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 10 NFL spreads
— Commanders @ Giants (-1.5)
— Patriots vs Lions (-2.5) (@ Munich, Germany)
— Bills (-7.5) @ Jets
— Panthers (-1.5) @ Saints
— Texans (-4.5) @ Browns
— Jaguars (-9.5) @ Titans

Quote of the Day:
“You’re not going to get the ball back, probably. So, you’re really saying tie or lose if you kick the extra point. That’s not me. It was going to be win or lose.”
Cleveland coach Todd Monken, on going for 2 points in OT

Monday’s quiz
Which NFL quarterback has a dad who was a catcher for the San Francisco Giants? 

Sunday’s quiz
In the poker movie Rounders, John Malkovich played Russian mobster Teddy KGB.

Saturday’s quiz
Knicks star Jalen Brunson played his college basketball at Villanova. 

— Bengals 34, Falcons 17
First four Cincinnati drives: 31 plays, 278 yards, 24 points.
Cincinnati led 24-10 at halftime.
Bengals won last four games, scoring 31-35-43-34 points.
Bengals converted 28 of last 44 third down conversions.  

Falcons lost four of their last five games.
Atlanta scored 35-45-29 points in wins, 23 or less in losses.
Falcons are 1-5 when they gain less than 400 yards.
Atlanta had 12 penalties for 88 yards.

— Cowboys 27, Colts 23
Dallas drove 65 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:08 left.
Colts had taken 23-20 lead on 50-yard FG with 1:37 left.
Dallas outgained the Colts, 508-271.
Cowboys ran the ball 34 times for 179 yards.

Cowboys won despite committing 14 penalties for 153 yards.
Colts lost last five games, by 12-6-6-35-4 points.
Dallas led 17-7 at halftime.
Under Schottenheimer, Cowboys are 2-6 ATS as a road favorite.

— Saints 23, Browns 22
Game was 6-6 after 3rd quarter; both teams scored in last 1:00 of regulation.
Saints scored TD in OT, then Browns did too, but they went for 2 and failed.
Saints ran ball for 160 yards, but were minus-2 in turnovers.
Last six games, Saints’ opponents total: over 5-1.

Backup QB Sanders was 19-31/297 passing, with two TD’s.
Sanders is now 3-5 as an NFL starter.
First win in four home games for the Saints.
New Orleans opponents’ team total: over 6-2.

— Rams 20, Commanders 13
Rams won their third game in a row.
Last two games, LA allowed one TD on 21 drives.
Puka Nucua caught 14 passes for 150 yards and a TD.
Rest of the Rams caught 12 passes for 78 yards.

Rams held last three opponents to 48-64-60 rushing yards.
Rams are 26-15-1 ATS in last 42 games as a favorite.
Washington’s first two drives: 17 plays, 128 yards, 10 points.
Washington rest of the game: 41 plays, 185 yards, 3 points.

— Giants 19, Eagles 11
Giants snapped a 13-game losing skid to the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Giants are 5-0-1 when they allow less than 28 points.
Eagles led this game 8-6 at halftime.
Backup QB Winston came off bench to lead game-winning drive in 3rd quarter. 

Philly lost its last six games, its longest losing skid since 2012.
Last six weeks, Eagles were outscored 103-20 in second half.
Last five years, Eagles are 0-4 ATS as a home underdog.
Under Sirianni, Eagles are 10-19 ATS in games coming off a loss.

— Broncos 26, Panthers 21
Denver won five in row, seven of its last eight games.
Broncos won their last 16 games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Denver converted 6-10 on third down, Carolina 3-10.
Carolina opponents converted 28 of last 53 third down plays.

Carolina led this game 14-13 after the third quarter.
Denver in 4th quarter: 22 plays, 139 yards, 13 points.
Panthers gave up 3-26-14 points in wins, 59-21-43-27-26 in losses.
Carolina committed 13 penalties, for 119 yards.

— Lions 19, Dolphins 9
Detroit won its last three games, giving up 17-15-9 points.
First five games, Lions gave up 29.6 points/game.
Both teams had a successful fake punt in this game.
Jake Bates kicked four field goals for Detroit.

Detroit is 15-4 ATS last 19 games as a road favorite 
Lions held 5 of last 6 opponents to 90 or fewer rushing yards.
Dolphins are 0-4 at home, losing by 14-7-5-10 points.
Defensive struggle: total yardage, Lions 270, Miami 228.

— Famous birthdays, November 9th:
Roy Jefferson, 83
Virgil Carter, 81
Lou Ferrigno, 75

Teddy Higuera, 69
Adam Dunn, 47
Michael Busch, 29

— Chiefs 35, Jets 12
Mahomes banged up his right elbow in 2nd quarter, but finished game.
RB Walker gained 143 total yards, scored three TD’s.
Chiefs are 4-0 at home, winning by 21-3-16-23 points.
Kansas City ran ball 32 times for 163 yards.

Chiefs outgained the Jets, 391-229.
Jets lost seven of their last eight games.
Jets gave up 10-12 points in wins, 20-31-23-26-28-38-35 in losses.
Jets are 8-13-1 ATS last 22 games as a road underdog. 

— Texans 44, Chargers 22
Texans won three of last four games, after an 0-4 start.
QB Stroud threw for 384 yards, five TD’s.
Houston led 24-9 at halftime.
Texans gained 485 yards, converted 8-14 3rd down plays.

Chargers are first team since 2020 Jets to start a season 0-8.
Overall, Bolts are 0-11 SU/0-10-1 ATS in their last 11 games.
Chargers ended a drought; they went 37 drives without a TD.
Chargers are 0-5-1 ATS as an underdog this year.

— 49ers 38, Raiders 17
49ers’ first three drives: 36 plays, 242 yards, 21 points.
San Francisco led 21-10 at halftime.
49ers scored on a pick-6 on first play of third quarter.
49ers outgained Las Vegas, 414-240.

Raiders are 8-12 ATS last 20 games as a road underdog.
Last seven Raider games went over the total. 
Opponents went over their team total in last seven games.
Raiders lost 5 of last 6 games; rookie QB Mendoza should start soon. 

— Packers 45, Patriots 27
QB Love threw for 372 yards, three TD’s.
WR Watson caught 7 passes for 171 yards; WR Golden 10 for 164 yards.
Packers’ first three drives: 21 plays, 180 yards, 17 points.
Green Bay won five of its last six games.

Most points Patriots allowed at home since 1970, at Harvard Stadium.
Five of last six New England games went over the total.
Patriots threw an INT on three of first six drives.
New England was minus-4 in turnovers, is minus-11 in this season.

— Seahawks 17, Cardinals 3
Seahawks outgained Arizona, 295-198.
Cardinals ran the ball 18 times for only 50 yards.
Seahawks have won 11 games in a row vs Arizona.
Cardinals are 0-5 SU/ATS in last five visits to Seattle.

