Cnotes NL 2024-2025 Schedule, Best Bets, Opinons, News !

[Cnotes53]

Saturday’s 6-pack:
Best/worst in college basketball leagues, in stat categories:
— 3-point %age: best: SoCon, 38.9% worst: Southland 28.4%
— foul shots: best: ACC, 76.3% worst: Patriot, 67.1%
— tempo: fastest: MAC 71.2 possessions/game slowest: NEC 64.3
— 2-point %age: best: Big Sky, 54.9% worst: CAA, 46.3%
— fewest turnovers: Summit, 14.9% worst: WAC 22.6% of possessions
— offensive rebounds: most: SEC, 33.6% least: Patriot, 22.7%

Quote of the Day
“I know that if we get in, we can make some noise with the players and coaches that we have in this building. We’ve just got to hope for some help tomorrow and sit back and watch it.”
Bengals QB Joe Burrow; Cincinnati needs some help Sunday to make the playoffs

Sunday’s quiz
Who was quarterback for the Vikings,, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?

Saturday’s quiz
Oakland Raiders lost the second Super Bowl, 33-14 to Green Bay.

Friday’s quiz
Kansas City Chiefs lost the first Super Bowl, 35-10 to Green Bay.

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday…..​

— Bengals 19, Steelers 17
Cincinnati outgained the Steelers, 314-193.
Chase caught ten passes for 96 yards and a TD.
Bengals won their last five games, by 7-10-18-6-2 points.
Cade York kicked four field goals for Cincinnati.
Sunday, if Denver wins, they’re in playoffs
If Denver loses/Miami wins or ties, the Dolphins are in the playoffs
If they both lose, Cincinnati gets in.
Steelers are in the playoffs, but they’ve lost four games in a row.

— Ravens 35, Browns 10
Baltimore clinches AFC North with this win.
Ravens’ first score was a pick-6 in first quarter.
Henry carried ball 20 times for 138 yards, two TD’s.
Ravens will host either Pittsburgh or Chargers in playoffs next week

— Famous birthdays, January 5th:
Robert Duvall, 94
Diane Keaton, 79
Rick Mount, 78
Charlie Hough, 77
Jim Gantner, 72
Alex English, 71
Steve Fuller, 68
Joe Cribbs, 67
Danny Jackson, 63
Bradley Cooper, 50
Warrick Dunn, 50
CJ Cron, 35

College basketball Saturday:

— SEC:
Favorites went 7-1 ATS on the first day of conference games.
7 of the top 18 teams in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings are SEC squads.

Kentucky 106, Florida 100
Kentucky was 14-29 on arc, scored 1.47 points/possession.
Florida shot 80.8% inside arc; this was their first loss of season.

Alabama 107, Oklahoma 79
Alabama scored 100+ points for 4th time this season.
Crimson Tide had 22 offensive rebounds, Sooners 18 defensive boards.
This was Oklahoma’s first loss this season.
Tennessee is now the only unbeaten team in the country,

— Big X
Iowa State 74, Baylor 55
Cyclones are 12-1, with only loss by a hoop to Auburn.
Baylor shot 34.3% inside the arc; they’re 3-4 vs top 100 teams.

Arizona 72, Cincinnati 67
Arizona blew a 19-point second half lead, but still pulled the game out.
Cincinnati has a player, Dillon Mitchell, who is 9-34 on the foul line.
Bearcats lost first two Big X games, by 3-5 points.
Arizona has won four in row, is 8-5 vs schedule #24.
Favorites are 9-6 ATS in conference games this season.

— ACC
North Carolina 74, Notre Dame 73
Tar Heels outscored Notre Dame 4-0 in last 0:13.
UNC scored 74 points, but had only two guys in double figures.
Carolina shot 70% inside the arc.
Tar Heels are 9-6, 3-6 vs top 100 teams.

Virginia Tech 86, Miami 85
Miami led by 6 with 3:17 left in game.
Hurricanes lost despite shooting 64.1% inside arc.
Tech is 6-8, 0-7 against top 100 teams.
Favorites are 17-11 ATS in conference games, 7-4 on road.

— Big East
St John’s 70, Butler 62
Red Storm won despite going 1-21 on the arc.
Last three Big East games, St John’s is 6-48 on the arc.
That said, Red Storm has won seven of its last eight games.
Butler has lost seven games in a row.
Big East home underdogs are 5-2 ATS in conference play.

— Mountain West
Mountain West home favorites are 0-12 ATS in conference games.
San Diego State 76, Boise State 68
Aztecs lost at home to Utah State last week; they out-rebounded Boise, 39-29.
Boise was only 7-30 on the arc.

