Author: Armadillo Sports

College/minor league basketball tipped off Monday; here’s a recap:
Remember in school, on the first day, when the white board in class was clean? This is what the first night of college hoop has become; no one knows ANYTHING, and that includes coaches.

So many teams are total rebuilds; it is like junior college ball, teams constantly starting over, so we pay attention and try to learn quickly.

— Arizona 93, Florida 87
Gators led 32-20 midway thru first half.
6-8 freshman Peat had 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists.
His brother/father are/were offensive linemen in the NFL.
Arizona was 31-38 on foul line, Florida 20-30.

— BYU 71, Villanova 66
Villanova was 10-35 on the arc; they had a 49-43 edge on the boards.
BYU had only four turnovers the whole game (+7)
BYU’s star freshman AJ Dybanta scored 21 points. 

I thought they said on TV that Dybanta is getting paid $7M this year; SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

— “Winning helps, and losing doesn’t”

Hawaii Pacific 79, Boise State 78
Hawaii Pacific is a D-2 team; this is a horrific loss for a team that was 99-40 over the last four seasons. The Sharks shot 60% inside the arc. Boise was 10-33 behind the arc.

— New Orleans 78, TCU 74
Horned Frogs were a 21-point favorite.
TCU shot 3-27 on the arc, were out-rebounded 38-28.

Great win for the Privateers, who were 26-70 the last three years. 

— Close wins can be red flags:

Auburn 95, Bethune-Cookman 90
Wildcats are coached by former NBA star Reggie Theus; they were 12-22 on the arc.
Auburn started a freshman, two sophs; they were 27-38 on foul line, visitors were 8-9.

Georgia Tech 56, Maryland-Eastern Shore 52 OT
UMES led by nine with 14:31 left in the game.
Tech shot 5-26 on the arc, 9-18 on the foul line.
Only seven players scored for the Yellow Jackets.

Xavier 66, Marist 62
Marist led by a point with 2:11 left in the game.
Red Foxes shot 52.9% inside the arc, out-rebounded Xavier 33-31.
Xavier started four seniors; they were 7-26 behind the arc.

Baylor 96, Texas-Rio Grande 81
Baylor only played eight guys the whole game (78 possessions)
Vaqueros led 26-12 midway thru the first half.
Baylor shot 60% inside the arc, had a 42-26 edge on the glass.

Famous birthdays, November 4th:
Ralph Macchio, 64
Eric Karros, 57
Carlos Baerga, 57
Matthew McConaughey, 56
Orlando Pace, 50
Lorenzen Wright, 50
Tyrese Maxey, 25

— Ohio State 118, IU-Indianapolis 102
IUI has a new head coach after going 24-101 the last four years; they brought in a D-2 coach from West Liberty College who loves to press and play fast- they went 217-37 in his tenure there. 

How will the Jaguars fare in the Horizon League?
They scored 102 points on Ohio State, at least a little impressive.
Game had 86 possessions; a normal game has around 70 possessions. Very fast pace.
IU-Indy shot 68.4% inside the arc, 12-38 outside the arc.

Problem with this  game for IU-Indy?
Ohio State was 42-53 on the foul line, Jaguars were 14-20.

They’re a team worth watching.

— MAC/Sun Belt held a 13-game challenge Monday; home teams went 9-4 SU, with all the MAC teams at home. All the teams that won also covered the spread.

Buffalo 85, Southern Miss 79
Golden Eagles led 26-11 early on.
Southern Miss shot 65.6% inside the arc, Buffalo 52.2%
Buffalo was 12-30 on the arc, 12-23 inside the arc.

— Florida Atlantic 83, Boston College 78 OT
BC led by five points with 1:03 left in regulation.
Owls shot 12-24 on the arc, only 13-25 on the foul line.

ACC teams shouldn’t lose to Florida Atlantic, who went 18-16 LY after Dusty May went 60-13 his last two years at FAU, before bolting to Michigan. But if you’re an ACC team that has hopes for a good season, you can’t lose to Florida Atlantic.

— Drake 77, Northern Arizona 71
NAU led by nine with 9:26 left in the game.
Drake is on its third coach in three years; they had five guys score in double figures.

— Again, today was the first step on a very long journey thru this season; it’ll be fun to follow. 

Bills 28, Chiefs 21
Buffalo scored 41-30-31-31-28 points in its wins.
Bills were held to 20-14 points in their losses.
Buffalo was 7-12 on third down, Chiefs 3-13.
Bills are 13-4-1 ATS in last 18 games with spread of 3 or less points.

Buffalo led 21-13 at halftime.
Chiefs in 2nd half: 29 plays, 111 yards, 7 points.
Chiefs ran the ball 20 times for 79 yards.
Kansas City is 4-1 when it scores 28+ points, 1-3 when it doesn’t. 

Panthers 16, Packers 13
Fitzgerald made a 49-yard FG at the gun to post a big upset.
RB Dowdle ran ball 25 times for 130 yards, two TD’s.
Packers gained 211 yards in 1st half, but were only 2-3 on FG’s.
Green Bay is 0-2 when they score less than 27 points.

Carolina won four of its last five games.
Packers outgained Carolina 369-265, scored only one TD.
Green Bay lost star TE Kraft (knee) in the third quarter.
Tough loss for Packers on QB Love’s 27th birthday. 

Bears 47, Bengals 42
Williams threw a 58-yard TD pass to rookie Loveland with 0:17 left.
Bengals had scored two TD’s in 0:49 span to grab a 42-41 lead.
Cincinnati ran the opening kickoff back for a TD.
Total yardage in game: Bears, 576-495

Last three games, Bears allowed 31-39-47 points.
Rookie TE Loveland caught six passes for 118 yards, two TD’s.
Chicago won five of its last six games.
In wins, Chicago is +16 in turnovers; minus-3 in losses.

Broncos 18, Texans 15
Denver drove 48 yards, kicked a 34-yard walk-off field goal at the gun.
Broncos won their last six games, four by 4 or less points.
Denver’s first 8 drives: 35 plays, 126 yards, 7 points.
Denver’s last 5 drives: 28 plays, 145 yards, 11 points. 

Houston’s first 8 drives: 57 plays, 207 yards, 15 points.
Going 5-6 on field goals with no TD’s makes it hard to win.
Texans are 0-5 when they score less than 26 points.
Houston is 0-5 in games decided by 8 or less points.

Seahawks 38, Commanders 14
Washington QB Daniels dislocated his left elbow late in the game.
Darnold was 16-16/282 on his first 16 passes.
Seattle scored two TD’s in an 0:11 span in the second quarter.
Seahawks won/covered six of last seven games.

Seattle outgained the Commanders, 418-290.
Washington lost its last four games, giving up 25-44-28-38 points. 
Commanders allowed 354+ yards in seven of last eight games.
Commanders are 1-5-1 ATS last seven games as a home underdog.

Vikings 27, Lions 24
Vikings won in Detroit for first time in five years.
Vikings’ first two drives: 12 plays, 100 yards, 14 points.
Minnesota is 5-2-1 ATS in last eight NFC North road games.
Last six Minnesota games went over the total.

Detroit scored 37 points/game in its wins, 13-17-24 in losses.
Lions converted 5-17 third down plays, but 3-3 on 4th down.
Detroit ran the ball 20 times for only 65 yards.
Lions committed 10 penalties for 76 yards. 

Famous birthdays, November 3rd:
Dwight Evans, 74
Phil Simms, 70
Dolph Lundgren, 68

Paul Quantrill, 57
Darren Sharper, 49
Damien Woody, 4t

Tyler Hansbrough, 40
Kyle Seager, 38
Jake LaRavia, 24

Patriots 24, Falcons 23
Falcons scored TD with 4:40 left, but missed the PAT.
Patriots won their last six games (5-1 ATS).
Patriots’ first three drives: 30 plays, 217 yards, 21 points.
Patriots rest of game: 38 plays, 125 yards, 3 points. 

Last three games, Falcons ran ball 53 times for only 178 yards.
Atlanta is 2-0 if its scores 24+ points, 1-5 if it doesn’t.
Falcons’ first five drives: 36 plays, 114 yards, 7 points.
Atlanta is 0-5 when Bijan Robinson runs for less than 75 yards.

Chargers 27, Titans 20
Titans scored on a pick-6 on Chargers’ 2nd offensive play of the game.
Later in 1st quarter, Titans ran a punt back 67 yards for another TD.
Tennessee’s offense: 44 plays, 206 yards, 1-9 on 3rd down, 2 FG’s/9 drives.
Titans were held under 300 TY in seven of nine games.

Last four games, Chargers scored 29-24-37-27 points.
Chargers were 7-13 on third down, Tennessee 1-9.
Bolts outgained Tennessee, 343-206.
QB Herbert threw for 250 yards, ran nine times for 57 more. 

Steelers 27, Colts 20
Colts turned ball over six times (3 fumbles, 3 INTs)
Steelers are 4-0 when they allow less than 31 points.
Steelers are 14-5-1 ATS last 20 games as a home underdog.
Pittsburgh is 11-6 ATS last 17 games coming off a loss.

Indy scored 29+ points in its wins, 20-20 in losses.
Steelers’ first three drives: 10 plays, 9 yards, no points.
Steelers’ next three drives: 26 plays, 145 yards, 17 points.
Colts converted 6-14 third down plays, 5-5 on fourth down.

49ers 34, Giants 24
49ers ran for 159 yards, only 2nd time in last eight games they had 100+ YR.
McCaffrey ran ball for 106 yards and TD, had 67 receiving yards and TD
49ers’ first four drives: 30 plays, 191 yards, 17 points.
49ers are 10-6-1 ATS last 17 games as a road favorite.

Last three games, Giants gave up 33-38-34 points.
Giants allowed 18-17 points in wins, 21+ points in losses.
Giants went over their team total in five of Dart’s six starts.
Giants drove 64 yards for a TD on their first drive.
Next five drives: 18 plays, 29 yards, no points.

Rams 34, Saints 10
Rams are 6-0 when they give up less than 26 points.
Last three games, Rams allowed one TD, one FG on 19 drives.
Rams first four drives: 29 plays, 219 yards, 20 points.
Rams first two drives of 2nd half: 26 plays, 132 yards, 14 points.

