Category: SPORTS

— Some unexpected good news, very good news; an investment fund led by billionaire Mark Cuban is buying a minority stake in the A’s. It signals a bet on the sports market in Las Vegas, where the A’s are moving in 2028.

Imagine having an owner who will try to win games??? This is excellent!!!

— Twins 3, Guardians 1 (12)
Trevor Larnach had the game-winning hit for Minnesota. 

In 4th inning, Gavin Williams struck out three guys on nine pitches.
Cleveland led 1-0 after seven innings.

— Indiana Hoosiers signed QB recruit Lukas Prock, beating out Michigan, Notre Dame and Florida for the highly-rated recruit. Wow.

— Active major leagues who have hit the most home runs for a team:
Angels- Mike Trout
Marlins- Giancarlo Stanton
Mets- Pete Alonso
Padres- Manny Machado
Royals- Salvador Perez

— Baltimore Ravens cut rookie QB Diego Pavia, six days before training camp starts. Ravens cut Pavia to make room for center Ethan Pocic on the 90-man roster.

— Kansas City Chiefs are going to build a $3B domed stadium that will be modeled after their current stadium— it s scheduled to open in 2031. 

Skylar Thompson and rookie Joe Fagnano will compete to be the Ravens’ 3rd-string QB.

— Brown University is going to hire Stanford assistant Eric Reveno as its new basketball coach; Reveno was head coach at Portland for 10 years; from 2008-11, his Pilots went 60-35, 26-16 in WCC games.

— Famous birthdays, July 24th:
Michael Richards, 77
Lynda Carter, 75
Steve Grogan, 73
Joe Barry Carroll, 68

Karl Malone, 63
Barry Bonds, 62
Rick Fox, 57
Jennifer Lopez, 57

Rose Byrne, 47
Kyle Kuzma, 31
Joe Mixon, 30
Nolan McLean, 25

Random college football trends……..
— Last three years, USC is 2-10 ATS as a road favorite.

— In his career, Michigan’s new coach Kyle Whittingham is 28-18 ATS as a road underdog.

— Last six years, West Virginia is 15-4 ATS as a home favorite.

— Last nine years, Arizona State is 19-9-1 ATS as a road underdog.

— In his career, Arizona coach Brennan is 40-33-1 ATS in conference games. 

— Last three years, Georgia is 9-21-1 ATS as a favorite. 

— Under Sarkisian, Texas is 18-12-1 ATS as a home favorite. 

— Red Sox 6-1, Orioles 3-5
Boston’s 15-game winning streak comes to an end.
Ceddanne Rafaela homered in the opener.
Kyle Bradish allowed four hits in 6 IP in the nightcap.

— Reds 5, Mariners 3
Sal Stewart hit a 3-run homer in the 7th inning.
Brady Singer got 20 outs, gave up three runs.
Seattle slipped to 51-52; they’re in 2nd place in AL West.

— Royals 5, Giants 4
Giants led 3-0 in the 7th inning.
Lane Thomas broke 3-3 tie with a two-run single.
Vinny Pasquantino extended his hitting streak to 17 games.

— Brewers 4, Mets 3
Joey Ortiz was 3-for-3, with a two-run triple.
Logan Henderson had 9 strikeouts; he is 4-1, 3.05 this season.
Mets are 43-60 this year, 22-32 on the road.

— Cardinals 1, Angels 0
Hunter Dobbins scattered six hits in his six IP.
JJ Wetherholt homered, for the game’s only run.
Angels were 0-6 with runners in scoring position.

— Tigers 5, Cubs 1
Hao-Yu Lee hit a three-run home run.
Kieder Montero got 16 outs, allowed only three hits.
Alex Bregman is hitting .239 this year, with a .692 OPS

— Pirates 5-0, Bronx 3-2
Jared Triolo had the game-winning hit in 10th inning of the opener.
Nick Gonzales/Jacob Gonzalez both homered for the Pirates.
Max Fried allowed one hit in five IP in the nightcap.

— Famous birthdays, July 23rd
Ronny Cox, 88
Larry Manetti, 79
Coby Dietrick, 78
Belinda Montgomery, 76

Woody Harrelson, 65
Gary Payton, 58
Nomar Garciaparra, 53
Chase Meidroth, 25

— Salvador Perez has 317 career home runs; he hit the first one in 2011 off Max Scherzer. There’s a chance that some day, those two will get into the Hall of Fame together.

— Royals SS Bobby Witt Jr (back) is on the injured list for the first time in his five-year career. 

— Notes on teams from NFC South
Falcons
Last year, Falcons were 5-3 with Cousins at QB, 3-6 when Penix started.
Last three years, Atlanta is 10-19 ATS when favored.

Panthers
Carolina was 8-9 LY, 7-3 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Last 3 years, Panthers are 1-3 ATS as a favorite, 22-24-2 as a dog.

Saints
Last three years, New Orleans is 10-15 ATS at home.
Last year, Saints were 3-5 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Buccaneers
Tampa Bay was 8-9 LY, 1-6 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
This year, Bucs are #3 in $$$ spent on offensive players, #29 on defense.

— Notes on teams from NFC West
Cardinals
Arizona was 3-14 LY, 2-8 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Last three years, over is 18-7 in their home games.

Rams
Rams were 12-5 LY, 8-0 in games decided by 9+ points.
Rams are 21-10 ATS in their last 31 games as a favorite.

49ers
Last three years, 49ers are 1-8 ATS as an underdog.
Last year, SF was 12-5 despite a minus-6 turnover ratio

Seahawks
Seattle covered 10 of its last 13 games as a road underdog.
Seahawks were 14-3 LY, 6-3 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

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

— Trade deadline is August 3rd; I try not to read articles with rumors about trades, just want to know when something actually happens. Understood that some writers have to provide content to read, but at some point, actual trades will happen and we can figure out how they will matter the rest of the season, and beyond that.

— Padres 8, Braves 3
Manny Machado homered twice.
Fernando Tatis went 3-for-5, with a HR and three RBI
San Diego is 50-51, two games out of the last Wild Card slot.

— Dodgers 2, Phillies 1
Max Muncy hit a two-run homer in the 4th inning.
Justin Wrobleski got 19 outs, allowed only five hits.
Phillies had guys on 2nd/3rd, one out in 9th, but didn’t score.

— Mets 4, Brewers 0
Zac Thornton allowed three hits in 6 IP, got his first MLB win.
Jared Young/Luis Robert homered for the Mets.
Loss snapped Milwaukee’s four-game winning streak.

— Cubs 11, Tigers 2
Framber Valdez got only two outs, gave up six runs.
Pete Crow-Armstrong got on base five times (2 hits/3 walks)
Former Met David Peterson threw 6.2 shutout IP.

— Astros 5, Marlins 3
Isaac Paredes hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Marlins are 52-50, but have lost eight games in a row.
Marlins turned the first triple play in the majors this year.

— Rockies 8, Nationals 7
Hunter Goodman, who homered three times in a losing cause Sunday, hit a homer in the 8th inning that won this game. Goodman has 31 home runs this year.

CJ Abrams homered twice for Washington.

— Famous birthdays, July 22nd:
Sparky Lyle, 82
Danny Glover, 80
Albert Brooks, 79
Dave Stieb, 69
David Spade, 62

Tim Brown, 60
Steven Jackson, 43
Taylor Lewan, 35
Jose Siri, 31
Isaac Collins, 29

— Cal-Irvine’s basketball team was at the Cardinals-Angels game Tuesday night; this winter, Anteaters have a new player, a 7-foot-9 center from France.

Olivier Rioux transferred from Florida to Cal-Irvine this summer; he threw out the first pitch Tuesday night (a strike) and when he posed for a picture with Mike Trout, he made Trout look like a midget.