Five of Arizona’s six losses this year were by 12+ points.
Backup QB Lock threw for 175 yards and a TD.
Seattle coach MacDonald is 32-14 as a head coach 
Last four games, under is 4-0 in Seattle’s team total.

— Bears 27, Buccaneers 24
Chicago drove 49 yards, kicked 38-yard FG at the gun.
Bears led 24-13 after the third quarter, after a 67-yard pick-6.
Chicago survived five turnovers; Williams threw four INT’s.
Over is 5-1 when Williams starts at QB.

Chicago won six of its last seven games.
Bears were 7-13 on third down, Tampa Bay 2-12.
Bucs are 3-6, with losses are by 6-4-7-3-7-3 points.
Tampa Bay is 16-7 ATS last 23 games as a road underdog.

— Texas Tech 53, West Virginia 48
Total yardage: Tech 638, West Virginia 582
8-1 Red Raiders led 41-27 at halftime.
West Virginia led 48-41 after the third quarter.
QB Castellanos threw for 362 yards, five TD’s. 

— Utah 28, BYU 20
9-0 Utes outscored BYU 14-0 in second half.
Utah snapped a three-game skid against its in-state rival.
QB Dampier threw for 177 yards/2 TD’s, ran for 89 yards/2 more TD’s.

— Oregon 41, Ohio State 28
Buckeyes led 14-0 after the first quarter.
Oregon’s first two drives: 11 plays, 37 yards, two punts.
Oregon’s next seven drives: 49 plays, 310 yards, 31 points.
Ohio State has lost consecutive games, for first time since 2011.

— Alabama 31, LSU 13
LSU led 13-10 with 2:00 left in third quarter.
Tigers were 5-14 on 3rd down conversions, 0-4 on 4th down.
As a head coach, Lane Kiffin is 0-6 vs Alabama.

— Notre Dame 31, Miami 24
Notre Dame led 17-3 at halftime.
QB Carr was 29-40/319 passing, with three TD’s.
Miami was minus-2 in turnovers; their star WR Toney didn’t play.

— Central Florida 33, Kansas 32
Knights drove 73 yards, threw 6-yard TD pass with 0:01 left for the win.
UCF led 26-7 with 5:00 left in third quarter.
WR Derry caught eight passes for 143 yards and a TD.

— Nebraska lost at Illinois Friday night, their 4th loss in a row, then fired OC Dana Holgorsen the former head coach at Houston/West Virginia. Cornhuskers averaged 13.5 ppg during their four-game losing skid- they led three of those games in the fourth quarter.

— College Football Upsets of the Week:
UL-Monroe (+14) 19, Arkansas State 17
Michigan State (+13.5) 15, Michigan 6
Oregon (+7.5) 41, Ohio State 28

FAU (+7) 60, Tex-San Antonio 29
Oklahoma (+6.5) 23, Florida 7
Buffalo (+6.5) 34, Miami OH 31, OT

Old Dominion (+6.5) 21, Coastal Carolina 8
Alabama (+6) 31, LSU 13
Georgia State (+6) 39, Appalachian State 23

— Memphis 89, VCU 88
VCU led by 10 points, early in second half.
5-10 senior Reid scored 32 points, had seven assists.
VCU lost, even though they shot 13-24 on the arc.

— Northern Illinois 81, Dayton 76 (OT)
NIU has a new coach, a totally new roster; great win for them.
Dayton was favored by 19 points.
Flyers led by 5, with 4:01 left in regulation.

— Nebraska 67, Providence 58
Big 18 gets a win against the Big East, at Mohegan Sun.
Nebraska shot 68% inside the arc.
Brickfest: teams combined to shoot 12-62 on the arc.

— Georgetown 86, Maryland 74
Big East gets a win against the Big 18.
Georgetown shot 15-30 behind the arc, Maryland 3-20.
Hoyas led 44-28 at halftime.

— Famous birthdays, November 8th:
Alfre Woodard, 74
Jimmie Giles, 72
Courtney Thorne-Smith, 59
Brevin Knight, 51

Gretchen Mol, 54
Sam Bradford, 39
Yasmani Grandal, 38
Giancarlo Stanton, 37

— Navy 42, Temple 35
Navy led 28-0 late in the second quarter.
Temple tied game 35-35 with 5:35 left to play.
Middies drove 75 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:14 left.

— Arizona 29, TCU 28
This game ended ended after 2am Friday night.
Arizona scored nine points in last 1:45 for the comeback win.
TCU muffed a pooch kick after Arizona’s TD to set up the winning FG.
Arizona is 7-2, TCU 4-5.

— Auburn 26, Arkansas 23
Auburn drove 50 yards, kicked 43-yard FG with 0:33 left for the win.
QB Brown passed for 180 yards, 2 TD’s, ran for 122 yards and another TD.
Auburn ran for 183 yards; they were +2 in turnovers.

— Georgia 42, Ole Miss 7
Dawgs’ first three drives: 20 plays, 229 yards, 21 points.
Ole Miss in first half: 32 plays, 106 yards, trailed 28-0 at half.
Total yardage: Georgia 481, Ole Miss 252

— Oklahoma 23, Florida 7
Oklahoma converted 10-18 on third down, Gators 2-9.
Florida ran the ball 25 times for only 70 yards.
Underdogs covered six of last eight Oklahoma games.

— Houston 31, Cincinnati 24
Houston led 21-10 at halftime.
Cougars needed a 51-yard TD run with 5:10 left for the winning score.
Houston ran the ball 35 times for 241 yards. 

— Every year, one of my best resources for studying college basketball has always been the Blue Ribbon Yearbook- I’m talking 20 years, at least. Great book, full of information.

This year, with all the BS around college/semi-pro sports, they delayed putting the book out- as of today, my book is supposed to come in the mail next week. Not good.

I’ll have to use a marker to add/cross out players as they become eligible/ineligible.

— Back when I picked games on this blog, we made hay before Christmas; knowing which teams were most experienced was a huge help. Won a lot of picks using that information.

Now? Not so much; teams totally change from year to year. Northern Illinois has a new coach and NO PLAYERS who were on the team last year. Teams with no kids who got poached means that no other teams wanted their players.

How talented are the new players? There is no metric that measures talent.

— Valparaiso 83, Purdue 80, 2OT
Purdue is 0-2 for the first time since 1976. I had a full head of hair in 1976.
Purdue led by 15 late in the first half.
Rakim Chaney scored 35 points, had six assists for the Crusaders.

— Saint Louis 90, Missouri 84
Newly-eligible Robbie Avila didn’t play for Saint Louis.
Billikens shot 14-25 behind the arc.
Saint Louis led 49-38 at the half, hung on for the win.

— UConn 85, Michigan 77
Huskies get revenge for losing last year’s national title game.
UConn was 30-36 on foul line, Michigan 18-23.
Big downgrade at coach for Michigan, from Dusty May to Mike Boynton.

