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.

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. 

— 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. 

— 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. 

Trends for all 30 MLB teams…….

— Arizona is 47-47, one game out of last Wild Card slot.
Diamondbacks are 14-9 in one-run games.

— Atlanta is 9.5 games out of first in NL East; they’re #1 Wild Card night now.
Braves are 6-11 in their last 17 road games.

— Cubs are 45-49, three games out of last Wild Card spot.
Chicago won five of its last six games; they just swept Orioles in Baltimore.

— Cincinnati is also 45-49, three games out of last Wild Card spot.
Reds are 8-17 in one-run games.

— Colorado is 3-10 in its last thirteen road games.
Rockies missed playoffs last six years, finishing 17+ games out of first place.

— Dodgers are 55-39, have a 7-game lead in NL West.
Dodgers are 24-10 vs lefty starters, 31-29 vs righties.

— Marlins are 3-11 in road series openers.
Marlins are 4-27 against lefty starting pitchers, 28-34 vs righties.

— Brewers are 54-40, lead NL Central by five games.
Milwaukee is 21-12 against its NL Central rivals, 33-28 vs everyone else.

— Right now, Mets have #3 Wild Card slot in NL, by .001 over Padres.
Mets are 17-10 in one-run games; last year, they were 25-28.

— Phillies are 61-32, lead NL East by 9.5 games.
Phillies are 32-7 in their last 39 home games.

— Pittsburgh is 45-48, 2.5 games out of last playoff slot.
Rookie P Skenes was taken out of Thursday’s game after 7 IP/99 PT- he didn’t give up a hit in the seven innings.

— St Louis is 48-44; they’re holding the #2 Wild Card slot.
Cardinals are 28-21 in night games, 20-23 in day games.

— San Diego is 49-47, .001 out of the NL’s last Wild Card spot.
Padres lost their last four games, scoring a total of nine runs.

— San Francisco is 45-49, three games out of last Wild Card spot.
Giants are 34-31 vs righty pitchers, 11-18 vs lefties.

— Washington is 42-52, six games out of last Wild Card slot.
Nationals are 4-13 in their last 17 games.

— Famous birthdays, July 12th:
Cheryl Ladd, 73
Mario Soto, 68
Luke McCown, 43

Howie Kendrick, 41
Patrick Beverley, 36
LeSean McCoy, 36

Kellen Moore, 35
Bailey Ober, 29
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 26

— Orioles are 57-36, lead AL East by two games.
Baltimore got shut out last two days, hasn’t scored in 21 innings.

— Red Sox are 51-41, are holding last Wild Card slot in AL.
Boston is 39-27 vs righty starters, 12-14 vs lefties; last two years, they were 47-31 vs lefties.

— White Sox are 1-14 in road series openers.
Chicago is 6-29 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Guardians are 57-35, lead AL Central by 4.5 games.
Cleveland is 20-7 vs lefty starting pitchers; LY, they were 24-35.

— Detroit won six of its last seven games.
Tigers are 45-49, are 7 games out of last Wild Card slot.

— Houston is 49-44, two games out of first in AL West, 2.5 games out of last Wild Card slot.
Last two years, Houston was 70-33 vs lefty starters; this year, they’re 12-15.

— Royals are 51-43, one game out of last Wild Card slot.
Last year, Kansas City was 56-106; Matt Quatraro is your AL Manager of the Year.

— Angels are 30-46 vs righty pitchers, 8-9 vs lefties.
Mike Trout has been an Angel for 14 years, has played in three playoff games.

— Minnesota is 53-40, is holding the #2 playoff slot in AL.
Twins are 13-5 in their last 18 games.

— New York is 56-39, holds #1 Wild Card slot in AL.
New York is 0-7-1 in last eight series, 7-17 in last 24 games.

— A’s lost 18 of their last 21 road games.
Oakland is 26-49 vs righty starters, 9-11 vs lefties.

— Seattle is 52-43, leads AL West by two games.
Mariners are 13-2 in home series openers, 6-9 in road series openers.

— Tampa Bay is 46-47, 5.5 games out of last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 16-8 vs lefty starters, 30-39 vs righty starters.

— Texas is 44-49, 7.5 games out of last Wild Card slot.
Rangers are 1-7 in last eight road series openers.

