Friday’s 6-pack:
College hoop teams who force the most turnovers:
— UCLA
— Iona
— Texas-El Paso
— Cal-San Diego
— Cleveland State
— Marquette
Quote of the Day
“I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $3,000. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn’t have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up.”
Bob Uecker
Friday’s quiz
In the history of the Houston Texans, who has the most passing yards?
Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil led both the Rams and Eagles to a Super Bowl.
Wednesday’s quiz
Baltimore Ravens came into being in 1996; they weren’t an expansion team; they were the Cleveland Browns, before they moved to Baltimore.
The Browns were an expansion team starting in 1999, but the NFL let them keep all the old Browns’ records.
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Uecker signed his first professional contract with the Milwaukee Braves in 1956 and got to the majors in 1962. He lasted six years in the big leagues as a backup catcher, finishing with a .200 average and 14 home runs. He won a World Series ring with St. Louis in 1964 and also played for the Braves and Phillies.
Uecker was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award in 2003; he was on The Tonight Show over 100 times, that’s how funny he was. Johnny Carson dubbed Uecker “Mr. Baseball” and the name stuck.
He spent six years acting in the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere; he was iconic in Miller Lite beer commercials, but he was probably best known as announcer Harry Doyle in the 1989 movie Major League. He was the radio announcer for a down-and-out Cleveland team that finds a way to become a playoff contender- he was great in that movie.
RIP, sir.
— Oregon State 97, Gonzaga 89 OT
Beavers shot 58.5% inside arc, 29-37 on foul line.
Zags out-rebounded Oregon State, 41-28
Michael Rataj scored 29 points, had 7 rebounds.
— Rutgers 85, Nebraska 82
Rutgers scored 1.33 points/possession, which is a lot.
Scarlet Knights ended Nebraska’s 20-game home winning streak.
Nebraska was only 17-27 on the foul line.
— Minnesota 84, Michigan 81 OT
Dawson Garcia scored 27 points, hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Gophers were an 11-point home underdog.
Wolverines shot 11-22 on arc, but were minus-7 in turnovers.
Minnesota is now 1-6 in Big 18, Michigan 5-1
— Temple 88, Memphis 81
Owls out-rebounded Memphis, 49-25.
Temple was 21-34 on foul line, Memphis 21-31.
Loss snaps Tigers’ four-game winning streak.
— Famous birthdays, January 17:
Pete LaCock, 73
Susanna Hoffs, 66
Chili Davis, 65
Jim Carrey, 63
Joshua Molina, 59
Dwayne Wade, 43
Trevor Bauer, 34
Kyle Tucker, 28
Ayo Dosunmu, 25
— Mets signed OF Jesse Winker for one year, $7.5M, with a chance to raise that to $9M with incentive clauses. Winker hit .253 last year, splitting year between Nationals/Mets. He was an All-Star in 2021, when he played for Cincinnati.
— Reds’ SS Elly de la Cruz struck out looking 65 times last year, which seems like a lot; I’ve been trying to find strikeout stats broken down between taking/swinging 3rd strikes, but haven’t been able to find them yet.
— Philadelphia 76ers are 8-18 this season when Joel Embiid doesn’t play, 7-6 when he does play.
— Rams’ QB Matthew Stafford is 5-4 in NFL playoff games; seven of those nine games were played in domes.
In 2017, his Detroit team lost 26-6 in a playoff game at Seattle.
In 2021, Rams won 30-27 at Tampa Bay on their way to winning the Super Bowl.
— Upsets of the Night:
Minnesota (+11) 84, Michigan 81 OT
Oregon State (+9.5) 97, Gonzaga 89 OT
Rutgers (+8.5) 85, Nebraska 82
UTEP (+8.5) 72, Liberty 70
Temple (+7) 88, Memphis 81
Cal-Davis (+6) 65, Cal Poly 54
LMU (+4) 57, Santa Clara 54
Tarleton State (+3.5) 67, Cal Baptist 57
Jacksonville State (+3.5) 63, Louisiana Tech 61
— Towson 65, Hofstra 60
Hofstra led 39-21 with 3:07 left in first half.
Tigers are 4-1 in CAA, after a 5-8 pre-conference mark.
Towson was 17-23 on foul line, Hofstra 5-6
— Kennesaw State 75, Sam Houston State 69 OT
Sam Houston led by 10 with 12:17 left in game.
Kennesaw wins despite going 3-26 on the arc.
Sam Houston shot 11-44 inside arc, 10-25 on the arc.
— Northwestern 76, Maryland 74 OT
Northwestern shot 56.1% inside the arc.
Wildcats led by 10 with 10:56 left to play.
— SIU-Edwardsville 87, Tennessee State 80, 2OT
Cougars shot 10-20 on the arc.
Tennessee State had 19 turnovers, is 3-12 vs D-I teams.
— Georgia Southern 88, Coastal Carolina 87, OT
Georgia Southern shot 55% inside the arc.
Chanticleers were 11-23 on arc, but 18-30 on foul line.
