The Bum's 2020 WNBA Season News,Trends,Picks !

[StarDust Bum]

COMPLETED PICKS

Past Completed Picks

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/10/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/09/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/08/2020 1-5-0 16.67% -2250 Detail
09/07/2020 1-1-0 50.00% -50 Detail
09/06/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/04/2020 3-2-0 60.00% +400 Detail
09/03/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/02/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/01/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail

Sept Totals......28-21-0......57.14%.....+24.50

[StarDust Bum]

Friday’s 6-pack

NFL teams with most room under the salary cap:

$34.74M— Cleveland

$32.24M— New England

$31.31M— NJ Jets

$30.95M— Jacksonville

$26.03M— Washington

$25.43M— Denver


Americans who have died from COVID-19: 190,589
Please wear a mask when you go out.

Tweet of the Day
“With the NFL starting, I find myself pulling for the offense so maybe someone will need a defensive coach!”
Wade Phillips, currently unemployed

Friday’s quiz
In the 1976 movie All the President’s Men, which famous actor played Bob Woodward?

Thursday’s quiz
William Henry Harrison was President for only 31 days, before he died of pneumonia.

Wednesday’s quiz
Kevin Durant began his NBA career with the Seattle SuperSonics, before they moved to Oklahoma and became the Thunder


*****************

Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……..

13) Chiefs 34, Texans 20:
— Chiefs ran ball 34 times for 166 yards; they threw 32 passes.
— KC scored four of the first times they had the football.
— 15,895 fans attended this game on a drizzly night at Arrowhead Stadium.
— In first three series for both teams, KC ran 35 plays, Houston 16

12) With no teams having an off-season program, I’m thinking its going to take a few weeks for offenses to catch up to where they normally are. 34-20 sounds high-scoring, but Houston got couple of scores in garbage time. Pass patterns mostly seemed a lot shorter than normal.

11) Tigers 6, Cardinals 3— Detroit scored five runs in the top of the 7th to earn the split of this twinbill, after losing their previous two games by a combined score of 31-2.

10) Red Sox 3, Rays 2— Rookie Bobby Dalbec homered in his 5th consecutive game.

9) A’s 3, Houston 1— Sean Manaea got thru seven innings on 61 pitches; you just never see that anymore, less than 9 pitches per inning.

8) Miami 31, UAB 14:
— Total yardage was 495-285, Miami
— Hurricanes ran ball for 337 yards.

7) Royals 11, Indians 1— Rookie Brady Singer had a no-hitter into the 8th inning.

6) White Sox are 13-0 vs lefty pitchers; Arizona is 2-10.

5) Atlanta 7, Washington 6— Freddie Freeman knocked in 10 runs the last two games; he is the first Brave to knock in 4+ runs in consecutive games since Mark Teixeira, in 2007.

4) Arizona 5, Dodgers 2— If you have Mookie Betts on your fantasy team, last night was your lucky night; Betts played 2B, so now he’s eligible at 2B in a lot of fantasy leagues, which would be a large advantage over most teams. It was his 16th career game at second base, first one in two years.

LA put Walker Buehler (blister) on the IL before this game, then Dustin May left one inning after he was hit in the foot by a line drive.

3) Longest NFL playoff droughts:
17 years- Cleveland
12- Tampa Bay
9- NJ Jets

2) Lakers 110, Houston 100 (LA leads 3-1)
— Davis had 29 points, 12 rebounds five assists for LA.
— Harden was 2-11 from the floor, 16-20 on foul line. Harden was only Rocket starter with a =/- better than minus-10; he was even.

