vs their AL East rivals, 8-13 vs everyone else .
Toronto’s last four games went over the total. 
Toronto is 13-15 vs righty starters, 4-5 vs lefties.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phillies
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, A’s, Royals

— Knicks 91, Celtics 90
Second game in row, Knicks won after trailing by 20 points.
Boston led 73-53 in the third quarter.
At one point, Celtics missed 13 straight shots in the 4th quarter.
Knicks were +19 in the 22:00 Mitchell Robinson played.

— Knicks lead series, 2-0; Robinson has played 43:00 in the two games- New York is +32 in those 43:00, in wins by 1-3 points.

— Thunder 149, Nuggets 106
Oklahoma City led 87-56…….at halftime.
Thunder shot 56.2% from floor, 16-36 on the arc.
Series heads to Denver, tied 1-1.

— Stephen Curry is expected to miss at least a week with his hamstring injury. Golden State won Game 1 against Minnesota; Curry played only 13:00 in Game 1.

— Florida Gators basketball coach Todd Golden signed a six-year, $40.5M contract, after he led the Gators to the national championship. Florida is 60-16 the last two years, 25-11 in SEC games.

— ACC is reducing the number of conference games next basketball season, from 20 to 18; ACC had only four teams in the NCAA Tournament this year, fewest teams it had since 2013.

— Famous birthdays, May 8th:
Mike D’Antoni, 74
Dennis Leonard, 74
Bill Cowher, 68

Ronnie Lott, 66
Melissa Gilbert, 61
Speedy Claxton, 47

Adrián González, 43
Kemba Walker, 35
Michael Penix, 25

— AL West standings:
Seattle 22-14
A’s 20-18
Houston 18-18
Texas 18-19
LA Angels 15-20

Texas Rangers fired their hitting coach this week, replaced him with 56-year old Bret Boone, Aaron Boone’s older brother. Bret Boone played 14 years in the majors, hit 252 home runs, made it to three All-Star games, but he has never coached in the major leagues.

Texas scored 18 runs in their first three games with Boone as their hitting coach.

— So far this year, Atlanta Braves are 1-9 vs Dodgers/Padres, 16-10 vs everyone else.

— Minnesota Twins are 17-3 when they score 4+ runs, 0-17 when they don’t.

— Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty is skipping the Preakness; he is expected to run at the Belmont Stakes in Saratoga June 7th. 

— Movie of the Day: Good Will Hunting (1997)- A custodian at MIT has a gift for math, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Matt Damon is the custodian, Ben Affleck plays one of his friends, Robin Williams is the psychologist, Minnie Driver is the custodian’s girlfriend. 

Robin Williams is great in this movie; 28 years later, it is still fun to watch it.

— Red Sox 6, Rangers 4
Wilyer Abreu homered twice, Alex Bregman had three RBI for Boston.
Bregman’s home run was the 200th of his career.
Texas has lost eight of its last 11 games.

— Angels 5, Blue Jays 4
Jorge Soler hit a walk-off, bases loaded double for the comeback win.
This was one of three games Wednesday that was 0-0 after five innings.

— Reds 4, Braves 3
TJ Friedl hit two home runs for Cincinnati.
Costly win; ace pitcher Hunter Greene left after 3 IP with a leg injury.
Greene threw 114 pitches in his previous start, most of any pitcher in MLB this year.

— Tigers 8, Rockies 6 (10)
Spencer Torkelson had the game-winning double in the 10th inning
Detroit manager AJ Hinch got his 900th win as a major league manager.
Colorado slips to a dismal 6-29 record. 

— Mets 7, Arizona 1
Juan Soto homered twice, his 25th multi-homer game.
Kodal Senga threw six shutout innings for the 24-14 Mets.