— Indiana State 69, Ball State 66
Ball State led by 15 with 14:22 left in the game.
Cardinals were only 15-26 on the foul line.
Both teams started three seniors.

— San Diego 96, Tarleton State 90, OT
Tarleton shot 63% inside arc, led by 15 late in first half.
Toreros shot 12-28 on arc, scored 1.21 ppp.
San Diego was 34-39 on foul line, Tarleton was 26-39.

— Famous birthdays, November 7th:
Jim Kaat, 88
Buck Martinez, 78
Elvis Peacock, 70
Greg Dreiling, 64

Glendon Rusch, 52
Kris Benson, 52
Sonny Gray, 37
Cason Wallace, 23

— Five retired major league umpires have filed a federal lawsuit against MLB, claiming the league wrongfully underpaid them under its umpires’ retirement income plan.

Joe West (worked a record 5,480 games)
Gerry Davis
Tom Hallion
Larry Vanover
Jerry Layne……….those are the five umpires.

— This season, NFL underdogs of 7+ points are 20-7-3 ATS.

— In his great career, Warriors star Steph Curry has had 155 games where he made 7+ 3-pointers. He is the greatest shooter ever.

— SMU 51, Virginia Tech 28
QB Jennings threw for 350 yards, four TD’s.
Mustangs outgained Tech, 569-417.
SMU is 7-2, Hokies are 6-3.

— East Carolina 20, South Florida 17
Pirates kicked a 55-yard FG with 0:02 left for the win.
ECU was 6-15 on third down, South Florida 1-10.
Game was 10-10 at halftime.

— Illinois 24, Nebraska 13
Illini won their 4th game in a row; they’re bowl eligible.
Nebraska lost its fourth game in a row, after a 5-0 start.
Cornhuskers outgained Illinois 426-376 but had 82 penalty yards.

— New Mexico 31, Nevada 3
8-1 Lobos led 14-3 at half; they’re #22 in the country.
Lobos ran ball 45 times for 213 yards; they were 9-16 on third down.
New Mexico outgained the Wolf Pack, 374-97. 

— Jaguars 33, Ravens 10
Jacksonville led 17-3 at halftime.
Jaguars scored 31-42-33 points in their last three games.
Baltimore had only 55 passing yards (2.8 yards/attempt)
Total yardage: Jaguars 319, Ravens 227

Ravens lost last four games, giving up 35-36-33 points in last three..
Under Coen, Jaguars are 11-4 ATS as a favorite
Jaguars are +8 in turnovers this season.
Last four games, Ravens were outscored 84-10 in second half.

— Vikings’ QB Kyler Murray has a hamstring issue, won’t start Monday night vs Buffalo. Carson Wentz gets the nod for Minnesota; he started a game earlier this year.

— Florida Atlantic 60, Texas-San Antonio 29
FAU ran ball 49 times for 339 yards.
Owls led 35-22 at halftime.
UTSA slips to 7-2; FAU improves to 6-3.

— James Madison 54, Southern Miss 23
James Madison ran ball 36 times for 175 yards.
Dukes led 16-14 at halftime.
James Madison improves to 8-2, Southern Miss is 3-6.

— Over his last six games, Lakers’ star Luka Doncic is averaging 42.8 ppg, quite a run.

— I’m curious who the Angels are going to hire their baseball operations; Stan Kroenke owns the Angels, so they’ll spend money and try to win. He generally hires smart people and gets out of their way, so starting next year, it should be fun to be an Angels’ fan.

— Saint Louis Billikens’ basketball team got excellent news; star F Robbie Avila is now eligible to play this season. Billikens play Missouri Friday night.

— Famous birthdays, November 6th
Sally Field, 80
John Candelaria, 73
Maria Shriver, 71

Ethan Hawke, 56
Erik Kramer, 62
Lamar Odom, 47

— I’m disappointed that Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s aren’t playing basketball this year; they were great WCC rivals for years, a midnight staple on TV 2-3 times a season, but with Gonzaga gone to the Pac-12, that rivalry is on hold. Too bad.

— Queens 96, LMU 95
LMU led by 12 with 10:15 left in this game, played late Wednesday night.
Queens shot 60.4% inside arc, scored 1.29 ppp.
Queens won its opener 103-98 over Winthrop; fast start to the season for them.

— North Texas 77, McNeese State 67
Mean Green held McNeese to 36.4% from the floor.
North Texas shot 65.5% inside arc, scored 1.17 ppp.
Je’Shawn Stevenson scored 30 points, had five assists.

— Penn State 97, Chattanooga 93
Penn State led 54-31 at halftime, hung on for dear life.
Nittany Lions were 43-49 on foul line, Chattanooga 14-23.

— Princeton 60, Hofstra 58
Hofstra led by 12 with 12:11 left in the game.
Princeton was 12-40 on the arc, 6-19 inside the arc.
Slow tempo game, only 63 possessions.

— DePaul 82, South Florida 80
Blue Demons led 50-35 at halftime.
DePaul shot 14-32 on the arc, scored 1.23 ppp.
Kruz McClure scored 18 points in 29:00 off the bench.

— South Alabama 83, Jacksonville State, 2 OT
Visiting Gamecocks led 32-23 at halftime.
Stephen Williams scored 27 points, had 13 rebounds.
South Alabama shot 63.6% inside the arc.

— Arizona Cardinals are trading QB Jacoby Brissett to the Ravens, who lost their top two QB’s for the year with injuries. Rookie Joe Fagnano makes his first NFL start for the Ravens Thursday against the Jacksonville; right now, his backups are Kedon Slovis, Austin Reed.

Details of the trade will be worked out this weekend.

— Seahawks are starting Drew Lock this week vs Arizona; starter Sam Darnold is out with a quad injury, Jalen Milroe will be Seattle’s backup this week, against a Cardinal team that will start Gardner Minshew.

Lock is 11-18 as an NFL starter.

— Philadelphia Eagles will start #3 QB Joe Milton against the Giants this week, after they lost the last three games with Tyler McKee under center. This will be Milton’s first NFL start.

— New Orleans Saints fired their run game coordinator and also changed kickers after they lost 16-10 to the Steelers in France.

— Cleveland QB Deshaun Watson is in concussion protocol; if he doesn’t play in New Orleans this week, Sheduer Sanders will get the start.

— UMass 31, Ball State 30 OT
Ball State scored TD in overtime, but missed the PAT.
Cardinals had forced OT, scoring a TD with 0:25 left in regulation.
UMass is 5-4, one win away from being bowl eligible.

— Toledo 20, Sacramento State 17
7-2 Rockets ran ball 49 times for 230 yards.
Toledo had two running backs run for 100+ yards.
Total yards: Toledo 290, Sacramento State 224

— Central Michigan 35, Eastern Michigan 7
Chippewas led 21-0 at halftime.
CMU ran the ball 52 times for 235 yards.
Central was 7-15 on third down, Eastern 1-10

— Famous birthdays, November 5th:
Kellen Winslow, 69
Tatum O’Neal, 63
Famke Janssen, 62

Javy Lopez, 56
Johnny Damon, 53
Jerry Stackhouse, 52

Jason Kelce, 39
Odell Beckham Jr., 34
Blake Grupe, 28

— 76ers 112, Pistons 106
Embiid scored 26 points, had 15 rebounds.
76ers led 56-42 at halftime.
76ers are 4-0 on the road, for first time since 2001.