QB Stafford threw for 281 yards, four TD’s.
LA ran the ball 43 times for 171 yards, a big improvement.
Rams are 15-7 ATS in last 22 games as a favorite.
Rams outgained New Orleans, 438-224

 Jaguars 30, Raiders 29 OT
Raiders scored TD with 0:16 left in OT, failed on 2-point conversion.
Raiders had a 95-yard TD drive in first half, missed the PAT.
Jaguars’ first three drives: 29 plays, 102 yards, no points.
Jaguars rest of game: 51 plays, 265 yards, 30 points.

Jags’ K Little kicked a 68-yard FG, an NFL record.
Raiders allowed 13-10 points in wins, 20-41-25-40-31-30 in losses.
Raiders ran for 106 or fewer yards in seven of eight games.
QB Geno Smith is 42-50 as an NFL starter.

College basketball games start Monday; here are some story lines I’ll be following as the games get underway:

— Over the last four NCAA Tournaments:
SEC teams have had 36 teams in the tournament; 12 made the Sweet 16 (2nd weekend)
Big 18 teams have had 31 teams in the tournament; nine made the Sweet 16.

Big X teams have had 28 teams in the tournament; ten made the Sweet 16
ACC teams have had 19 teams in the tournament; nine made the Sweet 16

Big East teams have had 19 teams in the tournament; eight made the Sweet 16
Mountain West teams have had 28 teams in the tournament; two made the Sweet 16

— 14 of the 16 SEC teams made it into the tournament last year; LSU, South Carolina didn’t.

Last three years, LSU is 14-40 in SEC games.
South Carolina has made made only two of last 20 NCAA Tournaments, though they did get to the Final Four in 2017.

— Florida won the national title LY; four of their six wins in the tournament were by 6 or fewer points. In three years under Todd Golden, Gators are 34-20 in SEC games. 

— Last Big 18 team to win a national title? Michigan State, in 2000.

Indiana fired alum, ex-NBA coach Mike Woodson last spring; in four years, Woodson was 82-53 with the Hoosiers, 41-39 in Big 18 games, but they missed the NCAA’s the last two years.. 

Darian DeVries comes in after coaching West Virginia for a year; he had previously gotten Drake to the tournament three times in four years.

— Last four years, Purdue is 116-31; last five years, they’re 72-27 in league games. Under Matt Painter, Boilermakers are 23-14 in NCAA Tourney games, but only made the Elite 8 twice in 14 tries- they lost the national title game two years ago. Purdue has high expectations this year.

— Nebraska finished 7-13 in the league LY, missed the conference tournament, then they went to Las Vegas and won the 16-team Crown tournament, an NIT-like event.

This year, the Cornhuskers have seven seniors, making them one of the older teams in the whole country, but only two of those seven guys played for Nebraska LY. Chemistry could be an issue.

— Josh Pastner is UNLV’s sixth coach in 12 years; he was 82-36 in league games at Memphis, only 53-78 at Georgia Tech. UNLV hasn’t made the NCAA’s since 2013; their last win in the tournament was 2008; they’ll be an interesting team to follow.

— Famous birthdays, October 29th:
Richard Dreyfuss, 78
Kate Jackson, 77
Danny Vranes, 67

Jesse Barfield, 66
Winona Ryder, 54
RA Dickey, 51

Keenan Burton, 41
Andy Dalton, 38
Ender Inciarte, 35

— Houston is one of the favorites to win the national title; over the last five years, they’re 160-24, 80-11 in conference games, 16-5 in NCAA Tourney games, getting to the last six Sweet 16’s, and two of last five Final Fours- they lost the national title game 65-63 last year.

Cougars have three starters back this year; a lot, in this day and age. They also brought in five new players.

— BYU brought in the country’s best recruiting class; last five years, they’re 112-54, 50-26 in conference games. BYU has won 20+ games 18 of last 20 years, but since 2012, they’re only 2-6 in the NCAA’s, going WWL in last year’s event.

— Big East has two head coaches named Pitino; Rick Pitino is 51-18 in two years at St John’s- they were a #2-seed LY. Richard Pitino moves from New Mexico to Xavier; he was 75-30 with the Lobos the last three seasons, making the NCAA’s the last two.

January 24/February 9 are the two meetings this year

— Last three years, UConn is 92-22, 45-15 in league games, winning two national titles; this year, Huskies have 62% of their scoring back from LY, plus they poached a couple of point guards in the transfer portal. 

Last year, UConn committed 76 more fouls than their opponents, going 24-11 and getting an #8-seed; they need to even out that number this season.

— Will Wade is NC State’s new coach; he’s having an interesting career:

40-25 @ Chattanooga
51-20 @ VCU
108-54 @ LSU
58-11 @ McNeese State

Wolfpack was in the Final Four two years ago, under Kevin Keatts, but the world has gone crazy so Keatts got fired last spring. We’ll see how Wade does in the shadow of Duke/North Carolina.

— This is Gonzaga’s last season in the WCC; they missed the Sweet 16 last year, the first time since 2014 they missed the Sweet 16. Tyon Grant-Foster just became eligible to play for Gonzaga this year, which makes the Zags’ roster loaded- he was WAC Player of the Year at Grand Canyon last year.

Gonzaga is 28-10 in its last 38 NCAA Tournament games.

— Last four years, Saint Mary’s is 58-7 in conference games, but only 3-4 in NCAA Tourney tilts, despite being a #7 or better seed all four years. 

Jets 39, Bengals 38
Bengals led 31-16 after the third quarter.
Jets in 4th quarter: 20 plays, 184 yards, 23 points.
RB Hall ran for 133 yards, 2 TD’s, also threw the game-winning TD.
Six of Jets’ eight games were decided by 7 or fewer points.

Bengals lost five of their last six games.
Cincinnati scored 29.7 ppg in Flacco’s three starts.
Bengals converted 17-38 3rd down plays with Flacco at QB.
Over is 4-0 in Cincinnati home games.

Ravens 30, Bears 16
Ravens ran the ball 35 times for 177 yards.
Ravens’ 1st 5 drives: 45 plays, 256 yards, but only 16 points.
Baltimore led 10-6 at the half, 16-6 after three quarters.
Ravens in 4th quarter: 16 plays, 87 yards, 14 points. 

Chicago had their 4-game winning streak snapped.
Chicago is 8-14-1 ATS in last 23 games coming off a win.
Bears committed 11 penalties for 79 yards
Chicago is 13-23-2 ATS last 37 games as a road underdog.

Dolphins 34, Falcons 10
Dolphins outgained Atlanta, 338-213.
Tagovailoa threw 4 TD’s, to four different receivers.
Dolphins were 6-13 on third down, Atlanta 2-11.
Miami is 11-7-1 ATS in last 19 games coming off a loss.

Dolphins led 24-3 after the third quarter.
Falcons ran ball only 17 times for 45 yards.
Atlanta is 3-0 if its scores 22+ points, 0-4 if it doesn’t.
Atlanta is 7-17-1 ATS last 25 games as a home favorite.

Bills 40, Panthers 9
James Cook ran for 216 yards, most by Buffalo RB since OJ Simpson in 1976.
Bills’ first eight drives: 51 plays, 374 yards, 5 TD’s, 2 FG’s.
Buffalo scored 41-30-31-31-40 points in its four wins.
Bills are +6 in turnovers in their wins, minus-4 in losses.

Bills coach McDermott is 9-0 coming off a bye.
Buffalo outgained Carolina, 410-244.
Panthers’ first six drives: 36 plays, 164 yards, 3 points.
Carolina had won three in a row overall, was 3-0 at home. 

Texans 26, 49ers 15
QB Stroud threw for 318 yards, two TD’s.
Houston outgained the 49ers, 475-223.
Texans gained 353-417-475 yards in wins, 271 or fewer yards in losses.
Texans in first half: 48 plays, 271 yards, only 16 points. 

49ers’ first five drives: 17 plays, 57 yards, 7 points.
SF ran ball for less than 85 yards in six of last seven games.
Houston was 9-16 on third down, 49ers 3-9.
49ers are 1-11 ATS last 12 games coming off a win.

Eagles 38, Giants 20
Barkley ran 65 yards for a TD on second play of the game.
Philly ran for 276 yards, 1st time in six games they ran for more than 88 yards.
Eagles led 17-10 at halftime.
Eagles’ first three drives in 2nd half: 24 plays, 199 yards, 17 points. 

Eagles outgained the Giants, 427-247.
Giants lost RB Skattebo (dislocated ankle)
Giants are 8-12 ATS last 20 games as a road underdog
Giants are 0-13 SU/6-7 ATS last 13 visits to Philadelphia.

Famous birthdays, October 27th:
John Cleese, 86
Pete Vuckovich, 73
Matt Cavanaugh, 69
Rick Carlisle, 66
Timm Rosenbach, 59

Brad Radke, 53
Brady Quinn, 41
Jon Niese, 39
Mark Barron, 36
Lonzo Ball, 28

Patriots 32, Browns 13
Patriots won/covered their last five games.
New England led 9-7 at halftime.
Patriots in third quarter: 15 plays, 164 yards, 21 points.
New England is 5-0 when it scores more than 14 points. 

Browns in 3rd quarter: 11 plays, 15 yards, 2 INT’s, a punt.
Browns are 0-4 on road, losing by 24-24-14-19 points.
Cleveland is 8-19-1 ATS last 28 games as a road underdog.
Browns have scored 17 or fewer points in seven of eight games.

Buccaneers 23, Saints 3
Buccaneers led 7-3 at halftime; only TD was a pick-6.
Tampa Bay’s 1st four 2nd half drives: 28 plays, 115 yards, 16 points.
Buccaneers are 12-3-1 ATS in last 16 games coming off a loss.
Buccaneers won/covered last four visits to Bourbon Street.

Saints outgained Tampa 275-212, but had 4 turnovers (minus-3)
Saints’ first five drives: 23 plays, 113 yards, no points, 3 turnovers.
Rookie QB Shough was 17-30/128 passing in relief of benched starter Rattler.
Saints are 6-16 ATS last 22 games as a home underdog.