— West Coast
Oregon State/Washington State are a combined 5-1 in WCC play; they’re going to make this league much stronger this year, giving Saint Mary’s a run for the #2-seed behind Gonzaga.
Oregon State is 12-4, in top 50 in country in eFG%, both offense and defense.
Washington State is 13-3; they’re shooting 59.3% inside arc, #16 in country.

— Upsets of the Day:
Ball State (+11.5) 75, Kent State 67
Omaha (+11.5) 85, North Dakota State 80
George Washington (+8.5) 82, Dayton 62
FIU (+6.5) 85, Western Kentucky 66
Richmond (+5.5) 72, UMass 64
Sacramento State (+5.5) 56, Portland State 53

— There were 14 teams that won Saturday that trailed by 10+ points at some time in the game.

— Big West
Cal-Irvine/Cal-San Diego are both 13-2, 3-0 in the Big West. Irvine is 35-8 in conference games the last 2+ seasons- they’ve got #34 eFG% defense in country.
Cal-San Diego is in its fifth year as a D-I team; they’ve scored 85 ppg in first three Big West tilts.

— Missouri Valley
Bradley 69, Missouri State 60
Braves have won five in a row, 11 of last 12 D-I games.
Bradley is shooting 43.1% on the arc, best in the country.
Home favorites are 3-10 ATS this season in MVC games.

— Sun Belt
Home favorites are 9-3 ATS in conference games; home dogs are 4-3.
South Alabama/Troy are tied for first at 3-0 early in conference play.

 

[Udog]

NFL
Weather Report

Sunday, January 5

 

[Cnotes53]

SUNDAY, JANUARY 5​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
CAR at ATL	01:00 PM	CAR +8.0 O 48.0	+500 +500
NYG at PHI	01:00 PM	PHI -2.5 U 36.5	+500 +500
JAC at IND	01:00 PM	IND -3.5 O 44.5	+500 +500
HOU at TEN	01:00 PM	HOU +1.0 U 36.5	+500 +500
CHI at GB	01:00 PM	GB -10.5 U 41.5	+500 +500
BUF at NE	01:00 PM	BUF -3.5 O 36.0	+500 +500
WAS at DAL	01:00 PM	DAL +6.5 O 44.0	+500 +500
NO at TB	01:00 PM	NO +14.0 O 45.5	+500 +500
SEA at LA	04:25 PM	LA +7.5 O 38.5	+500 +500
SF at ARI	04:25 PM	ARI -4.5 U 43.0	+500 +500
KC at DEN	04:25 PM	KC +10.5 U 40.5	+500 +500
MIA at NYJ	04:25 PM	NYJ -1.0 U 39.0	+500 +500
LAC at LV	04:25 PM	LAC -6.5 O 41.5	+500 +500
MIN at DET	08:20 PM	DET -2.5 U 56.5	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

NFL BEST BETS FOR WK # 18 THRU THE SUPER BOWL !

01/05/2025..................14 - 8 -0.........63.63%.............+ 26.00
01/04/2025...................3 - 1 - 0.........75.00%.............+ 9.50

TOTALS.......................17 - 9 - 0..........65.38%............+ 35.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday’s 6-pack:
— Oregon 83, Maryland 79- Ducks’ bench outscored Maryland’s, 26-12.
— Memphis 68, North Texas 64- Memphis shot 61.3% inside the arc.
— UConn 87, Providence 84- Friars led 39-27 at halftime.
— Murray State 66, Drake 59- Drake’s 2nd straight loss, after a 12-0 start.
— Iona 74, Siena 73- Iona had three guys score in double figures, all subs.
— FAU 78, East Carolina 76- Pirates were only 13-25 on foul line.

Quote of the Day
“He always (puts the team first), that’s why you love him. We’re lucky to have him. He’s under-appreciated throughout the media and the league. He’s one of one. He deserves that. You saw the stadium erupt. You saw the sideline erupt. You can tell how much people care about him and what that means for everybody around him.”
Bucs’ QB Baker Mayfield, talking about WR Mike Evans

Monday’s quiz
Which current college basketball coach, whose team is in the top 25 right now, was an actor in the 1994 movie, Blue Chips?

Sunday’s quiz
Joe Kapp was quarterback for the Vikings,, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.

Saturday’s quiz
Oakland Raiders lost the second Super Bowl, 33-14 to Green Bay.