1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL East- Tampa Bay, Toronto
AL Central- Chicago, Minnesota
AL West- Oakland, Houston
AL Wild Cards- Cleveland, New York

NL East- Atlanta, Philadelphia
NL Central- Chicago, St Louis
NL West- Los Angeles, San Diego
NL Wild Cards- Miami, San Francisco

[StarDust Bum]

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

ATL at CONN 07:00 PM
ATL +1.0
U 165.5
+500 +500

CHI at DAL 08:00 PM
DAL +5.5
O 170.5
+500 +500

SEA at PHO 10:00 PM
PHO +4.5
O 165.0
+500 +500

[StarDust Bum]

COMPLETED PICKS

Past Completed Picks

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/11/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/10/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/09/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/08/2020 1-5-0 16.67% -2250 Detail
09/07/2020 1-1-0 50.00% -50 Detail
09/06/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/04/2020 3-2-0 60.00% +400 Detail
09/03/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/02/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/01/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail

Sept Totals......31-24-0......56,36%.....+23.00

[StarDust Bum]

Saturday’s 6-pack

Major league leaders in OPS:

1.257— Juan Soto, Wash

1.089— Nelson Cruz, Minn

1.081— Freddie Freeman, Atl

1.065— Mike Trout, LAA

1.051— Dominic Smith, NYM

1.049— Trea Turner, Wash


Americans who have died from COVID-19: 192,616
Please wear a mask when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“It’s not real baseball, but it’s fine for this year, and I hope we never do it again.”
Clayton Kershaw, talking about the new extra inning rules

Saturday’s quiz
What eastern city did the LA Clippers call home, before they were known as the Clippers?

Friday’s quiz
In the 1976 movie All the President’s Men, Robert Redford played Bob Woodward.

Thursday’s quiz
William Henry Harrison was President for only 31 days, before he died of pneumonia.


************************

Saturday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy Friday

13) Boston 92, Toronto 87 (Celtics win 4-3)
— Celtics held Toronto to 16 points in 4th quarter.
— Teams combined to make 17-66 on the arc.
— Jayson Tatum led Boston with 29 points.
— Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference final.

12) Nuggets 111, LA Clippers 105 (LA leads 3-2)
— Denver outscored LA 38-25 in 4th quarter to stay alive.
— Michael Porter scored Denver’s last 7 points, his only points of the game.

11) Tampa Bay 11, Red Sox 1— Rays are first team since at least 1900 to start nine lefty hitters in a game, with none of them switch-hitters.

10) Two more random facts from Thursday’s NFL games:
— There were only five plays of 20+ yards in Thursday’s game; Chiefs had two of them. Last year, Kansas City averaged 4.25 plays/game of 20+ yards
— Chiefs had a 15-yard advantage in average field position, which is unusually big.

9) Happy birthday to the great NBA player Bob Lanier, who turned 72 this week; to show how great Lanier was in college, he led St Bonaventure to the 1971 Final Four. Think about that; St Bonaventure is located in the middle of freakin’ nowhere, in the southern tier of central New York; for them to make the Final Four was amazing.

He was a great college player, but tore his knee up in the regional final, when Villanova’s Chris Ford rolled up on his knee. Ironically, Lanier/Ford later wound up as NBA teammates with the Pistons.

8) I was at an AAU tournament in Las Vegas a few years ago, at Bishop Gorman HS, two games going on at once. I’m sitting in the bleachers by myself, behind one couple.

Being AAU ball, when the coach’s cellphone buzzes that he got a text while the game is going on, the guy takes the phone out and reads the text. Why?

He turns around, looks at the couple in front of me and snaps, “If you text me again, he’ll never get in!!!”

The couple wanted their kid to play more; I couldn’t laugh in their faces, so I went to the concession stand. Good stuff.

7) Unsolicited opinions: best-ever play-by-play announcers by sport:
— MLB— Vin Scully
— NFL— Al Michaels
— NBA— Mike Breen
— NHL— Mike Emrick/Dan Kelly
— College hoop— Dick Enberg
— College football— Keith Jackson

6) Phillies’ pitcher Zach Wheeler makes $22M this year; he is now on the IL after tearing the fingernail on the middle finger of his pitching hand while he was putting his pants on.

