Armadillo Sports

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

Wednesday- 25-cent wings; its a great deal……..
Thursday- Open Mike Night, 7:00
Friday- Karaoke at 8:00
Saturday- Live music at 8:00…….
Sunday- 25-cent wings; open at 4:00, NFL games on TV

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

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Monday night NFL info is posted

Monday’s 6-pack:
Interesting Week 6 NFL spreads:
— Seahawks (-3) @ Denver
— Texans vs Jaguars (-3) (@ London)
— Ravens (-3.5) @ Cleveland
— Panthers @ Philadelphia (-1.5)
— Bears (-3) @ Atlanta
— Saints (-1.5) @ NJ Giants

Quote of the Day
“[Huntley] is just one of the coolest dudes. He doesn’t really get rattled. He just is always the same and he keeps such a good demeanor about him, keeps his composure. He played with more and more confidence as the game went on and as the moments got bigger, which is really cool to see.”
Ravens coach Jesse Minter

Monday’s quiz
Who was the Chargers coach in 2003, last time they started 0-5?
(Hint: he won over 200 games in his career)

Sunday’s quiz
Milwaukee Brewers have played in one World Series; they lost to St Louis in seven games.

Saturday’s quiz
Terry Francona was Cleveland Guardians’ manager, last time they played in a World Series. 

Brewers 2, Dodgers 1
Misiorowski threw 94 pitches in 4.1 IP, gave up one run.
Turang homered for the Brewers.
Milwaukee bullpen got 13 outs, allowed only five baserunners.
Milwaukee leads series 1-0; Game 2 is Monday at 5:00. 

Ravens 30, Falcons 23 OT
Ravens drove 71 yards, tied game with 0:40 left in regulation.
Ravens then drove 68 yards for TD in 14 plays, eating up 7:03 of OT.
RB Henry ran ball 24 times for 102 yards.
#2 QB Huntley was 24-32/201 passing, with two TD passes. 

Ravens were 9-17 on third down, Falcons 8-15.
Atlanta is 6-15 ATS last 21 games as a home favorite.
Atlanta QB Penix Jr got hurt; Tagovailoa played in OT.
WR London caught seven passes for 118 yards. 

Jaguars 19, Eagles 17
Eagles kicked 48-yard FG with 0:08 left to take 17-16 lead.
Jaguars ran ensuing kickoff back 53 yards with 0:01 left.
Cam Little booted a 57-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Jacksonville outgained the Eagles, 408-232.

Last three weeks, Eagles were held to 248-172-232 total yards.
Last three weeks, Eagles were outscored 43-3 in second half.
Philly ran the football only 18 times for 22 yards.
Jaguars committed 13 penalties for 100 yards.

Giants 27, Commanders 27
Washington led 12-3 at half, 27-13 with 8:00 left.
Giants drove 75-72 yards for TD’s, tied game with 1:43 left.
QB Winston was 33-54/326 passing with three TD’s.
Giants are 31-60 on 3rd down this season.

QB Daniels threw for 199 yards, ran for 103 more (and two TDs).
Washington ran the ball 30 times for 202 yards.
Four of five Commanders games this year went over the total.
Giants missed three of five field goal attempts. 

49ers 32, Seahawks 29
49ers drove 43 yards, kicked 44-yard FG with 1:56 left.
49ers are 5-0, scoring 27-35-36-24-32 points.
WR Evans caught seven passes for 113 yards and a TD.
SF is 9-2-1 ATS in last 12 NFC West road games.

49ers scored defensive TD 0:13 before halftime (they led 21-13 at half)
49ers turned ball over three times, Seattle four times.
Teams combined to convert only 7 of 24 third down plays.
Total yardage: 49ers 269, Seahawks 251

Lions 45, Cardinals 21
Detroit’s first three drives: 9 plays, minus-9 yards, three punts.
Detroit’s next seven drives: 54 plays, 431 yards, 45 points.
Detroit is 14-4 ATS last 18 games as a road favorite 
Lions are 13-3 ATS last 16 games coming off a loss.

RB Gibbs ran ball 25 times for 151 yards, two TD’s.
Cardinals lost last four games, giving up 31-36-37-45 points.
Opponents scored 18 TD’s on their last 39 drives.
Over is 12-3 in Detroit’s last 14 games, 5-0 this year.

Bengals 31, Dolphins 24
Cincinnati led 21-7 at halftime.
Bengals in first half: 33 plays, 183 yards, three TDs on five drives.
Bengals were +2 in turnovers; they converted 9-13 on 3rd down.
Cincinnati converted 9 of 13 third down plays. 

Dolphins outgained Cincinnati, 331-307.
Miami scored TD with 0:45 left for the backdoor cover.
Miami is 5-3 ATS last eight games as a home underdog.
Dolphins averaged only 3.8 yards per pass attempt.

Famous birthdays, October 12th:
Jack Marin, 82
Susan Anton, 76
Garth Iorg, 72
Sid Fernandez, 64

Chris Chandler, 61
Hugh Jackman, 58
Charlie Ward, 56
Ketel Marte, 33

Jets 17, Browns 12
RB Allen ran 22 yards for the game-winning TD with 3:01 left.
23-yard drive started when Cleveland’s punter fumbled the snap.
Jets were 8-for-17 on third down, Cleveland 4-16.
Three of five Jet games stayed under the total.

Jets drove 80 yards in seven plays for a TD on their first drive.
Jets’ next six drives: 35 plays, 70 yards, no points.
Jets led 7-6 at halftime on a cruddy, rainy day in New Jersey.
Cleveland is 6-15 ATS last 21 games as a road underdog.

Texans 26, Titans 3
Houston outgained the Titans 329-187.
Texans kicked a field goal on four of first five drives, led 12-3 at half.
Houston still ran the ball 27 times for only 79 yards.
Texans traded for WR Marvin Harrison Jr on Sunday.

Tennessee is 0-5, scoring 10-20-7-18-3 points.
Titans were held to 195-291-262-297 total yards.
This year, Tennessee has scored six TD’s on 46 drives (20 3/outs)
Tennessee is 3-10 ATS in last 13 AFC South home games.

Steelers 34, Colts 22
RB Warren ran for 101 yards (TD), caught 6 passes for 87 yards (TD).
Steelers are 3-0 at home (20-13/30-27/34-22), 0-2 on road
Steelers are 13-6 ATS in last 19 games as a home favorite.
Steelers are 16-7 ATS last 23 games coming off a loss.

Colts’ first three drives: 22 plays, 93 yards, 13 points.
Spencer Schrader kicked five field goals for the Colts.
Indy gave up 17-13 points in wins, 41-33-34 in losses.
Colts are 0-6 SU/ATS in last six visits to Pittsburgh.

Patriots 45, Raiders 17
Patriots scored TD’s on four of their first six drives.
QB Maye threw for 374 yards, four TD’s.
Patriots are 9-2 ATS in last 11 games as a home favorite.
Under Vrabel, NE is 12-6 ATS in games coming off a win.

New England outgained the Raiders, 536-306.
Las Vegas ran the ball 18 times for only 38 yards.
Raiders are 8-11 ATS last 19 games as a road underdog.
Raiders are 24-33-2 ATS in last 59 games coming off a loss.

Vikings 23, Saints 13
Vikings outgained New Orleans 364-142.
Saints led this game 7-6 at halftime.
Vikings’ first 4 drives in 2nd half: 30 plays, 147 yards, 17 points.
Saints are minus-6 in turnovers in their 1-4 start.

Vikings are 13-5-4 ATS last 22 games as a road favorite.
Vikings are 20-10-3 ATS in last 33 games coming off a win.
Minnesota is 10-0 SU/8-1-1 ATS in its last ten games.
Opponents have converted only 14 of 63 third down plays.

Packers 31, Bears 7
Green Bay outgained the Bears, 428-246.
Packers’ first two drives: 20 plays, 136 yards, 14 points.
Green Bay allowed 17-14=7 points in its wins, 39-35 in losses.
Packers won 19 of last 23 series games.

