Month: July 2024

— Padres 6, Dodgers 5 (10)
Dodgers scored five runs in top of the first, but that was it.
Manny Machado hit two homers for San Diego.

— Reds 6, Cubs 3
Santiago Espinal was 4-4 hitting out of the #9 slot in order.
Nick Martinez pitched four scoreless IP as the bulk reliever.

— Braves 5, Brewers 1
Braves’ OF Jarred Kelenic, who is from Wisconsin, hit a double and a home run.
Atlanta 3B Austin Riley went 4-5 with an RBI and run scored.

— Diamondbacks 17, Nationals 0
Eugenio Suarez hit three homers, knocked in five runs.
Rough week for Washington; they blew a 8-4 lead in 9th inning Monday.

— Movie of the Day: The Rainmaker (1997)- An underdog lawyer takes on a fraudulent insurance company. Great cast: Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Danny Glover, Mickey Rourke.

John Grisham has written some great books; this one, Pelican Brief and Runaway Jury are my favorites that got made into movies.

— Royals 4, White Sox 3
White Sox have now lost 16 games in a row.
Royals scored three runs in 8th inning, after trailing 2-1.

— Guardians 5, Tigers 0
Jose Ramirez hit his 243rd home run, 2nd-most in Cleveland history.
Gavin Williams tossed five scoreless IP, got his first win this year.

— Mariners 10, Red Sox 6
Half of Seattle’s ten runs were unearned, thanks to three Boston errors.
Seattle has won four of its last five games.

— Orioles 6, Blue Jays 2
Orioles are 6-6 since All-Star break; they added P Trevor Rogers from Miami.
Anthony Santander hit his 31st home run for Baltimore.

— Famous birthdays, July 31st:
Leon Durham, 67
Mark Cuban, 66
Wesley Snipes, 62

Scott Brooks, 59
Andre Ware, 56
Gus Frerotte, 53

Gabe Kapler, 49
Tim Couch, 47
AJ Green, 36

— Mets 2, Twins 0
Sean Manaea struck out 11, allowed only 3 baserunners in 7 IP.
Mets are 15-6 in their last 21 games.

— Pirates 6, Astros 2
Pirates added Bryan De La Cruz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the trade deadline; go figure.
#9 hitter Michael Taylor homered for the second game in a row.

— A’s 5, Giants 2
JP Sears tossed seven shutout IP for Oakland.
A’s are 15-8 in their last 23 games.

— New York 7, Phillies 6 (12)
Jazz Chisholm has four home runs in his last two games.
Phillies are 4-10 in their last fourteen games.

— Rays 9, Marlins 3
Marlins traded away nine players in last week; no bueno, at least not for this year.
Christopher Morel homered in his first game with Tampa Bay.

— Cardinals 8, Rangers 1
Tommy Pham hit a pinch-hit grand slam in his first game back with St Louis.
Rangers have lost four of last five games. 

— Angels 10, Rockies 7
Colorado led this game 6-2 in second inning.
Matt Theiss drove in a career-high five runs for the Halos. 

— Arizona 9, Washington 8
Nationals led 5-0 in first inning, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Arizona scored five runs in bottom of 9th; Corbin Carroll hit a pinch-hit, walk-off HR.

— Royals 8, White Sox 5
Kansas City scored six runs in 8th inning; Bobby Witt hit a grand slam.
White Sox are 27-82; they’ve lost 15 games in a row.

— Pirates 5, Astros 3
Michael Taylor hit a 3-run homer in ninth inning.
Astros led 2-1 after seven innings.

— Red Sox 14, Mariners 7
Wilyer Abreu went 2-5, scored two runs, had 2 RBI
Mariners are 1-9 in last 10 games against teams other than the White Sox.

— New York 14, Phillies 4
Aaron Judge hit two home runs, has 39 this season.
Phillies are 4-9 in their last 13 games.

— Unusual 3-way trade Monday:
Cardinals got P Erick Fedde, OF Tommy Pham and a prospect.
Dodgers got IF Tommy Edman, R Michael Kopech and a prospect
White Sox got OF Miguel Vargas, three prospects

— White Sox were 8-13 in Fedde’s starts this year; they’re 19-69 in all their other games.

— Famous birthdays, July 30th:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 77
Bill Cartwright, 67
Clint Hurdle, 67

Laurence Fishburne, 63
Reggie Roby, 63
Chris Mullin, 61

Lisa Kudrow, 61
Hilary Swank, 50
Jake McCarthy, 27

— Braves brought OF Jorge Soler back to Atlanta, acquiring him and P Luke Jackson from the Giants. Soler was a star on the Braves’ 2021 world title team.

— Guardians acquired OF Lane Thomas from Washington, for three prospects.

— Astros overpaid (three prospects) for lefty starter Yusei Kikuchi, who is 4-9, 4.75 in 22 starts this season.

— Dodgers re-acquired IF Amed Rosario from Tampa Bay; he played for Los Angeles part of last season. Tampa Bay gets a minor league pitcher in return.

— Seattle traded 1B Ty France to Cincinnati for a prospect.

— Texas traded P Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City for a prospect.

— Blue Jays traded 1B Justin Turner to Seattle for a prospect.

— Pirates traded P Quinn Priester to Boston, for IF Nick Yorke.

— Trade deadline is 6pm Tuesday. 

— Betting line on Thursday’s NFL Hall of Fame Game:
Bears (-1.5, 32) vs Texans

— Team USA 110, Serbia 84
Americans led 58-49 at halftime.
Team USA was 18-32 on the arc (18 for 32!!!), Serbia 9-37.
Imagine having a team so good that Jayson Tatum didn’t get to play?

— Braves 9, Mets 2
Atlanta outscored Mets 13-2 the last two days, to earn a split of the series.
Matt Olson homered in consecutive games for first time this year.

— Dodgers 6, Astros 2
Rookie P River Ryan gets his first major league win.
Teoscar Hernandez hit his 22nd home run

— Twins 5, Tigers 0
Bailey Ober allowed one hit in 8 IP.
Twins finish season series 7-6 against Detroit.

— Mariners 6, White Sox 3
Chicago has lost 14 games in a row, for second time this season.
Seattle outscored the White Sox 22-6 in their 3-game sweep.

— Cubs 7, Royals 3
Pete Crow-Armstrong had three hits and the game-winning RBI
Cubs traded Christopher Morel during the game, which is unusual.

— Cardinals 4, Nationals 3
Paul Goldschmidt hit a walk-off HR, Cardinals’ first walk-off win since April 22.
Willson Contreras hit his 5th homer in eight games vs Washington this year. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Orioles, Guardians, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Twins, Royals
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Braves, Padres, Mets

— Famous birthdays, July 29th:
Ken Kravec, 73
Scott Wedman, 72
Geddy Lee, 71

Dave LaPoint, 65
Steve Pelluer, 62
Martina McBride, 58

Ryan Braun, 44
Dak Prescott, 31
Jack Suwinski, 26

Baseball’s trade deadline is 6pm Tuesday; lot of deals have already been made……..

— Tampa Bay has traded away four regulars; they dealt All-Star IF Isaac Paredes to the Cubs, for Christopher Morel and two prospects.

