Armadillo Sports

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

Wednesday- Open at 6:00 Wednesday-Friday this week
Thursday- Open Mike Night, 7:00
Friday- Karaoke at 8:00
Saturday- Live music at 8:00…….

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

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Monday’s 6-pack
Since 2010, NFL teams with the best records in Week 1:
13-3— Eagles
11-5— Chiefs, 49ers
10-6— Ravens, Packers, Patriots
9-7— Rams, Bills, Broncos, Chargers, Vikings, Seahawks
9-6— Buccaneers, Dolphins
8-7-1— Cardinals, Lions, Texans

Quote of the Day
“Winning helps, and losing doesn’t.”
Bill Parcells

Monday’s quiz
Mets 2B Marcus Semien has been in the major leagues for 14 years; what team did he break into the big leagues with?

Sunday’s quiz
Clint Hurdle was managing the Pittsburgh Pirates, last time they made the playoffs.

Saturday’s quiz
2013 Chicago Blackhawks are the last NHL team to win the Stanley Cup, after having the league’s best record during the regular season. 

— Major League Baseball has to be happy with this Rivalry Weekend thing they do now; kind of reinforces the idea that geographic realignment would also be a good idea.

— Mets 7, Bronx 6 (10)
Bronx led 5-1 in the sixth inning.
Mets tied game with three runs in ninth inning.
Mets had lost 131 games in a row when they trailed by 3+ runs in the 9th inning or later.

— Phillies 6, Pirates 0
Zach Wheeler tossed seven shutout IP.
Phillies are 15-4 since they changed managers.
Pirates got shut out last two days, after losing 11-9 Friday.

— Rays 6, Marlins 3
Caminero, Diaz homered for the Rays.
Tampa Bay has won 18 of its last 22 games.
Marlins are 14-12 at home, 7-14 on the road.

— Royals 2, Cardinals 0
Stephen Kolek allowed four hits in 6.1 IP.
Salvador Perez homered, knocked in both runs.
Royals snapped their six-game losing skid.

— Dodgers 10, Angels 1
Roki Sasaki struck out eight in seven IP.
Dodgers swept the Angels, outscoring them 31-3.
Angels lost eight of their last nine games.

— White Sox 9, Cubs 8 (10)
Edgar Quero, hitting .176, had a walk-off home run.
White Sox went 7-2 on this homestand.
Pale Hose are 24-22; at one point last year, they were 23-52.

— Famous birthdays, May 18th
Reggie Jackson, 80
Harmon Wages, 80
Tina Fey, 56
Donyell Marshall, 53

Reggie Evans, 46
Clint Capela, 32
Chase Silseth, 26
Travis Hunter, 23

— Cavaliers 125, Pistons 94
Cavaliers led 64-47 at halftime.
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, had 8 assists.
Cleveland advances to the Eastern Conference final, against the Knicks.

This was only fourth time ever that a series went seven games, when both teams played a seven-game series in their previous series.

— Rangers 8, Astros 0
Jake Burger homered, had four RBI.
Nathan Eovaldi allowed five hits in seven IP.
Astros are 19-29, 6-12 vs their AL West rivals.

— Twins 5, Brewers 4
Kody Clemens doubled twice, had two RBI
Yelich, Mitchell homered for Milwaukee.
Brewers are 26-18, 11-9 on the road. 

— Braves 8, Red Sox 1
Grant Holmes pitched six shutout innings.
Austin Riley hit a three-run homer.
Atlanta has played 15 series; they’re 13-1-1 in those series.

— Guardians 10, Reds 3
Kyle Manzardo homered twice, had three RBI.
Cincinnati has lost nine of last ten road games.
Guardians lead the AL Central by a game over the White Sox.

— Blue Jays 4, Tigers 1
Kevin Gausman tossed six shutout innings.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr homered, scored two runs.
Tyler Rogers got his first save in two years.

— UFL standings, after eight weeks:
6-2- Orlando
5-3- DC Defenders
5-3- St Louis
4-4- Birmingham
4-4- Louisville
3-5- Dallas
3-5- Houston
2-6- Columbus

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Brewers-Cardinals-Padres
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: New York-White Sox-Rangers

— Phillies 6, Pirates 0
Cristopher Sanchez struck out 13 in his complete game.
Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer in the first inning. 
Phillies are 14-4 since they changed managers.

— Marlins 10, Rays 5 (10)
Marlins scored eight runs in the 10th inning.
Loss snaps Tampa Bay’s 11-game home winning streak.
Miami’s Liam Hicks leads MLB, with 40 RBI.

— Red Sox 3, Braves 2
Willson Contreras hit a 2-run homer in the 8th inning.
Payton Tolle allowed four hits in his eight IP.
Red Sox are 15-1 when their starting pitcher goes 6+ IP.

— Mets 6, Bronx 3
Carson Benge had three hits, scored two runs.
Mets won four of their last five games.
Bronx lost six of its last eight games.

— White Sox 8, Cubs 3
Munetaka Murakami homered twice, now has 17 home runs.
Murakami had been 3 for 19 in his previous six games.
White Sox are 23-22, would be in the playoffs if they started today.

— Guardians 7, Reds 4
Angel Martinez hit a two-run homer in the 7th inning.
Cleveland won four of its last five games.
Over is 7-2 in Cincinnati’s last nine games.

— Brewers 2, Twins 1
Jackson Chourio hit the go-ahead homer in the sixth inning.
Chad Patrick pitched four scoreless IP to earn his first save.
Brewers are 26-17, with 13 come-from-behind wins.

Famous birthdays, May 17th:
Paige Turco, 61
Danny Manning, 60
Hubert Davis, 56
Jose Guillen, 50
Carlos Pena, 48

Tony Parker, 44
Matt Cassel, 44
Austin Ekeler, 31
Frank Ragnow, 30
TJ Rumfield, 26

— Padres 7, Mariners 4
Rodolfo Duran’s first major league hit was a home run.
Five relievers got the last 12 outs for San Diego.
Padres are 5-0 against Seattle this season.

— Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1 (10)
Yohendrick Pinango tied the game with a 7th inning homer.
Casey Mize left with a 1-0 lead, giving up two hits in six IP.
Detroit is 20-26, but only 1.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.

— Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 2
Jake McCarthy had two hits and an RBI against his old team.
In his last 18 games, McCarthy is hitting .375.
Mickey Moniak had two RBI, now has 28 this season.

— Nationals 13, Orioles 3
Keibert Ruiz homered, drove in five runs.
Nationals are 23-23, at .500 for first time in two years.
Washington had lost its previous 15 games when they were a game under .500.

— Astros 4, Rangers 1
Four of Houston’s five hits were solo home runs.
Texas was 1-10 with RISP, left 13 men on base.
Texas scored one run in the two games since Corey Seager (back) left the lineup.

— The NFL Draft is over, the schedule is released, so Aaron Rodgers finally announced that he’ll be back with the Steelers this fall, playing for his old coach with Green Bay, Mike McCarthy.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Brewers-Cardinals-Padres
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: New York-White Sox-Mariners

— 11 years ago today my dad passed away, a very cruddy night. My dad was a great guy; honest, fair, the best father a kid could have.

He grew up in New York City but wound up in Albany; he loved the Brooklyn Dodgers, so I learned at a very young age never to say the name “O’Malley” (they moved the Dodgers out of Brooklyn). He was a big fan of the Mets/Knicks, loved playing golf, and enjoyed going to the horse races at Saratoga. 