Chicago turned ball over five times (minus-5)
Bears are 2-9 ATS in last eleven visits to Lambeau.
Bears scored 59-27-23 points in wins; 3-7 points in losses.
Chicago’s last four games stayed under the total.

Broncos 23, Chargers 17
Denver outscored Chargers 13-0 in fourth quarter.
Broncos’ last four drives started in Charger territory.
Denver was +2 in turnovers, but only 1-12 on third down.
Broncos are 8-3 ATS last 11 games coming off a loss.

Chargers are 0-5 for the first time since 2003.
Overall, Bolts are 0-8 SU/0-7-1 ATS in their last eight games.
Chargers in 4th quarter: 19 plays, 24 yards, no points.
QB Herbert threw for only 121 yards (2.8 yards/attempt)

— Guardians 2, White Sox 0
Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer in 4th inning.
White Sox hitters struck out 21 times.
Gavin Williams got 17 outs, allowed one hit.
Cleveland-Tampa Bay ALCS starts Monday night.

— Oklahoma 27, Texas 24
Sooners kicked a 47-yard FG for the walk-off win.
Longhorns led 17-10 after the third quarter.
Oklahoma tied game on a 42-yard pick-6 with 10:07 left.
Texas outgained Oklahoma, 382-238.

— Kentucky 35, LSU 34 OT
Kentucky wins on a 2-point play in OT for second week in row.
Wildcats drove 67 yards, kicked 33-yard FG with 0:12 left to force OT.
Kentucky ran a punt back 55 yards for a TD in second quarter.
Kentucky ran ball 32 times for 155 yards.

— Indiana 20, Nebraska 17
Hoosiers have now won 22 games in a row.
Nebraska took a 17-6 lead with 12:01 left to play.
Indiana’s next two drives: 6 plays, 140 yards, 14 points.
Indiana ran ball 22 times for only 65 yards.

— Georgia 20, Alabama 17
Dawgs drove 84 yards, kicked go-ahead FG with 5:25 left.
Georgia ran ball 39 times for 206 yards.
This was first time Dawgs beat Alabama in regular season since 2007.

— UCLA 17, Oregon 15
Oregon scored TD with 2:16 left; the 2-point play failed.
UCLA has QB injury issues; #2 QB Dieffenbach was 3-6/43 passing, with a TD
Ducks turned ball over 7 times, losing five fumbles.
UCLA turned ball over three times.
Teams combined to convert 5 of 28 third down plays.

— North Carolina 21, Pittsburgh 17
Tar Heels threw 75-yard TD pass with 12:36 left for the winning score.
Pitt outgained UNC, 369-269.
North Carolina won despite running ball 25 times for 20 yards.

— Famous birthdays, October 11th:
David Morse, 74
Norm Nixon, 71
John Fourcade, 66
Chris Spielman, 61

Matt Bomer, 50
Ty Wigginton, 49
Mike Conley, 39
TJ Watt, 32

Upsets of the Week:
Buffalo (+20) 23, Toledo 8
South Carolina (+13.5) 38, Florida 19
UCLA (+11.5) 17, Oregon 15

Old Dominion (+9.5) 10, Appalachian State 3
California (+9.5) 25, Virginia Tech 20
Kentucky (+8,5) 35, LSU 34 OT

Oklahoma (+7.5) 27, Texas 24 OT
Georgia Tech (+7) 28, Duke 25
Wyoming (+6.5) 16, San Jose State 13 OT

— Illinois 38, Michigan State 37 OT
Spartans failed on a 2-point play in overtime that would’ve won game.
Illinois led this game 20-7 at halftime.
Spartans scored two TD’s in last 8:00 to force OT.

— USC 31, Penn State 23
USC QB Maiava was 21-33/301 passing, with 3 TD’s.
Trojans outgained Penn State, 430-357.
Nittany Lions lost last three games, giving up 24-34-31 points.
Crowd at this game was 114,419.

— UNLV 13, North Dakota State 7
UNLV’s only TD was a 23-yard pick-6 5:21 into the game.
Game was 7-7 at halftime.
Bison in second half: 25 plays, 81 yards, no points.

— Oregon State 66, San Diego State 14
Oregon State QB Atkinson threw for 409 yards, 5 TD’s.
Atkinson’s 21 TD passes this year are the most in the country.
Beavers won last three I-A games, scoring 33-56-66 points.

— South Carolina 38, Florida 19
Gators got upset the last two weeks, giving up 45-38 points.
South Carolina was 10-16 on 3rd down, +3 in turnovers.

— Utah 41, Kansas 24
Utah ran ball 47 times for 287 yards.
Utah outgained Jayhawks, 545-391.
Utes are 5-0, scoring 37 ppg vs I-A opponents. 

— Louisville 44, Florida State 20
FSU’s first two drives: 20 plays, 130 yards, 14 points.
FSU rest of game: 55 plays, 232 yards, six points.
Louisville ran the ball 43 times for 397 yards.
Seminoles gave up 50-44 points in their two road games.

— BYU 24, Iowa State 10
Cougars outgained Iowa State, 506-200
BYU QB Bachmeier was 22-30/329 for 329 passing.
Bachmeier also ran nine times for 109 yards.
Cyclones averaged only 3.4 yards/pass attempt.

— Iowa 41, Washington 24
Iowa’s first six drives: 30 plays, 289 yards, 27 points.
Hawkeyes led 27-3 at halftime.
Washington ran ball 25 times, for minus-3 yards.
Iowa ran the ball 38 times for 263 yards.

— Utah State 17, Washington State 16
Aggies outscored Wazzu 14-0 in the second half.
Utah State’s 2nd half TD drives were 39-19 yards.
Coogs were 5-19 on third down, Utah State 3-14.
Aggies won despite completing only 11-26 passes for 150 yards. 

— Wyoming 16, San Jose State 13 OT
Tied 13-13, San Jose failed on 4th-and-1 in overtime.
Wyoming was 5-for-6 on 4th down conversions.
Wyoming drove 75 yards, scored tying TD with 6:25 left.
Cowboys ran ball 53 times for 231 yards. 

— USC-North Carolina played an exhibition basketball game in Greensboro Friday; college teams play exhibition games now, both of these teams are playing three.

Michael Malone coaches UNC, Eric Musselman coaches USC, two former NBA head coaches.

USC was missing three guys; they were up by a hoop at halftime. North Carolina pulled away in the second half, which doesn’t really matter, but it was fun to watch college basketball, well it is really semi-pro basketball now, but you get what I mean.

— RIP to football great Mike Ditka, who passed away this week at age 86.

Ditka was the first tight end to get inducted into the Hall of Fame; he played 12 years in the NFL, catching 427 passes, 42 for touchdowns. He also coached the Bears for 11 years, the Saints for three years. His 1985 Bears won Super Bowl XX. RIP, sir.

— Famous birthdays, October 10th:
Gene Tenace, 80
Bradley Whitford, 67
Brett Favre, 57
Glenn Foley, 56
Pat Burrell, 50

Brad Ziegler, 47
Troy Tulowitzki, 42
Lourdes Gurriel Jr, 33
Vinnie Pasquantino, 29
Josh Giddey, 24

My Mt Rushmore’s on various things:
— Al Pacino movies:
Danny Collins
Any Given Sunday
Heat
Oceans 13

— Robert DeNiro movies:
Last Vegas
Heat
Jackie Brown
Midnight Run

— NBA players:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Michael Jordan
Lebron James
Wilt Chamberlain

— Television characters:
Oscar Madison, Odd Couple
Lenny Briscoe, Law and Order
Henry Blake, M*A*S*H
Jonathan Higgins, Magnum PI

— Sports movies:
American Underdog
Moneyball
Blue Chips
Any Given Sunday

— Non-sports movies:
Rounders
A Star is Born
Leap of Faith
The Bodyguard

— Quarterbacks, in Super Bowl era:
John Elway
Joe Montana
Tom Brady
Patrick Mahomes

— Marisa Tomei movies:
My Cousin Vinny
The Rewrite
The Big Short
Lincoln Lawyer

 

— Our Number of the Day:

4,560,738,086

4 billion, 560 million, 738 thousand and some change.