Rays traded P Jason Adam to the Padres, in exchange for three prospects.

Tampa Bay traded OF Randy Arozarena to Seattle, for two prospects and a player to be named later.

Rays traded P Zach Eflin to division rival Baltimore, for three more prospects. Eflin makes his Orioles debut today, against Toronto.

— Marlins traded CF/2B Jazz Chisholm to New York, for three prospects; Chsholm played CF, batted 5th in New York’s win Sunday night.

— Phillies acquired OF Austin Hays from Baltimore, for OF Christian Pache, P Seranthony Dominguez; they also acquired closer Carlos Estevez from the Angels, for a couple prospects.

— Mets traded for OF Jesse Winker; they sent a AA pitching prospect to Washington.

Mets also added reliever Ryan Stanek from Seattle, on Stanek’s birthday; they sent their #30 prospect to the Mariners.

— Red Sox added C Danny Jansen from Toronto, in exchange for three prospects.

— Texas Rangers added C Carson Kelly from Detroit, in exchange for a couple AA prospects.

— Diamondbacks added reliever AJ Puk from Miami; he struck out the side in the 7th inning for Arizona in Sunday’s loss to the Pirates.

— Red Sox acquired James Paxton from the Dodgers; Paxton was 8-2, 4.43 in 18 starts for LA this year, after going 7-5, 4.50 in 19 starts for the Red Sox last year. 

— Arizona Cardinals
Last three years, Arizona is 5-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Last two years, Cardinals are 8-6 ATS as a home underdog.
Arizona wasn’t favored in any games LY; they went 7-10 SU.

— Atlanta Falcons
Falcons have a new coach (Raheem Morris), new QB (Kirk Cousins) this year.
Last four years, Atlanta is 5-13 ATS as a home favorite.
Under is 16-9 in their last 25 home games.

— Baltimore Ravens
Ravens are 10-3 ATS in last 13 games as an underdog.
Baltimore is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 road games.
Lamar Jackson is 58-19 in regular season, 2-4 in playoffs (1-3 at home).

— Buffalo Bills
Bobby Babich is the Bills’ new DC: he’s been with Buffalo since 2017.
Last two years, under is 21-12 in Buffalo games.
Bills were 9-0 LY in games decided by 6+ points, 6-4 in games decided by 5 or less points.

— Carolina Panthers
Since 2021, Carolina is 2-9 ATS as a favorite (0-0 as favorite LY)
Panthers are 8-14 ATS in last 22 games as a road underdog.
Carolina was 2-15 last year, 2-6 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

— Chicago Bears
Chicago is 14-25 ATS in its last 39 games as an underdog.
Bears were 7-10 SU last year, 2-6 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Bears haven’t had a winning season since 2018, when they were 12-4 under Matt Nagy.

— Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals are 10-5 ATS in their last 15 games as an underdog.
Cincinnati is 9-5 ATS in its last 14 home games.
Bengals had a +10 turnover ratio LY, but were 9-8; Joe Burrow started only 10 games (5-5)

— Cleveland Browns
Browns were 11-6 LY, 6-2 in games decided by 8 or less points.
Browns started five different QB’s last year (Watson was 5-1 as starter)
Over was 8-0 in Cleveland’s road games last year.

— Famous birthdays, July 28th:
Bill Bradley, 81
Vida Blue, 75
Doug Collins, 73

Clint Longley, 72
Carmelo Martinez, 64
Elizabeth Berkley, 52

Manu Ginóbili, 47
DeMeco Ryans, 40
Walker Buehler, 30 

— Dallas Cowboys
Last three years, Dallas is 36-15 in regular season, 1-3 in playoffs.
Mike Zimmer is Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, which should help.
Dallas is #3 in NFL in salaries spent on offense, #28 on defense. 

— Denver Broncos
Denver won Super Bowl in 2015 season; since then, they’re 52-79 (0-0 in playoffs).
Broncos are #5 in NFL on $$$ spent on offense, #27 on defense.
:last two years, Denver is 4-12 ATS as a favorite.

— Detroit Lions
Lions’ coach Campbell is 22-9-1 ATS as an underdog. 
Over is 12-5 in Detroit’s last 17 home games. 
Jared Goff is 70-54-1 as an NFL starter, 4-4 in playoff games.

— Green Bay Packers
Green Bay was 9-8 last year, but they started season 2-5.
Packers played lot of close games; they were 6-5 in one-score games.
Last two years, Green Bay is 6-10 ATS as a favorite, 11-7 as an underdog.

— Houston Texans
Texans went 10-7 last year, after going 11-38-1 the previous three years.
Houston was 7-3 LY in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Last two years, Texans are 9-4 ATS as a road underdog.

— Indianapolis Colts
Colts were 7-0 LY if they won the turnover battle, 2-8 when they didn’t.
Rookie QB Richardson only started four games (2-2); they let Gardner Minshew walk.
Joe Flacco (4-1 as starter with Browns LY) is the Colts’ new backup QB.

— Jacksonville Jaguars
Doug Pederson is 65-56-1 as an NFL head coach, with a Super Bowl win.
Last 2 years, Jaguars were 9-8/9-8, their first consecutive winning years since 2004-05.
Jaguars are 6-11 ATS in last 17 games as a road underdog.. 

— Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City was 11-6 last year, despite a minus-11 turnover ratio.
Under is 13-3 in their last sixteen home games.
Chiefs are #4 in NFL in salaries spent on offense, #31 on defense.

— Good day to be a young quarterback……..
Green Bay Packers signed Jordan Love to a 4-year, $220M contract extension, including the largest signing bonus in NFL history. Love is 10-10 as an NFL starter, 1-1 in playoff games. Pretty good bank for a guy who has been a starter for one year.

Miami Dolphins signed Tua Tagovailoa for four years, $212.4M, with $167M of that money guaranteed; Tagovailoa has a 32-20 record as a starter, 0-1 in playoff games.

— By the way, had Jordan Love not signed and held out instead, Green Bay’s backup QB’s right now are Sean Clifford, rookie Michael Pratt and Jacob Eason, which is a nice way of saying that Love had a tremendous amount of leverage.

— If you’re wondering who will back up rookie QB Caleb Williams in Chicago, or start until he is ready, it will be Tyson Bagent (2-2 as a starter LY), Brett Rypien, who is also 2-2 as a starter. 

— Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson has been sick all week, has practiced for only an hour; something to monitor, the stuff I read made it sound like a pretty severe illness.

— Panthers-Buccaneers don’t play until Week 13; they play again in Week 17. Dave Canales is the new head coach in Carolina- he was Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator last year.

— Not sure what to make of this, but the Bengals were 9-8 last year despite Joe Burrow being banged up a lot, in large part because they had a +10 turnover ratio. +10 turnover ratios don’t happen every year, but if they can keep Burrow in one piece, they’ll be just fine.

— Team USA’s basketball team has seven guys age 30+, the oldest team at the Olympics; the games seem like they’re spread out pretty well, with two days between games early on, so the age thing shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

— Famous birthdays, July 27th:
Mack Calvin, 77
Maureen McGovern, 75
Reggie McKenzie, 74

Brian Kingman, 71
Hugh Green, 65
Julian McMahon, 56

Alex Rodriguez, 49
Max Scherzer, 40
Ryan Tannehill, 36

— Mets 8, Braves 4
Mets passed slumping Atlanta in the Wild Card race.
Braves have lost six in a row, their worst skid since 2017.
Kodai Senga pitched 5.1 IP in his ’24 debut, but strained a calf muscle, left early.