— Mariners 6, A’s 5
A’s led 5-0 after four innings.
Mariners won their ninth straight series.
Seattle now leads the AL West by three games.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phillies
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, A’s, Royals

— Knicks 108, Celtics 105 OT
Boston led 75-55 midway thru the third quarter.
Celtics were 15-60 on the arc; they missed 45 3-point shots!!!!
Knicks were 17-37 on the arc.
Knicks were +13 in the 21:00 that Mitchell Robinson played.

Celtics took 20 shots in third quarter; 19 of them were 3’s. Yikes.

— Nuggets 121, Thunder 119
OKC led by 11 points with 4:31 left in the game.
Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with 0:02.8 left for the win.
Nikola Jokic had 42 points, 22 rebounds, six assists.
Denver outscored the Thunder 71-59 in the second half.

— Since 1970, there have been 20 NBA playoff series where one team won the previous series in seven games, while the other team swept their series. The team that swept the previous series won the next series 17 of 20 times.

Denver-Oklahoma City is the 21st series like that, since 1970. Nuggets won their last series in seven games, Thunder swept their last series.

— Utah Jazz/coach Will Hardy agreed to a contract extension, thru the 2031 season. Jazz are 85-161 in 37-year old Hardy’s three seasons, going 17-65 this year.

— Famous birthdays, May 6th:
Bob Seger, 80
Tom Bergeron, 70
George Clooney, 64
Jason Witten, 43
Dustin Colquitt, 43

Chris Paul, 40
Goran Dragić, 39
Jose Altuve, 35
Jonas Valančiūnas, 33
Mitch Spence, 27

— In the NHL, Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer has a career record of 9-0 in Game 7’s of a playoff series, which is really impressive.

— Edmonton Oilers left wing Jeff Skinner has played in the NHL for 15 years; before this year, he had never played in a playoff game, not one. 1,078 regular season games before he got his first playoff action.

— In the NFL, Baltimore Ravens released long-time kicker Justin Tucker, one of the best kickers ever, after 13 years with the team. Ravens won the Super Bowl in his rookie year, but recently he has come under fire for some off-field antics- he got released this week.

— If you’re on Twitter, go to @thehoopherald

There is a video on there of Steph Curry making 105 straight 3-point shots from the right corner, after a practice. He is the greatest shooter of all-time.

— Cardinals’ P Erick Fedde and Phillies’ 1B Bryce Harper were teammates at Las Vegas HS back in the day; they must’ve had a good team.

— Forget to mention this the other night, but Saturday in Chicago, Astros’ OF Jake Meyers went 4-for-4, with two homers, a double, triple and 7 RBI, the first player to do that since Ralph Kiner in 1950. Meyers batted 9th in that game- before Saturday, he had six RBI all season.

— Movie of the Day: Fast Break (1979)- Guy who loves basketball and runs a deli in New York City quits his job to become a small college basketball coach in Nevada. He recruits five players to come with him, but he has to beat national power Nevada State to get hired full-time by the school.

Gabe Kaplan is great as the coach; two of his players were played by Bernard King, who was a great NBA player, and Michael Warren, who played at UCLA.

Former UCLA coach Jim Harrick was a technical advisor for this movie, and has a non-speaking role in it, as an assistant coach for Nevada State.

— Braves 4, Reds 0
AJ Smith-Shawver didn’t allow a hit until the 8th inning.
Reds scored 42 runs in Brady Singer’s first five starts; they got shut out in his last two.

— Royals 3, White Sox 0
Cole Ragans struck out 11 guys in five shutout IP.
Kansas City has won 11 of its last 13 games.

— Padres 4, New York 3
San Diego scored four runs in 8th inning for the comeback win.
Machado/Bogaerts each had a 2-run hit in the decisive rally.

— Cubs 9, Giants 2
Giants made four errors, allowed six unearned runs.
Dansby Swanson is 12-26 during his 7-game hitting streak.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phillies
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, A’s, Royals

— Apparently this season, Major League Baseball changed how its umpires are evaluated on their calls of balls and strikes:

“In response to consistent player and club desire to have umpires evaluated more closely to the rulebook strike zone, we agreed with the MLB Umpires Association in their new CBA to reduce the size of the ‘buffer’ around the border of the strike zone, which essentially protects an umpire from being graded ‘incorrect’ on extremely close misses.”

