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

[Cnotes53]

Sunday’s 6-pack:
Some Super Bowl prop bets:
— Chiefs total yards: over/under 345.5
— Eagles total yards: over/under 355.5
— First downs by either team: over/under 20.5
— Rushing yards for Eagles: over/under 159.5
— How many Chiefs will have a rushing attempt: over/under 4.5
— Touchdowns in the game by the Chiefs: over/under 2.5

Quote of the Day
“Failure is good sometimes. Failure brings about an internal drive.”
Georgetown basketball coach Ed Cooley

Sunday’s quiz
Where did Danny Hurley coach, before he became the coach at UConn?

Saturday’s quiz
Hall of Fame OF Todd Helton was the QB for the Tennessee Vols just before Peyton Manning played QB for Tennessee.

Friday’s quiz
Other than the Chiefs, Colts are the only NFL team Patrick Mahomes hasn’t beaten in a regular season game; he did beat them in a playoff game.

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Sunday’s Den: Happy Groundhog Day, everyone…….​

— Big trade in the NBA after midnight; Lakers acquired Luka Doncic from Dallas, traded Anthony Davis to the Mavericks. Utah Jazz were involved in a minor way; there were some other players included, but Davis/Doncic caused ESPN to go off the rails late Saturday night.

— 11 of the top 25 college teams lost Saturday, a very upsetting day.

— Big X
Baylor 81, Kansas 70
Jayhawks led 40-21 at halftime.
Baylor was 25-28 on foul line, Kansas 12-19.
Baylor out-rebounded the Jayhawks, 40-27

Kansas State 80, Iowa State 61
K-State outscored Iowa State 43-26 in second half.
Loss snaps the Cyclones’ 29-game home winning streak.
Wildcats shot 10-20 on the arc.

Texas Tech 82, Houston 81 OT
Tech’s best rebounder/head coach were ejected 3:10 into the game.
Loss snaps Cougars’ 13-game winning streak.
Three of Houston’s four losses have come in overtime.
Arizona/Houston are tied for first, with 9-1 records.
Bracketology has 8 Big X teams in NCAA Tournament.

— SEC
Arkansas 89, Kentucky 79
John Calipari posts a big upset in his return to Lexington.
Razorbacks shot 13-25 on the arc.
Adou Thiero was 10-12 on foul line; Kentucky’s whole team was 9-18.

Auburn 92, Ole Miss 82
Auburn has won 13 in a row; their only loss was at Duke on December 4th
Tigers shot 14-28 on the arc, scored 1.31 points/possession.
Ole Miss lost four of last five games, after a 15-2 start.
Auburn leads Alabama by a game, Missouri by two games atop SEC standings.
Bracketology has 13 SEC teams in NCAA Tournament.

— ACC
Boston College 77, Florida State 76
Florida State led by 4 with 0:08 left in this game.
Eagles snap their six-game losing streak.
Seminoles have lost four games in a row.

Duke 87, North Carolina 70
Duke has won 15 in a row; their last loss was in November, to Kansas.
Blue Devils crushed UNC; they led 47-25 at halftime.
Tar Heels lost 4 of last 5 games, are 13-10, 6-5 in ACC.
Duke is 10-0 in the ACC for the first time since 2006.
Duke leads Clemson by a game, Louisville by 2 games atop ACC standings.
Bracketology has five ACC teams in NCAA Tournament.

— Big 18
USC 70, Michigan State 64
Loss snaps Michigan State’s 13-game win streak.
USC only played seven guys; two Trojans played whole 40:00.
Trojans won four of last six games, are 5-5 in Big 18.

Michigan 66, Rutgers 63
Michigan is shooting 60.1% inside arc (#5 in country)
Rutgers was 10-36 on the arc, 12-31 inside the arc.
Michigan is 16-5, 8-2 in Big 18; they were 8-24/3-17 last year.
Spartans still lead Big 18, by a game over Purdue/Michigan
Bracketology has nine Big 18 teams in NCAA Tournament.