— Astros 5, Dodgers 0
Framber Valdez struck out 10 guys in 6.1 IP.
Dodgers traded P James Paxton to Boston, for a minor league IF,

— Mariners 10, White Sox 0
Seattle scored 14 runs in its previous eight games; they scored 8 runs in the top of the first inning in this game.

— Nationals 10, Cardinals 8 (10)
Washington got no-hit Thursday; they had 11 hits here, rallying back from a 5-2 deficit.
Juan Yepez was 3-4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI against his old team.

— Red Sox 9, New York 7
Boston scored three runs in bottom of the 8th for a comeback win.
Masataka Yoshida had the game-winning single for Boston.

— A’s 5, Angels 4
Brent Rooker hit his 10th home in July.
A’s are 13-7 in July, their first winning month in two years.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Braves, Padres
AL: Orioles, Guardians, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Twins, Royals

Trends for all 30 MLB teams…….

— Arizona is 8-3 in last 11 games; they’re 53-50, a game out of last Wild Card slot.
Diamondbacks acquired lefty reliever AJ Puk, for couple minor leaguers.

— Atlanta lost five games in row, is 3-8 in its last 11 games.
Braves are 11-14 in one-run games.

— Cubs lost six of their last nine games.
Cubs’ last nine home games stayed under the total. 

— Cincinnati is 5-2 in its last seven home games.
Reds are 8-19 in one-run games.

— Colorado is 5-2 in its seven games.
Rockies’ last six road games went over the total.

— Dodgers are 62-42, have a 7.5-game lead in NL West.
Dodgers are 26-11 vs lefty starters, 36-31 vs righties.

— Miami starting pitchers have no wins in their last 36 games (14-22).
Marlins are 6-29 against lefty starting pitchers, 31-37 vs righties.

— Brewers are 59-43, lead NL Central by six games.
Milwaukee is 14-13 against lefty starting pitchers, 45-30 vs righties.

— Mets are 13-4 in their last 17 games.
Mets are 21-10 in one-run games; last year, they were 25-28.

— Phillies are 64-38, lead NL East by 9.5 games.
Phillies lost their last three series (3-6 in last nine games).

— Pittsburgh won eight of its last ten games.
Rookie P Skenes is 6-1, 1.93 in his first 12 MLB starts.

— Cardinals just lost 2 of 3 in Pittsburgh, scoring 1-2-0 runs.
Over is 10-4 in their last fourteen home games.

— San Diego won its last five games; right now, they’re NL’s #3 Wild Card.

Dylan Cease threw a 114-pitch no-hitter Thursday.
There was a 1:16 rain delay in top of first, before he threw a pitch.
It was only his 3rd complete in 145 career starts.
Two years ago, he came within one out of a no-hitter, but Luis Arraez got a hit. Arraez is his teammate now.

— San Francisco is 4-7 in its last eleven games.
Giants are 37-35 vs righty pitchers, 12-20 vs lefties.

— Washington is 5-9 in its last 14 games.
Nationals are 31-42 vs righty pitchers, 16-14 vs lefties.

— Word of the Day: Grifter- A con artist; someone who swindles people out of money.

Famous birthdays, July 26:
Bob Lilly, 85
Mick Jagger, 81
Dick Grubar, 77

Sandra Bullock, 60
Kate Beckinsale, 51
Joe Smith, 49

Delonte West, 41
Ryan O’Hearn, 31
Van Jefferson, 28 

— Orioles are 4-9 in last 13 games, still lead AL East by two games.
Six of their last seven games went over the total.

— Red Sox are 1-5 since All-Star break.
Boston is 41-29 vs righty starters, 13-18 vs lefties; last two years, they were 47-31 vs lefties.

— White Sox are 1-14 in their last fifteen games.
Chicago is 6-33 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Guardians are 61-41, lead AL Central by 4.5 games.
Cleveland is 21-9 vs lefty starting pitchers; LY, they were 24-35.

— Detroit is 12-5 in its last seventeen games.
Over is 9-3 in their lat 12 games. 

— Houston is 53-49, but they lead AL West by a game.
Last two years, Houston was 70-33 vs lefty starters; this year, they’re 14-16.

— Royals are 56-47, are #3 AL Wild Card team right now.
Last year, Kansas City was 56-106; Matt Quatraro is your AL Manager of the Year.

— Angels are 7-3 in their last ten games.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten home games. 

— Minnesota is 3-5 last eight games, is still holding #2 playoff slot in AL.
Over is 16-4 in their last 20 home games.

— New York is 60-44, holds #1 Wild Card slot in AL.
New York is 1-7-2 in last ten series, 11-23 in last 34 games.

— A’s RF Lawrence Butler has 20 RBI in his last 12 games.
A’s closer Mason Miller broke his left (non-throwing) pinky, after punching a padded bench when they told him he couldn’t skip his weight lifting session. Oy.

— Mariners acquired OF Randy Arozarena, in exchange for two prospects.
Seattle lost eight of its last nine games, scoring 19 runs in the nine games.
Under is 7-1 in their last eight games.

— Tampa Bay P Bradley hasn’t allowed a run in his last 23 IP.
Rays are 17-9 vs lefty starters, 35-42 vs righty starters.

— World Champion Texas is 51-52, only 2.5 games out of first in AL West.
Rangers are 1-9 in last ten road series openers.

— Toronto is 25-23 in day games, 21-33 in night tilts.
Over is 12-2 in their last 14 games. 

— Reds-Braves were supposed to play a doubleheader Wednesday, but the nightcap got rained out, to be replayed September 9th. Decision was made by the home team.

Braves visit New York for a 4-game series with the Mets starting tonight; they lead the Mets by 1.5 games for the first Wild Card slot. By raining the nightcap out Wednesday, Braves can start Chris Sale in Thursday’s game, plus they probably got to New York a lot earlier than they would have otherwise.

Smart move.

— Mets 12, Bronx 3
Mets went 4-0 vs Bronx this season; they were underdog in all four games.
Francisco Lindor homered twice, knocked in five runs.
Bronx is 10-22 in its last 32 games.

— Listening to Padres-Nationals game Wednesday; San Diego TV guys were talking about how, in their opinion, the press box in Washington’s stadium is by far the worst in the majors, due to how high it is- tough to get good depth perception on batted balls.

— Boston Red Sox gave manager Alex Cora a 3-year contract extension worth $7.25M a year; Cora was set to become a free agent this winter, and would’ve had people wanting to hire him. 

Cora is 511-425 as manager of the Red Sox, winning the 2018 World Series.

— Detroit Lions have only three games outdoors this season:
November 3, @ Green Bay
December 22, @ Chicago
December 30, @ San Francisco

— Mike Trout was playing in a minor league rehab game Monday night, but checked out early because his knee still hurts; he’s played in only 29 games this season, and since 2021, has played in only 266 of the Angels’ 588 games (45.2%).

