Category: SPORTS

Vikings 9, Bears 3
Bears lost the game and QB Williams (hamstring).
Chicago drove 37 yards, kicked a FG on its first drive.
Rest of game, Bears ran 63 plays for 226 yards, no points.
Last 6+ years, Chicago is 4-14-1 ATS in NFC North home games.

Leading 6-3, Minnesota blocked a 23-yard FG with 6:21 left.
Vikings won their 7th visit in a row to Chicago.
Minnesota is 6-3-1 ATS in last ten NFC North road games.
Vikings are 18-9-3 ATS in last 30 games coming off a win.

Saints 24, Ravens 17
Ravens led 14-6 at halftime.
Saints in first half: 30 plays, 105 yards, two field goals.
Saints in second half: 36 plays, 160 yards, 18 points.
In two games, Saints scored 6 points in f1st half, 48 points in 2nd half/OT.

Saints were 8-15 on third down, Baltimore 4-9
New Orleans is 18-10-1 ATS last 29 games as a road underdog.
Ravens in first half: 32 plays, 223 yards, two touchdowns.
Ravens in second half: 26 plays, 64 yards, 3 points.

Eagles 24, Titans 20
Eagles drove 65 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:09 to play.
Titans had kicked a FG with 1:56 left to lead 20-17.
Eagles converted 11-18 on 3rd down, but were minus-2 in turnovers.
Philly’s first three drives: 40 plays, 210 yards, 14 points. 

Philadelphia led 14-10 at halftime.
Eagles ran 72 plays for 341 yards, Titans 51 plays for 291.
Robert Saleh is 20-38 as an NFL head coach.
QB Ward is 3-16 as an NFL starter.

Panthers 34, Falcons 3
Panthers gave up 59 points last week, only 3 points in this game.
Devin Lloyd picked off two passes, ran one back for a TD.
Carolina won seven of last ten series games.
Panthers won five of last seven visits to Atlanta.

In two games, Falcons scored one TD, have 7 turnovers on 23 drives.
Panthers outgained Atlanta, 340-286.
In this game, Atlanta turned ball over on first 2 drives of each half.
Stefanski is 46-60 as an NFL head coach.

Bengals 20, Texans 6
WR Chase caught 7 passes for 75 yards, two TD’s.
Last 4+ years, Cincinnati is 11-7 ATS as road underdogs.
Cincinnati is 24-13 ATS ln its last 37 road games.
Burrow is 50-35-1 as an NFL starter.

Bengals led 7-3 at halftime.
Bengals’ first 3 drives of 2nd half: 19 plays for 93 yards, 13 points.
Texans have already lost 2 home games (36-31 Bills/20-6 this game)
Houston is 8-12 ATS last 20 games as a home favorite.

Packers 20, Jets 17, OT
Jets led 17-7 with 7:30 left in the game.
Packers tied game on a FG with 2:59 left.
Last 3+ years, Packers are 5-16 ATS as a road favorite.
Green Bay is 5-15-1 ATS in last 21 games coming off a loss.

Total yardage: Jets ran 72 plays for 285 yards, Packers 50 for 199.
Jets converted 8-19 on third down, Green Bay 1-9.
Jets covered their last four home openers.
Packers had 14 penalties for 133 yards, Jets 13 for 156. 

Patriots 20, Steelers 3
Leading 13-3, Patriots scored defensive TD to break game open.
QB Maye is 21-14 as an NFL starter 
Vrabel is 74-53 as an NFL head coach
Patriots are 8-2 ATS last 10 games as a home favorite

In two games, Steelers have one offensive TD on 22 drives.
In two games, Steelers are 5 for 25 on third down.
Pittsburgh’s first five drives: 33 plays for 81 yards, no points.
New England outgained the Steelers, 327-235

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

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

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

———————————————————————

Week 2 NFL info is posted
Big Dawg’s NFL picks are posted

Sunday’s 6-pack:
— White Sox 3, Tigers 1- Miguel Vargas hit his 33rd home run.
— Rays 2, Red Sox 1- Tampa Bay has won 7 of its last 8 games.
— Cubs 5, Reds 2- Chicago has hit 214 home runs, most in MLB.
— Pirates 6, Royals 5- Brandon Lowe hit a 2-run HR in the 8th.
— Rangers 6, Blue Jays 5- Texas is 78-77; they’re in first place in AL West.
— Braves 6, Astros 3- Ronald Acuna hit a grand slam in 7th inning.

Quote of the Day
“All of the coaches, they kind of told me I have to grow up. There’s a lot mistakes I made but you just grow up a little bit and keep learning. … There’s going to be new things all of the time. Like, I came in from that weather delay and said, ‘Man, I haven’t seen that before.’”
Clemson QB Tait Reynolds, after his first college start

Sunday’s quiz
When the Jets won Super Bowl III, who did they beat? 

Saturday’s quiz
Mets have won two World Series, 1969, 1986; Gil Hodges, Davey Johnson managed those teams.

Friday’s quiz
In the history of the Rams, Jim Everett has thrown for the most yards.  

— Vanderbilt 35, NC State 31
Ending of this game is the worst loss I’ve ever seen in any sport, ever. Seriously.

NC State led 31-28; they picked off a pass on the 2-yard line. Vandy had two timeouts left, with 1:04 left in the game. Wolfpack ran three QB draws, had the ball on their 4-yard line with 0:06 left, 4th down, up by three points. No way they could lose, right?

Wrong.

The QB ran around the end zone; instead of throwing the ball into the stands, or running out of the end zone, he just runs around and when he got hit, he fumbled and Vanderbilt recovered to win another Music City Miracle.

The combined football IQ of the coach/QB combo here was amazingly low; someone needs to get fired over this. Total malpractice by NC State, which outgained Vandy 446-409.

If you wagered on NC State (-3), it was even worse; if you bet on Vandy (+3), ya got lucky.

— Ole Miss 32, LSU 24
Rebels led 24-7 at halftime.
Ole Miss in first half: 40 plays, 289 yards, 24 points.
LSU tied game 24-24; Rebels scored winning TD with 6:13 left.
Ole Miss outgained LSU, 426-330

— Clemson 28, North Carolina 20
Tar Heels led 17-3 with 2:00 left in first half.
There was a 2.5-hour rain delay in the 4th quarter.
Clemson scored the winning TD with 5:01 left, then scored again with 1:00 left.

— Toledo 49, Temple 48 OT
Temple led 24-14 at halftime.
Toledo scored two TD’s in last 1:05 force OT
Rockets recovered an onside kick after the first TD.
Temple went for 2 points and the win in OT, but failed.