Colts 38, Titans 14
RB Taylor ran for 153 yards, 2 TD’s, including an 80-yard run.
Under Steichen, Indy is 9-2 ATS as a home favorite.
Colts are 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS at home this season.
Colts’ team total: over 7-1

Tennessee is 1-7 SU/ATS, with six losses by 10+ points.
WR Dike caught seven passes for 93 yards.
Titans are 4-15 ATS in last 19 games as an underdog.
Johnny Hekker had his 1,000th career punt in this game. 

Broncos 44, Cowboys 24
Denver won its fifth game in a row.
QB Nix threw for 247 yards, four TD’s.
Broncos led 27-10 at halftime.
Only 8 of Denver’s 57 plays came on third down.

Dallas is 1-3 on the road; only win was over the 0-7 Jets.
Dallas is 0-4 when they score less than 37 points.
Cowboys are 3-6 ATS last nine games coming off a win.
Over is 4-1 in last five Dallas games.

Packers 35, Steelers 25
Pittsburgh led 16-7 at halftime.
Packers in second half: 36 plays, 279 yards, 28 points.
Steelers in 2nd half: 27 plays, 102 yards, nine points.
At one point, Jordan Love completed 20 consecutive passes. 

Green Bay is 5-0-1 when it scores 27+ points.
Steelers allowed 32-31-35 points in their three losses.
Green Bay was 5-12 on third down, Pittsburgh 1-10.
Packers outgained the Steelers, 454-295. 

— LSU fired football coach Brian Kelly, because college/minor league sports is off its rocker; Kelly was 34-14 at LSU, but lost three of his last four games. LSU expected to compete for a national title this season; now they’re a complete train wreck.

Kelly is owed just more than $54M in buyout money. million, with an M

Frank Wilson, LSU’s associate head coach and running backs coach, will take over the team as interim head coach. LSU’s next game is against Alabama November 8th; that should go well.

Couple weeks ago, Penn State paid coach James Franklin $49M to take a hike, and now this; who the hell has $100M laying around to give away? Franklin was 104-45 at Penn State and he got fired.

Yikes. 

October 22 has been a memorable day for me:

Flash back to October 22, 1972; I was 12 years old, the A’s were playing Game 7 of the World Series in Cincinnati. Big day; when Joe Rudi caught a fly ball in left field for the last out, the A’s had won their first of three consecutive World Series. 12-year old me was very happy.

Some stuff about that game:

— Game 7 of that World Series started at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon; things have changed. All seven games in this year’s World Series will start at 8:00- none of the games are on a Sunday. 

— Rollie Fingers got the last six outs for the save; back then, closers often got more than three outs to get a save. So when you hear people describe Mariano Rivera as “the best closer ever” remember that he almost always got three outs per game. Guys like Fingers and Bruce Sutter did more than that.

— Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter got eight outs and the win in Game 7, two days after he started Game 5; he was 7-2, 2.55 in 14 playoff games with the A’s. He threw a perfect game in May 1968.

So the A’s won the World Series, then the 4:00 NFL games came on TV; Rams wound up beating the Bengals 15-12 on a last-second field goal. All in all, October 22, 1972 was a very good day.

12-year old me was really, really happy.

Flash forward to October 22, 2019; on October 12, the retina in my right eye detached while I was in Las Vegas. I knew it was bad, but I had no idea what the problem was; I saw a few doctors when I got home, and on October 22, Dr Mallick fixed my retina.

Thanks for my cousins for driving me to the hospital that day.

I am forever grateful to Dr Mallick and Dr Lemanski (she did my cataract surgery 10 months later) for fixing my eye. Must be a cool job, helping people to see again.

Anyway, that is why October 22 stands out on the calendar for me.

— Famous birthdays, October 22nd:
Christopher Lloyd, 87
Wilbur Wood, 84
Jeff Goldblum, 73
Jamie Quirk, 71

Bob Odenkirk, 63
Carmen Ejogo, 52
Ichiro Suzuki, 52
Jeff McInnis, 51

Leonard Marshall, 44
Robinson Cano, 43
Corbin Burnes, 31
Geraldo Perdomo, 26

— Thunder 125, Rockets 124, 2 OTs
Gilgeous-Alexander had 5 points at halftime, wound up with 35.
Thunder shot 13-52 on the src, 33-52 inside the arc.
Houston had 21 turnovers, Thunder only 11.
Alperen Sengun scored 39 points for Houston

— Kennesaw State 45, Florida International 26
Owls led 24-14 at half, snapped a 13-game road losing streak.
Both teams ran ball for 200+ yards.
Kennesaw played two QB’s, averaged 16.7 yards/pass attempt
QB Jenkins threw for 296 yards and a TD for FIU

— Western Kentucky 28, Louisiana Tech 27 OT
WKU scored TD, then scored on a 2-point conversion for the OT win.
Hilltoppers led 20-7 at halftime.
Tech outgained WKU 449-340; they were 10-19 on third down.
WKU is 6-2 and is now bowl eligible. 

— Los Angeles Angels hired Kurt Suzuki as their new manager; Suzuki hit .255 in his 16-year career as a catcher, for five different teams. He was with the Washington Nationals when they won the 2019 World Series.

Suzuki has no professional coaching experience; the Angels have the longest playoff drought in the major leagues- they last made the postseason in 2014. Suzuki is the Angels’ fifth manager in eight years.

— Dodgers are -210 to win the World Series; Blue Jays are +175.

— Toronto P Trey Yesavage started this season in Class A ball; he threw 98 IP for four different minor league teams this year, then pitched 14 innings for Toronto in the regular season and has now thrown 15 more innings in the playoffs. Impressive season for the 21-year old.

— Blue Jays OF Vladimir Guerrero Jr is hitting .442 in this year’s playoffs, with 12 RBI in 11 games. 

How NFL teams do on first drive of a half:
(All teams 4 games/8 halves, except SF/Rams (5/10))

NFC East
Dallas:
outscored 34-7 on first drive of a half
outgained 197-88 on first drive of games

Giants:
10-10 on first drive of each half
last three weeks, Giants gained 190 yards on first drive of game.

Eagles:
outscored opponents 27-14 on first drive of a half
scored TD on first drive in 3 of 4 games. 

Commanders:
outscored 16-10 on first drive of a half
first drives of a game: 17 plays, 43 yards

NFC North
Bears:
outscored opponents 28-10 on first drive of a half
have four takeaways in first drive of a half (+4)
first drive of half: 4 TD’s, 4 three/outs.

Lions:
outscored 35-27 on first drive of a half
Allowed a TD on first drive in all four games
39 plays, 325 yards, four TD’s

Packers:
outscored opponents 24-3 on first drive of a half
opponents’ first drive of game: 17 plays, 38 yards, no points

Vikings:
outscored opponents 17-13 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive, last 4 halves: 12 plays, 8 yards, 4 punts

NFC South
Falcons
outscored opponents 23-10 on first drive of a half
first drive of game: 28 plays, 197 yards, 13 points.

Panthers
outscored opponents 24-20 on first drive of a half
Last two games, had TD drives of 61-76 yards on their 1st drive.

Saints
outscored 27-14 on first drive of a half
Last 2 games, gave up 3 TD’s and FG on first drive of the half. 

Buccaneers
outscored 24-13 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of half: 28 plays, 253 yards, 24 points

NFC West
Cardinals
outscored opponents 16-10 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of game: 15 plays, 42 yards, no points

Rams
outscored opponents 27-20 on first drive of a half
in their two losses, opponent scored a TD on their first drive.

49ers
outscored opponents 17-0 on first drive of a game
Last 2 games, 49ers averaged 64.3 yards/1st drive of a half

Seahawks
outscored opponents 27-10 on first drive of a half
last three games, have 3 TD’s, 2 FG’s on first drive of half.

Famous birthdays, October 4th:
Susan Sarandon, 79
Tony LaRussa, 81
John Wathan, 76
Truck Robinson, 74

AC Green, 62
Mark McLemore, 61
Liev Schreiber, 58
Kurt Thomas, 53

Tony Gwynn Jr, 43
Derrick Rose, 37
Dakota Johnson, 36
Oneil Cruz, 27

AFC East
Bills
outscored opponents 52-24 on first drive of a half
1st drives of a half: 70 plays, 560 yards, 7 TD’s, FG

Dolphins
outscored 34-20 on first drive of a half
opponents average 74.3 yards/opening drive of game.

Patriots
outscored 31-14 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of game: 24 plays, 201 yards, 21 points. 

Jets
outscored 33-13 on first drive of a half
Opponents on 1st drive of half: 3 TD’s, 4 field goals

AFC North
Ravens
outscored 38-37 on first drive of a half
last two games, started game with TD drives of 80-70 yards

Bengals
outscored 28-17 on first drive of a half
allowed TD on first drive in three of four games

Browns
outscored opponents 14-10 on first drive of a half
Last 3 games: 13 plays, 19 plays on first drive of 3rd quarter

Steelers
17-17 on first drive of each half
first drive of 2nd half: 15 plays, 30 yards, no points

AFC South
Texans
outscored 17-10 on first drive of a half
first drive of 2nd half: 23 plays, 58 yards, no points

Colts
outscored 24-22 on first drive of a half
1st drive of half: one TD, 5 FG’s, 2 turnovers

Jaguars
outscored 20-13 on first drive of a half
Opponents on 1st drive of 3rd quarter: 27 plays, 245 yards, 14 points

AFC West
Broncos
outscored opponents 14-10 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of half: 66 plays, 341 yards, 7 FG’s

Chiefs
outscored opponents 27-20 on first drive of a half
1st drive of 3rd quarter: 32 plays, 224 yards, 21 points

Raiders
17-17 on first drive of each half
last 3 games, threw three INT’s on first drive of a half. 

Chargers
outscored 24-19 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of 3rd quarter: 41 plays, 228 yards, 17 points

This is our Week 1 NFL article; you can find it every week on the NFL page. As the season goes on and more games are played, the information gets better.

Week 1
Thursday
Cowboys vs Eagles (-7)
Dallas won its last three road openers, covered the last four.
Since 2020, Cowboys are 10-13 ATS as a road underdog.
Last five years, Dallas is 7-8 ATS in NFC East road games.
QB Prescott is 78-51 as an NFL starter. 