— I was watching the old movie Heaven Can Wait the other night, when Warren Beatty plays the QB of the Rams, who gets killed before he was supposed to die (it is a fantasy movie) and the people in charge of heaven put him in another person’s body so he can keep playing ball.

The movie was made in 1978; when the people in heaven (James Mason/Buck Henry) realize they made a mistake by having his character die, they look up when he was supposed to die— the book said March of 2025.

Warren Beatty will turn 88 next March. 

— Famous birthdays, July 25:
Pete Holohan, 65
Doug Drabek, 62
Torey Lovullo, 59

Matt LeBlanc, 57
Jon Barry, 55
Billy Wagner, 53

Mike Kafka, 37
Alvin Kamara, 29
Bryce Young, 23

Thursday would’ve been Biff Pocoroba’s 71st birthday.

— Angels 2, Mariners 1
Seattle has lost 3 in row, 8 of its last nine games.
Mariners led 1-0 after seven innings; the bullpen imploded.

— Giants 8, Dodgers 2
Robbie Ray threw five hitless IP in his first start this season (86 PT).
Matt Chapman homered, scored twice, had 2 RBI.

— Diamondbacks 8, Royals 6
Gabriel Moreno’s 2-run double highlighted a 5-run Arizona 9th inning.
Joc Pederson hit his 200th career home run.

— Blue Jays 6, Rays 3
Toronto broke a 2-2 tie with four runs in bottom of the 8th.
Vladimir Guerrero homered for fifth time in his last six games.

— Pirates 5, Cardinals 0
Martin Perez tossed six scoreless IP to get the win.
Cardinals lost 2 of 3 in Pittsburgh, scoring total of three runs.

— Twins 5, Phillies 4
Phillies led 4-1 in 7th inning.
Max Kepler’s infield hit was the game-winner.
Phillies are 64-38, but they’ve lost three straight series. 

— Brewers 3, Cubs 2
William Contreras hit the game-winning double in 9th inning,
Christian Yelich (lower back) went on IL, may miss significant time. 

Part 2 of our Big X football preview……..

— Kansas
Kansas was 9-4 LY, their first winning season since 2008.
Jayhawks have 7 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Kansas has 130 returning starts on offensive line. 
Junior QB Daniels has 20 career starts. 

In his career, Leipold is 19-8-1 ATS as home favorite, 6-2 at Kansas.
In his career, Leipold is 16-7-1 ATS as home dog, 11-19-1 as road dog.
Last two years, Kansas was 7-1 ATS in non-league games.
Jayhawks are 4-1 SU/5-0 ATS in their last five bowl games.

— TCU
TCU was 5-7 last year, their fourth losing season in five years.
The one winning year was 2022; they lost national title game 65-7 to Georgia.
TCU has 7 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Horned Frogs have 77 returning starts on the offensive line.
Soph QB Hoover started six games last year. 

Under Dykes, TCU is 11-6-1 ATS as a favorite.
In his career, Dykes is 28-21 ATS as home favorite, 13-17-1 as road favorite.
Horned Frogs are 7-2-1 ATS in last ten games as a road favorite.
TCU won three of last four bowls, 2-1 ATS as a bowl underdog.

— West Virginia
WVU was 9-4 last year, their best season since 2016.
Mountaineers have 8 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Mountaineers have 113 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Greene has 14 career starts.

Since 2017, WVU is 18-8 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2018, WVU is 3-7 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2018, WVU is 22-30 ATS coming off a win.
Mountaineers are 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS in last five bowl games.

— Arizona
Arizona was 10-3 LY; their coach jumped ship, to Washington.
New coach Brennan rebuilt San Jose’s program, did real good job there.
Wildcats have 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Wildcats have 86 returning starts on offensive line.
Soph QB Fifita started nine games LY, threw 25 TD’s, 6 INTs.

Arizona had +5 turnover ratio LY; from 2020-22, they were minus-32.
Last three years, Wildcats are 16-9 ATS as an underdog.
In his career, Brennan is 25-20-1 ATS as an underdog. 
Arizona is 3-2 in its last five bowls; average total, 69.2.

— Iowa State
ISU was 7-6 LY, their sixth winning season in seven years.
Cyclones have 10 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Cyclones have 90 returning starts on offensive line.
Soph QB Becht started 13 games last season.

Under Campbell, ISU is 24-14-2 ATS as an underdog.
Under Campbell, Cyclones are 58-44-3 ATS in conference games.
Last three years, ISU is 5-13 ATS coming off a win.
Cyclones are 1-4 SU/2-3 ATS in last five bowls.

— Oklahoma State
OSU was 10-4 last year, their 18th consecutive winning year. 
Cowboys have 10 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Cowboys have 214 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Bowman is in his 7th college season (13 starts LY)

Under Gundy, OSU is 32-21-2 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2016, Cowboys are 8-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2018, Cowboys are 19-9-1 ATS coming off a loss.
Oklahoma State won three of its last four bowl games.

— Kansas State
Last three years, K-State was 8-5/10-4/9-4 SU.
Wildcats have 4 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Wildcats have 73 returning starts on OL, only 36 at I-A level.
LY’s QB bolted to Ohio State; soph QB started one game LY.

Last two years, K-State is 11-2 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Klieman, Wildcats are 16-9 ATS as an underdog.
Since 2018, K-State is 18-9 ATS in non-league games.
K-State is 3-2 SU in last five bowls (favorites 5-0 ATS)

— Utah
Utah was 8-5 last year, their 10th consecutive winning year. 
Utes have 6 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Utah has 60 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Rising (knee) DNP LY; he’s got 23 career starts.

Under Whittingham, Utah is 52-41-2 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Whittingham, Utah is 27-17 ATS as road underdog.
Since 2018, Utes are 6-13-1 ATS in non-conference games.
Utah lost its last five bowls; they were favored in three of them.

— Famous birthdays, July 24:
Michael Richards, 75
Steve Grogan, 71
Joe Barry Carroll, 66

Kevin Butler, 62
Karl Malone, 61
Barry Bonds, 60

Rick Fox, 55
Jennifer Lopez, 55
Anna Paquin, 42

—  Angels 5, Mariners 1
Rough week for the Mariners; they put OF Julio Rodriguez (sprained ankle), SS JP Crawford (broken finger) on the IL, also dumped 1B Ty France.
Seattle lost seven of its last eight games.

— Mets 3, Bronx 2
Jeff McNeil’s 2-run homer was the decisive blow.
Aaron Judge walked four times, didn’t score any runs.
Mets are 3-0 against Bronx this season.

— Phillies 3, Twins 0
Game was scoreless after eight innings.
Zack Wheeler tossed seven shutout IP for the Phillies.

— A’s 8, Astros 2
Oakland is 11-6 in its last seventeen games.
Osvaldo Bido allowed a run in 5 IP, in his second MLB start.

— Cardinals 2, Pirates 1
Alec Burleson’s 9th inning single was the game-winning hit.
Rookie P Skenes takes his first major league loss.

— Dodgers 5, Giants 2
Dodgers won their fifth game in a row.
Giants’ SS Fitzgerald has homered five games in a row.

— Brewers 1, Cubs 0
Milwaukee scored only run of game in 8th inning.
Jameson Taillon pitched 7.1 strong IP; is he trade bait?

