Armadillo Sports

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Over/under bet for this season:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reid now has bulletproof glass protecting him in the office.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2017.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NFL trends for every team……

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thoughts for every letter of the alphabet:

A- Attitude– “We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…..we cannot change change the fact that people will act in a certain way. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. Life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.”
Charles Swindoll

B- Belief– “Believe in yourself, and you’re halfway there.”
Theodore Roosevelt

“Believe in yourself. If you don’t, who will?”
Marilyn Monroe

C- Change– The only constant is change.

Making one person smile can change the world – maybe not the whole world, but their world.

D- Determination– No matter how many times you fall, keep getting up.

“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
Winston Churchill

“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.”
Thomas Jefferson

E- Energy– Projecting positive energy makes our day better.

“If you want to build a positive mindset you need to feed yourself with positivity. My favorite way to do this is to practice gratitude while walking; I started taking a daily Thank You Walk each morning where I would say out loud what I was thankful for while walking. By doing this I was flooding my brain and body with positive emotions.”
Jon Gordon

F- Freedom- The best freedom is being yourself.

There’s No Such Thing as “perfect”; be the best you that you can be.

G- Great Danes– I went to college at UAlbany, was the student manager of the basketball team, the best education I ever had, to see how a top-flight organization is run, and then to have to a small hand in how it keep running, for a few years.

The Great Danes won a lot of games before I was there, while I was there, and after I left; lot of the lessons I learned there have carried through to today, and for that, I am grateful.

H- Honesty– “Taking time out each day to reflect can not only help you be honest with yourself, but can make you feel more fulfilled and grateful…….dreaming of your ideal future can often provide more clarity on what you really want.”
Tony Robbins

I- Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; football coaches see another team run a great play, they put it in their playbook.

Observe other people, see what works/doesn’t work for them. If someone imitates something you, that’s a compliment. 

J- Journey– “The longest of journeys begins with a single step.”

Life is a journey; if we’re lucky, a long one. A big part of living is the process of learning and trying to figure it all out; we won’t ever really figure it all out, but if we work at it, we’ll figure enough of it out that life will be a positive experience.

K- Kindness

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day, someone might do the same for you.”
Princess Diana

“It doesn’t cost anything to be kind.”
Paddington

L- Learning
“I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.”
Winston Churchill

The last year or so, a person I’ve met has taught me ways on how to better invest my money in the bank, so by doing almost nothing, I’m making more money. At first I felt stupid because I didn’t know about this, but learning is important, even when you’re an older guy, like me.

Talk to people, listen, ask questions.; Learning is a big part of life’s journey.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”
Henry Ford

M- Marriage
I was married once, long time ago; I was terrible at it, and for that, I feel bad. 

Marriage is difficult; it takes work. Having conversations with the other person is important, even if they’re just normal, mundane talks about what went on that day. Knowing what makes your partner happy is a big deal, as it turns out.

“Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?”
Groucho Marx

“By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.”
Socrates

N- Network
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
Zig Ziglar

“Everyone you’ll ever meet knows something you don’t.”
Bill Nye

O- Opportunity– Be ready to open the door, when opportunity knocks. 

“Problems can become opportunities when the right people come together.”
Robert Redford

“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat.”
Steve Jobs

P- Practice– There is no such thing as “perfect” but practice can get us close to perfect. 

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
Malcom Gladwell

“You can’t skip the practice and rely solely on talent. Practice is the bridge between your abilities and success.”
Steve Nash

Q- Quirkiness– We all have different quirks, things that makes us unique; it is a big part of what makes life interesting.

“It is better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
Marilyn Monroe

R- Respect– Listen to other people; be on time, put your phone down, listen.

“Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.”
Clint Eastwood

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
Lao Tzu

S- Schenectady– From 1993-2001, I was an assistant basketball coach at Schenectady High School, the most interesting/fun thing I’ve ever been a part of.

I was the nerdy stat guy (go figure), worked for three different head coaches, three totally different people, all of whom I consider a friend to this day. 

Much like my college days, watching a successful program is a great education, but I got to see this program built from the bottom up, and fairly quickly. In eight years, we started off slowly but then the tide turned, and when it turned, we never looked back. 

Great players make great teams, remember that, but great coaches keep the train on the track.