MLB says it told everyone, but the article in The Athletic says otherwise:

“What do you think of the new strike zone?” an umpire asked one catcher, to which the catcher answered “What new strike zone?”

Not sure why it was handled this way; you’d think it is easy to let everyone know something like this is happening. At least everyone knows now, with 20% of the season over.

— Friday night in Anaheim Tigers’ RF Riley Greene became the first player EVER to homer twice in the 9th inning of the same game. Detroit scored eight runs in the top of the ninth to beat the Angels, 9-1.

You’d think that would’ve happened at least one other time in history, but it hadn’t happened ever until Friday night.

— Guardians 5, Blue Jays 3
Toronto led 3-0 after seven innings.
Daniel Schneeman hit a grand slam in the ninth inning; he also homered in the 8th inning.
Kevin Gausman threw six shutout IP for Toronto.

— Twins 4, Red Sox 3
Kody Clemens homered for the Twins, with his dad Roger watching in a private suite.

— Marlins 9, A’s 6
Kyle Stowers hit a walk-off grand slam, his second homer of the game.
Win snaps the Marlins’ six-game losing streak.
Only second loss in last seven games for the A’s.

— Mets have won nine games in a row against the Cardinals, their longest-ever win streak against the Redbirds.

— Padres 2, Pirates 1
Fernando Tatis scored winning run on a wild pitch in ninth inning.
San Diego has won four games in a row.
Pirates have lost six of their last seven games.

— Seattle Mariners have a prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje, who pitches with both hands: he’s had a rough start to the season, giving up 13 runs in 17.1 IP, but he does pitch with both hands. He is currently in the Class A Northwest League.

— Famous birthdays, May 4th:
Rene Lachemann, 80
Butch Beard, 78
Richard Jenkins, 78

Ken Oberkfell, 69
Rick Leach, 68
Tim Sherwin, 67

Cleveland Gary, 59
Victor Oladipo, 33
Nathan Peterman, 31

— Nuggets 120, Clippers 101
Denver led 58-47 at half, then outscored Clippers 35-19 in third quarter.
James Harden went 2-for-8 from floor, scored seven points.
Nuggets move on to play Oklahoma City in the next round.

Since 2017, NBA home teams are 10-12 in Game 7’s
Before 2017, home teams were 101-25 in Game 7’s

— Gregg Popovich officially retired as coach of the San Antonio Spurs, after a 29-year run in San Antonio, where he won 1,422 regular season games and five NBA titles. A great career.

While Popovich coached the Spurs, there were 303 head coaching changes made by the other NBA teams.

— Lakers signed GM Rob Pelinka to a new, long-term contract, so he and JJ Redick will be working together for the foreseeable future.

— Kevin Durant left Golden State after the 2019 season; his head coaches since then:
2019-20: Nets- Kenny Atkinson/Jacque Vaughn
2020-21: Nets- Steve Nash
2021-22: Nets- Steve Nash
2022-23: Nets- Steve Nash/Jacque Vaughn
2023: Suns- Monty Williams
2023-24: Suns- Frank Vogel
2024-25: Suns- Mike Budenholzer

— Arizona Wildcats gave basketball coach Tommy Lloyd a contract extension thru 2030; Arizona is 112-33 in four years under Lloyd, 61-19 in conference games, 6-4 in NCAA Tournament games.He is scheduled to make $4.4M/year, plus bonuses.

— College basketball teams who have to replace their entire roster for next season:
Baylor. Indiana. Maryland. West Virginia

— Aidan Mahaney played two years for very good Saint Mary’s basketball teams that went 53-16 while he was in their rotation; he played around 32:00/game. Last year, he got poached by UConn, where he played only 12 minutes a game for the 24-11 Huskies.