— If the baseball playoffs started today:
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Braves, Cardinals, Mets
AL: Orioles, Guardians, Hst/Sea. Wild Cards: New York, Twins, Royals.

— Arizona Cardinals
Last four years, they’re 5-11 ATS as a home favorite.
Rams covered their last ten visits to Arizona.

— Atlanta Falcons
Last four years, they’re 5-13 ATS as a home favorite.
Falcons have had six consecutive losing seasons.

— Carolina Panthers
Last four years, they’re 3-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Carolina is 2-6 ATS in its last eight games vs Tampa Bay

— Chicago Bears
Last three years, they’re 9-16 ATS as a road underdog.
Last four years, they’re 7-17 ATS in divisional games.

— Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys haven’t played in NFC title game since 1996.
Last three years, Dallas is 14-4 ATS in games vs NFC East rivals.

— Detroit Lions
Last three years, Detroit is 13-5 ATS in games vs NFC North rivals.
Last three years, Lions are 19-7-1 ATS in home games.

— Green Bay Packers
Last three years, Packers are 16-7 ATS as an underdog (7 SU wins last year)
Green Bay covered its last five visits to Chicago.

— Los Angeles Rams
Rams covered six of last seven games with Seattle.
Sean McVay won/covered six of his seven season openers.

— Minnesota Vikings
In 2022, Vikings were 11-1 in one-score games; last year, they were 6-8
Last two years, NFL teams were 8-19 when they played 3 weeks in row on road.
Vikings play three consecutive road games in Weeks 10-12.

— New Orleans Saints
Last three years, New Orleans is 10-16-1 ATS as a favorite.
Saints are 9-3 ATS in last 12 games against Tampa Bay.

— New Jersey Giants
Giants were an underdog in 24 of last 26 games (14-9-1 ATS)
Big Blue covered once in their last six games with Dallas.

— Philadelphia Eagles
Two new coordinators TY; Kellen Moore on offense, Vic Fangio on defense.
Why? Eagles were 1-6 SU/0-7 ATS in their last seven games LY.
Eagles play four of last five games at home TY, first time since 1951.

— San Francisco 49ers
Last two years, 49ers were a combined +23 in turnovers.
Last four years, 49ers are 16-6 ATS as an underdog.
San Francisco is 10-2-1 ATS in its last 13 NFC West games.

— Seattle Seahawks
Last three years, Seattle is 8-16 ATS as a favorite, 5-11 at home.
Seahawks covered four of last five games with Arizona.

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In his NFL career, Baker Mayfield is 12-24-2 ATS as a favorite.
Tampa Bay won the NFC South the last three years.

— Washington Commanders
Last three years, Washington is 5-11-2 ATS in NFC East games.
Commanders are 7-16-2 ATS in their last 25 home games.

— Famous birthdays, July 22:
Danny Glover, 78
Albert Brooks, 77
Slick Watts, 73

Dave Stieb, 67
Alvin Robertson, 62
David Spade, 60

Tim Brown, 58
Steven Jackson, 41
Ezekiel Elliott, 29

— Padres 2, Guardians 1
Cleveland didn’t get a hit until the 7th inning.
Kyle Higashioka knocked in both San Diego runs.

— Cardinals 6, Braves 2
Willson Contreras struck out three times, then homered in his 4th at-bat.
Braves lost 2B Ozzie Albies with a broken wrist.

— Blue Jays 5, Tigers 4
George Springer homered twice for Toronto.
Loss snapped Detroit’s 4-game winning streak.

— Marlins 4, Mets 2
Jazz Chisholm hit a 3-run homer.
Marlins are 35-64, but they’re 5-4 against the Mets.

— Phillies 6, Pirates 0
Rookie Tyler Phillips tossed six shutout IP.
Nick Castellanos hit his 14th homer of the season.

— Mariners 6, Astros 4
Seattle’s Luke Raley hit a 3-run homer in 6th inning.
Julio Rodriguez hurt his ankle trying to make a catch in CF.

— Dodgers 9, Red Sox 6
LA hit six home runs, including Ohtani’s 473-foot blast.
Red Six trail Kansas City by a game for the AL’s last Wild Card spot. 

— Team USA 101, South Sudan 100
Team USA was a 43-point favorite in this game. 43 points.
South Sudan led 58-44 at halftime.
Lebron James scored with 0:08 left to avoid a tremendous upset.

— UCLA-Gonzaga are going to play the first college basketball game in the new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, on November 28. Intuit Dome is the Clippers’ new arena.

— Speaking of UCLA, Bruins’ alum Troy Aikman and Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson are competing over copyright issues relating to the number they both wore on the football field — 8.

Both of them apparently hold legal protection over some form of the number. Oy.

— Dodgers-Cubs will open the 2025 baseball season with two games in Japan.

Everyone else will start the 2025 season on March 27th.

— Former Packers’ WR Randall Cobb, who played college ball at Kentucky, signed on to be a football analyst for the SEC Network.

— Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas shut down for good this week; The property is closing and will be refurbished, along with an addition of a near 700-foot tall guitar-shaped hotel on the site, kind of like the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida.

Mirage had great food places; I stayed there once, 2011 or 2012, ate every day at the Carnegie Deli, which had the best (biggest) sandwiches ever. I’d ask for extra bread and take the extra sandwich up to my room to eat late at night.

— Packers are trying to sign QB Jordan Love to a new contract before the season starts,, but the teams aren’t close to a deal yet. Green Bay was 9-8 last year, in Love’s first season as the starter, his third year overall with the Packers.

— Famous birthdays, July 21st:
Al Hrabosky, 75
Jon Lovitz, 67
Henry Ellard, 63

Mike Bordick, 59
Geoff Jenkins, 50
David Carr, 45

CC Sabathia, 44
Jason Thompson, 38
DeAndre Jordan, 36

Sunday would’ve been the 73rd birthday for the great actor Robin Williams. 

— Dodgers 7, Red Sox 6 (11)
Dodgers tied game in 9th/10th innings, both on hits by Kike Hernandez.
Tyler O’Neill hit two home runs for the Red Sox.

— Astros 4, Mariners 2
Houston takes over the lead in the AL West.
A month ago, they trailed Seattle by ten games.
Mariners have lost five games in a row.

— Brewers 8, Twins 4 (12)
Milwaukee led this game 1-0 in 8th inning.
Freddy Peralta tossed six shutout IP.

— A’s 8, Angels 2
Spunky A’s are 9-6 in their last 15 games.
Oakland scored 39 runs in its last three games.
Lawrence Butler was 3-4 with three RBI.

— Rays 9, New York 1
Tampa Bay was only 2nd team in last 100 years to do this in one game:
score 9+ runs
hit 4+ home runs
hold opponent to 0 or 1 run.

draw 5+ walks
steal 2+ bases
have opponent hit into 3+ double plays

— Mets 1, Marlins 0
Luis Severino tossed six shutout IP
Francisco Alvarez drove in the game’s only run.

— Diamondbacks 3, Cubs 0
Zac Gallen tossed five shutout IP, stranding nine runners.
Arizona’s bullpen allowed only one baserunner in 4 IP. 