T- Today– No matter what, be present, get the most out of what is happening right now.

“Don’t wait to be successful at some future point. Have a successful relationship with the present moment and be fully present in whatever you are doing.”
Eckhart Tolle

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”
Dr Seuss

U- Unique
“You are unique, just like everyone else.”
Margaret Mead

“Be yourself because an original is worth more than just a copy.”
Suzy Kassem

V- Versatile– Being great at one thing is marketable, but being really good at several things will also keep you employed. Think about utility infielders; they make a boatload of $$$ for 10-12 years, and no one even knows what their main position is.

“The world needs specialists and highly trained people with advanced degrees, no question about it. But the world also needs diversity and versatility. It needs people who know as much about our value system as they do about our solar system.”
Roger Smith

W- Watchful– Guard your mind against negative thoughts; being positive is really important.

Keep working, even when no one is watching.

“To be aware of little, quiet things, you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen. Be present”
Echart Tolle

X- Example– Be a good example; other people are watching.

Be the person who people know as that nice guy who always shares a smile, or a kind thought.

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”
Albert Schweitzer

Y- Why– Why??? Why not????

“Live a ‘why not?’ life, man. Take the shot. The shot is always worth taking.”
Kevin Smith

“Thats precisely the question everybody should be asking- why the hell not? Why not you, why not now?”
Tim Ferriss

Z- Zealous– Be enthusiastic, have a lot of energy when you’re doing things.

“You can get a lot of work done if you stay with it and are excited and it is play instead of work.”
Joseph Campbell 

— Cleveland P Gavin Williams almost pitched a no-hitter this week; he threw 126 pitches, came up one out short. Guardians are contending for a playoff spot; in this day and age, is it smart to let your ace throw 126 pitches in a game they led 4-0?

126 pitches in nine more than anyone else in the major leagues this year; it just rarely happens anymore.

When does Williams pitch again? He threw 126 pitches on Wednesday, Cleveland is off Monday. Will be interesting to see if they give him an extra day of rest and have him pitch Wednesday. 

— Gap between the highest/lowest spending team in each sport:

NHL- $44M
NBA: $88M
NFL: $132M
MLB: $296M

— Kurt Warner made the Pro Football Hall of Fame after playing at a I-AA college (Northern Iowa); his son EJ Warner has played a lot more college ball than his dad did, but he’s had sort of a nomadic career, bouncing around between schools. 

2022- Temple 3,028 PY. 18 TD’s, 12 INTs
2023- Temple 3,076 PY. 23 TD’s, 12 INT’s.
2024- Rice 2,710 PY. 17 TD’s, 13 INT’s.
2025- This year, EJ Warner will be the QB at Fresno State, since Rice fired their coach and is switching to an option-based offense.

— Los Angeles Chargers lost their best offensive lineman to a knee injury this week, a week after they gave him a four-year, $114M contract extension.

26-year old OT Rashawn Slater was the #2 rated tackle in the league last season. 

— More info on the Chargers:
This year, Chargers are #3 in NFL in $$$ spent on defense, #27 on offense.

Chargers made the playoffs two of the last three years.
QB Herbert is 41-40 as an NFL starter, 0-2 in playoff games.

Last year, Chargers were +12 in turnovers (21-9).
Bolts were 11-2 ATS as a favorite, 1-3 as an underdog.
11-6 Chargers were 4-4 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Chargers haven’t won a playoff game since 2018; they haven’t played a playoff game at home since 2009.

Last two years, Chargers are 2-9 ATS as an underdog.

— Including the guaranteed $13M he is making this year, Colts’ QB Daniel Jones has banked $121M over his seven-year career in the NFL. Lot of $$$ for a guy with a 25-45-1 career W-L record, 1-1 in playoff games.

— They don’t play overtime in NFL preseason games.

— Famous birthdays, August 9th:
Bob Cousy, 97
Sam Elliott, 82
Ted Simmons, 76
John Cappelletti, 73

Doug Williams, 70
Chris Miller, 60
Vinny Del Negro, 59

Deion Sanders, 58
Eric Bana, 57
Liz Vassey, 53
Kliff Kingsbury, 46

Anna Kendrick, 40
Brendan Rodgers, 29
Xavier Edwards, 26

Missed a birthday yesterday; the great actor Dustin Hoffman turned 88.

