2022 WNBA SEASON NEWS,NOTES, PICKS !

[Cnotes53]

FRIDAY, JULY 22

CONN at MIN	08:00 PM	MIN -1.0 O 159.0	+500 +500
DAL at CHI	08:00 PM	CHI -7.5 O 164.0	+500 +500
SEA at PHO	10:00 PM	SEA -5.5 O 160.5	+500 +500

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Saturday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the Big X in football this year:
9-5— Oklahoma
3-1— Texas
5-1— Oklahoma State
6-1— Baylor
10-1— Kansas State
20-1— Iowa State, TCU
25-1— Texas Tech
30-1— West Virginia
1,000-1— Kansas

Quote of the Day
“Do the work. That’s all the productivity advice you need…….when you do the work, everything else optimizes itself.”
Slava Akhmechet

Saturday’s quiz
Who has the most career hits, of all the players who played their entire career for the Cincinnati Reds?
Hint: He is in the Hall of Fame

Friday’s quiz
Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run against Al Downing of the Dodgers.

Thursday’s quiz
Nick Saban coached the Miami Dolphins for two seasons, going 15-17, before he went to Alabama.

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

Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here…….

Lot of money flying around this week……
13) Arizona Cardinals’ QB Kyler Murray signed a 5-year, $230.5M contract extension that guarantees him $160M. Murray has a 22-24-1 record in three years with Arizona, losing his only playoff game 34-11 last season.

12) Speaking of QBs and contracts, here are Baker Mayfield’s contract incentives:
If Mayfield plays 75% of regular season snaps AND
— 10+ wins— $250K
— divisional round win (with 50% snaps) $500K
— NFC championship win (with 50% snaps) $600K
— Super Bowl win (with 50% snaps) $750K

Playing time/team’s total offense:
— 75% of snaps and top 5 in NFC or top 10 in NFL in total offense— $300K
— 75% of snaps and top 5 in NFC or top 10 in NFL in points scored— $300K

Completion percentage: (minimum 224 attempts)
— 75% of snaps and top 5 in NFC or top 10 in NFL— $300K
— making Pro Bowl— $500K

11) Georgia football coach Kirby Smart signed a 10-year contract extension worth $112.5M.

10) Last year, Georgia became the fifth team in big-time college football history to win 13 games by 15+ points and just the second team to do it over the last 100 years. 2018 Clemson Tigers also did that; before them, Minnesota in 1903 was the last team to do it.

9) Philadelphia 76ers’ star James Harden signed a 2-year deal worth $68.6M.

8) Charles Barkley makes $10M a year working on TNT; that’s a pretty good gig.

7) Word of the Day— Quisling— a traitor who collaborates with an enemy force.

6) Couple notes about the NFL red zone:
— Only 22.4% of touchdowns in the NFL last year came on plays longer than 20 yards, the lowest percentage in the last ten years.
— Teams scored TD’s 58.2% of the time they got inside the 20-yard line, the 3rd-highest %age in the last decade.

5) New Mexico Lobos’ football team used five different QB’s in each of the last two years; things got so bad for them last year, a student manager played QB in three games, starting in a 35-10 loss to Utah State.

A long time ago, I was a student manager for our college basketball team; things wouldn’t have gone too well if I had to play in a real game.

August 1980, we took a 16-day trip to Sweden and played in some exhibitions; somehow, I got in one of the games, and proceeded to shoot most of the time they threw me the ball. I was subbed out for pretty quickly. Go figure.

4) It feels weird typing this, but over the last four years, Florida State’s football team is 19-27.

3) Houston 3, New York 2— Astros’ first two batters in first inning of Thursday’s twinbill opener reached base with a bunt single. It is the 41st time it has happened in MLB history; Astros are first team to do it since the Colorado Rockies on September 15, 2015.

2) Los Angeles Dodgers are 60-30, only 7-9 in one-run games. If you wagered on the Dodgers, would it be smart to play them -1.5 runs? 53 of their 60 wins are by 2+ runs.

1) Suggestions for TV coverage of the All-Star Game:
— There are 64 All-Stars; only 10 of them are on the field at once.
— Interview one of the other 54 All-Stars in each dugout, in the bullpens, wherever.
— Interview the managers.
— Do NOT interview players who are on the field, playing the game.
— For better or worse, people bet on this stuff, and you’ve got pitchers/batters miked. It isn’t good.

