CNOTES 2021 WNBA TRENDS, NEWS, BEST BETS AND OPINIONS THRU THE PLAYOFFS !

[Udog]

WNBA

Friday, July 9

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Trend Report
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Atlanta @ Connecticut
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games
Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games at home
Connecticut is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home

New York @ Indiana
New York
New York is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 7 games
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games at home

Seattle @ Phoenix
Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games on the road
Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing at home against Seattle

Minnesota @ Las Vegas
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games at home
Las Vegas is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home


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[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Friday, July 9

 

[Cnotes53]

FRIDAY, JULY 9
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

ATL at CONN 07:00 PM
ATL +14.5
O 160.0
+500 +500

NY at IND 07:00 PM
NY -3.5
U 163.0
+500 +500

SEA at PHO 09:00 PM
PHO +7.0
O 164.0
+500 +500

MIN at LV 10:30 PM
LV -7.0
U 173.5
+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

july wnba best bets record:

Date w-l-t % units record

07/09/2021 4-4-0 50.00% -2.00
07/07/2021 4-2-0 66.67% +9.00
07/05/2021 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
07/04/2021 3-1-0 75.00% +9.50
07/03/2021 5-1-0 83.33% +19.50
07/02/2021 1-3-0 25.00% -11.50
07/01/2021 0-2-0 00.00% -11.00


totals.........19-13-0...59.37%...+23.50

 

[Udog]

Saturday?s 6-pack
? Braves 5, Marlins 0? Morton threw 7 shutout innings.
? Mets 13, Pirates 4? Villar hit pair of home runs.
? White Sox 12, Orioles 1? Engel knocked in four runs.
? Indians 2, Royals 1? Bradley hit a walk-off homer.
? Red Sox 11, Phillies 5? Martinez knocked in four runs.
? Mariners 7, Angels 3? Haniger hit a grand slam in the 8th. .

Quote of the Day
?What I?ll say is the energy in the ballpark was fantastic and I really liked the choice of music throughout the game.?
Giants manager Gabe Kapler, when asked about the new uniforms his team wore Friday

Saturday?s quiz
Who managed the Oakland A?s the first time they won the World Series?

Friday?s quiz
Paul Westphal was coach of the Phoenix Suns, last time they played in NBA Finals.

Thursday?s quiz
Before this year, Pittsburgh Penguins were NHL team was last to repeat as Stanley Cup champs.



Saturday?s Den: Mountain West football trends??.

Air Force:
? HC Calhoun is 44-52-1 ATS as favorite, 34-26-2 as underdog.
? Last four years, Air Force is 7-3-1 ATS as road underdog.
? Since 2014, Falcons are 21-8-1 ATS out of conference.
? Since 2013, Air Force is 13-29-1 ATS coming off a loss.

Boise State:
? Last 3 years, Boise is 16-8 ATS in conference games.
? Over last decade, Broncos are 6-3 ATS as road underdogs.
? Last five years, Boise is 3-6 ATS coming off a loss.
? 2017-18, Boise was +24 in turnovers; last two years, they were minus-4.

Colorado State:
? Rams? last bowl was 2017; last bowl win, 2013.
? Rams haven?t been better than 7-6 since McElwain left after 2014 season.
? HC Addazio is 38-25-2 ATS as an underdog.
? State is 3-7 ATS in last ten games as a road underdog.

Fresno State:
? 2017-18, Fresno was 22-6; last two years, they were 7-11.
? Since 2013, Bulldogs are 13-7-3 ATS as road favorites.
? Last four years, Bulldogs are +24 in turnovers.
? QB Haener transferred to Fresno from Washington.

Hawai?i:
? Todd Graham went 5-4 in his first year here LY, won a bowl.
? Since 2014, Rainbows are 6-20-1 ATS as home favorites.
? Over last decade, Hawaii is 2-6 ATS as a road favorite.
? Underdogs covered their last five bowl games.

Nevada:
? Under Norvell, Nevada is 15-7 ATS at home, 8-12 on road.
? Wolf Pack won 3 of last 4 bowls; they weren?t favored in any of them.
? Last five years, Nevada is 8-12 ATS as a road underdog.
? Last four years, Wolf Pack is 19-13 ATS in conference tilts.

