— RIP to Dolly Parton, the iconic singer who was universally loved/admired. She passed away Tuesday, at age 80, after a brief bout with cancer.
One of the most honored singers in history, she won 11 Grammy awards and three Emmy awards. She composed more than 3,000 songs, including “I Will Always Love You” which was #1 on the charts twice, and sold over 40,000,000 copies worldwide.
In the divisive world we live in today, Dolly Parton was universally admired/respected. She will be missed, but her great music will always live on.
RIP, ma’am.
— Going into Tuesday’s action, San Diego Padres had a +66 run differential from the 8th inning on in games; no one else in the majors is higher than +42.
— Word out of Houston is that manager Joe Espada won’t be back next season, but they’ll let him finish the season. Astros fired their general manager this week.
— LA Rams have four quarterbacks on their roster; the fourth guy is Matthew Caldwell, who has had an interesting journey to the NFL:
He grew up in Alabama, near Auburn
2021- played at Jacksonville State
2022-23- played at I-AA Gardner-Webb
2024- played at Troy State
2025- was a backup for the Texas Longhorns, throwing 11 passes.
Five years, four teams, 13 starts (6-7 record)
I’ll say this; if Les Snead brought him into Rams’ camp, he has skills. Maybe he’ll play against the Chargers in the last exhibition game Thursday night.
— Book of the Day: Then One Life, by Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews has been running sportsbooks in Nevada since 1981; now he has written his fourth book. The first two I’ve read; they’re both very good. He is an excellent story teller. My advice to you is to buy his books; you’ll be entertained. Lot of stories about gambling, making lines, including how teams’ season-long over/under bets started.
— Famous birthdays, August 26th:
GW Bailey, 81
Donnie Shell, 74
Morris Peterson, 49
David Price, 41
Elvis Andrus, 38
James Harden, 37
Tyler Wells, 32
Ranger Suarez, 31
Spencer Torkelson, 27
Karen Williams, 26
A look ahead to Saturday’s college football games:
(Write-ups like these will be on college football page all season)
North Carolina vs TCU (-7.5) (@ Ireland)
North Carolina
Last two years, North Carolina went 6-7/4-8 SU
UNC is 3-6 ATS in last nine non-league games.
Tar Heels have 5 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Tar Heels have 21 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Edwards has 13 career starts (Maryland/Wisconsin)
Tar Heels are 5-8-1 ATS last 14 games as an underdog.
Tar Heels are 1-7 ATS in last eight games vs Big X teams.
TCU
Last two years, TCU went 9-4/9-4
Under Dykes, Horned Frogs are 9-6 ATS in non-league games.
TCU has 7 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Horned Frogs have 93 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Craig started 11 games at Harvard last year.
Under Dykes, TCU is 19-16-1 ATS as a favorite.
TCU is 5-2 ATS in last seven games vs ACC teams.
TCU (-3.5) won 48-14 at North Carolina last year.
Total yardage was 542-222, TCU.
San Jose State @ USC (-38.5)
San Jose State
Spartans finished over .500 three of last four years (3-9 LY)
San Jose has 2 starters back on offense, 1 on defense.
Spartans have only 38 starts returning on offensive line.
Senior QB Weaver started two games at Hawai’i last year.
In his career, Niumatalolo is 36-22 ATS as a road underdog.
Under Niumatalolo, Spartans are 7-3 ATS in non-league games.
Spartans were minus-13 in turnovers LY (+20 from ’22-’24)
USC (10-3)
Under Riley, USC is 35-18 SU, 24-28-1 ATS
USC has 9 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Trojans have 79 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Maiava threw for 3,711 yards last season.
Under Riley, USC is 14-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Riley, USC is 10-5-1 ATS in non-conference games.
Last three years, USC was minus-2 in turnovers (+22 in 2022)
USC won last two meetings, 30-7/56-28 (1-1 ATS)
— Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 4
Chicago led this game 4-0 after seven innings.
Ryan Waldschmidt had a 2-run, pinch-hit, walk-off home run.
Clay Holmes allowed two hits in 7 shutout IP for the Cubs.
— Pirates 1, Padres 0
Oneil Cruz hit a ninth inning homer, the game’s only run.
Paul Skenes allowed only three baserunners in six IP.
Michael King allowed five hits in seven IP.
— Red Sox 7, Marlins 3 (11)
Jarren Duran hit a grand slam in the 11th inning.
Game was 2-2 after nine innings; bad beat if you had the under.
Mickey Gasper hit two home runs for Boston.
— Astros 9, New York 7
Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-5, had game-winning triple in 8th inning.
Yainer Diaz hit two home runs for Houston.
Astros are 66-66, back in first place in AL West.
— White Sox 11, Rangers 7
Chicago scored six runs in the bottom of the first.
Tristan Peters homered for the fourth game in a row.
Jacob deGrom allowed eight runs in 3.2 IP.
— Braves 4, Dodgers 3
Ozzie Albies had the winning hit in the 8th inning.
Loss snaps the Dodgers’ six-game winning streak.
Tyler Glasnow pitched five innings in his first start since May 6th.
— A’s 4, Twins 2
Gage Jump gave up three hits in 6.1 IP, stoking out nine.
Carlos Cortes hit a two-run homer for the A’s.
Taj Bradley had an immaculate inning for the Twins.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians