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

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday…….​

Lions 31, Vikings 9
Detroit gets the #1 seed in the NFC and a bye next week.
RB Gibbs had 28 touches for 170 yards, four TD’s.
Lions ran ball for 178 yards (5.7 yards/carry)
Detroit won 14 of its last 15 games (11-4 ATS).
Last five weeks, Lions scored 36.2 points/game.
Lions led this game 10-6 at halftime.
Minnesota had its nine-game win streak snapped.
Vikings allowed 31-30-31 points in their three losses.
Vikings were in red zone four times, kicked 2 FG’s on those drives.
Minnesota goes to LA to play the Rams in the playoffs next week.

Buccaneers 27, Saints 19
Tampa Bay clinched the NFC South with a win here.
Tampa Bay ran ball 31 times for 179 yards (5.8 yards/carry).
Bucs are 6-1 since their bye, scoring 31.9 points/game.
Bucs host Washington in the playoffs next week.
WR Evans passed 1,000 receiving yards for the 11th year in a row.
Saints led this game 16-6 at halftime.
Saints in 1st half: 45 plays, 231 yards, 16 points
Saints in 2nd half: 22 plays, 46 yards, three points.
Tampa Bay was 10-16 on third down, Saints 3-13.
New Orleans lost its last four games, outscored 106-48.

Panthers 44, Falcons 38 OT
QB Young threw for 251 yards, 3 TD’s, also ran for 2 TD’s.
Falcons forced OT, scoring a TD with 0:46 left in regulation.
Last six weeks, Carolina gave up 215.2 rushing yards/game.
Panthers were 7-2 ATS in their last nine games.
Over was 13-4 in Carolina games this year.
Falcons led this game 24-17 at halftime.
Atlanta lost despite gaining 537 yards (310 passing).
Falcons lost six of last eight games, after a 6-3 start.
WR London caught 10 passes for 187 yards.
Falcons were eliminated when Tampa Bay beat the Saints.

Broncos 38, Chiefs 0
NFL made the Chiefs show up, couldn’t make them try hard.
Broncos outgained Kansas City, 479-98; Mahomes/others didn’t play.
Bengals were eliminated when Denver won this game.
Denver led this game 24-0 at halftime.
Chiefs were already the AFC’s #1 seed, have a bye next week.
Broncos’ win clinched their first playoff spot since 2015 season.
Broncos were 10-14 on third down, Chiefs 1-9.
Denver is 9-2 if they score more than 20 points, 1-5 if they score 20 or less.
Denver’s team total: over 12-4-1
Broncos visit Buffalo in the playoffs next week.

Texans 23, Titans 14
Tennessee’s loss gets them the #1 pick in April’s draft.
Titans were 0-6 SU/1-5 ATS last six games, giving up 27.8 ppg
Tennessee was 1-13 ATS in its last fourteen games.
Titans went 1-7 SU/0-8 ATS at home this year.
Since 2018, Tennessee is 13-20 ATS as a home favorite.
RB Pierce had a 92-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Houston ran ball 29 times for 207 yards (7.1 yards/carry).
Texans led this game 16-3 at halftime.
Starting QB Stroud only played the first series of the game.
Houston hosts the Chargers in next week’s playoffs.

Patriots 23, Bills 16
New England wins, slips from #1 to #4 in April’s draft.
After the game, Patriots fired coach Mayo, after only one season.
#3 QB Milton was 22-29/241 passing in his NFL debut.
New England’s win snapped a six-game losing streak.
Buffalo LB Miller earned a $1.5M bonus by getting his 6th sack this year.
QB Allen played one snap, to extend his consecutive starts streak.
Backup QB’s Trubisky/White were combined 18-32/129 passing.
Buffalo converted 6-15 on third down, only 1-4 on fourth down.
Bills’ only TD in second half came on a 16-yard drive.
Buffalo hosts Denver in the playoffs next week.

Colts 26, Jaguars 23 OT
Jaguars forced OT with a 53-yard FG with 1:44 left to play.
Colts led this game 20-13 at halftime.
Jaguars were 1-12 when they allowed more than 16 points.
Jaguars were 5-3 ATS as a road underdog this season.
Jaguars are 7-2 ATS in last nine AFC South road games.
RB Taylor ran ball 34 times for 177 yards and a TD.
39-year old QB Flacco is now 115-92 as an NFL starter.
Colts in first half: 38 plays, 274 yards, 20 points.
Colts in second half: 33 plays, 133 yards, 3 points.
Colts said that GM Ballard/coach Steichen will be back in 2025.

Famous birthdays, January 6th:
Harold Jackson, 79
Howie Long, 65
Sean Landeta, 63
Norm Charlton, 62
Charles Haley, 61
Tim McDonald, 60
Gilbert Arenas, 43
Ndamukong Suh, 38
Kevin Gausman, 34
Jameis Winston, 31

Commanders 23, Cowboys 19
Backup QB Mariota was 15-18/161 passing, playing the 2nd half.
Commanders in 2nd half: 30 plays, 215 yards, 20 points.
Mariota threw a 5-yard TD pass to McLaurin with 0:05 left for the win.
Washington won last five games, 30.2 points/game.
Commanders visit Tampa Bay in the playoffs next week.
Cowboys lost despite outgaining Washington, 378-269.
Dallas led this game 6-3 at halftime.
#3 QB Lance was 20-34/244 passing in his 5th NFL start (2-3).
Dallas was 2-7 SU/ATS at home this season.
Cowboys were 2-10 when they allowed more than 20 points.

Eagles 20, Giants 13
#3 QB McKee was 27-41/269 passing (2 TDs) in his first NFL start
Philly led this game 10-0 at halftime.
Philly is 14-3 SU in its last 17 games against the Giants.
Eagles are 12-1 SU/9-4 ATS in their last thirteen games.
Eagles host Green Bay in the playoffs next week.
Giants wound up losing 11 of their last 12 games.
Giants were 0-6 SU/1-5 ATS in NFC East games this year.
Last 12 games, Giants were outscored 165-67 in first half.
This year, Giants were 2-5 ATS as a road underdog.
Under was 11-6 in their games this season.

Bears 24, Packers 22
Bears kicked a 51-yard FG at the gun to post an upset win.
Win snapped Chicago’s 10-game losing skid.
Bears opened the scoring with a 94-yard punt return in 1st quarter.
Chicago snapped an 0-11 SU/2-9 skid in games at Lambeau Field.
Bears scored 24+ points in their wins (0-11 score less than 24)
Green Bay QB Love hurt his hand/elbow (check status)
Packers ran ball 33 times for 183 yards (5.5 yards/carry)
Packers are 2-3 in their last five games, after a 9-3 start.
Backup QB Willis was 10-13/136 passing, in relief of Love.
Packers visit Philadelphia next week, in the playoffs,

Seahawks 30, Rams 25
This was first game in NFL history with three made FG’s of 55+ yards.
Backup QB Garoppolo was 27-41/334 passing in his first ’24 start.
Rams outgained Seattle 403-336.
Rams have home playoff game vs Minnesota next week.
13 of the Rams’ 17 games were decided by 8 or fewer points.
QB Smith earned a $2M bonus when Seattle won its 10th game TY.
Seahawks drove 70 yards, scored game-winning TD with 3:19 left.
Seattle was 6-11 on third down, Rams 5-14.
Seahawks were 6-0 SU/4-2 ATS in their last six road games.
Seattle allowed 26+ points in losses, 21 or less in wins.

Jets 32, Dolphins 20
QB Rodgers was 23-36/274 passing, with four TD’s.
WR Adams caught six passes for 88 yards and a TD.
Jets led this game 15-6 at halftime.
Jets in second half: 30 plays, 179 yards, 17 points.
Jets were 5-4 TY when they scored 21+ points.
Denver’s easy win eliminated Miami from playoff race.
Miami was 1-8 when it gives up 20+ points, 7-1 if they allowed 19 or less.
Dolphins converted 3-3 on 4th down, but only 3-12 on 3rd down.
Miami is 10-13 ATS in last 23 games with spread of 3 or less points.
Backup QB Huntley is 5-10 as an NFL starter, 2-3 this year.

Chargers 34, Raiders 20
Chargers sweep the Raiders for first time since 2018.
Chargers are 6-1 ATS this season as road favorites.
LA is 8-0 scoring 24+ points, 3-6 scoring 23 or fewer points.
Bolts won their last three games, scoring 34-40-34 points.
Chargers visit Houston in the playoffs next week.
Raiders were 2-9 on third down, Chargers 7-14.
Bolts outgained Las Vegas, 473-264.
Chargers averaged 9.1 yards/pass attempt.
Chargers led this game 17-10 at halftime.
Raiders were 2-6 SU/3-5 ATS at home this season.

Cardinals 47, 49ers 24
Arizona led this game 20-17 at halftime.
Cardinals in 2nd half: 29 plays, 229 yards, 27 points.
QB Murray was 25-35/242 passing, with four TD’s.
Arizona was 7-2 scoring 24+ points, 1-7 scoring less than 24.
Cardinals swept San Francisco for 6th time in ten years.
49ers lost seven of last eight games, were 1-8 ATS since their bye.
49ers were 1-10 when they score less than 30 points.
Last seven weeks, 49ers were minus-13 in turnovers.
49ers were 2-6 SU/1-7 ATS on road this year.
Backup QB Dobbs was 29-43/326 passing (2 TD’s/2 INTs)