— Big East
St John’s 68, Providence 66
Red Storm won its 8th game in a row.
St John’s hasn’t won an NCAA Tourney game since 2000; right now, Bracketology has St John’s as a #7 seed, so they’ll likely be favored in the first round of NCAA’s next month.

Creighton 62, Villanova 60
Bluejays won their 7th game in a row.
Villanova led by 5 with 6:42 left in the game.
Creighton shot 72% inside arc, 6-26 on the arc.
St John’s leads Big East, by game over Marquette/Creighton.
Bracketology has four Big East teams in NCAA Tournament.

— Upsets of the Day: (lot of upsets Saturday)
Texas- San Antonio (+15.5) 54, North Texas 50
Kansas State (+15.5) 80, Iowa State 61
Texas Tech (+11.5) 82, Houston 81 OT
IU Indy (+11.5) 84, Youngstown State 79
Arkansas (+10.5) 89. Kentucky 79
Georgia Tech (+8.5) 77, Louisville 70
Portland (+8.5) 84, Pepperdine 64
Indiana State (+7.5) 88, Ill-Chicago 83
Northern Kentucky (+7.5) 84, Oakland 75
Miami (+7.5) 63, Notre Dame 57
UConn (+7.5) 77, Marquette 69
Missouri (+6.5) 88, Mississippi State 61
North Dakota (+6.5) 80, South Dakota State 75

— Among conferences in the normal gambling rotation, these leagues plays the fastest-paced games: MAC, Ivy League, Summit League.
Leagues plays the slowest-paced games: Missouri Valley, MAAC, Big Sky

— Mountain West
San Diego State 63, Wyoming 61
Down 50-41, Aztecs went on a 20-0 run to grab control of the game.
Aztecs won their last four games, three of them by 3 or fewer points.
San Diego State has #7 eFG% defense in the country.
New Mexico won 82-63 at Utah State; they lead Utah State/Colorado State by a game atop the Mountain West standings.

— WCC
Saint Mary’s 62, Gonzaga 58
Saint Mary’s survived going 11-22 on the foul line.
Gonzaga was only 3-17 on the arc.
Mikey Lewis scored 16 points in 22:00; he didn’t start.
Saint Mary’s leads San Francisco/Gonzaga by three games in the WCC.

— Missouri Valley
Drake 75, Southern Illinois 65
Drake has four starters who played D2 ball last season.
Bulldogs are 20-2 this year, 126-33 the last five years, 69-19 in MVC games.
10-2 Drake, 9-2 Bradley are sitting atop the MVC.

— Famous birthdays, February 2nd:
Wayne Fontes, 85
John Tudor, 71
Christie Brinkley, 71
Kim Zimmer, 70
Pat Tabler, 67
Jason Kapono, 44
Matthew Boyd, 34
Adrian Houser, 32
Josh Lowe, 27

— American
Texas- San Antonio 54, North Texas 50
Roadrunners led 27-13 at halftime.
Teams combined to shoot 7-36 on the arc.
Loss snaps a six-game win streak for North Texas.
Memphis leads UAB/North Texas by game in loss column, atop AAC standings.

— Ivy League
Dartmouth 95, Columbia 89
Big Green is 3-3, in 4th place in Ivy; only top four teams in the league make their conference tournament, so this is a big deal.
6-0 Yale leads 5-1 Cornell stop the Ivy League standings.
Ivy League teams are shooting 38.5% on arc in league games, the best of any conference.

— Conference USA
Jacksonville State 72, Liberty 61
Gamecocks have won six in a row, after a 9-7 start.
Jax State was 25-46 inside arc, only 3-11 on arc; old-school ball.
Jacksonville State leads Middle Tennessee by a game, atop the C-USA standings.

— Big West
Northridge 88, Bakersfield 62
Matadors led 44-22 at halftime, coasted home from there.
I watched CSUN’s game Thursday; they’re very athletic, an impressive team in a league where Irvine/Cal-San Diego are thought to be head/shoulkders above everyone else.
Irvine leads Cal-San Diego by a game, but Riverside/CSUN are both surging.