— Speaking of the Angels, they trailed St Louis 2-1 after eight innings Monday night, but scored twice in the ninth to win, 3-2. That ended a streak where the Angels had lost 106 games in a row when they trailed after eight innings.

— Forgot to mention this over the weekend, but Golden State Warriors won the NBA Summer League. Yaxel Lendeborg won Summer League MVP, three months after he helped lead Michigan to the college national title.

— Tuesday night, Phillies’ leadoff hitter Trea Turner challenged the second pitch in the first inning; you don’t see that much. You challenge the second pitch in the first inning, you better be right and he was……the call was overturned.

— Speaking of which, the rookie home plate umpire in the Mets-Phillies game last Sunday had a rough go of it; they challenged eight of his calls, and six of them were overturned. Not the best way to become full-time umpire.

— Yordan Alvarez has a legit chance to win the AL Triple Crown this year:

Home runs: Alvarez 33, Caminero 30, Rice 29
RBI: Alvarez 75, Rice 68, Contreras 68
Batting average: Alvarez .326, YDiaz .312, Clement .300

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

— Red Sox 6, Orioles 5
Boston has won fourteen games in a row.
Caleb Durbin’s home run in the 8th inning was a game-winner.
Loss snaps Orioles’ nine-game winning streak.

— Brewers 8, Mets 3
Cooper Pratt had three hits, including his first MLB home run.
Milwaukee is now 63-37, best record in the big leagues.

Freddy Peralta last year: 33 starts: 17-6, 2.70
Freddy Peralta this year: 21 starts: 5-9, 5.01

— Phillies 10, Dodgers 7
Trea Turner hit two home runs, including the 200th of his career.
Cristopher Sanchez allowed three runs in 5.1 IP; Turner had a poor game on defense.
Dodgers have lost seven of their last eight games in Philadelphia.

— Astros 8, Marlins 5
Yordan Alvarez homered twice, Jeremy Pena hit a grand slam.
Marlins have lost seven games in a row.

Yordan Alvarez last year: 6 home runs, 27 RBI, .797 OPS
Yordan Alvarez this year: 33 home runs, 75 RBI, 1.067 OPS

— Nolan Arenado got his 2,000th career hit Monday night; chances are pretty good he’ll be in the Hall of Fame someday.

— Guardians 13, Twins 4
Cleveland hit seven home runs, tied for their most ever in a home game.
Joe Ryan gave up six HR’s, eight runs in 4 IP; his ERA went from 2.85 to 3.38.

— Mariners 7, Reds 0
George Kirby allowed three hits in six shutout IP.
Cal Raleigh hit a grand slam in the 7th inning.
51-50 Mariners take over first place in the AL West.

Cal Raleigh last year: 60 home runs, 125 RBI, .948 OPS
Cal Raleigh this year: 10 home runs, 33 RBI, .565 OPS

Most fantasy baseball leagues are year-to-year, not keeper leagues. That makes it difficult.

— Famous birthdays, July 21st:
Al Hrabosky, 77
Jon Lovitz, 69
Barry Redden, 66

Henry Ellard, 65
Mike Bordick, 61
Justin Bartha, 48

David Carr, 47
CC Sabathia, 46
DeAndre Jordan, 38

The great actor Robin Williams was born on this day, in 1951.

Trends for NFC East teams:
Cowboys
Last two years, Cowboys are 3-10 ATS when favored.
Last two years, over is 24-10 in their games.

Giants
Last three years, Giants are 1-3 ATS when favored, 20-25-2 as an underdog.
Last year, Giants were 1-7 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Eagles
Last two years, Eagles are 12-5 ATS on the road.
Last year, Philly was 8-4 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Commanders
Washington is 4-8 ATS last 12 games as a divisional home favorite.
Last five years, Commanders are minus-34 in turnovers (minus-13 LY)

Trends for NFC East teams:
Bears
Last year was Chicago’s first winning season since 2018 (+22 in turnovers)
Bears are 12-7-1 ATS in last 20 games as a home favorite.

Lions
Last three years, Detroit is 27-13 ATS as a favorite.
Last three years, over is 30-21 in their games.

Packers
Green Bay was 9-8 LY (0-3 in games decided by 3 or fewer points)
Last three years, Packers are 3-10 ATS as a road favorite.

Vikings
Under is 16-8 in their last 24 home games.
Vikings in 2024: went 14-3, +10 in turnovers
Vikings in 2025: went 9-8, minus-9 in turnovers

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

— Red Sox 7, Rays 6
Tampa Bay led this game 6-3 in the 7th inning.
Wilyer Abreu homered twice, has 4 HR’s in his last two games.
Boston has now won 12 games in a row.

— Wilyer Abreu’s platoon splits this year:
vs lefties: 110 AB, .345 BA, .948 OPS
vs righties: 251 AB, .227 BA, .702 OPS

— Phillies 6, Mets 1
Kyle Schwarber hit his 33rd home run, most in the majors.
Trea Turner homered, went 3-for-4, scored three runs.
Phillies are 41-14 if Sanchez/Wheeler/Luzado start on the mound.
They’re 14-30 in all their other games.

— Rangers 7, Braves 6
Atlanta led 5-3 after the fifth inning.
Bradon Nimmo’s sixth-inning was a game-winner.
Braves’ lead in the NL East is down to two games.

— Blue Jays 1, White Sox 0
George Springer’s 4th-inning single drove in the game’s only run.
Loss snaps Chicago’s four-game winning streak.
Louis Varland has 20 saves in 20 chances.

— Orioles 4, Astros 2 (11)
Tyler O’Neill’s infield hit was a game-winner.
Baltimore has won six games in a row.
Astros have lost six of their last eight games.

— Rockies 10, Reds 3
TJ Rumfield was 4-for-5, homered, had 4 RBI
Top three guys in Colorado’s oder went 6-for-14, with six runs scored.
Jose Trevino homered twice for the Reds.

— Famous birthdays, July 19th:
George Dzundza, 81
Alvan Adams, 72
Anthony Edwards, 64
LeRoy Butler, 58

Rick Ankiel, 47
Yan Gomes, 39
Patrick Corbin, 37
Mauricio Dubon, 32

Info on Sun Belt West teams
Louisiana
Last four years, Ragin’ Cajuns were 6-7/6-7/10-4/6-7
ULL lost its last four bowls, by 7-3-31-7 points (0-2-2 ATS).
Louisiana has 7 starters back on offense, 3 on defense.
Cajuns have 67 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Winfield started 8 games last year.

Desormeaux is 13-17 ATS as a favorite.
Desormeaux is 12-7 ATS as an underdog.
Last six years, Louisiana is +39 in turnovers.
Last three years, Louisiana is 4-10-1 ATS in non-conference games.
Desormeaux is 14-7 ATS in games coming off a loss.

Troy
Last four years, Trojans are 35-19 SU.
In their last three bowls (1-2), Troy scored 18-10-13 points.
Troy has 4 starters back on offense, 2 on defense.
Trojans have 86 returning starts on OL, at various places.
Senior QB Crowder started seven games LY.

Last four years, Troy is 7-0 ATS as a road favorite.
Last four years, Troy is 13-5 ATS as a road underdog.
Since 2017, Trojans are 18-24-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Trojans are 26-9 ATS in last 35 conference games.
Troy is 23-8 ATS in last 31 games coming off a win.

Louisiana Tech
Last year was Tech’s first winning season since 2019.
Tech is 3-2 SU/2-3 ATS in its last five bowl games.
Bulldogs have 5 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Tech has 45 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Baker started six games last year.