Since 2010, the Bronx Bombers have played 17 baseball seasons; they’ve had an average payroll of $268,290,475.60 per year, which adds up to $4,560,738,086

During those 17 years,
– they made playoffs 13 times
– are 44-50 in playoff games
– won one American League title
– haven’t won a World Series.

Those are the numbers, they are not in dispute. 

— Guardians 9, White Sox 5
Cleveland scored six runs in the sixth inning.
Jose Ramirez homered, drove in three runs.
Series is tied 2-2; road team has won all four games.
Game 5 is Saturday in Cleveland.

— Buccaneers 24, Cowboys 16
Buccaneers ran the ball 39 times for 241 yards.
Tampa was +3 in turnovers; they were 7-13 on third down.
First time the Buccaneers covered in their last 14 games.
Tampa Bay is 14-7 ATS last 21 games as a road underdog.

Dallas led 10-7 at halftime.
Cowboys in second half: 28 plays, 200 yards, only six points.
Dallas opponents have converted 30 of 57 third down plays.
Under Schottenheimer, Cowboys are 4-11-1 ATS as a favorite.

— Liberty 35, Sam Houston 3
Flames ran the ball 39 times for 297 yards.
Liberty led 14-3 at halftime.
Total yards: Liberty 411, Sam Houston 243

— Western Kentucky 34, Missouri State 13
WKU ran the ball 40 times for 233 yards.
Hilltoppers led 21-10 at halftime.
Total yards: Western Kentucky 464, Sam Houston 340

— South Alabama 56, Arkansas State 49
Jaguars ran a kickoff back 100 yards for a TD.
South Alabama RB Phillips ran ball 19 times for 157 yards, 3 TDs.
Jaguars scored56 points, only threw 10 passes the whole game.
Ark State QB Owens was 32-43/418 passing, with 4 TD’s.

— Texas-San Antoni0 31, South Florida 24
Roadrunners drove 75 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:15 left.
South Florida led 17-10 at halftime.
UTSA outgained the Bulls, 486-288.
Roadrunners are 5-1, South Florida 4-2.

— Famous birthdays, October 9th:

Freddie Patek, 82
Jim Qualls, 80
Shera Danese, 77
Robert Wuhl, 75
Scott Bakula, 72

Mike Singletary, 68
Dexter McCleon, 53
Brian Roberts, 49
Derek Holland, 40
Starling Marte, 38

— Broncos coach Sean Payton is going to be more involved with the Denver offense, which is probably a good thing for Denver fans, probably a bad thing for Broncos OC Davis Webb.

— Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (left elbow) is good to go this week against the Giants; he dislocated the elbow on the last play of the first half in a Week 2 loss at Dallas, but his backup Marcus Mariota is hurt so Daniels will play while wearing a brace on the arm.

Daniels will have to wear the brace the rest of the season.

— Reading between the lines into Dana Altman retiring as coach at Oregon, one of his better guards bolted to Louisville for a $4M paycheck. The kid was actually from Oregon; not a lot of great high school players come from there.

College sports have become minor league sports and it is driving some coaches out of the game.

—  Lebron James scored 10 points, had 5 assists in his first exhibition game with the 76ers, a 114-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. 

— Guardians 9, White Sox 3
Jose Ramirez had two hits, scored twice, had two RBI.
Jo Adell hit a bases-loaded triple in the third inning.
Cleveland pitchers got 19 of their 27 outs via strikeouts.
Chicago leads series 2-1; road team has won all three games.

— Dodgers 4, Braves 1
Andy Pages hit a two-run single in 7th inning.
Dodger bullpen got 13 outs, allowed 2 baserunners.
Atlanta was 0-7 with runners in scoring position.
Dodgers advance to the NLCS

— Rays 4, New York 3
Victor Mesa hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Rays’ bullpen got 16 outs, allowed only four baserunners.
Tampa Bay advances to the ALCS for the third time.

Tampa Bay’s payroll this year: $110,469,834
New York’s payroll this year: $335,821,177

— Brewers 3, Padres 1
San Diego didn’t get a hit after the third inning.
Milwaukee snaps their 12-game road losing streak in playoff games.
Jake Bauers reached base all four AB’s, and scored a run.
Brewers-Dodgers will play in the NLCS. 

— Oregon Ducks basketball coach Dana Altman quit Wednesday, less than a month before the start of the season. Practice started a while ago; Ducks are playing Montana November 2nd, but now Tony Stubblefield is Oregon’s interim coach.

Altman coached the Ducks for 16 years, with a 382-182 record. His career record is 792-425 in 37 seasons as a head coach.

— Philadelphia Eagles C Cam Jurgens got traded to Baltimore Wednesday.

Ravens sent a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 second-round spick to the Eagles in exchange for Jurgens and a 2027 seventh-rounder.

Eagles RT Lane Johnson retired Monday, so they’ve lost two starters from their offensive line after getting shut out 31-0 in second half of their last two games.

Baltimore has had three centers go on injured reserve already this year, which is why they delay a 2nd round pick for Jurgens.

— Minnesota Vikings signed WR Odell Beckham Jr to their practice squad; WR’s Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are both banged up. There is a chance Beckham will play for the Vikings Sunday in New Orleans.

— Famous birthdays, October 8th:
Chevy Chase, 83
Sigourney Weaver, 77
Tony Eason, 67
Mike Morgan, 67
Matt Damon, 56

Monty Williams, 55
Rashaan Salaam, 52
Nick Allen, 28
Hunter Goodman, 27
Chase DeLauter, 25

— Jacksonville State 27, Kennesaw State 26
Gamecocks drove 60 yards, kicked game-winning FG with 0:52 left.
Kennesaw had 15 penalties for 137 yards, Jax State 11 for 93.
Both teams had two turnovers.
Gamecocks improve to 4-2, Kennesaw is 1-4.

— Florida International 22, New Mexico State 3
FUU only scored one TD, but they kicked five field goals.
FIU was 6-15 on third down, Aggies were 3-12.
Panthers improve to 3-2, New Mexico State is 2-4.

— New York Mets fired three guys:
major league hitting coach
quality assurance coach
batting practice pitcher

They’re blaming their cruddy season on a batting practice pitcher? Seriously? Team with the 2nd highest payroll in the sport finishes in last place, and they fire the batting practice pitcher.

Yikes.

— Alex Cora informed the Phillies he is taking 2027 off, isn’t interested in managing next year. Red Sox owe him $7M next season, so he’s going to sit home and collect it

— Movie of the Day: Good Will Hunting (1997)-  A therapist in Boston counsels a custodian at MIT, who happens to have a genius IQ.

Robin Williams is the counselor, Matt Damon is the custodian. Ben Affleck is one of his friends.

Excellent movie; the scenes with Wiliams/Damon are really good. 

Looking at basketball teams in the Ivy League:
— Penn
Quakers made NCAAs for first time in eight years last year.
Penn has four starters back this season.
Both their wins in the Ivy League tourney last year came in overtime.

— Harvard
Harvard made NCAAs four years in row, from 2012-15.
Crimson hasn’t made it back to the NCAAs since then.
Harvard has 4 starters back from last year’s 17-12/10-4 team.

— Yale
Yale made the NCAAs three of the last five years, upset Auburn in 2024.
PG Mullin is the Bulldogs’ only returning starter.
Yale shot 39.4% behind the arc last year, #3 in country.

— Princeton
Tigers were 9-20 last year, their worst season since 2018.
Princeton has all five starters back; improvement is expected.
Tigers need to shoot better (shot 48.6% inside arc LY, #296)

— Cornell
Big Red is 28-14 in league games the last three years.
Cornell scored 88.5 ppg last year, #6 in country- they lost 3 starters.
Last time Cornell made the NCAAs? 2010.