We miss him every day, that’s for sure.

— Phillies 11, Pirates 9 (10)
Pittsburgh led 8-3 in the 7th inning.
Phillies scored three runs in the 9th, three more in the 10th.
Phillies are 13-4 in their last seventeen games.

— Braves 3, Red Sox 2 (10)
Mike Yastrzemski had a walk-off single against team his Hall of Famer grandfather starred for.
Braves are 15-7 at home; they’ve won five of last six games.
Drake Baldwin/Michael Harris both homered for Atlanta.

— Nationals 3, Orioles 2
Zach little tossed five shutout IP for Washington.
Daylen Lile homered for the 4th time in his last four games.
Sellout crowd of 38,912 watched this game; it was also Hot Dog Night.

— Bronx 5, Mets 2
Ben Rice was 3-for-5, hit his 14th homer, scored two runs.
Mets P Holmes broke a shinbone when hit by a line drive in 4th inning.
Juan Soto hit his 250th career home run.

— Astros 2, Rangers 0
Spencer Arrighetti took a no-hitter into the 8th inning.
Isaac Paredes homered for the Astros.
Corey Seager, mired in a 6-for-62 slump, was given a mental health day off.

— A’s 5, Giants 2
Nick Kurtz homered for the third game in a row.
Hogan Harris got his third save for the first place A’s.
Luis Arraez had four hits, homered for the Giants, who are 8-15 on the road.

— Cardinals 5, Royals 4 (11)
Yohel Pozo had the walk-off single for St Louis.
Jordan Walker had three hits, including his 13th home run.
Royals have lost seven of their last nine games.

Famous birthdays, May 16th:
Danny Trejo, 82
Rick Reuschel, 77
Rick Rhoden, 73
Pierce Brosnan, 73

Jack Morris, 71
Debra Winger, 71
John Salley, 62
Thurman Thomas, 60

Jim Mecir, 56
Megan Fox, 40
Gardner Minshew, 30
Luis Garcia Jr., 26

— When the Orioles won 7-0 Wednesday night, it was their first shutout of the year. They had been the only team not to post a shutout this season.

— Back in 2012, there was a high school baseball team in Los Angeles that had a pretty good pitching stuff. Jack Flaherty, Max Fried, Lucas Giolito were all on the same team, three freakin’ major leaguers on the same high school team.

— Shohei Ohtani has been slumping at the plate; he didn’t hit when he pitched Wednesday, then he didn’t hit or pitch Thursday, took the whole night off. He was 1-for-4 with a walk in Friday’s 6-0 win over the Angels in Anaheim.

— Hitting is more difficult now:

When Roger Maris 61 home runs in 1961, he only played against nine other teams, faced only 101 pitchers that season.

When Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs in 2022, he played against 20 different teams, faced a total of 256 pitchers that season.

— There are ten new head coaches in the NFL this coming season; that’s a lot.

— Week 1 NFL spreads:
Patriots @ Seattle (-3.5)
49ers vs Rams (-2.5) (@ Australia)
Saints @ Detroit (-7)
Bears (-2.5) @ Carolina

Bulls (-1.5) @ Houston
Jets @ Tennessee (-3)
Buccaneers @ Cincinnati (-3.5)
Browns @ Jacksonville (-7)

Ravens (-3.5) @ Indianapolis
Falcons @ Pittsburgh (-3)
Cardinals @ Chargers (-11.5)
Dolphins @ Las Vegas (-3)

Packers (-1.5) @ Minnesota
Commanders @ Philadelphia (-5.5)
Cowboys (-2.5) @ NJ Giants
Broncos @ Kansas City (-2.5)

Quick thoughts after looking at the 2026 NFL schedule……..

NFC East
Cowboys
Dallas plays the Ravens in Brazil in Week 3.
Six primetime games, plus Thanksgiving game against the Eagles.
Games vs Washington are Week 2 and Week 18

Giants
First two games are in primetime: Week 1 vs Dallas, Week 2 @ Rams
Overall, they have four primetime games.
Three of their first four games are at home.

Eagles
Play the Jaguars in London in Week 5.
Have three straight home games, Weeks 14-16.
Five primetime games, plus a Thanksgiving game in Dallas.

Commanders
Open season with divisional road games, at Eagles, Cowboys.
Play the Colts in London in Week 4.
Dan Quinn hosts his old team, the Falcons, in Week 15. 

NFC North
Bears
Have three straight home games, Week 2-4
Have three straight primetime games, Weeks 7-9
Last three games are against their NFC North rivals.

Lions
Play the Patriots in Germany in Week 10
Three of their four primetime games are on the road.
Only six of their 17 games are outdoors, but Weeks 17-18 are (Bears/Packers)

Packers
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Three of their first four home games are in primetime.
Four of last five games are home, with the road game in Chicago. Brrrr…..

Vikings
Playing the 49ers in Mexico City in Week 11.
Only two road tilts after that: cold weather games at Patriots, Jets.
Games against Chicago are in Weeks 2, 18.

NFC South
Falcons
Coach Stefanski visits his old team (Cleveland) in Week 14.
Play the Bengals in Spain in Week 9.
Have three straight primetime games, in Weeks 3-5. 

Panthers
Four of their last five games are at home.
Games against Atlanta are in Weeks 2, 18.
Have a Thursday night game at Green Bay in Week 8.

Saints
Open season with road games, at Detroit, Baltimore.
Play the Steelers in France in Week 7.
Two games vs Tampa Bay are in Weeks 15, 18.

Buccaneers
Three of their first four games are at home.
Bucs host Baker Mayfield’s old team (Cleveland) in Week 2.
Only one cold weather game: Week 14 at Baltimore. 

NFC West
Cardinals
No primetime games; NFL has low expectations for them.
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Games against the 49ers are in Weeks 3, 18.

Rams
Open the season in Australia against San Francisco.
Four of their first five games are in primetime.
Host Green Bay on a Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving.

49ers
After the Australia opener, 49ers play at home Weeks 2-4.
49ers play Minnesota in Mexico City in Week 11.
Three of their last four games are on the road. 

Seahawks
Seattle opens season with a Super Bowl rematch vs New England.
Have three straight primetime games, Week 6-8
Games against the Rams are in Weeks 16, 18. 

Famous birthdays, May 15th:
Don Nelson, 86
Lainie Kazan, 86
Billy North, 78
George Brett, 73

John Smoltz, 59
Emmitt Smith, 57
Desmond Howard, 56
AJ Hinch, 52

Justin Morneau, 45
Michael Brantley, 39
Kody Clemens, 30
Cole Anthony, 26

AFC East
Bills
Open their new stadium with a Week 2 Thursday game vs Detroit.
Have six primetime games, three at home, three on road.
Have playoff rematch with the Broncos on Christmas in Denver.

Dolphins
Open season with West Coast trips, at Las Vegas/San Francisco.
New coach Jeff Hafley visits his old team, the Packers, in Week 15.
Miami has December/January games in Denver, Green Bay, Foxboro.

Patriots
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Play the Lions in Germany in Week 10.
After a bye, they play the Chargers in LA in Week 12.

Jets
No primetime games for Gang Green; only two 4:00 games.
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Geno Smith hosts his old team, the Raiders, in Week 8.

AFC North
Ravens
Ravens play the Cowboys in Brazil, in Week 3.
Games against the Steelers are in Weeks 15, 18
Baltimore’s last four games are all vs division rivals.

Bengals
Bengals play the Falcons in Spain in Week 9.
Have primetime games the two weeks after the game in Madrid.
Games against Cleveland are in Weeks 13, 18

Browns
Open season with two games in Florida, at Jaguars, Buccaneers.
Weeks 7-9, have 3 straight road games: Titans, Steelers, Saints.
Play three of their last four games on the road.

Steelers
Play the Saints in France in Week 7.
Finish the season with road games, at Tennessee/Baltimore.
Four primetime games; they’re expecting Aaron Rodgers to eventually show up.
Three of the four AFC North teams have new head coaches.

AFC South
Texans
Open season with home games, vs Buffalo, Cincinnati.
Have playoff rematch at Pittsburgh in Week 13.
Play the Jaguars in London in Week 6.

Colts
Play the Commanders in England in Week 4.
Come right back the next week, with a game in Pittsburgh.
Have two primetime games, both on road (Chiefs, Texans)

Jaguars
Will be in London in Weeks 5-6 (vs Eagles, Texans)
Weeks 9-11, have 3 straight road games (at Ravens, Titans, Giants)
Three of their last four games are on the road.

Titans
HC Robert Saleh hosts his old team, the Jets, in Week 1.
OC Brian Daboll visits his old team, the Giants, in Week 3.
Four of their last five road games are in domed stadiums.

AFC West
Broncos
Open season with a Monday night road game in Kansas City.
Have Black Friday afternoon game in Pittsburgh in Week 12.
Have playoff rematch with New England in Week 17.

Chiefs
Open season with home games, vs Broncos, Colts.
Week 5 bye is early, probably good with Mahomes coming off knee surgery.
Weeks 12-14, are on road 3 weeks in row (at Bills, Rams, Bengals)

Raiders
Have only three games outside of the western time zone.
Weeks 14-16, have three straight home games.
No primetime games, league has low expectations.

Chargers
Open season with home games, vs Cardinals, Raiders.
Have a “road game” at the Rams at SoFi, in Week 8.
Jim Harbaugh’s team plays the Ravens, who canned his brother, in Week 10.

— Blue Jays 5, Rays 3 (10)
Daulton Varsho hit a walk-off grand slam for Toronto.
Game was scoreless thru six innings.
Just Tampa Bay’s third loss in their last 19 games.

— Rangers 6, Diamondbacks 5
Both teams scored three runs in the ninth inning.
Danny Jansen had the walk-off single for Texas.
Arizona is 12-9 at home, 8-13 on the road.

— Mets 3, Tigers 2 (10)
Rookie Carson Benge had the walk-off single for the Mets.
Juan Soto fouled a ball off his ankle, left the game; x-rays were negative.
Detroit is 12-6 at home, 7-18 on the road.

In only 42 games, Mets have already had 11 different guys hit third in the order.

— Padres 3, Brewers 1
Gavin Sheets hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning.
Jacob Misiorowski struck out 10 in seven shutout IP.
Mason Miller got his 13th save for the Padres.

— Guardians 4, Angels 2
SS Zach Neto batted leadoff in the Angels’ first 43 games; he batted 6th in this game, and went 2-for-3, with a home run and a walk.

— White Sox 6, Royals 5
Colson Montgomery was 3-for-4 with a home run.
Chicago is 15-8 in its last 23 games.
White Sox are at .500 after May 1st for the first time in four years.

— Braves 4, Cubs 1
Atlanta scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th.
Braves are 30-13, the best record in the major leagues.
Cubs lost their last four games, scoring total of three runs.

— Dodgers 4, Giants 0
Shohei Ohtani allowed four hits in seven shutout IP.
Mookie Betts/Santiago Espinal homered for the Dodgers.
Dodgers are half-game behind San Diego in the NL West.

— Famous birthdays, May 14th:
Dennis Martinez, 72
Mike Quick, 67
Walter Berry, 62
Pooh Richardson, 60
Sofia Coppola, 55

Rob Gronkowski, 37
Kyle Freeland, 33
James Outman, 29
Brenton Doyle, 28
Zach Edey, 24

— Until 1967, the NHL was a six-team league, then for the 1967-68 season, the league doubled to 12 teams, with the six expansion teams making up the West Division, the Original Six teams were the East Division. 

That first year, none of the expansion teams were over .500; Philadelphia Flyers beat out the LA Kings by a point in the regular season, but the 3rd-place St Louis Blues advanced through to the NHL Finals, where they got swept four straight by Montreal. 

In fact, St Louis made it to the NHL Finals the first three years they existed, but went 0-12 in those three Finals series, losing to Montreal twice and Boston Bruins in 1970.

— The season before, the last time the NHL was a six-team league, Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup. They haven’t won it since.

— Philadelphia 76ers fired president of basketball operations Daryl Morey; they’re keeping coach Nick Nurse. 76ers had a 270-212 record during the six years Morey led the team, but they didn’t get past the second round of the playoffs.

76ers haven’t been to the Eastern Conference finals since 2001.

— Cavaliers 117, Pistons 113 (OT)
Detroit led 103-94 with less than 3:00 to play.
James Harden had 30 points, six assists for the Cavaliers.
Cade Cunningham scored 39 points, had nine assists for Detroit.
Cleveland leads the series, 3-2

— Broncos are playing at Kansas City on Monday night in Week 1 in September.

— Packers @ Rams will be played the night before Thanksgiving at SoFi Stadium, giving the teams a pair of 11-day breaks in between games. NFL games on Wednesday is…….weird. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Padres. Wild Cards: Brewers, Dodgers, Cardinals
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: Bronx, Rangers, White Sox

— Twins 3, Marlins 0
Bailey Ober threw a 89-pitch, two-hit, complete game shutout
It is only the third complete game in the majors this year.
First run scored on a double steal where the Marlins IF screwed up, and then the batter who was up hit a two-run homer.

— Pirates 3, Rockies 1
Paul Skenes didn’t allow a hit until the 7th inning.
Skenes is 6-2, 1.98 so far this season.
Colorado drops to 16-26, 8-15 on the road.

— Rays 7, Blue Jays 6 (10)
Tampa Bay led 5-0 in the seventh inning.
Rays have won 16 of their last 18 games.
In his last four starts, Shane McClanahan hasn’t allowed a run in 21.2 IP.

— Nationals 10, Reds 4
Daylen Lile, Luis Garcia both his two home runs for Washington.
Nationals are 14-9 on the road, 6-13 at home.
Cincinnati has lost nine of its last 11 games.

— Mariners 10, Astros 2
Dominic Canzone hit his first career grand slam.
Seattle has won its last nine games against the Astros.
Houston has lost 10 of its last 12 home games.

— Mets 10, Tigers 2
Rookie AJ Ewing’s first MLB hit was a triple, the first Met ever to do that.
Freddy Peralta survived a shaky start, gave up two runs in 6 IP.
Detroit is a MLB-worst 7-17 on the road. 

— Braves 5, Cubs 2
Dom Smith went 4-for-4, scored two runs.
Chicago’s only hit was an Alex Bregman home run.
Cubs lost their last three games, scoring total of two runs.

