Author: Armadillo Sports

— New Jersey Giants are only 8th team since 2009 to outscore their preseason opponents by 60+ points.

Of the other seven teams……..
— 6 of 7 made the playoffs
— 2 won the Super Bowl
— 7 teams averaged 11.1 regular season wins
— Russell Wilson was QB for 2 of the other 7 teams.

— College/Minor League football’s highest paid quarterbacks this year:
$4M- Darian Mensah, Duke (poached from Tulane)
$3.1M- Carson Beck, Miami (poached from Georgia)
$3M- Bryce Underwood, Michigan (freshman)
$3M- Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
$3M- Drew Allar, Penn State

Last year, Duke had their QB (Riley Leonard) poached by Notre Dame, so they returned the favor to Tulane this year.

— Middle Tennessee’s football team will wear one helmet and only two jerseys this year, instead of having alternative uniforms. The move saves the program $668,000 and helps find their NIL and overall football program.

— USC is out of college football’s preseason top 25 for the first time since 2019; Trojans went 8-5/7-6 the last two years.

— New England Patriots signed QB Tommy DeVito to be their #2 QB; he joins Drake Maye, Joshua Dobbs in the Patriots’ QB room.

— Kansas City Chiefs’ WR Rashee Rice is suspended for the first six games of the season, for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

In July, Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years’ probation for his role in a multi-car crash in Dallas that left multiple people injured during the 2024 offseason.

— Minnesota Vikings re-acquired veteran WR Adam Thielen from Carolina; teams exchanged 5th round draft picks, Carolina got a 4th round pick, Vikings got a 7th round pick.

Thielen played nine of his first 11 NFL seasons with Minnesota; he’s caught 534 passes for the Vikings, 55 of them for touchdowns.

— Highest-paid QB’s in the NFL:
(based on three-year average)
$61.6M- Dak Prescott, Cowboys
$61.3M- Joe Burrow, Bengals
$58.3M- Jordan Love, Packers
$56.9M- Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars

— Famous birthdays, August 28th:
Lou Piniella, 82
Mike Torrez, 79
Ron Guidry, 75

Joel Youngblood, 74
Darren Lewis, 58
Anthony Weaver, 45

— Mets 6, Phillies 0
Mets sweep the Phillies, trail them by 4 games in NL East.
Rookie Nolan MacLean is 3-0, 0.89 in his first three starts.
Phillies have lost their last ten games at Citi Field.

— Mariners 4, Padres 3
Eugenio Suarez hit a 3-run homer for Seattle.
Andres Munoz got his 31st save for the Mariners.
Seattle is AL’s #3 Wild Card; Padres hold NL’s #2 Wild Card.

— Guardians 4, Rays 3 (10)
Nolan Jones tied the game with a 9th inning home run.
Kyle Manzardo had his third walk-off hit of the season.
Manzardo is the first Guardian with 3+ walk-offs since Jim Thome in 2001.

— Red Sox 3, Orioles 2
Ceddanne Rafaela hit a 2-run homer in ninth inning.
Aroldis Chapman got his 26th save of the season.
Boston holds the top Wild Card slot in the AL. 

— New York 11, Nationals 2
New York scored nine runs in the third inning; Washington pitchers threw 77 pitches in the third inning alone, the most any team has thrown in one inning since 2003.

— Blue Jays 9, Twins 8
Addison Barger hit the game-winning double in the 8th inning.
Davis Schneider homered twice for the Blue Jays.
Toronto is 58-4 when they score 5+ runs.

— A’s 7, Tigers 0
Rookie Luis Morales allowed two hits in 7 IP.
2B Zack Gelof hit his first homer of the season.
A’s are 30-22 in their last 52 games.

— 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

— Tuesday was Cutdown Day in the NFL; teams get down to 53-man rosters, then sign guys for their 16-man practice squad.

Tough day; NFL goes from 2,880 players down to 1,696 pretty quickly, then back up to 2,208 when you count the practice squad guys. Lot of people lose their jobs. Lot of shuffling between cities. Cruddy teams sign guys the better teams cut.

— Practice squad players with two years of service or less will receive $13,000 a week.

Players with 2+ years of service will receive $17,500 minimum weekly salary ($22,000 maximum).

— New Orleans Saints named Spencer Rattler their starting QB; they host the Cardinals next week. Saints were 0-6 when Rattler started last year; he threw 4 TD’s, 5 INT’s.