— Baltimore Ravens
Last three years, they’re 8-2 ATS as a road underdog.
Ravens are 8-4 ATS in last 12 games where spread was 3 or fewer points.

— Buffalo Bills
Last four years, Buffalo is 49-18 in regular season, 4-4 in playoffs.
Bills are 1-4 ATS in their last five games vs Baltimore.

— Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals are 23-5-2 ATS in their last 30 non-divisional games.
Cincinnati is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six visits to Cleveland.

— Cleveland Browns
12 of their 17 games this year are against teams that had a winning record LY.
Browns are 3-7 ATS in their last ten games vs Pittsburgh.
Browns somehow went 11-7 last year, despite starting five different QB’s.

— Denver Broncos
Last three years, Broncos are 7-13 ATS as a home favorite.
Denver is 0-8 ATS in last eight road games against the Raiders.

— Houston Texans
Houston was 7-4 ATS as an underdog last year, with a rookie QB/rookie HC.
Last three years, Texans are 12-6 ATS in divisional games.

— Indianapolis Colts
Last 14 years, divisional home underdogs are 24-7 ATS in Week 1 games.
Last four years, Colts are 8-16 ATS in divisional games.

— Jacksonville Jaguars
Under Pederson, Jaguars are 10-6 ATS as an underdog.
Jacksonville is 2-7 ATS in its last nine visits to Tennessee. 

— Movie of the Day: True Believer (1989)— A former civil liberties attorney now reduced to defending drug dealers becomes involved in an eight-year-old murder case- he is convinced the person convicted of the crime is innocent.

James Woods is the lawyer, Robert Downey Jr is his clerk, Margaret Colin does investigations for him. Very good movie.

— Kansas City Chiefs
In their last 27 games, Kansas City is 17-9-1 against the spread.
Last four years, Chiefs are 8-0 ATS as a road underdog.

— Las Vegas Raiders
Last two years, Silver and Back is 9-3 ATS as a home favorite.
QB Minshew is 2-13 ATS in his last 15 games as an underdog.

— Los Angeles Chargers
Jim Harbaugh was 49-27-1 as coach of the 49ers, from 2011-14 (5-3 in playoffs)
Since 2020, Chargers are 10-14-1 ATS as a home favorite. 

— Miami Dolphins
In their last three games LY, Miami was outscored 52-6 in second half.
Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000 (0-6 last six)

— New England Patriots
Are playing toughest schedule in NFL this year; 3 of their first 4 games are on road.
Last two years, New England was 4-11-1 ATS at home.

— New Jersey Jets
Jets have six primetime games in first 11 weeks this season.
Robert Saleh is 18-33 SU/20-30-1 ATS as coach of the Jets.

— Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers visits Denver in Week 2; Broncos are paying 87% of Russell Wilson’s salary this year.
Last four years, Pittsburgh is 16-9 ATS in divisional games.

— Tennessee Titans
Mike Vrabel was 56-48 as Titans’ coach, but went 7-10/6-11 last two years.
Last four years, Tennessee is 10-2 ATS as a home underdog.

— Famous birthdays, July 20
Tony Oliva, 86
James Harris, 77
Mike Lansford, 66

Reed Diamond, 57
Omar Epps, 51
Ray Allen, 49

Stephen Strasburg, 36
Stephen Adams, 31
Keibert Ruiz, 26

— Pirates 8, Phillies 7
Phillies led 7-4 in 7th inning, 7-6 in 9th.
Rowdy Tellez had three sac flies; very unusual.
Crowd was 39,530, Pirates’ biggest home crowd since 2015.

— Dodgers 4, Red Sox 1
Dodgers scored four runs in bottom of the 8th.
Freddie Freeman’s grand slam was a game-winner.

— Astros 3, Mariners 0
Teams are now tied for first in AL West.
On June 19, Seattle led the Astros by 10 games.

— A’s 13, Angels 3
Oakland is 8-5 in its last 13 games.
A’s scored 31 runs in their last two games.

— Rockies 7, Giants 3
San Francisco led 3-0 in sixth inning.
Brenton Doyle hit his 16th home run for Colorado.

— New York 6, Tampa Bay 1
Juan Soto went 4-4, with two doubles and a walk.
Soto is now 17-34 in his career against Zach Eflin. 

— Nationals 8, Reds 5
Patrick Corbin allowed a run in 6 IP, on his 35th birthday.
Jesse Winker got on base four times, scored twice.

— RIP to the great comedian Bob Newhart, who passed away this week at age 94.

Originally an accountant, Newhart became a comedian whose albums struck gold in the 60’s, then his TV series “The Bob Newhart Show” debuted in 1972, where he played a Chicago psychologist, Bob Hartley, who ministered to a host of eccentric patients.

Low-key and dead pan, Bob Newhart was really funny and will be missed.
RIP, sir. 

Part 1 of our Big X football preview……..

— Houston
Willie Fritz is the new coach after LY’s 4-8 season.
Houston has 5 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Cougars have 118 returning starts on OL, only 30 of them at Houston.
Senior QB Smith has 20 career starts. 

Last three years, Houston is 3-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Last eight years, Houston was 26-36-2 ATS in conference games.
In his career, Fritz is 14-7 ATS as a road favorite.
Cougars are 3-2 SU/2-2-1 ATS in their last five bowl games.

— Arizona State
Last two years, Sun Devils went 3-9/3-9 SU, 5-7/6-6 ATS
ASU has 6 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Sun Devils have 57 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Bourguet started 6 games; they added a transfer QB from Michigan State and another QB who started 25 games at Georgia Tech/Nebraska. 

Since 2017, ASU is 8-15 ATS as an home favorite.
Since 2015. ASU is 3-10 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2017, Sun Devils are 5-16-1 ATS in non-league games.
ASU is 1-4 SU in last five bowls; favorites covered the last four.

— BYU
BYU was 5-7 last year, their worst season since 2017.
Cougars have 8 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Cougars have 88 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Bohanon started 19 games, at Baylor/South Florida.

Under Sitake, BYU is 23-32 ATS as a favorite.
Under Sitake, BYU is 21-14-1 ATS as an underdog.
Last four years, Cougars are 3-6 ATS as a road underdog.
BYU is 3-2 SU/ATS in its last five bowl games.

— Colorado
Last three years, Colorado is 9-27 SU/15-21 ATS
Tigers have 8 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Tigers have 100 returning starts on offensive line, and a new OL coach.
QB Sanders started 11 games LY, after playing multiple years at I-AA Jackson State.

Colorado was 4-8 SU last year, despite a +9 turnover ratio.
Since 2017, Buffs are 10-20-1 ATS as a road underdog.
LY, Colorado was 6-3 ATS as an underdog, 1-3 as a favorite.
Buffs lost their last four bowls; their last bowl win was in 2004. 

— Famous birthdays, July 19th:
George Dzundza, 79
Alvan Adams, 70
Anthony Edwards, 62

LeRoy Butler, 56
Rick Ankiel, 45
Adam Morrison, 40

LaMarcus Aldridge, 39
Patrick Corbin, 35
Mauricio Dubon, 30

— Cincinnati
Cincinnati was 3-9 LY, their first losing season since 2017.
Bearcats have 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Bearcats have 91 returning starts on offensive line.
Soph QB Dorsby started 7 games at Indiana last year.