— Columbia
Lions haven’t been over .500 in Ivy games since 2016.
Columbia has only two starters back this year.
Last year, Lions were #24 team on offensive boards.

— Brown
Coach Martin bolted in July, to be an assistant at Michigan.
Former Portland coach Eric Reveno is the new coach here.
Bears were a terrible offensive team LY (#342 in offensive efficiency)

— Dartmouth
New coach MacConnell was an assistant at Princeton.
Dartmouth has no returning starters from LY’s 11-16/5-9 team.
6-4 guard Williams is a transfer from Niagara. 

— Dodgers 3, Braves 1
Yamamoto struck out 10, gave up four hits in 7 IP.
Freeman, Hernandez homered for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles leads best-0f-5 series 2-1; Game 4 is Wednesday.

— Padres 4, Brewers 3
Michael King got a two-inning save, throwing 40 pitches.
Stellar effort by King, who threw 72 pitches in Sunday’s game.
Jake Cronenworth homered in the 5th to put the Padres ahead, 3-2.
Milwaukee leads series 2-1; home team won all three games.

— Troy State 55, Southern Miss 34
Trojans led 31-7 at halftime.
Troy ran the ball 59 times for 437 yards.
Total yards: Troy 662, Southern Miss 512
Troy won/covered last six series games. 

— Bad news for the Philadelphia Eagles; 36-year old RT Lane Johnson retired to focus on his mental health.

Johnson missed four practices during training camp for personal reasons. He announced upon his return in August that this would likely be his last season in the NFL, with the pull of family life weighing on him. He played 14 years in the NFL, helping the Eagles win two Super Bowls.

Eagles were 122-63-1 when Johnson started, 18-30 when he was not in the lineup.

— New York P Cam Schlittler threw only 76 pitches in Monday’s game, after he threw 117 pitches in his previous start, six days earlier against Boston. 106 pitches had been his previous high in any game this season.

— RIP to Sam McDowell, a really good pitcher for Cleveland, who passed away this week at age 84. Known as Sudden Sam for how hard he threw, he led the AL in strikeouts five times in six years, from 1965-70. His career record was 141-134 in 346 starts; he made six All-Star teams.

RIP, sir.

— Famous birthdays, October 7th:
Judy Landers, 68
Dylan Baker, 67
Charles Woodson, 50
Evan Longoria, 41

Chase Daniel, 40
Mookie Betts, 34
Kyle Muller, 29
Tutu Atwell, 27

— Atlanta Falcons’ last two games:
W35-24, outgained Green Bay 498-328, ran ball for 242 yards.
W45-24, outgained New Orleans 420-320, ran ball for 205 yards.

Falcons are 2-2, have played only one home game, a 34-3 loss to Carolina.

— First byes of the NFL season are this week; little early for the bye week, but Kansas City and Carolina have this weekend. 

Interesting that Colts/Commanders played in London last week, but don’t have a bye this week.

— Next night without an NFL or college football game on TV? December 1st.

— Through four weeks, favorites in NFL divisional games are 3-14 ATS.

— NFL division trends for non-divisional games:
NFC East: 5-4 ATS
NFC North: 5-6 ATS
NFC South: 4-8 ATS, 2-5 at home
NFC West: 5-3-1 ATS

AFC East: 7-6-1 ATS
AFC North: 6-6 ATS
AFC South: 6-7 ATS
AFC West: 5-4 ATS

— College football trends for conference games:
AAC- home teams 7-4 ATS
ACC- home underdogs 7-4 ATS
Big 18- home teams 5-13 ATS
Big X- home teams 3-7 ATS
C-USA- home favorites 3-1 ATS

MAC- home favorites 4-2 ATS
MW- home teams 4-2 ATS
Pac-8- home teams 2-2 ATS
SEC- home favorites 6-5 ATS
Sun Belt- home favorites 3-1 ATS, home underdogs 0-2 ATS

— NBA doesn’t play any games on Election Day; going to be a lot of college games that night, though.

— Weird watching a 76ers-Knicks exhibition game on TV and seeing Lebron James wearing a Phillies cap, sitting on the 76ers bench.

— Zach LaVine plays for the Sacramento Kings; he’s been in the NBA for 12 years, scoring 20.7 ppg. After this season, his career earnings will be $305,806,997. Lot of $$$.

Here’s the thing; in his 12-year career, LaVine has played in four playoff games.

Four.

In 2022, Bulls lost a playoff series 3-1 to Milwaukee, only time he’s made the playoffs.

In his one year at UCLA, Bruins won the Pac-12 tournament, then lost a Sweet 16 game to Florida, which was a #1-seed in that region. 

— Falcons 45, Saints 24
Bijan Robinson ran 59 yards for a TD on the game’s 3rd play.
Falcons’ first seven drives: 45 plays, 352 yards, 31 points.
Atlanta ran the ball 35 times for 205 yards.
Falcons are 7-1 ATS last eight games as a road underdog.

Saints are 1-3, giving up 31-35-45 points in the losses.
Opponents have scored 16 touchdowns on 40 drives.
New Orleans has been outscored 61-26 in first half of games.
Saints are 7-15 ATS in last 22 games coming off a loss.

— White Sox 4, Guardians 3
Braden Montgomery’s 2-run double put the ChiSox ahead in 6th inning.
Burke allowed one hit in his 5.1 IP as a bulk reliever.
White Sox are 4-0 in the playoffs so far, all road wins.
Chicago leads best-of-5 series, 2-0

— Rays 5, New York 2
Tampa Bay scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Richie Palacios’ two-run single made it a 5-1 game.
Ben Rice homered twice for New York’s only runs.
Tampa Bay leads best-of-5 series, 2-0

— Padres closer Mason Miller threw 40 pitches Sunday, when he blew a save in the last inning of Milwaukee’s 4-3 comeback win. That’s the most pitches Miller has thrown in a game this year; he threw 34 pitches at Seattle May 15th, then he didn’t pitch the next two days.

— Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson was walking in a boot Sunday night; Baltimore needs him healthy- they are 73-31 in his last 104 starts, 6-11 in the last 17 games he hasn’t played.

— When UNLV plays a home football game at Allegiant Stadium, they play on the artificial turf field that is the floor of the stadium.

When the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders play a game at Allegiant Stadium, they play the game on a grass field that is stored outside, and is wheeled in for the Raiders’ games. They go through two or three fields a season.

— There are nine international games in the NFL this season; Jaguars play in London the next two Sunday mornings. 

Famous birthdays, October 6th
Tony Dungy, 71
Elisabeth Shue, 63
Ruben Sierra, 61
Jeremy Sisto, 52
Freddy Garcia, 50

Jake Bauers, 31
Bryson Stott, 29
Herbert Jones, 28
Trevor Lawrence, 27
Jonathan Kuminga, 24 

— Tony Romo was making $18M/year at CBS and had four years left on his contract, so his departure had to be really expensive for him. That said, his departure didn’t seem too public or contentious, so he must’ve gotten a good chunk of change to go away.

— NFL season is four weeks old already…….

favorites are 28-32-4 ATS
home teams are 31-29-4 ATS
over/under is 32-32

— NFL leaders in passing yards this year:

1,268- Bryce Young
1,214- Jared Goff
1,189- Matthew Stafford
1,171- Joe Burrow
1,141- CJ Stroud
1,065- Dak Prescott

— South Carolina’s last four SEC football games:

led Texas A&M 30-3, lost 31-30
led Mississippi State 16-0, lost 41-34
lost 49-18 to Alabama
led Kentucky 17-0, lost 35-34 in OT.

— Tampa Bay 3B Junior Caminero started every game at third base this season, the first major leaguer to do that since Vinny Castillo started every game for Colorado in 1998.