— Brewers 3, Mets 2
CF Perkins threw out the tying run at the plate to end the game.
Milwaukee has won seven games in a row.
Mets have lost nine of their last ten games.

— Astros 5, New York 3 (10)
New York has lost six of its last seven games- they’re 3-8 in extra innings.
Jose Altuve homered and doubled for Houston.
Astros lead Seattle by 1.5 games in the AL West.

— Mariners 3, Rays 2
Cal Raleigh’s 43rd HR was a game-winning 3-run shot in 8th inning.
Drew Rasmussen threw six scoreless IP for Tampa Bay.

— Red Sox 10, Padres 2
Wilbert Abreu, Masataka Yoshida homered for the Red Sox.
Boston has won 10 of its last 12 games.

— Phillies 9, Rangers 1
Kyle Schwarber hit his 41st home run.
Brandon Marsh went 4-5, including a home run.
Cristopher Sanchez tossed six IP, improved to 11-3, 2.36.

— AL Wild Card race:
Wild Cards: Red Sox, Mariners, New York
0.5 games behind- Cleveland
1.5 games- Texas
4 games- Kansas City
4.5 games- Tampa Bay
5 games- Minnesota
6 games- Angels

— NL Wild Card race:
Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Mets
3.5 games behind- Cincinnati
4 games- San Francisco
4.5 games- St Louis
5.5 games- Miami
8 games- Arizona

Early season trends for Week 1 NFL matchups:

— Cowboys @ Eagles
Dallas is 4-2 SU/5-1 ATS in its last six road openers.
Since 2007, Cowboys are 14-4 ATS in road openers.
Over is 5-3-1 in their last nine road openers.

This is first time Philly opened at home since 2019.
Last four years, Eagles are 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS in Week 1.
Eagles are 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS in last five home openers

— Chiefs vs Chargers (@ San Paolo, Brazil)
Last ten years, Chiefs are 8-2 SU/7-3 ATS in Week 1.
Over is 7-1-1 in Kansas City’s last nine Week 1 games.

Last six years, Chargers are 5-1 SU in Week 1.
Last five years, under is 4-1 in their Week 1 games.

— Giants @ Commanders
Since 2011, Giants are 2-11 SU/2-10-1 ATS in Week 1.
Last eight years, under is 7-1 in their Week 1 games.
Since 2009, Giants are 5-9-1 ATS in their road opener.

Last seven years, Washington is 4-3 SU/ATS in Week 1.
Over is 4-2 in their last six Week 1 games.
Last five years, Commanders are 4-1 SU/3-2 ATS in their home opener.

— Cardinals @ Saints
Last six years, Arizona is 3-3 SU/6-0 ATS in its road opener.
Last seven years, under is 5-2 in their road openers.
Last six years, Cardinals are 2-3-1 SU/5-1 ATS in Week 1 games.

Since 2015, Saints are 4-6 SU/2-8 ATS in their home opener.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine home openers.
Last 11 years, New Orleans is 5-6 SU/2-9 ATS in Week 1 games.

— Dolphins @ Colts
Last four years, Dolphins are 4-1 SU/3-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Last 10 years, Miami is 6-4 SU/7-3 ATS in its road opener.
Under is 19-4 in their last 23 road openers. 

Since 2014, Colts are 0-10-1 SU/2-8-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven Week 1 games.
Last six years, Colts are 3-3 SU/4-2 ATS in home openers. 

— Raiders @ Patriots
Last six years, Raiders are 4-2 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2007, Raiders are 12-5-1 ATS in their road opener.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight road openers.

Last four years, Patriots are 0-4 SU/0-3-1 ATS in home openers.
Last seven years, under is 6-0-1 in their Week 1 games.
Under is 5-1 in their last six road openers.

Steelers @ Jets
Pittsburgh won/covered its last five road openers.
Under is 11-1 in their last dozen road openers.
This is 10th time in 11 years Steelers open on the road.

Last six years, Jets are 1-5 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Last two years, Jets won/covered their home opener.
Under is 7-1 in their last eight home openers.

