— Happy Armadillo Day; started this blog 24 years ago this week. Hope you enjoy reading it every day- you DO read it every day, right? 🙂
The world has changed a lot since 2001; some for the better, some not so much, but hopefully things will get better again soon.
I try to focus on the positive here, but mostly aim for being realistic.
Thanks for reading, even if you read it only because it helps you sleep better 🙂
— Panthers 4, Oilers 2
Panthers led 2-0 after the first period.
Florida scored their five goals on only 19 shots.
Brad Marchand scored twice for Florida.
Game 6 is in Florida Tuesday night.
Panthers’ star Marchand has scored six goals for Florida in this year’s Final.
He scored five goals for the Bruins in the 2011 Finals.
He is the first player in NHL history to score 5+ goals in a Stanley Cup Final with two different teams.
— Was watching Tigers-Orioles game the other night, and the great actor JK Simmons showed up in the Orioles’ TV booth, unannounced. Simmons is a big-time Tigers’ fan; he was also the manager of the Tigers in the excellent Kevin Costner movie For Love of the Game.
He has 245 acting credits on IMDB; he was Dr Skoda in 45 episodes of Law and Order, just a tremendous career.
— Atlanta Braves were minus-350 favorites over Colorado Saturday, huge favorites. Remember reading something a long time ago advising you to never lay more than -150 on baseball.
My cousin KL Wheat, who is smart with his bets, never lays more than -120.
— Pirates P Paul Skenes has a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts this year, but he is 4-6 in those start; Pirates have scored 3 or fewer runs in 10 of his 15 starts. Under is 8-3 in his last 11 starts.
— Cardinals 8, Brewers 5
Willson/William Contreras became the first brothers since 1933 to homer in the same inning in the same game, when they were on opposing sides in that game.
Last year, Cleveland’s Josh/Bo Naylor did it as teammates.
— Heading into this weekend, the average OPS in the major leagues was .712; in 2019 it was .758, in 2020 it was .740. Getting harder and harder to hit.
— Famous birthdays, June 15th:
Dusty Baker, 76
Jim Belushi, 71
Wade Boggs, 67
Helen Hunt, 62
Courteney Cox, 61
Kerwin Bell, 60
O’Shea Jackson Sr., 56 (Ice Cube)
Andy Pettitte, 53
Michael Doleac, 48
Derek Anderson, 42
Tim Lincecum, 41
Trevor Plouffe, 39
Jake Locker, 37
Cooper Kupp, 32
Dom Smith, 30
Happy birthday to the Big Dawg, whose birthday is this weekend. He’s been a good friend for many years, he’s a good NFL handicapper.
— When Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points off the bench the other night, it was the most points a sub scored in an NBA Finals game since Jason Terry scored 27 in 2011.
Both players were coached in those games by Rick Carlisle.
Pacers’ star Tyrese Halliburton has scored 71 points in the first four games of the series vs Oklahoma City; he’s taken a total of only three foul shots in the four games, all of them in the Game 4 loss.
— Diamondbacks 8, Padres 7
Arizona led 3-1 after the sixth inning.
San Diego led 7-3 in the middle of the ninth.
Diamondbacks scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth; Geraldo Perdomo’s bases loaded triple was the big blow in the inning.
— It was a good week for a couple of NFL punters:
Monday, Jaguars gave P Logan Cooke a 4-year, $16M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL.
Tuesday, Seahawks gave P Michael Dickson a 4-year, $16.2M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL.
— Houston Texans WR Nico Collins had 142 receiving yards negated by Houston penalties last year, more than any other player.
— White Sox traded 1B/OF Andrew Vaughn to Milwaukee for P Aaron Civale, who the Brewers had demoted to the bullpen. White Sox had demoted Vaughn to AAA.
— I’m curious if baseball executives who were really good ballplayers look down their noses at the nerdy, non-athletic guys who are often in front offices these days?
I’m guessing they do; John Smoltz was on TV Saturday night, saying how official scorers should consult with former players when they make scoring decisions, to find “how difficult a play that really was”
— Baseball seriously needs to promote itself better; a good reality show would include current players watching fantasy baseball podcasts on YouTube, where nerdy types criticize players, as they add/drop or trade these players.