UNLV:
? Last ten years, UNLV is 33-84 SU- they were 0-6 LY.
? Rebels? last bowl was 2013; their last bowl win, 2000.
? Last five years, UNLV is 5-10 ATS as a home favorite.
? This year?s over/under win total is 1.5; not lot of optimism there.

New Mexico:
? Last four years, Lobos are minus-31 in turnovers (10-33).
? Last six years, New Mexico is 3-14 ATS as a home favorite.
? Lobos? last bowl outside of New Mexico was in 2004.
? Veteran HC Rocky Long is in his 2nd year as Lobos? DC.

San Diego State:
? They?re playing home games 113 miles from their campus.
? Aztecs are 6-13 ATS in last 19 games as a home favorite.
? Last six years, San Diego State is +61 in turnovers.
? 65 returning starts on OL and a new QB; they?ll run ball more this year.

San Jose State:
? Spartans went 7-1 LY; previous six years, they were 21-53.
? Under Brennan, San Jose is 27-17-1 ATS.
? In 2017, Spartans were minus-26 in turnovers; since then, they?re +13.
? QB Starkel played previously at Texas A&M/Arkansas.

Utah State:
? New HC Anderson made 6 bowls (2-4) in 7 years at Arkansas State.
? Since 2013, Aggies are 3-10 ATS as a home underdog.
? Utah State lost 3 of last 4 bowls; they were favored in all four.
? Junior QB Bonner (15 starts) transferred to Utah State from Arkansas State.

Wyoming:
? Last five years, Wyoming is 10-4 ATS as home favorites.
? Last three years, Cowboys are 3-6 ATS as road underdogs.
? Wyoming won its last two bowls, covered four of last five.
? Cowboys have 21 of 22 starters back this season.

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Saturday, July 10

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Trend Report
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Washington @ Chicago
Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing Chicago
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing at home against Washington


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[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, July 10

 

[Udog]

 

[Cnotes53]

SATURDAY, JULY 10
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

WAS at CHI 08:00 PM
CHI -9.0
U 166.0
+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

July WNBA Best Bet Record:

Date w-l-t % units record

07/10/2021 0-2-0 0.00% -11.00
07/09/2021 4-4-0 50.00% -2.00
07/07/2021 4-2-0 66.67% +9.00
07/05/2021 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
07/04/2021 3-1-0 75.00% +9.50
07/03/2021 5-1-0 83.33% +19.50
07/02/2021 1-3-0 25.00% -11.50
07/01/2021 0-2-0 00.00% -11.00


Totals.........19-15-0...55.88%...+12.50

 

[Udog]

Sunday?s 6-pack
Week 2 NFL spreads
? Atlanta @ Tampa Bay (-7.5)
? Minnesota @ Arizona (-1.5)
? Dallas @ LA Chargers (-1.5)
? Tennessee @ Seattle (-4.5)
? Kansas City (-2) @ Baltimore
? Detroit @ Green Bay (-7.5)

Quote of the Day
?In a way, I?m kind of glad it happened. That means nothing if we don?t learn from it. It could be the most important thing in this tournament for us.?
Gregg Popovich, on losing to Nigeria.
I call BS on his saying he?s glad it happened.

Sunday?s quiz
2004 was the last time the Americans didn?t win the Olympic gold medal in basketball- they won a bronze medal; what country won the gold medal that year?

Saturday?s quiz
Dick Williams managed the Oakland A?s the first two times they won the World Series.

Friday?s quiz
Paul Westphal was coach of the Phoenix Suns, last time they played in NBA Finals.

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

Sunday?s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday

13) Starting today with a recommendation of a fun place to go in the Albany area:

? Do you like to play golf?
? The Bunker in Guilderland is a golf simulator, where you can play lot of famous courses around the country.
? Hit a shot and it gives you club head speed, distance, lot of stats.
? There is even a mulligan button, if you hit a bad shot.
? There is a bar, you can order out food, comfortable places to sit/hang out.
? Was there Friday night with group of friends; excellent place to have fun.
? 2390 Western Avenue, just east of Western Turnpike golf course.

12) Braves 5, Marlins 4? Very costly win; Ronald Acuna tore his ACL, is out for year.

11) New York 1, Houston 0:
? Gerrit Cole threw 129-pitch complete game, most pitches thrown in a game this year.

? Aaron Boone came to mound to take him out with one out to go and Jordan Alvarez uo, but you could see Cole vehemently refusing to come out.
? Houston lost its last three games, scoring one run.

10) Nigeria 90, USA 87:
? 9 years ago, the Americans beat Nigeria by 83 points in the Olympics.
? In this game, Nigeria never trailed in the 4th quarter.
? Americans were favored by 28.5 points; yes, people bet on this stuff.

9) Lot of guys are dropping out of next week?s All-Star Game:
? All four Astros (read into that what you like)
? Mookie Betts
? Yadier Molina

There will be at least 40 first-time All-Stars in next week?s game.

8) There are only two divisional games in Week 1 of NFL in September:

Jaguars-Texans and Dolphins-Patriots.

7) San Diego Padres are rolling along at 53-38, in line for a Wild Card slot, but much of their success has happened late in games.

If games were only five innings long, San Diego?s record would be 35-41-15, so they?ve improved by 10.5 games after the 5th inning. Clutch hitting, good bullpen.

6) Biggest point spread in NFL history? In 1976, Steelers were -27 over the expansion Buccaneers- they whacked them 42-0. Tampa Bay went 0-14 that first season, then started the next season 0-12 before winning their last two games.

Only two years after that, Tampa Bay played in the NFC Championship game, and would?ve played those same Steelers in the Super Bowl had they won that game.

5) Joey Votto is 37 years old, on the tail end of an excellent career, but the Reds owe him $45M over the next two seasons. If MLB gets smart and puts the universal DH in next year, then he will still be useful, but if not, that contract could be an albatross.

Would the Reds trade Votto this month, to get rid of that $45M commitment?

4) Obscure NBA record; most points scored off the bench in an NBA Finals game is 31,
scored by Sam Cassell for the ?95 Rockets against Orlando.

3) Since 2001, longest streaks of consecutive games reaching base:
63? Orlando Cabrera
57? Barry Bonds
56? Ryan Klesko

All-time record is 84, set by Ted Williams in 1949. Very underrated record.

2) Guys who own the Dodgers now also own 27% of the Lakers. Must be fun to be really, really rich.

1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they don?t):
NL: Mets, Brewers, Giants. Wild Card: San Diego @ Los Angeles
AL: Red Sox, White Sox, Astros. Wild Card: Oakland @ Tampa Bay

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Sunday, July 11

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Trend Report
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Las Vegas @ Dallas
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Dallas
Las Vegas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Dallas
Dallas is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Dallas's last 13 games at home

Connecticut @ New York
Connecticut
Connecticut is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing New York
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Connecticut's last 8 games when playing on the road against New York
New York
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New York's last 8 games when playing at home against Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New York's last 8 games

Indiana @ Atlanta
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indiana's last 7 games
Indiana is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Atlanta
Atlanta is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana
Atlanta is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Indiana

Phoenix @ Seattle
Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games at home

Minnesota @ Los Angeles
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota


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[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, July 11

 

[Cnotes53]

SUNDAY, JULY 11
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LV at DAL 01:00 PM
DAL +3.0
O 171.0
+500 +500

CONN at NY 02:00 PM
CONN -8.0
U 156.5
+500 +500

IND at ATL 05:00 PM
IND +5.5
O 164.0
+500 +500

PHO at SEA 06:00 PM
PHO +8.0
O 163.0
+500 +500

MIN at LA 09:00 PM
MIN -7.5
U 155.5
+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

July WNBA Best Bet Record:

Date w-l-t % units record

07/11/2021 7-3-0 70.00% +18.50
07/10/2021 0-2-0 0.00% -11.00
07/09/2021 4-4-0 50.00% -2.00
07/07/2021 4-2-0 66.67% +9.00
07/05/2021 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
07/04/2021 3-1-0 75.00% +9.50
07/03/2021 5-1-0 83.33% +19.50
07/02/2021 1-3-0 25.00% -11.50
07/01/2021 0-2-0 00.00% -11.00


Totals.........26-17-0...60.46%...+31.00

 

[Udog]

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Major league leaders in runs scored:
72? Ronald Acuna
71? Bo Bichette
68? Vladimir Guerrero
67? Marcus Semien, Fernando Tatis
65? Jose Altuve, Shohei Ohtani
63? Jake Cronenworth, Chris Taylor

**********

Armadillo: Wednesday's Den: Mid-week musings??..

13) Los Angeles Angels have a good lineup: Trout, Ohtani, Rendon, Walsh, Fletcher, but their pitching sucks. Looks like they finally figured that out themselves.

20 draft picks this week, 20 pitchers, 19 of them college pitchers. Help is on the way.

12) Sounds like 7-inning doubleheaders and starting extra innings with a guy on second base are out the window after this season- common sense may be gaining ground at MLB headquarters.

Commissioner Rob Manfred also seemed that he was in favor of banning shifts, which will create more base hits and less swinging for the fences. Hopefully that will happen.

11) MLB starts the ?second half? of the season with one game, Boston @ New York on ESPN; those same teams are on ESPN Sunday night.

Someone needs to tell MLB that these are also big markets:
? Houston, 4th-biggest city. Astros are pretty good.
? Philadelphia, 6th-biggest city. Phillies are NL East contenders.
? San Diego, 8th-biggest city. Padres are a good team, a fun team.

Promote your sport MLB, the whole sport, not just New York/Boston.

10) Washington Nationals drafted Dusty Baker?s son Darren in the 10th round; would be less awkward if Washington hadn?t fired Baker four years ago, after he led the Nationals to 95-67/97-65 records in his two years as Washington?s manager.

Darren Baker is a 22-year old 2B who played four years in college at Cal.

9) Arizona Cardinals were 8-8 last year; they were favored in 12 of their 16 games. No bueno.

8) NFL teams scored touchdowns on 62% of red zone drives LY, the best %age in the last 20 years. Do you think not having fans in the stands helped offenses score more points?

7) Five sets of fathers/sons have both started an All-Star Game:
? Ray/Bob Boone
? Bob/Bret Boone
? Bobby/Barry Bonds
? Cecil/Prince Fielder
? Vladimir Guerrero Sr/Vladimir Guerrero Jr

6) For me, best part of the All-Star Game is the player introductions; you see guys getting introduced as All-Stars for the first time ever and they all look like really excited kids, even though they?re adults who will soon be really, really rich.

5) Imagine how cool it must?ve been for Trey Mancini to be whacking ball out of Coors Field Monday night? This time last year, he was getting chemo treatments, battling cancer, now he is back on the ballfields, and playing well too. Has to be a really great week for him and his family.

4) Three guys have won back/back Home Run Derbies:
? Pete Alonso 2019/2021
? Yoenis Cespedes 2013-14
? Ken Griffey Jr 1998-99

Alonso made more $$$ from winning the two Home Run Derbies than he did playing for the Mets in those two seasons.

3) Three guys have won the Home Run Derby on their home field:
1990? Ryne Sandberg, Cubs
2015? Todd Frazier, Reds
2018? Bryce Harper, Nationals

2) It is good to have a famous dad; two of the kids shagging balls at Home Run Derby Monday were Drew Brees? sons.

1) This is from writer Rod Beard: Detroit Pistons coach Dwane Casey said in their interviews with draft prospects they ask guys whether they make their beds in the morning. He said it can indicate whether they set the tone for their day and how organized they are.

This also may help explain why Detroit has had one winning season since 2008.

 

[Udog]

 

[Udog]

Friday?s 6-pack
Six biggest cities in America:
6) Philadelphia
5) Phoenix
4) Houston
3) Chicago
2) Los Angeles
1) New York

Quote of the Day.
?My (6th grade) team was terrible. I got clobbered every game. My dad was like, ?If you get hit, you?ve got to be the tough guy. You?ve got to take the hit when you?re throwing the ball.? That season set the standard. You get hit; you get right back up.?
USC QB Kevon Slovis

Friday?s quiz
Who was Washington Redskins? QB last time they won the Super Bowl?

Thursday?s quiz
Burt Lancaster played Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams.

Wednesday?s quiz
Joe Girardi has managed the Marlins/Phillies in the National League, and New York in the American League.

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

Friday?s Den: Random stuff with weekend here??.

13) White Sox 9, New York 8:
? From all accounts, the Field of Dreams Game was a big success.
? Tim Anderson hit a walk-off HR to right; ball carried really well that way.
? New York scored four runs in top of 9th to take an 8-7 lead.
? There is a tremendous amount of corn behind this ballfield.
? They had Kevin Costner in TV booth for couple innings, which was interesting.
? Must have been one hell of a traffic jam after the game.

12) The great actor/comedian Robin Williams passed away 7 years ago this week; he was so funny, it was horrendous when he died at age 63, way too young.

In 1998, he made a movie Patch Adams, a true story about a doctor who used humor to help treat his young patients. This week, I read a couple Twitter posts by people who are doctors now who said they became doctors because Patch Adams inspired them.

Apparently, the sick kids in the movie weren?t actors, they were real-life sick kids in hospitals, which helped make the movie more authentic? Robin Williams insisted on that.

11) Mets 4-5, Nationals 1-4? New York gets couple of badly-needed wins; the Nationals aren?t big league quality right now.

In their last 55 games, the Mets have gotten five wins from starting pitchers. Five.

10) Sean Nolin started Game 1 for Washington Thursday; it was his first big league game since 2015, when he started six games for the A?s. Since then, he?s had multiple medical issues- he missed all of 2016-17, plus since then he?s pitched in the Japanese League, the Mexican Winter League, in independent leagues, on his way back to the majors.

He had to be pretty freakin? excited to be back in the majors Thursday.

9) When a pitcher makes an error, it shouldn?t help his ERA; runs caused by a pitcher?s error should still be earned runs? why should they benefit from their own mistakes?

8) New England 21 Washington 13? Washington (+2) is your first bad beat of NFL?s season; Washington scored with 1:24 left to make the game 15-13, they appeared to tie game on the 2-point conversion, but replay overturned the call, so the game ended 15-13, right?

Wrong. Guy on New England runs 91 yards for TD with 1:04 left to cover the spread.

7) Steelers 24, Eagles 16:
? QB Dwayne Haskins threw for 161 yards and a TD; he is competing to be the backup to Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh.

6) Odds to win the CFL?s Grey Cup this season:
Hamilton Tiger-Cats +300
Winnipeg Blue Bombers +400
Saskatchewan Roughriders +500
Calgary Stampeders +600
Toronto Argonauts +650
Edmonton Elks +900

5) Surprising fact: El Paso, TX has more people than Detroit, Louisville or Milwaukee.

4) Kawhi Leonard signed on with the Clippers again; four years, $176M or so, $44M a year, and he?ll miss most of next year while he rehabs from a torn ACL.

3) Few weeks ago, I traded for minor league C Keibert Ruiz in my fantasy league; my team really, really needs a catcher going forward, and I?ve done a terrible job of finding one this year, going through seven different guys.

Ruiz is a highly-touted prospect; he was hitting .311 for the Dodgers? AAA team when he got dealt to Washington in the trade that sent Max Scherzer to LA. Since the trade, he is 3-26 for his new AAA team in Rochester.

Oy.

2) Rand Paul is a senator from Kentucky who is such a wonderful person that his neighbor once broke five of his ribs in a dispute about raking leaves, of all things. You listen to Paul talk and you yearn for the sound of fingernails going down a blackboard.

From the Washington Post: ?his (Paul?s) wife bought stock in Gilead Sciences ? which makes the antiviral drug used to treat covid-19 ? on Feb, 26, 2020, before the threat from the coronavirus was fully understood by the public?.?

This was supposed to be disclosed a long time ago. Are all politicians dishonest scoundrels? Is anyone not on the take? Good grief.

1) BYU has a booster who has a NIL deal with all 36 of BYU?s walk-on football players, which in effect raises their scholarship limit from 85 to 121. All 36 walk-ons will now go to BYU for free.

Utah has no laws against that; about half the states (South Carolina, for one) have rules where that wouldn?t be legal. This NIL stuff is going to have unintended consequences, for sure.

 

[Udog]

Never mind..... no games til Sunday.

 

[Udog]

Sunday?s 6-pack
Major league leaders in total bases:
260? Vladimir Guerrero, Tor
258? Shohei Ohtani, LAA
241? Marcus Semien, Tor
240? Rafael Devers, Bos
236? Cedric Mullins, Bos
235? Jesse Winker, Cinc

Quote of the Day.
?For me, it?s what Major League Baseball or the game of baseball is all about ? as long as you have a uniform, as long as you give the right effort, anything?s possible. It lined up perfectly for him today. We?re all celebrating him.?
Dismondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, on Tyler Gilbert?s no-hitter

Sunday?s quiz
Before last night, who was the last Arizona Diamondback to throw a no-hitter?

Saturday?s quiz
Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner played for the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena League.

Friday?s quiz
Mark Rypien was Washington Redskins? QB last time they won the Super Bowl.

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

Sunday?s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday

13) Arizona 7, San Diego 0:
? Rookie Tyler Gilbert throws a no-hitter in his first major league start.
? Last year at this time, Gilbert was working as an electrician with his father to make ends meet in Northern California.
? Only baserunners were three walks, all to Tommy Pham.
? Last guy to throw a no-hitter in his first MLB start? Bobo Holloman in 1953.

12) Meanwhile, San Diego has lost four games in a row, to Miami/Arizona and is letting lot of teams back in the NL Wild Card race.

11) Last 18 years, defending Super Bowl champs are 11-4-3 ATS in Week 1 the next year.

During same time, teams that lost Super Bowl are 4-14 ATS in Week 1 the next year.

10) Denver 33, Minnesota 6? Probably reading too much into this, but do the Vikings have internal problems, stemming at least partially from the Kirk Cousins/vaccine issue? They asked Mike Zimmer a softball question at halftime, and he was pretty blunt about how terrible the first half had been. Lot of starters sat out, but losing 33-6 at home is never a good thing.

With next week the 2nd/last preseason game, will be curious if more teams play their starters, or will lot of teams just wait until September 12 to get all their regulars on the field.

9) Dodgers 2, Mets 1 (10)? LA wins in extra innings for second night in row; coming into this weekend, they had lost 11 consecutive extra inning games.

8) St Louis Cardinals are 24-11 in games started by Wainwright/Flaherty, 36-45 in all their other games.

7) A reminder that in 2008, Detroit Lions went 4-0 in preseason, then went 0-16 during the regular season. Exhibition games don?t mean a lot, except for the players trying to earn jobs.

6) Chicago Bears are only NFL team that has never had a QB throw for 4,000+ yards in one season; closest they came was 1995, when Erik Kramer threw for 3,838 yards.

With season expanding to 17 games this season, figures that even the Bears will eventually have a 4,000-yard passer, although probably not this year, seeing how Andy Dalton figures to play some before Justin Fields becomes the starter later on in his rookie year.

5) I?m not a fan of Little League games being on national TV: lot of pressure for 11/12-year olds. I?d draw the national TV line at 13 years old and up. Kid screws up a game for his hometown team, and he might wind up like Dennis Hopper?s character in Hoosiers. Not good.

But having instant replay reviews for Little League games is nonsensical, just unnecessary.

4) In his career, White Sox closer Liam Hendriks has pitched 20 innings against the Bronx Bombers; he?s given up 21 runs.

3) A?s 3B Matt Chapman is having a rough year with the bat, but Thursday in Cleveland, he walked five times in a game, scoring three runs. What do you say to your pitchers when they walk a guy five times who is batting .215?

Chapman hit two homers Saturday, after I wrote this, so hopefully he will finish the season strong and help the A?s make the playoffs.

2) Los Angeles Clippers are building an arena for $1B that is scheduled to open for the 2024-25 season. Guy who owns the Clippers is worth $53B; guess he doesn?t like paying rent in the Staples Center.

1) Major League Baseball needs to market its product better; they made a big fuss out of the game in Iowa the other night, they got their best TV ratings for a regular season game since 2005, but fact of the matter is that in Iowa, six big league teams have their games blacked out there. Twins, Brewers, Royals, Cardinals and the two Chicago teams.

End the blackout; expose the game to as many people as possible, so they can see what an excellent game it is. Quit being arrogant jerks and do your job, market your product!!!