— Celtics 109, Bucks 102
Boston led 62-41 at halftime.
Paul George scored 25 points (5-9 on arc)
Tyler Herro scored 25 points for Milwaukee.

— Thunder 124, Cavaliers 116
Oklahoma City led 60-44 at halftime.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points, had eight assists.
Injury-ravaged Thunder improved to 6-2.

— Pacers 107, Grizzlies 103
Indiana outscored Memphis 27-21 in 4th quarter.
Pacers were +18 in the 14:00 that Nance played.
Memphis starters were a combined +23, their subs minus-43.

— Pelicans 118, Jazz 113, OT
New Orleans outscored the Jazz 34-24 in fourth quarter.
Pelicans were 39-43 on foul line, Utah 20-30.
Saddiq Bey scored 22 points in 29:00.

— Four years ago when baseball season was delayed a few days by a labor impasse, there was a flurry of signings in between the labor agreement being signed and the season starting.

Back then, I had Kris Bryant on my fantasy team; I told someone “If Bryant signs with Colorado, I’m going to go buy a lottery ticket. That would be great!!!”

He signed with Colorado, but it wasn’t great; turned out he had arthritis in his back, and he only played in 170 games the next four years. Oy. At least I didn’t buy the lottery ticket. 

— UNLV 89, Northern Arizona 77
Lumberjacks led by 12 late in the first half.
Rebels outscored NAU 46-30 in second half.
UNLV were +8 in turnovers, scored 1.29 points/possession.

— South Dakota State 68, Kansas State 66
K-State was up 7 with 10:50 left in the game.
6-9 frosh Davis Kern scored 25 points, had 8 rebounds.
Excellent non-conference win for the Summit League.

— San Diego State 102, Cal State-Fullerton 78
Aztecs were 28-34 on foul line, scored 1.28 ppp.
San Diego State led 54-43 at halftime.
Latrell Davis scored 25 points for the Aztecs.

— Duquesne 78, Fort Wayne 71
Fort Wayne led by 6 with 11:29 left in the game.
Dukes shot 61.5% inside arc, Mastodons shot 31.4%.

— Boston College 76, Wagner 50
Luke Murray (Bill Murray’s son) wins his debut as BC’s coach.
Eagles started 4 seniors, only played 7 guys (8th guy played 7:00)

— Ohio U 28, Akron 20
Akron led 17-14 early in 4th quarter.
Bobcats had TD plays of 60-91 yards in the last 9:12 of the game.
Ohio U improves to 7-2; Zips fall to 1-8.

— Buffalo 34, Miami OH 31 OT
Buffalo QB Wright threw for 358 yards, two TD’s.
Miami led 31-16 with 10:00 left in the game.
Miami scored a TD on blocked punt.

— Famous birthdays, November 4th:
Ralph Macchio, 65
Eric Karros, 59
Carlos Baerga, 58
Matthew McConaughey, 57

Dez Bryant, 38
Jared Verse, 26
Tyrese Maxey, 26
Jalen Wilson, 26

— Seattle Mariners hired Jason Kanzler as their new manager; he was previously the director of player development for the Cubs. The 36-year old Kanzler has never managed at any level.

Seattle lost Game 7 of the ALCS in 2025, then went 76-86 this past year, so a change was made.

— In the NHL, Montreal was beating Winnipeg 4-0 with 3:00 left in the game; Jets scored four goals in a 2:08 span, then scored in OT to win 5-4, one of the best comebacks in NHL history.

— Top 4 teams in the hypothetical college football playoff bracket:

1) Miami
2) Georgia
3) Utah
4) Indiana

— Monday night in Norman, East Texas State posted a huge upset, winning 68-64 at Oklahoma; last three years, East Texas went 15-45 in the Southland Conference- this is their fifth year as a Division I team.

— Florida State fired football coach Mike Norvell; he gets $46M to go away. Former Seminole QB Rick Stockstill is the interim coach; he was pretty good when he coached Middle Tennessee.

— UCLA’s fontball team is 8-0 for the first time since 2005.

— Monday night, MAC/Sun Belt teams had a basketball challenge; MAC teams went 8-4 SU/9-3 ATS in those games, which were all in Sun Belt gyms.

— In the NFL, Gardner Minshew will start at QB for Arizona this week; Joe Fagnano will get his first NFL start, for Baltimore. 

— Bears 34, Seahawks 17
Chicago led this game 13-9 at halftime.
Bears won four of their last five games.
Chicago scored 59-27-23-31-30-34 points in wins; 3-7 in losses.

Over is 4-1 when Williams starts at QB.

Seattle lost four of their last six games.
Bears were 7-for-15 on third down, Seahawks 1-11. 

Chicago outgained Seattle, 363-252
Seattle in 2nd half: 33 plays, 153 yards, 8 points. 

— Arizona Cardinals will start Gardner Minshew at QB this week in Seattle; rookie Carson Beck will be the #2 QB, Jacoby Brissett the #3 QB.

— College basketball season is underway; boatload of games from midnight Sunday night thru Monday night. ESPN used to have a college hoop marathon every year, but ESPN has largely gone down the drain the last few years. The 8-game marathon was on YouTube, fun to watch.

— A quick reminder; NCAA Tournament bumps up from 68 to 76 teams this season.

— Grambling 89, Northern Illinois 87
Grambling has a player, Isaiah Miranda, who scored 29 points in 22:00 in this game; he is 7-foot-2, and has an interesting career path.

2023-24- Oklahoma State
2024-25- Green Bay
2025-26- LIU
2026-27- Grambling

He made 4 of 5 shots behind the arc in this game; do you want your 7-2 center taking five 3’s in a game? Before last night, he was 5-for-25 in his career behind the arc.

Northern Illinois, on the other hand, is an expansion team. 14 new players, with NO PLAYERS back from last year. New coach, new players, it is going to take them a while to get going.

— High Point 72, Liberty 57
High Point made NCAA’s last two years; they upset Wisconsin in NCAA’s last year.
Panthers outscored Liberty 35-23 in second half.
I’m wondering how different it is to prepare for a game that started at midnight?

— Gonzaga 78, Purdue 72
Zags were 26-34 on foul line, Purdue 15-21.
Purdue shot 61.9% inside the arc, but were only 5-21 on 3’s.

— BYU 94, Ohio State 83
BYU scored 1.38 ppp, making 11-24 shots behind the arc.
6-1 junior G Wright scored 33 points, had five assists. 