— Famous birthdays, May 13th:
Harvey Keitel, 87
Bobby Valentine, 76
Dennis Rodman, 65
Stephen Colbert, 62

Jose Rijo, 61
Trajan Langdon, 50
Barry Zito, 48

Mike Bibby, 48
Rob Havenstein, 34
William Contreras, 34

Nico Hoerner, 29
Mickey Moniak, 28
Jaxson Dart, 23
Roman Anthony, 22

— Tampa Bay Rays have 17 sacrifice bunts so far this year, most in the big leagues.

— Detroit Tigers have 17 players on the injured list, which seems like a lot.

— NFL schedule gets released Thursday night; they leak some games out early. Here is what I know right now:

Week 1 (Thursday)- Rams vs 49ers, in Australia
(Sunday night)- Cowboys @ Giants
(Monday)- Chiefs vs Broncos
Week 2 (Thursday)- Lions @ Bills (Bills open their new stadium)
Thanksgiving Day- Eagles @ Cowboys

— RIP Craig Morton, a QB who played 18 years in the NFL, mostly with Denver/Dallas. He was 83. Morton had a 81-62-1 career record as an NFL starter, 5-5 in playoff games.

Morton was first QB to start a Super Bowl for more than one team; he started for the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, Broncos in Super Bowl XII. He was a backup on the Dallas team that won Super Bowl VI.

He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
RIP, sir.

— Ohio State football coach Ryan Day played college ball at New Hampshire, where his coach was Chip Kelly, who went to be a head coach in the NFL and college ball. Ryan Day was a QB who set four school records at UNH.

Fast forward to this year; Ryan Day’s son RJ committed to play college ball at Northwestern this week, where his offensive coordinator will be…..Chip Kelly.

— Odd fact I had no idea about until this week: Remember the old movie The Bad News Bears, with Walter Matthau’s character coaching a bunch of kids in Little League??

Funny movie; turns out it was written by Bill Lancaster, whose father was the great actor Burt Lancaster, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe award. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Padres. Wild Cards: Brewers, Dodgers, Cardinals
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: Bronx, Mariners, White Sox

Major League teams are playing their 14th series of the season this week; here is how they al did in their first 13 series (road/home….total):

National League series records
Diamondbacks 3-3-1/3-2-1…..6-5-2
Braves 5-1-1/6-0….11-1-1
Cubs 3-3/5-2….8-5

Reds 3-2-1/5-2….8-4-1
Rockies 2-5/1-4-1….3-9-1
Dodgers 3-2-1/4-3….7-5-1

Marlins 1-4/4-3-1…..5-7-1
Brewers 3-2-1/5-2….8-4-1
Mets 3-4/2-4…..5-8

Phillies 2-3/4-4….6-7
Pirates 4-3/3-2-1….7-5-1
Cardinals 3-2-1/4-2-1…..7-4-2

Padres 5-0-1/2-4-1….7-4-2
Giants 2-4/4-3…..6-7
Nationals 5-1-1/1-4-1…..6-5-2

American League
Orioles 3-3/3-4….6-7
Red Sox 3-4/1-4-1….4-8-1
White Sox 3-3-1/3-3….6-7-1

Guardians 2-3-2/3-3….5-6-2
Tigers 2-4-1/5-1….7-5-1
Astros 2-5/2-3-1….4-8-1

Royals 1-5/3-2-2….4-7-2
Angels 1-4-2/2-4……3-8-2
Twins 3-4/4-2….7-6

A’s 5-3/2-2-1…..7-5-1/
Bronx 5-2/4-1-1….9-3-1
Mariners 3-3/3-3-1….6-6-1

Rays 4-3/4-2….8-5
Rangers 2-4-1/3-3….5-7-1
Blue Jays 1-4-1/4-3……5-7-1

NL East
Trends are thru May 11th
— Braves (28-13)
Braves won 19 of their last 25 games
Under is 4-1-1 in their last six home games.
Atlanta is 25-4 when they score 5+ runs.

— Marlins (19-22)
Marlins are 14-12 at home, 5-10 on road.
Over is 7-2-1 in their last ten road games.
Marlins are 3-14 when they score 3 or fewer runs.

— Mets (15-25)
Juan Soto is 2-21 (3 walks) batting in the lead off spot. 
New York is 1-9 vs lefty starting pitchers.
Mets are 13-3 when they score 4+ runs.

— Phillies (19-22)
Phillies won 10 of their last 13 games.
Over is 8-3 in their last eleven games.
Phiilies are 15-11 vs righty starters, 4-11 vs lefties.

— Nationals (19-22)
Nationals are 6-13 at home, 13-9 on the road.
Over is 13-5-1 in their home games.
Nationals are 10-17 vs righty starters, 9-5 vs lefties.

NL Central
— Cubs (27-14)
Chicago got shut out in its last two games, at Texas.
Cubs have won their last fifteen home games.
Cubs are 21-9 vs righty starters, 6-5 vs lefties.
Under is 6-2-1 in their last nine games.

— Reds (22-19)
Cincinnati won its last two games, after losing previous eight.
Over is 13-4 in their last 17 home games.
Reds are 16-17 vs righty starters, 6-2 vs lefties.

— Brewers (19-16)
Milwaukee won nine of its last 12 games.
Milwaukee is 17-2 when they score 5+ runs.
Under is 6-1-1 in their last eight games.

— Pirates (22-19)
Pirates won six of their last nine games.
Over is 11-4-1 in their last sixteen home games.
Pittsburgh is 15-7 when they score 5+ runs.

— Cardinals (23-17)
St Louis is 9-4 in its last thirteen games.
St Louis is 10-10 at home, 13-7 on the road.
Cardinals are 8-3 in one-run games.

NL West
— Diamondbacks (20-20)
Arizona won its last three games, despite scoring total of eight runs.
Diamondbacks are 14-18 vs righty starters, 6-2 vs lefties.
Arizona is 2-6 in road series openers.

— Rockies (16-25)
Rockies are 2-8 in their last ten games.
Colorado is 14-19 vs righty starters, 2-6 vs lefties.
Over is 5-1 in their last six road games.  

— Famous birthdays, May 12th:
Ted Kubiak, 84
Bruce Boxleitner, 76
George Karl, 75
Kevin Grevey, 73

Max Montoya, 70
Lou Whitaker, 69
Ving Rhames, 67
Emilio Estevez, 64

Malin Akerman, 48
Steve Smith, 47
Lance Lynn, 39
Jason Myers, 35

AL East
— Orioles (19-23)
Baltimore is 4-8 in its last 12 games.
Orioles are 18-14 vs righty starters, 1-9 vs lefties.
Their last five games stayed under the total.

— Red Sox (17-23)
Boston is 7-6 since they changed managers.
Over is 9-4 in their last thirteen road games.
Red Sox are 12-19 vs righty starters, 5-4 vs lefties.

— New York (26-16)
New York lost its last four games, scoring total of eight runs.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven home games.
New York scored in first inning in 7 of its last 11 games.

— Rays (27-13)
Tampa Bay won 15 of its last 17 games.
Rays are 17-11 vs righty starters, 10-2 vs lefties.
Tampa Bay is 25-5 when they score 3+ runs.

— Blue Jays (18-23)
Toronto lost six of its last eight games.
Blue Jays are 12-10 at home, 6-13 on the road.
Toronto is 14-6 if they score 4+ runs.