— Toronto had winning seasons the last 4 years; they’re 42-50 this year.
Over is 14-4 in their last 18 games. 

— Twins 9, Astros 3
Jose Miranda had hits in 12 consecutive at-bats, longest streak since 1952.
Minnesota led 7-1 after three innings.

— Rangers 4, Rays 3
Marcus Semien hit game-winning homer in 7th inning.
Last three games, Tampa Bay has left 30 men on base.

— New York 14, Red Sox 4
Rookie 1B Ben Rice hit three homers, knocked in seven runs.
UConn basketball coach Danny Hurley threw out the first pitch.

— Blue Jays 5, Mariners 4
Yariel Rodriguez tossed 6 shutout IP, got his first MLB win.
Seattle has struck out 10+ times in each of their last 11 games.

— A’s 19, Orioles 8
Oakland led 10-0 after two innings.
A’s hit five home runs; they’re 4-1 this week.

— Famous birthdays, July 7th:
Ringo Starr, 84
Shelley Duvall, 75
Tim Teufel, 66

Matt Suhey, 66
Billy Campbell, 65
Ralph Sampson, 64

Jorja Fox, 56
Michael Westbrook, 52
Brandon McCarthy, 41

— Angels 7, Cubs 0
Tyler Anderson threw 8 shutout IP, struck out 10 Cubs.
Angels’ win ends their 5-game losing skid.

— Marlins 4, White Sox 3
Dane Myers’ 2-run homer in 7th inning was a game-winner.
White Sox ace Garrett Crochet threw 93 pitches in only 4 IP.

— Tigers 5, Reds 3
Cincinnati led 2-0 after seven innings.
Wenceel Perez hit a 2-run homer for Detroit in a 5-run 8th inning.

— Guardians 5, Giants 4
Cleveland led 4-0 in second inning, held on for dear life.
Guardians are 18-5 in their last 23 home games. 

— Rockies 3, Royals 1
Brenton Doyle homered for fourth time in five games.
Austin Gomber got his first win since May 15th, 

— Word of the Day: Respect- A feeling of admiration for someone based on their abilities and/or qualities.

— Mets 5, Pirates 2
Luis Torrens had three hits, knocked in three runs.
Edwin Diaz got the save, in his first game back after a 10-game suspension.

— Nationals 14, Cardinals 6
Washington led 9-0 after the second inning.
Rookie James Wood hit his first major league home run,

— Braves 5, Phillies 1
Rookie P Spencer Schwellenbach allowed one run in 6 IP.
Marcell Ozuna, Ozzie Albies both hit two-run homers.

— Dodgers 5, Brewers 3
Will Smith homered in 1st inning, his 4th homer in four AB’s.
Shohei Ohtani, Miguel Vargas homered in the decisive 8th inning.

— Diamondbacks 7, Padres 5 (10)
San Diego left bases loaded in bottom of 9th.
Christian Walker had the game-winning hit in 10th inning. 

Mountain West football preview

— Air Force
Air Force lost 4 of last 5 games LY, after an 8-0 start.
Falcons are 29-10 last three years, 3-0 in bowl games.
Air Force has 2 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Falcons have no returning starts on the offensive line; they had that in 2021, but led the country in rushing.

Last three years, Air Force is 8-3 ATS as a road favorite.
Last ten years, Falcons are 15-23-1 ATS coming off a loss.
Under Calhoun, Air Force is 12-8 ATS as a home underdog.
Falcons won their last five bowls, scoring 37.6 ppg.

— Boise State
Broncos fired their coach LY after a 5-5 start, won 4 of last 5 games.
Boise has 6 starters back on offense, all 11 on defense.
Broncos have 66 starts returning on the offensive line.
Soph QB Madsen (132 pass attempts LY) or USC transfer Nelson will start at QB

Last two years, Broncos are 8-4 ATS as a home favorite.
Boise is 11-2-1 ATS in last 14 games coming off a loss.
Broncos are 4-3 SU in their last seven bowls.
Boise is 2-7-1 ATS in last eight non-conference games.

— Colorado State
CSU was 4-1 LY when they scored 30+ points, 1-6 when they didn’t.
Rams have 7 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
CSU has 94 starts returning on the offensive line.
Rams’ soph QB has 11 starts; he threw 22 TD’s, 16 INT’s last year.