Panthers @ Jaguars
Last six years, Panthers are 1-5 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2009, Carolina is 5-11 SU/ATS in road openers.
Under is 8-4 in Carolina’s last 12 home openers.

Last 8 years, Jacksonville is 4-4 SU/5-3 ATS in Week 1.
Since 2012, Jaguars are 3-10 SU/ATS in home openers.
Jaguars’ last four home openers stayed under the total. 

— Famous birthdays, July 27th:
Haven Moses, 79
Bob Klein, 78
Mack Calvin, 78
Brian Kingman, 72
Hugh Green, 65

Alex Rodriguez, 50
Max Scherzer, 41
DeMarre Carroll, 39
Ryan Tannehill, 37
Drew Rasmussen, 30

— Bengals @ Browns
Bengals started 0-1 in five of the last six seasons.
Under is 5-1 in their last six season openers.
Bengals are 1-5 SU/3-3 ATS in last six road openers. 

Since 2005, Browns are 2-17-1 SU in Week 1 games.
Last six years, Browns are 3-3 SU/1-5 ATS in home openers.
Over is 5-1 in their last six home openers.

— Buccaneers @ Falcons
Last six years, Bucs are 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Tampa Bay is 7-3 SU/ATS in its last ten road openers.
Over is 7-3 in Tampa Bay’s last ten home openers.

Last seven years, Falcons are 1-6 SU/2-5 ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2008, Atlanta is 12-5 SU/13-4 ATS in home openers.
Since 2004, under is 15-6 in their road openers.

— 49ers @ Seahawks
Since 2015, 49ers are 7-4 SU/6-5 ATS in Week 1 games.
49ers are 4-6 ATS in their last ten road openers.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight road openers. 

Seahawks started out 1-0 five of the last six years.
Seattle is 3-6 ATS in its last nine home openers.
Under is 10-4 in their last 14 home openers.

— Titans @ Broncos
Last five years, Titans are 1-4 SU/ATS in season openers.
Under is 4-1 in their last five road openers.
Since 2012, Tennessee is 3-10 ATS in home openers.

Last six years, Denver is 1-5 SU/3-3 ATS in Week 1 games.
Broncos’ last six home openers stayed under the total.
Last three years, Denver scored 16-16-6 points in its home opener.

— Texans @ Rams
Last six years, Texans are 1-5 SU/4-2 ATS in their road opener.
Under is 7-3 in its last ten road openers.
Last six years, Houston is 4-2 ATS in its season opener. 

Under McVay, Rams are 6-2 SU/ATS in home openers.
Rams won six of last eight season openers.
Over is 3-1 in their last four home openers.

— Lions @ Packers
Last four years, Detroit is 2-2 SU/4-0 ATS in Week 1 games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight season openers.
Lions are 6-3 ATS in their last nine road openers.

This is first time since 2018 that Packers are at home in Week 1.
Since 2013, Green Bay is 12-0 SU/9-3 ATS in home openers.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight home openers.

— Ravens @ Bills
Last nine years, Ravens are 7-2 SU/ATS in Week 1.
Since 2008, Baltimore is 11-6 ATS in road openers.
Over is 12-5-1 in Ravens’ last 18 road openers.

Last eight years, Bills are 5-3 SU/4-4 ATS in Week 1.
Last six years, Buffalo os 5-1 SU/3-3 ATS in home openers.
Under is 7-2 in their last ten road openers.

— Vikings @ Bears
Last nine years, Minnesota is 6-3 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2017, Vikings are 1-5-1 SU/1-6 ATS in road openers.
Under is 10-1 in their last eleven home openers.

Last 11 years, Chicago started season 0-1 eight times.
Last five years, Bears are 4-1 SU/3-2 ATS in home openers.
Under is 7-1 in their last eight home openers. 

Before I start today, the Home Run Derby after the All-Star Game was fun, but there is no way on God’s green earth that this should become a permanent thing in baseball. No chance.

It is good gimmick for exhibition games, that’s it. 

