Armadillo Sports

— Thunder 128, Timberwolves 126
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists.
Thunder held Julius Randle to 7 points, on 1-5 shooting.
Oklahoma City trailed for only 36 seconds the whole game.
Thunder leads series 3-1; Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma.

— College sports have gone off the rails; 6-3 G PJ Haggerty signed on with Kansas State, and will get paid $2.5M there next season.

This has been Haggerty’s college career:
2022-23- TCU 22-13, only played in six games
2023-24- Tulsa 16-15
2024-25- Memphis 29-6, lost in first round of NCAA’s as a #5-seed
2025-26- Kansas State

I’m waiting for him to transfer during a TV timeout from one bench to the other during the game.

— Green Bay Packers’ QB Jordan Love threw out the first pitch before the Red Sox-Brewers game in Milwaukee Monday. Love is 19-17 as an NFL starter, 1-2 in playoff games. This will be his third season as Green Bay’s starting QB.

— Former New Orleans Saints’ coach Jim Mora Sr turned 90 recently; he still lifts weights twice a week, for 85 minutes at a time. They posted videos of it; pretty impressive.

— Las Vegas Raiders signed punter AJ Cole to a 4-year, $15.8M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL. Last year, Cole averaged 50.8 yards per punt, second best in the NFL, and had 27 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

— Tampa Bay Ray hitters have gone 73 games since last time one of them got an intentional walk; Barry Bonds was once walked intentionally 73 times in a 72-game span.

— Why only 12 major league baseball games on Memorial Day? Would think that Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day would be full schedules, since everyone has the day off.

— If you ever watched the TV show Duck Dynasty, the patriarch of the Robertson family, Phil Robertson, passed away this weekend, at age 79.

Phil Robertson played college football at Louisiana Tech, starting ahead of future Hall of Fame QB Terry Bradshaw in 1966 and 1967. He got really rich when he created/patented the Duck Commander duck call, a kazoo-like instrument used by duck hunters.

Duck Dynasty was on TV from 2012-17, made the family famous and a lot wealthier. It was a quirky and funny show.

— Famous birthdays, May 27th:
Lee Meriwether, 90
Stan Walters, 77
Jackie Slater, 71
Richard Schiff, 70
Nick Lowery, 69

David Greenwood, 68
Peri Gilpin, 64
John Jaha, 59
George McCloud, 58
Frank Thomas, 57

Jeff Bagwell, 57
Antonio Freeman, 53
Jose Berrios, 31
Yoan Moncada, 30
Daniel Jones, 28

— Best records in one-run games:
Angels 8-2
Phillies 10-4
Padres 10-5
Tigers 9-5
Guardians 8-4

Worst records in one-run games:
White Sox 3-13
Red Sox 6-14
Rockies 4-9
Braves 9-13
Bronx 8-11

— Mets 2, White Sox 1
Chicago led 1-0 after the 7th inning.
Both Mets’ runs scored on sacrifice flies.
White Sox slipped to 5-22 on the road.

— Brewers 3, Red Sox 2
Milwaukee is 16-10 at home, 11-18 on the road.
Jackson Chourio led off the first inning with a home run.
Red Sox slipped tp 11-15 on the road.

— Orioles 5, Cardinals 2
Dylan Carlson hit a 3-run homer against his old team.
Orioles have won three in a row, for first time this season.
Charlie Morton got the win, lowering his ERA from 7.68 to 7.09.

— Diamondbacks 5, Pirates 0
Ryne Nelson allowed only four hits in 6.2 IP.
Win snapped Arizona’s five-game losing skid.
Pirates are now 6-20 in road games.

— Padres 4, Marlins 3 (10)
Manny Machado tied the game with an 8th inning home run.
Ryan Weathers allowed two unearned runs in 5.2 IP for Miami.
Marlins are 13-15 at home, 8-16 on the road.

— 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, Astros

— Minnesota 143, Oklahoma City 101
Timberwolves led 72-41 at halftime.
Minnesota shot 57% from the floor.
Home team has won all three lopsided games in this series.

— Five highest payrolls in MLB (record):
Dodgers $336,802,442 (32-20)
Mets $323,933,710 (31-21)
Bronx $288,738,657 (31-20)
Phillies $279,297,954 (33-18)
Blue Jays $246,441,798 (25-26)

— Five lowest payrolls in MLB (record)
White Sox $67,064,334 (17-35)
Marlins $67,340,342 (20-30)
A’s $73,664,777 (22-30)
Pirates $90,351,625 (19-34)
Rays $90,482,005 (25-26)

— Bottom of first inning in Cincinnati Friday night; Reds’ leadoff hitter TJ Friedl hits a double down the right field line. Problem, is the ballboy thought it was a foul ball; he caught it and gave it to a fan. Not good. Umpires rightfully called it a double.

— Rockies, Pirates, Reds have all been shut out eight times this year, most in MLB.

— Mets’ batters have been hit by a pitch 30 times this year, more than any other team.

— White Sox’ City Connect uniforms look a lot like the Chicago Bulls’ uniforms; the same guy owns both teams. Nice big names/numbers on the back of the uniforms. Well done.

— Famous birthdays, May 25th:
Leslie Uggams, 82
Mike Myers, 62
Kendall Gill, 57

Miguel Tejada, 51
Brian Urlacher, 47
Chris Young, 46

Kevin O’Connell, 40
Michael King, 30
Malik Willis, 26

— Cardinals 6, Diamondbacks 5 (10)
St Louis scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th.
Cardinals are 15-4 in their last 19 games.
Arizona has lost four in a row.

— Guardians 7, Tigers 5 (10)
Detroit has lost three in row for first time since first week of the season.
Jose Ramirez has a 17-game hitting streak.

— Twins 5, Royals 4
Minnesota walked the Royals off for second day in a row.
Twins have won 16 of their last 18 games.
Kansas City led 4-0 in the fifth inning.

— Pirates 2, Brewers 1
Oneil Cruz knocked in the winning run with a 7th inning triple.
Milwaukee had 11 hits, only scored once.
Brewers are 15-10 at home, 10-18 on the road.

— Nationals 3, Giants 0
Jake Irvin allowed only three hits in 8 IP.
Washington has won seven of its last nine games.
James Wood has 9 runs scored, 10 RBI in his last six games.

— Braves 7, Padres 1
Ronald Acuna homered for the second straight game.
Matt Olson has five home runs in his last seven games.
San Diego has lost seven of its last eight games.

— Phillies 9, A’s 6 (11)
Tied 6-6, A’s had bases loaded, no one out in 10th inning, couldn’t score.
Phillies have won nine games in a row.
A’s have lost 11 in a row, after a 22-20 start.

— 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

AL teams’ records, by starting pitcher:

— Orioles (16-33)
Eflin 3-2
Morton 0-7
Kremer 3-7 (under 4-2 last six)
Sugano 6-4 (under 7-0 last seven)
Povich 3-6
Young 1-1
Gibson 0-4 (over 3-1)
McDermott 0-1
Akin 0-2 (opener)

— Red Sox (26-26)
Crochet 6-5 (under 8-3)
Houck 2-7 (over 5-1 last six)
Buehler 6-1
Pitts 0-3 (under 3-0)
Newcomb 2-3 (over 4-1)
Dobbins 3-3 (under 3-1 last four)
Bello 5-2 (over 5-2)
Giolito 2-2

— White Sox (16-35)
Burke 5-5
Cannon 1-7
Perez 2-2
Smith 1-9
Martin 2-7
Wilson 2-2
Houser 1-0
Gilbert 1-2 (opener)
Eisert 0-2 (opener)

— Guardians (28-22)
Lively 7-2 (under 6-2 last eight)
Williams 6-4 (over 5-2 last seven)
Bibee 6-4 (under 6-1 last seven)
Ortiz 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Allen 5-4
Cecconi 1-1 (under 2-0)
Nikhazy 0-1

— Tigers (33-19)
Skubal 7-3 (over 5-2 last 7)
Flaherty 2-8 
Olson 5-4
Jobe 8-1
Mize 6-1
Montero 3-1 (under 3-1)
Holton 1-0 (opener)
Hurter 1-0 (opener)
Guenther 0-1 (opener)

— Astros (26-25)
Valdez 5-5
Brown 6-4 
Arrighetti 1-1
Blanco 5-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Wesneski 2-4 (under 5-1)
Gusto 3-3
McCullers 2-2 (over 4-0)
Blubaugh 0-1
Gordon 2-0 (under 2-0)
Walter 0-1

— Royals (28-24)
Ragans 4-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Lugo 5-4 (under 7-2)
Bubic 6-4 (under 5-2 last seven)
Lorenzen 5-5 (under 8-2)
Wacha 6-4 (under 6-2 last eight)
Cameron 1-2 (under 3-0)

— Famous birthdays, May 24th:
Bob Dylan, 85
Gary Burghoff, 82
Mitch Kupchak, 71
Kristin Scott Thomas, 65

Pete Metzelaars, 65
Joe Dumars, 62
John C Reilly, 60
Jeff Zgonina, 55

Bartolo Colon, 52
Dash Mihok, 51
Tracy McGrady, 46
Aaron Ashby, 27

— Angels (25-25)
Kikuchi 5-6 (over 9-2)
Soriano 3-7 (over 6-3 last nine)
TAnderson 8-2 (over 5-0 last five)
Hendricks 4-5 (under 3-1 last four)
Kochanowicz 5-5

— Twins (24-20)
Lopez 6-3 
Ryan 4-5 (under 8-1)
Ober 8-2
Paddack 3-7 (under 4-1 last five)
Woods-Richardson 5-2 (under 5-2)
Festa 2-1
Topa 0-1 (opener)

— New York (30-20)
Rodon 6-5 (under 8-3)
Fried 9-1 (under 6-2 last eight)
Warren 5-5 (under 5-2 last seven)
Carrasco 2-4 (under 4-2)
Schmidt 4-3 
Stroman 2-1 (over 3-0)
Yarbrough 1-1

— A’s (22-30)
Severino 4-7
Springs 5-5 
Bido 4-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Sears 6-4 (over 3-0 last three)
Hoglund 1-3 (over 3-0 last three)
Ginn 2-2 (under 3-1)
Estes 0-2
Lopez 0-2

— Mariners (29-21)
Gilbert 5-1
Castillo 5-5 (under 3-1 last four)
Miller 4-4 (over 4-0 last four)
Woo 7-2
Kirby 0-1
Hancock 6-2 (under 3-1 last four)
Evans 3-2 (over 4-1)
JFCastillo 1-1 (opener)
Legumina 0-1 (opener)

— Rays (24-26)
Pepiot 3-7 (under 5-1 last six)
Littell 5-5 (won last five) under 8-2)
Bradley 6-4 (over 3-1 last four)
Rasmussen 4-6 (under 8-2)
Baz 5-4
Boyle 1-0

— Rangers (25-27)
Eovaldi 5-6 (under 9-2)
Leiter 3-4 (under 6-1)
Mahle 6-5 (under 10-1)
deGrom 6-4 
Rocker 2-3 (under 3-1 last four)
Corbin 3-5 (under 4-1 last five)

— Blue Jays (25-25)
Berrios 5-5
Gausman 5-5 (over 5-0 last five)
Bassitt 6-4 (under 9-1)
Francis 4-6 (over 5-0 last five)
Lucas 2-2
Scherzer 0-1
Urena 1-1
Rodriguez 1-0