Wheeler is 4-0, 2,47 in 8 starts; he is really good, but he got hurt putting his pants on.

5) Giant-Padre games for Friday/Saturday were postponed after a Giants’ player tested positive for COVID.

4) Dr Fauci was on TV today telling the truth, because someone needs to; the moderator said they were glad he was speaking, but they were also afraid he would get fired soon.

They can’t fire him; every TV network in the country (except FOX) would be throwing lucrative offers at him, to get his commentary on their station. He’d definitely get his own show, if he wanted one.

3) Sounds like November will be a very quiet month TV-wise, with only football going on until maybe college hoop starts around Thanksgiving. Good news, then, that the NBA now plans to hold their draft November 18, so that’ll provide one night of entertainment.

2) September 11, 1985— Pete Rose set the all-time hits record, getting a hit off of Eric Show of the Padres. Sadly, September 11 is now an infamous date in American history, because of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon.

1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL East- Tampa Bay, Toronto
AL Central- Chicago, Minnesota
AL West- Oakland, Houston
AL Wild Cards- Cleveland, New York

NL East- Atlanta, Philadelphia
NL Central- Chicago, St Louis
NL West- Los Angeles, San Diego
NL Wild Cards- Miami, San Francisco

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Long Sheet

Saturday, September 12

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WASHINGTON (7 - 13) vs. NEW YORK (2 - 18) - 9/12/2020, 12:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 4-3 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 6-1 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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MINNESOTA (13 - 8) vs. INDIANA (6 - 15) - 9/12/2020, 6:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 4-3 against the spread versus INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 5-2 straight up against INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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LAS VEGAS (16 - 4) vs. LOS ANGELES (15 - 6) - 9/12/2020, 3:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 5-3 against the spread versus LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 4-4 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




WNBA

Saturday, September 12

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Washington @ New York
Washington
Washington is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games on the road
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of New York's last 12 games when playing Washington

Las Vegas @ Los Angeles
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Las Vegas's last 8 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Los Angeles is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games at home

Minnesota @ Indiana
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Minnesota's last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 6 games
Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Indiana's last 15 games when playing at home against Minnesota


WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, September 12

Washington @ New York

Game 655-656
September 12, 2020 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
109.163
New York
97.746
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 11 1/2
155
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New York
by 1 1/2
159 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(+1 1/2); Under

Las Vegas @ Los Angeles

Game 659-660
September 12, 2020 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Las Vegas
111.743
Los Angeles
116.683
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 5
165
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Las Vegas
by 3 1/2
167 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(+3 1/2); Under

Minnesota @ Indiana

Game 657-658
September 12, 2020 @ 6:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
105.845
Indiana
107.278
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Indiana
by 1 1/2
175
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 6 1/2
168 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(+6 1/2); Over

[StarDust Bum]

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LV at LA 03:00 PM
LA +4.0
O 167.5
+500 +500

MIN at IND 06:00 PM
MIN -7.0
U 169.5
+500 +500

[StarDust Bum]

COMPLETED PICKS

Past Completed Picks

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/12/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
09/11/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/10/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/09/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/08/2020 1-5-0 16.67% -2250 Detail
09/07/2020 1-1-0 50.00% -50 Detail
09/06/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/04/2020 3-2-0 60.00% +400 Detail
09/03/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/02/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/01/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail

Totals......32-27-0........54.23%.....+11.50

[StarDust Bum]

Sunday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in runs scored:

46— Fernando Tatis, SD
43— Dansby Swanson, Atl
39— Mike Trout, LAA
38— Freeman Atl, TAnderson CWS, TTurner Wash
37— Manny Machado, SD
35— Story Col, Abreu CWS, Yastrzemski SF, Conforto NYM, Hoskins Phil


Americans who have died from COVID-19: 193,482
Please wear a mask when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“It’s not real baseball, but it’s fine for this year, and I hope we never do it again.”
Clayton Kershaw, talking about the new extra inning rules

Saturday’s quiz
LA Clippers started out as the Buffalo Braves; they had Bob McAdoo, Jim McMillian, Ernie DiGregorio, some good players- they went 49-33 in 1974-75 under Jack Ramsay, who two years later won the NBA title coaching Portland.