— Philadelphia Eagles traded for QB Sam Howell; their #2 QB Tanner McKee has injured finger, so Howell serves as insurance. 

With Kenny Pickett traded to Las Vegas, Howell/Pickett become the only two NFL players ever to be traded three times in their first four years in the league.

— Atlanta Falcons’ RT Kaleb McGary is out for the year (leg); he’s been Atlanta’s starter at RT since 2019. McGary’s backup is out 6-8 weeks with an ankle injury. Falcons acquired OT Michael Jerrell in a trade Tuesday.

— Not sure if you heard or not, but Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ TE, got engaged to be married this week; apparently he’s been dating a famous singer (Taylor Swift). Big news Tuesday.

Long time ago, back in 2000, Taylor Swift was in an episode of CSI, when she was a kid; her character died in that episode. Now she is very much alive and is really, really rich.

— They released the 2026 baseball schedule Tuesday, seven months before the season starts; A’s are going to host two series in Las Vegas, against Brewers/Rockies, two years before they’re scheduled to move into their new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

— Famous birthdays, August 27th:
GW Bailey, 81
Buddy Bell, 74
Scott Studwell, 71
Mike Maddux, 64

Jim Thome, 55
Patrick J Adams, 44
Darren McFadden, 38
Kevin Huerter, 27

— Mets 6, Phillies 5
Mets blew a 5-2 lead; Brandon Nimmo had a walk-off single.
Mets beat Philly last two nights; they still trail the Phils by 5 games in NL East.
Phillies have lost their last nine games at Citi Field.

— Padres 7, Mariners 6
San Diego scored five runs in first inning; Ramor Laureano hit a grand slam.
Mariners scored six runs in fifth inning to briefly take a 6-5 lead.
Padres currently hold the NL’s #2 Wild Card slot.

— Twins 7, Blue Jays 5
Minnesota scored four times in the top of the 9th inning.
Mickey Gasper’s first MLB homer tied the game in the ninth.
Matt Wallner had the game-winning HR, his third tater in two nights,

— Brewers 9, Arizona 8
Milwaukee led 6-0 after the third inning.
Gabriel Moreno hit a 3-run homer for the Diamondbacks.
Brewers 2B Brice Turang had 63 total bases this month, most in the NL.

— Braves 11, Marlins 2
This game was 2-2 after the 8th inning.
Ozzie Albies homered twice, doubled for the Braves.
Marlins are surprisingly two games ahead of Atlanta in the standings.

— Royals 5, White Sox 4
White Sox led 4-0 after the 7th inning.
Martin Perez allowed only one hit in 7 scoreless IP.
Kyle Isbel had the game-winning single.

— A’s 7, Tigers 6
Darell Hernaiz drew a bases loaded walk that ended the game.
A’s led 5-4 after the third inning.
A’s are 29-22 in their last 51 games.

— 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

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

— Minnesota Vikings signed free agent QB Carson Wentz, then traded QB Sam Howell to the Eagles. Wentz is now on his sixth NFL team; this is his 10th season:

2016-20- Eagles
2021- Colts
2022- Commanders
2023- Rams
2024- Chiefs
2025- Vikings

— Eagles got Howell and a 6th round draft pick; Vikings got a 5th and a 7th-round pick.

Howell went 5-13 as Washington’s QB in 2022-23; he threw 14 passes off the bench for the Seahawks last season. He was a 5th round draft pick in 2022.

— Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell broke his wrist in this weekend, expected to be out 6-8 weeks. O’Connell was 7-10 as a starter for the Raiders the last two years, was expected to back up Geno Smith this year. Right now, rookie Cam Miller is Smith’s only backup; Raiders are going to have at least one, maybe two QB’s for their practice squad.

— Michigan Wolverines are going to start freshman QB Bryce Underwood in their first game, against New Mexico- they play Oklahoma the week after that.

— Phillies pitching ace Zack Wheeler had shoulder surgery, is out for the year and is expected to miss 6-8 months.

— Rangers’ SS Marcus Semien, who played in at least 159 games in each of the last four years, has a foot injury and is likely out for the season.

— Cincinnati Reds are only major league team that hasn’t been swept in a series this year.

— Famous birthdays, August 25th:
Tom Skerritt, 92
Rollie Fingers, 79
Bob Lacey, 72
Ashley Crow, 65

Blair Underwood, 61
Albert Belle, 59
Robert Horry, 55
Doug Glanville, 55

Marvin Harrison, 53
Max Muncy, 35
Caris LaVert, 31
Jared Butler, 25

— Dodgers 8, San Diego 2
Dalton Rushing’s 3-run homer was a game-winner.
Freddie Freeman homered twice for the Dodgers
These teams are tied atop the NL West, with 31 games left.