AL Central
— White Sox (19-21)
White Sox are 13-8 in their last 21 games.
Under is 10-4 in their last 14 games.
Chicago is 15-5 when they score 4+ runs.

— Guardians (22-21)
Cleveland is 12-18 vs righty starters, 10-3 vs lefties.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
Guardians are 5-2 in road series openers.

— Tigers (19-22)
Tigers are 10-2 at home, 6-14 on the road.
Detroit is 12-6 vs righty starters, 7-16 vs lefties.
Tigers are 15-5 if they score 5+ runs, 4-17 if they don’t.

— Royals (19-22)
Royals are 13-10 at home, 6-12 on the road.
Under is 8-3-2 in their last thirteen games.
Royals are 17-14 vs righty starters, 2-8 vs lefties.

— Twins (18-23)
Minnesota is 3-9 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Twins are 10-10 at home, 8-13 on the road.
Over is 11-4 in their last 15 road games.

AL West
— Astros (16-26)
Houston is 2-9 in its last 11 home games.
Over is 8-2 in their last ten home games.
Astros are 2-5 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Angels (16-26)
Halos lost 16 of their last 20 games.
Eight of Angels’ last eleven games stayed under the total.
Angels are 10-19 vs righty starters, 6-7 vs lefties.

— A’s (21-19)
A’s won three of their last four games.
A’s are 1-4 in home series openers.
A’s are 16-11 vs righty starters, 5-8 vs lefties.

— Mariners (20-22)
Mariners are 12-11 at home, 8-11 on the road.
Seattle is 17-4 when they score 3+ runs, 3-18 when they don’t.
Mariners are 15-14 vs righty starters, 5-8 vs lefties.

— Rangers (19-22)
Texas is 8-13 in its last 21 games.
Texas scored total of 24 runs in their last nine games.
Corey Seager is 6 for his last 53, with 20 strikeouts. 

— Phillies 6, Rockies 0
Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs, has five in his last four games.
Phiilies are 10-3 since they changed managers.
Cristopher Sanchez threw seven shutout innings.

This season……..
In 7 home starts, Sanchez is 4-1, 1.00 (34 hits allowed/45 IP)
In 2 road starts, Sanchez is 0-1, 6.97 (23 hits allowed in 10.1 IP)

— White Sox 2, Mariners 1
Seattle had bases loaded, no one out in 9th inning, but didn’t score.
Last year, Cal Raleigh hit 60 homers, had 125 RBI.
This year, Raleigh is hitting .158; he is 0 for his last 32.

AL Central standings:
21-21- Cleveland
19-21- White Sox
19-22- Royals
19-22- Tigers
18-23- Twins 

— Braves 7, Dodgers 2
Mauricio Dubon had a bases loaded double.
Bryce Elder pitched 5.2 innings, gave up only one hit.
Braves are 11-1-3 in series this season.
Atlanta has a nine-game lead in the NL West.

— Angels 6, Blue Jays 1
Jose Soriano improved to 6-3, 1.66 this season.
Jo Adell hit two solo home runs.
Angels ended an eight-game road losing streak.

— Diamondbacks 5, Mets 1
Ryan Waldschmidt had his first three major league RBI.
Eduardo Rodriguez didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning.
Three of Arizona’s five runs were unearned; Mets made three errors.
New York has the worst record in the National League.

— Rangers 3, Cubs 0
Jacob deGrom allowed three hits in seven shutout IP.
Cubs got shut out for the second day in a row.
Corey Seager is 6 for his last 52, with 20 strikeouts.

— Giants 7, Pirates 6 (12)
Giants won for only third time in their last 12 games.
Pirated led 6-4 in 10th inning but couldn’t hold the lead.
Heliot Ramos homered, scored three runs, had two RBI.

— Famous birthdays, May 11th:
Walt Terrell, 68
Bobby Witt Sr., 62
Jeffrey Donovan, 58

Matt Leinart, 43
Cam Newton, 37
Maurice Harkless, 33

Griffin Canning, 30
Madison Lintz, 27
Joey Loperfido, 27

— UFL standings, after seven weeks:
5-2- DC Defenders
5-2- St Louis Battlehawks
5-2- Orlando Storm
3-4- Birmingham Stallions
3-4- Louisville Kings
3-4- Dallas Renegades
2-5- Houston Gamblers
2-5- Columbus Aviators

— Knicks 144, 76ers 114
Knicks led 71-57 at halftime; they sweep series, 4-0.
Knicks made 25 of 44 shots behind the arc.
New York is 8-2 so far in the playoffs.

— Timberwolves 114, Spurs 109
Minnesota outscored the Spurs 34-25 in the 4th quarter.
Anthony Edwards scored 16 of his 36 points in that quarter.
San Antonio shot only 6-26 behind the arc.
Series is tied, 2-2. 

— Padres 3, Cardinals 2 (10)
Nick Castellanos hit a 2-run HR with two out in 9th to tie game.
Jordan Walker hit a 2-run HR for the Cardinals.
There were a total of only seven hits in this game.
Padres/Dodgers are tied for first atop the NL West.

— Over the next seven years after this one, San Diego Padres owe Manny Machado $39,090,909 per season, which will take him to when he is 40 years old. This season, Machado is hitting .191, with a .647 OPS. 

— Braves 1B Matt Olson played in his 823rd consecutive game Sunday, the 10th-longest streak in major league history.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, LA/SD. Wild Cards: LA/SD-Cardinals-Brewers
AL; Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: Bronx-White Sox-Rangers

— Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox passed away this week, at age 84.

Cox was 2,571-2,070 as a major league manager, 67-69 in playoff games. He won 15 division titles, five league titles and the 1995 World Series. 

RIP, sir.

— Diamondbacks 2, Mets 1
David Stearns is president of baseball operations for the New York Mets; he makes $10M a year.

This year, Mets have a payroll of $369,246,418, second only to the Dodgers.

Right now, the Mets are 15-24, worst record in the National League; they’re paying Bo Bichette $42M/year thru 2028. Right now, he is hitting .226, with a .565 OPS.

Not good.

— Rangers 6, Cubs 0
Loss ends Chicago’s 10-game winning streak.
Cubs are the first team since the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers to have to have two winning streaks of 10+ games in the first 40 games of their season.

Texas SS Corey Seager is hitting .197; he is 6 for his last 47, with 18 strikeouts. He is making $32.5M this year.

— A’s 6, Orioles 2
Brent Rooker hit a three-run homer for the first place A’s.
Aaron Civale stranded nine baserunners in his five shutout IP.
Orioles have lost eight of their last ten games.

— Marlins 8, Nationals 7
Washington led 4-0 in the fourth inning.
Jacob Marsee put the Marlins ahead for good with an 8th inning homer.
Marlins’ SS Otto Lopez leads the NL with a .353 batting average.

— Reds 3, Astros 1
Chase Burns allowed one run, improved to 4-1, 2.11.
Cincinnati snapped its eight-game losing skid.
Astros are 16-24, 7-14 on the road.

— Brewers 4, Bronx 3 (10)
New York led 2-0 in the 7th inning.
William Contreras tied the game in the 8th, won it in the 10th.
Milwaukee reliever Andy Ashby got the win, improved to 7-0 this year.