College hoop teams who force the most turnovers:
— UCLA
— Iona
— Texas-El Paso
— Cal-San Diego
— Cleveland State
— Marquette
Quote of the Day
“I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $3,000. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn’t have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up.”
Bob Uecker
Friday’s quiz
In the history of the Houston Texans, who has the most passing yards?
Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil led both the Rams and Eagles to a Super Bowl.
Wednesday’s quiz
Baltimore Ravens came into being in 1996; they weren’t an expansion team; they were the Cleveland Browns, before they moved to Baltimore.
The Browns were an expansion team starting in 1999, but the NFL let them keep all the old Browns’ records.
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Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……..
— The world lost a legend Thursday; Bob Uecker, who parlayed a short playing career into a broadcasting career that lasted 50+ years, passed away Thursday at age 90.Uecker signed his first professional contract with the Milwaukee Braves in 1956 and got to the majors in 1962. He lasted six years in the big leagues as a backup catcher, finishing with a .200 average and 14 home runs. He won a World Series ring with St. Louis in 1964 and also played for the Braves and Phillies.
Uecker was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award in 2003; he was on The Tonight Show over 100 times, that’s how funny he was. Johnny Carson dubbed Uecker “Mr. Baseball” and the name stuck.
He spent six years acting in the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere; he was iconic in Miller Lite beer commercials, but he was probably best known as announcer Harry Doyle in the 1989 movie Major League. He was the radio announcer for a down-and-out Cleveland team that finds a way to become a playoff contender- he was great in that movie.
RIP, sir.
— Oregon State 97, Gonzaga 89 OT
Beavers shot 58.5% inside arc, 29-37 on foul line.
Zags out-rebounded Oregon State, 41-28
Michael Rataj scored 29 points, had 7 rebounds.
— Rutgers 85, Nebraska 82
Rutgers scored 1.33 points/possession, which is a lot.
Scarlet Knights ended Nebraska’s 20-game home winning streak.
Nebraska was only 17-27 on the foul line.
— Minnesota 84, Michigan 81 OT
Dawson Garcia scored 27 points, hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Gophers were an 11-point home underdog.
Wolverines shot 11-22 on arc, but were minus-7 in turnovers.
Minnesota is now 1-6 in Big 18, Michigan 5-1
— Temple 88, Memphis 81
Owls out-rebounded Memphis, 49-25.
Temple was 21-34 on foul line, Memphis 21-31.
Loss snaps Tigers’ four-game winning streak.
— Famous birthdays, January 17:
Pete LaCock, 73
Susanna Hoffs, 66
Chili Davis, 65
Jim Carrey, 63
Joshua Molina, 59
Dwayne Wade, 43
Trevor Bauer, 34
Kyle Tucker, 28
Ayo Dosunmu, 25
— Mets signed OF Jesse Winker for one year, $7.5M, with a chance to raise that to $9M with incentive clauses. Winker hit .253 last year, splitting year between Nationals/Mets. He was an All-Star in 2021, when he played for Cincinnati.
— Reds’ SS Elly de la Cruz struck out looking 65 times last year, which seems like a lot; I’ve been trying to find strikeout stats broken down between taking/swinging 3rd strikes, but haven’t been able to find them yet.
— Philadelphia 76ers are 8-18 this season when Joel Embiid doesn’t play, 7-6 when he does play.
— Rams’ QB Matthew Stafford is 5-4 in NFL playoff games; seven of those nine games were played in domes.
In 2017, his Detroit team lost 26-6 in a playoff game at Seattle.
In 2021, Rams won 30-27 at Tampa Bay on their way to winning the Super Bowl.
— Upsets of the Night:
Minnesota (+11) 84, Michigan 81 OT
Oregon State (+9.5) 97, Gonzaga 89 OT
Rutgers (+8.5) 85, Nebraska 82
UTEP (+8.5) 72, Liberty 70
Temple (+7) 88, Memphis 81
Cal-Davis (+6) 65, Cal Poly 54
LMU (+4) 57, Santa Clara 54
Tarleton State (+3.5) 67, Cal Baptist 57
Jacksonville State (+3.5) 63, Louisiana Tech 61
— Towson 65, Hofstra 60
Hofstra led 39-21 with 3:07 left in first half.
Tigers are 4-1 in CAA, after a 5-8 pre-conference mark.
Towson was 17-23 on foul line, Hofstra 5-6
— Kennesaw State 75, Sam Houston State 69 OT
Sam Houston led by 10 with 12:17 left in game.
Kennesaw wins despite going 3-26 on the arc.
Sam Houston shot 11-44 inside arc, 10-25 on the arc.
— Northwestern 76, Maryland 74 OT
Northwestern shot 56.1% inside the arc.
Wildcats led by 10 with 10:56 left to play.
— SIU-Edwardsville 87, Tennessee State 80, 2OT
Cougars shot 10-20 on the arc.
Tennessee State had 19 turnovers, is 3-12 vs D-I teams.
— Georgia Southern 88, Coastal Carolina 87, OT
Georgia Southern shot 55% inside the arc.
Chanticleers were 11-23 on arc, but 18-30 on foul line.