— Orioles 3, Astros 2
Trevor Rogers threw 7 IP; he is 7-2, 1.40 this year.
Luis Vazquez hit his first major league home run.
Gunnar Handerson hit his 16th home run.

— Royals 10, Tigers 8
Kansas City is 28-14 in series finales this season.
Vinnie Pasquantino has six home runs in his last seven games.
Royals are three games out of the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Marlins 5, Blue Jays 3
Jakob Marsee hit a double and a bases-loaded triple.
Eric Wagaman homered, scored twice.
Eury Perez allowed only three hits in six IP, got the win.

— Reds 6, Diamondbacks 1
Reds broke open a close game with five runs in the 8th inning.
Noelvi Marte had two hits, scored twice for Cincinnati.
Brady Singer/Zac Gallen had a good pitching duel for six inning.

— Giants 4, Brewers 3
Heliot Ramos hit a 2-run single in 9th inning for the win.
Giants OF Luis Matos is 8-for-15 in his last four games.

— New York 7, Red Sox 2
Chisholm/Grisham both homered twice for New York.
New York ended an 8-game losing streak against the Red Sox.
These teams are the top two clubs in the AL Wild Card chase.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, LA/SD. Wild Cards: Cubs, LA/SD, 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

— TV recommendation: ESPN has a Hard Knocks-type show about last year’s Chiefs, The Kingdom; watched the first two episodes Monday night, it is very good, more in-depth than what is usually in Hard Knocks. NFL Films always does quality stuff, but with ESPN starting its new stand-alone service this week, this seems a little better than usual.

First episode dealt mostly with Patrick Mahomes and the Hunt family, which owns the Chiefs. Second episode was all about Andy Reid and his career.

If you like the NFL and history and don’t dislike the Chiefs, it is worth your time- there has even been a little Hank Stram footage in there (“65 toss power trap, boys. Could break wide open”).

— Trade deadline in Major League Baseball is July 31st; I’m wondering if it would be better for the sport if the deadline was August 31st, the way it used to be? 

Trades/trade rumors equal publicity, contenders trying to get better, more people talking about the sport, which is good for everyone involved. MLB does a terrible job of promoting the game, which is a great game, but they have to work at promoting it, the way the NFL does.

— Commissioner Manfred had an interesting suggestion at the Little League Classic Sunday night on ESPN; when the sport expands to 32 teams in the next few years, and they will, could be that there will be geographic re-alignment, and no more American/National Leagues. 

Less travel for the teams, more games between geographic rivals, better TV ratings, more $$$ made for the teams, which is what everyone wants.

We posted that idea in this space 15 years ago, still think it is a good idea.

By the way, Salt Lake City/Nashville seem like frontrunners to get an expansion team.

— Indianapolis Colts named Daniel Jones their starting QB; Jones was 25-45-1 as a starter for the Giants, splitting two playoff games three years ago.

— Random stat: Chicago White Sox have lost their last 14 games in Kansas City.

— Cincinnati Reds DFA’d OF Jake Fraley, and Atlanta scooped him up. Reds are contending, Braves aren’t. Fraley hit .232 for the Reds this year with a .719 OPS; his career OPS is .736.

— Long time ago, when I was a kid, seemed like no one ever swung at a 3-0 pitch, batters just took it, except for the very best hitters. Nowadays, do hitters swing at more 3-0 pitches?

In 2022, there were 7,197 pitches thrown in 3-0 counts across MLB and 6,838 of them, or 95%, were fastballs. Compare that to 2-0 counts, where out of 23,542 pitches, only 17,134 of them, or 72%, were fastballs.

In 2022, Atlanta saw 231 pitches in a 3-0 count and swung at 50 of them, for a 22% swing rate. Only the Texas Rangers at 24% swung at a higher percentage.

— Baseball players need to slide feet-first more, especially into home plate; guys are hurting their hands/fingers sliding head-first into bases.

— Famous birthdays, August 20th:
Peter Horton, 72
Quinn Buckner, 71
Mark Langston, 65

Andy Benes, 58
Todd Helton, 52
Amy Adams, 51

Jerryd Bayless, 37
Mitch Trubisky, 31
Jung Hoo Lee, 27

— Tigers 1, Astros 0 (10)
Hunter Brown/Tarik Skubal had a pretty good pitchers’ duel here.
Astros were shut out for third day in a row, and fourth time in five games.
Game ended on a bases loaded walk to Gleyber Torres.