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
Spreads for this week’s NFL playoff games:
— Chargers (-3) @ Houston
— Steelers @ Baltimore (-10)
— Broncos @ Buffalo (-8.5)
— Packers @ Philadelphia (-4)
— Commanders @ Tampa Bay (-3)
— Vikings (-1.5) @ LA Rams

Quote of the Day
“Now that our season is over, we felt it necessary to make this statement. Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll will continue in their respective roles with the organization. As disappointing as the results of the season have been, [co-owner] Steve [Tisch] and I remain confident in the process that Joe and Brian have implemented and their vision for our team. We look forward to the future and achieving the results we all desire.”
New Jersey Giants’ owner John Mara

Tuesday’s quiz
Also in Blue Chips, which current Division I basketball coach was Indiana’s point guard in the movie?
Hint: In real life, he didn’t play for Indiana

Monday’s quiz
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, whose team is in the top 25 right now, was an actor in the 1994 movie, Blue Chips.

Sunday’s quiz
Joe Kapp was quarterback for the Vikings,, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.

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

Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..​

— Of the 14 teams that made the NFL playoffs, 12 of them start a quarterback who was drafted in the first round; Russell Wilson (3rd round), Jalen Hurts (2nd round) are the exceptions.

— The day after the NFL’s regular season ends is a bad day for coaches who had losing seasons; lot of them get fired.
Jacksonville fired head coach Doug Pederson after he went 22-29 in three years; they kept GM Trent Baalke. Pederson won a Super Bowl coaching the Eagles, but the Jaguars are starting over yet again.

— Seahawks fired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb after their 10-7 season.
Browns fired OC Ken Dorsey, offensive line coach Andy Dickerson after their 3-14 season. For some reason, head coach Kevin Stefanski keeps his job.
Indianapolis fired DC Gus Bradley, after three years with the Colts. Colts went 8-9 this year, losing 45-33 to the Giants in Week 17. Bradley has been a HC/DC in the NFL since 2009.

— Patriots fired head coach Jerod Mayo after one year, meaning that next year, New England will have its third head coach in three years.
Patriots were 4-13 this year, but rookie QB Drake Maye shows promise. This move was a little surprising and I’m guessing some people at NFL headquarters aren’t going to be very happy about it.

— Aaron Rodgers has now thrown 502 TD passes in his career, to 54 different receivers.

— Green Bay WR Christian Watson tore his ACL Sunday, is done for the year.

— Worst NFL teams against the spread this season:
Titans 2-15 ATS
Browns 4-13
Giants 5-12
49ers 5-12
Falcons 6-10-1
Seahawks 6-10-1
Jets 6-11

— Famous birthdays, January 7th:
Erin Gray, 75
David Caruso, 69
Ron Rivera, 63
Nicolas Cage, 61
Todd Day, 55
Frank Menechino, 53
Jon Lester, 41
Jhoulys Chacín, 37
Dean Kremer, 29
Lamar Jackson, 28

— First five picks in April’s NFL Draft:
1- Titans
2- Browns
3- Giants
4- Patriots
5- Jaguars

— Former NFL exec Andrew Brandt’s take on Kirk Cousins’s future:
He will be released in March by Atlanta, with a post-June 1 designation.
Whoever he plays for next year will pay him $27.5M.
He will make less than $10M guaranteed in 2026 (he made $62M this year).

— Firing a football coach during season doesn’t seem to help; it just creates chaos.

— Patriots rookie Joe Milton started his NFL debut 11-11 passing, coming close to the modern record. Gardner Minshew started out 13-13 in his first NFL game.
Milton went to Tennessee; he was surprisingly sharp; could he be trade bait?

— Milton’s debut reminded me about something I read a long, long time ago; can’t remember who they were talking about, but a young player did really well in his debut and the writer described it as…….
“a triumph of the uncluttered mind……”

— In baseball………
Kansas City Royals re-signed P Michael Lorenzen for one year, $7M; he was 7-6, 3.31 in 24 starts last year, for Rangers/Royals.

— Dodgers traded IF Gavin Lux to Cincinnati, for minor league outfielder Mike Sirota and a competitive balance draft pick.
Lux hit .251 last year with a .703 OPS; he figures to play third base for the Reds.