In his career, Cumbie is 16-9 ATS in home games.
In his career, Cumbie is 10-16 ATS in road games.
Tech is 7-3 ATS in last ten games as a home underdog.
Bulldogs are 13-9 ATS in last 22 non-conference games.
In his career, Cumbie is 18-14 ATS in games coming off a loss.

Arkansas State
Red Wolves went 8-5/7-6 SU the last two seasons.
Arkansas State won three of its last four bowl games.
ASU has 7 starters back on offense, 3 on defense.
Red Wolves have 58 returning starts on the offensive line.
Whoever the new QB is will be an inexperienced QB. 

Last three years, ASU is 7-3 ATS as a home underdog.
Under Jones, Red Wolves are 16-12 ATS as a road underdog.
ASU was 7-6 last year, despite a minus-7 turnover ratio.
ASU is 15-9 ATS in their last 24 conference games.
In his career, Jones is 52-44 ATS in home games.

South Alabama
South Alabama was 4-8 LY, after 3 straight winning years.
Last five years, Jaguars had a positive turnover ratio every year.
USA has 4 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Jaguars have 32 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Davenport started 12 games last year.

Last three years, Jaguars are 6-10 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Applewhite is 5-10 ATS as a home underdog.
Last five years, South Alabama is 6-9 ATS as a road underdog.
USA is 5-9 ATS in last 14 non-conference games.
South Alabama won its last two bowls, 59-10/30-23

Louisiana-Monroe
Louisiana-Monroe has had seven straight losing seasons.
ULM’s one/only bowl game: 2012 Independence Bowl.
ULM has 5 starters back on offense, 3 on defense.
Warhawks have 22 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Armenta started 11 games last year.

In his career, coach Vincent is 8-1 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, coach Vincent is 0-5 ATS as a road favorite.
Warhawks are 17-23 ATS in their last 40 games as an underdog.
ULM is 26-37 ATS in its last 63 conference games.
ULM 9-14 ATS in last 23 games coming off a loss.

Playoff records of NFL starting QB’s:
17-4 Patrick Mahomes
11-11 Aaron Rodgers
8-7 Josh Allen
7-6 Matthew Stafford

6-4 Jalen Hurts
5-2 Joe Burrow
5-3 Brock Purdy
4-5 Jared Goff

3-1 Sam Darnold
3-1 Drake Maye
3-3 CJ Stroud
3-5 Lamar Jackson

2-1 Jayden Daniels
2-3 Baker Mayfield
2-5 Dak Prescott
1-1 Caleb Williams

1-1 Bo Nix
1-1 Daniel Jones
1-2 Trevor Lawrence
1-2 Deshaun Watson

1-3 Kirk Cousins
1-3 Jordan Love
0-3 Justin Herbert
0-1 Tua Tagovailoa

0-1 Bryce Young
0-1 Geno Smith
0-1 Kyler Murray
0-0 Jacoby Brissett

0-0 Malik Willis
0-0 Jaxson Dart
0-0 Tyler Shough
0-0 Cam Ward

— Famous birthdays, July 18th:
Joe Torre, 86
Dick Shiner, 84
Jerome Barkum, 76
Wally Walker, 72
Jeff Lageman, 59

Anfernee Hardaway, 55
Torii Hunter, 51
Eugenio Suarez, 35
Bam Adebayo, 29
Kyle Manzardo, 26

— Cardinals OF Jordan Walker is making $800,000 this year.

When he won Home Run Derby Monday night, Walker earned another $1,000,000, 25% more than he is making this whole season.

Second place in Home Run Derby is worth $500,000; the other six players bank $150,000 each.

Whoever hits the longest home run makes an extra $100,000 bonus.

— Red Sox 10-5, Rays 0-3
Boston has now won 11 games in a row, is tied for last playoff spot.
Wilyer Abreu hit two home runs in the nightcap.
Tampa Bay’s lead in AL East os down to 2.5 games.

— Brewers 2, Marlins 1 (10)
Garrett Mitchell had a walk-off single to end the game.
Five Milwaukee relievers threw five scoreless innings.
Marlins were 0-8 with runners in scoring position.

— Dodgers 2, Bronx 1
Max Muncy hit a two-run homer in 7th inning.
New York led 1-0 after the sixth inning.
Roki Sasaki got 17 outs, giving up one unearned run.

— White Sox 12, Blue Jays 4
Sam Antonacci homered, scored twice, had two RBI
White Sox have won four in a row, are still in first place.
Toronto is 5-36 when its opponent scores 5+ runs.

— Royals 7, Padres 6 (10)
Kansas City scored four runs in the 10th inning.
Carter Jensen was 3-for-5, with two doubles, two RBI
San Diego’s bullpen gave up six runs in 4.1 IP.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Marlins
AL: Rays, White Sox, Rangers Wild Cards: Bronx, Guardians, Minn/Bos

— Night after the All-Star Game is one of the worst TV nights of the year; NBA Summer League is OK to watch, but that’s almost over and the good announcers have gone home. Jeremy Lin is a new TV analyst; he is actually pretty good, but the guy who was his play-by-play partner isn’t good. 

I found a good TV show on Netflix, an NFL Films things about quarterbacks; Baker Mayfield, Joe Flacco, Jayden Daniels, Cam Ward. NFL Films stuff is always good.

— Flacco got a Corvette for winning Super Bowl MVP for the Ravens in 2013; that car is sitting in a barn now, looks like Flacco hasn’t driven it in years. He said on the show he does’t know where the keys are.

— Flacco’s wife plays fantasy football; she was miked for a game- she said she benched her husband for that week. So did one of his kids.

— Cam Ward is explaining how he never really played QB until he was in college, so even though he is in the NFL, he’s learning a lot of basic things, like the right way to study game film.

Brian Daboll is Tennessee’s new offensive coordinator; he has his work cut out for him.

— Positive things about the All-Star week:
Home Run Derby was a good show.
Players wore their own team’s uniforms in the All-Star Game.
The result of the game DID NOT determine home field in the World Series.

— I’ve got a bad feeling about baseball’s labor issues, as far as next season goes; MLB is running commercials pushing the salary cap, which has aggravated the players’ union, which isn’t very surprising. Next summer has the potential to be kind of boring.

— Jim Boeheim’s son Buddy is playing for Oklahoma City in the NBA Summer League; he’s scored 56 points in 24 NBA games, for the Pistons/Thunder. Coach Boeheim was on the TV broadcast for a little while.

— Famous birthdays, July 16th:
Ron Yary, 80
Ron Brewer, 71
Terry Pendleton, 66
Phoebe Cates, 63

Will Ferrell, 59
Barry Sanders, 58
Zach Randolph, 45
Ildemaro Vargas, 35

Notes for Sun Belt East football teams:
Appalachian State
Last two years, App State was 5-6/5-8 SU.
HC Loggains was an assistant coach for 5 NFL teams.
App State has 2 starters back on offense, 3 on defense.
App State has 25 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Singleton threw 64 passes at Purdue.

Last six years, App State is 10-21-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last 10 years, App East is 11-5 ATS as an underdog.
App State is 7-16-1 ATS last 24 games coming off a win.
App State is 11-21-1 ATS in their last 33 conference games.
App State is 3-2 SU/1-4 ATS in its last five bowl games.

Coastal Carolina
New HC Beard was coach at Missouri State last three years.
Coastal was 6-7/6-7 last two years, after 4 straight winning seasons.
Coastal has 5 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Chanticleers have 42 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Guerra started 12 junior college games LY.

Last three years, Coastal is 5-3 ATS as a home favorite.
Coastal is 4-7 ATS in last 11 games as a road favorite.
Bobby Petrino’s son is Coastal’s offensive coordinator.
Last six years, Chanticleers are +28 in turnovers.
Chanticleers lost three of their last four bowl games.