— 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

NL teams’ records, by starting pitcher:
— Diamondbacks (26-24)
Gallen 4-6 (under 6-3 last nine)
Kelly 6-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Burnes 5-4 (under 4-0 last four)
Pfaadt 7-3
Rodriguez 4-5 (over 6-0 last six)
Nelson 0-2

— Braves (24-25)
Sale 5-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Schwellenbach 6-4 (over 6-1 last seven)
Smith-Shawver 5-3 (under 7-1)
Holmes 4-5 (under 3-1 last four)
Elder 4-4 (under 6-1 last seven)
Lopez 0-1
Strider 0-2
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (30-20)
Imanaga 5-3 (under 6-2)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 4-6 
Boyd 4-5 (home team 9-0)
Brown 5-4 (over 8-1)
Rea 6-1 (over 3-1 last four)

— Reds (25-26)
Greene 5-3 (under 6-1 last seven)
Lodolo 5-5 (over 5-2 last seven)
Martinez 2-8 (under 7-0 last seven)
Singer 6-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Spiers 0-2
Abbott 5-2 (under 3-0 last three)
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-0 (opener)

— Rockies (8-42)
Freeland 1-9 (under 7-3)
Senzatela 2-8 
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Marquez 2-8 (over 7-2 last nine)
Dollander 2-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Blalock 0-3
Gordon 0-1
Palmquist 0-2

— Dodgers (31-19)
Yamamoto 7-3 (under 8-2)
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-2
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
May 4-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Knack 3-1 (over 3-1)
Gonsolin 2-2
Wrobleski 0-1
Miller 1-0
Kershaw 0-1
Casparius 0-1 (opener)
Dreyer 2-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener

— Marlins (19-29)
Alcantara 3-6 
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-5 (over 5-1 last six)
Quantrill 6-3 (under 3-0 last three)
Cabrera 3-4
Weathers  1-1

— Famous birthdays, May 23rd:
Joan Collins, 92
Rod Thorn, 84
Drew Carey, 67
Jay Feely, 49

Kirk Saarloos, 46
Chad Hall, 39
Aaron Donald, 34
Jonathan Aranda, 27

— Brewers (24-26)
Peralta 6-4 (under 8-2)
Cortes 1-1
Civale 1-1
Patrick 4-6 (under 8-2)
Priester 1-5 (under 4-2)
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Quintana 4-2 (under 5-1)
Henderson 2-1
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)

— Mets (30-20)
Holmes 7-3 
Megill 4-6 (over 5-2 last seven)
Senga 5-4 (under 9-0)
Canning 8-1 (under 7-2)
Peterson 6-3
Tidwell 0-1
Brazoban 0-2 (opener)

— Phillies (32-18)
Wheeler 7-3 
Luzardo 8-2 (under 3-1 last four)
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Sanchez 7-2
Walker 4-3
Suarez 2-1
Abel 1-0

— Pirates (17-33)
Skenes 3-7 (under 5-1 last six)
Keller 2-8 
Falter 5-5 (under 6-2 last eight)
Heaney 4-6 (under 7-3)
Mlodzinski 4-5 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1
Burrows 0-1

— Cardinals (27-23)
Gray 8-2 (over 9-1)
Fedde 3-7 (over 3-1 last four)
Mikolas 4-5 (won last four) (under 4-1 last five)
Liberatore 4-5 (under 6-1 last seven)
Pallante 6-4
Matz 2-0

— Padres (27-21)
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Cease 6-4 (under 4-2 last six)
Vasquez 5-5 (under 7-3)
Pivetta 6-3 (under 4-2 last six)
Hart 3-2
Kolek 2-2

— Giants (29-21)
Ray 9-1 (under 5-1 last six)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)
Webb 6-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Verlander 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Roupp 5-4 (over 4-1 last five)
Birdsong 1-0

— Nationals (23-27)
Gore 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Irvin 5-5  (over 3-1 last four)
Parker 7-3 (under 7-3)
Williams 4-6
Lord 2-4
Soroka 1-3

— 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

— 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