— Brian Hoyer is a backup QB for the Las Vegas Raiders; he’ll be 38 in October; from the look of his career history, he could write a hell of a book someday:
2009-11— New England, threw 43 passes in 13 games, no starts.
2012— Lost his only start for the Cardinals.
2013-14— went 10-6 in 16 starts for Cleveland.
2015— went 5-4 in nine starts for Houston
2016— went 1-4 in five starts for Chicago— he must be very good at packing.
2017— went 0-6 in six starts for the 49ers.
Also threw 6 passes in 5 games as a backup in New England.
2018— threw 2 passes in 5 games as a backup in New England, won a Super Bowl ring.
2019— lost his only start for Indianapolis.
2020-22— went 0-2 in 7 games (2 starts) for New England
2023— Now he is in Las Vegas as a backup for the Raiders.
Three different stints in Foxboro, with Belichick/Brady.
Hasn’t won a start in seven years, but is still in the league.
By my count, his career earnings are $61,907,222.
TV networks should be throwing cash at this guy, as soon as he retires as a player.
— Most touchdowns in the NFL the last two years:
38— Austin Ekeler, LAC
26— James Conner, Ariz
— Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson is 24-29 in his last 29 field goal tries of 50+ yards.
— Movie of the Day— The Fugitive (1993)— A doctor who was unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a respected U.S. Marshal.
Harrison Ford is the doctor, Sela Ward is the wife, Tommy Lee Jones is the marshal.
Excellent movie; the doctor manages to stay one step ahead of the authorities for two whole hours, until the police realize he actually didn’t kill his wife.
— NFL Trend of the Day— since 2017, Houston Texans are 9-19-2 ATS as a favorite; this year, they’re on their fourth head coach in four seasons.
— It is 3am Saturday night/Sunday morning, and I stumble across a live basketball game from Abu Dhabi on TV— Greece-Germany, with Bill Raftery the analyst. Of course, I put the remote down and watch the rest of the game.
High-level basketball; Germany pulled away at the end, won 84-71.
Then Sunday afternoon, Germans played the USA team— they led by 16, looked poised to to post big upset, but Team USA closed the game on a 22-5 run and won 99-91.
Sounds like the FIBA World Cup is going to screw up my sleep for the next few weeks.
— Random fact: Ritz Crackers are the official cracker of USA Basketball.
— Boston 6, New York 5— Bronx Bombers have lost eight in a row for the first time since 1995.
— Twins 2, Pirates 0— Minnesota picked Dallas Keuchel up off the scrap heap; he had a no-hitter going thru six innings in this game.
— White Sox 10, Rockies 5— Chicago scored seven runs in the 8th inning.
— Brewers 6, Rangers 2— Max Scherzer struggled, getting only 11 outs while throwing 99 pitches, giving up three runs.
— Blue Jays 10, Reds 3— Brandon Belt hit two homers for Toronto.
— RIP to Maxie Baughan, 85, who passed away this weekend.
Maxie Baughan was a linebacker; he is in the College Football Hall of Fame from his days at Georgia Tech. He played 14 years in the NFL, with Eagles, Rams, Washington.
When I became a Rams’ fan in the late 60’s at age 6, Baughan was a linebacker for the Rams when George Allen coached the team. He intercepted a pass to seal a win against the Packers in 1967, helping the Rams make the playoffs, making 7-year old me very happy.
He moved on to Washington with coach Allen and finished his career there— he had a great career. RIP, sir.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards- Phillies, Giants, Cubs
AL: Orioles, Twins, Rangers. Wild Cards- Rays, Astros, Mariners