— Alabama 50, Florida State 36
Seminoles led 21-6 with 4:00 left in 2nd quarter.
Alabama’s last seven drives: 42 plays, 465 yards, 44 points.
Florida State fired their athletic director this week; probably not a great time for the football team to collapse like this in the second half of a high-profile game.

— Louisville 41, SMU 31
Keyjuan Brown had TD runs of 58-53 yards.
SMU led 17-14 at halftime.
Both teams ran ball for 250+ yards.
Louisville was +3 in turnovers.

— Kentucky 31, Texas A&M 21
Game was 7-7 at halftime.
Kentucky outscored Aggies 21-0 in third quarter.
Kentucky QB Minchey was 14-18/252 passing, with 2 TD’s.

— Upsets of the Week:
Kentucky (+16) 31, Texas A&M 21
West Virginia (+10) 38, Virginia 27
Mississippi State (+4) 41, South Carolina 34
East Carolina (+3) 20, Old Dominion 17
Ole Miss (+3) 32, LSU 24

— Famous birthdays, September 20th:
Sophia Loren, 92
Dave Twardzik, 76
Gary Cole, 70
Vance Joseph, 54

Jason Bay, 48
Ian Desmond, 41
Jeffrey Springs, 34
Kyle Anderson, 33

— Virginia Tech 35, Maryland 26
Hokies are 3-0 for the first time since 2017.
Tech led 7-14 at halftime.
Tech QB Grunkemeyer was 31-39/314 passing, with 3 TD’s.
Maryland’s loss snaps their 20-game non-conference winning streak.

— Mississippi State 41, South Carolina 34
South Carolina led 16-0 midway thru second quarter.
Miss State’s first three drives: 11 plays, 44 yards, no points.
Miss State’s last eight drives: 48 plays, 361 yards, 41 points.

— Cincinnati 35, Miami OH 31
Miami led 28-7 at halftime.
Cole Tabb ran 53 yards for a TD with 1:29 left.
Cincinnati converted 3-of-4 fourth down plays.

— Oklahoma 14, New Mexico 6
Sooners won despite being minus-3 in turnovers.
New Mexico completed only 8 of 19 passes, for 116 yards.
Total yardage: Oklahoma 299, New Mexico 185.

— Marshall 30, Missouri State 24
Marshall scored 17 points on their first three drives, never trailed.
Missouri State had ball on Marshall’s 7-yard line at end, but didn’t score.
Thundering Herd ran ball 45 times for 267 yards.

— South Alabama 41, Ohio U 36
Jaguars led 24-7 at halftime, hung on for the win.
South Alabama ran ball 50 times for 266 yards.
Jaguars averaged 9.6 yards/pass attempt. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Rangers. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres

— From 2027-30, Pete Alonso will be making $33.5M/year from the Orioles; he goes to the post every day. Games he’s played/home runs he’s hit in since 2021:

2021- 152…….37
2022- 160……40
2023- 154……46
2024- 162……34
2025- 162……38
2026- 154……37

Durable, productive, a good combination.

My question is this; if the Mets had to do all over again, would they have re-signed him last winter, or do they not regret letting him walk?

Decisions like that are why baseball needs a Hard Knocks-type show, so discussions like this one  can be heard. Would be fascinating what they were talking about.

— Rangers 7, Blue Jays 1
Wyatt Langford got on base five times, scored twice.
Texas scored four runs in the second inning.
Toronto pitchers walked 10 Ranger hitters.

— Braves 6, Astros 2
Harris, Acuna, Olson all hit two-run homers.
Braves clinched a playoff berth, their 8th in nine years.
Astros slipped to 77-77; they’re tied with Texas atop AL West.

— AL West standings:
77-77 Astros
77-77 Rangers
72-82 Mariners
61-93 A’s
59-95 Angels

— Brewers 6, Orioles 5 (10)
Jackson Chourio hit a three-run homer.
Milwaukee has won eight of its last ten games.
Brewers are 96-58, are right now the NL’s #1-seed.

— Red Sox 4, Rays 2
Roman Anthony homered, had three RBI.
Ranger Suarez got 17 outs, allowed 3 hits, only one run.
Boston’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 2.

— Mets 6, Phillies 3
Juan Soto had three hits, belted a three-run homer.
Win snapped the Mets’ five-game losing skid.
Phillies/Cubs are tied for the NL’s #1 Wild Card spot. 

— Famous birthdays, September 19th:
Nat Moore, 75
Dan Hampton, 69
Phil Stephenson, 66
Randy Myers, 64

Jim Abbott, 59
Sanaa Lathan, 55
Jimmy Fallon, 52

John Jaso, 43
Ryan Succop, 40
George Springer, 37

CJ McCollum, 35
Luke Raley, 32
Dejounte Murray, 30
DL Hall, 28

— Miami 33, Wake Forest 20
Miami QB Mensah completed his first 24 passes.
Hurricanes led 24-7 at halftime.
Wake had 13 penalties for 122 yards.

— Texas Tech 28, Houston 26
Houston led 17-14 at halftime.
Cougars scored TD with 0:49 left; 2-point try failed.
Tech QB Hammond waas 17-27/257 passing, with a TD pass.

— Guardians 5, A’s 3
Ramirez, Rocchio both drove in two runs.
Cantillo threw six scoreless iP as a bulk reliever.
Cleveland leads AL Central by a game over Chicago.

— Tigers 11, White Sox 8
Chicago led 8-2 after the fourth inning.
Detroit scored five runs in the 8th inning.
White Sox have a one-game led for the last AL Wild Card spot.

— Nationals 9, Cardinals 1
CJ Abrams became the 52nd player to join the 30/30 club.
Washington led 7-0 in the third inning.
Cade Cavalli gave up four hits in five shutout IP.

— Pirates 8, Royals 5
Pirates are 77-77; their last winning season was in 2018.
Konnor Griffin had four hits, drove in two runs.
Brandon Lowe hit his 32nd home run of the season. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres

— Pete Alonso hit his 300th home run Tuesday against his old team, the Mets; after the game, he met up up with the fan who wound up with the home run ball. 

The fan and his friends got:
signed bats
signed baseballs
their jerseys autographed by Alonso
free beers
ticket offers for Oriole games in Baltimore.

— Bills 41, Lions 31
Bills’ first four drives: 31 plays, 289 yards, 27 points.
Buffalo missed the PAT after their fourth TD.
Bills won their first two games, 36-31/34-24.
Last eight years, Bills are 12-3-1 ATS in Weeks 1-2.