— Cubs 6-4, Brewers 4-1
Chicago sweeps a pair, moves within 7 games of Milwaukee in the NL Central.

— Braves 11, White Sox 10
Chicago led 10-4 after the sixth inning.
Matt Olson went 4-for-5, scored three runs.
White Sox have scored 10+ runs in 6 of 29 games since the All-Star break.

— Reds 6, Angels 4
Reds blew a 4-1 lead, but scored twice in ninth inning for the win.
Noelvi Marte homered, doubled for Cincinnati.
Jo Adell homered twice for the Angels.

— A’s 6, Twins 3
Nick Kurtz went 3-for-3, with two walks.
A’s are 11-5 when Jacob Lopez starts on the mound.
A’s are 15-8 in their last 23 games overall.

— Orioles 4, Red Sox 3 (11)
Rookie C Basallo knocked in winning run in top of the 11th.
Newly-acquired Nathaniel Lowe tied game in the 9th inning for Boston.
Red Sox are 4-8 in their last dozen games.

— Royals 5, Rangers 2
Bobby Witt Jr hit his 100th career home run.
Royals have won five games in a row.
Rangers lost 10 of their last 12 games.

— 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.

— Browns 22, Eagles 13
Rookie QB Gabriel was 13-18/143 passing in his NFL debut; he threw a pick-6, which might’ve been the receiver’s fault more than Gabriel’s.

Does it help Gabriel that he played in 64 games for three different schools in his college career?

26 games at Central Florida
24 games at Oklahoma
14 games at Oregon

Lot of college experience, different offenses; it helped Bo Nix last year.

— Giants 31, Jets 12
Russell Wilson had an 80-yard completion in his brief stint in the game.
Rookie Jaxson Dart was 14-16/137 passing; he’s looked good this summer.

— Rams 23, Chargers 22
Stetson Bennett threw an 8-yard TD pass with 0:05 left for the win.
Bennett was 28-40/324 passing, with 3 TD’s. He’s played a lot in Rams’ first two games.
Brennan Presley caught six passes for 102 yards for the Rams.

— 49ers 22, Raiders 19
Jake Moody kicked a 59-yard FG at the gun to give the 49ers the win.
There were six scores in second half of this game, all field goals.
Both starting QB’s played a little bit; Raiders led 13-10 at halftime.

— Dolphins 24, Lions 17
3rd-string QB Quinn Ewers threw two second half TD’s for Miami.
Lions’ backup QB Kyle Allen was 14-17/124 yards and two T’D’s.
Dolphins outgained Detroit, 356-274.

— Buccaneers 17, Steelers 14
Teddy Bridgewater threw two TD passes for Tampa Bay.
Last year, Bridgewater was a high school football coach in Florida.
Neither starting QB played in this game.

— Ravens 31, Cowboys 13
Former Cowboy Cooper Rush threw a TD pass and a pick-6 in this game.
Tyler Loop kicked five FG’s, two of them longer than 50 yards.
John Harbaugh doesn’t often lose exhibition games.

— Famous birthdays, August 17th:
Boog Powell, 84
Robert DeNiro, 82
Sean Penn, 65

Donnie Wahlberg, 56
Christian Laettner, 56
Ernie Conwell, 53

Antwaan Randle El, 46
Dustin Pedroia, 42
Rudy Gay, 39

Victor Caratini, 32
Jesse Winker, 32
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 27

— Brewers 6, Reds 5 (11)
Milwaukee won its 14th game in a row.
Reds led 2-1 after eight innings.
Andrew Monasterio hit a 3-run homer in the 11th inning.

— Astros 5, Orioles 4 (12)
Jackson Holliday’s 2-run HR tied game 4-4 in 8th inning.
Cade Povich struck out 10 guys in 5 IP as a bulk reliever.
Astros lead Seattle by 1.5 games in AL West.

— Dodgers 6, Padres 0
Blake Snell allowed five hits in his six shutout IP.
Dodgers led 5-0 in 2nd inning against Dylan Cease.
Dodgers now lead San Diego by a game in NL West.

— Rays 2, Giants 1
Justin Verlander threw 7 shutout IP, left with a 1-0 lead.
Diaz/Lowe had RBI singles in 8th inning for the Rays.
Giants have lost 15 of their last 16 home games.