This is Brian Schottenheimer’s first game as a head coach.
Under is 6-3 in Cowboys’ last nine season openers. 

Last four years, Eagles are 15-11-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, Eagles are 7-5 ATS in NFC East home games.
Last four years, Philly is 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Last six years, Eagles are 3-3 SU/1-5 ATS in home openers.
QB Hurts is 51-23 as an NFL starter, 5-3 in playoff games.
Sirianni is 53-23 as an NFL coach, 5-3 in playoff games.
Over is 5-1 in Philly’s last six season openers.
Over the last 17 years, the Super Bowl champ is 19-6-2 ATS in its Week 1 game the next year.

Eagles beat Dallas twice last year: 34-6/41-7.
Cowboys are 1-4 SU/ATS in last five visits to Philadelphia.
Home teams covered five of last six series games.
Over is 6-2 in last eight series games

Friday
Chargers vs Chiefs  (-2.5) (@ Brazil)
Last six years, Chargers started season 1-0 five times.
Chargers are 4-2 SU/6-0 ATS vs AFC West rivals last year.
Last year, Bolts were 3-2 ATS as an underdog. Last eight years, 

QB Herbert is 41-40 as an NFL starter, 0-2 in playoff games.
Jim Harbaugh is as an NFL head coach.

Last eight years, Chiefs are 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS in Week 1
Kansas City is 13-6-1 ATS in last 20 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Last five years, Chiefs are 10-20 ATS vs AFC West rivals.
QB Mahomes is 106-26 as an NFL starter, 17-3 in playoff games.

Andy Reid is 301-163-1 as an NFL head coach
Over the last 22 years, the team that lost the Super Bowl is 6-16 ATS in its season opener the next year.

Chiefs won six in row, 19 of last 22 series games.
KC beat Chargers twice last year, 19-17/17-10.
Under is 4-1 in last five meetings.

Giants @ Commanders (-7.5)
Last eight years, Giants are 1-7 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
QB Wilson is 130-85-1 as an NFL starter, 23-32 last four years.
Daboll is 19-33-1 as an NFL head coach, 1-1 in playoffs.
Under Daboll, Giants are 12-10 ATS as a road underdog
Under Daboll, Giants are 5-4 ATS on road vs NFC East rivals.

Washington was 12-5 LY, its first winning year since 2016.
QB Daniels is 14-6 as an NFL starter.
Quinn is 60-50 as an NFL coach, 5-3 in playoffs.
Last four years, Commanders are 4-7-1 ATS at home vs NFC East rivals.
Last 20 years, Washington is 1-5-1 ATS as a favorite in Week 1 games.
Last 12 years, Commanders are 4-8 ATS in Week 1 games.

Washington beat Giants twice LY, 21-18/27-22.
Previous five years, Giants were 7-2-1 SU/ATS vs Washington.
Giants are 5-2 SU/6-1 ATS in last seven visits here. 

Cardinals (-4.5) @ Saints
Last three years, Arizona is 0-2 ATS as a road favorite.
Under Gannon, Cardinals are 3-3 ATS as a favorite.
Murray is 36-46-1 as an NFL starter.
Gannon is 12-22 in two years as a head coach.
Cardinals lost last three season openers, giving up 44-20-38 points.
This is first time since 2018 that Arizona is favored in Week 1.

Saints won their last six season openers SU.
Last four years, Saints are 7-11 ATS as a home underdog.
This is Kellen Moore’s first game as a head coach.
This is rookie QB Shough’s first NFL game- he’ll be 26 in a few weeks.

Teams split last six series games.
Over is 7-2 in last nine meetings.

Dolphins @ Colts (-1)
Dolphins won four of last five season openers.
Miami is 7-3 ATS in its last ten road openers.
QB Tagovailoa is 38-25 as an NFL starter.
McDaniel is 28-25 as a head coach, 0-2 in playoffs.
Since 2021, Miami is 11-15-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Dolphins are 12-8 ATS in last 20 games on artificial turf.

Since 2014, Colts are 0-10-1 SU in season openers.
Colts have split their last six home openers.
QB Jones 25-45-1 is as an NFL starter, with the Giants.
Steichen is 17-17 SU in two years as a head coach
Under Steichen, Indy is 12-6 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Colts won eight of last ten series games.
Teams split last six meetings played in Indy.

Raiders @ Patriots (-2)
Since 2019, Las Vegas is 21-16 ATS as a road underdog.
Raiders are 7-3 ATS in last ten road openers.
Last 2 years, Raiders are 10-5-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Geno Smith is 40-44 as an NFL starter.
Carroll is 181-131-1 as an NFL head coach, 11-11 in playoffs.
Carroll was 28-23 coaching New England from 1997-99.

Patriots lost three of last four season openers.
NE is 0-4 SU/0-3-1 ATS last four home openers.
NE is 8-16-3 ATS last 27 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Maye is 3-9 as an NFL starter.
Vrabel was 56-48 as head coach of the Titans.

Raiders won last two series games, after losing previous six.
Raiders are 0-4 SU/1-3 ATS in last four visits to Foxboro.
Tom Brady is now a part-owner of the Raiders.

Steelers (-2.5) @ Jets
Pittsburgh opens on road for 10th time in last 11 years.
Steelers won/covered four of their last five season openers.
Last four years, Pittsburgh is 4-3 ATS as a road favorite.
QB Rodgers is 164-97-1 as an NFL starter.
He played for the Jets the last two years (6-12).

Tomlin is 191-118-2 as an NFL head coach.
Tomlin won a Super Bowl, but it was in 2008.
Rodgers won a Super Bowl, but it was in 2010.
Steelers are 25-12-1 ATS last 38 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Under is 11-1 in their last 12 road openers.

Jets are 9-15 ATS as a home underdog.
Jets are 1-5 SU/ATS in last six season openers.
Under is 7-1 in their last eight home openers.
QB Fields is 14-30 as an NFL starter.
Fields played for the Steelers last year (4-2 in six starts).

This is Aaron Glenn’s first game as a head coach.
Last four years, Jets are minus-28 in turnovers.
Jets are 7-15-1 ATS in last 23 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Teams split the last ten series games.
Steelers lost four of last five visits to the Garden State.
Under is 5-2 in last seven meetings. 

Panthers @ Jaguars (-2.5)
Last 4 years, Panthers are 11-20-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Carolina is 1-5 SU/ATS in last six season openers.
Panthers are 7-13 ATS last 20 games vs AFC opponents.
QB Young is 6-22 as an NFL starter,
Canales is 5-12 as a head coach.
Last 3 years, Carolina is 5-5-2 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Last 5 years, Jaguars are 4-10 ATS as a home favorite.
Last 2 years, Jaguars are 6-4 ATS vs NFC opponents.
Jaguars are 6-5-1 ATS in last 12 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Since 2012, Jacksonville is 3-10 ATS in its home opener. 

Jaguars’ last four home openers stayed under the total.
QB Lawrence is 23-39 as an NFL starter.
This is Liam Coan’s first game as a head coach.

Carolina won four of six series games.
Three of last four meetings stayed under the total.
These two head coaches were the last two OC’s for the Buccaneers.

Bengals (-5) @ Browns
Since 2021, Bengals are 14-7 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2021, Bengals are 13-8-1 ATS on natural grass.
Last six years, Cincinnati started 0-1 five times.
QB Burrow is 43-32-1 as an NFL starter.
Taylor is 51-54-1 as a head coach.
Under Taylor, Bengals are 8-9-1 ATS in AFC North road games,
Last three years, Cincinnati is +19 in turnovers. 

Last four years, Browns are 7-6-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Last three years, Cleveland is 7-2 ATS in AFC North home games.
Browns are 3-2 SU in their last five home openers.
QB Flacco is 115-92 as an NFL starter (7-14 since 2020)
Last two years, Browns were -22/-11 in turnovers.
Stefanski is 41-46 as a head coach.
Over is 5-1 in Cleveland’s last six home openers.

Cincinnati won four of last six series games.
Bengals are 1-6 SU/3-3-1 ATS in last seven visits to Cleveland.
Under is 3-1-1 in last five meetings.

Buccaneers (-1.5) @ Falcons
Since 2021, Tampa Bay is 7-11 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2020, Bucs are 12-10-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Since 2021, Bucs are 7-5 ATS in NFC South road games.
Last three years, Tampa Bay is 9-4 ATS on artificial turf.
Bucs won/covered five of last seven road openers. 
Mayfield is 52-56 as an NFL starter, 20-17 with the Bucs.
Bowles is 54-68 as a head coach, 28-27 with Tampa Bay.

Last three years, Falcons are 4-2-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2019, Atlanta is 7-11 ATS in NFC South home games.
Last two years, Falcons are 7-16 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Penix was 1-2 as a starter as a rookie last year.
Morris is 29-47 as a head coach.
He was 17-31 as coach of Tampa Bay, from 2009-11.
This is 6th year in a row Falcons are at home in Week 1.
Last five years, Atlanta is 1-4 SU/2-3 ATS in home openers.

Falcons won last three series games, by 3-6-5 points.
Bucs won four of last six visits to Atlanta.
Over is 9-3 in last 12 meetings.

49ers (-1.5) @ Seahawks
Since 2020, 49ers are 16-14-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Last 3 years, 49ers are 5-2-1 ATS in NFC West road games.
Since 2020, 49ers are 10-12 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Purdy is 27-15 as an NFL starter.
Shanahan is 78-66 as an NFL head coach
Under is 6-2 in San Francisco’s last eight road openers.

Last three years, Seahawks are 8-15-1 ATS at home.
Last four years, Seattle is 4-8 ATS in NFC West home games.
Since 2021, Seattle is 11-13-2 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Darnold is 35-39 as an NFL starter.
Seahawks are his 4th team the last four years.
MacDonald was 10-7 LY, in his first year as a head coach.

San Francisco won six of last seven series games.
49ers won/covered last three visits to Seattle.
Under is 4-1-1 in last six meetings.