Rams have had six consecutive losing seasons.
Since 2017, CSU is 5-14 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Norvell is 26-18 ATS as an underdog.
CSU lost their last four bowls; their last bowl win was in 2013.

— Fresno State
Bulldogs lost three of last four games LY, after an 8-1 start.
Fresno has 8 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Bulldogs have 106 starts returning on OL (8 of 10 starters).
Soph QB started 11 games LY, threw 24 TD’s, 10 INTs.

Fresno is 29-11 last three years, 3-0 in bowl games, scoring 32.3 ppg.
Since 2019, Bulldogs are 9-14 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2016, Fresno is 7-0-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Bulldogs won their last five bowls, scoring 32.2 ppg.

— Hawai’i
Rainbows were 0-7 LY when they allowed 35+ points, 5-0 when they allowed less than 35.
Hawai’i has 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Bulldogs have 47 starts returning on offensive line.
Senior QB Schrager started 26 games the last two years.

Hawai’i has two winning seasons (2018-19) over the last decade.
Over last decade, Rainbows are 11-27-2 ATS as a favorite, 8-22-2 at home.
Over last decade, Hawai’i is 26-42-3 ATS coming off a loss.
Last three years, Rainbows are 14-9-1 ATS in Mountain West games.

— Nevada
Nevada went 2-10/2-10 last two years; the coach got fired. 
Wolf Pack has 6 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Nevada has 70 starts returning on offensive line.
New HC was a defensive assistant at Texas the last three years.

Junior QB Lewis started ten games last season.
Last two years, Wolf Pack was 1-9 ATS at home.
Last three years, Nevada is 10-4 ATS as a road underdog.
Wolf Pack is 3-2 SU/ATS in last five bowls; last bowl was 2021. 

— Famous birthdays for July 6th:
Fred Dryer, 78
Sylvester Stallone, 78
Willie Randolph, 70

Kelly Stouffer, 60
Pau Gasol, 44
Jae Crowder, 34

Manny Machado, 32
Andrew Benintendi, 30
Zion Williamson, 24

— UNLV
Rebels lost last three games LY, after a 9-2 start.
UNLV has 5 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Rebels have 79 starts returning on offensive line.
Their QB bolted to USC; they brought in two I-AA QB’s, also have Friel, who started eight games for UNLV in 2021.

Last year was UNLV’s first bowl since 2013.
In his career, Odom is 17-11 ATS as a home favorite.
Over last ten years, UNLV is 11-19 ATS as a home underdog.
Last three years, Rebels are 11-3 ATS as a road underdog. 

— New Mexico
Lobos were 19-60 last 7 years; their last winning season was 2016.
New Mexico has 3 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Lobos’ whole offensive line graduated; they brought in 8 transfers.
Soph QB started once LY; he is a pass/run threat.

Since 2015, Lobos are 5-18 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2017, Lobos are 9-15-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2018, New Mexico is 17-32-1 ATS as an underdog.
New Mexico hasn’t played in a bowl game since 2016.

— San Diego State
Aztecs were 4-8 last year, their worst season since 2009.
San Diego State has 6 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Aztecs have 67 starts returning on offensive line.
Soph QB is a transfer from Florida State. 

New coach Lewis was 24-31 at Kent State (2018-22), making two bowls.
Last three years, Aztecs were 3-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2017, San Diego State is 11-5-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Aztecs are 2-3 SU in last five bowls (were favored in 4 of 5 games).

— San Jose State
Spartans are 26-19 last 4 years; coach bolted to Arizona
New coach Niumatalolo was 109-83 in 15 years at Navy,
San Jose has 3 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Spartans have only 20 starts returning on offensive line.

San Jose won 6 of its last 7 games LY, after a 1-5 start.
San Jose was 7-5/7-6 last two years, thanks to +11/+11 turnover ratios.
Since 2018, Spartans are 29-18 ATS in conference games.
Spartans lost last three bowls; their last bowl win was in 2015.

— Utah State
Utah State just fired their coach last week; they’ll have an interim coach.
Aggies have 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Aggies have 69 starts returning on offensive line.
Senior QB started 31 games at Iowa.

Aggies were 6-7 LY, 5-1 when they allowed less than 35 points.
Since 2016, Utah State is 6-13 ATS as a home underdog.
Last four years, Aggies are 7-12 ATS in games coming off a loss.
Utah State lost three of its last four bowl games.

