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Sunday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the college basketball title next April:
7-1— Gonzaga
9-1— Memphis, Michigan
14-1— Kentucky, Texas, UCLA
16-1— Purdue
18-1— Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Villanova
20-1— Alabama
Quote of the Day:
“If you catch the ball, you don’t have to run after it.”
An old Little League coach, from back in my childhood
Sunday’s quiz
Where did Gardner Minshew play his college football?
Saturday’s quiz
Chip Kelly was coach of the Eagles after Andy Reid; he is now coach at UCLA.
Friday’s quiz
Romeo Crennel (4-15) was coach of the Chiefs before Andy Reid.
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Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
13) Illinois (+10) 30, Nebraska 22— When your team’s coach is on the hot seat before Labor Day, that’s not good, but that is where Nebraska’s Scott Frost is after this loss. Nebraska is now 16-29 SU in its last 45 games.
Solid start for Bret Bielema with the Illini; his defense scored a TD just before halftime, a lead they never relinquished.
12) Fresno State 45, UConn 0— Huskies appear to be something of an expansion team; they didn’t play any games last year- they were outgained 538-107 on this very hot day, with kickoff before noon local time. Why didn’t the TV folks put this game on at night?
11) UCLA 44, Hawai’i 10— Bruins host LSU next week, which will be a much truer test of their team. This game was 31-3 at halftime; UCLA ran ball for 244 yards, threw for only 148.
10) LSU’s football team got out of Baton Rouge ahead of the hurricane; they’ll be staying in Houston for the next six days, before they head to Los Angeles to play the Bruins.
9) UTEP 30, New Mexico State 3— Miners averaged 12.5 yards/pass attempt; first two times they threw the ball, they gained 50+ yards both times— one was called back by a holding penalty. Let’s just say that New Mexico State has almost no experience; they completed only 9-33 passes for the game.
8) Jacksonville Jaguars traded QB Gardner Minshew to the Eagles for a 6th-round pick; the backup to rookie QB Trevor Lawrence is now CJ Beathard, who used to play for the 49ers.
7) Ravens 37, Washington 3— Baltimore wins their 20th straight preseason game; they’re 12-3 ATS in last fifteen. This streak goes back so far that Kyle Boller played QB for the Ravens in some of those games.
6) Shohei Ohtani stole his 20th base this weekend; he has 40 homers, 20 steals, and is 8-1, 3.00 in 19 starts on the mound. No one has ever done stuff like this before.
5) Houston Astros picked up old friend Marwin Gonzalez after Boston dumped him; he is a versatile guy who hit only .211 last year, .202 this year, but he hit .264 in seven years with the Astros (2012-18).
4) Marlins’ TV posted this stat last night; players on 40-man rosters from other countries:
136—- Dominican Republic
104— Venezuela
31— Cuba
3) Was watching a Billions marathon Saturday night; am reminded that hedge fund trader Bobby Axelrod’s character was modeled after Mets owner Steve Cohen. Then I read the Mets have lost their last eight one-run games and I wonder if the Mets miss the playoffs, who will their new manager be?
If Cohen is anything like Bobby Axelrod and Mets miss the playoffs, Luis Rojas is toast.
2) By the way, the Mets retired Jerry Koosman’s #36 Saturday night; he was the Mets’ #2 pitcher during the Tom Seaver era, when they won the ’69 Series, lost the ’73 Series. Very good pitcher, great honor.
When are the Mets going to retire Dwight Gooden’s #16? He was the Seaver of his era, leading the Mets to the ’86 World Series title and ’88 playoffs. He had some personal problems off the field, but so did Koosman. Gooden’s work on the field was tremendous.
1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Giants. Wild Card: Cincinnati @ Los Angeles
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Card: Boston @ New York
Odds to win the college basketball title next April:
7-1— Gonzaga
9-1— Memphis, Michigan
14-1— Kentucky, Texas, UCLA
16-1— Purdue
18-1— Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Villanova
20-1— Alabama
Quote of the Day:
“If you catch the ball, you don’t have to run after it.”
An old Little League coach, from back in my childhood
Sunday’s quiz
Where did Gardner Minshew play his college football?
Saturday’s quiz
Chip Kelly was coach of the Eagles after Andy Reid; he is now coach at UCLA.
Friday’s quiz
Romeo Crennel (4-15) was coach of the Chiefs before Andy Reid.
***************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
13) Illinois (+10) 30, Nebraska 22— When your team’s coach is on the hot seat before Labor Day, that’s not good, but that is where Nebraska’s Scott Frost is after this loss. Nebraska is now 16-29 SU in its last 45 games.
Solid start for Bret Bielema with the Illini; his defense scored a TD just before halftime, a lead they never relinquished.
12) Fresno State 45, UConn 0— Huskies appear to be something of an expansion team; they didn’t play any games last year- they were outgained 538-107 on this very hot day, with kickoff before noon local time. Why didn’t the TV folks put this game on at night?
11) UCLA 44, Hawai’i 10— Bruins host LSU next week, which will be a much truer test of their team. This game was 31-3 at halftime; UCLA ran ball for 244 yards, threw for only 148.
10) LSU’s football team got out of Baton Rouge ahead of the hurricane; they’ll be staying in Houston for the next six days, before they head to Los Angeles to play the Bruins.
9) UTEP 30, New Mexico State 3— Miners averaged 12.5 yards/pass attempt; first two times they threw the ball, they gained 50+ yards both times— one was called back by a holding penalty. Let’s just say that New Mexico State has almost no experience; they completed only 9-33 passes for the game.
8) Jacksonville Jaguars traded QB Gardner Minshew to the Eagles for a 6th-round pick; the backup to rookie QB Trevor Lawrence is now CJ Beathard, who used to play for the 49ers.
7) Ravens 37, Washington 3— Baltimore wins their 20th straight preseason game; they’re 12-3 ATS in last fifteen. This streak goes back so far that Kyle Boller played QB for the Ravens in some of those games.
6) Shohei Ohtani stole his 20th base this weekend; he has 40 homers, 20 steals, and is 8-1, 3.00 in 19 starts on the mound. No one has ever done stuff like this before.
5) Houston Astros picked up old friend Marwin Gonzalez after Boston dumped him; he is a versatile guy who hit only .211 last year, .202 this year, but he hit .264 in seven years with the Astros (2012-18).
4) Marlins’ TV posted this stat last night; players on 40-man rosters from other countries:
136—- Dominican Republic
104— Venezuela
31— Cuba
3) Was watching a Billions marathon Saturday night; am reminded that hedge fund trader Bobby Axelrod’s character was modeled after Mets owner Steve Cohen. Then I read the Mets have lost their last eight one-run games and I wonder if the Mets miss the playoffs, who will their new manager be?
If Cohen is anything like Bobby Axelrod and Mets miss the playoffs, Luis Rojas is toast.
2) By the way, the Mets retired Jerry Koosman’s #36 Saturday night; he was the Mets’ #2 pitcher during the Tom Seaver era, when they won the ’69 Series, lost the ’73 Series. Very good pitcher, great honor.
When are the Mets going to retire Dwight Gooden’s #16? He was the Seaver of his era, leading the Mets to the ’86 World Series title and ’88 playoffs. He had some personal problems off the field, but so did Koosman. Gooden’s work on the field was tremendous.
1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Giants. Wild Card: Cincinnati @ Los Angeles
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Card: Boston @ New York
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