— Braves 7, Dodgers 2
Spencer Strider allowed one hit in his six shutout IP.
Blake Snell’s first 2026 start: 3 IP, 77 PT, 6 hits, 2 walks, 5 runs allowed.
Shohei Ohtani batting in May: 4-27, no walks, no runs, one RBI

— Famous birthdays, May 10th:
David Clennon, 83
Meg Foster, 78
Jim Zorn, 73
Robby Thompson, 64

Rony Seikaly, 61
Greg McElroy, 38
Salvador Perez, 36
Nolan Gorman, 26

— Friday night, Diamondbacks’ catcher challenged a called ball on the first pitch of the game, which wouldn’t have been so bad, except he lost the challenge.

So after one freakin’ pitch, Arizona was down to one challenge for the rest of the game, which the Mets won in extra innings.

Do teams set up rules for when players can/cannot challenge? They should.

— San Francisco Giants traded C Patrick Bailey to Cleveland, n exchange for P Matt Wilkinson and the 29th overall pick in the 2026 Draft.

— Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109
Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points for Cleveland.
There were 11 lead changes, last one coming with 2:28 left.
Detroit still leads series, 2-1

— Thunder 131, Lakers 108
Ajay Mitchell scored 24 points, had 10 assists.
Lakers led this game 59-57 at halftime.
Oklahoma City is 7-0 in the playoffs so far this year.

— Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr signed on for two more years with the club; Kerr made $17.5M this past season. He is 708-401 as Golden State’s coach, winning four NBA titles in his 12 years.

— Jets rookie QB Cade Klubnik signed a four-year deal with the Jets, which will pay him $5.5M. By way of comparison, Trinidad Chambliss, the QB at Ole Miss, is expected to make $6M or so, for playing college/minor league football this fall.

No wonder kids want to stay in college, instead of going pro.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cardinals-Padres-Brewers
AL; Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: Bronx-Royals-Mariners

— Mariners 12, White Sox 8
Luke Raley homered twice, had seven RBI
Munetaka Murakami has homered in his last eight series openers.
Last person to HR in seven straight series openers? Eddie Murray, in 1997.

— Nationals 3, Marlins 2
First two Marlin batters scored; they didn’t score again.
Foster Griffin struck out nine guys in his seven IP.
Washington’s Nasim Nunez has 16 stolen bases, most in the majors.

— Rockies 9, Phillies 7 (11)
Colorado blew a 7-2 lead in 7th inning.
Pinch-hitter Troy Johnston had the game-winning hit.
Justin Crawford hit his first MLB home run for the Phillies. 

— Cardinals 6, Padres 0
Michael McGreevy allowed one hit in six IP.
Ivan Herrera went 4-for-5, scored a run.
In their last seven home games, San Diego scored a total of seven runs.

— Blue Jays 2, Angels 0
Dylan Cease struck out 10 guys in 7 IP.
Toronto won despite getting only three hits.
Angels have lost 14 of their last 18 games.

— A’s 4, Orioles 3
Nick Kurtz hit a two-triple in a three-run 5th inning.
Hogan Harris got the last out, recorded his second save.
Baltimore is 0-9 vs left-handed starters this season.

— Mets 3, Diamondbacks 1 (10)
Both teams scored in the second inning.
Mark Vientos’ double was the game-winning hit.
Arizona is 4-12 in its last sixteen games.

— Famous birthdays, May 9th:
Candice Bergen, 80
Calvin Murphy, 78
Wendy Crewson, 70
Bill Hawkins, 60

Doug Christie, 56
Aaron Harang, 48
Brandon Webb, 47
Prince Fielder, 42

Luis Perdomo, 33
Samson Ebukam, 31
Tommy Edman, 31
Tatsuya Imai, 28

— 2026 NFL schedule gets released Thursday night, so that’s what we’ll be talking about on Friday. It is fun to be in a casino’s sportsbook when the schedule is announced- you can watch the big gamblers scurry to the betting windows to get their wagers in, before the spreads move.

The next day, the casino should have all the spreads for the whole season posted, except for the Week 18 games.

— Rumor has it that the Week 1 Rams-49ers game in Australia, which is going to be Thursday night, is going to be shown on Netflix.

— Good news; NFL Referees Association ratified a new 7-year agreement Friday with the NFL, ending a multi-year negotiation with the league.

— Tigers’ P Framber Valdez was suspended five games for drilling Trevor Story earlier this week, nearly inciting a fracas. It doesn’t seem like much when a starting pitcher gets suspended for five games, but it is the $$$ that hurts. 

A five-game suspension is going to cost Valdez $848,765.43. Yikes.

— Angels-White Sox game the other night was the first major league game in the last 70 years where three batters were hit with the bases loaded.

— Modern baseball: During the week, Milwaukee P Brandon Sproat pitched four shutout innings against St Louis, giving up only one hit to the 16 batters he faced. Why did they take him out after he threw only 76 pitches?

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cardinals-Padres-Pirates
AL; Bronx, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: Rays-Tigers-Mariners

NL East
Trends are thru May 7th
— Braves (26-12)
Braves won 17 of their last 22 games
Under is 7-4-1 in their last 12 games.
Atlanta is 23-4 when they score 5+ runs.

— Marlins (17-21)
Marlins are 12-11 at home, 5-10 on road.
Over is 7-2-1 in their last ten road games.
Marlins are 3-13 when they score 3 or fewer runs.

— Mets (14-23)
Mets won four of their last six games.
New York is 1-8 vs lefty starting pitchers.
Mets are 13-3 when they score 4+ runs.

— Phillies (17-21)
Phillies won eight of their last ten games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.
Phiilies are 14-10 vs righty starters, 3-11 vs lefties.

— Nationals (18-20)
Nationals are 6-13 at home, 12-7 on the road.
Over is 13-5-1 in their home games.
Nationals are 8-20 if they score less than seven runs.

NL Central
— Cubs (26-12)
Cubs have won their last fifteen home games.
Cubs are 20-7 vs righty starters, 6-5 vs lefties.
Over is 10-1-2 in their last thirteen road games.

— Reds (20-18)
Cincinnati lost its last seven games.
Over is 12-2 in their last 14 home games.
Reds are 14-16 vs righty starters, 6-2 vs lefties.

— Brewers (19-16)
Milwaukee is 5-1 in road series openers.
Milwaukee is 16-2 when they score 5+ runs.
Under is 3-1-1 in their last five road games.

— Pirates (21-17)
Pirates won five of their last six games.
Over is 11-4-1 in their last sixteen home games.
Pittsburgh is 14-6 when they score 5+ runs.

— Cardinals (22-15)
St Louis won eight of its last ten games.
St Louis is 10-10 at home, 12-5 on the road.
Cardinals 10-18-2 in one-run games. 

NL West
— Diamondbacks (17-19)
Arizona is 4-11 in its last fifteen games.
Diamondbacks are 11-17 vs righty starters, 6-2 vs lefties.
Arizona is 1-6 in road series openers.

— Rockies (15-23)
Rockies are 1-6 in their last seven games.
Colorado is 14-18 vs righty starters, 1-5 vs lefties.
Over is 6-3 in their last nine games. 

— Dodgers (23-14)
Dodgers are 8-10 in their last 18 games.
Under is 10-5 in their last fifteen road games.
Dodgers are 20-2 when they score 4+ runs.

— Padres (22-15)
San Diego is 11-3 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Under is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.
Padres are 18-2 when they score more than three runs.

— Giants (14-23)
Giants lost 10 of their last 12 games.
SF is 12-16 vs righty starters, 2-7 vs lefties.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine games.