 Famous birthdays, November 3rd:
Dwight Evans, 75
Kate Capshaw, 73
Phil Simms, 71
Dolph Lundgren, 69

Tyler Hansbrough, 41
Kyle Seager, 39
Sean McDermott, 30
Jake LaRavia, 25

— Florida 77, Miami 67
Gators made 11 of 26 shots behind the arc (42.3%).
Thomas Haugh had 19 points, 10 rebounds.

— Memphis 80, Iowa State 76
Impressive win without big man Popovic, who isn’t eligible yet.
5-10 senior G Reid had 26 points, only one assist.

— McNeese State 99, UAB 78
Cowboys scored 1.40 points/possession, making 12-27 on arc.
McNeese made the NCAA’s the last three years, beating Clemson in ’25.

— Utah 66, Long Beach State 63
Long Beach led by 17 early in the second half.
Utes survived shooting only 9-19 on foul line.

— Tulane 100, Tenn-Martin 98, 2OT
UT-Martin led by by nine with 9:10 left in the game.
Tulane was 32-46 on foul line, UT-Martin 19-31.

— College football conference trends:
AAC home favorites 12-9 ATS, home underdogs 6-4 ATS
ACC home underdogs 14-6 ATS
Big 18 home favorites 8-16 ATS, home underdogs 12-9 ATS
Big X home favorites 13-11 ATS, home underdogs 7-4 ATS
C-USA home favorites 9-5 ATS

MAC home favorites 13-7 ATS
Mountain West underdogs 12-7 ATS
Pac-8 home favorites 7-4 ATS
SEC home favorites 14-13 ATS
Sun Belt home underdogs 5-10 ATS

— NFL divisional trends (non-divisional games):
NFC East 3-5 ATS away from home
NFC North favorites 11-5 ATS
NFC South home underdogs 2-6 ATS
NFC West home favorites 4-2 ATS, road favorites 2-5 ATS

AFC East home favorites 6-1 ATS
AFC North favorites 8-6 ATS
AFC South home teams 3-7 ATS
AFC West home teams 5-3 ATS

— Bengals 43, Titans 36, OT
Bengals drove 81 yards, forced OT with a TD with 1:17 left.
QB Burrow threw for 462 yards, with 5 TD’s, 3 INTs.
Tennessee led 13-0 after the first quarter.
Five of Bengals’ seven games were decided by 7 or fewer points.

QB Ward threw for 304 yards, two TD’s.
Tennessee has five losses by 7 or fewer points.
Titans scored 26-24-36 points in their last three games.
Tennessee ran ball 28 times for 158 yards. 

— Lions 19, Vikings 15
Lions ran the ball 39 times for 230 yards.
Lions drove 69 yards, scored game-winning TD with 4:35 left.
Detroit is 4-0 at home, winning by 1-7-3-5 points.
That was first 4th quarter TD Vikings allowed this season. 

Lions’ first five drives: 31 plays, 58 yards, 3 points.
Lions rest of game: 37 plays, 326 yards, 16 points.
Detroit outgained the Vikings, 384-266.
Vikings are 1-5 SU/ATS in last six visits to Detroit.

— Cardinals 33, Cowboys 30
K Ryland kicked walk-off 42-yard field goal in OT.
Down 30-24, Cardinals scored with 0:06 left- Ryland missed PAT.
QB Minshew came off bench, threw for 188 yards, 3 TD’s.
Arizona is 13-6 ATS last 19 games as a road underdog.

Cardinals outgained Dallas, 467-261.
Under Schottenheimer, Cowboys are 2-6 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Schottenheimer, Cowboys are 3-8 ATS in games coming off a win.
Opponents have converted 54 of 105 third down plays.

— Broncos 28, Chiefs 24
Chiefs had ball on 1-yard line in last 0:10, but didn’t score.
Denver won its 15th straight one-score game (decided by 8 or fewer points)
Overall, Broncos won four in row, six of their last seven games.
Broncos are 7-2 ATS in last nine AFC West home games.   

Sean Payton got his 200th win as an NFL head coach.
Chiefs are 2-9 in last 11 games as a road favorite.
KC is 0-6-1 ATS in last seven AFC West road games.
Chiefs outgained Denver 399-294, but had 105 penalty yards. 

— Buccaneers 16, Falcons 0
Game was played in a rainy quagmire, a soaking wet field.
Tampa Bay won despite not completing a pass (0-3) all day.
Buccaneers ran ball 56 times for 324 yards.
Tampa Bay kicked field goals on three of its first five drives.

Falcons turned ball over on four of first seven drives.
Tampa Bay was 4-13 on third down, Atlanta 0-12.
3-5 Atlanta scored 35-45-29 points in wins, 23 or less in losses.
Falcons are 1-5 when they gain less than 400 yards.

— Bills 36, Ravens 10
QB Jackson hurt his thumb on first play, is probably out for year.
#2 QB Huntley hurt his toe in 2nd quarter, left the game.
#3 QB Fagnano went 10-21/91 passing with 2 turnovers in his NFL debut.
Last three games, Ravens were outscored 68-3 in the second half.

Bills outgained the Ravens, 426-144.
Buffalo was only 4-14 on 3rd down, but 4-5 on 4th down.
RB Cook ran the ball 21 times for 80 yards and a TD.
AFC East non-divisional favorites are 7-2 ATS.

— Raiders 38, Jets 33
Jets led 30-21 with 5:00 left in third quarter.
Raiders’ first 3 drives of 2nd half: 29 plays, 227 yards, 21 points.
Raiders ran a kickoff back 95 yards for TD in 2nd quarter.
Last six Raider games went over the total.  

Jets ran the ball 27 times for 166 yards.
Jets lost six of their last seven games.
Jets are 2-6, with five losses by 7 or fewer points.
Aaron Glenn is 5-20 as a head coach.

Famous birthdays, November 2nd:
Jim Bakken, 86
Stefanie Powers, 84
Ron Reed, 84
Larry Little, 81

Tom Paciorek, 80
Ron Lee, 74
Willie McGee, 68
Mark May, 67

David Schwimmer, 60
Danny Amendola, 41
Jimmy Garoppolo, 35
Parker Meadows, 27

— Rams 24, Chargers 9
Rams’ first five drives: 16 plays, 4 yards, no first downs, 3 points.
Rams’ next four drives: 21 plays, 180 yards, 21 points.
Rams are 25-15-1 ATS in last 41 games as a favorite.
Rams are 10-2 ATS in last dozen games vs AFC teams.

Chargers outgained Rams 229-70 in first half.
Bolts in second half: 22 plays, 93 yards, no points.
Chargers lost first seven games, giving up 25.0 ppg
Last four games, Chargers are minus-6 in turnovers.

— Steelers 27, Browns 6
Pittsburgh ran the ball 33 times for 200 yards.
Cleveland ran the ball 15 times for 34 yards.
Steelers won five of their last six games.
Browns are 0-6 SU/ATS last six visits to Pittsburgh.