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Saturday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the Big X in football this year:
9-5— Oklahoma
3-1— Texas
5-1— Oklahoma State
6-1— Baylor
10-1— Kansas State
20-1— Iowa State, TCU
25-1— Texas Tech
30-1— West Virginia
1,000-1— Kansas

Quote of the Day
“Do the work. That’s all the productivity advice you need…….when you do the work, everything else optimizes itself.”
Slava Akhmechet

Saturday’s quiz
Who has the most career hits, of all the players who played their entire career for the Cincinnati Reds?
Hint: He is in the Hall of Fame

Friday’s quiz
Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run against Al Downing of the Dodgers.

Thursday’s quiz
Nick Saban coached the Miami Dolphins for two seasons, going 15-17, before he went to Alabama.

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

Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here…….

Lot of money flying around this week……
13) Arizona Cardinals’ QB Kyler Murray signed a 5-year, $230.5M contract extension that guarantees him $160M. Murray has a 22-24-1 record in three years with Arizona, losing his only playoff game 34-11 last season.

12) Speaking of QBs and contracts, here are Baker Mayfield’s contract incentives:
If Mayfield plays 75% of regular season snaps AND
— 10+ wins— $250K
— divisional round win (with 50% snaps) $500K
— NFC championship win (with 50% snaps) $600K
— Super Bowl win (with 50% snaps) $750K

Playing time/team’s total offense:
— 75% of snaps and top 5 in NFC or top 10 in NFL in total offense— $300K
— 75% of snaps and top 5 in NFC or top 10 in NFL in points scored— $300K

Completion percentage: (minimum 224 attempts)
— 75% of snaps and top 5 in NFC or top 10 in NFL— $300K
— making Pro Bowl— $500K

11) Georgia football coach Kirby Smart signed a 10-year contract extension worth $112.5M.

10) Last year, Georgia became the fifth team in big-time college football history to win 13 games by 15+ points and just the second team to do it over the last 100 years. 2018 Clemson Tigers also did that; before them, Minnesota in 1903 was the last team to do it.

9) Philadelphia 76ers’ star James Harden signed a 2-year deal worth $68.6M.

8) Charles Barkley makes $10M a year working on TNT; that’s a pretty good gig.

7) Word of the Day— Quisling— a traitor who collaborates with an enemy force.

6) Couple notes about the NFL red zone:
— Only 22.4% of touchdowns in the NFL last year came on plays longer than 20 yards, the lowest percentage in the last ten years.
— Teams scored TD’s 58.2% of the time they got inside the 20-yard line, the 3rd-highest %age in the last decade.

5) New Mexico Lobos’ football team used five different QB’s in each of the last two years; things got so bad for them last year, a student manager played QB in three games, starting in a 35-10 loss to Utah State.

A long time ago, I was a student manager for our college basketball team; things wouldn’t have gone too well if I had to play in a real game.

August 1980, we took a 16-day trip to Sweden and played in some exhibitions; somehow, I got in one of the games, and proceeded to shoot most of the time they threw me the ball. I was subbed out for pretty quickly. Go figure.

4) It feels weird typing this, but over the last four years, Florida State’s football team is 19-27.

3) Houston 3, New York 2— Astros’ first two batters in first inning of Thursday’s twinbill opener reached base with a bunt single. It is the 41st time it has happened in MLB history; Astros are first team to do it since the Colorado Rockies on September 15, 2015.

2) Los Angeles Dodgers are 60-30, only 7-9 in one-run games. If you wagered on the Dodgers, would it be smart to play them -1.5 runs? 53 of their 60 wins are by 2+ runs.

1) Suggestions for TV coverage of the All-Star Game:
— There are 64 All-Stars; only 10 of them are on the field at once.
— Interview one of the other 54 All-Stars in each dugout, in the bullpens, wherever.
— Interview the managers.
— Do NOT interview players who are on the field, playing the game.
— For better or worse, people bet on this stuff, and you’ve got pitchers/batters miked. It isn’t good.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, July 23

WNBA

Saturday, July 23

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

Chicago @ New York
Chicago
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New York
New York
The total has gone OVER in 11 of New York's last 14 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 7 games when playing at home against Chicago

Los Angeles @ Las Vegas
Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Los Angeles's last 8 games on the road
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles


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[Cnotes53]

SATURDAY, JULY 23

CHI at NY	07:00 PM	CHI -5.0 U 163.0	+500 +500
LA at LV	10:00 PM	LV -9.0 U 173.5	+500 +500

 

[Old School]

Saturday’s quiz
Who has the most career hits, of all the players who played their entire career for the Cincinnati Reds?
Hint: He is in the Hall of Fame