— Famous birthdays, May 8th:
Mike D’Antoni, 75
Bill Cowher, 69
Ronnie Lott, 67
Melissa Gilbert, 62

Speedy Claxton, 48
Adrian Gonzalez, 44
Kemba Walker, 36
Michael Penix, 26

AL East
— Orioles (17-21)
Baltimore lost six of its last eight games.
Orioles are 17-13 vs righty starters, 0-8 vs lefties.
15 of their last 17 games went over the total.

— Red Sox (16-22)
Boston is 6-5 since they changed managers.
Over is 9-4 in their last thirteen road games.
Red Sox are 11-18 vs righty starters, 5-4 vs lefties.

— New York (26-12)
New York won 16 of its last 19 games.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven home games.
New York scored in first inning in 12 of its 20 home games.

— Rays (25-12)
Tampa Bay won seven in row, 13 of its last 14 games.
Rays are 16-11 vs righty starters, 9-1 vs lefties.
Tampa Bay is 23-5 when they score 3+ runs.

— Blue Jays (16-21)
Toronto lost its last four games, outscored 16-7.
Blue Jays are 10-8 at home, 6-13 on the road.
Toronto is 13-5 if they score 4+ runs.

AL Central
— White Sox (17-20)
White Sox are 11-7 in their last 18 games.
Under is 7-3 in their last ten games.
Chicago is 14-4 when they score 4+ runs.

— Guardians (20-19)
Cleveland is 12-16 vs righty starters, 8-3 vs lefties.
Under is 7-3-1 in their last eleven games.
Guardians are 5-2 in road series openers.

— Tigers (18-20)
Tigers are 10-2 at home, 6-14 on the road.
Detroit is 14-13 vs righty starters, 4-7 vs lefties.
Tigers are 14-5 if they score 5+ runs.

— Royals (17-21)
Royals are 9-7 at home, 3-12 on the road.
Under is 6-2-2 in their last ten games.
Royals are 15-13 vs righty starters, 2-8 vs lefties.

— Twins (16-22)
Minnesota has lost seven of its last nine games.
Twins are 10-10 at home, 6-12 on the road.
Over is 9-3 in their last 12 road games.

AL West
— Astros (15-23)
Houston is 9-10 at home, 6-13 on road.
Over is 8-1 in their last nine home games.
Astros are 2-5 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Angels (15-23)
Halos lost 13 of their last 17 games.
Six of Angels’ last seven games stayed under the total.
Angels are 9-17 vs righty starters, 6-6 vs lefties.

— A’s (19-18)
A’s lost four of their last six games.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
A’s are 14-11 vs righty starters, 5-7 vs lefties.

— Mariners (16-16)
Mariners won five of their last six road games.
Seattle is 15-4 when they score 3+ runs.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.

— Rangers (17-20)
Texas is 6-11 in its last seventeen games.
Joc Pederson played in OF Wednesday, for first time in three years.
Texas scored total of 14 runs in their last five games.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cardinals-Padres-Pirates
AL; Bronx, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: Rays-Tigers-Mariners

— Cubs 7, Reds 6 (10)
Michael Busch was HBP with bases loaded to force in the winning run.
Cubs have won their last 14 home games, last three via walk-offs.
Reds led 6-4 in 9th; Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tying HR in bottom of 9th.
Cincinnati has lost six games in a row.

— Dodgers 12, Astros 2
Andy Pages hit three home runs, drove in six runs.
Dodger starter Tyler Glasnow left after one inning with a sore back.
Houston is 15-23, tied for the worst record in the AL. 

— Rays 3, Blue Jays 0
Tampa Bay has won 12 of its last 13 games.
Rays have allowed only 17 runs in those 13 games.
Shane McClanahan has thrown 16.2 consecutive scoreless innings.

— Pirates 1, Diamondbacks 0
Paul Skenes allowed two baserunners in his 8 IP.
Brandon Lowe’s first-inning homer was the game’s only run.
All five NL Central teams are over .500.

— Mariners 3, Braves 1
Brian Woo tossed six shutout IP, striking out nine.
Julio Rodriguez hit his fifth home run of the season.
This is the first series Atlanta has lost this year.

— Guardians 3, Royals 1
Joey Castillo allowed three hits in five IP to get the win.
Four Cleveland reliever got the last 12 outs, giving up one hit.
KC starter Cole Ragans left after three IP with a sore left arm.

— Padres 5, Giants 1
Ty France had a pinch-hit, 2-run triple that put Padres up in 7th inning.
Rafael Devers hit his first home run since April 8th.
Giants have lost eight of their last nine games.

— Famous birthdays, May 7th:
Bob Weiss, 84
Pat McInally, 73
Ronnie Harmon, 62
Leslie O’Neal, 62
Shawn Marion, 48

Alex Smith, 42
James Loney, 42
Austin Pettis, 38
Emilio Pagan, 35
Nolan Jones, 28

The great baseball manager Dick Williams was born on this day in 1929.

— RIP Ted Turner, 87. He founded CNN, the first 24-hour news channel which changed a lot about how we watch TV.

In 1963, he inherited his father’s billboard company and bought radio/TV stations, including WTBS. He later owned the Atlanta Braves for 20 years; one season when they were struggling. Turner managed the Braves for one game.

RIP, sir.

— Phillies’ SS Trea Turner has an 11-year contract that will pay him $27,272,728 a year until it ends after the 2033 season. Turner will be 33 in June; when his contract ends, he will be 40. Not a lot of 40-year old shortstops in the big leagues.

— Astros’ SS Carlos Correa is out for the year after he hurt his ankle while taking batting practice this week.

— When batters/catchers challenge an umpire’s call but the umpire was right, they have to be really happy right? The ball/strike challenge system is a good one; just once, I’d like to see an umpire gloat after his call was proven right.

— When major league umpire Malachi Moore was playing high school baseball/football in Los Angeles, one of his teammates was Richard Sherman, who went on to be a really good defensive back for the NFL’s Seahawks.

— EJ Warner, son of Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner, is getting a tryout with the Denver Broncos. EJ Warner played/started at three colleges; Temple, Rice, Fresno State. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cardinals-Padres-Brewers
AL; Bronx, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: Rays-Tigers-Mariners

One non-statistical thing I always think about when making this list:

My team has the ball on its own 20-yard line, down 3 points with 2:00 to go.; what QB would I want leading my team?

Here is my list of the 13 best quarterbacks of the Super Bowl era, with some exclusions:

Johnny Unitas/Bart Starr aren’t on this lost; they obviously were all-time great QB’s, but the peak of their careers happened before the Super Bowl started. Three of Starr’s five NFL titles were before the Super Bowl, two of the three that Unitas won were before I was born.

I’m also eliminating anyone who played for the Rams, just to make the list more fun for me to do. Kurt Warner/Matthew Stafford are two of my three favorite QB’s ever, but neither one will be on this list. 

With that said, here is the list……..

13) Troy Aikman
94-71 in regular season, 11-4 in playoff games.
Won three Super Bowls. 
Threw for 32,942 yards in regular season games.
First pick in the 1989 draft.

12) Ben Roethlisberger
165-81 in regular season, 13-10 in playoff games.
Won two Super Bowls. 
Threw for 64,088 yards in regular season games.
First round pick in the 2004 draft.