— Big Sky
Northern Colorado 87, Northern Arizona 69
Bears have won 10 of their last 11 games.
Bears shot 14-30 on the arc in this game.
Northern Colorado is shooting 60.1% inside the arc (#6)
8-1 Northern Colorado leads 8-2 Montana by half a game.

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday’s 6-pack:
Since 2002, only seven QB’s have started a Super Bowl for AFC teams:
— Tom Brady
— Joe Burrow
— Joe Flacco
— Rich Gannon
— Patrick Mahomes
— Peyton Manning
— Ben Roethlisberger
Since 2002, 20 different QB’s have started a Super Bowl for NFC teams

Quote of the Day
“It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing. Now, we’ll see if it pays off. They still have to have a season relatively injury-free for it to work out for them, and it’s a long season, as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen.”

Bronx owner Hal Steinbrenner, trying out a new comedy act by whining about the Dodgers spending a lot of $$$, while he groups himself with the owners of the Pirates, Marlins, A’s.

Monday’s quiz
Who was the Philadelphia Eagles’ QB, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?

Sunday’s quiz
Danny Hurley coached at Rhode Island, before he became the coach at UConn.

Saturday’s quiz
Hall of Fame OF Todd Helton was the QB for the Tennessee Vols just before Peyton Manning played QB for Tennessee.

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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend……..​

— P Jack Flaherty signed a 2-year deal with Detroit Sunday night, for $35M. Flaherty helped the Dodgers win the World Series last fall— he was 13-7, 3.18 in 28 starts for the Tigers/Dodgers last year.

— Seattle signed IF Jorge Polanco for one year, $7.75M; after playing for Minnesota for 10 years, Polanco hit .213 for Seattle LY, with a .651 OPS. His career OPS is .765.

— Illinois 87, Ohio State 79
Buckeyes led 42-36 at halftime.
Illini shot 68.4% inside arc, was 23-31 on foul line.
Ohio State shot only 32% inside the arc.

— Nebraska 77, Oregon 71
Nebraska shot 78.6% inside the arc.
Teams combined to shoot 9-43 on the arc.
Ducks lost four of their last five games, after a 15-2 start.

— Fort Wayne 81, Milwaukee 79
Fort Wayne has won six of its last eight games.
Mastodons shot 13-31 on the arc- they’re shooting 38.8% on arc TY (#9)
These two teams are tied for second in Horizon, 3 games behind Cleveland State.

— East Tennessee State 72, Furman 69
ETSU outscored the Paladins 12-2 over the final 3:21.
Furman led 27-13 midway thru first half.
Furman was only 7-13 on foul line; one player scored in double figures.

— Memphis 86, Rice 83
Memphis shot 56.4% inside arc, 11-21 on arc.
Memphis is shooting 40.1% on the arc, #1 in country.
Tigers have won five in a row, nine of last ten games.

— Famous birthdays, February 3rd:
Fran Tarkenton, 85
Blythe Danner, 82
Bob Griese, 80
Bake McBride, 76
Morgan Fairchild, 75
Fred Lynn, 73
Nathan Lane, 69
Maura Tierney, 60
Vlade Divac, 57
Skip Schumaker, 45
Lucas Duda, 39
Tyler Huntley, 27

— When I was in college, we played Utica College, which was trying to go Division I under coach Larry Costello, who was the original coach of the Milwaukee Bucks (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s first NBA coach).
One of Utica’s players was DJ Carstensen, who these days is a big-time college ref. I remember he came to Utica from Iowa, which seemed unusual. Anyway, 40+ years later, DJ Carstensen is a busy man. Here is his refereeing schedule from this past week:
Monday- Penn State @ Michigan
Tuesday- Oregon State @ Gonzaga
Wednesday- Saint Mary’s @ Santa Clara
Thursday- Oregon @ UCLA
Saturday- Arizona @ Arizona State
Sunday- Ohio State @ Illinois
So a guy in his early 60’s officiates six basketball games in seven nights, but NBA players in their 20’s often take the second night of a back/back off, for load management. Go figure.

— Las Vegas Raiders/Pete Carroll hired former Eagles/Oregon HC Chip Kelly as their new OC; Kelly just won a national title as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator.
Raiders will pay Kelly $6M next year; it has been eight years since the 49ers fired him as head coach after the 2016 season.