Georgia Southern
In four years under Helton, Eagles are 27-25 SU/29-23 ATS .
Last two years, Eagles are 9-1 ATS in games coming off a loss.
Georgia Southern has 3 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Eagles have 45 returning starts on OL, from various places.
Senior QB Johnson started 23 games in 7 years (LSU, UNC, Texas A&M)

Under Helton, Eagles are 12-3 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Helton is 27-18 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Helton is 10-21 ATS as a road underdog.
Coach Helton is 3-5 SU in bowl games.
Eagles lost three of last four bowl games (favored in all four).

Georgia State
Last two years, Panthers are 4-20 SU/5-18-1 ATS.
Last two years, GSU is 3-12-1 ATS in conference games.
Georgia State has 6 starters back on offense, 2 on defense.
Panthers have 59 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Brown started four games last year.

Under McGee, Panthers are 0-7 ATS as a favorite.
Under McGee, Panthers are 4-13-1 ATS in games coming off a loss.
Under McGee, Panthers are 3-7-1 ATS as a road underdog.
OC is former NFL head coach Hue Jackson
Panthers won last three bowl games, scoring 39-51-45 points.

James Madison
Former Florida coach Napier is JMU’s new head coach.
Last 10 years, Dukes are 110-22 SU.
JMU has 3 starters back on offense, 2 on defense.
Dukes have 49 returning starts on OL, at various places.
All the QB’s on this roster are inexperienced.

In his career, Napier is 13-20-1 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Napier is 24-13-1 ATS as an underdog.
4 years in Sun Belt, JMU is 18-14-1 ATS in conference games.
Last five years, Dukes are +50 in turnovers.
JMU lost two of its three bowl games.

Marshall
Last three years, Marshall was 6-7/10-3/5-7 SU.
Last two years, Marshall was +6/+10 in turnovers. 
Thundering Herd has 6 starters back on offense, 3 on defense.
Marshall has 41 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Del Rio-Wilson started 10 games LY.

Marshall covered six of last seven games as a home underdog.
Marshall is 9-4 ATS in last 13 games as a road underdog.
Thundering Herd is 13-8 ATS last 21 games as a road favorite. 
Thundering Herd covered 7 of their last 8 non-conference games.
Marshall lost four of its last five bowl games.

Old Dominion
Monarchs were 10-3 LY, their first winning season since 2016.
ODU is 12-7 ATS in last 19 games coming off a win.
ODU has one starter back on offense, 6 on defense.
Monarchs have no returning starts on the offensive line.
Soph QB Henicle has started two games.

Coach Rahne is 24-14-1 ATS as an underdog.
Coach Rahne is 9-11 ATS as a favorite.
ODU is 14-9-1 ATS in last 21 Sun Belt games.
Monarchs are 12-7 ATS in last 19 games coming off a win.
Old Dominion is 2-2 SU/1-3 ATS in bowl games.

NFC East
Cowboys
Last seven years, are 6-1 ATS in their road opener.

Giants
Last 14 years, are 1-13 ATS in their home opener.

Eagles
Last six years, are 1-5 ATS in their home opener.

Commanders
Last 17 years, over is 12-5 in their road opener.

NFC North
Bears
Last eleven years, are 3-8 ATS in their road opener.

Lions
Last 16 years, over is 12-4 in their home opener.

Packers
Last seven years, Green Bay is 17-4 ATS in weeks 1-3.

Vikings
Last eleven years, are 8-3 ATS in their home opener.

NFC South
Falcons
Last eight years, are 1-7 SU/2-6 ATS in their season opener.

Panthers
Last 17 years, are 5-12 ATS in their road opener.

Saints
Last eleven years, are 2-9 ATS in their home opener.

Buccaneers
Last five years, they’re 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS in their season opener.

NFC West
Cardinals
Last seven years, they’re 4-3 SU/7-0 ATS in their road opener.

Rams
Last eight years, they’re 6-2 ATS in their road opener.

49ers
Last nine years, under is 7-2 in their road opener.

Seahawks
Last eight years, over is 6-2 in their road opener.

— Famous birthdays, July 12th:
Cheryl Ladd, 75
Mario Soto, 70
Luke McCown, 45
Howie Kendrick, 43
LeSean McCoy, 38

Patrick Beverley, 38
Kellen Moore, 37
Nathan Lukes, 32
Bailey Ober, 31
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 28

AFC East
Bills
Last ten years, under is 8-2 in their road opener.

Dolphins
Since 1994, under is 25-7 in their road openers.

Patriots
Last eleven years, they’re 8-3 ATS in their road opener.

Jets
Last ten years, they’re 2-8 SU/3-6-1 ATS in season openers.

AFC North
Ravens
Last 21 years, they’re 14-7 ATS in home openers.

Bengals
Last five years, they’re 1-4 ATS in their road opener.

Browns
They covered four of last five season openers.

Steelers
Last eight years, they’re 1-7 ATS in home openers.

AFC South
Texans
Last three years, they’re 1-8 ATS in weeks 1-3.

Colts
Last three years, they’re 7-2 ATS in weeks 1-3.

Jaguars
Last six years, over is 5-1 in their road opener.

Titans
Last six years, under is 5-1 in their road opener.

AFC West
Broncos
Last seven years, under is 7-0 in their home opener.

Chiefs
Last nine years, they’re 7-2 ATS in their road opener.

Raiders
Last ten years, they’re 7-3 ATS in season openers.

Chargers
Last six years, they’re 8-3-1 ATS in weeks 1-2.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Marlins
AL: Rays, Whits Sox, Rangers. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Sea/Minn

— I tell this story every year; NBA Summer League started Thursday in Las Vegas. You can bet on these games; my advice— DO NOT bet a lot of money on these games.

Few years ago, maybe 8-10 years ago, I’m sitting at the summer league with a buddy and two guys sit in front of us, just before a game is tipping off. One looked like a bodybuilder; very big guy, he was sipping on a mixed drink.

“I’ve got a sure thing in this game; they posted a bad line!!! Team A won by 20 yesterday, Team B lost, but this game is a pick ‘em.”

Oy.

1) they don’t post bad lines on games in Las Vegas
2) if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. 

3) Teams don’t always go all out to win summer league games; they have to see their prospects play, all of them.

Game starts, and Team B gets off to a good start, then they start to pull away. Guy in front of is getting restless, cursing under his breath. 

I came close to tapping him on the shoulder and explaining the thing about seeing prospects, but then I remembered the saying “they kill the messenger” so my buddy and I moved over to the section to our left. As Team B pummeled Team A, we could still hear the big guy cursing. 

There is a reason those bright lights on the Strip stay lit 24 hours a day.

— Red Sox 2, White Sox 1
Caleb Durbin hit a two-run homer in the 4th inning.
Boston has won six games in a row, and 11 of 13.
White Sox have lost six of their last eight games.

— Mets 7, Royals 3
Tyrone Taylor homered during a five-run fifth inning.
Mark Vientos was hit by a pitch, broke his hand, is on the IL
This season, five different Mets have led off the first inning with a HR.

— Guardians 5, Twins 2
Gavin Williams allowed 3 hits, struck out 11 in 7 IP.
Cade Smith earned his 27th save for the Guardians.
Cleveland/White Sox are tied for first in AL Central.

— Braves 10, Pirates 5
Mike Yastrzemski hit a grand slam in 9th inning.
Matt Olson homered, playing in his 740th consecutive game.
Rookie SS Jim Jarvis had three hits, including his first MLB homer.