11) Jim Kelly
101-59 in regular season, 9-8 in playoff games.
Won the AFC title four years in a row.
Threw for 35,467 yards in regular season games.
Also played two seasons in the USFL.
First round pick in the 1983 draft.

10) Brett Favre
186-112 in regular season, 13-11 in playoff games.
Won Super Bowl with the 1996 Packers. 
Threw for 71,838 yards in regular season games.
Second round pick in the 1991 draft.
Falcons traded him to Green Bay after his rookie season.

9) Steve Young
94-49 in regular season, 8-6 in playoff games.
Won his only Super Bowl as a starter with ’94 49ers. 
Also played two seasons in the USFL.
First round supplemental pick in the 1984 draft.

8) Patrick Mahomes
95-31 in regular season, 17-4 in playoff games.
Went 5-2 in AFC title games in a seven-year span. 
Won three of those five Super Bowls.
First round pick in the 2017 draft.
By the time his career ends, he’ll probably be on top of this list.

7) Dan Marino
147-93 in regular season, 8-10 in playoff games.
Most career wins by a QB who didn’t win a Super Bowl. 
Threw for 61,631 yards in regular season games.
First round pick in the 1983 draft.

Famous birthdays, May 6th:
George Clooney, 65
Jason Witten, 44
Chris Paul, 41

Goran Dragic, 40
Gerardo Parra, 39
Jose Altuve, 36

6) Terry Bradshaw
107-51 in regular season, 14-5 in playoff games.
Won four Super Bowls, and is still somehow underrated.
His four Super Bowl titles came in a six-year span.
First pick in the 1970 draft.

5) Roger Staubach
85-29 in regular season, 11-6 in playoff games.
Won two Super Bowls, six years apart with the Cowboys. 
Went to the Naval Academy; his rookie year was five years after he was drafted.
10th round pick in the 1964 draft.

4) Peyton Manning
186-79 in regular season, 14-13 in playoff games.
Won two Super Bowls, one with the Colts, one with Denver.
Threw for 71,940 yards in regular season games.
First pick in the 1998 draft.

3) Tom Brady
251-82 in regular season, 35-13 in playoff games.
Won seven Super Bowls, including three of the first four years he started.
Won six Super Bowls with New England, one with Tampa Bay
6th round pick in the 2000 draft.

He has accomplished the most of any QB, but if I had my pick of any QB on this list in their prime, I’d take the next two guys before Brady……..

2) Joe Montana
117-47 in regular season, 16-7 in playoff games.
Won four Super Bowls in a nine-year span.
Threw for 40,551 yards in regular season games.
3rd round pick in the 1979 draft.

1) John Elway
148-82 in regular season, 11-6 in playoff games.
Denver won the AFC five times with him as their QB.
Won the Super Bowl in each of his last two seasons.
1st round pick in the 1983 draft.

There’s the list; it is easier to play quarterback now, they don’t get hit nearly as much. The rules favor the offense; back in the 70’s/80’s QB’s got hit a lot harder than they do now. 

— Detroit Tigers’ pitching ace Tarik Skubal will have arthroscopic surgery for loose bodies in his left elbow; the procedure usually sidelines players for 2-3 months.

Skubal won a Cy Young award the last two years; he is a free agent after this season.

— Red Sox 5, Tigers 4
Game was scoreless after five innings.
Down 2-0, Red Sox scored five runs in the 7th inning.
Jarren Duran’s three-run HR was the game’s big blow.

— Cubs 5, Reds 4
Pinch-hitter Michael Conforto hit a walk-off HR in 9th inning.
Cubs have won six in a row, 16 of last 19 games.
Cincinnati lost its last four games.

— Mariners 5, Braves 4
Atlanta hit three HR’s in top of the 6th to take a 4-0 lead.
Seattle scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth.
JP Crawford’s home run was the game-winner.

— White Sox 6, Angels 0
Davis Martin allowed five baserunners in seven IP.
Munetaka Murakami has 14 HR’s; he hasn’t hit a double or a triple.
Angels have lost 13 of their last 15 games.

— Phillies 1, Marlins 0
Bryce Harper hit a third-inning homer for the game’s only run.
Aaron Nola allowed five hits in his six shutout IP.
Phillies are 6-1 since they changed managers.

— Famous birthdays, May 5th:
Ron Oester, 70
LaPhonso Ellis, 56
Harold Miner, 55

PJ Tucker, 41
Adele Adkins, 38
Logan Gilbert, 30

— Knicks 137, 76ers 98
Knicks led 74-51 at halftime.
Jalen Brunson scored 27 points in the first half.
Knicks made 19 of 37 shots behind the arc.
New York leads series, 1-0.

— Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102
Game was 45-45 at halftime.
Anthony Edwards scored 18 points in 25:00 off the bench.
Minnesota was minus-11 in 24:00 Mike Conley was off the floor.
Minnesota leads series, 1-0. 

— Orlando Magic fired coach Jamahl Mosley, after the Magic lost in seven games to Detroit in the first round of the playoffs, after leading the series, 3-1.
Mosley was Orlando’s coach for five years, going 7-12 in the playoffs, which is why they fired him. Last three regular seasons, Orlando was 47-35/41-41/45-37.

— Movie of the Day: Rounders (1998)— Law student decides he’d rather play high stakes poker than finish law school. The scenes with Matt Damon and his law professor (Martin Landau) are excellent. Same guys who wrote this wr0te the great Showtime series Billions.

Matt Damon is the law student, Edward Norton is his friend who is a cruddy person, Martin Landau is a law professor, John Malkovich is a Russian gangster, John Turturro is a veteran gambler who tries to be the law student’s mentor.

Very good movie, one of my favorites.

— Lot of times very late at night, I listen to podcasts on YouTube. Found a good one Sunday; Starkville, with Jason Stark and Doug Glanville. Two smart, good natured guys just talking about baseball; in this episode, they had former big league pitcher Ron Darling as their guest. 

If you like baseball, it is fun to listen to them exchange ideas.

— Thanks for nothing: backup C Jonah Heim homered, drove in five runs for Atlants Sunday, then on Monday, the Braves activated C Sean Murphy- they DFA’d Heim, and  traded him to the Sacramento/Las Vegas A’s.

— Was watching a Milwaukee Brewers game over the weekend; Brewers were out of ABS replay challenges in the second inning— not good. They won the game so it wound up not mattering, but I’m surprised at how early in games some teams risk their challenges in situations that don’t seem that important.

— After Saturday night’s games, all five NL West teams were on losing streak of 3+ games, which is the first time that has happened in any division, since divisional play started in 1969.

— Mets 4, Rockies 2
Mets scored four runs in 6th inning; they didn’t have a hit in first five innings.
Carson Benge’s home run broke up a scoreless tie.
Colorado is 1-6 since they swept the Mets in New York last month.

Juan Soto batted leadoff for only the third time in his career.

— Rays 5, Blue Jays 1
Ryan Vilade hit a three-run homer in the first inning.
Bryan Baker earned his ninth save of the season.
22-12 Rays have won four in a row, and 10 of their last 11 games.

— Dodgers 8, Astros 2
Dodgers led the game 7-2 in the third inning.
Kyle Tucker went 2-for-5, hit a home run.
Astros are 14-22, second worst record in the AL.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cardinals-Padres-Reds
AL; Bronx, Clev/Det, A’s. Wild Cards: Rays-Cle/Det-White Sox