— Boston Red Sox scored 689 runs this year, the second-fewest runs they’ve scored in a season since 2000 (excluding 2020). Red Sox went 87-75, made the playoffs, so they had a good year, but you expect more from them offensively.

— NHL salary cap is expected to jump from $104M this year, to $113.5M next season, and then $127.5M in 2028-29, which would be the biggest single season increase in NHL history. 

Rams 24, Eagles 20
Eagles led this game 20-10 at halftime.
Philly’s two touchdown drives: 17 and 35 yards. Very short.
Eagles in second half: 28 plays, 62 yards, no points.
Rams were 7-16 on third down, Eagles were 0-12.

Rams’ last 2 drives: 10 plays, 98 yards, 1-yard TD with 3:59 left
10 plays, 79 yards, 7-yard TD with 1:10 left.
Rams outgained Philadelphia, 415-172.
QB Stafford threw for317 yards, 125 of those to WR Nukua.

Cowboys 34, Texans 30
Houston led 16-6 at halftime.
Dallas in 2nd half: 39 plays, 266 yards, 28 points.
Cowboys drove 74 yards, scored 12-yard TD with 0:40 left.
WR Lamb caught 17 passes for 189 yards and a TD.

Last two games, Dallas allowed 7 TD’s, 5 FG’s on 22 drives.
Texans QB Stroud threw for 247 yards, two TD’s.
Houston is 8-13 ATS last 21 games as a home favorite.
Texans are 0-4, with losses by 5-14-2-4 points.

Colts 30, Commanders 13
RB Taylor ran ball 20 times for 95 yards, two TD’s.
Washington’s #2 QB Mariota (knee) left game in first half.
Washington’s #3 QB Kaliakmanis was 15-33/186 in relief.
Commanders are 6-9 ATS last 15 games as an underdog.

Colts’ first five drives: 20 plays, 37 yards, no points.
Colts rest of game: 46 plays, 245 yards, 30 points.
Washington converted only 2 of 15 third down plays.
Colts are 6-3 ATS last nine games coming off a win.

Giants 36, Cardinals 24
QB Winston threw for 250 yards, three TD’s.
DB Banks sealed the win with a 98-yard pick-6.
Giants were 7-15 on third down, Arizona 4-12.
Giants are 13-8-1 ATS in last 22 games coming off a win.

Both teams turned the ball over three times.
Cardinals are 5-9 ATS in last 14 games coming off a loss.
Cardinals lost last three games, going up 31-36-36 points.
Opponents scored nine TD’s on their last 19 drives.

Patriots 29, Bills 26
Patriots drove 73 yards, threw 23-yard TD pass with 1:50 left.
QB Maye threw for 269 yards, three TD’s.
Patriots are 6-2 ATS in their last eight visits to Buffalo.
Under Vrabel, NE is 5-0 ATS in games coming off a loss.

Buffalo led 17-14 at halftime.
Bills turned ball over seven times in their last two games (minus-4)
Bills are 17-20-1 ATS in last 38 games coming off a win.
Buffalo allowed 372.2 yards/game in their first four games.

Packers 17, Buccaneers 14
QB Love threw for 197 yards, two TD’s.
Trey Smack kicked a 58-yard at the end of first half.
Packers had 10 penalties for 68 yards, were 2-10 on third down.
Green Bay’s last three drives: 14 plays, 105 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.

QB Daniels was 19-27/148 with 2 INTs in his first NFL start.
Bucs lost their first four games, by 6-4-7-3 points.
Tampa Bay is 0-4 for the first time since 2013.
Bucs are 2-11 SU/0-13 ATS in their last thirteen games. 

Bears 23, Jets 12
Chicago’s first two drives: 26 plays, 151 yards, two TD’s.
Bears ran ball 54 times for 232 yards.
Chicago outgained the Jets, 492-157.
#2 QB Bagent was 25-34/268 passing, in his 5th NFL start. 

Jets lost last three games, running ball for only 67-58-59 yards
Jets are 7-13 ATS last 20 games as a road underdog
Jets are 12-22-1 ATS in last 35 games coming off a loss.
Jets are 7-23-1 ATS in their last 31 games vs NFC teams.

Famous birthdays, October 5th:
Rex Chapman, 59
Grant Hill, 54
Jesse Palmer, 48

Travis Kelce, 37
Zack Littell, 31
Lavish Shenault, 28

Jaguars 22, Bengals 17
Jaguars in first half: 28 plays, 69 yards, 13 points.
Jacksonville led 13-3 at halftime.
Jaguars held last 10 regular season foes to 20 or fewer points.
Liam Coen is 16-6 as an NFL head coach.

Jaguars are +6 in turnovers this season.
Bengals outgained Jacksonville, 437-323.
Joe Burrow threw for 428 yards; Bengals ran for only 23 yards.
Jaguars has 13 penalties for 125 yards, Bengals 11 for 108. 

Ravens 24, Titans 18
Ravens QB Jackson (ankle) didn’t play in second half.
Ravens in first half: 34 plays, 236 yards, 24 points.
Ravens in second half: 27 plays, 78 yards, no points.
Baltimore outscored their foes 86-39 in the first half.

Ravens had 13 penalties for 131 yards.
Baltimore outgained the Titans, 384-297.
Tennessee is 0-4, scoring 10-20-18 points.
Robert Saleh is 20-40 as an NFL head coach.

Vikings 15, Dolphins 10
Minnesota kicked 5 FG’s, didn’t score a TD on nine drives.
Vikings outgained the Dolphins, 336-198.
Vikings were 8-18 on third down, Miami 2-9.
Minnesota is 9-0 SU/7-1-1 ATS in its last nine games.

Minnesota TE Hockenson caught 13 passes for 119 yards.
Viking opponents have converted only 12 of 53 third down plays.
Miami lost its first four games, scoring 13-13-10-10 points.
Dolphins gained only 259-284-329-198 yards in those games. 

49ers 24, Broncos 14
Game was tied 3-3 at halftime.
Last three games, Denver was outscored 29-6 in first half.
Under is 6-2 in Denver’s last eight games.
Broncos are 8-12 ATS last 20 games as a road underdog.

49ers’ go-ahead TD came on a 28-yard drive after a fumbled punt.
49ers’ first seven drives: 42 plays, 194 yards, 3 points.
49ers’ last three drives: 23 plays, 176 yards, 21 points.
In their four games, SF has converted 23 of 38 third down plays.

Chiefs 30, Raiders 27
Raiders led 13-10 after three quarters.
Chiefs in 4th quarter: 14 plays, 178 yards, 20 points.
Chiefs won first four games, scoring 31-33-24-30 points.
Chiefs are 11-19-2 in ATS in last 32 games as a road favorite.

Chiefs drove 65 yards, scored 2-yard go-ahead TD with 3:21 left.
Kansas City ran ball 26 times for 189 yards.
Las Vegas QB Cousins threw for 365 yards, two TD’s.
Raiders are 7-4 ATS in last 11 AFC West home games.

Seahawks 30, Chargers 23
Seattle led 20-6 at halftime.
Chargers turned ball over 3 of their first 8 drives.
Seahawks had first half TD drives of 23-65-20 yards.
Bolts’ first three drives of 2nd half: 35 plays, 240 yards, 20 points.

Chargers lost first four games, scoring 14-14-16-23 points.
Overall, Bolts are 0-7 SU/0-6-1 ATS in their last seven games.
Chargers’ QB Herbert threw for 189 yards and a TD.
Seattle had 14 penalties for 150 yards, Chargers 16 for 130.

Panthers 32, Lions 26
Game was tied 16-16 at halftime.
Carolina’s first drive: six plays, four yards, punt
Carolina’s next six drives: 57 plays, 417 yards, 32 points.
Panthers missed two of their four PAT’s. 

Goff threw for 412 yards; Lions ran for only 46 yards.
Detroit gave up 469-446-335-445 yards in its first four games.
Detroit has scored 31-31-31-26 points in its 2-2 start.
All four Lion games went over the total. 