— Wyoming
Wyoming went 9-4 last year, but their coach retired.
Cowboys have 6 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Wyoming has 68 starts returning on offensive line.
Junior QB started one game last year, was 23-38 passing for season.  

Wyoming is 14-9-2 ATS in its last 25 games as a home favorite.
Since 2016, Cowboys are 16-6 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2016, Wyoming is 37-26 ATS in Mountain West games.
Cowboys won four of their last five bowl games. 

— What are the best/worst days to have a birthday?
Best days:
July 4th
People shoot off fireworks for you
You never have to work on your birthday.
It is summer, nice weather.

January 1st
You never have to work on your birthday.
There is football on TV all day, every year.
People have parties the night before, for your birthday.

Worst days:
February 29
You only have a birthday once every four years.

October 31
Other people come to your house and want free candy.

December 26
People are worn out from the day before, are tired of giving gifts.

January 2
You probably have to work, and have a headache from watching football all day.
It is freakin’ cold out, at least around here it is.

I probably missed one or two; let me know…….

— Max Scherzer is pitching for Texas this season, but he’s getting paid by three different teams:
Mets are paying him $30,833,334
Nationals are paying him $15,000,000
Rangers are paying him $12,500,000.

— July 1st was Bobby Bonilla Day, when the Mets send yet another check for $1.19M to the retired outfielder, who will keep getting those checks for another 11 years.

$1,193,248.20 is the exact amount; in 2000, instead of paying Bonilla $5.9M to go away, the Mets agreed to make these annual payments from 2011-35. The Wilpon family owned the Mets at the time; they were involved with noted fraudster Bernie Madoff, so somehow they thought making these payments was a good idea.

It wasn’t.

— Texas Rangers’ rookie OF Wyatt Langford is first big leaguer to hit for the cycle this seaso.

— Jayson Tatum is going to make $62.8M playing for the Celtics next season; this year, the entire payroll for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks was $58.3M.

Ducks went 27-50-5 this season, Celtics won the NBA title, but still…….

— Best shooting backcourt of all-time:
Steph Curry/Klay Thompson combined to make 3,538 3-point shots while they were on the court together with Golden State, making 43.1% of their attempts.

Next highest total by any two teammates is 1,840, by Portland’s Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, who made 39.3% of their 3-pointers while playing together.

— Lot of Mountain West football games will be televised on TNT and HBO this fall; looks like the first one between two I-A teams will be a September 7 game with Georgia Southern going to Reno to play the Nevada Wolf Pack.

— When Aaron Civale starts for Milwaukee Friday night, he’ll be the 16h starting pitcher the Brewers have used this season, most in major leagues.

— Famous birthdays, July 5th:
Huey Lewis, 74
Rich Gossage, 73
Johnny Rodgers, 73

James Lofton, 68
Edie Falco, 61
Beno Udrih, 42

Ish Smith, 36
Austin Hays, 31
Shohei Ohtani, 30

— A’s 5, Angels 0
Oakland sweeps the Halos, shutting them out the last two days.
JP Sears needed 95 pitches to throw 5 shutout IP.

— Nationals 1, Mets 0
Jesse Winker pinch-hit a home run in 8th inning,
Jake Irvin allowed one hit in 8 IP.

— Diamondbacks 9, Dodgers 3
Christian Walker hit two home runs for second night in a row.
Walker has hit 19 home runs in 42 career games at Dodger Stadium.

— Mariners 7, Orioles 3
Game was tied 2-2 in 7th inning.
Julio Rodriguez homered for first time since June 15th,

— Cubs 10, Phillies 2
Ian Happ hit a 3-run homer in 5th inning.
Happ also hit a 3-run homer in 6th inning; one lefty, one righty.

— Padres 3, Rangers 1
Jurickson Profar is hitting .317 with 56 RBI; he’s an All-Star.
San Diego is 11-3 in its last 14 games.

— Red Sox 6, Marlins 5 (12)
Marlins didn’t get a hit until the 7th inning,
Miami’s Jake Burger was 0-5, with five strikeouts. 

— Orioles 4, Mariners 1
Ryan O’Hearn homered, knocked in three runs.
Dean Kremer came off the IL, tossed five shutout IP.