Cleveland didn’t score a TD, had five 3/outs on 11 drives.
Browns are 4-9 ATS in last 13 games coming off a win. 
Browns are 10-21 ATS last 31 games as a road underdog.
Browns scored 10-12-6 points in losses, 23-21-27-13-27 in wins.

— Jaguars 42, Colts 7
During week, Colts threw in the towel, trading two good linemen.
In this game, Colts threw in the towel again, trailing 28-0 at the half.
Jaguars ran ball 33 times for 183 yards.
First three Jacksonville drives: 31 plays, 261 yards, 21 points.

RB Tuten ran ball 16 times for 104 yards and a TD.
Colts in first half: 28 plays, 102 yards, no points.
Colts are minus-11 in turnovers this season.
Jaguars are 14-5-1 ATS last 20 AFC South games.

— Patriots 24, Dolphins 19
Miami led this game 13-3 at halftime.
Patriots in 2nd half: 29 plays, 199 yards, 21 points.
Miami in second half: 30 plays, 116 yards, 6 points.
NE ran for 109 or fewer yards in its losses, 131+ in wins.

Patriots held six of eight opponents under 100 yards rushing.
Dolphins’ last four games were all decided by 7 or fewer points.
Miami averaged only 5.3 yards/pass attempt.
Miami is 6-3 ATS last nine games as a home underdog.

— Commanders 27, Eagles 10
Last six weeks, Eagles were outscored 90-17 in second half.
Philly lost its last six games, four of them by 11+ points.
Washington is 2-0-1 at home: 33-31 Seattle/27-27 Giants/27-10 Phil
Commanders are +8 in turnovers in their last five games.

Commanders are 9-4 ATS last 13 games as a home favorite.
Eagles are 24 for their last 83 on third down.
Over is 7-1 in their opponents’ team total.
Under Sirianni, Eagles are 10-18 ATS in games coming off a loss.

— Notre Dame 73, Villanova 71
Villanova led by 10 with 10:24 left in the game.
Notre Dame was +9 in turnovers (20-11).
Notre Dame had 17 offensive rebounds.
This game was played in Italy. 

Hope you remembered to turn your clocks back an hour……..

— Indiana 23, Minnesota 16 OT
Gophers kicked a 61-yard FG with 0:19 left to lead 16-13.
Indiana kicked a 60-yard FG at the gun to force OT
Hoosiers outgained Minnesota, 419-215.
8-1 Indiana’s last four games were decided by 3-4-7-7 points.

— Boise State 46, Texas State 45
This game ended after 2am……weird game.
Boise State led 28-3 at halftime.
Boise drove 75 yards, scored game-winning TD with 2:40 left.
Texas State scored 42 points in the second half…….and LOST!!!! 

— Miami 38, North Carolina 35
Miami improved to 8-0, holding off the 4-4 Tar Heels.
Miami QB Mensah threw for 274 yards, three TD’s.
UNC QB Edwards threw for 341 yards, four TD’s.

— Iowa State 51, Oklahoma State 49
OSU scored a TD with 0:53 left to take a 49-48 lead.
Cyclones kicked a 34-yard FG at the gun for the upset win.
Total yards: Iowa State 581, Oklahoma State 533

— USC 30, Ohio State 18
Trojans threw a 69-yard TD pass in first minute of the game.
Frosh backup QB Fahey threw for 260 yards in his first college start.
Buckeyes outgained USC 464-338 on a rainy day in Los Angeles.

— Utah 49, Cincinnati 25
Utah’s first four drives: 35 plays, 333 yards, 28 points.
Utes led Cincinnati 42-6 at halftime.
Utah is 8-0; they play rival BYU next week.

— Oregon 34, Northwestern 26
QB Raiola threw for 336 yards, three TD’s.
Northwestern led 20-6 late in the first half.
Northwestern QB Chiles threw for 281 yards, ran for 93 more.

— NC State 31, California 10
There are rumors swirling that Philip Rivers is going to be NC State’s next football coach; he played for the Wolfpack, before his excellent NFL career. His son has already committed to play QB for NC State next year. Philip Rivers is his son’s high school coach.

— Upsets of the Day:
Troy State (+17.5) 24, James Madison 21
Syracuse (+10) 30, SMU 27
Sacramento State (+10) 31, Kent State 10

Iowa State (+9.5) 51, Oklahoma State 49
Coastal Carolina (+6.5) 31, Georgia Southern 20
Washington (+7.5) 17, Nebraska 10

USC (+6.5) 30, Ohio State 18
Clemson (+6) 36, Florida State 24
South Carolina (+5.5) 42, Oklahoma 25

— Famous birthdays, November 1st:
Tom Mack, 83
Miguel Dilone, 72
Kent Graham, 58

Coco Crisp, 47
Stephen Vogt, 42
Anthony Ramos, 35

Brent Rooker, 32
Payton Tolle, 24
Stephon Castle, 22

— Syracuse 30, SMU 27
Syracuse drove 68 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:17 left.
SMU QB Jennings threw for 351 yards, two TD’s.
Orange even their record at 4-4; SMU slips to 6-2.

— South Carolina 42, Oklahoma 25
Carolina QB Sellers threw for 301 yards, three TD’s.
Sellers also ran ball for 96 yards, two TD’s.
Oklahoma falls to 4-4; they lost their last two home games.

— BYU 27, Arizona State 20
BYU blew 17-3 halftime lead, but outscored ASU 10-3 in 4th quarter.
Cougars won despite running ball 30 times for only 47 yards.
Arizona State is 0-4 when they allow more than 17 points.

— Washington 17, Nebraska 10
Nebraska led 7-3 after three quarters.
Huskies scored two TD’s in a 0:15 span of the 4th quarter to win the game.
Cornhuskers were minus-3 in turnovers; they outgained Huskies, 387-267.

— Texas Tech 34, Arizona 26
Arizona led 17-10 at halftime, throwing a 94-yard TD pass.
Transfer QB Castellanos threw two TD’s in his first start for Tech.
RB Williams ran ball 14 times for 175 yards and a TD.

— Michigan 28, Rutgers 21
Michigan drove 75 yards, scored winning TD with 4:24 left.
Wolverines ran for 161 yards, outgained Rutgers 427-249.
Michigan is 5-3, with only one win by more than seven points.

— Villanova-Notre Dame are playing a basketball game in Italy 9:30 Sunday morning, which tips off the 2026-27 season, before a marathon of games that starts Sunday night at midnight. The marathon games will be shown on YouTube all day Monday. 

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.

———————————————————————

Week 8 college football info is posted
Week 8 NFL info is posted

Saturday’s 6-pack:
Most passing yards in the NFL:
2,246— Jordan Love, GB
1,989— Matthew Stafford, Rams
1,921— Bryce Young, Car
1,877— Kirk Cousins, LV
1,867— CJ Stroud, Hous
1,851— Dak Prescott, Dal

Quote of the Day:
“For me and my teammates, this has been the most special day of our lives — you guys showing up here and cheering us on. This is better than anything we could ever imagine.”
Brewers P Aaron Ashby

Saturday’s quiz
Where did Draymond Green play his college basketball? 