This was the first game in Buffalo’s new stadium.
Detroit split its first two games, giving up 30-41 points.
Lions’ first two drives: 7 plays, minus-1 yard, two punts.
Jared Goff wound up 26-38/327 passing, with 4 TD passes. 

— Pitt 27, Syracuse 13
Panthers led 17-10 at halftime.
Pitt ran the ball 37 times for 245 yards.
Syracuse had two turnovers, also 10 penalties for 94 yards.

— Dodgers 8, Reds 2
Dodgers clinch their 13th NL West title in 14 years.
Kyle Tucker was 4-for-5, with a homer, two doubles.
Dodgers led this game 8-0 in the fourth inning.

— Padres 9, Rockies 2
San Diego scored seven runs in the 7th inning.
Xander Bogaerts hit a home run/triple in that inning. 

Padres have a four-game lead for the NL’s last Wild Card spot.

— Rays 10, A’s 1
Tampa Bay scored six runs in the fourth inning.
Chandler Simpson was 2-for-5, scored twice, had two RBI
Rays lead AL East by five games with 10 games left.

— Phillies 3, Mets 0
Aaron Nola allowed three hits in 7 IP.
In his last 10 starts, Nola is 4-2, 2.07.
Phillies/Cubs are tied for the NL’s #1 Wild Card slot 

— Famous birthdays, September 18th:
Billy Gambrell, 85
Toni Kukoc, 58
Aisha Tyler, 56
Jason Sudeikis, 51

Serge Ibaka, 37
Kevin Dotson, 30
Andre Pallante, 28
Ceddanne Rafaela, 26

— Pirates 7, Brewers 4
Pittsburgh scored five runs in the second inning.
Brewers are 95-58, have two-game lead to be the NL’s #1-seed.
Pirates are 76-77; their last winning season was in 2018.

— Seattle Mariners have scored 2 or fewer runs in 34 games this year; this will be the first time since 2019 they’ve had a losing season in a 162-game schedule.

— Wednesday in Denver, Padres’ rookie C Ethan Salas hit two home runs in his fifth major league start; he is expected to be a good one for San Diego.

— Coming into Thursday’s game, Mets P Nolan McLean had 69 strikeouts this year on called third strikes, more than any other MLB pitcher.

— North Carolina defensive coordinator Steve Belichick quit after there was an investigation into the football program’s culture. UNC’s general manager Mike Lombardi resigned earlier this season. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres

— Guardians 6, White Sox 3
Petey Halpin’s three-run homer was the big hit.
Cleveland is in first place for first time since July 3rd.
White Sox have lost 12 of their last 17 games.

— Royals 5, Astros 2
Michael Massey went 3-for-5, scored two runs.
Daniel Lynch gave up two hits in five shutout IP.
Houston is 76-76, leads AL West by half a game.

— Rangers 7, Red Sox 3
Texas scored three runs in the bottom of 7th inning.
Nathan Eovaldi threw 4 shutout IP in relief, got the win.
Willson Contreras homered for the Red Sox. 

— Orioles 7, Mets 1
Pete Alonso homered against his old team for the 2nd night in a row.
Baltimore hit four home runs; they swept this three-game series.
Orioles are 2.5 games out of the AL’s last playoff spot.

— Phillies 3, Nationals 0
Zack Wheeler gave up four hits in his 7 shutout IP.
Phillies drew 13 walks, were only 1-10 with RISP.
Nationals lost for only third time in their last 12 games.

— Cubs 8, Braves 4
Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice, has 44 homers this year.
Alex Bregman went 3-for-4, had four RBI.
Cubs are 85-68, have magic number of 6 to clinch a playoff spot.

— Blue Jays 5, Tigers 1
Max Scherzer gave up three hits and a run in 5 IP.
Loss ends Detroit’s six-game winning streak.
Toronto is 45-15 when they score 5+ runs. 

— Famous birthdays, September 17th:
Phil Jackson, 81
John Franco, 66
Kyle Chandler, 61
Mark Brunell, 56

Dan Haren, 46
Marcus Semien, 36
Jose Ramirez, 34
Patrick Mahomes, 31

Jaylen Watson, 28
Dillon Dingler, 28
Brandon Sproat, 26
James Wood, 24

— Analytics vs human scouts is san argument that goes back to the Moneyball era, 25 years ago; the ideal thing is a balance of the two, but still……

argument for analytics: Computers analyze what has already happened. 

argument against analytics: Scouts try to see what will happen next. How do you assign a number to courage? What is the formula for recovering from failure? 

You can’t assign a number to everything; it takes thought, conversation, common sense.

— Wednesday, on August 16, Tommy Pham started his first game for the White Sox this year; he hit a three-run homer in their 6-3 loss. Pham has played for 10 different major league teams but it reeks of desperation that he batted cleanup in his first start of the season.

— A reminder that in January 2025, 20 months ago, gas had an average price of $3.11 a gallon. Today, 20 months later, gas is $4.32 a gallon. That’s not good.

— LSU QB Sam Leavitt has a sore right (throwing) shoulder and is doubtful for Saturday’s game at Ole Miss. LSU’s backup quarterbacks have very little experience.

— Minnesota Vikings RB Jordan Mason broke his thumb, is on injured reserve; he gained 59 yards on 15 carries in the Vikings’ Week 1 win over Green Bay.

— Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur is 7-0 ATS in Week 2 NFL games. His Packers are -3.5 over the Jets in New Jersey Sunday.

— As far as pitch challenges go, pitchers/catchers have been between 55-60% other challenges every month this season. Hitters have been under 50% every month except August (52%). 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Rays, Guardians, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, White Sox
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres

— Orioles 7, Mets 5 (11)
Coby Mayo hit a 3-run, inside-park home run in 11th inning.
Pete Alonso’s 300th career HR tied the game in the ninth.
Orioles are three games out of the AL’s last playoff spot.

— Guardians 7, White Sox 6
Brayan Rocchio hit a walk-off, two-run double for Cleveland.
White Sox led 6-4 in the sixth inning.
77-74 White Sox lead 77-75 Cleveland by half a game in AL Central.

— Astros 4, Royals 2
Jeremy Pena homered in his first two at-bats.
Yordan Alvarez hit his 39th homer of the season.
76-75 Houston leads Texas by a game in the AL West.