— Nationals 2, Phillies 0
Cade Cavalli threw seven IP, got his first MLB win.
James Wood had a 2-run single in the fifth inning.
Phillies’ lead in NL East is now 5 games over the Mets.

— Mets 3, Mariners 1
Rookie P Nolan McLean got 16 outs and a win in his MLB debut.
Pete Alonso got his 100th RBI of the season.
Mets won for only third time in their last 17 games.

— Red Sox 7, Marlins 5
Trevor Story hit a 3-run HR, Boston led 7-0 in 4th inning.
Red Sox are 41-22 at Fenway Park this season.
Marlins have lost seven of their last eight games. 

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

— Arizona (60-63)
Arizona is 9-4 in its last 13 games.
Diamondbacks are 14-23 in one-run games.
Arizona scored in first inning in 10 of last 11 home games.
Arizona is 11-26 in last 37 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (54-68)
Braves won six of their last seven games.
Atlanta is 30-30 at home, 24-38 on the road.
Braves are 20-15 vs NL East rivals, 34-53 vs everyone else.
Over is 20-10-2 in their last 32 games.

— Cubs (68-53)
Chicago is 9-15 in its last 24 games.
Cubs are nine games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Under is 11-1-1 in their last thirteen games.
Cubs are 52-35 vs righty starters, 16-18 vs lefties.

— Reds (64-59)
Cincinnati is 12-9 in its last 21 games.
Reds are 47-41 vs righty starters, 17-18 vs lefties.
Under is 22-5-2 in their last 29 games.
Reds scored in first inning in 10 of last 17 home games.

— Rockies (33-89)
Colorado won three of its last four games.
Under is 4-1 in Rockies’ last five games.
Rockies are 5-29 vs lefty starters, 28-60 vs righties. 
Colorado hasn’t scored a first inning run in its last 24 road games.

— Dodgers (69-53)
Dodgers are 11-14 since All-Star break.
LA/San Diego are tied for first in NL West.
Dodgers are 51-36 vs righty starters, 18-17 vs lefties.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.

— Marlins (58-64)                                                                      
Marlins are 3-8 in their last eleven games.
Miami is 28-31 at home, 30-33 on the road.
Under is 13-6 in Marlins’ last 19 road games.
Last two weeks, Marlins are 0-3 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (77-44)
Brewers have won 13 in a row, are 28-4 in their last 32 games.
Milwaukee is 42-20 at home, 35-24 on the road.
Over is 11-4 in their last fifteen home games. 
Milwaukee leads the Cubs by 9 games in the NL Central.

— Mets (64-58)
Mets have lost 14 of their last 16 games.
Mets are 39-24 at home, 25-34 on the road.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Mets trail Philly by six games in NL East.
Mets leads the Reds by half a game for last NL Wild Card slot.

— Phillies (70-52)
Phillies are 8-4 in their last dozen games.
Phillies are 54-32 vs righty starters, 16-20 vs lefties.
Under is 6-2-2 in their last ten games.
Phillies lead the Mets by six games in NL East.

— Pirates (52-71)
Pirates are 1-5 in their last six games.
Pittsburgh is 34-29 at home, 18-42 on the road.
Under is 9-4-1 in their last 14 home games.
Pirates are 16-9 in last 25 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (61-62)
St Louis lost its last three games, scoring 8 runs.
Cardinals are 15-6 in home series openers.
St Louis is 35-28 at home, 26-34 on the road.
Under is 10-3 in their last thirteen home games.

— Padres (69-53)
San Diego won 11 of its last 14 home games.
Padres are 38-20 at home, 31-33 on the road.
Padres are 48-35 vs righty starters, 21-18 vs lefties.
San Diego is 19-14 vs NL West rivals, 50-39 vs everyone else. 

— Giants (59-63)
Giants are 7-20 in their last 27 games, 1-14 in last 15 at home.
Giants are 47-42 vs righty pitchers, 12-21 vs lefties.
Over is 12-5-1 in their last 18 road games.
SF lost 8 of last 10 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (49-73)
Nationals are 5-11 in their last sixteen games.
Washington is 8-22 in its last 30 home games.
Over is 3-1-1 in their last five games.
Washington is 21-9 last 30 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Famous birthdays, August 16th:
Julie Newmar, 92
James Donaldson, 68
Angela Bassett, 67
Madonna Louise Ciccone, 67 (Madonna)
Timothy Hutton, 65

Steve Carell, 63
Yu Darvish, 39
Tyler Stephenson, 29
Rashad Vaughn, 29
Dominic Canzone, 28

— Orioles (56-66)
Baltimore won its last three games.
Under is 10-2-1 in their last thirteen games.
Orioles are 30-30 at home, 26-36 on the road.
Orioles are 17-16 vs AL East rivals, 39-50 vs everyone else.