— A’s 5, Angels 0
Joey Estes threw a 92-pitch complete game shutout.
A’s are 2-13 in the game following their last fifteen wins.

— White Sox 8, Guardians 2
Martin Maldonado (hitting .096) homered, had 3 RBI.
P Erick Fedde is 6-3, pitching for the 25-63 White Sox.

— Tigers 9, Twins 2
Detroit is first team since 1951 to hit 4+ HR’s, 3 triples and a grand slam in same game.
Just the third loss in last ten games for Minnesota.

— Royals 4, Rays 2
Michael Wacha allowed only one run in 6 IP.
Tampa Bay traded P Aaron Civale to Milwaukee for a minor leaguer.

— Astros 9, Blue Jays 2
Yordan Alvarez homered for the third straight game.
Houston has won 11 of its last 13 games. 

— Famous birthdays, July 4th:
Geraldo Rivera, 81
Pam Shriver, 62
Harvey Grant, 59

Horace Grant, 59
Vinny Castilla, 57
Todd Marinovich, 55

Adrian Griffin, 50
Josh McCown, 45
Brock Berlin, 43

— Red Sox 7, Marlins 2
Boston won eight of last nine road games.
Over is 7-1 in their last eight games.

— Reds 3, New York 2
Andrew Abbott allowed one run in 6.1 IP.
New York lost 12 of its last 16 games.

— Padres 6, Rangers 4
David Peralta’s HR in 7th inning was his first this season and was a game-winner.
San Diego won 10 of its last 13 games.

— Movie of the Day: Little Big League (1994)— Owner of the Minnesota Twins dies, and leaves the team to his 12-year old grandson, who names himself manager of the team.

Timothy Busfield is the Twins’ 1B, Ashley Crow is the kid’s mom, Jonathan Silverman, John Ashton, Kevin Dunn and an assortment for real major leaguers are in the movie, which is better than my quick description makes it sound.

30 years later in real life, Ashley Crow’s son is the centerfielder for the Cubs, Pete Crow-Armstrong.

— Diamondbacks 12, Dodgers 4
Christian Walker hit two more HR’s, has 17 at Dodger Stadium since 2018.
Walker went 4-5, with three runs scored, 4 RBI.

— Pirates 5, Cardinals 4 (10)
O’Neil Cruz had a walk-off single after Bryan Reynolds had tied the game.
Rowdy Tellez had three hits, including an opposite field home run.

— Nationals 7, Mets 5
Mets led this game 5-0 in fifth inning.
Luis Garcia homered twice, knocked in four runs.

— Braves 3, Giants 1
Chris Sale struck out 9 guys in 6 IP, is now 11-3 this year.
Austin Riley went 2-4, knocked in two runs.

— Phillies 5, Cubs 3
Phillies scored winning run on a 260-foot sac fly in 8th inning.
Cubs lost eight of their last 10 games.

— Brewers 3, Rockies 0
Colin Rea tossed seven shutout IP.
Rockies lost seven of their last nine games. 

— If you’ve got an extra $5B (that’s billion, with a B) hanging around the house, you could buy the NBA’s Boston Celtics, who are on the market, two weeks after they won their 18th league championship. Would make a nice birthday gift for your special someone.

Celtics just gave star Jayson Tatum a 5-year, $314M contract, which works out to $62.8M a year, or $765,853.65 per game. Big business.

Boston’s total payroll and luxury tax bill for the 2025-26 season is estimated to reach around $438M; really expensive- their window to win another title isn’t very long.

— Golden State traded Klay Thompson to Dallas; Warriors won four NBA titles while Thompson and Seth Curry were in the Bay Area. Thompson banked around $260M in his 13 years playing for Golden State, which gets a pair of 2nd round draft picks back from Dallas. 

— 34-year old Paul George signed a 4-year, $212M deal with the 76ers; he scored 22.6 ppg for the Clippers this past season.

— Cleveland Cavaliers signed G Donovan Mitchell to a 3-year, $150.3M contract extension; Mitchell scored 26.6 ppg for the Cavaliers last season, leading them to a 48-34 record.

— Chris Paul signed up with the San Antonio Spurs on a 1-year, $11M deal; he’s played 19 years in the NBA, scoring 9.2 ppg in 58 games for Golden State last year.