— Orioles 3, Cubs 2
Jeremiah Jackson hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 8th.
Orioles didn’t have a hit in innings 3-7.
Seiya Suzuki knocked in both of Chicago’s runs.

— Famous birthdays, July 10th:
Hal McRae, 81
Andre Dawson, 72
Darryl Talley, 66

Sofia Vergara, 54
Cam Jordan, 37
Lawrence Butler, 26

Fred Gwynne, who played Herman Munster on TV, was born on this day in 1926. 

Notes for Big X football teams:
Iowa State
New coach Rogers was 6-6 in his one year at Washington State.
Rogers won a national title at the I-AA level.
ISU has only 2 starters back on offense, 2 on defense.
Cyclones have 15 returning I-A starts on OL (have 5 I-AA transfers).
Senior QB Raynor started for three years at Arkansas State.

Last nine years, ISU had eight winning seasons.
Cyclones are 13-7-1 ATS last 21 games as a road underdog.
ISU is 6-12 ATS last 18 games as a road favorite.
Last 10 years, Cyclones are 30-18-1 ATS in games coming off a loss.
Last three years, Iowa State was +21 in turnovers.

Kansas
Coach Leopold is 27-35 SU in five years at Kansas.
Last 10 years, Jayhawks have had one winning season.
Kansas has 6 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Jayhawks have 65 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Bellard threw 22 passes last year.

Under Leopold, Kansas is 9-4-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Under Leopold, Kansas is 8-14 ATS as a road underdog.
In his career, Leopold is 22-15-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Jayhawks won four of their last five bowl games (5-0 ATS)
Problem is, they’ve been in only two bowl games since 2008.

Kansas State
Klein is a first-year HC who played QB at K-State.
Wildcats haven’t had a losing season since 2020.
K-State has 7 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Wildcats have 50 returning starts on OL, from various places.
Senior QB Johnson has 25 career starts.

K-State is 15-8 ATS in last 23 games as a home favorite.
Wildcats are 1-9 ATS in last 10 games as a road favorite.
K-State is 29-17 ATS in last 46 games coming off a loss.
Last four years, Wildcats were +33 in turnovers.
K-State won three of its last four bowl games.

Oklahoma State
New coach Morris was 22-16 in three years at North Texas. 
Cowboys were 3-9/1-11 the last two years.
Cowboys have 7 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
OSU has 117 returning starts on OL (lot of transfers).
Soph QB Mestemaker started 14 games at North Texas LY.

Last four years, OSU is 6-10 ATS as a road underdog.
Morris was 10-4 ATS as a home favorite at North Texas.
Last nine years, Cowboys are 15-10 ATS as a road favorite.
Cougars are 28-17-1 ATS in last 43 games coming off a win.
OSU won three of last four bowl games (last one in 2023).

TCU
In four years, coach Dykes is 36-17 SU at TCU.
Last two years, Horned Frogs went 9-4/9-4 SU.
TCU has 7 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Horned Frogs have 95 returning starts back on offensive line.
Senior QB Craig is a transfer from Harvard (6,074 PY, 52 TD’s).

In his career, coach Dykes is 35-27 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, coach Dykes is 14-21-2 ATS as a road favorite.
Under Dykes, TCU is 16-10 ATS in home games.
Horned Frogs are 10-5 ATS in last 15 games coming off a loss.
TCU won three of its last four bowl games. 

Texas Tech
Coach McGuire is 35-18 SU in four years at Tech.
Tech lost its last two bowl games, 39-26/23-0
Red Raiders have 8 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Tech has 108 career returning starters on OL, from various places.
Junior QB Francis started 12 games at Tulsa.

McGuire is 15-7 ATS as a home favorite.
McGuire is 24-12 ATS in conference games.
Tech is 5-2 ATS in last seven games as a road underdog.
Red Raiders were +14 in turnovers LY, when they were 12-2.
Tech is 17-5 ATS in last 22 games coming off a loss. 

Utah
New HC Scalley was defensive coordinator here the last 10 years.
Last ten years, Utah has had nine winning seasons.
Utah has 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Utes have only 31 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Dampier threw 24 TD’s last year, only five INT’s.

Utah is 14-8 ATS in last 22 games as a home favorite.
Last 10 years, Utes are 10-4 ATS as a road underdog
Last 10 years, Utes are 55-35 ATS in conference games.
Utah is 10-12 ATS in last 22 games coming off a win.
Utes lost four of their last five bowl games. 

West Virginia
Last five years, West Virginia had four losing seasons.
Coach Rodriguez is in 2nd year of his 2nd stint in Morgantown.
WVU has 7 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
WVU has 120 returning starts on the offensive line.
Soph QB Hawkins started five games at Oklahoma.

WVU is 15-4 ATS in its last 19 games as a home favorite.
In his career, Rodriguez is 23-19-1 ATS as a road favorite.
In his career, Rodriguez is 23-33 ATS as a road underdog
WVU is 10-4 ATS in last 14 non-conference games.
WVU is 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS in last five bowl games.

Trends for AFC teams:
AFC East:
Bills
Last seven years, Buffalo is 5-1-1 ATS in its road opener.
Bills’ last three playoff losses were all by three points.

Dolphins
Miami covered four of last five visits to Buffalo. 
Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000.

Patriots
New England covered five of last six games vs Buffalo. 
Patriots are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games vs Miami.

Jets
Last four years, Jets are 8-16 ATS in divisional games. 
Last four years, Jets are 4-8 ATS as a home favorite.

AFC North
Ravens
Ravens are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games as road underdogs.
Four of their last five road openers went over the total.

Bengals
Last four years, Bengals are 13-6 ATS as a road favorite.
With Burrow at QB, Cincy is 1-6 ATS as a favorite in Weeks 1-2.

Browns
Last four years, Cleveland is 9-18 ATS as a road underdog.
Browns are 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Pittsburgh.

Steelers
Last nine years, Pittsburgh is 0-5 SU in playoff games.
Steelers are 12-7 ATS in their last 19 divisional games. 

AFC South
Texans
Houston is 5-2 ATS in last seven games vs Tennessee.
Last four times they made playoffs, Texans went W-L

Colts
Since 2008, Colts are 3-15 ATS in Week 1 games.
Colts covered nine of last 13 games as a home favorite.

Jaguars
Last three years, Jaguars are 8-4 ATS as a road favorite.
Jacksonville covered five of its last six games against the Colts.

Titans
Last three years, Tennessee is 1-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, Titans are 7-17 ATS in divisional games.

AFC West
Broncos
Broncos covered their last four Monday night games.
Denver is 1-6 ATS in last seven Thursday games.

Chiefs
Last four years, Chiefs are 7-16-1 ATS in divisional games.
Kansas City is 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Denver.

Raiders
Last four years, Raiders are 1-5 ATS as a road favorite.
Raiders covered eight of their last 10 games vs Denver.

Chargers
Last three years, Bolts are 10-1-1 ATS in divisional games.
Chargers covered five of last six visits to Kansas City.

— Famous birthdays, July 9th:
George Stone, 80
Jimmy Smits, 71
Willie Wilson, 71
Tom Hanks, 70

Jim Paxson, 69
Kelly McGillis, 69
Trent Green, 56
Damon Huard, 53

Kelly Holcomb, 53
Enrique Murciano, 53
Jared Young, 31
Brett Rypien, 30

— Blue Jays 10, Giants 0
Dylan Cease had a no-hitter until the 9th inning.
Toronto scored five runs in the top of the first.
Kazuma Okamoto homered, had four RBI

— Braves 3, Pirates 0
Game was scoreless after seven innings.
Joey Bart hit a two-run HR in the 8th inning.
Jared Jones pitched six perfect innings (77 PT) for the Pirates.