— Rangers 4, Red Sox 2
Texas scored all four of its runs in the second inning.
Jacob deGrom gave up 3 hits, struck out 8 in 5 IP.
Corey Seager had two hits, drove in two runs.

— Brewers 5, Pirates 1
Milwaukee clinched its 4th consecutive NL Central title.
Jacob Misiorowski struck out seven in his 5 shutout IP.
Brewers clinched the division when Atlanta beat the Cubs.

— Nationals 6, Phillies 3
Pinch-hitter Daylen Lile hit a 3-run homer in 7th inning.
Nationals have won four games in a row.
Phillies have lost four of their last five games.

— Rockies 9, Padres 3
Cole Carrigg was 4-for-5, with two homers, five RBI

Win snaps Colorado’s eight-game losing skid.
Loss snaps San Diego’s eight game winning streak. 

— Famous birthdays, September 16th:
Ed Begley, Jr., 78
Wilbert Montgomery, 72
Robin Yount, 71
Eric Hipple, 69
Jennifer Tilly, 68

Orel Hershiser, 68
Tim Raines, 67
Mickey Tettleton, 66
Brandon Moss, 43
Robbie Grossman, 37

— Word of the Day– Mentor- a wise/trusted teacher or guide.

— In his last seven starts against the Mets, Gerrit Cole has given up 33 earned runs in 33.1 IP.

— Baltimore Orioles are wearing a black cap this week with an orange “B” on it; they should always wear their caps with the iconic Oriole logo on it. Much better-looking hat.

— Most points scored in Week 1 of an NFL season:
791- 2012, 2026
788- 2002
776- 2019
768- 2021

— Taj Gibson has retired after a 17-year playing career in the NBA; he is becoming an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. Gibson played for eight different teams in his 17-year career, scoring 8.3 ppg.

— If you’re a hockey fan, you probably already know this, but the NHL has expanded its regular season from 82 games per team to 84 games. Regular season starts September 29th.

— Florida State fired Vice President/Athletic Director Michael Alford; people in Tallahassee are getting frustrated over the football program’s decline. Seminoles play Alabama this week, not a great week to have off-field distractions. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres

— They have these NFL survivor contests in Las Vegas, you pick one team a week, all they have to do is win, and you’re alive in the contest until a team you pick loses. You can only pick a team once a season.

One contest at Circa in downtown Las Vegas had 25,017 entries, at $1,000 a pop, so there is $25,017,000 up for grabs.

When the Chargers lost to Arizona Sunday, 7,585 people got knocked out, 30% of the field.

— Chiefs 31, Broncos 10
Chiefs ran the ball 38 times for 220 yards.
Kansas City led 14-7 at halftime.
Chiefs in 2nd half: 31 plays, 184 yards, 17 points.
Broncos in 2nd half: 23 plays, 10 yards, 3 points.

Chiefs were 9-17 on third down, Denver 2-12.
Broncos are 3-7 ATS in last ten road openers.
Denver is 3-7 ATS last ten AFC West road games.
Kansas City outgained the Broncos, 392-176.

— White Sox 7, Guardians 3
Chicago increases its lead in AL Central to 1.5 games.
White Sox scored six runs in the 6th inning.
OF Tristan Peters walked during that rally, an at-bat that lasted 18 pitches.

— Orioles 2, Mets 1
Gunnar Henderson hit the winning home run in the 8th inning.
Orioles’ bullpen allowed one baserunner, got 12 outs.
Pete Alonso went 0-for-3 in his return to Citi Field.

— Tigers 6, Blue Jays 5
Zach McKinstry scored the game-winning run on a 9th inning error.
Toronto led 2-0 after the sixth inning.
Blue Jays are one game out of the last Wild Card spot.

— Cubs 7, Braves 3
Pete Crow-Armstrong went 4-for-5, with a homer, four RBI.
Cubs led 5-0 in the third inning.
David Peterson gave up a run, three hits in six IP.

— Cardinals 2, Giants 1
Quinn Mathews took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Alec Burleson now has 110 RBI, most in the big leagues.
Giants are 36-39 at home, 26-50 on the road. 

— Rockies’ OF Jake McCarthy has 30 doubles, 10 triples, 20 home runs this year. 

— Famous birthdays, September 15th:
Tommy Lee Jones, 80
Oliver Stone, 80
Dan Marino, 65
Earnest Byner, 64

Jason Terry, 49
Mike Dunleavy, 46
Josh Richardson, 33
Terry McLaurin, 31

— College football non-conference ATS trends:
AAC: 11-9 ATS, 9-5 as underdogs
ACC: 7-10 ATS, 4-6 as favorites
Big 18: 14-15 ATS, 9-10 as home favorite
Big X: 7-8 ATS, 3-6 as favorite, 4-2 as underdog
C-USA: 10-5 ATS: 8-3 as road underdog

MAC: 3-10 ATS
Mountain West: 4-5 ATS
Pac-8: 7-6 ATS, 3-1 as favorite
SEC: 14-7 ATS, 11-3 as home favorite
Sun Belt: 6-8 ATS

— If an NFL team had a good, veteran quarterback, would it be smart for them to let that QB call his own plays? He’s done the film work, he’s out on the field, the team could go no-huddle and be more aggressive, when necessary. Kind of like when Jim Kelly played for Buffalo.

— Only seven weeks to go until Election Day, which will mean:

a) no more political TV commercials
b) no more e-mails/texts from politicians, begging for $$$

Can’t come soon enough.

— Backup QB for Rutgers is AJ Surace, whose dad is football coach at Princeton. Surace is 24-36/307 passing for the Scarlet Knights so far this season.

— Anthony Gose is a relief pitcher for Kansas City; from 2011-16, he was an OF for the Blue Jays/Tigers, where he hit .240. When he stopped hitting well, he became a pitcher. He’s 36 now, interesting career.

— Giants 1B Rafael Devers had 28 RBI in his last 18 games, he was red-hot at the plate, but he is out for the year now. Turns out he was nursing a core muscle injury which requires surgery.

— There are rich people, and then there are really, really rich people.

Josh Harris owns the NFL’s Commanders, the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. Has to be a little awkward for him when his Commanders visit the Eagles every year.

We all have problems; rich people just have better problems. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres

Lions 31, Saints 30 OT
Both teams scored TD in OT; Saints went for 2 points with 1:34 left, but failed.
Detroit led this game 7-0 at halftime.
RB Gibbs ran ball 29 times for 156 yards, two TD’s.
Total yardage: Saints 469, Lions 369 (Detroit +2 turnovers0

QB Slough was 35-56/410 passing, with three TD’s.
WR Olave caught 10 passes for 182 yards.
New Orleans is 18-10-1 ATS last 29 games as a road underdog.
Over is 5-1 in last six series games.