:shrug:..Johnny Bench

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Sunday’s 6-pack
Over/under win totals for college football:
— Air Force 8.5
— Alabama 11.5 (under -150)
— Arizona 3 (over -120)
— Arizona State 5.5 (over -120)
— Arkansas 7 (over -130)
— Auburn 6 (over -120)

Quote of the Day
“I feel like the game has changed. I feel like the people have changed in a sense. Maybe it’s because I got spoiled when I came in. The team was so important. It was all about the team. Now, it’s about me and this, that and the other. I might be standing on a soapbox a little bit, but that’s my biggest takeaway from when I started to the end. It turned from a team-first to a me-type attitude. It was hard. It’s hard for these young guys, too. Social media. They’re treated so well in college. Now, this new NIL stuff, which is unbelievable. They’re treated so special. They’re coddled at a young age because college coaches need them to win, too. ”
Ben Roethlisberger

Sunday’s quiz
What team did Drew Brees began his NFL career with?

Saturday’s quiz
Barry Larkin has the most career hits (2,340), of all the players who played their entire career for the Cincinnati Reds.

Friday’s quiz
Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run against Al Downing of the Dodgers.

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

Sunday’s Den: Random thoughts on a hot summer day

13) Last year, all 32 NFL teams got $347.2M each in revenue sharing from the league; the salary cap last year was $182.5M per team. NFL is a thriving business.

12) Cleveland Browns signed QB Josh Rosen this week; Rosen was the 10th player taken in the 2018 draft, but lasted only one year in Arizona, going 3-10 as a starter. He went 0-3 as a starter in Miami the next year, then re-surfaced as a backup in Atlanta LY.

Rosen started for three years at UCLA; after his third season, they fired the coach; Arizona also fired their coach after Rosen’s rookie season.

With Deshaun Watson expected to be suspended soon, Cleveland’s QB’s figure to be Jacoby Brissett, Joshua Dobbs and Rosen. They’re only NFL team with no QB’s back from last season.

11) Eight NFL teams are expected to have new starting QB’s this season; if the 49ers start Trey Lance, that’ll be nine new starters this season.

10) Last 19 years, defending Super Bowl champ is 11-5-3 ATS in their first game the next season. Rams open this season at home against Buffalo. Matthew Stafford’s brother-in-law is the WR coach for the Bills.

9) Was watching a replay of the 2018 Rams-Chiefs game the other night; interesting how many players from that team are no longer with the Rams. Players/coaches come and go quickly from year to year; sometimes change is good. With the salary cap, not everyone can get paid what they want, so they have to switch teams to maximize their value.

8) Mempbis Tigers have a QB named Ryan Glover who is on his fourth college:
— He played for the Penn Quakers from 2017-19
— He played at Western Carolina in 2020
— He was with the Cal Bears LY, starting one game, a 10-3 loss to Arizona that was the Wildcats’ only win last season.

7) Toronto Blue Jays won 28-5 in Boston Friday night, scoring 11 runs in the 5th inning— their first two guys that inning both made out, then 12 straight guys reached base.

6) Baltimore Orioles signed high school SS Jackson Holliday to a contract worth $8.19M; he was the first pick in the MLB Draft last week.

5) Houston Astros are scoring only 3.1 runs/game when Jordan Alvarez is out of the lineup; they’re scoring 4.7 runs/game when he plays.

4) Los Angeles Angels are 5-17 this season in games where the winning run scores from the 7th inning on. Teams have called the Angels to see if Shohei Ohtani is available for a trade, but word is, the Angels aren’t interested in dealing him.

3) Mets acquired lefty slugger Daniel Vogelbach from Pittsburgh Friday, in exchange for rookie reliever Colin Holderman.

Vogelbach is a platoon player; he is 9-64 (.141) this season against lefties, .137 for his career, but he does have good pop against righties (.896 OPS this year)

2) Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell scored 25.9 ppg last year; he is also a big baseball fan— his dad works in the New York Mets’ front office, as director of public relations and community engagement. The elder Mitchell played minor league ball, getting as high as the AAA level, and has also managed in the minor leagues.

1) July 20, 1973, Chicago White Sox played a doubleheader in the Bronx, Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood started the first game for Chicago, but gave up six runs without getting anyone out. For some reason, White Sox also started Wood in the nightcap; he gave up seven runs in 4.1 IP.

Wood was a very good pitcher; he went 24-20, 3.46 in 48 starts that year, going on short rest a lot because he threw the knuckleball. A full work load in modern times is 32 starts and he had 48, making the bullpen’s job a lot easier.