— Marlins 2, Mariners 0
Otto Lopez had his 40th multi-hit game of the year.
Kyle Stowers hit a second inning home run.
Seattle is 47-46, but they lead AL West by half a game.

— Mets 6, Royals 2
Mets scored five runs in the bottom of 8th inning.
Key play: Jared Young got hit by a pitch with bases loaded.
Christian Scott allowed three hits in five scoreless IP.

— Twins 6, Guardians 5
Cleveland led 5-3 in the 7th inning.
Alan Roden had the walk-off hit for Minnesota.
Cleveland is 47-46, game out of first place in AL Central.

— So far this season, National League teams are 232-185 (.556) vs AL teams.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Marlins
AL: Rays, Whits Sox, Mariners. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Rangers

Trends for NFC teams:
NFC East:
Cowboys
Last seven years, Dallas is 5-2 ATS in Week 1
Last year, Cowboys were 2-8 ATS as a favorite.

Giants
Last nine years, Giants are 1-8 ATS in Week 1
Last four years, Giants are 3-8-1 ATS in divisional games.

Eagles
This year, Eagles have their 6th offensive coordinator in six years.
Eagles are 1-5 ATS in their last six visits to Dallas.

Commanders
Washington is 8-2 ATS in last 10 games, as a favorite of less than 7 points.
Commanders are 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Dallas.

NFC North
Bears
Chicago is 13-5-1 ATS in its last 19 home games.
Bears are 1-6 ATS in their last seven visits to Green Bay.

Lions
Last four years, Detroit is 13-3 ATS as a road favorite.
Lions are 9-2 ATS in their last eleven games vs Minnesota.

Packers
Last four years, Green Bay is 5-14 ATS as a road favorite.
Packers covered five of their last six games vs Dallas.

Vikings
Under O’Connell, Minnesota is 11-5-4 ATS as a road favorite.
Vikings are 5-0-1 ATS in their last six visits to Chicago. 

NFC South
Falcons
Last 10 years, Atlanta is 2-8 ATS in Week 1.
Falcons covered their last four games at Tampa Bay.

Panthers
Last two years, Carolina was 11-5 ATS as a home underdog.
Last three years, Carolina was 8-15-1 ATS as a home underdog.

Saints
Last three years, New Orleans is 11-6-1 ATS in divisional games.
Saints are 1-4 ATS in their last five visits to Carolina.

Buccaneers
Last four years, Tampa Bay is 7-17-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, Buccaneers are 9-15 ATS in divisional games.

NFC West
Cardinals
Last four years, Cardinals are 7-17 ATS in divisional games.
Last seven years, Arizona is 6-1 ATS in Week 1

Rams
Under McVay, Rams are 7-2 ATS in Week 1
Rams are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games as a road favorite.

49ers
San Francisco is 3-9 ATS in its 12 games as an underdog.
49ers covered four of their last five visits to Seattle.

Seahawks
Seattle is 2-7 ATS in its last nine home openers.
Seahawks are 12-4-1 ATS in their last 17 road games.

— Famous birthdays, July 8th:
Alan Ashby, 75
Jack Lambert, 74
Terry Puhl, 70
Kevin Bacon, 68

Sebastian Maniscalco, 53
Hakim Warrick, 44
Reid Detmers, 27
Michael McGreevy, 26

— If Tuesday was your 49th birthday, you were born on July 7, 1977 (7-7-77)

— Pirates 12, Braves 4
Ryan O’Hearn hit three home runs, had 10 RBI.
He is the first Pirate EVER with 10 RBI in a game.
Pirates 47-45, three games out of the last playoff slot.

— Royals 16, Mets 12
Kansas City scored 31 runs in their last two games.
Tyler Tolbert, batting 9th, had a streak of 12 hits in 12 plate appearances.
Mets led this game 9-4 after the fourth inning.

— Brewers 4-10, Cardinals 3-2
Milwaukee sweeps twinbill, now leads NL Central by seven games.
Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 guys in the opener.
Robert Gasser allowed four hits in 7.2 IP, in the nightcap.

— Red Sox 8, White Sox 1
Peyton Tolle allowed two hits in six shutout IP.
Red Sox have won nine of their last eleven games.
White Sox lead the AL Central by a game over Cleveland.

— Rays 6, Bronx 4
Ian Seymour allowed five hits, got 12 of his 16 outs via the strikeout.
Hunter Fedducia/Yandy Diaz hit back/back homers in 4th inning.
Rays increased their AL East lead to four games.

— Marlins 6, Mariners 5 (10)
Jakob Marsee had a walk-off single, off the right field fence.
Marlins led 4-0 after the fourth inning.
Marlins have a two-game lead for the last Wild Card slot.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Marlins
AL: Rays, Whits Sox, Mariners. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Rangers

— Astros 10, Rays 8
Yordan Alvarez homered twice, had six RBI
Alvarez hit a walk-off homer to end the game.
Tampa Bay led 7-2 in the fourth inning.

— Braves 14, Mets 3
Atlanta hit four HR’s Friday, five more in this game.
Michael Harris was 3-for-5, scored 3 runs, had 2 RBI
Mets have lost 12 of their last 14 games.

— White Sox 3, Guardians 1
Colson Montgomery hit game-winning homer in 8th inning.
Second year in a row Montgomery homered on the 4th of July.
These teams are tied for first atop the AL Central.

— Tigers 3, Rangers 0
Jack Flaherty allowed three hits in 5.2 IP.
Riley Greene hit a two-run homer in the first inning.
Rangers were shut out for the sixth time this year.

— Pirates 7, Nationals 1
Braxton Ashcroft won his fourth start in a row.
Nationals used an opener; 4 of the 8 batters he faced scored.
Washington is 2.5 games out of the playoffs, Pirates 3.5 games.

— Twins 11, Bronx 4
Josh Bell homered in consecutive at bats.
All in all, Minnesota hit six home runs.
New York has lost eight of its last nine games.

— Orioles 8, Reds 5
Samuel Basallo hit a 3-run homer in the first inning.
Hunter Greene allowed 8 runs in 3.1 IP, in his first ’26 start.
Cincinnati rookies Chase Burns/Sal Stewart were named All-Stars.

— Famous birthdays, July 5th:
Gary Matthews, 76
Rich Gossage, 75
Johnny Rodgers, 75
James Lofton, 70
Edie Falco, 63

Dave Eiland, 60
Richie Incognito, 43
Shohei Ohtani, 32
Austin Hays, 31
Junior Caminero, 23

Notes for Big X football teams:
Arizona
In two years under coach Brennan, Arizona is 13-12 SU.
Wildcats were 9-4 LY, with a +18 turnover ratio.
Arizona has 6 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Wildcats have 61 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Fifita started 13 games LY. .

In his career, Brennan is 40-33-1 ATS in conference games
In his career, Brennan is 14-20 ATS in non-conference games
Arizona is 8-13 ATS last 21 games as a home favorite.
Underdogs covered four of their last five bowl games.
Coach Brennan is 0-4 SU in bowl games.

Arizona State
Coach Dillingham is 22-17 SU in three years at ASU.
Sun Devils were 8-5 LY, despite a minus-6 turnover ratio.
ASU has 4 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Sun Devils have 29 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Keene started 34 games at Fresno State.

Under Dillingham, ASU is 9-5-1 ATS as a favorite.
Sun Devils were 8-5 SU LY, despite a minus-6 turnover ratio.
ASU is 19-9-1 ATS in last 29 games as a road underdog.
Sun Devils lost last two bowl games, 39-31 OT/42-39.
ASU’s last bowl win was in the 2019 Sun Bowl.