— Red Sox (67-56)
Red Sox won eight of its last nine home games.
Boston is 1-8 in extra-inning road games.
Over is 9-3 in their last 12 games.
Right now, Red Sox hold the 2nd AL Wild Card slot.

— White Sox (44-78)
Chicago lost eight of its last ten games.
White Sox are 26-36 at home, 18-42 on the road.
Over is 6-4-1 in their last eleven games.
Chicago is 31-60 vs righty starters, 13-18 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (63-58)
Cleveland is 23-10 in its last 33 games.
Guardians are 1.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Guardians are 48-38 vs righty starters, 15-20 vs lefties.
Over is 12-6 in their last 18 home games.

— Detroit (72-52)
Detroit is 12-6 in its last 18 games.
Tigers are 23-12 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 7.5 games.
Detroit is 16-4 in home series openers.
Under is 12-5 in their last 17 road games.

— Houston (68-54)
Astros are 8-12 in their last 20 games overall
Astros are 5-12 in their last 17 home games.
Astros lead Seattle by half a game in AL West.
Over is 10-5 in their last 15 games.

— Royals (61-61)
Royals are 5-3 in their last eight games.
Kansas City is 47-52 vs righty starters, 14-9 vs lefties.
Over is 8-3 in Royals’ last eleven games.
Royals scored in first inning in six of last eight home games.

— Angels (59-63)
Angels lost 10 of their last 13 road games.
Halos are 5six games out of last Wild Card slot.
Angels are 49-51 vs righty starters, 10-12 vs lefties.
Angels are 28-15 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (57-65)
Twins lost four of their last six games.
Minnesota is 32-27 at home, 25-38 on the road.
Under is 5-1 in their last six games.
Twins scored in first inning in six of last eleven games.

— New York (65-57)
New York is 5-3 in its last eight games.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.
New York is 52-44 vs righty starters, 13-13 vs lefties.
Right now, New York has 1.5-game lead for last Wild Card in AL.

— A’s (55-69)
A’s are 22-19 in their last 41 games.
Under is 9-6 in their last fifteen games.
A’s are 14-17 in one-run games, 6-3 in extra innings.
Last nine weeks, A’s are 7-2 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (68-55)
Mariners are 11-3 in their last 14 games overall.
Seattle is 22-8 in its last 30 home games.
Under is 9-2 in their last eleven road games.
Right now, Mariners hold the #1 Wild Card in AL.

— Tampa Bay (60-63)
Tampa Bay is 13-27 in its last 40 games.
Rays are 32-30 at home, 28-33 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 5.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 4-9 in last 13 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (61-62)
Rangers lost seven of their last eight games.
Texas is 51-41 vs righty starters, 10-21 vs lefties
Rangers are 37-26 at home, 24-36 on road.
Texas is 4. .5 games out of the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Toronto (72-51)
Blue Jays are 7-3 in their last 10 games overall.
Blue Jays won 16 of their last 20 home games.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Toronto leads Red Sox by five games in AL East.

NFL trends for every team……

Cardinals
Last four years, Arizona is 19-9 ATS as a road underdog.
Last three years, Cardinals are 5-9 ATS coming off a win.

Falcons
QB Michael Penix was 1-2 as a starter in his rookie season.
Last two years, Atlanta is 2-9 ATS as an underdog.

Ravens
Lamar Jackson is 70-24 as a starter in regular season, 3-5 in playoff games.
Last two years, Ravens are 20-10 ATS as a favorite.

Bills
Last five years, Buffalo is 7-5 in playoff games, but 0-4 against the Chiefs.
Since 2017, Bills are 20-10-2 ATS on natural grass.

Panthers
Since 2019, Carolina is 3-12 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2009, Panthers are 5-11 ATS in their road opener. 

Bears
Ben Johnson is the Bears’ sixth head coach since 2012.
Last four years, Chicago is 21-47 SU/29-35-4 ATS
Last four years, Bears are 12-20-2 ATS as a road underdog. 

Bengals
Last four years, Bengals are 14-7 ATS as a road favorite.
Last three years, Cincinnati is 18-7-1 ATS coming off a win.