— Utah State is firing football coach Blake Anderson for off-field reasons; Utah State went 6-7 each of the last two years, after going 11-3 in Anderson’s first year with the Aggies. Two other administrative people have also been fired; lawyers will cash in, as the coaches try to get paid on their way out the door.

— Famous birthdays, July 3rd:
Jan Smithers, 75
Frank Tanana, 71
Bruce Altman, 69
Tom Cruise, 62

Greg Vaughn, 59
Moises Alou, 58
Neil O’Donnell, 58
Grant Wistrom, 48

— Mets 7, Nationals 1 (10)
Mets scored 16 runs the last two nights, 11 of them in the 10th inning.
Pete Alonso hit a 2-run homer in the 10th inning.

— Dodgers 6, Arizona 5
Teoscar Hernandez had the walk-off single for LA.
Christian Walker has 15 homers at Dodger Stadium since 2018.

— Brewers 4, Rockies 3
Rhys Hoskins was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 9th inning.
Rockies lost for 7th time when they led after eight innings.

— A’s 7, Angels 5
Brent Rooker/Lawrence butler hit back/back homers.
Mitch Spence allowed only one run in 5.1 IP; he is 5-4 this year.

— Orioles 2, Mariners 0
Grayson Rodriguez tossed 6.1 scoreless innings.
This was Orioles’ first win without a home run since May 31.

— Rangers 7, Padres 0
Nathan Eovaldi allowed one hit in 7 shutout IP.
Nathaniel Lowe homered twice, knocked in four runs.

— Phillies 6, Cubs 4
Trea Turner homered twice, knocked in four runs.
Cubs have lost seven of their last nine games.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Braves, Cardinals, Padres
AL: Orioles, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Cards: New York, Twins, Royals

There are 17 teams in the ACC now, including Cal/Stanford, who are very far away from the ATLANTIC Ocean. SMU is in the ACC now too; Dallas isn’t near any oceans. Go figure. 

Some quick notes on ACC football teams……..

— Boston College
Bill O’Brien is the new HC; he was 52-48 SU in six years with Texans in the NFL.
In two years at Penn State, O’Brien was 8-4 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2014, Eagles are 22-14-1 ATS as a road underdog.

— California
Under Wilcox, Golden Bears are 29-14 ATS as an underdog, 12-19-1 as a favorite.
Last three years, Cal is 15-22 SU, despite a +16 turnover ratio.
This year, four of Cal’s five road games are in the Eastern time zone.

— Clemson
Last four years, Clemson is 19-22 ATS as a favorite.
Since 2014, Tigers are 16-7 ATS on neutral fields.

— Duke
Duke went 17-9 SU last two years (9-2 ATS as a home favorite)
However, Texas A&M poached their coach; Notre Dame poached their QB.
Duke won its last five bowl games; they were underdog in 3 of the 5 games.

— Florida State
Last two years, Seminoles were 11-6 ATS in conference games.
In his career, Norvell is 16-8 as a road favorite, 5-9-2 as a road dog.
FSU lost its bowl game last year 63-3; how do they bounce back from that?

— Georgia Tech
Under coach Key, Yellow Jackets are 10-3 ATS as an underdog.
Since 2015, Tech is 2-10 ATS as a road favorite.

— Louisville
In his career, Brohm is 26-16-1 ATS as an underdog.
Since 2019, Cardinals are 16-7 ATS as a home favorite.

— Miami
Hurricanes are 0-5 SU/ATS in their last five bowl games.
In his career, Cristobal is 15-29-2 ATS as a home favorite. 

— Famous birthdays, July 2nd
Larry David, 77
Joe Pisarcik, 72
Tony Armas, 71

Purvis Short, 67
Clark Kellogg, 63
Jose Canseco, 60

Sean Casey, 50
Derrick White, 30
Daulton Varsho, 28

— North Carolina
Since 2018, Tar Heels are 4-11-1 ATS as a road favorite.
UNC lost its last four bowl games, giving up 39.3 ppg.

— NC State
Under Doeren, State is 10-15-2 ATS as a road underdog.
Wolfpack covered 7 of last 8 tries as a home underdog.
State lost its last four bowl games, scoring 13.8 ppg.