He is the last major league pitcher to start both games of a doubleheader.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, July 24

WNBA

Sunday, July 24

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

Dallas @ Indiana
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Dallas's last 10 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Indiana's last 10 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Indiana's last 7 games at home

Atlanta @ Seattle
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Atlanta's last 9 games on the road
Atlanta is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Seattle
Seattle is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Atlanta
Seattle is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home

Connecticut @ Minnesota
Connecticut
Connecticut is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games on the road
Minnesota
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota's last 8 games when playing Connecticut


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

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Monday’s 6-pack
Over/under win totals for college football:
— Baylor 7.5 (over -130)
— Boise State 8.5 (over -130)
— Boston College 6.5 (under -140)
— Bowling Green 4.5 (over -130)
— Buffalo 5 (over -130)
— BYU 8 (over -130)

Quote of the Day
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Lao Tzu

Monday’s quiz
Which NFL team drafted John Elway?

Sunday’s quiz
Drew Brees began his NFL career with the San Diego Chargers.

Saturday’s quiz
Barry Larkin has the most career hits (2,340), of all the players who played their entire career for the Cincinnati Reds.

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

Monday’s Den: AAC college football knowledge……..

Central Florida
— 9 starters back on offense; 8 on defense
— 132 starts back on OL
— soph QB has 10 starts; junior QB started nine games at Ole Miss
— Last two years, Knights are 2-7 ATS as a home favorite.
— Malzahn is 9-5 as a home underdog, 8-13 as a road dog.
— Last three years, UCF is 2-8 ATS coming off a loss.
— 3-2 in last five bowls (underdog in 4 of 5 games)

Cincinnati
— 8 starters back on offense; 5 on defense
— 107 starts back on OL
— junior QB started 11 games at Eastern Michigan LY; he was backup here in ’19/’20.
— Last four years, Bearcats are 49-7 SU
— Last four years, they’re 16-8-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Fickell is 14-6 ATS as an underdog
— Last four years, Cincy is 12-6 ATS out of conference.

East Carolina
— 7 starters back on offense; 8 on defense
— 63 starts back on OL; senior QB has 37 starts
— Under coach Houston, ECU is 9-3 ATS as a road underdog.
— Since 2013, Pirates are 4-11 ATS as a road underdog.
— Last year was their first winning season since 2014; their bowl was cancelled.
— ECU lost three of last four bowls; their last bowl win was 2013.

Houston
— 7 starters back on offense; 6 on defense
— 65 starts back on OL; senior QB has 31 starts
— Last five years, they’re 12-7 ATS as a home favorite.
— Last six years, they’re 9-13 ATS as a road favorite.
— Holgorseb is 5-11-1 as a home underdog, 15-11 as a road dog.
— Cougars scored 17 or less points in four of last five bowls (2-3 SU)

Memphis
— 7 starters back on offense; 6 on defense
— 61 starts back on OL; soph QB has 11 starts
— were 6-6 SU last year, after seven straight winning seasons
— Under Silverfield, Tigers are 3-11 ATS as a favorite.
— Under Silverfield, Tigers are 0-8 ATS on the road.
— Lost three of last four bowls (favored in three of four)

Navy
— 5 starters back on offense; 6 on defense
— 31 starts back on OL; junior QB has 10 starts.
— Last three years, Navy is 8-2 ATS as a favorite.
— were underdog in last 10 home games (6-4 ATS)
— Last three years, they’re 16-8-1 ATS coming off a loss.
— won four of last five bowls (scored 44+ points in three of last four)

South Florida
— 10 starters back on offense; 9 on defense
— 154 starts back on OL; junior QB had 12 starts at Baylor
— Last three years, USF is 7-26 SU
— Last four years, they’re 4-10 ATS coming off a win.
— Last bowl game was in 2018
— Split last four bowls SU, despite giving up 39 ppg.

SMU
— 6 starters back on offense; 7 on defense
— 74 starts back on OL; junior QB has 12 starts
— went 25-10 SU last three years: new coach was OC at Miami.
— 11-4 ATS in last 15 games as a home favorite.
— 3-11 ATS in last 14 games as a road favorite.
— last two bowls, lost 56-10/52-28
— last bowl win was in 2013.

Temple
— 7 starters back on offense; 7 on defense
— 66 starts back on OL; soph QB has 8 starts
— last two years, Owls are 4-15 SU
— Temple was 1-9 ATS as an underdog LY.
— Last three years, they’re 16-8-1 ATS coming off a loss.
— lost last two bowls 56-27/55-13.
— last bowl win was in 2017.