Umpire trends for the baseball season so far:
Home plate umps with lot of runs scored in their games:
over 13-4- Hanahan

over 12-4- Barrett, Barry

over 13-5- Livensparger

over 12-6- Johnson

over 12-7- Fletcher

over 10-5- Bellino

over 10-6- Additon

over 12-8- Wolcott

Home plate umps with not a lot of runs scored in their games:
under 11-1- Ramos

under 14-4- Hudson, Blaser

under 13-4- Libka

under 12-4- Emil Jimenez

under 12-5- Bacchus, Segal, Tichenor

under 13-6- Lentz

under 12-6- Cuzzi

under 11-5- Scheurwater

Home plate umps where home teams have done well:
home 15-4- Clemons

home 13-3- Ceja

home 12-4- Bucknor, Ramos

home 12-5- Blakeney

home 13-6- Diaz

home 12-6- Gibson, Hudson

home 11-5- Barry

Home plate umps where road teams have done well:
road 13-6- DeJesus
 
road 12-6- Blaser

road 8-3- Valentine

road 11-6- Edwin Jimenez

road 13-8- Carapazza, Morales

road 10-6- Dreckman

Movie of the Day: The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)- The lives of two struggling musicians, who are brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.

Jeff/Beau Bridges are the brothers, Michelle Pfeiffer is the singer, and she sings all her own songs in the movie. This is a very good movie.

— Notes for the Dallas Cowboys:
Dallas went 7-10 LY, fired Mike McCarthy, after they made the playoffs the three years before that. Brian Schottenheimer is the new head coach. Dallas hasn’t played in the NFC title game since 1995.

This year, Dallas is #1 in NFL in $$$ spent on offensive players (#2 at QB).
Dallas is #13 in NFL in $$$ spent on defensive players

Last year, Cowboys were minus-6 in turnovers (22-28)
Last year, Cowboys were +14 in sacks (52-38)

Dallas was 2-5 LY in games decided by 9+ points, 5-5 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Cowboys were favored in only 3 of 17 games last year.

Last two years, Dallas is 6-12 ATS as an underdog.
Last two years, over is 11-6 in their home games.

— Famous birthdays, July 18th:
James Brolin, 85
Joe Torre, 85
Dick Shiner, 83
Wally Walker, 71

Audrey Landers, 69
Mike Greenwell, 62
Jeff Lageman, 58
Anfernee Hardaway, 54

Torii Hunter, 50
Eugenio Suarez, 34
Dinelson Lamet, 33
Kyle Manzardo, 25

— Pittsburgh Steelers signed TJ Watt to a 3-year deal oath $123M, making him the highest paid non-QB in NFL history.

— Washington Commanders signed 36-year old Von Miller  to a one-year deal; he played for the Bills the last three seasons. Washington already had the oldest roster in the NFL, now they’ve gotten a little bit older.

— Damian Lillard signed a 3-year, $42M deal to return to the Portland Trailblazers, where he played the first eleven years of his career. Lillard is rehabbing from a torn Achilles he suffered in the first round of the playoffs, so he’ll be out next season.

— If you hear that an NBA player signs a “two-way contract” with a team, it means he will be paid $578,577 for that season, which is half the minimum salary for an NBA player. He’ll split his time between the G League and the NBA.

— If the Tampa Bay Rays make the playoffs, they can host playoff games at their temporary home, a minor-league stadium with a seating capacity of 10,046 that the Bronx Bombers use for their spring training games. 

— Tuesday was a good night for baseball; the All-Star Game was interesting, the new ball/strike challenge system was a success and the game had an interesting, albeit weird ending. 

Home Run Derby is a good way to decide the outcome of an exhibition game, especially since one of the teams was out of pitchers. What was weird is that apparently, the players didn’t know the Home Run Derby was going to happen, until like 10 minutes before it happened.

Would’ve been better TV if Aaron Judge/Shohei Ohtani had been in the Home Run Derby, but they were long gone by then. Tough loss if you bet on the American League, losing a bet that way, when no one even knew Home Run Derby was an option.

In the future, I’d kind of want the option to take a push on the bet if the game goes to extra innings. With live betting so prevalent, that should be a choice.

— Dan Iassogna was the home plate umpire for the All-Star Game; does that mean he has graded out the best out of all the umpires this season?

— Corbin Carroll is the first Diamondback to homer in an All-Star Game; Brett Rooker is the first A’s player since Terry Steinbach in 1988 to homer in an All-Star Game.