This spring, Mahaney saw the light; he bolted to Cal-Santa Barbara, where he figures to be a key piece in the Gauchos’ puzzle. He was first team all-WCC both his years at Saint Mary’s, so he figures to be an all-star in the Big West.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phillies
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Astros, A’s/KC

— Knicks 116, Pistons 113
Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, scoring game-winning 3-pointer with 0:04 left.
Knicks only played three subs, who played a total of only 36:00.
New York wins the series, 4-2.

Good season ends for Detroit; they were 14-68/17-65 the last two years, but went 44-38 this year and made the playoffs for first time since 2019.

— Speaking of the Knicks, on May 8, 1970, I was 10 years old, was playing wiffle ball in the street in front of our house, at 8:15 or so. My dad stuck his head out the door and said “Get in here, now.” My friends laughed, they thought I was in trouble, but my dad never yelled at me, so I didn’t know what was up.

“Who you rooting for?” he asked me- Game 7 of the NBA Finals was about to start, Knicks vs Lakers. He and my sister were huge Knick fans; I didn’t really care who won, but I was good at being an annoying little brother so I said “Lakers”

My dad pointed to the other side of the living room and said “Sit over there, then”

Knicks killed them; they were up 27 at the half, won easily. Was cool to see my dad happy, but don’t think I said so that night.

— I bring this up because one of the Knciks’ starting guards on that team, Dick Barnett, passed away this week at age 88. 

Barnett was a lefty jump shooting guard who played 14 years in the NBA, scored 15,358 points in an excellent career. He played 42:00 in that Game 7, scored 21 points. He was really good.

RIP, sir.

— By the way, the Knick-Laker playoff games started at 8:30 back then because they had the Ringling Brothers Circus in Madison Square Garden during the day; took them a while to get the court ready to play. Times have changed.

— Clippers 111, Nuggets 105
James Harden scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard 27.
Clippers used three subs, who were a combined +20
Series is 3-3; game 7 is Saturday night in Denver.

— I have a question, actually several questions about why the Lakers played the same five players the whole second half in their Game 4 loss to Minnesota.

Minnesota led 61-58 at halftime, but the Lakers outscored them 36-23 in the third quarter. Timberwolves led the series 2-1- they outscored a tired Lakers team 32-19 in the fourth quarter and seized control of the series.

In the last 30 years, no NBA team had ever played an entire half of a playoff game without making any substitutions; Lebron James is one of the best players ever for sure, but he is 40 years old, and he didn’t score a point in the 4th quarter.

My main question is this: Lakers’ coach JJ Redick had never coached before this season; was this his decision? Did the front office approve of it? Were they even notified? What did the seven subs on the bench think about being ignored for the whole second half.

— Famous birthdays, May 2nd:
Engelbert Humperdinck, 89
Jo Ann Pflug, 84
Clay Carroll, 84

Christine Baranski, 73
Keith Moreland, 71
Dwayne Johnson, 53

David Beckham, 50
Pat McAfee, 38
Ian Anderson, 27

— May 1, 1991 was a pretty significant sports day:

Rickey Henderson set the all-time stolen bases record during a day game in Oakland.

That night, Nolan Ryan threw his 7th no-hitter, at age 44.

— So far this season, Mets have outscored opponents 50-19 in the first three innings; Francisco Lindor is hitting 14-30 in the first inning.

— Back in 2005, every major league team hit .250 or better for the season; last year, only six teams hit .250 or better.

— A’s 3, Rangers 0
Jeffrey Springs allowed two hits in six scoreless IP.
Rangers haven’t homered in their last seven games.
Right now, the A’s are tied for the last playoff spot in the AL.

— Rockies 4, Giants 3
San Francisco led 3-1 after the sixth inning.
Rockies snapped a 12-game losing skid at Oracle Park.
Colorado won its last two games, after starting the season 4-25.