Tulane
— 9 starters back on offense; 9 on defense
— 108 starts back on OL; soph QB has 18 starts
— 10-2 ATS last 12 games as home favorite; 7-2 last nine as home dog.
— Last three years, Green Wave is 14-6 ATS coming off a loss.
— Fritz is 30-17 ATS as a favorite.
— Last four years, Tulane is 6-9-1 ATS as a road underdog.

Tulsa
— 6 starters back on offense; 6 on defense
— 51 starts back on OL; junior QB has 13 starts.
— since 2015, Tulsa is 21-8 ATS as a road underdog.
— last three years, Tulsa is 3-7-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— last three years, Tulsa is 11-5 ATS coming off a loss.
— 3-2 SU last five bowls (losses by 3-2 points)

 

[Udog]

No games today.... play resumes tomorrow.

 

[Cnotes53]

TUESDAY, JULY 26

LV at CHI	08:30 PM	CHI -2.0 U 169.5	+500 +500

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Tuesday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the fewest games in the NFL this season:
3-1— Houston
7-2— Atlanta
13-2— NJ Jets
10-1— Carolina, Seattle
11-1— Chicago, Jacksonville
12-1— Detroit

Quote of the Day
“But when you really sit down and think about it, the things I love most about coaching, and then the biggest thing I’d say…….it’s the amount of people that would potentially be affected. … I love coaching. I love working with guys. I love being in the foxhole with the players and coaches. And you can’t mimic and emulate that in a media job.”
Sean McVay

Tuesday’s quiz
Who holds the Buffalo Bills’ single season record for passing yards?

Monday’s quiz
Baltimore Colts drafted John Elway, then traded him to Denver.

Sunday’s quiz
Drew Brees began his NFL career with the San Diego Chargers.

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

Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……

— Over the last 20 years, 58 NFL teams lost at home in their first playoff game that year; teams work hard for five months to get home-field advantage in a playoff game. Does losing like that leave a team with a hangover the next season?

Of those 58 teams, 26 of them (44.8%) missed the playoffs the next season.

Of the 32 teams that returned to the playoffs; they went 20-12 in their first playoff game the next season, 8-12 in their second.

Three teams won the Super Bowl the year after losing their first playoff game at home:

2006— Colts
2008— Steelers
2015— Broncos

Two of those three teams had Peyton Manning as their quarterback.

— From 2002-16, Kansas City lost their first playoff game at home five times; they missed the playoffs the next season three of those five years, went 1-2 in their playoff games those seasons. Chiefs lost a home playoff game three years in a row before breaking thru and winning a Super Bowl three years ago.

— Who lost at home last year, in their first playoff game?
Dallas
Green Bay
Tennessee (did it the last two years), which could explain why they drafted QB Malik Willis.

Elsewhere……..
— NFL preseason games start soon:
Cleveland Browns are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 exhibition games.
Cincinnati Bengals are 2-5 ATS in their last seven.

— Arizona Cardinals are paying QB Kyler Murray $46M a year; they put a unique thing in his new contract, saying he needs to study more away from the field.

Murray’s new deal contains an addendum that requires four hours of “independent study” during every game week in the season. The clause requires that Murray look over material he receives from the Cardinals outside of regularly scheduled meetings to help him prepare for games.

Was reading a lot on the Interweb, as to whether this is at all normal, and people who have worked in NFL front offices say that it is not. There is something in there about his not playing video games or surfing the web while he watches game film.

Oy.

— USFL alumnus QB Kyle Sloter (New Orleans Breakers) signed on with Jacksonville Jaguars; QB Luis Perez (New Jersey Generals) signed on with the Rams— he was also in camp with the Rams four years ago. Since then, he played in the AAF, XFL and USFL.

— A’s 7, Houston 5— Astros are now 37-3 when they score 5+ runs.

— Boston Red Sox are 12-29 against their AL East rivals, 37-19 against everyone else.

— St Louis Cardinals visit Toronto this week; stars Paul Goldschmidt/Nolan Arenado won’t be there, since they’re both unvaccinated.

— Baltimore Orioles are 10-3 at home in games where the winning run scores from the 7th inning on.

— Alex Rodriguez was in Cooperstown over the weekend for the Hall of Fame ceremonies; it was the first time Rodriguez has ever been to the Hall of Fame. Will be interesting to see if ARod ever gets inducted himself. Personally, I’d vote for him, but I don’t have a vote.