— Nebraska drew 60,000+ fans for their spring football game last year, but the week after the game, six of their players entered the transfer portal. Other schools scout these spring games and try to poach players; as a result of that, sounds like Nebraska isn’t going to have a spring game this year.

— Wanted to watch the Caribbean Series on TV this week, but MLB Network and YouTube TV don’t get along well, so no go there. Disappointing; it was snowing out tonight, would’ve been fun to watch some live baseball played in warm weather.
Baseball needs to market itself better; MLB Network needs to be on YouTube TV, plus I buy the MLB package every year- the Caribbean Series should at least be a part of that.
I’ve been watching regular YouTube on my TV; lot of fantasy baseball podcasts on there, as we all get ready for the upcoming season.

— January 31 is a strong day for baseball birthdays:
Nolan Ryan, Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks. Three Hall of Famers.

— USC signed up recruit Alijah Arenas, son of former NBA G Gilbert Arenas, to play for the Trojans next season. Alijah Arenas is a 5-star recruit; good get for coach Eric Musselman.

— When the Lakers made the big Anthony Davis/Luka Doncic trade Saturday night, you think they consulted Lebron James first? Kind of a big deal, changing the roster that much; I’m just curious if he any input on the deal before it was made.

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
Teams shooting the best %age on the foul line:
84.6%— Wisconsin
83.4%— Tex-San Antonio
81.3%— Cal-Irvine
80.4%— Richmond
80.3%— Michigan State
79.9%— Villanova

Quote of the Day
“Obviously, people have their thoughts on how it went down, and I understand the emotional aspect of it, but I’m happy for Liam. We all had a few choice words for him before we actually told him we were happy for him. I can’t be mad at that — as much as I would want to have him still here.”
Bucs’ QB Baker Mayfield, talking about Liam Coen becoming HC of the Jaguars

Tuesday’s quiz
Who played QB for the Rams, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?

Monday’s quiz
Ron Jaworski was the Philadelphia Eagles’ QB, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.

Sunday’s quiz
Danny Hurley coached at Rhode Island, before he became the coach at UConn.

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Tuesday’s Den: College basketball trends, by conference…….​

We’re roughly at the halfway point of the conference season.
Following stats are for conference games only:

— SEC
8-0 Auburn leads 8-1 Alabama by a game.
Missouri is 7-1 ATS in SEC games.
Tennessee is 4-1 ATS as an SEC home favorite.
SEC has the 2nd-highest %age of offensive rebounds.
40.4% of shots in this league are 3-point shots (#6 of 31 leagues)

— Big 18
9-1 Michigan State is in first, just ahead of 9-2 Purdue, 8-2 Michigan State
Oregon is 1-4 ATS as a Big 18 home favorite.
Wisconsin is 8-2 ATS in its last ten games.
Big 18 games have the 5th-fastest tempo of any league.
Teams are making 52.5% of their 2-point shots (#6)

— Big X
Houston/Arizona are 9-1, tied for first, game ahead of Texas Tech.
BYU is 5-1 SU/6-0 ATS in its last six games.
Colorado is 0-10 SU/1-9 ATS in its conference games.
Big X teams are shooting 50% inside arc (#25)
Big X games have the #20 tempo out of 31 leagues.

— Big East
10-1 St John’s leads Marquette/Creighton by a game.
UConn is 0-5 ATS as a Big East home favorite.
Creighton won its last seven games, covered its last eight.
31.3% of Big East games have been decided by 4 or less points, or in OT (#3)
Not lot of fouls called here; Big East games have #27 rate in foul shots taken.