Titans @ Broncos (-7)
Last two years, Tennessee was 4-11 ATS as a road underdog.
Last year, Titans were 2-9 ATS as an underdog.
Titans were minus-16 in turnovers last year.
Last four years, Tennessee is 0-4 SU/1-3 ATS in Week 1.
Rookie QB Ward is making his first NFL start.
Callahan was 3-14 LY, his first year as an NFL head coach

Last year, Denver was 8-0 ATS as a favorite, 6-0 at home.
From 2015-23, Broncos were only 13-26-4 ATS as a home favorite.
QB Nix was 10-8 as a starter in his rookie season.
Payton is 179-114 as an NFL head coach, 18-17 with Denver.
Broncos lost four of last six home openers.
Under is 6-0 in their last six home openers.

Tennessee won three of last four series games.
Last four meetings stayed under the total.

Texans @ Rams (-2.5)
Last 2 years, Texans were 10-7/10-7, 1-1 in playoffs both years.
Last 2 years, Houston was +11/+12 in turnovers.
QB Stroud is 21-15 as an NFL starter. 

Ryans is 22-16 in two years as an NFL head coach.
Under Ryans, Texans are 6-3 ATS as a road underdog.
Under Ryans, Texans are 5-4-1 ATS vs NFC teams.
Under Ryans, Houston is 9-8 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Last two years, Rams went 10-7/11-6 (1-2 in playoffs).
QB Stafford is 39-25 as the Rams’ starter (113-118-1 overall).
McVay is 88-57 as an NFL head coach.
Last four years, Rams are 8-12 ATS as a home favorite.
Last two years, Rams were 6-3-1 ATS vs AFC teams.
Last two years, Rams were 7-4-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Rams have won four of five games vs Houston (5-0 ATS)

Lions (-1.5) @ Packers
Last two years, Lions were 27-7 SU/24-10 ATS.
QB Goff is 85-57-1 as an NFL starter, 43-30-1 with Detroit.
Campbell is 46-37-1 as an NFL head coach.
Detroit has two new coordinators this season.
Last two years, Lions were 11-2 ATS as a road favorite.
Last 3 years, Detroit is 8-1 ATS in road games vs NFC North rivals.
Lions are 18-6 ATS in last 24 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Green Bay has had winning seasons 5 of last 6 years.
QB Love is as an NFL starter
LaFleur is as an NFL head coach.
Since 2018, Packers are 6-3 ATS as a home underdog.
Last 2 years, Green Bay was 1-5 ATS in home games vs NFC North rivals.
Packers are 12-12-1 ATS in last 25 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Detroit won five of last six series games.
Lions won/covered last three visits to Lambeau.
Over is 6-3 in last nine meetings.

Ravens @ Bills (-1.5)
Last 2 years, Ravens were 25-9 SU/22-12 ATS
QB Jackson is 73-29 as an NFL starter
John Harbaugh is 185-115 as an NFL head coach.
Since 2017, Baltimore is 14-5-2 ATS as a road underdog.
Ravens are 20-6 ATS in last 26 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Buffalo has had six straight winning years (71-28 SU/55-42-3 ATS)
Last year, Bills were +24 in turnovers (32-8)
QB Allen is 83-40 as an NFL starter.
McDermott is 93-52 as an NFL head coach.
Last five years, Bills are 22-17-1 ATS at home.
Buffalo is 19-5-1 ATS in last 25 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Ravens won four of last six series games.
Ravens lost 27-25 here in last year’s playoffs.
Under is 3-1-1 in last five meetings.

Vikings @ Bears (-1)
Vikings were 14-3 last year, dumped QB Darnold anyway.
2nd year QB McCarthy is making his first NFL start; he was hurt last year.
O’Connell is 34-19 as an NFL head coach.
Last two years, Vikings were 11-5-2 ATS on the road.
Under O’Connell, Minnesota is  4-4-1 ATS on road vs NFC North rivals.
Vikings are 14-11-4 ATS in last 29 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Under O’Connell, Vikings are 26-9 SU in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Bears have had four straight losing years; they have a new coach now.
This is Ben Johnson’s first game as an NFL head coach.
QB Williams was 5-12 as a starter in his rookie year LY.
Last two years, Chicago was 10-5-1 ATS at home.
Last five years, Bears were 3-11-1 ATS at home vs NFC North rivals.
Chicago is 6-11-2 ATS in last 19 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Vikings won eight of last nine series games.
Minnesota is 5-0 SU/4-0-1 ATS in last five visits to Chicago.
Under is 5-2 in last seven meetings.

— Astros 2, Angels 0
Cristian Javier didn’t allow a hit in 6 IP (85 PT)
Carlos Correa had a game-winning single in 7th inning.
Angels have lost 8 of their last 10 games.

— Pirates 4, Red Sox 2
Paul Skenes threw 6 innings; he is now 9-9, 2.05 this year.
Red Sox led 2-0 after the fifth inning.
Andrew McCutchen knocked in the go-head run in the top of the 6th.

— Tarleton State 30, Army 27 OT
I-AA Tarleton was a 14.5 point underdog.
Army missed 43, 35 yard field goals at end of regulation, in overtime.
Army outgained Tarleton 411-344, but was minus-3 in turnovers.

— Auburn 38, Baylor 24
Auburn ran a kickoff back 98 yards for a TD.
Tigers ran ball for 307 yards (5.9 yards/carry).
QB Arnold, a transfer from Oklahoma, ran ball for 137 yards, scored 2 TD’s.

— Georgia Tech 27, Colorado 20
QB King ran 45 yards for a touchdown with 1:07 left.
Tech lost two fumbles, threw an INT on its first three drives.
Tech outgained Colorado, 463-305.

— Wake Forest 10, Kennesaw State 9
Jake Dickert gets a close win in his first game as Wake Forest’s coach.
Deacons’ only TD came in first quarter; they were an 18-point favorite.
Wake Forest outgained Kennesaw State of C-USA 348-307

— UNLV 38, Sam Houston State 21
Rebels led 24-7 at halftime, improved to 2-0.
QB Colandrea threw for 249 yards, two TD’s.
UNLV ran 56 plays, only 9 of them on third down. 

— Famous birthdays, August 30th:
Dave Chalk, 75
Robert Parish, 72
David Paymer, 71
Michael Michele, 59
Cameron Diaz, 53

Shaun Alexander, 48
Cliff Lee, 47
Adam Wainwright, 44
Mikal Bridges, 29
Drake Maye, 23

— Cardinals 7, Reds 5 (10)
Masyn Winn went 3-for-5, drove in three runs.
Game-winning run scored on a throwing error by Elly De La Cruz.
Reds have lost seven of their last eight games.

— Phillies 2, Braves 1
Eric Bohm’s 8th inning sac fly scored the game-winning run.
Braves had 12 hits, but were 2-12 with runners in scoring position.
Kyle Schwarber scored both runs for the Phillies.

— Mets 19, Marlins 9
Mets led 5-0 before they made an out; it was 12-0 after two innings.
Rookie Jonah Tong allowed four runs in 5 IP in his MLB debut.
Brandon Nimmo homered twice, scored 4 runs, had 4 RBI

— Brewers 7, Blue Jays 2
Freddy Peralta tossed six shutout IP.
Game was scoreless after five innings.
Toronto’s lead in AL East is down to three games.

— New York 10, White Sox 2
New York won its sixth consecutive game.
New York’s payroll: $295,660,655

Chicago lost its fourth game in a row.
White Sox’ payroll: $84,161,459

— Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 0
Zac Gallen allowed two hits in six shutout IP.
Dodgers still lead San Diego by two games in NL West.

— Guardians 5, Mariners 4
Seattle scored 4 runs in top of 1st, led 4-1 after six innings.
Steven Kwan had a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 9th inning.
Cleveland moves within four games of Seattle for the AL’s last Wild Card slot. 

Trends for major league teams
(thru Monday’s games)

— Arizona (64-68)
Arizona won seven of its last nine home games.
Diamondbacks are 17-24 in one-run games.
Arizona scored in first inning in 14 of last 17 home games.
Arizona is 14-28 in last 42 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (59-72)
Braves are 11-5 in their last 16 games.
Atlanta is 33-33 at home, 26-39 on the road.
Braves are 21-18 vs NL East rivals, 38-54 vs everyone else.
Under is 3-0 in their last three games.

— Cubs (76-55)
Chicago is 8-2 in its last ten games.
Cubs are holding #1 Wild Card slot in NL
Under is 19-3-1 in their last 23 games.
Cubs are 59-37 vs righty starters, 17-18 vs lefties.

— Reds (68-64)
Cincinnati lost four of its last five games.
Reds are 50-44 vs righty starters, 18-20 vs lefties.
Under is 13-5-1 in their last 19 road games.
Reds scored in first inning in 10 of last 19 home games.

— Rockies (37-94)
Colorado lost five of its last six games.
Under is 9-5 in Rockies’ last 14 games.
Rockies are 5-30 vs lefty starters, 32-64 vs righties. 
Colorado hasn’t scored a first inning run in its last 27 road games.

— Dodgers (75-57)
Dodgers are 6-1 in last seven home games.
LA leads San Diego by a game in NL West.
Dodgers are 56-38 vs righty starters, 19-19 vs lefties.
Under is 7-4 in their last 11 home games.

— Marlins (62-69)                                                                      
Marlins are 5-11 in their last 16 games.
Miami is 31-35 at home, 31-34 on the road.
Under is 14-7 in Marlins’ last 21 road games.
Last three weeks, Marlins are 1-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (82-50)
Brewers are 3-5 in their last eight games.
Milwaukee is 44-22 at home, 38-28 on the road.
Over is 13-5-1 in their last nineteen home games. 
Milwaukee leads the Cubs by 5.5 games in the NL Central.

— Mets (70-61)
Mets are 6-3 in their last nine games.
Mets are 42-24 at home, 28-37 on the road.
Over is 10-3-2 in their last 15 games.
Mets leads the Reds by 2.5 games for last NL Wild Card slot.

— Phillies (76-55)
Phillies are 14-7 in their last 21 games.
Phillies are 58-35 vs righty starters, 18-20 vs lefties.
Over is 6-1-1 in their last eight games.
Phillies lead the Mets by six games in NL East.