— This November, the PK85 takes place in Oregon, honoring Nike’s Phil Knight. Here are the first round pairings for the two, 8-team events:

Duke-Oregon State
Florida-Xavier
Purdue-West Virginia
Gonzaga-Portland State

North Carolina-Portland
Villanova-Iowa State
Oregon-UConn
Michigan State-Alabama

— If you like high school basketball, Tuesday night ESPNU has four games in a row, starting at 5:00 from Las Vegas. Two 16U games, two 17U games; Lebron James’ son is expected to play in one of the games.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Mets, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Atlanta-San Diego-St Louis
AL: New York, Twins, Astros Wild Cards: Toronto-Tampa Bay-Seattle

— RIP to the great actor Paul Sorvino, who passed away at age 83; I remember him from Law & Order, The Cooler, Bulworth, The Firm. He was in 31 episodes of Law & Order, playing a police sergeant. What an excellent career he had. RIP, sir.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, July 26

WNBA

Tuesday, July 26

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

Las Vegas @ Chicago
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Las Vegas is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Chicago
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Chicago is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games


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

 

[Udog]

xx

TUESDAY, JULY 26

LV at CHI	08:30 PM	CHI -2.0 U 169.5	+500 +500

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Wednesday’s 6-pack
— Orioles 5, Rays 3— Baltimore is 14-4 in its last 18 games.
— Mariners 5, Rangers 4— Carlos Santana had a walk-off sac fly.
— Brewers 7, Twins 6— Luis Urias had a walk-off sac fly.
— Arizona 7, Giants 3— San Francisco lost its last six games.
— Cubs 4, Pirates 2— Chicago won its last six games.
— A’s 5, Astros 3— Oakland is 11-8 in its last nineteen games.

Quote of the Day
“He’s not getting on us, he’s letting us know what’s real, and he’s talking to us like grown men. With that, nothing but respect. We want to grow. We want to be great, and plus, he has the respect in his resume. We want to be an organization where we can get to that point someday. If we do things right and we listen, I feel like we can get to that point.”
Jaguars’ DB Josh Allen, talking about HC Doug Pederson

Wednesday’s quiz
Which former Dodger infielder replaced Tommy Lasorda as Dodgers’ manager?

Tuesday’s quiz
Drew Bledsoe holds the Buffalo Bills’ single season record for passing yards (4,359 in 2002).

Monday’s quiz
Baltimore Colts drafted John Elway, then traded him to Denver.

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

Wednesday’s Den: Mountain West football knowledge……

Air Force
— 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense
— 44 starts back on offensive line; senior QB has 18 starts
— Last three years, they’re 24-8 SU.
— Under Calhoun, they’re 35-26-2 ATS as an underdog.
— Since 2015, Air Force is 12-4-1 ATS as a road underdog.
— won four of last five bowls, scoring 36.2 ppg.

Boise State
— 8 starters back on offense, 9 on defense
— 86 starts back on offensive line; junior QB has 25 starts
— 7-5 SU last year, after going 88-26 the previous nine years.
— Since 2012, they’re 28-16 ATS as a road favorite.
— Since 2017, they’re 7-1 ATS as a road underdog.
— Last two years, they’re 3-8 ATS coming off a win.

Colorado State
— 6 starters back on offense, 6 on defense
— 70 starts back on offensive line; they’ll have a new QB this year
— Last four years, they’re 16-29 SU.
— Last five years, Rams are 4-9 ATS as a home favorite.
— Lost last four bowls; were favored in three of them.
— New head coach comes from MW rival Nevada.

Fresno State
— 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense
— 80 starts back on offensive line; senior QB has 19 starts
— Jeff Tedford returns as coach (Aaron Rodgers’ college coach)
— Last five years, they’re 7-2 ATS as a road underdog.
— Last five years, they’re 13-5-1 ATS out of conference.
— won last three bowls, scoring 31.7 ppg.

Hawai’i
— 4 starters back on offense, 2 on defense
— 110 starts back on offensive line; unsure who QB is
— Since 2014, Hawai’i is 6-22-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Last five years, they’re 7-14 ATS as a road underdog.
— won three of last four bowls (underdogs 4-0 SU)
— New coach is Hawai’i alum Chang, a former Rainbow QB

Nevada
— 2 starters back on offense, 4 on defense
— 44 starts back on offensive line; soph QB had 3 starts at Oklahoma State
— 30-18 SU last four years- their coach bolted to a conference rival
— were +16 in turnovers LY, but were only 8-5.
— Since 2013, they’re 11-7 as a home underdog.
— Nevada covered five of last seven games as a home favorite.
— 45 players from last year have departed.

UNLV
— 6 starters back on offense, 6 on defense
— 69 starts back on offensive line; QB started 3 games at Tennessee
— Last nine years, Rebels are 24-67 SU
— Since 2012, they’re 11-19 ATS as a favorite.
— Since 2012, they’re 32-18 ATS as a road underdog.
— Last bowl was in 2013; last bowl win was in 2000.

New Mexico
— 5 starters back on offense, 7 on defense
— 22 starts back on offensive line; unsure who QB will be
— Last five years, they’re 13-42 SU
— Since 2017, Lobos are 0-11 ATS as a home favorite.
— Since 2017, Lobos are 15-39 ATS overall
— underdogs covered four of last five bowls (last one was in 2016)

San Diego State
— 5 starters back on offense, 7 on defense
— 36 starts back on offensive line; senior QB had 16 starts at Virginia Tech
— won 10+ games five of last seven seasons
— Last five years, they’re 8-16 ATS as a home favorite, 5-2 as a home dog.
— Last four years, they’re 6-2-1 ATS as a road underdog.
— In his career, Hoke is 46-35-1 ATS at home.
— Aztecs start playing in brand-new Snap Dragon Stadium this year.

San Jose State
— 6 starters back on offense, 8 on defense
— have 59 starts back on offensive line.
— one junior QB started 23 games at Hawai’i; other junior QB started six games here LY
— Under Brennan, Spartans are 15-9-1 ATS at home.
— finished under .500 seven of last eight years.
— won four of last five bowl games.

Utah State
— 7 starters back on offense, 5 on defense
— 102 starts back on offensive line; senior QB has 29 starts
— 15-4-1 ATS in last 20 games as a home favorite.
— 3-11 ATS in last 14 games as a home underdog.
— In his career, Anderson is 38-25 ATS in conference games.
— underdog won four of their last five bowls SU

Wyoming
— 4 starters back on offense, 4 on defense
— 66 starts back on offensive line; new QB started twice at Utah State
— Last four years, they’re 5-8 ATS as a road underdog.
— covered seven of last ten non-conference games.
— covered last four games on a neutral field.
— won last three bowls, scoring 42.3 ppg.

 

[Udog]

No games today.... play resumes tomorrow.

 

[Cnotes53]

THURSDAY, JULY 28

MIN at ATL	07:00 PM	MIN +1.0 O 164.0	+500 +500
SEA at CONN	07:00 PM	SEA +3.0 O 160.0	+500 +500
WAS at DAL	08:00 PM	WAS +1.0 O 160.0	+500 +500
LA at PHO	10:00 PM	LA +3.5 O 164.0	+500 +500

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Thursday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in batting average:
.335— Paul Goldschmidt, StL
.333— Luis Arraez, Minn
.324— Rafael Devers, Bos
.323— Freddie Freeman, Atl
.320— Andrew Benintendi, KC
.317— Xander Bogaerts, Bos

Quote of the Day
“I know that winning a preseason game doesn’t help you get to the playoffs. I’ll always keep that in mind.”
Denver Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett

Thursday’s quiz
Last time the Dallas Cowboys won a playoff game, who did they beat?

Wednesday’s quiz
Former Dodger shortstop Bill Russell replaced Tommy Lasorda as Dodgers’ manager.

Tuesday’s quiz
Drew Bledsoe holds the Buffalo Bills’ single season record for passing yards (4,359 in 2002).

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

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….

— NFL preseason games start a week from tonight; here are stats from how many passes some starting QB’s threw in last summer’s exhibition games:

Zero passes: Carr, Herbert, Prescott, Rodgers, Ryan, Stafford, Tannehill, Wentz, Wilson
1— Joe Burrow
4— Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson
9— Jared Goff
10— Baker Mayfield, Ben Roethlisberger
14— Kirk Cousins
16— Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo
22— Daniel Jones
26— Josh Allen
29— Patrick Mahomes
34— Tua Tagliavoa

— How is former Green Bay/Seattle coach Mike Holmgren not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Holmgren was 161-111 in regular season games, 13-11 in playoff games; won three NFC titles, one Super Bowl and also won two Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach with San Francisco.

This seems like a pretty big oversight.

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed WR Julio Jones, who is 33 years old and has played in only 19 of 33 games the last two seasons. He’s led the league in receiving yards/game five times.

Jones played for the Falcons for 10 years; Atlanta-Tampa Bay tilts just got a little more interesting.

— Falcons named Marcus Mariota their starting QB after the first day of camp; rookie Desmond Ridder will be the backup. Mariota is 30-33 as an NFL starter, but his last start was in 2019. He was Derek Carr’s backup in Las Vegas the last couple years.

— San Francisco named Trey Lance their starting QB; they become the ninth NFL team with a new starting QB this season. Lance started twice last year (1-1); the year before, his North Dakota State played only one game because of the pandemic. He needs experience.

— Of the 53 guys who were on the Chicago Bears’ roster on Week 1 last year, only 23 are still with the Bears, fewest of any NFL team. Eagles/Lions still have 43 guys from Week 1 last year, tied for most in the league.

— There have been only four players in the Super Bowl era who led the NFL in touches in their rookie season:
1983— Eric Dickerson, Hall of Famer
1999— Edgerrin James, Hall of Famer
2001— LaDanian Tomlinson, Hall of Famer
2021— Najee Harris

— Saw this headline on the Interweb today: “US offers deal to Russia for Brittney Griner”; for a split second, it crossed my mind that Joe Biden and Putin were in the same WNBA fantasy league. Apparently they’re not.

US is offering to trade Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker, as part of a potential deal with Russia to release Griner and corporate security director Paul Whelan.

I didn’t realize stuff like this happened; countries trading prisoners, sounds like it would’ve made a good episode of The West Wing.

— Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Kaat won 16 Gold Gloves during his great career; someone asked him last week what he did with all of them.

Turns out Kaat sold most of the Gold Gloves, to help fund the Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center of the University of Minnesota, in honor of his former teammate with the Twins.

— Since start of last season, Seattle Mariners are 56-31 in one-run games; 33-19 last year, 23-12 so far this year.

— Mark McGwire’s son Mason was picked in the 8th round of the draft by the Cubs last week; he banks a $200,000 signing bonus.

Apparently three years ago, when Mark McGwire was inducted into the Oakland A’s Hall of Fame, Mason McGwire met Rollie Fingers, and the Hall of Fame reliever showed the kid how he threw his splitter. It must be working.

— Minnesota Twins lead the AL Central with a 52-46 record, but they’re only 8-18 in games where the winning run scores from the 7th inning on. Will Minnesota trade for relief help at the trading deadline next week?

— Toronto Blue Jays are 10-0 when Jose Berrios starts at home (5-4 on road)

Texas Rangers are 0-10 on the road when Dane Dunning starts (4-5 at home).

— Rockies-Royals-Nationals are only three teams without a grand slam this season; Rockies had 11 of them last year.

— Luis Castillo is the first Cincinnati starting pitcher to pitch in 2+ All-Star games since Mario Soto did it, in 1982, 1984.

— Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow had an appendectomy this week; if I remember right, it’ll be 3-4 weeks before he is allowed to have any physical contact. Doubtful he plays in any of the Bengals’ three exhibition games- their season opener is September 11, 45 days from now.

In case you were wondering, Brandon Allen/Jake Browning are Cincinnati’s backup QB’s.

— Long time ago, summer of 1993, I had an emergency appendectomy in the middle of the night; they said it had become gangrenous, which sounded bad (I had no idea what it meant until the next week). Luckily I lived across the street from a hospital and it got taken care of.

After my surgery, they wheel me into a room; I can’t see for squat without my glasses, but it looked like there was a picture of a clown on the wall.

I ask the nurse about the clown’s picture: “We don’t have much room; we put you in the pediatric ward” That was a fun few days.

— Speaking of which, read a story this week about a guy who took his 8-year old daughter to “Take Your Kid to Work Day”

Father/daughter walk into the office and a few minutes later, the daughter starts to cry.

The father asks what’s wrong, some of the people in the office gathered around her; she looks at her father and asks: “Daddy, where are all the clowns you said you worked with?”

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, July 28

WNBA

Thursday, July 28

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Trend Report
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Seattle @ Connecticut
Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games
Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games at home
Connecticut is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games

Minnesota @ Atlanta
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing Atlanta
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota

Washington @ Dallas
Washington
Washington is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games
Dallas
Dallas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games

Los Angeles @ Phoenix
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 7 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Phoenix is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Los Angeles


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

 

[Cnotes53]

THURSDAY, JULY 28​

MIN at ATL	07:00 PM	MIN +1.0 O 164.0	+500 +500
SEA at CONN	07:00 PM	SEA +3.0 O 160.0	+500 +500
WAS at DAL	08:00 PM	WAS +1.0 O 160.0	+500 +500
LA at PHO	10:00 PM	LA +3.5 O 164.0	+500 +500