Browns
Browns used four QB’s last year; none of those guys are on this year’s active roster.
Last four years, Cleveland is 8-15-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Last six years, Browns are 4-14 ATS in AFC North road games.

Cowboys
Last four years, Dallas is 17-8 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, Cowboys are 17-7 ATS vs NFC East rivals.

Broncos
Last year was Denver’s first playoff appearance since 2015.
Broncos were 8-0 ATS as a favorite last year. 

Lions
Last three years, Detroit is 14-8 ATS as a home favorite.
Last three years, Detroit is 11-3 ATS as a road favorite.
Last four years, Lions are 20-10 ATS as an underdog. 

Packers
Since 2019, Green Bay is 17-8 ATS as a road underdog.
Last 18 years, Packers are 14-4 ATS in their home opener.

Texans
Since 2019, Houston is 6-14-1 ATS as a home favorite.
In two years under DeMeco Ryans, Texans were +11/+12 in turnovers.
Last four years, Texans are 8-1 ATS as a road underdog vs AFC South rivals.

Colts
Last five years, Colts are 5-9-1 ATS at home vs AFC South rivals.
Since 2010, Colts are 4-9-2 ATS in their road openers.

Jaguars
Last four years, under is 23-9 in Jacksonville home games.
Since 2018, Jaguars are 13-21-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Chiefs
Last five years, Kansas City is 17-22 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2015, Chiefs are 24-11-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Famous birthdays, August 15:
Kenny Carr, 70
Gary Kubiak, 64
Bubby Brister, 63
Jeff Huson, 61
Debra Messing, 57

Eric Bieniemy, 56
Anthony Anderson, 55
Ben Affleck, 53
Óliver Pérez, 44
Luke Keaschall, 23

Raiders
Pete Carroll is the Raiders’ sixth head coach since 2014.
Last three years, Raiders are 10-4 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2017, Las Vegas is 3-12-1 ATS as a road favorite.

Chargers
Last year, Chargers were +11 in turnovers, 10-2 ATS as a favorite.
Since 2019, Bolts are 13-26-6 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Rams
Under McVay, Rams are 17-6-1 ATS in road games vs NFC West rivals.
Under McVay, Rams are 25-19-3 ATS in games coming off a loss.

Dolphins
In three years under McDaniel, Miami is 18-10-2 ATS as a favorite.
Last two years, Dolphins are 3-8 ATS as a road underdog.

Vikings
Since 2015, Vikings are 25-12-3 ATS as a road favorite.
Last five years, Vikings are 16-6-3 ATS on natural grass. 

Patriots
Mike Vrabel is New England’s third head coach in three years.
Last three years, Patriots are 12-24-2 ATS as an underdog.
Last two years, Patriots are 2-7-2 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Giants
Last two years, Giants weren’t favored in any of their 17 home games.
Last two years, Giants are 1-6-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Last six years, Big Blue is 11-7 ATS in road games vs NFC East rivals. 

Jets
Jets haven’t made playoffs since 2010, longest current drought in the NFL.
Since 2018, Jets are 6-12 ATS as a home favorite. 

Eagles
Last nine years, Eagles are 8-1 SU/6-3 ATS in Week 1.
Last three years, Eagles are 11-2-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Steelers
Since 2018, Steelers are 0-4 SU in playoff games.
Aaron Rodgers will be their 4th starting QB the last five years.
Last two years, Steelers are 12-7 ATS as an underdog.
Last three years, Pittsburgh is 20-9-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

49ers
Last year, 49ers were 5-12 ATS, after being 29-21-1 from 2021-23.
Last three years, 49ers are 0-5 ATS as an underdog.

Seahawks
Last four years, Seattle is 6-12-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last two years, Seahawks are 9-3 ATS as a road underdog.
Last four years, Seahawks are 11-6 ATS on natural grass.

Buccaneers
Last two years, Tampa Bay was 11-2 ATS as a road underdog.
Last four years, Bucs are 7-9 ATS as a road favorite.
Last two years, Bucs are 10-3-1 ATS coming off a loss.

Titans
Last two years, Tennessee is 0-8 ATS in games coming off a win.
Last two years, Titans are 4-11 ATS as a road underdog.

Commanders
Washington was 12-5 LY, its first winning season since 2016.
Commanders were +3 in turnovers last year; from 2021-23, they were minus-24.
Washington is 6-2 ATS in last eight games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Trends for Big 18 football teams:

— Illinois
Under Bret Bielema, Illini is 15-4 ATS in road games.