Bills 36, Texans 31
QB Allen threw a 34-yard TD pass with 1:36 left for the winning score.
Texans had the ball on the 9-yard line after that, but couldn’t score.
Allen was 20-29/334 passing, with two TD’s.
Last three years, Buffalo scored 34-41-36 points in Week 1.

Bills had lost their previous six visits to Houston.
Texans in first half: 35 plays, 246 yards, 21 points.
Texans in second half: 39 plays, 141 yards, 10 points.
Houston is 2-8 ATS in its last ten home openers.

Jaguars 34, Browns 10
Lawrence was 18-23/245 passing, with four TD’s.
Jacksonville led 24-0 at halftime.
Jaguars’ first four drives: 33 plays, 220 yards, 24 points.
Liam Coen is 14-5 as an NFL head coach.

Browns in first half: 36 plays, 65 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.
Jaguars were 5-10 on third down, Cleveland 1-8.
Browns were minus-2 in turnovers, committed 11 penalties for 75 yards.
Last 4+ years, Browns are 9-19 ATS as a road underdog.

Bengals 33, Buccaneers 27
Bengals were +3 in turnovers; Tampa lost four fumbles.
Burrow was 25-35/254 passing, with one TD.
Cincinnati is 13-6-2 ATS last 21 games vs NFC teams.
Burrow is 49-35-1 as an NFL starter. 

Cincinnati led 24-10 at halftime.
Both teams scored a defensive touchdown.
Bengals’ K McPherson kicked four FGs: 20-55-58-32 yards.
Tampa Bay is 2-8 SU/0-10 ATS in their last ten games.

Ravens 41, Colts 23
QB Jackson was 17-25/324 passing, with one TD
RB Henry ran ball 24 times for 144 yards, with 3 TD’s.
Ravens are 14-8 ATS last 22 games as a road favorite.
Baltimore is 12-6 ATS in last 18 road openers.

Ravens’ first five drives: 27 plays, 254 yards, 28 points.
Baltimore led this game 31-13 at halftime.
Jones is 33-51 as an NFL starter (8-6 with Colts).
Colts are 4-10-1 ATS in last 15 home openers.

Steelers 20, Falcons 13
Leading 13-10, TJ Watt had a 35-yard pick-6, early in 4th quarter.
Total yardage in game: Steelers 264, Atlanta 238
Steelers only ran the ball 21 times, for 58 yards.
Pittsburgh is 15-8 ATS in last 23 games vs NFC teams.

Falcons’ last ten drives: 48 plays, 190 yards, six points.
#3 QB Rush was 12-22/143 passing; he is 9-8 as an NFL starter.
As a head coach, Stefanski is 12-24-1 ATS as a road underdog
Teams combined to convert 5 of 25 third down plays.

Bears 59, Panthers 37
Chicago scored TD’s on eight of its 13 drives.
Bears ran ball 39 times for 291 yards.
QB Williams was 21-29/269 passing, with two TD’s.
Over is 7-2-1 in their last ten road games. 

QB Young was 23-37/361 passing, with three TD’s.
Young is now 14-32 as an NFL starter.
Last eight years, Carolina is 2-5-1 ATS in its home opener.
Panthers committed 11 penalties for 84 yards. 

Famous birthdays, September 14th:
Larry Brown, 86
Tim Wallach, 69
David Bell, 54
Chad Bradford, 52

Brandon Hicks, 41
Jimmy Butler, 37
DeShaun Watson, 31
Bubba Chandler, 24

Jets 23, Titans 10
Jets’ first two drives: 30 plays, 132 yards, 10 points.
RB Hall ran ball 22 times for 102 yards and a TD.
K Sanders made FG’s of 33-51-52 yards.
Jets outgained Tennessee 367-195.

Last 2+ years, Titans are 0-8 ATS as a favorite, 0-7 at home.
Last six years, Titans are 0-6 SU/2-4 ATS in Week 1.
Robert Saleh is 20-37 as an NFL head coach.
QB Ward is 3-15 as an NFL starter.

Cardinals 26, Chargers 14
Cardinals’ first five drives: 49 plays, 220 yards, 16 points.
QB Brissett was 27-37/277 passing, with a TD.
Arizona is 10-5 ATS last 15 games as a road underdog. 
K Ryland kicked four field goals: 27-44-34-49 yards. 

Since 2013, Week 1 underdogs of 6.5+ points are 33-13-1 ATS.
Chargers were 2-8 on third down, Arizona 6-14.
Cardinals outgained the Bolts, 393-268.
Chargers’ last five drives: 22 plays, 31 yards, no points.

Raiders 27, Dolphins 13
Raiders’ first three drives: 32 plays, 200 yards, 17 points.
Las Vegas led 17-6 at halftime.
RB Jeanty ran ball 23 times for 102 yards.
QB Cousins is 90-80-2 as an NFL starter.

Dolphins ran only 50 plays for 259 yards.
Last 3+ years, Miami is 5-14 ATS as a road underdog.
Under is 20-3 in their last 23 road openers.
Dolphins are 11-17-1 ATS in last 29 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Eagles 24, Commanders 22
Washington scored TD with 1:01 left; tying 2-point play failed.
QB Hurts was 14-23/203 passing, with three TDs.
Hurts is now 64-29 as an NFL starter.
Philadelphia is 1-7 ATS in last eight home openers.  

Eagles won 14 of last 18 series games.
Commanders are 5-2 ATS in last seven visits to Philly.
Washington’s first nine drives: 47 plays, 117 yards, 9 points.
Washington’s last two drives: 21 plays, 125 yards, 13 points. 

Vikings 39, Packers 22
Green Bay led 22-10 with 3:00 left in third quarter.
Vikings’ last four drives: 19 plays, 126 yards, 29 points.
QB Wentz came off bench, was 12-19/133 passing, with three TD’s.
Over is 7-4-1 in last 12 meetings.

Last 3 times Packers led by 10+ points in 2nd half, they lost the game.
Green Bay in 4th quarter: 24 plays, 97 yards, no points. 
Green Bay is 6-10 ATS in last sixteen road openers.
Minnesota won four of last five series games.

Giants 28, Cowboys 20
John Harbaugh wins his debut with the Giants.
Big Blue ran ball 37 times for 165 yards.
Giants converted 9 of 11 third down plays.
QB Dart threw for 230 yards, ran for 54 more.