Last two years, Cincinnati was 4-10 ATS as a favorite.
Last two years, Cincinnati was 3-13-1 ATS in conference games.
In his career, Satterfield is 16-9 ATS as a road favorite.
Bearcats lost their last three bowl games, scoring 11.3 ppg.

— Baylor
Last two years, Bears were 6-7/3-9, after a 12-2 year in 2021.
Baylor has 10 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Bears have 97 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Finn started 32 games at Toledo.

Under Aranda, Baylor is 8-6 ATS as home favorite, 1-4 as road faves.
Since 2018, Bears are 8-6 ATS as a home underdog.
Last 2 years, Baylor was +3 in turnovers (+31 from 2019-21)
Baylor is 3-2 SU in last five bowls (underdogs 4-1 ATS).

— Texas Tech
Last three years, Texas Tech was 7-6/8-5/7-6.
Red Raiders have 8 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Red Raiders have 125 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Morton started 12 games LY (15 TDs/8 INTs)

Under McGuire, Texas Tech is 8-5 ATS in home games.
Last 10 years, Red Raiders are 4-9 ATS as a road favorite.
Last four years, Tech had a minus-28 turnover ratio, still went 26-23 SU.
Texas Tech won its last three bowls, scoring 36.7 ppg.

— Central Florida
UCF was 6-7 last year, their first losing season since 2016.
Knights have 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
UCF has 58 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Jefferson started 38 games at Arkansas.

Last five years, UCF is 7-14 ATS as a road favorite.
In his career, Malzahn is 10-5 ATS as home underdog, 11-15 as road underdog.
Last five years, Knights are 5-14-1 ATS coming off a loss.
UCF lost three of its last four bowl games. 

— Every kid in America who plays high school basketball should be watching some of the NBA Summer League this week; watch it for a while, then turn the TV off and go outside and practice.

A lot.

It is REALLY HARD to make an NBA roster; Isaiah Wong was ACC Player of the Year in 2023, a third-team All-American at Miami; you have any idea how hard it is to be ACC Player of the Year?

Isaiah Wong got into one NBA game last season; he played four minutes.

This week, Wong is on the Phoenix Suns’ summer team; he scored 7 points in 12:00 off the bench in Tuesday’s 98-94 loss to Indiana, Wong’s former team.

Go outside and practice, kids…….

— One thing about playing in Summer League; you’re not just trying out for your team, you’re trying out for the other 29 teams, who all have their eyes out for prospects.

Philadelphia 76ers have only two spots open on their regular season roster, so most of the guys on their summer team are trying to impress another club, to get an invite to training camp. 

— Washington Wizards’ rookie Alex Sarr, the #2 pick in last month’s NBA Draft, went 0-15 from the floor in the Wizards’ 82-80 loss to Portland. In the scheme of things, this might not be such a big deal, but it has to be at least a little bit of a red flag.

— They’ve been calling some sketchy technical fouls in the Summer League; you could hear what was said before the technicals were called- no cursing, not even that many theatrics.

— Team USA 98, Australia 92
Anthony Davis scored 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds in 18:00.
Americans were 12-29 on the arc
Game drew 12,217 fans at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Team USA 105, Serbia 79
Stephen Curry scored 24 points.
Game was 40-40; Americans ended first half on a 19-5 run.
Team USA is now 3-0 in its pre-Olympic games. 

— Famous birthdays, July 18
Joe Torre, 84
James Brolin, 84
Audrey Landers, 68

Jeff Lageman, 57
Anfernee Hardaway, 53
Torii Hunter, 49

Eugenio Suarez, 33
Bam Abedayo, 27
Kyle Manzardo, 24

— Episode 3 of Hard Knocks, where Saquon Barkley bolts the Giants for the division rival Eagles; two quick impressions.

Giants’ owner John Mara made it clear he wouldn’t be happy if Barkley went to the Giants’ rivals in Philadelphia, which is exactly what happened. Whoops.

Giants’ GM Joe Schoen asked Barkley if he would be willing to take $1M or so less from the Giants than the Eagles, with the inference that if he did, he’d eventually be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor. Was surprised to hear him say that.

— Fresno State football coach Jeff Tedford stepped down due to health issues; he went 45-22 in two stints at his alma mater, but he’s had recurring health problems. Fresno will have an interim coach this season.

Tedford was Aaron Rodgers’ coach at Cal; he was also a head coach in the CFL. We wish him a speedy recovery.

— Edmonton Elks fired coach/GM Chris Jones after an 0-5 start; Edmonton was 8-33 in Jones’ tenure running the club.

— Movie of the Day– Absence of Malice (1981)- A prosecutor leaks to a news reporter that a liquor wholesaler is suspected in the murder of local longshoreman, the wholesaler’s life begins to unravel, until he fights back.

Paul Newman, Sally Field; two of our greatest actors, with an appearance by Wilford Brimley in the key scene at the end of the movie. Movie was made 43 years ago, but it still holds up- I was glad to find it the other night.

Baseball thoughts…….
— The All-Star uniforms were horrendous, to be kind; they need to go back to when the players wore their teams’ uniforms.

— Teoscar Hernandez is the first LA Dodger to win the Home Run Derby.

— Cincinnati rookie Rece Hinds won Player of the Week in his first week as a major leaguer, which is pretty impressive.

— One of the most surprising things this baseball season is how Cubs P Shota Imanaga has been a much better pitcher Dodgers’ free agent P Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

During spring training, NO ONE, not one person, thought that was going to happen.

— P Domingo German exercised an opt-out clause in his contract, was released by Pittsburgh. He was 4-4, 5.35 in ten starts for the Pirates’ AAA team.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Card: Braves, Cardinals, Mets
AL: Orioles, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Card: Bronx, Twins, Red Sox

Part 2 of our SEC football preview……..

— Tennessee
Last two years, Vols are 20-6 SU/17-9 ATS
Tennessee has 6 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Vols have 112 returning starts on the offensive line;
Frosh QB Iamaleava had one start, was MVP of Citrus Bowl.

Under Heupel, Tennessee is 12-5 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Heupel is 3-8 ATS as an underdog.
Since 2020, Tennessee is 15-19 ATS in SEC games.
Vols are 4-1 SU/ATS in their last five bowl games.

— Oklahoma
Since 2015, Sooners are 94-24 SU (16-10 under Venables)
Oklahoma has 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Sooners have 114 returning starts on the offensive line.
QB Gabriel bolted to Oregon; Oklahoma is very inexperienced under center.

Last 10 years, Oklahoma is 4-1 ATS as an underdog.
They’ve been favored in 126 of their last 131 games.
Last three years, Sooners are 3-9-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2020, Oklahoma is 15-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Sooners are 2-3 SU/3-2 ATS in last five bowls.

— Missouri
Mizzou was 11-2 last year, their best season since 2014. 
Tigers have 9 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Tigers have 107 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Green has started 26 games.

Under Drinkwitz, Mizzou is 4-10-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Drinkwitz, Mizzou is 14-9 ATS as an underdog.
Last two years, Mizzou is 11-5 ATS in SEC games.
Tigers lost three of their last four bowl games.