— Unusual NFL fact:
In 18 of their last 20 games, Indianapolis Colts scored the first touchdown of their game.

— USC 25, Washington 21
Huskies led 21-10 midway thru third quarter.
Go-ahead score for the Trojans was a defensive TD.
Washington had 10 penalties for 74 yards; they were 1-15 on 3rd down.

— Kentucky 35, South Carolina 34 OT
Down 34-27 in OT, Wildcats scored TD, then got the walk-off 2-point conversion.
Gamecocks led 20-10 at halftime.
South Carolina ran ball for 232 yards; they were minus-2 in turnovers.

— Purdue 24, Illinois 17
Boilermakers end a 19-game conference losing skid.
Freshman kicker Echeverria kicked three field goals.
Purdue QB Browne threw for 255 yards and a TD.

— Oregon State 56, Colorado State 26
Beavers threw for 427 yards, outgained CSU 650-371.
There’s a chance CSU fired its defensive coordinator during this game. Really.
In their last three games, Rams gave up 41-59-56 points.

— Minnesota 20, Michigan 14
Wolverines lose at Minnesota for first time since 1977.
Michigan ran ball 28 times for only 79 yards.
Total yards: Minnesota 262, Michigan 180

— Upsets of the Week:
Bowling Green (+13.5) 24, Miami OH 20
Purdue (+10) 24, Illinois 17
Temple (+6) 17, South Florida 13
Eastern Michigan (+6) 38, UMass 14
NC State (+5.5) 31, Louisville 28
Minnesota (+5.5) 20, Michigan 14
Missouri (+4.5) 45, Florida 17

— White Sox 3, Guardians 0
Murakami hit a two-run HR in fourth inning.
Five pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout.
Cleveland had bases loaded in third/fourth innings.

— Dodgers 5, Braves 3
Skubal allowed one run, two hits in 6 IP on a 100-degree day.
Hernandez/Tucker homered for the Dodgers.

— Rays 1, Bronx 0
Jonathan Aranda homered in third inning.
Drew Rasmussen allowed one hit, struck out 11 in 8 IP.
Austin Wells doubled in 8th inning, got thrown out at third trying to stretch it into a triple.

18th playoff game ever that ended 1-0, with only run coming on a home run.

— Brewers 3, Padres 2
William Contreras homered in bottom of the 7th for the go-ahead run.
Jacob Misiorowski threw 88 pitches, lasted only four innings.
San Diego fouled off 30 of his 88 pitches.
Last inning, Ty France hit a bomb that would’ve been a home run outdoors, but it hit the ceiling in the dome, and the LF caught it. Ground rule declares that as an out.  

— Famous birthdays, October 4th:
Tony La Russa, 82
Susan Sarandon, 80
John Wathan, 77
AC Green, 63

Liev Schrieber, 59
Kurt Thomas, 54
Kurt Suzuki, 43
Derrick Rose, 38

Dakota Johnson, 37
Sean Murphy, 32
Oneil Cruz, 28
Quinn Mathews, 26

— Air Force 14, Navy 9
Under is 16-6-1 in last 23 games in this rivalry.

— Alabama 56, Mississippi State 23
Miss State turned ball over on first two drives, trailed 14-0 6:30 into game.
Alabama’s last five drives: 33 plays, 325 yards, 35 points.

— Notre Dame 37, North Carolina 26
Bill Belichick with Tom Brady as his starting QB: 249-75

Belichick coaching Cleveland Browns: 37-45
Belichick coaching Patriots without Brady starting: 47-70
Belichick coaching North Carolina: 6-10

— NC State 31, Louisville 28
Wolfpack drove 76 yards, kicked 28-yard FG with 5:30 left.
NC State QB Bailey threw for 373 yards, two TDs.

— Iowa State 45, West Virginia 42
Cyclones drove 74 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:57 left.
Total yardage: Iowa State 577, West Virginia 518
RB Flora ran for 212 yards, 3 TD’s; he also threw 2 TD passes.

— Syracuse 42, UConn 41 OT
Syracuse led 28-14 at halftime.
Syracuse QB Odom threw for 335 yards, five TD’s.
Odom ran in for the walk-off 2-point play in OT.

— UNLV 39, California 31
UNLV QB Arnold threw for 177 yards, ran for 110 more.
He accounted for all five Rebel touchdowns.
UNLV blew a 24-7 lead, scored go-ahead TD with 9:31 left. 

— Pitt 35, Virginia Tech 33
Hokies led 14-0 five minutes into the game.
Tech QB Grunkemeyer threw for 434 yards, 3 TD’s.
Pitt was +4 in turnovers; they’re off to a 5-0 start.
Panther QB Heintschel got hurt in third quarter.

— Northwestern 34, Penn State 13
Wildcats led 24-7 at halftime.
Northwestern outgained Penn State, 505-291.
Wildcats ran ball 52 times for 415 yards.
Nittany Lions ran ball 22 times for 48 yards.

— Liberty 30, Delaware 14
4-1 Flames led 20-0 at halftime.
Liberty was 6-16 on third down, Blue Hens 2-13.
Liberty ran ball 47 times for 282 yards (6.0 yards/carry)

— North Texas 45, Tulsa 44 OT
Game ended very late Thursday night, around 1am.
Tulsa tied game on a 10-yard TD with 0:31 left in regulation.
North Texas QB Jackson threw for 332 yards, four TD’s.
Mean Green outgained Tulsa 559-332; they were minus-3 in turnovers.

— Since 2015, NFL teams who are 0-3 SU are 29-14 ATS in Week 4.

This week, those teams are:
Dolphins +11.5
Buccaneers +4.5
Texans -2.5
Chargers +7
Titans +11.5

— When backup QB Jalon Daniels starts at QB for the Buccaneers Sunday, he’ll be the first Kansas Jayhawk alum to start an NFL game at QB since Frank Seurer in 1987.

— Tony Romo/CBS have parted ways; JJ Watt is now the #1 NFL analyst for CBS. Apparently Romo was making $18M/year.

— Favorites to win the divisional round series in baseball:
Guardians -140
Bronx -120
Dodgers -230
Brewers -180

— Bronx Bombers lost 8 of their last 10 playoff series when they didn’t have the home field edge; they’ve won their last eight series when they had the home field advantage.

Famous birthdays, October 3rd:
Dave Winfield, 75
Dennis Eckersley, 72
Janel Moloney, 57
Anquan Boldin, 46

Courtney Lee, 41
Mike Gesicki, 31
CJ Abrams, 26
CJ Stroud, 25

Our first look at the West Coast basketball conference:
— Saint Mary’s
Coach Bennett is off to Arizona State after 25 years in Moraga.
Gaels made the NCAA’s the last five years, going 3-5.
Saint Mary’s won’t be on TV as much without Gonzaga as a rival.

— Santa Clara
Last five years, Broncos were 58-25 in WCC games
Santa Clara made NCAA’s LY for first time since 1996 (lost to Kentucky in OT)
Three double digit scorers graduated from last year’s team.

— San Francisco
Dons are 39-29 in WCC play since Todd Golden bolted to Florida.
Dons brought in a 6-8 guy from Denmark, a point guard from Israel.
USF doesn’t return anyone who play more than 6 minutes/game LY.

— Pacific
Tigers were 18-15 LY, their second winning season in 12 years.
Pacific poached a point guard who started 93 games at Manhattan.
Only one guy who played a lot last year is still on the team.

— Denver
Junior G Johnson (20.1 ppg LY) is the only returning starter. 
This is the Pioneers’ first season in the WCC.
Denver’s last winning season in Summit League play was in 2013.

— Seattle
Seattle was 8-10 in WCC last year, after bolting from the WAC.
Seattle lost four starters, need to identify where their points will come from.
Last two years, Redhawks were a top 25 team in forcing turnovers.