Baylor
Aranda is 36-37 SU in six years in Waco (12-2 in ’21).
Bears were 5-7 LY, with a minus-13 turnover ratio.
Baylor has 6 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Bears have 93 returning starts OL, doom various places.
Junior QB Lagway started 20 games at Florida.

Under Aranda, Baylor is 24-30-1 ATS in league games.
Bears will try to play a more up-tempo offense this year.
Last three years, Baylor is 5-10-1 ATS in games coming off a win.
Underdogs covered four of their last five bowl games.
Baylor lost its last two bowl games, 30-15/44-31.

BYU
BYU was 11-2/12-2 SU the last two seasons.
BYU has had a positive turnover ratio the last seven years.
Cougars has 5 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
BYU has 66 returning starts on the offensive line.
Soph QB Bachmeier has 14 career starts.

Last two years, BYU is 7-3 ATS as a home favorite.
Overall, coach Sitake is 34-37 ATS as a favorite.
Cougars are 14-7 ATS in last 21 games coming off a win.
Cougars are 7-3 ATS in last 10 games coming off a loss.
BYU is 4-1 SU/ATS in its last five bowl games.

Central Florida
Last three years, UCF was 6-7/4-8/5-7 SU.
Coach Frost is 40-45 SU as a HC, 24-14 at UCF
UCF has 6 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Knights have 60 returning starts back on offensive line.
Senior QB Barnett started 14 games at James Madison.

In his career, coach Frost is 20-24-2 ATS in home games.
In his career, coach Frost is 19-16 ATS in road games.
UCF lost three of its last four bowl games.
Knights are 5-13-1 ATS in last 19 games coming off a loss.
UCF lost three of its last four bowl games. 

Cincinnati
Coach Satterfield is 15-22 SU in three years here.
Cincinnati’s last winning season: 2020.
Bearcats has 4 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Cincinnati has 108 career returning starters on OL, from various places.
Senior QB French started 26 games at Georgia Southern.

In his career, Satterfield is 18-29-5 ATS as an underdog.
In his career, Satterfield is 18-9 ATS as a road favorite.
Last two years, Cincinnati ended year on five-game losing skid.
Bearcats lost last four bowl games, outscored 110-47.
In his career, Satterfield is 4-2 SU in bowl games. 

Colorado
Sanders is 16-21 SU in three years at Colorado.
Buffs have had one winning season the last nine years.
Colorado has 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Buffs have 100 returning starts on OL, from various places.
Soph QB Lewis started twice LY, threw 94 passes.

LY, Colorado was minus-2 in turnovers (+21 previous two years)
Sanders is 12-6-1 ATS in home games. .
Sanders is 16-12 ATS in conference games.
Colorado 11-6-1 ATS in last 18 games coming off a loss.
Buffs lost last five bowls; their last bowl win was in 2004. 

Houston
Fritz is 14-11 SU in two seasons at Houston.
Houston won its last three bowls, by 4-7-3 points.
Houston has 10 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Cougars have 112 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Weigman has 26 career starts.

In his career, Fritz is 49-30 ATS as a favorite.
In his career, Fritz is 44-30 ATS in home games.
Cougars had a negative turnover ratio in five of last seven years.
Houston is 7-3 ATS in last 10 non-conference games.
In his career, Fritz is 38-21 ATS in games coming off a loss.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Cardinals
AL: Rays, Whits Sox, Mariners. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Rangers

Trends are thru July 1st:

NL East
— Braves (50-34)
Braves lost 13 of their last 18 games.
Atlanta is 4-12 since Ronald Acuna went on the IL.
Braves are 15-8 against their NL East rivals.

— Marlins (46-41)
Marlins won 20 of their last 27 games.
Marlins are 28-17 at home, 18-24 on road.
Under is 8-4 in Marlins’ last dozen games.

— Mets (36-51)
Mets lost 10 of their last 12 games.
New York is 6-16 vs lefty starting pitchers.
Mets are 7-16 in one-run games.

— Phillies (49-38)
Phillies are 40-19 in their last 59 games.
Under is 19-7 in their last 26 road games.
Phiilies are 18-6 in one-run games.

— Nationals (45-43)
Nationals won four of their last five games.
Over is 17-7 in their last 24 home games.
Nationals are 27-32 vs righty starters, 18-11 vs lefties.

NL Central
— Cubs (49-38)
Streaky Cubs have won 15 of its last 19 games.
Cubs are 15-9 in one-run games.
Over is 10-3 in Cubs’ last thirteen games.

— Reds (39-46)
Reds lost seven of their last nine games.
Reds are 6-16 in last 22 games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Reds are 29-37 vs righty starters, 10-9 vs lefties.

— Brewers (53-31)
Milwaukee is 43-18 in its last 61 games.
Brewers lead NL Central by 5.5 games.
Brewers are 6-3 in extra-inning games.

— Pirates (43-44)
Pirates are 10-16 in their last 26 games.
Pittsburgh is 38-28 vs righty starters, 5-16 vs lefties.
Over is 14-4 in their last 18 home games.

— Cardinals (44-39)
St Louis is 4-8 in its last 12 games.
You’re reading armadillosports.com
St Louis is 31-31 vs righty starters, 13-8 vs lefties.
Cardinals are 7-2 in extra-inning games.

NL West
— Diamondbacks (43-42)
Arizona is 4-7 in its last eleven games.
Diamondbacks are 28-36 vs righty starters, 15-6 vs lefties.
Under is 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

— Rockies (34-53 )
Rockies are 5-2 in last seven home series openers.
Colorado is 19-24 at home, 15-29 on road.
Rockies are 13-11 vs AL teams.

— Dodgers (56-31)
Dodgers are 29-10 in their last 39 games.
Over is 9-5-1 in their last 15 road games.
Dodgers are 8-5 in Shohei Ohtani’s pitching starts.

— Padres (43-42)
San Diego lost its last five games, outscored 54-17.
Under is 17-9-1 in their last 27 home games.
Padres are 20-8 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Giants (35-50)
Giants won five of their last seven home games.
SF is 26-36 vs righty starters, 9-14 vs lefties.
Under is 8-1 in their last nine home games.

— Famous birthdays, July 2nd
Larry David, 79
Joe Pisarcik, 74
Tony Armas, 73
Jon Sundvold, 65
Clark Kellogg, 65

Jose Canseco, 62
Mark Clayton, 44
Margot Robbie, 36
Sean Casey, 52
Daulton Varsho, 30

AL East
— Orioles (40-48)
Baltimore is 24-23 at home, 16-25 on the road.
Orioles are 30-33 vs righty starters, 10-15 vs lefties.
Orioles are 6-13 in one-run games.

— Red Sox (37-48)
Boston is 17-27 at Fenway, 20-21 on the road.
Red Sox are 27-38 vs righty starters, 10-10 vs lefties.
Red Sox are 10-17 against their AL East rivals.

— New York (48-38)
New York lost its last seven games, scoring 17 runs.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven road games.
New York is 9-13 in one-run games.

— Rays (50-33)
Tampa Bay is 31-12 at home, 19-21 on the road.
Rays lead the AL East by 3.5 games.
Tampa Bay is 17-6 against their AL East rivals.

— Blue Jays (41-46)
Toronto lost seven of its last nine games.
Blue Jays are 28-37 vs righty starters, 13-9 vs lefties.
Toronto is 11-15 in one-run games.

AL Central
— White Sox (45-40)
White Sox are 39-27 in their last 66 games.
Chicago is 28-14 at home, 17-26 on the road.
White Sox are 17-10 in one-run games.

— Guardians (45-42)
Guardians are 9-15 in their last 24 games.
Guardians are 26-32 vs righty starters, 19-10 vs lefties.
Cleveland is 12-7 against their AL Central rivals.