— Pittsburgh
Narduzzi is 15-23-3 ATS as a home favorite, 14-4 as a road favorite.
Since 2014, Panthers are 16-26-2 ATS in non-conference games.

— SMU
Under Lashlee, Mustangs are 11-6 ATS as a favorite, 2-6 as an underdog.
SMU lost its last four bowl games; they were favored in all four games.

— Stanford
Last three years, Stanford is 9-27 SU, with a minus-24 turnover ratio.
Cardinal is 5-16 ATS in its last 21 home games.
Stanford haas’t played in a bowl game since 2018.

— Syracuse
Last three years, Syracuse was 8-3-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2018, Orange are 16-7-1 ATS in non-conference games.

— Virginia
Last three years, Virginia is 12-22 SU, with a minus-19 turnover ratio.
Despite that, Cavaliers are 21-11 ATS in their last 32 ACC games.
Virginia’s last bowl game was 2019 (’21 bowl game was cancelled)

— Virginia Tech
Since 2016, Hokies are 7-14 ATS as a home favorite.
Tech lost four of its last five bowl games, giving up 35.2 ppg.

— Wake Forest
Since 2017, Demon Deacons are 19-11 ATS as a home favorite.
Wake has a senior QB this year, who started 29 games at Boise State.  

— Happy Canada Day to our friends north of the border…….

— There is a hockey player named Corey Perry who in the last five years, has been on the losing side in the Stanley Cup final four times, with four different teams, which is unusual:

2024- Edmonton Oilers
2022- Tampa Bay Lightning
2021- Montreal Canadiens
2020- Dallas Stars.

He was on the winning side in the Cup finals once, with Anaheim in 2007.

— Before the Knicks-Nets made the Mikal Bridges trade last week, the last time those teams had traded with each other was June 22, 1983:

Knicks traded a 2nd round pick in 1984 to the Nets for Len Elmore, who played only one year for the Knicks before he retired, to become a lawyer/TV analyst.

Elmore scored 6 ppg in his NBA career, scoring 3,948 points.

— NBA salary cap this coming season will be $140.588M; the Tax Level for the 2024‑25 season is $170.814M.

Minimum team salary for next season is $126.529M.

— Kansas City Royals inducted Bo Jackson int0 their Hall of Fame this weekend: he is the only American pro athlete to be named an all-star in two major sports (football/baseball). He is one of the best athletes ever.

Best thing about Bo Jackson is that these days you never hear about him, which means his life is going well, otherwise you’d hear his name every ten minutes.

— Mets’ SS Francisco Lindor’s on-base %age leading off an inning this year is .412.

— Before Game 7 of the 1925 World Series in Pittsburgh, the home team dealt with a soggy field by pouring gasoline on it and then setting it on fire, to dry it out. Seriously, they did.

Pirates beat Walter Johnson and the Washington Nationals 9-7 in that Game 7, overcoming a 6-3 deficit against Johnson. 

— Famous birthdays, July 1st
Jamie Farr, 90
Freddie Lewis, 81
Deborah Harry, 79

Roger Carr, 72
Pamela Anderson, 57
Nelson Cruz, 44

Charlie Blackmon, 38
Michael Wacha, 33
Chris Flexen, 30

— Astros 10, Mets 5 (11)
There was a 2:47 rain delay in ninth inning.
Astros are over .500 for first time this season.

— Twins 5, Mariners 3
Seattle lost its DH in 4th inning after C Mitch Garver got hurt.
Trevor Larnach hit a 2-run homer in 8th inning.

— Phillies 7, Marlins 6
Miami led 6-2 in the fifth inning.
Trea Turner hit the game-winning single on his 31st birthday.

— Rockies 5, White Sox 4 (14)
Teams combined to go 3-35 with runners in scoring position.
Colorado snapped a 5-game losing streak.

— Rays 5, Nationals 0
Taj Bradley got 11 of his 17 outs via strikeouts.
Bradley has a 0.64 ERA in his last five home starts.

— Brewers 7, Cubs 1
Milwaukee has five grand slams in its last eight games.
Freddy Peralta tossed 7 innings, retiring last 14 hitters he faced.

— Time flies; 2024 is half over already; baseball’s All-Star Game is coming up, NBA Summer League starts next week, NFL training camps start in a few weeks. Lot of stuff going on.