— Loyola Marymount
Last three years, Lions were 19-33 in WCC games.
LMU hasn’t made NCAAs since their famous 1990 run to the Elite 8
Lions need a starting point guard to emerge.

— Pepperdine
Last five years, Waves were 16-68 in WCC games.
New coach Aldrich made NCAAs twice at Longwood.
6-3 G McClendon’s last three years: played for UCLA, San Jose State, North Texas

— Portland
Portland hasn’t had winning year in WCC play since 2010.
Pilots were 15-19 LY but did upset Gonzaga at home.
3 of last 4 years, Pilots were #276 or worse in 3FG% defense.

— San Diego
Toreros haven’t had winning year in WCC play since 2008.
New coach Blount was an assistant coach at Iowa State.
Opponents shot 58.5% inside arc LY; they need much better defense. 

— Braves 6, Phillies 2
Michael Harris hit a three run-homer in the first inning.
Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies also homered for Atlanta.
Seldom-used P Ray Kerr got the first 10 outs for the Braves.
Braves advance to play the Dodgers, starting Saturday.

— Browns 27, Steelers 24
Browns kicked a 56-yard FG with 0:10 left for the win.
Cleveland led 21-10 at halftime.
Browns’ first five drives: 26 plays, 233 yards, 21 points.
Browns in second half: 35 plays, 151 yards, 6 points.

Cleveland won its last two games, by 4-3-3 points.
Last 4+ years, Browns are 13-6-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 299 yards, with 3 TDs, 2 INTs
DJ Metcalf caught five passes for 115 yards.

— New Mexico State 34, Western Kentucky 13
RB Jones ran ball 20 times for 155 yards and a TD.
Aggies grabbed a 13-3 lead with a 45-yard pick-6 in 2nd quarter.
WKU QB Tisdale threw for 314 yards, but also had that INT.
1-4 Hilltoppers had 11 penalties for 84 yards.

— San Diego State’s football team has a medical issue; they have as many as 14 players who’ve come down with the mumps. Aztecs are scheduled to play Texas State at home Saturday.

— Arizona Diamondbacks gave manager Torey Lovullo a two-year contract after his team went 86-76 this season. Arizona finished over .500 three of the last four years, but they haven’t made the playoffs since winning the NL pennant in 2023.

— Houston Astros have lost their last nine home playoff games.

— With the NCAA basketball tournament increasing to 76 teams this season, the NIT will shrink from 32 to 24 teams. 

Famous birthdays, October 2nd:
Lorraaine Bracco, 72
Dave Beard, 67
Mark Rypien, 64
Steve McLaughlin, 55

Aaron McKie, 54
Tyson Chandler, 44
Joe Ingles, 39
Lance McCullers Jr., 33

Our first look at the Mountain West basketball conference:
— Grand Canyon
Antelopes have won 20+ games the last five years.
Grand Canyon missed NCAAs LY, for first time in four years.
Antelopes added 6-1 G Darling, a transfer from St John’s.

— UNLV
Rebels haven’t made the NCAAs since 2013.
UNLV had six coaches the last 12 years; Pastner was 18-17/11-9 in his first year LY.
Rebels added good players, but they’ve got only two guys back from last year.

— Nevada
Coach Alford is retiring after this year; he haas 646 career wins.
Nevada missed NCAAs seven of last nine years; their last NCAA win? 2018.
Key addition for Wolf Pack: PG Styles Phipps, a PG from Pepperdine.

— New Mexico
New Mexico went 26-11 LY, with an entirely new roster.
Lobos have 101 wins the last four years, going 48-28 in the MW.
Frosh G Jake Hall shot 43.2% behind the arc LY, making 112 3-pointers.

— Wyoming
Last four years, Cowboys are 26-50 in conference games.
This year, Wyoming returns four of its top six scorers from LY.
Cowboys need to shoot better; they shot 33% behind arc LY.

— Hawaii
Rainbows were 24-9 LY, making NCAAs in their last year in the Big West.
Hawaii added 10 new players this year, as they jump up in class.
Last year, Hawaii had the #19 eFG% defense in the country.

— San Jose State
Last three years, Spartans are 12-46 in Mountain West games.
Last spring, donors formed a NIL fund with $4M in it.
For third year in row, San Jose will have an entirely new starting 5.
With increased NIL $$$, San Jose coaches think players will stick around.

— Cal-Davis
Last 4 years, Cal-Davis went 45-34 in Big West, but only 2-4 in Big West tourney.
Aggies haven’t made NCAA Tournament since 2017.
Cal-Davis added four transfers and three international recruits.

— Texas-El Paso
Last four years, Miners went 28-46 in Conference USA.
UTEP hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2010.
Miners want to play faster; they have almost an entirely new roster.

— Air Force
Former Penn State assistant Joe Crispin is the new coach here.
Air Force is apparently going to press and play a faster pace.
Falcons have all five starters and 98% of its scoring back from LY.

— Not a whole lot of drama Thursday in the Wild Card round of the playoffs; Phillies-Braves is the only series that has a Game 3.

By the way, in the playoffs, there are no ghost runners in extra innings- they play real baseball.

— Phillies 4, Braves 3 (10)
Alec Bohm hit a home run in the 10th inning.
Schwarber/Harper hit back/back HR’s to tie game in 8th inning.
Tyler Mahle allowed one run in 7 IP for the Braves.

— White Sox 6, Astros 3
Chicago got four runs off Hunter Brown in first inning.
Chase Meidroth homered, had three RBI.
White Sox-Guardians are the matchup in the next round.

Last three years, White Sox were 61-101/41-121/60-102, just a tremendous job by manager Will Venable and the White Sox front office.

— New York 9, Red Sox 0
9-0/9-2 losses to their rival; rough end to the season for Boston.
Cody Bellinger homered, had four RBI.
New York-Tampa Bay is the matchup in the next round.

— Padres 4, Cubs 1
Gavin Sheets pinch-hit a 2-run homer in 4th inning.
Five San Diego pitchers did the job; Nick Pivetta got 10 outs.
San Diego has won 19 of its last 22 games.
Padres-Brewers is the matchup in the next round.

Was pretty cool Tuesday night when Joe Musgrove pitched the 9th inning, his first appearance in a big league game in two years.

— Dallas Cowboys traded a 2nd round and a 6th round draft pick to the Steelers in exchange for CB Joey Porter, as they try to fortify a defense that has given up 82 points in three games.

— Wednesday was the last day until December 1st without an NFL or Division I college football game. 61 straight days, and college hoop starts in the middle of that stretch. 

Famous birthdays, October 1st:
Julie Andrews, 91
Rod Carew, 81
Alton Lister, 68
Mark McGwire, 63
Zach Galifianakis, 57

Brie Larson, 37
Robbie Ray, 35
Xander Bogaerts, 34
Otto Lopez, 28
Jordan Whittington, 26

Our first look at the re-structured Pac-9 basketball conference:
— Gonzaga
Going to miss the Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s games late at night.
Last five years, Zags are 9-5 in NCAA Tournament.
This year’s Gonzaga team isn’t as deep as usual.

— San Diego State
Aztecs-Gonzaga should become an excellent rivalry.
Six of their players bolted to bigger $$$ teams.
San Diego State missed NCAAs last year for first time since 2019.

— Utah State
Ben Jacobson is Utah State’s 6th head coach in 13 years.
All this despite fact that Aggies’ last losing season was 2017.
Last four years, Utah State was 109-31, 57-19 in league games.

— Oregon State
Beavers were 19-17 in the WCC the last two years; now they’ve got a new coach, Justin Joyner who was an assistant coach on Michigan’s national title team.

Oregon State has only one returning starter from LY’s 17-16 team. New coach, new roster makes for a lot of questions to answer.

Beavers have four players between 6-11 and 7-2 tall.

— Colorado State
Rams went 10-8/16-4/11-9 in Mountain West the last three years.
Rams are only Pac-9 team bringing back three starters from last year.
Problem is, the two starters who are gone were their best two players.