 

[Udog]

WILD CARD ROUND

Saturday, January 11

Sunday, January 12

Monday, January 13

NFL
Dunkel

Wild Card Round

NFL

Wild Card Round

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Trend Report
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LA Chargers vs Houston
LA Chargers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
LA Chargers is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games when playing at home against LA Chargers
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston's last 8 games at home

Pittsburgh vs Baltimore
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Pittsburgh's last 9 games when playing Baltimore
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Baltimore's last 9 games when playing Pittsburgh
Baltimore is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home

Denver vs Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Denver's last 6 games on the road
Denver is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
Buffalo is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Buffalo is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Denver

Green Bay vs Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Green Bay's last 15 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Green Bay's last 11 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Philadelphia is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games

Washington vs Tampa Bay
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games

Minnesota vs LA Rams
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Minnesota's last 10 games when playing on the road against LA Rams
Minnesota is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of LA Rams's last 10 games when playing at home against Minnesota
LA Rams is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games


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[Udog]

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Highest-paid NBA coaches
$17.5M— Steve Kerr, Warriors
$17M— Gregg Popovich, Spurs
$15M— Erik Spoelstra, Heat
$15M— Tyronn Lue, Clippers
$12M— Michael Malone, Nuggets
$11M— Doc Rivers, Bucks/Tom Thibodeau, Knicks

Quote of the Day
“The first guy who comes to my mind is Aaron Glenn. Arguably, one of the greatest defensive backs to ever play the game. I played against him, I was a teammate of his too. He’s a leader of men. He garners a ton of respect. He knows the game. He is highly competitive.”
Drew Brees, talking about filling the Saints’ open coaching job

Wednesday’s quiz
Which two NBA teams has Rick Pitino coached?

Tuesday’s quiz
Also in Blue Chips, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley was Indiana’s point guard in the movie.

Monday’s quiz
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, whose team is in the top 25 right now, was an actor in the 1994 movie, Blue Chips.

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

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….​

— Sacramento A’s signed 1B/DH Brent Rooker to a 5-year extension worth $60M; Rooker hit 39 homers LY, knocked in 112 runs, had a .927 OPS.
A’s didn’t suddenly decide to become aggressive with $$$; they’re getting around $70M in revenue sharing money— they have to spend it to appease the players’ union, but at least the product on the field in 2025 is going to be better than it has been in several years.

— Las Vegas Raiders fired coach Antonio Pierce Tuesday; he was 9-17 as coach of the Raiders, 4-13 this year, after being an interim coach last year.
This will fuel speculation that Raiders owner Mark Davis is going to hire Deion Sanders to coach the team, with Shadeur Sanders being the next quarterback. Good luck with that.
Whoever coaches the Raiders next year will be their 14th coach since 2002; by way of contrast, the Steelers have had three coaches since 1969.
Moral of the Story: Rich people who inherited their fortune aren’t necessarily very smart.

— Tennessee Titans fired GM Ran Carthon Tuesday; Titans went 9-25 in his two years on the job, going 3-14 this year- they drafted QB Will Levis in 2023- he’s been a bust, which is why Tennessee has the first pick in the 2025 draft.
Two years ago, the Titans fired their GM while the team was in first place; they’re getting a new stadium in Nashville, but what they need more is a new owner.

— Northern Illinois will join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member in 2026, giving the Mountain West eight football teams. Grand Canyon/Cal-Davis are joining the league for sports other than football.

— This time last year, the NBA’s Detroit Pistons were 3-33; this year, they’re 18-18, the first time in six years they’ve been a .500 team after January 1st.

— New York Mets will retire David Wright’s #5 jersey on July 19th; Wright played his entire 14-year career with the Mets, hitting .296 with 242 home runs and an .867 OPS. He made seven All-Star teams.

— Los Angeles Rams have had 12 rookies start a game this year, most of any NFL team.

— I was watching the 1978 movie Heaven Can Wait the other night; Warren Beatty plays a QB who wins the Super Bowl for the Rams. The movie is part fantasy; Beatty’s character gets killed in an accident, but when he goes to heaven, the guy who runs heaven (James Mason) finds out that Beatty wasn’t supposed to die that day, so they let him take over another dead person’s body.
In the movie, they said the day Joe Pendleton was supposed to die is “March 20, 2025”
In real life, Warren Beatty is 87 years old; he’ll be 88 on March 30, 2025.
Love that movie; I have the poster from the theater in my house.

— Famous birthdays, January 8th:
Bruce Sutter, 72
Calvin Natt, 68
Mark Herrmann, 66
Willie Anderson, 58
Jason Giambi, 54
Billy Joe Hobert, 54
Jeff Francoeur, 41
Ken Waldichuk, 27
Wednesday would’ve been Elvis Presley’s 90th birthday.

— Florida 73, Tennessee 43
Tennessee was the last unbeaten team in the country.
This was the worst loss by a #1 team in country since 1968.
Vols shot 23.1% from the floor for the game.

— Iowa 97, Nebraska 87 OT
Bad beat if you had the Huskers +3.5; they led by 15 with 14:10 left in game.
Iowa shot 17-35 on the arc; Nebraska was only 12-22 on foul line.