— ACC
11-0 Duke leads 10-1 Clemson by a game, 9-2 Louisville by two games.
North Carolina is 2-4 SU/1-5 ATS in ACC road games.
Louisville is 9-1 SU/8-2 ATS in its last ten games.
ACC games have been played at a slow pace, #26 of 31 leagues.
ACC teams are shooting 75.4% on the foul line (#2)

— Mountain West
10-1 New Mexico leads 9-2 Utah State, 8-2 Colorado State atop the standings.
San Jose State is 4-7 SU, but 10-1 ATS in conference games.
Underdogs are 5-0 ATS in UNLV’s home games.
40.4% of shots in Mountain West games are 3’s (#7)
28.3% of MW games were decided by 4 or fewer points or in OT (#4)

— West Coast
10-0 Saint Mary’s has a 3-game lead 8-3 San Francisco, 7-3 Gonzaga.
Gonzaga is 3-7 ATS as a WCC favorite, 1-4 at home.
Oregon State won/covered its last four home games.
36.2% of WCC games so far were decided by 20+ points (#1 of 31 leagues)
WCC teams are shooting 52.6% inside the arc (#5)

— Famous birthdays, February 4th:
John Schuck, 85
Steve O’Neal, 79
Keith Krepfle, 73
Lawrence Taylor, 66
Vern Fleming, 63
Dan Plesac, 63
Gabrielle Anwar, 55
Rob Corddry, 54
George Kirby, 27

— Atlantic 15
8-1 George Mason leads 7-2 VCU by a game, 6-3 Saint Louis by two games.
Dayton is 2-7 ATS in A-15 games, 0-4 as a home favorite.
VCU is 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS in its last eight games.
A-15 teams are shooting 32.6% on the arc (#27 of 31 leagues)
Home teams are winning 67.2% of games SU (#5)

— Conference USA
7-2 Jacksonville State leads Middle Tennessee State by a game.
Western Kentucky won/covered its last three games.
Sam Houston State is 1-8 ATS in conference games.
C-USA teams are shooting 31.2% on arc (#31 of 31)
Home teams are winning 64.4% of games SU (#6)

— American
8-1 Memphis leads UAB, North Texas by a game.
South Florida is 0-6 ATS in its last six games.
UAB is 7-2 ATS in its conference games.
AAC teams are shooting 35% on the arc (#9)
24.1% of AAC games were decided by 4 or fewer points or in OT (#7)

— Missouri Valley
10-2 Drake leads Bradley by a game, Northern Iowa by two games.
Bradley is 1-5 ATS as an MVC home favorite.
Southern Illinois is 6-2 ATS in its last eight games.
MVC teams are shooting 53.3% inside the arc (#3)
41.2% of shots in MVC games are 3’s (#5); they’re shooting 35.2% on arc (#5)

— Big West
10-1 Cal-Irvine leads Cal-San Diego, Cal-Riverside atop the standings.
Bakersfield is 1-5 SU/0-6 ATS on Big West road.
Riverside is 5-1 SU/ATS in its last six games.
Big West teams are shooting 76.4% on foul line (#1)
Big West games are being played at #6 tempo out of 31 leagues.

— Southern
8-2 Southern leads Chattanooga, NC-Greensboro by a game.
VMI is 5-5 SU/9-1 ATS in conference games.
Wofford is 1-4 ATS as a SoCon home favorite.
45.4% of SoCon shots are 3’s, #1 %age of any league
SoCon teams are making 35.1% of those 3’s (#7)

— WAC
7-1 Grand Canyon/Utah Valley are tied for first place.
Tex-Arlington is 4-4 SU/2-6 ATS in WAC games.
Utah Valley is 4-0 SU/ATS in WAC home games.
WAC teams have a 48.7% eFG%, 2nd-worst of any league.
WAC home teams are 25-9 SU, #2 of the 31 leagues.

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Players who took the most called 3rd strikes last year:
65- Elly De La Cruz, Cin (29.8% of his K’s)
54- Michael Busch, Cubs (33.3%)
53- Christopher Morel, Cubs/TB (33.3%)
53- Lane Thomas Wsh/Clev (38.7%)
52- Marcell Ozuna, Atl (30.6%)
51- Corbin Carroll, Ariz (39.2%)

Quote of the Day
“I enjoy being around the guys. I enjoy the football games. You can’t put in the hours that we do and not enjoy it. So, I really love the game.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid

Wednesday’s quiz
Which team did Anthony Davis break into the NBA with?

Tuesday’s quiz
Vince Ferragamo played QB for the Rams, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.