Friday’s quiz
In the 1976 movie All the President’s Men, Robert Redford played Bob Woodward.

Thursday’s quiz
William Henry Harrison was President for only 31 days, before he died of pneumonia.


********************************

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday

13) Like everything else in 2020, the first real Saturday of college football was odd, capped off by a Coastal Carolina-Kansas game that kicked off at 9pm local time in Lawrence, followed by a 1am ET Korean baseball game. Fun for the whole family.

I’m not a scientist, but I’m pretty sure playing football in this environment isn’t a great idea, especially when the players do not get paid, but college sports is big business, and if you don’t believe that, well Oklahoma charged $55 or so on pay-per-view for their opener against I-AA juggernaut Missouri State. Sooners won 48-0; thrilling.

12) If the presidents/AD’s in the Big X knew what was going to happen on the field Saturday, they might’ve thought a quarantine wasn’t such a bad idea.

Coastal Carolina 38, Kansas 23— Second year in row the Chanticleers upset Kansas in Lawrence; this game was 28-0 until just before halftime.

11) Texas Tech 35, Houston Baptist 33— Houston Baptist is I-AA, so this is kind of like a loss for Tech, except it isn’t officially a loss. I mean, Tech was a 40-point favorite and won by 2.

10) Louisiana 31, Iowa State 14— Ragin’ Cajuns’ DB’s dominated the Iowa State receivers; it helped that the refs didn’t seem interested in throwing any flags for defensive holding or PI. Iowa State was a 13-point favorite.

Louisiana missed two easy field goals, but ran a punt back for a TD and also ran a kickoff back for a TD. Saturday looked like it was a very rough day for placekickers, especially young ones.

9) Arkansas State (+14.5) 35, Kansas State 31— Arkansas State’s coach is Blake Anderson; he deserves some joy in his life- his wife passed away just before last season started, and then he lost his dad this offseason. Guy is a good coach who could be moving up soon.

8) Game of the Day: Tex-San Antonio 51, Texas State 48 OT— Down 41-35, Texas State ran a punt back 91 yards for a TD with 1:13 left, but they missed the PAT, then missed a short FG in overtime, and the Roadrunners escaped with a win in Jeff Traylor’s debut as USTA’s coach.

Texas State played without its starting QB, who sat out with COVID-related issues.

7) Saturday’s football upsets:
— Louisiana (+13) 31, Iowa State 14
— Arkansas State (+14.5) 35, Kansas State 31
— Georgia Tech (+13) 16, Florida State 13
— Coastal Carolina (+6) 38, Kansas 23

6) Kansas State (8-1) won the SouthPoint’s prop bet by scoring the first touchdown of the day; the favorites were North Carolina (3-1), Appalachian State (7-2).

5) Some NFL guys had big paydays Saturday; Saints’ RB Alvin Kamara, Vikings’ RB Dalvin Cook and Rams’ WR Cooper Kupp all got contract extensions.

4) Oakland A’s got some very bad news; 3B Matt Chapman will have hip surgery, is out for the season. Thats a big loss- they somehow acquired Jake Lamb from Arizona right before I typed this. They must pay Arizona under the table to cut him, then they signed Lamb up when no one else claimed him.

3) Arizona/Red Sox are first two teams to clinch their under bets in season win total wagering.

2) Lakers 119, Rockets 96— Lakers win series 4-1; you get the feeling Mike D’Antoni will be the scapegoat for Houston’s 2nd-round exit. Now the Lakers hope Denver can force a Game 7 against the Clippers tonight, just to tire both teams out.