— Pirates (57-75)
Pirates won five of their last seven games.
Pittsburgh is 39-30 at home, 18-45 on the road.
Under is 10-5-3 in their last 18 games.
Pirates are 17-12 in last 29 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (65-67)
St Louis is 4-8 in its last dozen games.
Cardinals are 17-6 in home series openers.
St Louis is 36-30 at home, 29-37 on the road.
Over is 7-1-1 in their last nine games.

— Padres (74-58)
San Diego won 16 of its last 21 home games.
Padres are 43-22 at home, 31-36 on the road.
Padres are 52-38 vs righty starters, 22-20 vs lefties.
San Diego is 24-18 vs NL West rivals, 50-40 vs everyone else.

— Giants (63-68)
Giants are 4-11 in their last 15 games, 2-15 in last 17 at home.
Giants are 50-45 vs righty pitchers, 13-23 vs lefties.
Over is 15-8-2 in their last 25 road games.
SF lost 10 of last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (53-78)
Nationals lost their last three games.
Washington is 11-24 in its last 35 home games.
Over is 7-3-4 in their last 14 games.
Washington is 22-10 last 32 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Famous birthdays, August 26th:
Brett Cullen, 69
Rick Partridge, 68
Melissa McCarthy, 55
David Price, 40
Elvis Andrus, 37

James Harden, 36
Maikel Franco, 33
Ranger Suarez, 30
Spencer Torkelson, 26
Kyren Williams, 25

— Orioles (60-71)
Baltimore lost four of its last five games.
Over is 5-3 in their last eight games.
Orioles are 31-34 at home, 29-37 on the road.
Orioles are 19-17 vs AL East rivals, 41-54 vs everyone else.

— Red Sox (72-60)
Red Sox are 4-1 in their last five games.
Boston is 1-8 in extra-inning road games.
Over is 13-6 in their last 19 games.
Right now, Red Sox hold the 1st AL Wild Card slot.

— White Sox (48-83)
Chicago won its last three games, scoring 22 runs.
White Sox are 29-37 at home, 19-46 on the road.
Under is 7-4 in their last 11 games.
Chicago is 34-65 vs righty starters, 14-18 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (64-66)
Cleveland lost its last six games, outscored 37-10.
Guardians got shut out in their last three games.
Guardians are 49-43 vs righty starters, 15-23 vs lefties.
Over is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.

— Detroit (78-55)
Detroit is 18-9 in its last 27 games.
Tigers are 26-14 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 10.5 games.
Detroit is 18-4 in home series openers.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine games.

— Houston (72-59)
Astros are 13-16 in their last 29 games overall
Astros are 6-13 in their last 19 home games.
Astros lead Seattle by 1.5 games in AL West.
Over is 12-5-1 in their last 18 games.

— Royals (67-65)
Royals lost four of their last five road games.
Kansas City is 52-56 vs righty starters, 15-9 vs lefties.
Over is 4-2 in Royals’ last six games.
Royals scored in first inning in 10 of last 14 home games.

— Angels (62-69)
Angels lost seven of their last 10 games.
Halos are 8.5 games out of last Wild Card slot.
Angels are 51-57 vs righty starters, 11-12 vs lefties.
Angels are 30-17 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (59-72)
Twins lost 11 of their last 15 games.
Minnesota is 33-31 at home, 26-41 on the road.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Twins haven’t scored in first inning in their last 11 games.

— New York (71-60)
New York is 9-4 in its last 13 games.
Over is 8-1 in their last nine games.
New York is 58-46 vs righty starters, 13-14 vs lefties.
Right now, New York has the #2 Wild Card slot in AL.

— A’s (61-72)
A’s are 28-22 in their last 50 games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight home games.
A’s are 15-18 in one-run games, 8-4 in extra innings.
Last 10 weeks, A’s are 9-4 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (71-61)
Mariners lost six of their last nine games.
Seattle is 25-9 in its last 34 home games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.
Right now, Mariners hold the #3 Wild Card in AL, by four games.

— Tampa Bay (64-67)
Tampa Bay won its last three games, scoring 26 runs.
Rays are 34-33 at home, 30-34 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 6.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 5-10 in last 15 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (66-67)
Rangers lost 12 of their last 18 games.
Texas is 54-45 vs righty starters, 12-22 vs lefties
Rangers are 40-27 at home, 26-40 on road.
Texas is 5.5 games out of the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Toronto (77-55)
Blue Jays are 14-9 in their last 23 games overall.
Blue Jays won 18 of their last 23 home games.
Over is 9-5-1 in their last 15 home games.
Toronto leads Red Sox by five games in AL East.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Mets
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Red Sox, New York, Mariners

— Iowa State 24, Kansas State 21
This game, played in Ireland, was 7-7 at halftime.
Iowa State QB Becht passed for 183 yards, 2 TDs and ran for a score.
K-State outgained the Cyclones, 383-313; both teams had two turnovers.

— Hawai’i 23, Stanford 20
Hawai’i K Matsuzawa made a 38-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Matsuzawa is a Japanese kid who taught himself to kick by watching videos on YouTube.
Stanford was 8-17 on third down, Rainbows were 3-10.

— Western Kentucky 41, Sam Houston State 24
Bearkats led 24-20 with 11:58 left in third quarter.
Hilltoppers were 11-19 on third down, Sam Houston 2-14
WKU’s QB McIvor was 33-51/401 passing, with 3 TD’s.

— Kansas 31, Fresno State 7
Jayhawks outgained Fresno, 383-216- they ran ball for 207 yards.
Kansas led 24-7 at halftime and coasted home from there.
EJ Warner (Kurt Warner’s son) was 18-29/179 passing for the Bulldogs.

— UNLV 38, Idaho State 31
Rebels were a 30-point favorite in Dan Mullen’s first game as coach.
Idaho State led 31-24 with 12:00 to play.
Bengals outgained UNLV 555-532, but turned ball over four times.

— Broncos 28, Saints 19
Sean Payton wins in his return to the Superdome.
Denver outgained the Saints 396-236.
New Orleans still hasn’t decided who their starting QB will be.

— Bills 23, Buccaneers 19
#3 QB Buechele threw for 278 yards and one TD.
Tampa Bay averaged 38 yards per kick return in this game.
This was first time in his career that Josh Allen sat out the whole pre-season.

— NFL preseason scores don’t mean so much; cutdown day is Tuesday. Teams will be getting their rosters in order with no games on the schedule next weekend.

— Famous birthdays, August 24th
Anne Archer, 78
Kevin Dunn, 70
Steve Guttenberg, 67
Cal Ripken Jr., 65
Reggie Miller, 60

Marlee Matlin, 60
Tim Salmon, 57
Dave Chapelle, 52
Michael Redd, 46
Mason Miller, 27

— Padres 5, Dodgers 1
Nestor Cortes allowed one hit in six scoreless IP.
Padres won their last five games.
San Diego leads NL West by a game, with 32 games left.

— Astros 9, Orioles 8
Christian Walker homered for the third game in a row.
Astros led 7-5 after the third inning.
Colton Cowser homered, had 3 RBI for the Orioles.

— Mets 9, Braves 2
Mets hit six home runs; McNeil/Vientos homered twice each.
Clay Holmes allowed three hits in 6.1 IP.
Cal Quantrill was Atlanta’s 17th starting pitcher this season.

— Red Sox 12, New York 1
Red Sox have won eight games in a row against New York.
Trevor Story was 3-5, with a homer, 3 RBI
Guys batting 7-9th in Boston’s order were 8-14 with six runs scored.

— Blue Jays 7, Marlins 6 (12)
Toronto led 4-0 in the 7th inning.
George Springer was 3-6, with 2 RBI, 2 runs scored.
Blue Jays lead AL East by five games.

— Giants 7, Brewers 1
Freddy Peralta threw 5 shutout IP, Brewers led 1-0 after five.
Milwaukee’s bullpen gave up three runs in the sixth inning.
Logan Webb pitched six innings, got his 12th win.

— Diamondbacks 10, Reds 1
Arizona led 7-0 in the fourth inning, against Reds’ ace Andrew Abbott.
Geraldo Perdomo leads major league shortstops with 84 RBI.
Cincinnati trails the Mets by games for the last Wild Card slot.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Padres. Wild Cards: Cubs, Dodgers, Mets
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Red Sox, New York, Mariners

Trends for major league teams
(thru Friday’s games)

— Arizona (63-66)
Arizona won six of its last seven home games.
Diamondbacks are 17-24 in one-run games.
Arizona scored in first inning in 12 of last 15 home games.
Arizona is 14-27 in last 41 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (58-70)
Braves are 10-3 in their last 13 games.
Atlanta is 32-32 at home, 26-38 on the road.
Braves are 20-16 vs NL East rivals, 38-54 vs everyone else.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten games.

— Cubs (74-55)
Chicago is 6-2 in its last eight games.
Cubs are seven games behind Milwaukee in NL Central.
Under is 18-2-1 in their last 21 games.
Cubs are 57-37 vs righty starters, 17-18 vs lefties.

— Reds (67-62)
Cincinnati is 15-12 in its last 27 games.
Reds are 49-43 vs righty starters, 18-19 vs lefties.
Under is 11-4-1 in their last 16 road games.
Reds scored in first inning in 10 of last 19 home games.

— Rockies (37-92)
Colorado is 7-4 in its last eleven games.
Over is 8-5 in Rockies’ last 13 road games.
Rockies are 5-30 vs lefty starters, 32-62 vs righties. 
Colorado hasn’t scored a first inning run in its last 25 road games.

— Dodgers (73-56)
Dodgers are 15-17 since All-Star break.
LA/San Diego are tied for first in NL West.
Dodgers are 54-38 vs righty starters, 19-18 vs lefties.
Under is 5-3 in their last eight games.

— Marlins (60-68)                                                                      
Marlins are 5-12 in their last 17  games.
Miami is 29-34 at home, 31-34 on the road.
Under is 14-7 in Marlins’ last 21 road games.
Last three weeks, Marlins are 1-4 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (81-48)
Brewers are 32-7 in their last 39 games.
Milwaukee is 43-20 at home, 38-28 on the road.
Over is 11-4-1 in their last sixteen home games. 
Milwaukee leads the Cubs by 7 games in the NL Central.

