Armadillo Sports
Monday’s 6-pack:
NFL over/under win totals for this fall:
7.5— Saints, Seahawks
7— Vikings
6.5— Cardinals, Raiders, Giants, Titans, Commanders
6— Broncos
5— Patriots
4.5— Panthers
Quote of the Day
“It is not who you play, it is when you play them.”
Former Vikings coach Bud Grant, talking about the NFL schedule
Monday’s quiz
When is the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup?
Sunday’s quiz
Randy Johnson has the most pitching wins in Arizona Diamondbacks’ history.
Saturday’s quiz
The great basketball player David Thompson came out of NC State and played for the Denver Nuggets in the ABA, before they joined the NBA in 1976. Atlanta Hawks drafted Thompson, but he chose the Nuggets instead.
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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Sunday…….
— Pacers 130, Knicks 109
Indiana shot 67.1% from the floor, made 13-24 on the arc.
Pacers play Boston in the Eastern Conference final.
— Timberwolves 98, Nuggets 90
Denver led 53-38 at halftime.
Minnesota plays Dallas in the Western Conference final.
— Road team is now 8-4 in last 12 Game 7’s in NBA playoff series.
— Oklahoma City Thunder went 57-25 this year, lost in the second round of the playoffs- they’re already a good team, but they also have seven (7!!!) First round draft picks the next two years.
Will be fascinating to see how they package those draft picks to enhance their roster, while also maintaining their team chemistry.
— Florida Atlantic’s run to the college basketball Final Four in 2023 raised the school’s visibility; this year, they had 46,933 applicants, over 10,000 more than they had last year. 70% of the applicants are from Florida kids, 30% from out of state.
— Over the last 20 years, NFC South division titles:
7- Saints
5- Buccaneers
4- Falcons, Panthers.
— Wisconsin-Green Bay hiring Doug Gottlieb as its new basketball coach was the 66th coaching change at the D-I level this spring. 18% of teams changed coaches since the season ended.
Famous birthdays for May 20th:
Leroy Kelly, 82
Cher, 78
Wendell Tyler, 69
David Wells, 61
Timothy Olyphant, 56
Terrell Brandon, 54
Jayson Werth, 45
— Braves’ 1B Matt Olson played in his 500th consecutive game Sunday night; in this century, the longest consecutive games played streak is Miguel Tejada’s 1,152 games.
— In 1968, Cardinals’ P Bob Gibson was 22-9, with a 1.12 ERA; not sure how he lost nine games with a 1.12 ERA, but 28 of his 34 starts were complete games- they pinch-hit for him in the other six games, so in an entire season, the manager never took him out during an inning.
— Something has cropped up a little more in games recently; middle infielders are crowding the area behind 2nd base, prompting couple of teams to complain that they’re illegally on the wrong side of the diamond.
Teams have to have two infielders on each side of the infield; eventually they may have to put a line out there so infielders will stay where they’re supposed to be.
— Red Sox 11, Cardinals 3
Rafael Devers has homered in five consecutive games.
Red Sox are 7-0 on Sundays this season.
— Dodgers 3, Reds 2 (10)
Shohei Ohtani had his first walk-off hit as a Dodger.
Dodgers are 20-6 in their last 26 games.
— Angels 4, Rangers 1
Jose Soriano tossed a career-high 7.2 IP for the win.
Kevin Pillar had a 2-run single, his 1,000th career hit.
— Astros 9, Brewers 4
Kyle Tucker hit two homers, has 15 for the season.
Houston has won nine of its last 11 games.
— In interleague play, American League leads the NL, 96-86.
— Braves’ utility guy Zach Short is having an interesting season:
November 6, 2023- Mets claimed him off waivers from Detroit
2024- He went 2-12 in 10 games for the Mets.
May 1, 2024- Red Sox purchased him from the Mets
He went 0-7 in two games for Boston.
May 9, 2024- Braves purchased him from the Red Sox.
He is 4-16 in his first six games for Atlanta.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL- Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Braves, Cubs, Padres
AL- New York, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Cards: Orioles, Royals, Twins