Cowboys are 1-5-1 ATS last seven games as a road favorite.
Dallas ran the ball only 18 times, for 69 yards.
Giants outgained Dallas, 394-244.
Cowboys had nine penalties for 90 yards, Giants 10 for 114. 

— Oklahoma State 39, Oregon 31
Last year, Ducks beat Oklahoma State, 69-3.
Cowboys outgained Oregon, 554-281.
Oregon had a 96-yard pick-6 in the first quarter.
Oklahoma State ran ball 40 times for 237 yards (5.9/carry).

— Texas 24, Ohio State 23
Ohio State led 23-3 after the third quarter.
First 7 drives for Texas: 38 plays, 116 yards, 3 points.
Last 3 drives for Texas: 40 plays, 211 yards, 21 points.

— Michigan 17, Oklahoma 10
Wolverines have two wins: 13-12/17-10.
Michigan scored winning TD with 7:53 left, on a six-yard drive after an INT.
Teams combined for 166 penalty yards, converted only 7-26 on 3rd down

— Iowa 16, Iowa State 13
Iowa drove 31 yards, kicked a 42-yard field goal with 0:15 left.
Cyclones are 11-3 ATS in last 14 visits to Iowa City.
Under is 18-3 in last 21 series games.

— Texas Tech 35, Oregon State 24
Beavers led 24-21 with 7:00 left in the game.
Tech threw a 32-yard TD pass with 6:37 left for the winning score.
Oregon State QB Atkinson was 29-49/399 passing, with two TD’s.

— Wake Forest 38, Purdue 36, OT
Purdue scored 10 points in last 3:53 of regulation, to force OT.
Wake QB Lopez threw for 225 yards, ran for 59 more.
Total yardage: Purdue 455, Wake 411; there were no turnovers.

— Texas- San Antonio 31, Texas State 26
UTSA scored on a 25-yard TD run with 0:14 left.
Texas State led 17-7 at halftime.
Roadrunners were outgained 481-398, but were +3 in turnovers.

— Upsets of the Week:
Oklahoma State (+23) 39, Oregon 31
Georgia State (+8.5) 31, Kennesaw State 17
Appalachian State (+6.5) 27, East Carolina 24
Duke (+6) 31, Illinois 27
Michigan (+5.5) 17, Oklahoma 10
California (+3.5) 21, Syracuse 18

— Famous birthdays, September 13th:
Jacqueline Bisset, 82
Rick Wise, 81
Clyde Kusatsu, 78
Jean Smart, 75
Mike Pagel, 66

Brad Johnson, 58
Bernie Williams, 58
Denny Neagle, 58
Trent McDuffie, 26
Riley Leonard, 24

— Braves 12, Phillies 2
Michael Harris was 4-for-5, knocked in three runs.
Atlanta scored eight runs in the fourth inning.
Braves lead the NL East by six games.

— White Sox 6, Cardinals 5
Randal Grichuk hit a 2-run HR in top of the 9th.
Leo Bernal homered in the bottom of the 8th.
White Sox extend their lead in AL Central to 1.5 games.

— Padres 7, Giants 6
Xander Bogaerts was 4-for-5, scored two runs.
Rafael Devers hit his 7th home run in 12 September games.
Mason Miller logged his 36th save.

— Red Sox 5, Royals 1
Ranger Suarez struck out eight guys in 7 IP.
Royals are 12-30 vs lefties, 54-53 vs righties.
Carter Jensen homered for Kansas City’s only run.

— New York (N) 12, New York (A) 2
Francisco Lindor homered twice, drove in five runs.
In his last eight games, Lindor has four first-inning home runs.
Mets are 22-13 since the trade deadline.

— Nationals 6, Angels 5 (10)
Washington led 4-0 after seven innings.
Nationals blew their 39th save this year, an MLB record.
Washington scored the winning run on an Angels’ error.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians

— Rays 3, Astros 1
Junior Caminero’s 40th home run was a walk-off blast.
Tampa Bay clinches its first playoff spot since 2023.
Drew Rasmussen allowed one run in his seven IP.

— Brewers 20, Reds 0
Garrett Mitchell hit Milwaukee’s first grand slam this season.
Brewers clinched their 8th playoff spot in nine years.
Milwaukee led 8-0 in the second inning.

— Braves 6, Phillies 5 (11)
Drake Baldwin hit a walk-off double for Atlanta.
Phillies led 3-1 in the 7th inning.
Atlanta now leads the Phillies by five games in the NL East.

— New York (A) 6, New York (N) 4
Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer in the 2nd inning.
Bronx is 17-7 in its last 24 games.
Loss snapped the Mets’ four-game winning streak.

— Guardians 5, Twins 2
Angel Martinez homered, doubled, had two RBI.
Taj Bradley allowed only one hit in his six shutout IP.
Cleveland has a two-game lead for the last Wild Card spot.

— Royals 3, Red Sox 2
Carter Jensen had two hits, scored two runs.
Red Sox were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Boston has lost its last three games.

— Dodgers 6, Marlins 2
Kyle Tucker hit a grand slam in the 7th inning.
Blake Snell improved to 4-1, 1.91 this season.
Dodgers have won eight games in a row.

— Famous birthdays, September 12th:
Linda Gray, 86
Joe Pantoliano, 75
Rachel Ward, 69
Vernon Maxwell, 61

Yao Ming, 46
Freddie Freeman, 37
Andrew Luck, 37
Kyle Bradish, 30

— Boston College 28, Rutgers 21
Eagles led 14-0 after the first quarter.
BC QB McKenzie threw ball for 252 yards, ran for 94 more.
Rutgers turned ball over four times, BC had 3 turnovers.

— Missouri 38, Kansas 21
Game was tied 14-14 at halftime.
Kansas scored a TD on an 88-yard return of a blocked FG
Mizzou QB Simmons was 19-29/292 passing, with three TD’s.

— Patriots WR AJ Brown (high ankle sprain) is out at last four weeks.

— Bears signed RB D’Andre Swift for three more years, $33.75M; $27.5M of that money is guaranteed. 

— Vladimir Guerrero’s splits this year:
Home: 241 AB, no homers, 18 RBI, 28 runs
Road: 256 AB, 8 HR’s, 36 RBI, 40 runs

— Texas Rangers have lost their last eight road series. 

— Friday is the 25th anniversary of 9/11/2001, when 2,977 people died after two airplanes purposely crashed into the two towers of the World Trade Center, one of the worst days in the history of this country.