— Boise State
Went 26-14 in Mountain West last 2 years, but missed NCAAs both times.
Broncos lost three starters, but added six transfers from smaller leagues.
Leon Rice has made five NCAAs coaching Boise, but he’s 0-5 in tourney games.

— Washington State
Wazzu lost just about its whole roster; they were 12-20, so no big deal.
Coogs were 4-9 last year, in games decided by 7 or fewer points.
Wazzu gave up 77.5 ppg last year; that needs to improve. 

— Fresno State
Fresno doesn’t have any players who played a minute for Fresno last year.
Fresno slowed tempo LY from #32 to #136; they’ve got lot of international players.
Last four years, Bulldogs are 19-57 in conference games.

— Texas State
Bobcats are in Pac-9 because of football; their last NCAA Tournament was 1997.
Texas State was in bottom 5 in country last year on defensive boards.
Bobcats kept their best two guys, added transfers; they may have a good NIL program.

— NCAA Tournament will have 76 teams this year, which will be weird.

— Braves 5, Phillies 3
Austin Riley hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 8th.
Phillies had taken a 3-2 lead on JT Realmuto’s 2-run triple in the 7th.
Jesus Luzardo gave up a run and three hits in his five IP.

— White Sox 6, Astros 3
Chicago led 3-0 in the second inning.
#7-9 hitters for White Sox were 5 for 11, scoring 3 runs with 2 RBI.
Astros used 8 pitchers; no one threw more than 37 pitches.

— New York 9, Red Sox 0
This game was 2-0 in the seventh inning.
Cam Schlittler got 19 outs, threw 117 pitches, gave up two hits.
Ben Rice homered twice, drove in six runs.

— Padres 8, Cubs 0
Michael King didn’t give up a hit until the 7th inning.
Fernando Tatis Jr homered, scored three runs.
San Diego has won 18 of its last 21 games. 

— San Diego RF Fernando Tatis Jr hit 25 home runs this season; he didn’t hit his first one until the Padres’ 55th game. He was on quite a heater the second half of the year.

— Miami P Sandy Alcantara pitched 214 innings this year, starting 36 games while also getting three saves late in the season. 

He is the first pitcher since Jerry Reuss in 1980 to get 3+ saves in a season, while also pitching 200+ innings that year.

— Giancarlo Stanton is on New York’s active roster this week; he hasn’t played in a game since April 24th.

— There is a guy who hosts a fantasy baseball podcast on YouTube who was saying Monday night that he was in 17 fantasy baseball leagues this season. 17!!!!

I’m in one fantasy league and I probably spend too much time on it, but it is fun. Can’t even imagine keeping track of 17 different leagues every day for six months. 

Famous birthdays, September 30th:
Angie Dickinson, 95
Brad Oates, 73
Eric Stoltz, 65

Dave Magadan, 64
Eric Piatkowski, 56
Kenley Jansen, 39

Aaron Holiday, 30
Jesus Luzardo, 29
Sam Ehlinger, 28

Our first look this season at some college basketball knowledge…….

— Last November, USC beat Arizona State in the final of the Maui Classic; neither team made the NCAA Tournament last season, making it the first time this century that neither team in the Maui final made the NCAA’s. 

Since 2000, eight Maui champs made the Final Four that year; only two teams who lost the Maui final made the Final Four that year (Kentucky 2010/Kansas 2011).

— Last four years, UConn is 18-2 in NCAA tournamkents, making the title game three times, winning two of those. Huskies are less experienced this year, but they usually figure things out.

— Michael Malone is the new coach at North Carolina; he won an NBA title coaching the Denver Nuggets four years ago. Very unusual for the Tar Heels to go outside their alumni for a coach.

— Last two years, Rick Pitino’s St John’s team is 61-12, 36-4 in Big East games, but only 2-3 in NCAA Tournament games. Red Storm was a #2/#5 seed those two seasons.

— In four years coaching Duke, Jon Scheyer is 124-25, 65-13 in ACC games, 11-4 in NCAA Tourney games, but only 1-2 in Elite 8 games. Duke hasn’t won the NCAA Tournament since 2015; they were the #312 experience team last year.

— Villanova/Kevin Willard added five transfers this year, all of who averaged 13+ points/game this past season.

— Boston College hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2009; their new coach is former UConn assistant Luke Murray, son of the great comedian/actor Bill Murray. 

— Bears 27, Eagles 7
Starting for first time in 3 years, QB Keenum was 24-34/247 passing
WR Raymond caught six passes for 90 yards and a TD.
RB Swift carried ball 20 times for 84 yards.
Bears were +3 in turnovers.

Eagles turned ball over on two of first three drives.
QB Hurts got banged up; backup Dalton threw INT in end zone.
Eagles in second half: 20 plays, 42 yards, no points.
Chicago outgained the Eagles, 375-248

— If the baseball playoffs started Tuesday (they do):
Phillies @ Braves (NBC)
White Sox @ Astros (NBC Sports Network/Peacock)
Red Sox @ Bronx (NBC)
Cubs @ San Diego (NBC Sports Network/Peacock)

YouTube TV has NBC Sports Network.

— Minnesota Vikings traded QB JJ McCarthy to the Giants for a 5th round draft pick; with Jaxson Dart out for the year, Giants need a QB. McCarthy was drafted in 2024 but was hurt and didn’t play; he was 6-4 in ten starts for Minnesota last year.

— Giants’ LB Brian Burns suffered a torn ACL Sunday and is out for the year; he had a career-high 16.5 sacks for the Giants last year.

— Interesting matchup in Minnesota this week; 0-3 Dolphins visit 3-0 Vikings.

Brian Flores is Minnesota’s defensive coordinator; he was Miami’s head coach from 2019-21, going 24-25, never making the playoffs. He sued the Dolphins, the NFL and two other teams, claiming racial discrimination in hiring practices.

— Sunday in Tampa, Cubs’ 3B Alex Bregman homered twice, while playing with multiple fractures to his cheekbones. Bregman wound up the season with 28 home runs, 93 RBI in his first year with the Cubs.

— In his career, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez has batted 38 times with the bases loaded:
He walked three three times.
He hit three sacrifice flies.
In the other 32 at-bats, he is 2 for 32. Not good.

Famous birthdays, September 29th:
Ian McShane, 84
Steve Busby, 77
Warren Cromartie, 73
Tim Flannery, 69

Craig Lefferts, 69
Andrew Dice Clay, 69
John Paxson, 66
Erika Eleniak, 57

Zachary Levi, 46
Calvin Johnson, 41
Kevin Durant, 38
Luis Campusano, 28

— Nebraska’s football team is 4-0 for the first time since 2016.

— UMass football team is 4-0 this year, with a win at Rutgers; last year, they were 0-12, very impressive turnaround engineered by coach Joe Harasymiak. It must be noted that two of their wins were against I-AA teams.

— NFL division ATS trends, in non-divisional games:

NFC East 2-4 ATS
NFC North 4-4 ATS
NFC South 3-7 ATS, 0-4 at home
NFC West 3-2-1 ATS

AFC East 6-5-1 ATS, 4-1 at home
AFC North 5-4 ATS, 3-1 at home
AFC South 5-6 ATS
AFC West 5-3 ATS

— In college football……
Home teams are 7-0 ATS AAC conference games.
Home teams are 1-9 ATS in Big 18 conference games.
SEC home favorites are 5-3 ATS in conference games. 

— College football non-conference trends:
AAC underdogs are 15-7 ATS
AAC favorites are 3-7 ATS

ACC home favorites are 6-8 ATS

Big X favorites are 8-13 ATS

C-USA teams are 20-9 ATS

MAC teams are 8-22 ATS

Mountain West underdogs are 4-7 ATS

Pac-8 favorites are 7-2 ATS

SEC favorites are 17-12 ATS

Sun Belt home favorites are 3-5 ATS