— Guardians 4, Twins 3 (10)
Jose Ramirez is the first Cleveland player with 250+ homers, 250+ stolen bases.
Pinch-hitter Angel Martinez had the walk-off single for the Guardians.
Minnesota slips to 4-13 on the road.

— Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 2
Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit a 3-run homer in 8th inning.
Red Sox led 2-0 after six innings.
Alex Bregman knocked in the only two Boston runs.

— Royals 8, Rays 2
Bobby Witt homered, extended his hitting streak to 22 games.
Royals went to Tampa Bay and swept the Rays.
Rays are 9-13 in their temporary home, an outdoor minor league field.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phil/Ariz
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Astros, A’s/KC

— Warriors 109, Rockets 106
Houston led 57-50 at halftime.
Butler scored 27 points, Podziemski 26 for the Warriors.
Golden State’s subs were a combined minus-40, their starters +55.
Warriors lead series, 3-1. 

— Cavaliers 138, Heat 83
Cavaliers led 72-33 at halftime.
Cleveland sweeps series, 4-0; only one win was by less than 21 points.
Cavaliers’ two wins in Miami: 124-87 and this game.

— Milwaukee Bucks’ star Damian Lillard tore his Achilles tendon Sunday, his 2025-26 season is now in serious doubt.

— Shaquille O’Neal is going to be general manager of the Sacramento State basketball program; his son Shaqir is playing for the Hornets next fall, after transferring from Florida A&M. Hornets haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since moving up to Division I in 1991- they play in the Big Sky Conference. Former NBA star Mike Bibby is Sac State’s new head coach.

— Famous birthdays, April 29th:
Willie Nelson, 92
Luis Aparicio, 91
Jim Hart, 81
Tom House, 78
Rick Burleson, 74

Ron Washington, 73
Bob McClure, 73
Jerry Seinfeld, 71
Michelle Pfeiffer, 67
Eve Plumb, 67

Uma Thurman, 55
Jay Cutler, 42
David Lee, 42
Josh Booty, 50
Zach McKinstry, 30

— Mets 19, Nationals 5
Brandon Nimmo went 4-6, with two homers, 9 RBI.
Before Monday, Nimmo was in a 7-for-47 slump.
Francisco Lindor got hit by a pitch twice in the 7th inning, the first player in 11 years to have that happen.

— Reds 3, Cardinals 1
Nick Martinez gave up one run, five hits in his six IP.
Noelvi Marte knocked in the go-ahead run with his first career triple.
Gavin Lux went 3-for-4, is hitting .352.

— Braves 6, Rockies 3
Colorado has lost seven in a row, is now 4-24.
Braves have won eight of their last ten games.
Alex Verdugo went 2-for-4, is hitting .350.

— Dodgers 7, Marlins 6 (10)
Tommy Edman had a walk-off 2-run single in 10th inning.
Dodgers led 5-0 after the fifth inning.
Dane Myers tied the game with a 6th inning grand slam. 

— Movie of the Day: Tequila Sunrise (1988)- A former Los Angeles drug dealer tries to go straight, but his past and his underworld connections bring him into the focus of the DEA, the Mexican feds and the Mexican drug cartels.

Mel Gibson is the drug dealer, Michelle Pfeiffer owns a restaurant, Kurt Russell is a cop and Raul Julia is a Mexican commandante. JT Walsh, Arye Gross are also in this movie.

— A’s 2, Rangers 1
Tyler Soderstrom had a 2-run double in the fifth inning.
A’s bullpen got 10 outs, didn’t allow a run in relief of JP Sears.
Spunky A’s have won nine of their last 13 games.

— Orioles 4, Bronx 3
Ryan O’Hearn hit a three-run homer.
Baltimore led 4-0 after the sixth inning.
Aaron Judge had two hits, is now batting .405.

— Twins 11, Guardians 1
Minnesota has won six of its last seven games.
Cleveland lost four of its last five games.
Twins had 17 hits; six players had 2+ hits.