343 New York City fire fighters died that day; 65 of their sons/daughters are fire fighters now.

— 49ers 27, Rams 7
49ers’ first drive of game: 15 plays, 65 yards, FG
49ers’ first drive of 2nd half: 7 plays, 51 yards, TD
San Francisco outgained the Rams, 379-290.

49ers were 7-12 on third down, Rams were 2-9.
49ers in second half: TD-TD-FG-MFG
Rams in second half: 32 plays, 159 yards, no points.

— Seahawks’ QB Sam Darnold has a hip injury, is probably going to miss their Week 2 game at Arizona. Drew Lock will get the start for Seattle. 

— Falcons’ QB Tua Tagavailoa got hurt in practice this week, is a ??? for this week’s opener in Pittsburgh. Tagavailoa has an oblique strain; Cooper Rush took all the first-team reps for the Falcons in Thursday’s practice.

Spread on the game jumped from Steelers -3.5 to -4.5 when this news got out.

— Teams that allowed the most passing yards last year:
4,521- Cowboys
4,462- Colts
4,427- Steelers

— Dodgers put Shohei Ohtani on the injured list Thursday, with a couple injuries; only 17 days left in the regular season, curious to see if he’ll be ready for the playoffs.

— Famous birthdays, September 11th:
Johnny Neumann, 75
Rod Perry, 73
Virginia Madsen, 65

Gerald Wilkins, 63
Ellis Burks, 62
Bern Brostek, 60

Ed Reed, 48
Andrew Cashner, 40
Mike Moustakas, 38

— Word of the Day— Euphemism- A polite term for an impolite thing.

— Tuesday night in Philly, future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve got his 2,500th career hit. 

— Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels were the first two teams eliminated from playoff contention.

— Pirates put P Braxton Ashcroft on the IL, with right arm discomfort; he is 14-6, 3.65 in 28 starts this year, throwing 165.1 innings, but he only he only threw 69.2 innings last year.

There is a belief in front offices that if you throw 20% more innings than you threw the year before, that greatly increases your chance of injury. For Ashcraft, 84 innings would’ve been 20% more than last year. 165.1 IP is a huge increase.

— Astros 2, Phillies 1
Cam Smith hit a home run in the ninth inning.
Cristian Javier allowed a run, three hits in 6 IP.
Astros lead the AL West by three games.

— Braves 3, Rays 1
Game was scoreless after seven innings.
Austin Riley had the go-ahead hit for Atlanta.
Tampa Bay leads the AL East by three games.

— Bronx 10, Rockies 3
Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam, drove in five runs.
New York has won 16 of its last 23 games.
Colorado has lost four in a row, 10 of last 13 games.

— Mariners 4, Rangers 3
Jacob deGrom retired the first 15 Mariners, had a 3-0 lead.
Seattle scored four runs in the 7th inning.
Julio Rodriguez hit a three-run homer.

— Pirates 2, White Sox 0
Jared Jones allowed one hit in seven IP.
Oneil Cruz was 3-for-4, including a home run.
Chicago’s lead in AL Central is down to 1.5 games.

— To the victor goes the spoils: Knicks’ G Jalen Brunson is going to host Saturday Night Live September 26th.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians

— RIP to Barry Melrose, a former NHL player and coach who was a hockey analyst for ESPN for over 25 years. He passed away Wednesday, at age 70.

I met Barry Melrose at a minor league game in Glens Falls; he was very nice to me, talked for ten minutes or so. Same personality he showed on TV, he was a great ambassador for the sport.

RIP, sir.

— Seahawks 13, Patriots 10
New England led 10-0 with 5:00 left in third quarter.
Patriots’ last four drives: 34 plays, 53 yards, a punt, three INTs.
New England was 5-16 on third down, Seattle 2-11.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 8 passes for 122 yards and a TD
Seahawks in first half: 25 plays, 82 yards, no points.
Seahawk QB Darnold hurt his hip, played only five plays.

— When NFL teams cut their rosters down, Miami Dolphins added seven players from other teams, not exactly a ringing endorsement of their roster. As of now, Miami’s QB’s are Malik Willis, Kyle McCord and Brady Cook.

— Modern college sports; USC poached the guy who was UAB’s long snapper for kicks.

— I know very little about tennis, but there was a match from the US Open Tuesday that lasted until almost 4am in New York City. Match went five sets; I turned it on and watched; the two guys wound up in a fifth set tiebreaker, and fans appreciated their great effort.

— If you’re Freddy Peralta, are you telling your agent you want to sign with Tampa Bay for next season? Peralta is a free agent this winter; after a dismal 22 starts for the Mets this year, he has gone 3-0, 1.00 in his last three starts for the Rays, who have him throwing his change-up a lot more.

— Get well soon to Rutgers basketball coach Steve Pikiell, who announced Wednesday that has been diagnosed with cancer, and will undergo chemotherapy for the next few months. Brandin Knight is going to run the team in Pikiell’s absence.

— Famous birthdays, September 10th:
Gary Danielson, 75
Amy Irving, 73
Randy Johnson, 63

Roger Mason, 47
Joey Votto, 43
Neil Walker, 41

Paul Goldschmidt, 39
Landon Roupp, 28
JJ Wetherholt, 24

— Phillies 11, Astros 7
Kyle Schwarber hit a grand slam, his 44th homer this year.
Hunter Brown/Cristopher Sanchez gave up 11 runs in 11 IP.
Isaac Paredes homered, had three RBI for Houston.

— Brewers 8, Cubs 6
Milwaukee led 6-0 in the second inning.
Logan Henderson allowed 2 hits, an unearned tun in 5 IP.
Brewers lead the NL Central by ten games.

— Angels 6, Red Sox 4
Zach Neto hit a three-run homer over the Green Monster.
Jose Siri homered, had two RBI for the Halos.
Angels won only 4th time in their last fifteen games.

— A’s 2, Blue Jays 0
Henry Bolte homered in the third inning.
A’s have won six of their last eight games.
Toronto is 1.5 games out of the last playoff spot.

— Rays 7, Braves 2
Griffin Jax allowed two hit and a run in 5 IP.
Victor Mesa homered, scored two runs.
Atlanta’s lead in NL East is down to three games.

— Mets 15, Marlins 14
Mets led 8-0 in third inning, hung on for dear life.
#8-9 spots in Mets’ order: 7-for-10, five runs, 8 RBI
Jacob Marsee was 4-for-6, with three RBI.