Monday’s quiz
Ron Jaworski was the Philadelphia Eagles’ QB, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.

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Wednesday’s Den: Clearing out a cluttered mind……..​

— NBA has taken over the headlines this week, with the trade deadline this Thursday; the Doncic-Davis trade was unusual, on several levels:
Doncic is 25; Davis will be 32 next month. Why trade a 25-year old star?
Last year was the first time since 2018 that Davis played more than 62 games in a season.
Lakers are 29-19, are the #5-seed in the West right now; Dallas is 26-26, just outside the playoff picture. Neither team seems like a serious threat to win this year’s championship.

— Mark Cuban doesn’t have any input with the Mavericks anymore; he is still a minority owner, but the majority owners/decision makers are the Adelson family from Las Vegas- they run the Sands casino company.
There is a conspiracy theory out there that says the Mavericks are quietly tanking so they can move the team to Las Vegas, then when the NBA expands in a couple years, Dallas would get one of the two new franchises (Seattle would probably get the other one).
Trading the popular Doncic would soften the blow if/when the team tries to move.

— Then there are the Utah Jazz, the third team involved in the trade; Danny Ainge runs the Jazz- he didn’t know the details of the whole deal until an hour before it was announced.
Ainge used to play for the Celtics, the Lakers’ rival; apparently he wasn’t very happy when he found out the magnitude of the trade, but by that point, it was too late to back out of the deal.
The next couple days should be pretty interesting.

— Mavericks have offered refunds to fans who canceled season tickets because they’re mad about the trade.

— Florida State basketball coach Leonard Hamilton will retire after the season, after 23 years coaching the Seminoles. The 76-year old Hamilton got FSU to the NCAA’s eight times, to the Sweet 16 four times.

— Major League Baseball fired umpire Pat Hoberg for “sharing” legal sports betting accounts with a friend who bet on baseball. The friend, who is apparently a professional poker player,

Hoberg adamantly denied betting on baseball directly or indirectly; MLB even said that there is “no evidence” that Hoberg directly bet on games or manipulated the outcomes of any games in any way, but he was reckless in having a friend bet on baseball using his account.
The strange part of all this is that Hoberg was probably the best balls/strikes umpire in the big leagues; he had a couple games where his ball/strike calls were prefect, which is unusual.
He can re-apply for his job in 2026; will be interesting to see what happens then.

— Random stat: underdogs are 11-5 ATS in the last sixteen Super Bowls.

— Famous birthdays, February 5th
Roger Staubach, 83
Craig Morton, 82
Vic Correll, 79
Barbara Hershey, 77
Mike Heath, 70
Roberto Alomar, 57
Terrence Ross, 34
Nick Lodolo, 27

— UCLA 63, Michigan State 61
UCLA was +13 in turnovers (16-3)
Bruins have won six in a row, are 8-4 in the Big 18.
Famous alums Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson were at the game.

— Georgia Tech 89, Clemson 86 3OT
Tech survived going 12-25 on the foul line.
Yellow Jackets had 24 offensive boards, out-rebounded Clemson 56-46
Tech’s Nathan George had 28 points, seven assists.

— St John’s 70, Marquette 64
Red Storm has won nine games in a row.
St John’s is 11-1 in Big East, despite shooting 23.8% on arc in those games.
St John’s out-rebounded Marquette, 50-28

— Ole Miss 98, Kentucky 84
Ole Miss scored 1.38 points/possession, a huge number.
Rebels led 54-31 at halftime.
Kentucky lost four of last five games, after a 14-3 start.

— Texas Tech 73, Baylor 59
Red Raiders are the quietest 18-4 team in America.
Baylor shot 33.9% from the floor.
Tech has #24 eFG% offense, #34 eFG% defense in country.

— Drake 55, Murray State 45
Very, very slow game, a 49-possession game.
Drake has won nine in a row, is 21-2 this season.
Murray State lost six of its last seven games.

— Upsets of the Night:
Georgia Tech (+13.5) 89, Clemson 86 3OT
Minnesota (+8.5) 69, Penn State 61
Kansas State (+3.5) 71, Arizona State 70