— Mets (68-60)
Mets are 6-16 in their last 22 games, 4-2 in last six.
Mets are 41-24 at home, 27-36 on the road.
Over is 8-2-2 in their last 12 games.
Mets trail Philly by six games in NL East.
Mets leads the Reds by 1.5 games for last NL Wild Card slot.

— Phillies (74-54)
Phillies are 12-6 in their last 18 games.
Phillies are 57-34 vs righty starters, 17-20 vs lefties.
Over is 4-0-1 in their last five games.
Phillies lead the Mets by six games in NL East.

— Pirates (55-74)
Pirates won three of their last four games.
Pittsburgh is 37-30 at home, 18-44 on the road.
Under is 8-4-3 in their last 15 games.
Pirates are 17-11 in last 28 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (64-66)
St Louis is 3-7 in its last ten games.
Cardinals are 16-6 in home series openers.
St Louis is 35-30 at home, 29-36 on the road.
Under is 11-4-1 in their last sixteen home games.

— Padres (73-56)
San Diego won 15 of its last 19 home games.
Padres are 42-21 at home, 31-35 on the road.
Padres are 51-36 vs righty starters, 22-20 vs lefties.
San Diego is 23-17 vs NL West rivals, 50-39 vs everyone else.

— Giants (61-68)
Giants are 9-25 in their last 34 games, 2-15 in last 17 at home.
Giants are 48-45 vs righty pitchers, 13-23 vs lefties.
Over is 14-7-2 in their last 23 road games.
SF lost 10 of last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (53-75)
Nationals are 6-3 in their last nine games.
Washington is 11-24 in its last 35 home games.
Over is 5-2-4 in their last 11 games.
Washington is 22-10 last 32 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Famous birthdays, August 23rd:
Barbara Eden, 94
Richard Sanders, 85
Shelley Long, 76
Mike Boddicker, 68

Julio Franco, 67
Mark Ingram, 60
Mark Bellhorn, 51
Scott Caan, 49

Rex Grossman, 45
Miles Mikolas, 37
Mike Yastrzemski, 35
Tyler Glasnow, 32

— Orioles (59-69)
Baltimore won six of its last nine games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
Orioles are 30-32 at home, 29-37 on the road.
Orioles are 19-16 vs AL East rivals, 40-53 vs everyone else.

— Red Sox (70-59)
Red Sox are 5-7 in their last 12 games.
Boston is 1-8 in extra-inning road games.
Over is 11-5 in their last 16 games.
Right now, Red Sox hold the 1st AL Wild Card slot.

— White Sox (45-83)
Chicago lost 14 of its last 17 games.
White Sox are 26-37 at home, 19-46 on the road.
Over is 3-1 in their last four games.
Chicago is 32-65 vs righty starters, 13-18 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (64-63)
Cleveland is 1-6 in its last seven games.
Guardians are 4 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Guardians are 49-41 vs righty starters, 15-22 vs lefties.
Over is 14-6 in their last 20 home games.

— Detroit (77-53)
Detroit is 17-7 in its last 24 games.
Tigers are 25-13 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 10.5 games.
Detroit is 18-4 in home series openers.
Under is 13-7 in their last 20 road games.

— Houston (71-58)
Astros are 12-15 in their last 27 games overall
Astros are 6-13 in their last 19 home games.
Astros lead Seattle by 2.5 games in AL West.
Over is 11-4-1 in their last 16 games.

— Royals (66-63)
Royals are 10-5 in their last fifteen games.
Kansas City is 51-54 vs righty starters, 15-9 vs lefties.
Over is 11-7 in Royals’ last 18 games.
Royals scored in first inning in 10 of last 14 home games.

— Angels (61-67)
Angels lost 11 of their last 15 road games.
Halos are 7.5 games out of last Wild Card slot.
Angels are 50-55 vs righty starters, 11-12 vs lefties.
Angels are 30-17 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (59-69)
Twins lost 8 of their last 12 games.
Minnesota is 33-31 at home, 26-38 on the road.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Twins haven’t scored in first inning in their last eight games.

— New York (69-59)
New York is 9-5 in its last 14 games.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
New York is 56-46 vs righty starters, 13-13 vs lefties.
Right now, New York has the #2 Wild Card slot in AL.

— A’s (59-71)
A’s are 26-21 in their last 47 games.
Under is 6-3 in their last nine road games.
A’s are 14-18 in one-run games, 7-4 in extra innings.
Last 10 weeks, A’s are 8-3 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (69-60)
Mariners lost five of their last six games.
Seattle is 23-8 in its last 31 home games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Right now, Mariners hold the #3 Wild Card in AL, by three games.

— Tampa Bay (62-67)
Tampa Bay is 15-31 in its last 46 games.
Rays are 33-33 at home, 29-34 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 7 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 5-10 in last 15 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (64-66)
Rangers lost 11 of their last 15 games.
Texas is 53-44 vs righty starters, 11-22 vs lefties
Rangers are 38-26 at home, 26-40 on road.
Texas is 5.5 games out of the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Toronto (75-54)
Blue Jays are 12-8 in their last 20 games overall.
Blue Jays won 17 of their last 22 home games.
Over is 8-5-1 in their last 14 home games.
Toronto leads Red Sox by five games in AL East.

— SEC football is moving to a nine-game conference schedule next year, which should help get more of its teams into the College Football Playoff.

Under the new format, each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away over four years. Each school will play three of its rivals every year.

— Over/under bet for this season:

Vikings’ QB JJ McCarthy, who was hurt last year and didn’t play, his over/under for passing yards this season is 3,600.5 yards.

Last year, Sam Darnold threw for 4,319 yards for Minnesota in their 14-3 season.

— Jacksonville Jaguars hired Liam Coen as its new head coach; he is seen as an offensive guru and QB Trevor Lawrence needs one of those.

Lawrence’s salary cap hit in 2026 is $39M, in 2027 it is $29M; Jaguars really need him to be the leader they expect him to be.

— Speaking of salary cap hits, Baltimore Ravens’ front office has some accounting to do; in 2026, Lamar Jackson’s cap hit is $74.5M, then in 2027, it will also be $74.5M, a huge amount of $$$. At some point, they need to spread that money out somehow.

— Steelers 19, Panthers 10
Game was tied 10-10 at halftime.
Steelers averaged 7.2 yards per play, Carolina 4.0.
Rookie K Ben Sauls kicked four field goals. 

— GM of the Panthers Dan Morgan was in the TV booth during this game; he was saying how these practices against other teams during the week are really valuable. He said he wished they had them back when he played.

To an extent, it makes the actual exhibition games a little less relevant, but it helps the teams get better with less injury risk for the star players.

— Giants 42, Patriots 10
Giants led 14-10 at halftime.
QB DeVito was 17-20/198 passing, with three TD’s.
Undrafted QB Ben Woolridge played the whole game for New England.

— Famous birthdays, August 22nd:
Carl Yastrzemski, 86
Paul Molitor, 69
Wes Chandler, 69

Ty Burrell, 58
James Corden, 47
Adam Thielen, 35

Randall Cobb, 35
Maxx Crosby, 28
LaMelo Ball, 24

— Cincinnati Reds’ C Tyler Stephenson broke his thumb, is out for the year.

— Nationals 9, Mets 3
Mets led this game 3-0 in fourth inning.
James Wood hit his 26th home run, just his 2nd since the All-Star break.
New York is 5-16 in its last 21 games; they lead the Reds by half a game for the last Wild Card in the National League.

— Brewers 4, Cubs 1
Brice Turang homered, his 8th home run in 18 games.
Brewers’ bullpen got 13 outs, didn’t allow a run.
Cubs went 3-2 in this series, they trail Milwaukee by 7 games in NL Central.

— Red Sox 6, New York 3
Roman Anthony homered, knocked in three runs.
New York made four errors, gave up three unearned runs.
Red Sox are 6-1 against New York this season.

— Astros 7, Orioles 2
Jesus Sanchez went 5-for-5; he entered the game on an 0-for-29 skid.
Christian Walker, Yainer Diaz homered for the Astros.
Dylan Beavers hit his first MLB home run for the Orioles.

— A’s 8, Twins 3
Tyler Soderstrom went 4-for-4, has a 19-game hitting streak.
Minnesota is 2-7 in its last nine games.
A’s are 17-8 in their last 25 games.

— Royals 6, Rangers 4
Vinnie Pasquantino has homered in four straight games.
Royals have won six of their last seven games.
Royals trail Seattle by two games for the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Padres 8, Giants 4
Manny Machado drove in three runs for San Diego.
Padres trail the Dodgers by a game in the NL West.
Justin Verlander is 1-10, 4.64 this season. 

— Disturbing report in the news tonight; on May 4, 2024, a shot was fired from outside the Chiefs’ facility in Kansas City, went through the glass of Andy Reid’s office and lodged into a wall about 15 feet from where Reid was sitting shortly after midnight local time.

Reid now has bulletproof glass protecting him in the office.

— New Orleans Saints are only NFL team that hasn’t named its starting QB for Week 1; Spencer Rattler (0-6 as a starter LY) and 25-year old rookie Tyler Shough are the candidates. Kellen Moore is in his first year as a head coach; he’s taking his time with this decision.

— Atlanta Falcons aren’t expected to use QB’s Michael Penix/Kirk Cousins in their preseason finale in Dallas Friday; #3 QB Emory Jones is in concussion protocol, so Atlanta signed Ben DiNucci to play this week’s game, and maybe more.

DiNucci played in three games with the Cowboys in 2020; since then, he played in the XFL in 2023, has been on practice squads for the Falcons, Saints and Buffalo.

— Cincinnati Bengals are spending 39% of their salary cap this year on QB’s/WR’s, more than any other NFL team. 

— Chicago Bears signed backup QB Tyson Bagent for two years, $10M; Agent was 2-2 as a starter for the Bears in 2023— he played college ball at Shepherd College in West Virginia.

— Mets’ OF Juan Soto has 30 home runs, 20 stolen bases this season; before this year, the most bases he ever stole in one season was 12, in 2019/2023.

— Congrats to Jimmy Vaccaro, who has retired after 50 years as a Las Vegas bookmaker; most recently, he was working at South Point in Las Vegas. He turns 80 years old in October.