— St John’s 82, Xavier 72
St John’s can’t shoot; last 4 Big East games, they’re 8-64 on the arc.
St John’s can defend; Xavier shot 36.7% from the floor.
St John’s can rebound; they beat Xavier 50-30 on the boards.

— Georgia 82, Kentucky 69
Dawgs were 29-38 on the foul line.
Georgia has #14 eFG% defense in country.
Kentucky lost three of last four games away from home.

— Marquette 74, Georgetown 66
Georgetown led 35-21 late in first half, 38-29 at halftime.
Chase Ross had 27 points, six steals for Marquette.
Marquette is 5-0 in Big East for 2nd time in their 20 years in the league.

— Texas Tech 72, BYU 67
BYU led by 5 with 8:20 left in the game.
Tech was 10-28 on the arc, Cougars 5-23 (12-21 on foul line)
Red Raiders are quietly 12-3, albeit only 2-3 vs top 100 teams.

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
— Texas A&M 80, Oklahoma 78- Sooners lose despite shooting 14-24 on arc.
— Villanova 68, UConn 66- Down 67-66, UConn missed 2 FT’s with 0:03.1 left.
— NC State 66, Notre Dame 65- Wolfpack trailed 63-56 with 3:29 left.
— Furman 67, Citadel 63 OT- Paladins narrowly avoid a big upset.
— Seton Hall 85, DePaul 80 OT- DePaul led by 19 early in second half.
— Providence 84, Butler 65- Bulldogs have lost eight games in a row.

Quote of the Day
“The hungry dog gets the bone. We got guys that think they’re way better than they are. They’re nice kids. They’re completely delusional about who they are. And the team that’s mind is on the the right stuff and hungry to get a win in conference play is the team that’s probably going to win.”
UCLA coach Mick Cronin, after Tuesday’s loss to Michigan

Thursday’s quiz
In the movie Forget Paris, what was Billy Crystal’s job?

Wednesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has coached the Celtics and Knicks in the NBA.

Tuesday’s quiz
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley was Indiana’s point guard in the movie Blue Chips.

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Thursday’s Den: We’re talking game shows today…….​

I love game shows; grew up watching them when I was a kid and think more of them should be on TV now, instead of the mindless talk shows with obnoxious people yelling at each other.

Thursday night, CBS is bringing back Hollywood Squares, a great game show that was always on at 11:30 in the morning when I was a kid, just before Jeopardy!

Here are my favorite game shows of all-time……….

First of all, The Gong Show wasn’t really a game show; it was American Idol long before that show was on TV, but it was great fun to watch.

People came on to sing/play music; very few of them were any good. Three celebrity judges were on the stage; any of them could hit the big gong and send the performer packing. The ones who survived thru their song got scores and at the end of the show, someone won a prize.

Chuck Barris was the host; he invented The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, and as a host, he was…….different, possibly stoned half the time.

Anyway, if The Gong Show classified as a game show, it would be #1 on this list, but it doesn’t.

13) Newlywed Game- Hosted by the sarcastic Bob Eubanks, who was very good. Married couples competed with each other to see how much they really know about each other.

All the wives would go off-stage and Eubanks would ask the husbands questions,, then the wives came back and were supposed to provide the same answer as their spouse. Then the husbands left and the same thing happened; whoever won usually got a stove or some other household appliance, “picked specially for you……”

There was a lot of unintentional comedy on this show.

12) Family Feud- Think this one is still on with Steve Harvey as host, but when Richard Dawson was the host back in the day, it was at its peak.
Two families compete by trying to outguess the other about survey results; someone would give a terrible answer, and they’d get dirty looks from their teammates.

11) Let’s Make a Deal- This show is still on with Wayne Brady as host; when I was a kid, Monte Hall was host. His daughter is the actress Joanna Gleason (Kevin Kline’s wife in Last Vegas)

Audience contestants picked at random, often dressed in ridiculous costumes, try to win cash or prizes by choosing curtain number #1, 2 or 3. When they picked the curtain, before they saw what was behind the curtain, the host would offer them $$$ or prizes to trade for what was a behind the curtain.

“You can take this $200, or take whatever is behind curtain #2, where Carol Merrill is standing”
Sometimes the contestant cleaned up; sometimes, they traded a car for a case of canned squid.

Seriously.

10) The Price Is Right- This show has been on TV for over 50 years; contestants compete for prizes and cash, including cars and vacations, in games that test their knowledge of consumer pricing. Bob Barker was the host for over 40 years; Drew Carey is the host now.

The showcase is at the end; contestants guess the price of their prizes; their guess can’t go over the actual price, or they lose. Your guess could miss by only $1, but if it was over, you lost.