— Tigers (38-49)
Tigers on their last three games, scoring 22 runs.
Detroit is 23-21 at home, 15-28 on the road.
Tigers are 9-16 against their AL Central rivals.

— Royals (35-52)
Kansas City is 29-34 vs righty starters, 6-18 vs lefties.
Royals are 19-24 at home, 16-28 on the road.
Over is 8-2 in their last ten road series openers.

— Twins (42-46)
Minnesota won seven of its last nine road games.
Twins are 10-13 in one-run games.
Over is 9-4-1 in their last 14 games.

AL West
— Astros (43-46)
Astros are 10-5 in their last fifteen games.
Houston is 9-5 in one-run games.
Astros are 12-16 against their AL West rivals.

— Angels (36-51)
Halos are 11-18 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Angels lost 22 of their last 30 road games.
Angels are 14-12 against their AL West rivals.

— A’s (41-46)
A’s are 6-3 in extra-inning games.
A’s are 15-23 in Sacramento, 4-2 in Las Vegas, 22-21 on road.
A’s are 12-6 when JT Ginn is the starting pitcher.

— Mariners (44-43)
Mariners are 11-4 in their last 15 home games.
Seattle is 16-9 vs its AL West rivals.
Mariners are 12-15 in one-run games.

— Rangers (44-43)
Texas is 8-4 in its last 12  games.
Over is 12-4-1 in their last 17 home games.
Rangers are 33-34 vs righty starters, 11-9 vs lefties.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Cardinals
AL: Rays, White Sox, Tex/Sea. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Sea/Tex

First of all, Happy Canada Day to our neighbors to the north.

— Nationals 8, Red Sox 1
Cade Cavalli allowed one hit, struck out 13 guys in 7 IP.
Keibert Ruiz was 2-for-3, scored twice, had three RBI.
Loss snaps Boston’s five-game winning streak.

— Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras got thrown out for the second night in a row; Cavalli yapped at him after a 4th inning strikeout, and then the benches emptied. Contreras got tossed in the third inning Monday; he’s too good a player to get thrown out- Boston needs him.

Contreras is making $18M this year; he needs to grow the bleep up.

— Mets 3, Blue Jays 0
Nolan McLean allowed five hits in his six IP.
Both Mets catchers (Torrens/Alvarez) hit home runs.
Toronto has lost seven of its last eight games.

— It was dollar hot dog night in Toronto Tuesday; they had sold over 64,000 weiners by the time the Mets were hitting in the fourth inning.
 
— Tigers 9, Bronx 3
Riley Greene hit two of Detroit’s five home runs.
Three of the Tigers’ homers came in the first inning.
New York has lost six games in a row.

— Phillies 8, Pirates 0
Cristopher Sanchez gave up three hits in 7 IP, got his 10th win.
Trea Turner hit a two-run homer on his 33rd birthday.
Justin Crawford was 3-for-3, with three RBI.

— Cubs 9, Brewers 7
Dansby Swanson hit two of Chicago’s five home runs.
Cubs led 9-3 after seven innings, held on for the win.
Streaky Cubs have won 10 of their last 12 games.

— Famous birthdays, July 1st:
Jamie Farr, 92
Freddie Lewis, 83
Diron Talbert, 82
Dan Aykroyd, 74

Alan Ruck, 70
Pamela Anderson, 59
Colin Rea, 36
Michael Wacha, 35

— LeBron James told the Lakers he’ll be playing elsewhere next year, a day after his son’s $2.3M contract with the Lakers became guaranteed. Next year will be James’ 24th NBA season.

— Lebron James’ career path:
2003-10 Cleveland
2010-14 Miami
2014-18 Cleveland
2018-26 Lakers

In the Interweb is saying that Golden State is the favorite to sign James this summer.

— Clippers are going to trade Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, for…….

Brandon Ingram
Gradey Dick
two first-round picks, two second-round picks.

Leonard led the Raptors to an NBA title in 2019.

— Philadelphia 76ers signed F Dean Wade for four years, $39M: Wade played his first seven years in the NBA with the Cavaliers.

— Rays 10, Royals 4
Junior Caminero homered for the fifth game in a row.
Bobby Witt Jr homered twice for Kansas City.
Tampa Bay is 19-7 vs lefty starting pitchers.

— Marlins 14, Rockies 3
Marlins finished June with a 20-6 record.
Miami had 21 hits; five guys had either 3 or 4 hits.
Eury Perez allowed only two hits in 5.1 IP.

— Dodgers 9, A’s 3
Dave Roberts got his 1,000th career win as a manager.
Tommy Edman was 4-for-5, with a homer, four RBI
A’s have lost eight of their last ten games.

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

— Cubs 3, Padres 2
Seiya Suzuki had a walk-off single for the Cubs.
Padres’ LF threw out winning run at plate when previous hitter flew out.
This was the Cubs’ 10th walk-off win, most in the major leagues this year.

— Blue Jays 2, Mets 1
Trey Yesavage gave up three hits in 6.2 IP for the Blue Jays.
Toronto’s win snaps a six-game losing streak.
Mets have lost nine of their last ten games.

— Tigers 7, Bronx 3
Detroit scored five runs off of David Weathers in the first two innings.
AJ Hinch joins Terry Francona as the only active managers with 1,000+ wins.
New York is 12-13 without Aaron Judge.

— Red Sox 6, Nationals 3
Willson Contreras hit a 3-run HR, before getting tossed for carping at the umpires.
Red Sox are on a season-best five-game winning streak.
Over their last 12 games, Boston starting P’s are 6-1, 1.75.

— White Sox 8, Orioles 2
Game was tied 2-2 after seven innings.
Colson Montgomery’s double put Chicago ahead for good.
Orioles are 39-47, a season-worst eight games under .500.

— Marlins 10, Rockies 7
Griffin Conine came off the bench, hit a three-run home run.
Hunter Goodman homered for Colorado, his 7th HR in June.
Sandy Alcantara went 6-0 in his June starts. 

— Matt Stairs was a DH/1B who played for 19 years in the major leagues; he hit 265 home runs, had an .832 OPS. Stairs played for 12 different teams, more than any other position player ever.

Famous birthdays, June 30th:
Bud Black, 69
Roy Green, 69
Mitch Redmond, 61
Mike Tyson, 60
Trevor Ariza, 41

Blake Treinen, 38
Trea Turner, 33
Josh Rojas, 32
AJ Brown, 29
Carlos Cortes, 29

— Brewers 5, Reds 3
Cincinnati led 3-0 in the sixth inning.
Joey Ortiz hit the game-winning HR in the bottom of the 8th.
Reliever Andy Ashby got the win, improved to 11-1 this year.

— Kyle Schwarber is the first big leaguer to hit 30 home runs this season.

— Last week, San Jose Sharks drafted a defenseman who is 7-foot-1; he’ll be the tallest NHL player ever. Alexander Karmanov is a defenseman from Moldova; he is also the first player from Moldova to get drafted by an NHL team.

— In the NBA, Kevin Huerter is going to sign a three-year, $27M deal to stay with the Detroit Pistons; by the time that contract is over, Huerter will be over $100M in career earnings.

Shooting is marketable.

— Kristaps Porzingis agreed to a 2-year, $40M deal with Golden State; Warriors are trying to put together a roster with Lebron James on it next season.

— Memphis Grizzlies traded G Ja Morant to Portland, for Jerami Grant, Kris Murray; Morant, has played in only 79 games in three years because of off-court issues and injuries.

— G Landry Shamet is going to sign a four-year, $24M deal with the NBA champion Knicks.

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