I met Jimmy Vaccaro at South Point a few years ago; good guy, he was cleaning up papers on the sportsbook floor at South Point. We talked for a few minutes; his sportsbook was a fun place to hang out and watch games. We wish him well.

— Famous birthdays, August 21st:
Willie Lanier, 80
Archie Griffin, 71
Gary Hogeboom, 67
Jim McMahon, 66

Craig Counsell, 55
Jesse Chavez, 42
BJ Upton, 41
JD Martinez, 38

Brandon Drury, 33
Mike Evans, 32
Ryan Pepiot, 28
Corbin Carroll, 25

Today would’ve been the great Wilt Chamberlain’s 89th birthday.

— Tigers 7, Astros 2
Detroit scored six runs in the first inning.
Tigers are 9-2 in their last eleven games.
Astros scored total of two runs in their last four games.

— Braves 1, White Sox 0
Atlanta won 11-10 Tuesday, then won this game in a totally opposite way.
Huston Waldrep struck out seven guys in 7 IP.
Both teams had four hits; the only run scored on an error. 

— Nationals 5, Mets 4
Josh Bell hit his 16th home run for the Nationals.
Brandon Nimmo left the game with a stiff neck.
Washington’s bullpen got the last 11 outs, allowing only two baserunners.

— Angels 2, Reds 1
Luis Rengifo had the game-winning hit in the 8th inning.
Yusei Kikuchi tossed seven IP, allowed only seven baserunners.
Cincinnati remains a game behind the Mets for the NL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Phillies 11, Mariners 2
Trey Turner went 5-for-6, scored three runs.
Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-5, drove in five runs.
Mariners have lost seven of their last eight games.

— New York 6, Tampa Bay 4 (10)
Giancarlo Stanton hit a pinch-hit home run in the 10th inning.
New York hit five home runs, has hit 14 the last two games.
Rays had tied the game with two runs in ninth inning.

— A’s 4, Twins 2 (10)
Shea Langeliers hit a 2-run homer in the 10th inning.
Langeliers has hit 16 of his 28 home runs since the All-Star break.
A’s are 16-8 in their last 24 games overall.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres.
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Mariners, Red Sox

— Over the last 22 years, the team that lost the Super Bowl is 6-16 ATS in its season opener the next year.

Over the last 17 years, the Super Bowl champ is 19-6-2 ATS in its Week 1 game the next year.

— Cleveland Browns named 40-year old Joe Flacco as its starting QB; Flacco started a total of only 20 games the last five years- he was 2-4 as a starter for the Colts last year— he was 4-1 as a starter for the Browns two years ago.

— Flacco/Ryan Fitzpatrick share an NFL record; they’ve both started a game for five different teams. Rams’ backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo has started a game for three teams.

— Texas Longhorns are #1 in the pre-season top 25 college football poll, but they’re an underdog in their season opener (+2.5 @ Ohio State). Longhorns are the only preseason #1 team in the last 45 years that is an underdog in their season opener.

— Defensive coordinators in college football who are making the most money:

$3.1M/year- Jim Knowles, Penn State
$2.7M- DJ Durkin, Auburn
$2.65M- D’Anton Lynn
$2.61M- Pete Golding, Ole Miss

— Alabama named junior QB Ty Simpson its starting QB; he’s been a backup QB the last two years, throwing 25 passes for the Crimson Tide last season. Alabama’s two backups have no college experience, something to keep an eye on.

— Over the last 100 years, the longest winning streak in the major leagues was when the 2017 Cleveland Indians won 22 games in a row. The longest winning streak by a National League team was in 2021, when the Cardinals won 17 in a row.

— Famous birthdays, August 19th:
Jill St John, 85
Gerald McRaney, 78
Anthony Munoz, 67
Gary Gaetti, 67

Michael Harney, 67
Ricky Pierce, 66
Ron Darling, 65
Bobby Hebert, 65

Morten Andersen, 65
Nate Burleson, 44
JJ Hardy, 43
Kirk Cousins, 37

— Bengals 31, Commanders 17
Joe Burrow played into the 2nd quarter, was 9-14/62 passing.
WR Michael Tinsley caught 5 passes for 73 yards, 2 TD’s; he’ll find a job somewhere in the NFL.
Takes guts to play so Burrow so much on August 18th; if he gets hurt, the season is over.

— Brewers 7, Cubs 0
Freddy Peralta allowed one hit in six shutout IP.
Milwaukee has won 15 of its last 16 games.
Brewers lead the Cubs by 8 games in NL Central.

Game 2 of the twinbill was rained out; they’ll play a pair Tuesday.

— Reds 4, Angels 1
Brady Singer allowed one run in 6 IP, got his 11th win.
Gavin Lux hit a 2-run homer in the first inning.
Reds are a game behind the Mets for the last NL Wild Card spot.

— Rockies 4, Dodgers 3
Warming Bernabel had a walk-off single for the Rockies.
Colorado has won six of its last seven games.
Rockies snapped a 10-game losing skid against the Dodgers.

— Tigers 10, Astros 0
Houston has been shut out in 3 of last 4 games, first time since 2005.
Good news is that the Astros got to the World Series in 2005.
Jack Flaherty allowed three hits in 7 shutout IP.

— Phillies 12, Mariners 7
Phillies scored six runs in the second inning, had 21 hits overall.
Bryce Harper hit two home runs, Trea Turner had four hits, five RBI.
Turner hit a home run, the 1,500th hit of his career.

— Orioles 6, Red Sox 3
Trevor Rogers threw 7 IP, is now 6-2, 1.41 this season.
Gunnar Henderson had two RBI, scored three runs.
Red Sox are in a 3-way tie with New York/Seattle for the three AL Wild Card spots.

— Cardinals 8, Marlins 3
Alec Burleson went 3-for-4, including the go-ahead single in 7th inning.
Marlins’ defense was lousy behind Eury Perez in a 3-run fifth inning.
St Louis’ win snaps a five-game losing skid. 

— Reds 3, Brewers 2 (10)
Game was scoreless after six innings.
William Contreras put Milwaukee ahead with a 9th inning HR.
Reds tied it in 9th inning; Austin Hays had the walk-off single.
Loss ends Milwaukee’s 14-game win streak; they trailed in 8 of 14 games.

— Mets 7, Mariners 3
Mark Vientos hit a 3-run HR as the Mets won the Little League classic.
Tough night for George Kirby, who gave up 7 runs in 4.2 IP.
Mariners trail Houston by 1.5 games in the AL West

— AL Wild Card race:
Wild Cards: Red Sox, Mariners, New York
3.5 games behind- Cleveland
4- Kansas City
5.5- Texas
6.5- Tampa Bay
7- LA Angels

— NL Wild Card race:
Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Mets
1.5 games behind- Cincinnati
5.5- St Louis
6- San Francisco
6.5- Arizona
7- Marlins

— Marlins 5, Red Sox 3
Jakob Marsee hit a 2-run HR in the 9th for the comeback win.
Red Sox led 3-1 after seven innings.
Boston/Seattle are tied for the AL’s top Wild Card slot.

— Washington Nationals DFA’d 1B Nathaniel Lowe, who hit .216 in 119 games for them, and the Red Sox scooped him up to play 1B in Boston. Lowe has hit at least .262 the last four years, helping Texas win a World Series two years ago.

— Dodgers 5, Padres 4
Dodgers sweep San Diego, lead the NL West by two games.

— Famous birthdays, August 18th:
Robert Redford, 89
Greg Pruitt, 74
Bruce Benedict, 70
Denis Leary, 68

Lafayette Lever, 65
Jim Les, 62
Edward Norton, 56
Christian Slater, 56

Jeremy Shockey, 45
Dan Orlovsky, 42
Austin Hedges, 33
Seiya Suzuki, 31

— Bears 38, Bills 0- Chicago played their starters, Buffalo didn’t, but this was one of the worst NFL games I’ve ever seen, totally uncompetitive. I get that this was Caleb Williams’ first game action under Ben Johnson, but the Bills’ subs made backup QB Tyson Bagent look like the second coming of Dan Marino.

Total yardage: 528-180. I’m guessing the Bills won’t have a preseason game on national TV for a few years.

— Jaguars 17, Saints 17- Third tie game this preseason; they don’t play overtime in exhibition games. Jacksonville led this one 17-3 at halftime.

Spencer Rattler was 18-24/199 passing in the second half; it is unclear who the Saints are going to start at QB, Rattler or 26-year old rookie Tyler Shough.

— Indianapolis Colts haven’t won their season opener since 2013; they tied their Week 1 game in 2022 (as a 7-point favorite) but the last ten years, Colts are 2-8 ATS in Week 1.

— Last two years, Pittsburgh Steelers were 10-7/10-7, but didn’t win a playoff game; you’d think they’d get more out of two seasons where their turnover ratios were +16/+10, which are really good. They’ve upgraded at QB to Aaron Rodgers from Russell Wilson/Justin Fields and they play the Jets, Rodgers’ old team, in Week 1, so this should be interesting.

Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2017.

— Steelers’ OC Arthur Smith used to be the head coach in Atlanta; he went 7-10 in all three years with the Falcons. Atlanta lost the Super Bowl in 2016, blowing a 28-3 lead; they went 10-6 the next year, and haven’t had a winning season since then.

Maybe it wasn’t Dan Quinn’s fault after all; Atlanta fired Quinn during the 2020 pandemic year; he wound up as head coach in Washington LY and led the Commanders to a 12-5 season, their first winning season in nine years. Pretty good coach.

— In college football, Tennessee Vols named transfer Joey Aguilar their new starting QB; he had transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA, but when Vols’ QB Nico Iamaleava bolted to the Bruins, Aguilar saw the handwriting on the wall, and took Iamaleava’s spot in Knoxville.

— Kent State went 1-23 SU the last two years, going a dismal 4-16-2 ATS as an underdog; the interim coach this year was an All-American I-AA QB at Fordham and was OC at Kent State last year.

— Western Michigan has had three straight losing seasons, despite having a +16 turnover ratio in those years; last two years, Broncos were 6-1 ATS as a home favorite, but 4-9 as an underdog.

— Mid-American Conference has six new football coaches this fall; UMass is new to the league, and Northern Illinois is on its way out, headed to the Mountain West, for football only.