— Indiana
In four years as a I-A coach, Curt Cignetti is 23-8 ATS as a favorite.

— Iowa
Since 2015, Hawkeyes are 19-8-1 ATS as a road favorite. Iowa’s new QB this season started 55 games at I-AA South Dakota State.

— Maryland
In his career, Mike Locksley is 10-17 ATS as a home favorite, 11-22 as a road underdog.

— Michigan
Last three years, Wolverines are 7-11-1 ATS as a home favorite, 6-3 as a road favorite

— Michigan State
Last three years, Spartans are 9-16-2 ATS in conference games.

— Minnesota
Since 2019, Golden Gophers are 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS in bowl games.

— Nebraska
In nine years as a college coach, Matt Rhule is 34-19-1 ATS as an underdog.

— Northwestern
Since 2018, Wildcats are 5-14-1 ATS as a home favorite. 

— Famous birthdays, August 14th:
Steve Martin, 80
Guido Merkens, 70
Earvin (Magic) Johnson, 66
Mark Gubicza, 63

Halle Berry, 58
Wayne Chrebet, 52
Mike Vrabel, 50
Mila Kunis, 42

Tim Tebow, 38
Josh Bell, 33
TJ Friedl, 30
Eric Wagaman, 28

— Ohio State
Buckeyes won/covered last four bowl games, with all four wins by 14+ points.

— Oregon
Under Dan Lanning, Ducks are 21-11 ATS as a favorite.

— Penn State
Last four years, Nittany Lions are 28-11-1 ATS as a favorite.

— Purdue
Since 2018, Boilermakers are 5-16 ATS as a home favorite. 

— Rutgers
Scarlet Knights are 12-6 ATS last 18 games as a home favorite, 14-6-2 last 22 games as a road dog.

— USC
In eight years as a college coach, Lincoln Riley is 9-21-1 ATS as a road favorite.

— UCLA
Since 2015, Bruins are 14-27 ATS as a home favorite.

— Washington
Since 2018, Huskies are 22-38 ATS in conference games..

— Wisconsin
Since 2015, Badgers are 23-11 ATS as a road favorite. 

— Movie of the Day:
Invincible (2006)- Real-life story of Vince Papale, a 30-year old Philadelphia bartender who defies the odds and makes the Eagles as a special teams player. 

Mark Wahlberg plays Papale, Greg Kinnear plays Dick Vermeil, Elizabeth Banks plays another bartender where Papale works, Michael Rispoli plays the owner of the bar, Kevin Conway plays Papale’s father, Paige Turco plays Carol Vermeil. 

Coach Vermeil’s attention to detail is apparent; in the locker room scenes near the end of the movie, the names/numbers on the Eagles’ uniforms are accurate, which is unusual for a movie.

— Marlins 13, Guardians 4
Last week, Gavin Williams threw 126 pitches, nine more than anyone else this year, because he had a no-hitter in the 9th inning. Wednesday, Williams gave up four runs in 3 IP, throwing 75 pitches.

Jakob Marsee homered twice, knocked in seven runs for the Marlins.

— Braves 11, Mets 6
Mets led 6-0 after three innings; Atlanta scored nine runs in the 4th inning.
Michael Harris hit a grand slam for the Braves.
Mets have lost 12 of their last 14 games.

— Diamondbacks 6, Rangers 4
James McCann/Ketel Marte both homered in the 9th inning for Arizona.
Merrill Kelly gave up two runs in 6 IP against his old team.
Rangers are 2.5 games out of the AL’s last playoff spot.

— Astros 4, Red Sox 1
Hunter Brown got 20 outs, allowed only one run, got his 10th win.
Houston regains first place in AL West by a game over Seattle.
Top three hitters in Boston’s lineup went a combined 0-for-11.

— Orioles 4, Mariners 3
Jackson Holliday hit a walk-off double for the Orioles.
Loss snaps Seattle’s eight-game winning streak.
Taylor Rogers allowed only four hits, one run in 7 IP.

— Twins 4, New York 1
Joe Ryan got 20 outs, gave up a run and four hits.
Minnesota had lost its previous nine games against New York.

— Angels 6, Dodgers 5
Logan O’Hoppe had the game-winning hit in the 8th inning.
Halos went 6-0 against the Dodgers this season.
Shohei Ohtani threw a season-high 80 pitches in 4.1 IP.

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