— Giants 7, Cardinals 6
San Francisco scored six runs in the bottom of 8th inning.
Leo Bernal hit a three-run homer for St Louis.
Last eight games between these teams were decided by one run.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians

— Tampa Bay Bucs signed QB Baker Mayfield to a three-year deal worth $55M/year, lot of cabbage. Mayfield is 28-26 as Tampa’s QB, making the playoffs two of three years there.

— Week 1 NFL games are tough to predict; starters don’t play much in exhibition games, you don’t know what new coaches have up their sleeves. You’d think defenses would be ahead of offenses early on, but the Bills beat Baltimore 41-40 in Week 1 last year. Go figure.

— Now that Stan Kroenke owns the Angels, I’m curious who he’ll hire to run the baseball operations. Kroenke generally hires smart people, then gets out of their way.

— They’re saying the major leagues will add two expansion teams in a few years, after their labor dispute gets settled next year. These are the six cities rumored to be in the hunt:

Montreal, Nashville, Orlando, Portland OR, Raleigh, Salt Lake City.

— Houston Astros have used 18 starting pitchers this year, more than any other team.

— Odd Stat of the Day: Dansby Swanson leads the major leagues this year, with 44 RBI out of the #9 spot in the batting order.

— Star DT Aaron Donald won’t be playing for the Rams in Australia Thursday night; he’s still amping up for the long season.

— Famous birthdays, September 9th:
Joe Theismann, 77
Hugh Grant, 66
Jack Trudeau, 64
Dan Majerle, 61
Todd Zeile, 61

Adam Sandler, 60
BJ Armstrong, 59
Edwin Jackson, 43
Nick Sogard, 29
Troy Taylor, 25

— Rays 7, Braves 1
Freddy Peralta’s last three starts: 18 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 2 runs, 3 wins
Junior Caminero homered, scored two runs.
Braves lead the NL East by four games over the Phillies.

— Astros 6, Phillies 5
Houston led 5-0 in sixth inning, held on for dear life.
Walker, Varsho, Cam Smith homered for the Astros.
Trea Turner homered, had two RBI for the Phillies. 

— Diamondbacks 5, Royals 3 (11)
Lourdes Gurriel tripled in the 11th inning.
Tim Tawa was 3-for-5, with a homer, two RBI.
Corbin Burnes threw 57 pitches in his first start in 15 months.

— Brewers 4, Cubs 3 (10)
Milwaukee tied game with two runs in bottom of the 9th.
Luis Lara had the walk-off hit for the Brewers.
Milwaukee now leads the NL Central by nine games.

— Angels 6, Red Sox 1
Reid Detmers gave up one hit, no runs in six IP.
Zach Neto went 4-for-5 with a home run.
Loss ends the Red Sox’ five-game winning streak.

— Pirates 9, White Sox 3
Rafael Flores went 3-for-5, with a home run.
Top four guys in the order: 9-for-18, with six runs scored.
Bubba Chandler allowed four hits, two runs in six IP.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Diamondbacks
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians

— SMU 27, Florida State 24
SMU drove 71 yards, kicked 20-yard FG with 0:21 left.
Mustangs led 17-6 at halftime.
SMU outgained Florida State, 585-302
Mustangs won despite being minus-3 in turnovers. 

— Eight major league teams had Labor Day off; why?
Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day; every team should play on holidays. 

— Phillies 1, Braves 0
Kyle Schwarber’s 8th inning HR was the game’s only run.
It was Schwarber’s fifth career homer in a 1-0 game, tied with Ted Williams for the most ever.
Jesus Luzardo threw a 109-pitch complete game, striking out 12 guys, 

— Brewers 4, Cubs 3
Milwaukee scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th.
Jackson Chourio had the game-winning hit.
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 41st homer for the Cubs.

— Orioles 6, Guardians 4
Trevor Rogers allowed one run in 7.1 IP.
Orioles’ win snapped their six-game closing skid.
Coby Mayo homered, drove in three runs.

— Diamondbacks 5, Royals 4 (10)
Game was scoreless after nine innings.
If you bet over 9.5, you took a huge sigh of relief at the end.
Arizona used five pitchers to get thru the first nine innings. 

— Red Sox 5, Angels 2
Adley Ruschman hit a 3-run homer in the second inning.
Boston’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 11.
Red Sox are 34-17 since the All-Star break. 

— Tigers 5, Twins 4
Riley Greene had three hits, including a three-run homer.
Four relievers got the last 10 outs for Detroit.
Twins are 4.5 games out of the playoffs, with 18 games left to play.

— Famous birthdays, September 8th:
Lem Barney, 81
Heather Thomas, 69
Clarence Weatherspoon, 56
Latrell Sprewell, 56
Matt Barkley, 36

Gerrit Cole, 36
Leonard Floyd, 34
Lars Nootbaar, 29
Leody Taveras, 28
Victor Mesa Jr., 25

September 8th was my grandfather’s birthday; he was a conductor on the subway in New York City. He was a quiet guy who was always nice to me. Happy birthday, Pop!!!

— Conference records in non-league games:
AAC: 6-5
ACC: 4-6
Big 18: 7-7

Big X: 3-5
C-USA: 4-3
MAC: 3-5

MW: 4-3
Pac-12: 3-3
SEC: 8-2
Sun Belt: 2-4

— Western Michigan got hosed the other night, when Michigan was given an extra play by the refs, after time had expired, and the Wolverines completed a 47-yard Hail Mary to walk off with a 13-12 win. Bad call by the officials.

— With college football starting, Nick Saban is in more freakin’ commercials than Jennifer Garner and Samuel L Jackson, combined.

— Memo to college football announcers: How about not mentioning the Heisman Trophy until after Columbus Day? Talking about it on Labor Day is ridiculous.

—Florida basketball coach Todd Golden got a pay raise; he’ll be making $8.25M/year on a deal that runs through 2032. Florida is 87-24 the last three years; they won the national title in 2025, are 41-13 in SEC games the last three seasons.

— Congrats to Reds 3B/DH Eugenio Suarez, who passed his test to become a US citizen last week. He missed two games to go take the test, then in his first game back with Cincinnati, he hit a. home run in his first at-bat.

— Twice in the last 10 days, my doorbell rang in the morning, while I was still asleep; two guys who wanted to talk about religion. I am not a morning person; the first time I was polite, then on Labor Day, I just told them I wasn’t interested. No idea what/why they were doing; the one guy looked like Johnny Bench (he doesn’t know who Johnny Bench is). They handed me a card with bible verses on it, and went on their way.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Diamondbacks
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians