Saturday’s 6-pack:
Odds to score the most points in NFL playoffs this weekend:
5-2— Lions
9-2— Ravens, Bills
6-1— Chiefs, Eagles
8-1— Commanders
14-1— Rams
18-1— Texans
Quote of the Day
“There’s an expectation of how we compete and how we compete for each other. Off the court, there’s a level of professionalism and a standard there.”
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
Saturday’s quiz
Before Dan Campbell, who was the last Detroit Lions coach to have a winning record?
Hint: He coached the Lions from 2014-17
Friday’s quiz
In the history of the Houston Texans, Matt Schaub (2007-13) has the most passing yards.
Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil led both the Rams and Eagles to a Super Bowl.
***********************************
Sasaki has had his share of injuries, has started only 33 games the last two years. He has never thrown more than 129.1 IP in a season.
— There are some dominos that will fall follow this signing……..
Other teams are going to bitch about the Dodgers getting all the best players from Asia; it is very possible that in the near future, an international player draft will become a thing, instead of the current system, which is a free-for-all at which the Dodgers have gained a huge advantage.
Dodgers are going to use a six-man pitching rotation.
Where do the Padres/Blue Jays turn to sign free agents now?
— Dodgers’ likely rotation this summer:
Yamamoto, Snell, Ohtahi, Glasnow, Sasaki and either May/Miller.
— Next season in the NFL, Indianapolis Colts are hosting a game in Germany, Miami Dolphins will host a game in Spain.
— This is the sixth year where the #1 seed gets a first round bye in the NFL playoffs; the last five years, those #1-seeds are 4-6 ATS in their games in this round.
— Kansas City Chiefs played on Christmas Day in Week 17, rested lot of their starters in Week 18, then had a bye last week, which means that those starters who rested haven’t played in a game for 24 days.
If the Chiefs beat Houston Saturday, they’ll be in the AFC title game for the 7th year in a row.
— The Golf Channel turned 30 years old this week.
— Famous birthdays, January 18:
Kevin Costner, 70
Brady Anderson, 61
Jesse L Martin, 56
Tommy Polley, 47
Julius Peppers, 45
Jason Segal, 45
Brett Lawrie, 35
Max Fried, 31
Tee Higgins, 26
Braden Fiske, 25
— Slightly weird stat:
Rams coach Sean McVay has an 8-4 record in playoff games; those 12 games have come against 12 different opponents and Sunday’s game in Philadelphia makes it 13 different opponents.
— Imagine getting paid $48,798,677 a year to play basketball, living in Miami and still being unhappy? Ladies and gentlemen, Jimmy Butler…….
Miami Heat suspended Butler for seven games for “conduct detrimental to the team” which cost Butler $2.3M- the team questioned Butler’s effort in a loss to Indiana.
Now that the suspension is over, Butler still wants to be traded; the Heat haven’t found a trade they like for him- they don’t have much leverage, given the publicity all this has gotten.
NBA’s trade deadline is February 6th; stay tuned.
— VICE TV announced that “Pitino: Red Storm Rising”, a six-part docuseries on the St. John’s basketball program, will premiere on February 11.
I’m still not sure if I can get VICE TV, but hopefully it’ll show up somewhere on YouTube TV.
— Good news: 85-year old Dick Vitale returns to the airwaves next Saturday, when he will be the analyst on the Duke-Wake Forest game.
Vitale’s last game was the 2023 national championship between San Diego State/UConn; he is now free from cancer and will be back on TV. Good for him.
Odds to score the most points in NFL playoffs this weekend:
5-2— Lions
9-2— Ravens, Bills
6-1— Chiefs, Eagles
8-1— Commanders
14-1— Rams
18-1— Texans
Quote of the Day
“There’s an expectation of how we compete and how we compete for each other. Off the court, there’s a level of professionalism and a standard there.”
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
Saturday’s quiz
Before Dan Campbell, who was the last Detroit Lions coach to have a winning record?
Hint: He coached the Lions from 2014-17
Friday’s quiz
In the history of the Houston Texans, Matt Schaub (2007-13) has the most passing yards.
Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil led both the Rams and Eagles to a Super Bowl.
***********************************
Saturday’s Den: Clearing out a cluttered mind…….
— Los Angeles Dodgers signed Japanese P Roki Sasaki Friday; he is getting a $6.5M signing bonus in addition to signing a minor league deal. He is 23 years old.Sasaki has had his share of injuries, has started only 33 games the last two years. He has never thrown more than 129.1 IP in a season.
— There are some dominos that will fall follow this signing……..
Other teams are going to bitch about the Dodgers getting all the best players from Asia; it is very possible that in the near future, an international player draft will become a thing, instead of the current system, which is a free-for-all at which the Dodgers have gained a huge advantage.
Dodgers are going to use a six-man pitching rotation.
Where do the Padres/Blue Jays turn to sign free agents now?
— Dodgers’ likely rotation this summer:
Yamamoto, Snell, Ohtahi, Glasnow, Sasaki and either May/Miller.
— Next season in the NFL, Indianapolis Colts are hosting a game in Germany, Miami Dolphins will host a game in Spain.
— This is the sixth year where the #1 seed gets a first round bye in the NFL playoffs; the last five years, those #1-seeds are 4-6 ATS in their games in this round.
— Kansas City Chiefs played on Christmas Day in Week 17, rested lot of their starters in Week 18, then had a bye last week, which means that those starters who rested haven’t played in a game for 24 days.
If the Chiefs beat Houston Saturday, they’ll be in the AFC title game for the 7th year in a row.
— The Golf Channel turned 30 years old this week.
— Famous birthdays, January 18:
Kevin Costner, 70
Brady Anderson, 61
Jesse L Martin, 56
Tommy Polley, 47
Julius Peppers, 45
Jason Segal, 45
Brett Lawrie, 35
Max Fried, 31
Tee Higgins, 26
Braden Fiske, 25
— Slightly weird stat:
Rams coach Sean McVay has an 8-4 record in playoff games; those 12 games have come against 12 different opponents and Sunday’s game in Philadelphia makes it 13 different opponents.
— Imagine getting paid $48,798,677 a year to play basketball, living in Miami and still being unhappy? Ladies and gentlemen, Jimmy Butler…….
Miami Heat suspended Butler for seven games for “conduct detrimental to the team” which cost Butler $2.3M- the team questioned Butler’s effort in a loss to Indiana.
Now that the suspension is over, Butler still wants to be traded; the Heat haven’t found a trade they like for him- they don’t have much leverage, given the publicity all this has gotten.
NBA’s trade deadline is February 6th; stay tuned.
— VICE TV announced that “Pitino: Red Storm Rising”, a six-part docuseries on the St. John’s basketball program, will premiere on February 11.
I’m still not sure if I can get VICE TV, but hopefully it’ll show up somewhere on YouTube TV.
— Good news: 85-year old Dick Vitale returns to the airwaves next Saturday, when he will be the analyst on the Duke-Wake Forest game.
Vitale’s last game was the 2023 national championship between San Diego State/UConn; he is now free from cancer and will be back on TV. Good for him.