Friday’s quiz
When Richard Nixon was elected president in 1972, he beat George McGovern in the election.  

Tuesday’s quiz
John Fox was the Carolina Panthers’ coach, first time they were in the Super Bowl. 

— NBA Cup tournament started Friday night; every member of the winning team banks an extra $600,000, which is a big deal for the subs, maybe not so much for the stars who make $20-30M a year, or more.

— There is an NBA ref Tony Brothers who is in his 32nd season as an NBA ref- he’s worked over 1,800 regular season games, 215 playoff games. This is a guy who should write a book.

— Warriors 112, Lakers 95
Lakers led by 25 points in the first quarter.
Golden State outscored the Lakers 38-15 in second quarter.
Warriors’ bench outscored the Lakers’ subs, 48-5.

— 76ers 98, Knicks 93
Lebron James scored 20 points, had 9 rebounds, 8 assists.
76ers are 5-1, have beaten the Knicks twice already.
Anfernee Simons scored 21 points in 31:00 off the bench.

— Mavericks 116, Rockets 111
Dallas outscored Houston 40-27 in the fourth quarter.
Kyrie Irving scored 35 points, Cooper Flagg 33.
Mavericks shot 52% from the floor, Houston 42%

— Magic 121, Raptors 114
Franz Wagner scored 26 points, had 11 assists.
Orlando made 18 of their 34 three-point shots.
Orlando starters were a combined +68, their subs minus-33.

— Celtics 125, Bulls 111
Boston led 78-49 at halftime.
Payton Pritchard scored 30 points in 35:00 off the bench.
Chicago shot only 38% from the floor.

— Memphis Grizzlies are 5-0 for the first time since 2015.

— Famous birthdays, October 31st:
Brian Doyle-Murray, 81
John Lucas, 73
Mike Gallego, 66
Fred McGriff, 63

Antonio Davis, 58
Steve Trachsel, 56
Piper Perabo, 50
Tony Kemp, 35

— These are the umpires who worked the World Series; umps get a lot of grief, so it s good to give credit to the six guys who earned their way to the World Series:

Dan Bellino, Vic Carapazza, Tripp Gibson, Nic Lentz, Gabe Morales and Jim Wolf.

— Mets 3B Bo Bichette opted into the second year of his three-year contract that pays him $42M a year; he knows no one else is stupid enough to pay him that much. Bichette hit .260 last year, with a .702 OPS; he was much better in the second half of the season than the first.

— Tampa Bay P Nick Martinez opted out of his $20M deal for next year; he banks $4M for opting out, and figures to make more than $16M on whatever deal he signs this winter.

— Brewers OF Jackson Chourio is the only player ever to have two hits and a stolen base in the same inning of a World Series game.

— Houston Astros hired Randy Flores as their new GM; he had been working as the Cardinals’ assistant general manager. Flores pitched in the major leagues for eight years from 2002-10.

— Oklahoma City Thunder has serious injury issues:
Chet Holmgren is out 8-10 weeks mall patellar tendon tear in his right knee.

Jalen Williams has a broken and dislocated ankle, might be out for the year.

Cason Wallace has a torn labrum in his left shoulder, might be out for the year.

— UConn basketball coach Danny Hurley signed a two-year contract extension; he is now signed on through the 2031-32 season.

— Villanova-Notre Dame are playing a basketball game in Italy 9:30 Sunday morning, which tips off the 2026-27 season, before a marathon of games that starts Sunday night at midnight. The marathon games will be shown on YouTube all day Monday. 

— Packers 27, Panthers 19
Packers in first half: 37 plays, 238 yards, 20 points.
Green Bay led 20-10 at halftime.
QB Love threw for 288 yards, three TD’s.
Packers are 13-9 ATS last 22 games as a home favorite.

Green Bay was 9-16 on third down, Carolina 5-18.
Carolina opponents converted 22 of last 43 third down plays.
Packers still have run ball for only 59 yards/game this year.
Total yardage: Green Bay 354, Carolina 258.

— Carolina, by the way, is the only NFL team that has both:
won a game by 30+ points this year, and
lost a game by 30+ points this year

— Big trade in the NFL; Chicago Bears went all-in on this season, trading two first round draft picks to Tennessee for DT Jeffrey Simmons. Simmons is the first defensive tackle since at least 1967 to be traded for multiple first-round picks.

— North Texas 48, Florida Atlantic 38
North Texas in 2nd half: 41 plays, 245 yards, 24 points.
Game was 24-24 at halftime.
North Texas QB Jackson threw for 390 yards, four TD’s. 

— Troy 24, James Madison 21 OT
17.5-point underdog Trojans pull off a very big upset.
James Madison scored TD’s on their first three drives.
James Madison turned ball over on five of next 13 drives.

— Hawks 114, Cavaliers 111
Onyeka Okongwu scored 29 points, had 12 rebounds.
Cleveland led by 12 points after the first quarter.
Hawks were +17 in the 24:00 Aaron Wiggins played.

— Pelicans 132, Kings 120
Jeremiah Fears had 22 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds.
1-4 Pelicans get their first win; Sacramento is 0-5.
New Orleans shot 60% from the floor.

— Famous birthdays, October 30th
Henry Winkler, 81
Harry Hamlin, 75
Kevin Pollak, 69
Danny Tartabull, 64
Darryl Henley, 60

Ty Detmer, 59
Marco Scutaro, 51
Trent Edwards, 43
Marcus Mariota, 34
Devin Booker, 30

— The great TV studio host Ernie Johnson announced this week that this will be his last year hosting Inside the NBA with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal. Johnson is 72 and is going to cut back his schedule, after 37 years of working the NBA studio show.

What was so cool is the reverence his famous broadcast partners have for him; the love/respect they show him is excellent.

— I’m still waiting for most of my college basketball reference stuff to come in the mail; all these eligibility questions for players have delayed the books from getting printed. College hoop starts Monday; we need the books.

Memphis played Arkansas in an exhibition game the other night; Memphis has a good big man, Namanja Popovic, but he may be ineligible for the first six games- that hasn’t been decided yet. Tigers definitely need him as soon as they can get him.

— Glad to see that former UCLA/St John’s coach Steve Lavin is going to be on ESPN’s airwaves for college basketball games this winter; he is terrific on TV, always learn from him.

— Arizona P Corbin Burnes didn’t opt out of the four years, $140M left on his contract; Astros P Tatsuya Imai exercised his $18M player option for next year and will return to the Astros.

— Red Sox traded OF Nate Eaton to the Sacramento/Las Vegas A’s, in exchange for a minor league pitcher. Eaton probably wouldn’t have been kept on Boston’s 40-man roster next year.

— Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams has been fined $34,823 by the NFL for wearing Caddix cleats; only Nike, Adidas and Under Armour have partnerships with the NFL- if a player wears another type of shoe, he has to cover up the logo or get fined. Williams won’t do that, so either he or the show company has to pay the fine.

— Utah Utes are 7-0 in football for the first time since 2010.

— RIP June Jones, longtime football coach who ran the run-and-shoot offense for several teams in both college/pro football. He was 73 years old. Jones led Hawai’i to the Sugar Bowl in 2007, a huge accomplishment; his teams were great fun to watch. 

RIP, coach. 

— Brewers 4, Rays 1
Brewers win their first-ever World Series title.
Cooper Pratt had two hits, two RBI.
Jacob Misiorowski gave up two hits in 5.2 IP.
Milwaukee wins its second World Series, 4-1.

— Milwaukee had won a World Series before, back in 1957 when the Braves played there, nine years before they moved to Atlanta.

— Now we wait, wait for the labor negotiations to start; the current deal between players and owners ends December 1st. Could be a long winter as we wait and see if all these rich people will kill the golden goose, or if players/owners can negotiate a good agreement.

I’m hoping my baseball consumption next spring isn’t going to be Korean baseball at 5am every day, like it was during the pandemic.

— Indianapolis Colts traded two offensive linemen Tuesday; on Wednesday, WR Josh Downs, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, requested a trade out of Indianapolis. Can’t be a fun time for Colts’ coach Shane Steichen, who figures to get fired after the season.

— Kansas City Chiefs signed five-time All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker, who has been out of the NFL for two years after he had off-field issues with several massage therapists.

— Kennesaw State 44, Middle Tennessee 28
Kennesaw led 19-17 at halftime.
Owls broke game open with a 59-yard pick-6 early in 3rd quarter.
Blue Raiders were 11-20 on third down, Kennesaw 2-10.

— Jacksonville State 24, New Mexico State 0
Gamecocks outgained New Mexico State, 433-221
Jax State ran ball 46 times for 324 yards.
Jax State is 6-2 now, and bowl-eligible; New Mexico State is 3-5. 

— Famous birthdays, October 29th:
Richard Dreyfuss, 79
Kate Jackson, 78
Danny Vranes, 68
Winona Ryder, 55

Gabrielle Union, 54
RA Dickey, 52
Andy Dalton, 39
Ender Inciarte, 36

— 76ers 114, Pacers 109
Sixers outscored Indiana 39-21 in fourth quarter.
Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points, had four assists.
Indiana shot only 9-36 behind the arc.

— Knicks 133, Bulls 127
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points, had seven assists.
Knicks outscored Chicago 43-31 in 4th quarter.
Knicks were +15 in 17:00 with Clarkson on the court.

— Warriors 119, Timberwolves 114
Steph Curry scored 44 points (16-16 on foul line)
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored 26 points, had nine rebounds.
Minnesota is playing without injured star Anthony Edwards.

— Nuggets 104, Pelicans 91
Nikola Jokic logged his 200th career triple-double.
Denver led 37-18 after the first quarter.
New Orleans slips to an 0-4 start.

— Heat 129, Hawks 117
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points, 18 rebounds.
Miami wins for the first time in five games.
Heat out-rebounded Atlanta 52-40.

— Spurs 117, Jazz 111 OT
Victor Wembanyama scored 36 points, had 14 rebounds.
Jazz led by 10 points after the first quarter.
Stephon Castle scored 14 points, had 8 assists.

— Pistons 97, Hornets 89
Detroit outscored Charlotte 32-19 in third quarter.
Cade Cunningham scored 30 points, had 7 assists.
Pistons were +23 in 21:00 that Javonte Green played. 

— Rays 4, Brewers 3 (12)
Cooper Pratt homered in top of the 12th inning.
Rays scored twice in bottom of 12th, without making an out.
Milwaukee used eight pitchers, Tampa Bay used seven.
Brewers lead series, 3-1; Game 5 is Wednesday.

— Celtics 125, Nets 124 OT
Jayson Tatum hit a buzzer-beater for the walk-off win.
Tatum scored 40 points, going 18-22 on the foul line.
Whole Brooklyn team shot a combined 17-22 on the line.

— Knicks 111, Pistons 97
Knicks outscored Detroit 37-13 in third quarter.
Pistons shot 9 for 37 behind the arc.
Knicks get their first win in four games this year.

— Spurs 130, Kings 103
San Antonio led 80-54 at halftime.
Wembanyama scored 29 points, had 10 rebounds.
Spurs shot 60.3% inside the arc.

— Delaware 35, Western Kentucky 21
4-4 Blue Hens led 28-21 at halftime.
Delaware QB Minicucci threw for 414 yards, four TD’s.
Hilltoppers ran ball 34 times for 232 yards.

— Missouri State 24, Sam Houston State 3
Missouri State scored two TD’s in 4th quarter to salt game away.
Sam Houston ran the ball 25 times for 26 yards.
1-7 Bearkats are 0-7 vs I-A teams, scoring 3-3-24-3 last four games.

— Maryland’s football team has lost five games in a row; they already fired the coach. This week, any student who stays until the 4th quarter of their game with Illinois gets put in a raffle, with the winner of the raffle getting free in-state tuition ($5,507.50) for the spring semester.

— Famous birthdays, October 28th:
Dennis Franz, 82
Annie Potts, 74
Randy Wittman, 67
Bob Melvin, 65
Jami Gertz, 61

Julia Roberts, 59
Terrell Davis, 54
Jarrett Jack, 43
Spencer Strider, 28
Stetson Bennett, 29

— NFL trade deadline is November 10th, 13 days away.

— Tuesday, the Colts traded three-time All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle, for a 3rd round pick and a fifth round pick. Nelson has made the Pro Bowl all eight years he’s played in the NFL. Nelson is in the last year of his contract.

— Colts then dealt three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the 49ers, for a 4th-round draft pick. Originally drafted by the 49ers, Buckner will become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

— Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards will have an arthroscopic procedure on his ailing right knee Thursday that will sideline him for up to two months. Edwards scored 47 points in Minnesota’s game Monday night.

— I’m not sure how to take these college basketball exhibition games; how much do they matter?

North Carolina has lost 87% of its scoring from last year, they have a new coach, so they’re really an expansion team of sorts. Coach Malone won an NBA title with Denver, so eventually UNC will be a winning team, but how long does the process take?

Carolina has a senior guard, Angelo Brizzi, who has had an interesting journey rhru college hoop.

2022-23- Villanova
2023-24- Davidson
2024-25- Longwood
2025-26- Buffalo
2026-27- North Carolina

Need to hear an interview with this guy; odd assortment of teams to play for.

— Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor is out for the year after having surgery on an injured toe.  He finished the season with 17 passing TD’s, 1,460 passing yards.

— RIP to actress Susan St James, who passed away at age 80. She was very popular when I was a kid; she was Rock Hudson’s wife in McMillan & Wife and was also in Kate & Allie.