9) Joker’s Wild- Jack Barry and later Bill Cullen hosted this show for 20 years; contestants answered questions on a wide variety of topics, with the prize money determined by a slot machine-style device.

When they hit the button the slot machine started; if the host said…..”Joker, joker….and a triple!!!” that was going to be a really big prize.

8) Jeopardy!- First Art Fleming, then Alex Trebek hosted the smartest of all game shows, with actual difficult questions and smart people competing for $$$. If a person won five days in a row, they went into the Tournament of Champions at the end of the year.

When I was a kid this show wasn’t my favorite; I didn’t know the right questions.

In the movie Airplane 2, the plane is in trouble and one of the passengers says out loud “We’re in real jeopardy now!!!!”
They show Art Fleming at the front of the plane with the Jeopardy! board and he says “Airplane Disasters for $100” and they say the name of the airplane. Very funny scene.

— Famous birthdays, January 10th:
JK Simmons, 69
Stan Javier, 61
Muggsy Bogues, 60
Joely Richardson, 60
David Costabile, 58
Chad Johnson, 47
Marcus Peters, 32
Kerris Dorsey, 27
Alek Manoah, 27

7) $100,000 Pyramid- Dick Clark was the original host; two contestants, each with a celebrity partner, must guess words from their partners’ clues; then the roles are reversed. Winners face the pyramid, where they to cash in the big prize.

This is an excellent game; Michael Strahan is the host now. People giving the clues would get flustered when their partner couldn’t get the right word. They’d try to use voice inflections as a hint.

6) Gambit- Two married couples played blackjack against each other; host Wink Martindale asked a series of toss-up questions, usually multiple-choice or true-false.

The first couple who buzzed-in and correctly answered the question won control of the top card from a deck of playing cards. An incorrect answer awarded control of the card to the other couple.

The first card of the game was revealed before the question was asked. Every other card was presented face-down and was turned up once the couple in control decided who should get it.

If a couple went over 21 and lost, Martindale would say something like: “Too much!!! and the game goes to the Ostranders!!!”

5) Match Game- When I was in high school, Match Game came on every afternoon, just after The Price Is Right. Match Game was a simpler game, a lot more laughter involved.

Six celebrities were on the panel, with Gene Rayburn as host; he would say a sentence with one word left out- the contestant would fill in the blank, and so would the celebrities. Then the other contestant got a different sentence; whoever got the most points won.

Regulars were Richard Dawson, Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly; the other three people usually didn’t give very good answers. I’m not sure I ever saw Joyce Bulifant match an answer.
Very good game.

4) Wheel of Fortune- The longest-running syndicated game show in America, with over 8,000 episodes taped. Wheel of Fortune is based on hangman; in each round, three players compete to be the first to guess the answer to a word puzzle- they spin the wheel to determine how much $$$ they’d get for each letter they could could uncover.

You didn’t want to spin the wheel and have it land on “bankrupt” Not good.

Pat Sajak hosted this show for over 40 years, taking over for Chuck Woolery; Vanna White is still the letter-turned on the show, with Ryan Seacrest the new host.

There was a time when Sajak left to host a talk-show; former Chargers kicker Rolf Benirschke was the host during that time.

3) Password- Two teams, each composed of a celebrity and contestant, attempt to convey mystery words to each other using only single-word clues, in order to win cash prizes.

There is a great episode of The Odd Couple, where Oscar/Felix are a team on Password, playing against Betty White— her husband was Allen Ludden, the host of Password.

Felix winds up screwing it up because…..well, he was Felix, but it was a very funny episode.

2) Concentration- Contestants matched prizes hidden behind squares on a 30-square game board, which would then reveal portions of a puzzle underneath for the contestants to solve.

If a contestant matched which prize was under two squares, they would get the prize and those parts of the puzzle would be exposed. Whoever solved the puzzle won the game.

This was an unusual gameshow; the contestants had to really think and remember stuff.
Hugh Downs was the host, before he moved on to the Today Show.

1) Hollywood Squares- Contestants played tic-tac-toe with a celebrity in each other nine squares; the celebrities would be asked questions, and the contestant had to agree/disagree with the answer given. If they were right, they get ether their letter; if not, the opponent got a letter.

Best part of the show were the snappy responses celebrities would give before they gave their real answers. Paul Lynde in the center square was especially good at this.

Peter Marshall was the host, maybe the best game show host ever; he just died last summer, at age 98.

Am looking forward to the new edition of Hollywood Squares tonight.

Also, in addition to Chuck Barris, the team of Mark Goodson/Bill Todman created a lot of these shows; would be remiss not to mention their names, to thank them for their work.