1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL East- Tampa Bay, Toronto
AL Central- Chicago, Minnesota
AL West- Oakland, Houston
AL Wild Cards- Cleveland, New York

NL East- Atlanta, Philadelphia
NL Central- Chicago, St Louis
NL West- Los Angeles, San Diego
NL Wild Cards- Miami, San Francisco

15 days left in the season, and the Marlins are still a playoff team.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA

Sunday, September 13

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dallas @ New York
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New York
Dallas is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New York's last 7 games
New York is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games when playing at home against Dallas

Las Vegas @ Seattle
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Las Vegas

Washington @ Atlanta
Washington
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games on the road
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games


--------------------------------------------------------------

WNBA
Long Sheet

Sunday, September 13

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DALLAS (7 - 14) at NEW YORK (2 - 19) - 9/13/2020, 12:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.


Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 6-1 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 5-2 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
5 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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LAS VEGAS (17 - 4) at SEATTLE (18 - 3) - 9/13/2020, 3:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.


Head-to-Head Series History
SEATTLE is 4-3 against the spread versus LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
LAS VEGAS is 4-3 straight up against SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON (8 - 13) at ATLANTA (7 - 14) - 9/13/2020, 5:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 7-5 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 8-4 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[StarDust Bum]

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

DAL at NY 12:00 PM
DAL -10.0
U 160.0
+500 +500

LV at SEA 03:00 PM
LV +2.0
O 166.0
+500 +500

[StarDust Bum]

LATE WNBA GAME:

WAS at ATL 05:00 PM
ATL +5.5
O 164.5
+500 +500

[StarDust Bum]

COMPLETED PICKS

Past Completed Picks

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/13/2020 2-4-0 33.33% -1200 Detail
09/12/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
09/11/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/10/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/09/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/08/2020 1-5-0 16.67% -2250 Detail
09/07/2020 1-1-0 50.00% -50 Detail
09/06/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/04/2020 3-2-0 60.00% +400 Detail
09/03/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/02/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/01/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail

Totals......34-31-0........52,30%.....-0.50

[StarDust Bum]

COMPLETED PICKS

Past Completed Picks

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/15/2020 2-2-0 50.00% -100 Detail
09/13/2020 2-4-0 33.33% -1200 Detail
09/12/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
09/11/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/10/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/09/2020 3-3-0 50.00% -150 Detail
09/08/2020 1-5-0 16.67% -2250 Detail
09/07/2020 1-1-0 50.00% -50 Detail
09/06/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/04/2020 3-2-0 60.00% +400 Detail
09/03/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/02/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail
09/01/2020 4-2-0 66.67% +900 Detail

Totals......36-33-0........52.17%.....-1.50

[StarDust Bum]

Wednesday’s 6-pack

Odds to win the US Open golf tourney this week:

8-1— Dustin Johnson

9-1— Jon Rahm

14-1— McIlroy, Schauffele, Thomas

16-1— Collin Morikawa

25-1— Bryson DeChambeau, Webb Simpson

30-1— Matsuyama, Fleetwood, Day, Reed, Finau


Americans who have died from COVID-19: 195,354
Please wear a mask when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“It begins and ends with the general manager. You can talk to me all day long. I personally wouldn’t know what coach to hire. That’s why you have a basketball operations team that’s made of a half a dozen people that use all kinds of analytics and experience. They’ll make a recommendation to me. They do about everything. I’m the sign-off guy. That’s it.

“I wouldn’t know how to interview a basketball coach. You want me to go interview a CEO for a company, I’m the first one to tell you I think [I’m] better than anybody else. To be successful in business, and I say this in my book, you better know what you know and you better know what you don’t know. I surely know what I don’t know when it comes to basketball.”
Houston Rockets’ owner Tilman Fertitta

Wednesday’s quiz
Who coached the Steelers before Mike Tomlin?

Tuesday’s quiz
Joe Girardi has managed the Marlins, Bronx, Philadelphia.

Monday’s quiz
Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke also owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.


************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……

13) ESPN finally found its Monday Night Football crew; Steve Levy, Brian Greise, Louis Riddick are an excellent 3-man team. Smart, unassuming, easy to listen to.

12) Baseball announced its playoff plan; AL bubble in California, NL bubble in Texas, no days off in the division or league championship series, which is a big deal. Pitching depth is going to be a lot more important than usual. Aces will only pitch once in a best-of-5 series, unless they pitch a game on short rest.

Air quality in southern California could be become a problem; I’m assuming the backup plan is Arizona’s dome, but that wasn’t mentioned Monday.

World Series will be in the Rangers’ new domed stadium in Arlington.

11) Nuggets 104, Clippers 89 (Denver wins 4-3)
— Denver held LA to 33 points in 2nd half.
— Nuggets were down 3-1 in both series this year, but won both.
— Jokic had 16 points, 22 rebounds, 13 assists. Wow.
— In their 50-year history, Clippers are now 0-8 in games where they had a chance to reach the conference final.

10) Cincinnati Bengals’ kicker Randy Bullock missed a game-tying 31-yard field goal at the end of Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Chargers; Bullock then grabbed his leg— a calf strain was given as the reason. Bengals need a new kicker.

Problem is, Cincinnati plays on Thursday this week and if you bring someone into Ohio from another state, there is a 72-hour thing because of COVID, so the Bengals quickly scooped up kicker Austin Seibert, who was shown the door by the Browns after he missed a PAT and a field goal in Cleveland’s 38-6 loss in Baltimore Sunday.

Seibert will see his old friends Thursday, when the Bengals visit Cleveland.

9) Unusual fact: Five QB’s whose team won in Week 1 were led in rushing by their QB. More and more teams are going to running back-by-committee.

I cringe every time a quarterback takes a hit while running; they’re very valuable players, so there is a fine line between a running QB making his offense more explosive while also risking the whole thing blowing up, if that QB gets hurt.

8) NFL officials called two huge offensive pass interference penalties Sunday, but they only called offensive holding 18 times in 16 games last week, so that’s an improvement. Thats the 2nd-fewest amount of Week 1 holding calls since 2001.

7) Why some teams don’t want their head coach also being a coordinator:

Denver Broncos totally screwed up clock management in the last minute Monday night; once Tennessee got within field goal range, Denver had to use its timeouts, to preserve some time for their offense if the Titans took the lead, which they did.

Head coach Vic Fangio also coordinates Denver’s defense, and that was what he was thinking about while Tennessee was driving at the end. Game management was botched, depriving the Broncos of a last-gasp chance at a win- remember, the game was in Denver, so longer field goals are more possible.

6) Orlando’s NBA bubble on the Disney grounds will also host eight early season college basketball tournament:

— Champions Classic, Jimmy V Classic
— Wooden Legacy, preseason NIT
— Orlando Invitational, Charleston Classic
— Myrtle Beach invitational, Diamond Head Classic

5) Over the last 10 years, when NFL teams went for it on 4th and 1, they got the first down 64% of the time.

4) Tennessee Titans missed three field goals and an extra point Monday night; last year, they made only 44.4% of their FG’s, by far the worst %age in the NFL. 2nd-worst %age last year was the Jets, who made 67.9% of their field goals.

3) My preference for the NFL schedule would be Monday night doubleheaders every week but no Thursday games, except for Week 1 and Thanksgiving Day. Football wasn’t meant to be played on three days’ rest.

2) Michael O’Keefe, the actor who played Danny Noonan in Caddyshack 40 years ago, caddied for club pro Danny Balin this week at practice rounds for the US Open.

1) If you baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL East: Tampa Bay, New York
AL Central: Chicago, Minnesota
AL West: Oakland, Houston
AL wild cards: Cleveland, Toronto

NL East: Atlanta, Miami
NL Central: Chicago, St Louis
NL West: Los Angeles, San Diego
NL wild cards: Philadelphia, San Francisco