— In the history of the Chicago Cubs, three players have hit three home runs in a game against the St Louis Cardinals:
1939- Hank Leiber
2003- Moises Alou
2025- Michael Busch

I mention this because all three of those games happened on the 4th of July.

— If you’re looking for a hitter to add in your fantasy baseball league, Giancarlo Stanton has four homers, 10 RBI in his last nine games, with six runs scored, two walks. He is rostered in only 47% of CBS fantasy leagues.

— Major League home run leaders, over the last 365 days:
59- Aaron Judge
57- Shohei Ohtani
52- Cal Raleigh
51- Eugenio Suarez
49- Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber is the first Phillies player since Johnny Callison in 1964 to be MVP of an All-Star Game.

— Famous birthdays, July 17th:
Don Kessinger, 83
David Hasselhoff, 73
Scott Norwood, 65
Bobby Thigpen, 62
Frank Stams, 60

Calbert Cheaney, 54
Kevin Curtis, 47
Mason Rudolph, 30
OG Anunoby, 28
Noah Cameron, 25

Today would’ve been the great actor Donald Sutherland’s 90th birthday.

— It takes ten fouls to foul out of an NBA Summer League game, which is a lot, but it has happened this year.

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Jahmai Mashack, who played college ball at Tennessee, played 23:00 in a summer league game this week, scoring 5 points, dishing out 9 assists, grabbing 4 rebounds, all while he committed 10 fouls. It was a very busy 23 minutes for him. 

It was also a productive 23:00-; Memphis was +6 in the 23:00 that Mashack played.

— Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo is also coaching their summer league team, which is very unusual, but Iisalo only coached nine games with Memphis last year, so he is getting his footing as an NBA head coach.

— Dallas Mavericks rookie Joan Beringer has looked pretty good in summer league, but he’s only played basketball for four years, starting when he was 14 years old and grew out of his soccer cleats while growing up in France.

— Mavericks shut down rookie Cooper Flagg after his second summer league game, after h scored 31 points in that game, after he shot 5-for-21 in his debut. Not really sure why they shut him down; he could use the experience, but maybe they just used his 31-point game to try and promote their new star get fans to buy season tickets

— Wednesday, Bulls beat Milwaukee 102-96 in a Summer League game. 

Chicago’s coach was Billy Donovan III, whose father is the Bulls’ head coach. 

Milwaukee’s coach was Spencer Rivers, whose father is the Bucks’ head coach.

— Former Marquette/Indiana coach Tom Crean is great as an analyst on TV; has been fun listening to him on summer league games, Sean Farnham, Isiah Thomas have been good too; they just talk about basketball, with a minimum of nonsense.

— It has been hot around here the last couple weeks; there is a convenience store near my house that makes great milkshakes, so I go there a few times a week. Was in there Tuesday and there is a guy in there wearing a Willie Stargell Pirates’ number 8 jersey.

There is no way this guy was alive when Stargell was playing (he retired in 1982) but it was pretty cool to see anyone wearing a Pirates’ jersey these days.

— I love game shows; was glad to see that ABC is bringing Match Game back, with Martin Short as the new host.

— Notes for the Cleveland Browns:
Kevin Stefanski is 40-44 in four years with the Browns, 3-14 last year.

Browns has only 12 takeaways last year, were minus-22 in turnovers.
Browns gave up 66 sacks last year, were minus-25 in sacks. 

Former college QB Tommy Rees is the new OC; he was with Cleveland last year, was with Nick Saban at Alabama before that.

Last year, Browns were 3-4 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Cleveland was 0-10 in games decided by more than 8 points.

Browns are 7-13 ATS in last 20 games as an underdog.
Cleveland is 4-13 ATS in its last 17 road games.

Under is 11-5 in their last sixteen home games.

This year, Browns are #19 in NFL in $$$ spent on offensive players.
This year, Browns are #6 in NFL in $$$ spent on defensive players, #1 on CB’s.

— It is July 17th, NFL training camps will all be open soon, and the Saints/Browns don’t seem to know who their starting quarterback is going to be. Both teams have rookie QB’s who figure to take over at some point, but when? It is a difficult decision.

— Only two of 32 second round draft picks have signed their contract; Cincinnati is the only team that hasn’t signed its first round pick yet.