— LSU
In two years under Kelly, LSU is 20-7 SU/15-11-1 ATS
Tigers have 6 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Tigers have 111 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Nussmeier was MVP of LSU’s 35-31 bowl win, but he threw only 78 passes LY. 1st-round draft pick Daniels leaves big shoes to fill.

In his career, Kelly is 35-17-2 ATS as an underdog.
Under Kelly, LSU is 9-2-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last ten years, Tigers are 23-11-1 ATS coming off a loss.
LSU won five of its last six bowls, scoring 43.8 ppg.

— Famous birthdays, July 17th:
David Hasselhoff, 72
Bryan Trottier, 68
Scott Norwood, 64

Bobby Thigpen, 61
Kevin Pritchard, 57
Calbert Cheaney, 53

Donny Marshall, 52
Mason Rudolph, 29
OG Anunoby, 27

— Ole Miss
Last three years, Ole Miss is 29-10 SU/20-17-2 ATS.
Rebels have 10 starters back on offense, 10 on defense.
Rebels have 222 returning starts on offensive line (VERY experienced).
Junior QB Dart has started 25 games. 

Under Kiffin, Ole Miss is 7-3-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Last four years, Ole Miss is 11-5 ATS in non-conference games.
Last three years, Rebels are 15-11-2 ATS coming off a win.
Rebels are 3-2 in last five bowl games (underdogs covered last four).

— Alabama
Hard to replace a legendary coach; last 10 years, Alabama was 127-14.
New coach DeBoer was 37-9 SU at Fresno State/Washington.
Alabama has 7 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Crimson Tide has 60 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Milroe has started 14 games.

Last four years, Alabama is 18-7-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last three years, Alabama is 5-9 ATS as a road favorite.
Last five years, Crimson Tide is 0-2 ATS as an underdog (both in bowls)
Alabama is 5-2 SU/ATS in its last seven bowls.

— Texas
Texas was 12-2 LY, after going 13-12 previous two years.
Longhorns have 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Longhorns have 123 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Ewers has 22 career starts (22 TDs, 6 INTs LY).

Under Sarkisian, Texas is 11-7 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Sarkisian is 10-5 ATS as home dog, 10-18 as road dog.
Since 2015, Longhorns are 6-1-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Texas is 3-2 SU in last five bowls (underdogs 4-1 ATS)

— Georgia
Last seven years, Georgia is 86-11 SU, 54-42-1 ATS.
Dawgs have 7 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Georgia has 87 returning starts on offensive line.
Junior QB Beck started 14 games LY.

Under Smart, Georgia is 18-27-1 ATS as home favorite, 20-11 as road favorite.
Since 2018, Dawgs are 0-1 ATS as an underdog.
Last 10 years, Dawgs are 13-7 ATS coming off a loss.
Georgia won its last seven bowl games, last two by 65-7/63-3 scores.

SEC has 16 teams now; I’m going to divide the preview into two days, then I’ll do the same thing with the Big X later this week……..

— Vanderbilt
Vandy is 9-27 under Clark Lea; their last winning season was 2013.
Commodores have 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Commodores have 121 returning starts on the offensive line;
Senior QB Pavia started 4 games at New Mexico State; his offensive coordinator there works at Vanderbilt now.

Since 2019, Vandy is 1-7 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Lea, Commodores are 4-10 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2020, Vandy is 16-25 ATS in SEC games.
Vandy’s last bowl game was in 2018; their last bowl win, 2013.

— Mississippi State
Jeff Lebby is Miss State’s 5th head coach the last eight seasons.
Lebby was offensive coordinator at Oklahoma the last 2 years.
Bulldogs have 5 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Bulldogs have 67 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Shapen started 23 games at Baylor.

Since 2019, MSU is 1-10-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2019, MSU is 15-26-1 ATS in SEC games.
Since 2017, Bulldogs are 8-12 ATS as a road underdog.
Bulldogs are 2-3 SU/ATS in last five bowls (1-3 ATS as a favorite).

— Arkansas
Arkansas was 4-8 LY, their fifth losing season in seven years.
Razorbacks have 9 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Razorbacks have 67 returning starts on the offensive line;
Junior QB Green started 22 games at Boise State.

Under Pittman, Arkansas is 16-7 ATS as an underdog.
Under Pittman, Arkansas is 6-11-1 ATS as a favorite.
Under Pittman, Arkansas is 19-13-2 ATS in SEC games.
Arkansas won three of last four bowl games (favorites 3-1 ATS).

— Auburn
Auburn has had three straight losing years (6-7/5-7/5-7).
Tigers have 9 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Tigers have 87 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Thorne has 37 starts (25 at Michigan State)

In his career, Freeze is 28-13 ATS as an underdog.
In his career, Freeze is 43-28-1 ATS in home games.
Last four years, Auburn is 4-11 ATS in non-SEC games.
Auburn lost its last four bowl games, by average of 11 ppg.

— Famous birthdays, July 16:
Ron Yary, 78
Ron Brewer, 69
Terry Pendleton, 64

Phoebe Cates, 61
Will Ferrell, 57
Barry Sanders, 56

Aaron Glenn, 52
Zach Randolph, 43
Jarred Kelenic, 25

— Kentucky
Kentucky had winning seasons the last 3 years, and 7 of last 8 years.
Wildcats have 8 starters back on offense, 10 on defense.
Wildcats have 156 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Wimsatt started 13 games at Rutgers; junior QB Vandagriff was a backup at Georgia.

Last five years, Kentucky is 21-12 ATS in home games.
Last five years, Kentucky is 15-6 ATS in non-SEC games.
Under Stoops, Wildcats are 22-34-2 ATS coming off a loss.
Underdogs are 4-1 ATS in Kentucky’s last five bowl games.

— South Carolina
Under Beamer, Gamecocks are 11-4 ATS as a favorite.
Carolina has 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Gamecocks have 118 returning starts on the offensive line.
Freshman QB Sellers threw four passes in three games LY.

Under Beamer, Gamecocks are 10-6 ATS coming off a loss.
Last four years, Carolina is 15-19 ATS in SEC games.
Under Beamer, Gamecocks are 9-5 ATS in non-SEC games.
Underdogs are 4-1 ATS in South Carolina’s last five bowls.

— Florida
Last three years, Gators were 6-7/6-7/5-7.
Six years before that, Gators were 52-24; the natives are restless.
Florida has 8 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Gators have 80 returning starts on the offensive line.

Senior QB Mertz has 43 career starts, 32 at Wisconsin.
Last two years, Florida is 3-7 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Napier is 18-7-1 ATS as an underdog.
Florida is 5-14-1 ATS in its last 20 non-conference games.
Gators lost their last three bowl games, by a combined 114-40.

— Texas A&M
A&M went 5-7/7-6 last two years; they told the coach to take a hike.
Aggies have 9 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
A&M has 112 returning starts on offensive line.
Soph QB Weigman has 8 career starts.

Since 2018, A&M is 19-13 ATS as a home favorite.
In his 2 years at Duke, new HC Elko was 7-4 ATS as an underdog.
Last 10 years, Aggies are 15-26-2 ATS coming off a loss.
A&M is 3-1 SU/2-2 ATS in last four bowl games.