— Astros 8, Tigers 5
Jose Altuve went 2-4, with a homer, three RBI.
Riley Greene homered twice for Detroit.
Loss snaps the Tigers’ four-game winning streak.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Giants. Wild Cards: Dodgers, Padres, Reds
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Astros, Red Sox

— Knicks 94, Pistons 93
Jalen Brunson scored 32 points, 11 assists.
Detroit has lost its last nine home playoff games.
New York leads series, 3-1

— Timberwolves 116, Lakers 113
Lakers led by 12 points late in third quarter.
Minnesota leads this series, 3-1
Lakers didn’t sub after halftime, only time that has happened in a playoff game in the last 28 years.

— Celtics 107, Magic 98
Jayson Tatum scored 37 points, had 14 rebounds.
Boston took the lead for good with 3:58 left in the game.
Celtics lead series, 3-1

— Pacers 129, Bucks 103
Bucks’ star Damian Lillard hurt his left leg, played only six minutes.
Indiana shot 60.2% from the floor.
Eight Pacers scored in double figures. 

— In the NFL, 29-year old WR Hunter Renfrow signed with the Carolina Panthers; he sat out last year, after catching 269 passes (10.7 yards/catch) in five years with the Raiders.

— Jacksonville Jaguars signed DE Emmanuel Ogbah for one year, $5M, which figures to help the Jaguars’ pass rush. Ogbah played the last five years for the Dolphins.

— District of Columbia and the Washington Commanders struck a deal to build a stadium and play where their old stadium, RFK Stadium — the team’s home from 1961-1996 — still stands.

— Famous birthdays, April 28th:
Ann-Margret, 84
Mary McDonnell, 73
Mark Bavaro, 62
Barry Larkin, 61
Pete Stoyanovich, 58

Elisabeth Rohm, 52
Billy Volek, 49
Josh Howard, 45
Chris Kaman, 43
David Freese, 42

Spencer Hawes, 37
Blake Bortles, 33
Matt Chapman, 32
Shane McClanahan, 28
Anthony Volpe, 24

— Nationals 8, Mets 7
Mets led 7-1 in the 7th inning.
Dylan Crews homered off of Tylor Megill, the first time In 15 games a Mets’ starting pitcher gave up a home run.
Mets still lead NL East by four games.

— Twins 5, Angels 0
Joe Ryan struck out 11 hitters in seven shutout IP.
Twins have won three in row for first time since last August.
Angels lost their last seven road games, scoring total of 12 runs. 

— A’s 3, White Sox 2 (10)
Luis Urias hit a 2-run walk-off homer, sent 9,127 fans home happy.
Spunky A’s are 14-14, one game out of a playoff spot.
White Sox used an opener (1 IP) in all three games this weekend. 

 — Astros 7, Royals 3
Hunter Brown allowed one run in 6 IP for the win; his scoreless streak ended at 28 IP.
Under is 14-7 in Houston’s last 21 games.
Bobby Witt Jr extended his hitting streak to 19 games.

— Rays 4, Padres 2
Rookie OF Chandler Simpson had the first 3-hit game of his career.
Tampa Bay has won a season-high five games in a row.
Padres are 1-5 since Luis Arraez got hurt, scoring total of nine runs.

— Reds 8, Rockies 1
Nick Lodolo allowed only two hits in seven IP for the win.
Rookie 3B Noelvi Marte was 3-5, with three RBI, is hitting .364.
Colorado has lost six in a row, is 4-23 this season.

— Tigers 7, Orioles 0
Tarik Skubal struck out 11 guys in six shutout IP.
Detroit finishes this homestand with an 8-2 record.
Orioles’ season win total is 87.5; they’re off to a 10-17 start.

— Diamondbacks 6, Braves 4
Arizona’s win snaps a four-game losing skid.
Alex Verdugo was 4-4 with two RBI for the Braves.
Atlanta is 8-3 at home, 4-12 on the road.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Giants. Wild Cards: Dodgers, Padres, (Cin-Phil-Arizona all tied)
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Rangers, Red Sox